Subject: Now Accepting Applications
All Fair in Love and War
We have a new fan club for an up-and-coming star: Zack Fair! Why are we setting up a club for a second-class Soldier, you ask?
Well, well, well, have you heard of the thrilling parachute chase that was the talk of the town? That was because he was in dogged pursuit of a terrorist. That's our man! We fell in love with his dedication and loyalty. Absolutely swoon-worthy!
It's only a matter of time before Zack makes First, and when that happens, membership in the club will have a waitlist longer than the circumference of Midgar! Signing up now is just a good investment for your future.
Here's Zack's official profile:
Birthplace: Gongaga (I've gone gaga for him too!)
Family: Mother and father (But we know you want in ;-] )
Hobbies: Traveling and exercise (We know he's fit!)
Quote: "I want to join SOLDIER and fly all over the world. I'm gonna make friends everywhere I go. Then I'm gonna swim to each place where they live!" (What a sweetheart!)
Fill out the application here!
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Subject: Welcome to the Club!
Welcome, GetOffTheFlowers! You'll love it here. Please stay tuned for all things Zack!
XVI. Demons of Wutai
Zack found himself deposited unceremoniously on the shores of Cresent Bay almost a week after departing Port Junon. He felt a bit green around the gills, even for someone with no motion sickness issues. Around them, there was a bustle as men hastily unloaded the cargo.
Angeal laid a hand on Zack's shoulder briefly.
"Get your bearings," Angeal recommended, "We'll find out more about the situation." Then, he followed Sephiroth toward what looked like the main command center. Having been to Wutai before, both men walked with a clear understanding of where they were going.
Zack and Essai looked at each other, and Zack shrugged. They split up, and Zack wandered further into the sprawling camp. From the pier, which extended far into the pounding waves to a water depth that allowed ships to pull in, the military complex rose from the windswept dunes. A mix of concrete fortifications and barbed wire circled the stronghold. Scars from mortar fire dotted the walls. Beyond them, tall watch towers peeked over the edge.
It was as if Shinra had transported a small city here, and now that Zack had thought about it, it made sense, considering how long the war stretched.
Zack wandered by a group of off-duty men. Helmets off, it was clear they had gone through hell and back. Several had scars on their faces and hollow looks in their eyes. One man had an especially serious wound that took out one eye and a chunk of his nose.
"Front is getting ugly," he muttered, "Beasts of all types fighting alongside humans. Animals, all of them."
"Didn't them Soldier lads get sent?" Another said, hunched in, eyes darting.
The first man scoffed, "Didn't send miracles."
"Hot coffee all around!" a chipper voice interrupted the conversation. Zack inadvertently eavesdropped. Balancing trays, a group of what looked like civilians were walking around handing out steaming mugs. They were met with sounds of appreciation. One woman straightened to see Zack looking at them, curious.
Carrying the tray over, she greeted, "Care for some hot coffee? Real coffee's hard to come by. We just got a new shipment." Zack actually smelt it before the woman even got close. It smelt a little like home.
Zack shook his head. " Appreciate it, but let's save it for the folks who need it."
Mako was an energy boost on its own, and the healing factor rendered caffeine fairly useless. Soldier physiology filtered it out like it did weaker poisons. Most Soldiers used high-calorie drink mixes instead- cacao or protein shakes - though Soldier messes still stocked the drink for those who appreciated the flavor.
The woman looked more closely at Zack. Like other people milling about camp, she wore fatigues but a blue flak jacket over it. A press badge was pinned to the front pocket. Oh, that's why there were civilians in the camp.
"You're a Soldier," she said, "Did you just arrive?" Zack wasn't sure what to say, especially to someone from the press, who could reveal that a few of them were technically supposed to be half a world away.
"Uh," Zack said instead. Very brilliantly.
"Oh," the woman realized, "I'm not on duty right now. We know when we shouldn't report something." Balancing her tray on one arm, she extended her right hand.
"Annabelle. I'm stationed here as a senior correspondent for Midgar News," she introduced. Zack's eyes widened in recognition.
"Oh hey, I've seen you," Zack remarked as he shook her hand, "Zack Fair."
