Angeal Hewley and Freyra walked into the armory in time to see Cloud pouring a viscous liquid over a leather trench coat laid out on the floor.
"Yes, obviously it's working, and I can see how resist and reflect would have an effect, but how does confuse have any purpose in this application?" Genesis, sans his usual coat, was hovering near Cloud's shoulder, overseeing the process.
"What are you two up to?" Freyra asked, surveying the mess they'd made of the floor.
Cloud answered without looking up, "Fixing Genesis' jacket. It got a bit," he smirked, "singed."
"It's a trench coat, not a jacket!" Genesis said, affronted.
"Pfft, it only goes to your knees, not the floor, so jacket." Cloud replied.
"Please, dusters are floor length. Closer to dresses, really." Genesis said, disdain dripping from each word.
Cloud laughed at that, seeming to find it terribly amusing for reasons neither Freyra or Hewley could understand.
"He's certainly in a good mood today," Angeal said to Genesis, as Cloud continued to snicker.
Genesis swept his hair out of his face, little crackles of residual bolt sparking through the strands. "We were training my Barrier materia again."
Freyra and Angeal exchanged a look, and then subsided into semi-awkward silence. Cloud was now rubbing a faintly glowing materia over the trench coat, and Genesis had left off watching him, to eye the other two speculatively.
"What are you two up to?" He inquired.
"We need to talk about 'Zack'." Freyra said with sigh.
Cloud dropped the materia with a clatter, "Zack's here? Where is he?"
Freyra winced. "No, he's not here, and you need to stop checking the records for him. You're not supposed to be accessing those at all, and you're doing it every other day."
Cloud went a little red, and glanced away, mumbling.
"The guys didn't mind you talking about Zack, so I don't understand why you switched to messing with the computers. You know the Turks get twitchy about that." Angeal said with a sideways look at Freyra.
"Why are you checking the records for him, kid?" Freyra asked, after it became apparent Cloud wasn't going to say anything in response.
"I'm...making sure he's not here yet." Cloud finally replied.
"You told me and several of the others that Zack was in SOLDIER already, Cloud. Why wouldn't he already be here?" Angeal said, slightly patronizing.
"I don't know! I keep looking for him, but he's not here yet!" Cloud exclaimed, starting to look distressed and slightly confused.
Genesis gave an unimpressed glance at Angeal, and said quietly, "Who is Zack? I don't think you've mentioned him to me."
"My friend. He's in...will be in SOLDIER. He just hasn't gotten here yet."
"Where did you meet him?" Genesis waited, and when Freyra opened her mouth to no doubt prompt an answer, he gave her a warning look. They all waited.
"We haven't met yet." Cloud finally replied.
Freyra made a frustrated noise, and threw her hands in the air. She motioned to Angeal, who nodded.
"Okay, well, if you want to talk about him to any of us, that's fine, but you need to stop using the computer to check for your imaginary friend." Angeal finished, frustrated.
Cloud jerked back as though the man had punched him. His eyes glazed over for a moment, then came sharply into focus. "I didn't imagine it. He said we were friends!" The boy almost shouted, his breathing ragged.
Genesis made a pained noise, and said hurriedly. "I'm sure Angeal didn't mean-"
Cloud either didn't hear, or ignored the man. He stalked forward until he was close enough to jab a finger in Hewley's chest. "He was a far better friend to me, than you ever were to him. When the going got tough, he got tougher, unlike you, whose 'honor' didn't last the first hard thing that came your way!"
"What." Angeal said, looking down at the boy. Cloud was glaring ferociously, and if he was a foot taller, with another hundred pounds on him, it might have been intimidating to someone unenhanced. As it was, "My honor is-"
"A joke, that's what it is. You're a terrible mentor! And Zack won't care, because he likes everybody; he was even friends with Sephiroth." Cloud said, as though the last really beggared belief.
"I haven't mentored anyone, but if I did, I certainly wouldn't be terrible at it. And my honor is not something that flies away at the first sign of hardship." Angeal said, glaring back forbiddingly.
