A/N: Whew! A bit of a shorter one this time, but I'm kind of overdue so I figured I'd post it. I'm not so great about the regular updates, bawww.

Aside from all that...here you go! Hoo boy, Genesis in this chapter. That man is more fun than I bargained for.

Nothing else to say, derp. Enjoy!

"But Angeal—"

"Enough." Angeal cut Zack off, his gaze hard. "If you want to make it to First, Zack, you need to stop making Third Class mistakes. Never turn your back to an enemy unless you are absolutely sure it has been terminated. This is what happens when you become too confident."

The elder SOLDIER shook his head, and then turned his eyes on me. "Overconfidence. It will undo any SOLDIER. You also lowered your guard. You've handled yourself well up until now; I expected you to know better."

"I do know better," I sighed, lowering my head. "It was a stupid mistake on my part. It won't happen again."

"Wait, wait!" Zack protested. "Don't start blaming her! It was supposed to be my kill in the first place."

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "You're accepting blame now?"

His face fell. "Uh—well—I still think you're being too hard on us. What about when we drew the dragons away from you, huh?"

"That doesn't change anything. Be an honorable SOLDIER and take responsibility for your mistakes."

"Honor…what's all this about dreams and honor, anyway?"

Angeal paused at that, giving his student a pensive look. "Zack…do you remember why you joined SOLDIER?"

The teen immediately leaned forward at that, his face taking on a resolute expression. "To become a hero!"

"Heroes are known for their great deeds. For serving and protecting the people." Angeal closed his eyes. "We at SOLDIER have a duty to fulfill. Honor…will keep you from using your strength for the wrong reasons, from straying from the correct path. And your dreams will keep you moving forward."

He opened his eyes once more, watching us both. "Without honor or dreams, we would be nothing but mindless killing machines…monsters. Never forget that."

"Monsters, huh…" Zack frowned, troubled.

"I want you two to do better on your next mission. Don't disappoint me," Angeal said.

"Yessir," I replied.

"Yeah, all right…" Zack rubbed the back of his neck, and then paused to look at me. "Speaking of which…why'd you join SOLDIER, anyway?"

"Me?" I raised my eyebrows. "I dunno, the uniform was cute."

"Wh-What?!" Zack gaped, looking down at his own matching uniform and then back up at me. "You're not serious…"

I snorted. "No. Nice reaction, though."

"C'mon! What's the real reason?"

Finally I caved, pausing to think for a second. "…There's someone I have to protect. That's all."

"Someone to protect, huh…" The teen frowned. Then he leaned back in his seat, throwing his hands behind his head as he mulled this over.

"It's a step up from mercenary work, I guess," I replied with a shrug, wanting to change the subject.

"With your brother and your old man, right? Where are they at, anyway?" Zack asked. He seemed to perk up a bit now that I was actually making conversation.

I hesitated a little, thinking about the cold façade I had been keeping up. But…well, what was the point anymore? Zack was the one person I was dead set on saving; it didn't matter if I was attached to him, because I wasn't going to let him die.

"Who knows," I said breezily, looking out the window. "Dad's always been too stubborn to get a phone, and my old one broke when I fought the Malboro. Not many ways we can contact each other."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"Nah, they'll sniff me out eventually, especially since I'm set up in one spot," I replied with a shrug. Then I just smiled. "Besides, I don't mind the break. My old man's a bit of a hardass, with the disposition of Sephiroth to boot."

"…That explains it," Angeal muttered with a chuckle.

"Huh? Explains what?" Zack turned on his mentor with a confused expression, but it was at that moment that the train drew to a stop.

Angeal just shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's get back to town; our ship should be arriving in about an hour."

So we got off the train, preparing for the trip back to headquarters. As we walked, I couldn't shake the odd sense that I had forgotten something. Had I said something back there that I shouldn't have? No…that wasn't it.

Well, whatever it was, it couldn't have been too important. There were too many other things weighing on my mind right now for me to focus on the little details. I shrugged off the feeling, instead turning my thoughts to the road ahead.

The three of us made it back to Midgar without incident. One look at the city from the deck of the airship was enough to dampen my spirits a bit. I had relaxed a little bit over the past few days, traveling around with Zack and Angeal in the country. The fresh air had definitely been nice.

