Life as a SOLDIER

Disclaimer: A Turks interlude starring Vincent Valentine? Is Fairy Red feeling all right?

A/N: I don't have to love Vincent to use him in my fanfic. He was part of the AVALANCHE group, and I hope to let them all star in their own chapter in these chapters. Here's the schedule, AAMOF.

Part 1: Returning to Shinra Company with Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth
Part 2: Reeve's Trick House with Cait Sith and Vincent Valentine
Part 3: Reeve's White Magical Scooter Miracle with Vincent and Yuffie
Part 4: Cid's trip to the Forgotten City and meeting a peculiar person there
Part 5: Aeris and Tifa compare their men in their lives, and find Red XIII
Part 6: Barret takes Marlene and the whole 7th Heaven Bar crew to Corel

Anyway, that's the schedule. And a small taster at that! You'll have to stay tuned to see them all! MWAHAHAH! Read on, loyal readers, read on!

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Advent of the New Year! Part 2
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"Reeve has to see me right now?" asked Vincent in surprise.

Tseng nodded. "I just got the e-mail now, and he wants to see you right away. It's a…" he checked the e-mail. "…Let's see, a 'matter of the utmost importance'."

"Hmm…" muttered Vincent, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Why set up a meeting of the utmost importance with me…?"

"I don't know, but you'd better get ready. He says you have to be there by 7:00 tonight."

"Tonight!" exclaimed Vincent. "But I have something to do tonight!"

"And what is that something?" asked Tseng, crossing his arms. "Just try telling that to Reeve. He outranks me by being the lead scientists assistant, along with his…other job. I can't convince him to let you off tonight or any other night."

"But his partner," said Vincent. "She's…"

"She's…?" prompted Tseng.

"She's…sneaky. I don't like her."

"If you mean Yuffie Kirisangi…"

"Yeah, that hyper little girl with an obsession with materia!" exclaimed Vincent. "Ever since she laid eyes on me, she's been stalking me! Everywhere I am, there she is! I'm getting a burrito for lunch, so is she! I'm changing my shoes, there she is! I brush my teeth, there she is!"

"Maybe she has a crush on you," suggested Tseng. "It's not my problem, Vincent. Go deal with it on your own."

"But Tseng," started Vincent. Tseng was already walking away. "…? Hey! My man?" Tseng closed the door. "Pheh…great. Reeve meeting tonight, and Yuffie might be there…" Muttering to himself, Vincent grabbed his jacket and left his room, heading for breakfast.

Meanwhile, with Cloud…

Cloud hurried to Zack's room. "Zack! Are you awake yet? I have to talk to you!"

Zack looked back in surprise. "Cloud? What's wrong?"

Cloud sat down on Zack's bed, catching his breath. "The…doll you gave me… Have--Have you seen it?"

"Oh, my present to you? No, I haven't. Why, have you lost it?"

"Lost…? No, I… I didn't mean to lose it! I thought it was in my bag, but it wasn't! Maybe it got mixed up in your bag, or maybe it got lost in Sephy's…"

"Cloud, calm down!" exclaimed Zack in surprise. "Don't worry, we'll find it. I'll check my bags now." Zack stood up and strode over to his bag of presents, looking through them. "Hmm…no, I don't see it in here…"

"Oh, I'm a terrible friend!" cried Cloud, grabbing his head. "How could I lose such an important, well-made gift!?"

"Cloud, why are you so worried about it?" asked Zack, smiling. "It's okay if you lost it at the bar or with Sephiroth. I won't hate you for the rest of my life because you lost a gift. I still love you, no matter what!"

Cloud gasped and looked up at Zack. "You--You just said… You just said that you love me no matter what…?!"

"…yes, I did," agreed Zack confusedly.

Cloud smiled in relief, and looked down bashfully. "You--you say it so openly…Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do, silly!" laughed Zack, walking over to Cloud and giving him a quick hug. "You're very important to me, so I don't want to ever see you sad or upset, okay?" Just like the son I wish you could've been to me…

Cloud felt himself go completely warm and red in Zack's arms. He sighed dreamily and put his hands to his cheeks. "Zack, you're precious…"

"Aw, that's nice of you," said Zack, letting go and sitting next to Cloud. "…? Are you cold?"

"Huh? Why ask that?" asked Cloud a bit dreamily still.

"You're holding your face with your hands… You still dizzy?"

"Dizzy?" asked Cloud. Of course, I'm not dreaming…I still am a bit dizzy…No, I'm not confused… I know I like Zack…but…

Flash: Sephiroth bandaged Cloud's left hand. "…maybe I should be more careful…" he murmured to himself…

Flash: I wish there was something I could do to help," said Zack sadly, placing a cool cloth on Cloud's forehead…

They… both are…my… Without warning, Cloud fainted dead away onto Zack's bed.

