Crisis Core Chapter 2

Chapter 2


Angeal and Zack walked through the automatic sliding glass door into the briefing room, where a semicircular table sat before a large computer screen with various information showing on it. The room looked similar to pretty much all of the other rooms in the Shinra building, mostly varying shades of grey. The table in front of the screen had five rolling chairs placed equidistant around it. Angeal took a seat at the table, next to a younger blonde man wearing a blue pinstripe suit and white gloves. Zack stepped forward, following Angeal, but not taking a seat. The blonde man turned in his chair to face Zack.
"Zack." the man said, then stood, a friendly smile on his face. "Its good to finally meet face to face." He held his hand out. "Lazard. Director of Soldier."
"Heya." Zack greeted, shaking Lazard's hand.
The Director took on a slightly more serious tone. "On to business." he said, leaning down to type some commands into the keyboard on the desk. A picture of a man appeared on the screen with 'M. I. A. MISSING IN ACTION' flashing across it in bold red letters. "SOLDIER 1st Class Genesis. A month ago, he went missing during a mission in Wutai. Know anything about this?"
"Not a clue." Zack responded, holding up his hands.
"Hm." Lazard sat back in his chair. "This mission is currently stuck in limbo." He took his eyes off the screen to look at Zack. "That's why we've decided to send you."
"Uh, to Wutai?" Zack asked. He thought it was odd for his first mission in who knows how long to be directly in Wutai.
"Yes." Lazard leaned on his elbows, his head resting on his folded hands. "This war has gone on long enough."
After being silent for a while, Angeal spoke up. "I've reccommended you for 1st." he said, not turning around to look at Zack, but grinning, knowing how he would react.
Zack made a small laugh of pure elation. He'd waited for so long to be a 1st and he wanted it so badly, and now Angeal had reccommended him! A recommendation from a 1st could almost gaurantee him getting to become one, the highest level of SOLDIER. Zack grinned from ear to ear. "Angeal! I love you, man!" He went over to Angeal to hug him. "Angea--" He shoved Zack off. "Oof!"
"Don't make me regret this, Zack." Angeal sighed, crossing his arms.
Zack, regaining his composure, stood up straight with his arms to his sides and responded, "Sir!"
Paying no mind to Zack, Angeal stood. "We have to leave soon. Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" Zack said enthusiastically.
"Have you made preperations?" Angeal asked, knowing Zack probably wouldn't even take the time to prepare.
"I'm all set!" Zack said. He didn't want to have to wait any longer than he had to for missions, but even if he wasn't TOTALLY prepared, he could still manage.
"I'll be joining you as well." Lazard said. "I'm counting on you."
"Sir!" Zack said, eager to get going.
Lazard leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "By the way," he said to Zack, peering at him through his glasses with his blue eyes. "What is your dream? 'To become 1st'... is it?" He grinned.
"No..." Zack said, smiling and looking into the distance. He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "To become a hero!"
"Ah, good." Lazard leaned forward on his elbows again. "Unattainable dreams are the best kind."
Zack whipped his head around to look back at Lazard. "Uh...thanks?" he said, a look of confusion on his face.


WUTAI- MOUNT TAMBLIN

Zack and Angeal headed quickly down the mountain's smooth stone path.
"Fort Tamblin is just ahead." Angeal said as they stopped to take a breif break at an intersection of paths. "Let's hurry. B Unit is standing by." They continued to walk toward the path that led to Fort Tamblin, their boots crunching against the path as they walked.
"You two! Identify yourselves!" From the path to the left came a Wutai Private, followed by two other Wutai soldiers.
Like an invoulentary reflex, Zack pulled his new sword, which he had gotten before he left, off his back. "Just leave it to me!" he shouted to Angeal. Angeal decided to let Zack have a little fun.
The three soldiers ran toward Zack, pointing their guns at him. One shot at him, but the bullet was deflected by Zack's sword and riquoched, taking down the soldier. Zack swung his sword at the other two, taking them down as well, easily. He slashed the air, spun his sword, then put it back on his back. He walked back over to where Angeal was standing and assessing his abilities.
"All right, next!" Zack shouted, then did a fist pump.
