A/N: Chapter 55! I'm excited everytime we get to another chapter, because I love to hear what everyone thinks :D Thanks to my lovely reviewers: NicotineGum, Marezuls, BeeJang, CaseyAnn'sPrecious, Dame Nosferatu, kiralover44, CornCob, minoki, KT, OvenBased, Aldalena, whatevergirl, and Chicken Nova! So there seems to be a relatively common consenus: Jade's a bastard? You'll learn more about him later...and probably hate him worse.


It was early, and Vincent was exhausted.

They had been out and about base for hours, anticipating an attack that never came. Everyone had been on edge the entire night, leaving them all somewhat strained and jumpy from the lack of sleep. He had tried to comfort Cloud to the best of his abilities, but he felt so incredibly drained, and constantly found his mind wandering aimlessly through thoughts of his mentor.

The power outage was unexplained as was the explosion at the Labs, at least to the lower members of SOLDIER and the guard. None of their superiors had even made an any effort to lay the blame on something. That was why many of them, though sleep deprived, were alert and worried. They had no idea of what was to come, if anything.

Why had the power gone out? Vincent wasn't sure, but he had the feeling that something was amiss. Those wolf-like creatures...had they really been from the Labs? Or were they from somewhere else? If so, how had they been able to get on the base in the first place without anyone noticing their arrival? He didn't know, and he had the feeling that they might never find out. He would have to ask Sephiroth, if his mentor even knew anything about it. The man might not even tell him anything even if he was aware of what had gone on, which really wouldn't have surprised him, though it would be disappointing just the same. He wanted to be trusted by the General more than anything.

Cloud sighed beside him, sniffing quietly in the morning air. He was wearily looking around, long having ceased his tears, and finally overcome with a tiredness that showed in his slumped shoulders and bowed head. His rebellious blonde hair had been tamed somewhat from his hands smoothing it back unconsciously; now it was somewhat disheveled instead of wild.

The sun had crept over the horizon, setting it ablaze with oranges and yellows, and making the Third squint from its brightness. He was settling into a bleak numbness from his sleepiness, which made things slightly easier on him. His thoughts kept quieting for longer intervals, as they stood around, waiting. Even Chaos had remained silent.

The General appeared a few hours later, not long after they had been given orders to return to their quarters. Schedules had been canceled for the next two days, Vincent guessed, in case something else went wrong. There was a noticeable relief from all of the men, particularly the younger ones, but it was short lived due to the rare appearance of the General. The man had a tendency to make anyone nervous.

Even in their haze, everyone straightened considerably, and the formerly listless Cloud brightened somewhat.

"It's the General," the guard said quietly, watching as the man spoke to a few of the Firsts, Lazard at his side. The Third suddenly recalled that the boy had never seen the head of SOLDIER before.

Everyone was observing the exchange, curious as to whether or not they were going to get a short speech from the man that might shed light on what had occurred. They all waited patiently, but only Vincent noticed the strange look to the General's eyes, the stiff forced posture that wasn't quite normal.

Green eyes caught maroon for just an instant, a silent exchange that only the two involved noticed. The slits remained in him for a fraction longer than any other, and conveyed too many things for the Third to sort through in such a state. But one thing that was clear: Sephiroth knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be. Vincent swallowed nervously, but made no move to look guilty, only standing next to Cloud with a placid expression.

The eyes left him, and moved on. They went to the blonde next, who only grew apprehensive under the stare, though he was too interested to look away. Sephiroth seemed to examine the entire group before coming closer to them, separating himself from the crowding Firsts, who were in search of information, much like everyone else.

There was still the scent of smoke to the air, thought it had subsided somewhat, overcome by the smell of soggy, charred wood, and strangely, chemicals, mako to be precise. Vincent couldn't ignore those smells, his senses far too keen. It had already given him a dull, thrumming headache, but thankfully it wasn't too terrible, nothing but a vague annoyance that he easily ignored.

"As you are aware, there was a large power outage that struck not only the base, but virtually all of Midgar," Sephiroth stated, causing several of the men to glance up, surprised by the man's willingness to speak. The General rarely did, more the sort to keep quiet, merely watching from a distance rather than involving himself noticeably.

Sephiroth moved, advancing like a predator, sidestepping almost. His hands were held tightly behind his back, fingers laced neatly, hair swaying over his pauldron-covered shoulders. His inflection was flat, to the point of being inhuman, while his eyes were as lifeless as any corpse Vincent had seen. Though this was normal behavior for the man in public, he felt like he sensed something was off. Was there in fact, something wrong, or was he perhaps just imagining it? Was it stress?

