"I have to train him."
Sephiroth sighs and crosses his arms in front of him. "Genesis, Cloud is my student. Get your own." Two top SOLDIERs fighting over him? This sounds like another one of Cloud's fantasies.
Commander Rhapsodos does not back down. If anything, he becomes more insistent. "Sephiroth. I am the Red Mage of Shinra. You can teach him all about swordsmanship and being socially awkward, but magic is my thing."
Sephiroth stares hard at Rhapsodos, the other SOLDIER not breaking eye contact. Cloud looks back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what's happening. The unspoken challenge lasts for several long moments, then the General sighs again and the tension is broken. "Very well," he concedes as he goes to retrieve the forgotten materia. Straightening back up, he lets out a laugh, looking at a point somewhere behind Cloud. "Looks like we're not the only ones impressed with your performance, Cloud."
Startled, Cloud spins around and sees a sight he wishes he hadn't. All the other SOLDIERs in the training grounds are staring at them. Staring at the still burning dummies. Staring at him. He sighs. So much for not being the constant talk of the building.
Turning back around, Cloud sees Sephiroth pull out another orb of materia. Unlike the previous two, this one creates a stream of water that extinguishes the flaming dummies – charred beyond recognition, they are somehow still standing.
Returning his attention to Cloud, whose shock has him still sprawled on the ground, Sephiroth smirks. "Though, perhaps try using less power next time." He crosses to Cloud and pulls the cadet to his feet, Cloud offering a weak "T-thanks" in return.
"I shall bid you farewell for today, Cloud." Sephiroth says as he turns and exits the training grounds. Cloud thinks he's gotten better at hiding his reaction to the man's voice, but from the look on Rhapsodos's face, he doesn't believe the other SOLDIER missed it, sharp-eyed as he is. He just hopes Sephiroth didn't notice.
The next few hours are spent in a similar manner – luckily, though, Cloud causes no more explosions. Rhapsodos is a very attentive teacher and easily guides him through best practices. The SOLDIER shows him how to limit the amount of energy he gives to the materia, how to intuitively know just how much energy is enough to get the results he wants.
They start with basic attack materia – fire, ice, and lightning. Cloud works until he can produce the smallest manifestation of each – a sign that he has learned control.
When Rhapsodos is satisfied with his progress, he gives him a calculating look and then passes over a small bottle. "Here. Ether, drink up. It'll restore your magic power." Cloud does as instructed, marveling at the warmth that floods through his body, a slight hint of caramel left in his mouth.
"You have already far exceeded my expectations, little bird." Blushing at the praise, Cloud doesn't have it in him to be annoyed at the new nickname. "However, I would like to try one last thing today." As he says that, Rhapsodos hands him another orb of materia – red this time. "Summon materia. This will be more difficult than anything else that we've done today, it will require a great deal of energy to use." At the alarmed look on Cloud's face, the SOLDIER smiles. "Don't worry, little bird. I will make sure that you do not overexert yourself."
Cloud nods a little nervously. "Ok, sir." While he's not at all confident in himself, Rhapsodos appears to be. The man would not have given him the summon materia otherwise.
Wondering idly what kind of summon is housed within, Cloud starts to feed his energy into the materia. Rhapsodos wasn't lying – this does require a lot of energy. He's fed far more energy into the orb than with any of the others and it still needs more. After what seems like an eternity, he feels the distinctive buzz signaling the materia has received enough power. Surprisingly, he doesn't feel tired – a sign of overuse, the SOLDIER had said.
Rhapsodos is at his side in a second, one hand on his shoulder. "Wonderful, Cloud. Release the energy." The man says, voice soft and almost… reverent?
Cloud releases his hold on the energy and is almost knocked onto the ground again from his complete and utter surprise. A storm cloud has formed above them and from it appears a large, grey dragon. Cloud watches with wide, disbelieving eyes as the dragon slowly descends until it is hovering directly in front of them.
He can only stare, mouth agape, shock clearly plastered all over his face as the dragon silently regards him. Rhapsodos leans in, hand still on his shoulder. "Bahamut. King of the Dragons." When Cloud still doesn't say anything, he continues, "He's waiting for your command. Go ahead and dismiss him."