Now it was back to the endlessly grey industrial setting. I had never been a big fan of cities in general, but Midgar was the pits. Not to mention it was no fun going right back into the lion's den, where I'd have to watch my back constantly.

After entering headquarters, the three of us separated to unpack our things, shower and get situated. About an hour later we met back up outside Lazard's office for a mission debriefing, and after that we had the rest of the night to ourselves.

That had all been yesterday. Today I was off, and tomorrow I was scheduled for my first solo mission. Go figure—it was monster extermination in the slums. Baby steps, I guess. Maybe I should've been grateful after that whole dragon thing; I was starting to underestimate my own bad luck.

Actually, I decided that I didn't mind at all. Killing small fry in the slums might be easy and somewhat boring, but at least that meant I probably wouldn't have to worry about drawing attention to myself.

It would be nice to do some solo missions outside of Midgar, though…anything to get out of the city.

Right now I was busy aimlessly wandering the SOLDIER floor, wondering just what I was going to do today. Training had gone by quickly, leaving me with an entire day in my hands and no way to really fill the time.

What I really needed to do was think about how I was going to get my Exsphere back. It had been almost a week already since I had lost it, and the clock was ticking.

Unfortunately, I still had no idea what I was going to do. I had to get it back discreetly somehow—if I blew my cover, not only would I be risking my own life, but I would also lose my chance to help Zack. I had to get it back, and I had to destroy it once and for all. I should've done so the second I returned home from Aselia, but of course my stupid sentimentality had caused me to keep it. Hopes that I'd go back someday…what an idiot I was. My Exsphere was the whole reason I had gotten into this mess with Shinra.

There was a human soul inside of that thing. The least I could do is give them their final rest after all of the help they had given me on my last journey. But what the hell could I do, break into the Science Department? Tempting as it was to run in and kick Hojo's ass, I'd be caught for sure.

Well, there had to be something—

"Ripples form on the water's surface

The wandering soul knows no rest."

My train of thought crashed and burned. Gee, I wonder who that could possibly be?

"Back from your mission too, huh?" I asked dryly, hearing the sound of his footsteps coming up behind me.

"You've been pacing this floor for the past hour. While entertaining to watch, I'm starting to wonder if you have no better ways to spend your time," the commander remarked smoothly. He circled around to face me, smirking a bit.

"Says the guy who apparently watched me pace for an hour," I shot back, rolling my eyes and walking past him.

He snorted, falling in step with me. "It's a bit difficult not to notice, you know. What in the world has you so worked up?"

I looked away. There was something I really didn't want to talk about. "It's nothing. I've just got a lot on my plate right now."

"I suppose that's one way of putting it," he mused. "Does this have something to do with our dear general?"

That caused me to draw to an abrupt stop, and I gave him an incredulous look. "What the hell does Sephiroth have to do with this?" Seriously? He was the last person I wanted to be discussing right now! As if thinking about my Exsphere wasn't stressful enough!

He raised his eyebrows, his lips curling in a smug smile. "So defensive. Sephiroth finally deigns to show his face, and our sole female SOLDIER runs away with her tail between her legs. I do believe you've hurt his pride."

"Yeah, I'm sure he wrote about it in his diary and cried all the way home," I muttered, shaking my head and walking past the First once more. "My tail between my legs? Gimme a break. What're you even getting at?"

He kept pace with me easily. "I'm only curious."

Finally I just heaved a sigh. "Maybe I find him a little intimidating. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Genesis replied dryly. "Intimidating? And what am I, then?"

"Jealous," I replied.

He immediately looked like he'd swallowed something unpleasant. It was actually kind of funny, watching the way the amusement dropped from his face, immediately replaced with a kind of childish petulance.

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?"

I gave him a smug look of my own. "So defensive. Did I hurt your pride?"

When he offered a scowl in reply, I put a hand to my mouth, my shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Ha! I showed him! Maybe next time he'd think twice before following me around solely to annoy me.

"Anyway," I said, snorting, "if that's all you wanted to talk about, I'm going to go—"

"Not quite yet." He cut me off, catching me by the collar of my uniform. "I did come find you for a reason."

