Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy Seven characters, places and situations are the property of Square Soft/Square Enix and are used without permission and without intent of plagiarism or profit. Copyright for all original stories, characters, and situations is with the author, and may not be published, copied, distributed or archived without the author's prior written consent.

This is my first attempt at chapter story and a posting schedule. I'll be learning the system while I post this so please be patient.

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Cloud hit the ground hard, coughing and wheezing.

"Having some trouble, Cadet?" The drill sergeant barked.

"No…sir." Cloud barely got the words out as he struggled upright and forced his lungs to inhale.

His vision went black briefly from lack of air and he gasped a few more times before he jumped back onto the cargo net to scurry up with the second wave of cadets. He nearly fell from the net again when he got to the top but twisted one hand in the rope to hang on as he found his footing again and finally heaved himself onto the platform at the top. He could see the first wave of cadets—the group he'd started with—yards ahead of him and crawling like mad under the wires.

"Fuck." Cloud gasped, his entire rib-cage hurt. The other cadets were shuffling at the edge of the platform, each trying to be the next to crawl across the length of rope to the next platform.

Cloud didn't mind waiting, he coughed several times to try and get his breathing back under control. He couldn't believe how much that fall had taken out of him. Finally, it was his turn to begin across the rope. The guy that went in front of him put more and more distance between them on the rope but Clouds' muscles were seizing up. He reached up to grab the rope again and fear swallowed him whole as his lungs stopped pulling in air entirely. He didn't have the strength, the desire, the control, to hold on to the rope any longer.

There was a long drop to the ground from the rope, long enough for him to realize landing wrong could hurt him. Suddenly, arms wrapped around him like iron bands. Something carried him sideways for several feet and then he was looking up into the icy face of General Sephiroth. Cloud couldn't manage to feel shocked or awed at the General catching him, he couldn't breathe and that took his full attention.

"He's having some kind of an attack." Sephiroth said. "I'm taking him to medical bay."

Just like that Cloud was in motion again. Sephiroth was carrying him and they were moving fast, he could hear the air rushing through his ears. He gasped hard, barely getting any air into his lungs. Sephiroth looked down at him, cat-like eyes wide as he took in the cadets' state.

"Calm down." Sephiroth said, pulling him close, "breath, pull air in through your nose, push it out through your mouth." His voice was calm and even.

Cloud managed a small breath, then another. His chest hurt and his head was swimming but having something to focus on was helping him tremendously. He focused on a small freckle just below the General's ear and did his best to force his lungs to keep expanding and contracting—even if it didn't feel like he was getting any air.

A mask dropped over Cloud's face and a rubber band secured it as something was attached to his arm. He heard beeping and before he could see it coming someone had stuck an IV into his arm and ripped his shirt open to stick sensors to him. Breathing became immensely easier, his entire body began to relax, they must have given him a sedative.

"Can you tell what's wrong?" Sephiroth asked quietly.

Cloud's eyes were unfocused as he looked over to where Sephiroth was standing with a doctor. He looked concerned. Cloud felt a little happy about that, Sephiroth was concerned about him. A little voice in the back of his head said that it was only because he would be under Sephiroth's command if he entered the ranks of SOLDIER, but it still felt nice that such a famous man was concerned.

"He's breathing now, but his blood oxygen level is low. His body isn't absorbing oxygen like it should. According to his file he doesn't have any prior health concerns." The doctor said.

"I'd hope not, something that severe shouldn't have made it through the screening process." Sephiroth took the offered medical chart and scanned it. "No asthma, no chronic stomach disorders, no chronic breathing disorders, no venereal diseases, nothing." He paused. "What's this?"

"Hmm?" The doctor looked over Sephiroths' shoulder and away from the tech she'd been instructing on what tests to run on Cloud's blood.

"This number, it seems high." Sephiroth said.

"It is a tad high but that shouldn't be of concern." The doctor said. "It's a stress indicator, if I remember right; yours runs much higher than that."

"Do you think its asthma? Allergies? Is he the victim of biological warfare? Should I be getting the other Cadets out of the field?" Sephiroth quick-fired questions at her.

"I don't think there's any reason to worry about the other Cadets." The doctor said. "He seems to be stable. We'll run a full blood work-up and do a complete physical. I can have a report sent to you, sir."

"No, that's not necessary. I'll be back in a few hours." Sephiroth handed over the folder he'd been examining. "It's strange that he fell ill so suddenly." The great mans' brow furrowed as he said that.

Cloud watched as Sephiroth left the room, then turned towards the tech that was sitting beside him, he hadn't even felt her start drawing blood. He blinked at her, she was fuzzy and blinking helped less to bring her into focus each time he tried. She smiled at him and pushed his hair out of his eyes. He tried to smile back.

"Hey there, Cloud." The doctor leaned over him. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired…can I sleep?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." She patted his hand. "We're going to check you over—see what's wrong—but you can sleep through that if you want."

