Life as a SOLDIER

Disclaimer: They never forget to review. The Muses are right, you worry too much.

A/N: …whatever. Let's carry on! Whee!

Chapter Thirty-One: The Promised Land
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It was a week into December, and this week was the last week of training for a while. "All right all of you, as you well know, December through March are when we practice martial arts!" barked Bruce as he walked among the SOLDIERs. "Today, we'll practice the usual fist-fight techniques."

"Martial arts?" repeated Cloud to himself. He sighed dejectedly. I was never very good at physical fighting…

"All of you pair up and practice fist fighting for five minutes. Let's see if you have what it takes to train for these arts!"

Zack tapped Cloud's shoulder and nodded towards the back of the room. "We'll practice here," he said.

"Okay," said Cloud.

"Hey, what about us?" asked one SOLDIER.

"Yeah, you said you'd take us training today!" whined the other SOLDIER.

Zack rolled his eyes and told them, "I said that for swords and weapons, not for physical combat. Train yourselves."

They exchanged glances and nodded. "Okay!" they said cheerfully.

"Sorry about that," laughed Zack as he and Cloud walked to the back of the room. "Anyway, do you know how to use physical combat?"

Cloud hesitated. "Well…no, not really… You see, back where I come from, there was really no need to be fighting."

"Unless you're a bully," said Zack.

"….yeah."

"Tifa told me that she sometimes fight people," said Zack.

Cloud shrugged. "Sure, she does sometimes. Usually, though, the only time I ever saw her beat someone up was when she actually got those three bullies to stop bullying me. It was kinda scary."

"Well, you're in SOLDIER now!" barked Bruce, who had suddenly appeared behind the two of them. "Just so you know, there won't be any girls around to protect you! You have to learn to defend yourself!"

Cloud rubbed his ears. "Ouchie, you didn't have to shout…"

"We know, Bruce," said Zack with a nervous smile. "I was just asking him if he had any experience fighting people, and this little conversation started."

"You'd better finish it then!" barked Bruce, and he walked off to observe the other SOLDIERs.

"Very well, let's begin," sighed Zack, turning towards Cloud. "Just for curiosity's sake, how hard do you think you can hit?"

"Not very hard," admitted Cloud, looking at his arms. "These are beginning to look toned, but it's not good enough yet, is it?"

"No, it's not," agreed Zack, flexing his well-muscled arm. "You gotta have somma these."

"Whoa!"

Zack chuckled to himself. "One day, you'll be like that too. Now…" he smacked his chest. "I want you to hit me as hard as you can."

Cloud made a "huh?" face and asked, "What?"

"Hit me, with your fist, right here," said Zack, smacking his chest again. "Let's see what you're made of!"

"…" Cloud looked back and forth. "All right then…"

SMACK

"Ouchie!" yelped Cloud, shaking his hand. "Ow, what do you wear under that, lead armor or something?"

Zack looked down at his chest. "Nope, it's all pectorals."

"…you're kidding…"

"No joke," smiled Zack. "Come on, try again."

"Okay…" sighed Cloud.

BAM

"Owie…" whined Cloud, rubbing his fist. "That hurt…"

"We definitely need to work on that one," said Zack. "Here, let me show you how it's done!"

PUNCH

"Ow…" Cloud sat up, rubbing his shirt. "Wow, you punch good…"

"I know," said Zack with a grin, holding out his hand. "Here, let me pull you up, and try again."

"When will we need to know martial arts?" asked Cloud.

"When will we need to know swords and guns?" asked Zack. "Come on, enough talk. Throw it at me!"

WHAM

"Like that?" asked Cloud.

Zack rubbed his shirt. "Oof… Yeah, like that." He stood up and brushed himself off. "You can hit pretty hard. Let me see it again!"

"…sure," said Cloud slowly.

BANG WHAP

"Owie…" muttered Cloud, rubbing his cheek.

"That's very good, Cloud, but you weren't prepared for the counterstrike. You always have to stay on your guard!"

"I'll try to remember that one," said Cloud, standing up.

"Otherwise… Someone's gonna do this to you!" Zack grabbed Cloud by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "See, you weren't on your guard!"

"Awa! Put me down!" yowled Cloud.

"Next time, be prepared," said Zack with a smile, setting Cloud down onto the ground again.

"I'll remember that," said Cloud with a sigh. Wow, he just picked me up like that… he thought.

