Loveless

Chapter 26

While Eloise was being held back by her worsening condition, Zack was patrolling Sector 8. The street that had once terrified her looked completely different now. It had been rebuilt, brighter and livelier, filled with people going about their lives. He wished she could see it like this.

During the patrol, he ran into a few Turks. One of them was Cissnei — small, sharp, and surprisingly strong. Watching her fight made Zack smile. She reminded him of Eloise when she first joined SOLDIER: energetic, determined, full of drive before everything became complicated.

Reno and Rude were also on assignment nearby, now that Sector 8 officially belonged to the Turks.

"How's Eloise?" Reno asked casually. "Haven't seen her in a while. She doin' okay?"

Zack hesitated for half a second before answering.

"She's fine."

It sounded convincing enough, but Reno wasn't fooled. He studied Zack for a moment, clearly sensing something off, but before he could press further, Tseng interrupted and ordered them to move out.

Zack watched Cissnei fight later on and couldn't help comparing her to his sister again. She moved with confidence, fast and precise, just like Eloise used to when everything still felt simple. Back when she laughed easily. Back when she believed in being a hero.

Later that day, Zack received a call from Sephiroth.

Surprisingly, Sephiroth had decided not to eliminate Genesis or Angeal for the time being. That alone felt unreal. It gave Zack a fragile sense of hope he hadn't allowed himself to feel in months.

He was instructed to head to Mako Reactor 5.

When he arrived, Sephiroth was already there, standing quietly, his expression unreadable. After a moment, he spoke, his voice calm but heavy.

Sephiroth recalled the day Genesis brought Eloise into the simulation room to prove herself worthy of being his protégée. The spar gradually intensified. What began as a fun time turned into competition. Genesis pushed harder, reckless as always, provoking both Angeal and Sephiroth with careless confidence. The clash escalated faster than intended, and in a moment of miscalculation, Genesis was struck badly. And then, when Genesis was ready to leave, Eloise reacted to the fight in a way that startled all of them. Her energy lashed out, wild and unstable, reacting to the tension in the room.

"So... was everything alright?" Zack asked, clearly intrigued. He was genuinely surprised to hear that Eloise had witnessed that fight. She had never mentioned it to him.

"Yes, as far as Genesis was concerned," Sephiroth replied calmly. "But as for Angeal—"

"Angeal? What happened?" Zack interrupted at once.

Sephiroth let out a quiet, almost amused breath, memories surfacing of a time when things had been simpler, when the three of them had trained together without suspicion or bitterness, when they had still been a team.

"Later, I received one of his lectures."

Zack blinked. "About what?"

"Always the same things," Sephiroth answered dryly. "Discipline. Dreams. Honour. And so on."

Zack laughed despite himself. The idea of even Sephiroth being subjected to one of Angeal's speeches was oddly comforting. Still, the amusement faded quickly, replaced by a familiar ache. He missed those days more than he liked to admit.

They continued walking in silence for a while, each lost in memories of a time when everything had felt brighter. Eventually, they reached a lower level of the facility and came upon a small laboratory — Hollander's. The place was cluttered and poorly maintained, just as its owner was known to be. It didn't take long for them to find information scattered across terminals and files, all pointing toward Project G.