Author note: Alright my lovelies, I admit I've confused myself, but it's alright. Was Sephiroth seriously only twelve when he went off to the Wutai war and gained 1st class status? According to this timeline I found, he was indeed. It says he, Angeal, and Genesis were born in 1980, then he went to war in 1992. I'm even more concerned for the guy now. He really had like, zero chance. Still, let's have some fun with this AU.

Warn you now, there was so much I wanted to happen, so it runs a little long.

Chapter start

The months leading up to my eighth birthday saw quite a few things happen at once. First and foremost, the war with Wutai burst into existence like a tsunami, sweeping over the city and the Shinra building in particular. No more tentative swipes at each other, no more pretext of a peaceful resolution. Suddenly it wasn't unusual to see infantrymen or even SOLDIER thirds and seconds bustling around looking important. It should have been terrifying. In one way it was.

This war would last straight on through the end of Crisis Core. Which meant, everything would begin changing soon. I was beyond nervous about that fact, wondering again if I had messed everything up. It was the rest I wanted to be lethargic about. Everyone was so bloodthirsty, even Sephiroth showing some excitement at the prospect of a battle. I thought sometimes I was the only sane person in this damned tower.

I prayed Sephiroth meant the battle itself, the chance to show off his skills, was interesting. Not the blood and idea of killing.

I was outside, having a lovely picnic with Rufus, meaning Sephiroth and Tseng accompanied us. It was a lovely little garden hidden within the inner bowels of Shinra, only accessible from the inside or through the air. Flowers bloomed all along its neat paths, a small pond filled with golden and silver fish winding through as well. Boulder and Dark Star were running about in true doggy fashion. It had been so peaceful. When the war came up, and he'd made that comment, amidst his talk with Rufus, I spun to him and received his attention as usual. My heart was like a jackhammer.

"What is it," Sephiroth asked, his eyes piercing mine. The wind was tossing his hair aside, and I swallowed.

"Why are you all…" I trailed off, knowing there was no way I could admit I understood these things yet. But wanting to so damned badly.

"Sophie?" Rufus was frowning now, his hands stilling from the food before him.

Still, I couldn't be silent. War was disgusting. I hardened my expression, seeing the confusion on both Tseng and Sephiroth as they stood together.

"This is wrong," I said clearly. "Why are we acting like this is a good thing?"

Rufus was more than used to the times I left my childish patterns behind, and acted far too old. Sephiroth had seen glimpses. Tseng had never seen it, but had most likely heard Vergil bitching about it.

"Sophie, it is a good thing. They challenged our authority." Rufus reached a hand to me, and I jerked away, causing him to frown. "All they needed to do is work with us."

"They didn't have to in the first place. We're the invaders, not them!" I saw him look to Tseng. A word on his tongue. "No, I want them here Rufus. Sephiroth you shouldn't be happy about the thought of death, of killing."

I turned my gaze to my guard and friend and saw him stiffen slightly. Tseng glanced to him briefly before turning that curious gaze to me.

"And you," I said sharply. "You can't tell me you agree. That's your homeland. Even if you threw it away, you more than anyone understands why Wutai said no to Shinra."

A slow blink, before Tseng sighed. "The sacred grounds… they are important to the royal family and also the common people."

"I know that," I murmured. "Why does it have to be that spot? Better yet, why do we think we have some right to everything on this planet?"

"Sophie, you're tired. Perhaps Sephiroth can escort you back to your room." Rufus had a look I'd never seen before. I recognized the worry there, but something else swelled.

Sephiroth immediately moved forward and I leapt from my seat, using the table to stay between us. He sighed, arching a brow.

"We aren't God's Rufus. Why are we going out to kill innocent people over a damned reactor?"

Boulder, sensing my growing hostility and perhaps even my fear, came bounding over. Really, the hound was looking amazing. His fur had grown back and gone silky on me, soft grey. Regular meals had bulked him out nicely, and so far, he hadn't shown signs of being overly aggressive. He was still basically a puppy though, so no matter how impressive his stance he wasn't scary yet.

Dark Star went to Rufus and sat. Both animals were so attuned to our moods, it was amazing. And sad. For they were like that from a different sector of Shinra playing God.

Rufus had both his hands fisted together, and he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths before he leveled me with a look. "I'm going to ask you to say no more Sophie. This isn't the time nor the place to question our Father."

"Those sacred grounds mean something to those people. It's wrong to force them to give it up because we're greedy."

"Sophie, I said be quiet! Do you honestly think anything you say outside your personal quarters is private?" Rufus practically snarled the words and I realized he was angry. I didn't know if he was angry at me, or simply angry due to his worry.

"I don't care. This is wrong and you know it."

