A HolyLightning Production
brought to you by the fractured brains of Weasel and Crystal
The man was quiet, sitting almost entirely alone on the train that was making its way to sector six. His nerves were shot, and mind tired. Exhaustion brought on a couple of strange sensations, the most prominent being regret, paranoia, and anger. Slowly he sat up. His stomach twisted into knots when he saw the first stop coming. Why was he afraid? It wasn’t like he had anything to live for any more, ShinRa had made sure of that. His wife had conveniently disappeared after her public announcement of her distaste for the super-power, and his children soon after. Was he to be next? No, he would make sure of that. If he was going to disappear, he would do so with meaning, with justification.
The train slowed and came to a halt, and he got off. His chest was heavy and his heart sore. How he wished with all his heart things could’ve been different; maybe if Maria had just kept quiet, if his children had believed him that she had went on vacation… He wouldn’t be doing this; he wouldn’t have left Midgar to…
Oh well, it didn’t matter now. There was crowd in front of him, gathered in front of a man announcing the successes of ShinRa. So many people clapped and cheered, others just seemed to be half-listening, probably waiting for a train. Did the announcer really believe what he was going on about? Did he truly know anything about the dark company that took people and families away when they had a different opinion? Slowly, the distraught man, barely able to hold his composure, slid up through the crowd so he could clearly see the one supporting the monstrous industry.
His name was Ren.
He had a wife, and three children.
That day in the train station, he ceased to exist.
But he had “died” four months earlier, when his family had disappeared without a trace. So he didn’t care that the bomb strapped to his chest killed thousands, and rocked the surrounding sectors.
Ren was not the first to give his life to weaken ShinRa.
And he would not be the last.
***
“Sir the new sensors on the trains and border crossings have been successfully installed.”
The office was quiet; the ticking of the clock was all that dared make a sound after that voice had spoken. The blinds over the windows were drawn and standing in each corner were tough, intimidating people.
“Good.”
“They’ve already stopped ten infiltrators.”
“… Ten?”
“Yes sir.” The man talking bowed his head as the chair swivelled around. “All had explosives equal to the power of the Sector 6 bombing.”
“War…”
“P-pardon sir?”
The man, far older than the one reporting the information, stared at the assistant with cold, calculating eyes before rising to his feet. His suit was clean and crisp, a lovely white that contrasted with the dark tones of the office.
“They want war, whoever these terrorists are…” The man tapped the ashes from his cigar. “Eventually they’ll reveal themselves; it’s only a matter of time…” He snapped his fingers.
“We’ll increase the intake in the SOLDIER project.”
“Sir?”
“When they opt for war, we’ll be ready… Do you remember that suggestion a while ago? About the Academy?”
“Yes, you said it was-“
“I wasn’t aware,” he interrupted the assistant who was about to mistakenly make his boss look like a moron. “That there was a faction intending to wage war. Proceed with the plans.”
“Yes sir.”
Third Class
Nola ~played by CC
Lyra Ralen ~played by Samchu
Hagar ~played by Bear
Eden ~played by Kuro Espeon
Gil ~played by WO
Llewellyn Rose ~played by Fai
Second Class
Finn ~played by CT
Kite ~played by Classy
Kassie ~played by UC
Seth ~played by Becki
First Class
Creed ~played by WO
Ashlynn ~played by CT
Mathias ~played by River
-----
Every SOLDIER got the talk when they began their training. It was academy law that they be shown the ropes by one of the Firsts, and then plunged headlong into their very first lesson. Creed had noticed that the last group of recruits had been shocked at this deep-end treatment, but he believed quite firmly that it was the best thing for them.
And since it was his lesson they got first, he was obviously more inclined to agree.
He looked at the electronic clock numbers on the holographic wall and sighed. Almost time to leave. He tapped out a pensive tune with one of his claws, contemplating whether to run slightly late and run one final training simulation.
“One more can’t hurt,” he grunted, typing in the code for a high level Behemoth on the control panel next to the door. A brief flash of smile lit his face for a second as the room shifted into the Behemoth program - rocks now scattered the floor and the opening of a cave loomed at Creed as he tensed in expectation.
He was not wrong - a mighty roar sounded from the depths of the cave and the earth shifted beneath his booted feet as the Behemoth came crashing out into the open, blinking at the change in lighting.
Creed called upon his Hell Thundaga materia with a flick of his right wrist, sending a jet of lightning cracking into the Behemoth’s face. It shook its head in pain, eyes now screwed shut in blindness and an unhealthy colour tingeing its previously-purple skin.