"Thank you." Cloud's mind was foggy and getting foggier. "G'night."

Cloud closed his eyes and when he opened them again Sephiroth was sitting at the cabinet beside him doing paper-work and Cloud's mind wasn't as foggy as it had been when he closed his eyes. He tried to sit up but every joint in his body hurt, he made a noise and fell back against the bed. Sephiroth looked up at him and slid to the bed-side in the rolling chair.

"I understand your name is Cloud Strife, age 15?" Sephiroth paused while Cloud nodded, then continued. "The good news is that we have a verdict, that bad news is the verdict." Sephiroth's brow creased. "Apparently you have mako poisoning? Were you aware of that?"

Cloud cleared his throat and pulled down his air mask as Sephiroth held out a cup of water for him. Cloud blushed as he took the water the man offered him. It was a struggle not to drink the entire glass but he had a feeling his stomach wouldn't like that. Sephiroth watched him patiently and took the glass from him when he lowered it.

"I didn't know I had Mako poisoning…is that bad?" Cloud asked.

"Not always, and not in your case. SOLDIERS have mako poisoning; I have a mako saturation level of about twenty-seven percent." Sephiroth said. "According to the tests you have a poisoning level of about twelve percent, that's just under the ideal level for a SOLDIER third class."

"So what's wrong with me if it's not the poisoning?" Cloud asked.

"You're in mako withdrawal." Sephiroth said with a concerned expression. "Do you have any idea where your poisoning came from?"

"Um…" Cloud blushed and fidgeted. "I spent a lot of time in a Materia cave…"

"Daily? Hours a day?" Sephiroth asked.

"Pretty much." Cloud said.

"If you did that for several years it would lead to the twelve percent mako level." Sephiroth said as he noted down what Cloud had said. "And this is your fourth month here, how long since you left home?"

Sephiroth was looking over Cloud's performance report and frowning. Cloud wanted to snatch the report away from him, he knew what his performance records would look like. He'd started bad and gotten worse.

"Six months, it took a while to get to Midgar." Cloud said.

"Alright, so you're accustomed to small—miniscule—doses of mako on a highly regular basis and you've gone half a year without them." Sephiroth sighed, closing the report and finally looking into Clouds' eyes. "This is getting complicated. I was hoping you'd gotten a massive dose somehow."

"Am I going to be alright, sir?" Cloud asked.

"Yes." Sephiroth said. "We don't take Mako levels when cadets first arrive. Perhaps we should begin doing so in case this happens again…you see, you need regular doses of mako to keep your body at a specific level or you begin destabilizing, eventually your body would stabilize at it's pre-mako state but it's a painful road." Sephiroth looked back at the papers he'd been going over when Cloud woke up.

"So…what's going to happen? How do I treat it?" Cloud asked.

"SOLDIERS receive a mako bath once a year in order to maintain their levels. Usually in twice the concentration of the level being maintained in their body—however, that's not you're your body is used to and it could send you into shock."

"But don't third classes receive mako showers?" Cloud couldn't understand how he'd go into shock worse than someone without previous mako exposure receiving the same treatment.

"Third classes do go into shock when they receive their initial dose, however, they are given a specially treated formula that reduces the impact of the shock and conditions there body for future doses. You did not receive that. You'll need to receive escalating doses with the special formula that will prepare your body for the standard large doses. This will take a few months before you reach the standard fourteen to seventeen percent that third classes are held at." Sephiroth paused to search Clouds' face to see if he understood.

"I won't lie, it will probably hurt. The doctor described it to me like this: you're used to running sprints and we're trying to make you run a marathon. Natural mako is easier for the body to absorb, but it's less stable than the formula we use for the mako showers. Unfortunately the more stable formula is harder to absorb." Sephiroth smiled when Cloud indicated he understood. "Of course, this is your decision." Sephiroth said. "If you don't want to go through this pain we could give you a natural booster and send you home."

"I don't want to go home, sir." Cloud said.

Sephiroth smiled. "I'm glad to hear that cadet." His smile fell. "Consider it carefully though. If you choose to stay and receive this treatment you'll have to be pulled from your class because your health is going to be extremely up and down until you reach stability. You'll be trained intensely in private on your good days and be placed directly into SOLDIER once you reach the proper mako level."

Cloud's mouth opened but nothing came out. He swallowed and tried to thank him but couldn't manage to speak. Sephiroth seemed amused by that. He ignored Cloud as he began noting things down once again, then stood with his files.

"Take tonight to consider the options. I'll be back in the morning to hear your decision and brief you on your new situation if you choose to stay."

"I'm not leaving sir." Cloud said suddenly.

Sephiroth stopped and smiled at him. "Then we'll begin arrangements for your treatment. Get some rest." The general headed to the door, stopping just long enough to smile over his shoulder. "Welcome to SOLDIER."