DOGS of War

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When they reentered the room, Scarlet’s seat was conspicuously vacant and Zack let out a little sigh of relief. Angeal indicated where they were to sit, and he pulled Haine along with him, setting him down in one chair and pulling the other closer to be able to keep an arm around him. He was still very conscious of his actions and those watching, but he still could not bring himself to care. Angeal and Genesis remained standing at attention and the meeting was finally underway.

“Perhaps you should just begin with your departure from the front and explain yourselves from there.” Lazard wasted no time with frivolous formalities. In truth, none of the persons assembled were even the slightest bit interested in the commanders’ infraction.

Angeal quickly stepped forward to speak, detailing their actions starting from the phone call received to alert him of Zack’s disappearance. Lazard’s eyes flashed with something at that, and he seemed to smirk behind his hands, but it was gone in a flash and Angeal knew better than to draw attention to it. The blond man’s eyebrows raised slightly at the mention of Zack’s being given a tracer pill, but he kept quiet throughout Angeal’s dissertation. Once Angeal had finished, the attention of those assembled turned to Genesis.

“Is this account true to the extent of your knowledge?”

“It is.” Genesis nodded.

Lazard leaned back in his chair, looking with scrutiny at the two commanders. “So you admit to, not only abandoning the front in a time of war, but also offering a third class soldier a tracer pill with the intent of having him use himself as bait? I must admit, this doesn’t look very good for you,” he said coolly. Zack tensed as he struggled to hold back his outburst at the accusation. Angeal would never have set him up like that. He wanted to shout out that he was wrong, that Angeal had no idea, that it was all Zack’s decision, but he knew that to say anything now would more likely harm his mentor’s case than help it so he remained silent.

“I do, and I accept all responsibility for my actions and intend to return to the front as soon as possible.” He couldn’t stop the unhappy gaze his eyes flicked in Zack’s direction at the mention of returning to the front. The last thing he wanted to do was leave his student now.

Lazard let out a small laugh, startling the soldiers present. “I take it then, you’ve not been told.” The three confused looks were a sufficient answer. “In your absence, we were able to establish a tentative peace treaty with Lord Godo. So long as it holds, the war in Wutai is over. Sephiroth is on his way back now with the last of the troops that were sent in.”

Genesis and Angeal hid their surprise well, maintaining a professional air. Zack, on the other hand, was beaming like a loon. “Really? They’re coming home? When will they be back?”

Lazard turned his attention to the exuberant boy. “They should be arriving in the next day or so. I assume you are Zackary?”

“Oh, right,” he said quickly, shrugging off the blanket around his shoulders and standing at attention, still managing to keep a hand on Haine’s shoulder. “Zackary Fair. SOLDIER: Third Class, sir!”

Lazard hid his smile. It was easy to see why Commander Hewley was so taken with the boy, his excitement was quite endearing. It would seem the mystery of the cause for Angeal going AWOL was now solved. Internally patting himself on the back, he took a moment to study Zack. As he did so he vaguely wondered why he’d even bothered to call other people in for this meeting. None of them truly had any part in this, and the only one who had expressed interest in showing up was the one person who hadn’t been requested. Even without looking, Lazard knew that Hojo was staring hungrily at this boy. He spared a glance to Angeal, confirming his suspicions as the large man openly glared at the oblivious professor. “I must admit, I am rather impressed that you would risk yourself so readily for this mission. You may sit if you would prefer, but I would like you to recount your experience for me, to the best of your abilities, Zackary.”

He nodded, returning to his seat beside Haine. He started with his abduction, and made sure to give a very thorough description of everything he could remember. As he told it, he realized just how much time he’d spent unconscious. Once he’d finished, Lazard regarded him with a slight expression of concern.

“So, you say she was expecting something of you, but you did not deliver, and you have no idea what she was after? Do you know the extent of what was done to you?”

Zack picked up on the meaning behind his words easily. “No, I’m not sure what was done, but I’m fairly certain whatever she was hoping would happen didn’t. Maybe I’m a dud, maybe she’s just crazy and nothing was ever going to happen anyway. But, I faced down that monster with no ill effect, and I’d feel fairly comfortable saying that I am unchanged by the experience. Um… for the most part, that is.” The last part was said quietly as he ran his fingertips over the smooth metal surrounding his throat.