"Zack Fair?" Annabel asked, "You're Zack Fair?" Zack was puzzled.
"Sure," he said, a little wary, "You've heard of me?" Zack didn't think anyone would. He wasn't even a First yet and only three of them were actually famous to any extent.
"Let me try that again. My name is Annabelle Lee. Scott Lee is - was - my brother."
That wasn't something Zack ever expected. "I-I'm sorry I-"
"Hey, none of that," Annabelle protested not unkindly, "I heard about you in a letter of his. By the time I got it, it came with the report that Scott was killed in action."
Deep sadness crept up on Zack from the pit in his stomach where he buried it months ago, covered and dressed with a veneer of cheer. "It's my fault. I-"
"None of that," Annabelle said again, more firmly, "I've seen war. I can't say I know what it's like…to be truly in it, but I know that sometimes there're no good choices. I never expected things to happen in Junon, where it was supposed to be safe, but..." She breathed deeply.
"It was," Zack said angrily, "Junon should have been. It's a Shinra stronghold." Annabelle smiled sadly.
"And yet. Look, his old squad told me what you did. I wanted to meet you ever since and tell you those boys meant the world to Scott. Thank you for saving them. I think Scott would have said the same."
"He's dead because of me," Zack's voice quivered. Annabelle shook her head.
"It took a while for me to come to terms with it," she smiled sadly. "Sounded like it was a bad situation all around. If it weren't for you, two squads would have disappeared without a trace and none of us would've know why. You're a hero."
"I'm no hero," Zack looked down dejected, his bangs hiding his eyes. They stung as he blinked.
Annabelle patted Zack's shoulder.
"Trust me, I've been reporting on this war my entire career. I seen… a lot. You might not want to hear it now, but you were a true hero that day."
"I didn't- I didn't-"
"It's not about the fighting, Zack. It's not about winning or killing or any of those things. It's about your hardest choices in your darkest hours. Please - "
"Hey Annabelle, still got coffee over there?" Annabelle looked back at her colleague.
"Coming!" She turned to Zack and said, "It was very nice meeting you here, Zack. Stay safe."
Zack stood still for another while, looking at the squad of men with civilian reporters in their midst, cheered by something as simple as a good cup of coffee. Zack wiped at his face with the back of his hand, darkening the leather of his gloves. It felt like he was stabbed at first, but he realized as he walked away that every step felt a little lighter.
"When's the next transport to Nanzen?" Sephiroth asked. No one argued with him, only stuttering out the timetables. Angeal stood next to Sephiroth, looking more menacing than he was feeling.
The situation report was not good, and there were rumors that Genesis might have gotten hurt. The thought of it…
Angeal couldn't bear it.
The poor captain in charge explained, "Our next flight out to Nanzen is this evening…but w-we haven't heard any comms from them-"
"You will still fly the mission, though," Angeal checked. If comms were cut for whatever reason, it was all the more urgent that they got to Nanzen. The man nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course! Comms issues aren't rare," he stuttered. "We'll arrange space on the next flight."
"I'll go round up the others," Angeal offered and ducked out. Finding Essai was relatively simple. He had gone to the quartermasters and at least had some essentials and a pack. They found Zack looking uncharacteristically pensive thirty minutes later, staring at the beach.
"Gil for your thoughts?" Angeal offered. Zack smiled back at him, lighter than Angeal had seen in a while.
"Nah, I'm good," Zack said, "Thanks 'Geal. So, what's the game plan?"
"Sephiroth is securing our transport. Looks like the forward troops are based out of a village called Nanzen," Angeal answered. Zack clapped his hands together.
"Well, what're we waiting for?" Angeal chuckled under his breath as they walked through the base to the airstrip. Sephiroth greeted them on the ramp of a refueling Gelnika.
"It will be a half day's ride," Sephiroth said, "Get settled." Angeal climbed in, the other two Soldiers close behind. As the sun set, they were airborne.
Veld's apartment was dark when he returned. The place (for it was not a home) was bare and utilitarian. After Kalm, he didn't have a home left and not much he cared to replace. His apartment in the city was a collection of things he kept in his old company dorm and precious knickknacks he salvaged after fire engulfed his house in Kalm. A memorial to his past life.
