Oh, well. Here we are once again! Another new story is out straight from my imagination again! But this is a new perspective on my part, it is my first story writing more mainly in Sephie's point of view! (Still third person perspective like all of my other stories though ^^;) So I am WAYS away from my comfort zone, if one could call it that anyways, but I hope you guys enjoy the idea and the story! I apologize is any of the characters are OOC, I tried my best! So, shall we get started? :)

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~X[Chapter 1: How It All Began]X~

Sephiroth's eye nearly twitched when he noticed he had been assigned yet another mission. He had just completed one exactly two days ago, and had literally just finished the paperwork and report for that mission just three hours ago. Lazard actually had the Gaul to give him another mission nearly imminently after he just completed one, that lasted a good four days as well.

The silverette was relaxing in his Housing Quarters on the 65th floor of Shinra, enjoying a cup of decaf and listening to the quiet silence in which he was dwelling. But when his PHS vibrated, relaxation was over. He let out a noisy sigh as he closed his eyes, hoping that maybe he had just somehow dosed off and this was all just a dream. But reality said otherwise when Lazard sent him another notification that he needed to leave within the hour, and that a chopper would be waiting on the port atop the roof in fifteen minutes.

Sephiroth shook his head and stood up, popping his neck and stretching, already regretting getting up. Somehow, he had a gut feeling that his mission was going to take a long time. His gut feelings were never wrong either. Sometimes, just once in his life, he wished his gut feeling could be wrong. Just for once. But fate never liked to give the mighty general a break it seemed.

The silver haired man walked over to the door leading out into the hall, and gripped the handle tightly. He didn't even have enough time to take his boots off to relax. He was always doing something. The longest break he had ever received was a measly two days of vacation. He wished Shinra would just shut down for a week or something, just so he could get a well deserved break. He left his Quarters, and slammed the door behind him, as if throwing a silent tantrum about his predicament. But the mighty general would NEVER loose his cool. It just wasn't him to do so. If he did, the cadets or anyone else within the company would start up rumors or something like that.

Sephiroth walked briskly towards the elevator, pressing the up button. He might as well leave now and finish this new mission as quickly as possible. The sooner the better. Then maybe, just maybe, he'd finally get some relaxation. The steel doors groaned open, and the general stepped inside, pressing the number 69 on the panel of numbers. This floor was director Lazard's office. The doors slid closed in the same groaning fashion, and the box began to ascend, vibrating the floor ever so softly as the cables pulled it up.

Sephiroth stared at the panel displaying the floor numbers in bright red. He watched it count the numbers with each floor the elevator passed. 66...67..68...69. When the designated floor arrived, the elevator stopped moving, and the doors slid open once again. The silver haired man stepped out and swiftly walked towards Lazard's desk, not even making a sound. He paused in front of the spacious looking desk and softly cleared his throat to make his presence known. The director looked up from his computer, smirking softly as he folded his hands in front of his face, elbows propped up comfortably on the desk.

"Ah, General Sephiroth. I see you received my notification?" He questioned, his thin framed glasses catching the fluorescent lights flickering dimly from above.

"I have." The silverette replied, saving his back talk and keeping it to himself. He was not the type to belittle others so easily. But he was the type to get quite annoyed with a person. Especially if that person kept denying him some quality vacation time, or alone time for that matter.

"Good. I supposed I should debrief you on the mission." Lazard spoke, placing one of his hands on the mouse to his computer. He clicked it a couple of times, browsing through some files, searching for the proper document. "Ah, here we are. This was filed by our research department a few days ago. They specifically requested that you accompany Zack Fair on his first mission as a Second Class SOLDIER." Lazard first explained, slowly skimming through the details of the file.

"Me? Wouldn't Angeal be a better candidate for this mission? After all, he is mentoring the boy." Sephiroth pointed out, loosing interest for the mission even more. To be honest, Zack Fair was like the Energizer bunny. He always had nonstop energy and was too hyperactive for his own good. It wasn't like the general hated the boy, but he wished that energy would be put to something more useful, like less question asking, and more training. He was still quite sloppy, seeing as he only just became a second class no more than a week ago.

