Chapter One: Journey's Start and Gongaga
Disclaimer: I don't own this either. I do have a copy of the game for the playstation, the movie, and crisis core for the psp!
Author's Note: Yeah, I'm one of those authors who'll start a new story without finishing a previous one. I just can't help it. Ever had an idea that won't go away? This is one of those. One change can cause ripples affecting everything after it. This will be AU after the start, obviously. I will probably go through the movie but I haven't decided yet. I'll definitely go through Crisis Core and the Nibelheim mission, though!
Well let's start…
Cloud Strife was just an average eight-year-old boy. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His hair was naturally spiked up all of the time. He was a loner who didn't have many friends in his home town. He lived in a small mountain village called Nibelheim. Most of his free time was spent helping his mother or exploring on his own. Despite this, he was generally happy. Why was he unhappy today you might ask? Well, it stems back to about a week ago.
It had been Tifa Lockheart's fault! All he had done was follow her up the mountain to make sure that she was alright. She slipped on the path and all he did was try to help her. Sure she had a mild concussion, but he hadn't made the bridge collapse. He felt like all of the adults in the village blamed him for her condition. In truth, he blamed himself for it as well. He wanted to be stronger like the SOLDIER members he heard about in the little news that reached them here.
That thought had struck something inside Cloud's head. He had decided to run away and join SOLDIER. He had gathered what money he could before taking off from his home. His mom wouldn't worry too much anytime soon. Cloud often disappeared for days, caught up exploring. Now, though, he was caught sitting on a rock wondering how he was supposed to get to Midgar. There were monsters all over the place and Cloud had no idea how he was going to get past them. He could avoid some of them and outrun others; one would catch him eventually, though.
"Hey kid, what's wrong with you?" Looking up, Cloud saw a man. This man appeared to be very physically fit and he was wearing a ridiculous cape. He was probably around middle age and seemed to travel a lot, judging by the wear of his clothes. The man looked around before addressing Cloud again, "Where are your parents?"
Cloud didn't know what he should do. On the one hand, this man could probably help him. On the other, he could turn out to be some kind of criminal. Still, Cloud decided that he needed some help and it was worth the risk. "I'm heading towards Midgar, but I'm not strong enough to get past all of the monsters," Cloud stated. The man seemed taken aback by the response, but questioned him nonetheless.
"Why do you want to go to Midgar, child?"
"I wanna get stronger and become a member of SOLDIER!" Cloud's exclamation made the man give him an appraising look. This was all the encouragement Cloud needed, so he continued. "Then, I won't be too weak to help people when they need me. I'm gonna get stronger and someday, when I'm strong enough, I'll finally be able to go home."
The man was rather surprised by what the child said. He ran away to get stronger? In any event he could take the kid to Gongaga, it was his next stop and nobody in Nibelheim had mentioned a runaway. Assuming the kid was from somewhere else, though confused on how he got this far away from his home; the man decided he would make the kid an offer.
"Well, kid, I'm Zangan. I'm a master of martial arts. How about I take you to Gongaga, my next stop, and on the way I teach you martial arts? That way you get stronger and closer to Midgar at the same time."
Cloud mulled over the offer for about a minute. He didn't know where Gongaga was, but it was away from here. He could also learn to take care of himself while they traveled there. He could make the rest of the journey on his own. "Okay! So what will you teach me?"
Though surprised at how easy it was to get the boy to agree, Zangan went along with it. The man looked appraisingly at Cloud and noted his small build. "Well," he began, "before I teach you anything we're going to build up your stamina and possibly your mana as well."
Cloud made a pouty face upon hearing this and began to complain. "Why? What good is stamina and mana? Don't I need to build up my strength?"
Zangan cut in quickly saying, "Yes, you need to build up strength but that comes later. You need to build up stamina so that you can practice for several hours on end without quitting. The trip to Gongaga will probably only take about a year and during that time I'm gonna put you through the ringer. If you wanna keep up then you'll have to have some serious stamina. Plus, stamina's good for drawn out fights as well. As for mana, I have a feeling that SOLDIER members use material a lot so you'll need mana to use it."
Cloud still didn't look fully happy. "But what about getting stronger, Zangan?"
"First," Zangan began, "you will refer to me as Master Zangan until we reach Gongaga. Second, at your age building strength just won't happen. You're frame is too small to support the power. I will, however, teach you a method of substituting either mana or stamina to create strength. It's a secret I discovered, but I'll only teach it to you if I'm impressed with your skill. You need to understand that there is more to being strong than brute force."
