AN: AHAHAHA! You cannot understand how happy I am that I worked out a way to get these stupid chapters actually to upload properly (despite the fact that it's a major pain in the arse!) Anyway, I do hope you enjoy what I have written and please, any reviews are always, always appreciated. Thank you in advance. (Oh yeah, the script for the Modeohiem bit is taken from a Japanese-English translation as I couldn't remember the exact wording so its kind of a weird mix between the Japanese translation and the English script...sorry)

Chapter Two: SOLDIER

Sephiroth gazed down at the papers on his desk, he read the brief bio of the small blond boy and sighed. Cloud Strife seemed to be nothing special, he was as ordinary as mud, then why did he hold such a fascination for him? He rubbed at his tired eyes and looked over at the clock which told him it was past time when he should be resting. He stood up but took one last look at the image of the blond trooper, his blue eyes as innocent as the child he was. So young to have joined up with such a violent organisation. The only thing about the boy that he found interesting was the fact that he had been born and raised in Nibelheim, exactly the same place Sephiroth had been born. He wondered again why that was, surely there were other children from that town, it didn't make sense that this piece of information should stir such an odd feeling in him. He did vaguely remember that he had taken a visit there with Hojo when he had been six, around the time that Cloud would have been born, but surely that was coincidence? He shook his head. All this drama with Genesis was getting to him, he needed rest to be in top condition in case something worse happened. Finally he closed the file and turned towards the door, leaving it resting on his desk.

XXX

Since meeting Sephiroth Cloud was distracted, he was finding sleep ever more elusive and it did nothing for his temper. When he went to his first training session since his strange encounter things got worse. They were practising hand-to-hand combat and Cloud somehow managed to get himself paired off with one of the largest boys in his group. When they faced off against each other Cloud found himself easily outmatched, despite his many attempts to use the giant's weight advantage against him he still ended up having his arm twisted so badly he felt it felt break. He gasped and was thrown brutally onto the mat, all the air in his lungs leaving him in a whoosh. He lay still, gasping as his vision turned grey and his opponent smirked down at him. "I beat Pretty-Boy." He said to a few titters from the surrounding students. Cloud tried to speak but nothing came out, he felt his back ache and the pain in his arm was almost making him black out. "I kind of like seeing you down there on your back, bet you spend a lot of time like that. You're not cut out for SOLDIER, maybe a post at the Honey Bee Inn would be better?" More laughter made anger pulse through Cloud, clearing his head a little as he struggled valiantly to his feet. He growled a little and, without any other warning ran at the hulking boy, sending him flying backwards with a cry. Cloud landed on his chest and raised his good fist, slamming it straight into the boys nose and shattering it. He felt cartilage break, blood spurted from his face and he made an awful gurgling sound.

Suddenly strong arms wrapped around Cloud's chest and he was hauled off the boy, dragged backwards and slammed back into the mat, he found himself gazing up into the furious face of his tutor. "Strife! Calm yourself!" He shouted. Cloud closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his rage receded and left him with only pain. "What the hell was that? You could have killed him!"

"S-Sorry...s-sir..."

"Get up and get yourself to the Medical Wing, now." Cloud climbed laboriously to his feet and stumbled towards the door, he noted that his class mates stepped away as if he was carrying a contagious disease. He somehow managed to find his way to the Medical floor without too much issue and stumbled in through the open doors, he was greeted by a nurse who took one look at him and ushered him into a curtained off area, forcing him onto the bed. "The doctor will be here soon, stay." She said firmly and left him where he was.

It was two minutes later that the nurse reappeared with a man in a white coat at her side. "Sir, I'm sure Doctor Hazzard will be ready to see him soon, you really don't have to do this."

"Nonsense, girl. I have the knowledge to heal such a minor injury." Cloud felt chills run down his spine and his eyes widened as Hojo stepped into view, the nurse looked worried and she shot Cloud an apologetic look. His smile was awful and Cloud swallowed nervously, the pain in his arm was a dull throb now that he wasn't moving it but Hojo bent and lifted it, causing him to hiss. "Hmm...Interesting...How did this happen?" Hojo asked, looking at Cloud as if he were some new bacteria in a Petri dish.

"T-training, sir." Cloud replied breathlessly, hating the feeling of Hojo's fingers on his skin. He could see it was swelling rapidly and Hojo did not seem to be making any moves to heal the injury.

