Disclaimer: SquareSoft owns FF7. 'Nuff said.

Author's Note: This story actually begins a bit before the Wutai-Shinra war and then goes into the war itself. All the characters are pretty much the same ages, but since this is an A/U, some of their roles are different. Okay, I'm done. Enjoy!

1. Rendezvous in Midgar

In the east wing of Junon's military base, a tall figure strode down the hall, his head down, and his mind deep in thought. He was on his way home; first to the front desk to sign out, and then to the soldiers' quarters, which was only a few blocks away. But for him, this wasn't just any ordinary trip home. Today had been a strange day indeed, and he contemplated it as he walked. After all, life gets pretty weird on your first day as a-

"OW!" he yelled as he collided with someone.

"O-oh no..." stuttered the small man he bumped into, "I-I'm terribly s-sorry s-s-sir...I-I didn't mean to bump-"

"Hey hey, it's fine, Gary. And you don't have to call me sir. Just Cloud."

"B-but you're a SOLDIER n-now..."

Cloud shrugged. "Yeah, but it's not like I'm General Sephiroth or something. Anyway, the formalities don't matter with us two. I mean, we're still pals, right?"

"O-okay Cl-Cloud, sir." Gary hurried past him, rushing into a nearby elevator and averting his eyes from the SOLDIER. Cloud sighed. Gary used to eat lunch with him when they were only recruits. Now the poor guy was terrified of him just because he had finally become a SOLDIER.

That was what had been troubling Cloud Strife. Today was his first day as a full-fledged SOLDIER, fourth class. It was a title he had sought for so long, and he was overwhelmed with pride after General Sephiroth, commander of SOLDIER, had promoted Cloud the day before. So today, instead of falling in with his old comrades, he stood at attention with other SOLDIERs; instead of eating in the commissary, he ate at a special SOLDIER dining hall; and instead of donning the regular blue uniform, he wore a navy blue sleeveless turtleneck and pants.

After signing out, Cloud left the building and walked out onto the empty street. Not a soul around. Good thing too. He had grown weary of old 'friends' coming up and congratulating him on his promotion. Each time, they tried to brown nose their way into a good word made by Cloud to their commanding officer. Damn suck ups. Cloud was never like that. Kissing asses wasn't his way of-

CRASH.

What was that?

Cloud spun around, looking around vigilantly. Another bang interrupted the silence, and he thought he saw something moving from the alley behind the building. His hand reached over his head, clasping the handle of the buster sword on his back. Cautiously, he crept over to the shadows towards the side of the building. He entered the alley, sword drawn and ready for anything. Cloud looked around and saw nothing.

From behind, he heard footsteps. Cloud spun around. No one was there. His pulse raced, and he became more alert. Someone was there, watching him-

"A little jumpy, aren't we Cloud?"

Cloud spun around, and gazed directly into the face of the intruder, right before darkness fell over him.

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"You're really done it this time, my boy," said a gruff voice, "you've reeeally done it."

"Oh come on, Staniv, we couldn't have predicted this. He just stepped out and surprised me, I honestly didn't know what to do!" insisted someone familiar. He was using a sort of innocent tone as he spoke.

"Right, and I've got some swampland in Cosmo Canyon I'd like to sell you. I know you well enough to know what your real intentions were. I would think you'd know better than to go recruiting during infiltration missions-"

"-Well, I guess you thought wrong then."

Staniv sighed. "Hmm...I see that your 'recruit' is coming around."

Cloud's blue eyes flickered open as the conversation awakened him. He attempted to lift his head, but a pain from the left side stopped him. He groaned as he put his hand over the bump.

"Sorry about that, buddy," said the dark haired man standing over him. "Kinda had to hit you before you could hit me." He held up his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

The SOLDIER blinked twice, and stared once again into the face he had met in the alley.

"Z-Zack?!"

Zack glanced at his hand. "No, looks more like six. Nice try though."

Cloud quickly (though painfully) sat up, and gaped at his old friend incredulously. Same messy hair, same dark eyes…same sarcasm...yes, this really was Zack Kurozaki, his old friend and fellow SOLDIER recruit. He had disappeared from Junon 2 weeks ago, and SOLDIER had launched an investigation. Rumors had spread that he had been tortured and killed by environmental terrorists, naturally worrying his comrades in SOLDIER. But now, here he was, standing right beside Cloud's bed, looking as healthy as ever.

