Intercepted Transmission From Shinra, Southern Front
A: 348 ordinances cleared. Good job, corporal.
B: Ha, would have been more if we didn't need to fold those Soldier boys in. They don't know a mine from a rock. At least they come in handy against the monsters.
A: Really. This is the plan? Add more Soldiers to help clear the road? What, bigwigs got impatient about progress? Just throw more bodies at it. That will go great!
B: Shit, beats me.
A: Well, if they're enhanced, as they say, they better be good at shoveling, too.
XIII. Delayed Reaction
"Ten o'clock!" Kunsel ducked just in time for a spell to fly over his head, hitting the tail vault. The lizard-like monster hissed but didn't go down.
"It's never-ending!" Gaines complained next to him as he slashed back.
The sun long set, and the afterglow cast the sky in dying hues of magenta and purple. Around them, the corpses of monsters piled, a particularly large mound forming around Genesis. The sound of blades meeting flesh was punctuated by bursts of fire that drowned out shouting.
Kunsel grimaced as another monster took the place of the one he killed. It attacked aggressively when it saw its packmate down. Kunsel cursed and swung wide. The creature lunged. Teeth flashed inches before Kunsel's face when a solid chunk of rock rammed into it, knocking it into a tree trunk. It whimpered and didn't get up. Kunsel's head snapped toward the direction the rock shot from to find Cloud mid-cast. He barely spared a moment to nod in thanks. The spell had cast with the shortest invocation he had ever seen. Then, he brought his sword up to guard against the swipe of a claw.
Stars were visible when they finally took down the horde. Luxiere bent down and stabbed at one while Kunsel kicked over another.
"What's strange to me," Kunsel commented, "Is the variety." The still-cooling carcass at his feet had fading patterns resembling mako's glow. Dotting the forest floor, monsters that resembled tail vaults, razor leaves, and foulandars mixed together.
Luxiere grunted, "Don't they always show up in groups?" Kunsel shook his head.
"Tail vaults and razor leaves, sure. Foulanders?" He was reminded of what Zack told him. The mutated beasts in Junon. A foreboding feeling came over him. Kunsel hoped his intuition was simply overreacting.
Ando walked over to their small cluster and waved for their attention. "The bodies will attract bigger beasts. We need to bury what we can and cover our tracks. We'll handle that while a second group scouts ahead with the commander."
Kunsel groaned as he leaned against a bloodied tree, unbothered by the gore when he himself was already covered in monster guts.
"Guess we're on clean-up duty."
"Looks like we found the welcome party," Genesis said as the first Vajradhara crashed heavily onto the forest floor, its bulk shuddering from the impact. A flick of his rapier left a neat line of blood against fresh leaves.
A Wutaian patrol unit found them just before dawn.
Good.
Genesis was in a dark mood after a night of fighting monsters, and he was missing a good target upon which to make his irritation known. A second Vajrahara roared, its tough hide already bloodied and scored from Soldier swords. Next to him, Cloud calmly fired a single shot from his handgun, hitting the monster dead in one eye. (He had discarded his rifle early in the attack, a look of disgust on his face at the malfunctioning weapon.)
The Vajradhara roared in pain, blood gushing out the hole that was its eye socket. Enraged, it charged blindly. Genesis leaped forward to meet it, easily parrying the first swipe of its claws. A spell was already on his lips. When it roared again, what met it was a blizzara down its gullet. The sharp shards of ice pierced into its thick skull via its vulnerable soft palette. The monster died mid-swing and didn't even know it. Genesis easily dodged the wild swing of the tomahawk that followed.
Genesis dusted off his jacket as the beast slumped and waved at Cloud to follow close behind.
Around them, other men engaged in close-quarter combat with a mix of Wutaian army and trained monsters, Vajradhara, and Foulanders. There was a larger force here than a typical scouting party. Did their strike force get detected?
Someone in the uniform of a ranking officer - a captain or sergeant at least, stepped in front of them.
"What did you do to our comrades," he demanded, his battle axe held threateningly before him.
Genesis stood still, rapier held loosely in front of him in a seemingly unguarded position. Cloud tensed next to him but didn't make any other moves.
