A/N: So sorry for lack of updates! Been super busy! I was very unsure about how to go about this chapter, and for the longest time I threw the idea around of whether I wanted to incorporate things that I did with it. So, without further ado, let's go!~

Cassie sighed softly, bending down and picking up a stray white feather. She looked around as she held it. No sign of Hollander, Angeal, or Zack. "Guess they all flew the coop, minus Zack." She turned to look at Sephiroth. "I'm guessing he fell down through there. Shiva knows if he's even alive at this point. That's a long drop."

"He's fine." Sephiroth concluded without any sort of problem it seemed. He was probably right. Zack was a First now, and he seemed stronger than most probably gave him credit for. "Let's go. We need to head back."

"What about Zack?"

"We'll meet up with him later. There are more pressing matters at hand right now, Cassie."

She nodded and sighed, following after him while still clutching the white feather in her hand gently. "So...it looks like Angeal is sick too."

"It would seem so." Sephiroth said softly, watching as she twirled the feather quietly between her fingers. "How can something that is so pure...end up being of something evil?"

"I wouldn't say 'evil' necessarily." She frowned, looking up at him. "I think they're just scared. I know I wouldn't act rationally if I found out something like that."

"I just can't understand why Angeal would defect as well." He sighed quietly, and she had to agree with him there. While Genesis and Angeal had been friends longer than she and Sephiroth had been friends with them, it was still odd. The man had always been about honor and truth, justice even. So to see him on the opposite side of all that was troubling.

"Maybe they think what they are doing is for the good of the world." She glanced at him when he scoffed, and she realized even her words seemed a little silly. "This is all just one big mess..."

"One that will be difficult to clean up." He pinched the bridge of his nose. It was frustrating. "Our forces are short which makes matters worse."

"Think we'll have to find new recruits?"

"The Turks will handle it, like usual."

"Of course."

As the two headed back into the building, there were workers cleaning up the mess from earlier. Several lab techs from the science department were gathering the broken robots that Genesis had used to attack them. Several third class SOLDIER's were gathering up their fallen troops, and she sighed sadly. "We lost a lot of good men today. Dammit, Genesis..." She bit her lip, trying to calm herself down as they walked through the lobby and to the elevator. She got in with the silver haired general and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as the doors closed quietly. She was worried about Zack. Was he okay? Was he dead? Maybe he had life threatening injuries?

"Calm down." Sephiroth ordered gently, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. She let out a shaky sigh and looked up at him.

"Sorry...I can't help it."

"He's fine. He's Angeal's protege, after all."

Cassie smiled and nodded, soothed by his words. "You're right."

As the doors opened, they stepped out, heading to the director's office to report in. Said man looked up at them, sighing softly and standing, turning his back to them. "I see that Zack isn't with you."

"He fell." Cassie told him. "I tried to stop it, but I wasn't fast enough. Sephiroth and I believe he's alive. He's strong." She smiled slightly, arms crossed.

"Are there any new leads?"

"No. Angeal and Genesis both disappeared, along with their forces. They're probably hiding somewhere, planning their next attack..."

"They're in lead with Hollander."

This surprised the blonde. He adjusted his glasses and turned to face them. "I take it you found something?"

Sephiroth nodded, stepping forward and handing him some files he held onto. "I'm sure you'll find everything in those to be very interesting."

Lazard sat himself down at his desk, opening a file. "You're both dismissed. Please be on alert, as the threat is still in the air."

"Sir." Both nodded, turning and leaving.

Cassie rubbed her neck as she finished drying her hair. Nothing had happened so far concerning Genesis or Angeal, so she'd taken the chance to shower while she could. She turned the lights off and walked out into the living room. Sephiroth was sitting on her couch, resting his eyes. She felt sorry for him. He was tired, and while no one else could probably see, he was emotionally distressed like she was. He just hid it better than she did. Quietly, she sat down beside him, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Seph?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think they'll come back?"

He opened his eyes and glanced at her for a moment. "I don't know. Angeal, maybe. I can't say much for Genesis, though..." He watched her shoulders slump forward a bit, and he regretted saying it.

"Why did this happen?" She asked, her voice soft.

