Gun AU 5

[warmskies]

One.

A series of slashes, forcing him back. Good grip, speed a little faster than many Second Class SOLDIERs.

Two.

A little creativity, darting forward, going for a slash, only to suddenly pull the weapon to a halt and release a series of bullets. He manages to move his head to the side, avoids it in time.

Three.

His prerogative, now, and he snaps his foot up, forces the weapon out of her hands, but she doesn't miss a beat. Stumbles, but regains her balance, tries to sweep his feet out from under him. Enough to catch him off-guard enough for the split second it takes for her to grab her weapon again.

All of this would be so much easier if he unsheathed Masamune, he knows... or even if he had the materia he uses when on missions. Yet he's already made the decision to keep the former hidden away in its place, and the latter are tucked away in some ShinRa storeroom. They never let him use materia outside of missions... He used to think it was simply a matter of policy.

How much of that is true, he wonders?

Well it doesn't really matter right now. Rosso isn't the kind of opponent where it does him well to ignore her too much. She's doing a better job of keeping up with him than some Wutai warriors, after all.

Yet that doesn't seem to be enough for her, considering the way that her bright red eyes are narrowed with every attack he manages to evade. One last and particularly vicious slash that he leaps away from and she pauses to take a break. Or, at the very least, she stops attacking, her head tilted to the side like a predatory bird. Certainly, something about her seems to fit that image. "You... are far more skilled than I ever would have given you credit for," she says. "Even with the information that we were given for this little mission. And those eyes.... Those are the eyes of someone in SOLDIER. Mako infused..."

Genesis and Angeal have the same eyes... and they're not in SOLDIER. They don't seem to be affiliated with ShinRa at all in any way, save for, well, the inescapable facts behind their birth. Just like his own birth... But he can't imagine Gillian infusing children with mako in the same way as Hojo.

Best... if that mystery is kept a complete mystery, hidden from ShinRa's eyes. "And you're referencing the attack on ShinRa from last night," he says. "But... I've never heard of a Tsviet."

It's not as if he truly expects to be told everything about what goes on in ShinRa, of course. In their eyes... He's only a tool. He was only ever an experiment that they hoped would bear some interesting fruit. So why would a tool ever be told anything about various parts of ShinRa? And yet, despite that, for someone with this much skill that should belong in SOLDIER... He would expect Lazard to have told him that. To let him know of that kind of existence.

After all, even if this woman cannot keep up with him... She's still stronger than many he's familiar with. And she's still so young.

Perhaps the reason he can look at her and think woman is the predatory and distant way that she holds herself, that bared teeth smile. It's nothing like any other woman he's ever met - the ones who give a determined go at SOLDIER, the put together suits of Turks, laughing office women in ShinRa or the blushing giggling girls that he's occasionally had to meet for PR reasons. Certainly nothing like Aerith, even though he can still tell that they're roughly a similar age.

"And I would imagine you had never heard of Deepground, either," she purrs. In the distance, there's shouting - all their fighting has made no small amount of noise. "Of course. Does it frustrate you, a SOLDIER that is surely of no small amount of standing, to know that it matters little just how far you rise in their ranks, that they still have little daggers hidden up their sleeves?"

"I would hardly call you or your weapon a little dagger."

He'd meant that completely seriously, and yet it makes her laugh, a hand rising up to those deep red lips of hers - everything about her is so red. Her and Genesis... He wonders if it means anything. "Oh, and now you are a flatterer," she teases, her movements almost a waltz as she turns back to him from all her pacing. At least, it has the easy elegance of such a thing. "But that is right, you know. And I shall let you in on a secret, my pathetic little renegade."

The shouting is getting louder, now. Behind him, no doubt from around one of the many turns that exist in this kind of place. Footsteps become audible soon enough as well, and then, a voice. "OVER HERE! GUYS, OVER-"

A gunshot. Clear... and crisp.

Sephiroth doesn't look behind him. He doesn't need to. It is enough... to hear the shocked breathless exhale behind him. The gurgle of blood and saliva gathered in the back of a throat. The man's body crumples to the ground with a decisive thud, and that's all that's needed to know that Rosso's aim was true. Even aiming past him.

Her head lolls to the side, relaxed, easy. More, now that there's the scent of blood wafting over through what breeze has managed to find its way through this maze of trash.

"We are such powerful weapons, they learned loooong ago that we could not be set loose." And yet there she stands.... There's something he's missing. What else is new in this situation? "Really, you should be honored that you drove them to such a point that they dared to use even one of us."

It feels as though he's on the cusp of something. As though there's something familiar about this, almost. Not like it was with Angeal and Genesis, but... something more, maybe. Or different.

But this is good. She's not trying to force the battle to keep going. She'll talk to him. Perhaps he can get more information out of her, this way. If only he had Angeal's clear force of personality, or Genesis's charisma... No one has ever sent Sephiroth on a mission to talk information out of someone. "And so what do you get out of it, then?" he asks. "Of being a Tsviet?"

There.... is something in her gaze that shifts. Some sort of emotion that he can't name, even if that sharp and quiet smile stretched across her face doesn't seem to change at all. "For that.... We become more than human, darling."

More than human. Something in his stomach does something unpleasant. A twist, a lurch. More than human.

Is that something to be so proud of?

"And you?" Rosso suddenly dashes forward with a sharp spin of her weapon, forcing him back once again as he dodges every swing. "What do you think that you will truly get from this little rebellion, my dear! Do you think the leash they have attached to you will ever be let slack!?" A sudden attack, coming from above, and Sephiroth moves to the side, somehow gets his balance with his foot braced against an old discarded refrigerator. Rosso's stare, as she jerks her head to follow his movements. "They make monsters like you and me, darling, exactly because they know there is nowhere else for monsters to go."

Angeal has a garden.

He told him about it, there in that little apartment that had only been his and Genesis's and Gillian's for a short while as a temporary measure and yet which still felt more like home than Sephiroth could every claim his did. There were constant problems that came with making a garden out in a wild area, of course, but he had said it was always going to be worth it. He'd said that he took pleasure in speaking with the plants, seeing the way that they grew.

What had he said about his eyes? That new sproutlings had eyes as green as Sephiroth's?

Angeal has a garden, and things grow there. He helps things grow there, and has told Sephiroth of what it's like to wrap things in tarp, and what plants will discourage monsters, and his satisfaction in harvesting the fruits and vegetables there.

Gillian took him away from ShinRa, and he has a garden, and maybe, one day....

Sephiroth will have a garden too.

"I have somewhere to go," he says, a quiet statement that feels simultaneously heavy and light, there in his mouth, on his tongue. He lifts his leg, drives his boot down into a piece of old equipment that has a long thin part that will do him well enough. Rosso's eyes are burning. "And I will not stop."

"Ha." Her eyes narrow, like slashes of blood right in her face. "Is that so? But, you know, darling, you won't be going anywhere while I am right here-!"

A chunk of ice the size of a car suddenly slams right into here, going about as fast as a car, too.

Sephiroth stares, for a moment, even as the ice and its passionately red target crash and crunch straight into the pile of junk. All around him, the air fills itself with so much - it feels as though the air itself is shaking from the force of the impact, although he knows that's just the ground and, through the ground, himself. There's the cacophony of noise, the pile collapsing into itself and various pieces of it falling down into the crater that's been made into its little trash self. And then, in the air... The sharp crispness that only comes with the temperature falling so quickly from the highs into the lows. The kind of thing that makes even his skin prickle.

"Ha!" says a familiar and cocky voice, far warmer than the ice that has just literally crashed into Rosso. "And here you were doubting my aim."

"I wasn't doubting anything, I was telling you to stop shaking me."

And there they are - Angeal and Genesis, making their way through the trash, in a tiny little path that almost seems as though it will get swallowed up by the tides of scrap soon enough, like mountains of sand devoured by sea tides coming in. Then again, it probably helps that a lot of it was pushed aside by a giant piece of ice. Angeal seems to be carrying the most of everything that they'd purchased, but Sephiroth can see the backpack around Genesis's shoulders.

Granted, this is mostly helped by the fact that Genesis rushes forward, grabbing his arm. "And now we ascend to better pastures!" he proclaims, pulling Sephiroth along and past the giant hunk of ice. Ice that is, certainly, starting to violently shake. "That should distract everyone quite well enough, I would think!"

Stunned, Sephiroth goes along with Genesis's pulling, and finds Angeal soon running alongside them perfectly at ease despite all he's carrying. But that doesn't matter, it really doesn't. "You - I whistled to let you know there was still danger around the area!"

Genesis wheezes in a long deep sound almost like he's choking. Sephiroth doesn't think he understands that... although he does understand the wild grin there on his face that he casts back at him. Perhaps Angeal is of much the same mind as his redhead partner, although his grin isn't quite so pronounced and bright. "I know that's what we agreed on, but whoever said that we'd just leave you in that case?"

Oh.

Oh.

