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 Zexydemyx66, who had an awesome review moments after posting. I'm already far ahead of you, dude! I'll have this finished today. Sorry if it gets a little creepy- and sob worthy.

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Chapter Thirty: Those Who Cared.

Ben, after watching the message left by Marshall, was all fired up and ready to go. He knew that Marshall and Daniel cared more about the Cadets than anyone, perhaps even old Ben himself. He knew that the Ring was far too overconfident than to just dispose of Daniel like they did with the rest of Daniel's team, and so was hidden inside the Warehouse somewhere.

Ben knew where to look.

Weaving his way expertly through the traps, relying on memory, instinct, and the map, he found himself in front of a locked door. Using his "skills," Ben masterfully cut the lock and entered the room silently and quickly- intent on grabbing Daniel and getting the hell out of this God-forsaken place.

What he saw terrified him.

In front of him, on a stone table, was an open coffin. Inside it, clothed in nothing but the bottoms to his Cadet Captain uniform, was the missing Daniel Marks. The poor man looked like a skeleton. His bones stuck out oddly from starvation, and one could clearly see all of his ribs. His knees looked like awkward little bumps on twigs. His face had sunken in. He had clearly been beaten and tortured countless times over the period of his captivity- some of them were months old, festering or already scarred, and some of them were new, still bruised and bleeding.

For better or for worse, Captain Daniel Marks was still alive.

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Julian Jake, as a Physician, had seen death, dying, and of course, dead people, before. It was in his job description, for Gaia's sake. He had years and years under his belt. But that didn't mean that the guy was prepared for what he saw next.

The work of a madman… so thought Julian Jake as he made his way down past the rows of bodies. None of these boys look to be even eighteen yet. None of them are younger than fifteen, excepting three or four. They must weed out the ones who never get to be Cadets and take them here… Julian shuddered. They had all died in the past six or seven days, upon closer examination. Julian had a talented eye, and with all these years under his belt… he was a "pro," as sick as that sounds.

A whimper made Julian nearly jump out of his skin. Turning around, he found the source- a poor boy, probably only sixteen years old, was laying about three rows away. Julian all but ran to his side.

The poor thing was emaciated. Starved-looking and obviously in a lot of pain. His eyes widened as he saw Julian Jake, but he couldn't do more than whimper- he couldn't speak. His eyes were a dull dark brown and he had shoulder-length dark hair. He looked a little like Marshall had when he was younger, Julian thought. He looked the boy over and realized that he was far too late to save him.

The boy grabbed hold of Julian and wept. He knew Julian- every Cadet knew Julian. The Physician was not only kind, but he was their hero. He saved them when none of the scientists did. He was the reason that so many of them got saved on the field.

Julian took the boy in his arms. As a Physician, and as a Human being, his heart went out to the boy whom he could not save. He felt terrible- he knew the boy would only suffer more if he left him here. Very slowly, Julian pulled out a small syringe he knew he'd need- it would stop the boy's heart and give him a very fast, painless death. "I'm sorry… I couldn't save you... but rest assured… the ones who did this will be punished." Julian murmured. The boy grinned weakly at him with the last of his strength.

"I'm glad… you're one of those…who care." The boy whispered, allowing Julian to inject the special serum into his neck. His grateful eyes slid closed.

Julian held back his tears, and lay the boy back down.

He had a job to do.

A_ _ _N