"To your left, Zack!" Angeal yelled, then facepalmed as his student dodged right. "You're other left," he said as the one of the monsters Zack was fighting, a group of whole eaters, managed to get a slash on him. Angeal's hand twitched and he almost made a move to rush forward, but no, Zack needed to figure this out on his own.

"Sorry," his student said, as he stood. Then he downed a potion, holding his sword in guard position as he prepared to attack again.

"Carefully," Angeal called. "Look for openings."

"What if there aren't any?" Zack almost whined. Almost.

The older man sighed. They were insects. There were openings. Lots of them. Still, a chance for a lesson here. "Then you either wear them down until they give you an opening, or you make an opening. Force them to do something they aren't used to and exploit any uncertainties. You can also retreat."

"What?" Zack asked, turning his attention away from the monsters to look at Angeal, scandalized. One of the (far too large) insects got another hit on him and the first class winced. That one had to hurt.

"Zack, running away is sometimes the best thing you can do. If you are outmatched or out numbered, there is no shame in retreating and regrouping. Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war. Now, concentrate! I know you can do this!"

The younger man nodded, determination in his eyes as he readied his sword again. This had to be the fourth or fifth monster group Angeal had made him fight that night, and it had worn on him, but the SOLDIER first noted a greater certainty of movement in his protege now. He had a plan, or at least a path forward.

Readying the bolt materia he had in his bracer, he watched the nightmarish hoard of monsters regroup to rush at him. Angeal couldn't help his smile as his student waited for just the right moment to race forward and flip over the hoard just before they were about to jump and jammed his sword into the lead's head. Then he managed to slice through the other one and lastly, skewered the third and final one as it jumped for him. It still managed to get a good hit on Zack's chest, but it was a consolation prize at best.

It fell to the ground with a dying shriek as it, and its companions, began to dissolve into the lifestream. The SOLDIER first walked over to his protege and slapped him on the shoulder. He felt a little bad when the boy cringed with a pained grunt.

"Well done," he said proudly.

Zack smiled tiredly. "Thanks. Can I have one of your potions? I'm out."

Angeal frowned and cast his sense materia out. Zack had some bruising and minor fractures from that last hit (it must have gotten in a lucky shot), but nothing that wouldn't heal with a little rest, although it was likely rather painful. He sighed and shook his head. His student needed to learn to be more conservative with healing items.

"I gave the last of them to you before we came below plate."

The SOLDIER third groaned. "Right. A cure, then?"

The older man sighed. "Maybe this will teach you to dodge, or at least be better at managing your inventory," he admonished as he shook his head. "And concentrate. There's nothing wrong with you that a couple hours of rest won't fix."

"But Angeal," he practically whined again.

"Ah," Angeal held up his hand. "When you're in a hostile situation, you may not always have the mana to cure every little thing, or you may have to save it. Getting to know your body – and that sometimes means the pain you may have to go through – is a large part of becoming SOLDIER."

Zack sighed, holding his ribs with one arm. "It doesn't feel like a little thing."

Angeal chuckled. "I had to go through this. Genesis had to go through this. Even Sephiroth. It's called conditioning. And, as much as I hate seeing you in pain – and I do – this is a good lesson to learn right now."

He looked around and his breath almost caught when he saw the steeple of a church a little ways off. They'd been wandering all over Sector 5 for most of the afternoon without finding anything. He'd almost given up on locating the church…

He glanced between the steeple and his aching student before sighing. If it was the church from the game, it should be safe enough for Zack to rest up in. Heck, if it was any church, they should be fine. If they ran into anything else, Angeal could take care of it.

As a mentor, he may be harsh, but he wasn't heartless.

"Come on. It looks like there's a place over here that will be safe enough for a little bit. You can rest up, and I'll keep watch."

He put a shoulder under his student's arm and began helping him along.

"Can't we just go back to headquarters?" Zack asked, his breath hitching as they hobbled along.

Angeal made a show of thinking about it. "Well, if you feel well enough to walk all the way back to the train station, and taking that bumpy train-ride up to the plate, and then walking all the way back to the ShinRa building—"

"Alright, alright!" the younger man cut him off. "You made your point."

Genesis would have been pouting and angry as he said something like that. Zack, despite his fatigue, just rolled his eyes, teasing. Sometimes he was such a breath of fresh air.

