Title: The Trials of Time

Rating: T

Summary: Young Sephiroth only wanted someone to trust absolutely. The Planet only wanted to prevent the death of the Lifestream. Cloud didn't want anything to do with this 'second chance'. Fate doesn't like to play nice. Timetravel. Crossdressing. Mentor!Fic.

Disclaimer: You think I own Final Fantasy VII? You're crazy. My version would make much less sense than the real thing...

Warning: Not yaoi. Sorry, but not this time. There is some soldier terminology that you may or may not know. I won't define them, just enjoy.

Notes: Cloud is 27 and Sephiroth is 8.

Pages/Words (Total): 30/13140

xXx Chapter Three: July 1974 to February 1975 xXx

(AKA SOLDIER training and the start of a baby boom)

Sephiroth was happy.

Hojo didn't seemed surprised about is disappearance, but he was still incredibly frustrated. It was a good feeling to know he stumped the morbid doctor.

Unfortunately, not even three days after he returned to the labs, he was told to pack a bag (of what wasn't elaborated), put onto a helicopter, and proceeded to spend the next seven hours trying not to hyperventilate.

They were flying to Midgar. They were flying away from Nibelhiem.

Leaving.

'Pa...' Sephiroth faced the window the entire time, fighting hard not to cry from the feeling of loss and helplessness.

His only possessions were Angel's feather from those couple of years ago, the Blizzard and Fire Materia he managed to keep from his caretakers, a small pouch of gil (167, a treasure for him), and his sketchbook with trees and plants in the front and birds and wings in the back.

Sephiroth was not happy.

x

Sephiroth frowned at the older boys around him. No one was younger than fourteen. Thirteen if there was anyone lying about their age. He was a little more than half of their age, and they knew it. They were looking at him like he wasn't supposed to be with them and they were obviously wondering if he or they will be in trouble when found out.

He decided to ignore the feeling of unease in his stomach. Hojo was probably deciding now was a good time to 'socialize him' with others, despite a military setting not being ideal for growing (or new in his supposed case) social education.

One would think he'd realize that.

"Alright you worthless pieces of scum! From now on, you are nothing! You mean nothing, you are worth nothing, and you know nothing! The faster you accept that, the easier of a time we will all have here!" A man in a blue suit yelled at him. It would have been expected and easy to let roll off his back if it weren't for the fact he was yelling with a calm face, and idly playing with a gun in front of them. The room was quiet for a moment. The gun stilled. "I am your instructor for your introduction into SOLDIER, and you will call me Turk Red. When I ask a question you will reply with 'sir, yes sir' or 'sir, no, sir.' Any other reply will also be treated with a sir sandwich, is that understood?" There was a moment of silence before a single reply.

"Sir yes sir." Turk Red immediately scowled.

"Did I just hear a mouse?" The man honed onto the individual and stalked forward like a tiger before leaning close and whispering to Sephiroth's ear. "Why the quiet voice, boy?" Sephiroth inwardly scowled at the spit he felt dripping off his cheek. He didn't dare move to even look at the man, though. He was in training, and he knew he had to keep his face blank and body still just as if he were back in the labs.

"Sir, you said we were nothing, sir." He replied simply. He felt the man's breath ghost over his ear before he pulled back and Sephiroth could see his grin.

"Cute, boy. Cute. While you are correct, I did say that," He admit. "When I ask a question that is not what I want to hear! When I expect you little mice to talk to me, you better be trying your hardest to blow the windows off the walls with your voice! You are nothing! I am going to make you something! Fail, and you will never be anything! Do you understand!?"

"Sir Yes Sir!" Sephiroth screamed. Turk Red was still scowling.

"Why are you the only one screaming!? You are all, from this day on, brothers of the closest kind! When one of you does good, you will all be praised! When one of you fucks up, you will all suffer the consequences! Do you all understand!?"

"SIR YES SIR!"

"Get your meager belongings on your back and line up smallest in the front of the door. You have five seconds. Go!" Sephiroth snagged his bag and swung it onto his shoulder as he ran to the door. He pushed his other arm through before stopping short and waiting.

He could already feel a headache growing behind his temple and could already expect his throat to be sore by that night.

X

"You have thirty minutes before I come back in. When I do, you all better be in those beds and on your way to dreamland, or I'm going to assume you have enough energy to keep going." With that, Turk Red closed the door with only the sound of the wind to mention. The boys collapsed onto the floor and moaned the way they weren't able or too afraid to do all day.

"Aw, man, what did we sign up for? Seven months of this?" One boy, the blond who normally lined up next to Sephiroth, groaned as he swiftly worked to take off his shoes. Sephiroth flinched away with a muted gag and immediately stood up to head to the windows.

"Whoa! Warn a guy!" Another boy said as he waved a hand in front of his face and leaned away even as he was also working on his laces.

"Good idea kid!" Another boy said as he stood up to help open the windows on the other side of the room.

"Hey, yeah. You're full of good ideas! I bet if it weren't for you, we'd be hurting more than we are now. What's your name kid?" A red head asked.

"My name is Sephiroth. I am eight years old, and I will be in the shower." Sephiroth said as he let himself relax enough to show his disgust as he ran a hand through his long hair. The other boys teased him as he walked away, but he didn't mind.

They had all thought he was lacking something like emotions most of the day until dinner when they were left alone for a while. He had suddenly darted to Turk Red's unattended plate and swiped the single slice of pie with his bare hands. He had left only a few crumbs and a smear of the dressing before he grinned at the rest and winked as he sat down and wolfed it down. They were all quiet from shock and horror when Turk Red returned and froze.

None of the had boys dared look at their Instructor, forcing themselves to square their meals with slightly shaking hands as if they had no idea what had happened. They expected to be in bigger trouble than when half of them turned left and the other turned right in a chaotic mess of confusion when an order was given to turn into the grass at an L turn. But they didn't get in trouble. The man only glared at them before sitting back down. Sephiroth had heard him mumble 'cheeky little monsters' before giving a light chuckle.

"Hey, don't use all the hot water!" One boy called. Sephiroth entered the restroom and promptly answered.

"There are four showerheads in here!"

"I call second!" The boy immediately said before rushing in. Two more boys ran in laughing.

"Third!"

"Forth!"

"Alright guys, no peaking." The first boy grinned as he snagged a towel and started stripping for his shower. Sephiroth was already walking under the spray of one of the showers, unconcerned and willing to just stand under the spray.

His muscles didn't hurt, but they would definitely be sore. Because he was so small, he was allowed to let some of the weight in his bags be helped by Turk Red, but it was still a lot in comparison to him. This shower was a good idea. He'll talk to the rest of the boys later when he didn't feel as dirty as a sewer rat.

X

Training wasn't that bad. As far as Sephiroth could tell, it was mostly mind games Turk Red and a few other Turks in their classes were playing with the group to underscore the point that thinking for themselves was not to be tolerated at this point. That wasn't to say they were all expected to be mindless and unfeeling.

Their studying was subtly encouraged and their teamwork was always being worked on. Their fitness was also always worked on, and Sephiroth was surprised by how much improvement the rest of the boys were able to accomplish. The workouts weren't easy, and Sephiroth had started ahead mostly because of the conditioning Hojo had done for him. The half-year breaks or so were not supposed to happen, so Sephiroth suspected Hojo was pissed that he wasn't holding a definite top position. His education was, however, undeniably the best and his test scores proved it.

That had started a couple boys off the wrong foot with him, as he was expecting. Thankfully, the teamwork games were absorbed quickly so rather than hold animosity to him, they all looked at him as a tutor. The fact that Sephiroth was really good at explaining things plainly helped. Sephiroth did not have friends, more like well known acquaintances, and he didn't really know if these boys counted. They were definitely the closest he could call to being his friends though.

"Mako injections today. Line up in your order and roll your sleeves up." They all did, baring their shoulders for the nurse to wipe with alcohol before being told to ignore the spots and not dare blow on them to make it dry faster. Sephiroth stepped up, barely noticing the sting of the mako from what he normally received before being sent to sit on the first cot. He sighed silently as his feet were allowed to relax and no longer bear weight. Everyone was tired, having spent a majority of their week walking, hiking, and running, mostly with their gear.

