The Beginning is the End...

Beta’d by CaseyAnn’sPrecious

Ratings, Disclaimer, and iWarnings! are still the same.

You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid
(By: The Offspring)
Chapter 8

A warm light streamed in through the window and onto Cloud’s face as whispers were heard off to his side. As he moved around in the bed he spotted two plastic cups and a couple of pills on the dresser.

“Good afternoon,” a voice said from the foot of his bed, and he noticed two guys sitting on the floor with heads turned to him while the TV was playing in the background.

“What happened?” Cloud asked as he scooted back to rest against the headboard.

It was Dorian, the one who passed by backing up a comrade, who spoke. “Something about the body accepting mako or something. I got the gist of it, but as to why you were drunk on mako and having a good time while we got sick on it and not having a good time still eludes me.”

“You’re thinking about how alcohol works, but it isn’t like that,” he explained, it was a common assumption. “When alcohol gets absorbed into the body it affects the brain and causes other things. It’s a toxin. When mako gets absorbed into the body then the body uses it to enhance what’s already there: muscle, bones, sight… What doesn’t get used gets rejected.” Of course, he didn’t know that the dizzy sensation would still be there. In the Hojo’s labs he’d been constantly in that state of mind and assumed that the Professor had given him something else besides mako.

“Then why do they call it mako poisoning?”

“Rejecting mako is stressful to the body. Think of it as drinking too much of an energy drink: there’s energy there, but nowhere to go. Only mako isn’t stored. What doesn’t get accepted becomes useless, but it refuses to stay inside. The body getting sick is one of the ways it forces itself out.”

“Ooh,” the other said in awe. “How did you know this stuff?”

Cloud was at a loss of what to say. ‘Oh, I’ve had experience from getting mako poisoning before, and heard enough of what the professor said to understand’ didn’t seem like a good response.

“That SOLDIER guy that he was hanging out with probably told him,” Dorian said. “You make it sound like he holds the answer to the universe or something, man.” The two looked like they wanted to ask more questions that he didn’t really want to answer, and thankfully the moment was ruined when the guy on the other bed started to wake up.

“Oh, my gaawd, those-unicorns-were-going-by-so-fast,” Ted mumbled while looking around to get his bearings. “Where am I?”

“You’re in our room,” Dorian told him, “Cloud’s borrowing my bed till he figures out which room to go take, and me and Isaac are playing Donkey Kong.” Ted looked around the room curiously, and then licked his finger and stuck it in his eye.

“Oh, dude, man,” Isaac complained at the visual, “that’s gross.” Cloud agreed.

But a contact lens was brought back with the finger and looking around again Ted declared, “I can see!” but winced pitifully at the noise caused from his own voice. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked as he
spotted the pills laid to his right.
“Yeah,” Dorian answered, “the nurse said you guys might wake up with a headache, said something about the change in the retina.” Ted nodded like he was really listening while he downed the capsules.

“Rise and shine,” someone yelled in from the doorway and caused Ted to cough up his drink. “Commander Rhapsodos and Lieutenant Hewley will be in the mess hall today! If you rookies want a taste of Banora Whites then you better head there fast!” The SOLDIER laughed at Ted’s miserable appearance and ran off down the hall.

Cloud was just glad that he wasn’t the only one that looked confused.

--

Angeal was standing next to the crates in the SOLDIER mess hall while Genesis humored their juniors with tall tales.

The SOLDIERs gasped for breath as they tried to contain their barks of laughter, and one of the older ones asked, “What did he do after that, Genesis?”

“He charged the monster and stabbed it with his extremely long sword,” Genesis finished and rolled his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Innuendo was heavily laced in his voice, and it made the SOLDIERs laugh even harder. Then the redhead caught movement coming in from the entrance and saw the new SOLDIER 3rds coming in. His smile took on a more evil form as he caught the blond with them, he started on another tale.

“During all the fights, battles, and hardships that your General Sephiroth had to bare he never lost one. Not one!” The SOLDIERs listened as they slowly chewed on the dumbapples while their exuberant Commander entertained them. Every week Angeal and he would come in with shipments of something or another and chatted amongst the lower ranks. It was difficult for newbies to grasp at first as to why their superiors were talking so easily toward them, but this feeling of familiarity worked out in the field. With them you weren’t just taking orders from a stranger, you were taking orders from men you knew personally.

“Sephiroth had scaled mountains in search of beasties terrorizing villages, and he came across some of the worst!” He began moving around like he was fighting the monsters and swung his arm in stabbing motions.

