THE MAKO REACTOR
"Eight place! That's not bad!"
Cloud looked up at the board where their times in the obstacle course had been posted.
"You came in first," he pointed out.
"Yeah, well, that's not really a shock, now is it?" Zack replied rather immodestly. "You did really well. You should be proud of yourself."
Cloud didn't reply. The fact was, he was proud of himself. He had done much better than he had expected. He was also certain Zack's constant prodding had a lot to do with it. He turned to look at his friend.
"Thanks."
"Hey, no thanks necessary," Zack replied. "Besides, the first military history test is in three days. You'll get a chance to pay me back by helping me with that. We'll find out if you're as good a teacher as I was!"
Cloud made a face. He wasn't sure how much help he would be. He wasn't exactly a genius. But he was determined to do well in all aspects here. This was his chance, his chance to make something of himself, his chance to prove something. After all the ridicule he had had to put up with back in Nibelheim, how he was weak, how he was a loser, how he would never amount to anything, this was his chance to prove them all wrong. This was his chance to show them he wasn't a failure. To show Tifa he could be strong...
He looked absently down the hall, his mind going back to Nibelheim, and the chocolate haired girl he had last seen at the well. He had only been gone a week, but already it seemed like ages to him. He wondered if she was thinking about him at all. It seemed silly to think so. They hadn't really even been friends. But she had seemed disappointed that he was leaving. And that promise she had asked him to make. That had meant something, hadn't it?
He couldn't help but wonder how she would feel when he returned to Nibelheim as a full fledged Soldier. Would she be proud of him? Would she think more highly of him? Deep down inside, he hoped so. He had never told anyone, but it was one of his most important reasons for being here. Yeah, it seemed silly to go off to join Soldier just to impress someone you hardly knew, but he couldn't help how he felt.
He shook his head. She had been friendly, but she had never given him any indication she wanted to be friends. He was probably just reading more into it than was there. But regardless of that, it wasn't just her he had something to prove to. It was the whole town, and most importantly, himself.
He wasn't going to blow it.
Boot camp lasted seven weeks. If he had to turn into a bookworm for that time to graduate then that's what he'd do. It wasn't going to last forever.
"So why don't we get started," he said.
"Started with what?" Zack questioned.
"Duh, studying for the history exam," he replied.
Zack looked shocked.
"You want to start now?"
"Why not?"
"But it's not for three whole days!"
"So what, you're going to wait for the last minute?" Cloud questioned.
Zack pondered that for a moment.
"Uhh, yeah, that was pretty much the plan," he finally said.
"Zack," Cloud admonished.
"What?" Zack replied innocently.
"Look, I don't like studying anymore than anyone else, but this is important man."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Zack admitted, sounding remarkably like a scolded child. "All right, let's go. But not in the dorm, okay? You know everyone else there will just bug us and we'll never get anything done."
Cloud was in full agreement with that. The last thing he wanted was to be needled by those jerks.
"Well, I believe the library is a rather traditional place for this sort of thing," he suggested.
"Library," Zack said, sounding as if the word tasted bad. "Who wants to hand around in there with a bunch of geeks? It's a beautiful day. Why spend our time cooped up in there when we can spend it outside in the fresh air?"
"Outside?" Cloud repeated. He wasn't sure that would be any less distracting than studying in the dorm. "Where did you have in mind?"
"Oh I don't know," Zack replied, looking around slowly. "Anywhere I suppose. How about down by the practice field?"
"Practice field? Why there?"
Zack shrugged.
"Well, no one will be there, so it's secluded enough. And there's a nice view of the city."
Cloud wasn't sure a nice view was all that conducive to effective studying, but he had to admit Zack had a point. There was no reason they had to study inside, and it was a nice day.
"I guess," he agreed.
They walked to the dorm to pick up the books they needed. The practice field was in the rear of the building, along with the obstacle course and athletic fields. Between the practice field and a baseball field stood a small building housing rest rooms and a water fountain. They sat down in the grass under the shadow of an overhang and pulled open there books.
"What chapters are the test going to be on?" Zack questioned, looking distastefully at the tome in front of him.
"One through four," Cloud replied. The Professor had only mentioned it about a dozen times. Hadn't Zack been paying any attention?
Zack flipped quickly through the pages.
"All that? It's going to take forever!"
Cloud looked through his own book.
"It's only about forty pages," he observed. "The first chapter is only an introduction. It's really not that much."
Zack did not look convinced.