"Comrades?" Genesis asked, puzzled, then recalled the report from the previous night. "Oh. I imagine they had a brush with the monster herd we found. Pity they weren't enough. But not as pitiable as you."
"You-" the Wutaian growled. He let out a loud whistle, and a guttural roar answered. Moments later, a reverberating crash sounded deeper in the forest, and Genesis could hear trees in the wake.
"It's a fucking behemoth!" someone shouted just before the dark blue beast burst through the trees. Genesis brandished his sword at it. A godsdamned behemoth. The worst match-up.
"Break its horns," Genesis advised Cloud, "Otherwise, it counters magic."
Hearing the commotion, a few other Soldiers appeared in the clearing, weapons ready. Genesis snapped at them. "Seagill, Loire get its legs. Zabac, Roche, keep the good captain company." Without waiting for the answering affirmatives, Genesis dashed forward, scoring a deep slash across the behemoth's muzzle before diving out of reach. Cloud fired simultaneously, but the behemoth shook its head, and the bullet glanced harmlessly as it glazed one horn.
Meanwhile, from behind, Seagill stabbed deeply into a hind leg with a rough grunt. The Wutaian captain ran forward but was intercepted deftly by a swipe of Zabac's sword.
The beast spun, sweeping one Soldier-Loire off his feet, and pointed its horns at Seagill. Genesis saw the opening and jumped high, slicing down at its hind leg with the full weight of his body. There was an audible snap as the force of his rapier severed a bone. The behemoth roared in pain. Genesis ducked under a wild swing of its tail and then ran out of the way as it swept its body around, only slightly slowed by its lame hind limb. Out of nowhere, as Genesis dodged out of the way, he was hit by a strong sense of vertigo.
Zabac locked swords with the Wutian battle ax with a sharp clang elsewhere while Roche hung back a little, looking for an opening.
Who could have cast a debilitation spell, and why didn't I notice anything? Genesis tried to shake off his sudden discomfort and returned to the battle at hand.
"Keep it busy," Genesis commanded curtly. The two other Soldiers focused on the behemoth's other limb until it broke with another terrible snap. He weaved just in and out of striking distance. With its hind legs broken, the behemoth was pinned, needing to support itself on a single front leg while reaching out a paw to swipe at Genesis. However, with its mobility impaired, its moves were much more predictable. Each time the beast switched attention, one of the Soldiers would go for a strike. With one mighty swing, Genesis broke a horn.
"On me," Genesis said, and Cloud was already channeling. Moments later, two bursts of magic slammed into the wounded beast. It let out a roar at the same time the Wutaian captain shouted. Instead of falling, it painfully crawled onto its knees and opened its mawl to howl skyward.
"Out of the way. It's casting," Cloud called to the other Soldiers as great boulders rained down, the behemoth's famous comet spell taking hold.
"Shit!" Genesis changed his course mid-dodge to grab Loire, who was brought down by a powerful kick earlier and still in the path of danger. He looked down at the other Soldier.
"Get up and go!" The other man's eyes widened, and his mouth opened to shout, but it was already a step too late.
Genesis looked up to see their Wutaian opponent had slipped by the other Soldiers in the commotion. Unlike his men, the Wutaian ignored the spell and instead hurled himself at Genesis. With one hand occupied, Genesis raised the other to block, but his vision blurred again.
"Genesis!" he heard Cloud cry, the blond dodging the raining boulders around him as he ran to intercept. But the Wutaian captain was faster. The swinging battle axe filled Genesis's narrowing field of vision. The rapier he brought up weakly to defend flagged, and the axe knocked it out of his hand. Time slowed as the blade's edge swung closer to Genesis's flesh.
Cloud surged forward, slamming into the side of the Wutaian. Genesis watched helplessly as the axe was knocked off course and then felt a numbing pain as a sharp edge embedded itself into his soft side. A boulder crashed down, glancing Cloud and knocking squarely into the Wutaian, crushing him. The behemoth gave a final death keel and then went silent and still.
