Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah… I don't own FFVII, blah, blah, blah…

Godo quietly sipped at his cup of tea while hearing the latest report. Some territory had been taken, some of it had been lost, basically the normal report. Wutai and Shinra seemed evenly matched. Godo knew on the inside though, that the only reason Wutai had been having such success was the inefficiency and disorganization of Shinra. Wutai's warriors were all powerful, true, but Shinra's army was too large for the more elite soldiers of Wutai to handle. It had taken a miracle for Wutai to last this long, especially after he had reduced the town to ashes.
Godo sighed slightly at the thought. Sephiroth had been such a promising student. Godo had known it was too good to be true. No one as old as Sephiroth had been could have been the blank slate Godo had been looking for, much less an innocent. It truly was a shame. Sephiroth was the one person Godo had known who might have bested him in combat with enough training…
"And General Benkei? He is doing well, I hope." Godo interrupted the man reporting to him, but only because he knew how the rest would go. He needed to get to the important things.
"Ah, yes sir. He's doing quite well. Lost only ten men in three battles. Minor skirmishes, really, but impressive nonetheless. We should pray his luck holds up. He's heading right towards a major formation of Shinra troops. No less than forty thousand soldiers are expected."
"How many green-eyed?" To most asking how many soldiers had green eyes would seem like a ridiculous question, and one that couldn't be answered. Yet Godo wasn't talking about the natural green eyes. They were the green eyes resulting in Lifestream exposure. Shinra's practice of purposefully endangering some of its soldiers by injecting them with Mako was sickening to Godo. To imagine the agony that such a process would cause. It would almost be akin to Sephiroth's plunge into the Lifestream. He had such vibrant green eyes. They seemed to glow, somehow they even seemed to glow more than a trip through the Lifestream could cause. It was like something else fueled that fire in Sephiroth's eyes, something so unnatural…
"No reports of any green-eyed sir." Godo's once more brought his full focus to the report. "But some of the advance scouts have seen a lone one heading in the direction of the soldiers."
"One of them won't make a difference" Godo dismissed this one person rather quickly. It was unimportant. Even Shinra's best soldier wouldn't make too much of an impact in battle. Unless…
"Did this man… have silver hair?" Godo inquired, filled with worry. Would Sephiroth be heading towards that battle? If he were, which side would he join? Sephiroth had never liked Shinra, but hatred could lead one to do rather terrible things. And Sephiroth had been completely consumed by his hate. That was why he had burned down Wutai, that was why he had left such a bloody path for his escape, and that was why…
"That's sort of surprising. He actually did have silver hair. Very long silver hair. How did you know that?" Godo didn't even answer. He simply got up and walked over to his wall. He reached up and pulled a single sword from the wall, unsheathing it. By modern standards it was useless. It didn't have any materia slots or anything. Even the weakest soldiers had a bare minimum of one materia slot, usually for a performance-increasing materia, such as a speed booster. Yet Godo hardly needed a place in his sword for materia. He only had one materia after all.
"Sir? What are you doing?" Godo stood for a little while, pondering his move. He blinked once, and then turned to face the person reporting to him, filled with resolution.
"Have transportation prepared. I'm going off to battle." Godo then passed the rather-shocked man and walked out of the pagoda. He took one deep breath and then started off. Sephiroth had been consumed by his hatred.
That was why Godo needed to stop him.

Sephiroth continued on his journey to his next battlefield. Reno had pointed it out as a place where large amounts of troops had been gathering. If Sephiroth were quick enough, he'd be able to take place in one of the larger battles of the war. Going on foot naturally wouldn't do, so Reno had lent Sephiroth his own personal chocobo. Of course, Sephiroth was pretty sure that the chocobo was simply one Reno had commandeered from one of the soldiers for Sephiroth. That would have bothered some people. The thing was, Sephiroth didn't really care. His bloodlust was increasing, and he almost felt a need to do battle once more.
Incidentally, Sephiroth had found some people who would sate the desire for now.
"You might as well show yourselves." Sephiroth said each word calmly and in no particular direction. He seemed to be alone, but he knew… "You've been following me for at least four days now, but it's been a very sloppy effort. Twice now you've stepped on a twig. Three times you've allowed your whispers to be in the range of my hearing. And once now…"
Sephiroth became a blur to the human eye as he leapt off his chocobo. Using the momentum he sprang forward, unsheathing the sword Reno had given him. It really wasn't that bad a sword. Sephiroth used all his strength to run the sword completely through the tree. When he pulled it out it was stained red with blood.