“Behemoths: SLASHED! Dark Dragons: shredded! Tonberries: nullified!” The Thirds were looking at him with complete admiration for their General, and his voice lowered, his movements became mellower. “But… there was one time in which your great General was defeated.”

“What?” The SOLDIERs gasped. That was the first time they ever heard anything like that. From what they knew, the General had never lost a battle in his life! “Was it from a Death Gazer?!”

“Or an Allemange?!” They started listing off the names of strong monsters, and the young blond in back tried not to show his curiosity for what had defeated the man.

“Oh, no,” Genesis continued, “the opponent was not just your average beastie. No, no, no. This opponent was human.”

“WHAT?!” the blond exclaimed, sounding appalled, and earning a few looks in return. “Who?!”

Genesis laughed internally as he slowly walked up to the engrossed boy. The kid really wanted to know.

“It was a day like any other,” he continued. “The attack came suddenly, swiftly, carefully as Sephiroth had – but for a moment! – let his guard down.”

“He got attacked from behind?!” one of the SOLDIERs yelled assumingly.

“Nay!” Genesis turned to deny the claim and swiftly went back to his slow moving journey to reach the blond. “He didn’t. The move was stealthy and came at him right from his front…” As Genesis reached the smaller male, he bent over so they were face to face. “Do you know how the attacker did it?”

The blond shook his head, and Genesis almost failed to keep the smirk at bay when a bubble of laughter threatened to make itself known. It was always fun to mess with these new kids.

“First, the opponent cast Petrify to keep Angeal and me from moving. Next was Confusion, so the General thought that his opponent was safe. Then, when the General got closer, he was ruthlessly beaten down and…” Genesis slowly raised a hand to point at a spot on the smaller boy’s neck, and his voice turned soft, “kissed.”

The boy’s blue eyes grew horrifyingly wide as his brain seemed to remember the events from earlier. It always did take a little help to do so after the first mako dosage. The rest of the SOLDIERs were casting confused looks at him as they seemed to be waiting for something, and Genesis thought he’d given them enough of a dramatic pause.

“And that’s the story of how Angeal and I found out the General was prude!” he finished his story and waved off in annoyance while the SOLDIERs burst out laughing. “He ran all the way home screaming!”

For the rest of the duration the silent blond was seen mulling in the corner and Genesis had a good guess as to why, but it also sprung up another question. Most boys his age had what seemed like a man-crush on the General, but this kid marched up to Sephiroth like he was an equal and called out what he thought of him… which was then followed by unforeseeable actions. Genesis had never known anyone to lie while experiencing their first mako-boost. The ‘I hate you, I like you’ signs he’d given off were odd, like an oxymoron.

The redhead looked to his left to see Angeal talking to two of the new SOLDIER 3rds. The older male was stating that they might be better suited for the buster sword and was implying that there might be a spot open to mentor one of them.

Genesis shook his head in sympathy. He was certain that Zack would pass, but once the boy comes back home to see Angeal with a new student he would probably be heartbroken. Genesis was no idiot. He knew the signs when he saw them, and by the looks of adoration that Zack was throwing Angeal’s way the kid had been smitten with his mentor since the start of the program. No, when Zack comes back there wouldn’t be any cause for celebration, not in his mind.

The Commander gave another look to the gloomy blond and decided to make his way over to him.

--

Cloud was perched on one of the benches while the others were chatting amongst themselves. He had some type of nasty looking fruit that he was half tempted to try in one hand while he rested his forehead in the other. It was fine. He felt fine. Everything was just fine. It didn’t matter that the world was probably going to go to hell again anyways. For some reason Sephiroth had it out for him and if Cloud messed this up then he doubted that he’d be sent to his hometown for even a last attempt to avert the crisis. He didn’t see what problem he had with the General before, and as far as he recalled he’d never met the man until he became a foot soldier. It would have been best to just stay out of the General’s way until he got the enhancements, but what does he do? He kisses the man in a moment of stupidity! If that didn’t call to be impaled by Masamune then he didn’t know what did.

Cloud couldn’t remember what he’d done to bring the General’s wrath upon him. As far as he recalled, he didn’t do anything besides breathe the same air. If it was the Sephiroth that he knew then it was obvious that he wouldn’t be standing here, but since he was still alive then it meant that he’d just somehow gotten on the man’s bad side.

Either way, Cloud still had to stop him… right? But he couldn’t get over the fact that the strength he had was such a drastic change to what it was before. He wouldn’t be able to defeat the General in time, and the Nibelheim incident was just a few months away.

The call of his name pulled himself out of his thoughts and he looked up to see the Commander beside him.

“I was wondering if there was any way I could change your mind about taking the buster sword,” Rhapsodos spoke as he took a seat.