I paused, wanting to groan. Of course Genesis would take all of two hours to actually get to the damn point. Resisting the urge to huff with irritation, I backed up a step so my collar wasn't digging into my neck. His fingers were still hooked around it.

"Would you let go?" I muttered. "I'm not your dog."

"What you are is Third Class," he replied with a smirk. "Taking into account your many breaches of conduct over the last five minutes…at this point, I should think that would be the least of your concerns."

I deadpanned. "You're pulling rank on me, aren't you."

Bigger smirk. "Of course I am. This uniform isn't just for show, you know. Now come with me." With that, he proceeded to start dragging me down the hallway.

"A-Agh! Dammit—uniform's not for show, my ass! What's your problem?! Genesiiiis!"

"My friend, your desire

Is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess."

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, so help me I will kick your poetic ass the second you let me go—ow!"

Genesis cut me off by casually shoving me through a doorway. I promptly stumbled backwards and fell on my butt. He rolled his eyes, walking over and holding a hand out to help me up. I glared at it for a moment before finally relenting and grabbing hold.

After pulling me to my feet, the First walked over to a panel behind him and began punching in a few commands. I frowned, looking around for a moment until it finally registered.

Eh…? We were in the antechamber to the VR training room.

I sobered a bit, letting a breath out slowly to calm myself. Rather than yell at Genesis some more, I just walked up behind him and attempted to see what he was doing.

"It's rude to look over people's shoulders," the First remarked smoothly, not looking up from his work.

"You know what else is rude?" I started, cocking an eyebrow, but Genesis just held up a hand.

"Save your breath. The simulation is starting."

"Why are we entering a simulation?" At this point I didn't even expect an answer, and Genesis didn't disappoint. He just smiled and grabbed me by the shoulders, pushing me through the now-open door.

It slid shut behind us, flickering out of sight as the virtual reality took over. I looked around with a frown; we were in a large, open field. Not all that interesting, really. If Genesis intended to do a practice mission, this was kind of a weird setting for it to take place in.

The commander strolled lazily forward, eventually turning to face me. He reached up to brush his bangs out of his eyes.

"Draw your weapon, SOLDIER."

My brow furrowed. "Wha—hold on, what? You dragged me out here to fight you?"

Scarcely a second had passed before Genesis was on me. I was forced to dodge a swipe from his blade, grimacing a little as I leapt backwards. I reflexively pulled Kerberos from its sheath, bringing it up just in time to clash swords with him.

He smirked, pushing forward hard and causing my feet to slide backwards, digging tiny trenches into the ground. I broke contact and twisted to the side, stepping out of range.

"I heard about what happened on your mission with Angeal and the puppy," he explained, circling me. I remained on guard, watching his every move.

"Oh. That." I frowned. "Yeah, it was a stupid mistake. What about it?"

"Well, it occurred to me that I have never seen your so-called strength for myself," Genesis replied. "I won't tolerate sloppiness. I cannot repay my debt to you if you run off and die at the next available opportunity."

I made a face. Sloppy, huh? Dammit! I wasn't just some headstrong idiot that flailed my sword around in hopes of hitting a target. Kratos had taught me better than that.

…Well, fine. Now was my chance to show him. Actually, this could be a learning experience. It had been a long time since I'd had the chance to spar with someone above my level. If I wanted to save Zack, I had to become stronger, didn't I?

"All right, fine. Bring it on," I said, falling into a fighting stance.

"Hmph." Genesis smirked, raising his blade. "With pleasure."

Needless to say, fighting a First Class SOLDIER was no joke. It had been all of twenty minutes so far, and I was being run ragged.

The redhead sent a lightning spell my way and I quickly dodged to the side, once again sorely wishing I could use Guardian. After my nasty experiences with Kvar, Yuan and the summon spirit Volt, there were few things I hated more than being hit with lightning magic.

Now it was my turn. I lunged, catching his blade with my own and using my momentum to force him backwards. While he was stepping back I twisted my body, charging Kerberos with fire magic.

Genesis saw Hell Pyre coming. His eyes widened slightly, but then I saw one of his hands glow with magic; he immediately lifted an arm, casting Wall the second I threw the ball of fire at him. The barrier diffused the attack and I was forced to go on the defensive the second I landed.

