The floor to the training rooms stood empty and dark save for minimal lighting along the edges of the hallway to guide any overnight workers and the clock outside the elevator, its glowing numbers reading 2238. The lack of lighting didn't matter much, though, as SOLDIERS rarely had issues seeing in the dark. All of them felt rather relieved that no one was there to see them in their 'dressed down' state. (Sephiroth had to admit, the idea of explaining his t-shirt – especially under his coat – did not appeal to him.)
They made it to the training room and Sephiroth immediately took off his coat. The leather and his shoulder pauldrons helped with defense, but it didn't sit right over the shirt and would likely distract him more than anything else… and he wanted to go all out. Well, as all out as he could inside the ShinRa building.
He made a single motion towards the open area and moved no further. Unlike when in the privacy of his apartment, the T-shirt just felt wrong to take into a fight. He couldn't decide if the reason stemmed from the environment or his mindset. After a moment's contemplation, he decided that for now, the reason didn't matter, so he took it off as well.
Apparently Genesis felt the same as he, too, took his coat off and hung it in the protected closet next to Sephiroth's own coat and now t-shirt. The red-head took one look at Sephiroth's bare chest before shrugging and taking his own fake-ruffle shirt off. Probably a good call as otherwise it may very well end up in tatters.
Angeal had grabbed both his boots and shoulder pauldrons when he'd grabbed his sword. He finished putting them on and paused mid-motion into a stretch next to where he'd laid the Buster as he caught sight of his companions. He rolled his eyes.
"No armor? At all? Really?" he asked.
Sephiroth just blinked at him. "No."
"Or boots?" He directed just at Sephiroth.
"Do you want us to go all the way back to our respective apartments," Genesis started as he took a seat and began to stretch as well, "get our normal gear and then come back here?"
Angeal didn't look happy about that. "It would be safer."
"Perhaps," Genesis conceded with a nod, "but I have far too much aggression to get out to wait."
Their dark-haired friend just rolled his eyes. "Good thing I usually keep a barrier materia in the buster then."
"It is," Sephiroth agreed as he, too, began to stretch. After a couple of minutes preparing in silence, they all stood and faced each other, backing away a short distance and taking various stances.
"Genesis?" Sephiroth said, nodding his head to let him know he could call out the beginning of the spar. When they faced off like this, if Genesis didn't win, he'd been known to… complain before. It had become almost a habit to just let him start to head off some of his (useless) points.
The red head nodded in acknowledgment. "The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess," he said, then launched himself forward, signaling the beginning of the spar. Angeal and Sephiroth followed with their own attacks and for the next several minutes, Sephiroth lost himself in the rhythm of the fight.
It felt different, though. He wasn't sure why, but he had to work harder to fend off both Angeal and Genesis (who usually teamed up against him, taking occasional jabs at each other) but also somehow felt safer than he normally did, despite the several missing safety precautions. It took him a minute to realize that was because he didn't feel the typical bloodlust from Genesis, which usually preceded his attacks. That made it more difficult to predict where he would strike. It surprised him, but he didn't feel it was hurting the spar, so it was also not unwelcome.
He didn't know how long they went against each other, blocking, attacking and parrying, but he was positive it took longer to elevate the spar to include magic, and then low-tier limit breaks, than it normally would. Once they reached that point, it was usually over anyway as the room tended to fall apart.
This room was no different.
He'd fill out the paperwork to fix it in the morning.
"Well, I am feeling better now," Genesis said as he healed up some small cuts he'd gotten on his arms. Sephiroth tended to some scratches and bruises he had on his torso. Angeal may or may not need to have a hairdresser look at hiding a burnt patch on his hair, but thankfully it was dark enough to begin with that few would really notice. "I will admit, I just imagined Jenova's face every time I slashed at something."
"I rather imagined Hojo's," Sephiroth said thoughtfully.
"Hollander," Angeal said. The other two stared at him. "What? We all know he's involved somehow. Zack's explanations said as much and it sounded like isn't exactly innocent… and I would have trusted him with something serious before all of this."
"Why?" Sephiroth asked, remembering the forgetful man he'd only just interacted with himself.