"Just focus on breathing and not straining anything else. Consider your lesson for the night over. You did well, pup. I'll take care of any other monsters we run into."

Zack nodded. "Okay. Thanks, 'Geal."

"Brat. I'm your mentor. Don't call me that." The admonition may have worked had he not had a blatant smile on his face.

The puppy just laughed, then winced a little. "Don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"You have bruised ribs with possible hairline fractures. Of course it will hurt a bit."

"Can't you cure it? Just a little?" Zack asked, sounding more like a five-year-old than the near eighteen-year-old he was.

It almost worked. Almost. Angeal really hated seeing his student like this and felt guilty for putting him through it… but then he remembered having to push through similar pain in the war and the consequences when he hadn't been able to.

No, this pain now was worth not putting Zack through that kind of pain later. "Sorry, Zack."

The teen's face crumbled and Angeal wasn't sure just how the boy had weaponized his emotions, but there it was. Still, he stood firm and looked ahead. It helped if he didn't look at his student.

And then his breath hitched because… there it was. A church. He couldn't even tell what denomination it had belonged to, but it was obviously abandoned now. The once pristine outer coating had long since faded away, leaving warped boards underneath. There were no windows on the front, although he could see several on the side, many of which had similarly warped boards nailed across them. Those that didn't held only broken, dirty glass. Trash piles had built up in front of the entire building, only leaving a small walk way leading to and around it.

Zack suddenly spoke up, drawing Angeal back from his own reverie. "Are you sure this'll be safe? It looks… haunted."

And that quickly, the somber mood broke – for Angeal at least – as he couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him. It did look rather foreboding. Besides, this might not even be the church the game had referenced. They hadn't really seen it from the outside.

"Well," he said with a grin still on his face, "I guess we do have time to catch that bumpy train ride…"

The teen groaned. "Fine. We'll try the haunted church."

Angeal chuckled. "You'll probably feel much better in an hour or so." Not healed, per se (that would take all night) but better.

Zack just grumbled under his breath, causing Angeal to chuckle again as they walked forward and opened the large doors. Angeal's smile disappeared. Inside it looked exactly like the church in the game, down to the broken pews in the back. And, up front, turning towards them was a girl in a white sun-dress with brown hair tied up in a pony tail.

The SOLDIER first felt his mouth drop open a little.

Despite half expecting it, this had officially taken a turn for the strange.

xXx

Genesis stared at the picture on the screen blankly, unable to muster anything but surprise. It might be easier to absorb and process the situation if he knew what exactly this implied… But honestly he didn't. And he didn't like the feeling that gave him either. The uncertainty…

Finally, after a good five minutes, he reached over and turned on his printer. Maybe he should look a little more into this.

xXx

Sephiroth couldn't help but blink in shock and more than a little worry at his own findings. With slow but steady hands, he reached for his phs. A couple of minutes later he held it up and took a picture. Then he did a little more crawling around (Genesis would never find out about this indignity) and took more pictures than he thought might be strictly necessary, but he almost felt as if he needed them to convince himself as much as he did those who would be reading the upcoming report.

Ten minutes later he walked in a sort of daze (not that anyone who didn't know him well would be able to tell) out of the reactor. He crossed the bridge that would lead to the main walkway and studied the ground that should, according to the game, be pockmarked with holes at best, utterly destroyed at worst. At least that wasn't true. Or… hadn't happened yet?

But then again, if the flaw he'd found was indeed there, then what about all that regarding Don Corneo?

With a grim set to his face, he boarded the train. Then he opened the shinra-net on his phs and looked up Wal Market.

xXx

The girl couldn't have been more than sixteen. Honestly, Angeal would have guessed fourteen or fifteen. She quickly stood, eyes wide in fear and a hand coming close to her mouth.

That, more than anything else, drew Angeal out of his mounting surprise. He managed to put a smile on his face.

"Sorry to barge in," he said. "We were just fighting some monsters around here and my friend got hurt. Do you mind if we rest here for a bit? Maybe an hour or so?"

She didn't relax, per se, but some of the tenseness left her shoulders.

"I… don't own the church," she said softly. If Angeal didn't have SOLDIER hearing, he doubted he would have heard it.