"I proposed the same thing, but then I recalled that Hewly is currently on a mission down in Mount Corel." Lazard spoke, glancing at the silver haired man for just a moment before his milky blue eyes returned to the bright computer screen, a small reflection of the computer screen was cast from his glasses, giving Sephiroth a small window of what file the Director was currently skimming through.

"So. If that is the only option, is it only Fair I am traveling with?" Sephiroth asked, wanting to know if more lives were in his very capable hands. Yet looking after more than Fair was quite a pain.

"No. There are two cadets traveling with. They lack field experience, and desperately need it." The Director said, skimming over the file for a little while longer.

"Understood. What are the details of the specified mission?" The general asked, comfortably crossing his arms over his chest as he slowly exhaled.

"The mission is in the mountains of Modeoheim. There are reports from the locals about some terrifying beasts prowling around the village and preying upon the local livestock and crops, and occasionally, the wandering human child. You and Fair are ordered to eliminate the beasts before any more casualties can occur." Lazard summarized, finally closing out of the file.

"Understood Sir. When do we leave"? Sephiroth inquired.

"immediately. The chopper should be on the roof by now." The Director stated, leaning back in his office chair as he exhaled.

'Oh yes, it must be so tiring to sit around and give orders to your subordinates.' The general thought, nearly wanting to roll his eyes. But he refrained from doing so. Instead he nodded, then spun on his heel, leaving the director's office to head up to the roof.

No doubt Fair would already be up there. He was always eager for missions. Sephiroth on the other hand, being in this business for well over a decade, always yearned for the end of them. he arrived back at the elevator, hitting the arrow pointing up. This time, the doors were at the ready and slid open, without the groan of protest this time.

The general stepped inside silently and pressed the button labeled 'Rf. Lv', short for 'Roof Level'. The elevator began to ascend, but it didn't take long to arrive, since he was previously just two floors from the top. So the ride didn't even last a minute, before the doors slid open, and the cool evening dusk greeted him with a breezy wind, signaling that winter would soon be on its way.

The general always enjoyed the signs of an approaching winter. He never cared much for the summer time. The scorching heat often slowed him down, even if he never really showed it. Even though others would be stiffer than bricks in the cold, Sephiroth was not, and his fighting was much more fluid in the cold. He was not like the others to say the least.

As he caught sight of the chopper, its blades whirring quickly, getting ready to leave ground, He also caught sight of Zack, being all buddy-buddy with the cadets, joking and laughing as if he had known them all his life. Somehow, the general was quite envious of how open the flamboyant SOLIDER was. He was always freely expressing his conerns, never afraid to say how he truly felt, and had enough confidence and courage to strike up a conversation with just about anyone as if he had been friends with them for years. It was the one thing the silverette actually admired, even respected, about the boy, but that was about it. The raven haired man caught wind of the older man approaching the chopper.

"Hey! How ya' doin' Sephiroth?" He called, waving his right hand up in the air with a goofy smile plastered on his cheerful face.

The general actually smirked some, letting out a little grunt of amusement. "I am doing well. Are you ready for departure?" He questioned, returning to his usual stoic expression in front of the nervous looking cadets. No doubt they were more than likely intimidated.

"Yup! Ready to roll!" The vivacious teenager exclaimed, eyes shimmering with excitement.

"Well then, let's go." Sephiroth said, boarding the helicopter first.

Zack followed in after, then the nameless cadets brought up the rear. The general had nearly forgotten how cramped a chopper could become with more than two people inside. With four, it was near suffocating. The general was pressed tightly in between a bouncy Second class, and the wall of the helicopter. Across from them, one of the cadets was looking out the window, while the other was looking down, curling inward and resting his hands over his stomach. Sephiroth took notice of this. The cadet must not be used to heights or something. In fact, he looked quite scrawny. Why was somebody like him even in the military?

"Cadet." Sephiroth spoke up.