"He's been my doctor since I can remember, even back in Banora," Angeal shrugged. "Are we going to discuss everything we just found out now? Or are we going to wait until the end of the game?"
"I vote wait," Genesis said casually as he stretched. "Otherwise we may have to destroy another training room."
Well, he had a point.
"I also think we should wait until we have all of the information we can get," Sephiroth said. "I… am reluctant to even make a move against Hojo until all is known."
Genesis sighed. "As much as I… dislike the reasoning for that opinion, it is prudent."
"And honorable," Angeal added.
The red-head rolled his eyes.
"So," Angeal said, "It's just after 2300 now. Should we head back to the game and figure out what's going on with the Huge Materia?" He checked his watch. "If we play until 1 am, that should give us a couple of hours of sleep we'll need for tomorrow."
"And then we have the weekend," Genesis stated.
"SOLDIERS work on the weekends too," Sephiroth pointed out.
"But shorter hours!"
The silver-haired man conceded with a nod. "True. And getting through the game as quickly as possible would be the most ideal."
A sigh from Genesis. "Well, then, back to the game it is."
"Aren't games… supposed to be fun?" Sephiroth asked, dreading the upcoming session almost as much as Genesis seemed to.
"Most games don't foretell your future self attempting to end the world with an invading alien entity," Angeal pointed out sardonically.
"And most of them aren't unpredictably true to reality in far too many uncomfortable ways," Genesis added on.
Sephiroth had to concede those points too.
Within minutes they were dressed and about to head to the elevator, but a pair of janitors had apparently decided to stop and chat right outside it. The trio waited for a few seconds for the pair to pass on, but neither of the workers seemed inclined to hurry. None of the SOLDIERS, it seemed, wanted to be caught out dressed as they were.
Finally, an annoyed Angeal gestured behind him and whispered softly. "Stairs or service elevator?"
Genesis scoffed equally softly. "Service elevator, seeing as they are so inclined to take – or at least hinder – ours."
A couple of minutes later, the service elevator put them at the opposite end of the hall on their apartment level where they saw a familiar figure sitting in front of Angeal's door with what looked like a large PHS in his hand, although it couldn't have been an actual PHS because he looked to be talking into one perched on his shoulder.
The youth hadn't noticed them and exclaimed, "Alright, this time I'm taking you out! BOMOMACHU! I choose you!" then pushed a button and pointed dramatically at the screen. The three SOLDIERS paused and exchanged glances. Sephiroth couldn't help but be grateful that this floor only had the SOLDIER First apartments, and that the trio were the only Firsts currently stationed at the tower. It seemed the others agreed.
"That is your protege," Genesis muttered to Angeal.
The larger SOLDIER stepped forward, hand on the bridge of his nose. Before he could say anything, though, Zack let out a whine.
"Dude! How could I lose to your Cactaurizard! I totally had the type advantage there!" A pause, then "Fine. But I still have my backup of— Dude! Your Bottomswellasaur has Hyperbeam?! Who even does that?!"
A cackling laugh came over the line.
"Zack," Angeal finally managed to get in.
Immediately, the kid shot to his feet. "Angeal! Sephiroth, Sir! Genesis, Sir! I have your report!" With that, he held up his hands and presented the miniature game-station which had cartoonish renditions of strange beasts only vaguely resembling anything the General had ever seen in real life before. They seemed to be fighting each other on behalf of a boy in a baseball cap.
Sephiroth looked at it, then up at Zack pointedly. Angeal sighed in exasperation and Genesis snickered. At that point, Zack must have realized he was not presenting what he'd wanted and he snatched his hands back.
"Oh… uh… Sorry. Was just playing a game with Kunzel while I waited."
He seemed to remember the device on his shoulder when it chimed. Zack started then pulled the device away from his ear and looked at it. "Hey, did you hang… oh. He messaged me." Then he pushed a few buttons and proceeded to read said message out loud. "'Going to assume you gotta go, see you tomorrow, thanks for the distraction.' Heh, no problem, bro. I needed it just as much." He grinned up at the Firsts. "Kunsel's awesome like that."
