That Third Class SOLDIER

Chapter Four: Drip, Drop, Drip

Written By: Okami of Shinobi Saru Corp

"Okay, here's what my notes say about Materia," Yu stated, a notebook in one hand and a freshly sharpened pencil in the other. "It's not much, but maybe it'll help you all out." The boy then took a deep breath. "Here we go, 'Materia is what allows us humans to call upon the use of spells and summons. Materia is also Mako in its crystalized state...'"

While Yu continued reading, Yoshi and I hurriedly scribbled down the extra information in our notebooks. Yu was proving to be an extremely convenient aid for remembering the topics our commanders discussed in our daily lectures. It seemed that Yu was the only one who had the strength of heart to stay awake and retain most of the things they talked about each day. I don't know how the boy managed it, but I applaud his efforts, especially since he will be my only hope of passing the written test at the end of our training.

Once I finished writing down all the information that I needed, I glanced up from my notebook and immediately noticed that Quincy was staring at me, a nice little smirk decorating his arrogant features.

I scowled. Not once had I seen the soul-searcher write down anything during or after one of our classes. And yet, despite this fact, he still somehow managed to remember every single detail our instructor had talked about. He always knew the answer to every question and was always able to give out the most detailed answers. It was incredibly irritating, especially since he delighted in flaunting his intelligence in front of our faces by smirking and laughing at our seemingly 'pathetic' attempts to study.

To alleviate some of my frustration, I began to imagine a rabid Chocobo charging in and ripping out Quincy's soul before ripping it to shreds. It was a morbid daydream, I admit, but it was internally soothing none-the-less - like chicken soup for the deranged soul. Hits the spot every time.

Meanwhile, Yoshi, who was sitting on the bunk across from me, tossed his pencil and paper onto the floor. He then proceeded to stretch out his arms and yawn loudly, his mouth opening to form a circle with an astoundingly large diameter.

"Thanks for that, Yu. I don't think I remembered anything from today's classroom sessions. I was too focused on trying not to fall asleep to worry about what our instructor was actually saying!"

Nodding, Yu replied, "No problem Yoshi! And Commander Rhapsodos wore me out today too. I just hope this is a first day thing and that he won't always be this harsh on us."

"Don't get your hopes up," Quincy muttered, his eyes practically glued to the pages of the book in his hand.

Trying not to smile, I shook my head at the sight before me. Even though Quincy was desperately trying to hide the cover of his reading material from the rest of us, I could still tell by the brightly colored pages that this book of his was indeed a comic book.

(And yes, before you ask, you did read that correctly; Quincy reads comic books - may the goddess save us all)

It was quite the contradictory situation, as seeing the stoic teen read such childish material went against every preconceived notion I had formed about his personality. In fact, the first time I had witnessed this phenomenon I almost toppled over with laughter (though thank Gaia I hadn't or else my soul would have been brutally ripped out from my body and incinerated immediately). Though, seeing Quincy read such material gave him a sliver of a human side – a side that confirmed that he was actually born on Gaia rather than some alien planet.

However, when viewed in another light, the teen's love of comic books just deepened the mystery surrounding him. Usually I was rather quick to figure people out, but Quincy was by far the most complex puzzle I had ever come across. He was interesting, and despite how much he frightened me (not to mention his eccentric personality), I was curious to figure out more about him.

"Well," Yu began, breaking the silence that had arisen, "What I want to know is why ShinRa won't give us more information about Materia and Mako energy. We are going to be using this stuff in the future, so why hide so much of the information about it from us?"

"It's simple really," Quincy replied. "ShinRa is on the verge of becoming the most powerful company in the world. Mako is one of their main reasons for this increase in power and thus the details of it must be kept secret for the sake of the company. The last thing ShinRa wants is for some small, outside company to get their hands on how to extract and properly use Mako energy. It would destroy ShinRa as we know it today."

Yoshi rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, sure, that all makes sense, but it's not like it'll kill 'em to tell us a little more about the very stuff we are gonna be using."

