"Strife!" The irritated voice snapped Cloud from his thoughts, he looked up from where he had been gazing out the window over to the teacher standing at the front of the classroom, obviously annoyed. Somehow he just knew that once again he was being called upon to answer, demonstrate, or simply be growled at.

"Yes Sir?" Cloud asked, attempting to keep the boredom from his voice. It was the last class of the day and Cloud was far from interested in the strategical course he could do in his sleep.

"Since you seem to think you're to good to pay attention to this class, you can come up here and illustrate the best way to infiltrate, capture and defend the enemy compound shown here." The teacher growled smugly as he tapped an intricate building floor plan on the board behind him; clearly meant to be 'enemy compound'.

With a barely restrained sigh Cloud stood up and walked down to the front, quiet snickers and whispers rising up from the other cadets seated in the room. This was not the first time a teacher had decided to point him out today but it had also been the same the first time he had been a cadet, only then he had actually tried to listen to what the teachers were saying; it seemed now that teachers simply enjoyed trying to antagonise and embarrass him. So far he had endured basic level weapons demonstrations, a crash course in explosives theory, and geography; all of which he could have easily out done the teacher in. He was a patient person by nature, but not this patient.

Cloud barely took a glance at the layout on the board then proceeded to draw and write explanations for several different methods of infiltration with minimal casualty. Once done he looked around to the teacher who stood there, mouth open and eyes bulging as he surveyed the answers before him. The whole room was silent now as well and a quick glace around had Cloud finding most of the students looking either at him or the board in awe. Cloud looked back to the teacher who was now flipping frantically through several text books with harried looks at the board, something Cloud found quite useless.

I've probably seen, and led, more infiltrations that this man ever will... Cloud thought with an internal sigh. At the start of the day he had been careful to dull-down his skill and knowledge, not wanting to draw attention, but now he was ready to leave or be left alone; it had been too long since he was forced to deal with a large number of people for a prolonged period of time, and these people seemed hell-bent on pestering him.

"Sir?" Cloud asked, hiding his exasperation.

"Uh... Yes. Well done..." The teacher stammered, still attempting to cross-reference Cloud's answers with the books now scattered about him. Cloud knew that none of his methods would be found in any book, he had learnt through experience; through success and failure.

Cloud walked back to his seat, ignoring the hushed whisperings that followed him, and once in his seat he was finally allowed to spend the rest of the lesson in peace.

XxXxX

The walk towards the cadet dorms was quiet, with other cadets walking and talking in their respective groups while Cloud walked alone, thinking about how useless it was to attend classes as he was, he needed to work his way up faster... The only question was how; the SOLDIER exams were on a set date and he doubted that they would allow him an exception, and he did need the extra time to train his body once more. With that thought Cloud grinned; he was looking forward to another training night with Zack and Angeal later, he knew that he was lucky to be able to use the VR room, and was grateful for the chance to really push himself with those he knew could actually match him, and the two SOLDIERs that had found him in Wutai were fast becoming people he knew he could trust; Zack more by default, but still he knew he could trust Angeal as well, despite only knowing the man for a short period of time. The fact that on a few occasions Zack had spoken highly of him before the razing of Nibelheim probably helped as well.

It was then that he heard the scream.

Several of the cadets walking near by looked around curiously attempting to locate the source of the bone-chilling sound, but Cloud already knew where it was coming from; his enhanced ears helping him to locate the area the sound came from almost instantly. Years of battle and instinct kicked in as he sprinted at full speed towards the cadet dorms. He arrived among the first, and instantly noticed the smell of blood as soon as he entered the building. Fresh blood.

One of the dorm attendants stood in the middle of the lobby area, near the back of a grouping of couches; face pale, eyes wide and hands over her mouth as though she was fighting to keep her stomach contents down as she stood with a transfixed gaze cast downwards where Cloud could not see.

Moving over quickly, Cloud came to see exactly what the attendant saw.

