Number VII
"Silence, everyone!"
The crowd got all quiet as a SOLDIER officer yelled; the teenager boys - and few girls - tried to stand in their lines peacefully, but their legs moved restlessly and nervously as the silent whispers were still murmured among them. The SOLDIER officer, wearing a read uniform and a black helmet, stood in front of them, shaking from hidden anger. These kids! He was about to yell again, but then he saw another SOLDIER coming closer, and he gasped as he saw the black-purple uniform, light-brown skin and white hair. "M-major General", he blurted out weakly. He saluted quickly and started to shake again, this time with fear and admiration. The woman just snorted at him, and her green eyes flashed with amusement and pity.
The crowd was now all silent as the female officer stood next to the one with red uniform - 2nd Class SOLDIER, office rank Major -, and she let her cold gaze go through the possible SOLDIER candidates. "Greetings, everyone", she said finally, her voice clear and strong, even cold. "You are all here for one purpose, and one purpose only - am I not right?" She smiled, and her eyes flashed with Mako. She waited for a short moment, and as it seemed the murmuring was right about to get out of hand she continued: "I am Major General Celestial Mourir, and this man over here..." she pointed at the man with the red uniform "..is Major Greg Rainrock." Greg nodded firmly to the crowd. "We are both top ranked SOLDIERs, and you-" she pointed at the front row "-want to become one of us, now don't you?" Now her eyes really were burning with Mako, but since her original eye colour was green, it was hard for an outsider to tell there was the glow in her eyes.
She started to walk towards the front row, and the boys there took quickly few steps backwards; Major General snorted, her eyes closed, and let the people whisper some more about her and her uniform. She was really thin, and only the shape of her legs and waist showed any female signs: her face was thin as well, even skinny, in a noble way that often reminded people of Sephiroth's face. Her white hair was often free, and it had grown over her shoulders. Some metal parts of her clothes were making a quiet "cling" -noise as she walked lazily among the want-to-be-SOLDIERs. The upper-part of her uniform was very tight, but the trousers looked like they were way too big for her. Her shoes were black marching boots, made of leather. Her hands were covered in black gloves, but her arms were bare, showing off her fine muscles.
Celes stopped in front a blond hair young man, whose hair reminded her of Zack. How amusing, she thought. He looks a lot like Zack, but his facial expression is totally different... Those cold blue eyes... such a determined look in them. She suddenly felt herself sad, and she remembered all the possible candidates that had disappeared after every selection she had witnessed. Don't be one of those, she prayed in her mind. Please don't disappear.
---
Cloud Strife shivered as the white-haired woman looked straight at him with those green eyes of hers, and the coldness - and something else - coming from her made him almost faint. But his fears were won by the admiration that he felt. This woman is a high-ranked SOLDIER! he thought enthusiastically. She looked at me! He stared right back at her eyes, and she gave her a short view of her smiling face; the smile made her face prettier, and Cloud blinked.
But then she was gone, walking forwards, talking: "This is a big day for you all. You will all now go and see a doctor, who'll take necessary tests to see if you are in a good physical strength, and a psychologist will test your mentality." Cloud blinked again; had her voice shaken? He shook his head and tried to focus.
---
"Here", Sephiroth had said and thrown some papers at her.
"What are these?" Celes had touched the papers cautiously.
"Your speech for the newbies. Don't say anything out from the practiced lines. This is all you can .. no, all that you're allowed to tell them, no matter what you knew. Don't ask me why. It's a rule given by the big guys."
Celes had looked him into the eyes, and something in them had told her she should have remembered something. But what?
Celes shivered as she remembered that conversation, and she sighed in her mind. "All of you.." Her voice broke, and angrily she continued: "All of you will lose contact to your homes." A sudden, amazed wave of murmuring spread among the possible candidates. "Your families shall be notified if and when you become part of this military." She took a deep breath and turned around, and realized she was facing that blond-haired guy again. She looked at his eyes and then tried to avoid him for the rest of her speech. "Please give your personal information for Major Greg: this includes everything that can prove us your identity." She gasped, swallowed, nodded to Greg and left, her face expressionless: she felt herself angry and sad. Celes could feel the eyes of the blond-haired young man on her back, and all of his questions were hitting her own head desperately - those were her questions as well.