Lazard seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. “Thank you for your cooperation, Zackary.” He finally turned his attention toward Haine. “Now, if possible, I would like to also hear your story too, Haine.”

Zack immediately opened his mouth to object but he didn’t get the chance.

“When I woke up,” Haine began immediately, his mouth seeming to move of its own volition, “everything was pitch black. But no matter what I try, I can’t remember anything before that. My entire body felt heavy, like lead. But that wasn’t the only thing. By feeling with my hands I could tell that there really was something heavy and cold wrapped around my neck. I could see a light ahead of me, so I walked toward it. The dark hallway opened up into a huge, bright room. There were children there. Maybe… twenty five or so of us. We were all the same. Wearing the same thing, nobody knew where we were or even who we were. A small girl walked up to me. She wasn’t even afraid. Not until I asked her name. When she couldn’t remember, she got scared.

“She was standing right in front of me when something grabbed her. It grabbed her and threw her into a wall. The wall cracked she hit it so hard. She just slid to the ground and laid there. I knew she was dead. I looked up and there was a huge beast in front of me. It lashed out and scratched my chest. I fell to the ground, bleeding. I was… so scared I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything as it loomed over me. I knew I was going to die. Then I heard her. She called out to the monster and activated its collar. It screamed in pain and fell to the ground. She apologized to us, said that he hadn’t been disciplined enough. She… called it Kenny, said it was a good boy. She was so excited. She told us all that she was our physician. Our mother. She told me that I shouldn’t be so weak, that I shouldn’t be hurt by such a weak attack. But there was so much blood,” he unconsciously reached up, rubbing the area of his chest that had been torn open. “It hurt. The next thing I knew, the monster was attacking again. It was grabbing kids, tear-tearing them apart, throwing them against the walls, against the ground. She came up behind me, whispered in my ear, told me I was perfect, that I was… her favorite. I felt so sick. She looked up and watched what was happening. She sounded so confused, asking what we were doing, why we were getting all torn up and thrown around.

“When I was there, I couldn’t do anything. In that air of disorder and chaos, all I could do was respond and run around in mad confusion. As if I didn’t understand the circumstances I found myself in, with this ring tied to my neck and this woman whispering things behind my back.” He spoke slowly, in a daze, almost as though he were reciting poetry. “Somehow, someone killed the monster, brought it down. And she was there again, telling me that I wasn’t a bad child because I didn’t kill the monster. I was still her favorite. And she-“ His throat closed up, and he swallowed to lessen the pressure. “She said she loved me with all her heart. She said that it was my turn now, and two more of those monsters appeared. She started screaming at me, and my neck-my collar began to hurt. The pain was so terrible, and she was still yelling in my ear. I felt as if something ruptured in me, and everything went black.

“When I woke up, there was blood everywhere. I was covered in it, we all were. Most of the other kids were dead. There was a little girl there, kneeling in the midst of all those corpses. She looked up at me and asked me what had happened. She couldn’t understand why no one would answer her, why everyone was all red. I… had no answer. I didn’t know what to say. She came over to me, she grabbed onto my shirt and cried on me. She told me she was so scared. She called me ‘big brother’.” At this, Haine’s composure cracked slightly, and he buried his face in his hands. “After that, we were all locked up. Every few days she would throw us back in the room with more monsters. I don’t know where they came from, but they were all the same. Every time, there were fewer of us left. Then she brought in more kids, and it started all over again.

“I don’t… I don’t know what happened during those times. Everything that happened when the monsters appeared is blank. I don’t know how, but I always woke up. At first, I was glad. Glad I survived, glad I made it through another day. After a while, though, I began to forget why. I forgot why I wanted to live, forgot what it was for. I started hoping that the next time things went black… that they would stay that way. Eventually, she stopped bothering to erase the new kids’ memories when they came in. None of them lived very long anyway. I don’t know how much time passed, or how many kids came through, I stopped trying to keep track after a while.” He paused again, taking a few shaky breaths before continuing. “One day, she put us all in the room again. We waited for the monsters to come, like they always did… but they didn’t. They never came and she told us… she told us that… only one of us got to leave. Only one of us got to live this time. Only the best one. This time, when the blackness came, I prayed so hard that it wouldn’t go away. I prayed that I wouldn’t wake up… but… I did. I woke up and I looked around. The kids were all… they were just… pieces. There was no one left. No one but me. I couldn’t understand. I couldn’t understand why I was still alive and everyone else was dead.