The commotion behind them, where they'd left the ice and its temporary captive behind, only seems to be getting all the louder. Genesis jerks him hard to the side, and, there they go, ascending quickly, all three of them finding quick footing without even having to glance down.

But that reminds him - "She traverses through this area the same way!" he calls out to the two of them.

"Then you had better run fast!" Genesis calls back.

Hard to deny a point like that.

Sephiroth doubts this is how any of them meant to make their escape, madly scrambling over piles of trash and leaping from whatever looks most solid to the next, all while there's the sound of cracking and a distinct explosion behind them - no doubt the ice has finally been taken care of. And yet he supposes, for all that it is unconventional and somewhat improvised.... Exactly as they had wanted, the train station has no one watching it besides a single ticket keeper there by the doors, staring off into the distance where the thugs had no doubt taken off to. It's a simple thing, then, for Genesis to slip past him, tuck their things into one of the empty cars that's just for shipping... and then, there they all go. Right up to the top.

Just in time, too. As Sephiroth hauls himself onto the roof of one of the train cars, he can hear the ticket master's boots hit the metal steps of the train in a hurry. "Mayer, just start up the train and lets get going! I don't want to hang around this miserable district a while longer - whatever gang war is happening here can happen without us!"

Crouching atop the car, Sephiroth reaches up to make sure that his hat is tugged tight around his ears. It wouldn't do to lose something that he's borrowing from another person, after all. "I don't think I've ever ridden atop a train car before," he murmurs, eyes sweeping over the area surrounding the station. He thinks he can spot something red off in the distance... But it's not heading in their direction. Visible for only a second.

"Nothing exciting," Genesis tells him, although it's absent minded. He, too, seems to be keeping a look out for something, his head cocked sharply to the side. Funny, how it seems similar to what he'd seen of Rosso... "Just keep low."

"Tunnels and air force," Angeal confirms, his fingers clutching deep to some sort of hatch or panel that's there atop the train.

That's all that can be said on the matter before the train rumbles to life beneath them... and soon, that rumbling is given an addition in the form of its wheels rolling along the track. Slow, at first.... and then very quickly not.





"Tsviet!?" Lazard exclaims, standing up so sharply that he almost knocks aside his mug of coffee.

Sephiroth catches it for him, the still steaming hot liquid nearly threatening to spill right over the rim. It'd be fine if it hit his hand, of course, but... he knows that Lazard doesn't like wasting coffee. "So you have heard of them?" he asks Lazard, all of them gathered around the little table inside the temporary headquarters that is this apartment.

Crossing his arms, Lazard purses his lips together. Even though he doesn't say anything right away, Sephiroth can still tell that the gears in his head are turning. It's simply something that has been learned as a consequence of them knowing one another for so long. "I will openly admit that... I have not heard much," he says, and his gaze flickers to Sephiroth. "If I may be honest, what I have learned is all information that is technically... not at my clearance level."

Angeal taps his chin with one knuckle. "So if it means that it's above even the Director of SOLDIER's clearance, then..."

"Even someone like you isn't afraid to break a few rules, hm?" Genesis teases, although something in his gaze seems excited. "I do so wonder just what is happening amongst ShinRa's various executives-"

His sentence is broken off by a grunt as Angeal rams his elbow into his side. "If it's something that's above even your level, then does that mean it's an initiative started up by the president himself?" He hisses in a low breath. "Jeez, just how many military projects does ShinRa even need under its belt... You would think that foot soldiers and people with dirt on their hands would be enough."

Lazard's smile becomes almost bitter, for a second, before he shakes his head. "If it is any reassurance, the Tsviets were the only other group I ever heard of, outside of SOLDIER and the Turks. I really wish that I could tell you more, honestly, yet it wasn't a priority... and it wasn't easy to look into from the start. All I can tell you is that it seemed to be a program that Hollander was able to get some measure of influence in..." He trails off, frowning. "Before today.... I assumed that it was a low level project with nothing serious involved in it... Not compared to the sort of things that Hojo was working on. But now, with what we know of Project G...." He shakes his head. "No, I should stop making baseless conjecture for right now. It won't help at all. You said her name was Rosso, Sephiroth?"

"Rosso the Crimson," he confirms, although he finds that a strange name, in hindsight. Why a title like that? What does "the Crimson" even mean? He wonders if it has something to do with the Tsviets... or something else. It's hard to tell when they all know so little. "If she is a part of some other program, similar to SOLDIER... then it would explain her own abilities."

Genesis taps his fingers along his arm. "She didn't seem that strong, if she fell to a simple block of ice done by someone who doesn't even like using materia," he comments.

Huh. Sephiroth looks over to Angeal. "I thought it was you... but you don't like using materia?" That's an interesting trait to have. Materia undeniably makes combat much easier, in a variety of ways. Whether it's magic or simply enhancing one's body... It's common knowledge in SOLDIER and possibly many other places that it's better to know how to use materia than not.

With the turn of conversation, Angeal wrinkles his nose. "It just annoys me, how you have to activate it... I'm more than capable of using it, that's all. I got it merely because I thought it would be useful to have, and I was right."

Lazard coughs into one fist. "If we can stay on track... Sephiroth, if you had to evaluate her in a place for SOLDIER, where would you place her? That may give us a slightly better gauge of her abilities." A slightly wry smile twists across Lazard's lips. "After all... Well, it is not as though I can take any personal pride in it, but I can say with confidence that there is absolutely no one above you in all of ShinRa."

Can he still say that sort of thing when there is an entirely unknown aspect of ShinRa that they're still learning about...? Well, he supposes this is just one of those compliments he should accept quietly. For now...

Falling silent, Sephiroth goes over his battle with Rosso once again in his head. Perhaps, in some way, his decision to not draw Masamune from its hiding spot had done him a favor in this area. With that in hand... There doesn't seem to be any obstacle that he can reach. Yet without, he had to pay a good bit more attention to Rosso's movements, and exactly what she could do.

"The kind of ability that would have had the higher ups... put her in First class," Sephiroth finally decides. "Although I do not think she would have made it."

"And why is that?"

"During our confrontation, one of Corneo's men managed to find us. He was calling for his companions to come over as well. If ShinRa and Corneo are really working together, then a regular SOLDIER would have worked together in a pincer formation, ideally... or, if relations between the two groups were strained, at least she would have warned him away in some manner so that he would not have interfered in her preferred strategy."

Angeal crosses his arms, leaning back. "And you said that she shot him without even thinking twice about it..."

"That's right."

Genesis's finger grazes along his jaw, rests along his chin. "Then in that case... Perhaps the reason that ShinRa hasn't used these Tsviets of theirs more often is less because they're trying to hold back from using their shiny new weapons... but because they've gone and made the foolish mistake of trying to craft some sort of wild beast without any consideration on how to use them." With that hanging in the air, Genesis looks over to the one person in the room who hasn't yet contributed at all to the discussion. "Ma, what are your thoughts on all of this?"

A jolt shoots through Gillian's body, and some sort of awareness returns to her gaze. "Oh - well. I'm sorry, I really did let my mind wander there, for a moment."

For someone as intelligent as Gillian seems to be to make that kind of mistake in the midst of such an important intelligence briefing... Sephiroth goes through everything he knows about her, tries to put together the pieces. Even if he isn't very good with other people... The Tsvietes seem to be involved with Hollander in some way, aren't they? And it was both Hollander and Gillian who worked on the original Project G together...

"Were the Tsviets... something that you and Hollander discussed, when you were still in ShinRa?" he finally dares to ask, although he's not sure if he has the right to.

But neither Genesis nor Angeal stop him from asking the question, and Gillian doesn't seem upset. Rather, she still seems partially lost in thought, even as she slowly shakes her head. "Under that exact name? No, that wasn't something that ever came up. Tsviet... Not even that name brings to mind anything about what kind of project that could be, although of course that's really only to be expected." Sighing, she presses her hand to one cheek. "Honestly, based off of just one encounter with this Rosso you mentioned... I can't say for certain on if she was something that Hollander and I had discussed at some point, or if this is an idea he came up with purely on his own, or if it took inspiration from Project G. There are simply too many unknown factors, I'm afraid. The only way that I could tell you anything for sure would be if I were able to somehow get my hands on a tissue sample from Rosso... and I would never ask you to do that."

"Why not?"

His question draws an amused little smile onto Gillian's mouth. "Well, it would be silly to put you through so much trouble when this is a problem that is directly concerning us," she points out, which... Sephiroth has to admit is a fair point. "And besides... Even if you were able to get me a sample before we managed to escape Midgar, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything concrete about it immediately."

Angeal shrugs, his arms unfolding so that his hands can flit to the side almost helplessly. "No equipment here," he clarifies.

Right... Of course. That does make sense, doesn't it? Project G was all about genes, and manipulating cells, things that require an absolutely microscopic investigation to see just what makes them different. Even Sephiroth can't look that closely at something, no matter how good he claims his eyesight to be.