"Maybe to you it's not," he said slowly.
Cloud shrugged.
"Look, I know history isn't the most fun topic in the world. But at least it's military history. I don't know, I find that stuff kind of interesting. It could be a lot worse, you know."
Zack just stared at the book in front of him. Cloud looked at him for a moment, then frowned.
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?" he questioned. "This really isn't that bad and I'm sure things will get a lot tougher. If you drag your feet on this you're never going to get through the course. Do you dislike reading that much?"
Zack thumbed slowly through the pages, not looking at Cloud.
"It's not that I dislike it," he said slowly.
The way Zack replied made Cloud look at him. For a moment he thought his friend wasn't going to say anymore.
"You have to understand," Zack finally spoke again. "My parents worked hard on their farm, but it wasn't easy to make ends meet. For a long time, all while I was growing up, they didn't have a lot of gil. Well, I guess dirt poor is more like the truth. They invested all their gil in the land, they couldn't afford much in the way of hired help. They needed me to help out. I didn't...I didn't have much time for school."
It took a moment for this to sink in. Even then, Cloud could hardly believe what he was thinking. Was Zack really telling him what he thought he was telling him?
"Are you trying to say you don't know how to read?" Cloud questioned slowly.
"No," Zack said quickly. "I know how to read."
Cloud just looked at him.
Just...not very....well," Zack finished.
Cloud could hardly believe what he was hearing.
"But...but how did you expect to get through Soldier training if you can't read?"
"I told you, I can!" Zack said defensively.
Cloud shut his mouth, realizing how difficult this must be for his friend.
"Sorry," Cloud said.
Zack waved his hand.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. But it's a sensitive thing, you know? It's not easy to admit."
Cloud nodded. That was an understatement.
"I know it's stupid," Zack continued. "I know I shouldn't have even tried to get into Soldier. But you know, I always excelled at sports. I was always the biggest and strongest kid around. When my uncle suggested I should try out for the Soldier program, everyone agreed. They all seemed to think it was a perfectly marvelous idea. Even the recruiter who I spoke to said I was a natural, that I'd have no problem at all."
"I don't suppose you mentioned the little reading problem to him," Cloud couldn't help but say.
"Of course not," Zack replied. "Don't be stupid."
"All right, all right, I was just joking," Cloud responded. "I realize it wasn't your fault. It must have been real tough. But what are you going to do now? I'm sure you realized that joining Soldier would entail a lot of studying. How did you expect to get through that? Did you have some kind of plan?"
Zack shrugged.
"Well, not really."
Cloud was shocked.
"What about writing?" Cloud blurted out.
Zack just looked at him.
"If I could write well, I'd have to be able to read, now wouldn't I?" he said sarcastically. "I'm even worse at that."
Cloud just shook his head. He just couldn't believe this. Zack had just wandered in, expecting what? To graduate from the most respected military organization on the planet, the one with the highest standards and most rigorous and well rounded training and education, even though he was barely literate? Cloud had heard of people being optimistic about things, but this bordered on fantasy!
"That's why I need your help," Zack continued.
Cloud didn't know what to say. When Zack had asked him to help, he had been thinking more along the lines of going over study questions, or discussing the finer points of military history. He hadn't been expecting something like this.
"I don't know whether I can," Cloud responded.
"But you got to, man!" Zack exclaimed, and for the first time, Cloud saw a worried look on his face.
Cloud just sat there. When Zack had suggested they study together, Cloud had thought it would mean just that, that they'd both help each other. That each of them could learn from the other's strengths, that Zack could help him as well as the other way around. He had thought working with Zack would improve his chances of doing well as well as Zack.
But this was something else entirely. If Zack didn't know how to read, or couldn't read very well, he corrected himself, they would have to spend a large portion of their time on remedial work. On things Cloud already knew. Trying to help Zack read would not help him in his studies, in fact, it could very well hinder them.
He looked at his friend, wondering how Zack would feel if he said no. He hadn't come here to make friends. He only had one purpose, to gain entry to Soldier, no matter what it took. After all, wasn't that the reason he had distanced himself from all the others?
Sure, he had already agreed to help, but that was before he had been told about Zack's little handicap. It wasn't fair for Zack to have held back on something like that. He should have been honest about it right from the beginning. He couldn't hold Cloud to that promise. It wouldn't be right for him to be mad if Cloud backed out now.
