A/N: Way-hay! We're back, with a new story! Here's to seeing if I can break the records that HUS had set (which is to date 1,400 reviews, 171,098 hits, 392 faves (last count) 450-ish alerts (can't remember exact number) and 13 c2s. Can we break the record?!)

Anyway, I guess you could say that Ever After is going to be quite more...sci-fi than what I'm usually more used to. So I took a lot of inspiration from some of the more fantastical and scientific works of fiction/manga/etc while typing this up (prodominantly Loveless, Index and this odd anime called Time of Eve). I'm a little nervous though...

Also, I'm going to try and use a few more Disney references in Ever After. Maybe not to the extent that they become central to the plot but...just enough so that it doesn't end up being cotested on whether Ever After is in the right category or not.

OK...here we go. Please read and review! For reviews are my maki sushi.

"You're an idiot for doing that…the absolute worse…"

"Hey, it's my job to protect you. Not my fault I had to be idiotic to do it."

"I told you that I-!"

"'Don't need protecting, and never will'. I heard you the first time two years ago. I don't need to hear it now. I'll get the lecture when I meet up with Hyne, how about that?"

"Don't talk like that."

"You know it's gonna happen. Maybe not now, but it will."

"You're going to live. You always have survived those kinds of injuries!"

"Squall, I've got bullets in my chest and half of one of those standard Magister swords in my gut, and that's only half of what's happened to me. Even I can't take this much. And you know it."

"You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die."

"Just get outta here while you've got the chance."

"I'm not leaving you either!"

"Squall, if you care for me, you'll leave. Right now."

"Seifer…"

He opened his eyes slowly, bleary shapes gradually becoming sharper. Home; or at least, the one when he was off duty. It was just a small single bedroom apartment that only had a kitchenette, a sitting room that doubled as a dining room and a bathroom to its name. It had been quite a cosy place to live three years ago when he had someone else sharing the space but now, it just seemed a bit…empty. It didn't bother him anymore. He just couldn't find the energy to sell this place and move out to another.

Sliding out of bed, he walked over to the tall window that was currently fogged over by electric pulses, reaching over to the switch that controlled the mechanism to defog the glass. Pressing the palm of his hand against the window, he watched as the fog cleared and gave way to the clear white skyscrapers that made up the city, the first few signs of activity from hovercraft whizzing by on the skyways. Clear skies for Esthar City today too then, he had thought. He walked away and stretched out his arms, scratching the back of his shaggy mane of chocolate-coloured locks and holding his hand over his radio alarm clock, waiting for that almost insanely cheerful voice to come screeching through the airwaves.

7:59…

8:00

"Goooooooooooooooood morning everyone! Today's the 13th of October 3500 and it's a b-e-a-yoo-tiful day for Es-!"

With a good solid whack, his hand came slamming down on it, instantly shutting up the radio. Who in their right mind would want to torture innocent civilians with that kind of high-pitch squeaky cheeriness at some godforsaken hour?!

Then he remembered Selphie, one of the Agents that he used to work with at his job before he was promoted, and instantly shivered at the thought. Dealing with Selphie during the day was enough for him. This then lead on to him reminding himself that he had to go back today for some meeting with a bunch of white coats over at the SOLDIER facility. Hyne, if he had told them once, he told them now a thousand times that he wasn't interested in having another partner, and if he had to, he was only going to pair up with a Crusader model.

And if Squall knew Crusader models well enough, he knew that Crusaders were a bitch to create and train to be halfway as efficient as one of your run off the mill Carbuncle or Shiva.

He wouldn't have gone, but the Commander had pretty much made it mandatory. And knowing that he had the sense of responsibility that was far stronger than some other people he knew, the brunet had a feeling the Commander was just taking advantage of it to make him go.

And that was when the phone went. No doubt it was his 'wake up call'/'friendly reminder' that the Commander had vowed that he would let his subordinate have. The brunet knew better than to ignore it. He pressed the loudspeaker button, not wanting to deal with the video call or having to press the phone to his ear.

"Squally! This is your wake up call and friendly reminder that you have to get to the SOLDIER facility at 10 AM sharp! How are you?"

They had to use Selphie, didn't they?

"It's Leon. And I'm already up, thanks."

"Your mother called you Squall, so I'll call you that." He could imagine Selphie sticking her tongue out at him. "How was your break?"

"So so."

"I don't understand why you never invite us around your place if you're feeling lonely," Selphie pouted over the line.

"It's so that I don't have to deal with noisy brats or clean up afterwards," Leon replied coldly.

"Hey! I'm the same age as you! So what if you're a higher rank than us! Doesn't give you a reason to call us brats!"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Selphie, I've been calling you and Zell noisy brats for years. I would have thought that by now you would have taken it as a name of endearment."