Genesis wasn't sure what happened next or how long time passed. The next time he was aware, Cloud was calling his name urgently. The boy was bleeding from his temple. The helmet blocked the worst of the blow, but his glasses were gone. One eye was closed, glued shut by blood seeping down the side of his face. The other side reflected the familiar green glow of a cure spell. Genesis tried to lift an arm and help Cloud wipe off the blood. Cloud swatted his hand away to wipe at his own face, smearing red across his cheek and forehead. Once his eyes were clear, Cloud squinted and rubbed them again as if adjusting to sight without glasses.
Stupid boy won't be able to see like that. I told him glasses were a liability.
"Genesis, hold still," Cloud said impatiently, grabbing the hand Genesis was trying to lift and maneuvering it so that it lay on his chest. The rest of Cloud's attention was on Genesis's side. Other hands came into view, but he watched Cloud swat them away. "Don't move him! He's still injured- get me a med kit!"
"You're still bleeding," Genesis muttered disagreeably as his vision dimmed around Cloud.
The last thing Genesis heard was Cloud saying, "Shit, it's not healing. He's going into shock-" then blessed darkness.
Kunsel's team only saw the aftermath of the scouting party's clash. By the time Kunsel finished taking stock of the injuries, the sun was already high in the sky. Most of the men were okay with a few applications of cure. The most troubling injury, though, was also the most complicated. Genesis.
"Hey," Cloud said as he approached, holding out a meal pack. "We're going to hold a team meeting. Need you there as the next most senior office."
Kunsel grabbed the offered food gratefully, then rose from his knee with a soft groan, following Cloud as he bit into the dry ration bar with gusto. The blond had one sleeve still rolled up, bandage affixed to where he donated blood for Genesis hours prior (Kunsel didn't put much stock in blood type personalities, but… well, birds of a feather and all that.) Dried blood flaked off the side of Cloud's face and turned his hair brown.
Kunsel considered Cloud's words. And ain't that a laugh? Senior-most officer. Fat load of good that's been.
After Genesis passed out, Cloud started barking out the orders. The man who quietly stayed at Genesis's elbow most of the campaign organized their company into small squads. Those uninjured were sent to establish a perimeter, others to treat the injured. Cloud himself had been casting cure nonstop, turning his attention to other Soldiers when it was clear Genesis was stable enough.
It was strange to see Cloud without the thick glasses. Cloud's youthful face slimmed down some into the beginnings of adulthood through the course of the campaign. It made him now look older than fifteen.
Cloud led them both into a hastily built medical tent constructed of sticks holding up a tarp.
Already present were four others - Jensen, pouring over the field map, Luxiere, already healed, Genesis still unconscious, and Wendell Loire, one of the more senior Thirds, still nursing an injury from the behemoth. Cure was great at surface wounds, but they usually had to be careful about improperly set bones. It looked like someone had splinted up the right leg but hadn't gotten around to a second cure yet. Kunsel nodded at the others and licked his lips, suddenly dryer than a well in Corel.
"Guess the gang's all here," Kunsel said. Five men were deciding the fate of the thirty Soldiers and troopers still left. They thankfully didn't sustain grievous casualties, but they had lost three troopers in the night, including the squad leader.
Cloud walked in a few steps after Kunsel and also nodded at the men before sitting gingerly down on the makeshift bed that held Genesis, still unconscious. Disturbing the sleeping was not ideal, but they also hadn't had much by way of a command center. Kunsel was willing to bet Cloud only left once to fetch him since Genesis was injured.
Jensen looked up and gave a half-hearted salute before giving his report.
"We're about half a day's march to Toin's drop site, sir. That's if we hoof it," he said as he turned the map around so Kunsel could see. The map was laminated, thankfully, but streaked in mud. After fighting in mud for most of the night, none of them had enough clean cloth to wipe it completely clean. Private Jensen made a valiant effort.
Kunsel frowned.
"What about the way back?" Jensen shook his head.
"If the ford hadn't washed out, it'd be possible. Now, the best option is further upriver. Would be days." Kunsel cursed. There was no way to get the injured out, and the healing was rapidly burning through the med packs and their magic reserves.
"The best option we have is to press on to the landing zone," Cloud said from where he sat, arms crossed over his chest.
"With what forces?" Luxiere contradicted hotly, "Half of them got turned back at the river crossing."
"Would you rather we turn back and get picked off by whatever else awaits us in the forest?" Cloud asked, sounding irritated but not raising his voice.
