Locating save file.
Save file found.
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Resuming progress.
Needless to say, Cloud could tell there was something wrong with Genesis at the moment. The entire ride, he and plenty of 2nds and 3rds were talking discretely. It seemed as if they didn't want anyone to know what they were up to.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been able to hear what they were talking about; however, the blonde was overcome with motion sickness. Vehicle travel, save for bikes, have never felt appealing to him.
The insertion of a device, concealed by a cloth, did not escape his notice. It seemed...different from the standard issue technology that they bring on missions to Wutai.
We don't need a bomb that big, do we? he thought to himself. After all, they were just the B unit in this mission.
An even stranger occurrence was the fact that they had a scientist with them. Hollander was his name.
I heard that he wasn't with Shin-Ra. At least, not anymore. What's he doing here? Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.
-
In no time at all, they landed. Cloud sighed relieved. The 2nds and 3rds hauled crates of supplies and the device, still concealed. Hollander instructed where they should place everything.
Feeling out of place, Cloud decided to review the mission log. Everything that was on the record was not alligning with what they'd been doing.
What's going on?
"There you are, Cloud," Genesis addressed him. He took notice upon the device in Cloud's hand. "Reviewing the mission log?"
He nodded. "Nothing we've been doing so far has been following the orders given to us. What's really happening here?"
Genesis sighed. "I should've known that you would notice." He pulled out his sword and pointed it at Cloud. The blonde slipped his phone back into his pocket. He started to back away. Each step Cloud took back Genesis took a step towards him. "Always were one of the curious types."
"You're betraying Shin-Ra. SOLDIER. Everyone! What did you do to them? To get them to follow you?!" Cloud demanded.
"Ah, you mean my followers. They chose this of their own free will." Genesis smiled. "I take you will not be?"
Cloud glared. Shaking his head, he claimed, "Never!"
A sigh of disappointment came from the traitorous SOLDIER. "Then you must exist no longer."
Genesis was about to attack. Cloud's eyes widened. His memory shifted to that experience with Sephiroth. They were still fresh and his emotions heightened his capabilities.
"Concentrate."
Blade Burst LV 5
"Back off!" Cloud demanded. His blade ignited blue in flames and brought it down to the ground. Out shot three shockwaves of energy, forward.
Genesis landed on his back. "That was something. 'Infinite in mystery Is the gift of the goddess,'" he quoted his favorite play, LOVELESS. The 1st stood upright.
Cloud realized instantly his intent. "You're trying time solve that mystery."
A snap of red gloves clued Cloud that he was catching on. "Now you're getting somewhere. But, I'm afraid, you must cease to exist."
Thinking on his toes, Cloud threw his sword into the emergency close for the ramp of the craft forcing it to close. A powerful kick sent Genesis into the cockpit. Ripping his sword from the panel, Cloud dove out of the aircraft.
The other 2nds and 3rds noticed this and stood up to chase him down. The blonde reacted by chopping down a tree, then casting fire on it.
This will alert the Wutai and cut them off from me, Cloud thought. He took off to the mountain top in the distance. Taking out his PDA, Cloud dialed for Director Lazard.
"Director Lazard," the voice on the other end confirmed his identity.
"Director. This is SOLDIER 2nd Class, Cloud Strife. My supervising officer, SOLDIER 1st Class, Genesis Rhapsodos has betrayed Shin-Ra. He and the other 2nds and 3rds have deserted as well. I escaped and request immediate aid to get back to headquarters for the full debrief."
A pause. "Air support will pick you up shortly. Two of our Turks are in the area currently. Chopper No. 07. Await their arriv-"
A shot shot at the phone in his hand. Whipping his sword from his back he noticed three Wutai troops advancing toward him. Didn't think that far ahead. Damnit, Cloud scolded himself.
-
Activating Combat Mode
Cloud cast Thunder at the first Wutai troop. He blocked the incoming attacks from both troops. He sliced three times at the second troop, neutralizing him. Triple Slash was activated. Cloud slashed once at the third troop, followed up with a second on the first troop, ending him, and finishing the remaining troop with a third.
Conflict Resolved
Cloud spun his weapon in front of him then stuck it to his back.
Chopper blades could be heard from the distance. A 07 mark was found on the side. Two 2nd Classes ran towards Cloud from below. The chopper was almost close enough to jump with a running start.
No time to wait. Gotta jump.
Stepping back a few paces, Cloud prepared to break into a run.
"He's not gonna jump, is he?" a voice could be heard from the chopper, if you were inside it.
"Looks that way. Pull us in closer," a deeper, gruff voice ordered.
"Roger."
Cloud sprinted forward. At the edge of the cliff, he leapt.
"Open the door!"
"On it."
The door opened. Cloud noticed this. The way his air travel was heading, his head was about to collide with the area just above the opening.
"Tilt it to the left!" he yelled.
They did so. He slid through the opening. What he forgot to anticipate was the other door. His feet pushed the left door off its hinges. Cloud was about to slip out of the chopper, but he grabbed the bar over the passenger seats in the back.
The pilot stabilized the chopper to be parallel to the ground. Cloud released the bar and dropped onto his feet to the floor. Taking a seat, he strapped himself to it.
