NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

There was a little problem with this part of the script. Whenever I play the scene of getting into line in the parade, I always seem to be out of sync, so I don't know if the TV scene is different if you get it perfectly. Thus you are getting my version. Well, I suppose it gives a little bit of humour, I suppose.

Final Fantasy VII

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Thirty-Five

The streets of Upper Junon were very busy as the final preparations for the Welcoming Parade were put into place. Several squadrons of Shinra soldiers had gathered on the main road that ran around the front of the town, continuously practicing their drilling as they waited for the parade to begin. The team leaders were bawling out orders at them, blowing harshly on their whistles with each order.

As they were practicing a helicopter flew overhead, heading down towards the town centre as it scanned the streets for signs of trouble. As far as the helicopter was concerned the streets were clear from trouble, for it was blind to see the activities that went on without it knowing. So the soldiers continued to practice in safety, until a blue soldier ran up from down the street and up to the leading squadron at the beginning of the long line of squadrons.

"Begin the Welcome Parade!" the soldier shouted as he ran up.

The leading red soldier nodded and turned to his squadron, giving a long, sharp blow on his whistle. The whistle echoed all the way down the road, and more whistles from the other squadron leaders began to ring all the way down the line. All at once the drilling soldiers fell silent and came to attention, awaiting the order to begin.

Once the order had been given the parade began, and it was clear from the start how much effort they had put in to make this parade a true spectacle. The streets were alive in colour as banners hung from buildings and across the roads, brightly coloured confetti was thrown into the air, and balloons were released into the sky as the parade passed the many dozens of people that had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the new Shinra president.

Heidegger was leading the parade, walking in front of the parade car as it drove slowly through the streets. Rufus was standing up in the back of the car, waving to the people who were cheering back at him. More confetti was thrown into the air as the President passed by, and all in all Rufus looked very smug and superior as he drove on further through the streets. After the parade car at last came the soldiers, marching in groups behind the car, their guns positioned on their shoulders as they marched perfectly onward.

Back in the parade square, Cloud and his group of soldiers had only just arrived to see that the entire square was empty of all soldiers.

"Oh… no…!!" the red soldier exclaimed in horror, lifting up the visor of his helmet. "No one's here! Late…?" He snapped the visor back down and turned to Cloud angrily. "Hey, Rookie! We're late 'cause you're running around like that!" Cloud stopped walking and shrugged dismissively back at him. The red soldier was about to reprimand him, when one of the blue soldiers quickly interrupted him.

"Captain!! We'll take a shortcut!"

The red soldier nodded. "Right! Good idea." He turned back to the other soldiers and Cloud. "Get over here!!" he called, and all the soldiers began to run down the main road towards an alley that lay a little further down. The Shinra officer stopped by the entrance and signalled for the others to go on ahead. "All right! You first!" he said as the soldiers went past. When they were all through he went down.

The alley came out right into the middle of the parade between the groups of people that had gathered in the street. Right then the soldiers were passing by in their grouped teams, marching with pride behind the parade car. Cloud and the one remaining blue soldier stood just at the entrance of the alley as the groups marched by. One group was approaching them with a gap in the back line. The blue soldier spotted it and turned to Cloud.

"I'll got first!" he said. "Just watch and do as I do, Rookie. Just sneak into the back of the line when you see an opening, okay?"

Cloud watched as the soldier turned back to the parade and lifted his gun up to his shoulder ready. As the squadron passed them by, the soldier quickly dashed into the road and ran to the back of the line. He slipped easily into the gap and quickly got in step, marching onwards past the crowds without them even noticing that he hadn't been there before. Cloud stepped out of the alley and shrugged.

"Now listen up!" Cloud turned in surprise to see the officer standing behind him. "This parade's gonna be broadcast live on Shinra TV, around the world!" he said harshly. "If you look bad, the whole Junon army will look bad. Remember that and don't screw up!" He peered out of the alley and back down the parade, trying to spot a squadron with a missing soldier. One was just approaching them, and he gave Cloud a gentle push to the street. "OK! Jump in when I give you the sign! And sneak in from the back. Don't mess up the row! And no matter what you do, don't try to go in from the front! All right!! Start marching!!"

Cloud did as he was told and began to march on the spot, feeling like a complete dork marching in the middle of the street. He prayed none of the others were watching him. The Shinra officer continued to look out of the alley until the squadron was close enough.

"Charge--!!" he commanded.

Immediately Cloud marched forward past the people gathered in the street, who were paying too much attention to the parade to notice him slipping by. He then marched into the road towards the back of the squadron, and quickly dashed round to the back of the line just as they began to pass the cameras that were filming them as they marched on by. Cloud tried to lift his gun up onto his shoulder, but the strap of the gun was entangled in his arm, and he struggled to get it free.