Michel stepped up next and Sephiroth wondered what they were going to do for the rest of the day after this. Mako injections gave the troop an automatic Sick in Quarters pass from the doctors which meant a day to catch up on sleep and rest. He saw Michel flinch almost out of the doctor's hand from the injection before being sent to the next cot. Sephiroth offered a small smile to his friend which was returned by a grimace. The boy sat, clutched his arm, and quickly became a very pale shade of white.

"AAAHHHHHH!" Sephiroth stared, startled that Michel would scream as if he was dying. He turned his eyes to Glenn, who was next. Glenn was already tensed, and was staring at Michel with the rest of the room, but he actually yelped when the doctor started injecting the mako. He trembled as he stared at his shoulder and quickly made his way to the next available cot. The rest of the boys were quiet until Glenn whimpered and curled unto himself as well. He panted twice, harshly, before keening turned into begging.

"Make It STOP! Please! PLEASE!" Sephiroth was alarmed, and met the rest of his platoon's eyes to share in their confusion before Jeroll was next through the process.

Jeroll flinched, went to sit down, and was quickly sweating and crying in obvious terror before convulsing. Then Sephiroth realized what was going on. Something was wrong with the mako. He was receiving more than this introduction dosage long ago in Hojo'a lab near Nibelheim. He wouldn't be affected at all, but these boys, the rest of his team, they were nowhere near able to handle this dosage if that was what was wrong.

Jennings trembled into the doctor's waiting hand, and Sephiroth could see guards, Turks, coming into the room to secure the struggling boys to their cots as the injected mako burned through them. He glared at them, obviously not needing them to help and not wanting them near him at the moment. As the men leaned over the other boys to prevent them from hurting themselves, he watched closely as the process was repeated. He immediately found the problem as the doctor rose the vial to draw the dosage for Jennings.

Sephiroth read the mako bottle to be 10%, instead of the 1.0% that should have been introduced as the testing agent. He jumped off the cot and snagged the doctor's hand with a grip that almost broke the man's wrist. As it was, he quickly drew blood with his nails as he pulled Jennings behind him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" He demanded as he shoved the man away and snarled at the Turks starting to flood into the room more. "Don't touch them! Stop fucking touching them! Get out! Get out get out Get OUT!" He snarled. When they didn't move fast enough Sephiroth threw the mayo stand at the doctor and took extra pleasure in being able to hit two other Turks with the supplies that were sitting on it.

"Heheheheh." A sound made him freeze in recognition and he glared in the surrounding chaos. "Listen to the boy for now. Go on." Professor Hojo stood by the corner, his clipboard in his arms as he scribbled onto it with a furious pace. Sephiroth stood still, unable to help but lose all trace of expression from his face. He stared at the man, suddenly realizing what was going on.

"Professor." Sephiroth greeted emotionlessly, the cries and screams of his friends suddenly unable to be heard above the ringing in his ears. This man... This man...

"Tell me, Sephiroth, what were you feeling when you realized something was amiss with the rest of your platoon? Were you surprised? Did you feel superior when you realized you were unaffected?"

"Professor?" He didn't even need to ask. This entire process was an experiment. The boys behind him, whom he's gotten to know and trust and see as friends in his existence as Sephiroth...

They had been expendable since the beginning. That was not acceptable.

"Perhaps any thoughts of whether you will eventually become affected by the phenomenon? Have you thought of any possible reasons why this interesting reaction has occurred?" Sephiroth took a slow breath and stepped closer. He held his hand out.

"The diluent, and the proper vial, professor." The mad doctor scribbled on his clipboard for a moment more before peering at him from the edge. Sephiroth kept his hand steady, even as he had the strongest urge to throw the man out of the window. With a hum of dissatisfaction, Hojo lowered the clipboard to his side and blinked at Sephiroth. Sephiroth still wanted to hurt him, and he was starting to become aware of just how much pain his friends were suffering. He didn't blink.

"Heh. Heheheh. Very well. I'll see myself out." Hojo gave Sephiroth the vial in his pocket and walked out. Sephiroth slammed the door behind him, quickly snagged a familiar packaged roll, and smoothly barred the doors closed with the tape of casting piled near the door. He made quick figure eights and ran to the sink. Not caring of the mess, turned on the faucet and aimed the hose to activate the agent. Then he looked at the vial given to him and threw it at the door too.

It was another bottle of mako, unlabeled. Judging by the bright glow, it was much more than 10% of concentration. Exactly the opposite of what he needed right now.

"Sephiroth?" Jennings asked from where he was trying to prevent Michel from writhing off the bed and onto the floor. "Sephiroth, what's going on?" Sephiroth yanked open the drawers near him, trying to find anything helpful.

"Look through the drawers and cupboards! Find more vials of mako and diluents!" He barked. He saw the needles earlier and didn't need to worry about that. He just needed the mako, and the diluents to add to it. The other boys not holding down the three currently suffering darted to different parts of the room to help look. Michel already seemed to be approaching shock. He was still screaming as loud as ever, but he was thrashing weakly, and even that seemed to be mostly a part of his seizure instead. Sephiroth cleared seven drawers before he heard a voice.

"I-I think I found diluents!" Sephiroth abandoned the drawer of papers and quickly double-checked. Snagging the bottle, he checked the seal on top – untampered – and the expiration date – good for another year – before reading the brand. It was diluents made for mako.

Perfect.

"Are there more?"

"Just one."

"Look for more. And get those syringes and needles over there too." He just needed one more vial of diluent, at least, and that wasn't taking into account what he was going to do for the rest of his team.

He was going to make sure Professor Hojo didn't put them in danger again even if it meant administering their introductory dosage himself.

'Mako mako mako.' Sephiroth thought as he continued to search. Pulling the last drawer out and finding it empty, he turned to the rest of the room. The other boys looked as lost as he felt and Michel quieted to a level of moaning now. Except his eyes were blank. Glenn was starting to stop thrashing now. 'Fridge!' He suddenly thought. Mako didn't need to be stored at any certain temperature the way other vaccines or medications did, but there was always a chance. He a little white box sitting near the blanket heater and slid to it.

"Please beloved Goddess." He whispered as he opened it. Shelves of glowing vials greeted him, and he hurriedly checked a few of them. "I got it! Did we find more diluents?"

"Yes!" He snagged a couple in his hand and ran to Michel. Not caring about sanitation or procedure, he handed an extra vial of mako at Jennings as he divided the syringes and needles and opened a pair.

"Here. Open those. Someone else get over here! Take the tops off the vials and put the needles on the syringes. Shake your mako vial. You too." Sephiroth refused to let his hands tremble no matter how much he knew they should be. Thankfully, the boys weren't questioning him and were working as fast as they could with shaky hands. "Pull the plunger so you have 0.1ml of air. Got it? You?" The boys nodded and Sephiroth quickly checked. "Good, pull the cap off. Don't let anything touch the bare needle!"

"Sorry."

"It's alright. Nothing touched it. Needles straight in the mako. Push the air in and let the mako come back in the syringe." Sephiroth set down his vial and quickly double checked all the percentages of strength for the mako. They were all 0.1%, which he hoped was weak enough for him to use. "Stir the diluents, gently, like that. Caps off? Put the mako in and pull out." He shook his vial as soon as his needle was out and the boys followed his lead.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Curbenny asked.

"It's the best I can think off." Sephiroth answered as put the vial down and opened another larger syringe and needle. The boys followed suits as fast as they could. "Come on, as much air as you can get." He prompted the others. He vaguely noticed that Jeroll was barely making a sound now and he hoped this would work. If any of them died...

"But how do you-?"

"Curbunny, shut up unless you have any better ideas!" Sephiroth snapped. The blond shut his mouth, looking contrite. "All air goes in so we can get all mako out." He narrated as he drew the slightly tinged clear liquid back into his syringe. He knew air bubbles were bad, and he knew shaking the vials and forcing the air quickly into them were the best way to make air bubbles, but at this point, there was nothing to he could do against the speed limit he knew he had. He already thought it was too late. He checked the syringe, surprised by the lack of bubbles, and without warning even to himself, stuck the needle into Michel's bicept.