Seeing all three of the higher ranked SOLDIERS in front of him seemed to bring him back to the present.
"Oh, right!" he said and then looked around at the floor he'd been sitting on only moments before, eyes eventually landing on a sheaf of paper behind him near the door frame he'd been leaning against. His eyes lit up as he snapped his phone closed, bent down and retrieved the papers before whirling back around and holding them out.
Sephiroth took the papers with a nod of his head and began to skim through the first page. He didn't get far before he decided that now was probably not the best time to go much further with that, especially with what they'd just decided, so he looked up at the SOLDIER Third.
"Well done, Zack."
The boy beamed. Then he bounced eagerly. Angeal had given him an apt nickname.
"So, does that mean I can come in and see the game you guys were talking about?"
Next to Sephiroth, Angeal frowned and stepped forward. "Zack, are you sure?" he asked. "You seemed really upset about your game earlier."
That took some of the wind out of the boy's sails. "Y-yeah," he said. "I was upset. I still am, actually. But you guys'll be there! So this'll be way different! Like a party!"
Somehow, Sephiroth couldn't help but think that Zack was in for a disappointment.
"This isn't a joke," he finally said. "You need to take this seriously."
Zack's smile dimmed again, but instead of sad or worried, he just looked determined. "Oh, trust me, I am. But," and the brightness in his countenance came right back. It was… kind of impressive. "How can I pass up the chance to hang with the top SOLDIERS; my mentor and my role models?"
Sephiroth blinked, and then felt himself relax a little. Being around someone who looked up to him so – who he had inspired in a manner quite unlike the objectification he was used to – built his confidence and self esteem in ways that nothing else really could.
"Wait, 'role models'?" Genesis asked, looking a little surprised.
Zack rubbed the back of his head. "Well… yeah. I mean I know that Sephiroth is the face of the company and all, but you and Angeal are still pretty well known, at least within the company, and you're all super strong and smart and… yeah. Why wouldn't I look up to that?"
He continued to just grin at them while Sephiroth turned a raised eyebrow on his friends. He wasn't sure why he felt smug, but he did. Genesis looked gobsmacked and Angeal just kind of warm and proud.
Finally, Genesis cleared his throat and turned to Angeal. "I officially take back anything bad I've ever said about your protege up to this point. He apparently has far better taste than I initially gave him credit for."
Zack grinned larger, showing teeth. "Thanks," he said, but then paused and frowned. "Hey, you've been saying bad things about me?"
Genesis simply swept past him and further down the hall towards Sephiroth's apartment
"Well, Sephiroth, will you open your door?"
Zack sputtered for a second until Angeal put a hand on his shoulder as Sephiroth unlocked his apartment.
"Oh, by the way," the puppy spoke as they all entered, "What exactly are you all wearing?"
Sephiroth did not have to withhold a groan. He had more patience and self discipline than that. Genesis grumbled under his breath, so quietly even Sephiroth couldn't make his words out, although from the tone, that was probably for the better.
Fortunately, Angeal seemed to sense his apprehension along with Genesis's mixed ire and defensiveness because he intercepted Zack.
"There are more important things to focus on, Zack," he said reproachfully.
The SOLDIER Third pouted. "But they're great! I just wanna know where they got them and if they're still in stock."
Sephiroth blinked in surprise and Genesis stopped grumbling, a similar expression on his face.
Oh. Information gathering. While still embarrassing, Sephiroth found it much easier to handle that. He answered while he unlocked his door. "It was gifted. But I first saw it in a store in sector two, on the main road. It was a while ago, though."
"Mine was also a gift, but I'm unaware of where it originated," Genesis said with his normal nonchalance. Revealingly, he also seemed mollified. "My fan club likely knows."
Sephiroth walked into the living room of his apartment and frowned. They had left it rather messy and he didn't like the idea of Zack seeing that and thinking not cleaning up after oneself was acceptable… but then, he couldn't really do anything about it at the moment. They also didn't have a fourth chair, and Sephiroth didn't exactly make a habit of entertaining guests, so he didn't have anything else for Zack to sit on.
Still, he strode over to the game station as the others followed him in, and flipped the system and the screen on while he was over there.
