Hello everybody. This is a story that I came up with about four months ago. It's been sitting around in my flash drive all this time, so I figured that I'll let it see the light of day after being cooped up in the darkness of data storage devices. It has been retouched a bit since I wasn't as good a writer then as I am now.
Anyway, I'm just posting this up for you all to see. I haven't really thought of anything past this prologue part of the story. If you like it, please leave a review. Also, please put down whether or not you would like to see more of this. Hope you like what I have down here, and I'll see you on the next update.
Note: The next chapter is also a prologue, but from a different point of view.
Sub-note: I'm still working on my other story, for those of you who came from that one. So don't worry too much about that one being abandoned any time soon. Thanks for all your support!
Sub-sub note: When I came up with this title, I took one word from most of the final fantasy vii games and fused them together. I'm sure you know where I got the first part of it from; Advent came from "Advent Children"; Crisis came from "Crisis Core"; and, believe it or not, of came from "Dirge of Cerberus"... Yeah, the last one was pretty weak, but hey; it ended up working in the end! At least, I hope it worked.
Anyway, now that you know a little bit about this story, I hope you enjoy reading it. Don't forget to leave a review after you're done!
Prologue: Cloud
"Alright, cadets!" a loud commanding voice reverberated throughout the training hall where a great bunch of people in blue uniforms stood in line, listening attentively to what the man was going to say. "Today shall be a day I am sure you will not soon forget. From this point on, you are all now considered to be a part of the Shinra Electric Company's army under the title 'Trainee'. I congratulate you all on your hard work in studying for and passing the preliminary test."
A great cheer erupted from the room as all of the cadets that were stationed in there rejoiced. All of them were wearing their blue uniforms, as was customary for those who were either not a designated leader of the cadets or a part of the army's select few meant to be the company's right-hand man, aka. the SOLDIER elite group. With all the blue out there, it looked as though the entire area was once a calm sea that was suddenly disturbed by some unknown force and was now quite active.
"However, this only means that everything from here on out is going to be tougher and possibly more brutal, depending on how you want to interpret it," the person who owned the commanding voice, who was donned in a red outfit, signifying that he was the cadets' commander, voiced out. "You still have a long way to go if any of you ever wish to make it all the way up to the big leagues. I, on behalf of President Shinra, along with the other commanders here at this company, expect you all to give it everything you have over the next few months of training. It is only through that that you will have any hopes of reaching the highest rank of this army, the rank that so many before you have strived to achieve: The high-ranking position as a 1st Class SOLDIER."
Upon hearing the last part of the sentence, most of the cadets vocalized their amazement, and with it, their motivated drive to reach the high ranks. A choice few, though, gave off a vocal sense of dread, obviously thinking about how hard the road to the high ranks was going to be and not liking one bit of it. At this, most of the men in front of the group facing them gave a small raise of their eyebrows in response.
"Did I hear some of you groan in dissatisfaction?" the commander asked in a stoic tone of dissatisfaction. "If so, then you may go ahead and leave the room. The Shinra army doesn't want to have those who do not like the sound of rough training in their ranks. If you can't handle the kind of training that we give to you, there's no way that you can possibly survive the harsh reality of the battlefield. The enemy isn't going to be using training weapons against you out there. They're not going to be playing around with you as if you were best friends. They're going to be dead serious and using weapons that can easily slice you in half or put a nice big bullet hole right through your head. So if you don't like the sound of that, feel free to leave this place right now."
Amazingly, a couple of the cadets that were patiently standing at their designated places made a move towards the door that led to the outside of the training room. They had a look of fear pasted on their faces, although it was hard to catch since they kept their gaze towards the floor for the whole time in shame. Most, however, stood their ground regardless of their fears, also refusing to move aside for those who were seriously leaving.
After a few seconds of patient waiting on the commander's part, four more cadets followed suit and left the training room along with the first two, and they were never to be seen wandering up and down the corridors within the Shinra Company's building's walls again. However, that number was almost brought up to five, thus making a grand total of seven, if it were not for the hesitation of another in leaving and choosing to stay.