A quick scan of Veld's security measures told him no one had been by. With a sigh, Veld tugged off his gloves and shrugged off his Turk jacket. His shoulder ached more than it ever had from an old injury that almost took his entire arm, and the scar tissue pulled uncomfortably as he stretched to remove his jacket. He heard a soft clatter in his pocket. He dug his fingers into it and pulled out the half-assembled bomb detonator.
Huh, I thought I left you at the office.
It was a rare lapse, but something stopped Veld from turning it over to the Weapons Development or Research. And, it appeared, now the thing came home with him. He laid his jacket on the back of his couch and walked past it toward his kitchen.
He continued to turn the mechanism in his fingers as he pulled off his tie with his other, more heavily scarred hand. The top buttons came undone next. Then he opened his nearly empty refrigerator and reached inside. His hand hovered over a beer can before settling on the juice instead.
Veld set the device and the juice on the kitchen counter, then searched his cupboard for a glass. He sat down again at a kitchen table facing two empty seats.
"Daddy! Look! A chocobo," a little girl said, grinning widely. She sat across from him at the table. The area around her was a mess of crayons and paper. She held up a picture with a blob of yellow drawn in the center. Her smile was missing a front tooth.
"That's amazing, sweetheart," Veld said fondly. Then he smiled at Martha, watching them from the doorway, a camera in hand. She had a hand to her mouth, hiding the smile -
"Daddy!"
"Dad!"
The body was badly mangled when they found it. The funeral was a closed-casket affair.
"It's your fault! I wish our daughter never met you!"
"Our condolences, Director-"
Veld blinked. Empty chairs stared back at him. There was a full glass of juice in front of him. He didn't remember pouring it.
With a groan, Veld got back up again.
His knees creaked. His shoulder never stopped aching.
I'm getting old. Maybe it's time to take a break.
He set the glass on his coffee table and trudged to his jacket. He put the device in his breast pocket so he wouldn't forget to lock it into an evidence drawer somewhere on the Turks' floor. Then, he opened the closet and hung the jacket up again. His eyes locked on a dark shape in the back instead. It had a light layer of dust. With a soft groan, he bent down and picked up the duffle bag. It went with him back to the couch.
The bag was relatively light. Lying on top of folded clothes sat a box. Veld opened it and pulled out the pistol inside. He began to take it apart with practiced motions.
He had just received the news that his partner died on a mission when he met Martha. She saved him from drinking himself into oblivion and getting into a brawl, and then she saved him from a lot more besides.
And now they were all gone.
He pulled out the box underneath the coffee table containing brushes, cloth, and oil. He took a sip from his glass and started methodically cleaning the pistol in his lap, which gave his hands something to do as he mulled things over.
Underground. Shinra's underground. It pinged something in Veld's memory. Something he came across when going through the files in the office hacking case. It had been a heavily redacted part of the report. Only Sephiroth's personnel file was more so. Something only the highest echelons of Shinra knew about, and even then, not all of them.
Deepground.
He dismissed it. Ignored it, or let it go. Veld let a lot of things go after he buried his family. Would this be one more?
Deepground.
Something buried.
Veld took another sip of his drink and wished for something stronger. Ghosts, it seemed, haunted him today. Tomorrow, Veld will have a look at those files again. Tomorrow.
"Nanzen ahead. Prepare for touchdown," the announcement echoed in the cargo hold. Zack stirred from where he napped, with his head pillowed on his own bag. He slept fitfully. There were frequent alarms through the night and always a chance for antiaircraft fire from defending Wutaians. Though Shinra pushed them back, the new Soldier arrivals were briefed that raids were still frequent, and enemy fighters struck unexpectedly.
Speak of the devil.
Well, Zack thought, I had wanted to be away from Junon and get a more exciting mission.
The klaxons sounded as the pitch of the engine changed. The cargo room was filled with a hive of activity.
"Shit, what's happening," Zack asked, grabbing a passing trooper.