"Y-you're a-alive...?!" Cloud stuttered. "You're not...dead?"

"Oh damn, I knew there was something I forgot to do," said Zack amusedly. "I really need to check my day planner more often…"

"Zack, you...you disappeared...you just dropped out of sight..."

"Well, not exactly. You could say that I've only…disappeared from SOLDIER, and the Shinra."

"The Shinra? What are-" Cloud stopped as his eyes finally fell upon the blue-clad man standing behind Zack. "...Er, who is this?"

"My name is Staniv Laotsu," he replied, before Zack could do the honor. "Adviser to Lord Godo of Wutai." Staniv put out his hand.

"Wutai? ...Zack, what on earth are you doin' hanging out with backwards Wutaians?"

Staniv brought his hand down furiously and made an about face for the door, "I am not going to deal with such an ill-mannered-"

"-Come on Staniv, please," Zack started as he stopped Staniv from exiting the room. "It's the bump on his head! He's delirious! He doesn't know what he's talking about! ...Look, just let me talk to him. Please."

Staniv shot a dirty glance at Cloud, but then quietly nodded to Zack. Zack, in return, mouthed a 'thank you' and came back over to Cloud's bed as Staniv exited.

"Look, I guess I'd better explain what's going on here," he said, pausing to think. After a few moments, he looked up at his friend. "Cloud, at this moment we are chatting in a room located 500 feet below the streets of Junon. It's one of a series of little-known passageways under the city, and I believe Staniv said that these tunnels were built as a base over a century ago by some tribe or something. Anyway, today it's the Junon Headquarters of the CATALYST agency."

"CATALYST? Never heard of it."

Zack grinned. "You shouldn't have, because we're not affiliated with the Shinra in any way. This is a covert agency; it was set up by Lord Godo of Wutai some time ago to keep tabs on his enemies."

"Like who, Shinra, Inc.?"

"Specifically, yeah. The guy never trusted the Shinra, even from the start. Anyway, this organization's main objective is to...well, spy on them, and ensure that no dealings that would harm Wutai or any other nation are situating within the company. See, Cloud, we still don't trust Shinra because we've all gotten to a point in time where Shinra, Inc. has the capability of achieving world dominance if desired, and Lord Godo wants to prevent, or at least level the playing field in the event of war."

The SOLDIER sat up, rubbing the bump on his head and staring at Zack as though he were a stranger. "Man…did you memorize all that?"

Zack made a sort of surprised sound. After a moment, he started to chuckle. "Yeah, guess I kind of did. I've heard Staniv say that stuff so many times to new recruits."

"So anyway," Cloud continued, "You're telling me that you all just...suspect that Shinra, Inc. has some devious plan up their sleeve just because your boss has a hunch that they're bad guys?" Cloud paused for a moment and then started laughing. "Zack, what kind of crackpots have you been hanging out with? And-and I'll bet they've…heh heh…brainwashed you, huh?" Cloud continued to laugh idly, while Zack didn't utter so much as a chuckle.

"What makes you say that?" he asked humorlessly.

"Well, you're acting like one of those…dumbass Shinra rebels or something!"

Zack glared at Cloud furiously. "And do you want to know why I became a 'dumbass Shinra rebel'?" he asked harshly. Cloud ceased laughing. "I'll tell you." Zack continued. "It was because of those SOLDIER assholes I called comrades, who treated every citizen they met like crap and took joy in shoving them into the street and spitting on them. It was because of my damn superiors, who wouldn't do anything about it but give me petty excuses. It was because of that son of a bitch president, who allows all of this to happen while he sits in his office, counting all the money he's stolen from his thousands of customers. But most of all, Cloud…it was because I realized that one corporation was behind all oppression and cruelty on an entire continent, and that I was part of that corporation."

Zack Kurozaki stood before Cloud Strife, a far different man that the one who befriended him when he first enlisted years ago. This man was passionate, daring, and just…he was like a hero you'd find in a comic book. Cloud would have never thought in a million years that his old buddy would turn into…well, a romantic.