This hesitant person who, in the end, decided not to leave the ranks was a young teen boy who looked no older than fourteen but was in actuality older than that. He wore the same uniform as the rest of his fellow cadets, so he was not as easy to pick out from the group. However, his unusually spiky blond hair that seemed to defy gravity itself was practically a one of its kind within the entire room and spoke otherwise. His navy blue eyes looked confused, yet also had a sense of satisfaction shining in them at the same time. Apparently, he already had it set in his mind to see this whole thing through no matter how hard it was going to be.
"I see that we do have some cowards amongst us," the commander said with a small shake of his head in disapproval. He also seemed to be making sure that he did not look at those retreating out of the room. It was almost like he was trying to personally disgrace them by not giving them any eye contact without having to really say anything directly to them. "That is quite a disappointment to witness such a thing. Oh well, it doesn't matter to us now. The sooner the cowardly leave our ranks, the easier it will be for us to sort out those who look like they can handle themselves in the battlefield apart from those who can't.
"That being said, I hope that you all will strive to train your hardest so as to not be put under the 'do not enlist' pile," he continued on without a break in his words to indicate the slight change in topic. "After all, we would like to have quite a few new third class SOLDIERS within our ranks. With that said, I hope that you will take these words to heart as you get yourselves well rested tonight. You will all have an early start tomorrow morning, as it shall be for most of your training.
"And as a little warning to how your morning rituals will be conducted, which you should be happy for since warning people isn't something that I normally do with anybody, you are all to wake up early and arrive at the gymnasium by five a.m. You are all not to arrive late under any circumstances unless accompanied by a higher official, no other exceptions. Failure to do so will result in harsh punishment and potential loss of position within this program itself," he added in a warning tone that made it sound a lot more like a threat. "Is that understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" the cadets answered back with a customary salute, a key act that all had learned to do lest they wanted to face the wrath of disrespecting a higher-up, whether or not it was done on accident. That and they wanted to get some practice on the act before they were to officially commit to the act every time they met someone of a higher stature than them on a daily basis.
"Well, it sounds as though we're all going to be off on a good start here, aren't we boys?" the man said with a small smile threatening to creep onto his lips and nearly breaking his ever stoic gaze upon the crowd. "You're all even already saluting to me in form of recognition. I can tell that this group is going to be a well dedicated bunch of men. I can't wait to see how you all perform in both your training and studies. Very well, you are all dismissed!"
As the commander made his exit from the front of the room, the cadets moved from their stationary positions, creating a somewhat sharp noise from their new boots. Many of them also gave a tired sigh to accompany the irritating sounds of the shuffling. Apparently, they have been standing in that position for quite a while and were glad to finally be at ease.
"I can't believe it!" one of the cadets stated excitedly to another as the noise started to settle down and they all started to form their own little group. "We actually have a chance to make it into the SOLDIER program! All of us, with most being just simple city and country boys from all over the world, are actually going to be working for Shinra now! It's all like a big dream come true," he added, now starting to sound like an excited girl who just got the scoop on the latest gossip. "I mean, I can't even begin to tell you how cool it is just to be standing here!"
"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice about that," another cadet responded in an equally excited tone of agreement as he gave let a relieved sigh pass through his mouth. He did, however, managed to keep his excitement in check and kept himself from sounding like a common overexcited schoolgirl on her first date or something like that. "I thought that we didn't do so well on the written entry exam. The look on the commander's face seemed to say that."
"He sure had a really straight face on the whole time he was talking to us," the first cadet noticed as he recalled the speech. "I guess being in the Shinra army for a long time gives you a lot of practice. Either that or he's just drained of emotions from all the things he's seen and done."
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I know what I'm drained of," the blond spiky-haired cadet said to the other two, one standing on either side of him. "I'm practically drained of my energy. I'm going to head back to my quarters now, so I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"That's only if any of us can manage to get up at five in the morning," the second cadet added with an annoyed sigh escaping his lips and accompanied with a roll of his eyes. "That's way too damn early for anybody to be waking up. Oh well, I guess we all have to sacrifice something sooner or later if we want to have any hopes of making it to the big leagues here. Anyway, see you later, Cloud."
"Later guys," the blond, whose name was Cloud, waved to the pair as he exited the training room and made his way to the cadet quarters where he was staying for the rest of the time he was going to be here. However, he was stopped when he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder.
