A/N: This is the second part to SOLDIER Memories, which is a prequel (of sorts.), to the main storyline of The Smirking SOLDIER. This will be a long part, because I've had to fit in a LOT. People who remember the first chapter of The Smirking SOLDIER should recognise the end of this chapter. Not sure what else to say, so I hope you enjoy. -AtrophysFinest.
SOLDIER Memories – Part Two
John, Zack, Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis were sharing a helicopter to Junon with two SOLDIER 2nd Class members. John was inspecting his lance for any nicks, Sephiroth was exchanging Materia with Genesis and Angeal was talking to Zack.
John looked out of the window and saw that the port city of Junon came into view. A smirk formed on his lips and the SOLDIER 2nd Class next to him nudged his superior's shoulder. John turned to look at his inferior, the smirk still present. "Gil for your thoughts, Sir?"
Zack turned to look at John and grin. He knew what was coming from his bunkmate. "What's your name, SOLDIER?" The SOLDIER 2nd Class wasn't expecting this question. "Michaels, Sir, born in Rocket Town!" John leaned in close to the SOLDIER and his smirk grew. "I'll give you one-thousand Gil if you can guess what I'm thinking right now."
Michaels swallowed a lump in his throat and quivered a little. "Yes, Sir. Understood." John's smirk grew even further as he leaned back in his seat. He couldn't keep his mind off the delightful Miss Lockhart who had stolen his heart in that chance encounter.
Somehow, he knew she'd PHS him. He could feel the connection, and he was certain she felt it too. He closed his eyes for a moment and thought of running his hands through her chocolate locks and kissing her ruby red lips.
He was thrown from his reverie when the helicopter hit some turbulence over the mountains which surrounded the Mythril Mines. He growled inwardly as the helicopter slowed down on its descent to Junon.
As soon as they touched down at the airport path, the five SOLDIER members disembarked and made their way through the Junon Air Traffic Control room and out onto the main path of Lower Junon. Zack stood next to John with the lower-ranking SOLDIERs waiting patiently behind them.
Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal stood side-by-side and faced the other SOLDIERs, about to brief them. As soon as Genesis had started speaking, a plane flew overhead and drowned out his speech, which made one of the third class members burst into laughter.
Sephiroth noticed this and walked up to the SOLDIER, a fierce, icy glare present. The silver-haired swordsman grabbed the collar of the lower-ranking member and lifted him up off his feet. "If you have something you wish to share with us, do so now."
The SOLDIER's feet kicked the air underneath him, obviously wanting to get down. Sephiroth growled and dropped the SOLDIER onto his rear, commanding him to stay in Junon and miss out on the excursion, while instead having to undertake extreme physical training as punishment.
The SOLDIER left the platoon and headed toward the barracks to report for his punishment. Once the SOLDIER was out of sight, Sephiroth continued with the briefing. "As you know, we will soon be making our way to the Northern Continent and recovering data from an area thought to be rich in Mako. These orders come direct from President Shinra himself, and we must NOT fail him. Any questions?"
The swordsman smirked as he heard nothing but the ambience of the port city. Once the two planes had landed, Sephiroth led every remaining SOLDIER member back to the airport path. The cargo bay doors of the Shin-Ra military planes opened and every single SOLDIER boarded the plane.
John, Zack, Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth all boarded the first plane. As soon as they were strapped in and the pilot received take-off clearance, the plane set off for the Northern Continent.
Northern Continent, over the Corral Valley
The SOLDIERs in the first Shin-Ra plane put on their parachutes and waited impatiently for the green light in the plane's cargo hold. As soon as the green light and the shrill horn filled the cargo hold, the five SOLDIER 1st Class operatives jumped out of the plane and pulled their rip cords.
John smirked as he was the first to touch down on the snow, landing on the snow with a forward roll before springing to his feet. He turned on his heel after removing his parachute and saw Sephiroth land on the ground, followed by Angeal, Genesis, Zack and a few 2nd Class SOLDIERs.
Sephiroth watched every SOLDIER land before nodding at the platoon. "We head for Icicle Inn for supplies before moving further forward into the Mako-rich area. Angeal, Genesis and I will lead and you will follow."
As the SOLDIERs made their way up the hill toward the Icicle Inn, Zack walked up next to his bunkmate and grinned evilly. "So, Valentine, tell me about what you kept from Michaels. You can tell me, you know I won't tell anyone."
John smirked as his thoughts drifted off to the delightful Miss Lockhart. "Don't you DARE breathe a word of this to anyone. SOLDIER honour?" Zack saluted his friend with a grin. "SOLDIER honour!"
John retained his smirk and kept his eyes forward. "Did you ever notice the intern on the SOLDIER Floor?" Zack nodded. "Oh, you mean Lockhart? Yeah, man, she's gorgeous." John grunted. "Yeah, I gave her my number."
Zack laughed loudly. "You work fast, Valentine! What made you do that?" John grinned. "Besides the obvious, I felt a connection when our eyes met. I'm telling you, she felt it too." Zack laughed again. "Did she get in touch?"
