A/N: HAHAHAHAHAH let's not update this story for a year and then come back with a really long chapter, MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS I'M AN ASSHOLE.

For real though, it's been a WHILE. I've been (attempting) to work on my main fic, New Reality. This just kind of... happened in the meantime. But hey, it's not dead! That's something, yeah? Can't promise consistent updates (I never can, because Real Life, Procrastination, and Laziness) but I am going to continue to bring this back.

You're going to hate me by the end of this one. Alas... it'll be a fun ride while it lasts. ENJOY, SUCKERSSSS *keels over due to sleep/food deprivation during writing binge*

The lobby of the inn was very quaint; with the front desk tucked over to one side, most of the small room was dominated by several cozy couches and armchairs. Two people sat at one of the couches, playing a game of checkers that was set up on a coffee table.

Genesis was impossible to miss; he was sitting at a table near the window, and the afternoon sunlight streaming in made his fiery red hair seem to glow. Sitting there in his crimson jacket, ornate sword sheathed at his hip, sipping delicately at a cup of tea… he was the mysterious stranger everyone kept glancing at out of the corner of the their eye.

Oh my god. I rolled my eyes, exasperated. Genesis couldn't just sit there and be a normal human being; he had to command the attention of the room even if all he was doing was reading the freaking newspaper.

I plopped down in the seat across from him. Hearing my arrival, he folded the paper and pushed it to the side, the corners of his lips turning up in a faint smile.

The smile faded when he saw my expression. "What?"

"You know what," I said, pointing at him. "Sitting right at the window where everyone can see you, famous SOLDIER drinking tea—don't think I don't know what you're doing."

Now he just looked amused. "Perhaps you should enlighten me."

"Have you ever tried to blend in even once in your life?" I countered, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course I have. But here, there's no need," Genesis replied with a smirk. "What I'm doing is establishing witnesses to support our alibi. Did you really think my motives would be that shallow?"

Propping my elbows on the table, I rested my chin on my interlaced fingers and gave him a look of mock-contemplation. "Sometimes I think the reason you turn on your heel when you walk away from people is that you like the way it makes your coat billow all dramatically. So, yeah. I think you like people to think you're a special snowflake."

"Special snowflake?" The look he gave me was incredulous to the point of being comical.

I just gave him my best shit-eating grin, happy at having ruffled his feathers. Constant smugness got kind of nauseating after a while.

"Come on, I can't be the first person to call you out on it."

"You're the first to phrase it so… uniquely," he said, his voice gaining a petulant edge. "The jibes never end with you, do they?"

"It's like you don't even hear yourself talk," I retorted, rolling my eyes. "Anyway, are we going to bicker all afternoon or are you going to tell me what exactly we're supposed to do next?"

There was a split second where Genesis' eyes flashed and I swore he was going to tell me I started it. Then he seemed to grudgingly resist the temptation, instead leaning back in his chair and regarding me with a more serious look. Somewhere in that calculating brain of his he was figuring out how to get back at me, but for now we were moving on.

"We'll be taking a company vehicle back to HQ in an hour or so," he finally replied. "Business as usual. My original plans were to take a few more precautions, but it appears that won't be necessary—Shinra has more than enough on its plate with what happened this morning."

I blinked. Was there something I had missed? "What happened?"

In response, he held up the newspaper that he had been reading before I approached. Normally I avoided the local press because it was all Shinra propaganda, but now my eyes were drawn to the first headline:

COREL TERRORIST CELL CAUSES REACTOR EXPLOSION

"…What?" I gaped, snatching the paper from his hands. The Corel reactor had exploded already? But I had just been there on a mission not too long ago!

My stomach sank as I read the article, which detailed how certain citizens of Corel turned out to be members of a terrorist organization; they had sabotaged the reactor and then attacked the Shinra officials that had come to investigate. The infantry was deployed, and…

Oh. The image on the front page was a panorama—a decimated Corel with Mt. Corel in the background, a plume of black smoke issuing from where I knew the reactor to be.