One of the cadets, a popular boy named Jeremy, lay spread-eagled on his back on the floor between the couches, his clothes in ragged tatters with numerous gashes littered over his body, but worst of all was the large hole in the boys chest, and where his heart should have been there was simply nothing, allowing Cloud to see the blood stained floor below. A steady pool was now spreading outwards from the body, indicating that the boy had died only minutes ago.

Realising that there was now a rather large crowd gathering, and the attendant still stood petrified to the spot, spurred Cloud into action.

"Everyone out!" He yelled, not bothering for explanations, "Someone alert the higher-ups of a serious incident, and someone else take this woman to the infirmary." Cloud moved over to the woman as he spoke and gently led her away from the sight and over to a group of the more advanced cadets. She was shaking terribly and Cloud hoped she had not been scarred for life from the sight.

"Here, get her out of here." Cloud said to the boys, who all nodded and began leading her away speaking softly to her in a soothing way, one boy running ahead; hopefully to get the higher-ups.

Cloud looked around and sent icy glares to those who tried to linger, all of whom quickly departed under the look, now was no time to be worried about keeping a low profile and Cloud quickly slipped into a frame of mind that allowed him to take control despite his quiet nature; something he realised to be a remnant of Zack's personality that he had taken on after he had watched his best friend die and the effects of the mako addiction had passed.

Therefore despite the situation and his low status here, Cloud made his way over to the body, being unfazed by, and completely ignoring, the blood under his boots as he got close to the boy and squatted down to press his fingers against a blood stained throat.

No pulse.

There was really no surprise there, after all there was no heart to beat, but Cloud had felt the need to double check anyway.

"Dammit... What the hell happened to him?" Cloud muttered, looking up and around for any hint as to what had happened. The room looked exactly as it should, and that unnerved Cloud more than if it had been absolutely trashed, then at least there would be some evidence to explain how the cadet had died.

With a sigh, Cloud stood and looked down at the body, almost willing it to give him the answers he sought. The eyes were frozen wide in surprise, forever imbued with an image no one else would be able to see.

Cloud... This was not natural...

The soft voice of Aerith floated through his mind and he almost sighed at the odd words.

There is a hole through the boys chest; that is never natural. Cloud thought back, feeling the link was strong and steady, but his eyes were glued to the horror beneath him.

No Cloud, there is Darkness here... Even now it lingers... You need to be cautious Cloud, this could be dangerous...

Cloud's eyes went wide as the voice floated through his mind and he barely registered that the connection had been lost after that.

Darkness...

He had been fighting against that force for so long before coming back to this time period, he had been working for so long to try and find a way to beat it. If it was here... Did that mean that he would have even less time to change things?

"Cloud?" The blond jumped when a hand touched his shoulder and spun around to see Zack and Angeal both looking at him in concern. When had they come in? Looking around he also saw others coming into the building to inspect what had happened. He realised then just how much the news of the Darkness had rattled him.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Zack said, "You don't need to see this."

Cloud was left with no choice as Zack grabbed his arm and pulled him away, heading not outside as he would have expected, but down the hall towards his room. Once inside Cloud could not stop himself from looking around the room in slight apprehension, scanning the few shadows that were scattered about the small area. In response to this apprehension Cloud moved to turn on the two lamps in the room, having a confused Zack watching him but thankfully deciding not to comment.

With a sigh Cloud sat on his bed, he hated that the thought of fighting the Darkness so soon affected him like it did; but it was also obvious that something had changed, even him with his scattered memories would be able to remember such an incident occurring, and that meant that somehow the Darkness held a stronger sway in this time period than it should. Damn it all... Cloud thought bitterly.

"Cloud, what happened man?" Zack asked, breaking through the blonds thoughts.

"A kid died." Cloud replied mechanically, his usual habit of not letting people know his problems and concerns showing through, but his mind soon caught up with his mouth and he knew that it was a good thing he had said what he said; it wouldn't do to let anything important slip in a situation like this.

"That's not what I meant." Zack pressed, moving to sit on the bed across from the blond. "When Angeal and I arrived after seeing a panicked cadet running past, you looked perfectly calm despite the... situation. You were checking for a pulse even though most wouldn't have gone near him, then you looked around as if trying to gauge what had happened; something most cadets wouldn't even know how to do. Then you seemed to be thinking after you moved back... You just tensed up and looked... Well, you froze man, what happened?"

