Final Fantasy VII: Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Summary: "((An Angeal x Zack, Sephiroth x Genesis story)) As things finally start to heat up in more ways than one, and world-shattering decisions are made, and as the ShinRa's top 1st Class Generals finally open their eyes to the terrifying reality of The Ring, they learn not only of a sacred promise, but of the sacrifice made by the man who they only knew as SOLDIER, a man who gave his freedom and his life for others, and of a beautiful letter, handwritten by a desperate young hero-to-be, who pleads not for his life, but that of the man he treasures above his own life. Will the remaining 1st Classes make the right decision- and is even more suffering in order? Or will they all just be included in the final body count?"
Warning: "This will be a Yaoi ((male x male)), first off. It will have rape, reference to rape and childhood abuse, and also 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, and will not receive any more complaints and/or hate mail because you have hereby been warned."
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, so I hope not too see ((as flattering as it would be, actually)) a copied character of mine without my written consent: 1st Class SOLIDER Marshall Willowstaff, Cadet Captain Benjamin ((Ben)) Adler, Captain Daniel Marks, and Head Physician Julian Jake."
Author's Note: To nb1989, who's very pleasant review came to me late last night while I was watching the original animated Batman shows. Thanks for your help buddy! Also to my favorite reviewers, who've been with me the entire time! You know who you are!
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Chapter Twenty-nine: To Rest in Peace.
When Angeal entered Sephiroth's apartment, he was kind of surprised. Julian Jake was sitting on Sephiroth's couch, garbed in his usual off-work clothes- a pair of dark blue jeans, and a sleeveless white turtleneck. His high-heeled combat boots, along with his six-foot staff, were laid out on the table in front of him, while his wire-rimmed glasses were pinned onto the top of his turtleneck. A lit cigarette was in Julian's mouth, and he hummed contentedly to a tune Angeal vaguely recognized as he loaded his three-barreled silver shotgun with bullets the size of the top of Angeal's thumb.
Angeal wrinkled his nose in disapproval.
Next to Julian was Ben Adler. Adler was dressed in his full-out Captain uniform, which was something the old man never really did except to look more professional on important assignments or days. His hair had been combed out of his face for once, showing off startlingly ice-blue eyes. He was doing the same thing Julian was doing, minus the cheerful humming and cigarette.
"There is no smoking in my apartment." Sephiroth's voice startled Julian, and the good ((if only slightly deviant)) Physician sheepishly used a clear Materia orb to blow out the smoke and finish of the cigarette. "You'll give yourself lung cancer. You should know better." Angeal admonished. Julian gave Angeal a dark look as he quickly put his glasses back on and pulled on his boots.
"I get enough of that from my dear old man at home."
Angeal shook his head just as Sephiroth entered the room. The silver-haired General looked just like he would just before an attack on Wutai forces or on a powerful monster. His eyes, however, were a furious Mako green, signifying his growing anger toward those who had taken his best friend and lover away from him, and Angeal knew that they would not be leaving until Sephiroth's vengeance had been wrought upon The Ring and Sheldon Anderson.
Angeal handed over the diagram of the building to Adler, who raised his eyebrows. "Looks like we've got ourselves a way in…" He muttered darkly. Taking out a pen, he adjusted one or two things. "Zack, and Marshall, I believe, got most of this correct. But some of the security around Daniel has been positioned around the center Warehouse wall instead. If I am correct, Zack and Genesis will be with the others intended for execution. If we're lucky, we can get there before that happens."
"There will be no luck involved," Sephiroth replied, simply, taking the document from Adler. "We will get Genesis and Zack away from them. We will destroy The Ring."
Adler smiled slightly. "Right."
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Julian Jake volunteered to be the one to create a distraction. He said he had an idea that may just keep Anderson and his cronies busy. Angeal reminded Julian to distract the guards as well, so there would be no chance of a hostage situation. Ben, of course, was going to go after Daniel Marks. After that, Julian and Ben would begin evacuating everyone ((including themselves)); killing as many Ring members as they could find- they would leave no member alive. Sephiroth and Angeal would rescue Genesis and Zack, burn the Warehouse to the ground- and then go after Sheldon Anderson.
The Cadet Corp area was as silent as a tomb. Julian, as stealthy and quiet as ever, melted into the darkness of Warehouse 81 as they approached. Sephiroth nodded at Ben and murmured, "Remember what we went over. You and Julian are to get Daniel and the Cadets out. Nothing else. Understood?" Sephiroth asked in a voice barely above moving his lips. Ben nodded. His eyes were full of fire.
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"Warehouse 81" was actually a gargantuan apartment complex, turned into a mostly "unused" Warehouse soon after it had been abandoned. The massive structure stood almost menacingly on the edge of the Cadet Corps. In its prime ((and less twisted days)), it once housed over five-hundred Cadets and the entire staff before ShinRa decided that it did not want all its men stationed in one place. The building had been left to rot, as nobody seemed to feel the need to tear the damned thing down.
