Hi there, folks! Happy exam time to you all!
I don't own anything, anyone or anywhere you recognise. Sapphire, along with a few others who'll crop up every now and then, are mine.
Yup, I decided to take a little break from endless exams and get this up. Wow, this past week was so busy! Two exams yesterday, Music practical and handed in coursework today...and then another in two days, so I wanted to have a slight break and get this up before flat out revising tomorrow. Pretty miserable first week, but then it's just one exam per week after, so I'm much better off than usual. Still, have sympathy, dudes. Send your condolences to my family.
Have watched some cool movies recently! Well, I saw Carrie, but I wasn't all that impressed, it was just weird. The Grey, that movie with Liam Neeson in the snow with the wolves as well, which wasn't too bad, but I was hoping for more. The ending was rubbish, but my goodness, his accent had me in stitches-I'm so pleased he didn't cover it up, but there's just something about Northern Irish accents in movies, like that one dwarf (Bofur?) in the Hobbit, that just makes me crack up.
I watched so many movies, I feel the need for another paragraph, wow. I watched Now You See Me, something I've been looking forward to since I saw adverts...and yeah, it was pretty fantastic. Oh, oh oh! I got to see those first two Batman movies, the first one with Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson, where did your accent go? :D) and then the Joker. Ahh...wow. Yeah. I've been completely obsessed with Heath Ledger since. Ahh...that one scene, of him walking out of the hospital...ahh...I fell on the floor. It was that hilarious. Ahh...
I started watching Lost! Ugh, my grades... I'm finished series 2, and yeah, it's fantastic. Special effects are terrible (for Doctor Who lovers, I guess...) and I feel like there's plot holes and things not very well explained (when they crashed, was a mobile phone ever mentioned, or was my internal English-American dictionary acting up?) but it's very cool. Sawyer's easily one of the coolest dudes ever, with his hair, and his dimples... Hurley's hilarious, and I love Jin and Sun, they're so cute! Eko's super cool, he's a boss. Kate bugs me a little though, and I'm still broken up over Boone, despite his weirdness over his sister-Liam Neeson's daughter! Uh, from Taken. But are all the characters at least a little mental, or is that just me? I mean, Locke, hello... Oh, yeah, and Desmond! He was awesome! I love the little song you hear about three times in the one episode. ;)
Exams. Revision. Ugh. I'll see you again on the other side, hopefully! But until then, enjoy chapter 26. This one, and the next one, should be good. Just to tide you over and stuffs. Hope you likey!
(Once again, thanks to destinykeyblade for pointing out errors...I'll reply to the review when not neck-deep in revision, hopefully this weekend, but I'll just fix that line. "Ash was finished her food first"-I decided to remove the 'was' instead of adding the 'with', so "Ash finished her food first". Better? I think that makes sense, hopefully... thanks!)
26 - War!
It felt good, I'll not deny, waking up the day after such an intense class and being in my own apartment, lying comfortably on the sofa.
On the-sofa...? WAAH!
I leapt to my feet, eyes wide and worried, my hands flying to my head - whew - my helmet was still perched atop my bunched up hair, with none of those strands coming down farther than my shoulders. The relief I felt nearly had me falling back on the sofa, but it was the early hour that actually made me sit back down.
I didn't know exactly what time it was, but I knew it was probably around the time I usually woke up, because I could hear faint sounds of sleep coming from both bedrooms. I let my heart calm down, and stretched out my limbs, yawning widely.
And then, I fell to the floor in fright, when I heard a rhetorical question from the kitchen, "Who knew you wake up as weird as you fall asleep?" On the floor, I placed a shaking hand over my heart, and stood, glaring over at Ash, who was smirking at me and looking quite amused, eating from a bowl of cereal.
"And here, I thought that would be obvious," I snapped back, narrowing my eyes at the girl. "Since when are you up this early?"
