"The new president is here!" shouted one Shinra soldier.
Suddenly, a Shinra commander (dressed in red uniform) walked up to Cloud, with an angry expression on his face.
"Hey! You're still dressed like that!? What are ya doing out of your uniform, soldier!? There's a goddamn parade going on outside, and you're just hanging around in here!? Come here! Get into your uniform, on the double!" snapped the Shinra commander.
Cloud shrugged and he obeyed. Cloud already had a plan to fool Shinra, and he was sure it would work just as long as he pretending to obey them.
"In here!! Get in this room right now!" snapped the Shinra commander. Cloud walked through the door and came into a changing room.
"Today's the big day when we welcome President Rufus! Hurry up and change!" shouted the Shinra commander. Cloud quickly got changed into a Shinra soldier uniform.
"(A Shinra uniform…I was so proud of myself when I first put this on. Sure brings back a lot of memories…I wonder when exactly it was…I couldn't stand wearing this thing anymore…)," thought Cloud.
Despite his reluctance, Cloud soon finished changing and he came out of the changing room, wearing a Shinra soldier uniform above his regular clothes.
"Wow! You look good in it! Oh, you do remember the greeting procedure, right? The look on your face says that you've forgot. Alright then, I'll show you it again. Do it just like we do," said the Shinra commander.
Suddenly, two Shinra soldiers ran into the room.
"Commander! We'll help too," said one Shinra soldier.
"This is how to do it!" said the other Shinra soldier.
"We'll sing too!" said the first Shinra soldier.
"Alright! Show him!" ordered the Shinra commander.
"Now march! This is the welcoming march!" said the first Shinra soldier.
"I'll sing along with you!" said the second Shinra soldier.
They showed the marches and demonstrated how to do it.
"Keep in step with the soldier next to you and march smoothly! Got it!?" shouted the Shinra commander.
"Yeah, got it," replied Cloud, nodding.
"Good! Make sure you do well in the real parade!" said the Shinra commander. Another Shinra soldier ran through the doors into the room.
"President Rufus has arrived! Preparations completed!" shouted the Shinra soldier.
"Alright then, it's show time! Don't disgrace yourselves!" shouted the Shinra commander.
He and the Shinra soldier left the room, and Cloud quickly followed them. They went outside to the city of Junon where the parade was.
On the main streets, one of the Second Class SOLDIERS was overlooking the formation in the ranks. Clad in bright red with a long, conical sword in one hand and a helmet covering his dark hair, the soldier barked orders to the front ranks, and made the rear snap to attention.
"The parade is ready to begin! This is gonna be broadcast on live television across the whole world, so don't screw up!" shouted the soldier.
Spinning around, the soldier hefted his sword and started marching. Behind him, the rank of blue-clad Third Class picked up the march, followed by the regular class of soldiers.
Behind the first ranks was Heidegger, marching along with the tune of the band and waving to the crowds of Junon. Behind him was another rank of soldiers, and standing up in a topless car was President Rufus Shinra, grinning broadly and saluting the people of the city.
The breeze the car picked up tossed about his flaming blond hair, letting his dark green eyes cast a warm glow over the crowds. His white suit was completely spotless, save for the black buttons and dark handkerchief folded carefully into his front pocket.
He remembered seeing his father's Tenth Anniversary Parade years ago, but it was nowhere near this size. Children cheered, old men saluted, and women sighed at his passing, while the hundreds of soldiers marched in his honour.
"(Eat your heart out, old man)," thought Rufus, with a smirk.
Cloud and the Shinra soldiers ran outside to join the parade. But they found the parade had already gone.
"Oh, no!! No one's here! We're late!? Hey, rookie!! Its because of you're running around like that!!" snapped the Shinra commander, pointing an accusing finger at Cloud.
"Commander! We'll take a short cut!" shouted one Shinra soldier, pointing down an alley.
"Right! Good idea. Get over here!!" ordered the Shinra commander.