Even if he was, what difference did it make? He and Zack has somehow become friends, though Cloud wasn't sure quite how that had happened. He hadn't had any intention of making friends. If Zack got mad it him, it was no big deal. He couldn't force Cloud to help him. It was every man for himself. Zack had to understand that. He'd just have to get over it.
Maybe it would be best to cut off this friendship right now.
But he looked at Zack, and knew that no matter how much he wanted to harden his heart, he just couldn't do it. He couldn't forget Zack's voice urging him on as he ran the obstacle course. He had to admit Zack's prodding had played a big part in his doing as well as he did.
"All right," Cloud said finally, trying hard to hide his reluctance. "I'll do what I can to help you."
Zack immediately brightened.
"Thanks man," he said. "I owe you. Big time."
Cloud just shrugged.
"Let's just get on with it, shall we?"
They opened their books to the chapters in question. Cloud could have read the whole thing aloud, but he figured Zack wouldn't learn much that way, so he told Zack to read it to him. It might be slower that way, but at least they'd know just how bad Zack's reading skills really were. Zack just looked at him, obviously reluctant to begin. But it was too late to hide the truth now. He knew he had no choice. He looked at the book once again for a moment, then began. Cloud had been hoping Zack was exaggerating, that he wasn't really as poor a reader as he was making himself out to be, but it turned out that Zack's summation of his skills had been quite accurate. He stumbled over all but the simplest words, and it soon became clear that the book in front of them was hopelessly over his head. Almost thirty minutes passed before they even reached the second page. They'd never get anywhere at this rate.
"Okay, time to change tactics," Cloud said eventually. "This is obviously too complex for you. We need to start you out on something simple. We'll have to see if we can find some children's books at the library or somewhere for you to start out on."
Zack nodded, relieved to be able to stop yet obviously not happy with himself for having to.
"But we have to get through this," he pointed out. "The test is in three days!"
"I know, I know," Cloud replied, not bothering to point out that Zack had seemed to think three days was plenty of time just a short time ago. "Here, I'll read it."
After a moment Zack nodded. There wasn't much else they could do. Cloud started reading aloud. It wasn't much fun. He could read a lot faster silently. He couldn't help but think he'd have been done a lot sooner if he didn't have to do it this way. How exactly had he gotten himself into this again? That really didn't matter, he supposed. Somehow he had gotten himself in it, and there didn't seem much he could do about it at this point.
For almost two hours they sat together, Cloud slowly reading the chapters. The sun was dipping toward the horizon when Zack glanced at his watch.
"Oh damn," he muttered. "It's time to go."
Cloud paused. Grateful as he was for the interruption, they still had a long way to go.
"What do you mean it's time to go?" he questioned. "Go where?"
"C'mon if you want to find out," Zack said, flipping his book closed and gathering up the rest.
"But we're not finished yet," Cloud said.
"We don't have to do it all today," Zack said, getting up. "We've still got two more days, you know."
"Yeah," Cloud said slowly. "But we have a full day of classes tomorrow, and then they had to practice military drills afterward. We're not going to have a lot of time tomorrow. I thought we'd get as much done today as we could."
"We'll have plenty of time," Zack said dismissively, standing up. "Are you coming or not?"
Cloud closed his book. Picking it up, he got to his feet.
"Where are we going?"
"I'll tell you along the way," Zack replied, somewhat mysteriously.
He headed back toward the Shinra building. Cloud had little choice but to follow. They went back to the dorm and put their books away, then headed out the main entrance of the Shinra building.
"Okay, we're on our way," Cloud stated as they walked down the street. "So where are we headed?"
Zack pointed ahead of them.
Cloud tried to figure out exactly what he was pointing at, but all he saw was the city around them.
"What are you pointing at?" he questioned.
"What do you see there?" Zack questioned.
Cloud looked ahead. They were flanked on either side by tall buildings. The plate sloped down in front of them, the buildings shrinking with perspective, so Cloud could see more of the city farther away. Beyond that, he could make out the domed chimney of one of the reactors that powered the city, and beyond that, only blue sky.
"I still don't see what you're pointing at," Cloud said, becoming a bit exasperated.
"Right in front of us," Zack said finally, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The reactor."
"We're going to the reactor?" Cloud questioned.
"Yes," Zack replied. "There, was that so difficult?"
Cloud frowned. How the hell was he supposed to know what Zack had been referring to?
"But why?"
"You know how the Soldier program works," Zack stated. "Training takes seven weeks. What happens in the seventh week?"