He hated how when his mentor appeared, everything important seemed to fall away, leaving a core of obsessiveness. He was constantly trying to interpret how the man was feeling, and he despised himself for it. Sephiroth, though he had proven to be at least somewhat caring, he was also very distant. Chances were, he would never fully know what the man was thinking, or more specifically, what his intentions were.

Vincent berated himself for his distraction.

The blonde was watching in morbid fascination, nervous, but intent enough that he had suddenly stopped thinking about what had happened. He blinked a few times, unable to stop staring. The Third could relate to the feeling, as he had seen the General countless times, yet still could not stop himself from looking over the man in interest.

There was something about Sephiroth that was unique, not just the cat-like eyes, or even the hair and attire, but a sense of power that radiated from him, more forceful than any words could convey. It stopped some in awe, made enemies bristle, and for Vincent, it made his chest ache dully, as much as it was humiliating to admit to himself.

"The explosion is thought to have come from a short, which consequently caught the building on fire and ignited several mako tanks. There have been technical difficulties throughout the base. As such, I advise everyone to take any problems in stride; they will all be seen to and repaired shortly." The General gave a very curt inclination of his head before turning away, calm and emotionless as ever.

He moved through the Firsts, talking to each briefly, though none but the intended could hear what was being said.

"I can see why people are so afraid of him," Cloud said in a barely audible whisper.

Vincent only nodded, his gut twisting as he fingered the revolver heavy at his hip. He was frowning.

Something was off with his mentor. He also had a feeling he was going to be in a lot of trouble the next time he saw him face to face.


He spent hours in his barracks, trying to sleep through the incessant, apprehensive talking of his roommates. He had turned over repeatedly, frustrated and tired. He had even gone so far as to tell them all to quiet down, but they had only stared at him briefly before continuing again.

He kept thinking about his father, what the documents had said. All of them were still back in Sephiroth's apartment where he had left them. He regretted having to leave them behind, but in truth it was probably for the better. He knew he would do nothing but read over them until he memorized every word, had Hojo so ingrained in his memory that the scientist would come to represent the epitome of what it was to hate.

Refusing to cry again, he only closed his eyes, composing himself. The last thing he needed was to start sobbing in front of his squad mates, who would probably think he was just getting emotional over what had happened a few hours ago. They would probably even laugh, though he was sure they themselves were scared; their constant talking suggested that.

SOLDIERs were taught to loathe any show of weakness. Maybe that was why all of the older members had only glanced at Cloud as he cried. All of them would probably become cold like that; it was the way of things. But he didn't plan to let himself become that dark, even if things kept happening that made him want to fall back into himself, forget what it was to feel.

A lot of the Firsts had remained behind, he noticed, still on duty while the rest of them had downtime. It was amazing the differences between Firsts and even Seconds. When it came to comparing them to Thirds, there was no comparison. They were all treated completely different from one another. He looked forward to the day when he could be called a First would have more independence. It would also be nice not to be stuck in a room with a bunch of other boys.

The Third sighed, gazing in boredom at one of the Sephiroth recruiting posters. It was the same design as the one he had looked at through the darkness what seemed like ages ago. He had never thought those stupid fantasies would see the light of day....

"Vincent Valentine?"

He turned his head to whoever had addressed him, only to find another Third standing at the side of his bunk in full uniform. The teen was holding something in his hand, gripping it in uncertainty. The kid seemed somewhat familiar, but upon reading his name tag, Vincent still wasn't sure. His squad mates had ceased their conversation, interested suddenly in why the quietest member of the room had a visitor.

"Yes," he replied groggily, eyes focusing on the object.

"This is for you."

A cell phone was tossed onto his bed, landing near his stomach. The other Third retreated fairly quickly, before Vincent even had the chance to make some sort of response. He watched the teen leave, brow furrowed. No one had ever sent him anything before, at least not that he could recall.

"What'd he give you a phone for?" one of his roommates asked, having risen partially from the bed he had been reclining on.

"Don't worry about it," Vincent answered shortly.

He thought about it for a moment, before picking up the object in question, lazily slumping onto his back to examine it more closely, fingers tracing over it. He disregarded the others, something he was becoming very proficient at.

It looked like his phone, but he knew for a fact that it wasn't. It may have had his name etched in it in the same script, but he happened to have his old one in his pocket, one that he was sure probably didn't work anymore. Sephiroth had to have been the one that sent it to him; who else would send him a phone, particularly one that was the exact same design as the first one he'd received? He wondered offhandedly if the other Third might have forgotten to tell him something in his rush to deliver it.