Quincy sighed and looked up from his comic book, obviously annoyed at the large amount of stupidity in the room. "Okay, so let's say ShinRa tells us trainees everything there is to know about Mako, Materia, etc. What's stopping anyone of us from leaking out said information to some other company for a nice sum of money?"

Yoshi placed his hands on his head and then proceeded to pout like a little two-year old. "Yeah, yeah; I get your point. But I still say it's not fair!"

There was a slight pause in our conversation when, without warning, Yoshi bounced off of his bunk, a mischievous light gleaming in his eyes. Rather wildly, the boy exclaimed, "Hey! Did you guys hear the rumor that has been going around?"

We shook our heads.

"Okay, so I heard from one of the members of Commander Mark's squad, who heard it from this other guy, who heard it from head Commander Luca (or so he claimed to have heard it from Luca, though who knows if he is telling the truth) that to become a part of SOLDIER you have to go through this crazy insane surgery!"

I sighed and stretched out on my bed. How did this kid have so much energy? And, now that I thought about it, why did this kid seem to know so many random facts about the inner workings of ShinRa? The boy was known for his ability to do a one hundred and eighty degree turn on you and completely change his personality within seconds, and if you weren't prepared for it, Yoshi's dual personalities could be a rather frightening thing to witness. Perhaps the kid just scared people into giving him information? It was an unlikely theory, though the mental image of the hyper, personality challenged boy scaring the pants off of ShinRa's authorities for information was a rather amusing thought.

Noticing that most of us didn't show any interest in his story, Yoshi then decided to take his tale to the next level. "Anyways, it doesn't just stop there. It gets much, much worse."

"It does?"

I gazed up towards Yu, mentally grimacing after seeing Yoshi had already begun to attack his prey. Yu had made the mistake of showing a sliver of interest in the bipolar boy's story, allowing Yoshi to run wild with whatever exaggerated tale he had bottled up inside.

"Heck yeah it does! Not only is there a dangerous surgery we would have to go through, but we would be injected with gallons of Mako energy! I've heard that some people go completely insane because their bodies can't handle the high amounts of extra energy and stuff being put into them!"

"You're not serious, right?" Yu hopefully asked. His brown eyes were wide open and his hands were tightly clenching the sheets on his bed to keep himself from trembling.

Yoshi put his arm around Yu and then smiled as sweetly as a crazed sixteen year old possible could. "Why would I ever lie to you little buddy?"

"Maybe, because you enjoy scaring little kids."

"Shut up Quincy!" Yoshi snapped. "No one asked for your opinion!"

I groaned and rubbed my forehead. It had been a long, exhausting day. Not only had I made a fool of myself during Mr. Crimson's 'let's-watch-everyone-run-from-my-flames-of-death' drill, but I had also set myself on fire during our afternoon training session. We had practiced with Materia for the first time and I, in my wondrous skill and talent, had somehow managed to catch myself on fire.

I'm such a genius, I know.

Taking me away from my moping, a loud bang pulled my attention to the surrounding area. I quickly turned around to find Sai and Jun standing in our now open doorway, the door itself now implanted into the wall from being swung so hard.

"Yo, wassup?"

Yawning, I observed the twosome. Sai – the one who had spoken – had his training shirt off (per usual) revealing his toned muscles and his slim, lean figure. His thick, red hair was neatly slicked back out of his face and his narrow, blue-green eyes held traces of the devious schemer that often seeped through his usually inert nature.

Next to the red-head stood Jun who (thankfully) had the decency to keep his shirt on despite its disgusting odor. Unlike Sai, Jun's physique was tall and muscular. His short, dark hair was currently matted to his head in wet clots and his eyes, like his hair, were dark in color.

One thing about Jun that struck me as odd was the emptiness and lack of expression in his face. He was like a sheet of pure white paper – blank and completely boring – and nothing seemed to rattle his steady nature. He definitely was a unique one, but he wasn't annoying, and that at least made him tolerable.

"What do you want, Sai?" Quincy coldly inquired, not even bothering to peer up from the top of his comic book at the newcomers.

Coolly Sai waved off Quincy's short attitude. "Yeesh man, I'm just returning your roommate. So there's no need for that attitude, kapeesh?"