"Oh, hey, this apartment looks just like yours, Angeal. Except… cleaner, I suppose?" Zack was saying as he followed his mentor into the room. Then he froze when he saw the state of the table and all the snacks still on it. "I… take that back."
"That is not a common occurrence," Sephiroth said as he walked back to the couch. Hopefully the boy would take his word at that.
Genesis strode over to one corner and propped his sword there and out of the way. Angeal did the same.
"Man, do you guys carry your weapons everywhere?" Zack asked as he watched on.
"Yes," Genesis responded.
Angeal rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him, pup. We just came back from a spar."
Zack's eyes widened. "This late at night? Are you all okay?" He suddenly seemed very nervous and concerned. "No one got… you know… hurt or anything… right?"
"We needed to let off some steam and yes, we're all fine," his mentor replied with an easy shrug that seemed to put Zack at ease. "Come on. Find a seat. You'll have to sit on the ground, if that's okay."
Sephiroth was relieved Angeal had addressed it so he didn't have to. Still, he was hosting…
"I apologize for not having the appropriate amount of seating," he said.
Zack looked over to him, blinking for a second before breaking into a grin. "Nah, it's fine. I don't mind sitting on the floor! I was on the floor in the hallway, after all."
With that, he plopped down right in front of where Angeal had sat, leaning back against the arm of the couch. Then he eyed the table curiously as Genesis and Sephiroth took their previous seats.
"Um… can I have some of that? Most of those do look like snacks I gave you and I didn't have dinner."
"What?" Angeal asked, frowning. "You should know better, Zack. Enhanced people require more food to function properly. Though, there's plenty of leftovers in the fridge if you want some." He glanced over at Sephiroth and Genesis in question, wanting to know if they were alright with that. Sephiroth nodded and Genesis shrugged with a mumble of 'you paid for it'.
"Really? Great! I'll be right back!" Zack exclaimed, then hopped up with far too much energy and rushed into the other room.
"Don't make a mess!" Angeal called after him.
"Yes, sir!" Zack replied happily.
Meanwhile the menu to 'continue' or start a 'new game' popped up. All three of them looked at the controller dubiously.
"Perhaps we should just have the puppy play it?" Genesis suggested.
Angeal shot a deadpan expression at his friend. "We've been playing for over a disc."
"He played the other game," Genesis pointed out.
"Not all games are the same!" Zack called from the kitchen. Then his voice quieted and he muttered, "Besides, I really don't want to."
The three SOLDIERS exchanged glances, but then Sephiroth sighed and reached for the controller. "I have played the least. And if there is another 'break' from… some of the recent revelations, then I should be fine."
Genesis snorted and Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at the red-head.
"That's fine, Sephiroth," Angeal said with a smile. "Thank you."
The Silver General nodded at his friend and clicked on the 'continue' button, selecting the game they'd just saved and waiting for it to load. After a couple of seconds, it did, showing Cid standing in an empty field outside of Corel.
"Right," Genesis said, "we need to get to the airship and then to," he chuckled a little, "Fort Condor."
Angeal snorted softly and Sephiroth shook his head ever so slightly, but otherwise said nothing as he began to move Cid around on the screen, hoping for a way back to the ship without having to go back through the mountain pass from Corel to the reactor.
In the other room, Zack spoke up. "Oh! These are from that one place Angeal likes and are microwave safe! Awesome!" Then the microwave that Sephiroth never used came on.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth ran into a battle. It wasn't difficult to beat and soon he had Cid on his way, running around the perimeter of the area. He found no way through, although he did find several more very easy fights.
During one of them, Zack came in carrying one of the take-home boxes and eating out of it. "This is one of my favorite restaurants, too! Thanks for letting me eat this!"
"You're welcome, Zack," Angeal said with a fond smile. Then he gestured to the screen. "Sephiroth, I think you're going to have to go back through Corel."
"What the heck is that?" Zack asked as he took his seat again. "That's nothing like the game I played."
That seemed to spark all of their interests.
"Oh?" Genesis asked as Sephiroth stubbornly continued to wander around, looking for a way to the airship. "How was it different?"
