Hey there guys! I know I haven't been updating much lately. You can thank my laptop for that...or rather the virus that attacked it. I'm hoping to get it fixed soon. In the meantime, I'm using my mom's laptop to try and continue my stories. Thank the heavens I saved most of my stories on a flash drive. Otherwise these wonderful stories would be forced onto hiatus. I did lose some chapters, but it could have been much MUCH worse, so I'm very thankful.

It may be a while before chapters for other stories are updated, but for the most part the stories and plots are safe. The worse damage was losing so many of my favorite songs, but thankfully there's always youtube and iHeart Radio. I don't mean to ramble, but I felt I owed you guys an explanation as to why I've been so quiet lately.

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen

When the ferry arrived in Junon the group headed over to one of the lower ranked military offices. That way Tifa would be allowed to remain with them and not denied entry just because civilians weren't allowed, which was the policy for many of the military buildings in the area. Sephiroth had never particularly visited these offices and so relied on Zack to show him the way to a secure phone while Cloud waited outside said room with Tifa. He was allowed in, but he didn't want to leave her by herself in a place like this.

"This city is so big," She commented once they were alone in the waiting room.

"Just wait until we reach Midgar, this place will seem more like Rocket Town in comparison," he replied.

"Seriously? How could a city get any bigger?"

Cloud couldn't help but smirk at her. His reaction was about the same the first time he had ever laid eyes on the big city. When he first came to Junon he was taken by the sheer sights and scope of such a big place, but when he finally reached Midgar it took him a bit to get his feet moving from where he had frozen in place.

Zack exited the room and smiled at the two. "Good news. We don't have to go the rest of the way on foot!"

"Really?" asked Tifa.

"Yep, the general's arranged a chopper ride for us. It'll probably take a few hours to get there, but it sure as hell beats five more days of walking. Four if we go at Seph's pace."

"He could cut the time by a day?" asked Tifa.

"Yeah, even if he had to tangle with a few zoloms in the marshes," replied Zack.

"Wait, what's a zolom?" asked Tifa.

"I've never seen one," Cloud replied, "but the guide that took me through the marshes on Chocobo back said if you ever had to go through the bog, make sure you have a speedy chocobo who knows the area. He said those birds can save your life."

Zack nodded, "That's right. And there's a farm not too far on the other side. A guy there raises 'em."

"Really?" she asked. "So you have a chocobo, then?"

Zack smiled at this and wrapped an arm around Cloud's shoulder. "Sure do!"

This earned him a giggle from Tifa before Cloud playfully shoved him off. "I'm not that tame yet," he replied.

Before Zack could challenge him the general appeared and motioned for them to follow. "The chopper is ready and waiting."

Surprised to be leaving so soon, Tifa made sure to see as much of the city through the small window of the chopper as they flew overhead and across the wilderness. It was also a welcome distraction from the suffering of her childhood friend who was once again struck by a nasty case of motion sickness.

Zack was rubbing his back in a circular motion, trying to help ease his buddy's misery. "Man, your stomach can't stand land, sea or air travel? Talk about a triple threat. The sooner you make SOLDIER the better."

"Try not to play favoritisms, Zack," the General warned. "We don't want to attract the wrong attention."

It took the SOLDIER a minute to get what his commanding officer was implying. "You're saying he'd get bullied 'cuz I'm his pal?"

"It wouldn't be the first time in company history," he replied, remembering one of his two only friends.

. . .

Genesis had challenged him early on. Sephiroth, a promising Third back then had come across a group of cadets who were beating up one of their peers. His rusty red hair was easy to pick out of the crowd and so was the bloody lip and bruises. Before intervening, he watched to see what information he could learn from the incident.

"Useless Trash!" barked one of the aggressors. "Always thinking you're better than us just because you use fancy words! You'll never be SOLDIER! Not with those scrawny arms!"

"It's not just brute strength that gets you into SOLDIER," the boy replied. "It's intelligence and speed. Knowing how to use materia properly helps too, but you grunts wouldn't know about that."

So, the cadet knew about materia? It had impressed the silver-haired Third, but what amused him was the way the boy carried himself. It was if he already saw himself as SOLDIER and not merely a tryout. Was it pride, or was he trying to bluff and make himself appear to have the upper hand? He clearly did not.