A part of him noted that the doctor slowly administered the mako to him and the others; that maybe delivering mako too quickly had a bad reaction. Regardless, with the diluents, he hoped he didn't need to do that. Another part of him tried to forget that his stomach was rolling at the memory of piercing another's flesh with a needle as opposed being stabbed himself. He did not like it, either way.

"Hurry up and give it to Glenn and Jaroll!" He barked when everyone stared at him. (Did he look as light-headed as he felt?)

Seconds passed in silence as everyone tried to quiet their breathing and wait for a reaction. Sephiroth slowly slid down, shoulder against the wall, onto the bench that may or may not have been built into the wall.

'Please.' He prayed, lightly clapping his hands and closing his eyes. He leaned his chin onto his fingertips and soon onto his knuckles and he threaded his fingers into each other. 'Please, Beloved Goddess of the Planet. Please, don't take them yet.' He didn't know, still, how to react to death. As Sephiroth, without Daka, he had no idea what to do. Seraphina would cry and pray aloud, maybe scream in anger or sorrow; Sephiroth would... Sephiroth would...

Denial was the most likely reaction, actually.

"Jaroll?" He looked up and saw Veinder cautiously waving a hand in front of Jaroll. He gasped when Jaroll blinked. "Jaroll, man, can you hear me?" The group held their breath as Jaroll opened his mouth just a little. The humming of the AC unit was never so loud before.

"Ya..." The boy answered. "Ah he ya." He slurred. It was obvious he was still hurting and probably very close to passing out, but he was grinning just slightly and that made everything better anyway.

"Glenn? Buddy?"

"Uhn…"

"Yeah, I hear you."

Curbunny was sitting close to Michel's side, but Michel still had his eyes closed and was breathing very shallow. Sephiroth stayed still as Glenn and Jaroll slowly regained awareness, even though they didn't want to move yet. They were still going to feeling the burn of mako, but it wasn't too strong anymore. If they needed it, Sephiroth could add more diluents to their system, but Michel…

Michel wasn't back yet.

'Everyone is different. Some people are more tolerant to mako than others. Where did Michel grow up? Was he introduced to mako or materia-' Sephiroth suddenly felt for his materia. His trusty Blizzard and Fire were normally hidden with his possessions or with him. He had both in his belt pockets. 'Good.'

Materia came from the Lifestream, and the Lifestream consisted of mako. Pa said that when magic is used, the knowledge of how it should be used is directed by the caster, but absorbed through the mako in nature. That was how monsters were able to use magic without materia themselves unless they concentrated enough mako for a long enough time to create one on themselves.

That was why Daka disapproved of President Shina even as the man spread his influence to help people and stimulate the growth of the country. Drilling the Planet for mako was a Bad Idea. Electricity generated by mako didn't use this eco-friendly process. Energy wasn't supposed to be destroyed, but the way mako was used certainly made mako 'lost' to the Lifestream where it was supposed to go. Pa made a generator that harnessed wind for the electricity in the Strife Home.

For Michel, he must not have been used to the process of mako and lifestream around him. Either he'd never used Materia, or there was a low number of monsters in the area. With his body unfamiliar with the process, having so much mako introduced to him so suddenly was a shock to his body and mind, which is how mako sensitivity and mako poisoning occurred.

Which was probably what Michel was suffering from.

How do you help a person with too much mako in their body? How do you get the mako out?

'Magic around him? From him? Attacking him?' Mako helped him heal faster. Would forcing the healing of external injuries help Michel use the excess mako to lower it to a bearable level for him?

He held the Blizzard and Fire in each hand and touched one to Michel's arm and leg. He couldn't feel the mako from the boy, but maybe...

"Sephiroth?" Helor asked.

"She guides us, her gift everlasting." Sephiroth whispered in prayer. Then he activated both materia.

"Hey!"

"What are you doing!"

"Don't move! Don't touch him!" Sephiroth warned as the materia glowed and he slowly rose their level of awareness to activation. He didn't want an actual attack. He didn't want to really hurt Michel. He just wanted to get the mako to move and flow.

"But, what are you doing?" Curbunny asked. He sounded frustrated.

"Materia is the crystallized form of mako, and the use of materia depends of the level of the caster, the level of the materia, and the mako that is in the environment. Michel must be sensitive to mako, due to some factor or another that means he wasn't ready to the level of mako given to him. That's why they all got hurt; it was too much too soon for them."

"And you? Why aren't you also sensitive to mako?" Helor asked. The boys watched in scared silence as they waited for Michel to either stop breathing or Sephiroth to suddenly attack the downed boy like he seemed ready to do. Sephiroth lowered his gaze, his bangs hiding his face as he slowly moved the materia closer to Michel's chest.

"I've already has this treatment before, and the following levels as well. I'm stable with my mako levels. More mako won't do anything to me other that be processed like extra water or energy or something." He admit.

"Then why did you give more mako to them when they were already overdosed!"

"Because mako attracts mako! It can be mixed with other materials, like the wisdom of the lifestream to create magic, but it will always very liable to head to where there already is mako. The diluant is attached to the bit of mako we put in, so that it can also attach to the mako inside them." He motioned his head to the boys on the cot, who were trying to sit up to see what was going on. "But Michel…" He moved the materia towards the boy's abdomen.

"Is it too late?" His grip tightened. "Sephiroth?"

"Hey!"

"Whoa!"

"Sephiroth!"

"Wait! Just wait! Stop talking! Please." Sephiroth begged. His grip was tense but loose around the materia in his hands, as if his fingers were a cage instead of wrapped around them. His concentration restored, his eyed the burn and freeze he accidently made. The thought had been there, but never the intention. Michel... "Michel?" The boy's eyes were open – had they been closed? – but he thought they had-

They blinked. Again. Everyone remained quiet as Sephiroth continued to hopefully do some good in moving the mako with the materia. He wasn't even sure if it was helping or not.

"Michel? You awake yet?" Jennings asked quietly as he waved a hand over the other's face.

"Ah..." That didn't sound encouraging. "Ah we 'n turble?" They all glanced at each other in question before Curbunny spoke up.

"Why would we be in trouble, Michel?"

"He got 'ateria, I sreepin' 'n da day… We noh at classs…" Sephiroth breathed a shaky sigh in relief before putting his materia away.

"No, SIQ, remember?" Michel blinked blankly for a few long seconds before giving a monotone,

"Oh. I like 'seyeque..." He replied with a dreamy smile. As creepy a combo it was, everyone chuckled and finally finally relaxed.

X

Sephiroth gave the rest of the platoon their introductory dosage of mako as he planned, stubbornly ignoring the pounding on the doors and the demands that they all exit the relative safety of the small room. He even tried to reinforce the doors with more casting tape and plugged all sources of ventilation, opening the single window instead for fresh air. None of the boys were ready to face the people who did not hesitate to make them suffer. Not even for Turk Red.

Though, for his credit, Red Turk did sound genuinely concerned and had backed off when they said they were all fine.

"Man, I'm so glad you knew what to do, Sephiroth." Glenn mentioned in the morning of their second day. "Though, these beds aren't really as comfortable as I thought." He admit as he stood up to stretch.

There were ten boys total in their little group, and unfortunately there were only four beds. Many of the blankets in the blanket warmer were used to try to keep everyone warm during the chilly night in the heater-less room. And the unlucky ones who didn't get a bed were unable to really sleep on the freezing floor. A few chose to chance his night on the counter where a couple made a den from emptying a cupboard. Sephiroth chose to stay up all night to ease his mind on their safety and to make sure Michel didn't relapse.

In regards to their mako dosage, everyone had felt sore when they went to bed. If they felt fine, Sephiroth wanted to up their dose before chancing their punishment with Shinra. The fat man had thrown a tantrum when Sephiroth told him point blank that they were not going to leave the room that night. Hopefully, they'd be given another SIQ for the rest of the day any tomorrow would be a normal day.

"Man I'm starving."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Sephiroth, you got any idea about food?"

"We'll be getting it at the mess hall." Sephiroth answered as he shifted through the cabinets for something to cut the casts on the doors.