"Once now you've allowed a member of your team into my field of vision." Sephiroth heard the man he had stabbed fall to the ground dead. The sound was loud, and long, enough for the others to move from their hiding positions and into attack positions. There had been five of them, Sephiroth was sure. Based on the stealth abilities they had shown, they were probably from Wutai. Due to the fact that soldiers from Wutai were away from, but not too far away from, a soon-to-be-battle indicated they were advance scouts. Now there were four of them, and their level of skill indicated they would soon be dead.
The one who was undoubtedly their leader jumped out of a bush behind Sephiroth with the intent to catch him unaware. No such luck. Sephiroth had pivoted and raised his blade by the apex in his assailant's jump. One quick slash and the scouts' number were down to three. Sephiroth quickly changed the headcount again when he used a fire materia to incinerate a hiding scout not far away. Another fire attack and the number was down to one. All that was left to do was dispatch of the remaining scout, who was cowering in the tree above him. Sephiroth used one mighty jump to impale the man, and the number was down to zero.
Sephiroth, noting that all his foes were dispatched, did a quick check on his heartbeat. It was not elevated at all. He hadn't even gotten the thrill of battle. It had just been too easy. Sephiroth shook his head and remounted his chocobo before continuing his trip.

Reno continued onward in his journey towards enlightenment. Some people thought alcohol ruined the mind, but Reno knew differently. It was all so clear to him when Reno was drunk.
"Everyone tries to figure out why there are so many problems with the world…" the Turk began with a noticeable slur in his speech, "but really, the problem is that people are idiots!" Reno exclaimed his discovery like it was huge, but the other bar patrons simply ignored him. That didn't exactly discourage him from continuing with his rant.
"I mean… really. Shinra goes off to war because we were too stupid to crush Wutai when they were still some backwater… some backwater…" Reno searched for the word in his mind but couldn't figure it out. "Ah, screw it. The point is, everyone's pissed at me now 'cause I'm a friggin' idiot! I send off some high-maintenance soldier, and everyone just yells at me. I had to listen to Heidegger lecture me… for THREE FRICKIN' HOURS! That guy is not easy on the eyes or ears. And he's so boring! And by god, you'd think that anyone going to Costa del Sol would get a nice tan. Instead he simply tries to find a way to get his lips closer to Shinra's fat… Shinra's fat… ah, dammit, forgot the word again. I'm really making an ass of myself today…"
Reno glanced around the dimly lit bar a bit, and then remembered he didn't care about the environment. "Hey barkeep! Another bourbon, this time on the house maybe? I don't think a buy five, get one free special is that bad an idea…" Reno tailed off by the end, realizing fully that he was indeed completely wasted. Tseng would probably yell at him. "What else is new?" Reno muttered to himself. He leaned his head on the counter, closely inspecting the empty glass, waiting for it to be filled. When the brown liquor poured into the glass Reno excitedly whipped his head up to down another shot. When he was done he had found the courage to continue in his speech.
"I mean, even Tseng is out there getting a tan. Hell, if Hojo came here, he would probably get a tan. And that guy definitely needs one… but no, he decides to kiss Shinra's butt. Hey, even Shinra's butt is getting more tan. Tch, the problem with the world is people like him."
"You mean idiots?" One of the patrons asked him.
"NO! What the hell gave you that idea, you moron! The world needs idiots like you! Who else would… ah man. Lost my train of thought again. No, the problem with the world is not idiots, you loonie. The problem is people like… you know what. Forget it. I keep wasting my time, trying to remember stuff for you people."
"Hey, dumbass! No one cares about your ideas!"
"Yeah… you're probably right, I should stop drinking for today…" As always, things were crystal clear for Reno. Perhaps this was because he couldn't manage any coherent thought. Realizing Reno was a bit over-intoxicated the bartender took away Reno's shot glass, prompting an angry glare from his customer.
"What the-? Gimme back my shot glass, with the strongest stuff in the house!"
"But you just said you wanted to stop drinking." The bartender was rather confused by this point, perhaps because he was dealing with a rather confused drunk.
