VII: An Omen of War

Valon hummed happily as the stream of warm water hit her body. All the grime and sweat and blood and oh Gaia was she covered in a lot of the red, crusty substance, was slowly pouring down the drain as she scrubbed her sore skin. She sat down in the tub and let the shower take care of her stiff shoulders. She lolled her head back in the cascading warmth and finally felt herself relax. Who knew a shower could feel this liberating.

On the other side of the shower curtain, three men were waiting patiently. Angeal was seated on the closed toilet, his elbows pressing in his thighs as his hands were supporting his chin. Such slouching posture was unfitting for the raven haired Commander, but it showed the anxiousness he wasn't quite able to mask. Genesis had taken a spot on the floor, his back leaning lazily against the wall. To any stranger, he'd look calm and relaxed, but the fact that he wasn't reading his book or how is eyes were narrowed slightly in thought made it clear to those who knew him that he was all but.

Sephiroth stood against the door, his arms crossed and eyes focused on the shower curtain. He felt uneasy. He knew Valon well, she wouldn't have rushed them up to his private chambers and made them take a seat in the bathroom while she showered for trivial things. It was important, that much he knew, but her continued silence was working on his nerves. He sighed and straightened himself.

"Valon." he urged her, his voice even heavier and more authoritative due to the acoustics of the spacious bathroom. Behind the curtain, the woman sighed.

"How are the negotiations in Wutai going?" she asked. Sephiroth raised his eyebrows, somewhat taken aback by the seemingly irrelevant question.

"Poorly."

Valon cursed softly. After a short but uncomfortable silence, she cleared her throat and explained what had happened. She told the men about the car, the large black beast and it's amazing power. She told them what Devon had told her: Thunderbirds are native to Wutai.

When she was done explaining, she turned off the shower and held her hand over the curtain.

"Could someone hand me a towel please?"

"Do you think this attack was aimed specifically at you or Scarlet?" Angeal asked as he handed her a towel.

Valon thanked him and secured the white towel tightly around her body before opening the curtain. She pursed her lips. "Probably, but I think it wasn't meant as an assassination. I think it was a test."

"A test?" Genesis asked, straightening himself.

"Hmm." Valon hummed affirmatively. "We all know the Wutaians won't go down without a fight, and truth be told, I personally think they're eager for war."

"So, somehow, they turned their local monsters into war machines and let them loose to test their power to prepare themselves for a war with Shinra?" the red-haired Commander snorted, unsure if he believed the theory.

Sephiroth, who had been silent through the entire conversation, suddenly took a few long strides toward Valon, his steps so light they were soundless, and placed his hand on her head.

"We'll have to report this to the President. And to Heidegger as well." he said, ruffling her wet hair. "But for now, rest. You're excused from your tasks today."

Then, he turned and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the Lieutenant and the Commanders with their thoughts.


Zack walked aimlessly through the hallways, his hands folded behind his neck lazily. He hated it when he wasn't allowed to attend Angeal's meetings. Especially when those meetings involved his other friends. He desperately wanted to know what had ruffled Valon's feathers this much, he barely ever saw the woman this serious.

"Oh man, what a bother." he sighed as he turned, making his way to the elevator. He figured he'd go and check out the new cadets. Angeal always took the time to get to know the recruits and try and find those with potential. It didn't have any true purpose, other than to satisfy his mentor's curiosity. Zack figured he'd try and do the same, if nothing else, it'd kill some time while his friends were having their meeting.

The cadets should be in the training hall at this hour, probably being tortured by one of their instructors. Zack mused, grimacing at the memories of all the push-ups he had had to do for punishment. He never was good at sitting still, much to his instructors' annoyance.

He arrived at the training hall with a still sour expression at his memories as cadet, but as soon as he entered the large room his face brightened to his trademark grin. Looking at all the boys heaving and panting from the rough training was hilarious, after all. He looked around the room, trying to remember all the faces and guessing their potential, when his eyes locked with the instructor. Sergeant Isaac Byrne, he recalled. He had no fond memories of the man. Not a single one.

"Cadets!" Byrne bellowed. "At attention!"

All the cadets froze in their tracks, straightened themselves and turned to their instructor. Zack smiled, walked up to Byrne and put his hands back in his neck. Byrne saluted. "SOLDIER Second Fair!"

"At ease." Zack said. Normally he felt uncomfortable when people saluted him, it felt like something one would do exclusively for the General, his Lieutenant and his Commanders, but since he strongly disliked Byrne, he couldn't help but feel triumphant. Perhaps a little cocky, too. Oh how the tables have turned.

Byrne turned to the cadets, who were staring in awe at the SOLDIER Second, and took a deep breath. Zack instinctively flinched.

"This is your superior, SOLDIER Second Class, Zack Fair." Byrne roared, his booming voice echoing through the large room. "You girls show him how pretty y'all look in a salute!"

Immediately the Cadets snapped to a salute, most of them very messy and unprofessional, but Zack didn't quite care. He smiled brightly at the boys and nodded. "At ease." he repeated.

"To what do we owe the honour?" Byrne turned to him again.

"I came to see the new recruits. I'm curious about their potential."

"They're a bunch of sissies." Byrne bantered as he stared at the Cadets. "Aren't you?"

"Yes, sergeant, sir!" the boys howled in unison. Zack laughed loudly and took a few steps closer to the recruits. He stared them down one by one, not really knowing what he was looking for. It was as Angeal had explained to him. There's nothing you're specifically searching for when you're looking for potential. It's in their aura, he had said, or the strength in their gaze. When you see it, you'll just know.

One after another, he looked at their eyes, their posture, everything he could think of, but felt increasingly disappointed. None of these boys seemed special to Zack. That was, until his gaze landed on the most vibrant blue eyes he had ever seen. Not even the Monochrome Lieutenant's one azure eye, which was laced with the brilliant glow of Mako, was this captivating. He stalked to the youth and smiled when a short boy with the most unruly blond hair he'd ever seen was looking back at him with a mixture of anxiousness and excitement. Now, Zack knew what Angeal had meant. Something about this boy, indeed.

The youth reminded Zack of a chocobo. Fierce birds, they were.

"What's your name, cadet?"

"Strife, sir." the boy replied, his voice a soft and pleasant sound. "Cloud Strife."


AN: Oh my sweet lord guys, Final Fantasy VII remake is confirmed! I'm not going to lie, I cried happy tears and actually screamed at my screen in surprise and excitement. I thought it was somewhat fitting that this news came out while I was working on chapter VII (but I'm silly like that). I also wanted to introduce Cloud in the seventh chapter because, again, I'm silly like that.

I know that's not how Zack and Cloud met, but I'm completely ignoring canon for this because I really wanted to add Cloud to the story. If I recall correctly, Cloud only really became friends with Zack when the Wutai war was pretty much over and this story is before (and eventually, during) the war and I love Cloud too much to exclude him. So there we go.

Last thing I wanted to say is that I haven't yet finished the Valon painting I was doing. BUT I figured that maybe you guys would enjoy seeing it already, so here's the link:

goo . gl (slash) vKEr29

The right image is in her own outfit (it's mirrored because I forgot to flip it durr). And yes, she's wearing Sephiroth's jacket in the left one. I also totally love her abs.

Anyways that's it for the somewhat long author notes. Sorry about that! Had a lot to say, I guess haha.