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Final Fantasy VII: The First Crisis

Chris nodded, looking up at Xanatos as she followed him into the elevator. "Yeah.. I don't think I could have done whatever it is I did back in Wutai if I hadn't been accepted into SOLDIER. I have you to thank for that." She shuffled her feet a bit as she waited for the elevator to stop. "I was worried that the director would change his mind once he'd found out the secret I'd kept for so long"

When they reached Hojo's office, she started looking through one of the filing cabinets in the room for Elochai's file. If it wasn't here, she would know where to go to get it.
 
Xanatos kept watch just outside of the office door to make sure noone got too nosy as to what they were looking for. Every once in a while, Xanatos would look to Chris to see if she'd found anything.

The only folder of interest was one titled "Project SONGBIRD". The folder itself was practically empty, aside from a single page from a poem called "The Gestalt, The Replicant, and The Songbird". The page was old and tattered and it was written in a penmanship that ws difficult to read, however enough effort would reveal the following text.

It was then that the sun set on the field of battle. The Gestalt was defeated and the Replicant's life had been saved by the notes that flowed from the beak of the songbird. The Gestalt's final words were ones of a promised return.

"What sayeth you, who are cut of the same cloth as he who once was?" Asked the Songbird as she spoke unto the Replicant.

"There exists no such rule that declares a copy to be lesser than an original." Proclaimed the weakened Replicant.

"Than may your words sing as fact and prevail over the fiction that we have created for ourselves..." Spoke the Songbird in an accepting response. "For the world we once knew will be birthed again on the wings of the Gestalt, be he Copy or Original."​
 
Chris stopped searching when she came across the nearly empty folder. Taking the single sheet of paper out, she glanced over at Xanatos, reading the poem aloud. She got the impression from it that it had something to do with Elochai though. "There doesn't seem to be anything else of importance here, other than this poem."
 
Xanatos listened to the poem carefully. "Than I suppose that we already know our next mission." Xanatos said quietly before walking away from the office door. "I'm going to go speak with the director. Than we'll go to Nibelheim." Xanatos continued before heading for the elevator. He didn't care about what became of his career, or his life for that matter. All that mattered was discovering the reason for Elochai's slip into madness. Xanatos approached the elevator and pressed the button to summon it, folding his arms as he waited.
 
Chris made a copy of the poem, putting the original back in the filing cabinet before going to join Xanatos at the elevator. She didn't really want to go to Nibelheim, knowing just who was there that her friend wanted to see, but she couldn't let him go alone either. "I am to go with you, then?"
 
Xanatos turned to face the woman. "I'm going to confront the head of the Shin-Ra science department, Hojo." He began as the elevator doors began to open. "Depending on what I find out..." He paused for a moment. "And if Elochai was the result of one of Hojo's twisted experiments..." He said as his fist tightened. "I might be abandoning Shin-Ra." He turned to face her with a serious expression.

"I don't know what awaits me in Nibelheim. If you come with me, you may find yourself in the same trouble as me." He stepped through the elevator doors and waited for her to join him. "There's a lot of good that SOLDIER can do for this world. But if being a hero means I have to ignore the actions taken by villains like Hojo, than I'll have no part of it."
 
Chris was silent as she stepped onto the elevator, torn between her duty as a SOLDIER and her loyalty to Xanatos. The thought of Hojo finding out about her solidified her choice. She wasn't sure if Hojo even knew about her, but she wasn't going to risk becoming one of his experiments.

Turning to look at Xanatos, she reached out to place her hand on his arm. "I think it's better that I stay here. Just promise me that you will be careful when confronting that man, Xanatos."
 
Xanatos' gaze quickly shifted to her when he felt her hand on his arm. He closed his eyes and gave a quiet nod. "I will be." He sighed quietly. "After I'm finished in Nibelheim I'll contact you by phone." He said as he the elevator began it's descent to the SOLDIER floor. "If I'm not returning to Midgar, than you'll know I've made my decision. If you still wish to speak to me afterwards, I'll be going to Cosmo Canyon. I have an old friend there."

As the doors opened he turned and placed his hands on either of her shoulders. "You've become a very strong woman and a very good friend." He said quietly. His gaze shifted away from her for a moment. "I promise that no matter what happens, I'll never forget the friendship you've shared with me." He gave her arms a gentle squeeze before walking off towards the Director's office.
 
Chris nodded, a sad smile on her face when he spoke of possibly not returning to Midgar. "I will be waiting for your call, Xanatos." She stepped off the elevator with him, watching him walk off toward the director's office, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach as she turned to go back to her room.
 
After his discussion with the Director, Xanatos was on the first helicopter out of Midgar. His crimson gaze set on the horizon towards Nibelheim. It would be 24 hours before he arrived in Nibelheim and another 12 after that before he would attempt to establish contact with anyone.

