Disclaimer: I do not own Square or any of the characters.
Alert: Some changes have been made to the story; the ages of the characters have been changed to make the timeline make more sense. If you've been reading, please be aware.
Chapter 1 The Weapon Artist
The sound of the slow and steady ticking of the clock resonated throughout the large office of the General, each tick reminding him of how slow the day was passing by and how he wished he didn't have to be there in his lonely office. The office being unusually quiet due to the absence of Zachary Sinclair, His second in command partner, also First Class SOLDIER. Zachary, who preferred himself to be called Zack, was out on an assignment that would probably take up the whole day, well not really, but because the General knew Zack was bound to get sidetracked and as Zack would call it "give extra attention to the minor details", the General knew he wouldn't be seeing him until tomorrow.
The assurance of that fact never bothered him, the general liked being alone, when he could think to himself and immerse himself in his various studies. True, his reputation and demeanor had indeed served to increase the length of time he spent alone, but not more than he considered bothersome. But today it was bothersome, being at his desk which had the half completed paperwork sprawled across it and the evening sun just seeping lavishly into the room. Unusually, there was not one annoying call from the company President asking him to do something that wasn't worth his attention, neither any need to check up on matters concerning any training going on in the barracks. Today had been completely still.
The General released a long drawn out sigh, breathed out full of his boredom. He stretched his arms out above his head and crossed them behind his head, leaning back into the big leather chair and turned to look out the window. He could see the mountains of Mideel in the distance, bathing in the sun, but that was about it, since he was high up in the building. He frowned slightly from some unknown emotion, but was drawn out of his thought when the phone rang loudly beside him, causing him to frown a little more. It was too late in the day for any nonsense. He stared through narrowed eyes at the phone for a second longer before he answered.
"Yes", he said slightly exasperated but his voice rich all the same..
"General Sephiroth sir", said a voice on the other end of the line. "The president has requested that you go to weapons technology, they need your approval on the new plans for development and ask that you order any upgrades while you are there. Rufus Shinra will also be waiting for you there".
"Whatever does he want with me?" replied Sephiroth biting back an annoyed growl, it was just too late in the day for nonsense.
"There are some issues he wants to address regarding the rebel threat from Wutai, this is all I know sir" replied the voice.
"That is all then?" Sephiroth inquired. "Yes sir" said the voice. "Shall I confirm for you sir?".
"Yes" Sephiroth said flatly and then hung up the phone with a little attitude. What nerve that little Shinra had, since when did he get to address any issues regarding how to handle any threat. As far as Sephiroth knew it was he himself who laid out any and all successful military strategy that brought victory to them over Wutai 5 years ago. Did Rufus think he couldn't handle the new rebellion spawning out from Wutai now, that he needed his input, because he surely did not.
Sephiroth shook his head slightly in agitation, causing his long silver bangs to sway in unison. He had the rest of his hair secured in a braid the fell on his mid back. After a second more he sighed, got up, grabbed his long leather jacket and headed out the door.
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Not to much later Sephiroth arrived at Weapon's Technology center. Sephiroth had never actually been inside, even though he had almost constant contact with them. He often would receive and send orders to them for any new recruits in SOLDIER have them repair or replace any damaged weapons, as well as stay posted on any information on new weapons testing, and in particular any weapons using materia enhancements. So Sephiroth did feel a little curious about seeing the inside working of the place, but first things first, he wanted to get Rufus out of the way. So ignoring the scenery in the main lobby he headed straight to the suite where he was to meet little Shinra, though he did note the place had a futuristic style to it and that the dominant color of the place was white, white floor tiles ,white walls, white furniture. He didn't see the point in designing the place this way, it wasn't really the look of a weapons technology lab in his opinion, but alas, interior decorating wasn't his field anyway, so he just left it at that.
He could hear Rufus before he stepped into the suite, there were other voices as well, one of which sounded like the president. Sephiroth released another quick sigh before going in. The three well known faces to him regarded his entry as they all faced his way, they didn't move, but Rufus beckoned him to come join them at the long table that they were sitting around in the gray colored room, which also had a white carpet. Along with Rufus was his father, Mr.Shinra and also the CEO of weapon's development Lieutenant Vince Braxton. Sephiroth took a seat across from Braxton and readied himself for whatever audacious ideas they were going to throw at him.