Well, that can't be helped, then, he supposes. If this is going to be how it's going to be... He supposes he should recalibrate his priorities. Making sure that Gillian and her two can get out of Midgar safely.

At least, that's how he thinks it's going to go, before Lazard looks up while pushing his glasses further along his nose. "So all you need is access to the proper lab equipment, then, is that it?" he asks, and, even though it is incredibly obvious where he is leading with this, Sephiroth still can't entirely understand. "I believe... perhaps I could help with that, then."

Angeal and Genesis exchange glances with one another. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Angeal asks, while Genesis leans against his shoulder, arms draping across it. "And more importantly... why?"

They're both the questions that Sephiroth himself wants to ask.... It's not that he can't imagine a how, either, although he is terribly curious about it. Yet Angeal is right. The why is important. Important so that the three before them can decide if they should put their trust in the hands of someone who was one of ShinRa's directors in charge of its strongest security force.

And... important to Sephiroth, too. Even if the reason is not as heavy and could change his entire life... He still wants to know.

He wants to know more about this man who has given him so much, and yet has always seemed a little distant. Who has only grown all the moreso as the years have passed.

Neither question seems to truly surprise Lazard. No doubt... ever since Sephiroth left him this morning, or perhaps even earlier, all the way to last night when they first arrived in this apartment and were told everything... He's been thinking exactly on this sort of proposal, even if not in this form. "I know that there is no way for me to prove my intentions, but I can tell you this: the entire reason that I joined ShinRa in the first place and got to the position that I have managed is because I would want nothing more than to see it all and shatter into a thousand unusable pieces." Something dark takes hold of his tone, there. Something that wraps tight around his words, and burns hot even for how low it's all said.

Angeal and Genesis exchange a subtle side glance with one another, not even having to truly turn their heads. "Well, I wouldn't say that we ever planned to go that far," Gillian says, her hand curling at her mouth. "That is something of a lofty dream.... We only came here to look through their old resources and perhaps borrow a bit of their equipment."

An interesting way of saying they'd rob ShinRa blind as much as they could, but Sephiroth is slowly getting used to people not bluntly saying what they'd mean.

"Is that truly alright with you?" Gillian continues, lowering her hand. "While we had joked about being a terrorist organization, and ShinRa will label us that regardless of anything else... Selfishly, I admit that running a test to have a better idea of what ShinRa is up to is the most that I can do for you. Perhaps setting off a virus in the computer systems... but we didn't come here prepared for that." Gillian sighs. "Just to ram the king of dragons into the side of ShinRa...."

"We didn't ram it," Genesis protests, but, really, that's a side note.

Either way, Lazard nods. "No, I understand that completely. I couldn't ask your family to take too many risks for my own selfish goals either. However, the more information that I can pull together on ShinRa, what it is doing, and what it is capable of... That is invaluable to me. Additionally, if I can get you into the labs, perhaps you will also be able to recognize things that I would never have a chance to, considering your area of expertise. I will be the first to admit that this is a considerable gamble, but, I accepted that sort of thing would be a common necessity in doing what I aimed to do."

Genesis seems to lean all the harder against Angeal, his words a low murmur. It's only because of Sephiroth's enhanced hearing that he can catch his words; he's not sure if Lazard can. "Personally, I am all for it. Why not see if we can burn ShinRa down to the ground, if we are about in the area?"

"Genesis."

"Yes, yes, I know." A flicker of a smirk. "But I am being serious... This may prove useful for us as well. What if we really could get more information, and possibly even equipment or supplies, that we would never be able to get anywhere else? We have hit the occasional delivery truck, out of necessity, but those rarely have anything of serious import or value. For what we would really need, that would mean going after armed convoys, and we were always told not to take that kind of risk."

In the end, however, for all that Genesis is whispering to Angeal... both of them look over to Gillian, her hands clasped together and her gaze hooded in thought. Finally, she stirs. "This is something that would be far beyond what we have ever done before," she explains slowly. "I trust you understand that we cannot simply make a decision right here and now. Not without having some serious discussion between all three of us."

How long did it take for Gillian to decide to come back to Midgar? To decide to make an attempt of infiltrating a capitalist and war-profiteering giant such as ShinRa? Sephiroth cannot imagine it himself... especially because it never occurred to him to even try.

With that in mind... At least he understands.

Lazard does too, he's relieved to hear, because the man nods. "Of course. Truth be told, I was debating on if I should bring up something like this in the first place, considering that you planned to immediately leave this place... but with the appearance of this mysterious Tsviet, I thought that it was at least worth bringing up." A weary sigh, before he shakes his head. "Although I will say that, in full honesty, it is a decision I would need you to make sooner than later. I have been here with all of you for a while, but, if I stay any longer and Sephiroth in particular is MIA... I do fear what conclusions ShinRa will make towards either of us. And if I am going to help you all, then I need to be in contact with you."

"Of course. We understand completely." Gillian gets up, dusting off her clothes. "Well, I suppose we may have to revise our plans for the next few days... Regardless on if we agree or not. After all, with a second event happening down in the slums, I imagine ShinRa will start putting pressure down on Midgar."

Angeal wrinkles his nose. "A curfew, stricter scans on the trains... I can imagine what a nuisance things will be. We'd be staying here one way or the other anyway."

"Well, at least we will have plenty of ways to keep ourselves occupied," Genesis states, waving his hand dismissively as he goes back over to the small pile of items that they'd all purchased down there in the very bottom layer. "Just think, Angeal, we can go see another showing based off of Loveless!"

Just recalling that moment back on the train when Genesis had explained every single thing about Loveless draws the beginnings of a migraine up to Sephiroth's skull. Angeal, however, just nods. "We'll see if we can squeeze that in. You know, amidst all of the terrorism that we're going to be doing," he says, voice becoming just a little dry with those last words. Yet he too gets up, going over to the kitchen. "Anyway, it looks like you two might be staying a little bit longer.... unless you plan on returning to ShinRa sooner than Lazard does."

Right... No answer, still. Sephiroth glances down at the table, every single bit of grain that composes it in sharp focus and yet not seeming to exist to his eyes at all.

"I will go where Lazard goes, for this," he finally says. "Because the only way that you'll be able to return to ShinRa with less suspicion upon you, Lazard, is if I am there. Otherwise, they may believe you to be a part of whatever happened."

A slow sigh. "I suppose you do have a fair point," he admits. "It will be easier for all of us if there is not as much suspicion upon me, or else they may have something of a lead in multiple ways. Of course, I too would like to avoid anything happening to my own person."

None of this seems to be much of a surprise to Angeal, nor Gillian, nor Genesis. Angeal merely nods. "That makes sense. Well, while we're all deciding, you and Lazard can come help me in the kitchen. We made sure to get a little more food than we had last night, but that means I need a couple of extra hands and tasting tongues."

Is there even enough room in the kitchen for three people? Sephiroth had thought it to be a tight squeeze even with only him and Angeal, both of them quite muscular to begin with. Lazard isn't nearly as fit, due to his office lifestyle, but...

In the time that it takes for him to think that very question, Lazard is already by the counter and peering at what Angeal has pulled out for them. "So what are you going to be making tonight, hm?"

"I was able to find a lot of chicken wings available for cheap, so probably that for tonight. Too many bones in them for people here, I guess, but that's fine. Listen, get them out from that freezer, and I'll have you try out the sauce I'm going to put them in. It's not going to be neat, so I don't want to hear any complaining..."

Apparently that's just how it's going to be tonight. Well, he was told to help, and it's going to be his dinner too. Sephiroth gets up, rolling up his sleeves exactly as he's seen Angeal do it in preparation for washing his hands, and then preparing food. While he does so, however... Movement, from the corner of his eye. Genesis has gone over to where Gillian is, his body bent over to better exchange whispers with her even as the pair begin to move the things bought in the slum shops off into the bedroom.

Perhaps it's not only the need for dinner that Angeal has him and Lazard helping out with the preparations.

"What do you think of the idea?" Sephiroth asks Angeal as he's set to the task of rinsing out the chicken wings and patting them dry. "Of sneaking into ShinRa and using their labs, or getting further information."

He's mixing some things in a bowl, and he doesn't stop, even as he considers Sephiroth's question. "Frankly, the biggest obstacle in my opinion is the lack of information that we have," he admits, mixing together two sauces together - one that makes Sephiroth's nose tingle with the waft of spice, and the other one sweeping in a pleasantly tangy smell to the kitchen. "For you, Director... Let me take a guess at your plan. Probably the simplest thing for you to do would be to make it back, pretending as though you had been saved... and then, after you've been there a while, you'd manufacture a way for us to sneak inside, right? Maybe... through a supply shipment, or something like that. They'll likely be on the high alert for anyone who doesn't look like they belong now, I imagine."

Sephiroth turns his head a bit, and manages to catch Lazard's grimace at being called out so neatly. "There aren't many ways into such restricted sectors such as the science labs to begin with... so I thought that would be the most clear cut method, although that was only a beta plan. I would come up with something far more concrete, once I had made it back into ShinRa."

