New Game Plus: Soldier Edition
Chapter 04: SOLDIER Exam
AN: Hello all. Firstly as always thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as those who added the story to alert and favorite lists. I'm honestly surprised by how much enthusiasm some people have shown for this story and I hope I can keep you engaged. Now as for why I gave Cloud a katana, it is not to emulate Sephiroth like some people have guessed. I actually came across some trivia I liked before I started this story that stated that Cloud and Sephiroth were based on a pair of samurai who dueled in the 1600's and so I gave Cloud a katana to honor that.
Some have complained that I didn't give Cloud the Buster Sword right away. To those people I'd like to remind you that firstly he inherited the sword from Zack and at this point in the story Zack hasn't even inherited the sword so there is no way that Cloud should have it at this point. Secondly that thing is a beast and heavy as hell, I may have made him stronger but chakra doesn't automatically give super strength so Cloud wouldn't even be able to use it effectively if at all.
That's all I've got for now so I hope you enjoy the new chapter.
Start Now:
The city of Midgar was a death trap, at least that was Cloud's first impression looking at it from the air. Visually it looked really good, it was a sprawling metropolis suspended 300 meters above ground-level situated atop giant steel plates held up by stone pillars with steel supports. While the plate looked as if it was one giant circle it was actually made of nine individual pieces which consequently split the city into eight sections with giant walls separating each like pizza slices.
Around the city in each sector was a giant mako reactor which provided electricity for each section. Many towering buildings made of steel and glass could be seen scattered and placed in multiple sections while sections were made entirely of homes. In the center of it all was the ninth district 'Sector 0' composed solely of the Shinra HQ which dominated the skyline towering over everything in its sheer height while its width was enough to cover most of Sector 0. The building itself is surrounded by highway bridges, immense pipes, and walkways leading to a large wall around its perimeter, with an empty moat from the wall towards the circular plate on which the building stands.
When they first arrived and flew over the city, and he'd seen the look on Cloud's face Rufus had assured him that the city was perfectly safe and stable but the memories he'd inherited of the Sector 7 plate falling told him the complete opposite. Still over the few weeks that he'd been in the city he'd gotten used to the place a bit, though he still thought the air stunk to high heaven. The fact that there were eight giant freaking mako reactors powering the city, 9 if you counted the one under the Shinra building that only powered that, certainly didn't help. While he didn't care for much that loudmouth Barrett said whenever he got worked up in the memories he had certainly agreed that the reactors produced terrible smells.
The first week he'd spent traversing the city both the upper and undercity areas to discover as much as he could. While he didn't personally go down into the undercity or the slums as it was now referred to nothing stopped him from sending a few disguised clones to explore the place. It was also in this time that he'd had his first meeting with President Shinra, one that was neither long nor informative at least for him. The man had been rather disappointed to learn why his father had left and changed his name, apparently he'd never learned the reason behind why his older brother had left, just that he was gone and not coming back.
He'd also been interested in the story of how Cloud had come to get engaged at such a young age to one person let alone two. Still the meeting must have gone better than he'd thought as he'd only barely finished his registration for the SOLDIER exam when he was alerted that he'd completed the Travel to Midgar portion of the quest and gotten the Shinra protection bonus for Aeris and Ifalna. Begin Your Story was still in process and wouldn't end until after Take the SOLDIER Exam was completed, which was the last part of the quest line.
The last three weeks he'd spent as an assistant to Lucrecia, mostly acting as the muscle as she set up her office and workspace. She had been hired as the Deputy Head of the Science and Research Division with her previous work used as an example of her qualifications. Hojo, the Head of Science and Research hadn't put up too much of a fuss once it was pointed out that it would allow him to focus more on his projects while she handled some of the administrative work he always complained about. There was also a buffer in that their individual projects were off limits to each other with the sole exception of SOLDIER as she'd been part of the initial team that had given birth to the active-type SOLDIER class.
Hojo had tried to push back against that but when Rufus presented his father with the case study she'd done on what she'd known about the 'active-type' SOLDIERS, what she predicted would happen with them and her own alternatives based on Cetra knowledge the President elected to allow her the access. What most people even in Shinra didn't know was that while there were three classes of SOLDIER operatives there was another division amongst them Active and Passive.
The Passive type were the 1st generation SOLDIER's the elite members of Shinra's military. The 2nd generation SOLDIER's or Active type soldiers were the ones known today super soldiers enhanced by mako and Jenova cells giving them powers the first generation couldn't speak of. Dr. Crescent's current project was creating a new version of active-type soldiers that were just as strong but didn't use Jenova cells.
At the moment he was in Rufus's office on the 69th floor of the building known as the Executive Floor looking over a tablet as Lucrecia had run out of things he could actually help with, and he still had a few weeks to wait before the exams took place. As such Rufus had him going throw profiles of members of the Public Security Forces and marking that they'd applied for this years SOLDIER exam. Rufus himself was behind his desk pretending to work but he knew that he was actually absorbed in a copy of the Art of War that he'd let him borrow.