She rested her head on her spoon-holding hand, her elbow on the table in the kitchen. "I have to be," she replied, blinking owlishly at me. One of my eyebrows slowly raised, and I eventually asked what was the fairly obvious question; why?
She stared at me in such a way that would suggest I was stupid, but I didn't understand why. Eventually, she gave a blatant gesture to...well, herself, and then I noticed it. "Oh, Gaia," I stuttered, covering my eyes with my hand and turning away, feeling my cheeks heat up. "Sorry, uh, Ash," I apologised, grimacing.
My oblivious friend was sitting eating breakfast in nothing but a towel. I had to admit, it was very strange how comfortable she seemed to be around us now. I wasn't sure if even I had that much gall to be at ease in a towel with two guys and another 'guy' (not that she'd be aware of the inverted commas) in the same apartment.
And I had no idea how to react. What on Gaia could I do in this situation? What should I do? I thought up a solution.
"I'm gonna brush my teeth," I rushed the excuse, and sprinted to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
...I think I handled that as elegantly as could be expected.
And quickly found out I hadn't, as I took my time brushing my teeth and carrying out all sorts of bathroom-esque chores before conjuring up the will and the confidence to leave again; and I saw all three of them, Ash still in her towel, and all three joking and laughing, even this early in the morning.
In total embarrassment, all I wanted to do was jump back into the bathroom, but I could see Will had noticed me so I joined them at the table, helping myself to a cup of orange juice. I fell into place easily in the conversation and joined in the laughs, secretly commending myself for hiding my insecurity and embarrassment as well as I had.
A few swift knocks came to our apartment door (the early hour meant that all residential doors were locked, only to be opened by those inside, residents or higher-ups with clearance) and without a chance for any of us to say a word in farewell, Will disappeared out of the door with incredible haste.
"Does anyone else find that a bit weird?" I wondered aloud once he'd left, and Ash laughed while Zack offered an exaggerated, agreeing nod. I gulped down the rest of my drink, and examined the two thoughtfully. "What are we doing today?"
Ordinarily, we'd be in 'Survival Training' with the General for most of the afternoon, but he was in Wutai. Our cover, Cliff...well, he was also conveniently in Wutai. I hadn't heard of any replacements, and it was difficult to know whether we ought to go to classes or not.
Zack shrugged, and we both swivelled our heads to look at Ash, who looked a little bit confused herself. "Honestly, I've no idea," she answered, taking a spoonful of the milk left at the bottom of her cereal bowl. "We should probably go to the usual room, in case something's on and we get notice right before, but we can't know until then."
Zack and I traded a certain look. We both knew what that meant. "Do we have enough time?" I asked aloud. "After all, these things take time. And we can't afford any more slip-ups."
Immediately knowing what we were talking about, Ash heaved a huge sigh, and offhandedly commented that she'd have a nap before retreating to her and Will's room. Zack smirked.
"We have plenty of time. It's early, so we have an advantage; he's a pretty late sleeper, and a heavy one." I couldn't help feeling just a little sceptical still, so he gave me an encouraging grin. "Come on, Coby, think of the revenge he deserves. Think of all that lovely chocolate he stole from us last time."
I got to my feet dramatically, and slammed my fist down on the table. "Darn it, you're right!" I enthused. "Let's hunt some Kawi!"
Having learnt the passcode for Kawi's apartment a few days ago, from a man on the inside (a Cadet who called himself Kunsel who seemed only too eager to see Kawi losing out, for reasons unknown as he had only talked to Zack) it was an easy job getting into the room - which might as well have been mirrored exactly from our own, with the only difference being that my sword was finally returned to me and where it belonged, propped against the wall our own TV room. Other than that, it was just a little messier, but that was just nitpicking.
Hearing the sound of snoring from the hall to the bedrooms, we nodded to each other before branching off and scouring the whole room; Kawi had the presence of mind to change the locations most times, but it made very little difference; we always left with the same amount, all of it, and this morning would be no different.