"To be fair, it's a solid enough plan - you're right in that there aren't really a lot of openings that one can manage into there. Sure, we could get into other places, easy... but no doubt because of their very nature, science departments are a little bit tricky." Angeal pops open a jar of honey, starts spooning that into the bowl with the sauces. "It's just... That's the problem. We don't yet know just how suspicious ShinRa might actually be of you. We don't know if you'll even have enough time to look into what they might know. And, for all that I'm more than happy to cook for both of you..." Angeal raises an eyebrow at both of them. "Well, we are running on optimism and what's likely a lack of self preservation. That's all well and good... when we are keeping an eye on you. However, this sort of plan would take a lot more faith."

"And faith and trust are not easy things to inspire in such a short amount of time," Lazard concedes with a sigh. Sephiroth would say that he earned his own trust fairly quickly, but, well. He supposes he is an outlier and should not be counted. "If there is anything I can do to help with that effort... Please let me know. I would go to any ends..." His hand curls into a fist in the crook of his arm. "...to see ShinRa fall."

Any ends... Sephiroth's gaze drifts back down to the chickens that he's working on. Was he one of those ends as well? He wants to ask, suddenly. Wants to know if Lazard ever truly cared about him, or was this like with the scientists... and he never truly knew better?

Yet he doesn't know how to ask. If he should do it, right here in this kitchen, while they are all working together for dinner. If he should wait, until Gillian or Genesis inevitably pulls Angeal away to have their own discussion with him. If he should.... never ask at all. If he should be berated, for doubting Lazard, when Lazard has done nothing but good for him ever since they first met.

There are so many things running through his head.... too much even for him. And then, by the time he thinks he can muster up the proper words - it's been too long.

He can tell it's been too long because the door to the bedroom finally opens up again, with Genesis and Gillian seeming a little more settled than they were during the briefing on just what had happened down in the slums. Genesis, in fact, immediately makes for a beeline over to Angeal. "Oh, so my ears weren't deceiving me. I see you were in the mood for something a little spicier than whatever nonsense they can feed us in this miserable city."

There they go again - falling into that comfortable back and forth, Angeal and Genesis and even Gillian making the occasional comment from where she's setting up the table patiently.

Well, with Genesis there, it isn't as though there is very much room for all of them. Lazard was already on the outskirts, so it's just Sephiroth who has to squeeze past it all, past the crackle of flame and the comforting smell of food getting ready to cook. Yet even when he pulls himself out from the kitchen, standing there on the outskirts of it... He can't quite go stand by the wall, or at the table. Instead, he stares at it all, this kind of domesticity that has always been withheld from him, the soft warmth that wafts through even this temporary little apartment.

"One day, I want to have this kind of life with you," he says quietly to Lazard before the blond can step away. Over at the table, Gillian lightly presses a hand to her mouth.

Lazard pauses, sighs, and settles back down out of his half-step. "And you deserve something like that," he tells Sephiroth gently. In the kitchen, Genesis's posture jolts straight up, and Angeal elbows him in his stomach. "That is why I wanted to encourage you to escape. You deserve the chance to make it free from ShinRa."

"I want it with you," Sephiroth says, repeating himself. It doesn't feel as though Lazard truly heard him, after all. "I want to make you happy, Lazard." Patiently, Angeal forces Genesis's face against his shoulder while putting the chicken into the oven.

How much more clear does he have to be, for Lazard to understand? Is it possible that... he does understand, but he just continues to act as though he doesn't? Sephiroth can't say, not truly. All he can do is watch as Lazard reaches up to remove his glasses with one hand, the other gently massaging the bridge of his nose. "...I don't know if I ever could be with you for something like that, Sephiroth." He tries to keep his voice low, a whisper while he nudges Sephiroth over to the wall away from the kitchen. Gillian's gaze flickers to them with the action, but she simply continues putting things in place on the table. Genesis doesn't move at all, which is odd. "After all... I may end up in ShinRa for a long time yet." There's that wry twist of his lips, his smile that isn't quite a smile. A sardonic expression that has always suited him. "One does not simply ruin an entire monolith such as it in the course of one night."

Sephiroth knows that. He understands, logically, he understands. It's just... His gaze drifts away, slightly, and he thinks of every time he's always been left behind.

Gast left, and never took him. Ifalna ran away, taking Aerith but not him.

And he understands. He doesn't resent them for it. Isn't it the most logical choice? He was only a child. He would have slowed them down.

...But all the same. He doesn't want to be someone who leaves behind someone he cares about. He doesn't want to leave Lazard behind in this place that has very possibly never done a kindness for anyone living, and would only ruin the good that manages to exist in it. So he says, "Then I will go with you back to ShinRa."

Lazard looks as though he's going to get a headache; Sephiroth would feel a little more bad about that if he suspected that Lazard wouldn't get on either way. "Sephiroth, please. This is-"

"Something I've decided," Sephiroth finishes for him. "It is one of the few choices I have ever been allowed to make... and this is what I've decided is important. I know what you were thinking - that even if I did escort you back to ShinRa, I could still have the possibility of leaving before anyone could stop me under the guise of pursuing the intruders." Lazard, who'd been in the process of opening his mouth to no doubt argue, promptly closes it. Really, he shouldn't be that surprised. Even if Lazard may have secrets, have they not worked together for so long? Has he not let him find refuge in his office? Even with the secrets, Sephiroth would say he knows Lazard better than anyone. "With my standing in SOLDIER, I could likely get away with it... but I don't want to."

A truly world weary sigh leaves Lazard's lips. "I will not simply let you end up trapped there, especially in times like this when we have no idea what will happen.... but I suppose we can leave it be, for now. A conversation for a different place."

The place may change, but Sephiroth knows that his conviction won't. Still, he nods. "We can talk later if that is what you want."

For now, they can let the night pass... a little more pleasantly. That mostly means eating more of Angeal's cooking, which Sephiroth cannot help but glance at more than a few times. Gillian laughs a little when she notices. "Oh, so you like the food that he makes, do you?"

"Anyone with functioning tastebuds and a nose would appreciate Angeal's cooking," Genesis boasts, once again as though he's responsible for any of it. Sephiroth really doesn't understand him. "I bet it is finer than anything you have had in any Midgar, restaurant, isn't it?" There's clearly something expectant in his gaze as he looks over to where Sephiroth is dutifully getting the plates again.

Well, he's not entirely sure what Genesis is expecting.... But he can at least answer the question. "I have never been to a restaurant," Sephiroth tells him, "but Angeal's cooking is... better than anything I have had before."

"He lives in Midgar and hasn't had anything in the restaurants, he's exactly like you," Genesis tells Angeal, who scoffs. "Then, your own cooking needs some brushing up on, I take it."

"I do not cook at all. The Science Department sends me all of my meals. They say my nutrition has to be tightly regulated. Taste is usually not a priority in those cases, not when it would interfere with my development."

The apartment becomes very, very quiet.

Gillian presses her hands together, tips pressed against her forehead and her eyes closed. "That absolute control freak," she mutters, which sounds about right for Hojo in the most polite terms one could put it.

A deep, guttural sigh rolls out from the kitchen, and Angeal has his face in one hand. "Where do you live again?" he asks.

Sephiroth tells him.

He doesn't know what Angeal plans on doing with that information, exactly, but at least it seems to satisfy him enough, and he jerks his head in a nod. "Well, for tonight, get extra helpings," he advises, heading over to go through the fridge. "And hold on, I can whip up some other things tonight before the chicken finishes cooking."

Those other things would be an entire salad, a baked potato, and warm bread - "We can't make anything fresh for you, sorry" - all piled up high on Sephiroth's plate.

"Honestly, no wonder you're so skinny," Angeal grumbles, which is the first time that anyone has ever said that about him in his entire life. "I can't believe the kind of garbage that they must be feeding you. All the money in the world, and of course those cheapskates won't give you a proper meal." He gives Sephiroth another baked potato.

Last night, he'd noticed that everyone had eaten everything on their plate... So, well, he supposes that's the proper way to do things, outside of having food delivered to you by the Science Department. Even if this seems a lot... more than what's on Lazard's plate... That's probably the way to go.

And to be perfectly fair: the food is once again delicious. There is something rich and tangy to the sauce slathered all over the chicken wings, and the richness of the potato makes him feel as though his stomach is actually... full? He can't remember ever actually being full like this with the food from the Science Department. Then one adds in the freshness of the salad, and it clears away any heavy feeling on his tongue.

"You act as if you've never eaten before," Gensis teases him, even though he's had just as much food piled on his plate and of his own volition as well. Angeal looks immensely satisfied about it all. "Truly, the Science Department of ShinRa has failed on multiple fronts."