Rufus had been very impressed with some of the 'old world' knowledge that he had access to and Cloud had realized that his cousin wasn't as callous as he'd seen in the memories and he'd taken the chance to help steer him in the right direction a bit earlier. He was still someone who'd grown up with wealth and practically the prince of Midgar, so Cloud knew he'd have to work on him for a while.
"Rufus I have a question." Said Cloud causing his cousin to look up.
"What is it?" questioned Rufus.
"Where are the female applicants, I've been going over this for nearly two hours and haven't seen a single one." Said Cloud.
"That's because there are none. From what I understand there is no interest from women in joining SOLDIER." Said Rufus causing Cloud to frown.
"The first generation had a lot of female SOLDIERS. What are the odds that someone spread some misinformation to keep them out, something like only guys could apply?" Questioned Cloud.
"Before I met you I wouldn't have even suspected it." Said Rufus with a sigh rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Right, so SOLDIER is supposed to be the elite of the elite. I need access to the profiles of female members of the PSF, Security, Army, Navy, Marines all of them. We can see who qualifies and you can personally invite them to take the exam." Said Cloud.
"Me, why?" questioned Rufus intrigued.
"It will endear you to them since you'll have given them an opportunity no one else would. One day you'll become President, and this will be a step in gaining supporters that may have otherwise doubted you." Said Cloud.
"Some people won't like this." Said Rufus.
"So what. From a different viewpoint it could be argued that the change was made because someone felt threatened. SOLIDER is for the elite if they can't handle a bit more competition then maybe they're not cut out for the division." Said Cloud.
"Let me make a few calls before we do anything else."
Over the next half hour Cloud listened as Rufus went to work making several calls. The first had been to Hojo from which they learned that it had not been him that stopped the female applicants and in fact he'd been rather irked by it as he had not been able to compare that data against the other SOLDIER recruits. Heidegger the Head of Public Safety had also not been behind it as it was considered an honor of distinction to join SOLDIER for members of the Public Safety Forces.
With both men on board for their own reasons they soon had the profiles for female members of the PSF in front of them. There were thousands but thankfully they were able to narrow that down after Rufus secured a baseline for what PSF members needed to be capable of to even be able to take the practical exam.
A few hours later and Cloud could be found walking the halls of Shinra HQ specifically the 51st floor where the office of Lazard Deusericus the Director of SOLDIER could be found. He'd only met the man a few times, he'd been introduced to him by Rufus and informed that the man was actually Rufus's brother, an illegitimate offspring of the President. Cloud much like he had with Rufus had taken to spending a bit of time trying to get to know Lazard as he wasn't someone that he had any memories of from the other Cloud.
He found Lazard in his office; he'd rather quickly realized the man spent most of his time sequestered inside of it. The man was a few years younger than Rufus with an average build, fair skin, coiffed medium-length blond hair, and blue eyes. He was always dressed in a suit and today was no different though at the moment his coat was hung on a coat rack behind his desk to the right.
"Lazard do you have a minute?" questioned Cloud poking his head in.
"Sure, I don't have long though. I have a meeting in ten." Said the man.
"Okay I'll be quick." Said Cloud walking into the room and towards the desk before taking a seat in front of it.
"Rufus had me going over the profiles of PSF members who applied for SOLDIER and updating their information when I noticed there were no female applicants. Short version we've worked out a list of candidates we thought would qualify." Said Cloud before handing over a tablet he'd been carrying.
"You don't actually need to do anything, but he wanted me to give you a heads up. He'll be personally contacting them and inviting them to take the exam. Whatever happens after that is up to their performance." Said Cloud.
"Not something he would have thought to do himself." Said Lazard.
"No, Rufus was more sheltered than you and I were growing up, he didn't even think to question it. That's fine though, I think between the two of us we can get his blinders removed so he sees past his own experience." Said Cloud getting a thoughtful frown from the man.
"Well I certainly won't argue with this change hopefully this means less arrogant members going forward." Said Lazard after a moment.
"Right well I was wondering if there were any passives still around that would like to get back out there. The enhancement process Dr. Crescent designed would certainly work on them."
"Really, would it work on anyone?" questioned Lazard.
"Not anyone. Honestly it would probably kill someone in their 50's or older but aside from that it should work though would still be risky it's not as dangerous as the current method." Said Cloud
"How do you know about the current method?" questioned Lazard.
"Keep this between us. I took a bad fall when I was six, one that technically killed me. I was tapped directly into the Lifestream and when I came back I knew a lot of things I didn't know before." Said Cloud surprising the man.
"Ask Dr. Crescent, she's known me since shortly after that. Anyway I also wanted to give you this." Said Cloud passing over a drive.
"What's this?" questioned Lazard.
"Designs for upgraded SOLDIER uniforms. My dad's best friend Diego made those when he realized he couldn't stop me from coming here. I actually forgot I had that until this morning." Said Cloud
"I really am looking forward to this exam for once, I can't wait to actually see what you can do." Said Lazard.
