7 Crisis Core-2

Exodus and Kunsel quickly returned to the scene of their first battle and bagged the bodies of the two Genesis clones. 

" Alright, Kunsel. Send up the smoke." Exodus told the man. " Be ready for oncoming enemies."

Kunsel nodded. " Right." He reached into his waist band and pulled out a red smoke flare and popped it, sending out the signal to the plane that brought them into the battlefield originally.

" Good." Exodus muttered.

" Hey, boss... Shouldn't we go help the others? I mean, why not add our strength to theirs to take down Wutai for good?" Kunsel asked the man.

" Because, getting this info, however, brief it may be back to Shinra is more important. Genesis... Genesis is a complicated man, and this only makes things even more complicated." Exodus explained to the man. " Whoever is capable of cloning first class SOLDIERs and making them as strong as the strongest second-class SOLDIER is definitely a problem for the foreseeable future. " Exodus explained to the man.

Kunsel rubbed the back of his helmet and nodded. " Yeah. You're right." He said.

" And, I don't think I need to say it, but keep what you've learned here a secret, Kunsel. At least until Shinra addresses it properly." Exodus stated and Kunsel nodded once more in agreement.

Sometime would go by as Kunsel and Exodus waited for their pickup, but thankfully, the time passed with no further altercations taking place. For whatever reason, Wutai saw it fit to have their forces engaging elsewhere. 

" Time to go." Exodus said as the black plane began its approach. A ballon shot up into the air, and along the way, the plane snatched it up, along with Exodus and Kunsel.

Exfil was complete.

.................

The return to Shinra was quiet. For all intents and purposes, the duo were sped back as fast as possible. And upon return, members of the science division immediately swarmed them for the copies of Genesis that had been taken.

" Kunsel, relax for the evening, I'm going to go drop our report in to Lazard, understand?"

" Oh, that's not fair. You know I love spreading knowledge." Kunsel argued.

" Yeah... But consider this punishment for needing to be saved." Exodus looked at Kunsel and smirked a little before stepping into the elevator, that would take him to Lazard's office. 

Exodus stood silent in the elevator, his mind rampantly searching for answers to questions he wished never existed. And yet despite his attempts, there they were. 

What had happened to Genesis? And why was he working for Wutai?

Whatever the reason, he was sure someone in Shinra knew the answer, if not Lazard, then someone. Perhaps Hollander. 

* Ding.

As Exodus stepped off of the elevator, he was immediately greeted by a young man with short spiky black hair, running out of Lazard's office.

" Who was that?" He wondered. He shook the thought from his head and continued towards Lazard's office, where he was greeted by the sorrowful sight of his brother and Lazard. " Sephiroth, what's wrong?" He asked.

Sephiroth looked up from the floor, with a look of disdain on his face. " Angeal, has abandoned us. He and Genesis both have vanished."

" What?!" Exodus yelled. He looked to Lazard who nodded in confirmation. " What are you talking about, this Angeal we're talking about. He wouldn't do that. What the fuck?!"

" Brother. Calm yourself." Sephiroth spoke.

" What do you mean, calm? These are our friends, we're talking about." 

" And both of them have gone off the grid. Angeal isn't answering at all, and we have reason to believe he was with Genesis."

" He couldn't have been. I fought, Genesis."

Lazard and Sephiroth both stared at the man.

" You did?" Lazard asked. " What happened? Did he say anything about what he's doing? What his plans are?"

" No. Just some nonsense about monsters and flying away." Exodus explained. " He grew a wing." He said.

" A wing?" Sephiroth asked.

" Yeah, a black wing. Like an angel. I don't know how he did it. It just happened. And then he flew away. Said he had somewhere else to be." 

" Was that all?" Lazard asked.

Exodus hesitated for a moment before nodding his head, carefully. 

Lazard closed his eyes and sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, while Sephiroth shot Exodus a knowing glance. 

" Alright, then. Go and recover, I'll call you both when more information comes up. Be ready." Lazard told the two men.

" Of course."

" Right."

Sephiroth and Exodus both walked out of Lazard's office together, and Sephiroth grabbed Exodus's arm. " Brother, what didn't you tell, Lazard?" Sephiroth asked.

" Genesis... He said Shinra was full of monsters, and that we were just a small part of those monsters." Exodus spoke. " He... Also asked me to join him." He said.

Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly. " What?"