The boy silently contemplated what was just said to him. At first, it appeared as if he wouldn't answer. Just when Zangan was beginning to think he had said too much the boy looked him dead in the eye. Zangan was shocked at the sheer intensity of the boy's clear blue gaze. With a clear, crisp nod the boy made his choice. He would study under Zangan for a year and he would learn that secret technique!
Thus began a rather unusual apprenticeship. Cloud never did tell Zangan his name so the man just gave lectures on how he should contact his family from time to time. Cloud never said anything, but he knew he would never contact his mother again until he was strong enough to be able to help the people he cared about. Still, Zangan managed to get close to the boy during their many talks at night.
"So," Zangan said, fire crackling between them, "you wanna be in SOLDIER, huh?"
"Yes," Cloud replied firmly, "I want to be strong enough to protect the people I care about."
"Good, good. Just remember to live your own life too. Still, never forget the reason you seek power. Power without purpose is a waste, boy. I hope that you live an honorable life and never lose sight of yourself or your reasons for being strong."
Though Zangan didn't know it, he had touched Cloud that night. Before, Cloud had sought the acceptance of everyone around him and wanted to be like others. Many of Zangan's lessons and talks revolved around the importance of self, though. Now, Cloud wanted to be strong, but not like anybody else. He would become strong by being himself and that was it.
Zangan's training showed in everything Cloud did. Early on in the training, Cloud had wished for Zangan's death every night when he collapsed from exhaustion at the end of their sessions. Laps, squats, and all other kinds of exercises had comprised his nightly rituals. He would stretch every morning when he woke up to loosen his joints and before and after every training session. It was a habit in him now. Still, you couldn't argue with results. Cloud now walked with confidence and his flexibility was impressive.
After, the first three months Zangan had begun training Cloud in martial arts. The crash course was apparently really rough. If Cloud had years to learn then things would be different. As it was, they had little time so Zangan showed him the movements, beat him into submission, and after he healed himself, explained the mistakes in his technique. This 'sink or swim' method was brutal, but Cloud proved he was a fish but not just staying afloat. Cloud thrived in these conditions. Zangan couldn't help but see the resemblance with coal, put enough pressure on it and it becomes a diamond. Yeah, the diamond's coarse when it first comes out, but a little polishing will fix that, easy.
Early on, Cloud had been instructed in meditation. He used it to feel his mana. Zangan had him do this every day. Eventually, Cloud even had to be able to do this while he was fighting. All Zangan had him do when he could touch his mana was move it a little bit. At first, it had been stiff and difficult to move at all. Now, however, Cloud could easily move it throughout his entire body with ease. Cloud had noticed that this always seemed to refresh him and heal some of his minor injuries.
Looking back on it, Cloud wouldn't complain about the eleven months he had spent traveling with Zangan. They would be at Gongaga in a month's time and Cloud's form was nearly perfect. The boy flowed naturally through the moves, even during combat. Not only that, his mana reserve was three times as large as it had been originally! His stamina was amazing, even for somebody twice his age. The man was definitely an amazing teacher.
Still, today he would start learning what Zangan had promised him. He would begin learning how to change stamina or mana into strength! Seeing the look on his apprentice's face Zangan decided to start the lesson. "Okay, boy. You've easily surpassed my every expectation. As long as you keep up your training, you should make it into SOLDIER with no problems. I'll teach you my secret technique during this month. Once we reach Gongaga, you and I will have a fight to see how far you've progressed and I won't be holding back anything, even this."
Cloud, far from being deterred looked far more determined than ever. Zangan smiled and continued, "Now, the technique is actually very simple but I don't want it spreading around. Most people can't even touch their mana through meditation. So, just because it's simple, don't spread it around. Only teach this to people you trust with your life, you understand?"
At the boy's nod he kept going, "Alright, well it's simple. Just cycle mana through your muscles to your fist and hit your target. Basically, you're augmenting your hits with mana. The more you use the larger the effect, obviously. There is a drawback to that, though. It gets harder to control with more mana, so don't be stupid and flood as much as you can into your system."
Cloud absorbed this knowledge readily enough and waited. Zangan, seeing Cloud's understanding, continued, "Stamina's not any harder. I've taught you how to change stamina to speed already. This is the same, only you change it into strength instead. So do you need any further explanation?"
Cloud shook his head before he went and started practicing. At first the changes were small, but he gradually changed more and more mana or stamina and the results were decidedly impressive. Zangan could finally breathe easy. With this ability at his disposal, the boy could take out monsters easily and could probably make it to Midgar alive. Cloud on the other hand had taken Zangan's talks to heart. He had decided to become strong in his own way. He didn't tell Zangan this but he had decided to become a speed based fighter. He still wanted his hits to hurt, but he was going to focus on not getting hit and attacking his enemies quickly.