"Nope. We'll only believe that once you start being a bit warmer to everyone, Mr Ice Prince."

"Are you going to lecture me about this or are you going to give me a heads up about what this meeting I've got is all about?"

"Sometimes I feel like you only use me for information."

"You and Zexion are good at what you do, and I really don't trust Axel to give me the full story despite being friends for years. Plus, I'm your superior so I can order you to do it."

"See what I mean!" A small sigh from Selphie. "OK, what I got from the head honcho's schedule is that it has something to do with a project they've been working on for about twenty-odd years now. If the project's a success, they'll put it into production."

"Know anything about it?" Leon asked as he rummaged through his wardrobe for his SeeD uniform.

"That it happened two years after Project Phoenix – aka Zack – and that it's called Project Fenrir. The rest of the information is classified and protected by an anti-spyware program and a firewall so thick that it'll take years to get through. Zexion's given it a go and he's come to the conclusion that he'd have to attack the source of the program before anything else. Of which, neither of us have any idea where that is."

"Some Agent you turned out to be," Leon smirked lightly, knowing it would wind Selphie up.

"Well excuse me for being better in the field and being one of the worst hackers in class!"

"Whatever," Leon sighed, shaking his head. "10 sharp right?"

"Yup. Hovercraft's gonna pick you up and everything. Oh, and they also suggested that you bring your gunblade. They might want to test you and the project out to see how well you perform."

"Right." Now where did he put the case…? Oh yes, under his bed, as always. Why was he never thinking straight in the mornings?

"Alright! See you at the Garden later today then! And watch out for Quisty!"

"After my neck again?"

"SeeD exam coming up. Stressing about it per usual, so she may want target practice with that whip of hers."

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll see you later." He hung up the phone, sighing again. He was going to have to figure out a way to calm down that Instructor. Otherwise there was going to be a lot of Cadets that were going to suffer the consequences.

Why did he have to bother with this kind of stuff anyway?

Just as Selphie had reported, Leon was picked up at 10 by one of the standard luxury hovercraft's that were owned by the Shinra Energy Company, one of the financers of the SOLDIER program that SeeD worked closely with. His gunblade was lying on the seat beside him, the silver recently polished metal shining brightly in the sunlight, almost blinding him from time to time. He leaned against the window, watching the buildings go by with a lazy-eyed look, checking his watch from time to time.

Project Fenrir…should he act curious, surprised or annoyed once it was mentioned? He frowned, weighing out the possible options. If he acted curious, then he was obligated to say 'yes' to whatever Professor Hojo said. If he acted surprised, then he had some choice in saying 'no' if he wanted no part of it, though at the risk of making a rather short-tempered scientist irritated. His last choice, Leon was almost sure he wasn't going to get out of the facility in one piece if it didn't go down well.

He opted for the 'surprised look'. Less casualties that way, and he only had to widen his eyes a fraction. The onboard phone rang.

"Fifth one today," Leon grumbled, pondering over whether to pick up or not. He decided he was far better off picking up. Dealing with a livid Quistis Trepe or having to explain himself to the Commander was not one of his favourite pastimes. "Leonhart speaking."

"Hate to be a pain," Quistis said, her face on the screen having a neat scowl from the amount of stress she had to deal with, "but we're having an issue with one of our Cadets."

"What's the issue?" Leon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to stave off an incoming headache.

"The SOLDIER unit that was assigned to him was pulled back all of a sudden. Now he's got no protection for the exam."

"What do you suggest we do then?"

"I could offer him Kimahri."

"You and I both know that as soon as Kimahri senses you're in danger, he's going to come racing back to protect you."

"He won't if I tell him that he has to protect that Cadet with his life."

"Quistis, be honest with yourself. If Kimahri was faced with the choice of either protecting you, who he's been with for years, or a Cadet he's only going to be with for one or two hours, who is he going to pick?"

Silence. She looked away, pursing her lips.

"My point exactly."

"Well what do we do?"

"Try to find a standby unit for our Cadet. If not, then pull the Cadet out. I don't want to be the bringer of bad news to the family."

"Understood. See you this afternoon."

"Likewise." Quistis hung up on her end, finally giving Leon the small amount of peace he craved for right now. This SeeD exam was the last thing on his mind. And having to take part in it was something he wasn't looking forward to.

Besides, he was even surprised that the Republic of Archades even launched an attack on the relatively neutral country of Dalmasca. He guessed that they were once again trying to reclaim it on the grounds of some historic reason. Figured. At least the Dalmascan's had the sense to evacuate to relative safety, even if the old fortress city of Rabanastre wouldn't hold out for much longer. What surprised him even further was why Radiant Garden hadn't declared war on Archades since Dalmasca was an age old ally with a clause in a peace treaty that confirmed that if they were in trouble Radiant Garden had an obligation to help.