I could practically feel my mother in the room, sitting on the sofa, hissing that I shouldn't be so cocky and that I was currently in enemy territory. She used to set me all these tasks to achieve by the end of the day, usually involving the entire town and often into the surrounding trees and plains, and my subconscious would conjure up an image of her, always repeating her advice in my ear and in my head. It was a strange way for my head to figure things out, but it seemed to work so far. And yet, I won so few of those little challenges...
I found the stash first, and caught Zack's eye as I gestured him over, marvelling at the stack of brightly-coloured wrappers of bars of chocolate. From the size of it, it seemed as though he hadn't even ate one; all he seemed to have done was add to it. It was an unspoken rule that the owner could eat as much as he (or she) liked, as long as there was enough left to constitute a 'stash'.
His eyes lit up at the sight, and we shared joyous expressions, giving each other silent fist-bumps in excitement and satisfaction. He scooped up as much as he could lift, and gestured with a nod of his head for me to do the same - but a thought occurred to me, and I held up a finger.
Nodding to myself with a smirk, knowing that I was doing something that filled me with a pure and satisfying warmth, I grabbed a bar that was on the larger side, and related my idea to Zack. I held up the bar, pointed to the halls of bedrooms, and mouthed Kunsel's name.
After all, he had helped us; shouldn't he get some of the spoils?
Zack cringed, no doubt knowing how risky it was having to enter one of the rooms, but he gave his reluctant consent with a nod before shoving some of the chocolate into his pockets, managing to grab the rest of the stash and making for the door, looking at me meaningfully as if to say, Be quick. If you're captured by the enemy, I won't come back for you.
I rolled my eyes at him and waved him on, before creeping on my tiptoes to the shadowy, familiar hallway. I reached for the right door (which would be Will's and Ash's room in my apartment) turned the doorknob and pushed it open slowly.
And the second it started to rattle and creak, I clenched my teeth and immediately stopped, squinting into the dark room as best I could. The one at the far side of the room, I could make out quite clearly; that was Kawi. I bit my lip, noticing the covers were pulled too high on the one closer to me, so I jerked the door open quickly to stop many loud creaks.
You'd be surprised how transferrable the theory of pulling off plasters really is. Suddenly and quickly is far better than cautious and gradual in quite a number of situations.
Crouched low to the ground, I had awkwardly crawled halfway into the room, when I heard a whisper from the hallway. I froze up for only a second, and then faced my fate head on, leaving the room and looking at the unfamiliar Cadet across from me. He gestured silently for me to shut that door, and I did so without complaint, examining him.
His dark hair was cut shorter than most I'd seen (which wasn't saying as much as you'd think it would, being in a nearly all-male profession and all - consider the General) but was still long enough to leave him with a ridiculous bedhead. A small smile was creasing his eyes at the corners, which were a strange blue-grey colour that made me smile. I'd seen a few people with those eyes and I wasn't too fond of them, but on him, they worked quite nicely.
"Coby, isn't it?" he whispered his question, clearly still gruff with sleep. We shook hands, and I nodded in confirmation. "What are you doing back here?"
With a sheepish grin, I rubbed at the back of my head. "You helped out, Kunsel, so I didn't really want you to miss out like Kawi and the others," I confided, feeling a little bit silly about this first impression on the whole.
A few seconds later, like I hadn't even thought of it before, I passed him the bar of chocolate, and he accepted it with a pleased smirk. "One of my favourites. That's awesome, Coby, thanks a lot," he expressed his gratitude, nodding in delight down at the treat, before patting me firmly on the shoulder. "See you at a more reasonable hour, then. Give Zack my congratulations."
With a grin and a mock-salute, I left him to return to his bed and scampered out of the apartment, feeling pretty pleased with myself on the whole.
