For Honor or Glory

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Chapter 96 

As soon as the group was up the stairs, they headed to what seemed to now be the unofficial meeting room. Bugenhagen, Nanaki, Angeal, and Zack were already there waiting. Alex was glad to see that the younger Soldier was smiling at her brother, and the tenseness between them seemed to have evaporated. That was one small win.

However, silence fell abruptly when Tseng and Vincent followed Alex and Sephiroth into the drawing-room. Alex tried her best to keep her temper in check when Tseng immediately started with, "I have agreed to hold my judgment for twenty-four hours, but I expect a thorough explanation as to why we should even consider a meeting."

All of the Soldiers tensed, but Alex ignored them as she tried to focus the group. "Most of what needs to be discussed should wait until we meet with the others. However, I would be happy to get you up to date on what we have been through so far. Maybe the rest of the infantrymen should be privy to this talk too, so they can see just how inhumane the current iteration of Shinra truly is. Murder, mutilation...rape—none of that is beyond the Shinra science department. Something the president is very well aware of."

Alex had barely managed to choke everything out, so she was more than thankful when Sephiroth put a calming hand on her arm. He was frowning, but he wasn't the only one. Zack looked even more horrified than he had earlier, and Tseng just looked pissed off.

Angeal gave her a concerned look that she tried to ignore. Not because she didn't appreciate it, but because she couldn't afford to break down with Tseng standing right there. She was almost thankful when the Turk said, "None of that has anything to do with my mission."

If Alex had been more prone to violence, she probably would have punched the man. However, she took a deep breath and clenched her fists as she said, "Nearly everyone in this room has lost something to the Shinra science department with the full backing of the president. I don't give a damn what your mission is, but I can tell you I would rather die than let Hojo get his hands on any one of us again. If that means I have to fight, then so be it."

She relaxed as Sephiroth's arm went around her shoulders, and even more when her brother stepped forward with both hands raised. "Okay, maybe we should all calm down for a minute." He then turned to look at Tseng as he continued, "You said we have twenty-four hours, right? Why don't we all sit down and be civil? There is no point in a fight if we don't have to."

Tseng was still giving them all a stern look, but he nodded as he said, "According to Director Veld's instructions, I need to know what happened when you left Shinra and everything since then."

Alex shared a look with her brother and the others that had escaped with her and saw none of them looked any calmer about the choice than she was. At least her brother's nod and Sephiroth's arm around her shoulder were enough to keep her grounded as she said, "Fine. You might want to take a seat because this isn't a pleasant story."

Tseng's only response was to lift one brow. The expression had Alex rolling her eyes in frustration, but she otherwise ignored it as she sat with Sephiroth on a nearby couch before she launched into a bare-bones version of the events since her kidnapping. She also included a tiny bit of information about the Jenova projects since they were core to the whole thing—just enough to answer most of his questions without getting too personal.

Once she was finished, she noted Zack looked rather green around the gills, but Tseng's mask was firmly back in place. Even though he showed no expression, that in and of itself was telling. His anger and frustration with the situation were long gone. Several moments passed before he said, "None of you will leave this building. We will wait to hear back from Director Veld tomorrow. Until then, stay out of sight."