Over the next month, Cloud practiced that technique as well as doing his other exercises. Soon, it was second nature to him just like everything else he had learned. There was a modification he made to the technique that suited his speed based style more, but he didn't tell Zangan that. It would be his trump card during their fight. After one year, Cloud could look after himself. He was fast and strong. He had the stamina to outlast most normal people no matter what age they were and he had mana reserves comparable to a Shinra elite trooper. That meant his reserves were already the size of a beginning SOLDIER third class' level!
All things come to an end, however, and Cloud and his mentor finally reached Gongaga. Facing each other they shared no witty banter. This wasn't the place for it. This was a test to see if Cloud was ready and they both knew it. At Zangan's nod they launched themselves at each other. Fists and feet clashed over and over again in the forest just outside Gongaga's gates. With his greater mobility, Cloud had the advantage here but Zangan had far greater brute strength.
Flipping over a low sweep kick, Cloud launched a brutal round house at his master and teacher. It was blocked, as expected, but Cloud just smirked. It was time to begin the real show. Bending the knee to draw closer, Cloud focused some mana through his foot before kicking out. However, instead of just creating a powerful kick, Cloud seemed to disappear. Zangan felt his eyes widen before he was kicked right between the shoulder blades.
Spinning around, the man discovered he hadn't been deceived. Cloud was right behind him! Before he could even question how, Cloud disappeared again. Zangan wasn't a martial arts master for nothing, though. Trusting his instincts, the man dodged just in time to avoid Cloud's next attack. The next several minutes repeated this pattern. Cloud would be attacking him one second and the next he would be gone. Zangan barely blocked or avoided these attacks. He just couldn't figure out how the boy was doing this.
As they traded blows they were unaware of another boy watching their fight. This boy had a sword on his back. He had black hair and blue eyes. Like Cloud, his hair was naturally spiky. He was eleven years old and lived in Gongaga with his parents. He watched the fight between these two in interest until they both came to a sudden halt. He noticed that the boy was breathing hard while the old man still appeared relatively fresh. Despite this, the boy's showing was impressive.
"You have done well, young one," the man said to the boy. "We are at Gongaga now. I'll leave you here after I get more supplies. If we ever meet again after today, I expect you to be wearing a SOLDIER uniform. You've made me proud. In one year you've learned something that takes most years to master. I hope you keep your skills sharp, no matter where you end up."
The boy seemed to be tearing up at the man's words and the young black-haired boy left knowing this was a personal scene. He rushed to his parents house to try to convince them to let the boy live with them. He could teach the boy how to use a sword and the boy could teach him martial arts. Then, when the time came, they could make the trip to Midgar together! It was perfect.
Meanwhile, in the woods outside Gongaga, Cloud said his teary good-bye to his mentor before hurrying towards the village. Walking around, he saw that Gongaga was a small village like his home. Still, the people were friendly and treated him kindly. He noticed a couple approaching him with a boy a year or two older than him accompanying them. Cloud did a double take as he saw the boy. If it wasn't for the hair color, someone could mistake the two of them for brothers!
Once the group spotted him they moved towards him quickly. From the looks of things they had been waiting for him, Cloud raised his eyebrow in question. Waiting as they approached, Cloud subtly dropped into a relaxed ready stance. If they attacked him he wouldn't be caught off guard. Once they reached him the black-haired boy smirked before grabbing his sword hilt and launching himself at Cloud as he drew the gleaming blade.
Instinctively, Cloud twisted away from the strike as the blade struck the ground where he had just been. To gain additional leverage against this unknown boy, Cloud stepped on the blade to keep it immersed in the earth. Lifting his other foot quickly, Cloud caught the boy in his shoulder with a snap kick. The boy tumbled away from his weapon and stood up smiling. Once again, Cloud raised his eyebrow.
The boy decided to help with Cloud's confusion. "My name," the boy began, "is Zack Fair. These are my parents," he said motioning to the two with him. Upon his acknowledgement they nodded. "I saw your fight with that old guy in the forest outside the village. So, how about you stay with us?"
The boy looked really hopeful that Cloud would accept. Just as Cloud was going to refuse the offer the father spoke up. "My son talked highly of your skills at hand-to-hand combat and I must say he was right. Anyway, we know you plan to head to Midgar and join SOLDIER. Well, our son does too. You could stay here with us for a few years and the two of you could teach each other. Zack could teach you how to use a sword and you could teach him how to fight hand-to-hand. Then, when you're both a little older you can make the trip to Midgar together."
