Author's Note (Beginning the Dream): So yeah, this is me doing something different.

Each chapter will be written in someone else's point of view, so each chapter I will adapt it to that character's way of thinking. I think I made them come out as pessimists though…

Disclaimer: Disclaimed!

Chapter I – (Reality of Zack)

Rising Hero

-

'What did I ever do to you?' is what I would have considered saying had I not brought this upon myself. When would it end? When did it end? Was there even an ending to this one sided conversation?

Oh, he was done. Wait. Was he done? No? Okay.

I guess I had two or three more years to spare before I went on a rampage. Who's to say that slaughtering the science department wouldn't be a favor to the world? Then again, it'd be pretty bad, and hard to explain to Cloud why I showed drenched in the fresh blood of innocents.

Man these guys loved to hear themselves talk. He was a new face to the department, probably just hired. It was good to have a first impression that was positive right?

So I just sat there patiently, letting him finish up his conversation, lecture, whatever. If I looked on the bright side I would realize that I wouldn't have to be here again for another month. But that month was going to arrive before I'd even left the medical center. Why were mandatory check-ups mandatory anyways?

I'd only been first class for, what, three months now? Shouldn't I get a say so in what goes in my body? And how long it takes for it to go there…

"And that's about it really." Words that filled me with hope. "Hey, thanks for hearing me out. Nobody really listens to me around here since I'm the 'newbie' and all. I thought maybe you could understand since you're kinda new to your position," he finished up with a relieved smile, sincerely glad I had been there to at least pay him some attention.

And then I felt bad. I hadn't heard a word he had said after the thirty-minute mark of him talking. Still, I hopped down from the table and stretched a little, deciding to play the part of someone who had actually paid attention. "No problem man." Insert welcoming smile. "I totally see what you're saying. I think I felt the same way when I first joined SOLDIER a few years back. It's not easy getting started and sometimes you need a little help."

"That's for sure," he agreed, laughing a little. "Well, thanks anyways. It was nice working with you—well, checking up on you?"

"Don't worry about it. It was nice meeting you too." I continued to smile, not forgetting politeness. Even if I was less than pleased with the timing, it wasn't okay to just stomp on his self-esteem. Besides, it was my fault for not saying anything.

I quickly started for the door, not hesitating in fear of getting caught up again. I was already late.

-

"You are late, Sir," Cloud spoke, an uninterested tone to back up his disappointment with me. He only ever addressed me as 'sir' when it was a formal setting or if he was angry, and I was guessing it was the latter.

Personally, I preferred it when someone called me by my name. The only reason he wasn't doing that now was because he wanted to get some sort of rise out of me. I was a little pet peeved at first, but it takes some time to look past the fact that he was trying to get on my nerves because he was annoyed.

"Oh, come on. Don't do this to me. I'm trying to make up for it," I complained, sprinting down the hall with Cloud on my heels. I could just barely feel the hate-filled stare on my back, and that was a lot coming from Cloud. He was such a bashful and thoughtful guy that you wouldn't know if he even had it in him to dislike someone. It seems that, along with being late, I broke a record.

"I don't see a reason in trying to make it now, Sir. It's already past clocking-out time, Sir. It's best we just drop this idea, Sir."

Okay, so maybe he was a little angrier with me than what I thought.

By the time we arrived at the Training Room, it seemed as though things had started without us, or rather someone had beaten us to the punch and I purposely avoided looking at Cloud. He was probably glaring at me anyways.

Perhaps that was why he decided to leave his helmet behind in his apartment, so that he could visibly show me his resentment. I know he's a nicer guy than this; it's just that I was repeatedly getting on his bad side lately; we all were, unconsciously though. At least we weren't conceited enough to let our faults go unnoticed. I apologized when it was necessary, as did Cloud, and we knew that the concept of apologies were all but foreign language sometimes to a 'certain few guys we knew'. Regardless of that they atoned in a different way, and you couldn't help but see that they were sorry.

I took note of the scenery being used in the hologram and the difficulty setting and decided it was best to not enter head in. Who ever was in there, which was most likely three 'certain few' first class soldiers, had it on the highest setting, with some sort of custom inputs on enemy types on the side panel. Although it was dangerous, I considered going in and risking my life, and my friend's well-being also, on something silly like that.

Cloud's presence drifted beside me as he read the settings briefly, bluntly stating without pausing, "I guess we can't go in."

"Of course we can!" I argued, jabbing the younger in the side frivolously. Naturally, he hit me back, though a little harder. It was a punch filled with mild spite. "It's not that bad. We'll be alright."

"So you can face level sixty to eighty opponents on a whim? That's great," he rejoined with mock excitement, "I can't."

"No worries, man. We're not going to be in there for long. It's okay to face stronger enemies sometimes, so let's make this a quick trip." I thought for a moment about it all. Even with the current data input, I would have some trouble. It would be tough to protect myself, let alone Cloud if it came down to that option. "We'll just see if they'll back off for tonight and let us have the Training Room. If not, what's the harm in coming back tomorrow, right?"