"Well it had waaaaaayyyy better graphics," the boy said, blinking in confusion. "And also, I was the main character. Who is that?"
"Cid," Sephiroth said.
"Who?" Zack asked.
Genesis frowned. "I was going to tell him that is Cloud," he pouted.
"That looks nothing like Cloud!" Zack protested.
"Cid Highwind," Sephiroth said as he finally gave up and turned to head back to Corel. He got into a couple more battles first. "A pilot currently working for ShinRa."
Zack took a bite of his meat, then frowned. "He's with ShinRa right now?"
"Not in the game."
"In Real Life?" the youngest SOLDIER asked.
"Yes."
"Oh," he said, not looking like he understood at all. "I thought the game was about Cloud. What's going on?"
Angeal sighed. "After we fought Game Sephiroth in the Northern Crater, Cloud fell into the Lifestream. We only just found him and Tifa stayed with him. Now everyone else is trying to stop ShinRa from getting the huge materia because Rufus wants to blow up the giant meteor Game Sephiroth called that's about to slam into the planet."
Zack actually turned to stare at his mentor. "Wait, what?!"
Angeal grimly nodded his head as if he'd expected that. "I'd suspected I'd need to start from the beginning."
As Sephiroth took Cid, Barrett and Yuffie through the Corel Mountains, Angeal pulled out his notebook and began to sum up most of the critical main events of the game so far. Much like one would deliver a report, he kept it necessarily brief. It was good practice for when they turned the game over to the Turks. Zack didn't interrupt once.
Just as Sephiroth reached the other side of the path, where they'd parked the airship, Angeal finished his admirably succinct summary.
"So Game Sephiroth," Zack shot an apologetic look at the Silver General that Sephiroth caught out of the corner of his eye, before looking back up at his mentor, "screwed with Cloud's head and he fell in the Lifestream – which is apparently more real than anyone seems to realize these days – and thus Mako. Then he ended up half-way around the world, and now he seems to be catatonic. Meanwhile everyone else is trying to stop a giant Meteor summoned by the black materia?"
"That's the gist of it," Genesis said. "Although the amount of nuance you've missed is astounding."
Angeal shot the red-head an annoyed look, then turned to his superior. "How many hours have we been playing?"
Sephiroth stopped pushing buttons and tried to think back. Then he pressed the start button and brought up the menu. In the corner, it read '26:38'.
The larger SOLDIER turned back to his childhood friend. "I had to summarize twenty six – almost twenty seven – hours of a game in a couple of minutes. Of course I missed things. Everything having to do with the first half of the game, really."
"True," Genesis conceded.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth finally got Cid onto the airship and the screen went straight to the bridge. He had Cid run up to the pilot and then gained control of the ship. He turned her in the approximate direction of Fort Condor.
"So who's the big guy and the girl?" Zack asked before stuffing another fork-full of food in his mouth.
"Barrett Wallace and Yuffie Kisaragi," Sephiroth responded. "One of the leaders of the terrorist cell against ShinRa and the Princess of Wutai."
Zack almost spat out the food.
Genesis snorted in amusement.
"The Princess of Wutai?! How did you get her in your party?"
"We ran into her in a forest," Angeal supplied, a small smirk on his lips. "She tried to rob us."
"And succeeded once we actually reached Wutai," Genesis muttered. Apparently, he still hadn't forgiven her for that.
Zack looked at them as if they'd gone insane. "Why would the Princess of Wutai try to rob anyone?"
That made everyone sober up. "It's… a long story, pup. In the game, Wutai doesn't do too well after the war. The Princess seems to be a little… rebellious and has left her home country in search of materia."
The SOLDIER Third just stared at them for several seconds before looking back at the screen. "I… I think I met her… in my game. In Wutai. She was like… nine."
"Currently, she's seven, if I remember correctly," Genesis volunteered. That didn't seem to help Zack's sudden melancholy.
"H-hey… do you guys know how far in the future this is supposed to happen?"
No one answered for several seconds, but then Angeal finally spoke. "Our best guess is about seven or eight years, depending on the seasons. We… have anywhere from two to three years until… well, Nibelheim."