One of the soldiers looked at Cloud angrily as he struggled with the strap of his gun, especially since now they were in full view of the cameras and they would be filming every second of it. A few citizens giggled in the streets as they watched Cloud finally release the strap of his gun and position it on his shoulder. Even so the cameras had caught everything, and that scene would be broadcast all over the world. Cloud didn't mind too much though. At least the mess up would make Shinra look bad.

It worked, too. Up in the TV station that was monitoring the viewing ratings of the parade, the TV Producer and his AD had seen every bit of Cloud's accidental mess up.

"What the heck was that soldier doing?" the producer asked as he watched the squadron walk on by.

"I don't know," replied the AD.

"Are the points up?"

The AD looked down at the point ratings on his screen and swallowed nervously. "This is terrible!" he exclaimed, watching as the number of people watching on his screen went drastically down, thanks to the mess up. "Am… am I fired?"

The TV Producer leaned over and saw the number continuing to drop. "What!?" he cried. "You're FIRED!!" He threw his clipboard down onto the floor fiercely. "Send that soldier a bomb or something!"

Back in Junon, the main part of the parade had come to an end, and a selected team of soldiers were giving a drilling presentation in front of Rufus and Heidegger. Rufus was watching with interest as the soldiers performed their skills for him, shifting their guns and turning to their commander's orders. Heidegger, on the other hand, was not at all impressed, and was scowling intensely.

Cloud and the red Shinra soldier ran up from the back of the road, and came to a stop near the drilling squadron. "Good! We made it," the Shinra officer said with relief. He peered up over the top of the squadron, and quickly ducked back down. "Oh! President Rufus!" He looked around nervously, until he finally glared at Cloud. "Hey! Line up and shut up! Don't make a move!"

He gave Cloud yet another harsh push towards the squadron, and Cloud quietly snuck in and stood in the middle of the group. He did absolutely nothing as the other soldiers continued to drill around him, although luckily their movements shielded his inactivity from Rufus. Moments later the performance finally came to an end, and the squadron came to a stop. The officer in charge then turned to Rufus and saluted.

"How's the job?" asked Rufus as Heidegger also turned to him. Without a reply Rufus sighed heavily and turned away towards the lift that led to the other side of the town. He looked around, confused, and then turned back. "What happened to the airship?" he asked.

"The long range airship is still being prepared," Heidegger replied. "It should be ready in about three more days. Gya haa haa!"

"Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" Rufus asked. Heidegger laughed again, and Rufus looked at him irritably. "Stop that stupid horse laugh," he commanded. "Things are different than when father was in charge." Heidegger slowly stopped laughing and stood frozen to the spot. Rufus sighed again. "Is the ship ready?"

"Yes sir, we'll get it ready quickly," Heidegger replied, his voice quiet.

Rufus then turned away and headed towards the lift. Once he had turned away Heidegger spun round and ran to the group of soldiers lined up in front of them. He began to beat them angrily out of sheer frustration, and each one of them flinched and shook in fright. Heidegger then punched Cloud, who didn't move. He glared at Cloud and hit him again, and then again. Each time Cloud did not move a muscle, and just took Heidegger's abuse. The lift started up then, and Heidegger turned and ran to it, climbing inside and leaving the soldiers behind. The moment Heidegger disappeared through the open doorway the lift headed up towards the town again, and the soldiers finally relaxed and gathered in a circle around Cloud.

"What a disaster," one of the blue soldiers commented.

"Heidegger was really irritated," said another.

"The man in the Black Cape's been roaming the city, but we can't find him," another one said.

That caught Cloud's attention. "Man in a Black Cape?" he asked.

A fourth soldier nodded. "He showed up two or three days ago and killed a few of our soldiers," he said.

"He disappeared right after that," a fifth one said. "There's a rumour going around that it was Sephiroth."

Cloud listened to their words. It made sense. Sephiroth could have first arrived in Junon two or three days ago on his way to Midgar to kill the President – former President – of Shinra, and to release Jenova. Did that mean that Sephiroth had been hiding on the other continent until then? For five years? So now was Sephiroth going back across the ocean to continue his search for the Promised Land?

"Attention!" the officer commanded suddenly. "Dismissed!"

The group of soldiers broke up and spread out away from Cloud, heading back to their changing rooms now that their job of welcoming the president was over. Only Cloud remained where he was, still lost in his thought. The officer looked at Cloud angrily, and marched up to him.

"Hey! Hey you!" he snapped, and Cloud looked at him. "You messing with the army?"

Cloud frowned. He didn't like the soldier's superior attitude. "What if I am?" he asked in reply. The officer scowled back at him, and Cloud longed to knock at superior smug off his shielded face.

