Number VII

Soon it became confirmed that Sephiroth had been right with Celes' will to fight; after the selections and tests (both physical and psychological) Celestial Mourir showed how willing she was to work as a SOLDIER for Shinra corporation. After the first selection there was a blood test that always seemed to cause some sickness among the possible candidates, and recovering from that sickness usually took approximately 5 days - Celes recovered in just 2. And she also seemed to have a particular reason to fight, but she never told it to anyone, not even when she was hypnotized.

For some reason Sephiroth wanted to keep her fast progress away from the press. Of course, rumours spread all around Junon, but Shinra tried to keep the facts as a secret. Nobody wanted to question Sephiroth's reasoning, but of course this matter caused a lot of discussion among the other SOLDIERs and in the lead of the corporation. Celes, of course, knew nothing about this strange special protection she got. She focused on her training with all that she had, from 6 AM to 7 PM; including physical and Materia -using training. For some she seemed like a fanatic, but she had goals to reach: one was to surpass her protector Sephiroth, whose attitude pissed her off.

Celes hadn't seen Sephiroth much after their fist meeting, but everytime she saw his face somewhere she felt herself upset by his noble, selfish face and strange eyes. His way to fight - a very arrogant way that showed Sephiroth believed there was no one to beat him - was another thing that pissed Celes off big time. On the other hand, Sephiroth either ignored Celes totally or beat her down with his overwhelming powers.

"Such a remarkable child, and we must keep her as a secret just because of one SOLDIER", one Captain once complained to another.

"Hah, just one SOLDIER? Dude, where have your eyes and ears been? We're talking about Sephiroth here! Besides, I've heard there's a war coming up; maybe she's gonna be a secret weapon, you know?"

Such conversations weren't rare neither in Junon nor in Midgar. But no one confirmed them, no one denied them; so they lived, and Celes lived without knowing anything. She was proud to be a SOLDIER candidate, since only few females had made it. After the first selection, when her body was in horrible pain and she thought she'd die, she had wondered what happened to those who didn't make it through the selection. No one talked about that, and nobody answered when she asked. She soon stopped questioning, but as she raised higher in the ranks and the pain was burning in her veins, she wondered about the disappeared, un-selected ones over and over again.

But one rumour seemed to be true: there was a war coming up, and soon. Excitement ran through Celes as she thought about it, and nervousness, of course. She imagined the war in her mind, trying to figure out how it could be like. But she had never killed anyone or seen people die in masses, so her images were most likely wrong and more like a daydream with a happy ending. No one talked about the preparations for the war in open, but whispers were whispered and opinions were argued about.

And finally, right after Celes had became a 2nd Lieutenant, the rumours were confirmed by the President of Shinra Electric Company. It was 2 years after Celes' joining the SOLDIER when she met both Sephiroth and Zack - another unknown SOLDIER officer for the public - again. Celes had just finished with her physical training; it was a rainy afternoon and she found herself really hungry. She was heading to one of the bars in Junon, when she heard someone calling for her.

"Sergeant Major Celes!" a familiar voice shouted.

Celes turned to the voice and said coldly: "It's 2nd Lieutenant, dear General." Her green eyes burned with frustration, and Mako flashed in them, causing her some headache. She shook her head and saluted to the two higher-ranked officers, her tanned face expressionless. "Generals Sephiroth and Zack, such a surprise to see you here."

"Wow! A 2nd Lieutenant already? Woah!" Zack amused. "Well, congratulations, then!" He grinned, and Celes said "hmph", but smiled. Her eyes started to shine.

"So what brings you two here? The so-rumoured war?" she laughed, but stopped as Zack's face changed from a smile to a frown. Sephiroth closed his eyes, snorting at his partner's reactions. "Yes", he answered to Celes' total surprise. "Come, 2nd Lieutenant", he added, and led the way. Celes looked at Zack, who avoided her eyes. He looked as if he was in pain.

"General? You ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going so we won't get lost, right?" He tried to laugh, but Celes noticed his laughter was forced, and then she had to hurry after the two.

---

The conference room of Junon was full of high-ranked SOLDIERs, but in front of the large window - with a view to the ocean - were the leaders of the corporation. Celes gasped as she saw them, and Zack raised his finger on his lips, telling her to be quiet. "You shouldn't really be here, but Sephiroth wanted so, so..." he whispered to her ear, and Celes blushed. Zack smiled quickly, asked her to stay where she was and remain silent no matter what, and moved closer to the leaders.

