Prologue

The sun was just rising over Midgar when a seventeen-year-old boy with scarring that marred his every facial feature stepped off the train which had pulled into the station. He shouldered the bag on his back, his eyes taking in every inch of scenery he could see and his hands clenching into fists nervously by his sides. There was already a fairly large crowd of people around despite the early hour of the morning and the boy was taken aback for a moment.

Sucking in a deep breath, he then set off through the city at a steady pace, making sure to keep track of the time by the watch he wore on his wrist. He had the whole day to find his way to his final destination, but since he also needed to buy some supplies he was allowing for the extra time in case he couldn't find something at first. The first and most desperate need was some food.

Ignoring the wide-eyed glances of passers-by who caught sight of his face, he clenched his jaw and looked around for any food shops nearby. Spotting a small bakery to his left, he quickly went over and fished out his gil from his pocket. The owner was bending down for something beneath the counter so he cleared his throat to alert him of his presence.

As the owner straightened up to look at his customer, he gasped and stumbled back slightly.

"Shiva! That's not something you see everyday," he commented, wiping his hands on his pants.

The seventeen-year-old boy shifted awkwardly and then said, "I'd like to buy some bread."

"Oh, o'course." The owner nodded and reached over for a bag before raising his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the boy to say what he wanted.

After selecting a few loaves and then handing over the gil, the boy walked away and began to eat. He thought about what else he needed to do, scanning all around for a place where he could purchase the things on his mental list.

He had just spotted a shop selling all sorts of different objects when he was distracted by a voice calling his name and turned around. A boy of fourteen was running towards him, a bag on his back also and a determined expression on his face. When he reached the older boy he doubled over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

Straightening again, he glared, "You could have waited for me!"

"You said you weren't coming," the seventeen-year-old replied easily, a hint of a smile showing through his deformed face.

"Yeah, well," the younger boy shrugged non-committally and averted his eyes guiltily before mumbling, "I changed my mind."

"I can see that." The older boy pulled out some bread and handed it over, deciding that his friend was going to need it if he was really coming. "I just have to stop in at another shop first, okay Owen?"

Owen nodded as he dug into the bread, not even looking up as the other boy headed off quickly to the shop he'd seen. It didn't take long, though, and soon he was back with another bag of general things.

"So," Owen said excitedly, looking up at him this time and still munching away on his bread. "This is actually happening?"

The boy with scars smiled, nodding once.

"Let's go then."

Laden with everything they needed, they set off again at an easy pace. Owen chatted constantly, grinning and staring around at everything with wide eyes. Neither of the two boys had ever been to Midgar before, but it was quite obvious which one was enjoying the occasion more than the other.

They only had to ask for directions a few times, mostly just to determine the quickest route to where they were going, before they suddenly found themselves walking into the foyer area of the ShinRa building.

Owen looked as if he was going to keel over with excitement.

"Stop gawking," the other boy teased. "You look like a fish."

Owen snapped his mouth shut and shoved the other boy playfully, still allowing his eyes to roam around the room at everything.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed, quickly grabbing the older boy's arm and pointing over to the side of the room where two men stood talking. "It's a SOLDIER!"

Quickly reined in, Owen grumbled as he was pulled over towards the receptionist desk by his shirt, practically tripping over his feet as he walked half-backwards. He was only released when they got to the desk and then he watched eagerly as the boy with scars waited for the receptionist to address them.

"Yes, boys?" she finally asked, looking up at them. It was the first time anyone had looked at the scars without gasping or staring in shock. "How may I help you?"

"We'd both like to join up to the SOLDIER program."

"Of course!" The receptionist smiled warmly and picked up a couple forms, passing them over to the boys. "I'll call the man in charge... well, whoever is available really, to let them know there are some new recruits here. If you could just fill those out for me, though? Basic information is needed."

Flashing one last smile, the receptionist handed across two pens before picking up the phone and dialling a number.

The forms consisted of very general questions and the two boys quickly began answering them. Name, age, gender, hair and eyes were the simplest. Owen was racing through it all, biting his lip anxiously as he did. The boy with scars, however, was stumped by one particular question. 'Why do you want to become a SOLDIER?'

He had once memorised his answer for this and would have been able to recite it to anyone who asked, but it was no longer that simple. It had been a child's answer.

He was not a child.

Sighing quietly and frowning, he eventually settled for a short sentence, 'It's not a want, it's a need.' No doubt people would want to know more about that when they read it, but he didn't care. It was all he could think of to sum up his feelings about the situation.

"Done!" Owen announced, handing the form back to the receptionist. She was finishing up on the phone but took it from him, smiling and winking at him. Blushing, Owen grinned shyly and looked down at his shoes.

Also finishing up, the boy with scars handed his form over.

"Alright," the receptionist said as she hung up the phone. "One of the SOLDIER instructors, Brawn, will be here in a minute to let you know what's going to happen next."

"Thank you." Owen gushed before the other boy could say anything.

"It's my pleasure," she said with a smile, glancing down at his form before back up at him. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, Owen."

"Oh, I will!" he said with an enthusiastic nod.

"You can sit on those chairs over there while you wait if you'd like," the receptionist said kindly, gesturing to the chairs in question. Owen nodded, blushed again, and practically bolted over to the seats.

The boy with scars grimaced and shot the receptionist an apologetic look – what he hoped was an apologetic look, at least – but she simply smiled again and then glanced down at his own form to find out his name. The smile turned into alarm as she gasped and squinted down at it before looking back up at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked immediately, hands clenching into fists. What could have been on his form to bring such a reaction from her?

"S-sorry," she quickly said, plastering a fake smile on her face again. "Nothing's wrong. Welcome to ShinRa, Roy Peters."