Cloud was somewhat nervous. Today was the start of the exams that would weed out the unworthy from those that would become newly minted SOLDIERs. Regardless of what he might have said to Zack, he wasn't that enthusiastic about being in the Infantry. He knew the Turks had been observing his group a little more than the others, but he wasn't certain if they were interested in him or not.
He did not want to work under Heidigger...the man was a complete and utter braying jackass that had a really horrible laugh.
"Next!"
Cloud went to the instructor and did the same basic drills he always did. While physical strength wasn't technically a requirement, being able to finish the actual test without passing out did play a big part.
Inside the observation room...
"So that's him? The oddball cadet that had most of the higher ups so riled up?" asked Reno.
Cloud Strife was a highly unusual cadet. Unlike the rest of the teens who applied for the possibility to become a SOLDIER, Strife had entered the company with a clear goal in mind that was both surprising and highly sensible.
It was probably the first time a cadet had entered the program purely so he could earn money towards a decent college once his contract was up.
What the teen likely didn't know was that the company could just as easily sponsor him during his education if he filled the right forms out and got the attention of the right people.
Sephiroth didn't normally pay attention to cadets...but Strife had his interest for a while now and it didn't hurt that Zack was Angeal's personal student.
Letting a talented fighter like Strife go into the infantry would be too much of a waste...while he wasn't the strongest fighter, he was definitely the most cunning and intelligent one. As for his ability to work with others, Cloud had a natural affinity towards leadership, but was also capable of acting as a subordinate provided the one leading the group wasn't a complete idiot.
Sephiroth vividly remembered the training exercise where one of the older cadets was told to lead his group into combat, and almost lead the younger and more inexperienced fighters right into what would have been a death trap had it not been a hologram.
Cloud had taken one look at the monster, then at his fellow cadets and promptly knocked out the leader before creating a new plan that allowed the weaker cadets to defeat the monster and keep their downed leader alive.
While he had failed that particular exercise, the fact he knew how to handle the monster because he had done his studying properly on what they might face in the exercise had allowed the rest of the cadets (sans the leader and Cloud) to pass with flying colors.
Cloud failed most of the strength tests, but breezed right through the exams that required actual studying and the combat test.
Sephiroth looked at the scores...outside of the strength and stamina exercises, Cloud was a well-rounded individual. It was only natural he wouldn't do well on the exams requiring a certain degree of upper body strength, as he was only fourteen and still had a lot of growing to do. If his scores on the other exams had been lower, then he would have been told to try again later.
However the score he had now was a passing mark...barely.
Sephiroth looked at Tseng. So far it was unclear whether the Turks were interested in recruiting the blond or not. Either way, the general felt Cloud would be a good addition to his forces.
Cloud took the envelope and carefully took out the letter. This was it...this would determine whether he'd be stuck with Heidigger or whether he'd have to interest the Turks enough that they offered a spot with them.
He couldn't help but stare at the results.
"Fail, Strife?" sneered one of the older teens.
Most of the older cadets didn't particularly like Cloud Strife... they all felt that the younger boy made them look bad, especially after he knocked one out during a training exercise in the hologram room and proved to be a better leader.
The younger cadets, on the other hand, loved Cloud. He was like a lone wolf that kept the bullies from harassing them.
Even though it was pretty obvious Cloud was really unused to being around others his age that actually wanted to talk to him. Socially awkward didn't begin to cover it.
Zack came in about an hour and a half later, and the second he spotted Cloud he grinned widely.
"Way to go Spike! I knew you had it in you!"
Cloud was still in shock, but he did manage a smile at least.
"You know what this means don't you? You get to come drinking with me and Angeal!" said Zack with cheer.
What he didn't mention was that he had convinced Sephiroth to join them, if only to shut Zack up and get a break from his paperwork.
Hearing Cloud squeak when he saw the general made the entire thing worth it in Zack's opinion.
Since this would likely be the last time Cloud would be able to get properly drunk, as mako ate through booze like nobody's business and made it too expensive for most to bother with, Zack wasn't going to let the blond leave until he was so shit-faced that he couldn't walk home in the morning.
Zack had a plan...and that plan was to get Cloud so drunk that he woke up in Sephiroth's apartment with no idea how he got there.
He just didn't know the consequences of getting Cloud so drunk that his brain-to-mouth filter was shot to hell.
Later that night...
Sephiroth was honestly irritated with Zack. After hearing Cloud's rather well-reasoned argument against a public bar...citing the fact that a drunk Sephiroth would almost certain bring the Silver Elite on them and Cloud didn't want to get arrested for setting them on fire... Zack had agreed to getting drunk in a more private setting.
The reason Sephiroth was irritated was because the blond was clearly drunk off his ass, and Zack kept trying to convince him to try new drinks anyway. The kid was going to be miserable as hell in the morning, and Sephiroth suspected that if Zack had his way, he would be the one to deal with it.
"Zack, I think he's had enough," said Sephiroth firmly. Why did Angeal put up with this idiot?
"I agree...Cloud's looking a bit too dizzy to handle much more," said Angeal.
"Oh let him be. It would teach the kid a lesson about trying to drink a SOLDIER under the table," said Genesis.
Sephiroth was not ashamed that he called in reinforcements. After fifteen minutes of Zack's ill-thought out enthusiasm, he needed Angeal's calming presence.
Cloud snorted.
"So long as I don't have to deal with that hack Hojo when I get my injections," he said suddenly.
Sephiroth blinked. He wasn't the only one.
