Vagaries of Fate

Second Lab

Chapter 8 

He wasn't sure if he was more upset at the fact that she was already overworking or chagrined at the fact that she preempted his scolding for it. He huffed as he realized no matter his thoughts on the subject, she was going to do what she felt was right. It infuriated him at times, but her drive to follow her heart was one of the things he had fallen for. "I will not scold you, but please take enough time to take care of yourself too. You must remember that if you fall for any reason, there could be chaos until we return. As for me, I am already headed to sleep. I wanted to speak with you before I laid down."

She smiled at his reminder. She was thankful that he had started to curb his protectiveness somewhat, but it made her feel better knowing he cared enough to bring it up in the first place. "I won't forget." She paused and tried to picture his face once more. Her smile was a little strained when she spoke again. "I love you, Gen. Please take care and come back safe."

He could hear the strain she tried to hide but didn't mention it. "I love you too. Now sleep. I will speak to you again tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." She smirked as she visualized his response. He had always hated it when she called him sir.

He growled at her intentional provocation. "Only you would think it would be safe to mock me."

She smiled at his tone. She knew they were both putting off saying goodbye, but neither of them could afford to stay up longer than was necessary. She sighed as she answered. "You know I'm not mocking you; I respect you more than that. We do need to get off, though. I'll try to call when I have time. Goodnight, love."

There was a pause on the other end before he finally spoke softly. "Goodnight, Starlight. I will dream of you."

She knew she would be dreaming of him, as well. "Me too. Now go sleep so you can join me."

He chuckled lightly at her tone. He didn't want to say goodbye, but he knew they both needed sleep. "Until the morrow then. Sleep well."

"You too." As much as she didn't want to, she finally hung up the phone. She knew neither of them wanted to say goodbye. She looked at the silent phone for a few moments before she stood and headed back to their apartment. She was not looking forward to sleeping in their bed alone, but she knew it wouldn't be the last time. It was a fact they would have to deal with for a long time to come. Thoughts of his arms around her were the only thing cradling her when she finally fell into sleep.

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Zack had left the caravan that was headed toward Junon several hours back. He was headed to the second lab on the Eastern Continent. Kunsel had taken the first one closest to Midgar. He had already sent his initial reports, and everyone was antsy at the fact that the place had appeared empty. That made Zack wonder what he would be headed into. They had all been briefed on what they might encounter, and he still felt nauseous thinking about some of the things he had been told.

He was currently doing squats in the back of one of the trucks, trying to keep his mind from dwelling on the images too much. He finally understood the contempt that all the Firsts showed for the science department, or at least the old science department. He didn't know everything, but from what he was told, things had really changed since both Hojo and Hollander had disappeared. He hoped things never went back to that way if the stuff he was told were any indication.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a shout from one of his Soldiers. They had finally arrived. He was jumping from the back of the truck before it even came to a complete stop. He looked around and spotted the entrance in the side of one of the hills. It was almost hidden, but he could make it out well enough to know that it was a choke point. They would have to be careful when they entered.

He had everyone gather and had one of the other two Soldiers right behind him with the infantry behind and the third Soldier taking rear guard in case they were ambushed. Zack was ready to kick the door in and barrel into the building, but a slight breeze blew it open a few inches. That instantly had his hackles raised. Whether it was Avalanche or the monsters that had been locked up, they were going into a dangerous situation blind. He took a deep breath and flung the door open and quickly followed the motion with a fireball that should have cleared the entranceway at least. He sent up a brief thanks for all the hell he went through with Genesis when his fireball was large enough to fill the whole hall as it screamed out of sight and disappeared.

He counted to ten and then quickly followed it. The footsteps of the dozen troops that accompanied him echoed off the walls as they all rushed into the compound. The hall went on for more than a hundred meters before it finally opened into a large room. Zack didn't have the chance to do much when he entered as he barely had the opportunity to dodge a fireball from someone on the other side of the room. Luckily it had missed the troops that had stopped behind him.

When he stood from his roll, he glared over at a half dozen men. The one that had presumably thrown the first fireball had another one ready. It was easy for him to dodge it as he ran towards them. He barely registered the sound of the rest of his men following close behind. He scarcely noted them surround the others as his focus was on the fire wielder.

He was surprised when the man was able to deflect some of his blows with his bare hands, and even further surprised when one of the others jumped in as well. Even though they were outnumbered, he could tell that most of the small group they were up against were not normal. He took a moment to look around and realized none of them made a sound, not even when they were struck. His stomach soured as he realized they must have been the Ravens he had been told about. It sickened him to think about what had been done to them. It also hadn't escaped his notice that one of the men had made his way out of the fighting and was trying to escape.

He tried to lunge for the man, but he barely missed a punch to the face as he dodged his opponent at the last minute. His opponent didn't blink when the man that was leaving called out. "Shears, take care of this. I will meet you at the rendezvous point."

The man in front of him glowered at the retreating form, but he didn't object. Instead, he moved to intercept Zack again. Even though he was focused on the man once more, he was still able to notice that the others were finally able to overcome the Ravens, and they were pushing the small group back. He grinned a little cockily when the man finally jumped back and away. He moved to follow immediately but had to dodge another incoming fireball. It gave the man a chance to head to one of the other tunnels shooting off from the large room. He looked back with a smirk before speaking. "I hate to stop before we really get started, but we have what we came for. I was gonna put the rest out of their misery, but I suppose you will have to take care of that instead. Enjoy."

Zack tried to chase him down, but the man collapsed the tunnel behind him as he ran. The Second had to bite back a curse as the dust cleared. He knew they would need to clear it out anyway, but by the time they had, the man would be long gone. He turned back with a scowl. At least the rest were relatively unscathed as well.

It didn't take him long to have them take care of the downed Ravens and then break into three groups to start tackling the rest of the building. He wasn't sure if he could take the man, Shears, at his word, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He made sure everyone was prepared in case they ended up running into monsters.

He scowled again as he led the first group down the first hallway. His senses were already on high alert, so when they encountered the first monsters, he wasn't surprised. He was disgusted by the things they saw, but it was a mercy to put those abominations out of their misery. That was one thing the man had been right about, at least. It didn't take him long to discover that it wasn't the only thing. The monsters were the only thing left in the building. Any trace of what might have been going on otherwise was long gone.