And when I got back to my own apartment without the chocolate bar, where Ash was shoving the stolen goodies into a new cabinet, Zack seemed pretty delighted with the outcome himself. He punched me on the shoulder and let out a chuckle, helping himself to one as I moved to help Ash put the bars away.
I only wondered how the guy could eat chocolate at this time in the morning. Ugh...
We wound up all napping until lunch time, as Genesis and Angeal had not arrived to take us for lessons - it wasn't out of the ordinary at all, they didn't take us for sessions quite a lot of the time. As we ate our food, we were bombarded with glares from Kawi's table, though I noticed Kunsel only joined in when someone glanced in his direction. I nudged Zack's side and nodded over at the other Cadets, so with a grin, he began to rave quite loudly about how good a day it was.
I started sniggering, and Ash rolled her eyes, though both of us said nothing to make the puppy-dog stop. Ash finished her food first, and rested her head on her hand as though to wait, but Zack waved her on with a mouthful of...uh, his food. "We'll catch up with you," I deciphered from around the food, and Ash grimaced somewhat before getting up and leaving.
I raised an eyebrow at Zack, taking a bite of my own lunch, which was a (surprisingly lovely) mac 'n' cheese. "What's up?" I quizzed the messy Cadet after I'd swallowed my own bite.
He put his fork back down on the table, and after swallowing, looked at me with a sly expression that immediately had me worried. "So..." he started, stretching his arms in front of him, and looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "You and Ash, then?"
His question not processing, I paused for a moment to drink from my beaker of water. Obviously, the question made itself understandable when I was taking a drink, so it was promptly spat out over the whole desk, and most of my own food sadly. My wide eyes were appalled and startled, and about to fall out without any eyelids to hold them in, and I quickly shook my head and waved my hands. "No way! NO! There's nothing going on! Good grief, can't a guy be a gentleman without some sort of ulterior motive?" I shakily laughed after that, and took another, fast drink before Zack could drop any more bombshells.
He cheerily laughed at my last sentence. "I guess, yeah, but you don't come across it very often," he teased, clearly enjoying watching the hateful heat flushing my cheeks. "So, are you interested? What do you think?" He poked me in the side as he teased me, and seemed disappointed when I didn't jump away.
He poked me a few more times, and I had to roll my eyes at the guy. "I'm not ticklish!" I exclaimed after a while, deliberately dropping off the last word of that sentence; there. "No, I'm not interested in Ash. She's a friend, and a good cook, but there won't be anything between us," I told him decisively, throwing in a little compliment for her - after all, she had been doing the cooking when the cafeteria wasn't open, and had been doing a fine job so far.
Zack seemed to cringe as I said those words, though. "Well, in that case, you better tell her, and maybe soon," he emphasised, and without reacting, I carefully put my water back on the table, knowing I wasn't going to like what Zack would say next. "Sorry to say this pal, but she does look like she's taken a liking to you."
"And suddenly you're an expert on girls?" I questioned sceptically, raising an eyebrow at my friend, who pouted at me and glared, before giving an egotistical smirk.
"Let's just say, I've had more than my fair share of experience," he boasted, brushing down his sleeves. I pinched the bridge of my nose, stopping myself from combating him right there. "Don't act like you don't believe me! I met your sister before she went to Mideel on that week off, and all I'm going to say, she did seem to be enjoying herself in my company."
Knowing the reaction was completely called for, whether I was Sapphire or Cobalt, I sent him a dangerous glare. "Oh, and am I supposed to believe that you wooed my sister? Who do you think your lying is inconveniencing more? Would you like my fist and your face to become acquainted?" Atop the table, I let my right fist clench, seeing him glance in that direction.
Zack's eyebrows were high, though the smile suggested that the felt far from threatened, and he held his hands up in submission. "Whoa there, mister defensive! We chatted a little, nothing more. No need to threaten the guy who's trying to help you!"
His grin was irritating and seemed to want to stay, so I did nothing but gesture him to give his advice, certain it would do nothing but weigh on my mind alongside Ciara's instruction.
