A/n: sorry it took so long, Kingdom Hearts took all my time, but I beat the game so expect some KH fics soon lol. I hope this chapter makes any sense, and I really try my hardest to keep Seph in character. Anyway next chapter will be better, or at least I'll try to make it better. Enjoy ! ^_^ as always, thanks for the reviews !!!!

"ATTENTION !!" shouted the sergeant in charge at the top of his lungs. Groups of new recruits hurried over from their training and lined neatly beside each other. Each striking a perfect SOLDIER's pose. The Great General Sephiroth followed by his Second-in-Command, Zack, came trotting out in all their glory and saluted the recruits. The soon-to-be SOLDIERs saluted back, and Sephiroth was the first as always to drop his hand.

"at ease…" Sephiroth demanded coolly and the recruits shifted to a less stiffly stance. He took a moment to overlook his trainees and began pacing. He looked over to where his partner in the crime stood eyeing a certain blonde and exhaled.

" alright ! As you all should know, I will not be here for the next few days. Thus, I'll be leaving you in the trusted hands of my Second here, Zack…" he announced which wasn't such a big deal. Sephiroth did this a lot when he was assigned special assignments and for most of them, Zack wasn't with him. But Sephiroth always likes to remind his recruits what kind of behavior he wants them to be in his absence. Sephiroth stopped midway and faced all of his recruits.

"I'm sure I don't have to remind you what kind of behavior I want you all to be in. Any mishaps, and I'll see to it that I personally deal with the situation. So you'd do best to stay on my good side." he said boldly and the recruits themselves all knew the consequences for double crossing a SOLDIER, especially if that particular SOLDIER was Sephiroth. The General spent the next few moments in speech before finally letting his men go. It was only hours left until he attended to his important assignment.

Zack came rushing into the tent where the silver haired warrior was preparing for his trip. He half smiled and handed Sephiroth the last bit of paperwork to do.

"so, you're going then ?" Zack asked while he helped Sephiroth pack. Sephiroth just sighed and continued stuffing his duffle bag.

"what does it look like Zack" he answered irritably then overlooked the papers handed to him.

"I'm only interested in what that psycho is up to now, and something tells me it isn't good" he muttered while finally looking up at Zack. In return, Zack eased his frustration by tucking one silver strand behind his ear. Emerald eyes flashed coldly before finally easing up to his gentle touch.

"who cares about that lunatic, let him kill himself if he must, no need to stress yourself over it…" Zack said sweetly and Sephiroth just shrugged.

"I do careless about him, I just…I don't know. I guess I still have those few questions that have been nagging me to ask him." he muttered while tapping the edge his bag with his slender fingers in thought. Zack sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"he doesn't hold the key to your past Seph, stop thinking that way…"

"I think he does Zack, I honestly think he knows more than I already know" Sephiroth shook his head, his hair sparkling with every ripple of his silvery strands.

"like what Seph, what's bothering you ?" Zack asked and Sephiroth thought again.

"…" Sephiroth ignored him and continued packing. Zack was about to say something until shouting from the Sergeant outside interrupted him. Both Sephiroth and Zack exchanged quick glances before rushing out of the tent to see what the commotion was about.

The Sergeant and the recruits stood crowded around a blonde boy who was doubled over on the ground, holding his stomach as if in pain. A few of the recruits were laughing as the Sergeant booted the retching blonde a couple of times in demand to stand up and face him. Zack's eyes grew furious as he caught the fist of the Sergeant before it came flying into the young boy's sickly colored face.

"what seems to be the problem here Sergeant ?" Zack asked with clenched teeth and voice dripping with venom. Fear rippled unnoticeably through the Sergeant as he straightened himself up in disgust.

"this sorry recruit here SOLDIER, he's drunk on the job. I thought we made it clear to you sorry asses about alcohol and DUTY !!!" he yelled and Sephiroth, who had caught up to them, kneeled down next to the blonde and started examining him. Cloud was shaking and sweating profusely, but tried his hardest to straighten up for the respected SOLDIER.

"I-I'm sorry sir, I-I…"

"enough soldier, lets take you in" Sephiroth said and Cloud couldn't believe his ears. The silver haired legend helped the blonde up and turned to face the Sergeant on duty.

"but General sir no doubt he's--"

"he'll be taking the next few days off Sergeant, if you don't mind…" Sephiroth demanded but the Sergeant glared.

"with all do respect sir," he said bitterly "being drunk while on duty is against regulations and should be punished ! surely you don't think he's sick for an entirely different reason, look he's drunk, he's been throwing up his guts out the entire time since the start of our drills" The Sergeant protested, but Sephiroth glared. His green mako eyes suggesting just how much he was furious by their eerie glow. How dare the Sergeant speak that way with him. He was Sephiroth and he was going to show the Sergeant that nobody questions Sephiroth. He carefully leaned Cloud against Zack and approached the Sergeant slowly.