They quickly ran over to the alleyway, which was the shortcut to the parade. They ran into the alleyway where the parade was. The other Shinra soldiers marched into the parade with other soldiers. The Shinra commander turned to face Cloud, the two of them having stayed behind.
"Now listen up, rookie!! This parade is gonna be broadcasted live on Shinra Television. All over the world! If you look bad, the whole Shinra army will look bad. Remember that and don't screw up! Okay! Just jump in when I give you the sign! Just sneak in from the back. Don't mess up the row!" shouted the Shinra commander.
Cloud nodded and he was soon walking down the alleyway, preparing to go into the parade, as the Shinra commander shouted after him.
"And no matter what you do, rookie, don't even try to go in the front! Alright, now start marching!!" ordered the Shinra commander.
Leaving the alleyway, Cloud joined the other soldiers in the parade, but he simply did awful, and he couldn't copy any of the other soldier's marches at all. People watching were baffled by his poor performance.
"Just what the hell was that damn soldier doing?" asked the TV producer, irritably.
"I don't know…" said the AD, shaking his head hopelessly.
"Are the points up?" asked the TV producer, urgently.
"T-This is terrible! A-Am I fired…?" asked the AD, nervously, visibly shaking.
"What!? You're fired!! Send that soldier a bomb or something!" shouted the TV producer, slamming his fist on a table in frustration.
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Meanwhile, Aeris, Barret, Tifa, Red XIII and Yuffie had left the town of Junon and managed to get into the city of Junon by tricking the Shinra soldier guarding the gate leading to the city above the small town to let them through.
They had managed to get up to the city of Junon, but they all needed disguises. Carefully and quietly, they all managed to sneak into the Shinra base at Junon and sneaked into the changing rooms without being seen.
They found some Shinra soldier uniforms, but there were only three, and therefore they were two uniforms short. Another problem was that Aeris was the only person, who could successfully fit into the uniform.
The others couldn't get into any of the other uniforms, and Barret was getting so frustrated, that he almost fired his gun-arm, and almost blew the uniforms to pieces.
"Barret, if we walk around with uniforms covered with bullet holes, we would be a lot more suspicious to Shinra than we would be walking out there in our regular clothes," explained Tifa, patiently, stopping Barret just in time before he could lose his temper.
Barret nodded in agreement, calming down, but he was still very angry and annoyed. Noticing that they were still two uniforms short, they had to decide on the two who would not wear them. Aeris already had her uniform on, so they had to decide between Barret, Tifa, Red XIII and Yuffie.
"How about if you guys are Shinra soldiers who have impressed a girl in town? If you do that, then I can go without a uniform," suggested Yuffie.
Everyone nodded in agreed, so Yuffie was going without a uniform. Barret was still shaking in anger, he couldn't find any uniform at all that would be large enough to fit him, so they also decided that he would have to go without a uniform.
Tifa quickly got her uniform on, but there was another and greater problem. It would be very hard to dress and disguise Red XIII in a uniform, since he was a four-legged lion-like creature who never walked on two feet.
So they tried to dress Red XIII themselves, much to Red XIII'S annoyance. The facemask of the uniform hid his lion-like face, but he couldn't get his tail to stay inside the uniform, much to Aeris and Yuffie's amusement, both of them laughing out loud as they watched Red XIII'S tail keep sticking out of his uniform no matter how many times he tried to get it back in.
Eventually, they got the uniform firmly on Red XIII, and then Red XIII tried to stand on two legs, earning only more uncontrolled laughs from Yuffie.
"Red XIII, you walk like a drunk," joked Yuffie, giggling. Red XIII growled angrily, despite trying his best to ignore her.
"Let's just get to that ship fast. This is really embarrassing," muttered Red XIII, annoyed.
Unexpectedly, Yuffie and Barret both managed to find some sailor suits to wear in the changing rooms, both the right size for each of them, although Barret was still very annoyed, as he hated the sailor suit he had on, and Yuffie was laughing so hard at him that she couldn't stand up until she stopped.