Cloud thought about that for a moment. After six weeks all the recruits are evaluated and the one's with poor scores were dropped from the course. It was assumed that the one's that remained had a high likelihood of having what it took to be in Soldier. Then there was one more week of special training before they officially passed the course. The most important thing that happened at that time was...
"Mako infusion?" Cloud questioned.
Zack nodded.
"Uh huh," he said. "I heard from a friend they'd be taking place today for the class ahead of us. If we hurry we can make it on time."
Instead of making things clear, this just confused Cloud even more.
"They don't let in spectators, you know," he pointed out.
Zack gave him a knowing look.
"True, but there's ways around that," he replied.
Cloud fell silent. The more he learned about Zack, the more sorry he was that he had become friends with him. What was he planning on doing now? Sneaking into the reactor to watch the infusions? Did he want to get them both thrown out of the program?
"Zack, do you realize just how much trouble we could get in if we got caught sneaking into a mako reactor?"
Zack nodded.
"Yeah, that's why we're not going to get caught."
Cloud found that answer far from satisfactory.
"Zack, this is crazy!" he tried again.
Zack still didn't seem particularly concerned.
"Hey, take it easy," he said. "I know one of the employees there. She's going to let me in. Or, let us in, rather. I'm sure she won't mind if you come along too. She'll make sure no one sees us. It's perfectly safe."
Cloud didn't reply. He was seriously tempted to turn around and walk back to the dorm. He was seriously tempted to never speak to Zack again. How could he so cavalier about all this?
And yet, when Zack finally arrived at the reactor, Cloud was still beside him.
"This way," Zack said, pulling him away from the main entrance and off toward a narrow alley that ran between the reactor and a large concrete building beside it.
There was a blue metal door with the words 'Employees Only' stenciled on it in red letters halfway down the alley. Zack walked up to it and rapped on it quickly. Cloud looked around nervously while they waited, expecting any minute to see someone from Shinra appear to grab them and haul them back to the Colonel's office.
The door swung open and a pretty girl with brunette hair stuck her head out.
"Hi Merle," Zack said cheerfully.
She smiled at him and pulled the door all the way open.
"Hello Zack," she said. "C'mon in."
Zack strolled in, closely followed by Cloud. He looked around. They were in a small room filled with machinery and monitors. A open door led out into a narrow corridor opposite them.
"Who's your friend?" Merle questioned.
"Cloud," Zack replied. "Hope you don't mind..."
"Not at all," Merle replied. She gave Cloud a smile as well. He just stared at the far wall. He had a bad feeling about this whole thing. The sooner they got it over with and were out of here, the better he would feel.
Merle walked over to a counter, picked up two bright yellow hard hats and tossed them to the two recruits.
"Put those on," she said. "This way, if anyone sees you, they'll assume you're working here."
Cloud lifted his onto his head and immediately realized it was too big for him as it slipped down nearly to his eyes.
"This way," Merle said, walking out into the corridor.
Zack followed immediately, Cloud a little slower, still trying to adjust his hat. He sincerely hoped they didn't run into anyone. He had a feeling even with the hat he didn't look much like one of the workers here.
Their steps echoed loudly on the metal floor below them as they walked. They passed a few rooms, some with people in them, working on various machinery. Some of them glanced up as they went by. Cloud kept his eyes straight ahead, hoping they didn't stand out as much as the thought they did. Apparently they did not, for no one raised any alarm.
The walked up a long metal staircase and came out on a platform overlooking a huge work area below. Cloud could see dozens of people down there, but fortunately, none of them seemed to be interested in him or his companions. They walked across the platform to another doorway, where Merle stopped.
"I have to get back," she said. "I have a lot of work to do, and I can't stay away too long. Just follow that corridor," she pointed to the doorway in front of them. "Turn left when you get to the end. Up the stairs and then right. There's an office up there, second door on the left, where you should be able to see everything. That part of the reactor is pretty deserted right now. You shouldn't run into anyone else."
"Thanks Merle, I owe you one," Zack said, stepping forward and giving her a peck on the cheek.
"You're welcome," Merle replied. "You can pay me back with dinner. Say, Friday night?"
Zack nodded.
"You got a deal."
With a nod at Cloud Merle started back the way they had come. Cloud felt like grabbing hold of her and dragging her back. He was not at all appeased by her reassurance that they wouldn't run into anyone. If they did, how would they explain themselves?
Zack, however, seemed to have no qualms at all about her leaving them. He started down the corridor almost immediately.