"We don't even know if reinforcement will come on time," Luxiere sniffed, "Damn incompetent troopers." Cloud raised a brow in irritation and tipped his chin up.
"Those damn troopers are the ones who'll risk their lives to save your ass," Cloud said, "What's your contribution? You certainly don't know how to read a map worth a damn or survive out here."
"You-" Luxiere was held back by Kunsel's hand on his shoulder.
The Soldiers gathered here were all city boys. On the other hand, Cloud and Jensen grew up in the remotest towns anyone's never heard of. Indeed, they wouldn't have found their route from their asses otherwise.
"Look," Cloud said, "We don't know if we will run into another attack squad, or whatever got to one of those attack squads. But if we don't secure the landing zone, whoever might have survived that last battle will report back. Either they'll chase us, or they'll attack the pass, or they'll dig in. It will be paid with blood."
Luxiere made an angry noise but stayed silent, unable to refute Cloud. Loire was the one who spoke up instead.
"Cloud has a point," he said, "The injuries aren't anything we can't fix right now. We can still keep going," then he paused and allowed, "Well, unless they have a few more behemoths."
"They didn't seem like they were expecting us, did they?" Kunsel said, "What are they doing this far out with a force that strong?" Behemoths weren't the easiest to tame. Having one was invaluable but also dangerous. More than a few would be impossible. They are known to go wild and kill their own handlers.
Cloud shrugged. "Might have something to do with whatever else was in the woods, killing their scouting parties."
All of them went silent. If that was the case, their odds of surviving wandering around blindly dipped into the negatives.
"Our best bet for survival and medical aid is via medevac. The only way that's happening is if we secure the drop zone," Jensen summarized grimly. "But like I said, it'll take a half day if we make good time. We can't do it carrying a stretcher."
Ah, there was the elephant in the room. No one suggested they leave Genesis behind, but no one relished the thought of carrying an incapacitated man into an active combat zone.
"And you won't." They all turned to the source of the voice. Genesis's eyes were open, but he winced when he tried to get up. Cloud put a firm hand on his chest.
"Gen-" Genesis complied, then said.
"I heal fast. Already feeling better."
"Don't get up too fast. You lost too much blood." Genesis, surprisingly, listened to his aide but turned his head to look at the assembled group.
"We press on to Toin."
"...Yes, sir!"
"Alright there?"
Whatever Roche planned to say turned to dust on his tongue. Cloud was leaned in close.
From his angle, looking down, Roche could count the golden lashes that concealed almost brilliant blue eyes. Without glasses in the way, they appeared to glow.
Roche felt his cheeks flush as he ducked back a little. Cloud only leaned in more. Roche didn't reach up to check, but he felt he must be glowing red enough to light up the forest now.
"You took a hit," Cloud explained, holding up a hand already glowing with curative magic.
Oh.
Roche surprised himself with the disappointment he felt. Cloud was checking in on a comrade. At a loss for words, Roche blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"It was as fate ordained that we would dance on this stage, my friend."
Shit. Apparently, the thing that Roche reaches for is I Want to be Your Canary.
Cloud didn't even react as Roche's wound was stitched back together. As the blond sat back, he looked at Roche thoughtfully.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that wasn't Loveless."
"There are higher heights to which you and I can still soar," Roche said.
…I need to shut up.
"Okay, I think you will be fine," Cloud said as he got up to check on the others. As he left, Roche could hear him mutter, "Someone must have given him too many painkillers."
"Well, there is a request to check on the underwater mako reactor," Lazard said thoughtfully as he flipped through the different missions, "But it's hardly something that needs a first-class Soldier."
Sephiroth shook his head.
"Authorize it."
Lazard hesitated for a moment, peering up at Sephiroth.
"And who will be on the team?" As if he didn't know. Sephiroth simply quirked a brow.
"Zack Fair and Angeal Hewley." Lazard leaned back to look at Sephiroth. The other man was inscrutable. "You said it was an important mission."
It was. Rufus ordered it directly. That hardly justified sending Soldiers from Midgar when Junon had plenty. It hardly justified Soldiers at all, really. The mission amounted to a milk run for any Third.
However…
Lazard looked down and entered the information.