They all left the Shinra base, and they walked along the city of Junon, towards the ship at Junon harbour. Luckily, no one noticed them, as people were all watching the Shinra parade held in honour of Rufus.
Tifa looked at the parade for a moment, and she stopped walking suddenly. Noticing this, everyone else stopped and looked at her, and then looked at what she was staring at.
In the parade, they all spotted a Shinra soldier close to the back of the parade, marching out of step with the others, and tripping slightly. People who were watching were laughing at him. Tifa looked harder at the Shinra soldier, and she realised who it was.
"Hey…wait a minute. That's Cloud," said Tifa, surprised.
"It is? Just how can you tell?" asked Aeris, curiously.
"Yeah…it's him, alright. No doubt about it. See the way he walks? I can tell that it's him," said Tifa.
"Ha, ha, ha! What a dumb-ass!" laughed Barret.
"You can tell its Cloud just by the way he walks? Just how close are you two?" asked Aeris, surprised.
Tifa hesitated for a moment, and then she just shrugged.
"Not very, really. We just grew up together. We're just friends, that's all. Why? Are you worried or something?" asked Tifa, raising an eyebrow. Aeris quickly shook her head.
"Oh no, I was just wondering, that's all," said Aeris, avoiding Tifa's suspicious gaze.
"We'd better go now. While you guys were all so busy laughing at Cloud, didn't you all hear what the announcer just said? The parade's almost over now, and Heidegger will be escorting Rufus to the ship. They're two people I certainly don't want to run into right now, so let's get to that ship first before they do," said Red XIII.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and they quickly ran to the ship in Junon harbour, and sneaked on it with their disguises, encountering no problems. Luckily, Rufus and Heidegger had not arrived yet, and therefore they had not spotted them.
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Meanwhile Cloud and the Shinra commander had caught up with the other soldiers. They were doing marches in front of two people – Rufus and Heidegger.
"Good! We made it. Oh, President Rufus!" said the Shinra commander, looking alarmed as he spotted Rufus. He turned to face Cloud.
"Hey! Line up and shut up! Don't make a move!" ordered the Shinra commander.
Cloud shrugged and simply did what he was told. Rufus and Heidegger were watching them carefully, talking to each other at the same time.
"How's the job? What happened to the airship, the Highwind?" asked Rufus, curiously.
"The long range airship is still being prepared. It should be ready in about three more days," replied Heidegger.
"Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" asked Rufus, curiously.
Heidegger just laughed in response. Rufus frowned darkly.
"Stop that stupid horse laugh, Heidegger. Things are different than when my father was in charge," said Rufus, sharply and coldly.
Heidegger instantly stopped laughing, and he seemed very shocked and speechless.
"Is the airship Gelnika ready?" repeated Rufus, sharply, looking hard at Heidegger. Heidegger nodded and bowed.
"…Yes, sir. We'll get it all ready quickly, right away," said Heidegger. Rufus nodded, satisfied with the answer.
Rufus and Heidegger walked into one of the building and into an elevator, which it took them to somewhere else in the city of Junon. Once they were gone, the silence among the Shinra soldiers was broken.
"What a disaster…" said the first Shinra soldier, shaking his head wearily.
"Yeah, Heidegger was really irritated," said the second Shinra soldier.
"The man in the black cape has been roaming around this city, but we still can't find him," said the third Shinra soldier.
"Man in a black cape?" asked Cloud, curiously, suddenly interested and alert.
"He showed up two or three days ago, and he killed a few of our soldiers," said the fourth Shinra soldier.
"He disappeared right after that. There's a rumour going around that it was Sephiroth," said the fifth Shinra soldier.
"Attention! Dismissed!" shouted the Shinra commander.
All the Shinra soldiers obeyed and ran off. Except for Cloud.
"Hey you! You dare trying to mess with the army!?" snapped the Shinra commander.
"And just what if I am?" asked Cloud, sharply and angrily, his voice icy and his temper almost getting the better of him.