"You're not the only one, even Aunt Lucy is curious. I'll swing by later, get you out of this office for a bit." Said Cloud standing to his feet.
"Cloud the war is still on, I actually need to be in this office." Said Lazard with a sigh.
"True, but you also need to eat like everyone else." Said Cloud before leaving.
His next stop was the 29th floor where Lucrecia's office is located. While the 65th and 66th floors had been turned into Hojo's personal lab space the Science and Research division commanded floors 20-29 and Lucrecia had elected to stay on the floor where she was both in easy reach of the division and as far as she could be from Hojo while still occupying the same building. In the few weeks he'd spent within the division he realized most of them could be pretty absorbed of their work and others had even become convinced of their own genius.
"So how did things go?" questioned Lucrecia almost as soon as he entered her office and closed the door.
"They went for it. There will be female applicants and Lazard will look into the passive-type to see if anyone is interested." Said Cloud.
Nearly a full month later found Cloud sitting in a waiting room on the 5th floor of Shinra HQ. The SOLDIER exam was an extensive process with multiple stages. Already he'd gone through the physical screening exam which was a wellness and fitness check. Thankfully that part was over as he'd had to do that in just his boxers and both the waiting room and exam room had been cold. After that he'd been given a bundle of clothes to put on that he realized quickly as infantry gear, specifically the shirt, pants, socks and boots. There was no armor or pouches provided and instead on the chest was a piece of paper that said 'Candidate' at the top with the number 137 in large font in the center and his name at the bottom with his family name listed first.
The number itself wasn't bad, the applicant numbers started at 100 instead of at 001 so in truth he was actually number 37. The waiting room had actually been filling up at a somewhat slow if steady with applicants coming in from two doors, males from the left and females from the right. Like him all of them entered the room in just their underwear were handed the gear and entered the nearby booth before emerging fully dressed and taking a seat. Newspapers were provided in each seat in the room, which was how everyone began to occupy themselves upon entering though Cloud had finished reading some time ago. Rather than spend the time looking around he'd entered a light meditation though he kept his eyes open so he wouldn't be mistaken for sleeping.
The one thing that all of them had in common is that all of them were civilians. People that like him had travelled from across the world to take the exam and he was betting the girls that were there were probably just going to sign up for the Public Security Forces before being informed of the opportunity to take the SOLDIER exam. Honestly Rufus had gone beyond what he'd expected as not only had he personally invited female members of the PSF to take the exam but had also had ads placed on the radio, newspapers and magazines inviting girls to take the exam. He had no doubt that like the boys and young men in attendance they'd come enamored with the dream of becoming a hero.
Finally his attention was pulled to the front of the room where a man could be seen wearing a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt with a black tie. He informed them that they would now be undergoing the Targeting Exam and would be called up 15 at a time before proceeding to take the first group and exit out of the next door. Cloud based on his number was the 7th in line when they called on the third group and after going through the door found himself standing within a targeting range. Standing in front of them was a man in similar gear to them only he lacked a number on his chest.
"Right then as you lot are all civilian applicants I'm going to assume that none of you have held a gun before. Some of you may have done so but for the sake of the others stay quiet and listen anyway." Said the man before drawing a pistol from the holster at his side.
"What I am holding is a military standard issue G-360, it is a 9mm pistol with a magazine size of 19. I will show you how to hold, load and fire it before allowing you on the range."
Several minutes later after the demonstration Cloud walked up to the position indicated for him on the range and put on the earmuffs before loading the weapon. The test was actually simple in explanation, each person started with a set number of points and were presented with ten targets they had to get kill shots on. Missed shots lost points and if you dropped under a certain number of points it was an automatic fail. It took Cloud 12 shots to finish the exam and while the extra two hadn't been misses they hadn't been kill shots, so he lost points just not as many as if the shots had missed completely. When he finished he turned on the safety and stepped away he had to wait until everyone else was finished. Once the test was completed they were told to take off the earmuffs and ushered out of the next door.
The next room was one that was lined with lockers and after opening the one with his number on it he found his sword inside. The sword the company provided was a longsword with a curved guard and a small SOLDIER logo engraved in the middle. However on the registration there was an option to use your own sword if you had one and since he did he'd selected the option. He'd had to remove his own materia from the sword when he arrived and checked the sword in but they'd given him a ticket so he could get them back after the test was over.
The reason behind this was that any materia used would be issued out by the company, to put everyone on the same level. The materia he'd chosen for the test were also in the locker inside of a rather thick armband that he secured to the upper region of his left arm. The materia in question were Assess, Cure and Lightning, the latter of which was the element he had the hardest time using without materia. Removing the Lightning materia from the arm band he placed it in one of the slots of his sword which would give his sword a bit more of a bite.
One thing most people had forgotten about materia was that the knowledge that they contained were usually of basic spells especially for offence. While there were certainly some powerful ones such as summon materia the elemental variety truly were basic. Cloud thanks to his training knew far more powerful or versatile Wind and Fire techniques than materia could provide. Ice would have been useful as well but Lightning would be best against machines and work well against monsters and humans. Securing his sword to his side, he made his way over to a portion of the wall to wait. Over the time he waited people steadily trickled inside until finally the door on the other end opened and allowed another scientist, this one a woman to walk through the door and call the attention of the group.
