Hello Everyone! This is my first update for the new year for this title and let me tell you it feels good to write for this again. I was going to put in on the back burner so I could focus on my other stories, but seeing as it got even more attention after my last update I didn't think it'd be fair. Also sorry that this chapter is shorter than usual. I would have tried to make it longer, but it would have taken another few weeks (thank you stupid schedule) and someone recently cast Haste on me, so I didn't have much choice. (You know who you are). ;)

I'll try to update this again soon and have it back at the normal size. These chapters tend to have around 4,000-5,000 words per chapter and I like that style, its just not so easy sometimes. But hopefully these short chapters won't happen very often unless the plot demands it.

Enjoy!

Chapter Nine

The next four weeks passed by uneventfully. The classes moved on at a slow pace and while Louie had gotten behind it didn't take long for him to catch up with his friends helping out during their lunch breaks. Cloud also helped him study after lights out when they snuck into the library. They were careful not to get caught after Zack warned them that the last cadet who tried to get ahead after hours was sent packing. One thing Cloud noticed was Zack's odd fixation towards Louie. Several times Zack would pop in on the weekends to hang out with Louie. One weekend in particular, Zack had gotten a pair of tickets to go see Loveless. Cloud remembered he and Zack had talked about going to see it when they were kids, so Cloud sat back and waited for Zack to approach, but he instead headed over towards Louie and invited him.

Cloud would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit hurt by that, but it was good that Louie was getting along better with others now that Sanders and Powel were gone. It would also help prove that Cloud wasn't singled out by the SOLDIER every time. As great as it was to have a SOLDIER as a friend it was also like a double-edged sword. Jealous cadets might assume he was trying to do something sneaky in order to increase his chances of getting into SOLDIER. The worst offenders were no longer in the program and still missing, but that didn't mean no one else thought that way.

Two more weeks past and Cloud was beginning to discover a trend. Zack was spending more and more time with Louie and the blonde hardly ever got ten minutes with his friend at any one time. The longest had been when they had pizza the other night at Zack's place and only because Louie invited him along. This weekend the cadets were allowed the whole two days off and so Cloud decided to go into town instead of sulking the weekend away alone. The other cadets had decided to try their luck with the new simulators the scientists built for cadet and SOLDIERs alike to train with. After the incident with Louie in the woods it was decided by the General that it was a much safer way to train and all cadets could be monitored better that way. It also helped to point out any weaknesses a cadet may have and let the instructors know where improvement was needed.

Stevens and McKenzie tried to get him to join them, but Cloud managed to convince them to go without him. It wasn't until he stepped outside into the cold winter air that he realized what a good idea it had been. He was wearing a jacket, but even in the bitter cold by Midgar standards was a welcoming chill for Cloud. Being from a mountainous region like Nibelheim, the cold here was nothing compared to the frigid winters back home. Even the snow that lightly blanketed the streets was nothing to a mountain boy like him.

Everything was quiet amid the falling snow. Normally the streets were busy at this time of day but Cloud had the streets mostly to himself. This was exactly the peace and quiet he needed to clear his head and just get away from everything to do with SOLDIER. As he made it to a section that served as a connection between two sectors he saw a mother and child heading away. He just stood there and watched them for a moment.

"Mommy, why's it so cold?"

"Because the planet needs to rest, darling," she told her son.

"How can it rest when the sun's up?"

"It's the ground that needs to rest my love. The plants need time to make new seeds so when spring comes flowers will bloom everywhere."

"Oh, wow! Can we come and see all the flowers in spring mommy? Can we?"

"Yes sweetheart, we can."

Cloud watched them walk off and couldn't help the small smile at the sight.

"Reminds you of home, doesn't it?"

Cloud turned suddenly and was surprised to see his older brother of all people.

"Sephiroth?"

The next thing he knew both he and his brother were sitting on a park bench in the square. Cloud wasn't sure what to say to him, if anything. Sephiroth wasn't making it easy either. He was just staring out at the cold scenery. Finally, when Cloud could take the silence no more, his brother finally spoke.

"I heard one of the SOLDIERs say Midgar never gets weather like this. He described it as a curse, but I don't."

"He probably grew up here or someplace warmer," Cloud replied.

"I see you had the same idea I did," Sephiroth replied. "As much as I enjoy bringing honor to my family, it's also nice to be allowed to visit the memories of home, or at least the more pleasant ones."

