Let's keep this going, shall we? This is a shorter one so I decided to upload it with chapter 7 to give you a bit more to chew on till next week. Enjoy!

Beta Readers: Pixie, Kiza, and Discord.

I do not own FF7 or any of its characters. Talin, Unit 28, and some other side characters are mine.

Chapter 8

Talin made his way to the Admin floor and presented his changed schedule to the staff there. The lady looked over the form several times with wide eyes before asking for his keycard and updating it with the requested permissions.

"There you go, Cadet. Don't abuse the privilege of upper floor access." She said with a small, tart smile. Quickly thanking her and leaving, Talin couldn't shake the feeling that the lady didn't like him but didn't know why. He ignored it and headed back to the barracks. He needed a shower and to put something on the now massive bruises.

Having several hours to kill before his unit would be back, he glanced over his schedule again. Only three classes had remained, Commander Zack's Combat and Weapons class, Military History, and Tactics. The rest of the day after lunch was written in as Special Instruction. Crawling up into his bunk, Talin mulled over what that could mean.

What kind of things would they cover for half a day? Would it all be fighting, or would the General teach him other topics as well? Too many questions and not enough answers had him folding the paper up and stowing it in the top of his locker. Laying on his back, he gently rubbed some pain cream into the largest bruises on his arms. Joey had been right, they were massive and deep black at the center but ringed in a darker blue/green. And they hurt. Each felt like he had been beaten with a metal pipe instead of just fists.

As he rubbed the cream in, the pain ebbed away. He was excited to train with such a powerful man but, if he was truthful with himself, also a little scared. What would happen if he wasn't up to the challenge? Would the General throw him out or back to his basic classes?

These thoughts circled his mind as he relaxed back into his bed. The pain in his arms was gone for now and he was still so tired. Setting an alarm for a little before dinner, he let himself fall back to sleep again.


The sharp chirp of his alarm woke Talin and he dug the phone from under his pillow to turn it off. Examining his arms again showed that the bruises had cleared up a bit thanks to the cream and were only a little tender. He would have to use more before bed to be ready for tomorrow's training. Mindful of his still healing arms, he slid down off his bunk and headed for a quick shower.

The noise of his Unit coming in from classes met him as he exited the shower stall. Heaving a sigh, he made his way back out to get dressed and was instantly approached by Cody.

"No more escaping us now!" The hyperactive boy said from Talin's side. "So, let's hear it. What happened?" The blond teen had followed Talin to his locker by this point. Figuring it would be the easiest way to distract the younger Cadet, he pulled the folded schedule from his locker and handed it to Cody.

"That's what happened." He said and turned to get fresh clothes out. Kyle had snuck up behind Cody and was reading over his shoulder while others were also coming closer.

"Special Instruction?" They read together before looking back up at the redhead. "Does that mean..." Kyle let the question hang in the air as Talin pulled a shirt on.

"I start afternoon sessions with General Sephiroth tomorrow." The room was silent for a split second before it exploded with questions from all sides.

"Seriously?!"

"Where?"

"Can we come watch?"

"You're not going to stop training with us at night, are you?"

The last came from Chase and was echoed by a few others. Before Talin could respond Cody bounced back up in front of him "You wouldn't leave us to flounder and fall behind, would ya?" The piteous look on his face was comical.

"Captain, our Captain! Continue to teach us your ways and wiles!" Elijah said from his bunk as if quoting a play. That kicked off another round of noise as Cody and Kyle, always ready to join in on a joke, started saluting and repeating the quote. Many, including Talin and even stoic Nolton, broke into laughter at their antics.

Finally, Talin was able to talk past his laughter, "I will keep training at night so long as I'm not dead tired. Now c'mon, I'll fill you in on the way to dinner."

The joking and questions continue through dinner. Hank and a few others asked to be taken up to the training room for a peek, but Talin immediately and firmly declines thinking of the warning of the snippy Admin lady.

Hand-to-hand had been hard on all of them that day so instead of training that night, U28 stayed in the barracks and did some joint studying for an upcoming Monster Studies test. Talin realized that he no longer had to worry about that test, but he helped drill Callian and Dayton on southern island monster varieties. As they finished Cal hopped up onto Talin's bunk.

"So, training tomorrow with Shin-Ra's great silver General... Nervous?" He asked with a knowing grin. But Talin shook his head, "Not as much as I thought I would be," He said and looked down at his still bruised arms. "More than anything I guess I'm still shocked that it all happened so quickly." He continued to try and piece together what had attracted the attention of such a man as the General, but continuously came up with nothing. The most remarkable thing to happen was the incident with Bastion, but he doubted that a SOLDIER 1st Class was reviewing the daily tapes just for fun. Maybe he would get a chance to ask sometime...

A gentle nudge made him realize he had missed what Cal had said. "Huh?"

"I asked if the General said why you're starting training on a Saturday?" He asked with a grin at his friend's distraction. Talin's look of confusion made both Callian and Dayton laugh. "You didn't realize, did you," Dayton chuckled, "Too much excitement in one day." The boy smirked and headed over to his bunk to get ready for bed.

"Well, I guess it's better to just do as instructed instead of asking why, but you might want to check if all your Saturdays will be with him or not," Cal slapped him on the shoulder lightly and then let his hand rest there, causing Talin to look at him.