"So, if everything you thought you knew was true turned out to be false, you wouldn't go off the deep end and abandon everyone who depended on you?" Cloud asked, skeptically.
"No, I wouldn't." Angeal said, decisively.
"You wouldn't betray Zack and make him kill you, when you're supposed to-"
"I would never do that! I will be the best mentor ever to him, and my honor will remain unblemished." Angeal practically growled at the boy.
This gave Cloud pause. He was still breathing hard, but seemed to be calming down. "He wouldn't have it any other way, anyway." Cloud said, addressed to no one in particular. Then to Hewley, a sharp, "See that it does." Cloud stormed out of the room.
"… … … What. Was. That." Freyra said, looking from the SOLDIER, to the door Cloud had shot through, back to Hewley again.
The man looked completely flummoxed. "I...I'm not sure what just happened."
Genesis Rhapsodos crossed his arms, leaned against a locker, and drawled, "You just upset a mentally disturbed child during one of the few moments he was calm and happy. He retaliated by impugning your honor. You then proceeded to promise you'd be the best mentor ever to his imaginary friend." Genesis smiled, and somehow, it was more unnerving than if he'd unsheathed his sword. "If Cloud starts acting as though 'Zack' is in the room, instead of just looking for him, I expect you to play along, since you're the fellow's 'best mentor ever' now."
Angeal Hewley groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I'm never arguing with that kid again."
ooOOOoo
It had only been a matter of time. Cloud hummed to himself as he pulled a stack of boxes on his rolly cart. Papers delivered from SOLDIER to other floors, then files in-between offices in other Departments, now moving these boxes. Five secretaries on three different floors had decided their jobs would be far more efficient if they all had the same office; on a floor other than any of the ones their offices were already on. Personally, Cloud thought they just wanted to talk to each other all day without having to drum up excuses to leave their work station. If the amount of files they were responsible for was any indication, they worked faster than they talked, so were probably some of the more valuable employees. Which would be why they had gotten permission to move and so many people to help, Cloud figured, as a harried Turk made their escape.
"-and you can tell Tseng if he doesn't like it, he can fill out his own 734YK forms next time!" Livea called after the fleeing Turk.
"Oh, Cloud, put those ones over here." One of the others said to him. "We still don't have that filing cabinet from WepDev, do you have time to go get it for us, honey?"
"Don't have the right keycard for that floor." Cloud replied.
Soon, he was on his way to Weapon Development; keycard, requisition forms 1-3, and D all filled out, along with a general pass for office 5 and unit areas 3-7. If Cloud couldn't find what he was looking for there, he wasn't trying hard enough. He'd started avoiding the cameras now and then, without seeming to do it purposely, weeks ago. The Turk in charge of reviewing the surveillance should be used to Cloud's in and out of the footage by now, and think little of it. Hopefully. He was a Turk after all.
ooOOOoo
What sometimes gave Cloud cold chills, was that he almost missed him. The day was one where the SOLDIERs all seemed to "herd up" as Freyra had called it. The Turks were back from whatever they had been doing, and the SOLDIERs got a few days off from the continual security and bodyguard duties. Cloud could have left floor sixty-three to run errands, or kept to his room, but staying up all night to work on his project had made him hungry, and so went to eat breakfast first.
Hewley's section had developed the bad habit of trying to pat him on the head. A few of Sephiroth's had even started trying. Genesis' had more sense than that. Possibly, because they all took turns spotting their Commander and Cloud while they trained materia. Most of Sephiroth's section hadn't sparred with Cloud, but he didn't know what Hewley's section's excuse was. There was usually only two or three together at a time, and dodging one head pat, Cloud could tolerate, if only barely. People's attempts to ruffle his hair were bad enough, he wasn't an animal you patted. That was for chocobos and touch-mes.
So when Cloud, tired from the long night and hungry from the same, was accosted by the entire section, someone actually managed to pat him before Cloud could dodge. He disentangled himself from the horde, retrieved a plate of food, and calmly returned to his room. He would need sustenance before he rectified this situation.