"You're too lazy!! No break for you!! Get over here!" shouted the Shinra commander.
He and Cloud ran back to the Junon base and back into the changing rooms. The Shinra commander glared furiously at him.
"This is the military, soldier!! Your orders for today are to send off President Rufus at the dock! I'll keep drilling you until it's time!" shouted the Shinra commander.
Two Shinra soldiers rushed into the changing room.
"I'll help sir!" said the first Shinra soldier.
"Me too sir!" said the second Shinra soldier.
"Alright! Line up in order and show me your final pose. Today's command is formation! Remember it! Ready!? Junon military send off, begin!" shouted the Shinra commander.
The two Shinra soldiers did some marches until they finished showing the march to Cloud.
"Alright! Now you try it!" ordered the Shinra officer. Cloud practised the march until he had learned it.
"So, you got it?" asked the Shinra commander.
"I've got it," replied Cloud.
"Alright! Don't mess up during the real thing!" ordered the Shinra commander.
"Commander! What's today's special pose?" asked one Shinra soldier.
"I haven't decided yet. Alright, rookie!! I'll let you decide! Show me your best move!" ordered the Shinra commander.
"Hmm, now let's see…my best move is…" pondered Cloud thoughtfully, and he suddenly spun the Shinra machine gun several times, very quickly, over his head, and he only used one finger to balance it. The Shinra commander and soldiers looked at Cloud with amazement.
"Wow!" exclaimed the Shinra commander.
"That's awesome!" exclaimed a Shinra soldier.
"Alright! We'll go with that as today's special! Practise it!" ordered the Shinra commander.
"Yes, sir!" said the two Shinra soldiers.
"Meet at the dock! Don't be late! Attention! Dismissed!" shouted the Shinra officer.
He and the two Shinra soldiers left the room and went outside to the city of Junon. Cloud quickly followed them.
Along the way, he spotted Rude, walking along the city. Rude walked into an alleyway and into a bar. Cloud followed him. Rude sat with some other men (who were not Turks) at a table in the bar. Rude suddenly noticed Cloud.
"You too? Then take your mask off and come here. That's our rule," said Rude.
He was drinking alcohol with all the other man. They all appeared to be in a drinking club. Cloud left he bar and headed towards the dock at the port.
In another bar, he found Tseng and Elena. He sat on a table near them, hoping to overhear any information about what Shinra were up to, without being noticed.
"How do you like being a Turk?" asked Tseng, curiously.
"Fine, sir! It's really great! An honour! I love working with you! Uh, I-I mean, all of you, that is," replied Elena, quickly.
"You're so jittery. Just calm down. Sephiroth is nowhere to be found, so don't worry," said Tseng.
"But what about President Rufus? Sephiroth killed President Shinra, right? So how exactly do we know he's not after Rufus as well?" asked Elena, curiously.
"President Rufus will be alright. Soon, we will be present at his send-off to make sure that everything there goes okay. Of course, you do have to be willing to die for him, should he need our sacrificial protection," said Tseng, coolly.
"Uh…o-of course!" said Elena, nervously.
Before she could say anything else to Tseng, though, there was a strange sound coming towards the stairs below the bar. It sounded like some local alcoholic finding yet another bar to serve him.
"(Damn drunks always have to ruin the atmosphere)," thought Elena, annoyed.
She and Tseng turned around as the sound stopped at the top of the stairs, and a figure walked into the bar. To their surprise, they saw it was Reno, who grinned at them when he spotted them.
"Reno!? What are you doing here!? How are you feeling?" asked Tseng, as Reno walked over to them, and took the centre seat, which both annoyed and angered Elena, as she had wanted to sit next to Tseng. Neither Tseng nor Reno noticed.
"I'm fine. I drank the potion you gave me," replied Reno.
"It's about time," said Tseng.
"I thought you were allergic to potions?" said Elena, suspiciously.
