-1Life as a SOLDIER
Disclaimer: …this fanfic is "in-progress" all right…
A/N: Oh, shut up, at least I'm writing something. This will sooth my writers block I just know it! HAH! MWA HAH HA! Ahem.
I should warn you that this fanfic isn't based off of the game, I thought Disclaimer said that in the prologue. No events were taken from the game nor the movie. This is a look at how different things could have been if everyone regarded Shinra as a good company rather then a bad one. "What if Shinra was a good company that figured out a better way to use energy other then mako?" So that's how this fanfic came to be. But I'll try to stick as close as I can to the original story, if that's what you want, StarlightPhoenix. BTW, thank you for reviewing!
Anyway, let's begin.
Chapter Two: First Training Day and a Surprise
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"…and finally, that other building at the top and center of Shinra is sachoo's office. Sachoo is the president of the Shinra company."
"Okay," answered Cloud, making mental notes about everything he learned so far.
"Got it?" asked Zack. "We've explored all of Shinra. And we've got about thirty minutes before training begins… What should we do?"
"What kind of training takes place here?" asked Cloud.
"Fighting, codes, symbols, weaponry, literacy, the works," answered Zack.
"Okay. What kind of fighting? I…uh, I don't have a weapon."
Zack stopped. "What? You don't have a weapon?"
"…no."
"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY!" demanded Zack grabbing Cloud by the lapels and shaking him like crazy. "YOU IDIOT! ARE YOU SUICIDAL! YOU DON'T EVER JOIN SOLDIER WITHOUT FIRST BRINGING A WEAPON! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING EARLIER!"
"Ahh!" yelled Cloud.
Zack dropped Cloud and grabbed his head. "This can't be! Now we have to get you a weapon right away! Jeez, what's wrong with you?"
"I-I'm sorry," stammered Cloud. "I had no idea I was so serious… I mean, from what I've heard, they give you a weapon."
"For natural SOLDIERs it's true! But for a complete newbie like you, we'll have to go thorough many test and stuff to see what weapon is right for you!"
"You only use weapons that you're good with?" asked Cloud. "Shouldn't you try to use a whole variety of weapons?"
"No!" yowled Zack. "We are the best of the best! So we only train with the weapons we're best with!"
"…okay."
"Come on," said Zack more calmly, hurrying Cloud to a room chock-full of weapons. "Okay, here's how we do things here," he said, gesturing to all of the weapons in the room. "One of these weapons must call to you, right? Which one is calling to you?"
Cloud stared. "Calling to me?" he repeated, looking at all the weapons.
"Yeah… Which weapon is THE one? The very weapon you want to spend the rest of your life with."
"…okay…" Cloud walked beside the weapons, looking at them all. "Hmm…" he mumbled, looking at all of them.
Zack watched, eager to see what weapon Cloud would choose.
Cloud stopped, and pointed at a weapon. "I like these ones," he said.
Zack walked over to see what weapon Cloud chose. "Ah," he said. "Them…um…8 sword things. You think you can handle them, these are very powerful. You need power to work a weapon like that."
"Huh? Isn't it an okay weapon?" asked Cloud.
"It's… a bit more complicated then that," said Zack. "But if you want. Go ahead and test it out. I mean, can you even lift it?" asked Zack, lifting one of Cloud's arms up. "These are scrawny, we definitely need to put muscle on these!"
"Scrawny?" repeated Cloud indignantly. "I'll have you know that where I come from, these are toned muscles!"
"…You're kidding," said Zack.
"No joke," said Cloud with a frown.
"Whatever," said Zack. "Pick it up, let us see what you can do."
Cloud walked to one of the swords, and picked it up. "Uh…" he started. "How am I supposed to carry eight swords at once?"
"What, I thought you'd know," said Zack.
"I wouldn't, I'm the 'newbie', remember?"
"…Oh, yeah," said Zack. "I forgot. Well, here, read this," said Zack, giving Cloud a heavy book with "Weaponry of the Shinra Electric Company" written on the cover.
Cloud opened it wordlessly, and read up on the 8-sword weapon chapter.