"An accident? Hmm. Such a trivial thing." Hojo muttered to himself as he pressed down hard on the break, Cloud's vision turned grey and he grunted, biting on his lower lip and swaying dangerously where he sat. "Does that hurt?" Cloud wanted to punch him and take that stupid smirk right off of his ugly face. Hojo merely chuckled. "That look won't do anything to me, boy. I have dealt with a look similar to that from a far more powerful man."

"Mr. Hojo, sir, please, the doctor is here now." The nurse said nervously, her eyes lingering on Cloud who was as white as a sheet, his eyes as bright as if he had a fever.

"Oh, I don't think the doctor need be concerned with this one." Hojo said without looking at the uncomfortable nurse. "I will be taking him to my laboratory."

"N-no...I'm fine..." Cloud whispered hoarsely, yanking his arm out of Hojo's grip and ignoring the way his face fell in irritation. He rolled down his sleeve and stood up, swaying a little and blinking to clear his head. "I'll heal. I always do." He stumbled for the exit, hearing the nurses complaints and Hojo's laughter echoing in his ears. He had never met a more creepy man and he knew he wanted nothing to do with him, ever. He got back to his dorm and rummaged around in the lockers for a first aid kit, when he found it he took out some bandages and made a make-shift splint from an old wooden hanger. He set his arm, gritting his teeth and hissing air through them as he wrapped it tightly in bandages. He would have to heal it without Materia, he refused to let Hojo anywhere near him although he had no idea why the man showed so much interest in him, they had only met once and that was briefly. He sighed shakily when he was done and took several pills for the pain before lying back on his bunk and closing his eyes, he would sleep for a while and forget about the weird day.

XXX

"You really should get that looked at." Johnny said, indicating Cloud's injured arm, three weeks after the incident.

"It's fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore." Cloud replied, lifting it up to prove that he was telling the truth.

"What the hell, man? How did it heal so quickly? Are you hiding Materia from everyone?"

"No." Cloud stared down at his food, or at least what passed for food in the Mess hall. "I've always been a fast healer." He muttered and spooned some of the unappetizing slop into his mouth.

"There's being a fast healer and then there's near miraculous healing abilities." Johnny replied, taking a sip of water before standing up. "Anyway, I'm on Patrol in the entrance hall tonight. Won't be back till late." Cloud nodded as Johnny left him, he looked back down at his food and forced himself to finish it. It was times like this that he missed his mother, she was an excellent cook. Finally he finished and stood up himself, as he reached the hall way his PHS beeped loudly. He sighed heavily and opened the message; Please report to Briefing Room 10. Cloud sighed heavily, that was his early night out the window. He turned around and made his way towards the lift, excitement ran through his veins as he realised that this meant he was being sent on his first mission.

He smiled despite his tiredness, he hadn't been sleeping well lately due to nightmares he could never remember in the morning but now he felt re-energized at the thought of actually going on a mission. The briefing room was already full when he got there, he saw Director Lazard, recognising him from his induction, along with someone he recognised as a Turk and another man in a First Class uniform. Cloud stood with another infantryman, he saluted and stood still with his arms by his sides. "As I am sure you are all aware," Lazard began, "There has been a mass desertion of ShinRa operatives since SOLIDER First Class Genesis went missing in action." Lazard paused to run his gaze over the gathered people, before him were stacks of papers which he touched lightly. "I want you all to go to Modeoheim where there has been an unusual rise in the numbers of Genesis clones. You will go there and find out the reason why. Dismissed."

Cloud wondered just what he had been missing out on, he had been so immersed in his own life that the problems of the wider world seemed to have passed him by. They were to get to Modeoheim by helicopter, at this Cloud felt his stomach twist in dread, it was not going to be a fun ride. When they were in the air he attempted to calm his sickness by going through the mission brief, after having asked his fellow infantryman for it. It helped enough so that he didn't vomit in the unknown First Class' lap, for which he was eternally grateful. When the monsters attacked Cloud was too scared to even scream. The helicopter crashed, sending snow and debris everywhere and he was lucky enough to have leapt from the carnage before he was crushed.

The Turk and SOLDIER moved away a little to talk before the SOLIDER turned and beamed brightly at them. "All right, everyone follow me!"

Cloud scrambled to his feet and followed the First Class, he watched him walking for a while, wondering at what a contrast he was from Sephiroth. He seemed friendly and always ready with a smile, it was kind of refreshing. He realised a little belatedly that the Turk and the other infantryman were lagging badly, he paused and turned back to make sure they were ok. "Hey! Don't be so slow!" The First shouted, smirking a little as he trudged backwards through the snow. He turned to Cloud and gave him an appreciative look. "You seem to be doing pretty good."