" Yeah. I wanted to ask him more, but some signal drew him away. I... I couldn't follow him. Kunsel wasn't strong enough for that fight. Not yet." Exodus muttered. " I couldn't lead him further into Wutai with Genesis running around like that, and then those clones. I... I couldn't fight Genesis and protect him at the same time."

Sephiroth placed a hand on his back, supportingly. " You don't need to explain. I get it."

" Sephiroth. What are we going to do?"

" We're going to wait for more information, and then... We'll see if we can't get them back." Sephiroth stated. He was quiet for a moment. " There was a kid who left earlier."

" A kid? The one with black hair?"

" Yeah. His name is Zack Fair, SOLDIER second-Class." Sephiroth explained. " Angeal's protégé."

" I know of him. So, he knows about Angeal?"

" Yeah. He was on the mission, when he disappeared." Sephiroth explained.

" Damnit!" Exodus turned his head and clenched his fists. " We have to figure something out, Sephiroth. I'll keep my ears out, let me know if you hear anything from either of them."

Sephiroth nodded and Exodus walked away. On his way back to his room, Exodus reached into his pocket and called Kunsel.

" Hey, boss."

" Kunsel, I need you to do me a favor."

" What is it, boss?"

" I need you get some information for me. I'll tell you more in person. Meet me in sector eight. There's a street named after Loveless. There's a cafe near there, near the loveless theatre."

" I know it. I'll see you soon, boss."

*Click!

Exodus closed his phone, ending the call. 

.......................

Exodus changed his clothing into a simple blue shirt, and a pair of black slacks with black shoes. If the idea was to stay under the radar, then this certainly wasn't the best way to do so, but then again, trying to hide would only draw more attention to himself. At least Kunsel would be able to go under, since he usually wore a helmet. 

The main Shinra building was stationed right where near the entrances to each and every sector.

It still took some time, but eventually Exodus would arrive right on the Loveless Street and immediately, he was recognized by a host of people.

" Oh boy. Here we go."

Exodus began maneuvering through a crowd of people, shaking hands and taking pictures. Being a first-class soldier had its perks, but damn was it hard to get out without being crowded by a host of fangirls and fanboys.

After some time, he finally managed to break through the crowd and found a seat at a table just outside the cafe.

" Finally." Exodus grumbled. "Maybe I should have just taken the risk inside the building." 

" Hey, boss. You clean up well." 

Exodus looked up from the table and saw Kunsel standing there in a purple turtleneck and black pants. His short brown hair and bluish-green eyes made him stand out as a soldier.

" Kunsel, thank God. I thought I was gonna have to strangle another fan." Exodus groaned. 

Kunsel grabbed a chair and sat down at the table." What not a fan of the attention."

" No, not really." Exodus groaned.

" So, what's up? What do you wanna talk about?" Kunsel asked.

" We got news that Angeal is gone."

" What do you mean?" Kunsel asked.

" He's joined up with Genesis. Or at least that's what Lazard believes."

Kunsel's eyes widened, and his lips parted in shock. " I don't believe it. Another first-class is gone?"

" Now, we don't know that for sure. I'm not gonna sit back and just label Angeal a traitor. It's entirely likely he chased after Genesis to bring him back." Exodus explained. " But regardless, going forward, I want you to be careful. I won't be able to watch your back on all your missions anymore."

Kunsel nodded in response. " Gotcha. But what about you? What did you need to know?"

" I want you to look after Zack Fair. I know you two are friends."

" Zack's good. Trust me, he can handle himself." 

" I'm sure he can. But this fight isn't something he's ready for, not yet. And I don't want to see him running after Angeal. Not without someone watching his back." Exodus muttered. " Sephiroth and I are gonna try and bring them back."

" I see."

" However, Kunsel...." Exodus looked at Kunsel right in his eyes and sighed. He leaned forward and beckoned for the young man to come forward. " If the worst comes to worst, I want you to understand something, wherever I go, or what I do, I'm proud of where you've come, Kunsel. Even if the day comes where I don't work for Shinra anymore." Exodus told the man. He then stood up from his seat.

[ The Price of Freedom]

" Boss." Kunsel muttered. " What are you going to do?"

Exodus stopped and looked back. " I'm gonna try and save my family. If you want, you can come along for the ride, but I should warn you, the weight of world... And the Price of Freedom... They are both steep."