"Woo-eee! That was a doozy. Cutting it a little close there, slick," the redheads Turk addressed the 2nd Class in the back.
"Too close," the bald Turk commented.
Cloud merely nodded and grunted in agreement. "Not much choice, huh?"
The redhead chuckled. "Guess not. Still, I dig it." He turned to the blonde. He had red marks on his cheeks, underneath his blue eyes. "Name's Reno."
"Rude," the other Turk introduced himself.
"Cloud."
-
"So...that's what happened," Lazard said once Cloud concluded his debrief.
"Has this ever happened before? A desertion?" Cloud asked.
The man shook his head. "Never like this. Was there any indication that he would desert? Any hint of radical thoughts? Conspiracies?"
Cloud shook his head. He didn't believe that Genesis' quote from LOVELESS was needed to be known. "Will we be searching for them?"
"The priority is Wutai. For the moment, we will list Genesis as MIA as well as his cohorts. It will remain that way until we accumulate more information."
"Yes, sir. Will I be training under someone else?" Cloud asked.
Lazard eyes him curiously. "Do you feel that you need further supervision of your training?"
"Honestly, sir?" Cloud asked. He nodded. "Yes."
Another nod. "I will see if any of the other two are up for another mentorship."
"Thank you, sir," Cloud thanked the director.
"Dismissed," Lazard excused Cloud before returning to work.
-
A few days later
-
Cloud had been running through the 2nd Class program endlessly for the past few days. No 1st Class had accepted his application to a mentorship. Left with no choice, the 2nd Class attempted to iron out his wrinkles in his performance on his own.
The train was easy. The grunts were cake. The behemoth: dessert. It was a coin toss whether or not a Sephiroth showed up.
Most of the time the sim just ended after securing Sector 8.
This time will be different. I know it, Cloud thought to himself, assuring his hopes that he would fight Sephiroth. And win.
Even as a kid, the general had been his idol. He was one of the reasons Cloud joined SOLDIER. That and a promise he made to Tifa.
BEGIN FLASHBACK
"If I'm ever in a bind and you become really famous, you'll come save me."
"What?" he asked as if he'd been asked to put on a dress (:p).
"My hero will come rescue me if I'm in a pinch. I want to experience that. Just once."
Still dumbfounded by her request, Cloud asked, "What?"
"Come on. Promise me!" Tifa all but pleaded.
Cloud sighed. "Alright. I promise."
END FLASHBACK
Sure enough, Cloud found his blade meeting the Masamune Blade. The blonde clashed with the fake again and again. Surprisingly, neither seemed to faze the other.
Both men blasted each other into buildings every so often. Back and forth. Clanging of swords could be heard for miles.
They locked blades for the final time. Both pushed. Neither budged. They glared in determination. Cloud burst into blue flames.
"Don't worry you've got this!"
Braver LV 5
Cloud finished the Limit Break with Sephiroth on the ground and his sword in it. Cloud twirled his, then placed it on his back. Taking out his phone, Cloud decided to end the simulator.
The terrain faded along with Sephiroth. The blonde exhaustedly removed the headset from his face. The spikes in the front of his hair stuck to his face from sweat.
"Impressive," a deep, cautious, reassuring voice said.
Still on edge from training, Cloud took his weapon from his back and pointed it at the intruder to his solitude.
It was Angeal Hewley. Cloud lowered his weapon. "Captain Hewley." The blonde placed his sword on his back once more.
"Just Angeal. 'Captain' makes me feel old."
"Sorry," Cloud apologized.
A wave of his hand sent Cloud back to his casual demeanor. "I've been assigned to you as your SO."
Cloud was confused. Isn't he already training someone? What was his name? Z-. Something with a "Z" in it. Z-? Za-? Zax?
"Yes, I'm already training someone," Angeal seemed to answer his question, though he couldn't hear it. Clear as day on his face. "He's hyperactive, untamed, and unfocused. I figured you would be an excellent influence on him."
The doors to the training room opened. "Oh, come on, Angeal." A man in an indigo 2nd Class uniform walked in. He had black spiked hair, Cloud's spikes not to be outdone. His blue eyes were just like every general SOLDIER. "If anything, I'm gonna influence him." The 2nd Class put his arm around Cloud's shoulders and tugged him closer. The blonde resisted, but to no avail. Finally, Angeal hauled the 2nd Class off of him by the ear. "Owowowowowowow!" he squealed in pain.
"Lay off, Zack." That was his name. Damn. So close. "This is SOLDIER 2nd Class, Zack Fair. Like him, you will be taken under my wing," Angeal introduced the black haired man.
Said man held out his hand to Cloud to shake. The blonde took it carefully, fully expecting some type of breaching of boundaries from Zack.
True to form, Zack tried to tug him forward into a hug. Anticipating this, Cloud dropped to his back, pulling Zack down with him. Sticking both legs up, Cloud kicked Zack to the other end of the room. Standing up, Cloud could practically see the comical chocobos running in circles around Zack's head.
Angeal chuckled. "This'll be fun."
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A/N: For some reason, I just can't see Sephiroth training someone. Since Zack and Cloud are total opposites, I figured Angeal should be the one to make them partners in SOLDIER. What do you think?
P.S. I'm stuck in limbo towards what I wanna do with my other fics. Writer's block sucks.