Now, the building, according to Zack and Marshall's drawing, it housed not only Sheldon Anderson, but also the members of The Ring that were not part of ShinRa at all. It housed also the victims slated for torture and death. Daniel Marks would be in one of the various "torture houses," inside the Warehouse. Genesis and Zack were probably in the main "auditorium," where the murders were to take place tonight. If not there, then the best guess was that they would be on one of the highest floors.
In Marshall's chicken-scratch handwriting, it noted thus:
In the entire complex, I have been warned that there are traps around every corner. However, the Runners have reported that the higher you go, the more deadly and the more traps are hidden. For on the highest floors, it is said that it is where Anderson and his "favorites" are hidden.
In addition to the map and the letter ((which Angeal carried in his pocket since finding it)) Marshall had apparently left a hidden message in his room. Before going down to the Cadet Corps, the group had unsealed Marshall's room and entered, finding it as immaculate as ever. On his bed was a laptop- Marshall's personal laptop. Deep in the SOLDIER files was a message from Marshall that had been labeled "For SOLDIER 1st Class" in a different font and different style than the others.
The password was "Ring." It was another letter- but this time, one from Marshall himself. A recorded message that was dated the very same day he was murdered.
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Marshall Willowstaff had shoulder-length, dark chocolate brown hair and even darker eyes.He was wearing a white, sleeveless turtleneck and jeans. His shotgun was belted across his back, and his staff leaned against the bed beside him. He sat on the very place he would leave his laptop after his message.
"My fellow 1st Class SOLDIERs, if you are truly them, I bid you, listen to me," Marshall began in his usual low, gentle, but firm tone. "My time is up, for this very day, I know, is the day I return to the LifeStream." He said this matter-of-factly, as if it didn't bother him- but his eyes were sad.
Unbearably sad. He looked close to tears.
"Before that happens, I have something I must tell you all, something that may yet save so many innocents from being tortured and then murdered, like I was. Like so many children before me were. I hope that one day, if not soon, then within this year, this message is found, so that no more blood is shed, and no more innocent children are destroyed. This message, when ended, will unleash a powerful virus on this computer, destroying the laptop and this message completely, as if it never existed. So, I beg of you all, listen to me and what I have to say."
"Within the Cadet Corps, the Warehouse 81 stands. Within it, horrible abuses are carried out by a man fired by ShinRa. His name is Sheldon Anderson, former Captain. He is a brutal, cruel man, one who has caused much suffering. He is the mastermind behind the Ring, a brothel that runs out of ShinRa and into Midgar and the slums below. The Ring forces the Cadets and sometimes 3rd Class SOLDERs under his control to sell themselves to other men. If one refuses to do so, he is raped, tortured, and ultimately murdered, his body fed to monsters that lay in wait in the Wastes."
"I was once a Captain myself, and I have seen firsthand what the Ring is capable of. I transferred to 1st Class SOLDIER after I was attacked myself." As if to prove what he was saying was true, Marshall took a small cup of water, and poured it over his left arm. Scars, thin and many, began to appear on that arm. Marshall did the same to his face and other arm. "You see, these scars were made from not only that one encounter, but from many years of the same kind of torture."
"I am not doing this because I am bitter about the things that happened to me. These scars are well hidden, none but those who have seen them themselves know about them. I am not afraid to die, to return to the LifeStream. I am dying from their poison already- I shall be dead this time tomorrow regardless of whether or not I go to Wutai to be ambushed and murdered by the Ring disguised as Wutai warriors. I do this because I want those already dead and gone, those spirits disquieted by Sheldon Anderson, to rest easy at last. I want to be able to rest in death, not lust for revenge that I shall never taste for myself."
"For you, my fellow 1st Class SOLDIERs, I leave one of the best kept secrets in ShinRa history. Within the black leather-bound spiral journal under my pillow are details of the Warehouse 81, regarding their secrets and their plans and their traps. I hope that you all would grant thus my dying wish: destroy the Ring, to allow not only I, your comrade, but those whose lives were destroyed by the Ring already, the chance to rest in peace. This I beg of you."
"It's time to open your eyes. Open your eyes to the terrifying world around you. It is time to prove to the Cadets that you care- that their lives are not just tools to be used."
Marshall Willowstaff gives them a shaky smile. A sparkling, solitary tear runs down his cheek. "I have put young Zack Fair in charge of the Runners. Angeal, forgive me for putting your student in danger, but he is the only boy capable of doing what I have charged him with. I hope against everything that you all survive and live and that no more lives are taken by the Ring…"
The SOLDIER looks up as there is a sharp tap on his door, followed by a voice, muffled by the closed door. Marshall's face turns serious and he wipes the tears from his eyes. He looks back at the recorder and nods once. "Goodbye, SOLDIER 1st Class. I hope that you will heed this message, and stop the Ring." With that, Marshall saluted the recorder, and pushed something on the computer.
Instantly, just like Marshall had promised, his laptop crashed and turned off the moment he closes the laptop recorder. After examining it, Ben said that the components inside the deepest core of the computer had been badly corrupted, and that the laptop would never run again.
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