"What the hell gave you that idea?"

Tseng was not amused. There had been yet another incident involving Reno, and, surprisingly, his most recent misdemeanor took place in a bar. More surprisingly, Reno was too drunk to understand that he had indeed done something wrong. Tseng believed Reno's exact words were "since when was it a crime to…" Reno did of course hiccup a few times, "a crime to puke in someone's face? He was being so rude." The "rude" person Reno was referring to had unfortunately been the police officer sent to escort Reno, who was by far above the legal blood alcohol limit, back to his hotel.
The worst part was, that wasn't what they were holding Reno for. A Turk could do something like that with complete impunity. But to shoot someone twice in the hand 'for the heck of it' was serious enough for Reno to be held in police custody until Tseng picked him up, not because Reno had committed a crime of course, but because Reno's freedom put public safety at risk. Once again, Reno wouldn't be jailed just because he was a Turk, and no organization had ever dared to do anything bad to a Turk. It was begging to be falsely accused of treason. One day you'd be proud of yourself for standing up to the big guys, the next over a dozen "witnesses" would attest to your crazy plot to assassinate the president. No judge ever questioned the guiltiness of someone the Turks brought to trial. The last one had been assassinated. That was a price Tseng had been willing to pay though, as he had already stopped 10,368 assassination attempts on the president in the year. To be a Turk…
Still, Tseng noted with extreme dissatisfaction that people now were able to speak ill of the Turks. Not due to the abuse of power. Instead, it was all because of Reno. Tseng actually questioned whether or not Reno really deserved to be a Turk. His latest failure was perhaps proof that he wasn't cut out for the job just yet.
In his defense, Reno had said there was no way he could have known about the Sephiroth project. It was before his time, irrelevant. He had then insinuated that Tseng had failed by not telling him about this project. In defense of himself, Tseng pointed out that the main job of a Turk was to know everything, regardless of whether it mattered or not, and especially regardless of whether or not other people wanted you to know about it or not. As an example, Rude had taken all of three days since becoming a Turk to milk all his sources and find out about the project. Of course, Tseng's example was a complete lie, but using those sorts of lies was also how one became a Turk.
Tseng looked down upon Reno, who was sleeping rather noisily on the ground. Tseng was tempted to roll him so that his back was to the ground, maybe see if he choked on his bile. Utilizing such convenient opportunities to kill obstacles was yet another way one became a Turk. Tseng raised his foot and began to roll Reno over when he noticed the supposedly sleeping Turk was aiming a gun at his head.
"Don't even think about it."
Tseng then remembered that Reno truly was a Turk.

Sephiroth had come within sight of the Shinra troops. They were encamped on the side of a hill, undoubtedly trying to have some sort of obstruction between themselves and their enemies' sight. The hill was fairly close to a canyon, perhaps they were also thinking of a method of escape. Should they be overcome, it might help to have a fairly narrow passage, preventing their enemies from pursuing them in high numbers. Extremely basic and by the book tactics, meaning whoever was in charge was probably more fit to run an office than to run an army. They were probably a suck-up too. It was better to be on top of the hill, the high ground would give them a nice vantage point, and it was harder to charge up a hill in battle than to simply attack on level terrain. Only President Shinra would favor such tactics. They weren't even hidden well, the advance scouts had probably gotten as much information back to their officers as they would have had the Shinra troops been lying in plain sight.
Of course, it wasn't Sephiroth's job to point out the obvious blunders of whoever was in charge. To be honest, he simply didn't care in the least if each and every soldier here died in the battle. His vengeance was all that mattered, and what better place to continue his plans than a bloody battlefield?
Sephiroth quickly examined his surroundings before finding a couple of Shinra's own scouts. They hadn't ventured very far from the rest of the troops, and really seemed to be lookouts more than anything else. Once more, a bad use of the resources at hand, but fairly convenient for him. He led his chocobo over to them, and as soon as he revealed himself to the scouts they followed their standard procedure. The first leveled a gun at him while the second began approaching and making demands.
