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Chapter 2

True to the sergeant's prediction, when they formed up in the early afternoon there were fewer people in the ranks than there had been the day before. Cloud was so exhausted he could barely hold his arm up to help him dress the line against Zack next to him. Even Zack looked tired, his face streaked with blood from where he'd gotten a minor head wound and hadn't had a chance to clean it up.

They hadn't had a chance to do anything but what the sergeants ordered them to do. They'd been rousted out of bed even before the (already obscenely early, in Cloud's opinion) reveille sounded, and herded off to a series of written exams to show how much they'd managed to absorb of what they'd been taught. Trying to think on an empty stomach and maybe three hours of sleep hadn't been pleasant, and Cloud was a little nervous about his results.

Ten minutes to grab breakfast, which consisted of the nearly inedible field rations, and then they were off again. Drills, sparring, obstacle course, endurance run, shooting range... everything they'd done over the whole week, crammed into the morning and early afternoon.

Several people had dropped from sheer exhaustion. Others had taken injuries once weariness made them start getting sloppy; Zack's head wound had come from an argument he'd lost with some iron spikes on the obstacle course, and Cloud's side was aching from a fall from the climbing rope in the endurance test.

He wasn't sure how it was that he wasn't one of the people who'd succumbed to exhaustion. His body was telling him in no uncertain terms that it would be happy to do so, but he'd refused to give up. Mostly he'd concentrated on just following Zack, and during the times he fell behind he focused on catching up again.

Having someone to work with, to challenge and follow and watch each other's backs, was a new experience for Cloud. He was deciding it was one he really liked.

They'd just come off the endurance run, and their lines were a bit more ragged than was strictly regulation. There was a lot of panting and stifled moans, but everyone here had made it through two thirds of the day. Surely the last third couldn't be as bad? Cloud wasn't even sure what they had left to be tested on.

The captain in charge of the camp was standing at the front of the formation, waiting for them to finish dressing ranks so he could call them to attention again. "I suppose you all think you're getting lunch now," was the unpromising beginning to his speech.

Cloud's stomach dropped, and beside him he thought he heard Zack muffle a groan. Breakfast had been a long time ago, and they'd been expending a lot of energy. He was starving, and considering the way Zack ate he was probably even hungrier.

"In the field, you may not always have access to supplies," the captain continued. "The enemy will not schedule their attacks so as to give you a convenient lunch break. If you can't perform under these conditions, then you are not worthy to wear the Shinra uniform."

Turning, he gestured at the building behind him. They'd all been trucked into the main Shinra compound; this was one of the smaller outlying buildings. Possibly a warehouse of some kind, Cloud thought, or maybe offices. "Your mission today is data recovery. There is a vital piece of information on a disk in the safe of one of the offices. Some of our real soldiers have been stationed inside the building, to simulate security you might run into if this were a real raid on an enemy compound. Squad leaders will be given the map with the target marked on it; other than that you're on your own. Squads with less than five remaining will be matched up with other small squads. Each squad has a different route to the target; if you stray too far from your route you will be penalized."

There were six people still in Cloud's squad, including him and Zack. The squad leader, of course, was Zack, so at least he didn't have to worry about his leader 'accidentally' misplacing him or otherwise doing something that would cause him to fail.

"The guns you are being issued contain paint pellet ammunition," the captain said. "Your enemies are armed with the same. Be aware that the paint pellets can cause severe damage when fired at close range. Collect your guns and maps, and line up by squad number."

There was a general movement towards the nearby tables stacked with rifles, and it was only marginally orderly. Apparently they were allowed to discuss things, because the officers were making no move to curb the murmurs that had already started. "Well, it could be a lot worse," Zack said cheerfully. "The way they've been driving us today, it wouldn't have surprised me much if we'd been given real ammo! This sounds like fun."

"Fun for you, maybe," Cloud groaned. "I'm ready to drop."

Grinning at him, Zack clapped him on the shoulder. "The faster we get in there and get our target, the faster we get out, pass, and can go rest. I'm tired too, trust me."

They accepted their guns and Zack received their map, and they took their place in line. They were Squad 3, so at least they wouldn't have very long to wait. "All right, it sounds like the squads ahead of us are planning to charge in with guns blazing," Zack said as they huddled together to plan strategy. "We're going to try a stealth approach. It'll be less work for us, less likely to get any of us 'killed', and if we can avoid some of the enemies I'll bet we get extra points. Any objections?"