Zack began to counsel me, "You're going to need to make it clear that you aren't interested. The sooner you do it, the less hurt she'll be, and the quicker you'll get back to being buddies without the weirdness."
After a few moments of silence from the puppy-dog, I sent him a weird look. "Seriously? That's all the Relationship Guru has to say, after all that?" I disbelievingly exclaimed, and he laughed playfully, scratching at the back of his neck.
"What can I say? I don't have much knowledge of telling girls I'm not interested," he teased, and thumped me on the shoulder before departing.
It was only then that the awkwardness of that conversation hit me, and I buried my head in my hands, embarrassment flooding me. I can't believe I just had that discussion with Zack. I'll not be able to look either him or Ash in the eye again...
I heard the chair opposite me scrape as someone slid into it, and I rubbed at my temples, knowing that this could only be one person, considering my luck.
And sure enough, when my hands fell from in front of my eyes, there sat Ciara. I stared at her without interest, and heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm not completely sure I can deal with this right now," I confessed miserably, putting my head on my arms on the table and closing my eyes, knowing that she'd start talking, accusing me of keeping secrets from someone who would inevitably resent me for the rest of my life.
Strangely, the Third Class said nothing, as though she was waiting for something. And, as these delayed reactions seemed to have me doing today, the point only really hit me a few moments after it should have.
Ciara's face was not one of accusation, or disappointment, or warning. As she sat down opposite me and stared at me silently, she did not look like she was ready to start shouting at me for keeping my secrets from Ash. She looked worried-no, panicked.
I immediately peered up at her with my chin on my hands, feeling apprehensive. She seemed to be staring at the table, but from her expression she likely saw none of it, probably completely in her thoughts.
I waited for her to break out of it and tell me what she was so worried about, and didn't want her to at the same time. It didn't matter, either way, because she was completely unresponsive. "Ciara?" I called her name reluctantly, trying to rouse her.
It wasn't sudden by a long way, but eventually, she was looking at me. None of the usual accusation was there when she looked at me, only that panic that had my heart pounding. I begged her to tell me what had happened, and her mouth finally opened - but what came out didn't exactly put me at ease, as she told me, "You're in a lot of deep shrapnel here, Cobalt."
I resisted the urge to show my panic on the outside, knowing it wouldn't do a great lot of good. I ignored the replacement of words, which I expected I would have chuckled at otherwise, and questioned, "What's the trouble?"
"I should've been able to tell you about this long ago, but it only occurred to me after I heard one of the lab assistants talking about it. If I'd told you before, you might've had more time to plan for it..." Rambling was how she chose to start her nonsense explanation, and I could practically taste the regret she was feeling, for whatever this problem was.
She looked at me, and I tried to express without words that I had no idea what she was talking about. She took a breath, and continued.
"The SOLDIER treatment," she hissed dramatically, as though that would explain everything. My blank expression didn't change, so she sighed and continued, "The injections of Mako that we get when we've been approved for it. All the people undergoing the treatment are kept in the infirmary for days until they're in control of themselves."
I started at the last few words. "Control? We're kept in for days, how on Gaia do we react to the stuff?!" I whispered, my voice straining as it wanted to turn into a shout.
Ciara shook her head. "Mostly it's just precaution, but after the injections, you're kept in the infirmary once you're used to the enhancements. You know, things like better vision, more stamina, they all take a day or two to get used to, and then you're fine. But that's not what I'm concerned about."
I figured I could see where this was going, and rolled my eyes. "You think the others are going to bother me if I'm out of it in there?" I questioned, confused about her panic; but the shakes of her head told me that I was far off the mark.
"I was the first woman to ever get into SOLDIER, but I wasn't the first woman who tried." The solemnity with which she said that had my expression screwing up in confusion. "A few women tried out around two or three years before I joined, and the treatment...killed them. Something in the injections refused them, made their bodies shut down from the inside." Ciara said this reverently, no doubt truly feeling for the woman that went before her, but I couldn't stop my curiosity.
