A/N: Hiya huns, sorry this took so long to update, I've kinda been snowed under with exams every day this week, only two more left and I'm free for the summer! :P

He shook his head, he blinked, shook his head again, but it was all still the same. The deafening silence, the staring eyes, the stunned faces, the girl - Christi. This was a joke, it had to be. Christi had died when she was three; he had spent fifteen years cutting himself off from ShinRa and friends, convinced it was easier. He had allowed guilt to eat away at his insides because he had not been capable of protecting his two girls, his world. But how did she know about Angeal's nickname then? Who had she inherited the mako in her eyes from…why had no one told him his baby had been safe and okay?

Tseng began to speak, keeping his voice level and neutral. This had turned into somewhat of a spectacle. He had pulled Rufus aside to inform him of Christi's existence and his fathers' evident meddling yet again. It had only been then that he had become aware of Genesis' return. Though it was not particularly good timing to think so, the Turk couldn't help but silently remark on the irony of the situation. Having only spoken to the teenager last night and now for the elusive SOLDIER to pop back up. The head-Turk suppressed a smile as he spoke, answering the questions he knew would be going through both Genesis and Christi's mind, it may not be the perfect reunion, but it was one nonetheless.

"ShinRa's inquiry ruled pilot error and no survivors, the inquiry was over seen by the then President of ShinRa. Headmaster Cid was informed that her father no longer wished to have any ties to her. Two opposing stories were told to each side."

"I was told you didn't want me…"

Genesis shook his head; this time answering the question that shone in her eyes…of course he had wanted her. Of course, he had. If he had known for one second that she had been alive, and then they would not be standing here now, they would not be staring at each other hardly knowing what to say. He wouldn't have left her here alone; he would probably have still left ShinRa, but would have done so with his daughter's best interests in mind.

"I didn't say that…I wouldn't have…If I'd known…"

Great, now he couldn't even say what he wanted to straight. Though he wasn't even sure what he wanted to say, what could he say? He could possibly start by picking up Alex's chains, which would be a good start. After that however, he was lost. Planning ahead had never been too much of a problem for him so long as it had been for SOLDIER or others, but when it came down to himself, the man tended to be at a loss. Where did things go from here?

Genesis bent slightly, attempting to pick up the two chains he had accidentally dropped, really not knowing what else to do. However, a smarting pain caught him off-guard as his butt met the ground with a jolt.

He hadn't thought it was possible to become more stunned than he already had, but he'd evidently been wrong. Genesis looked down as he realised how he'd been knocked from his feet - Christi. A moment or two of awkwardness before the clueless SOLDIER remembered how to react; hug back. She was real - this was real. He wasn't waking from a dream again, this was the reality. He looked down as a barely audible whisper caught his attention.

"Don't leave again."

Genesis took a breath to reply but cut himself short as an image shot across his mind, in the space of a second he had shared a knowing look with Angeal as Cloud looked up abruptly. But why the Mercenary School? It was far from both Edge and Kalm; it had never posed a threat to him before. Basing an assault on either ShinRa's Headquarters or The WRO's would make sense; it actually surprised him that Sephiroth hadn't done so already. However, a Garden of teenagers and kids? That was not his usual style.

Genesis moved quickly as another image shot through his mind, his arms kept grip around Christi as he stood and spun on his heels, facing her towards the wall, his taller frame shielding her as screams and yelps of surprise tore the silence of the assembly hall apart, glass layered the floor, raining down on those standing nearest as one of the large windows shattered inwards.

Anyone with kids needed to get out now, they needed to go somewhere safe either inside or outside the Garden. The summary on the front of the list of names had included a few points about SeeD cadets, such as the age limits; applicants for cadetships had to be between five and fifteen, SeeD candidates had to be between fifteen and nineteen. That meant there could be younger children in the building, along with inexperienced teenagers.

"Planning on recruiting children now I see?"

Cid glanced around the large hall as confusion threatened to take hold, he may not have had the pleasure or displeasure of meeting the once revered SOLDIER before today, but he had heard enough. He had seen enough lives ruined and torn apart by the man's actions, he had admitted many teenagers in the last few years that had been made orphans because of him.

Though timing couldn't have been worse, the Headmaster couldn't help but feel a small nugget of pride as he watched the older cadets' act upon the Garden rules immediately. He knew they didn't remember the Orphanage, a handful did however, the ones who refrained from using their Guardian Forces, Christi and Irvine, though whether Seifer did or not remained up for discussion. The reckless young man seemed to remember Christi and being at the Orphanage, though he evidently did not recall the others of the group.