Nobody had any, so he nodded and moved on. "Good. I'll take point. Lucas, you take rear guard, Terry and Cloud flanking. Watt and Ryan, you'll be centre and in charge of the map. Cloud is second in command; if anything happens to me you follow him, got it?"

Startled, Cloud gaped at Zack, his face turning bright red. Their squadmates were no less surprised, and not entirely happy with the pronouncement. "I'm squad leader, and those are my orders," Zack said quietly, with no hint of cheer in his voice for once. "If you don't like it, you'd better pick another squad leader."

Since Zack was the current leader specifically because he had been the only one everyone could agree on, there wasn't much to be said to that. Cloud got a couple of resentful looks, but there wasn't time to say anything more. Two minutes had passed since the second squad went in, and now it was their turn.

Once inside, Cloud pushed his worries and fears off to one side, determined to concentrate on living up to Zack's belief in him. The hallways were dim, as if it were night in the compound they were raiding; that suited their stealth approach just fine.

Whispered directions from the middle led them through the labyrinth of offices. On the right flank, Cloud kept his finger on his rifle trigger and paid sharp attention to everything on that side. Zack would approach each intersection first, crouched low so he wouldn't get shot the moment he poked his head around the corner. Once he'd confirmed the way was clear, he would wave the rest of them forward.

They successfully avoided two enemy patrols that way, waiting until they'd passed by before crossing the intersection behind them. Cloud was just starting to think they might actually get through this with no casualties when there was a muffled exclamation from Terry. "Left!"

One of the office doors had been slightly open, and even as Terry called the warning three men in Shinra guard uniforms burst out with their guns blazing. Cloud swung his rifle around, but there were three people between him and them and he couldn't risk shooting for fear of causing friendly fire.

Biting his lip, he deliberately turned his back on the attack and turned his attention back to the right flank. The noise of the rifles might bring other guards, and if they were all focused on the current enemy they'd never see it coming.

Turning his back was still the hardest thing he'd ever done. He had to trust his squadmates to deal with it and watch his back. Two paint pellets whizzed past him, one actually brushing against his uniform sleeve, but they spattered harmlessly on the wall.

Just at that moment, another pair of guards rounded the corner of the next intersection and came running for them. "Zack!" Cloud shouted, half panicked as he lifted his rifle to his shoulder and fired. His aim was off, but he managed to hit one of the approaching men in the leg. In real life it probably would have been a minor flesh wound, but it was enough to make him hesitate for a moment.

A 'fatal' moment. There was the sharp crack of a rifle firing from his left, then again in quick succession, and both of the approaching men sprouted red paint over their hearts.

"Nice shooting, kid," one of them called, rubbing his chest ruefully. Turning his head, Cloud saw Zack shoulder his rifle and wave a grinning acknowledgement. There was no sound of fighting behind him; turning further, Cloud saw that the other enemies were down as well. Terry was on the floor hunched over his stomach, looking pained, and Cloud thought he could see real blood among the red dye on Watt's sleeve. He remembered what the captain had said about the damage the pellets could do at close range, and shuddered.

"I know you're all disappointed not to have any more enemies to play with, but let's not stand around waiting for the next batch," Zack drawled. "Terry, you're 'dead', we'll have to leave you here. We'll come back for your body on the way out if we can." He glanced at their other casualty. "Watt, can you continue?"

"I'll have to fire left-handed, but I'll manage," the man said, his face pale as Ryan finished tying a quick bandage around his upper arm.

"You take the map then, and Ryan will have the left flank," Zack declared. "Let's go. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get you two help."

Cloud tried to keep his breathing quiet as they continued down the halls, but he could feel his heart pounding in his chest and knew he probably still sounded a little panicked. Zack gave him one reassuring grin, then focused his attention on getting them where they were going with no more casualties.

They ran into one more patrol, but this time they were the ones who sprang an ambush and they shot down the men with no trouble. "Almost there!" Zack crowed, his eyes bright as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet. "One more corner and it's the office at the end of the hall, right?"

"Yeah," Watt agreed, checking the map. Cloud was impressed. Zack remembered the route after only having the map for a few minutes?

"Be careful, there's probably more security at the office itself," Zack cautioned them. "I don't see any sign of the first two squads, though. We might even be the first ones here."

"Let's hope they don't come charging up behind us and alert the guards just as we're sneaking out," Cloud muttered, and the others grumbled agreement.

Zack edged forward as they approached the next corner, and the rest of them fell back as agreed. There was nothing but blank wall on the right, so Cloud turned his attention to the front. As a result, he saw the way Zack suddenly ducked back around the corner and plastered himself to the wall, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

"Holy Alexander," the older boy murmured. "That's not fair!"