Cloud looked over at the raven-haired man, who was watching him in concern with an unusually serious look on him face. Cloud was reminded exactly how observant Zack was, and how serious he could be when needed. The blond wished then that he could tell Zack everything; about their old friendship from his original time period, about how they had once laughed and spent their time in happy friendship, about the horrors they both suffered at Hojo's hands, the heart-breaking death of Zack that Cloud was hell bend on preventing, about all the struggles the Planet would face and his own roles in it, about Sephiroth... Just about everything. It was torture not being able to speak like he wanted to. However, Cloud knew, even if he didn't know how he knew, that to tell Zack, or anyone, would send things spiralling out of his control more than they already were. So once again, despite his own wants, he pushed them down and did what he knew he had to do.

"I... I just... It kinda just registered that he was... well dead..." Cloud said, scrambling slightly for the correct words, something that he hoped would actually help Zack believe his story.

Zack was silent for a while, leaving Cloud to wonder if he had failed to convince his friend, then to the blonds amazement Zack grinned; as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Hey, don't let it get to ya Spikey. It will be sorted out soon, and eventually you will be the one working to prevent things like that." Zack said cheerily, surprising the blond by how close the words already were to the truth.

You have no idea... Cloud thought sadly to himself, but he already felt more calm; an effect that Zack had always had on him.

Zack knew that Cloud wasn't telling him something, but he did know that the blond would have his reasons, and that he could trust the small cadet without restraint. Zack was still more concerned than he let on, the feeling of absolute trust for the blond and a strange drive to protect him from any harm had him alert, the fact that such a violent death had occurred on Cloud's second day back from Wutai and so close to the blond as well, would have the second class SOLDIER keeping a close eye on his friend for a while until he was sure it was safe.

XxXxX

The news of the cadet's death spread quickly throughout Shinra, the cadet dorms becoming crowded with Turks, SOLDIERs and lab personnel for protection and investigation alike. Lab personnel examining the body and immediate area for evidence while the Turks and SOLDIERs either stood on guard or questioned all those that had been in the building during the 'incident' as they called it.

Cloud spent the majority of the afternoon with Zack, who had apparently been excused from the investigation by Angeal.

Most of the time was spent talking about everything and nothing at the same time; simply idle chatter than they both enjoyed yet held no significance to anything at all, both men where comfortable and relaxed and had also decided that they would still train despite the late hour and the fact that they would be unable to use the VR training room due to Angeal's absence.

Just as they were ready to leave a firm knock sounded from the door. Cloud got up from the bed and walked over to the door, slightly tense once again. The door opened to reveal the dorm manager standing there, looking tired and frustrated and behind him stood, much to Cloud's worry and displeasure, the obsidian-eyed cadet from the previous day.

"Strife." The dorm manager, an ageing man named Ethan with grey hair and hard eyes, greeted stoically. Looking past the blond cadet Ethan saw Zack, identifying him as a SOLDIER quickly. "I apologise if I am interrupting anything."

"Nothing at all." Cloud answered immediately, keeping his voice light despite his troubles and drawing Ethan's gaze back to him.

"Very good then... In light of recent events some changes to the room arrangements have been made." Ethan said, "Razor was the room mate of... the deceased. He will now be rooming with you, understood?"

Cloud could see that there would be no arguments on the matter, so nodding he stepped aside.

"Yes Sir."

The obsidian-eyed cadet, now known to be Razor, walked past the dorm attendant, a duffel-bag slung over his shoulder, and into the room.

"Hey Cloud." Razor greeted cheerily, seeming completely at ease with the situation. Cloud tensed, still unsure about the dark-eyed boy and unable to forget the the feeling he had gotten as he left the building with Zack the day before. Cloud nodded to the boy in way of response, not wanting to actually talk.

"Very well, thank you Strife." The dorm attendant said before promptly leaving. Cloud closed the door and turned to see Zack now standing and Razor placing his things on the now vacated bed.