John shook his head. "Not yet. Don't tell Sephy, but I kind of brought my PHS in case of emergency." Zack's eyes widened. "You shouldn't have brought it, you'll get the whole platoon in trouble!"
John sighed. "To be honest, I know my SOLDIER work is gonna slip, but I can't keep Tiffany off my mind. This is the other reason why I brought my PHS, in case she gets in touch. It's on the vibrate setting."
Zack nodded at his bunkmate, a worried look on his face. "Just be careful." John mirrored the nod and continued walking up the hill, following his fellow SOLDIER 1st Class teammates toward the Icicle Inn.
Junon University, Food Hall, 12:15 PM
Tiffany Lockhart gazed solemnly at her plate of Junon-caught Fish. She couldn't stop thinking about the SOLDIER, John Valentine, the one who had stolen her and heart. She reached into her bag and pulled out her PHS, holding it in her hand for a moment before flipping open the device and opening her contacts.
She scrolled down through the list until she reached the letter J. She pressed a couple of buttons on her PHS and opened up the Messaging function. She began typing a text and read it aloud, not caring if anyone was listening.
"Hey, John, it's Tiffany Lockhart, the intern from the SOLDIER floor. I just wanted to say that... And I know you'll probably find this creepy, but I can't keep you off my mind. You said you had weekends off, can I see you this weekend if it's not too short notice? Thinking of you. Tiffany."
Tiffany's thumb hovered over the SEND button before she pressed it. She instantly regretted it, worried about sounding too forward. After placing her PHS back in her bag, she groaned and rested her head in her hands.
A few moments later, she heard a familiar voice which made her turn her head. "Great, that's all I need..." The person laughed. "Is that really any way to greet your best friend on this Planet?" Tiffany grumbled. "Sorry, Aeris, got a few things on my mind. What brings you to the Food Hall?"
Aeris grinned and poked her tongue out at her best friend. "Well, food, and I needed to talk to you about something." Tiffany raised an eyebrow. "What, did you lose Zack's hair gel again?" Aeris shook her head and leaned in close to her friend's ear. "No. It's time. The target is set. We meet at Junon Station, Platform Two at half-past eleven tonight. Captain recommends sleep this afternoon as this will be a night mission. We have a new member joining us, too."
Tiffany nodded at her friend and watched her walk through the Food Hall doors before she started to eat her fish meal, a little nervous about the events that would take place in the evening.
Northern Continent, Great Glacier, towards Gaea's Cliff, 4:30 PM
As the SOLDIERs made their way up the steep incline toward Gaea's Cliff, Angeal thought he would have some fun with Sephiroth as the Third Class SOLDIERs had fallen behind. As Sephiroth was leading, the raven-haired 1st Class fell behind a bit.
Angeal closed his eyes and channelled a spell through to his fist and cast it toward his SOLDIER ally. "Confu." Angeal cast a confuse spell on Sephiroth. The silver-haired SOLDIER moved his right hand to his belt and growled.
"Where is my katana?" Sephiroth turned around and made his way back down the steep incline toward the 2nd Class SOLDIERs who were in a state of disbelief as they saw their mission commander walking back down and away from the target location.
One of them turned their head to speak to him. "General? Is everything alright? You look a little lost." Sephiroth looked at the SOLDIER 2nd Class with a pleading look, which virtually no-one had ever seen. "Have you seen my Katana, SOLDIER?"
The 2nd Class looked at his superior's belt and refused to smile. "General, your katana is attached to your belt." Sephiroth looked down to his belt and placed his hand on the hilt of his katana before looking up at the SOLDIER and shaking his head.
"What's your name, SOLDIER?" The SOLDIER didn't quiver. "Phillips, Sir, number five-nine-six-four." Sephiroth glared at Phillips. "You're on report for lying to a superior. When we get back I'll deal with you personally."
The SOLDIER saluted the general and watched him walk back up the incline before following his 2nd Class cohorts. A faint voice could be heard further up the hill which spoke only one word. "Esuna."
Northern Continent, the top of Gaea's Cliff, 18:47
John, Zack, Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth reached the top of Gaea's Cliff, leaving the lower-ranking SOLDIERs for dust at the bottom of the cliff. Zack looked ahead to the crater below as Angeal walked alongside him.
"Hey, Angeal, any idea why that crater is there?" Angeal sniggered and smoothed his hair back. "You really didn't pay attention in class, did you, Puppy?" Zack whined. "I couldn't stand that teacher, he was so boring!"
Genesis walked alongside and pointed out to the crater and the jagged twists of blackened rock. "This is the site of the Ancient War, where every last Ancient was wiped out after a battle with a creature that scarred this Planet, caused the gigantic crater you see before you. The files in Shin-Ra's database say that this area which leads to the crater is known as the Whirlwind Maze. We must proceed with extreme caution, otherwise we won't be going home."
John nodded. "Who leads from here? Seems like none of us have the experience from this point." Sephiroth walked ahead. "I'll lead. We won't fall back. We have orders to research this location from President Shin-Ra. We move slowly and cautiously."