"Sir! Enemy fire sighted below," the man answered. From outside, faint sounds of machine gun fire echoed. Sephiroth sprinted up the stairs, his feet barely touching the steps. Angeal and Zack were close behind.
The sight was clear at the ship's bridge, even through a drenched windshield. It was lightly raining, and the plane flew with clouds above and forests below. In the light of the early morning, the forest was cast a hazy grey. In its midst sat a village wall backlit by the light of a bright flame, a single dot of color in the drab. Swirling around, beasts circled, seemingly heedless of the fact that they were set aflame. Bright spots of machine gun tracer fire could be spotted in the dim light, momentarily scattering the flying beasts.
"Bring us down now," Sephiroth ordered. The captain protested.
"We don't have a clear space to land." Sephiroth pointed.
"There. Bring us as far down as you can. Open the ramp." He didn't wait for an affirmative before leaving, trenchcoat fanning out behind him. Zack looked at Angeal, who only tilted his head in the direction Sephiroth headed, lips quirked.
"Just like the training sims," he said. There was no doubt where they needed to go.
Sephiroth was already waiting for them in front of the cargo ramp that was slowly opening on the tops of moving trees below. The gusts whipped Zack's hair wildly around, and a cool, almost misty rain hit his face, churned up by the turbulent air trailing the plane. Zack desperately wished he had taken one of the Soldier helmets. Guess they were useful sometimes.
In front of them, the top of the forest rapidly grew closer.
"General, this is as far as we can go," the captain announced on the intercom. Sephiroth walked forward to the edge of the ramp and, without a word, leaped.
Angeal and Zack looked down. Behind them, Essai chimed, "Shouldn't we grab parachutes?"
Angeal looked back incredulous, "At this distance? Your chute won't open before you hit the ground." He took a flying leap out after Sephiroth. The engines revved. It appears the plane truly will not be able to hold the position long. Zack shrugged at Essai and followed. Angeal was pretty good at gauging what a Third could handle.
After that, he had more things to worry about than figuring out where Essai landed.
Zack managed to slow his descent using the trees. His first landing was surprisingly near the top of the ramp. Using the momentum against the branch, he changed his trajectory, bounding from tree to tree before landing in a controlled crash on the forest floor. The mud left him sliding a bit further than he expected. Getting up from his roll, Zack winced. His knees will definitely feel that, even with accelerated healing.
Around him, growls reverberated. Zack's sword came up to a guard position as all around him circled a pack of monsters, mutilated in appearance, veins glowing.
Similar monsters to the ones Zack saw in Junon. So, what were they doing in Wutai?
He had no chance to wonder further, too busy fending off angry fiends.
It wasn't until Zack pulled his broadsword from the last mutated wolf, black blood sliding off his saber, that he heard sounds of fighting not far from him. There were growls followed by shouts and bursts of gunfire. Following the noise, Zack ran right up to the fortified walls of a Wutian village. It was clearly Shinra-occupied, and monster corpses were scattered around the compound. From the watch towers, shots were still being fired at aerial attackers.
"Another friendly!" someone called.
"Angeal," Zack greeted with relief and ran up to the fortifications lining the road. Wet from the rain, hair plastered to his face, Zack could still recognize Angeal's silhouette anywhere. The Buster Sword, slung across his back, could be seen in the morning light. A small mixed group of Thirds and troopers surrounded him.
Angeal nodded at Zack and turned back to the man he had been talking to, a grave look marring his face.
"-ird attack this week," the Soldier Third continued to explain, "We assumed it was the Wutaians, but now we aren't too sure."
"Where's Commander Rhapsodos?"
"Ah," the man paused and licked his lips. He looked at Angeal, then Zack, and back again. "General Sephiroth is already here. We'll brief you inside."
Past the barriers of stacked sandbags and the guarded entrance, Soldiers and troopers milled about in the burnt-out shell of a village. Corpses of mako-tainted monsters still littered the streets, and as Zack passed, he saw a few troopers load them carefully into carts. Soldiers they met on the way greeted Angeal and nodded to Zack but hurried to do whatever their jobs were. They all looked significantly worse for wear than when they had been deployed from Midgar.
