A/N: Sorry for the late updates! I've been having midterms and projects and whatnot, so I haven't really had time to write. And on top of all my school stuff, I've been sick. =_= Fun, right? That's what I thought. :P Anyways, I will hopefully be updating more often these next few weeks! Yay!

OH. and if you were wondering... Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters. Surprise.

SOLDIER in Training

Zack gazed in awe at the weapon, mesmerized by its perfect blade, perfect hilt… perfect everything. After reality set in, he shouted in excitement. Zack grabbed for his saber, and Braxtynn handed it to him carefully. His parents had glazed looks on their faces, wondering how on earth a SOLDIER sword magically ended up on their front porch. They both looked at Braxtynn for answers, but he just replied with an equally bewildered shrug of the shoulders. Shadow was barking playfully in response to the excitement in the room, much to Elsie's delight. Cal was playing with the fringe on the rug, not caring about or paying attention to anything going on. The room was fairly chaotic for a good five minutes, and when things finally settled down, Mr. Fair spoke up.

"Zack, what does that note say?" He asked suspiciously. After tearing his eyes from the blade he had been so intently observing, Zack grabbed for the note and read it aloud.

"'Happy Birthday, Zack.'" He announced. "That's it. That's all it says," He continued, looking at his father for some sort of explanation. "You do know who it's from, don't you Dad?"

"Probably from your girlfriend," Cal snickered. Zack shot him a threatening glare, but nevertheless turned bright red.

"I don't have a girlfriend, Cal," Zack seethed through his teeth.

"Of course you don't. There's just a girl who follows you around almost everywhere you go, and thinks everything you say is the funniest thing she's heard in her life," Cal said in a matter-of-fact tone. Zack's shade grew darker and darker with every word that Cal said about his supposed "girlfriend."

"And you think she's pretty. Definitely not your girlfriend," Cal finished with a victorious smile on his face. Before Zack could say another word, though, his mother decided to cut in.

"Calcifer, Drake, Fair," She said, pausing between each word. Her tone silenced everyone, including Shadow. Cal's smile left as soon as it had come, and Zack saw a bit of fear in his eyes; the same kind of fear he had only seen once before.

"People usually end up getting what they deserve in the end," The SOLDIER with the huge sword had told Zack all those years ago. He hadn't forgotten those words, simply because the SOLDIER was right… People usually did get what the deserved. And more often than not, one of those people usually ended up being Cal.

"Today is your brother's birthday, and you have been treating him like trash! You have been dismal all morning, and I am sick of it. Apologize to your brother and go to your room," Mrs. Fair ordered. Cal opened his mouth to protest, but before he could get anything out, His father gave him a very stern look. "Now. Before I give you something to really sulk about."

Cal let out a sigh, and his shoulders dropped to his waist. He moped over to Zack, who still looked quite upset with him.

"I'm sorry for making fun of you, Zack…" Cal mumbled, not looking up from the floor. His dark brown bangs hid his embarrassed face.

"It's okay," Zack said a bit forcefully, not wanting to forgive his brother. But, being the mature ten-year-old he was, he figured he should set a good example not only for his sister, but also for his sixteen-year-old brother. Cal gave him a weak smile and shuffled back to his room.

"Anyways," Mr. Fair started slowly after Cal had left the room, trying to relieve some of the tension. Elsie's eyes were still quite big, and Braxtynn was toying awkwardly with his cell phone. "Zack, I don't know who brought you that sword. And that feather… It couldn't have come from a bird in these parts," He tried to reason, mystified. Before he could say anything else, though, Elsie let out a huge gasp.

"It must have come from an angel!" She exclaimed, after apparently thinking hard on the subject.

"Yes, it does look like it came from an angel, doesn't it?" Mr. Fair chuckled. Zack turned the feather over and over in his hands, wondering who this "angel" could be. How did they know what he had wanted so desperately his entire life…? Or maybe it was just chance. Maybe they just happened to have an extra sword to spare, a sword to give to a poor boy like him. But how did they know his name? Waves of unanswered questions surged over Zack. He just shrugged them off, though; because all that mattered was that he had a sword… wasn't it?

"Hey, Zack. How about we go outside, and I can teach you how to use that sword?" Braxtynn coaxed. All of Zack's unanswered questions left his mind immediately, and a look of sheer excitement appeared on his face. He nodded and hopped up, his helmet in one hand and his sword in the other. He yanked up his cargo pants and followed his older brother outside, Shadow and Elsie trailing behind him.

"Zack! Grab your coat, it's freezing out there!" Mrs. Fair instructed before the gang walked outside. "You too, Elsie. I don't want you to catch a cold."

Elsie obediently went to her room and fetched her puffy wool coat and her tiny boots. Zack didn't seem so eager; he just wanted to get outside and start learning how to wield a sword.