Zack, who had gone silent after his speech, finally spoke up again, calmer now. "Cloud, I'm just asking you to fight for a cause. A patriotic cause. We need you to join."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cloud said quickly as he got up from the bed, "I think it's my turn to talk about what's been going on with me. Look, I don't know if you've heard, but I was just promoted to SOLDIER. Now I know that it's not really a big deal for you because you've been in SOLDIER before, but Zack, I've wanted this for so long. Ever since I was a kid. And now, you come back and just ask me to give up all that glory for some, some...rebellion that has the potential to get me executed? Well my answer is 'hell no, I'll pass.'"

Zack stared at Cloud intently. He hadn't imagined that it would be this hard to get his old buddy to side with him. He was about to speak when the door opened. It was Staniv.

"Highwind says that he wants you to come with me to Midgar tomorrow. Says that there are some level 7 files he cannot gain access to, and it is imperative that we take a look at them."

"But I've gotta stay here tomorrow Staniv, you know that. Besides, my SOLDIER ID doesn't work anymore."

"Well, you'd better convince him," he said, nodding in Cloud's direction.

Staniv left, and Zack turned again to Cloud, who still looked indifferent. For a while, the two men stood in silence. Finally Zack spoke up.

"She's in Midgar, Cloud."

Cloud looked at him incredulously. "...Who are you talking about?"

"Tifa Lockheart. That's what this is all about, isn't it? Impressing that girl you like? You told me that's why you want to stay in SOLDIER. Hey, I know how you feel. I just got a girlfriend a few weeks ago too. But if you ask me, I think you oughta get your priorities straight before you go do something for love."

Cloud ignored the comment and quickly asked, "How do you know Tifa's in Midgar?"

"You could say I did a little looking into it. I was in Nibelheim a few weeks ago, stopping to rest on our way back to Costa. I decided to visit your family, since I really didn't know anyone. Anyway, the guy at the inn said that your mom had gone to Corel to visit a relative. I was about to leave when the name of that girl you always talked about-Tifa-popped into my head. I figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask, so I did. The innkeeper said that she moved to Midgar with her dad a few years ago, about a few months after her mom died. Right before I left, the guy also mentioned that her father died recently." Zack paused. "...Cloud, he said that some Shinra soldiers killed him. They thought he had stolen some-"

As Zack spoke, Cloud had grabbed his sword, and now grasped Zack's neck and shoved him up against the wall furiously before he could say anymore. He held up his blade right next to Zack's neck.

"You're lying," he said venomously.

"Cl-Cloud, I swear, I'm telling the truth!" Zack gasped.

"The truth?! You think you're gonna win me over with that tragic little story of yours? You think I'm an real idiot, don't you?"

"Cloud, I'm not lying! Hasn't your mom told you? Don't you guys…correspond or something?"

"The hell are you talking about? Of course we..."

Cloud trailed off. The anger in his eyes suddenly subsided, and his face wore a stunned expression. He let go of Zack, who slid down the wall to the floor, clutching his neck painfully. Cloud turned away. Zack had to be right...after all, how would Cloud know what was going on in Nibelheim? He hadn't spoken to his mother since he'd left, and there was no way Zack could have known that.

So after years of begging his superiors to grant him leave to Nibelheim for some R&R, Cloud finally now found out that Tifa, who was the only reason he wanted leave, wasn't even there. But knowing this, his hope of seeing her again began to fade, because he was sure he'd never get a transfer from Junon to Midgar; there were already too many SOLDIERs there.

He turned to face Zack, who was still sitting on the floor, watching him anxiously. Cloud spoke.

"Fine, I'm in. And I'll be going with your friend to Midgar."

Zack smiled. "You leave tomorrow morning."

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Cloud and Staniv set off for the train station the next morning and Zack wished them luck before they left. The two sat in different cars, because Cloud, who luckily had that day and the rest of the weekend off, would be entering Midgar's upper plate area on his SOLDIER ID, while Staniv would have enter the lower part of the city disguised as an accountant. When he got off of the train, Cloud stood in awe of the tall gate that separated him from the metropolis of Midgar. After showing the guard his ID, explaining that he was here to visit family, Cloud entered an elevator located next to the gate, which took him up to Midgar's upper plate.

