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Part II Chapter VIII

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It was so disconcerting. He'd seen this day, seen it so many times while he slept that he knew the proceedings by heart, and yet, to experience it…The thing that set Cloud's head spinning the most was that he was so used to being in the crowd with the rest of the failed examinees. This time, this time he was up on stage, in line with the other ten or so cadets who'd actually made it beyond the minimal passing score. This time, he was with the group that excelled.

All that work. Everything that he'd done up until this point was all for this moment. It was a stepping stone, getting into SOLDIER would be the event that allowed him to even dream of accomplishing his primary mission. There were times when he hadn't been sure he would make it, but he never allowed it to pull him down. He'd taken those times and used them to push himself, even going so far as to work through weekends when the rest of his squad hit the Slums for 'entertainment'. He had the knowledge, he had the skill, what he'd lacked was the power and the stamina to do anything.

But all that endurance training paid off, and here he was. He, Cloud Strife, a little no-body from Nibelheim, was standing in front of that year's class of cadets, in front of all the SOLDIERs currently stationed in the compound, about to be scouted for SOLDIER Third Class.

It was very hard to keep a beaming smile from crossing his face, to keep it uneasy and slightly nervous like the rest of them. He recognized almost half of his fellows, Kyros was up here, along with Nayan and Damon, and so was Gwydion, way at the other end of the line. They'd all been called up, with no mention of what for. Of course it was obvious to Cloud, he'd seen the scene so many times, but he wasn't supposed to know, not until the General stepped up in front of them and introduced them as the new additions to the SOLDIER units.

It wasn't a lavish ceremony; in fact, it was going to be quite short and plain. But it was the goal of every disappointed face that Cloud could see in the crowd. It had been his goal for so long, even before the accident…

Suddenly, he snapped to attention, hand rising in the customary salute as The General's tall, leather-clad form crossed the small platform. He looked…perfect. Not a single hair out of place, every movement filled with military poise. It was so different from the Sephiroth his squad trained with every other week, that Sephiroth was demanding, but only in his role as a teacher. He was much looser, almost patient at times. It was such a difference from the General everyone else saw, this tall, invincible, immovable figure.

And, as much as Cloud loathed to think of it, the other Sephiroth he'd come to know was a completely different side. The blonde only hoped, if all went well, that he'd never have to meet that part of the General.

A deadly hush fell over the audience, even the angry murmurs from the unsatisfied cadets withered away in Sephiroth's presence. The General didn't have a microphone; he didn't need one when a pin could have been heard from across the room.

"SOLDIERs, welcome your new members." The statement was short, clipped, and to the point. A quick glance to his immediate side saw the realization dawning on his companions' faces. Expressions of shock, or joy, even pride were beginning to show on the features of those who were less guarded. Cloud finally let his own satisfaction shine through, not really paying attention as Sephiroth began calling the names one by one, remarking on the qualities of the graduates, and what had decided the pass/fail for them.

His roving eyes quickly found Zack; the SOLDIER First was near the front of the crowd, along with all the rest of that year's instructors. He could see the pride on his squad leader's face, proud that all three of his kids who had participated in the exam had passed. Cloud's joy faded a little as he looked on his teacher, the man who he'd known so well through his dreams. Sometimes, all the time, Cloud longed for the closeness they'd developed in the other time, the one he saw every night. But that Zack had been drawn by the dejected ShinRa regular, and had made it his mission to help out the poor kid. Out of that had developed the friendship he missed, but Cloud didn't want it to be like that this time. Maybe, just maybe, this time he could start up a true friendship. Not one out of pity, nor that of a mentor and his student. Cloud wanted to be on equal footing with Zack, to be next to him, and not in his shadow. He wasn't there yet, but he was a hell of a lot closer as of today.

The newly-promoted SOLDIER (although it would just be a title until the mako treatments started, an act that wasn't being looked forward too at all) drew his thoughts away from his teacher, realizing with a start that he'd missed his own induction, and the General was now giving the closing remarks. Ah well, it wasn't too important, he'd just been curious as to what the other Cloud had lacked.

Heh, the other Cloud…It was getting so difficult, so difficult to separate the two life-times. The dreams kept returning every night, and every night he was the other Cloud, he experienced first hand the horrors, the adventure, everything. It was only once he woke up that he remembered that things were different, that he was only fourteen, soon to be fifteen, and not twenty-one, or whatever age he'd been in the dream. Unfortunately they did not seem to run in any sort of timeline, they were completely random, and Cloud had even gone so far as to start a journal of them, in which he tried to piece together the events of the other Cloud's life.

What he'd learned was not very pleasant for the former-cadet, and only served to deepen his resolve to erase that timeline. He knew exactly what to do, and it all boiled down one night, one mission, and one man.