Sephiroth didn't flinch, but it was a near thing. He'd finally found Fort Condor and landed the airship a little ways away. Zack looked decidedly sick...
"You mean where Nibelheim burns?" he asked quietly. "And where…" he glanced at the General. Sephiroth didn't respond. The younger SOLDIER continued. "I'm almost sixteen… Cloud just turned fourteen… and we're all supposed to deal with this junk in the next two years?"
No one spoke at that.
"We're taking steps, Zack," Angeal finally said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We'll figure it out."
For once, the puppy just kind of dejectedly nodded, looking at his food sadly while Sephiroth went into Fort Condor, climbing a rope and then a rope ladder. Having Cid speak to a man sitting at a table brought up the dialogue box stating that they (meaning AVALANCHE) had come at a good time and that ShinRa had changed their strategy.
"Should we restock?" Genesis asked.
Sephiroth went into the menu and checked. "We have adequate supplies," he replied. Truthfully, they had a veritable armory if they really took into account everything they were supposedly carrying with them.
"Then let's just see what we'll have to do to stop ShinRa from taking this materia," the Commander said, boredly.
"What did you have to do last time?" Zack asked, then took another bite of his food. "This is really good, by the way."
"We had to chase down one train with another train, jump onto the first train, fight our way to the front car and try to stop it from crashing into Corel," Genesis informed him, sounding exasperated.
Zack's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"It was just as ridiculous as it sounds," Sephiroth commented as Cid reached the top of the fort. The man there said they had to fight of ShinRa to stop them from coming…
"How are they going to defend against ShinRa?" Genesis asked. "And why doesn't ShinRa just climb up the rope like AVALANCHE did?"
No one had an answer to that.
The screen switched to a view of what Sephiroth assumed was Fort Condor. He'd never seen it from that angle before, so he wasn't entirely sure. It took them several seconds to realize that they were now playing a strategy game where they had to set up various fortifications to defend against the approaching enemies.
That they had to pay for out of their own money.
"Do they just have people in reserve that they send out when those people will get paid enough?" Genesis asked, frustrated. "If there are so many people willing to go against ShinRa, why aren't they already out there?! Why do we have to pay for them?!"
"Wait," Zack spoke up, "So this isn't normal gameplay?"
Sephiroth spared a glance for the boy. That term certainly made sense, but he'd never heard it before. Why did he get the feeling this would be the first of many new terms?
"No," the Silver General finally said.
"This is the first time we've ever played in this particular area," Angeal explained.
"Oh, so like a minigame?"
The three older SOLDIERS stopped and exchanged glances before all looking at Zack. "What?" he asked, confused at their expressions.
"What is a minigame?" Sephiroth asked slowly.
The boy blinked right back at them. "You… really don't know?"
The other three shook their heads.
The younger teenager blinked and then looked back at the screen. "Oh. Um… well, it's exactly what it says, I suppose. A little game inside of a bigger game. Sometimes it changes the gameplay altogether just for that portion because it keeps the interest up. Otherwise really long games can get kinda boring. Or maybe it's just difficult to fit a particular game inside of the established gameplay, so they change it."
It took Sephiroth several seconds to process that. When he did, he brought a hand to the bridge of his nose.
"So every time the game's controls have changed for a limited time, it's a minigame?"
"Eh," Zack said, putting his hand out and tipping it back and forth. "Kind of. Depends on the context. This is definitely a minigame though, if you're this confused. I'm sure of it. Kinda weird though."
Genesis actually put his forehead in his hand. "It's just more game insanity," he said.
"Game insanity?" Zack asked.
The red-head groaned.
"There have been… many things that make no logical sense," Angeal tried to explain to his protege. "Like the way certain game mechanics work or how certain characters act."
"Or the entire materia system," Genesis muttered.
"It's illogical, but not as bad as we originally thought," Angeal pointed out.
"Oh! Like in my game, the materia was super weird! I mean, I could create different types of materia, but they only had one spell each! I mean, I know we Seconds and Thirds get the bottom of the barrel, but even when I went out and found materia in the game they always only had one spell!"
Genesis looked up in horror. "You're telling me that your materia system in your game was even worse than this one?!"