In what used to be a village square of sorts, Zack saw Essai. The Third found Sebastian, and the two waved at them.
"Glad your parachute didn't get caught in the trees," Zack teased Essai as he drew closer. Then, he clasped hands with Sebastian. "Glad to see you're in one piece."
Sebastian nodded, "As am I."
"Do you know where we can find Genesis?" Angeal asked. Sebastian hummed and rubbed his chin.
"This time of day, he's probably in the operations command center," he pointed at a larger building that peeked over the tops of various tents, "That would be the one."
"What about Cloud?"
"Most likely to be in the same place," Sebastian said.
Angeal and Zack nodded thanks, leaving the two friends to catch up.
Judging by Sebastian's shaking head, Essai was relaying how they got to Wutai in the first place. Frankly, Zack was still in a bit of disbelief himself.
The command post building had seen better days. It was half a tent, Zack realized as he stepped inside. The entire roof was gone. Instead, tarps were used to close the hole in the canopy. Still, Zack imagined it was more sturdy than the tents all around. They found Sephiroth as they stepped in.
Facing Sephiroth, hackles visibly raised, was Genesis. But Zack had never seen Genesis in such a state before.
"I'm not going back, even if you are my relief. Damn Heidegger," Genesis said stubbornly. Sephiroth had a brow raised, and his head was tilled high. Genesis grimaced. Angeal rushed forward and grabbed Genesis by the shoulders.
"What happened to you?" he asked, tone deeply concerned. The anger seemed to retreat as Genesis leaned into Angeal's grip. Angeal's bulk hid Genesis from view, but Zack had already seen enough.
It was as if his color had been stripped out of him. His skin had a grey pallor, so dry it looked papery. Genesis also appeared to have lost weight, and the dark circles around his eyes accentuated the gauntness of his face.
"Genesis," Sephiroth called. Angeal turned around, Genesis still in his grasp in a half hug, half carry. "You look terrible. It's time to go back to Midgar." Genesis lifted his face from Angeal's chest.
"And let you take all the glory?" he snorted, but the rebuke was halfhearted at best.
"Zack," a familiar voice said from behind Zack. He turned to see Cloud step in, a tray with breakfast in his hands. He looked around at the scene and then simply nodded to Sephiroth and Angeal. "Sirs." Seemingly unbothered by the new presence in the camp, he carried the tray to where Genesis was slowly peeling himself off Angeal's front. "Gen, you need to eat."
Genesis grunted and dropped onto an overturned crate, clearing a few maps off in a practiced motion, leaving a spot for Cloud to set down the food.
"Thanks," Genesis said. Then Cloud turned to the other Soldiers. Zack's brows were about to evacuate his face, so far they were raised.
It seemed the kid had finally hit a growth spurt in the months he hadn't seen Cloud. Hidden muscle filled out Cloud's fatigue where he was swimming in a lab coat only half a year ago. Cloud didn't grow much taller, but the way he carried himself made him seem not much shorter than Zack (until you go up close and the spike still only tickled Zack's nose.) And to have Genesis eating out of his hand (kinda.) Zack grinned.
"Spike!" he enveloped Cloud in a fierce hug, "My stubborn, stubborn chocobo chick." Cloud squawked, and there were a few chuckles. Did Sephiroth and Genesis both crack a smile? Cloud pushed at Zack's chest before Zack finally let go with a pout.
"Careful about laying claim," Genesis warned wryly as he picked halfheartedly at his food, "You might have to fight half the Soldiers for the privilege."
Sephiroth's head shot down to stare at Genesis, who shrugged. Zack watched as Cloud completely missed this by-play. The blond turned to Zack and Angeal instead.
"It's breakfast time in the mess. Can I get you anything?" he asked. It was Genesis who answered.
"They can get their own food. Run along and get your own."
Cloud looked at them all, head on a swivel. Then he sighed and waved before leaving. Zack had a mind to follow his blonde friend and check on him. He looked around, the heavy silence filling the tent. At Angeal's silent acquiescence, Zack ducked out right behind Cloud.