"Rinoa and Selphie - make sure the younger cadets get to the emergency exits."

The two girls nodded quickly as they turned on their heels and quickly descended the bleachers, Squall doing the same behind them but separating and going the opposite direction once they had reached the bottom of the steps. One of the most basic rules of the Garden, apart from the usual ones and curfew, directed older cadets how to act in an emergency; ensuring that they stuck to the rules and took care of the younger cadets before anything else.

"Anyone with kiddies - follow me!"

He didn't have to repeat his words; Zell looked over his shoulder quickly as several females followed. He couldn't help but wonder why someone would bring their kids, let alone infants as young as these appeared to be, with them on a mission.

Maybe they had a different view of missions than he had been thought, but it still seemed a bit simple in his mind. Little kids like that did not belong anywhere even remotely close to what was happening right now. Granted, their parents probably hadn't expected something like this, he certainly hadn't, but bringing a kid on a mission period wasn't a particularly smart thing to do. Look at Christi - that's how she had ended up here.

Zell smirked as he caught sight of their worried faces, each trying to look back over her shoulder to see how their partners were fairing as the horrible screeches of shadow creepers began to tear up the tiles of the assembly hall floor with their razor sharp talons. They had a right to be scared, but they were with him now, so they'd be okay. He didn't care how cocky that sounded; he knew when maturity had to kick in. The wiry blond wasted no time in opening the side door of the assembly hall, leading into the ballroom.

"You head back, I'll take these to the Headmaster's office, it's the safest place here."

Zell nodded as Nida passed him out the door. For some reason the cadet always seemed to spend more time in Cid's office than anyone else, even him. That in itself was an accomplishment; he was sucker for a T-board and a sucker for being caught in the corridors with it. However, Nida wasn't the kind of person that got into trouble or caused trouble, which made one question what exactly he did in Cid's office.

He knew that voice, despite how many years had passed since they had last spoken the voice was unmistakable. It always had been. Always calm and level, regardless of what situations befell its owner. That had irked him in the past, no matter what went on the SOLDIER had always held his composure, all while he and others had allowed their emotions to rule their judgement.

Jealousy maybe, but not now. He certainly was not jealous of a monster. Genesis turned as the last of the glass finished raining down; passively ensuring his frame still blocked Christi's from view.

Things may have happened fast, he may still be confused by most of it and unsure, but one thing was certain in his mind; she would not get hurt. It was only then that the SOLDIER realised someone had already but a defence between him and Sephiroth while his back had been turned; Angeal stood alongside him, a katana raised as his sights remained on the silver-haired Nightmare.

This was the first time the three of them had been together in the same room since he had defected from ShinRa all those years ago, look how far two of them had fallen since then. It seemed Angeal had been the only one out of the three to hold onto his pride and dignity. He had left his with ShinRa when he had left, Sephiroth had murdered his. Thrown it to the side in Nibelheim, left it to burn in the ruins of the small town. Why did he keep coming back? Maybe it had some kind of connection to when the Cloud had thrown him into the lifestream? Considering the whole geostigma epidemic a few years ago, it seemed likely.

"No quotes?"

Genesis ducked as Angeal blocked, giving the past-hero a rather dirty look as he registered the comment; very funny. He knew some kids who could make comments with more maturity than that, well actually he didn't, but the girl who had been speaking to him onboard the Shera probably could. So what if he liked a book, was he not entitled to? It was an interesting play, people would realise that if they ever read it properly instead of going to see the stage play, that itself did not do the book justice, it didn't portray the three friends the way the pages did and did in an infallible way...was he seriously debating Loveless with himself?

Genesis shook his head as he stopped his train of thought, wrong place and wrong time. The SOLDIER pushed against the other's blade as he strove to gain some ground, to move away from the wall where Christi stood watching. She shouldn't just be standing there, she should have moved, should have followed that blond kid with the tattoo - the one who had thrown her chains from her - she should have followed him, he had gotten the women and the infants out of the hall with remarkable speed.

She hadn't noticed what else was going on, she'd been too busy staring over her father's shoulder at the man she had only seen on television reports and a minor training profile. Pictures, words, reports, even eyewitness accounts did not hold a candle to the man. SeeD cadets were taught to both respect his former rank and to not underestimate him. His jade eyes set her on edge for some reason; there was something not human about him. The calmness of his character, his voice level. Christi wasn't one hundred percent sure, if she had ever met this man before the crash, but if so, then he had undoubtedly changed since.

"Playing hide and seek?"

