If the last few chapters confused you, hopefully this one will help to clear it up:) I apologize, once again for such a short chapter, but I'm trying to make them longer. Thankyou once again to Ziggy Pasta, chibipinkbunny andimaxgoxgnomgnomxonxya, always my faithful reviewers.

Enjoy!

The frightened man sprinted out the door of the mansion, running towards the stable where his Chocobo resided.

He hesitated by the cart for a moment, grabbing the precious cargo from inside, and hurrying towards his Chocobo, the wooden chest tucked safely under his arm.

It gave a grumpy wark as he jumped on its back and spurred it forward, not even bothering to saddle him, they rode out of the stable, their presence covered by the shadows of night...

For two miles, he spurred the Chocobo on mercilessly, wanting to get as far away as he could before Hojo could send anyone or anything after him.

He had no idea how many people, or monsters for that matter were on his side.

He felt the Chocobo begin to tremble beneath him. He knew he was pushing him to hard, much too hard than he usually did.

The animal gave a sad cry and let its knees buckle, collapsing on the ground, letting its head thud with a dull crunch on the snow. He quickly dismounted; making sure the poor bird was

alive, before coaxing it up with some grain and leading it to a small copse of trees not far away.

Though the barren trees gave little or no protection from the snow that began to fall relentlessly once more, the bare branches were so thick, he was well hidden from anyone who

happened to pass by.

He cleared a small spot on the ground, putting the remainder of the feed he'd brought with him on the ground.

The bird didn't need to be asked twice, and obediently laid at his feet, scooped up the grain in its mouth, tucking its head under its wing.

He lay down beside the bird, stroking it soothingly and moving closer, thankful for the warmth of its feathers on the cold night. He could hear soft munching as the bird finished up the last

of the grain from beneath the cover of his wing, and then soft snores as it fell asleep, exhausted from the day's work.

He peered at the bird enviously, able to sleep easily, not knowing, nor caring whether it lived or died, not afraid of death that could come at any moment, just content to be free...

He tried not to let sleep take him, but he was exhausted, and the lulling tide of darkness that brushed him was too tantalizing to resist. He closed his eyes gratefully, letting the soft

breathing of his Chocobo lull him to sleep.

__________

"Hey Flint!" Flint peered lazily over the weapon catalog he was reading.

Zack was standing in front of him, holding the arm of a very embarrassed looking SOLDIER and smiling his infamous 'Zack' smile.

"Yeah what?" he grumbled impatiently, not wanting to have to talk to the man longer than needed.

"This is the new guy, he just joined SOLDIER."

The boy flushed embarrassedly. "Zack, please stop-"

"You gotta name kid?" Flint interrupted, eager to get back to his magazine.

"Name's Cloud." The boy mumbled, earning another beaming smile from Zack and flushing profusely as Zack ruffled his hair.

"I've taken him under my wing." Zack exclaimed, "Tseng told me keep an eye on this guy, in case he decides to pull anything off." Zack said, laughing.

"That's great, another kid who thinks he's gonna be the new Sephiroth." Flint grumbled.

Zack's smile faded into an expression of defiance, "And who says he won't?"

______________

Flint awoke as Fenrir shifted beside him, giving a soft wark in his sleep. He turned, falling back into his dreams.

______________

"This kid is just like Ramirez. Thought he could go around thinking he was invincible. Next thing you know, we find his body being eaten up by carnivorous monsters." Flint yelled, holding a bleeding

gash on his arm.

Cloud sat on the floor dumfounded after Flint had thrown him to the ground.

The training session had been going well, but Cloud had flicked Flint's sword out of his hand disarming his superior and giving him a long gash to show for it. Flint fumed silently as Cloud got back

up, brushing himself off and retrieving Flint's sword and holding it out, as if as a peace offering.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-" Flint punched him in the face, leaving him sprawled on the ground, spitting up blood and stormed out of the arena, earning a ferocious look from Zack as he went to help his

friend.

__

Zack entered the bunk room and dragged Flint off the bed.

"What the hell?" he shouted, scrambling to his feet.

"Why the hell are you giving Cloud so much crap?" Flint smirked, turning towards the door.

Zack beat him to it, standing in front and blocking the passage.

"You had no right to punch him. It was an accident, you know that!" Flint looked up into Zack's eyes. A fire was in them that was unwelcome in their usually friendly depths.

"Wow, the great Zack Fair does have more than one emotion."

Zack growled, shoving Flint against the wall, holding him by his throat. "I was taught by my mentor to not let anger control me as you have. To not let sadness weaken me."

He tightened his grip."But I'm afraid some things cannot be held back."

His eyes burned into Flint's, "You will apologize to Cloud, and you will mean it." Flint growled, grasping Zack's arms in attempt to pull them off him.

"No way in hell!" he spat.

"Then tell me why, at least. Why do you go out of your way to make his life a living hell?"

"Let go of me, and I will." Zack hesitantly released his grip, but remained standing guard in front of the door.

"How is it," Flint hissed, "that a grunt such as Cloud, someone who is supposed to be a complete weakling until his full mako infusion, is more powerful than me, a second class SOLDIER?"

Zack remained still, his eyes flashing.

"He's only been in SOLDIER for- what, six months now? And yet, he can beat me, and could even possibly pose a threat to you! The greatest and most powerful SOLDIER since Sephiroth himself!"

Zack laid a hand on the hilt of his Buster Sword.

"Cloud is strong. I don't know why he's as strong as he is, but then again, maybe you're just weak."

Flint pushed Zack out of the way, Zack making no move to stop him.

He turned at the door, "You're both just freaks! You were born freaks, and that's all you'll ever be!" he shouted, turning right towards the door again, only to face an expressionless Cloud.

Flint pushed past the younger SOLDIER and trudged down the hall, feeling Zack and Cloud's eyes on his back all the way.

Okay, just to clear things up, the man and Chocobo are Flint and Fenrir. There is a reason Fenrir has Cloud's future motorcycle's name, so please don't get angry!!! (Can't imagine why you would, but, some people...) anyways, I had to put in Flint as a non original character, even though I usually like to stick to the main cast of FFVII, he needs to be in there, couldn't think of anyone else to play the part of a jealous ex-SOLDIER. He seems a little mean when he's dreaming about the past, but he does get nicer, you'll see. MWAHAHAHA... I also apologize for the Chocobo abuse that Flint inflicts on poor little Fenrir, but he honestly does mean well! Anyways, I hope things have cleared up a bit, or maybe they just confused you more, dunno, you tell me. Hope you're enjoying the story so far, the next chapter should help the confusion... if not a little :)

Thanks for reading,

Lucifer