Angeal's heart was in his stomach. Genesis looked…bad. Worse than when they first started getting Hollander's Soldier treatments, and Genesis started reacting poorly.
One of Angeal's hands rose toward his friend. He wasn't sure what for. Before it made contact with Genesis's back, he let it drop uselessly back to his side. To further restrain himself, he crossed his arms together.
Sephiroth and Genesis were arguing, but it was background noise to Angeal. Genesis's skin crinkled each time he snarled something back at Sephiroth. With each rebuttal against Sephiroth's words, he resembled more and more a cornered animal.
"You need to head back," Angeal finally said. The resulting silence from his words broke the noise of the argument, only seconds from Genesis pulling his rapier against Sephiroth. Genesis's look of betrayal burned against Angeal's skin. But he held fast.
Sephiroth shot Angeal a look, not of triumph but of gratefulness. When Genesis didn't say anything else, Sephiroth broke the silence.
"You'll be taking yourself back to Junon on the next flight out," Sephiroth stated. His tone was authoritative and brooked no argument. Genesis only sagged further, his shoulders sloping as if tired from bearing the full weight of every mech deployed in the war. He looked down recalcitrant, refusing to meet Sephiroth's gaze. The man was almost petulant despite how sick he obviously looked.
Angeal sighed instead and finally uncrossed his arms again. He laid a heavy hand on Genesis's shoulder.
"You need to get back to Junon. Talk to Hollander again," Genesis tried to shrug the hand off, but in this, Angeal was firm. A niggling thought occurred in Angeal's mind.
Would Genesis leave us? Disappear enroute? Leave…me?
When Angeal looked up from Genesis, he caught Sephiroth's gaze. Green eyes observed the two of them, but whatever thought whirled behind them, Sephiroth had his mind made up.
"You should go with him," Sephiroth said, "Keep an eye on him."
"I don't need a keeper," Genesis protested at the same time Angeal did.
"But I just got here."
To be honest with himself, the thought occurred to Angeal as well. Everything of him yearned to stay at Genesis's side and keep him safe. But he had the Soldiers to think about. Sephiroth. And his student, Zack. What would it mean for his honor if he left them just after arriving?
Sephiroth seemed to read his conflicting thoughts like an open book.
"I'll keep an eye on Zack."
"I-" Angeal shook his head. This couldn't be another duty for Sephiroth. He was already offering to take over command, after all. If Rufus hadn't known before, it would only have been a matter of time now. How could he expect-
"And Cloud," Genesis chimed in, defeated. Under Angeal's hand, Genesis's shoulder slumped forward. They felt bony under his palm.
It was a concession. Genesis's stint in Wutai was coming to a close.
"Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost. Wings stripped away, the end is nigh," sighed Genesis mournfully. Sephiroth snorted, then patted Genesis lightly on the other shoulder once.
"Don't count us out just yet." Then, he headed out of the tent, leaving Angeal and Genesis alone. Angeal sat down across from Genesis on an overturned crate and looked over the tray Cloud left.
"Come on," he coaxed, "It's not home cooking, but it doesn't look too bad."
"Angeal," Zack said, tears swelling up and stinging the corner of his eyes. His mentor lightly laughed.
In Zack's hands, the Buster Sword gleamed like new. Zack barely saw Angeal use it at all, and now the man was leaving the sword with him on the eve of his departure back toward Cresent Bay, this time with a despondent Genesis in tow.
"Hey," Angeal said, "Don't get teary on me. It's a loaner, and I expect it back in the same condition I'm leaving it."
Zack gulped and nodded. He could read between the lines of what Angeal said and held on tighter to the sword.
"You'll see," he said, "You'll get it back none the worse for wear."
Angeal laughed more earnestly.
"Well, the sword is for protecting those important to me," he said, then reached over and gave Zack's hair a good ruffle. "I hope it serves you well, too."
"Can we clear out the area surrounding it?" Sephiroth asked.
Clay sighed. As much as he was glad Genesis would be getting treated (what could possibly have brought down a Soldier? Did the Wutaians finally find something?), he wasn't as thrilled he would need to work with a new commander on the eve of a major operation.
Though he didn't always agree with Genesis, they found rapport and a middle ground.