Cloud was a bit confused by this conversation and his brother's attitude. "Are you coming down with something?"

The silverette glanced his way. "What makes you say that?"

"Well it's just…I've never heard you talk that way," he replied, uncomfortably.

Looking up at the sky, Sephiroth nodded. "I'm just enjoying the weather. I don't think I'll have another chance to experience a day like this one."

"Why not visit home? You're a First Class, surely you should be able to take some leave?" asked the blonde.

Sephiroth only shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, as much as I'd like it to. Besides, there'd be nothing but stress waiting for me when I got there."

Cloud was surprised his brother was opening up this much. He knew their father put an enormous amount of pressure on Sephiroth. He was the eldest and he had been preparing for SOLDIER all of his life and when he got home their father would no doubt expect him to have done something great after becoming a First, but with the world at peace for now, there really wasn't much for SOLDIER to do other than keep in shape and train more cadets to join their ranks.

"Listen Sephiroth, I just,"

Sephiroth looked right at him which made Cloud stop in his tracks. "Can we put our relationship aside for now? Just let me have this one, if nothing else."

Cloud was really surprised by his brother's actions. And what did he mean by that? Looking at him though, Cloud could see his brother clearly needed his peace, so he decided to nod and get up. "Alright, and if you need anything…you know…I'm here, right?" Gaia, did he really just say that? This weather must be affecting him more than he thought.

Sephiroth didn't say anything, only nodded which was a good enough sign for Cloud to know he was dismissed and so he headed off down the street.

. . .

Cloud had gone a ways from the square when he noticed he had ended up on Loveless Avenue. It was even quieter here and a bit eerie with most of the normally busy shops closed and hardly anyone on the streets. Cloud passed by someone bundled up in a thick trench coat who nearly fell into him as he swayed down the street. Cloud assumed he was drunk by the way he swayed with each step. He carefully avoided him and gave the man a wide berth. It was then that he heard laughter that sounded familiar. As he turned to see if he was right he was grabbed from behind and thrown into the nearest ally.

It was well shaded for the most part. The only place he could really see was where the snow caught the light and gave the ally a soft glow. "What-agh!" the person who grabbed him wrapped a hand around his throat, preventing him from calling out. He felt the sleeve from a trench coat and realized it was the same person he had passed. Cloud tried to put his cadet training into action, but the stranger's grip was surprisingly strong. It took everything Cloud had just to prevent the guy from crushing his windpipe.

He tried forcing words, but the most he got were grunts and slight chokes. Sensing his victory was near; the stranger pressed more weight into his attack and reached into his pocket. Cloud struggled for all he was worth, banging against the brick wall behind him, kicking out and up, but the man didn't budge. In a last ditch effort Cloud grabbed a handful of snow and flung it into his attacker's face. It barely fazed him.

Just as Cloud's strength gave out the man leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "SOLDIER's Pet."

Through the fog caused by the lack of oxygen to his brain, Cloud was surprised as he figured out his attacker's identity.

"Powel?"

Then his world went black.

Just as Cloud's hand relaxed and he stopped resisting the attacker was forced away from him as a glint of steel caught the corner of his eye. There was a heavy clang as a broadsword buried itself into the wall where the man's head had been a split second before. The attacker was forced to jump back again as a longer, thinner blade nearly finished what the first sword had started. Out of the blue both Zack and Sephiroth were just there. The man realized the odds were against him and fled. Zack wanted to go after him, but making sure his best friend was okay came first.

Sephiroth bent down and pressed two fingers against Cloud's throat.

"Is he?" Zack asked.

"Barely," Sephiroth replied. "His pulse is feint, but he's alive."

Zack sighed with relief before he made to follow the guy, only for Sephiroth to stop him in his tracks. "Take him back to headquarters. That assailant is mine."

"But," the ravenette protested, but one look from Sephiroth was enough to silence him. "He ruined my day. And for that, he's going to pay." Without another word he took off leaving Zack alone with his unconscious friend. As much as he wanted to follow, Zack knew getting Cloud to the medical wing was more important.

. . .

Cloud slowly opened his eyes and almost immediately shut them again. A minute later he tried again and was relieved when it wasn't as bad. What surprised him was where he had ended up. He was in a hospital room. Looking to his left he saw that he was hooked up to a machine that was monitoring his heart. The next thing he noticed was the oxygen mask that was covering his nose and mouth.

