This is a little late...okay, maybe a lot late, but I was struggling with the last 500 words. There will be more. I'm finally settling into a kind of rhythm with this new home and new job thing, so there's more time for writing now. I have plans, people...good ones.

Thanks for sticking it out with me.

Sephiroth managed to get three children fed, coffee made for himself and Angeal, tea for Genesis, more tea when Loz wanted to know what it was, and cleaned up when Kadaj hit him in the face with a spoonful of eggs- the rest of which Kadaj had managed to spill on himself.

Angeal and Genesis left while Sephiroth bathed Kadaj again, mostly tuning out the boy's hollering in favor of an inner mantra of 'children are not soldiers, children are not soldiers, children are not soldiers so I can't make them do pushups'.

It was his morning off. He slouched on the couch, tired despite the fact that he had been awake for less than three hours, and watched the kids watch television. He maintained this position until lunchtime, when he stuffed all three boys with tuna sandwiches and dressed for work, then almost ran out the door when Angeal arrived.

The meeting was longer than he'd expected. Yawning, he drank cup after cup of coffee in an effort to stay awake and was still nodding off near the end. He stopped by the corner Rufus was sitting in, talked to him briefly, and went to his office.

Paperwork. Piles of paperwork he'd been putting off. He collected everything he could find and a few extra pens, boxed it all, and reluctantly headed back to his quarters.

When Sephiroth returned, he found Angeal sitting on the couch with a clipboard propped up against his knee, quietly scribbling away at something. Loz sat on the couch beside him, holding a coffee cup in both hands and watching a history program with wide eyes. Yazoo lay on the floor at Angeal's feet, paging through the fourth volume in the Wutain set he'd been working on.

And Kadaj was standing in the corner on the other side of the television, face to the wall, shoulders tense, with a dark cloud of fury hovering over him.

"That took longer than expected. Suits wouldn't stop talking?" Angeal asked casually, not looking up from his paperwork.

"They're planning some new construction and a new program at Junon. So no, they wouldn't stop talking."

"Ech. Figures."

Sephiroth waited for an explanation for Kadaj's behavior, didn't get one, and sighed, turning away to head for the kitchen in search of coffee that had more of a kick to it. It was an espresso afternoon.

Angeal followed him, going to lean against the counter and stretch while Sephiroth searched for the beans he kept for espresso.

"Top shelf," Angeal murmured. "Loz was trying to eat them."

"They're not poisonous."

"No, but not only is feeding coffee to kids his age a bad idea, I didn't want to know what would happen if he decided he didn't like it. I was just fooling around and left him punch my palms…he's disturbingly strong for a seven year old."

Sephiroth located the jar of beans and measured some into his coffee grinder. "He was made with my DNA, Angeal. What did you expect?"

"Nothing that powerful."

"I was at least that strong at that age. It's to be expected."

"If you say so. Genesis and I didn't start showing signs of extra ability until almost ten years old. I'm told it drove the scientists mad, thinking they'd failed utterly."

Sephiroth nodded faintly as he ground the beans, got the filter settled, and pulled a shot. Dump, rinse, fill, pack, and repeat.

"Do you want some?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure. Just one, though. How many are you…um….Seph? How many shots are you planning on having?"

"Six," Sephiroth said firmly. "Two by themselves with a little sugar, and four in a drink with a lot of sugar." He pulled another shot and added it to the tumbler he was collecting them in. "Why is Kadaj standing in the corner? Is something wrong with him?"

"He's having a time out."

"A what?"

"A time out."

"I heard you the first time. What's a time out?"

"You never had a time out as a kid?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Sephiroth pulled the last shot and looked over at Angeal expectantly, handing him a tiny cup with his shot in it. "What is it?"

"It's when a child has to sit or stand or whatever and do absolutely nothing for an allotted length of time."

"What good does that do?"

"It's a punishment. Punishment is really your job, so I went with something relatively simple and non-invasive. It worked pretty well on me when my father wasn't home." Angeal sipped carefully at the coffee. "Mmph, this is strong. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Not really." Sephiroth tossed back his two shots as if they were something nasty he had to drink, then dug milk and caramel out of his fridge. "What do you mean by non-invasive? How else were you punished?"

"I was spanked. And given the belt, when I was older."