A heavy silence fell over the room, Razor seeming to be the only one unaffected.

"So...uh, you ready to go Cloud?" Zack asked, feeling the tense atmosphere and deciding that now would be a good time to start training. The second class SOLDIER wondered what had happened between the blond and the strange cadet, and decided to ask about it later.

"Yeah..." Cloud said with a nod, moving quietly and quickly over to where First Sword rested, not trusting to leave it in the room. He received a questioning glance from Zack, but decided not to answer it as he left, leaving a smirking Razor to look around his targets room triumphantly.

Cloud and Zack left through a side door in the building that had been opened while the lobby and entrance were cordoned off for the investigation. Cloud was feeling uneasy even if he could not specify exact reasons why; the death of the cadet was unnerving enough, and so was the strange cadet, but Cloud could find no solid reason why Razor affected him as he did. Perhaps the dark-eyed boy just tried to be to friendly, something Cloud was never very fond of.

The blond was really looking forward to a good training session, even if only to work out some of his frustration.

Zack watched his companion with concern, and was just about to voice his concern when Cloud spoke up.

"I don't trust him." Cloud muttered softly as they walked.

"Who?" Zack asked, hoping the small cadet would continue talking.

"Razor... He just seems...odd." Cloud admitted, allowing himself to open up slightly to his friend.

"I have to agree with you there Spikey, that boy definitely had some weird looks about him." Zack agreed. "He's probably just trying to be nice though."

Cloud nodded his head; maybe Zack was right and he was just paranoid around a new face.

"Hey! Don't worry about him now though, you gotta worry about me!" Zack yelled, suddenly leaping at the blond.

Cloud saw it coming and quickly dodged, turning to smile at his friend before quickly running the rest of the way to the small field they had chosen to use as a training ground while Angeal was busy. Once there Cloud quickly lay his sword down and the two companions began an impromptu sparring session, Zack quickly learning to keep his guard up after Cloud managed to land a successful blow to the raven-haired man's side.

This is going to be fun. Zack thought as he began working with his full skill and forcing Cloud to really work and think about his situations.

XxXxX

Both Zack and Cloud were sweating and short of breath by the time they had finished well into the night, they both lay next to each other on the grass staring up at the stars.

"That... was fun." Zack said grinning. "You sure you're not already in SOLDIER Spikey?"

"Pretty sure." Cloud replied with a small chuckle. Despite his worries of raising suspicion Cloud had decided to go all out against Zack, having never been able to test his skills against the one who had, inadvertently, given them to him; it had only been after Cloud had gained Zack's memories that he had begun fighting and it was through those memories that Cloud gained the fighting style he had now.

"Well, you should pass those damn SOLDIER exams easily." Zack said, still grinning.

Zack had been watching Cloud fight and had found himself admiring the way the blond held himself, the sureness of each step, the ability to read his opponents movements, the way his eyes shone as though they had already been infused with mako, yet a far to pure blue to be mako.

In fact the more Zack watched the blond and the way he was, the more Zack found his mind wandering into other areas. The very first things that had struck the raven-haired man had been the blazing comparison between Cloud's features and his eyes; his features were soft and young, well built and toned yes, but also holding a child like innocence, but his eyes... The first time Zack had seen the blond's eyes he had been amazed that anyone could have such eyes; they were pain-filled and closed off, holding knowledge far beyond Cloud's apparent years but at the same time kind and caring, showing a fierce determination and protective streak.

It wasn't long after that that other aspects of Cloud wormed their way into Zack's notice. The way Cloud would scratch the back of his head whenever he felt uncomfortable or embarrassed among friends was cute and endearing to the raven-haired man, and every time Cloud spoke was like listening to the whispers of the Planet on the winds, his voice was soft and if Zack could put a texture to the name it would be the finest silk, Cloud's body was small, but muscles rippled just under the surface and the lean body was able to move with amazing agility and hid a deceptive strength.

Zack found himself wanting more. Despite only knowing Cloud for now four days.

"Hey, one night you should come over to my place." Zack said cheerily, not letting on the direction his mind had momentarily gone.

