For those of you who care to read the parts before the chapters: This chapter takes place about eight months after the previous one. This is so I don't bore you with Cloud's training, making it sound more like a military fic than Final Fantasy. So let's skip the boring stuff, and go to the parts that actually mean something.
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Chapter Two Endings and Beginnings
Ths sword flashed in front of me, and I blocked instantly. Undeterred, the bearer swung around, his weapon whistling even faster. I met him with equal force, causing his blade to bounce back. My opponent used that momentum to raise his sword, intending to slice me from head to toe. Instead of blocking, I used my sword to parry, sending his weapon off to the side, his body thrown slightly off balance as he tried to keep his grip on the sword. My body continued the twist, and I found myself with my weapon against my enemy's exposed throat.
"Match! Strife, the kill is yours. Congratulations. Next up, Winsen!"
My opponent, Arin Gurin, saluted, picked up his sword, and stepped off the platform. Zephyr took his place, a challenge all over his face. I knew why. In the past eight months, we had never fought. We were never paired as sparring partners during training, and we'd never tested each other after shift. Zephyr claimed to already have skills with a sword. He certainly had practice holding one. He owned his own sword, and brought it with him. He was allowed to train with it, considering it fell within the guidelines for a Shin-Ra melee weapon. It was slightly shorter than a Shin-Ra sword, but thicker, wider. It required a bit more control, but offered more power. It's hilt was designed with a phoenix, similar to the phoenix crest that adorned the chain around his neck. He said that both were heirlooms of his family. He always wore the phoenix chain, even while in uniform. It didn't distract him or anyone else in the shift, as it was always safely tucked away, out of sight, out of mind, and out of the way. As long as it didn't cause problems, Lieutenant Carn let him keep it with him.
Zephyr faced me, pulling out the crest, and whispered to it. Praying for strength, luck, victory, or some combination, most likely. He tucked the chain away again, and looked at me again, fire in his eyes. I knew my eyes shown with the same resolve. This would be our first match, and the one that would determine our standings. If he won, he'd gloat about it to no end. If I won, he'd call it beginner's luck, then somehow ask for informal training from me without actually asking, pleading, or begging, thus saving his pride.
Zephyr and I gave each other the formal salute, announcing to all present that this was a nonlethal duel, and any injuries would be purely accidental. Our goal was simply to best our opponent, not injure, maim, dismember, incapacitate, kill, or otherwise cause physical harm to them. Zephyr pulled his sword up to eye level, hovering off the right side of his head, pointing the tip of the blade straight at me. His left arm was held in front of him, ready to block or deflect an incoming blow. He shifted his right foot backwards, only the side of his body facing me. He called it his "signature pose". I didn't feel the need to have one, so I didn't have one. Instead I went with the default Shin-Ra posture, as I had done since melee training began. I held my sword out before me, ready to defend or strike as needed.
A slight change to his breath, and a slight bend to his knees are my only warnings, as he launches himself toward me. His sword is held at an angle, so I can't tell how he'll attack. I turned my sword horizontal, with the tip leveled toward him. My upper body thrusts, blocking whatever stroke Zephyr would have used. The impact gives my sword more leverage, and the tip moves toward Zephyr's throat. Zephyr twitches, sees the blade, and shifts his weight. His head passed underneath my sword, and his own sword left mine, causing me to lose balance. Zephyr's movement continues, and he swings back around, his sword dragging the ground, readying for an upward slash. I use my unbalanced momentum to twist away from the attack, and I lunge toward Zephyr's unprotected back. I hear a clang, and I see his sword once again meeting my own. I didn't even see him move. Zephyr saw the confusion in my eyes, and smirked.
"Faster than you expected, right? Well, watch this!"