The scrawny one looked up, his face hiding behind his standard issued helmet.

"What is your name?" The general asked, arms folded comfortably across his chest.

"It's uh, Cloud, Cloud Strife, Sir." He stammered.

If the silverette didn't know any better, he could have sworn a hot blush was flushing across the cadet's pale white cheeks, giving them life. Perhaps he was intimidating the boy.

"Don't be all nervous! Seph here might look like a tightwad, but deep down, he's a pretty cool guy!" Zack spoke up, his cheery tone never faltering once.

"A tightwad?" The general asked, arching a silver eyebrow at his fellow SOLDIER.

The scrawny looked cadet tried to choke back some laughter, but a small snort came out. His hand instantly covered up his mouth. "s-Sorry sir. I-I didn't mean to laugh like that..." The boy stammered again, turning another shade of pink. His face was nearly red by this time.

The cadet removed his helmet, to reveal a head of spiky blonde hair, shooting up in crazy directions, and light blue eyes, the color of the sky. Instead, Sephiroth just chuckled, albeit dryly. He was never really the type of guy to laugh heartily or loudly. The other trooper just continued to stare out the window, either ignoring the moment, or just lost in thought. Finally, after much more sitting, the chopper finally landed in the snowy mountains of Modeohiem, just right outside of the icy village.

Zack bounced off first, breathing in the fresh and crisp air that the mountains had to offer. Sephiroth stepped out next, stretching his back a bit before sighing softly. The unknown trooper, and Cloud were the last to leave the chopper. The piolet stated that he would be waiting here for their arrival when the mission was complete. The group of four searched the area. It seemed peaceful.

A small amount of snow flurries fluttered past, landing delicately in their hair, and tumbling down gracefully to join the other snowflakes on the frothy white ground below their boots. Winter was a mysterious and wonderful season. Snow always seemed to be so full of life as they dispersed from the clouds above, and blanketed the world in bright white. Giving the world a sense of enchantment from a fairy tale long forgotten.

How could such a peaceful place hold such frightening monsters? Snow dotted the roofs of the wooden houses, fogging up the windows, and chilling the air. Yet as the scene was peaceful, it was not entirely. It was too quiet. A silence like this only meant that something was afoot. Sephiroth could feel a presence lingering in the air. A foul and unwanted presence. It must be the monsters mentioned in the report. He took the lead of the small pack, following the feeling in his gut.

"You know where you're goin' Sephiroth?" Zack asked, bounding up beside him. The two troopers quickly followed in their stead.

"I have a feeling." The First class responded, taking a left at a fork in the road.

The three men followed behind him. The presence started to grow stronger, much stronger. They were getting close to where the beasts were hiding out in the village. The sun had fully sunk behind the horizon, leaving a bright indigo in its' wake. A few stars shimmered above, but it was growing darker and colder fast. It was a new moon tonight, so it would be quite hard to see once the bright blue faded to a blackish color. The group arrived to a small cave, where the presence of the monsters were the strongest.

"Technically, this is your mission Fair, you first." Sephiroth said, stepping aside so the Second class could enter first.

"Me!?" He cried, his voice cracking because it went up an octave.

"Hmm? Scared?" The general mused, coyly smirking.

"NO!" The ravenette bellowed, jumping right into the mouth of the cave, drawing his sword.

"Cadet, you keep watch outside, Strife, you come with us." Sephiroth ordered as he joined Zack inside of the dark cave.

Both cadets nodded, the unnamed one staying outside, while Cloud scurried in after. "Jeeze, it sure is dark." Zack complained, kicking a small rock across the cave. The noise bouncing off the walls and echoing back outside.

"Quiet. You'll alert the enemy of our presence." Sephiroth commanded.

Then Cloud sneezed loudly, and after he did so, a bright orange light assaulted them, and they were face to face with a gigantic Gaurd Fang type creature. It was massive. Hovering to be five feet on all fours, no skin or fur was present, just the beasts mighty red muscles. its sharp teeth protruded from his gums, stained a pale yellow. Its eyes were crimson red, its pupils like cat eye slits. A large mane of fire surrounded its head and neck, trailing down his back and ending at his tail, where A big flame on the tip of its' tail was the source of the light.