My little hands were braced on the table. Gods what was I doing? I was supposed to be an innocent little seven year old. Not some adult. But I couldn't stay silent. I knew Sephiroth would deploy eventually. I would lose my friend, and perhaps not just to distance. Rufus was growing up thinking Shinra was right. I needed them to realize my side though, before everything went to hell.

"Right or wrong you're a member of this family. Father won't take kindly too you opposing the war so openly. Despite being a child, you show too strong of opinions on the matter. Stay low, Sophie. That's what I told you in exchange for that hound."

"Why can't you just listen," I said it desperately, banging my hands on the table. "They're innocent people, Rufus. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Protecting you has more meaning to me," he said bluntly. "This war is a fact, Sophie, one we can't change. Now I'm asking you to hold your tongue. There isn't anything we can do."

I knew he was right. My head bowed as I blinked away the tears, heart a complete mess. All those people were going to die, because of my family. Murdered by my friend. Innocent children would flock to Midgar, desperate to serve and become Sephiroth, the epitome of manly strength in this terrible war. Somewhere Genesis and Angeal were training, and would join as well. That stupid reactor was going to be built in Gongaga, and I knew it would explode.

The weight of knowledge was too heavy sometimes.

"You have a good heart, little Miss."

The voice was to my left and I blinked, seeing Tseng offering me a handkerchief. I grasped it, wiping my face with some embarrassment. A child's body didn't seem built for strong emotion like what I felt. Exhaustion always seemed to cling when I got too argumentative or upset.

"We're murderers," I told him, sullen. "And it's wrong."

"That may be, but your brother is right. You both are too young to change things. Remember how things make you feel now, and use them when you can make a difference."

I scoffed, which caused Tseng to chuckle a little. "Vergil was correct it seems. You truly are… Hmm, another time perhaps."

I desperately wanted to know what he would say but Rufus had intentionally clicked his cup hard, halting him. A warning.

"Things will not always be this way, Sophie." Rufus reached forward to stroke my cheek. His palm was warm and had strength there. Strength I immediately leeched, relishing it and his affection. "I hear you little sister. You don't need to worry."

My Brother had become a man when I wasn't looking. Truly, I wish I could have just relied on him. Wanted desperately to spill my guys, empty my mind of all the twisted dirty secrets it held. I wanted to trust him. The old cowardice of Riley rearing its head, making sure terror and nausea battled within me daily one way or the other. If I just told them, then it was out of my hands. I'd not be responsible if they didn't listen.

Then I would force common sense, and search out Aerith or Sephiroth to distract me. Even if I told them the planets future, they would dismiss it. Rufus loved me, and I would be damned if he thought I was having vivid nightmares. Even as an adult they'd assume I was sleeping poorly or insane.

There was always the other path too. If they believed me, and sent me to that man. I shuddered. I hadn't gotten far into the research and development lair, but I remembered the games depiction. Both of them. I saw the way Aerith paled when she came from there, for some reason being summoned. The girl would curl into my arms, trying hard not to cry.

A hand descended to my shoulder. "Perhaps Rufus is right. You should rest."

Sephiroth removed his hand as quickly as it had come, but I saw the way Rufus tracked it. Tseng tracked it. A few months ago, the not quite teenager would stiffen and avoid contact. Avoid using words unless needed. What could I say, except Aerith was a miracle worker. She could make a dragon crave her warmth.

"I'll see you later, Sophie." Rufus waved us away after a moment, and I nodded, handing Tseng back his handkerchief.

Like a child scolded and sent to their room. Sephiroth followed quietly, only going ahead of me to use his keycard when needed. Herding me somewhat, under the guise of watching my back.

He gently placed a hand along my back, ushering me into my room once we'd reached it. This room of pinks and whites. Lace curtains. Carpet so fluffy and soft it could have been what I imagined a cloud was. Heat controlled to a perfect temperature. I was too short to reach the buttons for it, so I'd always have to ask someone else. Still littered with stuffed animals I never touched except for the chocobo Rufus gave me.

Like some fucking room you'd imagine in a home magazine almost. The introduction of Boulder had livened the space up, but even then, I realized I hated this space. Deeply and without question. This place, a visual of what I should have been and wasn't. I wasn't a little girl who could match inside what this room represented. No matter what my outer appearance showed.

"Perhaps you should take a bath first. It would relax you."

Sephiroth had stepped inside as well, ignoring the way Boulder flitted around his legs. An odd duo they were. Though I supposed it meant Boulder trusted him.

"I don't want to," I said. I sounded petulant. Sephiroth must have agreed, giving me a once over before he tilted his head, strands of hair shielding him from me.

"If you need anything, call."

He was going to leave, expecting me to remain in the room now. I was going to lose him. And I barely had him. Very soon.

