A/N: Well, here's the second chapter. Please, review. Even if it's just one word, anything would be appreciated. Thank you. Also, if you find anything that should or could be improved, please inform me. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII
Chapter 2: Tactless Recruitment
Ignoring the lifeless maimed bodies of unlucky cadets strewn across the mountain path, he noticed a teenager standing right in the middle. What ensnared his attention, though, were the two standard issue swords in each of the boy's hands, blood dripping slowly from the blades. Blue flames spilled from the dragon's mouth, drawing Sephiroth's eyes. The boy leapt to the side and lunged forward in one fluid movement, the blade of his sword breaking through its armour-like scales and drawing blood. The monster let loose a shrill cry and faltered, the blond taking the opportunity to drive the tip of his other sword into one of its eyes. The reptilian creature cried out again and blindly lashed out with its claws.
They cleaved five bleeding lines across the boy's shoulder, tearing away flesh and bits of bone. The teen deftly dodged another jet of flames and created some distance between them. Sephiroth almost tutted in disappointment as the boy dropped one of his swords in agony. The dragon flew at the boy with amazing speed, closing the distance in the time it took an ordinary person to blink. The boy ducked under the creature and drove his remaining weapon upwards, impaling its heavily-armoured underbelly. The boy then threw it to the ground, trapped it with his knees and skewered it once more, driving the blade through the beast's body and out the other end. It twitched painfully as a spray of blood caressed the blond's face with its scarlet touch.
The boy pulled the sword out and discarded it, pulling the corpse into a bloodied embrace. Sephiroth raised an inquisitive brow when the boy clasped his hands together, as if praying, the dead body still in his arms. A few minutes passed before the finally lay the body on the ground and stood up. Sephiroth had taken that time to survey the damage. A majority of the cadets lay thrown about like rag dolls, dead. Their injuries suggested that they had been killed by the dragon. Similar wounds ailed the remaining live cadets and it didn't take a genius to realise that the boy had saved his men, especially with some of them babbling on and on about it.
Cloud walked over to inspect the nest, completely ignoring the onlookers. He gently moved the stones around, not really expecting to find much. A small glimmer of blue caught his eye and he reached into the wreckage to pull out a small egg, a tiny round orb no larger than a piece of materia. Thankfully, this particular one was intact, if one ignored a few hairline cracks on its surface. He pocketed it.
The blond walked towards them, allowing Sephiroth a clear view. He began to inspect the boy, his eyes taking in every inch as he had been trained to do, but what stood out to him the most was his hair and eyes. The boy's hair was a beautiful platinum blond, so pale its colour was dipping towards silver. He had eyes that couldn't seem to decide if they were blue or pale green and in the light of the moon they seemed to glow. As the boy walked past, he could smell the faint tang of mako.
'From living near the reactor. He must be a villager from Nibelheim,' he guessed.
The silver haired man's eyes drifted towards the boy's wounds. They were worse than he had originally thought. A medley of burns, claws marks and teeth marks were scored across the blond's body. The injuries were not a new concept to the General, but to see them on a boy so young, one who saved his men no less, made him feel that he should at least treat the blond's wounds. He turned around to call the boy back, but not even a shadow was left of that mysterious teen. The blond with the aquamarine eyes had disappeared past the rocky outcrops and into the night.
'No matter. I will most likely be seeing him tomorrow,' Sephiroth turned and began to lead the cadets down the mountain, towards their designated camp site. He could hear them chattering excitedly about the incident that had just happened moments before. When they arrived at the camp grounds, the cadets built a fire and slept as close to the flames as they could. Sephiroth stayed awake on night watch, staring into the fire as his mind wandered to their mission. It was simple. Go to Nibelheim, recruit at least one person, return to HQ.
Lazard had been on his back because the number of cadets this year was threateningly low, and not one had come from Nibelheim. The war was dragging on after the ruler of Wutai had refused their demands. The Silver General had been pulled away from the front lines to appease Wutai, but the Wutaians ignored the gesture and Genesis was sent to the front lines. They were now at a stalemate, Shinra not wanting to destroy a potential cash cow and Wutai not wanting to sacrifice more of their warriors. And here he found himself in the mountains with the remaining six cadets as bodyguards. The other eleven had fallen in battle against the dragon.
The memory of the fight began to play in his mind. The dragon was a vicious dark whirlwind of claws, teeth and blue flames that would have been no match against himself, but it took down more than half of his 'bodyguards'. And yet the young blond, clearly untrained, had slain it. The boy's movements were swift and clean cut. Most importantly was the teen's speed, which had ultimately lead to the dragon's demise. What nagged at him was that the boy was strong. Freakishly so, having sliced through the monster's armour-like scales which was a feat impossible for someone so young and scrawny. The boy was not normal, and he was determined to find out why.
Cloud hit the shower the moment he got home. Dried blood and detritus clung to his body uncomfortably. He removed the orb from his pocket and discarded his clothes on the floor, not deigning to pick them up. He washed the dirt out of his wounds with gentle fingers and practised efficiency. The wine coloured liquid that was draining away slowly turned clear as the grime left his body. He towelled himself down, pulled on his clothes and grabbed the orb before flopping tiredly onto the bed. It warmed his body pleasantly, fending off the chill of winter as he drifted to sleep. The next morning, Cloud was dragged from his sleep by a rough wet thing leaving scorching lines of heat against his cheek.