"What? We're leaving?"

"Yeah. After I give everyone another dose, we'll be getting out of here."

"But they want to kill us!"

"We can't leave, man. We can't!"

"We can't stay here either." He replied as he crawled out of the shelf and felt for the handle of the doors below him to balance himself before jumping to the ground. "Shinra needs us, and he wouldn't have wanted to waste his money on training us if he was only going to kill us. This was an unexpected experiment." He said with a voice of disgust. "I bet Professor Hojo was responsible for this, not President Shinra. We'll stay away from him. This program is supposed to be really good. We're setting the foundations of SOLDIER, and I'm kinda proud of that. I promise, I'll take care of your mako treatments personally. Professor Hojo will not touch you guys again."

The boys looked a little unsure, but they nodded. Michel stared at him, and Sephiroth hoped he would be okay. The other smiled and stood up. He placed a hand on Sephiroth head and ruffled his hair a little roughly.

"My hero." He said. "You're like a little chocobo. You're kinda small, but still really strong."

"A chocobo? Really?" Helor asked. "I was thinking a little wolf. Like those Nibel wolves, you know?"

"No, dude, you're cat! You're eyes glow in the dark and are totally slit!" The group chuckled and threw a few more ideas out before Michel added one more.

"You're our friend, Sephiroth. You're our hero, and though you're younger than us, I will always see you as our leader. You saved us. When we're done with this training, I hope to return the favor, should you need it." Sephiroth blinked, amazed by the declaration. He wanted to rebut it all; he was still only eight years old – a child. But, that would be rude, no matter who he was as Sephiroth or Seraphina. Crying was obviously out of the question.

"Thanks."

"Aw! You're blushing!"

"Whoa, really!?"

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Am not!" He turned away and tried to concentrate on finding a cast blade or something. The others laughed good naturedly at him.

X

Refusing to fidget, Sephiroth knocked on the door twice and waited.

"Come in." Came a young voice inside. Surprised and a little more wary, he did. He stood at the desk and saluted.

"Sir, Cadet Sephiroth reporting, sir!"

"At ease." The young man, no older than 18 by the looks of it, nodded in acknowledgement. Sephiroth dropped his arm and held out the files he was ordered to bring with him with his other arm.

"Sir, requesting to turn in zero-niner reports as ordered to bring, sir!"

"Sephiroth, when I say at ease in this office, that means I don't want the habits of cadets to be blowing out my eardrums and giving me a headache. You can pretend you're a civilian when you're in here, and if you think I'm tricking you to get you in trouble or gain your trust, it's not for your benefit. It's for mine. Now," The man reached for the files and gestured to the chairs Sephiroth was standing between. "please take a seat."

"... okay." The man smiled a small smile as he quickly glanced through the headings of the files in front of him.

"My name is Lazard Deusericus. If you were not aware, I was put in charge of the SOLDIER program as Director. When you finish the trials of our 'boot camp' if you will, I will be the one who gives you your orders and will be who you report to directly, unless the President passes the motion of allowing the General to hold that responsibility. I personally hope that is the case, less work for me." The man smiled.

"A General?"

"Of course. Whomever graduates from your group will all automatically gain your ranks depending on your placements of performance. There will be one General, and he may or may not pull the brunt of the paperwork. If President Shinra manages to gain popularity with this program, there will no doubt be many Cadets and Soldiers. Our ranking system will evolve as needed, but the General idea is the most likely to pass. Anyway, to the matter at hand; You were requested to bring the medical records and performance tracking records of your entire platoon. Why do I only have nine?"

"Director Deusericus, Professor Hojo refused to give me my medical record. Because our other performances were also in our medical records, he thus refused to give me the other half of my record. To be honest though, I doubt Professor Hojo even bothered to keep my performance papers."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"If I may speak freely?"

"Please do."

"This room is secured?" Lazard rose an eyebrow and moved to press something under his desk. Sephiroth heard a light squealing for a moment. The sound made his nose tickle.

"The room is secured."

"Professor Hojo is insane." The blond man in front of him blinked at him before chuckling.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I've had the unfortunate pleasure of being that man's longest standing project." Sephiroth looked at his hands. "He learned the process for mako injections through me." The blond man's chuckling stopped.

"What?"

"I used to think he was my father, but I have no idea where I could have come from. Regardless, he's very possessive of any information regarding my abilities. I don't know what would cause him to share, and I have spent my whole life with him. My accomplishments thus far in the training you're putting us through will probably not even be on my record."

"...I see." The room remained silent as Lazard flipped through the files in front of him. "Let me ask you, then, what you have experienced and what you've completed."

"Yes sir." Lazard glanced at him over the edge of the file he was reading and Sephiroth hoped he would be tall enough that no one would ever do that to him again when he was done growing. He refused to correct himself. He was in training, so he already had the habit of using sir, no matter what this man wanted.

"Very well, your fitness?"

"I finished with the best times from everyone on our morning runs. My strength is matched with Michel right now for pressing but I can do a few more repetitions then him. I'm the most flexible of everyone though."

"I see." The Director flipped through a few pages of a couple records before putting them down. "Haven't you been given your introductory dosage to mako yet?"

"We got them just yesterday as well as a follow-up dose this morning."

"Why is that not in anyone's medical file?"

"I haven't written anything." The man blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"I haven't written anything regarding out treatment in any of our records. Director Deusericus, yesterday, was not the best day of our training. I have reason to believe that Professor Hojo had planned to kill most if not all of the other cadets with another experiment regarding me. Cadets Michel, Glenn, and Jeroll were very close to losing their lives, and it was because of that incident that I personally took responsibility to give everyone else their dosage and follow-up this morning. Because I do not have access to their health records, I was not able to write anything about it even if it had occurred to me that I should."

"Sephiroth, are you a trained medical personnel?" Lazard looked annoyed.

"Other than in First Response, no Director."

"Then why do you think you are authorized to mess with something as delicate as mako injection onto another person?"

"Professor Hojo has done so to me enough times that I myself do not necessarily need any more mako until I grow up a little more, thus I feel confident in my ability to handle treatments for the rest of my platoon. I will not let anyone else mess with it, Director. They've been given a phobia and extreme distrust of President Shinra's medical staff. I'm sure I can get them to let their blood be drawn for testing to check on their mako levels, but I am intimately familiar with needles and blood work myself. This is an issue I do not want to argue with, but will." Sephiroth answered. The man didn't change his expression.

"I want you to give me a full report on everything that happened yesterday. Everyone's reactions to the mako injection will be written down with as much detail as possible. I am going to lock you in this office while I go relay instructions to your Instructor and until I come back, please work on those medical reports. Turk Red will be here for when you explain the incident yesterday." With that, Lazard pulled his ID from the computer and handed Sephiroth a handful of papers and a pen. Then he walked out the room and two different locks echoed through the office. Figuring the plan sounded good enough to not need to worry, Sephiroth got started.

He was done with everyone but the first three boys who nearly died when the Director of the program unlocked his office and walked in with Turk Red.

"Ah, so that's where the silver sunshine has been." The man commented as he placed his large hand on his head and ruffled his hair to near knots.

"Hello again Director Deusericus, I am almost finished." Sephiroth greeted. "Hello Turk Red." He added with a light smile, teasing in his voice.

"You little snot. What happ-"

"I had told him 'at ease' earlier, Turk Red. My office is a sort of 'safe zone' if you will. Please, take a seat."

"Sure." Sephiroth stared when Turk Red promptly fell into the other chair and rested his boots onto the middle of the Director's desk. The blonde glared.

"You may not fall under me, but I would have thought respect would be expected as I have been always towards you."

"This is a 'safe zone,' if you will." The Director pinched his nose and stood still for a few seconds. He sighed and took a seat of his own before seemingly ignoring what just happened and moving on.

"I have brought you here to ask questions. Do you know what occurred yesterday when the cadets were left for their mako injections?" Turk Red sat up and leaned onto the desk with folded hands, feet back on the ground. He spoke in a tone more serious than Sephiroth had ever heard from him.

"The security of this room?" Director Lazard once again pressed a button and let go only when the Turk nodded.

"It is secure." The blond smirked. Turk Red only spoke.