"It is a critically important mission, definitely needing the height of discretion. Your transport leaves tomorrow," Lazard said simply, "Best of luck."
There was no love lost between Rufus and Lazard. After the President's death, Rufus insisted on taking more and more control over every branch of Shinra. This is a petty rebellion. Lazard was unreasonably satisfied. If he delayed reporting who the mission was assigned to, well, he simply forgot. Directors were busy people.
What Rufus didn't know won't hurt him.
Not here either, Zack thought as he wove through a dilapidated area outside the reactor facilities. The earpiece came alive with background static as Cissnei took her end off mute.
"Fair, come in."
"Yeah?"
"Two targets. Moving towards your location."
"I see 'em." From a distance, Zack could pick up two figures running swiftly, easily vaulting over the jumble of pipes that exited the reactor and would eventually feed into the facilities under the Shinra building.
"Follow at a safe distance. I'm moving toward you," Cissnei paused, "Do not engage." A click, and she cut out.
"Right," Zack muttered to himself, "Let's see where you two are going."
He tailed them further.
Intel gathered the previous night pointed them to warehouses in Sector Six, plateside. When Zack asked Cissnei how that went, the Turk had such a look of disgust on her face that Zack decided it was better not to ask. Reno had explained that Shinra had contracts with Corneo, as it did with all the larger organizations below plate, so the Turks could operate fairly freely in Wall Market. It was the first time in days Zack had seen them both in Turk uniforms as they left, telling him to maintain cover.
More ramen it was. At least he had his sword back.
The two figures Zack tailed disappeared into a dilapidated warehouse, what amounted to sheets of rusted corrugated steel propped against each other. It was a miracle they hadn't fallen apart. It was located on the edge of the Sector Six plate, almost right next to the gaping collapsed hole, overlooking the mangled expressway below.
It was little wonder the baddies decided to put a warehouse here. Even years after Shinra re-enforced the pillar, Sector Six fell far behind other sectors economically. People were leery of moving back into an area that could collapse, and there was barely anything but rubble this far out on the plate.
Zack edged closer, gingerly stepping around the surrounding junk, each one a potential landmine that could set off enough sound to alert his targets.
The old frame of the building jutted out. The shattered glassless windows were too high for him to easily reach without a running leap that would alert his targets for sure, but he could see lights flickering inside them. He kept an eye on the shadowy figures projected across the ceiling by the single light source inside, alerting him of movement. A radio was playing white noise, enough that it was hard to make out conversation inside. However, from the tone of the conversation, one of the men was quite unhappy with the other.
Zack crouched closer and peered between two crumbled metal sheets, which pulled away enough to leave a gap that showed the room inside.
"...useless..."
The speaker walked closer to the wall, and suddenly, Zack could hear much better.
"...not ready...Shinra…going back on his word..." Zack carefully inched forward, cupped a hand, and placed his ear on the cold, rusted wall.
"...Shinra has done us no favors... Still, we made some interesting friends."
"Fuhito made contact?"
Just then, the earpiece came live, and the radio chattered. Zack quickly withdrew his hand with a silent curse on his lip. Shit.
"Not a good time," he whispered as quietly as he could. The radio that previously only made white noise came through with a faint, distorted version of Zack's own voice.
"...not….good…"
It seemed Cissnei took the hint because both the earpiece and the radio went silent. So that was what it was. Not a radio but some kind of scanner. Double shit.
Silence from within the warehouse. Zack's heart pounded in his ears, the thumping sound almost drowning out the subsequent conversation.
"...check outside..." the voice was drawing closer.
Triple shit.
"...probably just a passing patrol," a slightly wheezy voice whined, the accomplice.
"Ain't no patrols this far out on plate six," said the voice, more forceful now.
"It's just a cheap scanner, who knows..." the voice was fading as the shadow moved toward the door. Zack hastily looked around. No good cover. Zack looked up at the overhang. Not a bad idea...
"Nothing here either," the figure below him said as he looked around. Don't look up, Zack prayed. The man had thin brown hair. He was thin, and his skin had a sickly pallor. Not unusual in the slums.
"Then can we go?"
Zack waited for the door to slam and voices to echo in the building once again before he dropped down, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. This time, the voices moved to another part of the building and became too distant to make out at all.