"I'm from the country too." Cloud replied, returning the Firsts smile, it was contagious. He felt an instant liking for him, he knew that he couldn't be more than a few years older than himself.

"Where?"

"Nibelheim." The SOLDIER laughed, causing Cloud to frown a little. "What about you?" He asked defensively.

"Me? Gongaga." The man grinned. It was Cloud's turn to laugh. "Are you laughing? You're laughing aren't you? Do you even know Gongaga?"

"No, but it sounds very country-like."

"Ditto Nibelheim." The man replied, grinning.

"You've never heard of it?"

"I've never been there before but there's a Mako reactor there, right? Midgar has the most Mako-"

"But everyone else has none!" Cloud said at the exact same time as the First, they broke into giggles.

The First turned his happy smile onto the exhausted Turk. "Be thankful, Tseng. With me and...?" He turned expectantly to Cloud who gave his name. "With me and Cloud around there's nothing to be scared of at all!" Cloud barely heard Tseng's reply over his own glowing happiness. The First, whose name turned out to be Zack, was unlike anyone he had ever met before. He made the perfect picture of what Cloud thought a Hero should look like. He was always smiling, ready with a joke or two to cheer people up, he was energetic and eager but strong too. Cloud felt himself beginning to wish he could be like that, it would be good to be able to make friends so easily, to be brimful of confidence no matter what. He liked Zack and the longer he was with him the better he got to know him, he was everything Cloud ever wanted to be.

XXX

The mission, in Cloud's mind, was a disaster. He had failed, yet again. Despite that when Zack returned he saw how distressed he was and knew something terrible had happened. Tseng immediately took charge as Zack seemed unable to, he was quiet and brooding, something Cloud assumed was unnatural to him. The Turk seemed concerned as well but every time he asked Zack brushed him off, Cloud didn't understand what was going on and knew that it may have been top secret so he didn't dare ask. Finally, when they were told by Central Command that another transport would be picking them up the next day they found a suitable Inn and shared a room. When everyone fell asleep Cloud heard Zack moving about, he sat up and saw his figure silhouetted against the moonlight, he watched Zack pick up the massive sword he had come back with and gaze at it intently before bowing his head. "Zack?"

He turned and smiled weakly at Cloud before returning the sword to his bedside. "I'm fine, Cloud. Go back to sleep."

Cloud shook his head. "Not tired." He said, he knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep as the nightmares would come and he didn't like the idea of waking up everyone by screaming or something. "What...what happened? If you don't mind me asking."

Zack sighed heavily and ran both hands through his hair before moving to his bed and throwing himself down onto it. Cloud waited patiently as Zack gazed up at the ceiling, the soft glow of his eyes obvious in the dark. "I...I'm not sure." He said finally, with a frown of frustration. "I just don't understand anything that's happening anymore!"

"I'm sorry." Cloud replied, "I know, it doesn't make any difference but I'm sure things will work out."

Zack smiled over at him, a genuine one. "Thanks. Anyway, we'll be moving out early, better get your rest." Cloud hummed in agreement and lay back down, tucking his hands behind his head and listening to the soft sounds of breathing around him. He fell asleep and dreamed once again of green eyes and silver hair.

"Cloud...Cloud! Hey, wake up man, time to go!"

Cloud groaned heavily and forced his eyes open to reveal Zack, fully dressed and gazing down at him in concern. "Is it mornin'?" He asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, were you having nightmares? You were mumbling a lot in your sleep."

Cloud shook his head and sat up, his hands grasping the covers of his bed. "Yeah, it's fine though."

"If you say so, get up and get ready, Tseng's complaining and the last thing you want to do is piss off a Turk." Zack gave Cloud an easy wink before moving towards the door, leaving Cloud alone with his thoughts.

XXX

They scrambled off the truck that had picked them all up at Modeoheim, Cloud stumbled as his legs cramped up from sitting down for so long. He groaned heavily with relief, it was so good to finally be off that horrible thing. He had thrown up several times and it hadn't made him feel any better when his fellow infantryman started complaining about it, Zack however had been kind and had given him something that helped a little. He couldn't wait to get back to his dorm and sleep for the rest of the evening. "You did good, Cloud." Zack said as he clapped him on the shoulder and moved away. "I'll see you around." He grinned and Cloud returned it as he watched Zack walk up to Tseng to discuss something.