On faith, he flipped it open, only to have a small bit of paper flutter down onto his chest. His frown deepened, as he held up, reading it silently. He didn't even notice that all of his bunkmates were looking at him still, one leaning over the top bed, engrossed.

His smile became broad. Then after a moment, he laughed a little, forgetting himself. The others in the room only grew confused, exchanging glances with one another, while Vincent kept smiling to himself.

It read, quite simply, "Waterproof ".


Angeal sighed to himself, stopping just before he reached the door. He knew his student was on the other side.

Finally it had all reached the point where he no longer had the time to wait or prepare himself. Zack needed to know what was going on, and the man knew, there would be no stopping the teen from being a part of it. The Second would refuse to leave, somehow Angeal knew that. It made him smile slightly, even in his haze of disbelief and half-hearted acceptance.

He pushed the door open, carefully avoiding the discarded boots this time. Zack was stretched out on the bed flipping through the pages of some kind of biology book, hair on end. It only took a second before he dropped the tome on his chest and scowled at his mentor. There was a twitch at the corners of his lips, however, undermining the seriousness behind the expression.

"You know how boring it is here? It's like a funeral home," Zack said randomly, trying to sound irritable, though he was in fact quite happy to see his mentor again, even if he was a little angry with him. "The innkeeper isn't helping," he muttered, not bothering to give the Commander anymore attention. He pursed his book as distraction, though it was with even more disinterest than earlier.

Angeal could only shake his head, visibly upset, but still smiling, unable to stop himself. It was always a surprise to him how resilient his student was, and though he would never admit it aloud, he had always hoped that the teen's attitude about life would rub off on him somewhat.

"I need to talk to you about a few things," he said softly, solemnly. "It's about what we're doing here."

"Oh, so I guess I finally am worthy enough to know?" the Second answered, exhaling theatrically. "Or did Genesis say it was okay?" He was grinning from behind his book, though he definitely was a little annoyed at being so left out of the mission he had been assigned to. Still, it was always fun to mess with Angeal.

"It's not just about Genesis anymore,"Angeal responded, slowly sitting down onto the edge of his own bed.

Zack looked up from his book, visibly confused. He had only just noticed the dark lines to his mentor's face, the dullness of his usually bright, intelligent eyes. It pulled him partially from his playfulness. He sat up more seriously, forgetting completely about the book in his lap. "What do you mean?"

The Commander watched his student intently. "You know there has been a lot going on."

"Yeah...with Genesis, which is why we're here, right?"

"That was why Shinra sent us here, but not why I came, though I think you know that already. Genesis may be reckless at times, but what he did went even beyond that. I accepted the mission to get answers. It wasn't until I spoke with him that everything started to make sense."

"What made sense, the reason he went psycho on Sephiroth?" the Second prompted, sounding half amused, though the look on Angeal's face was enough to make a little ice crystal take hold in his stomach. He realized it probably wasn't the best of situations for banter of any kind; his mentor was being very serious.

"Yes, among other things." There was a pause, the Commander gauging his student. "Genesis is dying, Zack," he said blatantly.

It took a moment for a response to come. "Dying? What do you mean, dying? How do you know?" Blue eyes became stormy, confused.

"Hollander found evidence to support that Genesis is degrading. His cells are dying at an increased rate. That's why he came here, to Icicle Inn. He wanted to find Gast, find out if there was anything that could be done about it," Angeal explained in a whisper, his expression only half showing just how affected he truly was by it all.

"Why would you believe Hollander?" Zack asked incredulously. He had never trusted any of the scientists, even Hollander, the one who gave him his mako injections. They all just had a way about them that he didn't quite like. Sneaky, was the word for it.

"Gast has confirmed it as well. And you've seen Genesis for yourself; even his hair is greying and he is growing physically weaker day by day."

"So, this degrading...it's going to kill him is what you're saying?"

"Slowly, yes. Gast has been trying to find a way to slow it down, even cure it, but unfortunately many of his ideas have fallen short."

The teen frowned, sighing loudly. He didn't exactly like the First, but that didn't mean he wanted him to die. He was Angeal and Sephiroth's friend, after all, even if he was an ass a lot of the time. He could only imagine how his mentor was feeling about it. He knew he wouldn't be too happy if one of his friends had been given the equivalent of a death sentence. He felt terrible suddenly.

"Well, what caused it?" he questioned, his good mood having noticeably faded.

"We don't know. But that's the other thing I need to talk to you about. There's a lot more to this, many things that you aren't going to like," Angeal said quietly. "Things that I don't like, for that matter," he murmured.


