Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything associated with Final Fantasy.

Prologue

Nervous. That was what I felt as I walked into Shinra′s building. My normally long rich dark hair was cut and my breasts were pressed down by bandages. I was dressed in male clothing and I tried everything I could to act like a man. It was not my idea to join SOLDIER, but since I am the only child in my family, my father wanted me to try and apply. My mother was, of course, against such decisions, but could do nothing to change his mind. I had no thoughts whether to join the army or not. My whole life had been controlled by either my father or my fiancé, who happened to be chosen by my parents. He looked amazing, the most beautiful creature I have seen, but... his heart was tainted and dark. He treated women like property. He was a rich man with power, owned a company in Midgar. Father was attracted to his wealth, to the reputation he would bring to the family- to him, but not me.

My fiancé actually did not approve the thought of me joining SOLDIER, but he was growing old and was desperate in getting a young woman to be his wife. The moment I reach eighteen, I would leave Shinra and get married to him. In a way, I was grateful to be here or I would have been married to the man already.

″Name?″ I snapped out of my thoughts as a man in a Shinra uniform looked at me through thick glasses. I gave him my name- it was conveniently a unisex one- and he nodded, checking it off his list. ″Age?″ I answered more of his questions and was given a card key to the room 666. My feet brought me into an elevator and it stopped at the sixth floor. When the doors slid open, I noticed how large the hallways were- in length and width. Slowly, looking at the numbers above wooden doors constantly, I walked down the corridor. When I finally reached my destination, I swiped the card down and the door clicked open. Inside were a bunk bed, desk, two drawers, and a closet. There was also a door that, I assumed, led to the bathroom.

I set my bags down beside the ones that have already been placed and sat on the bottom bunk, wondering what I was to do- who I was going to bunk with. My latter question was answered when a young male with blonde hair who seemed to be a year older than me stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel to cover him. He looked at me with rapt eyes that were filled with utmost shock. Without a word, he ran to get his clothes and went back into the bathroom. I sat rigid with an unreadable expression on my face. Was he my roommate? Damn, that was embarrassing...

When the teenage male came back out from the bathroom, his cheeks were still painted pink and his eyes looked down at the floor. ″Err... Sorry about that. No one told me I was going to have a roommate today,″ I heard him mumble. Without replying, I stood up and left the room, ruffling my hair absentmindedly. The people here were not how I imagined they would be. Was everyone this timid or was he an exception?

I didn't come back to room 666 until late at night, where I was caught after curfew, but was also let go when they knew I was new. When I arrived, I looked at the lump that was covered with a blanket on the sheet. Without disturbing him, I climbed the short set of steps up the bunk and lay down. No thoughts entered my mind- undecided whether I was serene or empty. Slowly, my eyes began to shut and soon, I was asleep.

The next morning, I was woken up by an alarm clock. I knew I was not the one who set it, seeing as I did not bring one with me. ″Sorry...″ I looked down and saw the boy get up without looking at me. My eyes followed his form into the bathroom and out again when he was done. I did not move or make a sound until he was out the door. Where was he headed? Practice did not start until a few hours. The sun has barely risen and he was already gone.

Not until there was minimal time to get to the training ground, did I get ready and made my way there. Most of the cadets were already standing obediently in a straight line. The instructor was nowhere to be seen. I stood at the end of the line and waited. The man we were awaiting was well built. He had light- coloured hair and eyes, complimented with tanned skin. A stern expression adorned his face, but I failed to be intimidated. "Straight line, you maggots!" he shouted. I looked down my right and saw the line was already as straight as one can make it. ″I SAID STRAIGHT LINE!″ Several people shifted, trying to comply with his demands. ″I can't believe I was left with a bunch of worthless trash, this year...″ I heard him mutter under his breath. ″My name is Paul Hasten, but none of you will be addressing me as so. You will call me Sir and nothing else. Do you understand?!″

″Sir, yes sir!″ I heard myself say, along with everyone else.

