Chapter 2 - SOLDIER, and Requiem

Together, Juno and Sephiroth underwent various Mako treatments to give them heightened Materia powers. They spent the next ten years training, training, and training. Their skills increased tremendously, and they both found they had some natural knack for fighting. Sephiroth received a present from ShinRa himself; an enormous sword called the Masamune. When Sephiroth received the sword, he also received a promotion to a General. Juno, although as good of a fighter as Sephiroth, received no attention, and was cared for very little. The years hardened her, and bitterness overtook her already heavy heart. Killing became an easy task, and snuffing out one more life was nothing to her. Even Sephiroth became quite desensitized to all the death they caused, leading the army. Although Sephiroth was the general, and not Juno, he stayed by her side, and refused to accept anything, any kind of reward, without something for her. Thus, the twins were always together, and rarely parted. Even against Wutai, when they were forced to nearly decimate the Wutaiian army, one never left the other on the battlefield.
Juno was truly the only woman in SOLDIER. Although there were rumors that other women had found ways to sneak in, Juno was the only known woman in SOLIDER. Juno, however, was given small, purposeless tasks. Her main assignment, usually, was to train the new SOLDIERS, while Sephiroth trained the older, more experienced SOLDIERs for battle. Even after Juno and Sephiroth had become generals, as Sephiroth had eventually forced ShinRa into allowing her to be one as well, they both continued their treatments with Hojo. At the age of twenty-four, Juno was called into Hojo's office. Usually, she only came at set appointments, so she called her class to a hold early, and left to meet Hojo. She walked into his white, sterile office, and regarded the man with disgust. Even though he had been their primary caretaker when she and Sephiroth were younger, she greatly detested the man; he was evil, and his experiments on his new species were often horrifying. Hojo glanced up from his desk, his normally white, pristine lab coat uniform was rumpled, and his hair a mess. Curling his lip into a sneer, he regarded Juno with interest, and beckoned for her to come closer.
"I'm glad you came, General, I didn't think you could fit me into your…busy schedule," Hojo said, his teeth almost bared into a snarl. Juno watched him coolly; "You didn't ask me here for a chat. What do you want, scientist?" Juno despised scientists more than anything else and spat out the word like it tasted bad. She turned her head and glanced at the various chemicals in flasks, which littered the room. Snorting with disdain, she turned back to Hojo, who had begun to speak. "I called you here to ask if you would like to have some of the new serum we've just discovered…it will only work on certain individuals, and we believe you can use it. It is a life-sustaining drug, and will keep you ageless. Forever, I believe," Hojo said casually, his head resting on his hands, and his elbows on his desk. His grin continued, like a Cheshire cat's did, and he lifted a syringe with a puce-colored liquid inside. Juno's eyes narrowed, "I don't believe I shall be needing that…I have no wish to live forever, much less take any unnecessary drugs for the rest of my life." Hojo's eyes narrowed as she continued, "and I would not be willing to be the guinea pig for this test drug of yours." Hojo's eyes were small slits by the time she had finished talking, and he slammed on a buzzer on his desk. Before she realized it, large bodyguard men, probably borrowed from President ShinRa were holding Juno on both sides. She hissed, angrily, and glared at Hojo, but he simply walked up to her, and stabbed a syringe into her arm and injected the liquid. "I gave you a choice…but now I revoke it. Too bad, Juno," Hojo said, looking livid, and Juno passed out.
By the time Juno came to, it seemed several hours had passed, as Juno was lying in her ShinRa provided apartment, and was staring straight up into Sephiroth's eyes. He blinked, and so did she, as she groaned and slowly sat up. Sephiroth looked slightly amused, his lips quirked up, and his eyes dancing, but his expression remained blank other than that. Juno looked around; she was sitting on the couch of the apartment, as Sephiroth watched her. Rubbing her temples, she tried to remember what happened after passing out, but thinking hurt, so she stopped, and just looked questioningly at Sephiroth. "I found you lying outside of your apartment. I'd heard your class had ended early, and you'd been summoned to see Hojo, so I came to see if you were back yet. Apparently you didn't go along with whatever Hojo had planned," Sephiroth said, gazing at Juno with his aqua eyes. Juno narrowed her eyes into small slits, irritated that she'd been so easily subdued, and furthermore, she felt rather ill.