Mr. Shinra started, "General, I'll get right to the point" he paused. "This rebellion is going beyond my tolerance, no doubt you've heard of the attempted bombing of the resistance force already stationed in northern Wutai". Sephiroth simply gave a curt nod, who did he think he was talking to? Of course he heard of it.
"Well, he continued. I don't want to let those stubborn fools even get a glimpse of toleration from us, I want them completely incapacitated with no doubt as to who still has control, from here on out. Wutai is full of pious zealots who'll jump on the bandwagon with this rebellion and we'll have another war on our hands for sure".
Sephiroth raised his hand to his chin, not really listening to anything the President had just related. "What are you suggesting, Mr. President?" he said flatly, almost sarcastically but flat nonetheless.
Shinra started again, "The plans for the Even Lifestream distribution to the reactors are taking priority now so I need this dealt with quietly and as quickly as possible, I want you to go to Wutai low profile with any First Class recruits you choose, your best only."
"And how many should accompany me?" Sephiroth inquired.
"Five or six at the most, less is even better". Shinra replied.
Sephiroth had nothing more to inquire about since he had done many hush operations before, he like them better anyway because he could do things his way without hardly any interference, something he valued highly personally.
"So when do we leave?" Sephiroth inquired again.
"After we find you a qualified interpreter" was Shinra's answer, which came as a surprise to Sephiroth because he had forgotten about the language element in all this, staying low profile would mean that they would have to intermingle with the locals. Sephiroth had indeed picked up some Wutainese during the war, but he probably had forgotten most and what he had learned wasn't nearly enough to get him what he needed in any conversation.
Rufus's smooth voice popped him from his thoughts, "Apparently there isn't anyone within SOLDIER that speaks Wutainese, and anyone we found with any contact with us that does speak the language, would be useless in circumstances such as these".
Braxton followed Rufus, the older man with a deep voice, "Besides that, anyone with biased feelings on the war could be a liability, not to mention potentially a threat. So getting someone out of Wutai is out of the question. From what I know we are dealing with a Shinobi group and even though they have a secretive order in Wutai, its influence is widespread, so spies are also a matter of concern".
Sephiroth, though hearing everything being said remained stuck in his thoughts. He didn't like the way this was going already. An interpreter meant he would have to depend on someone, whoever this someone was, for his information. This disturbed him though he didn't think anyone would dare to challenge him that way. Other than that, the only other problem would be the individual themselves, but Sephiroth figured he could deal with it as long as that individual stayed out of his way and did their job correctly. With that, he came out of his reverie in time to hear Mr. Shinra say that he would be leaving for Junon in two days and he'll be leaving Rufus as overseer to this operation. Sephiroth instantly thought of going into another reverie at that, but decided to shoot the young man a warning glare instead his mako infused eyes beaming. Rufus noticed and smirked at him across the table.
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Sephiroth exited the room first, half relieved because it was over, and half agitated because something else had started. It was always someone else's mess that he had to clean up and as long as he was General in Shinra Company it would always be that way.
He realized he was being followed by Rufus, and didn't slow up as he waltz right on the elevator, unfortunately Rufus waltzed right in with him, his lips curling into an obnoxious smirk as he got on. Sephiroth crossed him arms and ignored the other young man's presence, while he himself put his own arms behind his back and stood beside Sephiroth, who was at least four inches taller than himself. They both remained there in silence staring at the elevator door as it moved downward to its destination. Sephiroth thought about asking the little brat what he wanted, but he figured he didn't have to indulge him, nor did he want to. He had other things to do anyways.
The ding of the elevator told them that they were at the desired floor and its doors opened before them. Sephiroth stepped out without a word, and Rufus followed. Sephiroth walked on as the all too expected voice finally came from behind. "Are you going to the weapon's division now Sephiroth?"
