Life as a SOLDIER

Disclaimer: A little note thingy: Tseng (a.k.a Dude), Reno, Rude, Elena, and Vincent (a.k.a Vince) appear in this chapter, though they won't be main characters. They make frequent appearances, but have no importance in the main story light…Maybe Vince, and even maybe Reno and Rude. We'll see… Sigh, I always loved the intense drama of…uh, the intense drama.

A/N: Yeah, me too, although I think I outdid myself this time… Oh, well. Let's carry on.

Chapter Seven: The Best Laid Plans of SOLDIERs and Turks.

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"I'll explain everything!" repeated Zack. "Just don't kill Cloud!"

Sephiroth glared at Zack. "What do you mean, 'explain everything'? In case you haven't noticed, Cloud is doing something weird every time he attacks me! He's got some kind of…monster, living in him… I want to find out what it is!"

"I'll tell you right now," said Zack with a sigh. "It's no monster inside Cloud; it's my programming. The 'berserk' program."

"Berserk?" repeated Sephiroth, lowering the sword. "Program? What are you talking about? You had something to do with this all this time… I knew it!" cried Sephiroth accusingly.

"Yes, I did, I don't deny it…" Zack lowered his sword too. Well, it's time now… I just hope Cloud doesn't hear this… "About a week before Cloud came to join us, sachoo had a special project for me to work on. He called it the 'berserk' program. He told me that once he was finished writing it, I was to test it on the next SOLDIER to join us. As it turned out, that SOLDIER was Cloud.

"But something really intrigued the sachoo about Cloud. You know it too, that Cloud somehow has one of Jenova's cells inside of him, even though he's never been to SOLDIER. So he had me investigate his life and profiles, everything about Cloud. I researched a while about it…"

"Go on," said Sephiroth, sheathing his Masamune.

Zack walked over to Cloud, looking down at him. "…yes, the sachoo ordered me to put tests on Cloud. He wanted the 'berserk' program tested on Cloud. If someone outside of Shinra's SOLDIERs had a Jenova cell, it must mean that he has something Shinra doesn't…"

"I thought it was pretty strange myself," admitted Sephiroth. "So what did you find out?"

"…nothing. I could find no explanation. It seems impossible, sachoo had thought, that one of Jenova's cells escaped from Shinra, and happened to cross Cloud… These berserk programs were to see if Cloud's power matched your own."

"No one can match my power!" said Sephiroth indignantly. "I'm the best! You know that, everyone knows that!"

"Not the best," corrected Zack sharply. "The strongest."

"…what?" asked Sephiroth.

"You heard me!" said Zack bravely. "You're so conceited in thinking you're the best! But you know as well as I that your 'greatness' is in your strength alone! You're nothing without your strength!"

Sephiroth glared, and turned to face Zack fully. "Okay," he said. "Okay, say that again, I dare you."

Zack hesitated. Oh, dear, I've made him angry… Oh, shit, this is what Billy Bob did before he was killed by Sephiroth…

"Didn't you hear me?" asked Sephiroth, walked towards Zack slowly. "Go on, say it again! It won't help you any, or Cloud any!"

Zack bit his lip, thinking quickly. I've risked Sephiroth's anger greatly… My life's on the line… Either I leave now and let Sephiroth kill Cloud, or risk my own life to save him… What should I do…? I care for Cloud, yes, but is he really worth my life…?

Flash: Cloud smiling fondly at Kumo the Chocobo, a bright shining light in his eyes…

Zack blinked, shaking the image from his mind. No, he's not worth it…

Flash: Cloud snuggling Kumo. "I think she likes me!" he told Zack happily…

Zack shook his head again as Sephiroth stopped in front of him. "Well, Zack? What are you going to do? Surely Cloud isn't worth that much to you?"

Flash: Cloud looking at Zack with worry, saying, "I think you're perfect!"…

Zack stared down at the small, lifeless figure that was Cloud, still on the ground. He is… he's worth it! decided Zack with fierce determination. He looked up at Sephiroth. "Out of my way," he said.

"Excuse me?" asked Sephiroth indignantly.

"I said get out of my way!" said Zack louder.

By now, some SOLDIERs had gathered at the door and were watching this. "Oh, my god, look at this!" exclaimed one SOLDIER hushed.

"Zack is standing up to Sephiroth!" said another.

"Zack's either very brave or really foolish!"

Zack and Sephiroth held each others gazes for a few seconds. Then Sephiroth gave Zack a disgusted grudging glare, and stepped out of Zack's way so Zack could get to Cloud. Zack ran over to Cloud, kneeling down to Cloud. "Cloud! Cloud!" called Zack. Zack looked at the wounds, which were still bleeding. Zack had that woozy feeling again. No, don't concentrate on the blood…Zack told himself firmly. You have to help Cloud now… Zack held Cloud up with on arm, while holding cloud's face straight with his other arm. "Cloud, wake up!"