"How did you survive it then?" I enquired, though understanding the seriousness of her last words.
"The professors experimented with the formula after the first couple of deaths, trying it on monsters with a similar genetic makeup to us. I don't know for sure what conclusion they came to, nor how they reached it. It could've been from the monsters, it could've been from those other women, it could've just been chance. But when I went through it, I was taken into another room after the treatment and heavily restrained. I had terrible nightmares the entire time, and felt like death when I woke up and for a couple days after, but I survived. And despite all that, some of the boys still went through worse than I had, but only a few."
Ciara's little anecdote didn't fill me with a great amount of confidence. "So...you have no idea? It could've just been chance, or maybe a different formula, could've been anything?" I concluded, knowing that the fear that gripped my heart now could not be helped for quite some time.
The female SOLDIER looked at me with concern. "I don't. And there isn't much of a chance of me finding out before you're going through the same yourself. You're going to have to do something about this, Cobalt," she surmised what was painstakingly clear.
I had to do something about this, to make sure that I actually survived getting into SOLDIER. When did I ever think that getting to First Class would be the most difficult part? I mightn't even survive getting into SOLDIER without once fighting for a good cause. That thought had me feeling very glum.
Therefore, I needed to find a way to stop this procedure from killing me off before I ever got the opportunity to do something noble. And how would I do that?
...Well, that might take some time.
With plans being created and considerations being made, Angeal and Genesis had both decided that their respective students would receive no training from them today. It seemed as though the day for the Cadets' SOLDIER treatment was fast approaching, only about a month away, so the tests would be starting fairly soon, likely within the next two or three weeks.
During which the Cadets would be split up into groups of about five, and put into a virtual, programmed mission, one that would test all they'd learnt while also pushing them to their boundaries. Naturally, they didn't push too hard - after all, they had no enhancements, so the mission was far from SOLDIER standard - but it was hard enough to pull them out of their comfort zone and give them a proper taste of what their lives in Shinra would be like.
In every job, there was a time of year that had everyone working under extraordinary pressure to meet the necessary targets within the time limits. In Shinra, mid-November to December was the most horrible time of year for the programmers and technicians, whose fingers were worked to the bone to make a virtual scenario for the Cadets, needing to be glitch-free, extensive and new (as the previous scenario would be used for their training).
Knowing this, Angeal was wise enough to put in an early order for another program, not completely different but less challenging and shorter; wanting to give the two Puppies a practice session before the real test. Truthfully, he felt a tad guilty for the other Cadets, but they had continued with last year's mission when Zack and Blue had been with himself and Genesis for lessons, so he didn't see it as being too terrible.
Of course, despite the early request, the mission was far from complete; there are very few people who will complete a task in good time if they have more than a months' notice. Angeal had asked it to be completed for today, but it looked like it would have to wait until tomorrow. That was the real reason the two Cadets got the day away from them.
And knowing Genesis, the redhead would hold the programmers at point of sword if it made them work faster. Angeal didn't think it was odd that Genesis seemed so concerned about the advancement of his student; after all, it was nothing but a competition with his friend, to the other First Class. It was a little bit of a surprise that he was so into it, though.
It was after lunch, and the two Commanders were casually making their way to the programmers' floor, wanting to be sure that it would definitely be ready for tomorrow.
"Sephiroth sent me a message this morning; apparently, four Second Classes disappeared from their tents without a trace," Angeal was saying, to a less-than-interested Genesis. "He seems quite frustrated over the whole thing."
Genesis' expression of disinterest barely changed, though an eyebrow inched skywards. "What about the ones on watch, they saw nothing?" he enquired, though only for keeping the conversation going, and to keep Angeal from telling him off for not showing any concern.