"…! Cloud! Hey, Cloud!" yelled Zack, shaking Cloud awake.

Sephiroth opened the door and saw Zack shaking Cloud. "…What the hell are you doing?" asked Sephiroth in mild surprise.

Zack glared at Sephiroth. "This is all your fault! Why did you have to go and do that?!"

"Go and do what?" asked Sephiroth delicately.

"You know what you did! You kissed Cloud at night under that mistletoe! I heard you telling yourself about it before you fell asleep!"

"And how does my kissing Cloud have anything to do with his dizziness?"

"His emotions are confused now! SOLDIERs get like this when their emotions are greatly confused! Maybe he's unsure of how he feels about Tifa because of you!"

"Don't tell me you still think Cloud likes Tifa," said Sephiroth. "Surely, after all this time, you noticed."

"Of course he likes Tifa!" yelled Zack defensively. "That's what Cloud told me, and why would he lie to me?"

"To protect himself," answered Sephiroth. "The first love is always a fragile one. Especially if it's your best friend."

Zack looked uncertain for a second, then said, "The way Tifa acts around Cloud, he's sure to not get his heart broken. I'm sure Cloud and Tifa will make an excellent couple one day."

Sephiroth stared in disbelief at Zack. "…my god…" he said slowly. "You have no idea at all… I never thought anyone as smart as you could miss one of the most obvious things in the world…"

"Cloud obviously can't train with you today, so I'll take him to the infirmary," said Zack, standing up.

"No, no, I don't think so," said Sephiroth, coming over to Cloud.

"But surely YOU aren't gonna take him to the infirmary? What of you and your rep? That'll create a scandal."

"No, none of that," said Sephiroth, and he struck Cloud pretty hard.

Cloud gasped and shot up. "No! I'm awake!"

"Glad to hear it." Sephiroth gave Zack a "beat that" look and headed for the door. "Let's get going, Cloud."

Cloud rubbed his cheek, and said, "I'm coming." he stood up, glanced at Zack, and hurried after Sephiroth.

Zack stared at the open door for a few seconds, a weird feeling overcoming him. …I see what he's up to…! He's making me jealous… He wants me to be jealous…Because he's stealing MY Cloud away… Zack stood up and closed the door. "…I see now…" said Zack slowly. "Sephiroth…is falling for Cloud…" Zack covered his mouth in shock. "Sephiroth's falling in love with Cloud," he gasped. "Oh, my god… THAT'S why he wanted to train Cloud personally… He wanted to be around Cloud all the time… so he's been putting the moves on Cloud…" Zack stood still for a few more seconds. "If Tifa ever found that out…"

Later on that night, at 7:00 PM…

Vincent stood in front of Reeve's office, glancing at his watch. "Yeah…7:00 on the dot…" he knocked on Reeve's door. "Reeve! I'm here. What did you want to show me?"

Some thumping was heard, along with a cat's yowl, some papers being shuffled, and footsteps. The door opened to reveal Reeve and Cait Sith. "Ah! Good evening, Vince!" exclaimed Reeve.

"Vincent," corrected Vincent automatically.

"Yea, whatever," said Reeve. "Come with me, I have something to show you…" he looked around and walked down the hall.

"…? Is this gonna take long?" asked Vincent, following Reeve. "Where are we going, anyway? I thought it was a matter of utmost importance."

"It is," agreed Reeve. "Cait Sith, you remembered to bring a scarf?"

"Yep, I sure did!" said Cait Sith. He looked up at Vincent and added, "You all bundled up? It's pretty cold outside."

"All I need is a jacket, I never get cold," said Vincent.

"You sure? It's about 21 degrees out there," said Reeve matter-of-factly, putting on a heavy coat, boots, and gloves on.

"I'm sure."

Reeve shrugged nonchalantly. "If you say so. Follow me."

Reeve picked up Cait Sith and led Vincent outside to a far part of Shinra Company. "Where are we going exactly?" asked Vincent loudly in the cold harsh winter wind.

"My house!" answered Reeve. "It needs some fixing up!"

"What? I'm not your nanny! You can fix your own house!"

"No, no, just follow me, I'll explain everything inside."

Vincent opened his mouth to protest, but Reeve was already unlocking the door to an odd looking house and entered it. Vincent sighed exasperatedly and came inside after him, closing the door and locking it. "What do you need me for?"

"Just a quick looking around," answered Reeve as Cait Sith hopped away from Reeve and curled up in a cat basket. "Please, hang your coat up. We have to explore my trick house to make sure it works."

"Trick house?" repeated Vincent, hanging his jacket on the coat hanger. He walked away from it, when…

"THREE…TWO…ONE…FIRE!!!" shouted a robotic-like voice, and three beeps were heard along with what sounded like a mini-rocket launching.

"…?!" went Vincent, whirling around. To his surprise, the coat hanger was launching off…with his jacket still hanging on it! "Aah! My--My jacket! Reeve!"