Christi tore her gaze away from the ex-SOLDIER as a voice spoke to her. The bulkiest of the three remnants stood before her, a childish glint in his eyes as he smirked. A small crackle gave away his intended action. Christi ducked as the remnant struck out, his dual hound striking the wall her back had been against only moments before, a small squeak escaping her lips as she covered her head with her hands.

Chunks of rubble rained down as the remnant smirked into the dust of the damaged wall, evidently not having realised his blow had missed. The teenager grimaced as she crawled away from where she had dropped to the ground, shards of glass painfully embedding themselves into the palm of her right hand. Another cry escaped her lips as someone grabbed her ankle and yanked back, her hands shot out from supporting her weight as he jaw struck the glass-covered floor.

"Get off!"

Christi continued to curse and yell as she flipped herself over, particularly pissed off not only to the small yet painful wounds the glass had caused on the palm of her hand but now also along the left side of her face, she kicked out hard with her free leg, twisting and squirming as she looked around for anything to grab onto or use. She had left her handguns in her dorm, bright idea that had been alright. His grip only tightened more, genuinely causing pain this time around. She kicked out again as she raised her left hand towards the childish yet intimidating remnant.

"Who are you protecting?"

His words were enough for the walls to shoot up. Genesis glanced back over his shoulder as Sephiroth pointedly looked behind him. One of the three twerps stood where Christi had, chunks of brick and concrete lying on the ground along with glass and ripped up floor tiles. It was only as a small yell met his ears did he realise what the remnant was doing, more so who he had caught by the ankle. Sephiroth inclined his head as realization dawned. She was his daughter.

Judging by her ability to use Firaga as she had along with the cells he could sense close by, the girl who had just managed to yank her foot away from Loz and regain her footing was Genesis' daughter. Though he had been under the belief that the girl had perished along with her mother. He had been on the SOLDIER floor when Genesis had both been summoned to the President's office and when he had returned. He and Angeal had been the ones to close ranks when Hojo and the President had demanded to know who had trashed the place.

But that was a lifetime ago now. No going back to when things were so simple, he didn't want to. Anything back then had been built a lie upon a lie, each one larger than the last. He hadn't expected to find Genesis here however, he hadn't expected to find him anywhere.

This Mercenary school had declared itself as an ally of ShinRa, and therefore had declared itself as an opposition to him. There were nothing more than a group of kids, but if they so wished to believe they could oppose him or those who stood by him, so be it, they could test their beliefs. Sephiroth smirked as he brought his masamune down, met in defiance by a katana and a crimson blade.

This wasn't fun, but it wasn't a training mission or a field exam either. It was real. This is what going to Edge would lead to, but they couldn't not go now, Sephiroth had attacked their school - their home. Most of them at the Garden were adopted or orphans, it had been their home since leaving the orphanage. This was the only place she knew as home, the only place she was comfortable in and knew every corridor and floor like the back of her hand and that silver-haired lunatic had attacked it - wait - they all had silver hair.

Christi looked around quickly, taking a split second to grasp her surroundings and bearings. The entrance and emergency doors of the assembly hall had been sealed shut via the Garden's computers. It wouldn't do much if Sephiroth or the remnants intended on breaching the rest of the school, but at least it would act as a hindrance. Angeal and Gene - her Dad were both pitting their skills against Sephiroth's, Zack Fair and Cloud Strife had passed her a second ago, the first almost knocking her from her feet again as he'd accidentally stepped on a piece of rubble, sending his balance awry.

They were taking care of the other two remnants, the youngest one and the one that used small gunblades and gave her the creeps. Loz had just realised his dual hound had missed its intended target, and had just spotted her again. That childish smirk had found its way back to his lips again, as she ran into his chest, she had been aware that he possessed remarkable speed, but she had underestimated that report. Again, she cursed herself for leaving her guns back in her dorm, mentally kicking herself in the butt for believing she would not need them. Another small squeak left her mouth as she ducked and sought shelter beneath the bleachers, using the steel bars and support frame to her advantage as she weaved between them, making it harder for the remnant reach her.

It wasn't that she couldn't fight, of course she could, she was a SeeD cadet, due to take her field exam soon - though Cid had been considering running their SeeD field exam as their transfer to ShinRa if they wished to transfer for the mission - but of course she could fight, she just wasn't a total idiot. Loz was undoubtedly faster than she was, taller and heavier built, she was relatively agile and fast, her small frame helped that matter, but she knew her own capabilities. She knew her strengths lay with firearms and organizing others, the technical side of battles.