"You know, you really got stop getting yourself in these situations, Spiky."

Cloud blinked as he looked to the right and saw Zack sitting back in the visitor's seat. He looked like he had been there for a while.

"Yumff mmmfffuffmn?"

Zack smirked, "What was that? I can't understand ya with that thing on your face."

Cloud removed the mask and moved his jaw around before repeating himself. "What happened? I thought I was…"

All the humor vanished from the SOLDIER. "It was close. If Seph and I hadn't shown up when we did…" He didn't finish, and he didn't have to.

Cloud laid his head back against the pillow and looked straight up at the ceiling. "It was Powel."

"What?" asked Zack.

"Powel's the one who attacked me," Cloud repeated. "Right before I blacked out he called me a SOLDIER's Pet."

Zack sat back in his chair and he looked troubled. "So he's alive then. And worse…"

"What's worse?" asked Cloud.

Zack sighed before looking back at his friend. "He's enhanced. He managed to dodge both my attack and Sephiroth's without a scratch. Being able to dodge a Second's attack is possible for a normal person, if their weary enough, but for a First Class? It's impossible, especially for Seph's style."

"I'm surprised he came," Cloud replied.

Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he seemed pretty upset too. It was weird."

Cloud thought back to how Sephiroth had been acting before. It was strange, but Cloud could appreciate why. He had been feeling the same way about the weather and it was nice to know he and his brother had something in common, even if they went about it in different ways.

Cloud started coughing again and felt around his throat. Zack looked on with a worried expression, but knew the doc was right when he said there was nothing more Zack could do. Still, it was hard to ignore the nasty purple bruise on his friend's neck where Powel tried to strangle him.

"Looks like I'll be busy later on when I inform Angeal about this. He'll probably set up stricter curfews now if Powel's on the loose and we still don't know what happened to Sanders."

"I still have no idea how I ended up on their radar," Cloud admitted. "I wish I could go back and undo it, whatever it was."

Zack only shrugged. "Who knows what goes on in the minds of whackos? You could've looked at them the wrong way. We'll never know. I think you would have become their target either way. There's nothing we can do about them except be ready for their next move. If they can escape Sephiroth, which I doubt."

Cloud nodded and fought to stay awake.

Zack smiled at this. "Looks like the pain medicine the doc gave you is finally kicking in. You rest easy, Spike. I'll check on you again a bit later."

He waited for his friend to close his eyes before stepping out of the room. Once outside he turned towards the Doctor. "You got anything yet?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid it's going to take some time to look over the DNA you found at the scene. The nail fragment you collected appears damaged on a molecular level. I've sent it down to the labs for the science department to have a better look. Be patient Lieutenant."

With that the SOLDIER sulked over to the elevators and headed for his office.

. . .

Sephiroth had followed his prey all the way down into the slums. The assailant was quite impressive in speed. For outrunning a First Class this long, Sephiroth would reward him with a rather painful demise. It was then that he received a text from Zack. As much as the teen annoyed him, he had to admit he wasn't a bad SOLDIER. The text was surprising, but not for the reasons most would expect.

Zack informed him that the attacker was Cadet Powel. Sephiroth was surprised that a mere cadet with no enhancements could evade him for this long. The fool must be desperate. Adrenaline could do wonders when put in the right circumstances. Still, the ex-cadet had to run out of it at some point.

There was movement in the shadows and Sephiroth's eyes turned into cat-like slits as he focused on each one of them. As he passed into a section of darkness himself his eyes glowed brightly enough to light his path. The First Class was on the hunt.

Most of the shadows were rats, insects and the odd stray cat. He was surprised there were no monsters, though they probably sensed his mako and fled long before he arrived. A human like Powel however wouldn't be so wise. There! He saw the silhouette of a cloaked figure scurrying away from him.

Raising his sword, Sephiroth charged after him. He appeared to have him cornered when another shadow dropped down from above and surprised Sephiroth. The SOLDIER was pinned to the ground as Powel slowly approached. Sephiroth noticed he was struggling to hold himself upright. The teen pulled out something from his pocket. Sephiroth could tell it was mako by the way it glowed in the syringe.

Powel looked down on him, his face hidden behind the hood, but from his vantage point on the ground, Sephiroth could see the telltale glow from his eyes as he raised the needle. "Die."