The First lunged, swiping his sword out in a powerful diagonal strike; I parried, his blade glancing off mine and producing a shower of sparks. This continued on for close to a minute, Genesis leaving me no time for a counterattack. I continued to parry and dodge, scanning the situation for any opening I could possibly use.

There! I managed to catch his sword at just the right angle, pushing forward and locking hilts before immediately twisting away. Genesis had to step forward to regain his balance, leaving his back undefended.

Intending to end the battle by pressing Kerberos' tip to the back of his neck, I extended my arm.

"Heh."

Genesis' smug laugh clued me in. My eyes widened and I instinctively leapt backwards, only to see a giant shard of ice crash into the ground where I had been standing moments before.

Then Genesis cut through the ice, leaping past it to engage me once more. I parried, forcing him back, and then swiped my sword along the ground in a fire-charged Demon Fang. He swatted the magic away with his own sword and lunged at me. The battle continued.

There were a few things I had learned from fighting Genesis. One, despite everything that I'd been through over the past few weeks, I was really rusty as far as swordfighting went. There was only so much solo training on Earth could've done for me. I had several close very calls in the first few minutes of the fight, but thankfully now I had started to warm up and remember some of the techniques that Kratos had beaten into my head.

Two, the lack of my artes was an enormous setback when it came to challenging opponents. I kept having to stop myself from using Beast or Hurricane Thrust or half of the other artes I hadn't adapted to this world yet. Guardian was still the one I missed the most, because it took a lot more energy running around and dodging stuff when I could've just blocked it before.

Three, I had a long way to go with materia and Genesis seemed to take great pleasure in making this painfully obvious. He was starting to get serious, the smirk falling off his face and his focus shifting to magic as this was his obvious advantage.

I dodged several fireballs, grimacing and cursing this world for the existence of materia. Genesis never would've been able to pull this crap off on Aselia. But even then, he'd probably have some awesome artes to make up for it…dammit.

He parried my next few attacks, sending me flying backwards from the sheer force of his own counterattack. I just barely managed to turn myself in midair so that I landed on my feet, sliding backwards in the grass. The field had already been damaged quite a bit from our fight.

I saw the glow of magic come from him once more. What was he casting this time? I tensed, preparing myself. If it was ice, maybe I could counter with my Fire materia—

Hearing the sound of something large rushing through the air, I instinctively leapt to the side. A large flaming rock crashed into the ground where I had been standing, sending dirt and debris flying everywhere. Holy shit—Comet?!

No. Not just Comet, the next step up—there were more coming. Was this jackass trying to kill me?!

Suddenly I found myself jumping from one spot to the next, pushing my SOLDIER reflexes to the limit. Each time I jumped, a comet crashed into the spot I had previously been. I cut through one of the boulders with my sword, leaping through the gap between each half. Genesis appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the other side, catching me completely off guard.

His sword connected hard with mine in another powerful hit, and I flew back into the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of me. I fought to gather my bearings, but it was too late. When I tried to sit up, I felt the point of his blade digging into my neck.

"Nngh…" I groaned, flopping back down and attempting to catch my breath.

I heard the hiss of Genesis' blade falling back into its sheath. There was the sound of footsteps; he walked away for a second, paused, and then came back. In the next second I saw his hand held out above me. Sighing, I reached out and allowed him to pull me to my feet. I noticed that the simulation had ended, the grass beneath me replaced with a metal floor.

He was frowning at me. I had to wonder just what he was thinking about; after everything that had just happened, I had been expecting him to gloat at least a little.

"I believe this is yours," he said, holding Kerberos out to me by the base of the hilt. I took it from him.

The First tilted his head slightly, watching me. "It's an interesting sword. I have to wonder, though, how a mere mercenary could afford a blade crafted from adamantite."

My eyebrows flew up. "Adamantite? So that's what it's made of…"

Genesis gave me an incredulous look. "You didn't know?"

"Well, no," I replied, a little sheepish. "My father gave it to me, and I never asked." I sheathed the sword, not wanting Genesis to ask about the inscription on the blade as well.