Sephiroth frowned. "But…you and Genesis have told me that hitting children is wrong, so why would being struck for punishment be acceptable?"

"There's a fine line between physical punishment and physical abuse, and a lot of ways to differentiate between them. One of the most obvious is whether or not you're leaving a mark. If you give a kid a spanking and you leave bruises, you were hitting them way too hard and that's abuse. If you give them a spanking and they're sore for a little but then they're fine, that's punishment. Another way is whether or not there's a good reason. If, say, Zack was seven years old and he was fighting with another kid over a toy, and he started hitting the other kid, that's bad and a spanking or something similar would be alright. If he wasn't feeling well and he was crying and whining for attention, spanking him to make him be quiet would be abuse."

"But…" Sephiroth stirred caramel sauce into a glass of milk, poking thoughtfully at an ice cube. "How does it do anything? Just being struck isn't a form of teaching or anything."

"It teaches kids to associate wrong-doing with discomfort. That's what all punishment is for, regardless of the age, really. If you do something wrong, you have something taken away or some form of pain dished out, and you come to understand that if you don't do that, you won't be hurt or your things won't be taken away. In kids, it also teaches them to respect you and what you have to say to them, because you're the one who decides whether they get a spanking or not. Weren't you ever punished when you were young?"

"Medically, yes. But I was also punished simply for existing, as my physical endurance and healing factors needed constant testing, so it was difficult to tell when I was being punished for actual infractions or not." Sephiroth sampled his drink, then looked at Angeal with a worried expression. "If I punish them, won't they hate me?"

"Children are quick to hate, and even quicker to forgive," Angeal said gently. "You can't punish them for every little thing, or they will hold a grudge, but the occasional punishment shouldn't cause anything drastic."

"Oh. It's…it's better for them if I do it, isn't it?"

"I think so. But everyone parents differently. You have to figure out what works for you."

"Okay. When can I let Kadaj out of the corner?"

"The timer's set for another five minutes or so."

"What did he do?"

"What didn't he do would be a better question. I put him there because he was threatening to tear up the books Yazoo is reading, and he was hitting Loz. He didn't stop when I told him to, so I put him in the corner with the threat of a sound spanking if he moved, and he stayed put. After Yazoo told him what a spanking was."

"How did Yazoo know?"

"I haven't the faintest clue."

Sephiroth sat on the couch doing paperwork and watched Kadaj stand still for five more minutes. When the buzzer went off, the boy turned around and fixed Angeal with a nasty look.

"I hate you," he announced. "You're cruel."

"I doubt you know what either of those words means," Angeal said coolly, not looking up.

"Cruel means doing mean things to people without any reason," Kadaj snapped. "Sephiroth told me so."

"Then I'm not cruel. I made you stand in the corner for your own good. I certainly didn't get any pleasure out of it."

"Liar. You-"

"He did what he needed to do, Kadaj," Sephiroth murmured. "I hear you were making yourself into quite the little terror while I was gone."

"But-"

"You should behave yourself even when I'm not here. You will be seeing a lot more of Angeal and Genesis. And other people as well. You need to learn to deal with it. This is my home, and I expect you to be reasonable." He looked at Kadaj. "I'm not telling you to like the people I know, nor to be nice to them. But you have to tolerate their presence and not be a pain, or there will be punishment."

"I hate him."

"Go ahead. But don't be a brat when he's here."

"What's a brat?"

"A brat is a spoiled, annoying, impolite child," Yazoo said smugly, looking up from his book. "It's not a nice word. But you deserve it."

Sephiroth gaped at Yazoo for a minute. "Where did you learn that?"

"You have a dictionary. I looked up some of the things Genesis said after he left. I couldn't remember all of them, but I found definitions for bitch, and fuck, and brat, and-"

"Next time he swears, don't listen."

"Why not?"

"Swearing is usually bad. And not something you do in front of other people."

"Why?"

"Because it's rude. All those words have mean or unpleasant connotations when they're strung together like that."

"Oh. I was wondering. Some of them didn't make any sense. And I couldn't find motherfucker. What does that mean?"

Sephiroth winced. "It means you aren't touching the dictionary without asking me for awhile."

"But-"

"No."

Yazoo scowled and returned his attention to his book. Angeal attempted to smother a snicker.

"I'm not a brat!" Kadaj hollered, having apparently taken the brief interlude to decide just how offended he needed to be.