"Hola!" yelled Zack suddenly, tripping Cloud.

"Ow!" cried Cloud in surprise.

"Constant vigilance, Cloud," said Zack, looking down at Cloud. "Never stand around in Lala land during a battle, otherwise you'll wake up one day with your head gone!"

"Wake up with my…? Oh, never mind…" Cloud stood up. "Man, I think I have a few bruises," he said to himself.

"Yeah, that tends to happen," said Zack. "I got plenty of bruises on my first day of martial arts training."

"Oh… Are bruises a good thing?" asked Cloud curiously.

"For some. I guess it depends on who you are…"

"Oh…"

WHOOP

Zack had taken Cloud by the arm and toppled him over in a karate-style flip. "Hyah! Constant vigilance, Cloud!"

Cloud smiled apologetically. "Right, I keep forgetting…"

BUMP

Cloud had jumped up and punched Zack to the ground. "How's that?"

"Very good, Cloud," grunted Zack, getting to his feet. "You'll be a great fighter one day… Ooh…"

A few hours later…

"All right, training is done for today," barked Bruce. "The rest of the day is yours. Dismissed, all of you!"

The SOLDIERs all chattered amongst each other, shuffling out of the training hall to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Martial arts are much harder then I thought they'd be…" sighed Cloud as he sat down at a cafeteria table. "I feel so sore now…"

"Don't worry, buddy, you'll get used to it," said Zack. "Want me to go get lunch for us?"

"If you don't mind…"

"No, it's all right with me," said Zack cheerfully. "I'll get lunch for my friends, too. Wait here."

The one SOLDIER and the other SOLDIER took seats across from Cloud. "Lunch smells good today!" said one SOLDIER happily. He took a deep breath and stated, "It smells like chicken strips, French fries, salad, and barbeque sauce!"

"Yum!" said the other SOLDIER.

"…sounds okay, I guess…" said Cloud quietly to himself. I never really liked chicken…

Zack came back about a minute later with four steaming plates of lunch. "Fresh from the oven!" he said happily. "Eat up, y'all!" He sat down next to Cloud, and said quietly to him, "We'll be practicing more flying today. Is that all right?"

"It's fine, I can't wait," said Cloud quietly back, smiling to himself. As he sat and ate, he thought about the flying. Gliding's okay, and I can do pretty much all of the lessons… But for flying by itself, I just can't gather enough speed…

Flash: "What the hell are you doing on the swing sets!" demanded Tifa angrily one day while Cloud was sitting sadly on the swings. "Why don't you get off and give another kid a chance!"

Cloud gasped out loud. That's--That's it!

"Cloud, are you okay?" asked Zack. "What's wrong?"

"I just figured it out!" hissed Cloud excitedly to Zack.

"Figured what out?"

"I'll tell you when we get outside," said Cloud. He smiled to himself. If I can find something to swing on, then maybe if we swing fast enough, it'll be fast enough for me to zoom forward and take flight! The perfect amount of thrust I need!

After he and Zack had finished eating, Cloud hurried Zack outside. "Cloud, what is it? Is something wrong?" asked Zack with concern.

"No, nothings wrong… We need to find a swing set, Zack! Or something that resembles it! Anything that can act like a swing!"

Zack stood still for a second. "A swing set?" he asked slowly. "How has a swing set helped you figure it out?"

"No, it's not the swing! Listen to me theory," said Cloud eagerly. "The reason I haven't been able to fly very much was because I didn't have enough thrust to push me into the air! But if I can find something like a swing, if I'm pushed far and high enough, I should have enough thrust to take to the skies and fly!"

Zack listened intently. "Wow… Hey, I--I think you're right!" Zack looked around sadly. "But there aren't any swings around here…"

"Then we'll make one!" said Cloud. "There must be something we can use here to make a swing!"

"Maybe… Let's go search. I know where to get rope, so you go find a log or something."

"Okay!" said Cloud, heading into the woods.

A half-hour later…

Cloud sat on a tree stump outside the woods, waiting for Zack to come back. I hope this works… thought Cloud, looking at the long and flat piece of wood he carved from a log. That was a really useful thing to remember… I have to get off those swings, to give another kid a chance. Zack once said that he was a kid himself… It's amazing how these things turn out!

Zack ran down the hill to Cloud, a rope coiled around his arm. "Okay! Let's build this swing!"