The darker-haired SOLDIER could read his friend far too easily of course, and sent him a look to suggest so. "Not a glimpse or a peep from them," he answered, and folded his arms over his broad chest. "It makes me wonder just what Wutai are using, how they managed to pull something like this and completely pull the wool over their eyes. How many SOLDIERs are out there, and Sephiroth added to their ranks?"
They entered the lift, only for a third person to introduce themselves to the conversation, having picked up on what Angeal had been talking about. "It is a large concern, certainly," the Director of SOLDIER agreed, waving a hand in a white glove as Angeal stood to attention. Genesis stood off to the side, completely uninterested in the interaction. "Despite this recent occurrence, there is little I can do to help them in Wutai, but send out what few troops are left available and able to take part in that kind of battle. Rest assured," Lazard paused to nod at the two First Classes, "you two are likely to be sent out there before too long, and for quite some time. General Sephiroth is powerful, but in this war, he may not be enough without your help."
And with that, Genesis' mood had soured even more. His hyper-aware childhood friend spared him a glance, but could say nothing to console him. "We're stretched thin here; there won't be many more SOLDIERs available to be backup to those in Wutai. We still need SOLDIERs here, after all." He and Genesis stepped off the lift when it opened on the programmers' floor, and the blonde Director stepped off with them, to Angeal's surprise. "Sir?" Angeal enquired formally.
Lazard fixed him with an unimpressed, if faintly amused look. "Don't look so shocked, Angeal. The only thing I'm capable of doing at this point is making sure that we don't run out of SOLDIERs, therefore, knowing how long it will take to get more. I just want to make sure that they're actually going to be capable of fighting in the appropriate environment. Ensuring this virtual mission is as close to the actual experience of the fighting in Wutai is key at the moment."
As suddenly as that, the reality of the situation hit Angeal. The training of this group of Cadets was different in a big way to any of the previous groups; the process had been gradually hastened along since he was a Cadet however many years ago, particularly now more than ever, as SOLDIERs seemed to simply be disappearing out from under Shinra's nose. More and more troops were needed in Wutai, so Midgar simply needed to spew out SOLDIER after SOLDIER.
But the Cadets had been here for little more than two months, they were far from ready for the kind of world that Shinra would be introducing them to. Angeal knew that he'd been a part of Shinra for at least six months before he actually took part in a SOLDIER mission outside of Midgar, and even then it was nothing compared to the current state Wutai was in.
Even Genesis seemed somewhat put out by Lazard's words. The SOLDIER who had been in a mood far from conversational had done nothing but listen, and understood everything the Director was saying. Of course Lazard didn't want to cut short the Cadets' training and abandon them in Wutai to what would likely be their deaths; after all, of all the departments, SOLDIER was lucky enough to get someone considerate and in touch with those he was directing. But the bulk of SOLDIER before the war was gone, and the noticeable decline had Lazard under pressure from other higher-up members of Shinra - and the President himself - to scrounge up more from nothing.
Naturally though, that didn't make any of them happy about discarding what should've been months of proper training in preference to letting them learn as they (hopefully) hacked down enemy after enemy in a war they had no say or interest in. Lazard was far from pleased with the predicament, but he needed a solution, and there was little else he could do. Angeal's nature made him sympathise with the SOLDIERs in Wutai and with Lazard, but he was not happy. And Genesis found himself peeved about the two Cadets he and his friend had put so much effort into training; Lazard would be most eager for them to go to Wutai understandably, so it seemed that both Zack and Cobalt would be killed long before Angeal and himself would ever see the benefits of their efforts.
The two SOLDIERs didn't need to say anything they were thinking; Lazard knew it all already, and shared their opinions. "The Cadets are young of course, and unprepared, so it will be difficult for them. However, I have come to a decision regarding the two of you, and the group of Cadets. You probably won't agree with me now, but I'd like you to give it some thought; and remember that we need more SOLDIERs in Wutai at the first possible opportunity." To his credit, Lazard looked displeased as he turned to the two SOLDIER Commanders, and clearly disliked what he was being made to do.