"What? Is there a whole platoon there or something?" Cloud whispered back, wondering what could have shaken Zack like that. Wordlessly the older boy shook his head, and Cloud crept forward to get a look of his own.

It wasn't hard to figure out what had set Zack off. Pacing up and down the narrow hall in front of the door they needed to reach was the Silver General himself. At least, Cloud was fairly certain it was really him. Surely nobody else had silver hair like that, or would have the nerve to wear that uniform?

Sephiroth wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, just walking back and forth as if he was deep in thought - or possibly just bored waiting for the squads to get there, Cloud thought. He jerked back around the corner and plastered himself to the wall much like Zack had.

"It's Sephiroth," Zack whispered back to the rest of the group, having apparently recovered a bit. He was still wide-eyed and a little pale, but he had himself back under control.

"Sephiroth?" Ryan almost squeaked. "That's... that's insane! How are we supposed to get past him?"

"Maybe it's just someone in a wig and a costume," Cloud suggested, though he didn't think that was the case. There had been something, some indefinable quality to the man that had him convinced it was the real thing. The way he walked, maybe; all coiled tension and barely restrained power like a panther prowling for prey. Normal people just didn't move like that.

"No, it's really him," Zack shook his head, probably thinking much the same things Cloud was. "I'd stake my life on it. Damn it, this is completely unfair. Don't they want anyone to pass this test? Sephiroth so far outclasses us that..."

A thought seemed to strike him, and he halted in mid sentence. "Wait, maybe that's it," he said slowly. "In an enemy compound, if we came up against superior firepower, we wouldn't be able to just go back to our commanders and whine about how it's not fair. Maybe the test isn't getting the document. Maybe it's to see whether we're willing to risk everything to follow orders."

"We're still gonna get killed if we go out there after the Demon of Wutai," Lucas protested. "And I don't mean 'killed' like Terry was!"

"You go ahead and fail then," Zack said, his eyes alight with determination. "I'm going after that disk. Who's with me?"

'I'm out,' Cloud had intended to say. There was no way in hell he wanted to go up against the Silver General. What came out of his mouth instead was "I've got your back."

Appalled at himself, he nearly bit his tongue. Well, he'd come this far... it would be really stupid to back down now, he supposed. Zack nodded as if he'd never doubted that Cloud would be coming, and looked at the others. "Anyone else?"

Their squadmates looked at each other uneasily, and shook their heads one by one. "We'll guard your retreat," Lucas offered. "It'd be stupid if you got past him and got the disk and then got shot down on your way out."

"Fair enough," Zack shrugged, though it was clear from his tone that he'd already mentally dismissed the lot of them. "C'mon Cloud, let's go take the first step to SOLDIER."

Almost shaking with nerves, Cloud nodded and followed him. The others remained behind, watching them go with a certain amount of disbelief. Cloud couldn't blame them. "Are we going to try to sneak up on him?" he asked softly, his voice trembling.

"Nah. No point," Zack said. "Hell, he probably already knows we're here. We'll jump out at him when he gets to the part of his pacing closest to us. I'll charge him; you're smaller, so you concentrate on getting by him to the door, okay?"

"I'll hit him from behind," Cloud replied, a little more firmly. "I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself. I don't want to have to lead them out of here!"

"You'll be fine," Zack assured him absently, concentrating on watching Sephiroth pace to judge their best moment. "Ready?" Cloud hefted his rifle, trying to ignore the way his hands were shaking. "Three... two... one... Go!"

They burst out from their concealment, Zack yelling a fierce battle cry and Cloud just doing his best not to scream in terror. He fired wildly, unable to aim but hoping a lucky shot might actually connect.

Sephiroth had been turned away to start his pacing back towards the door. He spun to face them, a whirl of silver hair and black leather. For just an instant, Cloud thought he saw an expression of surprise on the general's face, as if they'd actually caught him off guard. Surely that couldn't be right?

He didn't have a chance to wonder further, because suddenly everything went to hell. There was a flash of magic and Zack cried out as he was flung into the wall hard enough to leave a sizeable dent. He slumped to the floor, dazed or unconscious, bleeding from the reopened head wound.

Cloud didn't have time to worry about him though. Sephiroth had grabbed him around the neck and lifted him right off his feet, and his every thought was focused on just trying to get enough air past that crushing grip.