"Yes" his curt reply, full of agitation
"Have you ever been there before?" the smooth voice said.
"No" was all Rufus got back. He smirked at the General's social skills.
"Neither have I", he informed the General, who seemed none too interested. He continued, "So I am rather curious myself, I'm sure you don't mind if I tag along with you".
Sephiroth didn't reply, he walked on ahead of him.
They got to the doors of the lab which were big and white like some much of the scenery, and pushed through. It led to another short hallway that had large glass windows allowing them to see into the lab. Just as Sephiroth expected it had white tiled floors and walls. He noticed the room was quite large and there were long coffin shaped machines, at least 15 of them in the room. Against the wall in the far left of the room there was another type of machine, large as well and there were two of those. There were apparently three more large rooms besides that one but he couldn't see anything in those yet. Rufus was still behind him, obviously observing the surrounding as well. At the end of the hallway they came to a security panel and both scanned their identification and moved into the lab.
Once inside, Sephiroth could see partly into another room which was even larger and it looked like a gym. He easily discerned it was where they did testing. Turning away from that room he peered across into another room which contained all kind of weird things, though neatly organized in particular he seen what appeared to be a very large stone slate that was about 4ft tall and 4ft wide. Rufus on the other hand was looking for the people since he hadn't seen anyone yet. He headed towards the back of the lab where the office was to find someone, but the beeping from the security panel alerted him and Sephiroth that someone was entering.
A second later a girl came in, not noticing the two men, her back turned to them. She was fiddling with some panel on the wall. Though they couldn't see her entire face but they both noticed she was young, which too them didn't seem quite right. She had her long black hair up in a neat ponytail that fell to the middle of her back curling into a spiral as it fell. She was dressed in a white short sleeve top which was quite plain in the front, but the back had a large keyhole type cut-out so it revealed her back a little bit. She had on black shorts and black boots. Her skin tone was that of coffee with way too much cream added, She was shapely and stood about 5'4.
She fiddled with the panel a second more before she finally noticed them, but they still surprised her as they had guessed because she turned around suddenly, mouth slightly agape; drowning them in the bluest gray eyes they had ever seen.
Before any of them had a chance to talk a chubby gray headed man came out the office, he was Professor Lockheart, and head of the weapon's division. All eyes moved on him for the moment, and the two men stepped forward towards him.
"General" the gray head man started, "Mr. Shinra, I believe this is the first time you've been here, this is quite the honor". Lockheart was a jovial type of fellow, he always seemed happy with his duties. Sephiroth who had often talked to Lockheart on the phone sensed this early on about him.
"It's been awhile since you've sent the Masamune for any service; I guess you've been taking well enough care of it, hm?"
Sephiroth simply nodded, taking care of his favorite sword was something he'd never had a problem with.
"Well, come to my office and I'll show you the new plans", and that said Lockheart retreated into the office and Sephiroth following him. Rufus looked back to the girl before he followed them. She was scanning over some files and punching on some keypad. She looked up at him, and he nodded before turning around and going into the room.
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Not much later the three men came out; Lockheart was holding the files to new plan in his hand. Sephiroth upon entering scanned the testing room again.
"Show me the materia enhancement you were talking about" he said
Lockheart, who was looking wildly around the room, stared at Sephiroth blankly as if he hadn't heard what he said.
"Oh yes, of course" he stammered. "This way" he said before leading them into the testing lab.
It was bigger than Sephiroth had thought it to be when he'd first seen it from the other room. Lining the walls there were large glass displays holding all kinds of swords and guns. Across the room there were large vaults, which probably held the materia. In the center of the room, there were some type of targets that had been placed there. A noise caused them all to look up toward the high ceiling. Sephiroth watched as this trapeze type contraption was being slowly lowered toward the floor; with the girl he'd seen earlier hanging from it with one hand. He was actually quite impressed with her strength as she held on, not appearing to be struggling in the least.
