Crisis Core

Exodus stood at the front and center of the soldier second class candidates, alongside Angeal Hewley. The duo had been summoned to give a welcoming speech to the new recruits and yet as he stood there, he couldn't help but feel remorseful for all the young men he could see in the audience.

'Barely anyone over the age of 18.' 

While Lazard was giving his welcoming speech to the new recruits, Angeal began whispering to Exodus.

" Been awhile." Angeal muttered.

" We're talking again? Huh, I didn't know." Exodus replied.

" You know it's been stressful since Genesis left. I've been busy." Angeal told the man.

" You've been busy, so have I. But that doesn't mean you just ghost your friends, Angeal. Especially not the ones who've been by your side for years."

That comment seemed to stick to Angeal, his emotions clearly showing on his face. The conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere like this, so Angeal decided to try switching the conversation to something else.

" What do you think about this new class?" He asked.

" Don't try and change the subject."

" I'm not. Just pointing out how young they all seem to be." Angeal told the man.

" Yeah... I noticed." Exodus muttered.

" You planning on picking any of them up?" Angeal asked.

" No way. I already got a handful of an apprentice." Exodus told the man.

" Kunsel, right?"

" Yeah, you know him?" 

" Of course I do. He and my pupil are both good friends. Or so it seems." Angeal told the man.

" So, you're not going to pick any of them up?" Exodus asked inquisitively.

" No way. Zack is already too much of a handful." 

" Zack, huh? Yeah, I might have heard that name a few times." 

" Yeah, the kid's got potential, but... He can get a little overexcited."

" Yeah, well, Kunsel's the opposite, he's always laid back and planning. Honestly, no style whatsoever. But he's good. Real good. Might be better than us someday, if he wanted to." 

" And now, to welcome you, two of our finest first-class SOLDIERs,"

Angeal and Exodus both and stepped forward towards Lazard.

" Angeal Hewley and Samuel Exodus!"

There was a collective round of applause from the group of Soldiers. Angeal and Exodus both took center stage.

" Welcome, all of you brave young men and women to SOLDIER. My name is Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER First Class. Over the years myself, along with many of my friends have had the pleasure of carrying the companies hopes and dreams on our backs. And now it seems it is time for us to once again welcome a new class of heroes to join us. Getting here today was a challenge, I know, but just because you've reached second class, doesn't mean it's over just yet. The road ahead of you will be filled with many challenges, you are all going to be very busy going forward, but I want you all to remember this, embrace your dreams, and no matter what happens, uphold your honor as SOLDIER!"

" Yes, Sir!"

" Exodus, do you have anything you want to add?" Angeal asked the man.

" It'll be hard to follow that, old friend. But I'll try."

Angeal stepped to the side and Exodus stepped forward.

" My friend, Angeal has always been so stiff. His delivery is certainly boring at times." Exodus joked. " But he's right about one thing, your lives are going to change going forward. In the days to come you are going to be pulled in every direction possible. You are going to be asked to do things... Things you might now want to do. And of course... There is always the possibility that you won't make it." Exodus spoke.

The excitement that had once filled the room, was very quickly put down as Exodus began explaining the dangers and reality of being a Soldier.

" But, with that danger comes something else. Every single one of you going forward is a part of this family. And we look out for our people. Angeal, myself, and even Sephiroth. And so, I tell you this, remember where it is you came from. Remember all the people who've supported you over the years and remember your friends. Because at the end of the day, when the world may seem like it's turned against you, the people standing beside you right now, and the ones who've supported you to get here, will always have your back. Embrace your honor and Dreams as SOLDIER!"

" Yes sir!" 

With his speech done, Exodus allowed Lazard to take the reins back, and stepped back to join Angeal as the man began to depart from the auditorium. 

" Not gonna lie, you had me worried back there for a second." Angeal told the man.

" Why's that?" He asked.

" All that talk about the risks, I thought you were trying to get them to leave us already." Angeal explained.

" Part of me was." Exodus answered truthfully. " But it's not my job to tell them how to live their lives. If this is what they want, then it is what it is."

" That's a very bleak way of stating things, isn't it?"

" Is it bleak? Or is it the truth?"