"The cameras were tampered with so we don't have complete feeds to go off of. We tried to compile a report from the seven Turks who were called into the room, but aside from witnessing three of my boys go into seizure as they scream and suffer, nothing else is known for sure. Professor Hojo was the last non-cadet to leave the room, but he refused to cooperate with our investigation. This morning at breakfast, after sending Sephiroth to your summoning, I brought the cadets to their barracks to relax them to get a better idea from them, but none of them are talking. If anything, the most telling of their actions would be that they feel someone is out to kill them. After trying to get them to get their blood drawn as you asked, I can only come to the conclusion that they are afraid or against the medical staff more than any threat I can hold over them."

"I see. Please start at the beginning of yesterday, when you first dropped them off."

Sephiroth stayed silent until the Direct stopped his instructor and bid him to tell his side. The whole story was soon told, and Sephiroth sent to go get the blood drawn himself so that the tests can be done and a decision made based on the results.

X

The report against Hojo did not go the way they hoped. Sephiroth wasn't surprised, but he was still disappointed that the crazy scientist wasn't sacked for immoral and inhumane experiments. He half suspected President Shinra was made aware by Hojo before they even thought to bring any evidence up front. Sephiroth was glad they only had a couple more weeks, which would consist of field experience and more mako treatments until they were expected to finish their training.

It only solidified his thoughts that Hojo was a sneaky bastard who was unfortunately as manipulative as he was smart. President Shinra was either as immoral as he was, or an idiot.

X

"Man, I hate navigation. Why can't we just use our phones?" Lloyd grumbled as they departed. He had a bag on his back, which had a missing pocket.

"I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be simulating an accident where our phones were destroyed." Sephiroth answered. He easily ducked under the swat to his head.

"I know that! It's kind of hard to forget being told our helicopter crashed and killed all but us." There were a few moments of silence. "Would a crash really kill us with our enhancements?" He asked again in a quieter voice.

"I don't think so. We may be injured badly, but I'm sure a crash wouldn't kill us immediately. Not getting any medical attention for our undoubtedly horrible wounds would be the more likely candidate for us perishing." Sephiroth said as he picked up the two rounds of ammo that they passed. They didn't have a gun, but they might find one.

"Has anyone ever told you you're creepy when you talk so calmly about the chances of dying?"

"I believe you've mentioned it a few times, yes." Sephiroth once again found his head being ruffled and hair being tangled in the 'gesture of affection' everyone liked to afflict on him. "Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike everyone doing this to me?"

"A few yew times, yeah." Lloyd replied cheekily. "You got a gun stashed somewhere?" He asked as he focused on the rounds of ammunition.

"No, but just in case." He explained as he darted towards another he spotted in the grass.

"Get back!" Lloyd yelled as he darted to pull the smaller boy away.

A small form darted from the grass and towards the crouching boy. Sephiroth yelped in surprise as he was almost tackled, dodging to the side before being touched. There was a squawk from the attacker, and Sephiroth stared in surprise as Lloyd tugged at his insistently to get him back on his feet.

There was a black chocobo standing in front of them, lowered and tense and looking at them with a wary eye.

Zephyr was standing in front of them.

"Wark!" The chocobo called, as if asking who they are or some other warning question. Sephiroth stood on his feet and let Lloyd pull him further away.

"Dude, wild chocobo are dangerous." Lloyd whispered. "Come on, let's back away slowly. This one looks so evil." He said just as they bumped through a bush.

"Wark..." Zephyr crooned lowly.

'What are you planning?' Sephiroth wondered as he carefully continued to stare in the black bird's eyes. The bird took a small step closer, head lowered, as they steadily moved further away. He was watching him closely. 'Will- Does Daka want me back? So soon? Now?' Sephiroth hadn't really thought about the man, to be honest. His training took up a lot of time, and the rest of his team took up the rest. He suddenly felt guilty for not wanting to take this chance to leave right away.

"Kweh." Zephyr whistled decisively before swiftly closing the space the boys managed to put between them. Before the cadets could figure out what to do, Sephirth was hanging by Zephyr's beak. "Wark!" The bird whistled triumphantly.

"Sephiroth!" Lloyd called out in fear.

"Wark!" Zephyr snorted at the older boy before turning around and trotting.

"Gah! Llo- Hey! Lloyd!" Sephiroth was hanging by his side, Zephyr having snagged him by his belt. Unfortunately, the rocking from the bird's steady steps meant he couldn't balance himself as he swayed to the side and forward and back.

"Chocobo, no! Bad bird!" Lloyd sounded frustrated. The black chocobo warked and hissed as he flared his feathers and feinted towards the other cadet.

"Lloy-!" Sephiroth found his mouth full of feathers as he was swung right into Zephyr's chest. Again.

"Sephiroth! SEPHIROTH!"

When Sephiroth had his bearings again, Zephyr had taken him across the plain and Lloyd's worried voice was echoing from the distance. A few minutes more, and Zephyr was slowing down from his dash to set him down. He lowered himself for him to sit on his back. Sephiroth nibbled his lip as he glanced the way they had come, worried about Llyod. They were testing in a field close to Cosmo Canyon, and the monsters of the area had been culled, but they would grown much stronger in the next few days as their numbers replenished the way only monsters can. Lloyd was now by himself and without a weapon.

"Zephyr, is he going to be safe?" He asked the bird. Zephyr cooed at him reassuringly and nuzzled Sephiroth's hair. Annoyed, he fixed his hair before looking around. "So, why did you pick me up?" Zephyr looked confused.

"War-wark?"

"I was in a test, crazy bird." The bird seemed to snort before gesturing to his back again. "Fine. So, Pa's close by?"

"Chirp!" The bird trotted forward and after ten minutes Sephiroth could see the smoke from a camp. Zephyr slowed down just before entering and gave a short whistle that was almost impossible for chocobo to make. Sephiroth wondered why, but Zephyr didn't let him get off.

Angel entered the clearing with a bag in her beak and she let out a happy whistle as she saw him.

"Hi Angel." Sephiroth greeted with the feeling of relief flowing at him. Daka was near, and he wanted him back. It made Sephiroth feel bad that it could only be a short visit (He really hoped it would be a short visit) but maybe they could figure out what to do now that Sephiroth was on a different continent. He slid off Zephyr, realizing he was forced to stay on earlier to wait for Angel, and dug through the bag for the clothes Daka wanted him to change into.

"Wark?" Angel nuzzled him as he slipped on his bracelets and katara. They were familiar in sight, and she was curious as to how they were not as familiar in feel and weight.

Seraphina stepped away from the birds and struck a steady swing with one arm before doing it again with the other. It reminded her of when she and Daka first started warming up with their weapons. It hadn't become a full one-on-one spar, but it was just as Daka said. The exercise with each other made her comfortable with her weapons and with Daka holding his own weapon with her.

"I'm ready." Seraphina said calmly, her katara at their place on her hips with her hair golden and eyes blue. Angel chirped and nuzzled her again before leading the way.

"Seraphina! I'm glad you found us!" Daka called out. Seraphina grinned widely at her Pa and darted forward to hug him.

"Hi Pa!" He kissed her forehead, which was surprising, but she was giddy from the positive attention very quickly. She turned to see a woman at the other side of camp. The woman had long dark blue hair and bright blue eyes. She looked tired, but at ease and comfortable.

"Hello, my name is Jacqueline Fair." Zephyr stepped close to the woman and nuzzled her affectionately with his body. The woman laughed and pet him. The bird practically rolled onto the ground to curl against the woman.

"Zephyr!" Seraphina started to scold, shocked.

"It's okay. He's been doing this for a while." Daka said as he stepped closer, a cooked meat of something on a stick in his hands. Jacqueline accepted it gratefully and started to eat.

"Yes. I'm so glad he found me. I would have been lost for days probably. My baby would have been born under the stars or something." She grimaced and Seraphina suddenly noticed how round and large the woman's stomach was. She stared.

"You have a baby?" She asked. Daka gave a small snort. Jacqueline gave a giggle.

"Not yet. My baby boy still has to be born."