"You're too lazy!!" the officer told him. "No break for you!! Get over here!"

He took Cloud back to the changing rooms at the airfield again. As they entered the room the officer slammed the door shut, but Cloud didn't jump. The stuck-up soldier didn't at all intimidate him. Cloud figured he was probably just another one of those soldiers that were always trying to assert more authority than they actually held.

"This is the military, soldier!!" the officer said to him in a loud, commanding voice. "Your orders for today are to send of President Rufus at the dock!" He turned to Cloud and grinned slyly. "I'll keep drilling you until it's time!" The door to the changing rooms opened and once again the same two blue soldiers ran into the room, still as enthusiastic as ever.

"I'll help, sir!" the first blue soldier said.

"Me too, sir!" said the other. Cloud could only stare at them. What was it with these two that they kept popping up everywhere? He prayed they wouldn't sing this time.

"All right!!" the officer said. "Line up in order and show me your final pose! Today's command is Formation! Remember it!" The two soldiers lined up beside one another, and the officer held his whistle close to his mouth. "Ready!? Junon Military Send Off, BEGIN!" He then blew on his whistle.

The two soldiers began to turn and raise their guns in time to the officer's commands, each of which were followed by sharp blows from the whistle. After a minute of that the whistling began to hurt Cloud's ears, but at least he was picking up quickly on the orders as they were belted out. Cloud was very relieved when the drill came to an end, although he could still hear the whistle ringing in his ears. The officer turned to him.

"All right!" the officer said. "Now you try it!"

Before Cloud could even prepare himself the officer blew hard on the whistle, followed quickly by the first order. Cloud barely had time to lift his gun up by the time the next order was given and he had to turn around. The officer continued to shout out orders at him, trying to catch Cloud out with unexpected and quick orders. Yet Cloud was able to keep in time with him, just about, and didn't make a single mistake throughout the practice. Eventually the officer blew hard on the whistle to signal the end of the drill and nodded slowly at Cloud, slightly impressed.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Cloud.

"All right!" the officer said. "Don't mess up during the real thing!"

"Commander!!" called one of the blue soldiers. "What's today's special pose?"

The officer stopped and thought for a moment, tapping his foot on the ground. "Huh? …I haven't decided yet," he admitted. He looked down a little more, before his gaze lifted to Cloud and he smiled. "All right, rookie!! I'll let you decide! Show me your best move!"

Cloud thought for a moment. "Let's see… My best move is…" He clenched his left fist and raised it up to the air twice, before lifting his gun with his other hand and spinning it round above his head, finishing it off by putting the gun over his shoulder and behind his back. The soldiers all stared in awe as he finished.

"Woo----ow!" one of them exclaimed.

"That's awesome!" said the other.

"All right!!" the officer said, bringing them back to reality. "We'll go with that as today's special!! Practise it!"

"Yes sir!" the soldiers said excitedly, and immediately began to practice Cloud's complex move. Cloud watched them as they practiced – they weren't too bad at it, he figured. The officer watched them as well, before he looked at his watch.

"Well then! Meet at the dock!! Don't be late!!" he ordered them. "Attention! Dismissed!!"

At his command the soldiers all dispersed from the changing room and headed back onto the main road to rush for the docks. Cloud went with them – the closer to the docks he was the easier it would be to sneak on board and get across the continent. Even as he ran after the soldiers, he began to think about the others. He hoped that they had somehow managed to sneak through the Shinra without getting caught.

The road was empty now that the parade was over, and the soldiers ran quickly passed the dimly lit buildings and shops to get to the docks before the send off began. Cloud nearly stopped at one point as they passed one building, for he spotted a familiar figure walking up to the door. It was Rude of the Turks. Rude looked over as he and the other soldiers ran on past, but he didn't recognise Cloud through the Shinra uniform, and went into the building and out of sight, and the soldiers ran on.

They had to cross the lifts to get to the other side of the town, but once they had crossed it was easy running to the end of the road where the large Shinra ship was standing, waiting to set sail across the ocean. The back of the ship was open and waiting, with a single blue soldier guarding its entrance. The Shinra officer ran up in front of the ship and turned as Cloud and the other soldiers ran up and got in line in front of him, ready for the send off.

"All right, it's time!" he announced.

"President Rufus… has now arrived!" called the blue soldier.

Cloud looked through the shadow of his visor as Rufus and Heidegger walked out of the hangar and onto the docks. Rufus had a very serious expression on his face, which was probably why Heidegger had been looking and acting so edgy during the parade.