"Indeed. Hojo had some kind of age-defying drug he wanted to test on me. I refused, but he seemed to have planned on that, so he already had assistance. I'm guessing he went though with the drug, but at least it hasn't gone horribly wrong…if it hasn't killed me in the first five minutes, I think it can only make me stronger," Juno said, humorlessly. Sephiroth frowned, a face he often wore with the SOLDIERs, "I don't think you should have to put up with this anymore. Neither of us should. I'll be certain to tell ShinRa about this incident-" Sephiroth started, but Juno cut him off with a shake of her head. "We don't have a say remember? ShinRa owns us…don't ask me how. But I know they do. We owe them a lot, even Hojo, although I don't like to admit it," Juno stated, looking unhappy at her own words, but saying them nonetheless. Sephiroth also looked upset, but nodded in agreement anyway.
That night, Juno lay on her bed, watching the ceiling. Her ShinRa apartment, uniform to all the other apartments, was painted in a slate wall-shade, with a gray carpet. While other apartments often held pictures of loved ones, and familiar items of childhood times, Juno's apartment remained the same as the day she had first moved in, six years before. The dresser, left dust-less by the maid, was nearly empty, save for a few outfits and the closet nearly the same. Years of careless caretakers and dangerous scientists prevented Juno from developing close relationships with anyone, and the threat of assassination left her paranoid. Juno lay on her bed, and reflected, her aqua eyes staring to the ceiling, flickering emotions passing in them. Stifling a yawn, she rolled onto her side, and stared out the window, placed right at the head of the bed. The moon lit down on the brightly-lit city, and Juno could see down into the slums, and see bars, filled with people. Never having picked up a taste for alcohol, Juno glanced at a filled bar with disdain in her eyes, then looked out over into Wall Market. Of course, it was filled with people, which looked like tiny, squirming bodies, let loose upon the land and destroying everything in its way. The HoneyBee Inn, lit so brightly it could be seen from the other side of Midgar, was obviously alive, and full of action.
Despite the life outside, Juno felt rather empty. She sighed slightly, and shifted her weight on the bed, relaxing into more of a sleeping position. A warm wind blew through the open window into the room, reminiscent of the summer just gone past; ending with the upcoming frosts which would eventually freeze over Midgar. With the slowly chilling nights came the thoughts of an upcoming mission, taking Sephiroth to the town of Nibelheim. Juno cast her memory back, remembering very little of the remote town, other than Hojo's twisted experiments at the haunting mansion. Smirking, but shuddering at the same time, Juno recalled that Hojo's twisted experiments happened all through her life, not just the little town. Rubbing her arm, Juno frowned at Hojo's attack. Usually Hojo was a lot less forward with his experiments, preferring to get her permission first, and Juno knew how her seizures were without Hojo's "magical medicine." With angry thoughts, and painful memories, Juno swiftly fell to unconsciousness, swimming into the black void of sleep.
Daylight came swiftly, and, as it seemed to Juno, moments later the sun was shining through the window, bringing another cool day. Groaning softly, Juno rolled over, hiding her head in her pillow. Suddenly, Juno sat up, blinking sleep from her eyes, and recalled that today was the day Sephiroth was taking a trip to Nibelheim. Rubbing her forehead, she sighed, wishing vainly to suddenly fall back into sleep; Juno went to get dressed and see her brother go.
Juno eventually came to Sephiroth's apartment door. Unfortunately, ShinRa believed men and women should have separate apartments, so all employees had apartments either in Tower 1 or Tower 2. Where Juno had a small apartment in Tower 2, Sephiroth owned a Suite in Tower 1, custom designed, and with an excellent view of the outside. Irritation clouded Juno's mind for a moment, but at what she wasn't sure. Sighing, Juno knocked on Sephiroth's door, and waited for him to come out, his belongings needed for the trip already packed and on the truck he was riding in. He appeared quickly, and nodded to his sister, and they walked silently to the truck, which was out at the bottom of the tower, by the main entrance. Upon reachng the old truck, Sephiroth turned to Juno, his face as blank as always, with his usual hint of sarcasm.
"Goodbye, General Juno. We shall return shortly. Have the recruits ready for battle when we return," Sephiroth said, curtly. Juno nodded, but a wave of foreshadowing swept over her. Shuddering suddenly, she felt sheer horror, which struck deeply at her heart. Impulsively, she lept forward, hugging Sephiroth tightly, and clung to him. Surprised, Sephiroth took a step back, but regained his composure, and hugged his sister. Juno slowly let Sephiroth go, and whispered to him, "Be careful. I am always here for you, elder brother. I love you."

Those were her last words to him. Upon reflection, Juno realized she should have believed in her foreshadowing. Two weeks later, the word came that General Sephiroth had died. A battle in the Mako reactor they said, and he had fallen into the reactor after vanquishing his opponents. Broken, Juno became a scientist, vowing never to pick up her sword again, and disappeared from the prying eyes of the world.

(Finally finishes Chapter II...did you like it? If you made it this far, it means you're a winner. Exactly. :B The story gets better from here, I promise. Really. Don't you believe me? R&R please~ ^_^ ~Misamore)