Apparently Zack heard it too, because he spoke next. "Are you sure? You sure look like an angel."

Angeal rolled his eyes, although the girl blushed and relaxed a bit more as a small smile poked at the corners of her lips.

"Alright, that's enough from you," the SOLDIER first said as he reached over and closed first one door, then the other. Zack drew in a sharp breath at being jostled a little and Angeal winced at having hurt him.

"Come on. Let's get you over to a bench." The lighting looked better up front, so he slowly helped Zack toward the girl, who continued to stand there, watching them cautiously. She seemed to tense up again with every step they took, so at about the third bench from the front, he decided that that would be close enough and helped Zack lie down on the old wood. He let out a breath of relief as he did so and Angeal couldn't help but smile softly.

"You'll thank me for this later."

"I still think you've been hanging around Genesis and Sephiroth too much," the younger man muttered. "More sadistic than you used to be."

Angeal frowned reprovingly, despite knowing that Zack couldn't see him. They'd known each other for almost a year now. How could he have possibly changed that much in that amount of time? "Zack," he reproached.

The SOLDIER third sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry."

Funny, he didn't sound too sorry. Angeal shook his head, unable to keep the fond, if exasperated, smile from his face. "Rest. Try not to move. Let me know when you start feeling better."

He turned back to the defensive girl still standing at the front of the Church. And, for the first time, Angeal saw what she was standing in front of.

Flowers.

He blinked.

Then he looked back at the girl, who shifted nervously.

"You don't need to worry. We won't hurt you."

She bit her lip, looking every bit like the inexperienced teenager she was. "You're… not here for me?"

Angeal frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Zack spoke first from his position on the bench.

"Nope. But I'd still like to ask you for your number."

The girl blushed again. So, not as forward as the girl from the game… but then, the character had seemed older too. Of course, there was no way to tell with the graphics as they had been, but he still got the distinct impression that this girl was far younger.

"Rest! And hush!" Angeal shot at his student.

Zack pouted, but didn't speak again. At least right then.

"I'm Angeal," the older SOLDIER said with a polite nod of his head to the girl. "Angeal Hewley. This is Zachary Fair."

"Zack!" the boy protested. "Only my mother calls me Zachary."

The SOLDIER first smiled and shook his head, then turned expectantly to the girl.

"Aerith," she said softly, dipping into a small curtsy. "Aerith Gainsborough."

Angeal felt as if she'd socked him in the gut. Hard. Just for a moment.

Well, that answered that question. Aeris… Aerith… far too similar to not be a coincidence. That didn't even take into account her last name.

Swallowing back his confusion and shock, he smiled at her again. "A lovely name. And are you the reason that those flowers can grow here?"

She glanced over her shoulder at the vegetation. "I… suppose," she said hesitantly. "I just tend them and they grow. It isn't that difficult."

Angeal raised one eyebrow and went to sit on the front pew, moving cautiously so as not to spook her. She continued to watch him like a cornered mouse would a stalking cat.

"Is that so?" he asked. "Because I know experienced botanists on the plate who can't get anything to grow here."

Aerith bit her lip and looked away.

Angeal realized that he probably wouldn't be getting a much better response from her and sighed. "I promise you, we aren't here to hurt you or take you in any way."

She looked back at him, cautiously hopeful and plenty skeptical.

"Can you tell me why you'd think we were here for you?" he asked.

The girl studied him for several seconds, looking just about as confused as he felt, before she finally said, "Aren't you SOLDIER?"

Angeal nodded. "Yes, Miss. SOLDIER first class. Zack, back there," he thumbed over his shoulder "is a third class."

"I'll make second soon!" Zack proclaimed.

"Rest!" Angeal reminded him.

"Doesn't mean I can't talk!" his protege whined.

"You talk with your hands. Until we break you of that habit, rest." If they tied his hands, Angeal was convinced he wouldn't be able to utter more than a couple of words. Although, to be fair, he was getting better.

He turned back to Aerith, who looked between the two of them again, seeming more relaxed than ever.

"So…" she said slowly, "you work for ShinRa?"

Again, Angeal nodded. Then he cocked his head to one side. "You think that ShinRa would be after you, then?"