"The next portion of the exam is amongst the hardest. It is a combat trial however unlike previous years I've been allowed to tweak it. Using some newly developed virtual technology you will be placed in a virtual environment for a free-for-all battle royal. However not only will you have to contend with each other but monsters, machines and members of the Public Security Forces that have agreed to test you as well.
The test will have a time limit of two hours. All of you will start with a score of zero and are worth one hundred points. Monsters, machines and PSF members are worth more points to various degrees. To pass this portion of the exam requires a minimum score of 2,400 points, scoring more points however will boost your overall score so those who did not fare well in the Targeting Exam this is your chance to make up for it. Those who pass will be allowed to move on to the final part of the exam, fail this one and you're done." Said the woman.
With a motion of her hand the doors opened, allowing a large team of scientists to begin flooding the room each of them carrying a mid-size in each hand. When one of them approached him they opened the case to reveal a pair of goggles inside with a black strap and black lenses outlined in blue.
"When you put on the goggles they will do a scan of you allowing you to have all of your equipment in the virtual environment, also anything you are capable of in the real world you will be capable of there thanks to the scan." Said the man.
"Good to know." Said Cloud.
Accepting the goggles he slid them over his head but left the front on his forehead. He slid into a seiza position and angling his katana to better fit his new position before finally placing the lenses over his eyes. In the next instant he found himself standing in a white void with nothing else surrounding him. He was surprised however when he got an alert from the Edge System.
Combat Exam: Survive two hour within the exam with a score of 2,400 to pass. Bonus: Score 3,000 points or more to maximize rewards.
"3,000 points in two hours. Sounds like a challenge." Mused Cloud before smirking.
Within the Executive Conference Room on the 66th floor a group of people could be seen sitting at a large table preparing to watch the combat exam. At the head of the table President Shinra sat with a lit cigar held between his lips before he removed it and blew out a cloud of smoke which was quickly sucked up and out of the room by the ventilation system. In the seat to his right sat his son Rufus while in the seat to his left sat the Vice President Emilio Salvatore, a man who dressed impeccably in a royal blue three-piece suit, his hair was still predominately brown though it was noticeably greying, and he had a full beard that was cut close to his face and was full grey. Heidegger the Head of Public Security sat beside him with Hojo at the end.
Beside Rufus sat Lazard who as Director of Soldier was obligated to be here, otherwise he'd most likely still be in his office. Next was Frank Chen the Head of Advanced Weaponry, he was another older man who wore a grey suit with a black collarless shirt. His hair was full grey cut short and parted to the left allowing the top to be combed over to the right while the left side was combed back. Finally at the end of that said was Lucrecia Crescent, the only woman present who like all scientist covered her attire with a white lab coat.
He had to applaud Rufus for bringing her in, the woman had made quite a name for herself over the last near decade and as such creating the Deputy position for her was a small matter. He had not liked the news she brought concerning Professor Gast and while he'd done nothing Hojo had certainly lost some esteem in his eyes. The man had actually been one of the few people that he could call a friend and to learn what had become of him had not sat well nor the knowledge that the Cetra and her daughter had been the mans wife and child. It had been a small matter in his part to both put a halt to Hojo's search for them and assign people to protect them.
It also helped that Cloud was engaged to the daughter and while he didn't have the Shinra name having the blood was what mattered most in this instance. They may have to wait longer but he was sure this move would get him closer to the fabled Promised Land of the Cetra. Hojo hadn't been happy but had shut his mouth about it once he realized his mind was made up on the matter. He'd also already determined that he would give Lucrecia a few years to get used to her duties and complete a few projects, after which point she would replace Hojo as the Head of Research and Development.
"I have to ask, why was this targeting exam added? SOLDIERS don't use guns." Said Emilio a question the President also wondered about.
"That's a two-fold answer. Firstly the first-generation SOLDIERS did use guns. To be SOLDIER meant to be the elite in all areas. That is a weakness that will be corrected in the training of the current generation as well." Said Lucrecia.
She knew Hojo had fazed that part of the training out so he could get more data on materia once he focused the active-type SOLDIER members in that direction. Also there was a limit to how many times someone, even a SOLDIER could use materia, it was better in her mind for them to have the training to use guns should the need ever arise even if the probability was low.
"The second reason is that as always not all of the applicants will pass. The PSF is known to accept those who have failed the SOLDIER exam so adding the targeting exam will give the PSF some data to work with that is more in line with their training." Said Lucrecia.
"Well I won't argue against that." Said Heidegger.
"What about the new additions to the combat exam?" questioned Frank.
"Having a bunch of untrained people going at each other doesn't tell us much. Pitting them up against threats they would actually face in the real world will give us more data so that's why I added the monsters. The robots will help with data for both these recruits and the robots which I'm sure will aid Weaponry. As for the PSF well I wanted trained human challengers for them to face, I have no data on Wutai combatants, so this was the next best thing." Said Lucrecia.