"Your place?" Cloud asked, confused at the sudden invite.

"Yeah, why not? We could order a pizza or something, have a break from that gods-aweful food they shovel at us here." Zack replied.

"Sure, sounds good." Cloud replied softly, wondering briefly where the strange invite had come from but liking the sound of it as well.

"Sweet, I'll find you when I think on the date for it." Zack said, wanting to give his companion more time to adjust and get used to him before making his move.

Silence fell between the two men as they continued laying there, each within their own thoughts. Clouds mind eventually wandered back to the death of the other cadet only hours previously and the information that the Darkness had somehow managed to make its way to this time period as well, he would have to find out how and why... If it had been winning in the future why would it believe it needed to come back to here, surely it wouldn't know what he had planned to do?

Aerith had spoken to him for a brief while when he had found the cadet, but aside from that contact with her and the Plant had been pretty scarce, despite how confused he still was. Would he ever simply be given the answers he sought?

Probably not... He thought with a sigh.

"So this is where you two went." An amused voice sounded above the young men, both of whom turned surprised eyes up to see Angeal smiling down at them.

"You bet! You should have seen us Angeal, we would have made the Turks jealous!" Zack said with a large grin, rolling over much like a puppy to lay on his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. Cloud followed suit with a bit less energy and also rested on his elbows to accommodate looking up to Angeal.

"I'm sure." Angeal said with a chuckle.

"I mean it Angeal." Zack pressed on, sensing his mentors disbelief. Angeal sighed and decided to humour his student.

"How would you make the Turks jealous then Puppy?" He large first said, still with a small grin on his face.

"'Cause we have Cloud!" Zack all but proclaimed to the world, moving over and throwing an arm around a surprised Cloud's shoulders.

"What?" Cloud asked, turning his gaze to his madly grinning companion.

"Man, you are going to be one of the best! And those Turks won't be the ones with you by their side." Zack elaborated happily.

Cloud just looked at him, unsure of what to say to the raven-haired man's words. Did he truly believe that? If only Zack knew what led to me gaining all these 'skills'... Cloud thought sadly, his mind momentarily flashing back to labs with an unearthly green mako glow, shining silver surgical equipment, and pain filled screams from both himself and Zack, the images changed to looking down at a dying Zack... All because he had tried to protect Cloud, who had been to weak to protect his only real friend.

Cloud looked away from Zack as the images left his mind once more.

"No... not the best." He said softly. "Whether the world knows it or not there will always be others better than me..."

Zack and Angeal were both left looking at he quiet blond in surprise and confusion at the odd words. Zack had seen the flash of pain that passed through the blond's eyes; had it been what he had said that caused that pain? Why would Cloud think so lowly of himself?

The pleasant atmosphere from before had suddenly departed, leaving nothing but a cold breeze blowing over the three and an even colder feel to the air.

"Cloud?" Zack asked, trying to look at the eyes now focused on the ground. "What's wrong Spikey?"

When Cloud looked back up, any trace of the previous pain was gone and Zack was looking into beautiful clear eyes once more.

"Nothing." Cloud answered with a smile and a small shake of his head, making soft blond spikes wave around. "Just thinking was all..."

"Well, you should both head back to your rooms soon. Cloud is far past his curfew and Zack you have a full day tomorrow. After today's events I think we all need rest." Angeal said, making sure his tone conveyed no chance for arguments.

Like Zack, Angeal had also seen the momentary display of emotion from Cloud and once more he was struck with the depth of Cloud's emotion and a feeling that the blond knew things far beyond his years. The tall first figured now would be a good idea to send the two their own ways.

Cloud got up with a sigh, stretching his tired muscles in the process and silently thanking Angeal for busting him out of an awkward situation whether he knew it or not. Zack made a show of rolling onto his back before lifting his legs up and leaning his body to balance on his shoulders to spring upwards and land deftly on his feet grinning with his accomplishment and earning an exasperated shake of the head from Angeal.

"Well, I'll catch up with you tomorrow for training again, 'kay Spikey?" Zack said cheerily.