She tensed right back up, clasping her hands to her chest. That was answer enough. Definitely not like the girl in the game. And yet…

"Please don't take me back," she suddenly blurted out. "I don't want to go back to that man… to that lab!"

Angeal felt his eyebrow raise and he sat back in surprise. "That man?" He repeated the words simply because he didn't know what else to say. Did that mean that Hojo really was after this girl, for whatever reason? (For being an Ancient? Whatever that meant.)

"Wait, lab?" Zack asked as he sat up, then he winced.

"Zack!" Angeal said sharply. The boy glanced between the two of them, then sighed and laid back down. The older SOLDIER looked back at the girl. "For future reference, continuing to deny it would have helped you more. However, I told you we have no intention of taking you anywhere. Especially if it has to do with Hojo."

For the first time, she looked surprised. "You… you don't?"

He shook his head. "We don't much care for Hojo in the SOLDIER department."

A loud snort from Zack.

"We have to put up with him, ourselves, so we have the," he coughed, "pleasure of knowing him on a fairly personal level. I can most certainly understand not wanting to be anywhere near him. Truthfully, I don't know a SOLDIER that would actively help that man without a direct order. And we have no orders to so much as even report we met you here. As a matter of fact," he turned to his student's bench. "Zack, isn't this a lovely, if old and very empty church?"

The teen remained quiet for several seconds before he snorted again, this time in amusement. "Yeah. Completely empty. No pretty girls tending an impossible garden here."

"Zack," Angeal admonished.

"I won't put this in any report! I have as many issues with Hojo as the next SOLDIER. Besides, what kind of hero just gives a girl up like that?"

Angeal nodded in satisfaction and turned back around with a pointed look. That cautiously hopeful expression had crept back onto her features, minus the skepticism. "You mean it?"

The SOLDIER first raised his hand to the side of his head, palm facing out. "I promise on my honor as a SOLDIER."

"He never breaks his promises," Zack volunteered.

She still looked hesitant, but then she finally relaxed and gave him a weak smile. Then she bowed. "Thank you," she said softly.

"No problem," Angeal replied easily. "Now, why don't you tell me more about yourself, and we'll tell you about us, and you can continue to tend your flowers."

Her smile grew, conveying her thanks. "Why don't you start, then?"

Eh, that was fair enough. "Well, as I said, my name is Angeal Hewley. My mother's name is Gilian and I was born in Banora…"

xXx

An hour's worth of small talk later, and Zack was well enough to head back to ShinRa. Not before they all exchanged phs numbers, though.

As they walked down the isle to the door, Aerith called out one final time. "Mr. Angeal."

He turned to her, still smiling softly. "Just call me Angeal. That's fine. I'm not that much older than you. But what is it?"

She bit her lip and then reached into a pocket on her skirt and pulled out some folded pieces of paper. "I got a note. It told me to wait here for… someone to come and to give this to them. I… don't understand it, but I think it was meant for you."

Frowning, he walked over and gently took the paper from her. The papers had been folded together in quarters. On the front, it said: Give this to your guest at the Church today.

Breath catching in his throat, he opened the papers titled: 'How To get Yuffie and Vincent in your party.' He stared at that for several seconds, then read through the following words.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

Angeal swallowed, then folded the papers back up. Somehow, he was positive this had to do with the game. He smiled at the girl. "Yes, I do believe this message was intended for me. Thank you. Do you have any idea who sent this to you?"

Aerith shook her head. "As I said, it was in the mailbox."

The SOLDIER first stared at her for several seconds, scrutinizing her. When he saw no deception in her body language or eyes, he sighed, then forced another smile. "Thank you again, then."

"Seriously, 'Geal, what is it?" Zack asked.

"Nothing of import, Zack. Just a comment about a current side project Sephiroth, Genesis and I are working on."

A pause, then. "Oh. Then why did they send that to Aerith?"

Angeal took a deep breath. "I don't know, Zack. I don't know."

Then, with one final farewell, the two SOLDIERS left, Zack walking steadily on his own. Angeal couldn't help but be proud. The boy had to still be in quite a bit of pain. They'd reached the edge of the street on which the church had been built and made to turn when a person in a blue suit strode out of the shadows to block their path.

It was the red-headed, new turk, Reno. Just like from the game. Yet another similarity.