Cloud followed behind, wishing Zack would at least slow down. He didn't seem in the least concerned about discovery. His shoes clacked alarmingly against the metal floor as he walked. Or at least, it seemed that way to Cloud.
"Could you at least be a little quieter?" Cloud pleaded.
Zack looked back at him.
"I wasn't saying anything," he said.
Cloud pointed to his feet.
"With the way you're clumping along, people will be able to hear you clear down the corridor."
Zack stopped and looked at him.
"Would you relax," he suggested. "You heard her. She said no one's around here."
Cloud lifted his arms.
"And you just take her word for it."
"Why wouldn't I?" Zack replied. "She wouldn't lie to me."
"I'm not saying she did," Cloud replied quickly. "But did it ever occur to you that she might be mistaken?"
Zack looked at him for a moment, then shook his head.
"You worry way too much," he said, continuing on his way.
"And you don't worry enough," Cloud muttered.
Zack didn't seem to hear him. The reached the end of the hallway and Zack turned left. Cloud followed him up another long flight of stairs. They turned right at the top, into another empty hallway. This one was carpeted, and paintings hung on the walls. The doors around them led into plush offices.
They stopped in front of the second door on the left, just as Merle had said. Zack pulled open the door without even pausing, making Cloud cringe. But it was just as Merle had said. The office was deserted, the lights out.
Cloud saw Zack looking for the light switch.
"No lights," he hissed.
The office they were in was small. A row of windows lined the wall opposite them, looking out into the main reactor. The light coming in from out there was enough for them to see, if not too clearly.
Zack hesitated a moment, then nodded. They made their way over to the windows and looked down on a large circular room.
It looked a lot like an auditorium. The floor ran down toward the center in six tiers, each one lower than the other. At first glance Cloud thought the tiers were filled with chairs, but on closer inspection he realized they were some type of gray pods. The center of the room was occupied, filled with a group of Soldier trainees and their teachers. There were perhaps two dozen in all. On the very top tier, opposite them, Cloud could see a row of technicians in white coats monitoring the procedure.
"Looks like we made it in time," Zack commented.
Cloud glared at him, wishing he'd take this a little more seriously. They were in an enclosed room, and too far away to be heard in any case, but Cloud was scared to death they were going to get caught.
Still, they had come this far. It seemed far too late to turn back now.
Nothing seemed to be happening below them at the moment. The trainees were milling about, looking around somewhat apprehensively. Cloud could understand. He didn't know much about the process of mako infusion. He didn't know how long it took, or whether it was painful. Not many people did. The entire process was a closely guarded Shinra secret, and most people knew absolutely nothing about it except that it greatly improved a person's strength and agility.
So, in spite of his trepidations, Cloud found himself looking down at the room below with interest. He could see the instructor talking rapidly, occasionally pointing to something in the room, but of course, he couldn't hear what the man was saying. Abruptly the students all turned and looked up at the rows of pods, as if waiting for something to happen. And apparently they were, for a moment later, with a venting of steam, the doors to each of the pods slid open.
The instructor was once again talking, pointing at the pods. For a moment the students hesitated, then one by one, they walked up the steps between the tiers and entered the pods, some obviously more reluctant than others, but none of them seemed all that thrilled with the prospect. The instructors followed behind, prodding on the most hesitant. A short time later all the students had entered the pods.
One of the instructors looked toward the technicians and nodded. A moment later the doors to the pods slid closed again.
Cloud could see that there was a small round window in the door of each of the pods, but he could see nothing inside from this distance.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Then Cloud suddenly felt a vibration in the floor. He could partially see the control panels in front of the technicians, and he could see lights flickering rapidly there. Faintly at first, but slowly growing, he began to see a green glow emanating from the window of each of the pods.
The vibration seemed to get stronger. In addition to that, Cloud began to hear a high pitched whine. Or at least, he thought he did. It was so high pitched it was not so much a sound as a sensation in his head. It was like a dog whistle whose pitch had been lowered just enough to be made out by humans.
It was not a pleasant feeling. The sound seemed to stab at someplace inside his head, not enough to cause outright pain, but enough to be extremely unpleasant. Enough for him to wish fervently that it would go away, or that he could.
He glanced over at Zack, but the machines below seemed to have his companion's rapt attention. He didn't appear to be discomforted at all.