Angeal dissolved into hysterical snickering and had to excuse himself to the kitchen to laugh himself sick.

Sephiroth closed his eyes and wished for simpler times.

Angeal left after he'd managed to get his laughter under control, and Sephiroth was faced with three young boys and no idea what he was doing for dinner. He was fairly sure he shouldn't be feeding them takeout every night, but he wasn't sure what he could feed them.

"I'm hungry," Loz announced, furthering Sephiroth's worries.

"What do you want?"

"I dunno. You give us stuff that we never had before. What can I have?"

"Um…come with me."

Sephiroth got up and headed to the kitchen. Loz followed…so did Yazoo and Kadaj.

Out of the three, Yazoo was the only one who had started forming an opinion of food. He never asked for anything specific, but he rejected things based on dictionary definitions or what he'd read or seen on television, and if he decided he didn't want something, the odds were good that Loz and Kadaj would do the same thing, though Kadaj tried pickles just to spite Yazoo, discovered he hated them, and started to throw a tantrum that Sephiroth managed to silence with hot chocolate and marshmallows for all. He still didn't know what to provide for dinner.

Five o'clock rolled around. All three boys were hungry- again in the case of Loz and Yazoo, still in the case of Kadaj, who had only had a few sips of his cocoa before declaring it too hot and ignoring it.

Sephiroth didn't know what to do. More tuna? Stuff them with whatever they would eat and call that acceptable?

The doorbell rang. Leaving the boys on the couch bickering over TV channels, Sephiroth hurried to the door.

Zack and Reno stood outside. Zack had several heavy-looking grocery bags in his hands. Reno looked pleased with himself.

"What's for dinner, General?" he purred.

"I have no idea."

"That's what I thought. So we brought a solution. Where are the little rug rats?"

"Are you allowed to call them that?" Sephiroth stepped aside to allow the two men in, holding bags as Zack wrestled his boots off.

"Why not? It's not a bad thing- it's a little young for them, though. Genesis said the little one is...what, six or something?"

"Five, actually. Five, seven, and nine going on sixteen."

"Oooooh, ya got yourself one of those. Good luck with him." Reno took Zack's bags and headed for the kitchen, ignoring the living room and its inhabitants. Zack started to follow, but got sidetracked by the sight of three silver-haired boys watching a program that centered on a lot of explosions.

"Ah…wow…jeez, Seph, you said they were yours, but…I didn't expect them to look that much like you," he breathed.

Yazoo was the first to look up, but Loz was the first to get off the couch and run over, standing on Sephiroth's feet and staring up at Zack with large eyes.

"You're just like Angeal," he said reverently.

"I…am? Sure, I guess I am. He's my teacher. Who are you?"

"I'm Loz. Angeal said I can be like him when I get bigger. Who are you?"

"I'm Zack Fair. A friend of Sephiroth's."

Loz leaned back and looked straight up at Sephiroth. "You have so many friends!"

"You've only met three, plus Reno."

"Three is a lot. I have three brothers now, and that's a lot of brothers, so three friends is a lot of friends." Loz redirected his attention to the bag in Zack's hand. "What's that?"

"It's part of your dinner."

"So it's food?"

"Lots of food, yeah."

"What kind? Can I see?"

"Uh…Hey, Reno, d'you mind if I bring one of the kids in the watch us cook?"

"Just one. And make sure he/she/it behaves, okay?"

"Guess you can come in. C'mon, kiddo."

Loz went eagerly, and Sephiroth returned to his slumped position on the couch, relieved and a little concerned that Loz might do something stupid.

Yazoo scooted over beside Sephiroth and looked up at him. "Why do you have so many friends?"

"Hmm?"

"You keep bringing people. Why are there so many?"

"There aren't."

"That's four already. That's a lot of people to like you. Why?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Angeal and Genesis came together- they grew up together, so when I made friends with one, I got both of them. Zack is Angeal's student, so…I didn't really have a say in him. Reno and I…I don't know. We have some very strange things in common. And there are a few others, that you'll meet tonight."

"Why tonight?"

"Because not only are these people my friends, they all hold a reasonable amount of clout within the company. They can help me make sure you and Loz and Kadaj are safe and protected from the people in the labs. They're going to help us find a new home, and since most of them have more experience with children than I do, they're going to help me learn how to take care of all of you."