He backed off, adjusting his balance before striking again. As I blocked, he was already moving his arm, changing the sword's position as he attacked again. He strikes again and again, faster than I've ever thought him to be. The only reason he never hit me is because as he began each new slash, I watched his eyes. Just before he changed slashes, his eyes shifted ever so slightly to the area he was going to strike next. As soon as I caught the movement, my sword adjusted, barely meeting his. His eyes eventually showed his frustration, and his exhaustion became noticeable as his attacks slowed, and became strained. It was about time, as my own muscles were tiring from the rapid fire blocking. We both suddenly backed away from each other, both of us readying for a final charge. With a yell from our throats, we leapt. A loud metallic ringing suddenly filled my ears, making me shut my eyes and wince at the offending sound. As it faded, I opened my eyes, meeting Zephyr's. We glanced at our weapons, noting that they were locked once again. We both glared into the other's eyes, waiting for a concession. Neither of us were willing to give in. We intended to finish this fight. A horn blast caused us both to glance back to the compound. We both backed up, lowering our weapons. The speakers blared with the Director's voice.
"All recruits and personnel, report to the mess hall at once. I repeat, all recruits and personnel, report to the mess hall immediately."
Zephyr groaned as he sheathed his sword. "Man, and I was about to whip you!"
A sight and a disbelieving shake of my head was the only response I gave him as I tucked away my own sword and began walking back to the compound. Zephyr caught up to me.
"Come on, Cloud! I was going to beat you and you know it. Admit it! I'm a better swordsman than you!"
Another recruit spoke up. "So good, you weren't able to touch him with your 'extremely awesome' speed attacks?"
A slight blush crept up his neck as he tried to defend himself. "He just got lucky, y'know?"
The recruit started chuckling. "So lucky, he blocked every single attack you threw at him?"
The blush spread to his cheeks as he tried to hide his face. Embarrasment and a hint of anger was added to his next sentence. "You owe me a rematch, Cloud. We'll see who's better."
A hearty laugh erupted from everybody, each person thinking about asking when and where the rematch would take place. We entered the compound through the door that lead directly to the mess hall. Other recruits were arriving from dorms and other locations. All other staff came from the officer's quarters on the other side of the compound. Everyone gathered in a central courtyard, the staff and official Shin-Ra soldiers standing in a line behind a raised podium. We, the recruits, arrayed ourselves in a semi-circle facing the podium. The courtyard was just barely enough to contain the several hundred recruits that were currently in training.
I stood beside Zephyr, and the recruit that had laughed at Zephyr's inability to strike me with his speed moves. The recruit's name was Zack Fair. He had a medium build, similar to my own. His hair was jet-black, and always in some state of general disarray. Other than that, I didn't really know him that well. He was a good swordsman, though. He had defeated everyone Lt. Carn had put him with, until the instructor stopped putting him up in order to find the true skills of the recruits that couldn't best Zack. The match between Zephyr and I would have determined who would fight Zack next, as we were the only ones who hadn't been defeated yet. That's why my match with Zephyr was so important, and why I was so determined to beat Zephyr and Zack. I wanted to be strong, to be the best, just like General Sephiroth.
My thoughts shifted to that of the famous general. He was Shin-Ra's finest, simply put. He had been in Shin-Ra forever, maybe all his life. He was the youngest ever member of SOLDIER, making the ranks at thirteen. He was incredibly strong and gifted. They said that nothing could defeat him. So when the war between Shin-Ra and Wutai broke out, Sephiroth was made a general of Shin-Ra's armies and sent to fight the ninja warriors of the westernmost continent. He waS the best the world had ever seen, and I had vowed to become as strong as him, if not stronger.
My mind was forced back into the present as the commander of the facility, Captain Trayke, ascended to the podium. Everyone saluted, including the staff and soldiers behind him. He stared out over the recruits, and I took the time to scrutinize him. I knew who he was, but had never seen him up close. Since I was near the front however, I got a very good view of the head of the training compound. He wore a Shin-Ra uniform, with his rank insignia fastened to his collar. He was a little out of shape, having not seen real combat duty for several years. I wasn't sure how old he was, but the sides of his hair were fading into gray. His eyes, gray and piercing, were still sharp, as if he could spot anything wrong in the vast sea of recruits and point the wrongdoer out immediately. When he began speaking, I also noticed a tone in his voice that immediately commanded attention.