"Calm down Zack." Angeal said, starting to walk down the cleared path.
Zack shrugged, then followed Angeal. "The Director is watching from somewhere, right?" He looked back and forth at the surrounding foliage, wondering where the Director was actually watching from. "I have to make a good impression." Angeal stopped in front of him, making him stop as well.
"Zack..." Angeal said.
Not particularly paying attention, Zack examined Angeal's sword. It was so large, it was a wonder he could carry it, even considering the strength of members of SOLDIER. And another thing that was odd was that he hardly ever used it. Zack thought it was a waste to have a sword like that but to never put it to use. He was snapped back into reality by Angeal's voice. "Do you know about dumbapples?"
"No... What is that?" Zack asked, curious, and a bit thrown off by the random question.
"Unbelieveable..." Angeal said, his gloved hand running across his short-cut beard. "How can you not know about dumbapples?" He continued walking, not waiting for an answer. "You'll never make 1st at that rate."
Zack stood pondering for a second, then noticed Angeal was leaving. "Woah, wait!" He ran after Angeal, then stopped. "What are dumbapples!?" He groaned and then ran after Angeal again, only to run into more Wutai troops. He easily took them out, then, with his ceremonial slashing and swinging of his sword, put his sword back and continued on. He took in the scenery around him as he went. The tall trees, the oddly colored fireflies illuminating the surrounding bushes in the dim light of the moon. Wutai was nothing like Midgar, where there were no plants.
He saw Angeal a little further down the trail and sped up.
"Hey! Angeal!" Zack shouted as he got closer. "What's the deal with 'dumbapples'?" He slowed to a walk beside Angeal and caught his breath.
Angeal turned his head to Zack, his walking pace gradually getting slower until he stopped entirely. "The official name is Banora White. The trees bear fruit at random times during the year. Because of that, the townspeople affectionately call them dumbapples." He smiled, recalling his past in his hometown, Banora, which had apparently been the spark of the subject. "The local farms had plently of them to spare."
Zack grinned at Angeal. "Oh, really?" he said. "So you stole them."
"We were poor, Zack."
"Nice excuse!"
"But, even then, I had my honor." Angeal said, then paused for a moment. "The largest Banora White tree grew on a wealthy man's estate. It was rumored that those apples tasted the best. But I never stole that tree, because the wealthy man's son was my friend."
Zack walked in front of him, with his hands behind his head, listening to his story. "If he was a friend, you should've just asked for some."
Angeal smiled. "Honor can be quite a burden at times."
Zack put his hands on his hips. "... And what exactly does this have to do with me?"
"No story is not worth hearing." Angeal walked ahead, laughing.
"What? That's it?" Zack shouted. Angeal continued walking and laughing. Zack ran to catch up. "Yeah, well, thanks a lot!"
The rest of the walk to Fort Tamblin was reletively quiet, save for the chirping of insects in the bushes along the path. Zack didn't really want to try to start another conversation, or another one of Angeal's stories, which never really seemed to make sense. He always talked about honor, and dreams. He had told Zack more times than he would like to count about how he needed to have honor and dreams. He wasn't really even sure what that meant. He had dreams: to become a 1st, and to become a hero. And he supposed he had honor, unless he was totally wrong on the definition in his head. He hoped Angeal would actually further explain at some point.
Angeal, who was slightly in front of Zack, signaled for him to come forward. The path came to a dead end with just some bushes blocking Zack and Angeal from view from the fortress. They crouched down by the bushes, Zack almost shaking with excitement.
He looked out at the oriental building which was part of the fortress. It had a blue slanting roof and the windows showed that there was light inside.
Angeal looked at the building as well, then at Zack. "B Unit will set off an explosion. That's our cue."
"The diversion will allow us to infiltrate." Zack said, understanding what Angeal meant.
"Right." Angeal answered. "I'll set the bomb inside the fortress. You'll charge the front gate and—"
"Uh-huh," Zack cut him off eagerly, a big smile on his face. "And? And, and, and, and, and?" He bounced back and forth with excitement, looking at Angeal with big blue eyes.
Angeal smiled at Zack's eagerness. "Indulge yourself."