Why?
---
5 years in the army, and still she wasn't used to the sadness she felt after every selection. People who weren't selected were simply forgotten by the company, and questions were not allowed. And, as she had noticed before, the higher her rank got, the more pain she felt.
She was rubbing her eyes angrily as she heard familiar noise from the corridor. Shaking her head, she got ready for the first meeting with the selected candidates. As she turned around to face the newbies, her face was yet again expressionless and no signs of her tears or tiredness were shown. Celes looked at every face that entered the room, and her heart jumped an extra beat as she saw the blond-haired guy with a similar hairstyle to Zack's. He was pale, just like everyone else in the room (expect for herself), and compassion filled her as she recalled the first days after being selected.
"Seems you have made it this far", she said, without succeeding to hide her coldness and bitterness. The crowd - all boys - went silent, probably wondering why she was so rejecting. Ah, shit, this is what Zack warned me about... and Sephiroth, too, in his own strange ways. "Before you sit down, please introduce yourselves and tell me where you are from." She was sweating as she said this, as it was deviating from the speech she had been given 3 years ago. But I need to know where he is from! Could it be he knows Zack? She found herself surprised as the young man - Cloud Strife was his name - said he was from Nibelheim. His voice was deep, and something in him told Celes he didn't really talk much. His blue eyes were carefully following Celes, and she realized this guy wasn't stupid at all: horror filled her, as she understood she had been careless with her words. Celes prayed he'd be a loyal personality.
---
As the time passed by, it became very clear to Cloud that Major General Celestial "Celes" Mourir didn't really enjoy being a SOLDIER, but her will to surpass Sephiroth passed her loathe to the company the military was working for. Cloud had never seen such a woman before, and he hoped he could tell about Celes for Tifa and ask for her opinion: but after the selection he had been so busy with training and all that such things as writing letters soon vanished from his mind.
And as the time passed by, he realized he couldn't really get any friends among his team; for others it seemed like their superior, Major General herself, was being soft on him and giving him extra support. It pissed him off, and once he went and asked for a private appointment. Major General had looked a bit surprised, but she understood his problem and showed no more mercy on him during the training. Cloud never asked why she had been like that before, but he suggested it was because he had reminded her of someone else. He soon forgot about it.
And, as the time passed by, it was very clear that Cloud Strife would never raise high in the ranks.
---
Celes marched back and forth in front of the window of her office. The beautiful view to the ocean had been hidden away by the curtains, but the man sitting next to the table thought the woman was even more beautiful to watch, and he was actually happy the curtains were down: if they'd get into serious close contact, it would be good if no one could see them. Heidegger had to hide his laughter with a cough.
"Major General", he said, trying to keep his usually loud voice as low as possible. "Please calm down. This is not my fault." He shrugged. "If Professor Hojo says this young man cannot take any more, then it is so."
"Professor Hojo", Celes said gravely. "Professor Hojo is the head of Shinra's Science Department, am I not correct?"
Oops, Heidegger thought. Darn clever woman! "Yes," he admitted, wondering what to say next. "And he.. is very well aware of this ..sickness among all the SOLDIERs. It is unfortunate that the powers of yours cause such a trouble, but it cannot be .. avoided. Professor Hojo, however, has promised us to research this matter, and he now says he has found something important." Celes' eyebrows rose up high. "Judging by his notes, Cloud Strife's body will not be able to take any more."
"Any more of what?" She slammed the table all of a sudden, and her face reddened with anger, and her arm muscles trembled.
Heidegger had to remind himself to not to take this woman by force, because of those very muscles right in front of his very eyes: heck, this woman could kill him anytime she wanted! "Unfortunately, even though of your high rank, I am not allowed to tell you that", he said coldly and stood up. "You better warn him he won't become an officer after all, gya hah hah haa."