"It's a boy?" The woman beamed as she placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed it fondly. Zephyr peered at the bump in front of his face with open amazement, cooing at it as if the baby could answer his questions from inside his mother. Angel kept her distance behind Daka, but she was also looking at the woman with curiosity.

"Yes! I'm going to name him Zackary! Zachary Fair." She smiled and Seraphina was reminded of the term 'the glow of a pregnant woman' that she had thought of as dumb.

"Wow." She said. 'I guess it's true after all.' She thought. "So, where are we heading?"

"We're trying to get to Gongaga before tomorrow. Otherwise Zack will be born with the stars watching." Daka said with slight amusement.

"And I definitely do not need that. My mother always told me my brother was born under the stars. A right hyper child he had been! Mother said because the lifestream was imbuing him with the energy of the star light. I'll love Zackary no matter what, but I moved away from the city to get away from the excitement. I like the calm predictable life of Gongaga." Seraphina titled her head.

"I don't think I've been to Gongaga."

"It's a little south. Travel for a couple hours and you hit a pretty beach. We're mostly marshy. I prefer the humid warm to the polluted stifling haze of the city. No thank you, Midgar." Seraphina smiled. She liked this woman.

X

Seraphina closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her ears.

"AAAAHHHHH! Goddess why!? Zackary you brat! You impatient imp!" Chucking weakly, Seraphina tried harder to bury her face in Angel's side. The bird already had her wing over her head and was sitting just ten feet away from where Daka was trying to help Jacqueline give birth. "I swear you're never getting a lick of candy! AaaaAAHHHHH!"

"Hang in there Jacqueline, I see his head now."

"Good! You better hold him up so I can give him his first spanking! Oooohhhh." Seraphina heard Angel cluck softly in her chocobo laughter. She peaked out from under her wing to see the bird watching Zephyr from the edge of the clearing. He was curled up with his own head under his wing and as tense as a rock. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Zephyr flinched.

'How strange.' Seraphina didn't blame Zephyr for his squeemishness though. Jacquelyn had been throwing her loving insults since her water broke and she had been trying to stay calm so as not to push herself into early labor. Daka didn't know anything about being a midwife (would he count as a midhusband?) so they had hoped the six hour rest of the trip would be enough for the woman to make it home and a midwife with real training to be fetched.

The bridge they had been heading for was too rotted to cross though. They tried going around, but Jacqueline's contraptions were getting closer and stronger until they had to stop for her to give birth.

"Zackary Fair, as soon as I get my hands on you, you are grounded!"

"Push Jacqueline!"

"AAAAHHHHHH!" With the sounds of squished wetness, and Seraphina tried not to gag at that, there was a few moments pause before a new cry screamed through the clearing.

"Whah! Whah! Whah!"

"Oooh, Zack. Come here baby. Shh, it's okay. Oh, you're so beautiful." Seraphina gulped and tried to strengthen her stomach before daring to raise her head from Angel's very not sound proof wing and shakily stood up to get closer for a better look.

'Ew.' Baby Zack was wrinkly, covered in slime and blood, and seemed to be screaming so hard Seraphina imagined she could see the veins in his head and neck bulging. Jacqueline was smiling softly to the baby as Daka dipped some strips of cloth in a small pot of tepid water and started wiping at the baby to clean him. He was also grimacing, so Seraphina didn't feel so awkward in that, but he too was looking at the baby with amazement. "Ew."

Jacqueline laughed a tired happy laugh and Daka looked almost scandalized or highly embarrassed before Seraphina realized she said that one out loud.

X

"Well, here's home!" The new mother said cheerfully as she unlocked the door. A man was instantly in the hallway and she was swiftly pulled into a hug.

"Jackie! Jackie, I'm so glad you're alright! You were supposed to be here a week ago!" The man held her away and zoned in on her stomach. "Zackary! What happened!? " The father looked stricken.

"He's here." Daka said lightly.

"Hi Mr. Fair." Seraphina greeted as she made baby Zack wave hello too. The baby was sleeping.

"Zackary decided he wanted to see the stars of the world first."

"Oh no..." Jacqueline nodded in sympathy.

"But he'd been such a good baby so far." She offered. "Oh, Sean, this is Daka Fenrir and his daughter, Seraphina. They helped me give birth when the bridge delayed us."

"Well, I was actually hiding my eyes and ears. Pa helped." Seraphina corrected. She was startled by the man's sudden hug. Her Pa was also squished against her.

"Thank you so much! Both of you are welcome here any time!" Seraphina cringed when her back actually creaked.

"Sure, thanks." She sighed when they were released and a glance to her Pa told her the usually unflappable man had been blindsided.

"Oh, dear, did you start dinner yet?"

"Yes! Wonderful idea! You two must stay for dinner!"

Angel clucked in her laughter from outside the window where she was peaking through. Zephyr was also staring, though it was in a focused way that refused to relax. Seraphina caught their gazes, but turned her attention back to the happy family who seemingly decided that they were now family as well.

Pa still seemed flustered, and a little sad, but they stayed and agreed to trade addresses.

X

The days passed swiftly, and by the end of the sixth day, Seraphina had finally hashed out a means of communication and a ride back to her test. She was growing increasingly worried for Lloyd, and she wondered how this would affect her marks.

Pa said nothing to discourage the pride she had in her training, and in fact had taught her how to Scan. It was a little modified and incomplete, but with this new ability she would be able to sense where Angel or Zephyr were. She wasn't quite able to target Daka, which they both found to be odd, but he was always around at least one of the birds anyway. Daka had explained the idea as similar to the way her phone tracked her surroundings and the opponents or allies in her immediate vicinity. Thus why it was strange she couldn't sense him.

Seraphina changed out of her long slit skirt and took off her weapons and bracelets. She changed into the cadet uniform that had been so familiar and was now a little strange. She hardly felt odd changing between male or female clothes, so she supposed it was the transition of civilian to military that was most striking.

Sephiroth held his stomach as it growled. He scowled at it. Jacqueline had spoiled her with food in the way Shinra never had. She opted to starve the last two days so she would at least seem the part of lost child when she found Lloyd or someone else. Daka snorted at the idea, but didn't refute it.

"Ready?" The man asked as he watched the silver haired boy with an odd expression in his eyes. Sephiroth likened it to the 'flashback mode' that he seemed to get when looking at the sky.

"Yes sir." Sephiroth saluted. Daka snorted at him, but Sephiroth was struck silent in surprise when the man saluted back as if he were also wearing a uniform.

Daka's posture was strong and ready, his arm straight and his hand flat. The salute was nearly picture perfect, holding just the barest of personality to show that Daka was powerful and self confident. His sword was strapped on his back, and was angled in a ready position.

It was like the salute of a Turk. It was the kind of salute Sephiroth could see coming from the highest ranking SOLDIER, from the General that Director Deusericus was hoping would be approved. Sephiroth had to take a moment before he could drop his salute. He wanted to be able to salute like that. Daka gave him a rare teasing grin, and Sephiroth smiled back.

"Make me proud." The man's familiar hand ruffled against his silver hair, to his annoyance, – he was tempted to Demand that the Goddess let him grow tall – and then Angel and Zephyr both cooed and clucked their own goodbyes at him. Angel looked sad, but she wished him luck with her nuzzle before Zephyr actually licked him as if he were a dog. Crazy bird.

X

Sephiroth overestimated himself. Or something. Four days of wandering the fields and fighting monsters alone, with growing frequency, and he was wishing he could spot an aircraft or something. He wanted to go home! Wherever home was for him, he wanted out of this field!

At noon he rested in the pitiful shade of a short tree and just stared. Then he smelled the smoke of a cooking fire. He could smell meat. People!

Darting out of the tree, Sephiroth ran towards the smell. His new Sense ability, which wasn't really Scan so he decided to rename it, telling him that there was a group of people in that direction. He didn't know if they were hostile or not, but he didn't care. Cooking food meant people, and people meant supplies and hopefully civilization.

He burst through the edge of the camp, having thought it was further, when the clicking of loaded weapons told him he just surprised a group of potential hostiles.

"I'm unarmed! I'm unarmed!" He screamed as he held his arms in front of his face. His materia were in his pockets, and not in his hands after all. He belated remembered he had an empty rifle slung on his back. There was a pause.

