A text from the boss was rarely a good thing. As such, Sephiroth was prepared for catastrophic news. Perhaps another reactor had blown, there were creatures yet alive from Deepground marauding in the streets, troops had arrived from Wutai to invade. With a mental slap, Sephiroth ordered himself to calm down. Like as not it was something far more mundane. Emergencies did not have to occur on a monumental scale; though that did not stop them from happening in such proportions. As it turned out, he was not entirely wrong.
There were half a dozen distinctly non-Midgarian men in smart, dark suits seated at the conference table. Rufus, despite being well-drilled in the Wutaian school of manners above all else, looked painfully glad to see his generals.
"Ah, General, Commander," Rufus said, drawing the attention of the six men in suits away from himself. All of them turned to look, and at once stood up. Rufus followed. Sephiroth stood at attention, feeling Elfe and Genesis move into position on either side of him, with Zack, Shears, Azul, and Weiss fanning out behind them. For some reason, this was not as reassuring as it might have been.
"Wutai has sent us a delegation to see how we're getting along," Rufus explained, a slightly strained edge to his polite smile. "Emperor Godo wants to speak with me personally. He also seeks an audience with Shinra's most celebrated general."
Sephiroth felt not just his stomach, but the whole room sink a few inches, as if he were standing in a descending elevator and not on firm ground. A delegation from Wutai was only to be expected. News of Shinra's rather spectacular downfall would have spread like wildfire to every corner of Gaia. He was a little surprised it had taken Wutai this long to respond. What truly puzzled him was that they'd only sent a handful of suits and not a battalion bearing swords.
"We would be honored if you would journey to Wutai, to speak with our emperor," one of the suits said in only slightly accented Midgarian. "He wishes to renegotiate the terms between our two nations."
"Of course," Sephiroth replied, inclining his head the correct number of degrees for the situation. Looking to Rufus, he waited for additional explanation.
"We'll be departing as soon as possible," Rufus replied to his unspoken question. "Both you and Commander Verdot will be coming with me. Please make arrangements immediately."
"Yes, Sir."
An impromptu trip to Wutai was not what Sephiroth had planned on doing. The journey alone- even by airship- would take days. Rufus had said that they would need to stay until everything was resolved- which could mean anything from a few days to over a month. With a feeling of profound dread already curdling his stomach, Sephiroth decided to revert to the old military adage of hoping for the best and planning for the worst, and began bracing himself for another long and arduous campaign in hostile territory. Then a new worry occurred to him: his brothers.
What was he to do with his brothers? He couldn't very well take them with him. Their diplomatic team was to consist of Rufus and his personal assistant, Elfe and her own retainer, and himself and his own attendant. This was somewhere between practicality and conforming to cultural niceties. Sephiroth was accustomed to having a second- whether that had been Angeal or Genesis, Zack, or even little Strife. As much as he would have liked to bring Genesis or Zack along, Midgar needed them too badly. They would have to stay here. Strife was too young and too green. If he brought him, Sephiroth would spend more time keeping Strife out of trouble than anything else. Kunsel had handled most of his administrative headaches in the recent past. Sephiroth didn't know him quite as well as his fellow COs, but perhaps now was a good time to remedy that. Kunsel was a sensible choice for a trip that would rely more on words than swords. Thumbing a quick text to his subordinate took care of that particular problem. That still left his brothers.
Veld and Vincent were already at the apartment, seeing that the children were fed and watered. Everyone was crowded around the dining table, enjoying something that surely tasted as good as it smelled. Veld must have cooked again. Vincent, bless him, couldn't boil water in a microwave. Without a word, Vincent pulled out the remaining vacant chair and fetched him a plate.
"Thank you," Sephiroth told him gratefully, only too glad to sit down and eat.
His brothers at once peppered him with questions about his day and brief and disjointed expositions regarding their own. This went on for several minutes until Veld told them to "simmer down and give your brother a chance to eat."
Compared to the Professor's ruthlessly correct terminology, Veld's slightly anachronistic turns of phrase were pleasant as well as entertaining, and Sephiroth found himself smiling as he chewed. Sephiroth had not had overmuch experience with home cooked food. The memory of Mrs. Strife's cooking had been the most recent standard against which all other food was measured. However, it was in serious danger of being nudged out of the running by Veld's cooking. Veld and Vincent kept his brothers entertained while Sephiroth ate, allowing him to finish his initial helping and serving him a second before asking him anything themselves.
"What did the delegation want?" Vincent asked quietly. The query was unassuming, but almost enough to make Sephiroth lose his appetite. Almost. He swallowed what was in his mouth before it could turn sour.
My head on a pike, he thought, but replied: "Emperor Godo wishes to renegotiate the treaty from the war. Rufus, Elfe, and myself are to go to Wutai to discuss things in person."
"You're going to Wutai?" Loz asked excitedly, almost jumping out of his seat.
"I want to come!" Kadaj exclaimed.
"Me too!" Yazoo added.
"Can we come with you?" Loz begged. "I want to fight some Wutaians!"
"No," Sephiroth told them firmly, fixing each in turn with his best General's stare. "No, you are not coming. We're not going to Wutai to cause more bloodshed, we are going to apologize for the death and destruction Shinra visited upon a sovereign nation simply because Wutai dared to stand up to them."