"uh-Oh no! I'm sorry!" The cadet quickly apologized, covering his mouth with his gloved hands.

"Do not apologize. Holster your weapon immediately." The general said, unsheathing Masumane.

The nervous trooped nodded, then got his rifle at the ready.

"Wow! You are one UGLY monster!" Zack exclaimed, pointing at it with his sword. The large beast howled in anger, crouching low to the ground, getting ready to pounce. As soon as it lept, Zack charged at it and widely swung at the monster, barely knicking it on its front left leg. It growled lowly, snarling and showing off its teeth. It was pissed about its injury. Zack swung again, only missing the mighty beast by mere inches. The monster swiped a mighty paw at the SOLIDER, the teen just barely dodging the swipe by the skin of his teeth.

He spun on his heel, swinging the sword into a circle, then sliced at the front paws of the beast. It let out a loud shriek as it jumped back, nearly squashing Cloud, whom only managed to escape just seconds before impact. Sephiroth observed the fight. The Second class was quick to respond to attacks, but very sloppy when attacking back. His agility and stamina were outstanding, but he lacked patience and control. Sephiroth stepped in, easily gliding up to the beast without a sound. With precision and quick clean cuts, the monster was struck in the back and the chest, the monster was barely alive.

When Sephiroth pulled his sword out, the beast staggered in place, trying to shake off the succumbing feeling of certain death. It growled lowly, shaking its head from side to side.

"Cloud! Finish it off!" Zack called, turning towards the trooper.

The cadet went to fire a shot, but nothing came out. He tried again, still nothing. "It's jammed!" He cried, slapping at the barrel a few times.

The beast shook off its' dizziness and howled, about to make another move. At the last possible second, the gun unjammed, and Cloud fired a shot from his rifle, the shot went through the skull of the beast but ricocheted off the cave walls, flying deeper into the cave. Yet, it sounded as if the bullet stuck a metallic object. The sound echoed to where the fight was finished and where the dead monster lay on the ground, slowly bleeding. But what caught the group's attention, was the fizzing sound of electricity crackling from where the bullet had struck from deep within.

"Woah, what do you think that could be?" Zack asked, blinking once. He started to walk in the direction that the fizzing and crackling sound was coming from. Sephiroth and Cloud followed along beside him.

Deeper in the cave, they noticed, much to their surprise, an incomplete Mako reactor. "What in Odin's name?" The general questioned, approaching the piece of abandoned machinery.

"Yeah, what gives? I thought Midgar and Modeoheim made a pact not to build a reactor here?" Zack added, approaching the equipment with Sephiroth. Cloud scurried alongside them, not wanting to be left behind.

The general noticed something quite peculiar about this reactor though. It was different. Much different then the ones today. could this one have been an earlier model? But scrapped at the last minute? The silverette scoped every inch of the reactor, being careful to mind the sparks of electricity spurting from where the bullet had impaled the thin metal sheet. He found a patent number and date near the bottom of the machine.

Serial number read 0012, date read 1969. This was one of the first Mako reactors ever built! Shinra started up in 1967 after all. This was ancient, and quite possibly, lost technology, buried deep within a forgotten village cave. What secrets lied within this piece of timeless machinery?

Zack and Cloud had made their way up beside the General, studying the old reactor as well. Pointing out differences between this model, and the current models. Suddenly, the fizzing intincified, and a bright light began to shine from the reactor, surrounding it in a bright white glow. A high pitched noise slowly crescendo higher and higher. "Get back!" Sephiroth commanded, knocking the two out of the way with his elbows. As soon as they were nudged aside, the light assaulted Sephiroth, sucking him in and blinding the other two.

"Seph'! Sephiroth!" Zack cried.