Sephiroth sighed softly, leaning his head back and staring at the ceiling. It was a question he kept asking himself, but even he didn't understand why this all had happened. He felt guilty for the injury Genesis had gotten because they had gotten carried away. Perhaps if Sephiroth had not accepted his challenge, Genesis would have never gotten hurt, and he probably wouldn't have defected.

"I wish I knew..."

Cassie laid her head on his shoulder, sighing softly. What she wouldn't give for things to go back to the way that they were. Her eyes drifted to the wall, and the pictures she had along it. There weren't many, just a few family pictures, several pictures of her nephew, Aaron, some pictures of her and her friends, and several pictures of her and Genesis. Her eyes were fixated on the picture of her, Genesis, Sephiroth, and Angeal, and she smiled lightly at the memory.

"So, why did we agree to do this?" Genesis sighed, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Angeal set up the tripod the camera was going to be on.

Angeal smiled, glancing up at him. "Cassie thought it would be nice to have a picture. I agree."

He rolled his eyes, watching Sephiroth come in while Cassie trailed behind him, waving the camera in her hand around. "I brought it!"

"Bring it here." Angeal told her, taking it from her when she handed it to him. "Thank yooou..." He hummed, setting it up and getting the timer ready. "Alright, hurry!"

"Don't forget to smile Sephiroth!" Cassie reminded, getting a small smirk from the man standing beside her. "You too, Red!"

"At least I have a nice smile."

"Why you-!"

"Smile!"

They had to take several pictures, since the first one they got was of Cassie trying to hit Genesis, in which she accidentally knocked Angeal down and Sephiroth was keeping her off of Genesis. Either someone blinked, or sneezed, or wasn't paying attention in the rest of them, but the final one had been the winner. They'd all been smiling, even Sephiroth, and Cassie had climbed up onto Angeal's back, the two grinning ear to ear.

"Cassie?"

She jumped slightly, looking up at Sephiroth and blinking when he touched her cheek with his gloved fingers. "Huh?"

"You're crying..." He muttered, frowning.

She gasped softly, turning away and rubbing her eyes furiously. "M-My allergies, that's all..." Cassie murmured, taking a sharp breath. It was so hard to not break down, but somehow she managed. "I'm fine, I-"

She was cut off when the building shook, the lights in her apartment flickering briefly. Both glanced up at the ceiling, and Cassie was already slipping on her boots and the rest of her equipment on. Sephiroth threw her coat to her and she slipped into it quickly. Both raced out the door as the alarms went off, several people racing past them. Sephiroth was on the phone, most likely with the director. The building shook again, Cassie leaning against the wall to keep her balance. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Several infantry troops ran past them, shouting one thing or another.

"Cassie, try calling Zack." Sephiroth said, still listening to whatever Lazard was telling him. She nodded and pulled her phone up, scrolling through her contacts before she found Zack's number and called it.

"C'mon, pick up..." She muttered. "Pick up, pick up..."

"Incoming!" Someone yelled, a Genesis clone flying in the direction of her and Sephiroth.

'Hi, this is Zack! I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you when I can!'

"Great..." She grumbled, slamming her fist into the copy's face as it neared and sending it flying into the wall. The force of it cracked it, but no one had to know she was the reason why. "Sephiroth, he's not picking up. Maybe he doesn't have service down there. Or maybe he's really dead?"

Instead of answering, he dialed Zack's number and called him. They stopped and waited, and when the other finally answered, Sephiroth spoke before a hello could be given. "Zack. Return to the Shinra Building now. Genesis has attacked us." Sephiroth lingered for a moment, probably listening to Zack before he hung up and pocketed his phone. "Let's go."

Eventually, the two First Class SOLDIER's found themselves back to back, surrounded by several copies. Sephiroth scoffed and with a flick of his wrist, he took them out with a Thundaga spell. Cassie grabbed one by the arm as it came at her with the curved sword in its hand, kneeing it in the stomach and lifting him up, throwing him at the window, a little surprised that the force of it broke the glass and the copy fell out. "Look what that guy did." She commented softly. Sephiroth couldn't help the chuckle it gave him.

Another wave of enemies came at them and the two took them out with ease, moving to leave the area and stopping when Zack came flying through the whole in the window with the help of Angeal, surprising them both.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"You're late." Sephiroth sighed

Angeal looked between his two friends, blinking when he let his gaze linger on Sephiroth. "Have you lost weight?"