Even Genesis understood the bleak mood turn even sourer, so he straightened up and prepared for what would be some fairly bad news, without a doubt. Angeal folded his arms, his expression serious and his eyebrows curved down - even before Lazard had voiced his plans, the overly-caring SOLDIER seemed to be preparing a speech to convince the Director otherwise.
"I'm going to have Hojo perform the psyche evaluations as quickly as possible, to enable him to be finished with all the Cadets before the virtual mission. Those who complete the challenge will be immediately put through the treatment, and when they are released they will be flown to Wutai and given their briefing and their placement."
The admission sent the two First Class SOLDIERs reeling, and with wide eyes, Genesis knew immediately that there had to be something done about this. Remembering back on his own induction into SOLDIER showed the stark differences between then and today; he had completed the virtual mission, confronted by Hojo about a week later (with him and Angeal being among the first questioned, oddly) and had been put through the treatment around three weeks after. And then his group had been given the time taken to recover, plus a week, plus however long it took to find an appropriate first mission or routine for each one. That was likely bordering on two weeks, with only two days before discharge from the lab's supervision.
And here was a similar group of Cadets - a fair few showing some actual promise, with two soon-to-be-SOLDIERs with some proper instruction - who could very well be sent to Wutai within the next three weeks, perhaps even two. Genesis, despite his usual lack of interest in Cadets, was outraged; after all, he had put a fair amount of effort into training that one Cadet, and would be livid if he had to simply watch it go to waste.
The redhead's glare was far from subtle, but Angeal couldn't voice his indignation loud enough. "Director! Lazard, these are children, with no experience and next-to-no training. You're not providing backup to those SOLDIERs by sending the Cadets there, you're providing more reason for them to hate what they're doing."
His passionate pleas had no effect on the Director, who - while looking somewhat pained - held up his hands and shrugged. "Have it out with the President, Angeal. I'm not the one in charge, all I can do at this point is hope for the best," he advised. He sent the First Classes a meaningful look, telling them without words that he had unsuccessfully raised all those points to his superiors and been shot down all the same, and shook his head.
Cynically, Genesis spoke up for the first time, questioning, "And just what is 'the best' that we're to be hoping for?"
Lazard adjusted the glasses perched on his nose. "I don't know, Hojo finds a way to clone Sephiroth? Best solution I can think of." With a half-hearted grin, Lazard entered the technicians' room. The two SOLDIERs shared a glance, and unanimously decided to abstain from their original quest; let the programmers be done when they were done. Their students needed training.
Suddenly, everything's so serious and plotty and stuff. I mean seriously, when did that happen? It was that sudden! It's all kicking off!
...I would like to point out, I have no idea what I'm doing now, if I ever did. My brain just pukes up anything now. My fingers are all like, "What are you doing?" and my brain's like, "Just type it, read it, and keep going! Who cares any more?!" Yup. Us Pikachus have conscious thought in our fingers. Little known fact.
A couple chapters ago, grandshadowseal was looking to read about Zack and Saphie's chocolate raids, and it was just pure luck and coincidence that I had already planned for this chapter in such a short while. I hope you enjoyed it, my friend! Figured it was a great way of killing two birds with one stone, finally giving you guys a raid, and introducing Kunsel as one of Kawi's nameless followers. But yeah, seriousness other than that. Stay tuned to see how this develops! I plan to do the same thing. ;)
Thanks to my reviewers, destinykeyblade with her Sephiroth obsession - I think we've taken a step back with converting you to Genesis, with you remembering that particular incident... - and grandshadowseal, who made a very very good point. Sorry that it took a while to reply, but life kinda pooped all over me in the last month or so. Shouldn't happen again, and I'll get replying to stuff as promptly as possible; even while revising, it's near-impossible to tear me away from this website. Thanks a lot, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Look forward to chapter 27!