Title: Uncaged

Ratings: T for now

Pairings: I have decided to do Squall(or Leon)xSephiroth

AN: I am pretending that Jenova cells were never used on Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis. Also Italics symbolizes Shiva talking.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Sorry about the long wait. I lost one friend to suicide, then lost another in a hit and run accident. My grandmother fell down a set of stairs and broke her hip. I had exams and a whole bunch of other stuff to deal with. I'm just so tired right now and everything hurts.

Chapter Two

Flashback

He moved awkwardly, as all toddlers do, to the kitchen. All the other kids had gone to play hide and go seek. He wasn't invited. But he had found a butterfly! He wanted to show Addie. Addie, one of the ladies in charge of the orphanage, was one of his best friends. She didn't laugh at him when he told her about Shiva. He ran forward into the building. The door to the kitchen was cracked open. He approached, only to have Shiva to tell him to stop. The butterfly on his hand fluttered its wings in a panic before taking off crazily for the open window. Squall peered into the kitchen, eyes widening when he saw Addie sitting at the kitchen table, anger written on her face. Squall had only seen that look once before, when one of the older boys had pushed him into a wall. He couldn't see the other person's face, only an arm was in his line of sight.

"He's not the one you're looking for. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I know your lying. I'm taking him with me. Do you have any idea what his power can do? How rich it will make me?"

"I don't care. He's just a little boy, not some experiment!"

"You should have thought of that before you did what you did. You knew the repercussions." Just then, Squall accidently opened the door a little bit, drawing the attention to him. Several things happened at once. Addie's eyes widened in fear. She opened her mouth to say something. At the same time, the stranger shot her in the chest. Squall stared at his fallen friend, willing her to get up, to save him. The shooter smiled creepily at him, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Hello, child. My name is Professor Hojo."

End flashback

Squall sat up, drenched in sweat. Closing his eyes again, he fell back onto the bed with a pained gasp. That's what happens when you're not in a drugged induced sleep came Shiva's voice. You have dreams... and nightmares. The brunette teen made a non committal noise and covered his head with the scratchy cotton blanket. He had hated being drugged, but if this was a side effect, then maybe it wasn't so bad. Turning on his side, he saw that someone had left some food on a plate for him. He viewed it with suspicion. On the subject of being drugged, several times it had been placed in his food. Shiva sighed. We are going to have to work on your trust levels.

XXX

Genesis lay down on the simulated mako reactor, letting one leg dangle off the edge. Angeal stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest. The silence between them was a comfortable one. The redhead had an annoying piece of hair in his eye though. Too lazy to move it, he tried blowing on it. After several attempts, he gave an aggravated sigh and swiped his hand to move it. A chuckle was heard and Angeal said,

"You are being childish." Genesis frowned

"I am nooooooot." He started to whine. The other man gave him a look. He returned it before shrugging. The silence returned, as did his hair.

"He's not eating." The redhead swiped angrily at the hair again.

"Who's not eating?"

"Squall." Genesis sat up this time, a motion which let his bangs fall into his eyes. Giving up, he looked at Angeal.

"You saw the reports. The boy had enough drugs to keep a Behemoth down." The redhead stood, removing Loveless from his pocket. He flipped through it before continuing. "It was probably placed inside things he consumed; water, food etc. If he gets hungry enough, he'll eat." Angeal gave him a different look.

"That is cruel of you to say." Genesis sighed.

"You're right. Now come on, I haven't been practicing and I want to spar." Angeal frowned; Genesis had been acting strange lately. He had no time to think about that as the other man's sword came at him. He parried the thrust easily and fell into the fight effortlessly.

XXX

Zack stared at Squall, who was trying to ignore him. The teen was becoming more and more uncomfortable. That was another thing he hated, being stared at. Finally he broke the silence turning to look at Zack.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just seeing if I could get you to talk." The younger teen rolled his eyes, causing Zack to laugh. Shiva joined in on the laughter. Squall let it continue before saying,

"When I am getting out of here?" The raven-haired teen sobered up instantly. Squall didn't talk much, preferring to express his opinion with shrugs or non-committal sounds. Any verbalization from the teen was about when he was getting out of the medical ward. After that, he switched the conversation to Zack, who was always too happy to talk about ShinRa, his life, or any other topic that came up. It had been three days since Squall had woken up and Zack knew nothing about the younger male.

"Soon, I promise. But you're not making it go any faster by not eating." The reproachful look Zack gave him was so motherly it almost made him laugh. Almost though. To placate his new friend, he grabbed an apple and took a bite. Zack smiled and nodded to himself. It wasn't much, but it was a start. An uncomfortable silence grew, well uncomfortable for Zack at any rate. The teen liked conversation, while Squall seemed to dislike it. Zack mentally shrugged. He hung out with Sephiroth after all.

XXX

Flashback

He shivered in the cold room, not having more to wear than a thin cotton t-shirt and pants. Squall sat with his knees tucked under his chin, whimpering softly. Shiva murmured soft words of comfort, but he didn't hear it. He was too afraid.

The door opened and he scrambled away into the corner, covering his face. Peering out through the gaps in his fingers, he saw Hojo standing there. He started to tremble when he noticed a knife in the man's hand.

"Well, Squall, today we're going to test your healing rate."

Later, Hojo stood at the door, blood dripping off the edge of the knife to land on the floor. Squall sobbed, holding his hand over his head where Hojo had cut. Diagonally across the middle of his forehead. The man didn't show any pity or remorse for the seven-year old, just mentally made a note to check back tomorrow.

End Flashback

Again, Squall sat up. He clutched at his head, feeling the searing pain as if the scar had been inflicted just yesterday. I'm sorry, Squall. He mentally waved it off, it wasn't her fault.

"Nightmares?" He jerked at that voice. It was different from Zack's and Angeal's. He peeked at the new stranger. He had long silver hair that seem so meticulously groomed that it made him self conscious about his own scruffy appearance. He had on a shirt and jacket that Squall was not only made for aesthetic purposes, but for easy movement. A sheathed sword sat in the corner. Squall's eyes widened. It was HUGE. What is it with these guys and oversized weapons? Overcompensating for something? Angeal had been showing off his buster sword. Squall tried to suppress a laugh, but failed, drawing a raised eyebrow from the newcomer.

"Yeah, you could say that." Squall clenched his fist and teeth, all humour forgotten. He looked back at the stranger, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, Mr...?"

"I didn't tell you my name. And it's actually General. General Sephiroth." Squall blinked. THIS was Sephiroth? The man Zack talked about? The revered Sephiroth, hero to the people? He realized he should be saluting or something and tried to sit up, but sank back down with a cry of pain. Sephiroth leaned over him with a look of concern. "Don't strain yourself. Angeal will kill me if your recovery period is lengthened and I didn't do anything." That's right. Zack mentioned something about being best friends. But why would they care about him? Sephiroth had sat back down and was studying him with calculating green eyes.

"It was Hojo, wasn't it? Who gave you this?" The general gestured to the teen's face. Squalls eyes widened again.

"H-How did you know?" Sephiroth smiled without any humour or warmth.

"You're not the only one he's scarred, child"

Reviews are appreciated. Thanks ever so much.