"So…we can trust them?"

"That's up to you. But I trust them with my life. They've done a lot for me, and I need them…more than I can understand, sometimes. If nothing else, I think you'll be interested in them. You'll like Lazard, and maybe Reeve. They always want to know more…always learning. Reeve's never far fro a book unless he's building something."

Yazoo nodded gravely. "Okay. What are they making in the kitchen?"

"I honestly have no idea. Reno's a good cook, but not at all predictable. It will be good, though, whatever it is."

"Can I watch?"

"You can ask Reno."

"But I don't know Reno."

"You will in a minute. Come on."

Sephiroth heaved himself off the sofa and led Yazoo into the kitchen, where Loz was sitting on the counter eating a carrot and watching Reno intently. Reno was busily turning a small mountain of vegetables into a slightly smaller mountain of chopped veggies, separated out in Sephiroth's ice cream bowls. The knife in his hand, one of several santoku Sephiroth had, was almost a blur, stilling only while Reno fetched the next vegetable.

"And that's Yazoo," Loz said, pointing at Yazoo with the end of his carrot.

Reno put the knife down and turned to look at Yazoo. "Wow. You look just like Seph does in the morning."

"Only in the morning?"

"Yeah, before he remembers he's supposed to be the great General and he puts on his mask. You probably haven't seen it yet, if you're only seein' him at home."

"You wear a mask?" Yazoo asked, looked up at Sephiroth. "I haven't seen you put one on."

"It's a phrase," Sephiroth explained. "It means I keep my face in a certain expression, or a certain set of expressions, which I'm at work."

"Oh." Yazoo looked back at Reno. "Is it a good thing that I look like him?"

"I think so. He's pretty cute when he's not coming at you with a sword. Ya wanna piece?"

Yazoo inspected the countertop and the bowls full of veggies. He settled on a bowl full of thickly sliced mushrooms. "Can I try that?"

"Sure." Reno offered the bowl, letting Yazoo take two slices, then stood back, watching as he nibbled the edge of one.

"It squeaks against my teeth. Is that…is that bad?"

"It's supposed to do that. It means that the flesh is fresh and healthy." Reno popped a slice into his mouth. "Don't trust a squashy mushroom. If you're lucky, it'll just be waterlogged."

"And if I'm not lucky?"

"Then it'll probably be diseased and it'll make you sick. Want something else?"

Yazoo wound up sitting on the other side of the sink, picking his way curiously through a bowl of vegetables, asking question after question while Reno tossed hot oil and veggies in the largest of Sephiroth's wok collection.

Safe, Sephiroth returned to the living room, where Kadaj attached himself to one ankle and stayed there, scowling a hole through his pants.

"Something wrong?"

"Why do they get to go in?"

"They asked. Do you want to watch?"

"NO. Cooking is stupid."

"Is everything you don't like or understand stupid?"

"Yes."

Sephiroth sighed and lifted Kadaj onto the couch. "You need to behave yourself, or Reno isn't going to want to feed you."

"He has to. You said we'd have food."

"I could make you toast with peanut butter."

"But…"

"Reno doesn't have to do anything for you. And he doesn't like children who misbehave. Or who aren't happy to eat what they're given."

"But I don't like the way it smells!"

"You're just smelling hot oil and vegetables. There will be meat, and sauce as well. It should be good."

Kadaj started up at him. "You don't know?"

"How would I? I'm not cooking."

"But it could be BAD!"

"But it won't be."

"How do you know?"

"I trust Reno. And I like his cooking."

"I don't want any."

"Suit yourself."

Kadaj ate peanut butter toast for dinner, sulking furiously while Loz and Yazoo plowed through heaping bowls of rice and stir-fry, laughing nervously while they tried to learn to use chopsticks with the kind of skill Reno managed them with. Sephiroth sat at the end of the table, watching his little brothers/sons/relatives of some sort and worrying busily, eating only because Zack kept kicking him under the table.

Reno promised something interesting for dessert, but only when everyone else had arrived, so the boys filed back into the living room for more television, arguing over what to watch until Zack plopped himself down in the middle of them and took the remote, flipping to an animated show about fighting magical crime. In less than five minutes, he had Loz in his lap and the other two boys leaning against his sides, and all four of them were quiet.