The Third looked a little taken aback. "Um… maybe?"
"We can't fuse materia in our game," Angeal commented.
"But we can link them for similar results, which is completely valid in real life," Genesis countered.
Meanwhile, Sephiroth went through each and every type of battlement fortification he could put up, calculated the costs and their budget, and put the results in effective areas.
They did not do their job accurately. Or well at all, in his opinion.
But while the others continued to argue about which game had a better materia system, he proceeded to place as many fortifications as he needed while trying to keep it down to as few as possible.
It was, in a word, pointless. Nothing in real life would be like that. Battles and wars were not nearly that predictable or clean. Nor did they have that many… glitches.
It took him about ten minutes (and far too much money in his opinion) for his fortifications to stop the entire oncoming hoard.
(And seriously, where were the SOLDIERS in all of this?! If it was really that important to ShinRa, there should be SOLDIERS!)
Once the last enemy was destroyed, it showed Cid walking back inside the fort to be congratulated by the bald man inside. Then said man turned to look back outside, he recoiled, yelling.
"What's that?" Zack asked, drawing the attention of the other two SOLDIERS to the screen. They all watched as the enormous egg began to crack and then the large bird behind it moved.
"Whoa, I thought that was a statue or something!" Zack said.
"There's no statue on Fort Condor," Genesis snapped back.
"But this is supposed to be a decade in the future!" the younger boy protested. "They could have built a statue."
Well, he had a point.
Then the egg looked like it flew apart and a giant bubble of sorts appeared around the top of the fort with the giant bird inside. Then the egg seemed to explode. A swirl and then a bird-like silhouette appeared inside of it before the bubble dissipated.
The giant bird fell backwards with a squak, trailing feathers.
"Did the condor die?!" Genesis asked, outraged. "After all the money we just spent?! It was for nothing?!"
"Well… weren't the opponents after some huge materia or something?" Zack asked, although he too looked stricken.
"What happened to the egg?" Angeal asked. "It looked like it exploded!"
The scene switched back to inside the fort and the man turned, asking Cid to go outside and check on it. Naturally, they did, turning and heading out the door.
They appeared on top of the fort, only having to walk a short way to where a red materia lay. In the remains of the enormous egg, though, they found what looked like a very large baby bird.
"Those really are terrible graphics," Zack commented.
At that point, the baby bird began to flap its wings and then, after several seconds, took off and flew away.
"Can condors fly as soon as they hatch?" Angeal asked, looking utterly confused.
"No," Genesis and Sephiroth answered at the same time.
The larger SOLDIER sighed. "That, Zack, is game insanity."
Zack blinked at the screen.
"Oh," he said, as if in realization. "Huh. Makes sense… but condor eggs don't explode, do they?"
"No," Genesis and Sephiroth answered again. They glanced at each other, amused.
"And usually, the parents don't die," Angeal said, "I'm sure of that at least. Unless it was the materia and the fact that the egg was laid on top of a reactor?"
"Are you suggesting," the red-head of their group turned to his friend, incredulous, "that the bird mutated… like a monster?"
Angeal shrugged, looking helpless.
The bald man told them to report to his father… whoever that was. Once they climbed down the rope ladder, though, Genesis spoke.
"What was that summon?" he asked.
Sephiroth shook his head and went into the menu. It didn't take them long to find the summon.
Genesis gasped. "Phoenix… a phoenix summon… those are supposed to be extinct!" He said it almost reverently.
"So was Leviathan," Angeal pointed out.
"Too bad we'll have to wait for an egg to be laid on Fort Condor to get it," Zack said as he finished his meal and reached for an accompanying packaged towelette to wipe his hands with.
Genesis glared at the back of Zack's head in agitated annoyance. Zack didn't notice, even as Sephiroth kept playing
Sephiroth had Cid walk up to the man at the table they'd spoken to earlier and he thanked them, told them they were welcome to stop by at any time and how much they appreciated AVALANCHE.
"We can stop there at any time," Genesis said monotonously, still glaring at Zack. "Wow. What a reward."
"We got a phoenix summon," Angeal pointed out.