"Hold on for just a second there, young man," the owner of the hand said as he somehow managed to turn the boy forcibly around so that they would be looking at each other eye to eye. Obviously, those who have been a part of this army for a while do not seem to practice much along the lines of common curtsey. "I have something that I need to briefly discuss with you."
"Y-yes sir?" Cloud asked, obviously surprised at the sudden action and trying to conceal his reaction, though it was badly done and the man saw right through it with annoyed eyes. All the teen could do was stare back with a blank expression plastered on his face. "Have I done something wrong?"
"As unfortunate at this may be for me, that's not the case here; rather, I need you to take a card out from this box," the man, who looked to be his superior, which was the only possibility seeing that he was only a trainee, the lowest rank in the army, replied sarcastically as he nodded his head to the thing that was in his hands. He apparently did not like the current task he had been assigned to. "It's something that you need to do before you leave."
"Uh, I'm sorry for being blunt, sir," the teen apologized as he examined the long and thin box that had white cards laying in neat columns and rows, "but might I ask just what's written on those cards? I must admit that I'm a bit confused as to what you would want for me to do now. That and you did just suddenly spin me around on my feet without any kind of warning," he added as he scratched the back of his head with slight hesitancy at having to be so truthful to his superior.
"Apology accepted," the man replied, although his tone seemed to betray his true feeling of annoyance at the words being used on him. "These cards have names of all the 1st Class SOLDIERs we have stationed here and ready o be called on for your personal one-on-one training. Think of it as a buddy system of sorts; you'll be assigned to one higher-up and will be studying under him for the rest of your cadetship up until the point where one of you dies or you excel him in position." This comment caused the teen to raise his eyebrows slightly at the man. "In order for us to decide who it'll be that you'll be training under, all you need to do is pick one and that's who you'll be assigned to for personal training for the rest of your time here.
"Now if you don't mind, hurry up and pick a card already, kid," the man stated, his voice clearly showing his impatience and how he was rushing the blond, breaking through the calm façade he was portraying through his stoic facial expression. "I don't have all day to be standing around here waiting for you. I would love to get this all over with before the day's out. I still have to deal with the whole flood of other cadets after you, you know?"
Hesitating at his superior's sudden tone change from explanation to becoming pretty bossy and pushy, Cloud quickly did as he was told and randomly took a card. Before he could even manage to get a steady grip on it, the man moved away towards another cadet, causing the blond to nearly drop the card, thus allowing his superior a quick glance at what was on it. As he was trying to get a better grip on it, he swore that he could have heard the man mutter something under his breath about feeling sorry for the kid and the card he chose, but he was not sure, so he dropped it altogether and turned around for the door once again.
Sounds like the guy was in a big rush or something, he thought in a slightly irritated fashion as he finally managed to leave the training room and made his way towards his living quarters without any further distractions. He definitely didn't seem all that happy about having to give track all us new cadets down and have us pick a random card. He probably got suckered into it or something like that. Oh well, time for me to see who's going to be my personal instructor here.
When he flipped the card over, finally noticing that he was facing the blank side of it, he stopped walking and was captivated by what he saw. The first thing that really caught his eye was how neat and beautiful the penmanship was. Apparently, whoever wrote on the card seemed to have taken good care to make sure that whatever was meant to be on it was written carefully. Not a single smudge or mistake could be seen from the black ink that was used to write the neat words. Now if it were only written just a little bit bigger, it would have looked absolutely flawless. Then again, a whole bunch of stuff was written on it, so it probably was everything the writer could do just to cram the whole darn thing onto it without having to run out of room or end up writing to the point that even a person with great eyesight could not see it.
Once he got past the fact that the handwriting was exceptionally well written and significantly smaller than what he was used to, Cloud carefully read the information that was terribly crammed onto the poor small flash card. He was surprised that he was even able to read the writing without having to use the aid of a magnifying glass or something like that. He was not sure if he was supposed to be feeling happy at the feat or sad that he managed to accomplish it.
