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Well, this was far from the worst day of Zack’s life… but it was definitely up there. It was the kind of day where everything that seemed like a good idea quickly spiraled into a mess. He wasn’t keeping track of how many times this had happened to him, but it had to have been twice at least.
Today’s brilliant plan? Trying to retrieve a box of Mako Stones for the researchers by climbing the crates in the warehouse. He had no idea how the stones got so far up in the pile of weak wooden crates. And he was certain Shinra used metal almost exclusively at this point. How long ago were the stones collected?
These were the questions that he busied himself with now that he was dangling from the ceiling, wrapped up in a tangle of wires from whatever machinery he had accidentally tore into from below in his attempt to grab the stones. The crates were shattered and scattered below on the ground. The stones remained in their perch. Unharmed, luckily.
“This was supposed to be easy…” he muttered in frustration.
He scanned the floor and found his sword amongst the wreckage. Far out of his reach. He sputtered and looked for some other way to get himself down.
“I could call for help… Egh, but if Angeal’s the one to find me, I’m gonna hear it. Wrecked the place, damaged Shinra property, stuck like an idiot,” Zack said to himself, mulling over his few options.
Angeal was always lecturing him about one thing or another. Don’t let yourself get cornered, stop forgetting your sword in the lounge, think before you act. If Angeal saw him like this he’d be so fed up. And the lecture could last hours. That only made him feel even more foolish.
His day couldn’t get any worse. Unless a fire broke out or something. Oh… damn it, did he just jinx himself?
The door slid open with a mechanical whir and Angeal walked in, looking every bit the part of a composed mentor. He paused in the threshold and stared wide-eyed at the destruction. His eyes scanned the chaotic scene before landing on Zack hanging from above. His shoulders dropped, a look of pure disappointment taking the place of the surprise.
“What happened?” he sighed.
Zack glanced aside. He couldn’t tell if the truth would be better or worse. He didn’t quite want to admit that he got himself into this trying to grab a bunch of stupid rocks. “I was attacked?”
“By the ceiling?”
“… yes?”
Angeal didn’t have the patience for this, pinching the bridge of his nose. Yeah, Zack didn’t think that would work either. “What were you in here for anyways?” he asked, prickling with annoyance.
“The researchers wanted those rocks,” Zack nodded to the box still sitting on the highest shelf in the room. He followed the gesture and found them. He was searching the room for something. Zack had a hard time seeing anything behind him, he had no idea what Angeal was looking for.
“Need some help?” Angeal asked, approaching the shelves.
Zack’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Uh, yeah… kinda. Can you get me down from here?”
Angeal crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. “I told you to think before you acted. And what did you do? You didn’t think at all.”
“I thought real hard! I had to figure out how to get up there!” Zack retorted.
Angeal walked under Zack and out of his eyesight. “Why didn’t you use the ladder then?”
“Ladder?”
Angeal returned into view carrying the item under his arm. He looked up at Zack with a face that called him all kinds of stupid. He blinked at the object. How hadn’t he seen it before? Was he really that oblivious?
“I—” Zack sighed, knowing exactly where this was headed. “Can we skip the lecture and just—”
“Nope,” Angeal interrupted, shaking his head. “You’re never going to learn if I keep getting you out of this shit.”
Zack tossed his hands as far as they’d go, which essentially just meant flicking his wrists. “You know what? Fair. But I can’t exactly get out of this on my own or I would have done it already. So please?”
Angeal narrowed his eyes, setting the ladder against the wall. He thought about something that put a sly smile on his face, breaking the sternness he arrived with. He folded his arms once more. “Hm. Then I want you to admit that this was stupid and you should have listened to me.”
“That’s petty.”
“I’m not helping until I hear it,” he said, firm in his decision.
Zack’s pride wrestled with his need for help. Eventually he gave up on preserving any kind of pride. In his state, there wasn’t much left to save anyways. “I did something really stupid and I should have listened to you. You were right, I have to think before I act.”
A satisfied smile spread across Angeal’s face. “There we go.” He propped the ladder up and got the box down, setting it aside. As for Zack, it took some work, but he unraveled him from the wires and such from the damaged machinery and let him drop onto the floor as a bit of extra penance for his behavior.
Zack dusted himself off, avoiding Angeal’s knowing gaze. “Thanks,” he mumbled, still a bit sore from the whole ordeal.
“Anytime,” Angeal replied, patting Zack on the shoulder. “Better not keep those researchers waiting.”
Zack chuckled despite himself. “Yeah, and remind me not to take any more missions from them.”
Angeal gave a short laugh, walking with Zack down the hall to the Materia Labs. Zack would feel stupid and a bit wounded from the whole ordeal for a while, but at least it’d be a funny story he could tell Aerith some time. Whenever he could make his way back down there.