"Huh, that's odd." Said Heidegger looking down at a tablet.
"What is it?" questioned Emilio.
"Number 137, he's the only one who brought his own weapon but its weird. It's a curved sword like Sephiroth's but the bladed edge is on the inside." Said the man.
"That's an old-world design called a sakabato." Said Lucrecia bringing the rooms attention to her.
"From what we learned the Old World had a class of warrior known as samurai. They used curved swords called katana however a rare few of them, those who swore off killing used a type of katana called the sakabato which had the bladed edge on the inside. Since he can't go around just killing people Cloud made his sword that way, though he's also made it where if he needs to he can somehow change it so the bladed edge is on the outside." Said the woman.
"He made it?" questioned President Shinra in surprise.
"About a year ago. He started learning to build things when he was six." Said Lucrecia.
"Wait, it says here he's only 13." Stated Frank surprised.
"And as tall as some full-grown men." Said Emilio intrigued.
"It's the growth supplement Dr. Crescent helped develop. From what I understand all of the children in Nibelheim have been taking it for years. Because they started taking it so young it allowed their bodies to mature faster and over a longer period of time thus maximizing their potential physical growth." Said Rufus.
"Is there anyone else of any notice?" questioned Lazard wanting to move on.
"Chloe Marshall number 113, 15 years old, granddaughter of General Alex Marshall, her father was Major Declan Marshall, killed in action last year in Wutai." Said Heidegger.
"So a military legacy." Mused Rufus.
"Ten generations straight. She has two older brothers both in the army." Said Heidegger.
"Looks like she was the only one to pass the targeting exam with a perfect score." Said Lazard.
"So out of a field of 200 we have 2 we can predict will most likely pass." Said Hojo.
"Hopefully we have another surprise appearance like two years ago." Said Frank.
"Agreed." Said the President.
When Cloud was dropped into the combat environment he was surprised to find that he was standing in the midst of a city on fire. There was chaos all around him as people ran screaming in all directions. The road he stood on was paved with concrete and the buildings were built with simple wooden frames, vertical columns, horizontal beams, and diagonal braces. The buildings were elevated slightly off of the ground with roofs that were curved upwards with shingle tiles. It was dark with the only light being provided by the partial moon in the sky and the light of the fires.
Leaping from the ground he landed on top of a nearby wall and was able to see his surroundings much more clearly. His eyes widened at the sight of the place as it was a very familiar place to his mind.
"Kyoto." Said the blond in shock.
This place, he hadn't thought about it in years though it had given him many nightmares as a child. This was impossible though; he'd never told anyone the details of what he'd seen but his eyes were telling him this was indeed Kyoto. He could see people fighting further down the streets swinging wildly with their swords showcasing a severe lack of training. That's actually what told him that he wasn't in Kyoto, it was a fairly accurate imitation but that was all as those fighting looked oddly out of place. Stepping down from the wall he'd only barely landed when he heard someone call out.
"Found another one, let's get him!"
Looking up he found four people rushing at him with swords drawn with the terrified masses splitting to give them room though not stopping as they fled beyond the four of them. Narrowing his eyes as they came at him he grabbed his sword with his left hand and positioned his thumb beneath the tsuba as he took his own stance angled so that his right side was forward.
Once the leader was close enough his thumb pushed the tsuba upwards as his right hand drew the blade even as he side stepped to the right, stepped forward and past him. Now positioned in the center of the remaining three they closed in and as they moved to bring down their swords he spun a 180 degrees before stepping forward once more past the first one. Swiping his sword through the air he sheathed the blade and began to walk forward even as blood erupted from the four frozen figures he left behind him as they collapsed to the ground.
"WHAT WAS THAT!" exclaimed Frank Chen within the executive conference room.
"They just collapsed, was it a malfunction?" questioned Rufus.
"Impossible, this isn't a malfunction." Said Hojo eyes narrowed on the screen.
"He's right. We ran an equipment check an hour before the start of the exam." Said Lucrecia a look of distaste on her face for agreeing with Hojo.
"So what happened, what did we miss?" questioned Emilio.
Grabbing her tablet Lucrecia tapped into the feed going to the screen and returned it to the beginning then slowed the speed and played it again.
"Did anyone else see that flash?" questioned Rufus sitting up in his seat.
Narrowing her eyes she repeated the process several times until finally they watched for a fifth time. As the scene played itself again they watched this time clearly as Cloud stepped past the first one drawing his sword and cutting him diagonally across the torso from the lower left side to the right of the upper chest. When he entered the midst of the remaining three and spun they watched as his sword cut through each of their stomachs before he simply walked away.
"Two swings, he just took out four people with just two swings of his sword." Said Emilio in disbelief.
"How in the world can he already move that fast?" questioned Heidegger.
"Haste materia maybe." Said Frank.
"We didn't offer that. Besides that he was assigned Assess, Cure and Lightning." Said Lucrecia.