"Hey, you know me. I was just being stubborn, that's all. Sorry, but my legs are still a bit stiff from not being used for a few weeks," said Reno. Tseng frowned.
"Which brings up another issue. Our health insurance premiums just went up another 15%. I wonder whose fault that is…" said Tseng, looking hard at Reno.
"Not mine! Well…not entirely. What about last month when you cut your finger on some of that electronic junk you had to haul in?" asked Reno.
"That has nothing to do with it! You don't file insurance claims for little scratches on your finger," said Tseng.
"You don't?" asked Reno, sarcastically.
Reno was blocking Elena's view of Tseng. She leaned back, trying to look past Reno's shoulders. No good. Then she leaned forwards looking across the counter, but Reno was still in the way. Reno noticed her squirming.
"What!? Just what the heck are you looking at?" asked Reno, sharply. Tseng stopped massaging his chin and looked at them curiously.
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" insisted Elena, and she turned away, grumbling.
"You sure picked a weird one this time, Tseng," said Reno.
"Yeah, I picked three weird ones. You, Elena and Rude," said Tseng, coolly.
Just then, they turned and saw Cloud listening in, but they couldn't see through Cloud's disguise and simply thought he was just some Shinra soldier.
"Stay out of this," warned Tseng, sharply, his voice icy.
"Hey soldier boy, aren't you still supposed to be on duty right now? The president's safety is secure because we're here, so there's no need for losers like you," said Reno, coolly.
"The moment you think the job's boring, you guys start messing around," muttered Elena.
Cloud decided he should leave before they got suspicious, and he walked out of the bar and he saw five familiar people, three dressed in soldier uniforms and two in sailor uniforms, heading for the Junon dock. Cloud followed them. He came to a cargo ship with Shinra soldiers and officers waiting outside it.
"Alright, its time," said the Shinra commander.
"President Rufus has now arrived!" said one Shinra soldier.
Rufus and Heidegger suddenly arrived and they stood in front of Cloud and the soldiers, watching them.
"This is it! Junon military reception! Do it right! Do it with enthusiasm! Ready! Go!" ordered the Shinra commander.
Cloud and two Shinra soldiers did the march, and finished with the special that Cloud came up with. They didn't do one fault in the march and the special in particular caught both Rufus and Heidegger's interest. Rufus was impressed.
"Very entertaining. Keep up the good work," said Rufus, which from him was very high praise indeed. Heidegger walked up to Cloud, laughing.
"Here's a special bonus for you!! A token of the president's kindness! Don't forget it!" said Heidegger, and he gave Cloud some silver glasses, and Cloud quickly saluted and pocketed them, so as not to seem suspicious. Heidegger walked back up to Rufus as they headed towards the cargo ship.
"Once the word gets out that Sephiroth is somewhere around here, then Cloud and his friends will also show up here too," said Rufus.
"We'll crush them as soon as we find them," said Heidegger, confidently, beating his fists together.
"We can't have any of them get in the way of our plans," said Rufus, coldly.
"Leave it all to me, sir!" said Heidegger, laughing. Rufus frowned sharply.
"I thought I told you to stop that stupid laugh," said Rufus, sternly, his eyes narrowed. Rufus and Heidegger then quickly got in the cargo ship and vanished from view.
"Alright! Dismissed!" ordered the Shinra commander.
"That was close," said one Shinra soldier.
"Heidegger has been really edgy lately," said the other Shinra soldier.
"Because Hojo suddenly disappeared and hasn't been seen since before the President's death, leaving a sudden letter of resignation. Heidegger is being forced to take care of that investigation too," said the first Shinra soldier.
"Hey! I thought I just told you that you were all dismissed!" shouted the Shinra commander, sharply. The Shinra soldiers all left immediately and walked away, except for Cloud.
"We've got some cleaning up to do! Hurry up!" ordered the Shinra commander.
He ran off, leaving no one else to watch Cloud. Cloud quietly sneaked into the cargo ship. The cargo ship started moving and began to travel across the sea from the east continent to the west continent.