“I stopped caring. Stopped thinking. More kids came and went, the cycle repeated itself I don’t know how many times. The next thing I knew, she brought someone new into my room. She said he was perfect, more perfect than me. He was my replacement… he was going to kill me. And… I wanted him to.” He finished, his last words barely more than a whisper as he turned to Zack. “But… you didn’t.”

Zack felt like he’d been struck, his mouth opened and closed a few times, unable to form words as tears dripped from his face. He wanted to reach out, to comfort the smaller boy, but he no longer knew whether or not he should. He looked up, taking in the similarly stricken faces around the room. He felt numb and shaken, as though he’d just awoken from a nightmare, but he knew there was no waking up from this. Tentatively he reached out, gently brushing against the pale boy’s bare arm. When Haine leaned into the touch, he eagerly wrapped the other in a protective embrace. He couldn’t resist nuzzling possessively into the soft white hair of the young boy, kissing his temple softly. “Never. Never. I would never hurt you…” he whispered over and over again.

Lazard finally broke the relative silence of the room. “Thank you, Haine. I understand that must have been hard for you. We will provide medical care and lodgings for you while we attempt to locate any remaining family you have-”

“They are dead. My family is dead.” Haine spoke softly, but his words were filled with finality.

Lazard was puzzled by this. “How do you know? You said you were unable to remember anything from your life before you awoke in the lab.”

Haine looked down, pondering the question for a moment. “I can’t. I can’t remember them. But, I can feel them. And when I think about them, I feel a pain,” he gestured to his chest, “here. It is the same pain I feel when I think about… the other children. They are dead, so my family must be dead as well.”

Lazard was astonished by the boy’s reasoning, but he took it in stride. “Very well. The fact still stands that you are welcome here, until a suitable permanent home is found for you. Commanders Hewley and Rhapsodos, as of this moment, you are on probation until further notice.” The two men acknowledged the order with a nod. “Zackary, you are temporarily suspended from your duties until we are able to determine exactly what has been done to you, and what may result from it. I must also ask that the both of you be placed under surveillance until then. We have our men gathering and sorting the information from Einstürzen’s lab. We should be able to reach a conclusion relatively soon. In the mean time, we will have to arrange lodgings for the two of you.”

“I would be more than happy to provide accommodations in the lab…”

Three resounding shouts of “No!” echoed throughout the room, shutting down Hojo immediately. Zack looked at Angeal, Genesis and Lazard in surprise at the outburst.

Angeal stepped forward. “Zack can stay with me, I have a vacant guest room in my quarters, I would be more than willing to keep vigil over him.”

Lazard was unsurprised by this, and nodded at him.

“No,” Zack stated firmly. “I won’t leave Haine alone. I just got him out of a lab, I won’t send him right into another.”

“I will watch him.”

All eyes turned to Genesis as the redhead stepped forward to stand beside Angeal.

“You don’t have a guest room, Genesis,” Angeal said, his eyebrows raised.

“We can put a bed in my study. I have more than enough space for two people, Angeal.”

“It’s settled then,” Lazard said swiftly, gathering up the papers in front of himself in preparation to leave. The action was a dismissal, and the various parties in the room were more than happy to depart.

Hojo silently fumed, but was unconcerned. Rules and regulations had never stopped him before, it was all just a matter of waiting until the right time to work a way around it. He swiftly strode out of the room, a smirk gracing his features once his back was turned on those within.

“Oh, Zackary, would you come here a moment?” Lazard’s smooth voice stopped the youth just as he was about to head through the doorway. He walked back over to the director, confusion evident on his face. “I’d nearly forgotten.” He reached down, picking up a bundle of clothing and handing it to the bewildered teen. “Congratulations on your promotion, SOLDIER: Second Class, Zack.”

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Haine's recount is partially constructed of actual dialogue from the manga. Most of it is written by me to describe actual events. Some things were changed/omitted to make more sense in this context.