“But I want the buster sword,” Cloud replied and hoped the other wouldn’t press the issue any further. Yes, he knew that he should have picked a lighter, smaller weapon, but he was used to what he had. He was comfortable fighting with it and learning a new weapon would take up too much time.

“So I’ve noticed,” the Commander said dryly, “but with your build I assure you that you’d be better off with something like the rapier or say… the katana.” Cloud wanted to laugh. The way the other tried to make the sales pitch was hardly subtle, but the katana would have been a good option if he wasn’t already dead set against it.

“No thanks, I like the buster sword.”

“Why? Is it because you want to set yourself apart from the others?”

That time a cynical chuckle did slip out... if only it were as easy as that, but instead he replied and shook his head, “None of them should have chosen the katana.” Because when Sephiroth goes crazy they’ll realize that he never was the good guy, and they’ll wish that they’d spent their time learning something else…

The Commander let out a frustrated breath and Cloud knew why. The man was just trying to do his job at helping him with his skill, but also knew that if Cloud could tell that the others weren’t suited for their choices then why couldn’t he? Well, if he planned to stay in Shinra then he’d probably pick up a regular sword, or maybe pick up the skill that Lord Godo’s guards used and practice at duel wielding short swords. He could see himself with that… but no, after all of this mess gets fixed he’s going to quit Shinra, head home, and pick up a normal civilian job.

They both looked up as they heard the clacking of heels on the floor, and the mess hall went quiet as a blonde woman strode in. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her make-up appeared classy. Though, her dress was anything but. The red cloth had a much too low V cut on the chest and its open back left nothing to the imagination. Most of the boys in the room still had raging hormones and by their wide eyes and drooling mouths you could tell who they were going to dream about tonight, but much to all their disappointment she walked passed them and went to the Commander.

“Scarlet,” Cloud looked up at her with a frown. He hadn’t forgotten about what she had helped done to the planet. He hated her, but right now she was just another pawn being used by Shinra. He could feel questioning eyes on the back of his head, probably Rhapsodos wondering how he knew her name.

The woman looked haughty as she stood in front of them. “Cloud, I’ve heard so much about you,” she said as she forced a space to sit between them.

“It’s not true!” he quickly denied as thoughts to certain rumors between Sephiroth and he came to mind.

“So you’re not an aspiring SOLDIER that might make First Class someday?” she asked, giving a raised eyebrow in response.

“Oh, that,” he looked back down to his Banora White. “Yes, I plan to… someday.” Someday soon.

“Unfortunately he can’t,” Rhapsodos interrupted.

“What, why?” Cloud looked back at the man. If he had gotten the strength to take down other First Class SOLDIERs then surely he could get it again.

“Yes, whatever do you mean, Genesis?” Scarlet smirked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Though Strife has a good reaction to mako and will most likely make Second Class, I doubt it’s enough to get him into First,” Rhapsodos responded, the man seemed tense. Cloud assumed it was because the Commander didn’t like her either.

“Aren’t there… any other enhancements then besides mako?” he asked tentatively.

“None.”

“There is one,” Scarlet swiftly spoke up and they both now knew why she came here. She was looking for guinea pigs for the scientists and found what looked like the runt of the litter: him. What he didn’t know was why she’d come to speak with him herself. She must have some lackeys somewhere to do her dirty work for her. “Some of the scientists are working on a new mako, one that’s easier for the body to accept.”

“One that’s probably unsafe, I’m sure,” Rhapsodos commented, and the subtle way that the man was telling Cloud that her ideas were bad news had earned a bit more of his trust. Any man who didn’t like certain corrupted employees and tried to keep their men safe couldn’t be all bad, right?

“It’s completely safe,” she said and even though she was speaking to Genesis, Cloud got the feeling this conversation was pointed directly to him. “As a matter of fact they’ve been giving it to General Sephiroth for two months now.”

‘They’ve been giving Sephiroth experimental shots for two months? Holy shit!’ Cloud thought. “Why are they giving it to Sephiroth?” He immediately gave himself a mental kicked for not adding the General’s title when the Commander glanced his way.

“Oh,” the woman waved off, “to help make his system fight off certain things… such as spells. Magic won’t hit him as hard and it should also ward off things like Confusion, Poison-” Now he knew why the other was always immune to Status Effects.

“Who’s doing the procedure?” Cloud interrupted.

Scarlet paused for a moment while her gaze flicked to the Commander. “Professor Slarky is,” she answered, and the name seemed to ring a bell.

‘Professor Slarky… where have I heard that name before?‘

“Isn’t she a nurse?” the Commander bluntly asked and Cloud remembered that she was the one who’d given the test shots, but… Professor… Slarky? His mind continually rolled over it as it seemed to be stuck on that name.