–I suppose they don't want the casualties either, he had thought. The President was more of a peacemaker than a warmonger anyway. And a bit of a loon, if Leon could be brutally honest about what he thought of him after that one time meeting him. Not only that, there was a strict order from the aristocracy of Radiant Garden to not get into any form of conflict after the war three years ago. Protocol called that you did not disobey one's head of state for any reason, political or personal. That usually called for life imprisonment or possible exile.

"…and thus, this is why I believe you are the perfect candidate to test our project out," the hunched form and long coal-black-pony-tailed-haired form that everyone knew as Professor Hojo concluded, managing to attract the attention of the brunet walking next to him. Leon had come to know him as someone who was quite the smarmy character if he had a success, and someone who could equally become as condescending if he was faced with failure. Needless to say, Leon would rather stab himself with his own gunblade than listen to the aging scientist.

An hour ago, only five minutes later than the expected time due to traffic issues, Leon had been verbally abused by a completely irate professor who was reputed to be prone to sudden anger if a person was late, regardless of the justification for it. After that, the brunet was taken for a moment of 'light testing' to confirm their assumptions, whatever the hell they may have been. That took about fifteen minutes of his lifetime. Another fifteen minutes were wasted by waiting around for the Professor to show up again, the excuse being that preparations and last minute adjustments had to be made for everything to be absolutely and utterly 'perfect'. In that time, Leon had come up with a long list of what he would rather be doing. Top most would be at home, sleeping or showering, followed closely by dealing with panicked instructors, lieutenants, SeeDs and cadets that were under his command. Then this was followed by reasons that were ranged from the sensible ('spring cleaning the apartment at the Garden HQ' –it needed it. He swore that the dust bunnies were turning into dreamhares), the stupid ('watching TV with a bucket of Balamb Fried Chocobo to hand' –and Leon hated eating fast food) and the downright bizarre ('kissing Zell's ass' –he shuddered at the mere fact he even thought of it). Once Hojo appeared again, Leon got lectured about the process of creating the new project they had come to complete and how, if it was a success, it was going to change the way the Radiant Garden military was going to operate.

In Leon's mind, he very much doubted anything was going to change. Brute power? What about those powerhouses that they created as secret weapons but decided that they could never be partnered up with your average SeeD? Wasn't that enough power? The Archadians, or anyone else for that matter, knew better than to fight against Sephiroth, the Jenova model that had been one of Hojo's earlier creations. In fact, they even knew better than to mess with Zack Fair ("Project Phoenix," Professor Hojo had snapped irritably), who was probably the goofiest, most happy-go-lucky person Leon had ever come across, if it were physically possible.

…No, Selphie was far more happy-go-lucky. Zack could get serious if he wanted to.

Getting back to the situation at hand…

"I already said I didn't want another SOLDIER," Leon stated stoically, preparing himself for another bout of verbal abuse.

"Oh but this isn't just any SOLDIER," Hojo started, "This is the SOLDIER that everyone will want if it's successful on the field. This is the Fenrir model. It may not have the power and finesse of a Crusader model that you're so partial to-" he said this with a rather sycophantic smile, which only made Leon's skin crawl "-but where it lacks in speed it more than makes up for durability."

"I'm still not convinced."

"You will be in a short moment." Leon was surprised when he heard a metallic door heavily slide shut, having never realised where they were walking to. From a moment's glance, he could tell he was in some sort of control room from the board that held all sorts of knobs and buttons and screens being manned by a number of scientists that worked for Hojo. A window offered a view into the next room. He walked over to it, looking down into the next room, ignoring the shorter man that followed him.

The room was just a metallic bare room, a few panels hiding equipment that was meant to train SOLDIER units by shooting at them with low powered shockwaves. In the middle of the room stood a young man. Average build and height and clothed in a dark outfit that seemed to be held together with more belts than Leon cared to count at this point, his blond hair was very carefully styled into spikes that gave him an extra inch or so in height. His body, or at least from glancing at the man's forearms, was chiselled, a large sword strapped to his back which he carried as if it weighed nothing at all. In the harsh light, Leon could tell he was far paler than he was, possibly from spending so much time inside the laboratory.

So this was the Fenrir SOLDIER.

"Begin the session," Hojo ordered loudly, signalling to his lower-downs to do their job. In the room, four more SOLDIER units entered; a Shiva with her long icy-coloured hair, a Unicorn with a long silver horn attached to his forehead (an early model, Leon noted), an early version of the Viera model, complete with long ears and pristine white hair, and then, to his great surprise, he recognised Larxene Senjo, the Quezacotl model that was on loan to the SeeD medic branch. They all seemed to be dressed in the titanium armour that the Defence Department had recently produced for the troops, and Leon noted that they also seemed to be very nervous. The Fenrir in the centre barely moved from his spot, his arm very slowly reaching up to grip the handle of the large sword on his back.