"You didn't have to give him back to us," Quincy muttered while turning a page of his book, "Feel free to keep him. The less people in here the better."

Completely un-phased by Quincy's comment, Jun walked to my bunk and hopped up to the bed above my own. From what I had observed of him, Jun was always like this – completely silent and acting as if he lived in a different universe from the rest of us. Nothing anyone said seemed to bother him and, when someone got annoyed at his muteness, he'd just walk away as if the person didn't exist anymore.

To be honest, I was rather jealous of Jun's ability to be so neutral - to have a place and to stick by it no matter what. It must be nice, even if his position was rather weird.

"Well," Sai began, "I'm off to bed. I'm beat from those freakin' drills we had to do today. You know, if our Commander really makes us wake up so early again to hear him read that crap, then he's dead meat!"

"And good luck with bringing that about…" I muttered under my breath, failing to keep my mouth in check.

I could hear Sai scowl at me and then come back with a rather lame, "Shut it freak!"

Yu, in order to keep what peace remained between us, jumped off of the top bunk and walked over towards the red-head. "Come on Sai, let's get to our rooms before it gets too late."

"Whatever."

The twosome then turned, walked out of the room, and shut the door (which at this point only hung from the top hinge) behind them, leaving me alone with my three roommates.

"I think I'll turn in for the night myself," Quincy stated while putting away his book.

Jun merely grunted in response to Quincy's comment, a response that I assumed meant that he agreed with Quincy and was thus turning in for the night.

"Meh, I think I'm gonna go get an energy drink. I'm parched!" Yoshi exclaimed while heading towards the doorway.

"The cafeteria is closed," I stated in a half-hearted attempt to save the boy from getting himself into trouble.

"So?"

"So, the only thing you can get to drink is water."

Yoshi's boyish grin rapidly shifted to an evil smirk. His voice lowered and his eyes narrowed into a focused stare.

"I have my ways of getting what I want."

And with that, the boy skipped out of the room, happily whistling some random tune.

After shaking off the bizarreness of Yoshi's personality, I got up from my bunk and began to walk out of the room.

"I'm going out for a walk, I'll be back soon."

"Turn the light out when you leave," Quincy groaned into his pillow.

I grunted my response before lazily switching off the lights. After I had left the room, I cautiously made my way down the corridor. What I was doing was probably against the rules, but all day long I had listened to a constant stream of complaints from my squad members and had been subjected to hours of physical and mental torture. I needed to get away, and this need out did any desire that I possessed to uphold ShinRa's rules.

After stopping by the restroom and splashing some water onto my face, I made my way towards the elevator. Upon arriving at ShinRa, I had made it a priority of mine to locate a quiet spot where I could relax a little and take a deep breath or two. Ultimately I would have enjoyed going out for a nice walk, but ShinRa sat within Midgar's core, and the quality of the air there was far from clean. The sights were also quite unimpressive, unless of course you're the type who actually enjoys looking at Mako reactors and buildings all day long.

Thus, my options were reduced to either a nearby building which surrounded ShinRa or a quiet corner within ShinRa's own quarters. So, seeing as all trainees have little to no time to even digest their food during the day hours, I was left with staying inside ShinRa's headquarters, a building which was probably the busiest, most obnoxious place on all of Gaia.

Luckily, I had managed to converge on one room which no living soul would ever dare wander into during the night hours - the notorious shower room. The center of all SOLDIER gossip from worthless trainee to prestigious First class by day and the scariest, darkest corner of ShinRa by night; it was the perfect place for my worn out soul to rest, albeit the residing smell of sweat and body odor that still lingered in the air.

Walking in and sitting down on the first bench, I closed my eyes and let my mind be soothed by the rhythmic dripping of excess water against the floor. Everything was in perfect balance as I practically absorbed every moment which passed by.

The world was still - drip - the warm air contrasted the chilling floor - drip - the soft hum of some machine filled the room - drip - for the first time that day, my senses relaxed - drip, drop.