"Yo!" the Turk said with a grin. "So, why were ya in that church over there?" he asked.

"Zack got hurt and we didn't want to take the train back before he healed up a little, so we went into the church to wait," Angeal explained easily, glancing over at a very confused Zack.

"Yeah. And what did ya find in there?"

Oh. So they were protecting her.

From Hojo.

How did the game developer know that? Just how high up was this leak in ShinRa?

"What do you mean?" Angeal asked easily. "Were we supposed to find something? Because all I remember were some old wooden pews where we could lay Zack down for a while. Right, Zack?"

The boy's purple-blue eyes cleared a bit. "Oh. Right. Yeah. Once my SOLDIER healing kicked in, we just had to wait until I was feeling better."

"And you didn't just use a cure or a potion?" Reno asked, skepticism dripping from his voice. Angeal didn't take offense.

"We ran out of the former, and I decided it was a good opportunity for some conditioning," Angeal replied with a shrug. "Pain tolerance. It's just a couple of bruised ribs, but if he gets used to it now, it could save his life in the future."

Zack didn't reply this time, just staring Reno down firmly.

"Huh. Alright, if ya put anythin' else in yer reports, there will be problems."

Angeal shook his head. "We have no intention of reporting anything that wasn't strictly pertinent to the mission, but if you'd like, we could turn our reports into the Turks first to make sure they're… as detailed as they need to be."

The shark-like grin on Reno's face only accentuated his nod. "We'd appreciate it, yo."

Angeal returned the smile as an acknowledgment, then continued on his way, making sure to stay with Zack as he walked along. Despite the train ride being every bit as bumpy as they'd expected, the boy didn't complain once on their way back to headquarters.

xXx

Zack sighed and slumped as he closed the door to his room. His assigned roommate, Luxiriere, was already asleep, and he tried to be as quiet as possible as he dragged his still aching body over to his side of the room, and his very inviting bed. Tonight had been… weird. What had been up with the Turks and that girl and Angeal? He'd been acting a little off all night for some reason, but Zack couldn't put his finger on why, exactly.

Another ping of pain from his ribs reminded him that he didn't want to think about it anymore tonight. Although, he'd definitely text the cute girl (who appeared to be on the run from Hojo, though the Turks were protecting her… who'da thunk it?) in the morning.

Sighing in relief, he sat on the edge of his bed and reached down to take off his boots and threw them on the floor. Then he turned, prepared to just flop onto his face and sleep on the covers tonight when he saw something there. A small package.

He glanced over at his roommate, but (unsurprisingly) got no response. Frowning, he picked the package up and read the label. It was addressed to him.

His frown deepened as he ripped the box open, (Gaia, even that hurt) and peered inside. A small case met his eyes. He tipped the package upside down and caught what fell out. It was a game for one of his small, hand-held devices. Weird. Who'd sent him this? He looked on the label again, but found nothing. No return address, no postage stamps, no other labels…. He inspected the game and case more closely.

"Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core," he said aloud, albeit softly. Huh. He'd never heard of it. Unusual, he tended to be fairly on top of new games, even if he couldn't buy or play them (not with his schedule). Well, this wasn't exactly unwelcome. Since Angeal had commandeered his game station he'd been particularly bored. (It had only been a day, but still...)

Hey, wait… was that a SOLDIER on the front? A SOLDIER with a buster sword? Was that Angeal? Was he the main character? How cool was that?! He couldn't help but break out into a huge grin. Angeal finally got a game made after him! Someone had finally realized how awesome his mentor was! Oh, this was gonna be so epic!

Another zing from his ribs and he sighed. Tomorrow. It would be epic tomorrow. Tonight, he just needed sleep.

He placed the case on his rather cluttered nightstand and proceeded to flop onto his bed again, more than happy to wait for the morning when the pain should be gone. In moments, he was out.

xXx

AN: This hasn't been beta read. ^^;

Sooo, I don't know if anyone here knows, but I'm a professional artist. Maybe not a great one, but a professional one at least. Have a degree and everything. Would anyone be interested in watching me draw scenes and/or characters from my fanfics and/or original stories? Let me know!

Come discuss on discord: discord (period) gg (period) ezzFnGJ aka Obi's Den of Geek and Writerings