Poison, wonderful! Creed flicked his left wrist and activated Berserk, and then his world was washed out with red as his blood rose. He felt the magic pumping through his veins - he felt invincible - and he yelled a challenge at the creature.
They clashed in the centre of the room. Creed sliced, then sunk the wicked red claws into its warm flesh to the knuckles, feeling the fur brush his skin. He bared his teeth, braced his legs and then was promptly knocked flying by the madly whipping tail.
He smacked into a boulder, the impact knocking his Berserk clean out of him. Scowling, he cast Regen, feeling its health wash through his veins like an elixir. He narrowed his eyes at the Behemoth and crouched, ready to spring once more.
Whirrr tick clunk.
Creed glared up at the face of Mathias. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“You’re running late, my friend.”
“My friend?” Creed stood up and shook himself off. “Just wasted perfectly good mana on a Regen I don’t even need now.”
“You might need it if we have some lively Thirds,” Mathias retorted. “Don’t feel too sorry for yourself and your poor depleted mana stock.”
“I don’t have so much to begin with, you know.” Creed grumbled as he cleaned off his claws. “Don’t have to be there until midday. Why are you here?”
“Ashlynn sent me. Some of the recruits are a bit… over-eager.”
“How so?”
“Two of them arrived in the middle of the night.”
“Oh.”
“Ash showed them to a dorm.”
“Good.”
“Yes. Only now the higher ups have dictated that we’re to begin orientation earlier than usual, not like we don’t already have enough to do, so here I am.”
Creed closed the door of the training room behind them and frowned. “What time?”
“Ten.”
“It’s nine now.”
“I know. You’d better make it snappy, you stink of Behemoth blood.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me; I’m just the bloody messenger as usual.” Mathias stomped off, grumbling to himself.
After a rushed shower and as quick of a breakfast as he could manage to fit in, Creed was stood dead centre of the courtyard as the new recruits started to file in. He eyed them as they walked - a sorry-looking bunch, but they’d learn.
He clasped his hands behind his back and stared straight ahead, just above their heads, unfocusing his vision and not concentrating on any of them.
They all lined up as they’d been told (or rather, snapped, if Mathias had anything to do with it), uniforms brand new and sitting rather uncomfortably on their new frames.
Creed suspected that they always chose him for the talk because he had the deepest voice that could go the loudest. You needed a loud voice as a weaponsmaster, to shout over the noise of clashing swords and firing guns. He imagined that he looked quite the intimidating figure in his trenchcoat, and that could also be part of the reason he was picked.
Either way, he sort of relished the chance to scare a few of the Thirds.
He rubbed the summon materia on each wrist pensively. The left had a slightly yellowed tinge, and the right was a darker red than most, swirling with near-black inside, and they lay inset into the wrist straps of his claws, pressed to the pulse point of each so that he could almost feel the raw power of the summons roiling against his skin.
He made a flash decision - the yellow - and rubbed it one last time.
“Attention!” he called, and the recruits, to their credit, stood up a little straighter and snapped their heads towards him in anticipation of his speech. Ashlynn stood on his right and Mathias on his left, and they both knew Creed’s tricks on orientation day - a smirk grazed the edge of Mathias’ lips, and Ashlynn was clearly trying to stop herself looking amused.
Without warning, Creed took one smart step backwards, flung his arms to the sky and yelled - a wordless cry that he knew sent shivers up people’s spines.
The sky darkened, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground between him and the line of recruits. Someone screamed, and Creed grinned and dropped his head down suddenly.
Right on cue, Quezacoatl soared down from the highest heights, took a lap around the courtyard - crackling as he went - and then swept low over the line of recruits before disappearing in an almighty crash of thunder.
Creed bared his teeth as the residual lightning crackled off his skin, and then looked up.
He always found that this was the best way to see which ones would cut the mustard - who would duck, who could cry, who would change their mind about becoming SOLDIER.
It worked every time.
-----
EDIT cos weas is a tard: INSTRUCTIONS!
Righteo! The two people I mentioned who arrived early can be any two of you guys - you pick! You can also be one of the fainters if you want, lol, it's entirely up to you.
Creed will actually do some more speeching, but I'd prefer if it you left that to the Firsts to write. After the speech, it's time for your first lesson - Battling with Creed! You don't have your weapons yet, so now's the time when you'll choose, and I'll set you up into sparring partners to see how you all do - some with Seconds, some with Thirds. Training will take place in the courtyard where you're all stood.
You can post anything from your arrival to the weapons training, but don't go further than the lesson until one of the Firsts posts. 
FRACTURE - it begins
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