" What?"

" I mean think about it, Angeal... You had a choice to join SOLDIER. Me and Sephiroth? We didn't get to choose this life. We were born for it. Or so they keep telling us. We were so alone..." Exodus told the man. " But then you and Genesis came along and changed everything. For the first time, since we could remember we were among people who could understand us, challenge us, rival us. People who genuinely respected us. Can you feel Sam? Does this hurt, Sam? How long did it take you to heal, Sam? That was our life. Tch!" 

" Sam."

" Sorry, guess I got a little emotional there. Fuck it. I just hope those idiots know what it is they really signed on for. A mass desertion, and suddenly we have an influx of SOLDIERs. Shinra is grooming these kids to fail." Exodus stated. Exodus turned and stared at Angeal. " We have to find him, Angeal. Before Shinra does, we have to bring Genesis home... Or they're gonna kill him."

" You're still worried about Genesis?"

" Of course, Angeal." Exodus raised his right hand and placed it on Angeal's shoulder. " My loyalty lies with my friends, not this company. It always has, Angeal. Never forget that." 

Exodus started walking away, leaving Angeal in silence. 

" Oh and, if you could, go see Sephiroth. He hasn't been taking things easy since Genesis left." With those last words said, he walked away, alone.

He walked down the Shinra hallways, quietly. His short black hair had grown longer in the back, and the gray that colored his hair had spread as well. 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone and flipped it open. He then made a call.

" Hey, Sam!"

" Kunsel, meet me in loading bay. We have a mission."

"Really?!" Kunsel yelled.

His scream was so loud that Exodus needed to take the phone away from his ear. 

" Ah, damn it! What did I tell you about yelling over the phone?!" Exodus spoke.

" Sorry, boss. I'll meet you shortly."

" Yeah."

 Exodus hung up the phone and shook his head and sighed. The stress of the job was beginning to get to him. And the fact that so many second- and third-class SOLDIERs had left the company, made things even harder for the few that remained. 

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

Exodus waited in the loading bay for Kunsel to arrive. Sitting patiently and tapping on his arm.

Eventually the hangar doors slid open and Kunsel came sprinting in. 

" Well, it's about time." Exodus muttered.

" Sorry, boss. I was busy when ya called. Had to get my stuff together." Kunsel told the man.

Kunsel was a tall man, with a helmet to hide his face. The only other distinguishing features were his purple second-class uniform and his sword. 

" Whatever, are you ready?"

" Sure, what's the mission?" Kunsel asked.

" We're going to Wutai. You already know that Genesis had gone missing along with a mass of SOLDIERs, second and third class."

" Right."

" Our job is simple. Lazard wants to go and see if we can find signs of the missing SOLDIERs. Simple reconnaissance. Meanwhile Sephiroth and Angeal will have different missions." Exodus explained.

" Wait, two other first classes are going? Wow, that's big." Kunsel explained.

" Right, it is."

" And they wanted you to go in quiet?" Kunsel snickered underneath his helmet.

" What's that supposed to mean?" He asked the man. Exodus was slightly perturbed by the size of the grin on Kunsel's face.

 Kunsel walked up to Exodus and patted his arm.

" Never mind."

" Oh, fuck you. You got jokes, huh? Ya little shit." Exodus smacked Kunsel on the back of his head, as the man boarded the plane that would be taking them to Wutai. 

The trip was long and by the time they arrived, the sun had long since gone down, leaving their approach shrouded by the dead of night. The only thing visible from their ride were the fires spread out over the village they were approaching.

" What are those fires?" Kunsel asked.

" Sephiroth and Angeal. They were the opening act all of them were to draw the attention away from us, while we worked. Sweet and simple. A chance for us to look into Genesis and a chance to bring an end to this war."

" AH, I see. Two birds one stone."

" Yup. You ready to get to work?"

" Yup. Let's get to it!" Kunsel exclaimed. 

The door slid open and Exodus and Kunsel both leaped from the moving plane, down to the raging forest below. The moment their feet landed flat against the earth the operation had begun!

Kunsel and Exodus moved through the forest as fast as their feet could carry them. The sound of fighting and explosions in the background rang loud. The other SOLDIERs were doing their best to thin the enemies' numbers down to size, and yet even with all of that going on the duo still found themselves confronted by enemies. 

