What could be

Reno and Exodus boarded a helicopter and made their way straight to Shinra Hq. An emergency had occurred.

During their tenure away, Genesis clones had begun reappearing, as if driven by the old SOLDIERS final will, and during their attack they freed Hollander from his prison in Junon, while also destroying a good portion of the city.

Fortunately, Zack Fair, along with a few other Turks, managed to put a stop to the attack and mitigated the amount of damage done. However, the men were still left with a major problem. Hollander.

Dr. Hollander possessed a massive amount of Shinra information, and even more so, information on the cloning project. 

Sephiroth, Zack, and Exodus were given a simple mission. Track down Hollander and discover if Genesis was really dead or not. 

Zack returned to the sector five slums for a time, leaving Sephiroth and Exodus alone for the time to investigate.

" So, do you think he's alive?" Exodus asked Sephiroth. He was in the middle of putting his boots on and couldn't help but ask the question everyone was wondering.

Sephiroth shrugged his shoulders. " I'm not sure. But... If he is, then what?"

Exodus took in a sharp breath and sighed. " I'm not sure. We can't just... We can't just let him go. Not after everything he's done." Exodus told the man. " I don't want to kill him... But I don't want to turn him over to Shinra either. Not so they can run their tests on him. No one deserves that."

" No matter how we look at it. It's a problem." Sephiroth muttered.

" Yeah."

Exodus strapped his boot on and looked towards Sephiroth, his face a mashup of angst and confusion. " How the hell did we end up here?" He asked. " Where did it all go wrong?"

" I don't know." Sephiroth stated bluntly. His demeanor was off. His confidence wavering. 

Exodus sighed. 

Just another step backwards. Unfortunate for the two brothers.

" Tell me, brother. How was your vacation?" Sephiroth suddenly asked.

Exodus seemed to perk up a little. After all it was this vacation that seemed to breathe life back into him, or more particularly a person. 

" It was nice. I actually... Met someone, ya know. It took some getting used to and to be honest... I still don't think I'm quite used to it."

" Really? What's her name?" Sephiroth asked.

" Why are suddenly interested?" Exodus asked the man. " Not once in all the time I was gone did you call or message me. So, what's up?" 

Sephiroth looked down, his large bangs doing their best to hide his face away. 

" I was thinking... That depending on how this all turns out... I might just leave Shinra"

Exodus' gaze widened. 

" Sephiroth... I didn't think I'd ever hear those words come out of your mouth. But you know, chances are if we did walk, Shinra would probably try to have us killed or something."

" Hm!" Sephiroth scoffed and cracked a smirk. " Who could stop us."

It was Exodus' turn to laugh now. 

" Hahaha! That's true. Well, you call me after your trip and let me know what you decide. In the meantime, I have to go. It's time for me to head to the Gongaga reactor. But until then, take care brother. I know, I don't say it often, but I love you." 

Exodus approached Sephiroth and wrapped his arms around the man and placed his head into Sephiroth's thick flowing mane. His embrace was tight and yet. at the same time, tender.

" Since when did you become so sentimental?"

" Ah, shut up. Ya had to ruin the moment, didn't you?!" Exodus exclaimed. He released Sephiroth and slapped him hard on the back.

Sephiroth lurched forward and started chuckling. He looked back at Exodus and smiled.

" Take care, brother."

Sephiroth nodded towards Exodus and in return Exodus nodded back. 

The two brothers were ready to once more venture forth into the unknown. And despite the tension that was growing all around Shinra, they each knew the other had their back..

Exodus exited the first class quarters and ventured towards the second. There was still one stop he had to make. One last person he had to check on, before he'd make his leave.

Opening the quarters door, Exodus spotted his target sitting at the corner bench.

It was Kunsel.

He looked to be working on something. What it was, Exodus wasn't sure.

Slowly, he approached Kunsel from behind and when he was close enough, he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, startling Kunsel out of his seat. 

" Hot damn! You scared me, man." Kunsel laughed. " It's good to see you, again, Sam. How have you been?"

Kunsel reached out and embraced Sam. Giving him as tight a hug as he could, only for Sam to do the same back, and squeeze the wind out of his body.

" Gah. You're still strong." Kunsel grunted.

Exodus placed him back down on the ground with a thud and laughed as Kunsel fought to get his breath back.

" I've been good, Kunsel. You?"

" It's been... It's been rough around here. Trying to keep things running smoothly is a bit harder than it looks, especially when you have to take up coordinating the second- and third-class SOLDIERs all at once. But hey, you know how it goes." Kunsel told the man. " I'm glad to see you're back though. How was your vacation, man. Everything go alright? You seem to be in a better mood."

" It was... A trip. I ended up meeting a girl."

" Oh?! You gotta tell me about her."

" Her name's Jessie. Jessie Rasberry. She's an actress at the Golden Saucer. I met her the first night I arrived there. She was so full of energy, confidence. Man, I mean.. I still can't believe it." Same exclaimed. 

He carefully began recounting the month-long trip he spent away at the Golden Saucer to Kunsel without leaving out a single detail, and by the end he was showing the man pictures she had taken with his phone.

" That's awesome. I'm glad to see you're back to normal. Somewhat, anyway." Kunsel muttered. " Have you called her since you've been back? I know the debriefing was long, and we're already being sent out on another mission, but shouldn't you check in on her?" Kunsel asked.

" She's with her parents right now. And frankly, I don't wanna worry her with the details. I want her to enjoy this time she's getting. She earned it." Exodus muttered softly.

" Alright, if you say so." 

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

" Hm? What is it?" Kunsel wondered.

" On the off chance, something big does come up. Do me a favor and keep on her alright. If Genesis is back, things are going to get deadly. Fast. Can I count on you?"

" Of course. You already know you can." Kunsel replied.

Exodus smiled and nodded, knowing full well that his old friend had him covered.

" Thank you old friend. I remember when you first joined SOLDIER. You were a young bumbling kid, with no lack of confidence. If anything, you were slightly arrogant. But over time, I've had the privilege of watching you grow into a fine SOLDIER. You were a good student, Kunsel. And a better friend." Exodus placed a hand on Kunsel's shoulder and smiled.

" O-Oh... Wow. Thanks man. It's... It's been a honor."

" You take it easy, alright. And make sure you come back alive."

" You too."

Exodus walked away from Kunsel with a smile on his face. 

The time had come for the SOLDIER First-Class to finally venture out once again.

Exodus prepared himself for the absolute worst-case scenario in his mind, not knowing that this very moment, would be the very last time he saw either his brother or Kunsel as a SOLDIER again.

The SOLDIERs all marched out.

Sephiroth and Zack to Nibelheim.

Kunsel to Fort Condor.

And Exodus to Gongaga.

The following days would be known as the trigger for the greatest war in the history of the world.