Vincent tiredly climbed the seemingly never-ending staircase, nonetheless quite thankful for an excuse to be away from the noisy, crowded barracks. He wasn't completely looking forward to seeing Sephiroth, but he certainly wasn't dreading it. The man was truthfully the only person that could give him any solace, even if he was the crux of nearly every one of his problems. The irony of it all was incredible.

He had gotten a text about fifteen minutes earlier, asking him to come up to his mentor's rooms. He wasn't sure what to think about it, wondering if Sephiroth was going to scold him, or if he simply wanted to talk. Something had definitely been off earlier, but even if there was a problem, he didn't really believe that the man would come to him with it. As much as he hated to admit it, his mentor didn't need him, particularly when it came to his personal problems.

It didn't seem to take long to get to the door he was searching for. He stood at it awkwardly for a moment, glancing around, only to discover yet again, that the hall was completely empty. Just as his right hand went to knock, the door opened abruptly, revealing a sliver of the General's face. It opened all the way, Sephiroth sidestepping, saying nothing.

Vincent went inside without being prompted, only watching as the man shut the door and locked it with that easy grace that seemed to come far too naturally.

"You left your squad," Sephiroth stated immediately, brushing past the boy.

"Yes."

His mentor moved to the couch with the vague whisper of leather, taking his time. He did not sit however, only resting a gloved palm on the plush material. He was quiet for a long moment, green eyes flicking over the Third's face, but concentrating on his eyes for the most part, as though dissecting them.

"Because of a guard?"

"Cloud—he's Zack's friend," Vincent answered softly, noticing the strange glimmer in the assessing eyes.

"And also your friend," the General observed.

"I guess we are friends now," the Third affirmed, realizing that it was true, even if they barely knew one another.

"You killed several monsters as well, or so I've heard. I assume that is also true?"

"Yes." He felt like he was under interrogation, Sephiroth's flat voice making him uncomfortable because it felt so impersonal.

"Do you remember what I told you before you left, Vincent?" the man questioned, with the barest hint of a smile. It was one that could be considered mocking.

The Third only nodded, beginning to regret showing up at the man's apartment. He couldn't stand the coldness; it was driving him mad. He wasn't just some random SOLDIER, his mentor knew him, yet they still had those moments where the General acted as though they were complete strangers.

Sephiroth straightened, blinking almost mechanically. "I went against procedure and showed favoritism by personally assigning your squad to the area least likely to be attacked. You go against my orders and go directly to the danger zone, to follow a guard, yes?"

The boy swallowed at the confession, biting back a smile. Suddenly things were starting to look very different. Had the man actually been worried that he would get hurt? It seemed so unlike the General, that he was taken aback, throughly surprised. Yes, Sephiroth tried to ensure he wasn't hurt, but doing something so human, showing something like favoritism, as he had put it, it made the boy want to reevaluate the man.

"He was nervous, I thought that maybe if I went with him he wouldn't be so worried," Vincent admitted.

"You did not heed what I said."

"I—you know I can't just leave people to their own devices like you do," the Third asserted. "You said to obey but always question, that's what I did. I wouldn't change it either. Or maybe you meant question everyone else but you?" he added somewhat angrily, though his stomach was knotting at the thought of his mentor looking out for him, damning the consequences. The softer, more caring side of him was holding on tightly to that idea.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, the second show of reaction during the entire conversation. "Of course you can question my orders, but there are some which I expect you to obey. Yes, you have freewill, you may go against what I say, but do not ever assume that there will be a lack of consequences for it. When I offer advice to you, or give you an order, there is a reason for it. I would not tell you something that you are already aware of."

"Would you be angry if I disobeyed someone else, or just you?" he enquired, not quite liking how the man had worded his answer.

The General sighed, his hand clenching unconsciously on the material beneath it. Admitting emotion, feelings, was his equivalent to the ultimate humiliation. It was weakness to him, even if he did not see it in that light when others showed such things openly. He had different standards for himself.

"Know that when I ask something of you it is be I care for you; I have your well-being in mind. Others may not always have such kind intentions, though if you were to disobey Angeal it would be no different from showing disrespect to me."

Vincent nodded grudgingly, placated somewhat. He hated how controlling his mentor was, but somehow he knew the man would not be the same if it was otherwise. He simply wouldn't be Sephiroth. His constant involvement with everything around him, always so discreet that it was as though he wasn't there, it was reassuring, even if it was infuriating at times.

"Did I come here for this lecture?" he asked, truly curious.

"No," the man answered, for the first time looking visibly strained. His green gaze fell over bits of random furniture, avoiding the boy who was still standing near the door. "In fact, I don't know why I called you here," he admitted.


A/N: This was a chapter of hints. I didn't want to give Sephiroth's thoughts away completely, but instead just suggest them.