The bleachers were longer than she thought. Loz was only a few metres behind her, though he was obviously enjoying this game of tag, she'd seen his speed already and was in no doubt that he could do so again in a split second if he wished to, regardless of how many steel beams and poles blocked his path. She could probably climb out through the spaces under the seats, but not in this uniform. She did not care how many times she had to duck or bend because of the support structure of the bleachers, it beat trying to get through one of the spaces wearing a skirt.

The main support beams were too high up for her to reach anyhow; they were the only real leverage she could use to climb out. They had to be that high; otherwise, they would not support the weight of the bleachers once they had been filled with students. Christi glanced back up towards some of the highest steel supports as an idea came to mind; the teenager ducked another horizontal pole as she fought the urge to do a face/palm and took aim for the highest of the steel beams - it was the obvious thing to do - just a pity she hadn't realised so before now, she fired several Firaga blasts before turning around and looking for the nearest way out, regardless of where of what she was wearing.

Seifer startled unintentionally as the bleachers they had all been sitting in not that long ago seemed to cave in on themselves, incapable of supporting their own weight. The blond stood for a moment as he tried to understand why that had just happened, he hadn't been aware of anything striking them or any of the shadow creepers on them, though he didn't think the creatures could actually cause the structured seats to give way and if there had been a flaw in their structure, then surely they would have gave-in while they had all been seated earlier? A small smirk crossed his lips, as he should his head, watching as Christi pulled her leg free of the wrecked seats. Question answered, it hadn't been shadow creepers.

"Did you have to do that?"

"Depends - you play tag with Loz - get back to me with your answer."

He had walked into that answer. Christi tended to be a bit like chicken-wuss at times; her mouth moving faster than her brain. It made for some rather amusing comebacks and comments about a number of the Garden faculty.

Christi looked back up as a section of the bleachers shifted, she watched as the considerably large section was thrown to the right, allowing Loz to stand back up and slowly step from the wreckage they had made of the bleachers - great plan that had been - it had gained her about ten seconds in all…Christi grimaced as the remnant smirked again, why did he do that? What was he, five? How could he be a remnant of Sephiroth? Okay, maybe Sephiroth was a bit of an egotistical ex-SOLDIER, with a god complex and serious separation anxiety from his Mommy, but Loz was clueless. The lights were on but no one's home. The newly turned eighteen-year-old ducked behind her boyfriend as the remnant stopped several feet from her and Seifer. She felt sick now…great timing that was. So was the pain in her head.

Seifer frowned as Christi moved behind him, which was not like her. She usually objected if he stepped in front of her when they had field exams. A quick glance over his shoulder to her face and he knew straight away what was wrong, migraine again. She got really bad migraines at random times, it had been going on with years at this stage, Dr. Kadowaki had examined her after the first few times, but hadn't found any relatable cause. It hadn't happened when they had been kids, or at least he didn't remember it happening. Either way it had decided to pop up at the worst of times right now.

"Do you know what I've been looking for, Genesis?"

First guess was Jenova…second was the black materia…third was a way to utilize the life stream, after that he really didn't care to be honest. All three options seemed to lead to the same conclusion for them and it wasn't a happy one. Genesis ducked as Sephiroth's masamune came dangerously close, paying full attention might help a little. Angeal was currently regaining his footing, Zack had knocked him over, how that kid had ever made it this far without being killed was beyond him, he was a skilled 1st Class in his own right, no doubts on that one, but he tended to take many things light heartedly. One would have thought coming so close to ending up in the Promised Land would have caused him to redefine his outlook on matters, but evidently not.

Genesis grimaced as the elongated blade tore a thin streak of crimson down his left arm - he deserved that. He'd been too busy finding faults with others than concentrating on the situation at hand. Angeal wasn't at his side anymore; he had only noticed that now. The man had probably been dragged into another fight via crossfire. Another close miss and Genesis had been pushed back as far as he was willing to go, much further and he would end up cornering himself; the SOLDIER smirked as he ran his left hand the length of his blade; watching it glow red as a past memory of the simulation room crossed his mind.

He glared into his cold and smug jade eyes, refusing to be the one to break the clash. As childish, as he knew his thought sounded; he was the hero now, not Sephiroth. Mental note never to allow those words to leave his mind. He felt somewhat guilty though, despite his unexpected and disallowed departure from SOLDIER and ShinRa, along with the loss that had played on his mind; Genesis had still retained his slight jealousy of Sephiroth.

He had found him that night in Nibelheim, gloating over how he was nothing more than an experiment too, relishing in how the man's beloved mystery mother Jenova was nothing more than a calamity that had fallen from the sky two thousand years ago. The way he had seen it; why should Sephiroth have been happy and content while he hadn't? Why should the hero always be fighting ShinRa's cause, always winning, always content with what he had, always so calm - and all while his whole world had come crashing down around him? Now look…he had literally handed Sephiroth the key to his descent into insanity. And all because he had been a jealous prick.