Everyone was staring at him wide-eyed, including the two Turks. Sephiroth got the feeling he might have overdone it slightly. Loz was clearly struggling to process the deeper implications of the speech, the younger two just looked distressed.
"I'm sorry," Sephiroth told his brothers as kindly as he could. "I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm too used to speaking to people as if they were subordinates."
"So...you're not going to fight," Loz said slowly.
"No, I'm not," Sephiroth confirmed.
"You're going to say you're sorry for killing so many people."
Sephiroth nodded. "Among other things, yes."
"But...why?"
Sephiroth sighed. How best to translate this? "Shinra and Wutai went to war over mako resources. Wutai had mako, Shinra wanted it, and Wutai wouldn't give it to them. Wutai had every right to say 'no' to Shinra. However, instead of leaving them alone, Shinra took the mako by force, and hurt a lot of innocent people in the process. Shinra was wrong. I was wrong, and now I need to do whatever I can to try to make amends."
Loz nodded slowly, the wheels in his head visibly turning. Yazoo and Kadaj still looked a little lost, but did not allow their elder brothers' grim conversation to spoil their appetites.
"You need us to watch the boys?" Veld asked. "Vince n' I can keep an eye on 'em while you're gone."
Sephiroth blinked, having not anticipated anyone to volunteer. "Yes, thank you," he said, relief weighting every syllable. "If you wouldn't mind."
Veld waved him off. "They're good kids. Wouldn't mind in the least."
That was one major concern off his mind, but that left another, much more worrisome problem: the trip itself.
"I understand why the Emperor wants to see you," Genesis complained, "but why not me?"
Travel orders had gone out at the meeting the following morning, and since then, Genesis had done little else but bemoan the fact that he had not been invited as well.
"You really want to be shipped alone to a nation that actively wants your head on a spike?" Sephiroth countered, viciously shoving things into a duffle. He had little enough to put in it besides the hastily manufactured new uniforms of palest gray. Only the items he'd brought with him to Corel had survived the fall of Midgar- Angeal's old Keepers of Honor sweatshirt among them. He set it aside carefully and went on stuffing socks and underwear into the bag.
"Sorry," Genesis apologized after an uncomfortable pause. "I didn't think of it like that."
"I trust you to hold down the fort," Sephiroth went on. "Work with Shears. Reeve and Elfe have a decade's worth of plans drafted. You won't lack for things to do."
"Seph," Genesis stepped forward and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll be fine. The Emperor just wants to talk."
A decidedly nervous expression flitted across Sephiroth's face. "I wish I could be certain of that. We're not defenseless, but we're not far off. Midgar can't withstand an invasion right now. What's worse is we were in the wrong. Ten years in Wutai and for what? To put them in their place, to show them who was in charge." Sephiroth drew a heavy breath. "We'll answer for what we did, Genesis."
"They mean to make an example of you," Genesis said quietly.
Sephiroth nodded. "I don't blame them if they do."
"Don't tell me you've surrendered before the battle's even begun!" Genesis exclaimed. Sephiroth gave him a wan smile.
"No, of course not. I don't intend to meekly lay my head on the block, don't worry about that."
"Good. You've got a wife and three children to think of," he teased.
Sephiroth arched an eyebrow.
"Or nearly so," Genesis amended.
"You know," Sephiroth began, "I'm glad we have your stamp of approval, but I do wish everyone would allow us a bit more autonomy in our own relationship."
Genesis grinned. "I thought you'd be used to this by now."
"I'm not like you Gen," Sephiroth lamented. "I'm no good at public relations."
Genesis bit back the slightly off-color remark that had occurred to him and offered his friend a sympathetic smile. "Well, you'll always have your fan club. I should imagine most of them will forgive you for falling in love."
"You're not helping," Sephiroth grumbled.
"I sincerely doubt Emperor Godo will want your head as a peace offering," Genesis said in attempt to be reassuring. "Your left arm maybe, but not your head."
Sephiroth shot him a look. Genesis shrugged. With a sigh, Sephiroth sank down to sit on the bed.
"I wish you were coming with me," he admitted. "I don't like wading into enemy territory alone, especially when they know I'm coming."
"You'll have Elfe with you," Genesis pointed out, moving the duffle and sitting down beside him. "She's as good as having a full battalion behind you."
Despite himself, Sephiroth smiled. Even without Zirconiade, Elfe was indeed a force to be reckoned with.
"She's not going to stand idly by and let the Emperor scalp you," Genesis teased.
Slowly, Sephiroth nodded. "I suppose you're right."
"Of course I am!" Genesis scoffed. "And the two of you had better not spend all your time bowing and scraping before the imperial court. I expect both of you to get a move on. Hold hands, make eyes at each other, something. I'd demand lurid details of any romantic encounters, but I know you better than that."
"If you means I'm not going to kiss and tell, you're right," Sephiroth told him.
"No, I mean you're such a blasted gentleman you'll probably communicate by parcel post even though you're in the same room."
Sephiroth gave him a smirk and a good-natured shove in payment for his remark.
"I hardly think we'll have more than five minutes together."
Genesis waggled his eyebrows. "Five minutes is all it takes."
Sephiroth rolled his eyes and shoved him again, this time off the bed.
"Idiot," he remarked fondly while Genesis laughed. "Get out of here. You have a city to put back together and I have to pack.
Genesis gave him a cheeky salute from the floor. "Sir. Yes, Sir."