"Okay!" said Cloud excitedly. Our dream is nearly coming true…! I can't wait to fly Zack to the skies…with me…

After they set the makeshift swing up, Zack and Cloud backed up to examine the effect. "A true beauty," said Zack. "Now hop onto that swing so that I can give you thrust!"

Cloud nodded and hopped onto the swing, standing a bit unsteadily on the swing. "I hope I don't fall over… I'll do my best!"

"That's the spirit, Cloud!" said Zack. He grabbed the ropes, and stepped back to release the swing.

Cloud gasped in surprise, grabbing the rope for support. This--This has to work! I can't get scare now! With a determined frown, Cloud released the rope and steadied himself on the swing. "A little bit more!"

"Are you sure?" asked Zack, giving the swing another shoving push. "You might fall off."

"I…won't fall…" said Cloud, half to himself. "I promised you that I'd fly you somewhere far away… I promised you I'd take you to the promised land! I will not fall!" The swing had reached it's highest point, and Cloud seized the opportunity at once; he leapt from the swing to the air, and took flight to the sky.

"…" went Zack watching Cloud soar high. "He did it… He actually did it…! Hey! Cloud, you're flying!"

"I--I am?" asked Cloud, looking around, staying in midair to observe everything around him. "…I did it…! We did it, Zack! I can fly now!"

"Then the program was a success!" said Zack happily. "Come on down here, let me give you a hug!"

"Ok-Okay!" stammered Cloud happily, zooming down to Zack.

Zack caught him in midair and spun him around. "We did it! We did it!" Both laughed, and Zack set Cloud down. "Thank you, Cloud!"

"But I have one more thing to do, remember?" asked Cloud, smiling up at Zack. "I'll fly you to the one place you always wanted to visit: the promised land!"

"Cloud, right now?" asked Zack. "It's okay with you?"

"It sure is! I want to fulfill my promise to you. Cloud jumped to the air and held out his arms. "Let me carry you!" Zack smiled too and held out his arms. Cloud picked Zack up and soared high to the skies. This is like a dream come true…! thought Cloud ecstatically. To fly to the sky with Zack…!

Soon, Cloud flew through the clouds, and Cloud landed, letting Zack stand on the clouds. "Whoa…" breathed Zack, looking around. "It--It--It's beautiful…!" Cloud looked around and found that he had to agree.

It was almost like all the drawings and paints of heaven that you saw at museums. The clouds were everywhere, gently drifting around their feet. The sun shined brightly, but it's light was soft and comforting, and even the stars shined bright. You had to see it to believe it. It truly a breathtaking sight.

"I'm here… I'm actually here…" breathed Zack, walking around a little. "Hah ha hah! I'm here! I made it!" he ran over to Cloud and gave him a huge hug. "And it's all thanks to you! I could ask for now greater gift, Cloud!"

Cloud blushed a little in surprise, but smiled and returned the hug. "No, it's thanks to you, Zack. Because you were there for me, and had faith in me, I knew I could do it!"

Zack stopped hugging Cloud and held him so that he could be face to face with Cloud. "No, no thanks to me at all. It's all you."

Cloud looked into Zack's eyes. We're so close…! thought Cloud, his heart thudding wildly. Ooh…I--I--I hope…!

Zack smiled and stood up. "Let's stay here a while. I'd rather stay here a few hours, wouldn't you?"

"I--I would!" agreed Cloud, feeling really elated. "Let's stay as long as we want!"

"Then sit here next to me," said Zack, sitting down and patting the spot next to him. "We have all the time in the world." Cloud nodded and sat down next to Zack. He leaned onto Zack, who smiled and put an arm around him, and together they watched the stars in the promised land.

However, back at Shinra Company…

Rufus bent down to pick up some white feathers that had scattered to the grounds. "Just as I suspected…" he said, examining the white feather. He held the feather up to the sunlight, and plucked a strand of his own hair to hold it to the feather. "…it'll go just perfectly," he said evilly to himself. "Oh, the cruelest thing I could to my father… To have him die at my hands… And no one will ever know, because…. Of course…" he pocketed the feather and hair strand and turned to walk back to Shinra. "Cloud Strife murdered shachoo."
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Wow, let's leave it at that for now! What'll happen next do you suppose? Wasn't this a sweet chapter? I thought so… Well, see you later!