Cloud paused at this. He would need to choose some type of weapon to use if he wanted to become a member of SOLDIER. A sword was as good as any weapon and he had always preferred them, too. Plus, having somebody to watch his back on the trip would be a big help. Cloud knew he was too young to join SOLDIER now, so waiting here for another few years wouldn't be much of a problem. Additionally, this would give him time to get stronger and possibly make a friend and rival who he could constantly test his skills against.
Decision made, Cloud reached out a hand towards Zack and said, "Cloud Strife, future SOLDIER first class. Pleasure to meet you, Zack." Zack looked happy about Cloud's decision and, foregoing the offered handshake, jumped forward to give his new friend a hug. Cloud was surprised by his immediate acceptance by this boy and his family. They had merely seen him fight once and already the parents were willing to offer him food and shelter for a few years. Cloud wasn't stupid despite his young age. The parents wanted somebody to go with their son and keep him safe. Seeing Cloud's skill, despite his youth and inexperience, they had decided he was the best option they would see before Zack left.
Still, Cloud couldn't help but be happy. He had always been a loner until Zangan came along and now an entire family accepted him so easily. The Fairs didn't know it, but they had just joined his mother and Zangan on his list of people he would grow strong enough to protect. With this thought in mind, Cloud had started his sword training that very night using a practice sword of Zack's. He didn't wait to get settled in or anything; his goal, to become strong enough to protect his loved ones, was once again driving him. During his training with Zangan he had sated it partially, but now it returned with a vengeance as he sought to master this new weapon.
Over the next two years Zack and Cloud spent almost every waking moment together. Zack had a drive just as strong as Cloud's own. They would get up in the morning and do the stretches Cloud had showed Zack. Then they would spend the morning before breakfast doing exercises to increase stamina. After breakfast Zack would spend the hours until lunch teaching Cloud the basics of swordsmanship and after lunch Cloud returned the favor, teaching Zack martial arts. Then, at night, the two boys would perform the meditation exercises that Zangan had shown Cloud to increase their mana and their control over that mana.
They repeated this pattern five days a week for two years. As for the other two days, one was a day of rest and the other was a test of their growth. They would fight each other and even venture out to fight the monsters in the nearby area on their testing day. They did this to see how far they had come. The last day of the week they just hung out and had fun. Zangan had drilled it into Cloud that he needed to take a break from training so that his body would recover. Otherwise, it could have a detrimental effect on his growth. So, the two played games and generally had fun together on this day. By the end of two months they were practically inseparable. Cloud and Zack had become so close that Cloud had taught his friend Zangan's secret technique.
After that, their spars became more intense as they both used that technique. Before, Cloud hadn't been using the technique or his variant to increase speed because he wanted to grow stronger, not rely on that skill to be fast or strong. The results showed too. Two months of growth showed in how he was far faster and stronger than he had been before. Cloud and Zack Became like brothers. They even had similar looks. Everybody in Gongaga knew about the pair. Now though, the two were ready to leave.
Zack's parents and everyone else were sad to see the trouble making pair leaving. Nobody tried to stop them, though. The two boys dreamed of joining the elite SOLDIER organization and they were definitely stronger now. As a gift to Cloud, Zack's parents commissioned him a sword. They knew he preferred larger swords, so they had a special blade crafted for him. The blade was longer than he was tall, though he would grow into it. It could open and close. Zack's parents had seen that Cloud was good at wielding more than one blade at a time, so they had specs drawn up for a sword that was made from several others and could break away. Unfortunately, they had only had the money for the base sword. They gave Cloud the specs, though. That way he could have the rest of it built when he had the money.
Both Cloud and Zack were in awe of the gift. Zack's sword had been a gift to him when his parents heard of his aspirations to become a SOLDIER. Both swords were treated to not rust and be difficult to damage. They were made of mythril, after all. Both placed their respective swords on their backs and said their good-byes to everyone in the village. With their partings said, Zack and Cloud left the gates, never once looking back. One a boy of thirteen with black hair and the other an eleven-year-old with blonde locks. Both would reach heights of untold greatness, breaking through all restraints. That was the belief of everyone in Gongaga as they saw the backs of the two disappear into the woods surrounding their home.
Okay…that's a rap on chapter one. Next time they make the last legs of their journey to Midgar and take the SOLDIER evaluations!
So should I quit this or keep going? Read and review