The silver haired man scoffed, rolling his eyes a bit yet smirking slightly. "Humph." His attention was drawn to Cassie as she stomped towards Angeal and hit him square in the jaw.

Angeal grunted, staggering a bit and reaching up to rub his now sore jaw. "I guess I deserved that, huh?" Cassie didn't respond, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"Don't do that ever again..." She whispered, burying her face in his chest and squeezing her eyes shut.

"We can kiss and make up later." Sephiroth sighed.

Angeal cleared his throat, nodding while Cassie pulled away. "On to business. It's safe to assume Hollander has ordered Genesis to eliminate Hojo."

Cassie and Sephiroth exchanged looks. Almost everyone that went to Hojo for anything disliked him. The scientist was rude, and seemed to take pleasure in poking people with needles. Sephiroth's reasons for harboring such distaste towards him was unknown to the rest of them, but they knew he must have had good reason.

Zack looked between the three, trying to remember who Hojo even was. "Isn't he the director of the Science department?"

Angeal nodded, glancing over at him. "Yes. Hollander believes that Hojo robbed him of his rightful position."

"Then they'll be targeting the Science Department floor upstairs. We should-"

"Forget about Hojo." Sephiroth's tone was so cold, it could have chilled the entire floor they were on. Zack snapped his jaw shut, standing rigidly while Sephiroth walked past them.

Angeal sighed. "You're in your usual mood, I see."

"It's been a bit of a long day." Cassie murmured, watching Sephiroth lean by the door the led to the stairwell. "Plus he's not Hojo's biggest fan, remember?"

Angeal sighed again, nodding while scratching the back of his head. "Sephiroth, take the floors below. I'll deal with things outside." He turned to Zack and Cassie with a smile. "You two will go up. Hojo will be your responsibility."

"Understood!" Zack fist pumped the air, taking off down the hall immediately.

"Try to deal with Genesis if you can, Cass."

She stopped and turned to look back at him and Sephiroth, both giving her similar looks. Her heart sank a bit, but she nodded in understanding before she chased after Zack.

Protect Hojo and defeat Genesis using whatever means necessary.

"Well, look who's here!"

Genesis narrowed his eyes as Hojo spoke, rapier in hand and a glare on his face. He disliked Hojo just as much as the others did, finding his methods for "research" unsettling. He'd walked in for a checkup once, way back when the war with Wutai had just began, only to find Hojo experimenting on some poor woman while who he believed was her child watched from behind a glass cage. The next time he'd come in, the woman and child were no longer there, so he assumed that they had both died at the hands of Hojo. The last time he saw him was before his shoulder injury happened, not long after he and Cassie had started to date. Hojo had thrown the idea out that they should try for a kid, thinking solely of how strong a child produced from two parents injected with mako would turn out. A superhuman baby, he called it.

He truly was a slimeball, as Cassie often referred to him as.

Slowly, he lifted his blade up and pointed it towards Hojo's back, keeping a close eye on him as he turned to look at him over his shoulder.

"Hollander sent you, correct? You think that if you obey Hollander, he'll stop your body from degrading, is that it?" Hojo shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pitiful...just pitiful, I say."

Having had enough, Genesis growled and moved to thrust the sword into the back of Hojo's neck.

"Genesis."

He grunted and stopped, looking over and watching as Zack ran in with Cassie. He rolled his eyes as Zack pulled his sword from his back and pointed it at him.

Cassie glanced at him for a moment, their eyes meeting before she looked away and turned her attention to Hojo. "Sir, are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Hojo simply laughed, pressing his knuckles to his lips to stifle the laughter that seemed to keep flowing from him. "A second-rate hack like Hollander couldn't cure a cold!"

Cassie frowned. 'So that's what this is about.'

"Genesis, that's enough!"

"Angeal..."

Hojo turned around to look, smirking a bit. "Ah, what do we have here?"

Genesis sighed, lowering his rapier. "My friend, that fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess."

"The entire cast of Hollander's freak show!" Hojo smirked even more.

"Shut up, you!" Zack ordered, Cassie sending Hojo a glare.