His eyes flicked casually to the General's retreating form, the cadets had just been told to join the rest of the audience on the ground level so as to clear the stage for an address by Heidegger, this one directed at both the new SOLDIER members and those who managed to get into the ShinRa Regular Division. Cloud didn't care much for it, following his peers as they hopped off the stage and melted into the crowd. He saw Zack waving at him, motioning for Cloud to join him near the front, but the newly promoted teenager continued his way toward the back, entertaining the idea of either sneaking out early (he could care less about whatever Heidegger had to say, he'd heard it before) or being one of the first to leave once they'd been dismissed, which seemed more likely since he wouldn't be able to escape cleanly with the way a few eyes followed him.

There were disadvantages to being part of the minority, Cloud reflected to himself, resigning himself to finding an empty wall to lean against and wait for the formal dismissal order. He'd just begun to drift off, into fantasies about what SOLDIER would be like when a soft voice whispered into his ear, and a leather gloved hand touched his shoulder.

"Good job Cloud."

The boy nearly jumped to attention, was he crazy? It would be suicide for Vincent to try and sneak into the compound, especially with the heightened security due to Heidegger's presence. "Are you crazy?" He quietly hissed back, voicing the thought aloud.

"No." came the chuckled response, "Just proud."

The hand vanished as if it were never there, and Cloud knew that even if he'd turned to look he would see no sign of the marksman. Cloud wanted to be furious that Vincent would put himself in danger like that, even for something as…inconsequential as the results for the ShinRa Military Exams.

But he found, as Hiedegger's speech drew to a close, a faint warmth building up inside him at the unexpected praise. It built up inside him until he had to let it bubble over onto his face. Vincent was proud! Of him! He'd risked a lot coming here, but he'd done it. How, Cloud figured he'd never know. But as long as the ex-Turk managed to get back out all right then Cloud would forgive him the indiscretion.

Zack finally caught up with Cloud after the ceremony, after the entire squad had returned to the dormitory for one last time before they were moved to their new homes. The new SOLDIERS to the Second/Third barracks, the new Regulars to wherever they would be stationed—likely Junon if what he'd overheard was accurate. Grant, the lone Turk-candidate was already gone; his stuff cleaned out and probably relocated to wherever the Turks were trained.

"You look unnecessarily happy, Cloudie" Zack teased, plopping down on the couch next to the blonde, "I take it something happened between getting off the stage and now?"

Cloud just smiled a little, looking up into the mako-bright eyes of his teacher, "Secret."

"No. You have too many secrets already." Zack laughed, ruffling the former cadet's spiked blonde hair, "You aren't allowed to have any more."

He just laughed, laughed like he hadn't done in a long, long time as Zack continued to try and wheedle the answer from the stubborn teenager. Cloud refused of course, no matter the threats, bribes, or pleading that the SOLDIER sent his way. That one little moment was his and his alone.

At length, Zack gave up; tossing an arm across Cloud's shoulder in an action that would have reminded him uncomfortably of the other Zack. It would have, except that other future was just a distant thought in the back of his mind. At the moment, all that really mattered to the youth was right here and now. It was about his accomplishments, his teacher, and his friends.

"You did good kid." Zack's voice was strange, somewhere between happy and sad, with a healthy dose of pride mixed in. Blue eyes rose to look up at the black-haired man curiously. "Everyone did so well…"

Zack's face was turned away, but Cloud could have sworn he saw a lone tear stain running down the SOLDIER's cheek.

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They all did so well…

They didn't need him any more.

His kids…His kids had grown up.

A/N:

Well, that's the end of Part II. Short, but I rather like it. To make up for the shortness I posted both 7 and 8 together—Aint I nice?

One thing though, to the people who want to review, what do you like best about this story? I've gone back and read it through myself, but it just…well; my author-ness isn't letting me see what it is that keep you guys coming back.

P.S. I was surprised at how many people have reread it e-e

Anyway, I'll see ya'll in another while. I'm gonna be working a bit more on Part III while I'm here, but I don't know if I'll get any more posted. The beginning chapter-ish is already written in my notebook, which is at home unfortunately. Also, when I get home I'm gonna have to focus a bit on the coming school year. Orientation is in July, and…well…University… (Yes, I did manage to survive my senior year. Yay for being a high-school graduate…)

But yeah, I still got quite a bit of inspiration for this story. The next part should be somewhat exciting, since it includes the confrontation that the whole story is about. Just how is Cloud gonna stop Nibelheim from happening? Of course, Cloud's burning of the mansion is gonna change Hojo's methods a bit, but that scientist isn't gonna let his Reunion Theory go just cause of a minor set-back.

And guess what! I finally figured out why Cloudie gets his dreams! Yeah, yeah, laugh at me. I'm around 50k words in and I hadn't figured it out until just now :p

I'm not gonna tell you guys yet. Cloudie comes clean to somebody in the next part (can you guess who? I doubt it :D) I might make a prequel about it…eventually…

Oh yeah, I remember there was a bit of confusion over Cloudie's mako eyes. Lucia thought it was from the dream (although she never could figure out why), Sephy/Vinnie/Zack think its just natural mako. Well, guess what? It's neither! None of them know the real reason, so they just used the explanation that made more sense to them. When Zack asked if it was from natural mako Cloud just kinda went "Sure, let's go with that" and that kinda stuck for the ShinRa gang.

End of Part II!

TBC