After the door had closed behind Celes screamed and threw the table over. Shaking with anger and trying to hold her tears, she slowly remembered something. She opened the curtains and looked at her weak reflection on the window. She touched her eyes' reflection. The mark of a SOLDIER... Mako eyes... "He can't take any more." Mako. They put Mako energy inside us. Those blood tests... She let herself fall on her knees, her head against the cold wall. "For what am I useful?" she whispered, remembering Wutai.
---
Cloud was waiting in the corridor as she finally opened the door again. The young man stood up, and Celes noticed he had grown a bit taller. She waved him to come in, and asked him to sit down. She looked quickly around; no one there. Celes closed the door but didn't lock it: that would have been suspicious. She sat down and waited for Cloud to say something about the papers on the floor. But he said nothing, and she sighed.
"Well, Cloud, do you know what you are here for?"
"No."
Celes closed her eyes. "As you know", she started. "The SOLDIERs need a blood test every time they are raising in the ranks. That is to make sure they are still in good health and can take the physical pressure of being an officer." She inhaled deeply and crossed her fingers in front of her face.
Cloud said nothing, but as Celes looked at his eyes, she knew he understood. "I'm sorry", she said as gently as she could. Cloud let his head fall on his chest. Celes looked at him for a while, and gasping, she made her decision. She stood up, walked next to the young man and grabbed his shoulders. "Cloud, look at me." He did so, but he looked so sad it almost broke her heart. "What I will tell you next... don't tell anyone else, ok?" she whispered. His eyes flashed with interest - and fear. "There is something going on in the company", she whispered and squeezed his shoulders. "Something horrible. I don't know what it is..." Celes shook her head. "I will take you under my wing", she continued after a while. "Sephiroth did so for me, I have heard." Blackness of hatred covered her eyes as she thought about that arrogant man. Noble shit head! "And I know someone else who will be friendly for you." She smiled as she thought about Zack. "This way you will be my subordinate and work straight under my command: it should be like being an officer yourself. Of course, I understand it is not the same but..." She stopped talking as she noticed she wasn't really making any sense. Shaking her head again, she looked at Cloud's eyes and asked: "So, how about it?" and remembered the day someone else had asked the very same from herself. How about it?
---
As Celes had promised, Cloud Strife became her assistant. She was still receiving lessons from Sephiroth and Zack, but now she gave lessons for Cloud as well. Sometimes Zack helped them, and as the two men stood in front of her eyes Celes couldn't help it but smile at their similar hairstyle. She always wondered if the guys noticed anything.
Cloud didn't take any tests anymore, and received a permanent position under Celes' command as her right hand assistant. Celes was very open with him, and even though Cloud didn't tell her much she could still trust him. They could sit and watch the ocean for hours, and sometimes Zack and even Sephiroth joined them. Rumours started to follow them around, but Celes didn't care about them. Jealous people, she thought gravely.
But as time passed by, Celes noticed Cloud was actually upset. Not just because of the rumours, but also because of the fact he couldn't become an officer. Celes felt the fear rise in her heart, and she remembered the day when she had realized what Shinra was doing to its SOLDIERs. Human experiments. But for what? What are we useful for? There are no more wars. What are we needed for? She wished she could tell someone, but she was afraid to tell anyone, least to Cloud who was naive with people around him and - even though his distant appearance showed it not - he could trust anyone who was being friendly with him. With satisfaction Celes followed one her subordinate's friendship's bloom and grow: Cloud came along well with Zack, who was also suspecting Shinra for something nasty. Celes hoped Zack and her together would be able to show the young man it was not really awesome to be a SOLDIER officer.
But in secret, Cloud adored Sephiroth the most of the three great SOLDIERs. Celes was a woman, her heart filled with too much compassion, and Zack was being too careful and worried about things Cloud didn't care about. But Sephiroth... He sure was something! Cloud dreamt of working with him one day.