Zack made a fist. "You got it! That's what I do best." He stood up restlessly. "Ah, come on B Unit..." He looked back and forth, waiting. He glanced down at Angeal who had his huge sword in his hands. Angeal held the sword upright, then touched his forehead to the flat of the wide blade. He took a deep breath, then returned the sword to its place on his back.
"You know, I've never seen you use that." Zack stated as he sat back down on the ground, looking at the sword all the while. He had to admit that that sword, the Buster Sword, as they called it, was really a work of art with all of the intricate designs on the blade and the handle. Even so, it was extremely sturdy, so Zack saw no reason not to use it. "Don't you think it's sort of a waste?"
Angeal looked Zack in the eyes. "Use brings about wear, tear, and rust. And that's a real waste."
Zack raised his eyebrows. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Angeal grinned a bit. "I can be pretty cheap."
Zack gave a half-hearted laugh. "Yeah, no kidding..."
A flash of orange and red bathed the landscape for a split second, followed by a loud boom that echoed in the night. Zack's muscles tensed, a natural reflex. Then, realizing what the explosion indicated, he stood up, his adrenaline pumping.
Angeal, who was still crouched on the ground, looked up at Zack. "Begin mission."
Zack grinned and jumped from the higher ground of Mount Tamblin down to the lower ground of the fortress, doing a backflip in the air, just to show off a bit. After landing, he ran to the entrance of the fortress, only to be stopped by a Wutai Sergeant blocking his way, along with other Wutai troops.
The Sergeant shouted to the other troops. "No one passes beyond this point! The enemy is but one man! Obliterate him!"
The gunmen positioned atop the wall of the fortress opened fire, which Zack found to be a bit unfair. He decided to deal with them last, when he didn't have the troops on the ground attacking up close with their weapons. He grabbed his sword and swung it a bit haphazardly, but getting the job done nonetheless. Hastily, he grabbed an orb of materia while dodging bullets. He held out the glowing sphere, causing lightning to strike the gunmen one by one. Zack did his usual sword slashing and spinning, then put the sword on his back and the materia in his pocket. "All right! Piece of cake!" He climbed up the wall over onto a watchtower of the fortress, hoping not to catch the attention of any more Wutai soldiers.
Or so someone would think.
He caught a glimpse of three soldiers and he thought he would follow Angeal's instructions to indulge himself. He jumped from the tower down to the ground right in front of the soldiers, baffling them a bit.
"Enemy attack!" one of them yelled. "It's SOLDIER! Don't let him get through!"
Zack laughed internally. To think that those idiots thought that they could handle Zack. He simply grabbed his sword and slashed at them a bit. It was over soon enough, with Zack as the victor.
He put his sword back, and as soon as he did, his phone rang. He answered the phone, which had Angeal on the other end. "Were you able to get inside the fortress?" he asked Zack.
"Piece of cake! I could've done it blindfolded!" Zack boasted.
"Don't get too careless." Angeal warned. "I've heard the Wutai keep a large monster for anti-SOLDIER purposes. It should be somewhere inside Fort Tamblin."
Zack thought for a moment. "If I take it out, do you think I'll make 1st?"
"It depends on the quality of your work. Your main duty is to distract them by running amok." Angeal clarified. "Do that well, and even the director will give you a favorable evaluation."
"Oh, that'll be easy! Just leave it to me!" He hung up the phone, returning it to his pocket. He took off running right away, hoping to attract enough attention and defeat enough enemies to impress Director Lazard.
He made his way through the winding corridors of the fortress, eliminating enemies with ease. He finally made it to the opposite end of the fortress, where the main building of the fortress was. Doors were the only thing standing in his way now.
As Zack was about to enter the gate that led to the main building of the fortress, his phone rang, and he answered it.
"Well done, Zack. You have successfully occupied Fort Tamblin." he heard Lazard say over the phone. "I was really only expecting you to get their attention. Most impressive, I must say. I'm very pleased with the results thus far. Proceed to the next objective." Zack hung up and put his phone back, then fist pumped in celebration of his success.
He ran quickly through the large gate doors toward the building where he was to really show Shinra why he should be a 1st.