Sephiroth watched with cold eyes as Cloud winced a little, opening his eyes slightly. "Zack…?" he asked faintly. "What…happened…?"

Zack sighed with relief. "You're okay… Well, for now, you are. We have to get those wounds cleaned up. I'll help you…" Zack helped Cloud up, and walked him slowly out of the room, supporting him with one arm.

Sephiroth scoffed to himself. The nerve, he thought angrily. The absolute nerve! Talking to me like that… He narrowed his eyes once more. You both will pay for this if I have to…

Meanwhile, in another part of Shinra…

Sachoo was looking over some paperwork, rereading a few plans and such. "Hmm…" he muttered to himself. "Everything seems to be working fine," he said. He looked up at the group of people standing in front of him. "You find anything?" he asked.

One of the people in the group stepped forward with a slight nod of his head. "Yes, sachoo, we're getting close. We've been investigating the situation for a while now… We've found out quite a bit."

"Excellent," said sachoo. "I'd expect nothing but that from my most resourceful agents, the Turks. Tseng, your group is doing a great job."

The Turk named Tseng nodded again. "Yes, thank you, sachoo. We shall continue our research now."

"Do that," agreed sachoo. "Remember to report to me as often as you can. Go on now," said sachoo.

Tseng nodded his head, and motioned for the others to follow him.

"Oh, and Tseng?" called sachoo as the others left. Tseng looked back. "Do keep an eye on Reno and Rude. They have big mouths and might spill the plan. Keep careful watch on them. Make sure Elena and Vincent do the same."

"Yes, sachoo," said Tseng with another nod, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"What did sachoo want?" asked a red-headed Turk named Reno. "I heard sachoo say mine and Rude's name. Are we given a special mission?" asked Reno eagerly.

"Yeah, that special mission is to keep your mouth shut when we talk about the plan," answered Tseng curtly.

"Hey, dude, you're being mean!" said Reno.

"Don't worry about it," said Rude, a bald Turk (who's really Jamaican who's pretending to be a Turk). "The sachoo granted us this mission, and that's what counts in the end. Just think, we might get paid extra to hold our silence."

"If you guys had a salary for how silent you were, you'd be living a poor, poverty style life for sure," remarked Elena with a teasing smile.

"We can be silent!" said Reno with dignity. "A sexy beast such a myself can maintain his silence!"

"Yeah, long enough to look at himself in the mirror," retorted Tseng.

"How dare you!" exclaimed Reno. "Ooh! You're just jealous, Dude, that I'm more sexy then you!"

"I have no reason to be jealous of you," answered Tseng coolly. "And my name is 'Tseng', not 'Dude'."

"You know I can't pronounce Tsiing…Thing…Tsung…Thong!"

Elena, Tseng, Rude, and Vincent whapped Reno on the side of his head.

Reno held his head. "Ouchie," he whined.

"Not another word," warned Elena, raising a finger warningly. "Come on, we have our research to do."

Reno heaved a resigned sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll shut up."

"Glory," muttered Vincent, muttering quietly that no one heard him. But that wasn't unusual. Vincent rarely offered opinions, and he was so secretive that no one really know anything about him.

"Sachoo had better be pleased with our work," said Reno moodily to himself.

"He will," assured Rude, patting Reno's shoulder.

"Come on," said Elena, holding the door open, and the group entered the room where many kinds of research was held. Elena closed the door, leaving a soft silence in their wake.

The next morning, in Zack's room…

Cloud blinked awake. "…?" he asked himself. "Where am I? I don't remember this…?" Cloud sighed, and decided to go back to sleep, rolling over. WHACK. He hit a wall. "Owie…" he whined, rubbing his already-aching head. "Where did that come from…?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about the wall," said Zack apologetically.

Cloud blinked again, and sat up, and saw that he was resting in Zack's room. "Zack?" he asked. "How did I come be here?"

"You shouldn't move so much," said Zack, standing up and walking over to Cloud. "You suffered severe damage to your gut. Doctor says you shouldn't move so much."

"Severe damage?" asked Cloud. "What do you…?" he trailed off, remembering the uneventful end of the last battle with Sephiroth. "Oh, that…"

"But I'm glad to see you're awake!" said Zack cheerfully, sitting at the foot of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh… My head aches," said Cloud.

"Oh, sorry, you hit your head on the wall. Sorry."

"What was your bed doing by the wall?" Cloud did a double take, and asked, "This bed is in the closet?"

"Well, yeah," said Zack. "This was Sephy's old room."

"This is? When was he promoted to that other room then?" asked Cloud.

"Uh… I dunno, about a year ago?" asked Zack. "I don't remember."