"Well?" asked Zack after a few minutes. "You get it?"
"Yeah," answered Cloud.
"Well, then test it out."
"Okay," said Cloud, picking up one of the 8 swords. He looked at the other seven, and looked around. "Er… where can I test it out? It looks like there's no room here to train with swords like these."
"Oh, you go in there," said Zack with a gesture to a door labeled "Test Weapons Here".
Cloud stared it with an open gape, shrugged, and said, "Thanks," and he grabbed all 8 swords and walked in.
Zack watched through the window in the door as he watched Cloud fight with the swords. He raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, he's pretty good with those," remarked Zack to himself as Cloud expertly combined the swords one by one to bring down a huge stone pillar and steel beams.
Cloud stood up, looked around, and noticed the mess he made. Scratching his head, he looked back at Zack with a "is that allowed?" look on his face.
"Don't worry about it, Shinra will fix it," said Zack.
Cloud nodded, and walked back inside. "So, how'd I do?" asked Cloud. "I think I did a pretty good job."
"You did," agreed Zack, nodding eagerly. "You did pretty good with those two-handed swords. I've never seen anyone actually try to combine them before. How did you know to combine them?"
"…" Cloud answered, looking down.
"What?" asked Zack. "What's wrong?"
"I…have no idea," answered Cloud slowly, not looking up. "I…just knew somehow…"
"Just knew somehow?" repeated Zack. "What do you mean?"
"You told me to pick a weapon that 'called to me'… so that's what I did…And when I took the weapons, I suddenly had a feeling that I've seen this weapon before…Is that normal?" asked Cloud anxiously, looking up at Zack with worried-looking blue eyes.
Zack didn't answer right away; he was thinking about what Cloud said. He knew somehow…there was only one person who knew that the swords were supposed to be combined to make them more useful and powerful, and he's using a long katana now… "No, it's not unusual," said Zack with his characteristic smile. "No, it's no worry at all. Come on, now that you have your weapon, let's go."
Cloud nodded, and, sheathing the swords together onto his back, followed Zack to the training room. "Well, who trains us?" asked Cloud.
"Sephiroth does usually, but today it's someone else," answered Zack, looking over peoples shoulders to the front. "Yeah, it's that other guy. Bruce, the other strongest SOLDEIR next to Sephiroth. He's nowhere near as strong, but he's good."
"Oh," said Cloud. "Uh, how does only one person train us if we're supposed to be good with one specific weapon?"
"Bruce, Sephiroth, and 2 other SOLDIERs are specially trained for this sort of thing," said Zack carefully. I probably shouldn't tell him this…but they were programmed to know everything about everything… "Well, let's begin," said Zack cheerfully, taking out his own weapon, which was a huge long blade
Cloud nodded, taking out his own weapon.
"All right, you sissy SOLDIERs!" barked Bruce as he walked between everyone. "Some of you all are new here, so you probably have no idea how things are run around here! This isn't an elementary school playground anymore! This is the real world! This is SOLDIER! If you think you can't handle it, then you can leave! Show no mercy to your opponent, for you'll receive none!"
This guys a little crazy, Cloud couldn't help think to himself.
"Let me see how tough you are!" finished Bruce, going to the front of the room and facing everyone. "Choose a partner and spar with him! Don't be afraid to leave a mark or two, it proves that you're a man!"
Cloud turned hopefully to Zack, who nodded silently in agreement.
"OKAY! FIGHT NOW!" yelled Bruce
A few hours later…
Cloud fell onto his bum, catching his breath. "Phew… that was hard," he panted.
"Hard?" repeated Zack, holding out a hand to pull Cloud up. "That was just the first day of training!"
"Boo-hoo," muttered Cloud as he took Zack's hand and was pulled up. "I'm exhausted…" he sighed.
"Yes, that usually happens," said Zack with a smirk. "Come on, I have snacks in my room. Let's go!"
"Sure," said Cloud, following Zack up to his room as other SOLDIERs shuffled out of the huge training hall to spend the next 3 ½ hours resting up.
"You'll be so surprised!" said Zack. "Though I should warn you, an opportunity like this comes not often."