Little Friend had a truly awesome habitat. Cloud thought it was looking forward to this exercise, though, because when Cloud smirked at it while attaching it to the stick, he would swear the touch-me smirked back.
When Cloud stepped out of his room, staff in hand and materia equipped, he looked directly at the camera for his hallway. "Turk who is checking this, I understand taking Little Friend out of my room is breaking rule eight. However, I think that SOLDIER is getting sloppy, and needs a lesson on how underestimating someone can spell your ruin."
Cloud paused, and then decided to give the watcher some peace of mind. "I won't bash anyone on the head after they've transformed, and I won't hit Sephiroth with Little Friend at all. I suggest blocking incoming elevator traffic until this training session is over." Cloud nodded seriously at the recording device, and left, the cafeteria his primary destination.
After Cloud felt sufficiently vindicated, he realized that Luxiere had missed seeing this. That would disappoint the man, as the only thing he loved more than a good story, was being a first-hand witness, so he could be the one telling it.
On his way to the elevator, Cloud informed the camera that the training session was over, and it was safe to allow elevator traffic again. Then, he headed off to get Luxiere before all the touch-mes turned back into SOLDIERs. Cloud realized partway there that he was still carrying Little Friend, and hoped the Turks wouldn't have a conniption. He really hadn't intended to take the creature off SOLDIER's floor. So Cloud, hoping to make this quick, used a little haste, and ended up slamming into someone just coming out of Luxiere's office. They both fell to the floor, Little Friend perilously close to the other person's face.
"AHHH! Touch-me!" Shrieked the unfortunate soul.
Cloud scrambled away, making sure to keep his staff away from the person. He wasn't one of the Turks, or SOLDIERs, and most people didn't know what Little Friend was. But he felt more familiar than...he had black hair, and purple-blue eyes...and…Cloud's mouth stretched into the most heartfelt grin he had formed in his entire life. "Zack!"
He blinked. "Uh, yeah. I'm Zack. Zackary Fair." He finished with a smile, but it looked a little sad.
That wasn't right. Maybe they were trying to put him in Sephiroth's section. "Don't worry Zack, Hewley will still mentor you; he promised." Cloud said, reaching up to clap him on the shoulder. Zack was too tall for this to be easy. That growth spurt should happen any day now, though.
"Umm, no, I didn't get into SOLDIER." Zack replied, looking at Little Friend warily.
"Of course you did. I mean, you will. Just talk to Luxiere." He stumbled a little over the words. Stay in the present, Cloud told himself sternly. He grabbed Zack's sleeve and hauled him further into the office, very near the desk. "You ask him.
"Luxiere, this is Zackary Fair." Cloud introduced him with pride.
Luxiere was packing the contents of the few filing cabinets into boxes. "I know, kid; I was just talkin' to him."
"He's here to join SOLDIER."
Zack turned to Cloud. "I already asked, apparently they aren't taking any new recruits. They sent a notice out while I was traveling, and missed it." His shoulders sagged slightly.
Cloud turned to Luxiere, "He's not too short or young, why are you sending him away? He's going to be the best SOLDIER ever!"
Zack looked surprised at this declaration. Luxiere sighed and sat down at his desk. "Due to unforeseen complications with the Science Department, the SOLDIER program is not currently accepting applicants." Luxiere said this like he was reading a script.
"I understand Mister, I was leaving, when-"
"As in Shinra isn't funding it at the moment, or the process to make a SOLDIER isn't possible anymore?" Cloud interrupted, looking at Luxiere intently.
"If it wasn't, I could hardly just tell people, Cloud." Luxiere said in frustration, flapping his hands a bit. When Cloud continued to stare, Luxiere relented, "We can still do it, but not a lot more, no new sections or anything, so the program is shut down until further notice."
"That will be fine, they can make an exception for Zack." Cloud nodded, and smiled. This was marvelous. Hojo was still being "detained", so Zack would get the enhancements, and the psycho wouldn't even be involved.
"It's alright, I do understand," Zack said and turned to Cloud. "Thanks for trying to help..." He trailed off leadingly.
"You're welcome, but really, you don't need to thank me." Cloud continued to smile. What wouldn't he do for Zack?