"Sir, please immediately dismount." Sephiroth quickly slipped off the chocobo. He could have killed the fools five or six times by now, but that wasn't the best way of making allies. "Alright, slowly drop the sword and any other weapons you may have." The scout was standing about seven feet from Sephiroth, a good range to ensure Sephiroth couldn't pull anything. Sephiroth unsheathed his sword and dropped it to the ground before also removing his bangle, a weapon due to its having materia, and dropping it to the ground. Once the scout determined Sephiroth was unarmed he came within arm's length and began observing Sephiroth. All he needed to do was look at the eyes before walking back to his partner and muttering something.
"All right, sir, you can pick up your weapons again. Sorry about that, it's just standard procedure and whatnot. If it isn't too much of an inconvenience, the colonel would probably like to speak to you." The scout's voice was noticeably casual now. Reno had told him something like this would happen. Sephiroth didn't need any proof of loyalty to Shinra other than his eyes. He had been told that any member of SOLDIER, and only members of SOLDIER, would have those eyes thanks to the Mako exposure. To date, no member of SOLDIER had been anything but completely loyal. Reno had also said that Sephiroth didn't have to worry about them figuring out Sephiroth's eyes was due to Lifestream exposure, no one would ever think that was the case. Of course, every now and then, Sephiroth had been having doubts about whether or not his eyes were really a result of the Lifestream or not. It sometimes felt like there was still a gap in his memory, like he had forgotten something, something important at that. But Sephiroth eventually dismissed the idea. He had remembered everything else, why wouldn't have he remembered something so important?
"Uh, sir? I had asked if it would be too much of an inconvenience for you to speak to the colonel. Is it, or not?" Sephiroth's mind was suddenly brought back to the present. He shook his head and said it was fine before being lead off to the colonel, who he presumed to be in charge.

"What do we do now, sir?" Heidegger asked the question as though Shinra should have taken the whole of one second to answer it. But it was such a difficult question, and the current situation was rather frustrated. He could remember everything like it was yesterday. Hojo's first proposal to create the ultimate soldier had been an interesting day. All the funding he had asked for seemed to be worth it though when by age five Sephiroth had proven to be a better fighter than most second-class members of SOLDIER. By age twelve, he had surpassed SOLDIER first-class. At fifteen, he was the answer to the war. Shinra should have sent him out then and there.
Hojo, however, had been adamantly against it, saying that Sephiroth's potential hadn't been fully met. A few more years, he had said, and Sephiroth could take down entire armies by himself. Then a few infiltrators beat Sephiroth, and all the money and resources used on Sephiroth became a massive waste.
Then, through some miracle, Sephiroth came back, and stronger than ever. The hope of success lasted for all of five minutes, when Reno burst in and informed them he had sent Sephiroth off to fight. Granted, Sephiroth was meant to fight, but not like some common soldier. He was supposed to have the finest equipment in battle, to maximize his abilities and to make sure he didn't die. Instead, he simply got one standard-issue sword and a sheath for it. Anything else Sephiroth got would only be something Reno got his hands on through stealing, confiscating, etc.
Shinra had to admit, seeing Reno get chewed out helped a little towards easing his frustration. First Heidegger spent several hours yelling at him and telling him about the approval system he was supposed to follow. Reno didn't even know what he had done. Then Tseng had to spend an hour explaining the entire project to Reno. No detail had been left out, including the amount of syringes Hojo stuck in Sephiroth on a daily basis. Most were of course a Jenova-Mako blend, though some Shinra knew to be plain, old-fashioned performance-enhancers. All the progress checks and physicals, the chemical mix Hojo had developed for use on pre-natal specimens, Tseng had told Reno everything. Reno had been rather shocked by Shinra's secret project, and Shinra thought Reno was rather impressed too. To make sure he knew how foolish his actions were, Shinra had then personally scolded Reno for his actions and given him a new assignment. Reno was to track down and bring back Sephiroth. After he had done so, and after he was back in Midgar, his very first job would be to clean each and every bathroom at Shinra HQ with a toothbrush. Not very original, but satisfying nonetheless.
Shinra was quite surprised when Reno simply muttered to himself and walked off to the nearest bar. Usually there was indignation and a protest, but Reno simply took his punishment as it was. Maybe, just maybe, he had actually matured enough to realize what a bad thing he had done.
