Discrete Viewpoints
Shelke Rui, ten years old and officially dead, sat under a desk in an abandoned office on the thirty-fourth floor of the ShinRa building wearing a virtual reality helmet. Vincent was lurking somewhere in the shadows nearby, keeping an eye on her as she hacked into the security robots' control network and fiddled with the AI targeting protocols. Once she's set off the robots and the intruder alarms she would be taken back to the apartment to wait, but her part in this little operation was still vital: she would be setting everything off and ensuring most of the Turks would be busy fixing what she'd broken so Weiss, Nero and Cloud could sneak in and out of the Science Department Headquarters without being noticed. As she continued her tinkering she spotted Dr. Hollander on the unmanned camera feed in the stairwell on the forty-fifth floor; he must have been trying to get into the archive again, but how in Hel's halls had he gotten away from Angeal?
Aware that the idiot professor could easily ruin everything if got caught now, Shelke quickly checked that everybody else was in position, sent a message to Genesis telling him to loose the Deepgrounders, activated the security robots' modified protocols and triggered the ShinRa building's intruder alarm. As red lights flashed and sirens blared the ten-year-old was snatched up and bundled out of the office's open window just before the steel shutter could slam down. Safe in Vincent's arms as the former Turk bounced them off the side of the building and across the scaffolding down to normal rooftop level, Shelke let herself be carried halfway across Sector One before persuading her red-eyed guardian to put her down on the street below.
"I can walk the rest of the way by myself, Vincent; I can protect myself. You need to go and make sure everything goes to plan."
"Be safe," the former Turk said forcibly before vanishing back the way they'd come in a swirl of red.
Shelke made it safely back to the apartment building, not in the slightest bit perturbed by the distant crashes, screams and monsters running across alleys: she was wearing an active Enemy Away Materia that Cloud had given her around her neck and passed by unharmed. She'd been in Cloud and Vincent's care for almost a year now and had learnt and grown more than she'd previously believed possible. She could now defend herself with both weapons and Materia, disguise herself effectively in several different ways within minutes and blend in with a crowd, had travelled all over the Eastern Continent and even been to the islands around Mideel. She was also getting very good at using her own unique gifts, helped along by Weiss' tutoring. The memories she'd copied from Cloud acted as a kind of internal advice system, enabling her to get a sort-of second opinion on things. Of course it wasn't the real Cloud, but it was good enough in a pinch.
The apartment was empty when she let herself in and gloomy from the overcast and polluted sky outside; now she had to wait patiently for Weiss and Nero to get back so they could all go home together. Sighing, the little girl found herself some sandwiches in the fridge and fished out a pack of cards to pass the time with.
Zack had not expected to be summoned to Lazard's office on the morning of the first of April. Sighing, he trudged over to the lifts and made his way to the fifty-first floor where the Director had his office. He'd spent the past month and a half stamping out renegade Wutai forces in and around Midgar and fighting various battle simulations for professor Hojo, both of which had left him with a bad taste in his mouth.
On reaching the office he was surprised to find both Sephiroth and Cloud waiting there with Lazard. The Silver General had been impossible to catch up with in the past month and a half, always busy on missions with his blond protégé or locked in his office doing paperwork. The second-class wondered how Cloud's Corel standoff with the Turks was going; on the few brief occasions he'd been able to chat with the chocobo-blond in the hallways since the SOLDIER third got back from Wutai Zack had noticed that passing Turks always paused to glance at Cloud. It was positively disturbing the way they treated him, like the short blond was a sleeping Midgar zolom or something.
"Congratulations," Lazard said, swivelling his chair to face Zack, "Starting today you are a SOLDIER first-class. You have an appointment scheduled tomorrow afternoon in the Medical centre on floor forty-seven to sort out your next Mako injections."
Zack blinked. He'd completely forgotten he was being considered for promotion. "Sorry sir, but I have to say I don't feel particularly excited," he admitted honestly.
"I suppose that isn't much of a surprise; a lot has happened in the past months after all," Lazard conceded. "Now Zack I know this is a bit sudden but I called you up here because I have a favour to ask."
Zack turned to glance over at where Sephiroth was brooding and Cloud was staring at a fixed point across the room, face obscured by his helmet. "Sending me on another high-level mission, sir?" he bit out.