-0-0- [VII] -0-0-

Sephiroth's eyes snapped open. It was dim here. He blinked a couple of times as his milky blue green eyes adjusted to the lighting of the room he was in. What just happened? First the light drew him in, and now he was somehow laying down, in some strange room. He blinked a few more times. He shifted slightly. He was in no pain whatsoever, and he came to realize he was laying in a bed, hunkered under thick covers.

What on Gaia was going on? Was he transported to a village clinic? What had happened? He couldn't recall. Wait! Did the light absorb Zack and Cloud, that little trooper? He shot up from the bed and looked around. It looked like his Housing Quarters back at Shinra. Yet it looked different somehow. Some of the furniture was arranged differently. It seemed more like a house, rather than an apartment styled flat. He stood up from the soft bed to realize he was in a new changed of clothes. They appeared to be pyjamas. What the heck? Sephiroth was extremely confused right now.

He glanced over to see that a clock on an end table beside his bed displayed the time of eight thirty four in the morning. But wasn't it near dark earlier? Had he been asleep for awhile? Did someone take him back to his Quarters and re-arrange his furniture? This was all kinds of weird. He heard the patter of quick footsteps pause by the bedroom door. When he looked up, he saw three children there, all with silver hair like his. They all had big smiles on their faces.

The oldest looking one had milky green eyes and his silver hair hung in his face, ending at his shoulders. The middle one had blue green eyes and hair ending in between his shoulder blades. The youngest had blue eyes with a tinge of green, and his hair was spiked in the front at the tip, and the back was cut short to the middle of his neck. Who where these children? They all smiled brightly before shouting one word that nearly made the mighty Sephiroth cringe.

"Daddy!" They cried, rushing at him and tackling him back into the bed, laughing and giggling.

The startled silverette let out a disgruntled cry, his eyes widening at whatever the hell was happening. The children let him go and he quickly sat up. Another quick pair of footsteps paused by the door. The silverette looked over to see a little toddler, that looked just like Cloud: Spiky blonde hair shooting up in wild directions, and sky blue eyes. He had a little baby blanket clutched in his small hands and pressed up to his the bottom half of his face. It was colored light blue, and he could see some yellow and white barely poking out as well.

Sephiroth was all kinds of confused at this point. He needed answers and he needed them now! What was going on? Who were these kids and why were they calling him Daddy? Sephiroth didn't have any kids! As a matter of fact, he didn't even have a girlfriend! The silverette stood up from the bed, brushing past the toddler Cloud and into what he believed to be his Housing Quarters, but he was wrong. This was a house, not a flat.

Was it just him and these children, or did others live with him? He heard a phone ringing from in another room of the house. He quickly ran towards the sound to find that it was coming from the kitchen. He looked at the screen on the phone to see who was calling. It was Angeal! A familiar name! He quickly picked up the phone.

"Hello? Angeal? Is this really you?" Sephiroth asked into the receiver.

"Uh, yes. It really is me. Did you hit your head to hard yesterday or something?" The man chuckled. It sounded just like him.

"Angeal! Answer me this! Why are there strange children in my apart- er - house, calling me 'Daddy'?" The silverette demanded, glancing towards the living room from the kitchen.

The three silver haired children were playing together in the living room, and the toddler Cloud was lingering by the kitchen, staring up at him with those big blue eyes. They were full of nothing but childlike adoration and innocence.

"What?" Angeal questioned, obviously baffled by Sephiroth's statement.

"You heard me!" The silverette said, his tone getting a little icy. He was NOT in the mood for games right now.

"Um, they're your children. Are you alright? Should I come over?" The man asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Please do. I need someone to explain this to me." Sephiroth agreed, his tone going back to normal.

"Um, okay. I'll be over in ten." Angeal said.

Finally! Looks like the General was going to get some answers!
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A/N: Wow, this chapter was extremely long! This has probably been the longest chapter I've ever written! Well, I needed to get the setting down and I needed to get all the important parts all written out so the fun could begin! :3 I hope you guys liked this chapter! Don't forget to R&R! They really make my day and get me motivated to type away! Well, until the next chapter my fair readers!

~Zimithrus1