Yet Reno's situation wasn't as important as the one at hand. Sephiroth was gone and would likely fall in battle if not recovered quickly. Reno was only one person, and he wouldn't even be able to leave for another few days. Sephiroth had already been gone for six days, by the time Reno could go he would have been gone for nine. "What a perfect time for all the chocobos to be missing. Better yet, the assault vehicle broke down. We have no way of getting to Sephiroth quickly, and he's heading for what will be one of the largest battles in the war. If he gets back here, he'll probably be in hundreds of pieces!"
"I will admit, it is a rather large inconvenience. It pretty much incapacitates us. But… communication lines should be open by tomorrow. We could always contact our generals and have them run a search for Sephiroth. If he's heading to battle, they'll be able to find him with ease." Shinra contemplated the idea. It would definitely work; the question was if Sephiroth would live long enough to see tomorrow.
"That will have to do." Shinra said resignedly, knowing there just wasn't anything better.

Sephiroth walked into the hastily assembled tent that served as the officers' quarters. When he entered he encountered a man dressed up in a blue suit, who somehow looked familiar, and definitely didn't look like a military person.
"Oh, it's you." The man said with an air of distaste. Sephiroth threw him a glance that blatantly said he didn't know this man. "I see you forgot already. The name, since you've forgotten, is Reeve." Sephiroth then remembered him from North Corel.
"Oh right… the peace-mongering ignorant. I find it rather odd that someone so opposed to war is a colonel…"
"What the-? I'm no colonel! I'm here, like you, to see the colonel. I'm simply head of urban development." Reeve was rather put off by the suggestion that he was a colonel, which rather amused Sephiroth.
"Why would you need to see the colonel? What does he have to do with urban development?" Sephiroth asked the question knowing it would irritate Reeve. He had very little respect for those who weren't warriors.
"This is my vacation. Technically though, I won't be enjoying myself in the conventional way. It so happens that the colonel has been engaging in rather unethical conduct towards other human beings."
"You mean Wutai prisoners? Prisoners of war who were more than willing to decapitate Shinra prisoners, as proven numerous times. I lived with these people for a while. They're not so kind to Shinra." Sephiroth smirked as he watched Reeve get upset.
"That doesn't make it right! You can't justify something just because somebody else does it. That's so childish, and just plain wrong! Unethical treatment is unethical treatment, no matter how you look at it. That's why I've started a petition to have the colonel jailed for war crimes!"
"If you're trying to put this guy away, why are you coming to meet with him? In his own territory nonetheless, where there are tens of thousands of fully armed soldiers who would kill you with a single word from the colonel?" Yet another question tailor-made to infuriate Reeve. This time though, Reeve had the answer.
"Ha! The colonel isn't exactly in charge. He might be running the show here, but he still answers to a general, and the general he's under is a good friend of mine. He was the first signature on the petition. I'm simply here to give the colonel fair warning."
"Who is this colonel anyways?" Sephiroth had tired of the word game, and was looking to get some information that would actually be useful.
"Hm? The colonel? He's called 'The Mammoth's Tusk'." Reeve seemed so proud of his bit of trivia. "He earned the nickname five months ago when he exhibited brilliant military strategy, using a flanking maneuver to completely divide his enemies into two easily defeated section. The shape his troops adopted for the charge was that of a tusk, hence the name. Mammoth just makes him sound stronger. The normal embellishing, I guess… Anyway, his real name is Alexis Cifer. Thus, he is Colonel Cifer. Been stuck at colonel for a while now, eight or nine months I think. There just hasn't been any reason to give him a higher rank. Odds are this upcoming battle will change that. Doesn't matter though, he won't enjoy his position long if he survives." Sephiroth wondered how brilliant this colonel could be though, judging by the easily found flaws in his strategy when Sephiroth first saw the encampment.
At that point the colonel did grace them with his presence. He was rather tall, stood rigidly. Numerous scars checkered his face and hands, and he was rather dirty. His uniform was remarkably somehow still spotless and completely undamaged. A normal military officer. Maybe he just got lucky in the battle that earned him his nickname…
"Ah, Reeve. What a… pleasant surprise." The two obviously disliked each other. Sephiroth could already see what natural enemies they were. Reeve went against the grain and liked to do the right thing, while Colonel Cifer obviously was content to blend into the woodwork and simply did whichever thing worked best for him. It was amusing somehow.
"Hello, colonel. Just figured I'd be kind enough to give you a heads-up on the latest movement. I am a gentleman. But since you're not, I hope you enjoy prison. People who are found guilty of war crimes usually get booked for life."