"Cloud, are you feeling alright?" said Zack with honest concern.
Cloud gave him a surprisingly lucid glare.
"Considering I know enough to eat actual food while drinking, I'm alright. But I think I'll stick to soda or water for the rest of the night. I'm not that stupid."
"Cloud, you called Hojo a hack," said Zack.
"That's because he is one, though Hollander isn't much better," said Cloud dismissively.
Sephiroth looked at Cloud, who looked like he was having a great deal of trouble staying awake at the moment.
"What makes you say that Hojo and Hollander are hacks?" he asked.
"Because Hojo has spent the past couple of decades trying to recreate another scientist's work and failing, rather hilariously at that. Compared to Gast, Hojo is a third rate scientist at best."
Sephiroth stiffened.
"Who's Gast?" asked Angeal, wondering what made Sephiroth so shocked.
"The former head of the ShinRa Science department," said Cloud without a second thought. "Considering what a weasel Hojo is, I wouldn't be surprised if that asshole killed Gast for his position and managed to cover it up."
Sephiroth was looking at Cloud intently now.
"How do you know that name?"
Cloud looked rather dizzy at the moment, before he rubbed his left eye.
"Contacts bothering you again?" asked Zack with sympathy.
Cloud blinked rapidly, but it was clear the contact wasn't staying where it should. Zack went to get the container for them, and Cloud easily popped it out before putting a few eye drops in. He was too drunk to replace it at the moment.
"Cloud, how do you know about professor Gast?" said Sephiroth.
"It was in the files," said Cloud. Zack immediately went to catch Cloud as it was clear the teen was losing the battle in staying awake.
Sephiroth was rather frustrated as the blond passed out at last.
"I don't get what the big deal is," said Genesis.
Sephiroth looked at Genesis with irritation.
"If Cloud knows that Gast was the original scientist in charge of my development, then it's possible he might know who my mother is," said Sephiroth.
"Wait, what?!" said Zack in shock.
It was a well kept secret that Sephiroth had no idea who his birth mother was. Hojo claimed that her name was Jenova and that he would meet her eventually, but Sephiroth trusted the scientist even less than he trusted Hojo's morals. It was far too likely Hojo was lying to him in an effort to control him.
So the fact a mere teenager knew that Gast was the one to create the original SOLDIER injections and not Hojo...it gave Sephiroth hope that Cloud might know who his mother is, or at least where to look for the files. Such as his birth certificate for instance.
Fortunately Cloud would soon be a SOLDIER. Sephiroth could be patient...he just had to keep the blond away from Hojo.
Sephiroth was rather patient. He waited for Cloud to get over the worst of his hangover before discreetly taking him aside and asking the question he desperately wanted answered.
"You mentioned professor Gast last night."
Cloud blinked.
"I did? I must have been more drunk than I thought."
"How did you know that Gast was the one who performed the initial injections on me and not Hojo?" said Sephiroth.
"It was in the files. Vincent might have had to explain most of the terms I ran across, but it was his name on the paperwork. At least until you were five or so...then Hojo's really crappy handwriting took over. I can only assume the creep had Gast killed," said Cloud.
Sephiroth cataloged the name.
"Why are you so interested in Gast? I mean you knew more about him than I do," asked Cloud.
Sephiroth sighed.
"I was hoping you might know who my mother is. Hojo keeps putting it off and the only thing he would tell me about her is that her name is Jenova and that I would meet her eventually."
"Jenova? That quack actually made you believe that thing was your mother?" said Cloud, scrunching up his face in disgust. "He's a bigger idiot than I thought."
Hope sparked in Sephiroth's chest. If Cloud could say something like that and mean it, then the chance he knew who his mother was jumped up exponentially.
"Why do you say that?"
"Jenova is the name of a corpse that Gast's team dug up in the Northern crater a few years before you were born. Supposedly it's an 'ancient' but in reality it's some sort of alien parasite that simply took over a body. There's no way that thing could be your mother...besides, the birth certificate I found clearly listed a scientist by the name of Lucrecia Crescent as your mother. Though I have high doubts Hojo is actually your father... you look nothing like him and the parallels between you and Vincent are too disturbing to be a coincidence," said Cloud.
Sephiroth's heart leaped into his chest. Finally, after so many years of being in the dark he had a name.
"Where did you find these files?"
"ShinRa mansion. There's an entire lab in the basement levels with files regarding your development, never mind the main library where Gast stored his research under false titles to keep Hojo from getting his hands on them."
"I've never heard of it," said Sephiroth. Surely he would have stumbled across it before now.
"It's in Nibelhiem. Amusingly enough, we're both from there though you at least got to leave around the same age I did," said Cloud.
"What do you mean?" asked Sephiroth curiously.
"I mean Lucrecia had you in Nibelhiem. It was only after a certain...incident...that Hojo had everything moved to another area."
The 'incident' being a very pissed off Vincent nearly gutting Hojo during one of his rampages. Hojo managed to sedate the creature and lock him up in the coffin, but he wasn't stupid enough to stick around in case Vincent got free a second time.
Sephiroth latched on to this new information like a man would reach for water in the desert. Hojo refused to tell him anything and insisted that Sephiroth should be above his past.
"By the way sir, if you want to learn more about your mother I can give you the PHS number to someone who would have more details than I would. He'd probably be happy to tell you quite a bit," said Cloud.
"Who is he?"
"A Turk, or a former one considering what Hojo did to him," said Cloud.