Angeal placed his hand on Sephiroth's shoulder. "We should set up camp here for the night before we continue. We've covered more than enough ground today. Everyone, set up your Tents." With a, nod from Sephiroth, the five SOLDIERs opened their packs and began setting up their tents, refusing to be deterred by the bitter chills the Northern Continent provided.
Junon Station, Platform 1, 23:25
Tiffany waited for the rest of the team to arrive. She looked up at the departure board which hung over the platform and grunted as she read the information aloud. "The twenty-three-thirty train to Junon is delayed by five minutes. This train consists of four cars." Tiffany sighed. "We have a schedule to keep..."
A moment later, the team arrived, consisting of a rugged pilot, a dark-skinned man with a gun for a hand, an orange lion with a flame for a tail and Tiffany's best friend, Aeris Gainsborough. Tiffany couldn't see the aforementioned new member of the team.
Tiffany nodded at the team, looking around for the new member. The pilot lit a cigarette and sighed deeply. "The new member will be meeting us at our fucking destination. Anyone have any questions? No? Fucking brilliant. I have one. Where's the fucking train?"
Tiffany pointed to the departure board. "It's early, Captain. What's the target?" The Captain growled. "Aeris didn't fuckin' tell you, did she? It's the Sector 3 Reactor." Aeris grinned sheepishly. "I might have missed that part out. Well, I WAS in the middle of the Food Hall!"
Cid Highwind sighed and prepared to light another cigarette when the train arrived. All party members boarded the train and sat down in the last car. The train's conductor walked up to them and they all paid for their tickets. Cid grumbled about not being able to have a cigarette.
Tiffany's thoughts drifted off to her encounter back on the SOLDIER Floor. She closed her eyes as she thought of the SOLDIER who had stolen her heart. A few moments later she was sadly thrown from her reverie as the announcement sounded inside the car.
"Welcome to Junon Lines, this is the twenty-three-thirty service to Midgar Sector Three. We will reach Midgar at approximately ten-past midnight. We apologise for the two-minute delay. We will be passing through the mountains in about ten minutes. Thank you for travelling with Junon Lines."
Tiffany sighed and closed her eyes again, falling asleep after a few moments of silence. She growled when she felt someone prodding her shoulder. She opened her sleepy eyes and glared at her best friend. "Wake up, Tiffany. We're here. The new member of the team is here."
Tiffany nodded and got up from her seat, stretching as she felt her strained spine pop back into place. She groaned as she stretched before stepping out of the car. Cid waited for Tiffany before he introduced the new member.
"Now that we're all fucking here, this is Yuffie Kisaragi, obviously from that shit-hole Wutai. Don't let her appearance fool ya, she's a fucking klepto but great with one of those ninja weapons, a giant shuriken." Yuffie whined. "Hey, I resent that, old man!" Cid laughed and lit another cigarette.
Within seconds the group made their way through Sector 3 and split up to avoid the nightly Shin-Ra patrols. As they approached the t-shaped walkway which separated Sector 3 and 4, they were stopped by two Shin-Ra MPs.
One of them raised his gun to the group. "This is a restricted area for Shin-Ra personnel only. Either show the correct identification or back off." Tiffany raised a flat palm to the two guardsmen and cast an Ice 3 spell, freezing them in their tracks before uppercutting them both, shattering their frozen bodies.
Cid smirked and his team followed him into the middle of the t-shaped walkway which housed the Sector 3 Reactor. They cut through Reactor security before reaching a door with an electronic keypad. Cid grunted at his dark-skinned ally. "Barret, do you have those codes we needed?"
Barret Wallace shook his head. "I thought YOU had 'em!" Yuffie groaned and tore the panel off the wall before fiddling with some wires. A moment later the blast door opened. Yuffie grinned. "Hey, just because I'm the world's greatest ninja and Materia hunter doesn't mean I'm not an expert with electronics!"
AVALANCHE then made their way deeper into the reactor. When they reached the Reactor core, Cid set the bomb and signalled his team to follow him out of the reactor. "We have ten fuckin' minutes! Let's get the fuck outta dodge!"
Their progress was soon halted as they were met with members of SOLDIER. AVALANCHE managed to take them down, but Tiffany didn't fight them. Something inside her had stopped her from injuring or killing Shin-Ra's elite force. Aeris noticed this as they managed to escape the reactor with moments to spare.
As AVALANCHE left Midgar on the last train bound for Junon, Aeris spoke to her best friend. "Tiffany, what was all that about in the Reactor?" Tiffany refused to look up. "What was all what about?"
Aeris prodded her fellow brunette's shoulder. "When we faced those members of SOLDIER. You didn't do a thing." Tiffany sighed. "Promise you won't breathe a word about this to anyone?" Aeris nodded. "I've fallen in love with someone. A member of SOLDIER, like you did with Zack when you met him in the slums."
Aeris' eyes widened. "Who is he!?" Tiffany looked up at Aeris and brought a finger to her ruby red lips. "Quiet! Low-profile, remember?" Aeris nodded and remained seated as the train made its final journey for the night, back home to Junon.
End of Part Two