"are you questioning my judgment Sergeant ? Because as I recall, I believe that I give the commands around here." he said in a low voice. The Sergeant swallowed fearfully.

"yes sir but this boy here…"

"is very ill and needs few days of rest. I trust he isn't that foolish to be drinking on the job, and besides, he's underage no doubt." he turns to face Cloud who's blue mako eyes were wide with amazement. Cloud thought he saw a secret smile some where there, but thought his mind was probably playing tricks on him. It was already unbelievable that the Great Sephiroth was vouching for him.

The Sergeant was furious that he doesn't get to torture anyone but nodded to Sephiroth's orders anyway. Sephiroth gave him a half grin and demanded for the recruits to get back to their training.

"oh and by the way Sergeant…" The already furious Sergeant stopped in his tracks and turned back to view the retreating form of Sephiroth.

"lay a single finger on my men in any way again and I will see to it that you will get punished, understood ?" The Sergeant gritted his teeth but saluted in response before getting back to training the recruits.

Zack and Sephiroth helped Cloud into their tent and laid him down to rest. Zack was hovering over him worried as Sephiroth worked on undressing the younger boy.

"Cloud, what happened to you out there ?? Are you ok ?"

"call for the nurse Zack…"

" what's wrong with him ? What happened ?" Sephiroth froze in his spot and exhaled. He had to inform Zack about Hojo's latest experiments involving Cloud.

"a few days ago, I approached Hojo in his lab when he was giving Cloud mako injections" he said in a low tone of voice. He then slowly looked up to face Zack who's eyes flashed dangerously.

"he's got mako poisoning. It was from then that I knew this was going to happen." Sephiroth finished and saw that Zack had both of his fists clenched at his sides. Cloud was barely conscious, but closed his eyes to block out the pain.

"that bastard…I'll kill him !!" Zack growled after a moment of silent fury. Sephiroth grabbed one of his clenched fists.

"no I'll kill him, you just go get the nurse…"

The nurse had just finished up on working on Cloud and assured them both that he would be alright. Sephiroth looked at his watch and poked his head inside to where Cloud and Zack were in the infirmary. The blonde was sleeping and Zack sat next to him, caressing the boy's arm and staring intently at him. The sight was almost saddening, but Sephiroth dismissed any feelings immediately and cleared his throat.

"gotta go Zack…" Sephiroth said and Zack nodded, eyes still planted on the Cloud's sleeping form.

"well you know where to reach me if you need anything" Zack nodded again in reply, his eyes never leaving the blonde boy. Sephiroth bit his cheek in a bit of annoyance.

"look after him then…" to this, Zack slowly lifted up his head and gave his General a sly smile and saluted in mockery.

"take care yourself Seph, I hear there's a lot of strange shit in where you're going" he teased and Sephiroth frowned.

"oh thanks a lot. But I'm a big boy, I can handle it." he muttered before he left leaving Zack to laugh to himself.

~*~

A few days later, Sephiroth rode in an airship and cursed the nauseating ride he had to endure for days. He and a few of his men were quickly approaching a barren place in a desert and checked the map again to make sure the pilot wasn't lost. The airship then started to descend and came to a clear landing where a few strange beings came into view. They were all blonde little children with funny tails and unreadable expressions. Sephiroth found them rather odd to be out in the middle of nowhere by themselves. He got off the airship to address them.

"General Sephiroth…" one of them announced and Sephiroth made himself known.

"yes that's me…" he answered then the little boy-like creature studied him for a moment. Sephiroth felt bare and exposed to the little thing and wondered what had it so fascinated. The little boy nodded then started to walk away.

"follow me" it said then disappeared into a clear, invisible portal. Sephiroth and the rest of his men watched it disappear and felt disinclined to actually follow it. But when Sephiroth walked through it with so much confidence, the rest of the men quickly followed.

Inside the portal was a whole different place. Instead of the desert, it was an entire city. The air was cool and there were bodies of water everywhere unlike the barren desert they were in moments before. The city's eerie blue glow coming from energy sources gave it a serene and peaceful atmosphere. The men that accompanied Sephiroth were in awe. The silver haired man thought that the city would exactly be like what a muted Midgar would be.

The little blonde creature took Sephiroth through a series of roads and bridges to get to their destination. And as they progressed, Sephiroth noticed that all occupants of this silent underground city were exactly like the little boy they were following now. The boy stopped in front of a huge beautifully, crafted palace and disappeared inside. Moments later, he came back and told Sephiroth to follow it once again.

The palace inside itself was a work of art. It looked more like a museum than it did as a palace. Statues of angels lined the place each carrying different colored orbs that broke the light poring through the magnificent glass stained windows into beautiful rays of colors of the spectrum. Huge paintings of nobles and more angels lined the Gothic style walls which made Sephiroth really wonder what this mage was like. Aren't they usually old and ugly with big hooked noses and live in old moldy castles? He recalls Zack asking before he left for this mission. Sephiroth smirked to himself. For someone who was supposed to be ugly and grotesque, they sure had good taste. The little boy stopped before a spiraling stairway that was made entirely out of light and suggested for the rest of the men to stay behind.

