Another FF fic... Crisis Core of course. I just finished it after not even a week of playing, and I CRIED ;__; Seriously, why Zack? WHY??? SO DEPRESSING!

So I wrote this, mainly cause every time I got an e-mail from Kunsel I'd sit there and analyze it, goin' "Yep, he's a creeper." Dude, he knows EVERYTHING about Zack! It's scary! But I love Kunsel, even if he's only a minor character and you never get to see his face. -pouts- (I kind of tried to create him how I imagined him to look, just so you know, it's NOT canon.)

Darkness had fallen over the ShinRa company building, dotted by the dim lights in the offices of those who had the misfortune to have to work the night shift. A few security guards wandered the entrance of the ShinRa building, greeting each other with short nods whenever their paths crossed. Silence had lain a heavy blanket upon the shoulders of the world, muffling noise within its soft folds.

On the 49th floor of the building a lone SOLDIER in First-Class garb sat draped on one of the couches in the lounge area. He had short black hair, layered so it tapered down the back of his neck and bangs that swept across his face, covering his eyes. He was gazing down at a PHS that he held in his hands, reading and re-reading the words scrolling across the screen. At one point he blew his hair out of his eyes and a pair of Mako-infused blue irises were revealed before taking refuge behind the curtain of black once more.

The SOLDIER sighed and rested his head on the back of the couch, the PHS drooping from his hands to fall in his lap. The dark black words still scrolled against the glaring white light of the screen.

Hey!

I told myself I'd stop bugging you as soon as I hit triple digits, but one more won't hurt, right?

It's been a while since I last heard from you. After all that fuss about the two escaped test subjects, there was nothing about it again. You must be keeping pretty down-low if I can't find you! I guess it's pretty hard being a fugitive, but it wouldn't hurt to stop by if you get the chance.

There's been a lot of chaos at ShinRa lately. Turns out that anti-ShinRa group Avalanche has been making some pretty big moves-- they destroyed the Mako reactor in Midgar a week ago. One of the Avalanche members spotted was supposedly Cloud Strife. Wasn't he on one of your last missions with you? One of your last ShinRa assignments I mean. You and him were pretty close, if I remember right. I wonder what he was doing with Avalanche, anyway. Does that mean you've joined up with them too?

Don't worry buddy, it doesn't make a difference to me either way. Just make sure you bring yourself back in one piece, all right?

I dunno if you've heard or not, but I made First-Class just last month. I've been working so hard to make it up here but… it's weird, I thought it would feel a lot different. Still, I've finally caught up to you, so you'd better watch your back or I just might surpass you one day!

I'll stop mailing you now, since you're probably really busy. But just in case I don't see you again…

Bye Zack.

-Kunsel

The SOLDIER sat with his head propped against the couch for a minute, staring at the ceiling. Eventually he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and looked back down at the PHS. He picked it back up and pressed a button on the keypad with his thumb. The screen changed to read two bold words: MESSAGE SENT.

Slowly he stood, rolling his shoulders and rubbing the back of his neck. He took one final glance at the PHS and clipped it to his belt. Then, hands in his pockets, he stepped into the shadows of the hallway, leaving the room behind him.

In a desert town just outside Midgar, in a small brick house, a young boy sat at the kitchen table with a screwdriver in one hand and a disassembled PHS in the other. The table was littered with wires, computer chips, and small metal instruments. As he tinkered with the PHS a girl in her late teens came down the stairs, a hand held up to her mouth to stifle a yawn. She rolled her eyes at the boy.

"Really Trin, are you still playing with that stupid phone? Just leave it alone-- it's broke! It's probably been in that old valley for years, it'll never work now."

Trin looked up from his work and stuck out his bottom lip. "Aw, come on Sis! I've almost fixed it! A few more minutes and it'll be as good as new!"

His sister sighed and pulled a pan out from a cupboard over the stove. "I've got work soon," she said. "So I won't be able to make much for breakfast. Are eggs okay?"

Trin ignored her and picked up a small metal chip from the pile, fitting it into the PHS with a pair of tweezers.

His sister sighed once more and opened the fridge. She pulled out a carton of eggs, removing four and placing the rest back on the shelf, and cracked each one open into a small bowl, grabbing a fork and whisking the eggs together with sharp flicks of her wrist. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she peered over her shoulder at her younger brother hunched over the table.

"Got it!" he said, and placed the tweezers back on the table. "All it needed was a new microchip."

"I don't see why we even need a phone," his sister muttered. "We're getting along fine without one." But still she watched as Trin replaced the back of the PHS and turned it over, pushing the button on the keypad marked with a small round power icon.

"It's working!" Trin's pale green eyes lit up as the PHS flickered to life. His sister rushed to look as well, spilling egg on the floor in her haste. Some of the pixels had burned out, leaving the white screen smudged with rainbow discoloration. The PHS whirred loudly for a moment and the ShinRa company logo filled the screen. The two siblings glanced at each other. If it was ShinRa technology… would this be considered stealing? But the ShinRa logo disappeared and was replaced by a message that read 'Welcome, Mr. Fair.'

"Who's 'Mr. Fair'?" Trin's sister whispered, but the screen changed again before her brother could reply.

You have 101 new messages.

Ha, lame, I know. Ah well, I shot for it anyway. Please R&R, for a digital cookie?

~ KL