"Sephiroth!"

"You're not unarmed you brat!"

"Where have you been!?"

"Seph! You okay?"

Sephiroth was very quickly grabbed into a group hug, Llyod being the first one to grab him.

"I'm so glad you're here! That chocobo was freaking huge and I was so sure it was going to eat you!"

"Eat me?" Sephiroth's muffled question came out from between stinky chests and dirty arms. "All it did was bring me to its nest." Sephiroth had already regretted starting to say as such before the first snort erupted.

"I told you he was a chocobo!"

"Sephiroth the Silver Chocobo!"

"No wonder that chocobo took him."

"Alright alright! There's way too much morale going on. Lock it up!" Turk Red interrupted from his seat by the fire. "Cadet Sephiroth, front and center." Relieved for the restoration of order, Sephiroth did as told and saluted the seated Turk.

"Cadet Sephiroth reporting, Turk Red."

"Stand at attention for now. Where did that bird take you?"

"Turk Red, I'm not entirely sure. I know it took me fairly south and the terrain did become swampy or similar, but aside from that I hit no villages or cities."

"And were you injured at all?"

"I received small bruises and bumps from the trip. The chocobo had me in its beak most of the trip and it felt like three hours before I was put down. Another chocobo was at the nest and they had tried to feed me greens." Some of the cadets couldn't help but snort when Turk Red gave out a barking laugh.

"I see. What happened to your watch?"

"I don't remember. It was only a few minutes after the trip started that I realized it wasn't on me anymore."

"And how did you get away from the chocobo?"

"I walked away when they left me at the nest. This wasn't until two days later when they seemed to trust me enough to leave me on my own." Another round of snickering.

"Lock it up." Turk Red warned again. The snickering stopped but the cadets around them were still smiling. "Did you encounter any monsters afterwards?"

"There were a few. I received a mild slash on my side and I ended up confused for a while. I think I was traveling east for a while before I could tell the direction of the sun again. Other than that, I've only received mild scratches from the fields or brush. I have a Fire and Blizzard Materia on me that I can use by themselves."

"And what about food?" Sephiroth's stomach growled angrily.

"I haven't had a good meal in a while." He answered.

"Very well. Boys, lets feed our little Chocobo and wrap up our supplies." The group of boys all started towards the fire where there were food cooking on sticks and Sephiroth found himself in the awkward position of a hug from his superior. "I'm glad you're alright, Sephiroth. The platoon wouldn't have been the same and I don't think even I would have either if something happened to you. You're the undisputed leader, you know? You make me proud to be your instructor." Sephiroth offered a shy smile.

"Thank you, Turk Red."

"Go get some grub." The man lightly pushed him to the fire. Sephiroth grinned when he saw the man's slightly red face wasn't just from the firelight. He liked Shrinra, and he liked training. He was glad the rest of the world was much better than the mansion Hojo had trapped him in. It made him happy that these boys and man were comfortable enough with him to relax the way he hadn't done as Sephiroth. He was grateful that they cared in their masculine way. He was glad they were his. Hojo can't take them away.

If he tried, he'd have a wayward experiment to worry about, and Sephiroth already decided he would never hold back if Hojo gave him an opportunity to attack.

Never.

X

Months later, and a week before graduation, Sephiroth was called to Director Deusericus's office.

"OOoohh! Busted!" Sephiroth shoved Llyod off of him as he walked towards the door.

"What did you do, Mini General? Pull a going away prank?"

"Hey, maybe he's actually getting the promotion to General!"

"That's awesome! You better say you couldn't have done it without us!"

"You loser, of course he could have. He's Sephiroth the Silver Chocobo General." Sephiroth snorted and shoved Curbunny away from him as well.

"I'm honestly not sure why I was piped. I'll let you gossiping girls know as soon as I'm back, though. Promise." His last word was drawled out sarcastically before he shut the door, but he still heard the laughter and the thump of a boot or a book hitting the door after him.

The rumor of a General being chosen out of them was hot not only between cadets, but throughout the building of the facility. Merendo had actually overheard some blue suit Turks, as opposed to the now distinct black suited ones training the SOLDIER Cadets, discussing who they think it'll be.

Sephiroth was kind of embarrassed that everyone seemed to think it would be him. He was tempted to refuse if he was offered just to see what would happen; was there even a second candidate?

"Enter." Sephiroth stepped inside the door and saluted.

"Sir, Cadet Sephiroth reporting, sir!" Turk Red snorted from his seat as the Director gave a put off sigh.

"At ease, Sephiroth. Please. Take a seat if you will." Sephiroth cautiously sat down as he watched the young blond give Turk Red a small wad of bills.

"Thank you, Sephiroth, for proving to be a creature of habit." Sephiroth barely refrained from snorting.

"Only when it's expected of me, Turk Red." He replied airily. The Director smirked and held his hand out for his money. Turk Red grumbled but ended up splitting the gil. Unsure what exactly they had been batting on, but fairly certain he hadn't just been sold to a different department, Sephiroth spoke.

"Sir, what am I here for?"

"Well, Sephiroth, we finally managed to get your health record as well as your performance tracking record." The man reached behind his desk and Sephiroth experience that nose tickling squeal again before a record was opened on the desk. Unsurprisingly, yet still depressingly, his health record was very thick. "I've only glanced through this and your performance tracking record, but I've come across a certain note that we should discuss." Sephiroth blinked at the man and looked at Turk Red. The red headed man, sides striped with black, looked back at him with an uncharacteristically solemn look.

"Sephiroth, what do you know is written in your health record?"

"A lot?" He guessed.

"Is there anything you think would be in it that would immediately disqualify you as a SOLDIER?" Sephiroth looked at the two serious men with a look of incredulity.

"No sir. Professor Hojo made me with the goal as SOLDIER and nothing else."

"And your yearly blackout?" Sephiroth's mind blanked.

"My, what?" He echoed, completely confused and slowly getting scared.

Would he be disqualified because of his visits to Daka? Would he really have to choose between his Pa, and the boys he's come to see as brothers?

Has Hojo really put those notes in the health record that he should have known the Director would have permission to look through? Was the reason they found his record at all because Hojo was trying to get him back? If Hojo got him again, what would he make him into? What sort of cruel tests would Sephiroth have to go through once more?

When would he be given enough leeway to run away again?

"-completely truthful, do you understand?" Sephiroth blinked back to the conversation in front of him.

"I... Yes sir." He wasn't sure how open he would let himself be, but he did trust them.

"Good. Now, first and foremost, do you know anything about these blackout?" Sephiroth nibbled his lip and tried to look more confused than guilty.

"I think I always hear singing, or music. Before them, that it. I think I've asked someone, about them before, but no one seems to hear her."

"Her?" Turk Red asked.

"Yes. It's a lady I hear, but I can't remember what she's saying. I don't think I understand the words."

"And what do you do after you hear this woman?" Lazard asked.

"I look for her, but then I find myself lost and suddenly it's been a few months since anyone had seen me."

"And how long is it between when you first hear this woman and when you realize you've lost time?" Turk Red asked. Sephiroth offered a shrug.

"A few minutes?" He wasn't sure what to say. At all. He watched with a held breath as his instructor shared a look with the Director and seemed to have a silent conversation.

"Sephiroth, we need you to cooperate. When you hear this woman again, you must tell someone to fetch us. We can't lose you, do you understand? If we send you out on important missions, and we suddenly lose contact with you, not only is your mission failed, but the entire department will panic and we may end up sending resources to find you that you may not need. If this becomes a habit, and Goddess forbid if we become complacent, you may one day find yourself without communications and needing assistance that we may not send to you. This is not a type of behavior that we can work with, Cadet. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Sephiroth nodded, even as he tried to think of any way he could go around these sudden restrictions. "If I am able to tell someone I hear this lady's song, what will happen? Professor Hojo put me in a coma once to stop me from leaving." It wasn't a good year for that, he remembered.

"Yes, we found that report." Lazard tapped the thick file with the back of his knuckle. "Should you manage to alert us early enough, we will fit you with a tracking device and hopefully figure out what exactly is happening to you." Sephiroth took out his phone.