Zackary Fair
Age: 17
Height: 6'3"
SOLDIER Status: 1st Class Lieutenant-General
Experience working as a SOLDIER: 2 years
Preferable weapon of choice: Broadsword
Comments: I'm not your average, everyday, stuck-up 1st Class SOLDIER who likes to bask in all his glory at being a 1st Class. Despite only having two years under my belt here, as I'm sure you already read off the card above earlier, I know what I'm doing and I'll teach you everything I know while having some major fun on the side. I won't be too hard on you like the other 1st Class SOLDIERs and will be lenient on a few things (few meaning a lot.) I'm a real laid back guy who likes to practice while having fun at the same time. Hope to become the best of buds with you! Oh, and for the record, you can just call me Zack, not sir, unless we're in front of other superiors, and definitely not Zackary. You have been forewarned. There's no need to go worrying about the whole cadet/superior thing with me. Like I said, I'm a real laid back kind of guy; and once you really get to know me, you'll see that it's the honest truth!
With a raised eyebrow, Cloud scanned the contents of the card a second time, especially the comments section. It was hard for him to believe that a SOLDIER had written this in such a way, portraying himself as a casual person instead of a serious 1st Class member of Shinra's SOLDIER program. It was almost as though a young child was trying to describe himself to an entire classroom.
It's probably just his way of cracking a friendly joke, the blond thought as he shook his head in amusement and felt a small chuckle escape his smiling lips. The guy's probably trying to make whoever reads this card feel less nervous about having to train under a SOLDIER. At least I can say it somewhat works, because I do feel a little bit less nervous but not by much.
However, when he took a look at the picture that was on the side of the card, which was somehow miraculously able to find just enough space to be pasted on that exact spot, he noticed that it captured anything but a serious face on it. Instead of a serious look like he imagined the person, or others in the SOLDIER program for that matter, to have while taking their picture, this man was all smiles; his black hair was naturally spiked up and adding more to his seemingly happy and carefree nature. One of his hands appeared to be reaching for what looked to be the hilt of a sword behind his back while his other one gave a thumbs-up sign in front of the picture. This was all paired up with a big, goofy grin that revealed a nice set of white teeth and was topped off with dark blue eyes that seemingly reflected this SOLDIER's adventurous, if not flamboyant, side. Overall, the picture itself had practically confirmed everything the 1st Class SOLDIER had written about himself on the comments section.
I guess I was wrong about him writing all that just so he could calm me down, he thought as he felt a small grin spreading across his face. What an interesting guy I got myself paired up with. He's just a year older than me and he's already into SOLDIER, 1st Class? That's really amazing! I suppose I can learn tons of stuff from this guy. That and maybe really have a little bit of fun on the side, seeing as how he doesn't look all that serious in this photo. I must be the luckiest cadet here to have this guy as my mentor for the rest of my time here.
With a chuckle at the ending thought, he quickly tucked the card away into his pants pocket and continued on his way to his quarters, thinking about what was probably going to happen tomorrow. However, his mind still somehow managed to wander off to his SOLDIER mentor and what he was going to be doing in terms of training. He was more interested in how he was going to instigate the training.
I wonder if he performs his lessons in the way he says he does. I really wouldn't mind having just a little bit of fun while I'm here. Judging by the way he looked in his picture, I can take a guess and say that he does. Oh well, there's only one way to find out and that's to wait for tomorrow to come. Oh, I really can't wait until we get to see our mentors tomorrow! God, I feel like a little kid who just got themselves a new toy. I have a feeling that I'll be having a real hard time sleeping tonight!
Then again, who wouldn't have a hard time sleeping after seeing such a cute picture? he added with a dreamy grin plastered on his currently dopey-looking face. I mean that boyish grin, the spiky hair, the eyes that practically reflect all of his emotions, especially the adventurous part of him; they're all captured onto this one picture. It's just… It's so perfect.
He let out a highly audible sigh as he continued to let his mind wander back to the picture of Zack that was on the card. It was a really addicting sight and he could only imagine how his mentor was going to look like in person. He barely even registered that he'd nearly ran into a commander walking with a stack of papers in his hands nor did he seem to hear the vulgarity thrown at him afterwards about his spacey behavior.
Suddenly, he roughly threw himself off his train of thought by shaking his head a bit and started to berate himself for thinking things like that. Feeling somewhat disappointed in himself for doing so, his facial expression turned into that of a grimace. He got a few strange looks thrown at him from a few workers and fellow cadets passing by him because of his strange behavior, but he did not notice any of them nor did he really care much about it.