Sephiroth leaned heavily against the wall in the kitchen and watched Reno wash dishes, taking a few things to dry when Reno handed them to him.

"You're gonna be okay," Reno said softly. "This'll blow over and the kids'll adjust. Don't work yourself into a tizzy, Seph."

"I can't help it. They're…they're so small, and fragile, and innocent, and I don't know what to do with them!"

"You take it day by day," Reno murmured, handing over another pan. "You can't do it any other way. Every day is gonna be different until you four find a routine that works for you. Every time they learn something new, you're gonna have to learn about it and what it means for you and for them. When they want to try things, you have to decide if they can. When they get hurt, you have to make them feel better. It's a lot of responsibility."

"You know a lot about children, don't you?"

"I've been taking care f kids since I was thirteen and responsible enough to be left with other people's kids. So yeah, I have a lot of experience, but it's pretty much the same now as it was- nothing can catch you off guard like a kid, Seph. Trust me. You can never predict exactly what they'll do."

"But-"

"Just roll with it. 's all you can do."

Angeal arrived soon, followed by Genesis. They carried a bag each, which they gave to Sephiroth with the explanation that kids needed things. Then came Rufus, with Lazard right behind him.

"Boys! Come out here for a minute! We have new guests!"

Three small faces peered around the corner. Zack leaned over them, grinning when he saw who it was.

Rufus smiled. "Hello, boys."

All at once, the trio rushed the hallway. In the background, Genesis covered himself, but the boys weren't moving towards him. They headed for Rufus first, standing clustered before him and staring up at him, and then moving over to do the same for Lazard.

"Er…Sephiroth? What are they doing?"

Reno padded around the corner from the hall, holding paperwork in his hands. "They're conditioned to trust and obey Shinras. To make sure they'd be soldiers obeying their master and no one else." He looked at Lazard and Rufus, smiling sheepishly. "Secret's out, I guess."

"Secret?" Rufus turned, realizing that the boys were now looking between him and Lazard, clearly trying to choose between them. "Lazard?"

"I had to swear," Lazard said quietly. "There were…threats. Now that you're aware, however…yes, little brother?"

Gasping, Rufus sat down against the wall, and Yazoo broke away from his brothers to stand at Rufus' side, patting his face curiously.

"You don't look well. What happened?"

"He was an only child until just now," Sephiroth explained. "He didn't know that Lazard was his brother."

"And you did?" Rufus demanded weakly.

"You smell similar. And there are many other similarities. It wasn't hard to figure out."

"And no one told me?"

"Frankly, no one knew how you'd respond to it." Reno crouched in front of him and smiled. "And with Laz's life on the line if he told you, we just let it sit. Figured you'd find out when your old man kicked the bucket."

"Brother?" Loz whispered. "Do we have to do what they say?"

Sephiroth sighed. "No, Loz. You do not. But listening and respecting them is a must."

"Why?" Yazoo demanded. "They're not like us. They're not even like Angeal, and they aren't quite like Reno."

"Because their father owns and runs this company. Rufus is second in command beneath him, and Lazard runs the department that Angeal and Genesis and Zack and I all belong to. They are very powerful men, Yazoo, and you don't want to make them angry."

"But they aren't strong."

"Actually, Lazard boxes," Reno murmured, fanning Rufus with his paperwork. "And he can beat me in a fair fight."

"Though not in an unfair one," Lazard said ruefully. "I'm horrible at fighting dirty."

"He throws knives as well. Got good aim for a guy in glasses. You doin' alright, Rufus?"

Rufus made a squeaky sound, prompting Yazoo to bend down and inspect his mouth.

"Are you supposed to make that noise?"

"No, he's not," Sephiroth sighed. He waded into the crowd and gently lifted Rufus, carrying him into the living room and settling him in the armchair. "Sit. Breathe. Try and calm down. It's alright."

"Says you!"

"You should be happy to know that not all of your immediate family is made up of slime, scum, backstabbers, and truly evil people," Sephiroth said calmly. "You've an older sibling who has the respect of the most powerful fighting force on the Planet, and he happens to be quite fond of you despite the fact that he has to answer to you."

"We've known each other for years and I never…never…"

"My mother would have been killed," Lazard said simply. "The house I grew up in razed to the ground. Any friends I might have killed off as well. All if I whispered so much as a hint to you."

"That bastard."