He continued to speak. It was unimportant what he spoke of. I felt myself drift off into my thoughts until he screamed loudly in front of me. ″Do you think you can possibly be a SOLDIER if you are not listening to me?″ I did not look him in the eye, instead; I focused my sight at the stain on his uniform.

″Sir, no sir,″ I answered.

″Well, why don't you be the first person to try my new training program. Understood?″ He did not wait for my reply. Without acknowledging many pairs of eyes following him, he picked up a sword. ″I will be using this sword to attack you and you will defend yourself armless. Got it?″ Once again, I did not have time to reply as he charged at me with the sword raised. My feet leaped away from the oncoming form. I continued to dodge him until his patience worn thin. ″I said defend yourself, not run like a little puppy!″ My courage began to built up and I stood firmly still, waiting for him to come close enough for me to make my plan work. When he was only but a few steps away, I slammed my hands together at the striking sword, capturing it between my hands. There was pain, but I could not comprehend it too well from the adrenaline rush. "You think you can match the strength of one who has been training in Shinra for seven years?″ I felt my arms tremble as more force was put into the blow. Finally, my limbs gave out and I quickly moved to the side, avoiding the blade that created a rather large crack on the cement ground. ″Do you all see how weak you are without me training you? DO YOU?!″

″Sir, yes sir!″ was the chant I heard, but my own voice was not present.

″Now, you are all to pair up and fight without weapons,″ he said, before taking off to get his clipboard.

I watched as everyone was paired up, except me. Apparently, there were an odd number of people in our group. Shifting from one foot to the other, I debated whether to inform Hasten of this situation. It seemed I did not need to when he came up to my side and hit me hard on the head. ″Didn't I tell you to get a partner? Are you defying me, now?! Or did you enjoy the beating you got from me?″ Beating? He had done no such thing. The sword did not injure me the way one would call a beating.

″Sir, everyone is paired up, sir,″ when I spoke, he gave me a look of distaste.

″Then that is not my problem, now is it?″ he sneered at me. ″I want you to solve that problem, NOW!″ I closed my eyes and gave him an affirmative answer.

Without hesitation, I walked over to a pair of people and inquired if I may be included, but they shook their head, unwilling to associate with the person our instructor seemed to hate the most. With a couple of fail attempts, I decided to give up and walked back into the Shinra building. I went into my room and lay on the bottom bunk, ignoring the fact that it was not mine. When boredom crept at the back of my mind, I took out a book and began to read. My reading section did not end until my roommate came in, he was surprised I had arrived earlier than him. Slowly, the rest of the door opened and I saw a dark haired man walk in from behind him. He was equally as shock when he saw another person in the room.

″So, you decided to skip, eh?″ he said with a grain. ″On the first day, too.″ I looked at him, but spoke no words. ″Oh? You're a quiet one like Spike here?″ Spike? Was that the blonde's name or was it because of his hair? ″I'm guessing you're new since I haven't seen you here before. Where are you from?″

I looked down at my book for a moment, but closed it when I realized I would probably have no time to read with the man in the room, who seemed to be extremely talkative. A sigh escaped my lips as I slowly answered his questions. He was surprised to know I was from the same town ″Spike″ is: Nibelheim. What surprised him more was the fact that neither ″Spike″ nor I knew each other's names. He made it his business to introduce us. ″This young spike- haired buddy of mine is called Cloud. Cloud, my new acquaintance and your roommate is called...″ he trailed off, trying to figure out what my name was. I had clearly not stated it to him. ″Eh, what's your name, again?″

With another sigh, I leaned against the wall that was beside where the bed was situated. ″My name is Angel Fellix,″ I stated.

″Angel? That's a pretty feminine name, but I guess it suits you,″ he spoke. ″Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Zack Knightblade.″ I nodded at him and waited for anything else to disturb me from my peace. ″Hey, Spike, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna go and get ready for bed,″ Zack said, ruffling his hair with his hand.

