A/N: Chapter 4 is kind of short, so I'm going to go ahead and post chapter 5 as well today.

Chapter IV

Loran stared into the practice chamber through the bullet proof glass and was amazed. Locke and Bakusa were also watching on, but what they were seeing was nothing new to them. Inside, Sephiroth was testing his new blade against a large robotic creation from the Weapons Department.

The robot was nearly four meters tall, with four large spider like legs and two twin gatling guns. As the robot tried to focus on Sephiroth for a deadly salvo of lead, Sephiroth continued to move away from its optical sensor by jumping from one side of the room to the next. The machine had a near unlimited supply of ammunition, so it was continuously firing, sending molten lead bouncing all over the chamber. When Sephiroth came near the glass where his squad members were watching, Loran caught a glimpse of what could have possibly been a smile of delight.

She looked away to think for a moment, and then asked her new squad mates a question. "Are the stories about him true?" Locke and Bakusa exchanged a glance and then shrugged their shoulders.

"I guess that depends on what story you've heard," Locke said.

"Yea, that's right. I remember hearing one once that said he could shoot fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from a place you wouldn't normally expect it," Bakusa said as he remembered the particular tall tale.

"Technically he can use fire and lightning, but it's only materia. Most of the stories you hear are over exaggerated, but the truth is he's much stronger than anyone else I've ever seen. If I were to bet on it, my gil would be on the side that says he's the strongest man alive, but then again I wouldn't win much on that one," Locke said as he shifted his focus onto their captain in the chamber. Loran nodded and she too looked back into the chamber just in time to see Sephiroth lunge at the machine and sever it into two. He then turned the blade over in his hand to where the blade went behind him and walked out of the chamber.

"So what do you think of the new sword Seph?" Bakusa asked. Sephiroth looked at Bakusa and sneered slightly. Bakusa saw the look and quickly coughed trying to hide his mistake. "Ugh, uh, -iroth?" Sephiroth broke his gaze and shrugged his shoulders.

"It could be longer, but it'll serve its purpose. It is better than the last one." They were about to all start to make their way back to the SOLDIER lounge, but a young MP came up and quickly saluted. Sephiroth waved the salute away and looked at the MP with annoyed eyes.

"Sir, President Shinra wants you and your squad to report to his office immediately, sir," the MP said with a hint of nervousness. Sephiroth nodded and then began to head towards the President's office. Loran, Locke, and Bakusa fell into line behind him, each exchanging glances with each other wondering what the President would want to see all of them for.

When they reached the 70th floor of the Shinra Tower, Sephiroth led his squad into the large office of President Shinra. Instantly, Sephiroth saw the large form of a man that he had never seen before standing off to the left of the President's desk. The man was roughly the same height as himself, but was much broader, especially in the chest. Sephiroth estimated his age to be at about forty; the thinning midnight blue hair that was pulled back into a pony tail also had wisps of gray. He had a dark complexion as if he spent much of his time in the sun and the leathery look of his skin proved that. His left eye was closed, possibly permanently, because a large scar that ran the length of his face ran over the eye. He appeared to be wearing a black vest, but the green cloak he had clasped on his right shoulder hid most of his upper body. On his shoulders he wore two brightly polished pauldrons with large polished brass rivets protruding out in a style that was popular with some members of SOLDIER.

President Shinra stood from his desk and walked around it to address them all at once.

"As I'm sure that you are all aware of by now, you were pulled back from the front not for R&R, but for a very delicate mission where your special talents are required. Newly acquired intelligence has reported seeing a Wutai troop transport on the north east side of Mideel Island. We need you to go there and investigate the matter. If you find evidence of a Wutai attack force being assembled there, you are to take them out. I don't have to stress the importance of this mission to you. If Wutai were to be able to attack us on our eastern side, they could easily push deep into the continent, and that's something that we simply can not have. Now, accompanying you on this mission will be Captain Mortis," the President motioned towards the enormous man standing in the corner, "recently reinstated into SOLDIER. He has invaluable knowledge of the island area and will be highly effective if a Wutai force is discovered. Now, are there any questions?" Sephiroth lightly looked over Mortis and then focused on the President.

"No," was all he said. Shinra nodded and made his way back around his desk.

"Well then you're dismissed," he said as he sat back down in his leather chair. Sephiroth and his squad saluted and then turned to leave the office. Mortis did the same and caught up with the group in the elevator. As they rode down, Sephiroth looked at the older man and raised an eyebrow.