He heard Lockheart muttering something behind him and he turned toward him, not sure if he was talking to him or not. His answer was provided him when Lockheart beckoned the girl who was still in mid-air. "Sayuna" he called, "I need you to process these now" he said, waving the files that were in his hand. The girl finally reached the floor and she began walking towards them. To Sephiroth's surprise when she reached them she bowed her head slightly to both of them and then went to Lockheart. He handed her the files, smiling nervously.
"Thanks" he said still smiling. "Oh did Tifa call today?"
"Yeah, she called me around 1:00 today; she said she'll meet us later tonight, she has something she wants to show us".
Sephiroth noted the girl's soft, almost melodic voice, but what he was really paying attention too was her accent. It was different and he knew she definitely didn't grow up in this area. Rufus also noted this as well.
"Alright, oh, how were the results with the Shuriken with the lightning materia?" Lockheart asked her.
She stared as if contemplating something, "I'm going to have to work with that a little more, the rebound packs a little too much force, I don't even think Yuffie would appreciate that". The girl smirked to herself before she disappeared into the other room.
Lockheart then turned his attention back to Sephiroth and Rufus. "She's been working on the enhancements for the past six months" he said in a matter-of-factly tone. Sephiroth nodded, but before the man could continue Rufus interrupted.
"What are her duties here?" he asked, eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"She's one of our weapon's designer and analyst. Her specialty is swords, exotic and short blades. She also determines what weapons are the best for any of the SOLDIER and Turk recruits." He explained.
Sephiroth also listened with interest. "How long has she been here? He asked.
"For about four years now"
"She seems young" Sephiroth said, lifting an eyebrow, demanding more information from the older man.
"She's 21 years old, a year younger than my daughter Tifa", he cleared his throat. "I trained her in weapon making, and she mastered the concepts pretty fast. She had studied it before and that's why I recruited her".
"Where did she study?" Rufus spoke up "She doesn't seem like she comes from here?"
"When she came here she said she lived in Midgar, but once she and my daughter got close, she convinced her to move to Nibelheim. She takes care of her younger sister, her parents died awhile back". He paused. "As regards her training, she said she learned from her father'.
Sephiroth and Rufus then ceased their interrogation, and the older man proceeded to show them the enhancements.
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By then it had reached 6:00, and then two men started making their way out the lab. Professor Lockheart had shown them out and hastily began preparing himself to leave as well.
Rufus and Sephiroth made their way through the long hallway once again. Sephiroth had since gotten used to Rufus's presence, but he was still eager to be his party of one. They made another turn, and up ahead of them was the girl. She was sitting on the white benches that were scattered along the hallway, talking on her PHS quietly.
As they got closer, their ears registered the muffled sounds coming from her mouth.
"Nani o shiteiru no…Un ii desu yo ".
Realizing the sounds didn't make sense, they quickly made sense of the type of sounds she was emitting.
Demo ne, atashi ni matte…Mou sugu kaeru yo ne…Un sou desu ne
She hung up and sighed, only to realize that two extremely important men were staring right on top of her.
"Uh, umm" was all she managed to get out.
She arched her neck hard because of their height over her, staring first at the tall silver haired man, and then glancing quickly at the other man before her eyes trailed back to Sephiroth. His face showing his close attention to her, but everything else about his face was unreadable. The intensity of his deep green eyes mixed with blue seemed to burn through her as he narrowed them slightly. All to fast, she got intimidated and started shifting her gaze uncomfortably to the floor.
"You speak Wutainese?", came the velvet voice directed at her.
"Uh, yes", she stammered, somewhat startled by the question.
"Fluently?" Sephiroth asked, not taking his eyes off her
"Yes", she answered again, wondering why they were interested.
Sephiroth then leaned over her, lowering his face closer to hers, and staring directly in her gray eyes. She held a breath in her lungs as he grabbed her hand and held it his own.
"Then Sayuna", he said, I'm hoping that you'll be able to help me".
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This is my first story; and I'm still trying to work out how to use this website since I'm new to all this. So please review and tell me how you liked the first chapter, and I'll try to keep the chapters coming. Thanks.
Please note if you were reading before the story takes place 5 years after the war instead of 1 year. And Sayuna is now 21.