Dismiss him? How does he do that? "You can go now." Cloud says, hoping that's good enough. The dragon doesn't move, though, still staring at him. "Uh… or however I get rid of you." He tries again, waving a hand as if shooing a fly, but Bahamut still hovers, proud and attentive, in front of him.
Rhapsodos chuckles softly at him. "Command him with your mind. It was your spirit that summoned him. Use your spirit to dismiss him."
Cloud takes a deep breath and tries to figure out what the SOLDIER means. Remembering the feeling of summoning (and of casting in general), he almost feels like there's still some sort of connection there between his mind and the summon. Trying to break that connection, he's surprised when, in the next second, the dragon dematerializes along with the storm cloud it came from.
Rhapsodos finally removes his hand from Cloud's shoulder, turning to face him instead. "I hate to admit it, but Sephiroth was right. You are amazing, Cloud."
Cloud thinks he should just get used to his face being a permanent shade of red. "T-thank you, sir." While he doesn't exactly agree with Rhapsodos's assessment, he's not going to contradict him.
As Rhapsodos takes the summon materia back, Cloud uses the opportunity to observe the man. The Commander definitely cuts quite the figure – something that Cloud has heard he is very proud of. The man has short auburn hair, the usual mako blue eyes, and a single dangling, silver earring in his right ear. He wears the usual black 1st Class SOLDIER uniform, but covers it with a red leather coat and black pauldrons.
As if sensing the scrutiny, the Commander's eyes are on him again. "Like what you see?" Rhapsodos asks, smirking.
Blushing for who knows what time that day and definitely not about to answer the SOLDIER's question, not that he has any idea what his answer would be, Cloud blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "N-no. It's just, training with you isn't what I thought it would be." Crap. Wrong thing to say.
Rhapsodos raises an elegant eyebrow, "Oh? Do elaborate."
Cloud fidgets in place, trying to find a way out of the situation. He doesn't want to offend the fiery man. "Uh. I-it's nothing, sir. Please forget I said anything."
The SOLDIER definitely does not forget, though, continuing to look at him like he's prey caught in a trap. "Oh, no. I insist."
Cloud rubs the back of his head sheepishly as he prepares to tell the truth. He's pretty sure Rhapsodos would be able to tell if he was lying. "I-I had always thought that training with you would be like playing Dodge Fireball." That's at least how all the other cadets had described it. Not that they had ever trained with him, but still.
Rhapsodos looks thoughtful for a moment. If he's angry, he doesn't show it. "There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess." At Cloud's blank look, he elaborates, "You're gifted, Cloud. Dodge Fireball is only for incompetent fools." He finishes with a wink.
Before Cloud can look too much into the praise, Rhapsodos is talking again, "We should have plenty of time to get lunch before your classes this afternoon."
"We, sir?" Cloud ask dumbly. He can't possibly mean together.
The SOLDIER gives him a haughty look. "Oh, you can have lunch with Sephiroth, but not me?" Apparently, he can mean together.
Embarrassed again, he stutters out, "I-it's not that, sir. Just… people will talk."
Rhapsodos just laughs and shakes his head. "Oh, Cloud. You blew up three training dummies and summoned Bahamut. People are already talking."
"Thank you for calling Shinra Electric Power Company, the source for all your energy needs. How may I direct your call today?"
"Hello. May I speak with Tseng of the Turks, please?" A feminine voice asks from the other end.
"I'm sorry. Mr. Tseng is a very busy man." Heather nearly sighs. This honestly isn't the first time she's fielded a call like this. Though, normally, they're asking for the President or one of the Directors, claiming that they are oh so important and how have you not heard of me before. Nobody's asked for a Turk before.
"Tseng is an old friend, ma'am. He'll talk to me."
Heather does sigh that time. Old friend? Here we go. Not to mention that the person on the other side sounds like a child. Before she can respond, though, the woman – girl? – is talking again.
"Can you please tell him that Tifa Lockhart is calling for him?"
Heather hesitates for a long moment. This Lockhart lady is very polite and something about her seems trustworthy. Not to mention she doesn't really want to find out what would happen if she hung up now and it turned out that the girl actually did know Mr. Tseng.
"Can you hold, please?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Ms. Lockhart responds.
Dialing the number for the Turk, she really hopes Ms. Lockhart was telling the truth as strange as it seemed.
