A/N: Here's the next chapter :)

"Hey Christi - wait up!"

Christi spun on her heels as running footsteps echoed through the corridor, accompanied by her best friend's voice. She smiled as the perky girl double over for a second to catch her breath; Selphie had transferred to Balamb Garden a few months ago, but she had quickly found her place within their dysfunctional group.

Saying the group was dysfunctional was a grave understatement; between Seifer and Squall's constant head-butting, it was a wonder neither of them had been seriously injured so far, though things had been quiet enough between them since they'd both come away from a sparring match with mirroring scars. Such injuries had been a long time coming, but the cuts had healed leaving only scars. They would always be rivals, she accepted that. Christi jumped as arms slid around her waist, before smiling as a familiar voice spoke into her ear.

"Morning Bright-eyes."

He always caught her off guard, and she still failed to expect it. She had known Seifer and the others for as long as she could remember. It had taken her and Seifer a long time to openly admit their feelings for each other; they'd been good friends and hadn't wanted to screw it up if a relationship went wrong. But they had eventually decided to make a go of it, two years later things were still good.

The bright-eyes gag had started off as a derogatory remark from a young boy who had tried to bully her; Seifer hadn't been the nicest of little boys, but he wasn't all that bad, not when you got to know him. Some people in the Garden still held tight to the belief that he hadn't grown up, but she got to see the side of him that few others saw.

"Firstly, Happy Birthday. And secondly, uhh … some people arrived earlier and their chopper had a certain insignia on its door."

Christi felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion as she tried to decode her friend's words. After several seconds of silence, Christi glanced down as Selphie tapped one of the chains around her neck; realisation clicking into place immediately.

"Where are they?"

Selphie kept her voice low as she replied, aware of her friend's intentions. She may have only transferred to Balamb Garden a few months ago, but Irvine and Zell had filled her in on details; Christi had lived in the same orphanage as the others since she'd been three, then they'd all switched to Balamb Garden when they'd become older; all under the guardianship of the Garden's headmaster, Cid Kramer.

The others who had been in the orphanage were all orphans, whereas Christi was and wasn't. The ShinRa Electric Power Company had deployed a recruitment mission to Balamb Garden fifteen years previous. The company had sent several of its staff, one of their top technicians, five lower ranking technicians and two standard ranking soldiers, but something had gone wrong during their flight. All the people on-board had been killed, all apart from a small three-year-old girl.

Cid had contacted the ShinRa headquarters in Midgar and explained what had happened to its President. The President of the company had arrived at the Mercenary School and ordered the bodies of his staff back to Midgar, to their families. However, when confronted with the sole survivor, the man had turned his nose up at the child and refused to return her to her father, stating that the SOLDIER had no longer wished to care for the child. Cid had explained things to Christi when she had been old enough to understand, since then she had wanted to know the true reasons behind why her father had chosen not to come and find her.

"In the lobby."

"Do you think going to this Mercenary school is even worth it? I mean, I'm all for increasing our numbers and stuff, but their ranks are made up of kids, right? Is it fair to rope kids into this too?"

Angeal glanced towards the owner of the voice, he couldn't deny the logic of Zack's question, but this was their shot in the dark; kids or not, things would undoubtedly get worst if they didn't rope them in. Zack's opinion was biased, he'd only been fourteen when he'd left Gongaga to join SOLDIER..

It had been years since ShinRa had been forced to recruit from Balamb Garden, fifteen to be exact. Angeal remembered the last time only too well. No one wanted to turn around and pull the younger generation into this mess, but with the way things had been going lately, they needed all the resources they could get. Every fight they fought garnered the same results, the Remnants and Sephiroth seemed to be walking away from most confrontations with barely any scratches, while all on the good side of the fight were coming away with barely their lives intact.

What were they supposed to do? Give up and watch the world be torn apart around them? It was no longer solely a concern of theirs, it involved their families too; wives, girlfriends and kids, they all had their own reasons to risk everything. None of them wanted their young children to grow up as orphans, nor did they want them to grow up in a world tormented by beings with Jenova Cells.