"Gentlemen, soldiers of Shin-Ra, today is a glorious day. The infamous ninja clan of Wutai have been defeated. Thirty six hours ago, General Sephiroth and his forces broke through the siege lines in the canyons on the south of the continent. They met little resistance as they approched Wutai itself. As Sephiroth approached the limits Wutai, their leader, Godo Kisaragi, surrendered to the unbeatable might of Shin-Ra!"
His voice cut out as a wave of cheers erupted from nearly every recruit. However, I was devastated. There was my chance, gone in a puff of smoke. I had wanted to join SOLDIER and go to Wutai. I wanted to prove my strength to Sephiroth himself. Now the war was over. Now, Shin-Ra owned the world. There would be no more wars, no more chances at greatness. At that moment, I saw my future. A future as a lowly grunt guarding some piece of Shin-Ra property from people too scared or too dependent on Shin-Ra to even think about attempting sabotage. Not exactly a job I wanted for myself.
As the cheering came to an end, Captain Trayke resumed his speech. "General Sephiroth and his forces are arriving by ship to Junon Port in one hour. A parade procession celebrating our victory and Shin-Ra's glory will begin from there, and will proceed directly to Fort Condor, then from there will make their way to Midgar, and Shin-Ra Headquarters. Until then, you are to prepare yourselves to meet the heroes of the Wutai War. And I must warn you, if any of you embarrass this facility in front of the great General Sephiroth, you will be immediately discharged, dishonorably and with no possibility of ever rejoining. Am I understood?"
Every recruit, myself included, snapped into a salute with a brusk "Yes, sir!" He dismissed the crowd with a wave, and everyone spread out. Most went to their quarters, to put on their best uniform. I headed for the practice area to vent my anger. I picked up a practice sword and began hacking away at a motorized practice dummy, putting all my anger into every stroke. Damn the Wutai! How could they be so weak?! To just surrender like that, just because we had reached their city? And destroy any hope of ever becoming like Sephiroth in the same move! Damn them! Damn them to hell! Damn every last one of those damn ninjas!
As heard the practice room's door slam shut, I spun to see Zack calmly and silently pick up a practice sword, pointing the tip toward me. "What do you want?" I asked, anger still very evident in my voice. "Defend yourself," he said calmly, and lunged.
I parried the attack, and he used the momentum to circle the sword to his other side, and slashed. I blocked, then shoved his sword away. I turned back to the practice dummy, not wanting to be around anyone else. Heavy footsteps reached my ears. I turned, and jumped to the side as Zack attacked again. I backed up out of his immediate reach. "What the hell are you doing?" I demanded. "Training," he replied simply before attacking again. I blocked and blocked, but he never quit. My anger started to reach its limit. I began attacking back. He blocked or parried with ease, as if I was attacking right where he wanted me to. Then his sword flashed out, connecting to my ribs with a smacking sound, and pain shot through my side. I dropped to one knee as I tried to contain the pain. He had hit me with full force! My anger exploded into rage, going beyond all control. I leapt up, unleashing a flurry of attacks that even Zephyr would have stared at in shock. He blocked every strike, every blow. Finally my rage ignited, and I jumped into the air, sword above my head. With a primal cry I slammed the sword down toward my opponent. His attempt to block threw him to the ground, holding his sword horizontaly to hold my sword above his head, away from him. He didn't even look surprised. I spent an instant in confusion. In that instant, I felt his boot connect with my stomach as his legs forced me up. The power he put into that kick flung me into the air as my force on the sword and the focal point of its location made me curve over Zack's head before landing on the ground, landing on my back hard enough to drive the air from my lungs. I felt several vertebrae pop as my movement ceased in less than a fraction of a second.