The red-head paused and thought about that. "Worth it," he finally said with a firm nod. He also stopped glaring, though Sephiroth couldn't say if he'd simply found enough consolation for the time being from the materia in the game, or if he'd given up on Zack noticing the glare. Perhaps both.
The old man gave them the Huge Materia from the reactor.
"How big is a Huge Materia?" Zack asked.
"We haven't actually seen one yet," Angeal responded.
They continued to talk to the man, and Barrett asked what they were fighting for. He had a valid question.
"Wait," Genesis said slowly, "were we just tricked into protecting the giant bird? When we could have just had the huge materia all along?"
"And they made us spend our own money to do it," Angeal added, a frown on his face and arms crossed. "How dishonorable."
"Well… they were trying to protect the bird…" Zack said slowly.
"Then they should have told us and let us make the decision," his mentor said firmly, scowl still in place.
The old man did apologize at least. And Cid didn't seem to care much.
"This game is so ridiculous," Genesis said, tone despairing.
Then Cid said the last huge materia they needed was in the underwater reactor in Junon.
"Good luck with that," the red-head said, snorting. "Getting down there is not easy."
Barrett said they had to get in there first. Cid pointed out that ShinRa probably be on high alert for them because of all the trouble they'd caused.
"Wait, you just escaped from Junon, and now you want to go back?" Genesis asked, voice back to incredulous.
Then Cid suggested that they go see 'the little fella' for a sec.
"'Little Fella'?" Zack asked.
Barrett asked if he meant Cloud.
The puppy immediately perked up. "Wait, we get to go see Cloudy?! That's great!"
Sephiroth glanced at Angeal, who looked back grimly. They had told him he was catatonic.
Cid said he was worried about Tifa (valid) and then suggested they head down to Mideel.
"Mideel?" Zack butted in. "I thought you guys said Cloud fell into the Lifestream in the Northern Crater. Isn't that really near the North Pole?"
"Correct," Genesis said, not taking his eyes off the screen.
"Isn't Mideel South… past the equator?"
"It is," Angeal responded this time.
"I know you guys said 'half-way across the world', but how did Cloud get down there? Are you sure you guys didn't take him there?"
"Yes," Genesis said.
"We don't know how he got there, Zack," the larger SOLDIER said gently.
The boy frowned and then crossed his own arms in a pout. "My game had some nonsense stuff, but this… I see what you mean by 'game insanity'."
Angeal practically beamed at that, looking all too proud. Genesis rolled his eyes. Sephiroth just smirked and had Cid continue down and outside.
"And he runs funny," Zack muttered. "Do all the characters look like that when they run?"
"No," Genesis responded.
"Zack, why don't you clean up a bit, okay?" Angeal suggested, gesturing to the remnants of the boy's dinner.
The younger teenager sighed. "Yeah, okay," he said as he picked up the empty containers beside him and strode back to the kitchen while Sephiroth had Cid get onto the airship and head south.
While the puppy washed his hands, Sephiroth pushed the airship towards Mideel and landed just outside of it as Zack strode back into the room.
He settled down and they continued the game.
xXx
AN: Breaking the game into manageable chapters is HARD. I swear, the flow in this... but it's infinitely better due to the hours that Imagination7413 has put into beta reading/editing! Seriously, guys, she's so awesome I can't even. Thank you!
I had a poll on my discord as to what easy/fun games Zack would play to relax, especially after all of THIS, and while Zelda came in a close second, Pokemon won out. So here's a blatant rip off. *ahem* Bomoms are the fireballs that explode after 3 hits (either doing serious damage to your group or exploding into MORE bomoms that you have to take care of), Bottomswells are the water-based dragon-like creatures that look/act like miniature Leviathans, and I really hope if you're reading this you know what a cactaur is. LOL
Also, thank you to anyone who has read up until this point! If we're lucky, we're about 2/3rds through the game (although it could be closer to half... but the final 1/3rd stretch... well, it should be interesting. *ahem*
If you want to join my discord: discord. gg/PChdnmNEc5 (no spaces). It's not super active, but I've met some awesome people on there and can get feedback faster/start conversations. So, just a thought.