""LOVELESS", Act IV."

"Where the two friends challenge each other to a duel." Zack grunted in surprise, everyone glancing over at Hojo as he continued, "An ancient epic. I read it thinking it might aid my research, but...pure drivel."

Angeal looked at him, curious. "How does the duel end?""

The scientist adjusted his glasses. "Unknown. The last act is missing, and yet to be discovered."

Cassie eyed Genesis warily as he walked by her and down onto the walkway, her hand gripping the hilt of her gunblade while he spoke. "There are various theories." He turned and looked at her, raising his hand up as it began to glow with fire magic, turning sharply and sending it flying through a large test tube and the wall, creating a large hole big enough for him to make his escape through. Slowly, he turned back to look at them. "The mysterious gift of the goddess...What is the meaning behind it? For us, at least." With that said, he turned and began to walk out, Cassie racing after him but stopping when he flew out, unable to follow at this point.

"Genesis!"

"Hey!" Zack called, racing after them while Angeal flew up and over to him, picking him up on the way and carrying him. "Hold it, Genesis!"

Cassie watched them fly overhead, grunting at her disadvantage. "Please, Angeal! Stop him!" She called.

Behind her, Hojo was hunched over, laughing hysterically. She frowned, looking over at him. "Pitiful! Just pitiful! To think he actually believes Hollander is going to help him...how stupid! If Hollander wanted an example of a perfect specimen, he should take a good look at Sephiroth!"

She frowned, ignoring his words about Sephiroth. "Professor, if you're so much better than Hollander then you can stop the degradation, right?"

Hojo stopped laughing, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses. "In hindsight, yes. But I won't."

Her sky blue eyes widened at how easily he brushed it off. "And why not!?"

"Waste my resources on a failure!? Ha! What a joke."

"But sir!"

"Get out of my lab. Your assistance was pointless anyway."

At this, she felt something snap. She grabbed the professor by the front of his shirt and slammed him against one of the many test tubes in his lab. "You're the only one with the cure, yet you keep it to yourself when people need help! Isn't it our company's job to help people with the resources we have!?" This situation was frustrating. How could resources that could be used to help someone be kept away from said people. To Cassie, it felt so greedy and utterly disgusting, even more so when the scientist cackled. She bristled with anger, and she was sure if this kept up, she'd be thrown in jail for what would potentially happen next. "Answer me, Hojo!"

"Oi!" She struggled a bit as she was pulled off, registering that the voice belonged to Reno. "Knock it off!" He struggled to keep her restrained, and knew if he wasn't careful, she'd potentially beat the shit out of him. "Hey, Rude! A little help! Yo, hey! Watch the face!" Reno yelped as she practically shoved her elbow right into his nose.

Rude hurried over, helping his partner. "If you don't calm down, Captain, we'll have to arrest you."

"Arrest me!?" She screeched, breaking out of their holds and knocking them away from her lightly, breathing hard. "He should be the one arrested! Being greedy and keeping something that could save lives all to himself!"

"Hmph. Not all of us deserve the privilege of being saved."

The words hurt to hear. He was right, in a way. Some people didn't deserve it. But the people that needed it most weren't bad people. They had never done anything wrong before this whole incident happened. They were sick, and just needed help.

Help that someone wouldn't give them.

"Why you-"

"Cassiopeia." She stopped when she heard the cool, smooth voice of Sephiroth, the tone he had almost scary to anyone who'd never been around him long. She looked over at him silently. "That's enough. You're to leave and go back to your apartment."

"No."

"It wasn't a suggestion."

While the two were good friends, and comrades, Sephiroth still had superiority over her. She was merely a captain, and he a general. It left no room to argue.

Cassie however was not satisfied with the situation.

"Tch..." She wanted to say no. But she didn't. She instead backed off and moved over to where he stood. "Go to hell, Hojo." She growled out through gritted teeth, seething quietly. Sephiroth felt the anger practically pouring off of her, watching her from his peripheral as she passed by him slowly, leaving the room.

She leaned against the wall once she was outside and inhaled sharply, tears of frustration flowing freely.

A/N: Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the future of Cassie. I have a good idea of what I want, but at the same time...hm... OH WELL! THANKS FOR READING SEE YOU SOON~