Welcome to Gaia! ::

"What are you up to, you little devil?" Blaze thought as he saw Mod's malicious grin. He continued up the ladder before landing on the pipe. The SOLDIER 3rd Class ran up the walkway to the second ladder, before climbing the ladder.

Sephiroth opened the door, his eyes scouring the room, looking for the director. "Lazard?"

Blaze had just gotten across the gap and ran out the door, when he noticed a Turk helicopter. "The Turks? What are they doing here?"

"I'd like to talk about the rules of promotion, Lazard. Having it where a member of SOLDIER only has one chance of being promoted to each rank isn't exactly fair to those who work hard since failing the test, and become stronger and more capable," Sephiroth answered. He relaxed his body, staying calm. "I'm suggesting that rule be removed."

"Perhaps they came to investigate the bomb threat. They are Shin-Ra's police force after all, we're Shin-Ra's military. They're also the ones in charge of finding prospective recruits for SOLDIER," Blaze answered. As he finished speaking, the helicopter landed on the large terrace they stood on, the wind blowing past the two SOLDIERs roughly. The scarlet-haired SOLDIER placed himself in front of Bella to shield her from the rough winds, placing his arm in front of his face to shield it from the wind as well.

A figure stepped out from the helicopter, his black hair falling to his hair. "We heard there was a bomb placed in this Reactor." His expression remained unchanged when Blaze smiled in surprise.

"Tseng? Well I'll be..." the SOLDIER 3rd Class stated. "Crisis averted, the bomb has been disarmed, and the terrorists are still frozen down where they set the bomb, ready to be taken into custody."

"Well, it looks like you beat us to the punch. Do you need a lift back to Shin-Ra headquarters?" the Turk leader inquired.

"I understand. I'll have a talk with President Shinra then," the silver-maned SOLDIER stated. He walked back towards the door. "Take care."

Blaze saluted Tseng and jumped into the helicopter. No sooner had he jumped in than when Tseng grabbed his shoulder. "What is it Tseng?"

"Orders from Director Lazard, you're to wear the SOLDIER 3rd Class uniform from now on. When promoted to SOLDIER 2nd Class, you can opt not to wear the helmet. Your Sword of Flames is to be placed within the hatch until you reach SOLDIER 1st Class, and then you're able to opt to wear your own clothing, as opposed to the 1st Class uniform," Tseng answered.

"I don't see how that's possible, since I'm stuck as a SOLDIER 3rd Class," Blaze replied. He noticed the navy blue uniform in a pile next to his seat and grimaced. "I forgot how much I hated that uniform..."

Sephiroth took the elevator once again to the seventieth floor and entered President Shinra's office. "Sir, I have something to talk to you about."

"Yes Sephiroth? What is it this time?" the President asked. The back of his chair was to the silver-haired hero.

"It's about the rules on promotions for SOLDIER. They don't seem fair to the members of SOLDIER. If they fail the test, but improve drastically, enough to pass the test, they won't be given the chance to try again," Sephiroth responded.

"So, you want me to remove them, I'm guessing? Why would that be worth Shin-Ra Corporation's time?" the magnate asked.

"Because, if you don't, you'll never know if your experiment on Blaze was truly a success. If he's confined to SOLDIER 3rd Class, he won't be allowed to learn new abilities, thereby limiting the success of the experiment as well," Sephiroth answered. He hated to give them more reason to continue experimentations, but he knew it was the only way to get the president to repeal the rules.

"You make a strong argument there, Sephiroth. Very well, the rules are hereby suspended. Now, if that's all you wanted to see me about, you know where the exit is," the de facto leader of the world stated. Sephiroth merely nodded and strolled out of the office before taking the elevator down to the forty-ninth floor.

"Haha, very funny Mod, it's about as funny as your jokes," Blaze quipped. The blades of the helicopter spun, and the copter lifted into the air before heading south, to the headquarters.

"Well, at least it won't take too long to get back to headquarters," Blaze stated. He sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"You have a date or something?" Tseng inquired.

"I guess you could call it that," the scarlet-locked boy answered. His Mako eyes glanced at the plushie that cuddled up to Bella, a smirk on his face.

The headquarters of the conglomerate were within sight. Tseng turned to look at Reno in the cockpit. "Well, did you hear that Reno? He's only seventeen and he's already gotten a date, unlike you." His quip drew a shocked expression from Blaze's face.

"Was that a joke, Tseng?" he asked, stunned.