"You know, this is going to change lots of things for you in the future," The teen said thoughtfully and let his hand fall back to his lap. "As Trainee to a 1st, you're going to end up in the spotlight quite often. I wanted to let you know that I'm here if you need anything."

"Not that I foresee him needing much from us," Joey said from his bunk across the way." But I'm here for ya too, Captain," He gave a stupid wink and a mini salute before rolling back into his blankets.

Michael, who was half asleep reading the monster textbook, seconded his bunkmate quietly. "I heard there's a lot of pressure in SOLDIER to be the best. Everyone is trying to attract the attention of one of the 1st's to be their mentor. You being only a Cadet, and picked by the General, is going to put out a lot of people. Don't let it get to you, come to us if it does." Michael's warning was clear but so was his offer of support.

Cody's surprise attack from the bunk behind theirs was almost enough to knock Talin off the bed but Callian caught them both.

"I'll be there for ya too!" The boy says with a laugh as Talin tries to push him away "If you bring us all the hot gossip on General Sephiroth and any other 1st's you meet." Those listening erupt in laughter at the ultimatum and then at the yelp when Talin succeeds in shoving the other Cadet clean off the bunk.


For all Talin's talk the night before about not being nervous, he can't help fidgeting all through the next morning. Breakfast might as well have been made of cardboard for all he actually tasted of it. His Unit didn't even have the heart to tease him and did their best to distract their worried friend.

Lunch came but Talin ate lightly. He said it was because he didn't want to be sparing on a full stomach, but they knew. All too soon, the clock ticked over and he stood to go. Callian gave him a reassuring thumbs up and Milo called from down the table to him. "Relax, he's your mentor, not your executioner." This drew a small smile from the redhead and he left with a wave.

The elevator prompted him to scan his keycard when he pressed the button for the 50th floor and he almost wished it wouldn't work. Dutiful as any machine given a task, it accepted his clearance and started ascending. Before he knew it, it had arrived and was letting him out into a quiet hallway that was nicer in lighting and decor than any of the Cadet floors.

The floor was a tile of mixed marble and the walls were actually painted. Instead of the basic white, they were a soft cream color. The doors on one side of the hall were numbered 50-1, 50-2, and so on but the others were 50-A, B, C. It was this last that Talin was looking for. Same as with the barracks doors, as he approached the sensor detected his keycard and allowed him access.

A near-silent hiss as the doors opened was quickly drowned out by the voice of someone speaking, rather agitatedly, at the General.

"-sical. You know he needs to have one just like every other Cadet." The rant cut off as Sephiroth looked over the shorter man's head at Talin. The dark-haired man half-turned and Talin could see round glasses covering dark eyes and that he was wearing a lab coat. The assessing look made his skin crawl but he held his ground and followed the General's lead to try and ignore him.

Keeping a slight distance between himself and this unnerving stranger, Talin walked up to his mentor and saluted. The movement drew more attention, and again he felt the need to edge away.

"Reporting as ordered, Sir." He said and kept his eyes locked with Sephiroth's, trying to figure out what to do about the man who had taken a step towards him. When he took another, Talin could no longer keep his composure. Just as he was about to ask what he could help the man with, Sephiroth spoke up.

"Professor, certainly this can wait. I have an obligation to my Trainee now and must insist that we discuss this another time." The words were sharp but polite enough to prevent anyone from construing an insult.

"And I must insist," The Professor almost hissed back, "that his physical be completed now. He is in violation of intake protocol. Whether that was intentional or not I won't be the judge, but a full medical exam is required to be on file for all cadets." If Talin had to use one word for this man's tone, it would be slimy, and his words implied a threat that Talin couldn't chance.

The silver-haired SOLDER also heard the warning and saw the slightest flinch from Cadet Graft.

"Very well, since you insist so adamantly, we can do his physical today. However, since this is our first meeting, I would ask for an hour's delay beforehand. We will meet you at the medical bay..." He was cut off.

"You will meet me at my lab on the 68th floor in twenty minutes." The Professor said with a triumphant sneer. He knew that he had them in a corner but to not push too hard. Even lab rats would bite if forced.

Talin had been looking at the General after he agreed to the physical and saw the darkening of annoyance.

"As you say." The chill in that tone could have given frostbite, but the scientist just grinned wider and then turned to the Cadet with a quick "I'll see you soon." and left the training room.

"So, it appears that your arrival here has attracted more than just my attention." The General said, still looking at the closed doors. "Professor Hojo only gets this worked up when it is something he really wants. You understand what that means, I suspect," He continued before finally looking down at Talin.

With a sigh, a nod, and a quiet, "Yes, Sir." he raised his head and squared his shoulders. Hojo was a boogeyman to Talin, told of as the mad scientist of Shin-Ra, and to be avoided at all costs. Now he had to go sit on his exam table and pray that his newest acquaintance would keep him from being stuck there, permanently.

Author Note: I know, I know. Another cliffhanger?! I don't get to decide where these things cut off, blame my crazy muse. I hope that you all come back next week to see where things go from here. This is the last short chapter I have made since my Beta Reader, Discord, informed me that "Short chapters are NOT allowed anymore" so thank/blame him for the longer ones to come. See you all next week!