The other boys had heard enough of his taunts and the one who had seemed to be the leader nodded to two other boys who grabbed the kid's arms while the first one started delivering several painful blows to his stomach. "Let's see how well you do tomorrow with a black and blue gut!"

The boy struggled to get free, but when he realized he couldn't he focused all of his strength on enduring the blows. Just as Sephiroth was about to intervene the boys stopped and threw him down. The leader spat on him for good measure before leaving with the others. They didn't see the SOLDIER, but no matter. Sephiroth had memorized their faces and would be doing some ID searching before reporting it to his superiors. He then approached the boy who looked so small and weak at his feet.

Instead of fear or shyness like most cadets, when he saw the SOLDIER he glared up at him. "What are you staring at? Never seen a guy get beat up before?"

"You're not intimidated by me?" he asked, a little surprised. Even fellow SOLDIERs seemed to give him a wide berth.

"Why should I?" he threw back with venom. "You're just another man like me. The only thing separating us is rank."

This earned a smile from Sephiroth. Finally! Someone who didn't shrink back at his approach. It was very relieving, though he tried not to let it show.

"What, no one else treats you like that?" And he was smart too. Had Sephiroth not looked into his eyes and saw a lack of mako he would have thought he was talking to an equal or a higher rank. He would make SOLDIER, as he had stated there was more than strength alone.

"Just another man? How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen, if it matters so much to you," he growled.

Sephiroth was actually surprised by this and tried to hide it, but the boy was far too smart for a cadet. "What? You think I'm too old to try out for SOLDIER?"

"No, I'm just surprised you're older than me by a year."

The boy seemed surprised by this. Sephiroth offered his hand to help him up. "What's your name?"

The boy brushed the hand away and stood on his own, though Sephiroth noticed the wince the boy tried to hide and the resisted urge to hold his stomach in pain. "Genesis Rhapsodos, and I will make First Class. Those idiots won't dare disrespect me then. And who are you?" he asked, finally curious about the SOLDIER.

"Sephiroth."

"That's it? No last name?"

"It's not worth mentioning," he replied.

Genesis glared at him then. "What, don't think I'm good enough for a full name? You're just like everyone else! Just you wait. I'll make First Class and then you and everyone else will be the ones desperately trying to scamper out of my way!"

With that he stormed off. Sephiroth would never forget how his friend had been true to his word. Not only had he soared in the ranks, but he had earned the reputation of making everyone clear a path when he roamed the halls. He wondered if it was because of what had happened as a cadet that made him loathe them so much.

. . .

"Seph? Seeeeph? Sephiroth!"

The general blinked and looked over at Zack who had been calling his name. Tifa looked over from the window seat and even Cloud raised his head, even though he looked absolutely miserable.

"You okay?" Zack asked again.

"Yes, I'm fine," the General replied.

When it appeared Zack didn't believe him he also seemed to notice the odd looks the other two were giving him. "What is it?" He looked at each one of them before Zack tried to reply.

"It's just that…you're um…" he scratched the back of his spiky head.

"You're crying, sir," Cloud finished for his friend.

At this Sephiroth blinked in utter confusion and raised a hand to feel his face and sure enough he felt the damp trail of a tear. It surprised him more than it did the others. He hadn't cried since his first mako test back when he was a child. Hojo told him it was a useless reflex and to control it. That it had no place in a SOLDIER's life. And that had been that, but now?

"What's on your mind?" asked Zack carefully.

Sephiroth wiped both eyes to be sure the other wouldn't betray him as well. "Nothing that can be changed," he replied. He knew that his trip to the future had changed him, had opened up his eyes to others around him, but he wished it had happened sooner. He might have been able to help his friends more. If he had just been a better friend. Sephiroth had nearly driven himself mad with all of the 'what ifs' that had kept him up at night after his friends deserted. Now it was far too late. Angeal was dead and Genesis was Goddess know where.

"You wanna talk about it?" offered Zack.

Sephiroth knew that Zack felt a similar pain. Angeal had been like a father figure to him.

"Perhaps another time," he replied.

It wasn't safe to speak of such matters with other ears after all. The pilot thankfully wasn't a Turk, but the less people who knew the better.