Sephiroth isn't entirely sure if he would sort a lack of culinary talent and interest into the same category as inhuman human experiments on unborn fetuses, but... Well, he supposes Genesis did say multiple fronts. That doesn't mean the same front. For now, he simply enjoys the meal that he can, for right now, at least still enjoy. Up until he returns to ShinRa, he supposes.

One of the unintended side effects of eating this kind of meal, however, is that it is not particularly elegant or neat. The stickiness along his mouth and fingers is hard to ignore, since wings seem naturally inclined to fighting with any forks... and no one is using forks anyway with these.

He must make a sight, judging by the way Lazard chuckles. "Stay still, Sephiroth," he tells him fondly, while Gillian pluck a paper towel free of its roll. "I suppose this sort of thing can't be helped... " Together with Gillian, they clean his face, although he's certain that there will be more still by the end of the night. He's not done with his food, after all.

"We've decided on the answer to your proposal, by the way," Gillian says at the end, as Genesis gathers up all of the plates and cheap plastic forks that were used for dinner. "We agree to going along with your idea."

Lazard almost drops his glass in the middle of handing it to Genesis. "What - already?"

"You said we were short on time to decide, didn't you?" Gillian points out. "So we discussed things, and we've decided that this may be worth taking a chance on. However, if we are to go along with any ideas, then we will want you to see if you can get your hands on any communication devices. At the very least, the three of us would like to communicate with one another during this infiltration."

Yes.... That is the most common sense suggestion. Even Sephiroth has to have a way to radio back to control or Lazard when he's on missions, and he doesn't even have any teammates more often than not... Not anymore, at least. Lazard recognizes this as well, giving a nod. "Of course. If I cannot procure some communication for us all, at the proper place and time, then you can assume that I have been compromised and you needn't go along with my idea."

And Lazard knows a surprising amount about Midgar's various holes and hideaways, all sorts of areas in which he could hide the communication devices at which Sephiroth would never have thought of. Apparently, even in the nicer districts.... Various holes exist.

Of course, that is just one aspect of it all. The priority for them all is the main plan as it is. But Lazard knows an interesting little fact about ShinRa headquarters, as it turns out.

"There is a stairwell that has absolutely no security within it," he explains to them. When Sephiroth turns his head to stare at him, Lazard gives him a wry smile. "You see, when a building is over some sixty stories tall, the logical conclusion is that no one in their right mind would go after something so time consuming and full of such physical effort. A lot of those first sixty floors are honestly just storage anyway.... so if you are not familiar with the layout of ShinRa's buildings, you would waste a great deal of time, as well."

"What kind of nonsense even needs over sixty floors at any rate," Angeal sighs.

He might have a point there, but Lazard waves him off. "There are a few cameras around the areas, but they should be easy enough to feed on loop - no one is going to expect anyone sensible to be in them unless there is an emergency where the elevators don't work."

Angeal pointedly elbows Genesis's side, and is elbowed sharply right back.

"As long as you can get past the guards at the entrance, no one will think twice on checking in there." Lazard nods, satisfied with the idea. "And that should get you right to the science labs - the ones for something as minor as this, at any rate." He trails off, then, and frowns. "Of course, that still means that we would need a tissue sample from Rosso.... or anyone else to do with that miserable secret project of theirs."

True - that is the entire reason they are doing this to start with. Yet Gillian doesn't seem concerned at all. "If we can simply get access to this sort of equipment, that will be enough for me," she tells him. "Do you have the work schedules for the science department?"

"I can get them," Lazard promises. "Although some of them are not exactly on schedules so much as they come in with they please..." His nose wrinkles; Sephiroth can tell who he's thinking about. "Still, even they have their own internal schedules - if nothing else, then I can always ask about or check security footage to see when they normally arrive at the labs."

A way to leave communication devices for Gillian and the others, a place where they can break in once Lazard gives the details on its location and how to get there... That seems to be more than enough.

There's just one last thing, and it's what Genesis brings up, at the very end. "Do you think that they'll believe you were kidnapped and held hostage, when you look to be in such high spirits?" He gestures towards Lazard's overall demeanor - suit still in fairly good condition, healthy if perhaps not having had a shower for a couple of days. "Really, now, Angeal - he's practically glowing after that dinner you've prepared. Who could believe he was held hostage when he radiates well fed contentment?"

Sephiroth isn't entirely sure if it could be classified as contentment, but.... Certainly, Lazard looks far better than a hostage should. And with it being pointed out to him, there's no way he's not thinking about it now. It's clear enough from the way his lips twist. "You're not wrong... I will need to more look the part if I am to be even remotely convincing to ShinRA." Reaching up, he slides his glasses off. "Someone is going to have to hit me."

What.

"Absolutely not," Sephiroth says, immediately protective. His entire role is making sure that Lazard doesn't get hurt, doesn't ever have to deal with combat or the front lines. In his chest, his heart twists anxiously as well, at the idea of Lazard getting hurt.

He knows that it doesn't make much sense, to argue against it. Lazard and all the others are right that he hardly looks the part of a hostage. In fact, he already knows the argument is coming even before Lazard shakes his head. "This will make it easier for us all, Sephiroth," Lazard tells him.

"Let's step into the hall," Angeal suddenly suggests, pushing himself up from his seat. "That way, you can at least have temporary blissful ignorance."

Right. That saying, ignorance is bliss. Sephiroth never really understood it, frankly. Does it really make anyone feel better to not see something happening if they have to deal with the aftermath regardless? "I'll stand by the wall," he insists, even as he is far slower in rising to his feet.

Gillian presses her hands together. "I'll do it, then. Just one punch should be enough, and, while I admit to being a little stronger than the average person, I don't regularly go about fighting whatever monsters are around. It shouldn't hurt that much."

Sephiroth lets Angeal guide him over to the wall, just by the door. Far enough that, likely, he shouldn't interfere with whatever happens no matter what his first impulse might be. That is his hope, at any rate. Angeal glances sideways at him as they settle there against the wall, his hands loose at his sides. "Want to grip my arm?" he offers, the one closest to Sephiroth rising up just slightly.

Of course he has to shake his head. "No," he says, because that's the safer option. His eyes stay locked on Lazard and Gillian as they move more into the living room portion of the apartment - not out of sight, just away from the table. "I'll be fine." He'll make himself fine. What other choice does he have?

He tries to distract himself by focusing on Gillian's form. It isn't trained, much like her gun handling wasn't particularly trained. There's still some sensible choices, like how she carefully positions her fingers so that they're curled the right way, and -

Gillian punches Lazard and Sephiroth has to dig his nails into his palms so that he doesn't lunge forward and do something he'd regret.

If he is perfectly honest, then Sephiroth... feels he must space out or something of the sort, because it feels as though he blinks, and Lazard is back on his feet once more, tenderly feeling around his eye socket with only a slight wince. "You may very well have downplayed your arm strength, Missus Gillian," he comments.

What Sephiroth wants to do more than anything is go over there and heal the damage. Make sure that nothing has cracked beneath the skin, that there's no internal damage that might threaten him when no one else is looking.

He holds back. Angeal pats him on the shoulder. "He's fine," he promises him, although Sephiroth wonders how he can really know. "He took it fairly well - honestly if I had to guess, I'd say that this is far from the first time that he's gotten slugged in the face... although maybe not as hard as Ma can do, but he has experience."

That may not reassure him very much, as a matter of fact. Still, Sephiroth nods; he can appreciate the attempt. That still doesn't stop him from going over to Lazard's side. "Lazard... How much does it hurt?"

"It will certainly ache for a while," Lazard confesses. "Howevere, nothing feels broken, so I can simply expect a bit of a bruise. Assuming that you let it get to that point, of course... Which I do recommend. It needs to show for it to be held up as any sort of proof, after all." A long suffering sigh. "Although I suppose that means I will need to leave it aching for a while, just in case... Best to let it develop naturally as though it really had not gotten any ice to it."

"No, that's idiotic," Angeal says bluntly, and Sephiroth feels a bit of relief sweep throughout his chest. "Here - Sephiroth, catch." He tosses over a small and shining bit of materia to him, the light catching along its shiny surface.

Even as he lets it rest in his palm, Sephiroth thinks he can already feel how it's just slightly cooler than the air around it, despite having been in Angeal's grip just a moment before. Right, back in the slums, during the fight against Rosso... "The ice materia you used?" he asks, rolling it in his fingers.

Angeal waves his hand through the air dismissively. "I just got it off of a cheap shop down in the district," he says. "There's no actual ice in the freezer, but that's cool enough that it should manage well as something improvised."

That is true, Sephiroth supposes. While it isn't complete ice, it still is far cooler than anything else he could get his hands on. He nods his head in appreciation to Angeal before going over to Lazard. "Stay still... and do not protest." There's no reason for Lazard to suffer even this much, in his opinion... and even if it is only this, being able to help does make him feel better.

At least they can stay in the apartment for as long as it takes for them to be prepared - which means letting Lazard's black eye form, and Sephiroth pulling away every trace of Masamune's disguise.