Zack's heel touched the ground, and he relaxed with a sigh. Now, he knew for sure that he did not miss any hidden calling to join the Turks.
He didn't know how long he sat there, half listening for any other discernable words and half keeping an eye out for anyone approaching. It was a good thing he did. Picking through the metal scrap, several thugs in leather jackets made their way up to the warehouse, not in the least attempting to disguise their approach or looking out for would-be spies. They looked like the same group as the ones attacking the construction site the previous day. One raised his hand and banged on the door loudly, then said, "The Don is the best."
It appeared to be some kind of secret code (a poor one) because the trio of men were swiftly allowed in.
"What took you?"
"After that shit went down yesterday, Shinra came swarming into Wall Market," Corneo's thug complained, "Cornered Don Corneo for questioning in the middle of selectin' his brides. You better come through, or else. The Don's been in a shit mood and don't have patience for tricks."
The group walked further into the warehouse, out of Zack's earshot and out of view from Zack's vantage point.
Moments later, there was shouting.
Zack still caught no words, but he certainly caught the loud popping sound that followed and the hollow thud of a body hitting the ground. Two more followed. There were running steps that got closer, and two figures burst out of the warehouse- a Corneo henchman, bloodied in one arm, chasing the pale man from earlier.
Zack cursed.
Deciding the radio scanner wasn't so important anymore, Zack drew his sword and pressed his left hand to the earpiece.
"Target's pulling a runner," Zack said.
"Follow them, but do not engage." Zack gnashed his teeth together but did as Cissnei asked.
Why the hell is he going that way? Zack thought as he followed them.
The pursued man was running straight for the edge of the plate, and it was a long fall down to the ruins below.
Pop! Pop pop!
Zack brought his sword up to shield his vitals, but as it turned out, the bullet hit the other pursuer. Corneo's thug dropped with a groan and did not move again.
"Cissnei, are you enroute?"
"Yes."
"There's only one left. I'm giving chase. You should check for survivors," Zack said as he ran past the downed man. He was slumped face down, blood slowly seeping out underneath. There was a gaping hole where the back of his skull used to be. No getting back up from that one.
Zack continued to follow, more cautious of projectiles. To his surprise, the man stopped at the edge of the plate and opened a large metal container.
Parachutes!
"Hey!" Zack yelled. The startled man twisted around, gun pointed, but overbalanced and tumbled off the edge, his chute in his arms. Zack looked down and saw the chute open. He looked around, cursing under his breath. In the container was one more parachute. The man's companion!
Zack grabbed it and rapidly clipped in.
"Cissnei! The guy jumped with a chute. I'm following!"
"Wait-"
Zack didn't hear the rest of Cissnei's answer as he jumped. The wind knocked out his earpiece, and it uselessly dangled on its wire. He twisted his body, tucking his arms in like a missile, dropping closer to the other chute, which was drifting in the stale Midgar air. When he was close but not enough to run the risk of getting their chutes tangled, Zack pulled the cord.
"Oof," he said when the chute caught the wind, the sudden change in direction heaving a breath out of him. Reaching up, he found the steering levers and pulled at them. He watched the chute below his jerk. Moments later, his did too, without any prompting.
"Shit, the fans!"
Below the plate, fans were used to circulate the air. Sector Six might be missing half its floor, but the fans were in proper working condition. Zack watched as they drifted toward the wall that demarcated where Sector Six ended and Sector Five began. Church spires peeked out beyond.
Suddenly, there was shouting below. The man Zack was chasing finally noticed his new tail. The man twisted and turned, shooting wildly back.
Zack held his sword across his body, letting bullets ping harmlessly off them. But it wasn't enough. Bullet holes ripped through the parachute fabric above as Zack tried his hardest to steer with one hand, and then the shooting abruptly stopped. Finally out of bullets.
They had just cleared the wall when Zack's parachute started ripping, flapping dangerously.
"Shit!" Gauging the distance, he started to swing his legs. They were now brushing the tops of the taller buildings. If Zack needed to, he could bail, but he didn't want to lose the man he was chasing. With holes punched into his chute, Zack fell quickly and caught up with the other man. With one last kick and a swing of his sword, Zack cut the parachute strings. The momentum was enough to propel him into the suspect.