"I don't know. It's been fifteen years since ShinRa's last recruitment mission to Balamb, but it's worth a shot. Their recruits are young, but highly trained. We need all the numbers we can get, Zack."

"What we need is someone who can equal Sephiroth."

Silence followed Vincent's words. Their efforts barely held up as matters stood, despite having Cloud, Zack and Angeal, all of which were practically and literally 1st Class rank., they were still coming away worse off. But they had to keep fighting, even if it was a losing battle. Despite the odds being stacked against them, they owed their children a fighting chance at a peaceful future.

Vincent's point was valid, but the only individual capable of matching Sephiroth had walked away from SOLDIER and ShinRa fifteen years ago. Zack glanced up as he voiced what he knew everyone else was thinking.

"Why did Genesis go MIA? I mean, you knew him pretty well Angeal, so what the hell happened to make him walk away from everything?

Angeal sighed and sat back into his seat, listening as the briefing room became congested with the others discussing the possibilities behind Genesis's departure. Years had passed and ShinRa had still failed to locate their missing SOLDIER, and not for lack of trying on their part. Genesis had done well to evade the company's forces for as long as he had. However, his reasons for leaving had not been as simple as the others assumed; the Wutai War, increased missions, conflicts between himself and Sephiroth, none of those had played part to Genesis's departure. At the time, many had assumed his decision to leave had been based upon the company's intended role in the Wutai War, due to his wife being part Wutain. Angeal blinked as a small smile crossed his lips, it had been a long time since Alex and Genesis had crossed his mind.

Since meeting Yuffie, Angeal had come to the conclusion that Wutain females shared several traits; short stature, hyperactive personality, and an affinity for stealing items. Alex had been the same when they'd been kids in Banora, he still missed her more than he would admit, but regardless of how much he regretted the loss of his friend, it was nothing compared to how Genesis had felt. Angeal stood as another mention of the Wutai War met his ears.

"He didn't leave because of the war, you couldn't be anymore wrong. Genesis left because of personal things … ShinRa took away two people he cared about."

Angeal stood as all eyes fell upon him, silence overcame the briefing room once more as they sensed a long explanation in the works. For years, the reason behind Gensis's disappearance had remained a mystery and though the company had attempted to reclaim their 1st Class on several occasions, they had never succeeded in tracking him to a definite location. Angeal sighed as he glanced around the room; none of them knew the real reason why Genesis had defected. Some of the Turks probably had a vague idea, Rufus too, but they hadn't had enough proof to say for certain. Either that, or they hadn't thought it had affected Genesis as much as it had.

"Genesis and I grew up together in Banora, there weren't many kids our age in the village, only one actually, her name was Alex Yamamoto. Her father was Wutain and her mother was a native of Banora. Genesis and I left to join SOLDIER when we were teenagers, a few years later Alex managed to work her way through the ranks of people applying for a place within ShinRa. She trained as a Turk and operated in the field. Veld transferred her to work as a battle technician after two years. She worked as a liaison between the Turks and SOLDIER, that was how Genesis and I found out she was working for ShinRa … Genesis and Alex started going out, one thing led to another and they had a daughter. The President had not been impressed, but there hadn't been much he could do about it, if he had hurt Alex or Christi, Genesis would have caused some serious trouble."

Angeal trailed off as his thoughts flicked back; Alex had been a live wire, it was still tough enough to speak about her in the past tense, even worse when it came to Christi. He had been her god-father, she had been an innocent child, but she had been hurt nonetheless. The SOLDIER sighed as he shook his head, ignoring the prickling sensation of guilt as he continued.

"The President had sent Alex on a recruitment mission to Balamb Garden because of her skills as a Turk and knowledge of the SOLDIER department. On the same day, he ordered Lazard to deploy myself and Genesis on a recon mission to Wutai. Alex had no choice but to bring Christi with her … something went wrong, the chopper went down on the outskirts of the Mercenary school. Everyone was killed. Christi's body was never recovered. Genesis left after Alex was buried. He lost his wife and daughter because of ShinRa, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't have done the same thing in his place."