There's even some assistance from Genesis, as he hands over a small box to them - one that makes Angeal immediately move to the opposite side of the apartment. "ShinRa has more literal hounds than merely the Turks and anyone in SOLDIER, yes?" he probes. "Then this should help clear the scent off of you on where you've been. It... is rather potent, however, so best make sure you do not use too much of it when you leave the apartment."

Truly, they've thought well about everything. Sephiroth supposes there is a reason that Gillian was able to evade ShinRa for so long, even with ShinRa's power.

And when they're prepared to leave - through the window of course, so that no one can see where they emerged - Gillian stops them. Just her hand, there on Sephiroth's arm. "Stay safe, won't you?" she says, looking up at him with sincerity burning brighter than the mako in her eyes. "You are ShinRa's valuable experiment, in their eyes... and I worry to what extent they would go in order to keep you under leash. This Deepground experiment, whatever it may be... We have no idea if that is as far as they will go. So stay safe." Her fingers press down, just a little more firmly. "You have people who care for you, after all."

Does he? Once upon a time, Sephiroth would not have been sure of that. Others didn't truly seem to care about him at all, so long as he did as he was told. And those distant memories he holds of people who did care... What had that meant? What would that do?

Still. Still, Gillian is one of the few people who's ever said that to him. Over her shoulder, he can see the confident way that Genesis moves through the various gear that they both already had and have purchased, flashing him a cocky little grin when he notices Sephiroth looking. Right by him is Angeal, who smiles over to him in a calm and measured fashion that settles the anxiety in his gut. That reminds him of the cold materia now resting in his pocket.

Down in the slums, Aerith is waiting for him, and she holds onto the same glasses that he wore.

"I will make sure that he stays safe," Lazard promises, right by his side.

Maybe.... Maybe it matters.

Maybe, even if no one could ever do anything for him, it would always matter.





There's the rattle of guns coming into startled position, when he first leaps over the gate into the grounds of SOLDIER, but no one fires. No one would dare fire, not upon recognizing him - the silver his hair, the length of Masamune. "Medic, now," he barks, and it's easy enough to fall into a role like this. "Prepare a room for the Director!"

Third Class recruits - he can recognize them for that much, especially because this is just simple guard duty right outside of headquarters. This is no doubt their first encounter with a situation like this. It's obvious to see, with the way that some jerk in pure shock and can only fumble with their guns. He makes sure to pay attention to the ones who react immediately - calling into their radios, others rushing off back into headquarters, a small pair who usher him and the man in his arms forward.

For whatever it might mean in a program like SOLDIER... He'll be sure to give them some praise.

It's far from a surprise that the medic has barely been given a chance to look Lazard in the face before some of the Turks step into the room. Sephiroth doesn't know any of their names. Then again, it isn't as though Turks make it a habit of introducing themselves to anyone outside of their job anyway. "Director Lazard, First Class Sephiroth," the man in front says, nodding to them. "We're glad to see you returned in one piece."

Sephiroth... wonders if that is wholly true. More than once, Lazard has thinned his lips and seemed to hold his tongue when it's come to the Turks. Is it because of who they report to, or because of how they are in general? He's never been able to hear one way or the other.

But Lazard does very well in not showing a single sign of that disdain or distrust right now. Instead, he has to slide his glasses back into place, squinting over at the group. "It is thanks to Sephiroth that I made it back at all," he says. "Clearly ShinRa is going to have to go over its security measures from top to bottom, however, if someone in charge of an entire military department can be kidnapped right in the heart of ShinRa headquarters."

"The President and many others agree," the Turk says. "I am sure your contributions as a target would be invaluable to restructuring security protocols. However, that can come after we ask you some questions on the matter."

"Of course." Lazard sighs. "I hope that you can at least understand that I am demanding a proper check up... for reasons that I would trust are fairly obvious."

"Understandable." Yet the Turk is sharp eyed, looking over everything as the medic does. "I cannot see any signs that rope was used to bind you, Director Lazard."

Already they're suspicious... or, maybe it isn't even that they are suspicious. Maybe this has to do with something else, the internal politics of this infernal business that Lazard has grumbled about and yet which Sephiroth has always had the good fortune to never witness, never be embroiled in. After all... He was always embroiled in far worse, it seems.

Yet Lazard doesn't bat an eye. His captors weren't preoccupied with how tight the ropes were when they had a gun pointed at the head of an untrained officer worker. No, he doesn't know where they went because he was blindfolded and Sephiroth intercepted them en route from what he could tell. Obviously he can only tell them the descriptions that they already know, of a redheaded woman and a man who made sure to cover his face. Perhaps there were more? He couldn't tell anyone for certain.

"Do you have any idea on what they were looking for or who they may have been associated with?" the Turks ask him.

In Sephiroth's pocket, the ice materia still presses coolly against his thigh.

"Have the Turks looked into anything to do with other materia companies, or groups that facilitate in the trade of it?" he asks. Not a lie, just a question. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out the ice materia and holds it out to the now much more interested Turk. "I was able to get this off of one of the intruders responsible for the break in." This is not a lie, either. "Along with the fact that it appears that the intruders also had access to a summon materia, would you say that there may be a connection there?" Still only a question.

Only that.

If the Turks decide to look thoughtful on the matter, and accept the materia in Sephiroth's hand... Then that is an entirely separate matter. "It is true that they were looking in the scientific archives on prior projects, and masqueraded as a scientist initially... It is worth looking into, certainly. Thank you for the insight, First Class Sephiroth."

Like he said: an entirely separate matter. "Let me know if it leads anywhere. I would like to personally be a part of the investigation, if possible."

Lazard reaches over to touch his arm. "It was hardly your fault that things happened as they did, Sephiroth," Lazard tells him, although that wasn't on his mind before. It certainly is now, however, even if it all turned out for the better... maybe. "This is not something that can rest solely on one person." He looks back to the Turks. "Is there any video recordings of the event? I want to look into it myself as well... and I may as well use it for training simulations for some of the new recruits."

"Very diligent of you, Director, to use an event such as this to help further SOLDIER..." The Turk inclines his head to him. "But I suppose that is why you have earned the position you have at such a young age." And then, to Sephiroth - "We will keep the Director informed of the case, and inform him if the Turks need additional assistance. As it is, I believe we have learned all that we can from this. Director, if you recall anything at all, please let us know."

Even when the Turks leave, even when the medic casts a quick Cure on Lazard to ensure that he's in good health before exiting as well... Lazard says nothing else on the matter. Nothing true, at any rate. As it is... He lets out a slow breath before looking up to Sephiroth. "Can you help me back to my office, Sephiroth? I have left a great deal of work unattended to in the past few days."

He truly wants to deny helping Lazard back, and instead get him to his apartment, ensure he gets right to resting. Even if they managed to come to an agreement with Gillian and her two boys... He wants to take care of Lazard.

Still, he does as Lazard requests. There'd be no arguing with him anyway... and he doesn't want Lazard to regret not fighting him harder on returning to ShinRa alongside him. So he sticks close to Lazard's side, through all the halls and up the elevator to reach his office. It soon becomes clear just why Lazard truly wanted to get up to his office first thing, however. "Lock the door for a moment, won't you?" he asks, going around the perimeters of the room first. He even gets one of the chairs by his desk, using it so that he can get a closer look up in the corners.

...Of course. For someone who distrusts ShinRa and wants to see its downfall to this extent... This much is only to be expected. Sephiroth does as he's told in locking the door, and then goes up, places his hand lightly on Lazard's waist where he's standing on the chair. "I can look," he tells him. "I know what to look for."

Saying anything more explicit... If there really is surveillance or recording equipment, then saying such out loud would be a problem.

However, fortunately for both of them, going through the office from top to bottom reveals not a single bit of equipment that is where it shouldn't be - not besides a small device hidden near Lazard's desk that he pulls out from a hidden compartment. "Something to interfere with any equipment someone would bring in with them," he explains, after making sure it's not been tampered with.

"I do recall people claiming that reception in certain areas of SOLDIER was terrible," Sephiroth says, sitting down at last in one of the chairs at the same time that Lazard settles at his desk. "I suppose that explains why."

A low laugh leaves him. "Well, I do occasionally feel a little bad about that... but it's for the best. Slow spots in an enormous building like ShinRa's headquarters aren't entirely unheard of, either, so no one looks into it too deeply. Where on earth would they start?" Lazard shakes his head, and starts going through the contents of his desk next - no doubt to see what things may have been moved or looked at while he was gone. "Your comment about the materia was inspired during all of that, by the way. The conversation with the Turks."

"I thought... it would help." And it is a relief that apparently Lazard thinks it might. It isn't as though Sephiroth goes about lying on a regular basis... especially to the company that is responsible for his entire life.