"Okay…" said Cloud. He made an attempt to sit up, but clutched his side with a wince. "Owie… My side still hurts?"

"Oh, yeah, you lost some…uh, some of that red stuff from that wound. But you should be fine."

"Red stuff?"

"Yeah, bl--…" Zack sighed. "Bl…" he shook his head. "You know what I mean," he said with a casual wave of his hand. "All that matters is that you're fine! Come on, it's Monday, and it's breakfast time now."

"I don't know what you mean," said Cloud with an apologetic glance. "What do you mean 'red stuff'?"

"…okay, but remember, I'm only going to say this once. What I mean by 'red stuff' is…blood."

"Blood?"

"Yes, the red stuff!" Zack sighed wearily. "Don't make me say it again, please."

"Okay, I won't…" said Cloud.

"Doctor says that when you have strength to stand, you should try to walk off any pain that you feel. So you know what that means?"

"No," answered Cloud truthfully.

"It means that you get to blow off lessons today! Aren't you lucky!"

"Eh? I do?"

"Yep! Come on, out, let's get you something to eat first!"

"I'm not really that hungry right now," admitted Cloud. "Could I just walk around Shinra now? I'll see you later today, all right?"

"You're not hungry? But… Today we're getting sausage, pancakes, and maple syrup…" Zack scrutinized Cloud closely. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Cloud, getting up from the bed.

"…if you say so," said Zack. "I'll see you later. You watch yourself, okay?"

"I will," promised Cloud, waving to his friend. "I'll see you later." Cloud and Zack left the room and went down the stairs together, but split paths at the cafeteria door. Cloud watched Zack hurry to the serving table with his two SOLDIER friends, smiled, and walked down the hall.

This hallway was a most mysterious one indeed. There were many locked doors, and some doors required a code and a card key, but Cloud walked down this hallway, slowly yet surely walking off the pain in his side and his head. But soon he heard thudding footsteps, and hear a guff voice from beyond the corner. "Sheesh, what a schedule," said the voice of Bruce.

Crap, someone's coming! thought Cloud. He looked around, not wanting to meet anyone in particular, and noticed an unlocked door. I'll hide in there! decided Cloud, running into the room, and saw that it was what looked like a board meeting room. He saw a few mugs of coffee and some half-finished doughnuts on the table which indicated that the meeting probably wasn't finished yet. Cloud looked around, and noticed a closet. Right. I'll hide in there… Cloud hurried to the closet, and closed the closet door, just as the door opened, and a group of people entered the room.

"…can't afford to make mistakes," said a voice.

"Come on, all I did was accidentally spill coffee on the research paper!" said another voice. "Don't throw the blame on me!"

"Guys, don't argue!" said a woman's voice. "We're here to finish what we were discussing this morning. Where were we, Tseng?"

The man called Tseng answered, "We were discussing the secret plans involving the research we've been conducting. Sachoo is getting slightly impatient, he said. He wants answers soon, or he'll hire someone else."

"I've told sachoo that we'll take as much time as we need," answered a calm voice. "He may have grudgingly agreed us more time, but we can't be so optimistic."

"Oh, sure, the sachoo will listen to you, Vince," said the second voice.

"Don't call me Vince," said the calm voice. "I told you my name's Vincent."

"Reno, try to focus on the meeting's subject," said the woman's voice. "The world doesn't revolve around you, I'm so sure!"

"Elena, you're breaking my heart!" said the voice of Reno with a teasing tone. "Don't tell a man that the world doesn't revolve around him, or his self-esteem plummets faster then the meteor that brought Jenova here!"

"Don't speak of Jenova so lightly," said Tseng. "You never know who might be listening…"

"Are you listening to this, Rude?" asked Reno to his friend. "They don't want me to talk."

"It'd be best for you, Reno, to keep your mouth shut," responded Rude. "Your mouth must run at the same speed as your brain."

"So I've been told," sighed Reno wearily.

"That's enough," said Tseng. "Let us resume the meeting."

"Do you remember what we were discussing in the library?" asked Vincent.

"Yes, we were discussing the possibility that Jenova might be showing some signs of actual life."

"Oh, yeah, that!" said Reno.

Jenova showing actual life? Cloud though to himself. What does that mean?

"Does anyone know about this?" asked Rude.

"No one except us and the sachoo," answered Reno. "these meetings were held in strict private conditions."

"Not anymore they aren't," said Vincent.

"What do you mean, Vincent?" asked Elena.

Vincent looked towards the closet, making Cloud blink in surprise. Oh, no! Does he know I'm here?

"What's so interesting about the closet, Vince?" asked Reno, looking at the closet too..

"I'd check the closet if I were you," said Vincent, pointing at the closet.

Tseng nodded towards the closet, and Elena stood up and strode to the closet. "Who would hide in a closet?" asked Elena as she opened the closet door. She looked down at Cloud in surprise. "…! Hey! What's a SOLIDER doing in here?" she asked.