To the day I would die again, I didn't know what came over me. A great fear. My plan had been basic at this stage. Befriend him. Hope that would soften him later for Genesis to pull his crap. I had to do something about Jenova, and about the reactors, about the damned whole mess. If the game derailed would Shinra even be stopped?

What if by softening Sephiroth now, the planet would die anyway? What if Aerith ended up just like Ilfana? Would I just be handing Shinra a weapon, if Sephiroth never grew to hate the company that twisted his fate? I had no way of knowing, and no way of combating the waves of fear that crashed in me randomly.

I was in this world. If it went to hell, I'd be just as fucked.

Still, I couldn't turn back. My vision was blurred when I spun around, watching him step away from me. He stiffened when he felt my weight against his back, small arms not able to go all the way around him, coming only to his stomach anyway.

He didn't push me away. I felt the warmth of his back, and felt the soft strands of his hair tickle along my cheeks as I pressed in, as if I could ever force him to do anything. The cloth of his clothing, a SOLDIER third uniform, was scratchy. The difference between it and his hair struck me before I dismissed it.

"Sophie?" One hand came to clasp one of my own, dwarfing it already.

I wasn't usually a hugging sort with him. Even Aerith hadn't ever totally embraced him, half hugs he could see coming and avoid if he wanted. Things she respected. Never approached him from behind. I knew he could have dodged if he'd wanted, could escape easily. I thought perhaps the trembling I couldn't halt were the reason he didn't.

"I'm scared." I admitted it like it was shameful, a dirty secret.

He shifted slightly, relaxing himself enough to not be totally stiff as a board. "You needn't be. The war can't reach you here."

"Not that!" I snapped harshly at him, feeling him huff a breath. I was confusing him, and maybe worrying him as well.

"Then what?"

"You're going to leave." The admission wasn't easy and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Still he didn't understand. "You will have adequate protection even when I am gone. I've been told Vergil will reclaim the post."

"Stupid," I muttered. I couldn't blame him. Beyond Aerith and I, had anyone made it clear he would be missed?

Somehow, his naivety grounded me. I was the one in a child's body, yet it was he who didn't know things. He could kill. He could torture. He could be vindictive, cruel. But someone worrying for him was foreign.

I tugged him until he turned to me, eyes curious even as the rest of his features remained blank. Even now at twelve he was handsome. In my world, he might have been developing his first innocent crush. Holding hands and thinking that and chaste kisses meant forever. Here, he was most likely already stained with blood.

I knew this would be cruel, even as I said it. "Sephiroth, where's your mom? Or your dad?"

His lashes shuttered his eyes from me. "How is that relevant?"

"Please."

He was silently and I knew we looked odd. I clung to him still, his hands resting at his sides. He sighed after a moment. "I've no idea who either are, nor what they look like. Nothing beyond her name."

"If they came back… would you want to go with them? Want to know them, protect them, and worry for them?"

"I couldn't say."

Oh, I could. He would go nuclear for what he thought was his mother. One day. In his mind now, though he undoubtedly missed them when he was young, his mother was dead, and his dad had sold him to Shinra. He wasn't far off; he had been sold off.

"If it was me or Aerith then? If we needed you…"

He sighed, growing tired from the line of questioning. "I'd be there."

"Even if it wasn't your job to guard us?"

"Of course."

"That's why, moron. Blood isn't always family. It's friends too."

"We are family?" Sephiroth asked skeptically.

"You, me, and Aerith. Yes. Chosen family and not blood. So, I'm worried. Worried you won't come back. Worry you'll come back changed."

"You said it was wrong to enjoy killing."

"They're innocent people, Sephiroth. You aren't going there for a noble cause or to defend something. The government in Wutai isn't horrible. They just…" I trailed off, inhaling slowly. "They're good people, defending their home. We're the ones being a bully."

After a moment, I felt one of his hands settle along the back of my head, felt the strands of my hair shift with his fingers. He let it settle there, and I felt myself relaxing. He rarely touched, and when he did it was brief and barely there. But his hand had weight to it, a concession on his part he was hearing me.

"I can't say I fully understand. But I can promise you. I will keep your words close, and I will return. You needn't worry."

He left shortly after. After he'd noticed me surrendering more and more of my weight to him, he lifted me easily, dropping me onto my bed and tugging the covers up. A child's body was, as I thought, useless. Or maybe I was weak.

I was awoken later by the sound of my door being opened. I blinked warily, the fog of a deep yet unneeded sleep slowing me down. It wasn't until a lump shifted beside me, that I realized Aerith was in my room again. The half Ancient must have come in when I was asleep, as she often did, and climbed into bed.