Kerberos was a standard Cruxis weapon; as Cruxis had basically ruled the world for millennia prior to my journey in Aselia, it didn't surprise me that they'd have the resources to create weapons from such a valuable metal. Suspicious, though…how could I explain my weapon to the people here? The only solution I knew was either to be deliberately vague or feign ignorance.

"Your father, hmm…" Genesis replied, looking thoughtful. "Your fighting style deviates from standard SOLDIER form as well. I suppose he is responsible?"

I nodded. "He taught me just about everything I know." This subject was making me uncomfortable. I just sighed, turning away from the First. "Anyway, I fought you like you wanted. Happy now?"

"Hmph. I'm beginning to understand now why you were recruited," Genesis replied, his stare practically burning holes in my back. "The fact that you lasted longer than five minutes against me speaks for itself."

"Someone thinks very highly of himself," I muttered.

"To be honest, initially I was quite skeptical that the same girl who was fleeing officers in Junon could have possibly been scouted for SOLDIER. If not for that…incident, you would have struck me as nothing more than a troublemaking kid."

"Kid?" I paused, making a face at him over my shoulder. "I'm twenty-one, hotshot."

He smirked, pressing onward as if I hadn't spoken at all. "Your swordplay is above average and you're quick on your feet. If you were indeed able to defeat a Zolom prior to enhancements, I'm very curious to find out about this father of yours and how he has managed to avoid drawing Shinra's attention for this long."

Bad subject! I tensed before I could stop myself, and then immediately tried to hide my own discomfort.

"…He's always kept to himself," I replied.

"Another vague response. How predictable," he said, smiling. "'Infinite in mystery'…fitting indeed."

"Can I go now?" I interjected in a whiny voice, pretending not to be bothered by his words.

He abruptly sobered at that, giving me a stern look that left me taken aback.

"Though you clearly know how to use a sword, your knowledge of materia leaves something to be desired. This I will not tolerate."

"Huh?" My brow furrowed. "Uh…I know I'm not that good, but I'm just starting to learn—"

"Unacceptable," Genesis cut me off. "Still only using base-level spells. I want you using second-tier by the end of the month. That's the only way you'll make it to—" He stopped, chuckling seemingly to a private joke.

Oh-kaaay… "Well, sounds like a good goal. I'll get right on that." I turned to go, only to have him catch me by the collar again. Dammit!

"Angeal's training focuses primarily on swordplay and physical endurance," Genesis said, yanking me backwards. "You're not challenging yourself enough. I'm having you transferred over to me."

"Wh-What?" Genesis as a mentor? This whole infuriating process repeating itself every morning? I was having nightmares already!

"It's important that you remain invaluable to Shinra," Genesis added in a lower voice. "You should be thanking me."

I faltered, frowning as I mulled that over. The thought that Shinra might decide that I was more of a liability than an asset…was not so far-fetched. Which meant I had to earn my keep if I wanted to stay alive around here. If I didn't produce the results they expected…if I was just another forgettable low-rank SOLDIER…

Agh! But at the same time, drawing too much attention to myself was bad! What was the middle ground, anyway?!

"I guess it's useless to protest," I replied with a heavy sigh. "…Thanks for looking out for me."

"Good girl," he said, patting me lightly on the head. "Now run along; I have some important business to attend to."

"You—!" That pompous ass! I found my fists clenching with annoyance, but I forced myself to turn away and walk towards the exit. When I couldn't think of any witty retorts to his patronizing words, I just let out an angry huff and stormed away.

Genesis was still chuckling as the door slid shut behind me.

A/N: Oh yeah, it's happening. Feel the Genesis love. Writing OC Brit and Gen snarking at each other constantly is just too fun to pass up. XD Their friendship will be...interesting, to say the least.

Kudos to Sylph Writer and her awesome fanart - Genesis grabbing Brit by the collar is now probably going to be a regular gesture of his, because the thought of it amuses me so much. XD If you haven't seen the art I'm referring to, feel free to look her up on DeviantArt (since this site always eats any links I try to post).

Not too much plot advancement in this one (who am I kidding, there's not much of a plot going yet) but I'm still kind of setting things up. XD Character interactions are too much fun, and there are so many damn characters to meet!

Next time: Solo mission; Aerith.