Oh, why am I even thinking like he's the greatest person in the world that I have ever seen? he asked himself as he turned a corner and was now just one hallway down from his room. Yeah, I admit that he has great looks and I'm sure probably an even better personality to go along with it, but he's only going to be my mentor; nothing more, nothing less. Besides, I don't think he's the type of guy who…has affections for another guy like me. Let's face it; he probably wouldn't have been able to make it as a 1st Class SOLDIER if he were gay. Heck, I don't think I'd be able to survive here if I let people know that I'm gay. After all, the army is known to kick out any and all known gay people from their ranks, regardless of their position here. I guess I'll just have to play it cool when I see him and hope that everything will go smoothly. If it doesn't, then I can pack my bags and kiss my ass out of here goodbye.
With that last thought in his mind and another sigh, this time a heavy-hearted one, Cloud had arrived at his quarters. He opened the door and went inside, making sure to close up behind him. He was sharing the small three-room place; a small living room meshed together with a small kitchen, a small bathroom with barely enough room to fit everything that was supposed to be in one, and a small bedroom with bunk beds and a small dresser to the side, with another cadet, who happened to be out at the moment. In other words, every room that was crammed inside this place was small and looked like it could barely sustain one person, let alone two. With a small huff, he blew some stray pieces of hair out of his eyes and made for the bathroom, thinking about taking a quick shower before hitting the sack.
Fifteen minutes later, he came out dressed in a plain white tee and gray sweat pants with his uniform hanging over one of his arms and feeling somewhat refreshed and ready to retire for the night. However, after hanging his uniform on one of the hooks behind the bathroom door, he made a quick trip to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door in search for something to drink. Taking out a can of fruit punch, being that it was practically the only thing that was already put in stock for them by Shinra because it was mass-produced by them, he shut the door lightly and popped the tab, taking a quick swig of the sweet and fruity beverage. Now, if only the small television set in the living room had some interesting channels on it and did not have a mind of its own where it decided when it wanted to work, he would be sitting in front of it right now trying to relax. Then again, having decent television in the cadet quarters was probably trying to ask to become a SOLDIER overnight.
I guess you can't have everything that you want when you're forced live here, he thought with a sigh as he took another gulp of the juice. Oh well, at least they have a somewhat comfortable bed for us to sleep on and a working fridge to store food and drinks in. As long as they at least have those two things in this small place, then I guess I can survive down here, even if they don't have any interesting channels on the television for us to watch while we're bored out of our minds doing nothing. Then again, we'll probably be too busy training our butts off to be really having the time to just sit down and watch whatever's on. That's something to look forward to, along with all the sore muscles from the intense workout sessions I'm bound to be bombarded with soon, he added sarcastically and with a slight hint of bitterness at the thought of having to suffer through training-related sores.
With a small grimace at this last thought, Cloud downed the last of his drink before throwing it away into a trash can right next to the fridge. Stifling a small yawn, which threatened to bring back up some of the juice that had not made it completely down his throat and into his stomach yet, he walked towards the bedroom with the thoughts of sleeping filling his mind. Once he entered the said room, he made his way towards the bunk beds that were situated along the left walls. Paying no attention to the small wooden drawer that was placed on the opposite side of the beds, the brown color a contrast between the simple gray steel beds and bland faded white walls that looked close to gray due to the lack of a fresh new coat of paint, he climbed up onto the top one and pulled the covers over himself. Even though the room had a tendency to grow colder during the night hours and the blanket was too thin to really be considered one, it was still better than nothing.
You'd think they'd at least install some heaters in here, he thought with another yawn as he began to settle down and felt his mind relaxing and switching into sleep mode. Even one of those small mini space heaters would be better than not even having a heater altogether. I swear I'm going to get sick overnight in here because of having to sleep through cold nights. I can only imagine how it's going to be like when winter rolls around. I wonder if this Zack would allow me a couple days rest if I ever do get sick. I guess I'll figure that out when that time comes.
With that and a few more stray thoughts floating around inside his sleepy and tired head, Cloud felt his mind start to drift further and further away from consciousness. In about another minute, he was completely out like a light and was snoring very lightly. He did not even stir from his slumber when his roommate came in about ten minutes later and quietly greeted him. All he did as a response to it was turn his body so that he was now looking at the wall while giving off a small sleepy smile in anticipation for what tomorrow had in store for him.