"Tseng speaking."
"Hello, Mr. Tseng. This is Heather from Reception. There is a Tifa Lockhart on the phone, says she knows you."
"Ms. Lockhart? Put her through."
Tifa had not been pleased to find out that Sephiroth was training Cloud, even less so to learn that the lunatic remembered. She needed answers and since Cloud didn't remember, she would have to look elsewhere. Cloud had said that three Turks remembered – Tseng was most likely one of them. That was how she ended up calling Shinra Reception that afternoon.
"Can you please tell him that Tifa Lockhart is calling for him?" She was hoping this worked. She didn't know the Turk's number anymore and didn't know of any other way to contact him outside of going to Midgar. And no way would her dad let her go to Midgar by herself at the age of 13.
"Can you hold, please?"
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you."
She waits in silence for a few minutes, then hears the telltale sound of being taken off hold. "Ms. Lockhart. What a pleasure to hear from you."
Tifa giggles. "Tseng. As polite as always."
"To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Cloud doesn't remember." No use beating around the bush.
"I am aware."
"Sephiroth does." She's not sure if she's successful at keeping all the vitriol out of her tone.
Tseng sighs. "That is also correct."
"Why is he training Cloud, Tseng? What is his plan?" Apparently, Sephiroth had said it was to stop him from losing himself, but she wasn't going to take that at face value. Not from Sephiroth. Not after everything he had done. Everything he had destroyed.
"I am sorry for the suffering Sephiroth caused you and Cloud. I would venture to say that he is as well." Tifa can't help the scoff that passes her lips. Sorry didn't fix things. Didn't unburn Nibelheim. Wouldn't stop the nightmares that she still had. "Sephiroth's actions weren't entirely his own. Jenova found a way to worm herself in and gain control of him. I can tell you he regrets his actions. He has no intention of repeating past mistakes, but he can't say for certain that he's immune to Jenova's influence. He's training Cloud now to be ready in case he is unable to resist again."
Tifa sighs long and hard. "I won't lie, Tseng. I don't like this. But… fine. I'm training with Master Zangan again. When we need to take care of Jenova, I'll be ready." She would leave it alone for now – she had seen what it was like for Cloud when Jenova had taken control of his actions, had forced him to hand over the black materia. It still wouldn't stop her from being wary of Sephiroth. And it definitely wouldn't stop her from introducing his face to her boot if he made even the slightest misstep.
"You have my sincerest apologies that we always have to rely on you and Cloud."
She huffs a laugh. "I guess I'm used to it by now." Remembering something else, she smiles. Might as well get something useful out of this conversation. "Well, since I have you on the phone – do you happen to have Aerith's number?"
Lunch with Commander Rhapsodos was just as strange as lunch with Sephiroth. It didn't help that the other SOLDIERs in the cafeteria stared just as much. Though, Cloud's not sure if that had more to do with who he was eating with or because of what had happened at the training grounds earlier that day.
After lunch, his classes pass without incident, Johnson thankfully not present. He could have gone without all the whispering, but he'll take what he can get. He grabs a quick dinner with his roommates, who tease him just as mercilessly for having lunch with Commander Rhapsodos as they had with Sephiroth. Afterwards, he stops by his room in the barracks for his helmet and rifle. Luckily, there is no one else around and Cloud makes it back to the elevator and down to the third floor in glorious silence.
He leaves the Shinra Building and is getting ready to head to the train station, when a voice stops him in his tracks. Having not put his helmet on yet, he's still easily recognizable.
"Hey Spike! Wait up!" Turning, he sees Zack jogging over to him. He can't describe, nor does he fully understand, the overwhelming happiness he feels at seeing the other teen again. He also can't help the smile that spreads across his face.
"Hi Zack! How'd Zolom hunting go?" The Midgar Zolom was a fearsome creature, indeed. A giant serpent over 30 feet tall, it would normally take an entire platoon of infantrymen to take one down. He's glad that Zack is back without a scratch – 1st Class SOLDIERs really are something else.
Zack flexes an arm and flashes a grin in his direction. "Nothing I couldn't take care of! How about you, Spikey? How've things been going for you?"