"That kind of speed, he must already be at the level of a 3rd class SOLDIER." Said Rufus.
"No, that wasn't SOLDIER speed. That was definitely behind normal human speed, but SOLDIERS are faster. Also if I'm not mistaken the blade of his sword was smaller when he drew it than at the end." Said Lazard.
Investigating that they found that he was right, when Cloud initially drew the blade it was only 25 inches yet by the end of the encounter it was 33 inches in length.
"So not only can he cut with a dull blade, but he can also somehow control its size as well." Said Frank in disbelief.
"Less than a minute in and he has a total of 400 points and still the entire length of the test to go. If he keeps this up he may actually break past the civilian scores." Said Lazard.
Cloud ran through the streets of the burning city towards the heart of the commotion. As the crowd got thicker he leapt landing lightly on the roof of a building and continuing at the same pace. He ran the rooftops for several minutes before he jumped leaping away from the building just as the roof exploded where he'd been standing. Landing on the ground he had only a moment to take in his surroundings discovering he'd landed in the midst of the fighting.
He moved quickly so that he was shielded by the wall of a building with an angle to see what was going on. Looking out he saw PSF troops were already engaging though they wore the uniform of security officers he saw they were armed with a variety of weapons. A quick usage of his Assess materia showed him they had flamethrowers, grenade launchers, and standard machine guns, all of them worth 200 points. Further back were a pair of Sweeper Prototypes worth 300 points each and a pair of sentry rays perched on walls worth 200 points, with two already being busted on the ground.
The biggest threats where the Sweeper Prototypes, those things had machine guns, missiles and flamethrowers but he could see the sentry rays swiveling as they fired on anything that came near them so they would have to go first. Focusing for a moment he tapped into the materia on the armband and cast the spell he needed.
"Thunder"
Almost immediately after he said the name of the spell a bolt of lightning shot from the sky striking the sentry ray to the right side of the street and destroying it. Without a moment of hesitation he repeated the act of destroying the sentry ray on his side of the street. That was a quick 400 points bringing his total to 800 which was a good boost and hadn't cost him much at all. Breaking from his cover he burst into speed drawing his sword even as he shot past examinees and PSF members and directly towards the nearest Sweeper.
As its guns trained on him he shot forward and to the right beginning a zig-zag pattern and thus not allowing the guns to train themselves on him. As he neared the machine he jumped, his chakra propelling him above the machine. As it moved to train its guns on him he was already falling towards it bringing his sword forward and gripping it with both hands, activating the materia embedded in it causing the blade to spark and lightning to engulf it just in time for him to swing down on the machine.
"Ryūtsuisen (Dragon Hammer Flash)"
The technique Ryūtsuisen, was not designed to be used against machines instead of humans. The machine held for a long moment before the lightning enhancement the attack took effect and combined with his strength and momentum allowed him to cut deep into the machine. Releasing his hold on the lightning it surged forwards punching through the length of the machine and causing it to fall into two separate halves that fell away from each other.
Without a wasted motion he turned and raced towards the other Sweeper just in time for the two pieces to explode behind him. Leaping forward he took to the air just before the force of the explosion slammed into him sending him flying towards it with lightning once again leaping from his blade. He cleared the distance in mere moments this time landing a thrusting attack with his blade stabbing into the machine just as it oriented on him and piercing it easily.
Lightning was best used for piercing and thrusting attacks which explained the ease with which his blade penetrated the machine all the way to the hilt. Planting his feet on the ground he gave a hard tug of the sword, releasing his hold of the lightning just before it was all the way out and leapt back and away. The sweeper was still for only several seconds, long enough for him to land in a crouch before it exploded going up in a ball of fire.
He panted heavily for several moments, the sound of his breathing somehow coming loud to his ears before his breathing calmed. Straightening he sheathed his sword before rushing from the area. By his count the two sentry rays and sweepers combined for 1,000 points bringing his total score to 1,400. While that may have been impressive so early on it was still not enough to pass the exam as he still had to score another 1,600 points before he met his personal goal.
Since there were no more machines and no monsters here that meant he needed to head to another area of the city. While almost everyone was gaping in shock a pair of brown eyes were narrowed as they were focused on his retreating figure before they widened in surprise as the owner realized what he was up to and also took their leave though in the opposite direction.
Cloud ran for nearly 10 minutes before he slowed to a stop. While the area he'd just come from had been very well lit this one was dark with only the light of the moon to illuminate it. Instead of being a city district he appeared to be in front of a large compound. Ambush tactics would definitely be in use in this area though whether it was humans or monsters employing those tactics would be up in the air. Rather than worry about this however he smiled lightly, this gave him a perfect opportunity to test out his stealth.
Removing his sword and sheath from his side he instead positioned both on his back with the handle peaking over his right shoulder. Stepping into the shadow of the wall he leapt up and grabbed hold of the ledge before pulling himself up to the top. Peering around he found that sure enough he was at the back of a large family compound peering over the garden by the looks of it. Dropping down to the other side he held onto the ledge for several long moments before releasing it and landing lightly on his feet. He'd only barely landed before five green bipedal lizard-like creatures with long arms and giant hands carrying tridents emerged surrounding him.