Glowing, inhuman green eyes stared down at him; somehow Cloud managed to spare the brainpower to marvel that even holding him up off the ground, Sephiroth was still taller than him. The general's gaze flicked over Cloud's uniform and the paint spatters on his own leather jacket, then returned to Cloud's face. "You have spectacularly bad taste in pranks, cadet."

The general's deep voice was soft, but somehow all the more menacing because of it. Cloud's eyes widened. "Prank?" he squeaked around the constriction of his throat. "Uhhh... Zack! I don't think he's part of the test!"

His voice was hoarse and almost incomprehensible, and he wasn't sure Zack was awake to hear him anyway, but he did get a response. "Test?" the general repeated, one eyebrow raised.

"Boot camp... final exam," came a wheezing voice to the side. Rolling his eyes as far as he could, Cloud could just see Zack shoving himself gingerly into a sitting position against the wall. He was holding his arm against his ribs, and taking tiny, shallow little breaths. "Supposed to... retrieve a disk... in that office. Thought you were... the last test... sir." From the way he was talking, having to force each word out as if it was an effort to think, Cloud suspected Sephiroth had hit him with a Slow spell.

"I see." Cloud's feet touched the ground again as the general lowered him and let go of his neck, but his legs wouldn't support him. He collapsed to his hands and knees, trying to draw in air past the bruising in his throat. Sephiroth looked down at them, his expression now more neutral than angry. "Well, that explains why I was actually able to get the quiet I wanted. I suppose they cordoned off the building after I got here, and nobody who saw me would have presumed to question my presence."

"Y'picked the wrong... hallway for quiet, sir." The Slow was wearing off and Zack seemed to be getting his breath back a bit, but Cloud couldn't catch his no matter how hard he tried. The older boy frowned at him in concern. "Hey Cloud, can you breathe?"

Shaking his head, Cloud fought for what air he could get through the swelling. There was a soft murmur above him and cool green energy rushed over him. It bubbled and sparkled, and seemed to wipe away not only the bruise around his throat but the ones on his side. It even left him feeling energized, as if he hadn't just spent the whole day in ridiculously tiring training.

Beside him he heard Zack draw a cautious deep breath, and realized the general had used a Restore materia on them both. A fairly high level one, if it had healed Zack's broken ribs as well. "Thank you, sir!" Cloud said, managing an awkward salute as he scrambled to his feet and Zack followed suit.

"As you were," Sephiroth said automatically, then paused. With a faint smile, he added, "Well, perhaps not, all things considered. At ease, then."

Zack made a small choking noise, and Cloud stared at the general as they moved to the parade ground rest position. Had the great General Sephiroth actually made a joke?

The man studied them, almost curiously. "I apologize for hurting you," he said formally, which made Cloud's eyes bug out even more. First a joke, and now an apology? He hoped the rest of the squad was close enough to hear this conversation, because nobody was ever going to believe this. "Perhaps I'm misremembering, but aren't these exercises generally conducted in squads with several men?" Sephiroth arched an eyebrow at them.

"Sir, yes sir," Zack answered. "The rest of our squad hung back to provide covering fire for us, sir."

"Oh?" Sephiroth glanced down the empty hall, then back at them. "I don't recall any covering fire."

"Well, you see sir," Zack explained with a perfectly straight face, "The point of covering fire is that the people covering you are out of range themselves. Your range is a lot farther than our rifles, sir, so they had a bit of a problem."

Once again they were treated to the sight of a faint smile on the general's face. "I see. I suppose there will be other squads along shortly as well?"

"Most likely, sir," Zack agreed.

"I won't keep you from your task, then." Sephiroth moved past them, but paused once more. "What are your names?"

"Zack, sir," the older boy answered.

"Cloud, sir," Cloud put in as well.

Sephiroth nodded. "Finish the exercise, then. Shinra can use people with your courage and determination."

With that he was gone, fortunately taking a different path than the one where their squadmates were hiding. Assuming the rest of the squad hadn't fled the moment Sephiroth seemed to be attacking them in earnest. Zack let out an explosive breath, and Cloud gasped and leaned against the nearest wall to keep from collapsing again.

"Holy fucking Alexander," Zack murmured, staring after the general with an awed look. "I can't believe that just happened."

"I can't believe we attacked Sephiroth and lived to tell about it!" Cloud retorted, his voice shaking as badly as his knees. "And he apologized to us. And I think he made a joke!"

"I think he did too," Zack said, the awed expression slowly turning back to his usual grin. "Well, there's one good thing about all of this. After that, the rest of this exam is going to seem like a piece of cake!"

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