"Things are good. Training's been going ok, I think." No way was he mentioning the incident at the training grounds today. Not to mention lunch with Sephiroth and Rhapsodos. He was far too embarrassed for that. Besides, bragging was most definitely not his thing.
Zack smirks and Cloud gets the feeling he doesn't need to tell him what happened. "Oh? Just ok?" Oh, he definitely knows. Cloud can feel his face start to heat up (he really needs to get this under control) as Zack continues, giving him a knowing look. "Word on the rumor mill is that a certain blond cadet has been seen having lunch with not only General Sephiroth but Commander Rhapsodos, too."
Cloud groans and buries his face in his hands. "You just got back, Zack. How do you even know already?"
"Oh, not going to deny it then?" Zack just laughs at Cloud's miserable look and fishes his PHS from out of a pocket. "I a member of both Silver Elite and Red Leather – you know Sephiroth's and Genesis's fan clubs? Well, the rumor mill for both is on fire. Everybody's trying to figure out who this adorable little cadet is." Cloud wrinkles his nose at 'adorable', completely ignoring 'little' for the time being, but Zack keeps going. "I also hear that you blew up the training grounds and then summoned Bahamut. Nice, man." Zack finishes, practically giddy.
So much for getting his blush under control. "I didn't blow up the training grounds…" It was technically true.
Zack snorts and shoves his PHS under Cloud's nose. "No? Then what do you call this?"
On the screen, he sees a picture of himself. More specifically, he sees himself sprawled on the ground like an idiot while he and the two SOLDIERs with him stare at a giant inferno – the ill-fated dummies from this morning. "I didn't blow up the training grounds." He repeats and Zack raises an eyebrow. He rubs the back of his neck and continues, "I just blew up a few training dummies…"
The other teen bursts out laughing and Cloud follows suit shortly after. Zack sure was infectious. "Man, I knew you would be amazing, but I wasn't expecting you to get up to so much fun so soon."
Zack's words cause Cloud's laughter to come to a halt. Sure, people have been calling him amazing all day and he doesn't think Zack would lie, but something just feels so wrong. Nobody had ever called him amazing before.
Granted, it's all he has ever wanted – people thinking he's special. But the wonder and surprise from the morning have started to wear off and he can't help the self-doubt crawling up, suffocating him. He knows who he is – just the friendless kid from Nibelheim who wasn't even able to save the girl he liked. As much as he hated to admit it, Johnson was right – he was a loser. This morning had to have just been a fluke. They would see he was nothing amazing soon enough.
Zack must have noticed his inner turmoil, cause the teen's hands are on his cheeks, eyes searching his, worry clear on his face. "Hey, Cloudy, what's wrong?" He asks, voice soft.
Cloud closes his eyes, not able to look at the brightness that is Zack anymore. "I'm nothing special, Zack. I don't know why Sephiroth chose to train me anyway." It made absolutely no sense. A worthless, useless cadet chosen specifically by the strongest, most famous person in the world? To train? Honestly, what did the General see in him? Cloud had absolutely nothing to offer.
There's silence for several long moments in which Cloud doesn't dare open his eyes. Even if everything he said was true, he wouldn't be able to handle seeing the realization dawn on Zack's face that Sephiroth made a mistake. That Cloud was the wrong cadet. Was wrong period.
After what feels like forever, Zack is speaking again, voice sad. "Spike, please open your eyes." Open his eyes? How could he? How could he bring himself to see the disappointment on the other's face? Having apparently hesitated too long, Zack pleads again, "Please, Cloud."
Taking a shaky breath, he opens his eyes, slowly, hesitantly. He sees the sadness in the other's as Zack offers him a weak smile, "We really need to work on your self-confidence, Spikey. You are amazing, dude. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."
Cloud huffs and mumbles to himself, "Tell that to Johnson…"
"Who's Johnson?" Zack asks, voice and eyes serious. Cloud hadn't meant for the other teen to hear him, but SOLDIER senses and all that…
"Nobody important. Just a bully." He doesn't want to worry Zack, but from the look on the other teen's face, it seems like he's done just that.
"If he ever tries anything, I want you to tell me." Zack says, face determined. Then, the teen is smiling as he ruffles Cloud's hair. "Don't worry, Spike. I'll protect you."
Cloud's not sure why those final words cause such an intense feeling of sadness and loss.