Final Fantasy VII: Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Summary: "((An Angeal x Zack, Sephiroth x Genesis story)) With one of their greatest allies unable to help them, bodies piling up and being discovered by the dozen, and uncovering secrets that were never meant to be revealed, men who know much more than they tell, and when dead men speak again, time is running out as the ShinRa Stalker comes ever closer to fulfilling his dark mission. And as the SOLDIERs rush to solve the mystery, save their friends, can it be that one they never expected to know anything knows more than what he let on? Will anyone be saved, or will they all fall for good?"

Warning: "This will be a Yaoi ((male x male)), first off. It will have rape, reference to rape, and implied rape. There is a reason that this Fanfiction is rated "M," and by continuing to read this story, I am no longer responsible for any offense taken by the manuscript."

Disclaimer: "I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters so don't haul off and think I do. However, the following characters are actually mine, whether or not these characters actually appear in this particular story: 1st Class SOLIDER Marshall Willowstaff, Cadet Captain Benjamin ((Ben)) Adler, Captain Daniel Marks, and Head Physician Julian Jake."

A_ _ _N

Chapter Twenty-One: The Eavesdropper ((Part 1)).

It wasn't like Julian Jake to be late. Julian was known to be in the Med Labs even during his own vacation time. He'd said something to Sephiroth a few days ago about taking a few hours to sleep in for once, and Sephiroth felt somewhat happy for the man- Julian had earned at least the chance to sleep in after staying up until two in the morning digging through corpses.

Julian had promised to be in by noon, but when he wasn't in by 3:00 PM, the entire Med Lab was in silent chaos. Julian had been the one to keep everything in order, always had been the one on top of everything- he took care of the reports, of the people ((hurt or otherwise)), and generally made sure that everyone was doing exactly what they were supposed to be.

Sephiroth entered the Med Labs to find it in chaos. Julian's desk was piled high with huge reports and papers that needed to be signed. None of yesterday's accidents or injured could be let out without Julian's permission, and he wasn't there to check on those who were coming in. Sephiroth watched in amazement at the disorder before turning on his heel.

He needed to get Julian Jake back before things got worse.

A_ _ _N

Angeal was already almost done with his paperwork. It was a Friday afternoon and he was more than looking forward to the weekend. He, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Zack had cleared their scheduled meetings and assignments, and Angeal was looking forward ti spending his free time in the Courtyard with his two best friends and his hyperactive puppy.

He was just starting to pack up when the door opened. Sephiroth entered, looking particularly annoyed about something- which either meant something incredibly bad happened, or Sephiroth got scheduled with everyone's least favorite lunatic, Professor Hojo over the weekend. "Have you seen Julian Jake?" The silver haired General asked before Angeal could ask what was bothering him. "Med Labs?" Angeal replied, receiving a sarcastic glare in response. "I haven't seen him. What's going on?" He added when Sephiroth shook his head as he prepared to leave Angeal's office.

"Julian Jake never came in today. The Med Labs are a complete mess, and nobody in ShinRa seems to have seen him since last night." Sephiroth reported, wearily. Now growing concerned and fully alert of the growing situation, Angeal's attention shifted fully back to Sephiroth. "Could something have happened? Did someone check his apartment?" He asked, already standing up.

"I had people check his apartment and office several times in the last few hours. I sent Genesis into Midgar just in case Julian decided to go there for some reason or another. So far, there has been no sign of him- like he just vanished into thin air," Sephiroth replied.

"Could he have just wandered off? Plenty of people who work here just walk off and come back within a few days or so." Angeal pointed out- this was true. Cadets and Executives were indeed known to just disappear and come back days later. Lazard did so several times, and even some Techs and Med Labs and Scientists did so, too. It was known throughout Shinra creatively as "ditching."

"Julian Jake doesn't just wander off," Sephiroth responded instantly, if he'd already considered this possibility- which he already had, if Angeal knew him. "He's not a Cadet or some idiot Executive who decided to wander around HQ or Midgar in the middle of the night."

A_ _ _N

"Maybe they got him," whispered Cadet Kunsel to Zack Fair, who sat silently next to him in the Courtyard. "Y'know, 'cause he was going on about with Marks. Then he went off and got caught." Zack nodded, looking pale. "That's got to be it;" he muttered back to his friend, "Julian was launching an investigation into that incident. The higher-ups must have found out."

"We really ought to say something, man," Kunsel said in an even more quiet voice. "No fucking way. Did you see what happened to Marks? They totally slaughtered him in there," Zack replied in an incredulous voice. "We're lucky they haven't come after Captain Ben yet. I've heard that they're watching him as a potential target now." He continued in a whisper.

"No way. Going after Ben would totally fuck over their cover. Even he doesn't want to off the old man until there's a guarantee that no one will think about it. They only got Julian because the idiot knew too much about the Ring." Kunsel said, "I mean, taking Captain Marks was a good idea- he was gonna go to a 1st and report them! How stupid was he for doing that? Taught the others a lesson, didn't it?"

Zack shuddered, and nodded. "If they take Ben, then it's over. The Ring will win, no matter what we do. We're lucky they haven't come after us yet… if that happens, I think I might do something before I get… you know… cased. I mean… you saw what they did to Alex, right?"

Kunsel groaned. "Man, don't even remind me…that was the fucking sickest thing I've ever seen… he was a fucking dumbass for doing all that shit he did." Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah… but he saved us in doing so." He pointed out.

"Hey… Zack." Kunsel suddenly said, looking over at his raven-haired companion with an indecipherable look in his eyes. "Everything's gonna change now. It'll be even more dangerous than it has been in the last three years we been here. Julian Jake was one of the only people in the Labs that wasn't in the Ring, other than that assistant of his, and he's probably not going to last a second with the rest of them… and the 1sts will definitely be looking for Julian… not that they'll ever find him, of course. Not with him still breathing."

Zack nodded. "Keep me posted. If it gets really bad, and for some reason you think you're going to get cased, then get to me as quickly as possible. We'll… do something about it. If you get taken, then I'll say something- they can't get me as long as Angeal's here. If they do… then it'll really be over. You and I are the only ones with the balls to still go at them."

"I'll alert the team," Kunsel said, "We've lost some pretty good people in the past year- Mays, Samuel, Matt, Reyes… Alex and Marks. We're still here, and that's what counts. We can keep them away from the others. I'm not sure how much longer, but as long as they're still interested…" Kunsel clapped Zack's right arm, just under the elbow. "Just me and you, brother. Me and you."

Zack stood. "I'll make sure they don't case Julian Jake. You need to get to Class- get into SOLDIER, Kunsel, I'm serious," Zack said, looking his friend in the eye, "if you do, they can't get you." Kunsel winked at Zack and took off, and Zack stood. He needed to find Angeal.

Unbeknownst to him, a particular auburn-haired SOLDIER had seen and heard everything.

A_ _ _N