According to the article, the town had been caught in the crossfire as the terrorists had chosen it for their battlefield. The blame was clearly laid on the terrorists, with Shinra being the heroes trying to end the chaos… but I wasn't stupid.

The valve.

A thought came to me suddenly; the technicians we had brought, arguing over something, insisting that everything was fine when I asked. They had made adjustments and walked away, but that valve they had secured… it had been smoking.

I was sure of it now. The dragon attack had distracted me at the time, but something had been wrong and they left it like that, a stupid mistake made by employees of Shinra.

And how did Shinra handle mistakes?

The edges of the newspaper crumpled as I clenched my hands into fists. First those poor Exbeluas, and now this… both things I could've prevented. That maintenance trip had been the entire cause of the explosion, turned the reactor into a ticking time bomb—if I had just paid attention, I—!

"My friend, the fates are cruel," Genesis remarked, seeming to sense the nature of my thoughts.

"Shinra fucked up," I hissed quietly, dropping the paper back on the table. "They fucked up and Corel paid the price. An entire town destroyed… the monsters."

My superior smiled darkly, leaning forward. "Say what you will, but we are on the payroll. Oh, but this is an intriguing subject. Shall we take a walk?"

I didn't protest, getting up to follow as he set down his tea and headed for the door. This topic of conversation was too risky and people were more apt to be interested when I looked so heated.

We ended up going out into the streets of Kalm, finding a quieter area near the town walls before even beginning our conversation. It was just enough time for me to begin to quell the anger that had begun to boil within me. This wasn't something that rage would help me with; I needed to be cool and collected. I needed to be able to make rational decisions.

"Hang on," I said when we reached the edge of town, remembering something.

Genesis came to a halt, waiting for me. I reached into my bag and dug around until I felt the familiar form of my Exsphere; then I pulled it out, letting the spherical blue stone sit in the palm of my hand.

"Now?" he asked with a note of surprise.

I nodded. "I'm not taking it back to the lion's den like this. Not after what happened."

Though it had been sitting in my bag, the stone in my hand pulsed with a warmth of its own. It possessed power I no longer needed… power that was too risky for me to handle.

"You know this thing's alive?" I murmured. "We called them… 'lifeless beings.' They're empty. They can't help but parasitize every life form they come into contact with. I've always wondered if they could feel loneliness…"

"Perhaps it's alive, but it is a truly wretched existence," Genesis remarked. "You saw what became of those test subjects."

"So you saw that," I said quietly, clutching the stone in my hand. "You saw what I did."

"What you did was merciful." His gaze hardened. "It was infinitely less painful than the fate they had in store. Many would have walked away to spare themselves the guilt of getting their hands dirty—but you made the hard choice."

I swallowed; his words were balm on a painful wound. I wanted to believe that I had done the right thing, but regardless I still bore the burden of the lives I took. Just like with all of the lives I had taken to further my cause before, it was my responsibility now to ensure that they hadn't died in vain.

I dropped the Exsphere to the ground, wedging it between two cobblestones. Then I drew Kerberos, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

It had been a hell of a long time since the day this thing was forced on me… I wasn't that person anymore. It was time to say goodbye to that portion of my life. It was time to stop being a victim.

The razor sharp point of the sword came down on the stone; it cracked, and then shattered into a dozen small pieces. I sheathed my blade and then crouched down, gathering up all the pieces save for one, which I ground into the dirt on the side of the path. The Exsphere was useless and dead, but it couldn't hurt to play it safe.

I held the remaining shards in my hand for a moment, gazing at them. All of those things I had done back in Aselia, wearing this thing… I had been terrified a lot of the time, but I had been brave, hadn't I? Yeah, standing alongside my friends… despite all of my screwups, I had accomplished so much.

Exsphere or no Exsphere, I was still that person. I was without my friends this time around, but that didn't change the fact that I had faced the seemingly impossible and triumphed—and I could do it again.