Celes tried to see everything at once and almost broke her neck. There was Verdot, the leader of the Turks, and two of his subordinates: a man called Legend and another man called Tseng. The three were standing next to a young man with blond hair and white clothes, a person Celes hadn't seen before. And there, nearby the President, was Heidegger, the head of Shinra's Public Safety Maintenance Department, alias the military forces; a middle-aged guy with a horrible laughter and personality, from what Celes knew anyways. And there was a woman among the executives, Scarlet, the head of Shinra's Weapons Development Department; some said she had once been a really beautiful lady, but that her evil nature had changed her looks severely. Nevertheless, she was one of the cruellest persons Celes had ever known. President Shinra himself... Celes had seen him hundreds of times, in newspapers. He was obviously a clever and a dangerous man, and Celes wished she'd never have to face him face to face.

As told by Zack, she remained still and silent in the back row, and followed how the SOLDIER officers were whispering and moving restlessly while waiting for the special meeting to start. Finally the whispering ceased, and the President stood up.

"Greetings, everyone", he said with a deep, strong voice. "As you might have heard for weeks now, there has been preparations for a war. Well, these rumours are true." The whispering started again, and Heidegger yelled for silence. The President kept a short pause before continuing: "The war will be against Wutai. They have denied our power and right to rule over this world. Thus they need a lesson."

Celes felt her stomach turning upside down. Wutai needs a lesson? What the hell? But the officers started whispering again, this time more eagerly than before. The President rose his voice: "All SOLDIER officers will get a promotion, one rank higher, for the purposes of the war. Dismissed." The President sat down, and a little chaos started among the officers. Celes felt dizzy. All SOLDIER officers... I'm a Lieutenant, then?

"Well, congratulations, Lieutenant Celes", a soft, deep voice said next to her. Celes shuddered and gasped. She turned around and saw the blond haired young man standing next to her. The three Turks were not far from him, and they were all following the blond man and the people around him carefully. Celes felt Verdot's eyes on herself, and wondered if he still remembered her. She looked at the blond man's cold blue eyes that were shining... with what? Celes couldn't read him, and that made her nervous.

"Thank you, Mister", she said, wondering who the hell was that guy. Am I supposed to know him?

The man's eyes flashed, and he nodded. "Ah yes, we haven't met yet... I am Rufus Shinra, the Vice-President of this company." He moved some hair from his face with a quick movement of his hand, and he smiled coldly.

"Oh." Celes could feel how her knees started to shake. The President's son...!

"Yes", he said shortly. "Well, good luck with the war. Hopefully we can meet again." He bowed shortly, his eyes shining somewhat dangerously, his thin lips turned into a smile that made Celes tremble. He left, Verdot and his subordinates following him silently, and Celes swallowed, remembering how to breathe.

"Celes?" Celes shivered, as she recognized Captain - no, Major Dan's tempestuous voice. "What are you doing here?" Major Dan, a huge muscular man with funny wave-like moustache, stood in front of her, big and scary.

"I am.. uhh... I just..." She blushed and felt herself embarrassed because of not being able to answer properly. People were gathering around them.

"Did he just say Celes? You mean that girl-SOLDIER?"

Major Dan looked down at the young woman, his face slowly turning into purple, indicating that he was just about to shout out really loud.

"Excuse me, gentlemen-! Coming through, coming through! Celes! There you are!" Zack said loudly and happily. "I said wait outside, didn't I? Bad girl, bad girl... Excuse us, misters, she's still unfamiliar with some stuff... teehee... Come on, dear, let's go!" He grabbed her arm and started to pull her through the crowd. "The dinner's getting cold!" His fingers were like tongs, and Celes couldn't help it but squeak quietly in pain. "Oh, sorry, Celes." Zack loosened his hold a bit. "Sheesh, such vultures around here!"

"I thought you were already used to them", Sephiroth said calmly behind them. Celes turned her head a bit and saw the silver-haired SOLDIER following them few steps behind, relaxed and smiled. He raised his eyebrow to Celes, and she turned back, just in time to dodge the closing door. "Watch out for your nose, Lieutenant Celes", Sephiroth said, snorting.

Celes narrowed her eyes.Tseh, watch out for your nose, noble shit head, she thought and smiled grimly. I'll definitely show you in Wutai!