"What opportunity?" asked Cloud curiously as they entered Zack's room.
"I took the liberty of pulling some strings and bribing a few people to set up a meeting between you and Sephiroth!"
Cloud stopped. "What?" he asked. "Wha-- A meeting!"
"Yes!" said Zack, sitting down. "I thought it'd be a good idea."
"But--But I…Sephiroth…a meeting…"
"Sit down, sit down, I'll tell you everything you need to know about Sephiroth, you have to meet him tomorrow at 7:30 AM sharp! So listen," said Zack, gesturing the seat across from him.
Cloud hesitated, then sat down. "You gonna tell me why? I don't want a meeting with Sephiroth," muttered Cloud, staring at the table.
"Many reasons," said Zack delicately, "but I'll tell you later, the rules for meeting Sephiroth are much more important now. Okay, first rule, when you enter the same room Sephiroth is, keep absolute silence! Don't make any noises, okay? Don't speak unless spoken to, don't breath loudly, and especially don't sneeze, Sephiroth doesn't like being surprised. I remember this one time a SOLDIER sneezed when meeting Sephiroth… I heard it wasn't a pleasant healing experience."
"Okay…no noises, don't talk unless talked to, don't breath loudly, and don't sneeze," mumbled Cloud, writing it on the back of his arm.
Zack stared, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Cloud looked up. "Uh… notes. In case I forgot something. Sephiroth can't read this, right?"
"He sure can!" said Zack. "Fifty-eight languages!" said Zack, holding up 5 fingers and then 8 fingers. "Anyway, when talking to Sephiroth, don't look up at him, he dislikes people staring at him. If he asks you a question, don't give him a lengthy answer, nor should you give him a short answer. Maybe about a sentence or two, that's the standard."
Cloud nodded wordlessly, writing it down on his arm.
"When you talk to Sephiroth, make sure to keep your voice level, and don't make it to quiet or too loud, Sephiroth has to be able to hear you without going deaf."
"Right," said Cloud, writing that down too.
"And when he waits for you to say something, don't ever comment on the weather! He hates questions like that! Don't ever ask him things like 'how's your momma', or 'who's ya daddy', or 'will you train with me' or 'are you good with weapons?'…questions like those are instant death."
"Okay…"
"And never mention 'Jenova'."
"Jenova?" repeated Cloud, moving to his other arm now.
"Yeah… I'm not too sure what Jenova is, but from what I can tell, we all have a bit of her in us… a Jenova cell. All SOLDIERs have had a Jenova cell placed in them…"
"I don't think I have a Jenova cell," said Cloud, looking up. "I've never heard of Jenova."
"Oh, if you don't have that cell, they'll be sure to give it to you later…" Zack stopped. "Wait, I don't have a Jenova cell either…"
"Is that bad?" asked Cloud.
"It must be bad," sighed Zack. "…WAAAAAAAHHHHH!' bawled Zack suddenly. "It's not fair!"
Cloud jumped. "Oh! Zack, are you okay?"
Zack out his hands in his face, anime tears flowing from his eyes. "Waaaaaahhhh! I'm not loved! I'm imperfect!"
Cloud stood up hurriedly and walked over to Zack. "Hey, Zack?" asked Cloud uncertainly. "How are you imperfect? I thought we all were the same around here…"
"No, everyone has at least one flaw, and we're all different!" howled Zack loudly from behind his hands.
"But I see no reason why you should call yourself imperfect," said Cloud in a friendly way. "I mean, nobody around here is perfect, no one is."
"Sephiroth is perfect!" whined Zack, giving Cloud a watery green-eyed look. "Everything he does is perfect, from the way he fights with a long katana to his hair from the way he speaks to the way he eats! I can never be that perfect!"
"Uh…" started Cloud, at a loss of what to say next.
"And I'll bet you'll be perfect too, in another year or so!" whined Zack, putting his face back into his hands. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" cried Zack into his own hands.
Feeling guilty for no reason, Cloud patted Zack's back/ "Daijoubu," he said kindly.
"Wha?" asked Zack, looking up at Cloud teary-eyed.