The briefing room remained stonily silent. They were all parents. They all had a partner they cared deeply about. Even the thought of losing that person was a nightmare, along with the idea of their child being caught up in the crossfire of the war they were fighting. The thought of such a thing was enough to dampen their spirits, they dreaded to think how Genesis had felt when confronted with a nightmare of a reality. No one dared to speak; Angeal had a personal connection to his explanation, none interrupted the silence for fear of saying something wrong. It was Angeal to eventually speak.

"I'll be back soon … keep the preparations going."

"There are a select number of recruits that I feel will meet the standards you require. However, I will leave the final decision to the recruits themselves. I will give you their names, but it is up to them whether they wish to help or not."

Tseng nodded shortly as Cid finished speaking. The headmaster's conditions were fair, he was the head of the school and had the authority to order the recruits on mission, but he was giving them the opportunity to choose. ShinRa were merely visitors and had to abide by the headmaster's conditions.

"I understand and ShinRa has no objections."

Cid smiled lightly, maybe ShinRa had changed. He shouldn't hold a personal bias against the company, but ShinRa's last visit to the Garden, in the aftermath of its chopper crashing, had left him with a deep distrust towards the company. And possibly Christi's father. Cid had been the person to look after the girl since the crash. He had been the one to sit up with her as she had cried and looked for her Mommy and Daddy to take her home. He had been the person who'd had to explain to her that her Mommy had died and her Daddy wasn't coming to get her.

Cid shook his head; dwelling on the past wasn't a way forward. He took a breath to voice an opinion on timing for when the new President of ShinRa would arrive the following day. He paused as his eyes fell upon someone he had hoped he'd get the chance to speak to first.

"I would like to apologise in advance for whatever she may say."

Tseng felt his eyebrows furrow as he registered Cid's words, then followed the man's gaze, landing upon a small group of teenagers standing nearby. He frowned as one of the teenagers stepped forward - instantly noticing the odd gleam in her eyes.

"You're a Turk. You work for ShinRa, right?"

Tseng nodded his head shallowly as he kept his eyes on the youngster, silently puzzled by her appearance. For the evident glow to be present in her eyes, her immediate family would have to have been exposed to Mako energy, such as a staff member of ShinRa or SOLDIER. But he had no knowledge of any current or past employees having a child enrolled at Balamb Garden.

"That's correct."

Christi stepped forward another few feet and then stopped, falling several feet short of Cid and the Turks. A small smirk tugged on her lips as she pulled out two chains from beneath the neck of her h-shirt. Tarnished, stainless-steel dog-tags hung from the longest chain, each tag had the ShinRa insignia engraved on its back. The second chain was shorter and silver, a locket hung from its shiny chain.

"My Mom worked for ShinRa. She died when I was three. My father still works for ShinRa. I know that the company is under the control of the President's son now. I know the layout of the old building in Midgar … but I just want to know one thing, please. Do you know my Dad?"

Chirsti stepped forward a few more feet and then stopped, several feet still separating her and the suited male. A slight smirk tugging on the corners of her lips as she pulled out two chains from where they had hidden under her hoody. Tarnished stainless-steel dog-tags hung from the longest of the chains, each with the ShinRa insignia engraved on its back. The second chain was a shorter one and silver as opposed to stainless-steel, leading to the conclusion that it had been a present. A locket weighed down the shiny metal.

He could not ignore the sincerity in her voice, but Tseng still found himself taken aback. Most of the older employees of ShinRa - those who had worked for the company during its days in Midgar - were aware of how the last recruitment mission to Balamb Garden had ended. They had all read the report filed by the internal inquiry and they had all accepted the verdict of pilot error and no survivors. If there had been no survivors, who was he looking at? The time line seemed to fit, she appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, if her mother had died when she was three, she would have been three or four when the crash happened."

"What is your full name?"

"Christine Rhapsodos. My Mom's name was Alex. My Dad's name was Genesis, he worked under SOLDIER."

A new hatred for the old President quickly formed in the pit of Tseng's stomach; Genesis had been led to believe that both his wife and daughter had died, but not all had been lost. His little girl had been here the whole time. She had been hidden because of one man's lies. Tseng had his own little girl, San, he would do anything to protect her. In the past he may have sided with the President's logic, but not now. The Turk sighed as he met the girl's eyes.