"I think I'll be okay, Mom," Zack said, trying to convince his mother.

"Zack, now," She reiterated, and the boy sighed. He ran to his room, and returned moments later pulling on his old leather jacket.

"Be careful," Mrs. Fair called out as they finally marched outside. She sighed as they closed the door, scared to death that one of them would stumble back in bruised and bloodied up.

"Alright," Braxtynn started as the group came outside. A light snow started to fall, and Elsie giggled as she tried to catch snowflakes on her tongue with Shadow on her heels. Even though it was close to eleven o'clock, there was no one out except for the Fairs. Most of the houses had smoke floating out of their chimneys, hinting that their residents were trying to stay out of the cold. Braxtynn pulled his own blade from his back and motioned for Zack to get ready. "Let's see what you got."

Zack took a deep breath and gripped his sword tightly. Braxtynn nodded as he braced himself, and Zack ran at him. He first raised his sword up and brought it straight back down in a vertical slice. But with a fluent and lightning fast flick of the wrist, Braxtynn deflected the blow effortlessly. Zack let out a short huff and backed off to plan his next move. After a few moments, he once again advanced on his brother. Right as he got within striking distance, however, Zack dove down and somersaulted around Brax. He hopped up quick and cut upward, but again was too late. When he started to strike, Braxtynn turned only a matter of inches and brought his own blade down upon his brother's, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Braxtynn!" Zack huffed in an aggravated and almost whiney tone as he pulled up his pants. As the day progressed, he wished more and more that he had gotten a belt for his birthday.

"Just keep trying!" The SOLDIER encouraged. "Come on, give it another go! How do you think I got this good? I practiced!"

Zack sighed and once again ran at his brother. For the next hour, the two swordsmen repeated the same cycle. Zack would try to attack his brother, and Braxtynn would swat his sword away like a fly. Zack would get angry, and Braxtynn managed to get him to try again. Despite the cold weather, Zack was sweating buckets. Even the back of Braxtynn's neck was dripping. Because of their intense concentration, neither of them had noticed that Elsie and Shadow had gone back inside. After an hour, though, Brax noticed that this method wasn't exactly helping Zack further his sword handling skills.

"Wait here for a minute," He told Zack as he went into the house. The boy just nodded and dropped to the ground, panting hard. He leaned back, propping himself up on his palms and splaying his legs on the ground, now covered in a thin layer of snow. His helmet, which he had taken off minutes into training, was covered in the white stuff as well. Zack grabbed it and brushed it off, once again seeing his own distorted image in the reflection. There was a story behind each one of the scratches and scuffs, and Zack had heard almost every one.

"Okay, let's try this!" Braxtynn said confidently as he came back outside holding three pears.

"Um… What are those for?" Zack asked curiously as he rose from the ground and picked up his sword. Braxtynn tossed one of the pears to Zack and dropped the other two in the snow.

"Just toss that to me and watch," He explained as he set his feet and drew his sword. Unknown to his brother's intentions, Zack obediently tossed the pear in a high arch towards Brax.


Slash. His older brother sliced the pear perfectly in half, sprinkling tiny seeds into the snow around him. Angeal had seen Braxtynn around headquarters every now and then, but he had never seen him work with a sword. Not too bad for a Second, Angeal thought. He was perched on a cliff that towered over Gongaga, watching Zack learn how to use his new toy. He looked on intently as Braxtynn picked up a pear and motioned for Zack to get ready. The boy held his sword steady and told his brother to toss the fruit. As it left his hand, Zack eyed the pear like a hawk. He reared back to mercilessly gouge the fruit as it fell from its peak, and… WHOOSH. Zack went spinning, and the untouched pear rolled several feet past him. Angeal grinned as the boy angrily pulled up his rather large pants and demanded that his brother toss another pear. He missed again and again, but nevertheless kept trying. That was one of Zack's traits that Angeal loved… his determination. No matter how long it took, Zack would finish his task. And sure enough, dozens of pears later, he managed to shave off a small sliver of the green skin. The boy jumped up and down in excitement, and Braxtynn gave him a loud high-five. Angeal smiled proudly, as if he had been the one instructing Zack.

Braxtynn bent down to pick up the last surviving pear. However, right before he tossed it, something startled him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something too small for Angeal to see. While trying to figure out what had alarmed him, Angeal felt something vibrating against his leg. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone.

"Angeal Hewley, 1st Class," He said into the phone.

"All SOLDIER personnel, please report back to headquarters," Recited the unnervingly calm automaton. Annoyed, Angeal closed the phone and shoved it into his pocket. Braxtynn had obviously received the call as well and had headed inside the house with Zack to say his farewells. Angeal unsheathed his giant wing and took to the sky, wondering what on earth could be going in Midgar.