Ninja from Wutai, dressed in red and black.

" Who are these guys?" Kunsel asked.

" Don't know. They look like Wutai... But I've never seen them wear red and black. It's always green and brown, that's their national color. I've been fighting these people since I was fifteen and I've never seen a single soldier wearing anything different." Exodus told the man.

" Then these guys..."

" Aren't Wutai. Or at the very least not the Soldiers we're used to dealing with." Exodus told the man. " Be careful."

" Right."

Exodus and Kunsel both drew their blades. 

Exodus revved his blades engine and fire erupted out of it. " Come on, then you fuckers. Let's REV IT UP!"

Exodus and Kunsel rushed the two ninja.

Exodus clashed blades with the Ninja in red and pushed him back almost effortlessly. His strength was legendary even amongst the First-Class Soldiers, this strength was demonstrated by the massive blade and the heavy gun only he, and a few others, could lift. Let alone use. 

This Wutai Ninja, however, wasn't quite a pushover. He grunted heavily as Exodus began beating his sword over his, and even though he was beginning to lose his ground, he still managed to keep himself from being cleaved in two.

Exodus lifted his sword in his right hand and slammed it down over the Ninja's head. The force of the attack caused the ninja to stumble slightly, and drop his guard.

In that moment, Exodus grabbed his gun and fired two rounds straight through the ninja's chest.

The Red Rose V2- An upgraded version of the original two shot revolver. The most important upgrade were the bullets. Before the gun used two rounds from the cylinder to fire, but now they only used one as each shell held two rounds, justifying the size of the gun itself. 

Exodus finished off the ninja with two more bullets to the chest. His fight was quick and effortless.

Kunsel on the other hand was having trouble.

He and the Ninja were locked in a sword clash and Kunsel was on the losing end. 

That was something Exodus wasn't used to. In all of SOLDIER, Exodus believed Kunsel was the strongest second-class Soldier. But standing here watching him struggle to hold his ground was a surprise. 

Exodus was content to watch Kunsel, believing this to be a good chance to see how handles a foe stronger than him.

Kunsel grunted and eventually managed to throw his sword up and push the Ninja off of him. 

" Hiyaaah!" Kunsel rushed the Ninja dancing on his feet as he jumped back and forth trying to use his footwork to catch the Ninja off-guard. However, the Ninja parried his blade with a sword, before stabbing at him from the side.

* Blam! 

With a single shot, Exodus shattered half of the Ninja's sword, keeping the blade from Piercing Kunsel's torso.

It was this moment of distraction, that gave Kunsel the time he needed to deliver a deadly slash right across the Ninja's chest.

The Ninja retreated backwards, clutching onto his bleeding chest. 

" Finish him, Kunsel." Exodus told the man.

" Right!" Kunsel rushed the ninja and laid on a heavy barrage of sword swings, before he finally managed to get in a lethal strike, running the man through with his blade and killing him.

Kunsel withdrew the sword and cleaned the blood of before holstering it on his back.

" Man..." He wheezed. " These guys are pretty strong."

" Yeah. I had to try against this guy." Exodus told the man.

" Who are they?" Kunsel asked.

Exodus walked over to one of the bodies and bent over." Let's find out." He said. He reached down and when he removed the mask hiding the Ninja's identity, he fell backwards on his rear end in pure shock and terror. " GENESIS!" He yelled.

The man lying on the ground was his former friend, and fellow Soldier first class, Genesis Rahpsodos. 

" The missing first-class SOLDIER?! But... How?!" Kunsel asked.

Exodus' breath caught itself in his throat and his heart started pumping faster and faster every moment.

Kunsel looked over at the other ninja and removed his mask as well. Revealing another Genesis. " What the hell?! Sam, look at this. It's another one." Kunsel stated.

" What?!" Exodus muttered. He looked over at the other Ninja and realized that it was another Genesis lying down there. 

This could only mean one thing. " Clones? They cloned Genesis.... But how?" Exodus asked.

" How indeed, my friend." 