"Well, it will certainly give them something to gnaw on for a while," Lazard chuckles, seeming quite satisfied. "There are no shortage of groups that sell or make materia, after all... ShinRa is certainly one of the largest, but that means there are dozens upon hundreds of smaller groups that would be more than happy to see them fall from grace a little bit. That isn't even talking about how numerous people get work for themselves as small independent sellers.... and of course those who may be dealing in something illegal, of which there is no shortage of in a city like Midgar." He shakes his head. "All of that is to say... It was a good idea, to bring that up."

"I only feel bad, because that was not mine to give." Although, Angeal hadn't asked for it back before Sephiroth and Lazard left, either... Perhaps that's fine, then? He'll have to ask about it later. "Are you going home after you've looked over everything, Lazard?"

It's not exactly a surprise, to see Lazard shake his head, but it is somewhat frustrating. "If I want to keep things running smoothly here, especially for us, then I need to get to work again as soon as possible. I have no doubt that some of the few First Class SOLDIERs besides you kept things running on the mission front, and there had to have been a secretary or two who could pass messages along, but no one is as familiar with everything as I am. No doubt that ShinRa only didn't start shoving more people into my job was because they were internally bickering in order to place one of their own in such a valuable position..."

More internal politics that he's never understood... and was never expected to understand. "Even so, Lazard, you need to get back home." Of course, it won't be as simple as that... Frustrating. How can he convince him?

A recent memory shimmers in the back of his mind, comes into focus. It's Angeal, convincing Genesis of - a lot, honestly. Of reminding him that he couldn't set off a Firaga, or bring out Bahamut, or go see another showing of Loveless, because they had the big picture to think of.

Hm. Well, it is worth an attempt. "If you stay focused in your office after all this time, then people may become suspicious of how serious the kidnapping attempt truly was. It will give away how you were truly treated."

That truly does seem to make Lazard pause, and he lets out a sight, a pen pressed against his forehead. "They most certainly will be keeping an eye on me all the more since I've just returned... No doubt the reason that they didn't have anything prepared ahead of time was probably because they thought I wouldn't return either because I'd been killed or because I was actually a traitor and coming back would be a problem." Instead of putting the files and papers away, Lazard starts to make a small pile of them. "I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I have a spare briefcase here in the office..."

With the kind of personality that Lazard has, he's almost certainly going to go over things even while he's resting in his home... Well, Sephiroth knows that not all battles can be won. The bigger picture, yes? So he stays silent on that matter, helping Lazard gather what he needs to into his briefcase, and then escorting him all the way to the parking garage.

It doesn't escape him - and certainly it must not escape Lazard - that there are people lingering outside of it... and certainly one or two lingering in their cars far longer than they should be.

Lazard acts as though he doesn't see any of them, however. Instead, he goes straight to his vehicle, untouched after all this time. Sephiroth isn't entirely familiar with any vehicle that isn't used in military operations, but even he can tell that it is a very elegant and speedy car. "Thank you for accompanying me all this way, Sephiroth," Lazard tells him. "I will be sure to recover for tonight, and then meet you in the morning, as per usual. Hopefully, we can put this incident behind us, and work on catching up to everything that we have left neglected due to that incident. I'm sure we will find the culprits in due time. There is only so much they can do to hide." He nods to him. "Now, be sure to have a good rest yourself."

"Thank you. I will try not to be obtrusive while I stay with you. You do not need to prepare a bed for me."

"...Pardon?"

Somewhere in one of the cars, Sephiroth thinks he sees someone duck their head, shoulders shaking. Laughter? "I'm coming with you," Sephiroth says matter of factly. "Your apartment isn't secure enough, Director Lazard, and you need extra security."

"Sephiroth, that..." Lazard pinches the bridge of his nose. "That is truly unnecessary. The apartment complex that I live in has good security, and my apartment in particular is on a high floor. I will be perfectly safe and secure, I can promise you that, so you do not need to take any extra steps-"

"ShinRa was broken into, and I doubt your apartment is as secure as ShinRa," Sephiroth says. "So, shall we get going, Director Lazard?"

Lazard's fingers stay pinched at the bridge of his nose for a moment longer before he lets out a long suffering sigh. "I suppose there is truly no dissuading you. I do insist that you get some rest, Sephiroth. No doubt we will have to get right back to work first thing in the morning." he opens the back door of his car for him. "Then, let us go before we get stuck in truly horrendous traffic."

It is not the most comfortable ride for Sephiroth, but, then again, he's found that most car rides are not. He's far too tall for many that are built, save for military vehicles. Still, he says nothing on the matter, all the way until they arrive at the apartment.

And it... reminds him somewhat of his own.

The layout is somewhat different, of course, in various little ways - the positioning and type of windows, where the kitchen is located and how it has no space for a table but simply stools at the counter which separates the spaces - but it is still similar to him overall. Similar in that... there is no life to it, no personal effects. All the of furniture that is there is serviceable and uninteresting; Sephiroth would even say that he has the exact same type of couch and coffee table in his own apartment.

A place simply to pull away from the world, and rest, and eat, and nothing else. Not a place to live in.

"I don't have anything in the fridge, so I think I will simply order something in," Lazard tells him from the kitchen, and Sephiroth snaps out of his observations, looks over to where Lazard is already picking up his phone. It's the kind hooked up into the wall, not a separate thing resting on a counter. A part of the apartment itself, and not something Lazard ever chose. "Would you like to try pizza, tonight?"

Pizza... He's seen advertisements for that before. Of course, he's never had it. Do the scientists know that he's made it back yet? Does Hojo?

"I think I would like that."





They do a sweep off the apartment, just like they'd done the office, for any recording devices. Unlike with the office, they do find something, hidden amidst the furniture. With no personal items in the apartment, it seems as though they'd had rather limited places to put things where they'd be unseen. "I suppose they thought that if I'd turned traitor, there was always a chance I'd return back home, although that's a foolish little idea," Lazard says as he wires the device so that it picks up on things happening in the apartment below his. "They will always search the places you regularly go to first."

"Are there really people that are that foolish as to go back to such obvious locations...?"

"Ha. Well, it is a simple human reaction, especially if things are going off of how they had planned... Perhaps they had forgotten something, or not prepared ahead of time." Lazard shakes his head. "Of course, in some ways, I truly had been kidnapped... so I may have deceived them on that front, by pure luck."

Pure luck... Indeed, a lot of things that have happened ever since a couple of days ago have been nothing but pure coincidence. It was coincidence that had him back at ShinRa Headquarters. Coincidence that lead him and Lazard near the same room that Gillian had been searching through. Coincidence that... his name was able to be spoken.

Yet even more things... Had they been his own choice, for the first time in a while?

"And.... there." Lazard clicks the panel back into place on the device. "We'll have to find somewhere else to put this, but for now... Just having it not transmitting anything from us is more than enough for me." He dusts off his hands. "I suppose I should thank you, Sephiroth. You made finding this a great deal easier than if I was on my own."

Sephiroth only frowns at him, a minute shift of his mouth. "You had exhausted yourself a great deal, Lazard... You could have missed it, if you had insisted on working even longer in the office."

"I have watched out for myself for a very long time," Lazard counters, getting up and moving around the apartment. Sephiroth doesn't miss the fact that this lets him avoid looking him in the eyes. "I would have been fine. Whenever did you become so concerned about things such as that with me?"

What a ridiculous question... He should know. "Ever since someone held a gun to your head, and I was unable to do anything about it," Sephiroth says quietly, and Lazard comes to a stop, right there by a mostly empty shelf.

Lazard doesn't face him, not right away. Instead, holding the tiny little device in both hands, he looks out towards the window. "...I had been giving us an excuse for being so close together, back in headquarters while we were speaking with the Turks... But no. I suppose it would be foolish for me to expect, even with things turning out well, that you wouldn't have been affected by something like that."

Exactly. In a situation that isn't a straightforward battle, what was he supposed to do? Even now, with it having passed, with their new plan in motion... Sephiroth doesn't know.

Luck was also a factor in it being Gillian, who Sephiroth thinks never wanted to shoot anyone regardless, having held the gun in her hand.

A knock sudden raps against the door, and Lazard steps away from the shelf. He doesn't need to step much further, however. Sephiroth does so first, looking outside through the peephole and answering.

It really is just the pizza delivery person in the end, but... it's better to be safe rather than regret.

Although he has to say - "I didn't think that you would order this much," Sephiroth says over a couple of different pizza boxes, atop which are piled a few more containers with various smells wafting from them. Something sharp and fresh, another warm and sugary... This is clearly far more than just pizza.

Chuckling, Lazard gestures for him to come over to the counter. "Well, I was actually thinking about you for most of them. What you said, back when you were speaking with the others..." About how he'd only ever eaten the food that the science department had fed him. Yes, he knows what Lazard must be referencing. "Since you insist on staying here in my apartment, I thought it would be a shame if we didn't indulge ourselves a little bit - especially considering the hard days that will be there before us. So I made sure to get half of a little bit of everything." Getting out some plates from the cupboards - so he does at least have his own plates instead of paper, Sephiroth hadn't been sure even when he'd seen them for himself - Lazard grins. "Do let me know what your favorite is, alright?"