"There's a SOLDIER in the closet?" asked Tseng.

"What's he doing in the closet?" asked Rude.

"I was… uh…" Cloud searched his head for an excuse. Now I've done it… I've gone and accidentally eavesdropped on a private meeting…

Vincent stood up and walked next to Elena, looking down at Cloud. "What do you reckon we should do with him?"

"I was just about to leave, but I got lost, so I noticed this room was unlocked so I went inside, and was searching for a map or something but then I heard voices and decided to hide!" said Cloud in one breath.

"And you hid hearing voices? Why? You could have simply awaited here and asked us for directions rather then hide," Elena pointed out.

"…I wasn't thinking clearly," muttered Cloud, looking down.

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "He obviously must be lying," he said. "It's not possible to get lost in Shinra. And what were you doing coming down this corridor anyway? If you read the signs, you should have read that only first class SOLDIERs are allowed pat here. I can tell you're not a first class SOLDIER."

"Well, just give him a slap on the wrist and send him on his way," said Reno. "He hasn't heard anything of any importance, we should just let him off the hook now."

Tseng nodded. "Send him on his way," he told Elena.

"What, is this a woman thing?" asked Elena as Vincent went back to sit down at the table.

"Afraid so," said Rude.

Elena sighed and grabbed Cloud's arm. "Come on, let's go," she said. "I'll escort you back to the cafeteria."

"But I… okay," sighed Cloud resignedly. Cloud let himself be walked away by Elena as the rest of the group watched her and Cloud leave.

"Now you know better, huh?" asked Elena as she stopped at the edge of the hallway. "I'll leave you here. I assume you know how to get the cafeteria," she asked.

"I know," he said.

"Good," said Elena. "Remember, don't come down this hallway again, the sign right here-" she pointed to a pretty distinguished sign, "-says that only first class SOLDIERs can come past here. Keep that in mind for the future."

"Right."

"Right," agreed Elena, turning around. "See you later." She walked down the hallway out of sight.

Cloud sighed. "But I'm not hungry," he told no one in particular, taking a detour to the stairway to go up to his room. "I'll check my e-mail," he decided, entering his room. He saw an unopened letter on the table long with a half-eaten chocolate bar.

There was a small note on the table:

Sorry, buddy, but the chocolate smelled soo good I just had to eat it! But worry not, I left half for you. And I didn't read the letter. I'm a good friend I am! See you later! Zack

Cloud smiled to himself in half-exasperation, half-amusement. "Zack, you're so funny at times…" he picked up the half-eaten chocolate bar and opened the letter.

Dear Cloud,

Hey! It's me, Tifa! I'm writing you a letter, because you don't have e-mail. I hope you're doing all right! The townspeople here mention you once in a while; I think they miss you like I do. You remember to write me back, okay? I worry about you sometimes, but I know you'll be just fine! I've even included some chocolate to cheer you up if you're down. You love chocolate still, yes?

Sincerely yours,

Tifa Lockhart

"That's nice of her," said Cloud to himself, opening his own laptop and signing into his e-mail inbox. "Oh, I have two unread messages?" Cloud clicked on the inbox button. "Who else has my e-mail?"

Cloud indeed had two unread messages: one was from Tifa, and the other was from sachoo. He could tell it was from sachoo by the name, Shinra.

"Eh…? How did sachoo get my e-mail? I'll check that next…" Cloud opened Tifa's e-mail first.

To: cs (at-symbol)
From: fist (underscore) of (underscore) fury (at-symbol)

That's good to hear! I'm always here for you, okay? Did anything happen that I ought to know about? For some reason, I had this feeling that something bad happened. You could call it woman's intuition. Do tell me if anything bad happened, all right, Cloud? Remember, bad events rely on secrecy, so tell me everything!

See you again, Cloud!

Tifa Lockhart

Cloud smiled at the e-mail. "I…I shouldn't worry her," he decided. "I won't tell her about the second battle with Sephiroth…" Cloud typed up a response.

To: fist (underscore) of (underscore) fury (at-symbol)
From: cs (at-symbol)

I'm fine, Tifa, nothing's wrong. You don't have to worry about me. And I got your letter, thanks for the chocolate! You know what I like, thank you! I wouldn't mind some ore chocolate...hah, ha, just kidding. I'm glad to hear from you. I'll talk to you soon! Cloud Strife

Cloud clicked the send button, and glanced at he other unread e-mail. Well, all right, I'll open it. It can't be that bad… Cloud opened the e-mail, and as he read the e-mail, his expression quickly changed from indifference to complete shock.

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Let's leave you at that for now. I'm actually making progress with this fanfic, it's amazing. Glad you're keeping up! See you in a bit!