"I think there are a few things you should know, Christine."

"Happy Birthday, Christi."

Genesis sighed as he bend down, placing a birthday card and some flowers on the grave of his wife. They weren't for Alex, but it was the closest thing to a grave that he had for their daughter. It seemed so long ago now, but the pain hadn't lessened. He'd heard that time healed wounds, it was a lie. It didn't heal wounds. It didn't even numb the agony, it amplified it. He could still recall holding Christ that morning as she'd looked at the chopper with awe, he still remembered her slight weight in his arms.

"If someone had told me that day, that I would be standing here for my daughter's eighteenth birthday, I would've hurt them … I guess things don't always go to plan."

The ex-SOLDIER straightened himself slowly as he continued to stare at the headstone, his trademark red coat flapping in the slight breeze. His eyes shifted and his frame stiffened as a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, a tense few seconds passed before Genesis relaxed; Sephiroth and the Remnants would have attacked by now.

"You caught me, Angeal."

A smirk found its way to the 1st Class's lips as he glanced at his friend's back. It had been an utter gamble in going to the old graveyard. He'd had no guarantee that Genesis would be there, but it looked as if his gut feeling had been correct.

"You haven't rusted. It's been a long time, Genesis."

Angeal remained silent as he stood alongside his friend, both men lost in their own thoughts as they looked down at Alex's grave; the three of them had been best friends in their younger years. Alex and Genesis had usually been the ones at each other's throats, while he'd played referee.

"How did you know I'd be here?"

"Lucky guess … eighteen today, right?"

Genesis turned to face his friend, knowing there was something other than just a visit on his mind. He was looking for something, people generally were.

"Cut the formalities, Angeal."

A mere nod met him as a response, they both knew each other too well to fall for facades. Angeal took a breath as he tried to mentally prepare how to approach the subject. There was no easy way around this matter, it was easier to lay the facts out.

"Sephiroth and the Remnants are growing stronger. Even with SOLDIER, ShinRa and AVALANCHE, they are walking away from fights unscathed. We need your help-"

"It doesn't concern me."

Angeal frowned as Genesis turned his back and tried to walk away. He'd walked away before and Angeal hadn't stopped him, but things were different this time. He wasn't allowed to ignore it all the second time around, there was too much at stake.

"Yes it does. Sephiroth and his allies are a threat to this whole planet. It concerns everyone on it. It's time to stand and fight Genesis. Everyone is leaving in an hour for Balamb Garden for recruiting. If you still have your honour, you'll know where to find us."

Genesis froze; Balamb Garden. Was this Angeal's idea of irony? If so, his old friend had certainly developed a rather black sense of humour in the years that had passed since they'd last spoken. Nobody had helped him when his world had come crashing down around him. They had ordered him to be back in work for a mission on Monday. Why should he help a world that had nothing left for him?

"Stand and fight - I have nothing to fight for."

Angeal shook his head as he began to walk away, he had said all he'd needed to say, the rest was up to Genesis. He'd make the right decision once he thought about it clearly. But just in case …

"You may not be aware of this, but the people fighting him right now - they all have families and kids. Even Rufus ShinRa has a young son, he lost his wife to the Remnants. They're outmatched and they know it, but they don't want their kids to grow up in this world. They know if they walk away, the problem will follow them … don't turn your back on the world a second time, Genesis."

Genesis stood still as his friend walked away … Angeal always had been good at playing the guilt card. He didn't want to take the man's words to heart, things were different for him; no one had cared when his family had been ripped away. Why should he care if others were in danger of going through the same thing? He shouldn't care … but he did. He wasn't heartless, as much as he tried to be, he couldn't willingly wish that on someone else.

His morals and pride wouldn't allow him to, his honour wouldn't. Genesis groaned as he rolled his eyes towards the clouds above; Angeal had known exactly what buttons to push.

A/N: I little change from its first incarnation, but it won't have any major influences on the overall plot :)

Last Revision: 27/06/11