After Xanatos' departure the Director of SOLDIER had Chris paged to his office. It was dangerous timing. But he felt that Chris deserved a break after her successful mission to track Elochai. He looked down at an envelope that sat on his desk. A sigh escaped his lips as he rubbed his eyes. With Xanatos digging for answers in all the wrong places and Elochai dead, he was beginning to fear for the future of his department.
 
Chris headed to the director's office as soon as she got the message that he wanted to see her. She wasn't sure what he wanted to see her about, but hoped it didn't have anything to do with Xanatos' trip to Nibelheim. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
 
The director smiled when she came into his office. "Chris, I wanted you to know that your efforts on the case involving Elochai did not go unnoticed." He reached for the envelope and handed it over the desk to her. "I have you on the next flight to Costa Del Sol." He walked around the desk so that he was standing beside her. "The company uses Costa Del Sol as a retreat for their employees, which includes us of SOLDIER and even the Turks." He gave her a gentle pat on the back before continuing. "I want you to try to take it easy for a few days."
 
Chris reached for the envelope, surprised by what the director was telling her. She'd been in SOLDIER for less than a week now, and he was already giving her some time off. "Thank you sir.. I guess I should go pack then." Of course, most of her wardrobe consisted of men's clothing. "When does the flight to Costa Del Sol leave?"
 
The director smiled when she accepted the envelope. "Your flight will be departing in about two hours." He began. "You have plenty of time. Go ahead and get ready at your leisure." He returned to his desk where he resumed filing the paperwork from Xanatos' debriefing of the Elochai situation. "Enjoy the vacation." He said with another warm smile.
 
"Thank you again sir." Chris smiled back at him before turning to leave the room. She went back to her room to drop off the envelope with her travel information, then left to do some shopping.

She returned after an hour, and spent the next half hour packing everything she'd bought. Grabbing her cellphone when she was done preparing for her vacation, she glanced around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Picking up her suitcase, she headed out to catch her flight to Costa, though she was worried about Xanatos and what he would be encountering in Nibelheim.
 
It was a twelve hour flight from Midgar to Costa Del Sol. The same pilot from the mission prior was flying the SOLDIER 2nd Class to her destination. "Good to see you again Ma'am. You're looking well." He said as he turned to face her. "I'm sure you're getting tired of me saying this but it's gonna be another 12 hour flight to get to Costa Del Sol."
 
Chris smiled when she saw who would be taking her to Costa. "It's alright. No mission this time, so you won't have to put up with crazy flying schedules!" Getting into the helicopter, she slid her suitcase under her seat before buckling herself in.
 
He gave a hearty laugh. "I like the sound of that, Ma'am." He spoke as he redirected his attention to the sky in front of him. He pulled a lit cigarette to his lips as he began to fly the helicopter in the direction of Costa Del Sol. It was a long flight, during which the pilot would occasionally engage the SOLDIER operative in idle chatter.

As the sun was beginning to set, the helicopter began to set down in Costa Del Sol. "Alright, Ma'am. Here we are." He said as he looked back to where she was sitting. "I hope you enjoy your vacation."
 
Chris slept for the last couple hours of the flight, waking when she felt the chopper touch down in Costa Del Sol. Getting up from her seat, she grabbed her bag from underneath before climbing out of the vehicle. "I will. You take care of your family" She went to the hotel she'd be staying at during her stay.
 
It would be another 24 hours before Xanatos would attempt to make contact with Chris. It would be late at night in Costa Del Sol, when Xanatos' call would come in. He hoped and prayed that Chris would be awake or at least hear her phone ringing.
 
Chris was a light sleeper, when she didn't work her body into exhaustion. Hearing the phone ring, she reached to grab it from the nightstand beside the bed. There was only one person she knew who would be calling her this time of night, so she didn't need to check the caller ID before answering. "Xanatos?"
 
"Chris..." There was a lot of static which made it difficult to hear. Where ever Xanatos was there was really poor reception. "I'm... Sewers... Wounded... Cosmo Canyon... Three days... SONGBIRD..." With that the connection cut.
 
Chris started to panic, only getting portions of what Xanatos was saying. "Xanatos! Are you there? Xanatos!!" Cursing, she got up from the bed, quickly getting dressed. So much for her vacation. At least she had one day in which to enjoy herself. Grabbing her things, she tossed them into her suitcase before going to check out of the hotel.

Once outside, she went to see if she could get a ride to Nibelheim. She wasn't sure if Xanatos was even there, but she had to go help him. Even if it meant coming face to face with Hojo.
 
The pilot from the night before was still in Costa Del Sol at that time. He was standing outside of his helicopter making sure that it's tank was full and it would make it over the ocean on it's way back to Midgar. He turned away from the helicopter to see what looked like a panicked Chris looking around the town. "Ma'am!" He shouted as he waved to her. "What's wrong?"
 
Chris stopped when she heard the pilot calling to her. She turned, hurrying over to the helicopter. "It's Xanatos.. Something is very wrong. Can you take me to Nibelheim please?"
 
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