"Well I guess the stealth op is out." Said Cloud softly drawing his sword.
Using his Assess materia he found they were called Sahagin, they were worth 100 points each. Its elemental weakness was fire which meant that element would do extra damage while all others would do normal amounts. As the first of them charged and thrust out with his trident Cloud stepped to the left, lifted his right foot, and stomped down hard where the head met the shaft forcing it down to the dirt. The move forced the creature off balance and left it open to a thrust to the throat.
Releasing the sword he pushed back allowing the creature to crumple backwards and grabbed the trident. Lifting it easily he spun it once before launching it pointed end first at another one of the creatures catching it in the chest and sending it crashing back and to the ground. Two down he stepped forward and grabbed his sword freeing it from the dissolving monster and facing off with the remaining three. Another one charged and thrust this time towards his own chest. With no time to sidestep he deflected the attack to his right and forced himself into a full 360 spin to his left the end result bringing his blade back around and cutting through the back of its neck causing the head to fly.
Two left, only this time he charged forward towards the one on his left. As it thrust forward with the trident he went into a slide taking him beneath the weapon and as he neared raised his right foot landing it square in the groin area. He must have hit something there as the creature froze before it crumpled to the ground. The last one didn't wait for either of them to recover charging forward and stabbing down at the ground forcing him to roll away several times.
Seeing this the creature jumped clearing the short distance quickly and coming down stabbing the trident into Cloud causing him to cough out blood before there was a plume of smoke and his body was replaced by the monster he'd kicked in the groin. Eyes wide in disbelief the creature turned its head to look at its previous position only for a flash of steel to proceed it losing its head. Eyes narrow Cloud gave a sigh of relief swiping his sword through the air and flinging blood from it before reaching with his left hand to the cord on his chest and removing his sheath from his back placing the sword inside and securing it back to his side.
"Kawarimi for the win!" said the boy with a smirk.
"So five of those guys plus the 1400 I had before gives me 1,900. That means I still have some work to do. The question is whether I should go back though the districts or go through the compound." thought Cloud.
"Compound it is."
Aerith stared up at the ceiling of her new room and sighed in relief. She'd just finished unpacking the last of her things within what was now her room in Elmyra's house. She was still coming to terms with the fact that she'd left home, left her mother and Tifa to come here. The undercity of Sector Five was better than most others in terms of upkeep thanks in large part to Gainsborough Construction being based there and maintaining the place pretty much for free. Still it was an undercity with a metal plate looming over them and Aerith missed the open sky and the natural smells and sounds of Nibelheim.
It also sucked that she was here pretty much alone. Sure her 'aunt' and 'grandfather' were living there as well but aside from them she didn't know anyone in the area and would have to go through the task of making new friends. The worst part was being separate from Cloud and Tifa but it was something she knew was necessary, even if it killed her having to convince Tifa to stay in Nibelheim. Unfortunately unlike the two of them she knew that while she needed to be in Sector 5, Cloud needed to be in SOLDIER and Tifa needed to be in Nibelheim, or rather the planet needed them to be in those places. They needed to dedicate themselves to learning more and growing individually instead of depending on each other for everything as they had been.
Logically she knew this but emotionally it was hard to accept. They hadn't even been betrothed for two hours before Cloud was gone, and she had Tifa had only had a few more weeks together after that. Absently she brought her hand up to her necklace sending out a silent prayer for Cloud's safety as she had every day since he'd left. She'd been surprised to find several letters from Cloud waiting for her when she first arrived. Even more surprising was that he'd written the first one not even two days after he left telling her everything he'd been up to.
The last letter had been the one that surprised her the most detailing his meeting with President Shinra. Normally what those letters stated would have worried if not terrified her, but she and Tifa knew all about the Edge System and had learned to trust in it over the last few years so if it said she would be safe then she believed that. Such thoughts, however, were broken when there was a knock on the door.
"Aerith, can you join us downstairs, we have company."
The voice of her aunt Elmyra and her tone caused her to sigh. She knew her aunt was not fond of Shinra and hadn't been since her husband was killed in the war a few years back. Aerith had actually been the one to break the news to her, before she and her mother had moved to Nibelheim. Not knowing about her connection to the planet Elmyra hadn't believed her until she received the news a few days later by way of a rather dispassionate letter from the Shinra military.
With her aunt using that tone she knew that this could only be one thing and sighed once more before pushing herself up from her bed. Catching sight of herself in the mirror she paused realizing that she was wearing a rather revealing white tank top and grabbed a pink and white flannel shirt to where over that. Leaving the room put her immediately in front of the banister for the stairs and taking them down she found her aunt and grandfather sitting at the table with another man. This man had a slim build, tan skin, straight long black hair, dark brown eyes, and a Bindi accessory on his forehead and wore dark blue suit with a white shirt and a slim blue tie.