Ha... Sephiroth hesitates there for a moment, looking at all of the different boxes and containers. The different pizzas, the boxes of salad or cheesesticks or little fried desserts... It's a complete variety. Probably terrible on a nutritious scale. It'd make any one of the scientists back down in the lab, especially Hojo, throw a fit to see him eating, even if they no doubt indulge in it themselves.

Sephiroth decides that he likes the pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeno pizza the best.

"Tomorrow, ShinRa will likely suggest that I be accompanied by other bodyguards who are not you," Lazard says over his own many cheesed pizza slice. The pineapple and ham is already gone in the blink of an eye. "They won't want their best SOLDIER stuck on something that minor... and if they're still suspicious of me, then they'd want me away from you so that I wouldn't be anymore of an influence. That means our opportunities to talk with one another on future plans may be impeded somewhat."

Right... If Lazard is accompanied by bodyguards constantly, then they'll almost certainly report any unusual behaviors or meetings between him and Lazard in the future... If he made regular visits here under the guise of still wanting to protect Lazard, would ShinRa also view that suspiciously sooner than later?

"Do you believe that they will pressure you to send me out on another mission?"

Lazard hums around a cinnamon breadstick, thinking carefully on the answer. "No... I don't believe so, not so soon. Right now, everyone is going to be on high alert. It would be one thing if it had been an actual physical attack. For that much, they can blame it easily on whatever opponent they like, and stir up public support, especially if that disrupted the services that so many people rely on here in Midgar. However... What seemed to happen was instead the theft of information. If someone could use information to put doubt or blame upon ShinRa, or even make a rival company that could challenge ShinRa's stranglehold in even the slightest way..."

"That is a more long term concern than merely repairing a building or equipment... and they couldn't place blame upon another party so easily."

"Exactly." Lazard nods firmly. "So with that in mind, just in case, they would rather have you here in Midgar. No doubt they blame the fact that you didn't further pursue the target on how you must surely have placed the priority on keeping me safe... Another reason they'll give me other bodyguards and encourage you to stay separate from me." He dips his cinnamon breadstick into a small container of chocolate. "That means we will have to finalize all our plans ahead of time, so that we can move ahead without having to pause and communicate with one another."

In many cases, that sort of idea would be considered risky. Certainly Sephiroth has rarely liked to use it out on the field, with Third or Second Class SOLDIERs underneath his command. Even with the mako that had been put into their bodies, they could still fall so easily compared to him.... And even then, with their occasional inexperience, they were at risk of falling. A single well trained and well adapted SOLDIER, no matter the class, could take out a whole fort... but Sephiroth has never truly found many people of that level, if he is honest. So, the idea of engaging in this sort of tactic with Lazard as his partner, someone who is so much more vulnerable than anyone in SOLDIER...

Yet at the same time, Sephiroth finds himself... curious. Or perhaps that is not the right word. Perhaps this is something else entirely.

They spend the rest of the night going over everything that the two of them need to do - how they will get a hold of the communication devices, which of them will have an easier time going to the drop off point, what frequencies to use that could possibly evade any ShinRa eavesdropping... There is a great deal to consider.

Sephiroth used to watch some of the scientists in the lab bicker and argue, when Professor Hojo was away. How they would clash even when they all had the same goal, with such differing ideas on how to get there. Even for just one goal in particular, and not multiple things all at once.

There's no arguing, not with him and Lazard. Not for this.

Instead, he soon finds himself in a comfortable back and forth there, with the two of them, both bringing different thoughts to the table. Lazard's knowledge of all the little ins and outs of Midgar, Sephiroth's more practical knowledge with military equipment and how he's learned to adjust it. It's a simple thing, for them to come to the right conclusions, the exact way for them to manage even if the two of them cannot speak with one another directly face to face.

Perhaps it always would have been that easy for the two of them. Certainly, it's always been that easy for them when they were in their old roles. Roles that they're still playing, to a degree. But this time... It feels different.

Lazard almost doesn't go to sleep at a proper time, still wanting to go over all the paperwork that he brought with him from SOLDIER headquarters and that's with their private rebellion on top of that... but Sephiroth doesn't let him. Instead, he patiently herds him to his bed - plain looking but quite comfortable - and then settles outside in the living room. He waits until there's no more sounds of movement from Lazard's room... and then patiently goes over to sit in front of his door, Masamune resting against his shoulder in its sheath.

Even if there's little chance that Gillian or Angeal or Genesis will come after Lazard now, after all they're working on together... There's a reason that Lazard had to check his office and personal apartment for devices.

Fortunately, the night passes without incident, and Sephiroth is able to move to the front room before Lazard wakes up. Leftover pizza is apparently something that also works perfectly fine as a breakfast, he learns, and so that is what they have while Lazard gets himself clean and prepared. He offers to let Sephiroth use his shower, but that's hardly necessary. Sephiroth simply has them stop at his own apartment so that he can get into a change of clothes, and do a quick rinse of his hair.

"Oh, how the makeup artists in charge of some of your modeling contracts would cry if they saw the way that you care about your hair regularly when it's up to you," Lazard comments during the drive to ShinRa. Sitting in the front sheet alongside Lazard, Sephiroth glances in the mirror to check on the cars that are discretely following after them. "They are always so enamored with it."

He knows. It's something that he often hears praise for, when he is used for such advertising on ShinRa's behalf, their well oiled propaganda machine. Yet this was never truly a decision he made, honestly. It was just one more thing decided for him.

Maybe he should cut it all off. He could blame it on something in his next mission, perhaps.

Even if it feels hard to actually envision himself doing such a thing... Just having those thoughts feels as though it is something of a forbidden little pleasure. What he says out loud, of course, is, "This is simply the most efficient way to handle it... Especially since, as you pointed out last night, we are going to be very busy today. There is no point in giving too much time to my hair when there are more important matters to focus on."

And those important matters practically leap upon them the moment that they enter SOLDIER headquarters. A secretary hurries up to both of them, whispering something to Lazard. No doubt they're trying to be discreet; it just happens to be that Sephiroth's hearing is sharper than that.

"Director, someone - someone strange arrived to see you today. He showed proper paperwork from other higher ups, and that Professor Hollander introduced him, so I believe he is legitimate, but... He and that woman, I've never heard of them before. He only told me to refer to him as Restrictor. Do you want me to have some SOLDIERs on standby just in case he's someone suspicious...?"

Reaching up to adjust his glasses, Lazard replies, "If Doctor Hollander introduced him personally, then I imagine that his credentials must truly be genuine. Do not worry. I have Sephiroth with me, should anything happen."

That does seem to reassure the secretary, but Sephiroth notices that they still keep a concerned gaze on the two of them as they make their way to the usual conference room where Lazard meets with people - whether in official meetings or while giving out missions to First Class. Sephiroth has questions that he wants to ask... but this isn't the place for honest conversation. Instead, all he can do is keep Masamune close, and Lazard closer.

The secretary was right to be confused and suspicious, in the end. When Lazard opens the door, it reveals a man unlike any Sephiroth has ever seen before. Despite the recommendation he allegedly carries from Hollander, he doesn't look like any sort of SOLDIER, or Turk, or any other hired guard in ShinRa's employ.

Not a single one of them wears a mask that obscures all facial features, and an enormous closed cloak which hides away what his body even looks like.

The eyes from deep within the helmet glow a vivid and yet... unsettling mako blue as the figure turns to face the two of them, his voice deep and masculine - no doubt the reason the secretary decided he was male. "Director Lazard Deusericus... and First Class Sephiroth." He's speaking down to them; Sephiroth can pick it up in his voice. It's subtle, but this is far from the first time he's been spoken down to. Not with a paternal link like Hojo. "President Shinra has instructed us to help you and the Turks with your latest assignment: to track down those responsible for attacking ShinRa."

Us... and yet Sephiroth can't see past this Restrictor to see just who else is alongside him. He's not sure if Lazard can, either, although Lazard seems more occupied with narrowing his eyes ever so slightly at their... company.

"While I am more than glad for extra hands during a serious matter such as this, I am afraid that I never received any prior indication that it would be more than SOLDIER and the Turks working on this case together. While I have heard that you have Professor Hollander's recommendation, I cannot say that I have ever heard of you... or know at all what you are capable of. I do not mean any insult, of course. Rather, I would think that I would have heard of your reputation before, if you are so skilled that you can handle this alongside those as skilled as the Turks, and my own men."

It's not often that Lazard gets even mildly aggressive like that... but, of course, this Restrictor seems to have no concern whatsoever. Instead, he tilts his helmet impassively. "We are a classified group. For someone of your ranking, of course you would not be told." He has to know that he is only stoking the tension between the two groups before anything has even started, doesn't he? While Sephiroth ruminates on this, the Restrictor begins to shift aside. "Yet I did neglect to introduce ourselves. I am the Restrictor...

"And you may call this Rosso the Crimson."