"master Kuja's room is this way…as for the rest of you, my colleagues have prepared rooms for you to stay the night. General Sephiroth sir, this way please" the little boy said without feeling and began ascending the ghostly stairway. Sephiroth had almost expected for the thing to fall through it, but found himself shrugging and followed the thing up anyway.

When they reached the top, Sephiroth noticed it began to get even more cooler and darker than the floor they were previously on. Towards the end of the hall were two grand doors, with a crescent moon and stars, blazing a brightly blue color in the dark, were carved into the doors. They stopped before them, and the doors opened up on their own. Sephiroth began to get goose bumps despite how bold and fearless he usually was.

Inside the room was pitch dark, and only source of light came from five candles on the floor, each placed on a point of a large pentagram drawing surrounding a hooded figure in the middle. His long cloak was pooled eerily all around as he sat on the floor with his back to them. He seemed to be in the middle of a ritual of some sort. The figure lifted it's head slowly in acknowledgement of their presence and Sephiroth was actually surprised to see the little boy beginning to feel hesitant.

"Master Kuja sir…"

"leave us…" the hooded figure commanded. Surprisingly, his voice was smooth and suave and sounded nothing like an old man should. The little boy bowed respectfully and left Sephiroth all alone with the creepy mage. After a long stomach twisting silence, the mage finally spoke.

"state your business here…" he said and Sephiroth straightened himself up.

"General Sephiroth of SOLDIER, Professors Hojo and Garland request your presence at the ShinRa labs…" Sephiroth said formally and waited yet for another reply. The figure moved again in his spot on the floor, but this time what Sephiroth noticed made his emerald mako eyes widen in shock. The figure had put aside a doll that Sephiroth swore looked exactly like him. Complete with the silver hair and trench coat. Sephiroth's eyes then narrowed sinisterly.

"I know who you are, I knew you were coming…" the figure said with a hint of amusement in his voice. The figure rose gracefully from his seat on the ground and faced Sephiroth. He was shorter then the SOLDIER, but Sephiroth felt really nervous as he began approaching him. All kinds of crazy thoughts began running through his head. Could he possibly be those kinds of mages that see into the future ? What if he knew everything about Sephiroth and planned on doing all kinds of wicked things just for amusement with that doll of him. Sephiroth swallowed nervously but didn't loose his cool. He did not like this old man already. Then the hooded mage suddenly stopped and began laughing. With a snap of his fingers, all the candles in the room lit up, slowly bringing his surroundings into view.

"no I'm not a psychic, I was simply informed that you were to be sent to fetch me" he snickered and Sephiroth felt like kicking himself over and over again. He almost lost his cool for nothing.

Of course…he thought dumbly.

"hmph ! They send me a SOLDIER to escort me ? How pathetic ! What ? did the old man actually think I'd escape or something, what an idiot…" the mage said in annoyance and turned with a dramatic swish of his light blue cloak and sat in a large chair in front a dresser.

"well I'm not just any SOLDIER, I'm First-Class, best-of-the-best, and had been taken out of my precious time and way to escort you to those labs. So with all do respect sir, whether you like it or not, my duty IS to have you--"

"who cares…I don't. I don't like SOLDIERS and I don't like you. No one tells me what I can and cannot do, and I chose not to go to this pathetic Midgar of yours. But you know what, there are many out there who fear me, give me a good reason why I should go with you." Sephiroth's eyes narrowed dangerously in annoyance. Any kind of fear for the mage suddenly subsiding.

"because I don't fear you, and I also don't like you or your attitude. But as I said before, I was taken out of MY way and MY time for you, so I'm going to accomplish my mission by bringing you to those damned labs, alright ! And I don't care what you say or the kind of tricks you would pull on me with your doll there. You're going sir ! And that's the end of it" Sephiroth yelled and hadn't noticed how much he had advanced towards the seated mage during his fit of fury. The mage looked about ready to leap at him but stood up face to face with the General of SOLDIER. Sephiroth felt like taking all what he said back and eyed the mage boldly. Through the dark of the hood, he noticed that the mage had perfectly smooth skin and shaped lips. Sephiroth began to have second thoughts about this mage's real identity. His thoughts were cut off as the mage started to snicker.

"hmm…is that so ? Let me tell you, you've got a lot of nerve to talk to someone like me like that, Sephiroth of SOLDIER…" he said eerily.

"… I may not like you, but I do like your confidence. Please, do go retire for the day General, we shall leave at noon tomorrow, is that good ?" he asked Sephiroth with a sudden change of lightness. Sephiroth just nodded and began walking out of the room. When he was out of sight, Kuja sat back down in his chair and leaned back into it with a heavy sigh. He took of his hood off and ran a perfectly manicured hand through his silvery hair and picked up a rose from the vase on the dresser and twirled it in his fingers thoughtfully.

"sleep well…SOLDIER…"