Cloud returned his gaze to the room below them, determined to endure. The vibration was much stronger now, and a pen sitting on a desk behind them jiggled across the top of it until it reached the edge and fell to the floor. The green light coming from the windows of the pods had also increased in strength. So much so that the whole room below them was now bathed in an eerie green illumination. Cloud stared at the ports in the pods, hoping to catch a sign of what those in them were enduring. He thought he occasionally glimpsed something, perhaps a limb, flailing violently inside, but he couldn't really be sure. He had a feeling that, whatever was going on, those inside the pods were not enjoying themselves.
The annoying sound became even louder, until it felt like a piece of glass was being scrapped inside his brain. Cloud brought his hand up to his head, wondering how much longer he could stand it. He glanced over at Zack once more, and saw him grimacing as well, the first sign he had seen that Zack was bothered at all. Even so, his friend didn't seem in any rush to abandon their position.
Just when Cloud thought he couldn't stand it any longer, the sound diminished. The vibration and light within the pods faded at the same time. It took only a few moments before silence returned.
Silently thanking the powers that be, Cloud stared down at the pods below, anxious to see what the students looked like when they emerged.
The doors to the pods swung open once more.
For a moment, nothing happened. No one moved, nor did any figures appear exiting the pods. For a moment, Cloud wondered what had happened to them all.
Then, slowly, shakily, a few of the students began to emerge.
They were not in good shape. Their gait was unsteady, and it was obvious they were having a hard time just staying on their feet. Many, in fact, did not, but stumbled or sank to the ground soon after walking out of the pod. But they were better off than most. Most couldn't even stagger out, and had to be hauled out by the instructors. All of them looked dazed and exhausted.
Cloud looked at Zack once again as the last of the stragglers were pulled out of the pods.
"Doesn't look like much fun, does it?" he questioned.
Zack, who was still staring below, nodded without looking at him. For some reason, Cloud didn't think Zack had been expecting it to be such a traumatic experience.
"No wonder they don't let people see this," Zack finally said. "If they did, no one would want to go through with it."
"It does take a bit of getting used to."
Cloud's blood froze in his veins at the sound of the voice behind them.
They both spun around, Cloud's heart suddenly in his throat, and stared at the figure standing in the doorway. He was tall, taller even than Zack. He wore the uniform of a member of Soldier. A huge sword, longer than any Cloud had even seen in his life, hung in a sheath from the man's side. Long silver hair flowed down over his shoulder, and he gazed at them coolly with steely green eyes.
Cloud suddenly found he couldn't breathe.
"Hi," Zack said cheerfully as if the man in front of them were one of their buddies from the dorm. "We were on our way to, umm, to the public library and I guess we kinda took a wrong turn..."
Cloud just stood there making strange choking noises. Zack gave him a funny look.
The Soldier stepped into the room with a catlike grace, walking smoothly over to the window and looking down.
"Just happened to make a wrong turn into a mako reactor," he said slowly.
Zack said nothing, which Cloud thought was a good thing. At least then, he couldn't put his foot in his mouth anymore than he already had. They were dead enough as it was.
"Ah, a mako infusion," the man said. "A Soldier's rite of passage. It's been a long time..."
Zack followed his gaze down to the floor below.
"We were just...well..." he began.
The man waved his hand.
"Don't worry, I won't give you away," he said. "There's nothing wrong with having a healthy dose of curiosity, no matter what they say about cats. I fondly remember sneaking into a few restricted places myself when I was younger."
Zack looked visibly relieved, but the words didn't seem to have much effect on Cloud. He still stood stock still, staring at the man they were talking to. He still couldn't believe it.
"How far along in the program are you?" the man asked.
"We've just started this week," Zack replied.
"So soon," the man said, looking at Zack thoughtfully. "Usually it takes a while for someone to build up the intestinal fortitude to sneak into a place like this. You're showing some promise. Keep it up. Just don't get caught."
Zack smiled, feeling much better.
"Thanks, we will," he replied.
The man nodded.
"Well, I best get going. I have business to attend to. Good luck to you and your silent friend over there," he finished, glancing Cloud's way.
"You too," Zack replied rather lamely.
The man walked over to the door. He stopped and looked both ways down the hall, then turned back toward them.
"The coast is clear," he said. "I'm sure I'll see you both again...someday."
And then he was gone.
Zack rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Seemed like a pretty nice guy," he muttered.
He turned to look at Cloud, who still seemed shell shocked. He frowned.
"What's up with you?"
"That was...that was..." Cloud began, finally finding his tongue.
"That was Sephiroth!" he blurted out.
Zack just stared blankly at him.
"Who?"