Eyes flickering open, I gazed into the long mirror across from me, my ears straining for any further disturbance. My eyes scanning the area, I noticed a thin layer of grime which outlined the mirror and the mold that grew in each perceivable corner of the room. A constant, never changing fog wafted about, giving the place a somewhat disturbing vibe. It was strange, now that I considered it. During the day this room was bright with people exchanging stories about their life (or other people's lives, as it was per usual). People laughed, complained, talked, complained some more, made acquaintances, complained even more with said acquaintances - some even went into the molding corners and cried; but it was this room - this strange, two-faced place - which held all those eccentric, bizarre people. And it was the same room, though now under a very different light, in which I now sat.

Should one consider it strange that I liked it better in the night?

Drip, drop, drip.

Suddenly, something to my left flashed by the corner of my eye. I jerked my head around to discover a lone shadow walking out of one of the stalls.

How come I had not heard him?

Without warning, the man (or what I figured to be a man) turned around and began to move in my direction. As the figure drew closer I started to get up and leave, but before I could even move an inch the man called out to me.

"You're Gavin, aren't you?"

Though he was only whispering, his voice still echoed throughout the room. My eyes widened in surprise at the man's use of my name.

How did he know me? Drip, drop, drop.

Before my mind could ponder over the matter too long, the man approached where I stood and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Resting."

Though the room was dimly lit, I could see the man raise an eyebrow. "Strange place to rest, is it not?"

"It's quiet."

"Don't you find it uncomfortable?"

"Why would I?"

Drip, drip, drop.

At my reply the man showed a smile that actually seemed human; it was the first of its kind that I had seen since arriving at ShinRa.

"You have a strange sense of comfort."

I couldn't help but show a small smirk myself as the man sat down.

"So you're in Genesis's group then?"

"Yes," I replied. But wait a moment. How had he known that?

Drop, drip, drop.

Apparently the man noticed my surprised reaction as he proceeded to explain, "I've known your commander since he was little. We're good friends – well, most of the time." The man grimly smiled at his own comment before abruptly stating, "I saw some of your training earlier today."

Ha! How reassuring.

"You looked a little shaky out there when handling that Materia. Though, that's not too surprising when you're being supervised by someone like Genesis."

"Um, yeah..." I nervously commented. Who was this man, and just what was he doing here? Surely he hadn't been in that stall waiting for me this whole time, right?

Drop, drop, drip.

"Do you have a dream?"

My head shot up to face the man. Well, that had been rather unexpected.

"I suppose so."

"Is this dream something that you are willing to strive for with all that you have?"

I bit my lip. "Perhaps..."

"You don't sound overly confident about your answer."

"..."

The man frowned. "If you don't have a clear and honorable goal then you will easily stray off of the path of honor. You won't last long without any resolve."

"Hm." Honor? Dreams? How fantastical! I preferred whittling life down to the things that are and the things that are not, not dwelling on the things which could be or could not be.

Drip, drip, drip.

The man stood up and faced me, the one source of the room's light now highlighting his features. It was then that my mouth opened slightly, a new realization flooding my mind. This was no man, but a teen!

I scoffed at myself. I should have guessed as much when the 'man' had mentioned that he was Mr. Crimson's friend, but the lines etched into his face and the way he had talked made him seem far older than a simple teen. Tightly I shut my eyes and shook my head. Perhaps it had been the lighting, or perhaps I had just gotten caught up in the moment and had thus extrapolated the being before me into something that he wasn't, but either way I had inaccurately assessed the 'man'. It was strange as that had never happened to me before, and it left me with one question dancing around in my mind.

Who was this guy?

"I'm Angeal Hewley, it's nice to meet you."

Drop.

My head shot up and my eyes widened. I didn't even know where to start.

"Ha. How? Why?"

"A salute will do."

I immediately obeyed, saluting more fervently to him than I did to the head of ShinRa's development program on my first day of training. I hardly knew why - I didn't even know if he was truly in SOLDIER for Gaia's sake - but something about the teen seemed genuine, almost kind, and I felt refreshed in his presence.

In response, Angeal smiled and said, "So, what were you wanting to ask me?"

There were so many questions I wanted to ask (are you in SOLDIER - what class are you - were you stalking me - how did you know my name, did Mr. Crimson tell you?), but I finally settled on the one I wanted answered the most.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hm! I thought that was my question." Angeal paused and a playful light flickered in his bright eyes. "I'm resting."