"War crimes?" The colonel was startled, and quite angry too. "Oh, I get it now. This is about those prisoners whose execution I broadcast. I really hate to break this to you Reeve, but war is not some pretty thing. It's not a nice, clean affair like you seem to think. Those who become a part of it know the risks of death. These men knew it, they were prepared for, and they got it. End of story."
"Firstly, war itself is wrong." Reeve began, calmly beginning his speech. "Secondly, since it seems that it's unavoidable, there need to be rules in it. Killing a prisoner, and especially broadcasting it on TV so that Wutai could watch it, is in violation of those rules."
"War is not a game." This time Sephiroth was making a contribution. "Games need rules, but rules simply hinder war. Draw it out, and more people die… Besides, you don't make war with an army. You make war with a country. That country has to accept all risks that come with war, and do everything to quickly win a war, or it shouldn't be at war." The colonel nodded to him. Sephiroth had made a good impression, which was good. He wanted to be out on the front lines for this upcoming battle. Besides, Sephiroth just disliked Reeve, and couldn't help but double-team the now exasperated Reeve.
"Have it your way. It really doesn't matter. Regardless of your views, the law is law, and no one is above it-"
"That's a load of crap and you know it too. Executives do whatever the hell they want. Two weeks ago Rude, one of the Turks, shot seven different people to make sure his new gun's aim was calibrated right. Not one person raised a finger. Three weeks ago Hojo was seen dragging a corpse around Nibelheim while carrying a gun. Blood was still flowing out of the victim. He did it in plain sight, and no one cared. Just over a week ago the president killed an aide because there was dust in his helicopter before he took off. No one cared!" Reeve was at a loss for words before he made his final remark.
"Maybe so, but you're not someone so fortunate. You're subject to the law, and you'll feel its full force. And all those other people? They'll eventually get theirs. That's just the way life goes. No sinner goes without penance." Reeve then stormed off, knowing full well he had lost the debate. The colonel chuckled lightly at his retreating form.
"What a prick… Anyway, I am Colonel Cifer. And you are a member of SOLDIER, I take it?"
"Not exactly. I was recently demoted so that I could come down here." The colonel took in the words and frowned slightly.
"I had hoped this was a sign that more of SOLDIER would be coming down. I've been asking for reinforcements for weeks. The general keeps denying my requests. I really wish Reeve hadn't gotten to him with all his philosophy. But I'll take what I can get. Still, I hear that Benkei's running the show for Wutai's forces near hear."
"Benkei?" Sephiroth was sure he had heard the name before, but he couldn't quite place it. Probably someone Godo had known.
"Yeah. He's a legend in the army. Never lost a single battle. And he actually takes part in the battle too. He's slain over a thousand troops with his sword. He's even taken out members of SOLDIER like they were nothing. It's that damn sword of his."
"What do you mean?" Sephiroth was rather confused. A good sword was important in battle of course, but how much of a difference could it make?
"His sword is incredible! It's called the Masamune. It's extremely long. He can strike enemies from a range where their own weapons are useless. Most people would need to be three or four feet closer before their sword could hit him when they're taken out! We've tried offing him with sniper rifles, but he's so aware of everything. They never hit." Sephiroth's interest was rather piqued by this Benkei. He sounded like a most worthy foe indeed. And as for the sword…
"Do you know anything else about the Masamune?"
"Oh yeah. Tons of stuff. There are a LOT of legends about that sword." Sephiroth proceeded to listen to every story there was about the Masamune, and with every word he took in it became more and more clear. He would get that sword for himself.

Author's Note: So how was it? Good? Bad? Tempted to kill me for wasting your time? Figured I'd get the more tedious parts out of the way now, and maybe start to try a theory on why exactly Sephiroth has his super awesome impossibly long sword of death. Well, you know the basic drill. Like any other person, I want reviews! So review! Four reviews for all the work… Well, actually, looking back on the first five or so chapters, I guess it's reasonable. It's getting better, but few people are willing to bear with those first several chapters. That's why I'll be revising them! Oh yes, I'm taking on an ultra-ambitious project to redo my work. I'll post the revisions when I post chapter nine, which is technically chapter ten if you count the prologue, which I'll also be tinkering with some. Until then!