"I remember reading the name Mortis in one of the old SOLDIER files. You were one of the first members of SOLDIER, am I right?" Sephiroth asked. Mortis turned to face him and nodded his head.

"That's right. That was nearly fourteen years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday." Mortis then glanced at the other members of the group and sighed. "They just keep getting younger and younger." Sephiroth smirked at the comment.

"How old were you when you joined?" Loran asked in her upbeat tone.

"Twenty five. And how old are you?" he asked her.

"Eighteen, but I've been trying to get into the program since I was fourteen." Mortis shook his head and lightly laughed to himself.

"Times change I guess."

Once they were on the ground floor, the group began to discuss their mission. As they walked towards a private room, Mortis asked Sephiroth about the earlier break in.

"So what do you know about that break in earlier? I heard MPs talking about it as I waited for the President."

"Not much really. The ninja, or at least that's what it looked like, broke into the library. We chased him up to the top floor, but he summoned a guard hound to keep us busy while he escaped. It was strange, because I've never seen a common animal be summoned like that," Sephiroth said as they passed through the security grid system, the guards all were standing at a firm salute as they passed.

"Hmm, I remember seeing that kind of thing years ago. Low level materia that was some way or another fused with the DNA of a common animal. When used it could summon forth the creature. The things weren't very strong and the materia was usually useless. If I recall, Hojo used to experiment with the idea years ago, but I guess he found something else to occupy his crazed mind," Mortis said as Sephiroth opened a door for them to enter. Sephiroth smirked and nodded as Mortis entered the room. Apparently modern day SOLDIERs were not the only ones who disliked Hojo.

"If we're going to leave the city, we're going to have to do it secretively," Mortis said once they were all in the private room and the door was closed.

"Why's that?" Bakusa asked as he tried to figure the reason out for himself.

"Because if that ninja who broke in earlier belonged to Wutai, there could be any number of spies around the city," Locke explained.

"And since we're not exactly a low profile unit, the spies would notice us all leaving at once," Loran said, bringing the logic into the discussion.

"That's why we split up," Sephiroth said. "If we break into two groups, one leave to the north and the other to the south, we might be able to throw off anyone watching."

"Exactly what I was going to suggest," Mortis said. "The only thing left for us to do is choose the groups and pick a location to rendezvous." Sephiroth nodded and looked at the faces of all his squad members. Both Locke and Bakusa were keeping their emotions under control, but Loran was beaming as if she was about to win a prize. He knew that Locke and Bakusa could blend in, possibly giving off the air that they were merely wandering the city; but Loran would stand out like a sore thumb. As far as anyone could tell, Mortis looked much like anyone else and he doubted that any spies would have seen him in the Shinra building since he had only been there for little over an hour. Sephiroth knew, of course, that he himself would be recognized anywhere he went so blending in was a moot point. With that in mind, he chose the grouping.

"Locke, Bakusa, and Mortis; you three head north. Loran, you and me will head south. We'll rendezvous outside of Kalm; there's a short series of cliffs that separate the wasteland from the vegetation, we'll meet there. You'll get there first since we'll have to go nearly around the city, so I'm afraid your going to have to wait for some time. If something comes up, use the PHS to contact me."

"How're we getting there? We're not going to have to walk are we?" Bakusa asked, the hint of complaint all ready evident in his voice.

"You're in SOLDIER, you should be used to walking by now," Mortis said as he rolled his eye at the young SOLDIER. Sephiroth smirked at the thought of those two stuck together for several hours. As amusing as it would be to him to make Bakusa walk the distance, he knew that time was of the essence.

"We'll take two of the vehicles that the Shinra keep in the parking garage. Let's move, we don't have time to waste," Sephiroth said as he then led the way to the parking garage. Once there, Mortis, Locke, and Bakusa chose a small panel van. As they drove off, Loran waved at them with bright enthusiasm. She then looked to Sephiroth and smiled.

"So which car are we going to take? The convertible?" she asked hopefully. Sephiroth raised his brow and lightly shook his head.

"No, I was thinking of something a little less obvious."

As they entered the bland gray pick up truck, Loran stuck out her tongue in disapproval at his choice of vehicle. It did not bother Sephiroth none as he saw it merely as a mode to get from point A to point B. As they drove off, Loran looked behind them and waved good bye to the convertible.

"I really liked the convertible," she said more to herself. Sephiroth looked over to her and then shook his head in annoyance.