Foggy thoughts filtered as I stifled a yawn. Boulder was growling. Soft murmuring, a blast of white light and I heard a thump. My heart leapt to my throat. I scrambled over Aerith, all sleep pushed from my brain.

Ilfana was in my room, somehow, Boulder dropped boneless to the floor. "You! How did you get… what did you do to him?"

I leaped from the bed, anger and confusion looming to the forefront of my mind. She made a small hand wave and I flinched back. All I knew was she was Aeriths Mom, full blooded Ancient. I didn't know what she was capable of. If Aerith could do low level cures, Ilfana had to be a powerhouse.

"Just a sleep spell," she said it soothingly. "I'm here for my daughter."

I shifted to block her before I realized it. I cursed myself. If this was their big moment of escape I was screwed. I couldn't let it happen on front of me. Not without protest. If I did, who knows what this corrupt company would do to me.

"How did you get in here?" I demanded.

"It isn't important. I wish you would stand down."

Her eyes were full of wisdom, her voice smooth honey. No wonder Gast had fallen for her so quick and hard. Despite the years of torture, her whole bearing screamed that she was a goddess on earth. Or Gaia, whatever. Even my mostly straight heart twitched in interested attention.

"You know I can't. Why would you come here?" My voice was desperate.

Her gaze pierced me. "You know why. When she is with you, she is the most protected, yet the least guarded. They all believe in this room, where they've stored their Princess, that none would dare disturb. So they leave her with you, a pet you arrogantly demanded. A plaything for the towers Princess."

Her words were poisoned arrows gutting me. "I never once-"

"I know, child. You have been as good a friend as this place allowed. We must leave though. Your protection has been appreciated. It isn't enough anymore, however."

I had known this day was coming. Damn it. "If you take her from here, you might be dooming me."

She laughed lightly. "The towers Prince will protect you. As will the corrupt one. I believe that to be so."

She stepped forward and I couldn't help but take one back, gasping as I hit the bed. "She has spoken to me, so clearly. The time has come. You know this is true."

"Why now?"

"That man weaves his webs, entangling all into his purposes. He would see my daughter bred by that corrupted one, one day. Just to see what the calamity and one with our blood would do." Her gaze hardened, her hand coming out to grasp my chin. "You've inadvertently given him the thought. You fostered their meetings, their friendship. You know things, and you are twisting them. She may understand what you are attempting. But I will not leave my daughter to it."

Trembles were accosting my whole body. Her touch was icy, too icy for a living human. "She?"

"You know who. Or perhaps to you, a what." She must have recognized the terror in my face, the way my breath stopped. Her voice and gaze softened, along with her grip, more a caress now. "We do not blame you. I wish you luck, truly. However, for now, I accept the fate I was given. And choose to follow that path."

"You know what will happen if you leave," I asked after a pause.

"Aha! There are those eyes. The eyes of an adult. Yes, I know. It is my time to return to her. I go willingly."

"Then I understand. You'll have to do something to me, please. As a child I can't stop you. But there would need to be a reason I didn't run out to alert someone to my friend being taken."

"Of course. Forgive me, dear." The same light that flashed earlier gathered along her fingertips. "I… do have one question. Will… never mind."

Her eyes were so sad. Despite the way something started tugging at my mind, I clasped the hand performing magic on me.

"Elmyra will be a terrific mother. She'll be happy. She'll find love. And I'll… I'll keep trying."

I thought it then. The way Ilfana smiled. It was the most beautiful, shining thing. Darkness was creeping along my vision, limbs growing heavy. So much heavier than a natural sleep. Despite my will to allow it, my body still fought. Her smile was the last thing I saw before the darkness took over, body flopping forward like a puppet that's strings had been cut.

End chapter

REVIEW RESPONSES:

XENOCANAAN: For sure, Sophie isn't good at acting the last of a child. She goes to it when she realizes she's being too "adult", but luckily, she's in arrogant company. Any time she acts suss, she thinks they'll dismiss it due to her age. And the ones who she can't fool aren't sure what's going on yet. As for Ilfana, she has her reasons, which I hope this chapter answered. I'm a little sad I didn't play with her more, since she's aware of what Sophie is, so they could have had a good dynamic. The chance just didn't come. Hope you loved this though!

JOSHIRO99: She let's more and more out thanks to her being impatient. But that is the goal, that as she gets older she can confront things head on rather than act ignorant. I was curious about getting her trained somehow too, I'm still not sure what weapon though. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PHOENIX: Her hands are tied for now. It's causing her some stress, and after this chapter she's going to be stir crazy. I imagine she wants control, especially since she didn't intend to get involved at all, and now she's realizing the things she can't do versus what she can. She recognizes she's on a clock now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter too!