Cloud nodded back with a small smile before saying a soft good night to Angeal and heading towards the cadet dorms. Angeal and Zack both watched the blond go before they too began walking towards the SOLDIER building.

"What are you thinking Puppy?" Angeal asked, seeing a distracted look on his students face.

"Hmm?" Zack asked, looking up to the tall first after being snapped from his thoughts.

"You're distracted, it's not like you. What's wrong?" Angeal asked.

"Nothin'." Zack mumbled in reply. Angeal simply nodded, knowing that if Zack wanted he would talk later. He also had a feeling that the thing distracting his student lay with the small blond cadet that they had stumbled upon in Wutai.

Once inside the building the two caught the elevator, their movements and the ding of the elevator being the only sounds in the quiet lobby area. The ride up was just as quiet as Zack thought over everything he had seen of Cloud since they had met. The elevator stopped with another ding on Zack's floor.

"Get a good night sleep Puppy." Angeal said as Zack stepped off.

"Yeah, night Angeal." Zack replied, sending a grin to his mentor as the doors closed before heading

to his own room. With another shake of his head Angeal pressed the button to head up to his own room, for some reason he felt that a change would be coming soon, and he could only hope that it was for the best.

The walk back to the cadet dorms was quiet, and the building even more so. Thanks to the hustle of that afternoon Cloud didn't need to worry about being caught out after curfew and therefore simply strolled back in through the side door he had exited from earlier.

He knew that he had made a mistake earlier by allowing his emotions to show for that brief amount of time, he hadn't meant to but even though Zack was alive once again and he now had to change the future and fate of his best friend, it did little to make those memories any less painful; if anything it made them all the worse, the fact that if he failed he would once more be condemning his raven-haired friend to that fate weighed heavily on his mind.

Arriving at the door to his room, Cloud hesitated before entering, still unsure about Razor. With a sigh he entered the room. After all, he thought, Zack is probably right and I'm over thinking things...

To his surprise one of the lamps was left on, despite the fact that the other cadet seemed to be fast asleep under the covers of his own bed. Cloud eased the door closed quietly before moving over to his side of the room. Had Razor left the light on for him?

Sitting on his bed, Cloud removed First Sword from its place on his back and set it down quietly against the wall. Despite the lack of sleep from the night before Cloud still felt completely awake and alert.

"You were out late..." The sleepy voice from the other bed startled Cloud, looking up he saw half-lidded obsidian eyes watching him from beneath the covers.

"Sorry." Cloud apologised, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"All good..." Was the sleepy reply. "Were were you anyways?"

"Nowhere special. Just letting off some steam." Cloud answered, getting up and moving over to his cabinet to get his sleeping clothes out.

"Mmmm 'kay then..." With that Razor rolled back over and buried his head under the covers.

With a sigh Cloud got changed and crawled into his own bed. He wasn't tired but he turned out the light to allow Razor to sleep in peace.

Maybe he had been wrong about the other cadet? There had been nothing odd about the way he had just acted... Perhaps it had just been bad timing before? His mind flashed back to he image of the dead cadet from earlier that day and he attempted to find answers to some of the questions that the attack brought up. Even if the Darkness was here, why would it make such a bold move? Was it attempting to send a warning?

Cloud lay there for a while, turning over a few times before settling on his side facing the cabinets at the back of the room, he wasn't looking forward to going to classes in the morning and having to waste time on things he already knew when he could be training instead. Now it seemed so much more important that he be ready to face any threat, and classes would do nothing but slow him down...

Eventually, after what felt like hours Cloud fell into an uneasy sleep.

Razor lay, pretending to sleep, listening to his target move around until he settled then all that came from the blond was even breathing, Razor knew that he had fallen asleep then. The obsidian-eyed cadet smirked, knowing that he had make progress; it would take time, but eventually he would be able to move around Gaia's Guardian with little or no suspicion. It would be then that he would strike and put his master's plans in motion; it would just take time...

Another chapter done! Thank you to all who reviewed. I try to reply to each review, so to those who reviewed as a guest or anonymous; Thank you!

I hope you all continue to read and enjoy the story.