"Big Brother? What's a bastard?"

Lazard snorted. "It's a word you shouldn't know, little one."

"But I've already heard it," Yazoo informed him. "So I want to know what it is."

"It means two things, Yazoo," Sephiroth said, voice heavy with resignation. "When you're using it as a bad word, it means that the person you're calling a bastard had a mother who was…unfaithful, so that your father is not the man she's married to. It's an insult. Technically, however, a bastard is any child born between parents who aren't married to one another. It's still not considered a good thing to be."

"Oh. Was Rufus' father's father not married to his mother, then?"

"He was. The implication is an insult, even if it's not true."

"Oh. Swearing is weird."

"Yes, it is."

Lazard slipped further into the living room and perched on one arm of the couch, watching as Rufus slowly calmed and gained some of his color back.

"We can talk later," he said softly.

Rufus nodded. "Soon."

"As soon as possible."

Tseng arrived last, bringing with him a large rolled up thing and a duffle bag stuffed with something soft.

"To solve your sleeping problems," he explained, handing the roll and duffle over. "Where are your little ones?"

"In the living room, watching television with Zack."

Tseng nodded and went to meet them while Sephiroth put things away.

Three pairs of sharp green eyes focused on him as soon as he entered the doorway. Yazoo was the first to get up, padding silently over to stand a respectful distance away from Tseng. Loz and Kadaj followed quickly.

Tseng let them stare for a time, then looked down at them. "Yes?"

"You're dangerous," Yazoo whispered.

"I am. How did you know?"

"You smell like metal," Loz murmured. "And something else."

"Death," Kadaj said, sounding satisfied.

"And spices," Yazoo added. "What are you?"

"I am a Turk."

"What is a Turk?"

"We are body guards, information gatherers, killers, and whatever else our employer requires of us. Reno is also a Turk."

The boys turned to look at Reno, who smiled lazily.

"Guilty as charged, kids."

The boys looked back at Tseng.

"Are you here to kill us?" Loz whispered.

"What? No. No, I am not. I'm here to protect you."

"Why?" Loz bit his lip. "Did we do something bad?"

Tseng shook his head. "No, you didn't. But you are precious little things…there are many people who will want to take you away from Sephiroth and hurt you. We don't want you hurt. Reno and I are here to help hide you and keep you safe until you're big and strong enough to protect yourselves."

"So…you're our friend, then?"

"I might be."

"But you don't know?"

"I don't know you yet. I can't be friends with someone I don't know."

"Oh! I'm Loz!"

"And I am Tseng."

Sephiroth smiled at the odd formality of it all from his vantage point in the hallway. No one else had silenced and fascinated the boys like Tseng. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with it, nor with how Kadaj knew what death smelled like, but he was pleased that someone could hold their attention so thoroughly. It made things considerably easier.

There was quiet conversation until the boys began to yawn and stretch and cuddle against each other, eyes flickering a little further closed with every breath. Sephiroth moved them into the bedroom then, helping them put on their pajamas and tucking them into bed before he returned to the little dining room. The collection of men surrounding the table looked considerably more serious than they had when the boys were running around.

"You need to get out of here," Rufus murmured, accepting a glass of something dark and powerful-smelling from Reno. "Even if you had the boys legally, the Tower is no place to raise children. You and I both know that."

Sephiroth nodding, sipping from his own glass. "I know. And there's no room for four of us in this little place…they need room to move. Room to run. And privacy. I think having personal space will go a long way to taming Kadaj's behavior problems."

Tseng drew something up on the tablet lying in front of him, then offered it to Sephiroth.

"These hit the market yesterday, if you want something brand new." The page showed a set of brand new two-story family homes in one of the better parts of town.

"No…nowhere fancy. They don't need that kind of life." Sephiroth took the tablet and called up a search engine, busily tapping in a string of terms. "I think this is the place."

He turned the tablet around for inspection.

Angeal whistled softly.

"You sure know how to pick 'em, Seph," he murmured. "You're sure this is the place?"

"It feels right. And there's space…privacy…and a certain distance from the base. And it's quiet. Fewer questions will be asked there."

Reno grinned. "Looks like a good place, then. What's next?"

It was a long time before the group scattered, spreading out through the tower to personal quarters and offices. Longer still before any of them went to bed, and even longer before Sephiroth finally fell asleep.