“She still is, but I assure you that it won’t be long until she has a lab of her own,” Scarlet smiled.

“Let me rephrase,” the man growled, “isn’t she a nurse working under Hojo?”

“Not everyone that works under Hojo is Hojo. She has her own ideals and dreams for the future of science!”

“And she also follows Hojo around like he’s a God of it!”

“You’re forgetting just who you’re talking to, Commander!” Scarlet got up from her seat and eyed the redhead down. “In Shinra I am your superior, and you will not speak to me in that tone. If I decide that one of your boys is worthy enough for different enhancements then he’ll be under my charge.”

“And you’re forgetting something, Madam Scarlet,” the Commander spoke evenly as he also got to his feet and stood more than a head taller to her. “You have no authority over my squadron, and if he so happens to refuse your offer then you’ll have no say over what he does.”

It appeared Scarlet was beat, and with a final word she spoke to Cloud. “Think about it,” she told him as she sent a glare back to the Commander, and then turned to leave. Rhapsodos just sat back down and began grumbling something about evil dragons.

Cloud was fully aware of why Scarlet came to him. The woman needed test subjects for her favorite little scientist in training. The only problem was; it was working. Why kid himself? He knew that he’d never get as strong as he was before Nibelheim. Hell, the only reason why he could put up a fight with the insane General from back then was because of Hojo’s treatments. Maybe, if he had time training in SOLDIER, he could one day get close, but time was what he didn’t have. The offer was tempting, but how weak was he right now? Once Second Class, he’d get new shots on top of those that he’ll soon be getting, and possibly more of a power-up if he decides to go along with the experimental ones.

“How do I get into Second Class?” he asked quietly to bring the Commander out from his musings.

“There’s the Second Class test you must do,” the redhead answered, “though it’s not anything like the Third test. You need to be able to take a certain amount of mako since unenhanced strength only goes so far, and they check to see your skills at handling your weapon. If you do well in both those areas then you’ll be promoted.”

Cloud studied the other as an idea formed. He was certain that the Commander wasn’t too far away in strength compared to Sephiroth, so he could measure how much work he still needed to do from there. Plus, he’d be able to make Second from just being mako tolerant, and this would prove he had the skill. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.

So he looked right into the Commander’s eyes and requested, “Fight me.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want to fight you. You said that I’m mako tolerant and just need skill with a weapon,” Cloud reasoned, his uneaten fruit long forgotten.

The redhead only smiled down, “My apologies, but I don’t fight kids. Especially kids with no experience.”

“I have experience!” he exclaimed.

“How old are you?” Genesis humouredly asked, but age shouldn’t have been an issue since he was old enough to enter Shinra anyways.

“I’m 17!”

Rhapsodos barked out a laugh. “No, Strife, how old are you really?”

“I’m 17.” There wasn’t an issue… the man thought he was underage. Annoyed, Cloud glared the Commander. He wasn’t lying, his height just made him seem younger. “When is the test for SOLDIER Second?”

“It’s whenever the person is ready. Only the Third and First tests are given out in masses.”

“I know how to fight,” he repeated, “just let me prove to you I can!”

“Why are you so persistent on asking me?” Rhapsodos wondered.

“You told Scarlet that this was your squad while you were talking about me. I assume I’m under your authority.”

--

Genesis breathed deeply and brought a gloved hand up to his mouth as he contemplated on his answer. “How about this: go to the gym, state your case to a SOLDIER, First or Second Class, and have them spar with you. Have them tell me if they think you’re ready for it.”

“Anytime?” the boy questioned.

“Anytime,” he confirmed, but then frowned as Cloud got up from his seat and left the cafeteria. When he said anytime, he didn’t mean it as in now. Genesis decided to follow; it wouldn’t do well if the one he chooses decides to go easy on him.

“Commander, wait up!” a SOLDIER 2nd waved and began running his way. Genesis looked back down the hall, but the blond was nowhere in sight. Oh, well, he thought, I’ll catch up soon.

To be continued…

AN: Apologies if I’m not going into enough detail with the OCs. I didn’t originally plan to keep them after the exams, but the ideas on how SOLDIER perks worked made them sorta shift in there.
Yes, I do hate contacts. I hated it when my sister stuck them in her eyes and took them out the same way. It… it just… oh, God, the mental trauma. I tried contacts once but I just… couldn’t… do it. GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY EYE! *runs off crying*
Cloud’s age is changed from the game, I know.

Have any questions? I might have matching answers!

Please review! (Criticism accepted as long as it’s constructive…)