"What?" asked Reeve, as though nothing unusual happened.

"My jacket! I hung it up on the coat hanger, and the coat hanger just launched off! Make it come back!"

"Vincent, don't be ridiculous! Coat hangers don't just get up and launch off! Be practical and sit down!"

Vincent stammered, pointing at Reeve and the now-gone coat hanger, then sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just tell me what this is all about," he said, taking a seat on the sofa.

-PFFFFFT!!!-

"…!" Vincent hurriedly stood up abashedly.

Cait Sith sniggered in his cat basket, and Reeve (while stifling a smile and laughter) exclaimed, "Vincent! Contain yourself!"

"Bu-- It wasn't me!" said Vincent defensively.

"It must have been you," disagreed Reeve. "It was heard when YOU sat down."

"No, I didn't--"

"Whoever denies it applied it," sniggered Cait Sith.

"You little… Oooh!" groaned Vincent in annoyance, sitting down huffily. It must have been his stupid whoopee cushion… thought Vincent bitterly. That stupid son of a…

"Anyway, Vincent, I need you to come with me around the house and check everything. It's new, and I need someone to make sure it's all right."

"So I'm your guinea pig now?" asked Vincent. "Well, that makes me feel loads better about myself."

"No, not a guinea pig!" said Reeve reassuringly. "You are the only person to ever set foot in this place! You're lucky!"

"Glory…"

"Anyway, come with me. We go check out the first room." Reeve stood up and walked down the hall.

Cait Sith stood up and said to Vincent, "We must get going, yes?"

"Yeah, whatever," muttered Vincent, following Cait Sith and Reeve down a oddly lit hall. He looked around and spotted a whole row of mirrors. "…" he quickly checked his reflection in the mirror, fixing his hair and shirt. There, at least I look nice… he curiously looked at all the mirrors. I wonder if they do the same thing…? Forgetting that he was supposed to be following Reeve and Cait Sith, Vincent walked to the next mirror.

It made Vincent look older. Much, much older. "Ah-hah!" wailed Vincent, backing up. "I'm old!! I look worse then Hojo-sama!" He made a face at his older self in the mirror and hurried to the next one.

This mirror made Vincent look younger. Toddler young. "Eew…I'm so chubby," muttered Vincent. "Is that really how I looked when I was only a toddler…?" Vincent shook his head and moved on to the next mirror.

The mirror here was like any standard trick house mirror; it make Vincent look very tall and scrawny. "…ugh…" muttered Vincent distastefully. He curiously checked the next mirror, which made Vincent look short and stout. "Oh, that's just…." Vincent shook himself of the image and went to the last mirror in the hallway.

A mirror that shows you as a different gender… thought Vincent. Pretty impressive… I--I look good as a women… Vincent smiled to himself and pretended to strike different poses. "Oh, yeah, you sexy! You sexy, girly-girl!" he said to his female reflection.

Reeve chose that time to come back and see what was keeping Vincent so long. "…Ahem, Vincent? What the heck are you doing?"

Vincent jumped and whirled around. "!!! Reeve! I--I was just… I…I was checking out your mirrors," he muttered embarrassedly.

"I see that," said Reeve stiffly, trying to stifle sniggering. "Come on, we don't have all night!"

"Sorry…" Vincent sighed. Great, I'm letting myself get carried away with childish game mirrors… He followed Reeve and Cait Sith to a room filled with differently colored mats. "What's with all these mats?" asked Vincent."

"I don't know," answered Reeve.

Vincent fell over anime style and got back up. "What was that?! This is YOUR house, and you don't even know what these mats do?!" he demanded.

"Hey, these mats are brand new. I got them in yesterday, and didn't feel bothered to try them out. After all, you -beeps- of Shinra get to do all the dirty work, yes?"

"Well, yes, we're the -beeps- of Shinra, but… We do dirty work that's meaningful! That actually has a point!"

"This does have a point!" said Reeve defensively. "Just step on those mats and see what they do."

Vincent rolled his eyes. "There are only three mats….this won't take long…" He stepped on a red mat. "…nothing's happening," he informed Reeve.

"Try moving around," advised Cait Sith. "It's probably motion sensitive."

"Motion sensitive," repeated Vincent, stepping on the red mat.

-poof-

Reeve and Cait Sith howled with laughter. "AHAHAHAAHHAH!!! SO that's what it does!"

"Hey, let me out of here!" came Vincent's voice, muffled from behind the wall.

"Sorry about that! Laughed Reeve, pushing a button.

"Aah!" wailed Vincent as he fell from the wall to the ground. "Oof! Owie…"

"If you think that was good, wait till you try the other three mats!" laughed Reeve.

Vincent lifted his head up with a weary sigh. We'll be at this all night…Why? Why me…?
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We'll let Vincent's saga continue next chapter! See you then!