I gave a thumbs-up and a smile, but was quickly shot down by a fearsome glare. Maybe I really did make him seriously mad this time. How could he not be slightly nervous at what I was saying? Most likely, it wouldn't end up in his favor.

I sighed and patted him on the shoulder reassuringly before gesturing towards the entrance to the holographic chamber, wordlessly encouraging him. His firm features melted and he nodded silently. He awkwardly shifted the strap of the rifle on his shoulder, looking away from me.

He was afraid to go in, but that wouldn't matter if we took things slowly.

And then I remembered 'hey, I'm a first class SOLDIER now too so it won't be so bad' and 'I can protect Cloud if need be' and that 'pride comes before the fall'.

Needless to say, I slipped into the program, dragging Cloud with me.

-

So…here we are. Greeted with burning buildings, bloody bodies of Wutain fighters, screaming of some sort and bullets flying in every which direction but north in the used to be setting of…modern Midgar? We were undoubtedly in Sector 8, seeing all the loose Loveless paraphernalia lining, or flooding, the streets. The things that caught my attention the most were the countless bodies and blood splattered walls.

It was like waking up to carnage in the morning, or going out to see a play and then leaving it to find everyone in the city was dead—or at least everyone that was a Wutai soldier.

Finding it somewhat odd that they would choose such a place and deciding to ignore the reasoning for now, I set out to locate at least one of them, constantly checking that my buddy kept up with me. I carved my way through with the trusty sword in my hand and Cloud's oddly accurate shooting skills; making note that mind over matter actually is legit. And here I had been worried about the difficulty setting.

I was obviously more awesome than I thought. Then I was reminded once more that pride comes before the fall.

Surely enough, if I just followed the sounds of gunfire and clanking noises, I would find two of the First Class elite upping the body count just outside the Shinra-Building.

Sephiroth, as always, was mowing down enemies, not even trying to conceal his blatant disregard for human life. It was somewhat sad, how he just swung his sword and people seemed to die in all directions. I'm sure if the death materia had a human form, it was just be Sephiroth, but with a more sinister aura if possible.

And there was the man I was looking for, Angeal, killing in a more well-mannered way, so to speak.

"So, uh…hey, guys." I began, as a greeting and a way of announcing my presence. I held up a hand to wave before returning my sword to its place on my back. If there ever was a reason to feel intimidated… "Was the mission 'kill everything' or something?"

"Not quite, but that's a pretty good guess on the mission objective," Angeal answered honestly, half paying attention to me as he backed through the doorway, gesturing for me to follow, but halted in his tracks when he saw something behind me. "I had a feeling that you'd come, but…"

I hesitated, having expected Sephiroth to have walked off ahead seconds ago, but instead he simply stood there, gazing past me without a word or expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow, taking it as a hint that he didn't plan on moving just yet.

I think I knew what they were caught up on.

"Well," I began as an explanation, "This is my friend, Cloud. He's an Infantryman."

"Duly noted." That was awfully sarcastic of you, Angeal.

"We were just wondering if we could, ya know, uh, have the Training Room—j-just for today," I finished in a rush, gracelessly relaying my point. I glanced behind at Cloud, who just rolled his eyes. I turned back around again, smiling kindly. "I mean, if you're busy and all, we understand, but we just want to—"

I was interrupted by Genesis' sniggering. I hadn't noticed that he'd crept up behind Angeal, stepping around a corpse and brushing his hand up against the tunnel wall as if wondering what was behind it. He stopped next to my mentor, giving Cloud an amused yet harsh look.

"Sorry, but this is our time," the redhead declared, "We need to let off steam sometimes, too, you know?"

I sighed, frustrated. We seemed less than welcomed now, but Cloud more so. I don't know what type age-old of rivalry existed between SOLDIER and the Security Group, but this was getting ridiculous. "I know."

I turned my attention to Cloud, meeting his gaze. I knew he had to be somewhat disappointed with this development. I had promised, but that meant nothing now.

Maybe there was still a way that I could make this work…

Author's Note (End of the Beginning): I guess that's it for this—chapter one. Well, duh, right?

Really though, I'm thinkin' I see a bit of 'Ho yay' when I read between the lines, but that's if I concentrate. I didn't want any 'Ho yay' at all, but there it is… I guess you can't do much when the entire cast is a bunch of effeminate men. There's only so far their 'manliness' can go.

Well, Angeal's can go pretty far. His case is justified since he's the Mentor-type.

Then that means Zack is also off the hook because he's just a trainee who looks up to his teacher, Angeal, and the hero, Sephiroth.

Well then, Cloud is the distant outsider in the game who just knows Zack and doesn't really interact with anyone else, so he's okay too.

There is no redemption for Sephiroth or Genesis, however.

There is none.

- Vincentre