As I got my wind back, and the pain in my side and my back subsided, I craned my neck up, looking to where Zack was. He had just gotten off of the ground, sword in hand. He picked up my sword, which had left my hands as I flew. He put both swords back onto the rack that held numerous training weapons before turning back to me. He stopped at my side, looking down at me with his head cocked to the side. "Had enough? Or are you still pissed off?" As the words left is lips, I realized I wasn't angry anymore, as if all emotion had just drained from my body after my rough landing. Zack lowered his face closer to mine, gazing at me intently. "You alright?" he asked, studying my face as if I were seriously injured. I nodded, and he reached down with a hand, pulling me to my feet.
"You're good," I stated, dusting myself off, still panting as my lungs tried to recover. Zack shook his head. "Not as good as you could be, if you were in total control."
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "I was in control the whole time." He shook his head again. "No, your anger was in control. It doesn't help to lose control to your emotions. Besides, your emotions can let your opponent get an idea of what you're about to do. It gives him the edge, not you. That's how I got you after you surprised me with that Braver attack you used." I surprised him? Then why did he look so calm right before he kicked me? Then it came to me. He was masking his emotions, not letting me see that I had surprised him. As I realized this, I nodded, then said, "Braver?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah. That's the attack you used to knock me to the floor. How'd you do that? You nearly shattered both our swords." I shook my head. "I don't know. I just sorta... did it." Zack's face cleared itself of all questions. "Ahh, so it was a Limit Break, huh?" "I guess so," I replied.
Two months in, they had explained Limit Breaks. They were techniques that were only used when the fighter had reached a certain point. But it only worked during that time. Once they had used it, they had to work to reach that point again. For some people, it was a techinique that others could use, except more powerful, with almost no chance of blocking or countering. For others, it wasn't a physical attack, but a release of energy. That release could only be controled as it happened, and couldn't be released until the point, called the Limit, was reached again. When it was reached, the energy gathered, allowing one to use the ability, known as a Limit Break. So far, only a handful of recruits had discovered theirs. In my squad, only Zack had, and now I had. Mine was Braver. Zack had used another attack. When he used his, he unleashed a blue beam of energy from a vertical downward slash he made with his sword. It was called Blade Beam. A normal Blade Beam was dangerous enough, but a Limit Break Blade Beam was more dangerous. Once it hit a target, it broke into several smaller beams, which raced out in random directions away from the user. One of Zack's fights had been won by the second wave, since his opponent had jumped out of the path of the big one, which had broken apart after crashing into a wall. One of the smaller beams had struck him in the back, throwing him off the arena platform. It hadn't really hurt him, since the smaller beams had only a fraction of the power of the initial wave.
Zack patted my back as he lead me out of the practice room. "Learn to control and mask your emotions, and you'll kick Zephyr's ass in your sleep with one hand behind your back," he said with a laugh and a smile. "Now get ready for the parade, and see me for practice afterwards, okay?" I nodded, then left in the direction of my quarters, hoping that Zephyr could contain himself during the parade, so we could finish our match and I could kick his ass. That day marked the beginning of my friendship with Zachary Fair.
A/N: Finally, I'm done with this chapter! Sorry I didn't update! For those who care about why I haven't updated for awhile, read on.
First off, school's a bitch. Especially since finals are coming up, every teacher is cramming as much as possible down your throats in addition to reminding you of all the crap they've shoved into your head throughout the whole year. Secondly, Some games I've been programming have been taking up most of my time, since one of them I want to get finished next week, but it ain't happening. Thirdly, I've been working on some other stories, and talking to prospective co-authors about collaborations stories that should be up and running withing the month. Anyway, I'll try to get Chap. 3 done faster, but if it's not up by May 15 of 07, remind me to get off my ass and hurry up, okay? Anyway, R/R, and tell me what you think. Also, I've got a vote running on which FF7 Character I should focus on for my next FF7 Timeline. All playable characters, and some of the important NPC are open for suggestion, so let me know, alright guys? See you all later!