"Ten… HUT!" commanded the officer. The three soldiers in front of him immediately came to attention. Rufus stopped near to them and watched. "This is it!!" the officer whispered sharply to his soldiers. "Junon Military Reception---!! Do it right--! Do it with enthusiasm…! Ready…"

He blew on his whistle and the demonstration began. The officer barked out his orders, and the two soldiers obeyed them with immense enthusiasm, and even Cloud tried his best, even if it was just to prevent Rufus and Heidegger becoming suspicious. As they drilled Cloud's gaze wandered over to the ship's entrance, where he was sure he'd seen a flash of movement, if just for a second. His attention was brought back to the drill as the officer barked out his last order, the order for their final pose. All at once Cloud and the two soldiers performed the pose, until coming to a finish. The Shinra officer then turned round and saluted to Rufus, before they all stood at ease in front of the president. Rufus stepped forward towards them and clapped, clearly impressed.

"Well done," he said to them. "Keep up the good work for Shinra, Inc." Heidegger then walked forward to each of the soldiers in turn, whispering something in their ears and giving them a little something. He stopped in front of Cloud.

"Gya haa haa…!!" he laughed. "Here's a special bonus for you!! A token of the President's kindness! Don't forget it!!" He then dropped a small bag of gil into Cloud's hands, and Cloud smirked underneath his visor. He watched silently as Rufus then turned away and stepped up onto the ship, Heidegger right behind him, but Cloud could still hear what they were saying.

"Once the word gets out that Sephiroth's here, Cloud and his friends will show up, too," Rufus said to Heidegger quietly.

"We'll crush them as soon as soon as we find them!" Heidegger assured him.

Rufus looked at Heidegger closely. "We can't have them get in our way," he said sternly.

Heidegger swallowed nervously, and nodded his head. "Leave it up to me, sir! Gya haa haa!" Again Rufus glared at Heidegger irritably.

"I thought I told you to stop that stupid laugh…" he repeated, and Heidegger immediately stopped laughing.

Without another word Rufus walked off and into the ship, passing the large pile of crates that had been loaded on board for the journey across the ocean. Once the president was safely inside Heidegger turned and signalled to the soldiers in the hangar before following the president inside and out of sight. Moments later the loud booming of the ship's horn could be heard in the air as the ship made its final preparations before setting sail.

"All right! Dismissed!!" the officer called.

All at once Cloud and the other soldiers were finally able to relax. After all the standing and drilling and marching and singing, their arms and legs were aching terribly. Yet they couldn't help but feel somewhat energised as well after being applauded by the new president, and even given a bonus because of it. Still they were glad it was all over, and they were able to relax.

"That was close," the first blue soldier said, sighing with relief.

"Heidegger's been really edgy lately," said the second.

"Because Hojo disappeared leaving a letter of resignation," the first explained.

"Heidegger's been forced to take care of that investigation, too," said the second.

"Hey--!" the officer snapped at them. "I thought you were dismissed!" The two blue soldiers jumped about half a metre in the air and quickly ran off back to the hanger, leaving the officer behind with Cloud. "We got some cleaning up to do!" he said. "Hurry up!" He then ran off into the hanger, leaving Cloud behind.

Cloud waited until all of the soldiers on the dock had left and run back inside, before he finally relaxed and sighed heavily. By now the gun was heavy in his hands, and he longed to take off the helmet and get some fresh air for a change. Being in the uniform was beginning to make him feel sick to his stomach, and he couldn't wait to get out of it and back into his usual clothes again. He ignored the sickening feeling in his stomach and headed towards the ship, keeping an eye out for any soldiers.

"Hey, hurry. You're the last one."

Cloud jumped in surprise and looked towards the crates piled near the entrance. He leaned in closer and Red XIII walked out quietly from behind the crates where he had been hiding. So it was Red XIII he had seen moving behind the crates when he had been drilling – it wasn't his imagination.

"How did you get here?" Cloud asked him.

"A dolphin gave me a ride," Red XIII replied. He looked around either end of the ship, just making sure that there was no one else listening. "Priscilla remembered the dolphin after you climbed the pole. But, you mustn't be mad at her."

Cloud shrugged dismissively and shook his head. It didn't really matter how they all got up to the upper city, as long as they were all safely on board and out of view of the Shinra. Even so he would have loved to see Red XIII trying to get up on the dolphin's back.

He then stepped up onto the ship and stood beside Red XIII, looking out at the docks one last time. As they waited the ship's engine then hummed into life, and the gentle roar of the working parts could be heard echoing beneath them. The doors then began to scrape and rise up off the docks, sealing Cloud and Red XIII inside the Shinra ship.

"We'll cross the ocean, to the new continent…" said Cloud as the doors closed. "Even if we are wearing Shinra uniforms…"