Approaching the table she took the seat between Elmyra and her grandfather knowing it had been purposely left open for her without it being stated. Gabriel Gainsborough despite being an older man was still an imposing figure with a height of 6'4" and while his once brown hair had turned white with age his green eyes were still intense enough to give people pause. Aerith had no doubt that there was a gun beneath the table and if the man across from them made the wrong move it would most likely be his last.
"Now that we are all here what is it you want with us?" questioned Gabriel.
"As I stated earlier I represent Shinra's General Affairs Department. I have been sent her at the direction of the President himself and he would like you to know that he is now aware as to the truth of who you and your mother are Ms. Gainsborough. Professor Gast was a long-time friend of the President, and he states that if he'd known the truth things would have been different. He'd like you to know that the search for you and your mother has been called off and he has ordered the Cetra projects shut down. You and your mother are now under protected status and bodyguards will be assigned for you." Said the man.
"Sounds like a way for you to keep tabs on them." Said Gabriel eyes narrow.
"The bodyguards will be completely independent, and the location of their charges will never be disclosed." Said the man.
"What about the monster who was being all of this?" questioned Elmyra.
"Professor Hojo. He is currently the Head of the Research and Development Division. The President is now aware that he used your fathers research as well as that of others to obtain that position. Someone has been recently brought in to take some of his responsibilities and per the President once that individual is up to the task of taking over in full then Hojo will be quietly retired." Said the man.
By the end of the two hours allotted for the exam only three people passed. Applicant 176, Tyler passed but only barely with a score of 2,450, applicant 113, Chloe Marshall, passed with a score of 2,900 taking a machine gun from a defeated security officer and going on something of a rampage which was impressive and would have been much more impressive if applicant 137, Cloud Strife the youngest of the applicants, hadn't finished with a score of 3,800. Cloud had cut a bloody swathe through the compound and sat out the last 35 minutes of the exam. There had been others who'd met the first goal in scoring the required number of points only to get themselves killed in the simulation and thus fail the exam.
After surrendering their weapons once again and while the rest of the group was led to another door to leave the three who passed found themselves in another waiting room. They weren't waiting long before another door opened admitting another group of people dressed much the same as them only their uniforms actually had armor. This group numbered twelve five of which were women and all of them were clearly tired. The person observing them was another scientist though he had heavy bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.
"So congratulations on making it this far I guess." Said the man catching the attention of the group a few minutes later.
"Of the total of 500 applicants the 15 of you made it to this point so I guess you can be proud of that. The final part of the exam is actually the most dangerous. In the next room you will be exposed to mako fumes. Anyone who succumbs to it such as by passing out will fail. While this test requires no strenuous activity on your part there is a risk of mako poisoning. Anyone who doesn't wish to proceed can quit right now."
The room was silent at that for several long moments and when no one spoke up even though a few looked nervous the man shrugged and told them to follow him. He led them to the next door, and it opened with a hiss before he motioned them to go inside. As he entered Cloud found the floor was a metal grate beneath which was a pool of bubbling glowing green liquid.
"Fuck!" exclaimed number 176 immediately bringing a hand to cover his nose and mouth.
"The door will open in ten minutes, good luck." Said the scientist and with that the door shut trapping them inside.
"If you know how to meditate I'd suggest trying that, that will use less oxygen allowing us all to survive this longer."
His piece said Cloud sunk to the floor with his back to the wall, legs crossed and closed his eyes. With as much practice as he had meditating it didn't take him long to delve deep into the state and one of the benefits in this particular case was that it both slowed his breathing and made time pass quicker.
His eyes opened slowly a few minutes later, the hissing of the door opening being enough to pull him out and back into the waking world. Looking around he could see all of them were covered in sweat but only three people passed out, including number 176. They had to be helped, practically carried out and away from what Cloud was privately calling the gas chamber, as while they were conscious the exposure had still done a number on all of them. They were led into a large room full of nothing but beds with each of them being placed down on one and while he didn't know about the rest of them Cloud was nearly asleep until he was hit by an alert from the Edge System.
Take the SOLDIER Exam: Completed.
Physical Exam: Passed
Targeting Exam: Passed
Combat Exam: Passed, Score 3,800 – Bonus Rewards: Full Rewards Unlocked – Proceed to the next stage to receive rewards!
Mako Exam: Passed
Begin Your Story: Ongoing – Go to sleep to proceed to the next stage.
Cloud was pleased to see that none of this required him to think hard or much at all. The last instruction to go to sleep was followed easily enough and he'd barely closed the system before he was sleep.
AN: That's it, the chapter's over. Initially this chapter was going to be longer, much longer but I had an entire fight scene that I was going to use but I've decided to hold on to that for later in the story. I also cut the enhancement stuff from this chapter and moved it to the next one since this was started to feel too long. As a plus chapter five already has 1300 words. Also I added the female SOLDIER stuff because I was inspired by Tifa SOLDIER art I saw. I also know that 1st generation SOLDIER's included females and this was a way to make that retcon make sense. Anyway that's all I got so thanks for reading and please review. Until next time, LATER