"I apologise for how the Banora mission turned out," Sephiroth replied steadily. It had been six whole months since Zack had seen Seph, let alone spoken to him; they hadn't interacted at all since they were stationed together in Wutai and the spiky-haired brunet was still a little resentful that the silver General's reticence had foisted the disastrously painful Banora mission on him."
"It's fine," Zack said, privately grateful for the apology. "What is it this time?"
"First you go and get changed into your new uniform," Lazard said. "It's waiting in the room through there," the Director pointed at a door. Zack went through and found a small bathroom and changing room with his black uniform waiting on a counter top. He changed quickly, moved all his Materia over to his new armlet, laced up his boots, checked himself in the mirror and hurried back into the office.
"The company has decided that Genesis and Angeal must be assassinated," Lazard said as soon as Zack was back in front of the desk.
"You're asking me to do that?" Zack blurted out in horror.
"No, the ShinRa army will be," Lazard explained.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"They don't trust you to do it," Sephiroth said, smoothly taking over the conversation, "because SOLDIER solidarity and camaraderie would dampen your resolve."
"Hey!" Zack protested. Sephiroth turned to face him:
"Which is why I'll be going."
Zack slowly turned his head to look the Silver General in the eye. Angeal was Seph's uncle for Shiva's sake! Was the General really implying that he would kill a member of his family for ShinRa or was he just trying to fool Lazard? "To kill them?" he challenged.
There was a pause as Sephiroth smirked, the quiet dragging on until it was suddenly interrupted by alarms squawking as emergency lights flashed red and steel shutters sealed the windows.
"We have intruders!" Lazard exclaimed.
"Where?" Zack demanded.
"In here," the Director replied in shock. "Sephiroth, go up to the President's office. Zack, take care of the entrance."
"Leave it to me," Zack agreed, glad to have something to do to distract himself.
"Cloud, follow," Sephiroth snapped as he strode out of the office. The third-class swiftly caught up with his mentor, silent and obedient. Zack wondered a little at that but guessed that the blond was trying to make a good impression on people who might question his obedience and competence. He was after all under a great deal of scrutiny being the Silver General's protégé and all, more scrutiny than Zack had ever been under as Angeal's student.
Since Seph and Cloud had to take the lift to get up to the President's office Zack headed for the stairs. It was a long, long way down and he had to hurry.
Cloud entered the elevator at his General's heels and as the doors closed he flipped open his PHS and pressed the 'call' button, alerting Nero that the moment had arrived to 'infiltrate' the building. As they ascended towards the fifty-ninth floor the lift was briefly filled by a cloud of absolute darkness, which receded to reveal two more anonymously uniformed third-classes. Cloud smirked; Weiss and Nero's disguises were perfect, the gauntlets concealing the youngest teen's Dark tattoos and both Valentine boys' distinctive hair and eyes hidden under their full helmets and visors.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at the new additions but did not comment as they changed lifts. The Silver General swiped his keycard and pressed the buttons for both the sixty-seventh and sixty-ninth floor and waited for the doors to close before speaking:
"I assume you will be able to leave without needing my assistance?" he murmured as the elevator rose further into the heart of the ShinRa Headquarters.
"Yes, General Sephiroth sir," Nero replied meekly. The youngest Valentine did not look noticeably out of place in his uniform, being tall for a thirteen-year-old; he was as tall as Cloud, who was fourteen and a half. Weiss was taller than both of them, just past Sephiroth's shoulder at exactly fifteen years old. Which reminded him...
"Happy birthday," Cloud whispered with a smile. Weiss smirked back happily.
"Indeed, best wishes," Sephiroth said dryly as the lift stopped, "and good luck." The doors opened and the trio in sky-blue SOLDIER uniforms stepped out into the Science Department's main floor. Behind them the lift doors slid shut again and the elevator continued upwards, taking Sephiroth onwards to the President's office only a few levels higher.
Cloud swallowed hard, ignored the butterflies in his stomach and the panicking people in white coats and led his little strike team around a few corners to the out-of-the-way little room which held the Science Department's central server. Now for the risky part...
Three different points of view as the ShinRa building is plunged into chaos. The herald of OMEGA must be so proud of his students.