Luxiere chuckled at Zack's bemusement. "This is Cloud Strife. The frog on the stick is 'Little Friend'; don't take him up on his offer to pet it."
"That's not a frog, it's a touch-me." Zack said flatly. "I didn't think they lived anywhere but the swamp at home."
"They don't." Cloud chirped.
"Why do you have one on a stick?" Zack asked when Cloud didn't seem inclined to explain further.
Cloud eyed Zack's somewhat ragged clothing, the scratched sword, and the signs of lingering fatigue on his features. He came here on foot, like Cloud did. "So, all those monsters you ran into on the way, how did you deal with them?"
"I killed 'em with my sword. Almost didn't get away from a few." Zack said, running his hand through his hair, looking sheepish.
"What if you could have simply tapped each one with a staff like Little Friend," Here Cloud waved the stick a little, "and walked away?"
Zack stared at Cloud, then transferred his gaze to Little Friend. He moaned, and directed his question to the heavens, "Why didn't Ithink of that?"
"If it's any consolation, you might have." Cloud said, wanting to clap him on the shoulder again, but having to settle for his back. Cloud didn't remember Zack being quite this tall.
"What?" Zack cocked his head to one side in question.
Cloud didn't answer that one. He had made the touch-me plan that first night in Nibelheim when he was very confused, and couldn't honestly say it was entirely his own. It was more like something Zack would have come up with, than Cloud.
"There's a deplorable lack of thinking outside the box in SOLDIER, you'll be good for them." Cloud smiled again at Zack.
Luxiere sighed and finally rejoined the conversation. "Deplorable? You've been spending too much time with the Commander. Also, he can't join SOLDIER, Cloud."
Cloud just shook his head at Luxiere. A promise was a promise. Now, if they hurried, Luxiere wouldn't miss out on seeing…
"You've got to come see sixty-three." Cloud directed at Luxiere, then grabbed Zack's sleeve again, and hauled him along. Why the man thought Zack wasn't going to be SOLDIER Cloud couldn't fathom.
Despite Zack's and Luxiere's protests that Zack wasn't actually allowed to be here, they stepped from the elevator to floor sixty-three. Would they still be in the...ah, there they were.
Luxiere started laughing. He laughed so hard, he wheezed, and started sliding down the wall he was using to support himself.
Zack looked like he might bolt for the elevator.
"They're all SOLDIERs, so they can't transform you, I hit them with Little Friend." Cloud said, exchanging a self-satisfied smirk with the touch-me. Other people might not believe the creature could smile, but Zack would. Cloud made sure to tilt the staff so Zack could see the touch-me's expression.
Zack shuddered at the devilish grin. "Why...did you do it?" He said, eyeing Cloud nervously.
There was no need for that. "Training exercise. Don't worry, it's over now." Cloud reassured him. "Come on, let's find Hewley."
They walked around several miserable-looking touch-mes, past the cafeteria, where several more were hopping around, and then only a few more before they reached training room one, where human voices could be heard.
Sephiroth and Hewley were discussing something, while Genesis attempted to use transform on a touch-me sitting in a ring of...something powdery. They all stopped when they saw who had come in.
"Cloud Strife, what were you-" Genesis didn't get to finish, because Cloud interrupted.
"This is Zackary Fair." He said with a triumphant look at Hewley. "I told you we were friends."
Zack looked...confused. Oh, Cloud hadn't introduced him to anyone yet.
"Zack, the man with the red jacket is Genesis Rhapsodos." Here Cloud smiled sincerely at Genesis. This was a good day. He even felt like smiling at Hewley.
There was a long pause, where everyone appeared hesitant to speak. Luxiere's breath was still hitching from the laughing fit, Sephiroth and Hewley stood there exchanging meaningful glances, and Zack still looked confused.
Finally, Genesis smiled charmingly, "Zack, Cloud's friend? How long have you two known each other?"
"Um, we just met in Luxiere's office, maybe fifteen minutes ago." Zack ran his fingers through his hair and turned a little red. "Cloud seemed to think I was supposed to come here to talk to a 'Hewley', but I'm pretty sure I was just supposed to leave the building."
