Inception: Book 1 (FFVII Remake)

Ch.23

The battle at fort Nagato was a triumphant victory for Shinra. Sara was able to infiltrate the fort easily and open the gates. The battle was over in a few hours.

As the days went on for weeks, Sara spent most of her time in the shadows gathering intel while destroying Anti-Solider monsters. She spent most of her days camping in the forests of Wutai, hiding in caves and sometimes in the trees. Yet, she felt lonely as she continued her duties as a fellow SOLDIER.

One night, Sara turned on her phone and looked through her messages. She would keep her phone off during the daytime, while at night, she would turn it on to see if Heidegger had sent her more missions to take on. But this time, she didn't see anything from Heidegger but from Director Lazard.

Dear Saraphina,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been invited to the annual New Year's Eve Ball the company is hosting for its employees. And considering your hard effort, the president has granted you and the other 1st class members two weeks off as a token of appreciation. Please head back to camp within the next forty-eight hours, where a chopper will take you back to headquarters, and also, you are due for a health check. Head to the Research Department for your health exam when you arrive at headquarters.

Sara sighed as she turned off her phone and turned in for the night. She was thinking about the beautiful feeling of sleeping in her bed. That night she got a blissful sleep.

The following day, she and Kikki headed back to the main military camp; it took them a whole day to reach it, and by the time she arrived, it was already dusk. After putting Kikki in the stable, the lovely chocobo munched down on some greenies as Sara headed to the main tent. When she walked in, not only Heidegger was there, but Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis were standing around the table.

Seeing Sara, Genesis smirked, "Well, look who finally showed up."

Angeal walked over to Sara and hugged her, "Welcome back, Saraphina."

Sara smiled, "Good to be back."

Sephiroth said nothing but only smiled, yet unbeknownst to everyone else. He was relieved and happy to see Sara alive and well.

Heidegger scoffed, "Since you're all here, I know you've been invited to attend the New Year's Eve party. Quite frankly, I don't give a damn about some parties. But as they say, end the year on a solid note, and we will. You all have a choice, you can fly over to headquarters now or wait until morning. So what's it going to be?"

Genesis replied, "I'm down to leave now."

"Same," Angeal agreed; Sephiroth nodded, and so did Sara.

Heidegger nodded and ordered one of the foot soldiers to take them to Shinra headquarters.

The four 1st class SOLDIERs began to make their way to the chopper that was ready for them. Sara sat on the seat closest to the window, followed by Sephiroth, who sat next to her. Then sitting in front of them were Angeal and Genesis. The helicopter began to take flight heading back to Midgar.

"You look a bit rough there, Saraphina," Genesis spoke with a smirk, but there was a hint of concerning light in his eyes.

Sara rolled her eyes and grumbled, "I haven't bathed in days and am not looking forward to the health check-up I've got to attend."

The men frowned when they heard her say, 'health check-up.' It was something SOLDIERs preferred to avoid talking about it. Usually, people who go for a health check-up with the doctor ask questions, take a few blood samples, and the patient is done. But for those who are SOLDIER members, it's different. Because a SOLDIER is enhanced with mako energy, the doctor, or in this case, a scientist, has to take note of the mako level activity within the vessel's body. Usually, they would have to put the patient in a tank submerged in water while monitoring the heart, mako, etc. Each member of SOLDIER has to have the right balance amount of mako in their bodies, and over time that can change. If there is too little or too much mako, then more or less mako must be inserted into the SOLDIER's body. But going through with that is exhausting. Some members were out for days after their heath check-ups, while others were exhausted for several hours. Either way, the members of SOLDIER never liked the health check-ups.