"What I want is a natural monster. You and I are both monsters, derived of others' experiments. But do you know what that makes your daughter, Genesis?"

One second, two seconds - then it hit him with an unmerciful kick to the stomach for added emphasis; realization. No, that girl was his daughter, as odd as it sounded to his own ears; he knew it wasn't a lie. Fifteen years may have passed since the last time he had seen her or held her, but she was his. She was his baby, his and Alex's, there was no way in the seven depths of hell that Sephiroth was going to get anywhere near her. He didn't care how much he had to fight or sacrifice, it wasn't going to happen. Another mental kick as he realised just how cold he had been, anyone else who had fought against Sephiroth as Angeal had said had kids, and only now was he realizing how much it upped the stakes.

"You'll have to go through me first Sephiroth!"

When exactly they had become air born was a mystery to him, it was only after receiving a blow and faltering had he noticed the drop below. Why hadn't he noticed that sooner? This was his territory, though Sephiroth bore a wing too, the SOLDIER tended to rely more on his swordsmanship than his magic or flight, something Genesis himself utilized as much as he could. Another chanced glance around to survey what was going on only served to earn the red-coated SOLDIER another bruise and possibly some cracked ribs, he really had to stop doing that. And there was the wall he hadn't wanted to hit. Genesis allowed himself to drop several feet before flexing his wing and regaining the lost altitude, now he was as far back as he could go, though that hadn't been his intention.

"A natural monster will take on Mother's role."

His head snapped up as his reserve broke. He didn't care if he was partially responsible for how far Sephiroth had fallen - crossing a line was crossing a line regardless of insanity or god-complex. Genesis laughed tauntingly as he raised his hand in anger, finding a somewhat comfortable joy in the slight and barely readable confusion that crossed Sephiroth's features before he was sent backwards by several particularly strong Firaga blasts. Genesis refused to relent in his barrage as the former SOLDIER collided with the far wall of the assembly hall, still not halting as a section of the wall gave way, providing a rather unusual exit for the Nightmare from the hall.

Angeal looked around, stunned as the countless shadow creepers seemed to dissipate into a black mist. Their surprise exit followed immediately by a shaking impact and more falling rubble. He glanced up as sunlight streamed through a considerably large gap in the outer wall of the assembly hall, through which innumerable distinguishable magic blasts followed. Then he saw who had cast them, in all the years he had known Genesis, he had only bore witness to that look upon his face twice; the first time when they had been younger and things had become heated in the simulation room between he and Sephiroth, the second time being when he had allowed his emotions and anger full reign on the SOLDIER floor after being informed of the Balamb Incident.

It wasn't a look he took joy in seeing, Genesis possessed hidden depths of anger and a wiry temper, though it took something rather considerable to provoke it. Angeal brought his katana up as several blasts came too close for comfort, the man was dangerous when he let himself get like this, disregarding sense, even striking out at friends - he still remembered vividly being caught in the crossfire of Genesis and Sephiroth that day. However, this was different, by the looks of it, the remnants had upped and left, as had Sephiroth, most likely caught off guard by Genesis appearance and anger.

"Genesis."

His eyes were on him now, but they weren't registering who he actually was, they were looking right through him, mako eyes livid and genuinely looking like what some described SOLDIERs' eyes as; demon eyes.

"Genesis!"

The blasts stopped as his shout bounded off the walls of the assembly hall, accentuated by the stunned silence of all below, none knowing how to react to their adversaries' sudden departure. He was looking at him, but properly this time, actually seeing him as him, not just another being ready to trade blows.

Genesis furrowed his brow, looking around slowly. Great, they were all staring again, and this time the excuse of kids not knowing any better was not allowed, and neither was Zack's excuse. Why were they all just standing there gaping? Surely, there were still some shadow creepers or remnants around to occupy them? Sephiroth was left, the lingering tug of his J cells had finally ceased, and meaning the one who possessed the most had left also. People really had a fixation with staring…first at ShinRa, then between him and Christi and now again. He was still seething and slightly confused on top of that. He wanted someone else or something else to take the remains of his anger out on, one of the remnants had to still be around at least…another look around and he hadn't managed to spot any of the silver-haired puppets.

"Where are the three twerps?"

A/N: Just to bring something back up, this is a slightly AU fic, there are some pretty obvious changes to the plot of the compilation, but I'm trying to keep as much to it as my plot will allow me to. Anyhu - thanks for reading :P