A tension that Cloud hadn't realized was there seemed to leave the Firsts' shoulders after Zack spoke. Genesis smile became a little more sincere.
Hewley pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cloud, you didn't have to go grab the first 'Zack' that came to Shinra, I'm sorry if-"
He was interrupted when one of Genesis' section ran into the room with haste, then lurched to a stop and after an initial greeting, feigned nonchalance.
"Commander! … Um, in a purely theoretical way of course, if you cast quake when the VR room was set to that materia cave we found, but then someone switched it to the Corel mountains without warning, and then someone else cast wall, and this is hypothetical, of course, but then you -"
"What happened?" Genesis interrupted, a warning tone in his voice.
"It's, um, theoret-"
"What happened?" Genesis barked.
"We got two men stuck half-way between the VR room, and your office's ceiling, sir." The SOLDIER admitted, looking miserable.
"Oh, for the love of Gaia. Follow." Rhapsodos swept out of the room, Luxiere going with them, the command having been directed at him.
"Cloud you didn't..." Angeal tried to continue, but couldn't seem to find the words.
Cloud would get to him in a minute. First, he needed to deal with the first 1st class. He motioned a hand towards him. "This is Sephiroth." Cloud turned to Zack, and tugged on his shirt collar, until Zack was eye-level with Cloud. "This is very important, Zack. Do NOT make friends with him; he's going to destroy the world."
"Actually, I think there are too many touch-mes around. I don't have time to destroy the world today." Sephiroth said, speaking more to Cloud than Fair.
"Now is not the time, Sephiroth, and do you really want to use that as an excuse? It will just encourage him to do it again!"
Zack had straightened up, his shirt now hopelessly rumpled, and was looking at Sephiroth and Hewley with his mouth gaping open.
"And the last is Angeal Hewley, he is your mentor." Cloud gave Hewley a look. "He promised to be the best one ever."
"I didn't...Cloud..." Hewley sighed, then turned to Zackary Fair. "The SOLDIER program isn't open right now for new applicants."
Cloud didn't give Zack time respond, and instead raised an eyebrow at Hewley. "You promised, and Luxiere said they could still make a few more SOLDIERs; just pull some strings or call in some favors, and get him admitted." When Hewley just looked consternated, Cloud raised his chin. "It's not honorable to break your word, and you said yours would remain unblemished."
Hewley rubbed his temples and looked helplessly at Sephiroth. Sephiroth looked appraisingly at Zackary Fair, and then smirked, and said, "You did give your word, Angeal."
Hewley gave Sephiroth a dirty look, but then straightened up and did his own appraising. "I realize that Cloud must have dragged you here without your consent, and I would certainly understand if you have changed your mind," He paused and looked up, then just shook his head. "But if you still wish to join SOLDIER, we'll get you in. Provided you are the only Zack Cloud is friends with." He gave Cloud a warning glance.
Cloud continued to beam, and gripped Little Friend's stick tightly with both hands, to keep himself from grabbing Zack, and...well he didn't know what, but Zack was here, and he was alive. Cloud had been starting to think that he wasn't, and that's why he hadn't shown up yet.
Zackary Fair looked at Cloud Strife, the boy with the touch-me-on-a-stick, to Sephiroth-who-is-going-to-destroy-the-world, to the door where the people-are-in-the-ceiling group had left, to the touch-me on the floor, sitting in a pile of...maybe powdered elixir, to Angeal Hewley, who had promised-to-be-the-best-mentor-ever.
"Change my mind? Are you kidding me? This is AWESOME!" Zack grinned and pumped Angeal's hand up and down, "I'm going to be the best student ever, you'll see!" He turned to Cloud, and grinned even wider at him, and carefully avoiding the touch-me, he ruffled Cloud's hair. "You are the best friend ever."
Cloud's chest got so tight, it became hard to breathe. He wondered if it was the start of an episode, and tried to breathe evenly. He really wasn't good at being a friend at all, but this time, Zack was alive, and Cloud would figure out how to become one.