"Why not put it on my phone now?" Both men shook their heads.

"It won't be on your phone. It will be on your person. We're also still creating it so it'll be sturdy and not cumbersome for you to wear, like a bracelet or a necklace." Sephiroth nodded, not liking the necklace idea. It made him think they were trying to put a collar on him. He liked even less the idea there will be a tracking device on him at all.

"I understand."

"We're glad. Now, is there anything about these strange urges that you haven't mentioned?" Turk Red asked. Sephiroth thought, trying to recall what he had told Hojo.

"Well, I think I dream of a great field of green. There's nothing else around me though. I think..." Sephiroth shook his head and rubbed his ear. "Well, actually, that's about it. I don't even remember what her voice sounds like."

"I see. Thank you, Sephiroth. You're dismissed." Sephiroth stood and saluted before heading out the door. The high pitched whistle of a silenced office ended and Sephiroth rubbed at his ear again, relieved at the ended sensation. He headed back to his bunk to tell the rest of the boys that, no, he wasn't named General.

X

A day before graduation, Sephiroth found himself heading to relieve the last shift of their shifts with Veindor and Helor. All schoolwork and paperwork was completed and everyone was excited for tomorrow morning, when the graduation ceremony would start. They had been the first successful guinea pigs (and had a few whom were almost unsuccessful) but they all had certain positions waiting for them after they received their stripes and stars.

No one knew who was selected for General yet, either, but it was a given that it would be Sephiroth. Unless President Shinra decided he wanted an older General, it had been seemingly decided among all the Cadets and the Black Turk Instructors. Turk Red was proud, and Sephiroth was getting his hair ruffled with an annoying degree of repetition, but he was as excited as everyone.

Michel, Glenn, and Jeroll were already saluting him. Sephiroth wasn't sure how he should be reacting to that.

"Man, I hope I get third branch! It would be cool to be the materia master around here!" Helor was saying as they walked. Sephiroth smiled up to the older boy, before the other saw him and promptly ruffled his hair.

"Just for that, I hope you don't." He grumbled. Viender breathed a laugh before he stepped from Helor's side to Sephiroth's so the youngest Cadet could be between them.

"You're just saying that. Everyone knows that if you really didn't like it you would have snapped someone's wrist by now." Sephiroth looked up in surprise.

"I what? Who's said that?"

"Well, it's just joking, but we all think you would. You're our Silver Chocobo, dude. When you snap, you're going to snap. Like, burn a village down in a fit of rage, snap." Sephiroth couldn't see that happening.

"That's, I'm not crazy enough for that!" He denied."You guys have the weirdest imaginations!"

"We're not saying you've burned down any villages or anything. But, seriously. As our chocobo,"

"And the rarest of silvers at that." Helor added.

"we all know you look all cute and cuddly on the outside, and you may be just as cute and cuddly on the inside. But, it's always the quiet ones. You've got a secret part of your mind that's all vicious and merciless and bloodthirsty and-" Sephiroth stopped walking, feeling nauseas. Both older boys burst out into laughter.

"Aw man, you are so green right now!"

"Relax, General sir, we jest!"

"That's not funny." Sephiroth replied, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "I don't, I'm trying to not be like that." He said earnestly. The others calmed and looked at him questioningly.

"What?"

"What do you mean?" Sephiroth bit his lip and pulled the other two into the closest classroom.

"You guys know I started my mako injections before you all, right?" The other two sobered. That event would never be forgotten. They nodded. "And, you know that Professor Hojo is creepy possessive of my health records?" The nodded again. "Well, I grew up with him."

"What!"

"No way!"

"I'm a long term experiment. I'm who SOLDIER was based from. All my reactions, all my emotions and psychological ticks, they've been developed in a controlled setting. I'm pretty sure that Professor Hojo wants me to be a perfect killing machine... and I don't want that." He looked at his hands.

"Ah, shit man."

"Sorry dude." Sephiroth found himself pulled into a hug. "We'll tell the guys to cool it. We all know you're badass, so it's hard to really see you as a kid."

"We trust you, Sephiroth. Trust us too, okay?" Sephiroth sniffed once and nodded. "Let's go relieve Curbunny , Lloyd, and Jennings."

"Yeah."

Just a few steps from the entrance hall they stood watch in, Sephiroth felt it.

Zephyr was entering Midgar.

Sephiroth stopped walking and stared out the window. The words of Director Deusericus – call me Director Lazard, damn it! Please, be just a little less formal! – echoed. "Sephiroth, we need you to cooperate. When you hear this woman again, you must tell someone to fetch us. We can't lose you, do you understand?" It was so soon, yet Sephiroth knew it was actually late. He had been given time to complete his training.

'Maybe they're here to watch me graduate?' It was a hope, but he knew it wasn't true. Zephyr was alone.

"Sephiroth?" Sephiroth blinked slowly, and did not let himself turn to Helor.

"I think, you need to get, Direct Lazard. Or Turk Red." Sephiroth said slowly, trying to calm himself and think of how to handle the situation.

He was a couple miles from the actual edge of the city, and he couldn't go back to his room to snag the clothes he would have used. His last dress was too small for him, so he had gotten a simply pair of grey slacks, a white shirt and dark blue jacket he could wear as a girl or boy. His short boots, if cleaned up, had enough of a pointed toe and heel to look feminine at first glance. He had planned to buy jewelry in the city, so he really wasn't leaving anything incriminating. He had his materia on him, and Angels feather as a necklace under his shirt. It was spelled with a Mini, so it looked more like a charm than anything.

He could technically leave. Except graduation was tomorrow. Daka knew this. Maybe something happened?

"Seph!" Sephiroth blinked blankly at Veinder as he was turned forcibly to face him. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's so pretty." He answered airily, making an effort to not use Seraphina's voice. As it was, his voice wavered unsteadily.

"What is?"

"The, the song... Director wanted to hear it. He said to get him if I heard it... Can you...?" Sephiroth faced the window again and let himself be sat on the ground.

"Hey, Curbunny! Sephiroth's out here and acting strange. I'm going to go get Director Lazard!"

"Sure! Go! What happened?" Sephiroth felt bad for worrying the rest of his platoon. The other boys circled him and murmured various spells they wished they knew.

"Turk Red too. It's so pretty..." Sephiroth tried to get up and did not let himself be sat back down.

"I'll go find him."

"I'll go help!"

"No! We can't leave our post!"

"Sephiroth is acting cursed or something!"

"We shouldn't forget protocol!"

"We need to help him!"

"I know, but-!"

The boys all argued and Sephiroth slipped around them to the doors. It was only five steps away, and as soon as he turned the corner he promptly glanced at the sky and ran. He imagined any cameras watching him would show his behavior as desperate. He certainly felt as much.

He heard the other boys call out to him, and he tried not to answer. It was hard, and it hurt. He hoped they would forgive him.

He wondered what Turk Red would say to them, or what he'd do to him.

"Wark!" Zephyr darted towards him in a burst of energy Sephiroth wished he had when he finally met the bird.

"Ze-phyr!" He panted. The big black bird cooed and clucked at him with excitement. Sephiroth hugged the black chocobo and swiftly swung himself on the saddle. Then they were darting through the desert and fields.

Sephiroth looked back at the city before it disappeared. He saw a few helicopters circle around, but they were soon too small to see.

"Happy graduation." He said quietly. The wind drowned his words.

He wondered what will happen to his records. He wondered what would happen to his team. He wondered what would happen to him, now that his instructors knew the notes Hojo had made of him regarding his disappearances.

He felt a little shameful at the thought that Daka's surprise better be worth it.

xXxTBCxXx

HK: So many things I wanted to do in this chapter! So Many Things! But, time flew and I didn't want to get in a habit of dragging chapters out. It's pretty hard to keep Sephiroth as SEPHIROTH and not the little boy I've recreated for Cloud. It doesn't really help that the man's been made more human in light of recent games. Recent being years old. Hey, in my defense it's been forever since I've played! If you find any plot holes or inconsistencies (I'm pretty sure I've switched hair colors or things) don't hesitate to point fingers at me and say so.