After he left, no words were exchanged between Cloud and I. It seemed like a mutual silence- a wordless compromise for peace. I climbed off Cloud′s bed, placed my book under my pillow and retired. I heard a soft click and the light was nearly nonexistent. Cloud quietly slipped under his covers and his even breathing was heard. My eyes were closed, but my brain was unwilling to rest. Thoughts of my family and the future I would lead filled my mind. I imaged a similar life I am living, with no freedom and bending to all the men's whims.

As dawn began to first show its appearance, I noticed how my mind did not give in to sleep the whole night. By the time Cloud was awake and ready to go, I was once again reading my book. He left without speaking to me, but I did not dwell upon it. The silence was nice.

The next few days passed similarly. The instructor, Paul Hasten, hated me as much as the first day and no one seemed to want to be close to me in any way. Even at the cafeteria, they would all leave whenever I am around. Zack, however, would come have a one- sided conversation with me whenever he could. Every once in a while, they would speak of a man named Sephiroth who was the infamous general of Shinra. I have only heard of the powerful man from SOLDIERS and cadets in this facility, but never had a glimpse of the man himself. Curiosity peeked through the mountains of barriers. Who was he? Why did everyone praise him so? Whenever I inquire these questions to Zack, he would ridicule me on how clueless I was. And if I asked Cloud, he would only look away with a faint blush adorning his cheeks.

″Hey!″ I turned around and saw Zack running toward me. He did not look like he had anything better to do than disturb me from my peace. ″Are you going to do anything this evening? No? Well! Let's hand out with me and Cloud and I'll introduce you to some of our friends! If we are lucky enough, Sephiroth might even take some time off from his work and come!″ The only part that interested me was how I may be able to meet the general everyone spoke about. ″In the mean time, let's go and find Cloud and we'll hang out together.″ Not until now, did I realize I had no say in any of his suggestions. He dragged me off to a random direction and only stopped when we saw the familiar blonde- haired teenage boy. ″Cloud!″ The one being addressed turned around and waited for us to catch up to him. ″How are ya today, spiky!″

″Fine,″ my roommate answered in a soft voice.

″Great! Angel here is gonna hang out with us in the evening!″ Zack said with much enthusiasm. Cloud stole a glimpse at me, but did not share the same optimism as his friend.

That evening, Zack dragged me to his evening activities with Cloud silently tagging along. We arrived at a SOLDIERS' dorm where the party already began. Men were eating chips and drinking vodka and whiskey. ″Guys, this is Angel. I want all of you to treat him nicely, alright?″ They all gave him a positive reply, but one seemed to know a bit about my history in Shinra and he was not afraid to speak his thoughts out loud.

″Isn't that the guy Hasten always picks on?″ the red- haired man inquired. Zack gave me a questioning look.

″Yes,″ I gave him a short answer. The moment Zack heard this, he looked furious.

″What?!″ he exclaimed. ″That bastard! I'll show him to pick on one of my friends!″ Friends? When had we decided that? He barely knew me! Besides, what can he possible do about it? ″Reno, tell me when he teaches his group!″

″It is alright. I do not mind.″ A surprised look from Zack was my response. I did not understand his concern. Back at home, I had no friends and men had all the power in the family. We had no right to argue and doubt their decisions. Although our family acted this way, the entire town would probably disagree with our policies.

The entire night, we had fun chatting, eating, and drinking. I was quite anxious and hopeful, wondering if Sephiroth was going to show up. My hopes were shot down when there was not even a glimpse of the general. He remained unknown to me for quite some time. Even though I tried to ignore how Cloud's eyes sparkled whenever Sephiroth was mentioned, curiosity once more sparked inside me. Was it because the man is Cloud's hero? Did Sephiroth save the teenage boy's life at one point? I did not know, but it felt like I needed to obtain such knowledge. Never in my life had I felt such craving. It brought excitement and fear inside me.