I scoffed. "Strange place to rest, is it not?"

"It's quiet."

"Don't you find it uncomfortable?"

"Now, why would I think that?"

Drop, drip, drip.

"Seems we think alike on this," I commented.

"So it seems." A pause. "You better get back to your bunk before Genesis finds out about your late night walk. He'll probably end up making you write an essay about Loveless as punishment."

I cocked my head to the side. "Loveless?"

Angeal nodded. "That's Genesis's favorite poem. You've most likely heard parts of it already as he quotes the thing non-stop."

The teen gave me a knowing look and silently I mourned for his poor soul. Being friends with Mr. Crimson must be incredibly difficult.

"Well then, I'll say goodnight." Angeal waved and then turned to take his leave.

"Hey, um, I know I am not supposed to be out at this hour but could you, if you feel inclined to, that is, if you wouldn't mind-"

Angeal looked back and placed a finger to his lips.

"I won't tell a soul."

Drip.

Lazard looked up from his desk

Three knocks; not too many, not too few. The person on the other side of the door was most likely a low-level associate of ShinRa, a Third, or a new recruit of some sort. Two knocks would have indicated a high level Turk, Second class SOLDIER, or some assistant manager from another department of ShinRa. One knock would be an overly confident prick (Lazard hated conversing with those, and as such attempted to get them fired as soon as possible).

Banging on the door indicated Genesis.

Four knocks was Angeal.

Just walking in, Sephiroth.

Lazard sighed. It was amazing what one picked up on after spending so much time in an office.

"Come in," the Director eventually commanded and immediately a Third class SOLDIER stepped into the room, a small envelope in his left hand.

'Hm,' Lazard smiled to himself, 'Called it.'

After saluting, the SOLDIER exclaimed, "Sir, I was ordered by someone to give this to you."

The Director leaned forward on his desk. "Oh? And why didn't this 'someone' give me this letter themselves?"

"Sir, I am not sure. He did seem rather busy though, sir."

Lazard sighed. "Bring the letter here."

The Third quickly obeyed and shakily handed the Director the envelope. After receiving the letter, Lazard waved off the Third. "You are dismissed."

"Thank you, sir!" The SOLDIER then turned and hurriedly left the room.

Lazard watched the young man leave the room before turning to his envelope. After unfolding the paper inside, he began to read the content on the page. He only had to glance at the first few lines before he reached back for the envelope and turned it upside down. Without hesitation, a small computer chip slipped out and fell into the palm of his hand.

Turning to the computer beside him, the Director put the chip in its respective slot. His eyes were glued to the computer as he opened the file and skimmed through the information spilling out onto the screen. After he had processed a good amount of the details on the file, he reached for his phone and dialed the memorized number before sinking back into his chair.

It rang once, twice – three times before someone on the other end picked up.

"Hello Director. Forgive me but do you not realize the time?" The voice was slightly groggy, an indication that the man on the other end of the phone had just woken up from slumber.

"Greetings, Tseng. Please forgive the lateness of the hour, but I'm afraid we need to talk."

Lazard could almost hear Tseng's eyebrow being raised. "Oh? You're afraid because you need to speak with me or because of what you need to speak of?"

"For one who just woke up you're quite analytical."

"Hm."

"I'd rather speak in person so please come to my office as soon as possible." Lazard was about to hang up when he remembered, "Oh, and bring all of the files on the new trainees."

"Why, may I ask?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

A/N: Angeal really doesn't get enough credit. The more I write about him the more I end up liking his character and I wish that there were more stories on here that presented some interesting angles on his personality. Additionally, I will not be following the Turk's back history in Before Crisis. I have not played the game and as such am not familiar with what happened. I figured that it'd be better to take a creative license on the matter rather than royally messing up all the info that was presented within that game!

Also, I am very sorry for the late update! My excuse? College. The fall semester is now over for me so I can write all day and give you new chapters at (hopefully) a much, MUCH faster pace!
Thanks for taking the time to read!:)