Exodus shoved Kunsel to the ground and raised his sword to block, the red blade that was aimed at the young SOLDIERs head. 

" What the fucks going on here, GENESIS?!" Exodus screamed at his once friend, as their blades locked together tightly. 

Exodus wished this was just another clone, however the outfit, the sword, and the sheer strength of his foe only confirmed what his eyes could see. This wasn't a copy. But the real thing.

" Isn't it obvious, Samuel? I've come to speak to you." Genesis told the man.

" By attacking me?!" 

" Well, violence was always your way to go. I figured I would try it your way, for once." 

Kunsel jumped to his feet and grabbed his blade. "Sam!" 

" Stay back, Kunsel!" Exodus yelled to the man.

Kunsel halted in his movements, and simply watched.

" Talk to me, Genesis. What's going on? Where have you been? And why do those ninjas have your face?" Exodus bombarded the man with questions. 

" One question at a time, my friend." Genesis spoke. Hhis lips turned slightly at the corner into a small smirk. He bore down on his sword, and it ignited into a bright red energy.

Exodus revved his handle and sent fire blasting out of the blade.

The colliding energy caused an explosion between the two, and faster than Kunsel could, the two men took off into the forest, clashing with each other. Each exchange of blows set off chain explosions in the forest, that drew the attention of every SOLDIER and Ninja in the area. 

Exodus continued parrying Genesis strikes, while also looking back to where they had left Kunsel.

" Worried about the sheep, are you? Well, that's certainly new. You never had an apprentice before. What changed, my friend?" Genesis asked.

" You left! That's what changed." Exodus told the man. " Now, Genesis answer me!"

Genesis stopped for just a second and laughed. " Shinra is an infested nest of monsters my friend. You and I are but a small facet of those monsters. And now, I've had enough of it. Samuel, you and I share a dream. A better world for us all. But we cannot continue to live on this side of things. Join me. Join me and we can see the devils at play be toppled for good." Genesis spoke. He raised a hand to Exodus and smiled. " Let us fly away together, away from the world that abhors you and I."

" Fly away? Genesis what are you talking about?" Exodus asked the man. " Talk to me, please. Let me help you. You know we'd help you. Me, Sephiroth, Angeal. You just need to speak to us."

Genesis chuckled and raised his sword. " I am speaking to you Samuel, but you just can't hear it yet." Genesis was prepared to reengage Exodus when a sudden flare erupted into the sky. Looking up, Genesis sighed. " Looks like it's time for me to move on to my next dance."

" What are you talking about?" Exodus asked the man.

" Until next time, my friend." Genesis muttered.

Exodus started running to stop, Genesis, however, Genesis flexed, and a giant black wing erupted out of his left shoulder blade. The sight of it stopped Exodus in his tracks.

" Genesis..." Exodus was speechless." What have you done to yourself?" He asked.

" I've freed myself. My friend. I hope you are smart enough to do the same."

Exodus watched as Genesis floated into the sky, exasperated.

A tiny black feather floated down into Exodus' hands as the man once known as Genesis vanished. 

" Genesis.... What have you done?" Exodus muttered.

" Sam!" Kunsel shouted as he ran towards the man. " Hey Sam!" Kunsel wheezed heavily, seemingly out of breath from having run such a long distance. 

" Kunsel..."

" What happened to Genesis?" Kunsel asked.

" He's gone, Kunsel. He's gone. DAMNIT!" Exodus knelt over and punched the ground below him, cratering it from the force.

A feat that surprised Kunsel. 

" Come on, boss. We still got a mission to complete." Kunsel said to Exodus as he placed a hand on his shoulder. 

" No, we don't. We've already finished it. We were supposed to remain hidden, every single Ninja in a ten-mile radius heard those explosions. Besides, we know Genesis has created clones, and is working with Wutai in some capacity. We're gonna bag those bodies back there and then we're gonna get out of here." Exodus explained to the man. He stood up and wiped the sweat from his face and turned to face Kunsel. 

" Okay, boss."

Kunsel sheathed his sword and stepped to the side as Exodus walked past him. And though he remained quiet, out of respect for his friend and mentor, he silently groaned, when he realized he was gonna have to walk all the way back to where they were before.