Sephiroth was a new variable.
Clay never worked with the man when he was sent to Wutai on other missions. Rumors say he was good, very good to earn a nickname from the Wutaians, who speak of him in the same breath they tell stories of ghosts and yokai. How he truly was remained to be seen.
Clay walked over to see the operational maps the other man was pouring over.
"We don't have enough manpower to do that," Clay explained. "I know what the bigwigs sitting at HQ command, but even with troops being diverted from the east, storming the stronghold would be suicide. And if we aren't careful, Wutaians will pincer us in front of Tamblin."
Their hold on Toin was tenuous at best. Kisaragi sent the beast units. Most of the fortifications were compromised or burned down during Shinra's takeover, and the occupying forces were exposed. And if they wanted to have any hope of striking Tamblin, they needed to keep Toin.
"I see," Sephiroth said thoughtfully.
Something niggled at the back of Clay's mind. "Oh," Clay said, "You lot got lucky coming in when you did. They took down the comms lines in the last attack. Messages will be delayed for some time from the shorebase."
"Genesis and Angeal?"
"Already arrived. Probably waiting for the ship now." Clay looked at the time. "Might as well go fuel up. You should know where it is by now."
Essai rationally knew the rumors were true. There were too many that agreed with the basics not to think there was a thread of truth in them.
And though they kept it on the hush-hush (or because they were), everyone knew Sephiroth was on base. Essai personally saw how that came to be (even if he did think he might have hallucinated half of it).
That still didn't stop him from rubbing his eyes when he stepped foot into the mess hall.
The hall was filled with people, but everyone avoided a table to the side.
Two recognizable forms sat there. One was in trooper fatigues with untamable blonde hair. The other wore dark leather that contrasted with silver hair.
Cloud sat across from Sephiroth. But where Cloud's eyes darted around the hall, noting the people trying (and failing) not to stare, Sephiroth's eyes were trained on Cloud alone.
Around them, conversation was subdued. It was also easy to guess why. Soldiers had enhanced senses. That included hearing. In a camp, never mind privacy, people would know if you took a shit. Useful for recon but terrible for peaceful shut-eye.
Now, everyone is trying to stay right in earshot of a certain table.
Essai scanned the room, looking for his actual target. He instantly brightened when he saw a familiar figure wave at him. Relief flowed into him.
Sebastian.
Essai's feet took him toward his friend without conscious input from Essai, but a few steps later, he stopped. Because Sebastian was sitting at a table right next to the…couple?
Sebastian waved again and Essai sighed, resigned.
"- is a puzzle," Cloud could be overheard saying.
Sebastian's table chewed away silently. Even the people who clearly finished their food were still sitting there pretending to eat. Sebastian moved over a bit and made room for Essai, who sat his tray down and winced when the tray clattered against the table, sounding too loud even to his ears. Whatever Sephiroth said in response to Cloud was drowned out.
"-can't go around, then what about over or under?" Cloud asked. Sephiroth hummed but changed the topic.
"How's the food?"
"It's been fine," Cloud said as his fork scraped against the bottom of his tray, "We got used to it. What do you think?"
Sephiroth plopped whatever was on his fork into his mouth.
"Hmm. Tasteless." Cloud pushed his tray toward the general.
"It's better if you mix it. Here, give it a try." Sephiroth didn't even hesitate before dipping his fork into Cloud's food. He took a bite in front of widened eyes (more probably behind some of those visors), then hummed. He shot a small smirk at Cloud.
"Not bad."
Fill in the fan club form if you would like- I can't link on FFN but you can find it on AO3 (or comment here instead)! Wrong answers are always funnier. Please don't add anything you wouldn't in the reviews section or provide any self-identifying info if you fill out the form, though. Honor system because I'm keeping it anonymous and may post the responses.
Questions repro'd below:
What is Zack's favorite restaurant in Midgar?
Fill in the blank: "Zack is like a _"
What is Zack's favorite exercise?
Also, happy 7/7! For the seventh month of the year, I will try to do weekly Sunday updates (I probably won't be able to update for the last Sunday due to traveling)