'Feels like a dog's tongue,' the blond's sleep-fogged mind supplied. 'But we don't have a dog,' the logical part of his brain caught up and he bolted out of bed, falling off in the process. A small, dark blur impacted with his stomach and warbled something that sounded vaguely like 'mama'. Extracting the unknown object, he held it at arm's length and inspected it. It had a sleek, dark body and white, pupil-less eyes. A spiked tail swished between its stubby hind legs and two leathery wings adorned its scaly back. Small horns were situated on either side of its head and dagger-like teeth lined the inside of its mouth.
'Oh, so it hatched,' Cloud looked over at his bed, taking in the scattered pieces of shell on it, shining blue in the light of the morning sun. He let go of the dragon and it perched itself on his uninjured right shoulder, sinking its claws into his flesh almost possessively. Cloud winced but left it be, not wanting it to maim his shoulder any further.
"Cloud! Breakfast! And groom yourself, the mayor summoned all the villagers to the village square! We're to be there in 10 minutes!" Mrs Strife shouted through the door and rapped on it before she left to emphasize her point.
"Coming!" Cloud trudged into the kitchen.
His mother started shrieking in fear as soon as she saw him and grabbed the nearest thing that she could find.
"Cloud! Get down!" she brandished a chicken leg and charged at him, poultry body part swinging wildly. Cloud dodged and held his hands up in surrender.
"Mom! Stop!" he yelled, trying to get her to calm down. The blond lady paused for a while, her chest heaving as she hyperventilated. The monster in the room trilled obliviously, spreading its wings.
"Dragon!" his mother freaked out again and gunned for the scaly thing on the teenager's shoulder, chicken leg held high above her head like a mighty sword. Cloud evaded another attack and managed to keep his mother calm for long enough to give her an explanation, albeit one riddled with half-truths. Mrs Strife set the meat back on a plate and sank into her chair. By some miracle, Cloud had managed to wolf down his breakfast and arrive at the village square on time. He had had to feed the baby dragon with scraps of raw meat, clean and bandage the fresh wounds, then change out of his pyjamas and haul ass to the meeting point with his mother. The small creature had settled itself inside his pocket and lay inside, sleeping.
What he saw was not what he had been expecting. Teenagers ranging from age fourteen to nineteen stood in a semi-circle around the fountain while the adults stood to one side, their expressions apprehensive. The mayor nodded at and empty space next to Tifa and he trotted over to join the ensemble while his mother huddled with the other parents. He saw the silver haired man from the night before pacing up and down, scrutinising them. The six survivors standing stock still in an unnaturally straight line behind him. The man stopped pacing the moment the formation was completed.
"I am here on behalf of the Shinra army, as General of the SOLDIER forces to recruit at least one person for the programme," the man spoke slowly, his tone exuding authority. Cloud tuned the baritone voice out as it rattled off a scripted list of benefits and closure. One of the helmeted men went from left to right, taking down names of those who agreed to enter the programme in sombre silence. The military man stopped in front of Tifa and the brunette firmly shook her head to indicate 'no'. The man moved on to Cloud and the blond, too, shook his head, and the man moved on. The list finally made its way back to Sephiroth and the General silently nodded his head in approval.
"Transportation will arrive in two days' time. I expect those people whose names are on the list to be here two days from now at 0900 hours," Sephiroth instructed, then turned on his heel and retreated into the inn, his subordinates following after him. The silver haired man didn't emerge from the building, even after the sun dipped its head behind the mountains. Cloud had spent the day house breaking the dragon. The little thing caught onto it so fast it didn't take long, even managing to launch itself into the air and tire itself by flying around their heads.
He now lay in bed, listening to the steady breathing of his mother and the new addition to their family. Feeling restless, he slid out of bed, pulled on his shoes and jumped out the window, landing perfectly on his feet with minimal noise and disturbance. He cut across the village square as he made his way towards the mansion, the events of the morning still fresh in his mind.
"You put up quite an amazing show last night," an almost toneless voice cut through the thick, dark night. Cloud turned around, his eyes falling on the man with the silver hair. He flinched when he saw the man's eyes, slitted and green, glowing bright like miniature stars.
"I-I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what you're talking about," Cloud dipped his head and pulled his shoulders forward defensively and submissively. They remained silent for a few moments before Sephiroth broke the silence.
"Lying won't get you anywhere. Your features are too unique," Sephiroth informed the blond.
"What do you want?" Cloud asked wearily as he straightened his posture, suddenly feeling very drained.
"You saved my men, and for that you have my gratitude," the General said formally. "I noticed that you refused the opportunity to enter the programme, why is that so? Shinra would benefit from your presence."
Cloud snorted and mumbled, "All you want is more cannon fodder and jail bait. Besides, I have a dream to fulfil."
"Oh? What is your dream?" the older of the two inquired.
"You can hear me?" Cloud took a step back in shock. This earned him nothing but a raised eyebrow as its owner awaited an answer.
"My dream is to go to Midgar, study culinary arts and become a chef," Cloud sighed. "I have no intention of joining the army or fighting because I hate violence."
"Just as well, but I cannot guarantee the safety of your mother if you refuse the offer," the man stated, his voice betraying nothing.
A/N: So... How was it? Please review, and any questions or comments or insults will be welcome. Thank you.