Zack slammed into the slim man and held on tight, grappling his harness clumsily as he screamed obscenities. Grappled on from behind, he couldn't reach behind to claw at Zack. However, it also knocked the parachute off course, and the church roof rapidly approached. Zack braced behind the struggling man, letting him bear the impact.
Crash!
The church was in disrepair. Instead of crashing into the roof, they crash straight through. Zack lost his grip on the parachute harness and fell to the floor below with a pained groan. There was the sound of breaking wood, creaking beams, and shattering shingles. Then everything was quiet. Zack opened his eyes to beams of light cast on the dust their unexpected tumble stirred up, making the church look even more ethereal in the afternoon light. Hanging above Zack, the man, still tangled in the harness, swung limply. The remains of the parachute caught on one of the rafters above, leaving him dangling like a grotesque chandelier.
Zack could barely hear Cissnei's worried voice from the earpiece hanging out of his collar.
"Zack? Come in. Zack!"
Zack tried to sit up. His entire body protested the move. He reached down, pushed himself up, and touched…something soft.
"Flowers?"
"My, crashing through the roof seems to be a popular pastime," a girl's voice startled Zack so badly he lept up, sword in hand.
The girl in question wasn't looking at Zack but instead at Zack's unconscious suspect. When she noticed Zack gape at her, she simply smiled.
"I would rather stop meeting people like this."
"Wha-"
The girl looked at Zack's feet and frowned.
"Well, don't just stand on the flowers. Get off, or you'll catch holy hell!"
"You don't see flowers much in Midgar," Zack marveled after he scrambled off them, bending down to take a closer look. Then he straightened and smiled. "I'm Zack. Thanks for the help."
The girl giggled.
"I'm Aerith. And I didn't do anything. You should thank the flowers." She turned and gestured downward. Zack couldn't help but find himself charmed.
Suddenly, Zack remembered Cissnei, who was still calling on the other end. He patted down his clothes until he found the dangling earpiece and put it back in.
"Uh, hey, Cissnei."
"Zack," relief in the reply was palpable. "Glad to hear you're still alive and kicking. And the suspect?"
Trust Cissnei to be all business. Zack looked up at the man trapped above, gently swaying. Well.
"Um, he's alive and dangling?" Cissnei sighed.
"Tell me your location. We'll come get you." Zack took his hand off the earpiece and turned to Aerith.
"Uh, where is this?"
"A church, under Sector Five." Zack nodded in thanks and turned back to speak in his earpiece.
"Hey, uh, I fell into a church under Sector Five. Suspect's parachute got stuck in the rafters," he answered. There was silence on the other end. "Cissnei?"
"Okay, stay with the suspect."
"Copy." Zack looked up only to see Aerith's wide green gaze fill his vision, staring right back. She leaned so close that Zack almost backpedaled in surprise right into the flower patch again.
"You're with Shinra," Aerith observed, almost idly. Zack grinned.
"Yep, I'm a Soldier." Aerith cocked her head to the side, a slight smile on her face.
"You sound proud of that," then she turned to look up as well. "And who's…your friend?" Zack looked up and laughed.
"We'll find out." Aerith hummed thoughtfully.
"And your companions are coming to find you, then?" Zack nodded. Aerith waved.
"Well, I know when I'll be in the way. Let's leave the big, strong Soldier to it then," she said, "Nice to meet you, Zack!" Zack didn't want the girl to leave like that for some reason, so he followed her out. Outside, the sun shined through the gap in Sector Six and hit the church at an angle, illuminating the building. It was bright for the undercity, almost blindingly so. Zack blinked as his eyes adjusted. He stopped Aerith on the steps.
"Wait, this is the slums," Zack said when she turned to look at him, "Are you going to be okay?"
He thought back to the turf wars he spent the previous days investigating. He knew the slums weren't safe. Even without monsters, humans were hurting and killing each other. Aerith smiled beatifically.
"Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeve," she said, "Besides, these parts are patrolled pretty regularly by the watch. I come all the time." Unable to offer much more, especially while still on the clock, Zack simply waved as Aerith disappeared beyond a scrap pile. Further out, the sounds of a helicopter approached.