Midgar looked surprisingly cleaner than Cloud had expected, but then again, he was on the upper plate. He walked through the streets, eyeing the buildings with interest. These were certainly taller and more numerous than those in Junon. The tallest of them all was situated right in the center of the city: The Shinra building. It stood like a beacon over Midgar, dominating the entire city with its grandeur.

When they had been discussing plans back in Junon, Cloud was told that he and Staniv would rendezvous at 20:30 at the house of a Mr. Cid Highwind, who lived in the Sector 3 area, near the edge of town. Cloud had been strolling around for a few minutes when he realized that he was completely lost. He looked up at the wall labeled 'Sector 5'.

"Now," he said to himself, "if I'm in 5, then all I have to do is keep walking...this way, right? Yeah, that's gotta be it. I'll be there in no time. I'll probably beat Staniv by 20 minutes or so too."

----------------------------------------------------

"Where on earth is he?"

Staniv rested impatiently on a couch, staring at the clock on the wall and playing with the fake moustache he had worn as part of his disguise. It was already nine. He didn't expect Cloud to be half an hour late. At first he thought that the guy was probably busy admiring all the sights, this being his first time in Midgar. But really, there wasn't much to see besides the Shinra Building and the reactors. Perhaps he was as dumb as he looked.

Staniv had developed a…'prejudice' towards Cloud ever since he met him the night before, and began to think of him as a complete idiot for insulting his country.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," said the woman sitting across from him, who smiled. "Patience is a virtue, Staniv."

"Very true, Matris, but I'm sure even you won't have the patience to deal with a dolt like Cloud."

Staniv grinned back at Matris, casually disregarding the fact that she wouldn't notice. It wasn't that he didn't remember that Matris was blind; it was just easier to talk to her and pretend she could see him.

Matris was a tall, brunette woman in her early thirties who always wore a pair of dark sunglasses. Despite the loss of her vision in an accidental mako-truck explosion, she went through each day with a strong will and passionate determination. She coordinated most of the CATALYST operations in Midgar, and she was always able to concoct brilliant and ingenious schemes without even looking at maps or charts. Staniv had grown quite fond of her during his trips to Midgar.

The door to the basement room opened. A man with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes came in, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He glanced at the clock as he came down the stairs.

"Say, your guy shoulda been here 30 minutes ago!" he exclaimed.

"I know," Staniv answered.

"Look, do you think he's gonna be here soon? It's gettin' pretty late."

"I really don't know. I just met this guy last night. I'm very sorry we're taking up so much of your time, Cid."

Cid threw away his used cigarette and took out another one. "Nah, it's alright. Doesn't bother me too much, it's just that-"

A buzzer nearby the door rang loudly. Cid got up. "Hey, that's probably him now, eh?"

He ran up the stairs and left the room. Staniv could hear his footsteps upstairs as he went for the front door.

"Well then," Matris began, "Cloud was able to find the house. He doesn't seem that dumb now, does he?"

Staniv chuckled. "Just you wait, Matris."

He wondered if Cloud was capable of completing this mission. Or even if he took it seriously. After all, when he first met the guy, Staniv thought Cloud was more arrogant than Lord Godo's daughter, and that's really saying something.

'It will be fine', he thought to himself. 'Zack told me himself that Cloud is a trustworthy man. Besides, he's also a trained SOLDIER. What could go wrong?'

The door opened, and Cid stepped in, looking a little confused. "Uh, Staniv?"

"Yes?"

"You said this Cloud...was a guy, right?"

Staniv's eyebrow shot up. "…Er, yes, what of it?"

Cid shrugged and stepped to the side. A short, bright-eyed teenage girl entered behind him, looking around anxiously. A bladed shuriken dangling from her belt banged on the back of her skinny legs as she walked in. Staniv stood up, staring at her in disbelief.

"Yuffie?!"

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So, you like? Wait, don't answer that; just review ^__^* Anyway, I borrowed ('borrowed' meaning 'used with permission') the whole spies and anti-Shinra groups (other than AVALANCHE) thing from the story 'War of the World', which is by Seraphim and is also an A/U Wutai war fic. So if you don't have anything better to do, go read it!