"Daijoubu," repeated Cloud smiling.
Zack stared for a few seconds, then bawled again into his own hands. "SEE, I AM IMPERFECT! I SHOULD KNOW WHAT 'DAIJOUBU' MEANS!"
"…! Uh.. Maybe we should change the subject and move back onto Sephiroth…"
Zack recovered in a jiffy. "You're absolutely right!" Zack cracked his knuckles, his face completely dry and tear free. "Sit back down, Cloud," said Zack.
Cloud blinked, and did as he was told.
"Where was I?" asked Zack.
"Jenova," answered Cloud carefully in case Zack started again.
"Right, don't mention 'Jenova' around Sephiroth. And don't ask him if he knows the sachoo personally, don't ask him if he likes his long katana, and don't comment on his hair or eyes. Don't comment on him at all, okay?"
Cloud continued to write note on the back of his other arm, nodding. "Got it," he said.
"And finally, if he asks you to spar with him, try politely to refuse the request. When Sephiroth is asking for a fight, it means he's in a killing mood. So be careful, okay?"
Cloud nodded, writing those notes down. "Zack," started Cloud, "why are there so many rules for talking to Sephiroth?"
"Oh, because he's the best of the best of the best," answered Zack with a shrug. "He thinks himself the best, and he knows he's the best. So he doesn't like being questioned or cheeked."
Cloud made an additional note on his arm. "Okay."
"Understand?" asked Zack.
"Yes, I think I do," answered Cloud, rereading his notes.
"I think Sephiroth will notice those notes," remarked Zack.
"Oh no, I'll remember these," said Cloud, "and then I'll wash them off tomorrow when I remember."
"Okay, if you say so," said Zack, standing up and heading for a cupboard. "What kind of snacks do you like?" asked Zack over his shoulder.
"Uh… whatever you have is fine by me," said Cloud.
"Good," answered Zack, pulling out some saltines. "I'm not in a junk food mood today," said Zack gloomily.
Cloud stared at the saltines. "You have these here?" he asked.
"Yeah, but they're not good fro SOLDIERs… But they're good!" said Zack cheerfully, opening the packet of saltines and placing it on the middle. "Eat up, Cloud!"
"How are they not god for SOLDIERs?" asked Cloud, taking a saltine.
"Cause the salt gets into your bloodstream and it kinda stings for a little bit." Zack chewed and munched on a handful of saltines, and shuddered. "Ouchie," he said as he swallowed. "It takes some getting used to, but it's worth it!"
Cloud stared, and ate the saltine. "I don't feel anything," he informed Zack.
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOUR PERFECT!' wailed Zack suddenly, flopping himself onto the table, sobbing hysterically.
"! Oh, Zack, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Cloud, standing up hurriedly to go comfort Zack.
"I want to be perfect!" wailed Zack. "Why am I not perfect!"
"I think your perfect," said Cloud, patting Zack on the back. "Really!"
"…you think I'm perfect?" asked Zack with a hiccup.
"Of course," answered Cloud.
"…Okay!" said Zack cheerfully, his face completely dry and tear-free. "Well, now that you know the rules for talking to Sephiroth, what do you want to do now?"
"Uh… I don't know," said Cloud, sitting back down.
"Well, I have an idea! Let's go outside! I hear that you can see cute little Chocobos running around outside of Shinra!"
"Chocobos?" repeated Cloud.
"You never heard of a Chocobo?" asked Zack.
"No… not really."
"Well, come with me! Chocobos are sooo cute! Especially when their little chickes!" Zack grabbed cloud by the arm and took him outside. "Come on!"
"Aah! Not so fast, Zack!"
Meanwhile, in sachoo's office…
"What the hell is this?" asked the sachoo to himself, reading the repairs bill he got. "1,500,000 gil on repairs! What did they do, test weapons in there!" He sighed disgustedly to himself, putting the bill in an envelope. "When I find out who keeps putting that stupid sign there…" the sachoo sighed as he walked out of his office to deliver the bill.
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Yep, end chapter two. Whee! I'm enjoying writing this fanfic! I hope you are too! Keep tuned for chapter three!