"These units won't get hurt, will they?"

"Oh they'll be fine. If not, we've gotten rid of some waste of government time and Shrinra Company money," Hojo dismissed, clearly eyeing the Shiva model that was looking incredibly nervous. Leon pursed his lips, crossing his arms across his chest, his blue-grey eyes ever watchful. He hoped to Hyne that he was not going to witness a massacre now. That would only make his already cruddy mood worse.

It had been the Viera that struck first with her rapier, bounding over and lunging forward for a piercing blow to the blond unit in the middle. Something that quick would have been impossible to dodge, but the Fenrir surprised Leon; he had grabbed the blade of the rapier with one leather gloved hand and snapped it in half, looking at the Viera with an unreadable look. The Viera backed off immediately, in shock that her weapon had been broken within the first minute of combat. The Fenrir dropped the shard of metal, it clanging against the floor in an almost taunting way. His face looked from SOLDIER to SOLDIER, his face still unreadable. Leon found himself leaning over slightly to get a better look, suddenly having his interest piqued.

The next to attack was Larxene, wielding her kunai confidently as she knew that there was little chance of them getting broken. The Fenrir model suddenly brought his sword out, blocking many of the kunai from reaching their intended target, though his face had been nicked slightly by one that he was unable to block. He didn't seem fazed as he gave the Quezacotl an almost feral grin. Larxene frowned, pushing forward though she backed off when the Fenrir started swinging his blade powerfully and with calculated accuracy. It had been the Unicorn next who had decided to try his luck, charging in with his head lowered as he was going to fight another Unicorn for dominance. Fenrir had merely dodged and gave the Unicorn a swift kick to the rump to send him sprawling, getting back to fighting with the nimble Quezacotl.

A shouted spell of 'Blizzaga' echoed in the room as it rocketed towards the new model, only to miss him by one or two centimetres and hit the wall instead, creating a large crystal that had meant to encase the blond SOLDIER and stop the fight. The Shiva who had cast it started to panic and cry out more icy spells meant for the SOLDIER, only ending up with her trapping the recovering Unicorn and the Viera that had almost all been forgotten while she skulked up to the Fenrir with her secondary weapon; a small assassin's blade. Larxene had given her an angry scowl, yelling some obscenity and not realising that the Fenrir had lunged forward to grab her. The Shiva model had screeched once she had seen her senior being lifted up by the neck and thrown to the wall like a rag doll, paralyzed with fear as the Fenrir turned his attentions to her.

"I've seen enough," Leon stated firmly. "Stop the match right now."

"Oh it isn't over yet," Hojo smiled cruelly.

"If this match continues and the Shiva model ends up being dead, I hope you'll have a good attorney that will defend your case."

"What?"

"That Shiva had no decommissioning order. You know that. To kill her here would result in a huge ethical issue being raised up throughout the whole of Radiant Garden, and people calling for your resignation. Now I'm sure you wouldn't want that…would you?"

Hojo seemed to have faltered at that point, glaring at the SeeD Captain and then signalling for the testing to be stopped. Leon turned back to the window and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Not a moment too late; the Fenrir had his large sword hanging over the cowering Shiva model by a mere hair's breadth.

And they believed he was the perfect candidate to partner up with this monster?!

"Well, Captain Leonhart, have we convinced you enough to take the Fenrir on?"

"He's dangerous."

"It may take a bit of training, but the Fenrir is loyal to the end like your average Cerberus model. At least take it for a test drive to see if you like it."

Leon frowned, not liking that tone of voice…or how Hojo referred to the Fenrir as 'it'. He sighed, deciding that giving up in this case was the lesser of two evils. "Fine. One mission. The SeeD exam is today so he could be of some use there. If he puts my cadets in trouble, do not expect him to come back in one piece."

"But he's Government property!" Hojo screeched.

"The lives of my cadets are far more important than anything that you can reproduce and make to fit the health and safety procedures," Leon countered, narrowing his eyes and keeping his stance strong and resolute. With a terrible glower upon his face, Hojo relinquished.

"Fine. But it's coming out of your pay if he comes back in pieces. Understood?"

"Crystal clear."

"Good. Get out of my sight."

Leon held back an annoyed sigh, giving the head scientist a half-hearted salute and then turned on his heel, ignoring the mutterings about him and his decision and threat concerning the new SOLDIER model.

Let them talk. They could only expect for the Fenrir to be sent right back to them after this. There was no way in hell he was going to have another partner after what happened to Seifer those three years ago. Absolutely none.