"So," Genesis spoke, breaking me out of my thoughts. "The stone has been retrieved and destroyed. There will be no more of those monsters; your conscience can rest easy. I believe I've upheld my end of the bargain… or were my services not satisfactory?"

I could see where the conversation was heading, but part of me was hesitant and so I instinctively fell back on my usual defense—sassing him.

"Mm, four out of five stars, I'd say," I told him with a shrug. "Less talkee, more workee."

"Your best quip yet," he remarked dryly. "Stalling, are we? As much as I enjoy our verbal spars, I'm afraid there's no escape for you this time."

"All right, all right," I groaned, planting my feet and turning to face him. "But we need a good place to talk."

"This is as good a place as any," he replied, gesturing around us. "We weren't followed. This area has very little traffic, and these townhouses belonged to miners; they're abandoned now."

I heaved a sigh, realizing that this was it—as usual, I wasn't going to get any time to really think over what I was going to say. Didn't it always go this way, though? It wasn't the first time I had been cornered.

He was right, though… I owed him an explanation. Genesis had really proven himself last night; he had seriously laid himself on the line for the sake of helping me. And after learning the truth about himself, he knew firsthand just what kind of an organization Shinra really was. Going into the Science Department couldn't have been easy for him.

Despite knowing virtually nothing about me, he had trusted me. He had trusted that the Exsphere was what I said it was and that we were going after it for all the right reasons. Now it was time for me to trust him. If nothing else, last night had made me realize that I couldn't do this alone.

"It all started when I was eighteen," I began in a quiet voice. "I woke up in a forest with a concussion and serious memory loss. That was the day I met Lloyd and the others."

"Your brother?" Genesis prompted.

I shook my head, but he didn't look entirely surprised—just very intrigued now.

"He's not, though he might as well be," I told him. "It… it wasn't long before I recovered and remembered who I was. I remembered… and realized I was far, far away from home. It took me over a year to return that time—a year of suffering and fighting and learning who I was and just how far I was willing to go for everything I cared about. I had to do a lot of growing up."

"…'That time?'?" He questioned.

"This time… I found myself near Banora. I don't really know how I got there." I stared up at the sky, watching clouds drift by—it was too difficult to meet Genesis' gaze. "I just know that home is out of my reach again. You'd think this sort of thing wouldn't happen twice to the same person, but my luck has never exactly been great."

I forced myself to turn and face him, to answer his inquisitive look with a stern look of my own.

"You asked who I was. Maybe you won't believe me, but here it is," I said. "My name is Brittany Furness. I'm not from this planet—the world I come from is called Earth. It's a place without magic or materia. I don't know why I'm here, but I do know that the first time I was spirited away, it was because I had the prime biological makeup to be food for this thing." I held up the remaining Exsphere shards.

"…Although that whole thing's a hell of a long story in itself…" I sighed, pocketing the shards and averting my gaze again. Genesis looked mildly affronted. He almost seemed like he was holding back—I could sense a snide remark coming, but he was still waiting, still giving me a chance to say "ha, gotcha" and call it all a joke.

It was tempting. But, no… I had started down this path, and now I had to see it through. My resolve was beginning to crumble, though; this was different from the other times. I had known my friends in Aselia for much, much longer before divulging this information to them, and even then it had taken a while for them to swallow it. With Genesis it kind of felt like jumping the shark. But he was the one who had insisted, throwing around words like trust without really knowing me, without understanding the sheer amount of baggage he was signing up for.

"Anyway, that's pretty much the reason I avoid the Science Department like the plague," I explained. "If they ran any serious tests on me they'd probably see that things didn't really add up. I was worried about my Exsphere too, but I guess that's one load off my shoulders, at least."

Now I cautiously gave him a sidelong glance. He was still just staring. It was one of the very few times I had seen Genesis speechless. Usually you couldn't shut him up.

His eyes met mine and he gave a huff, crossing his arms.

"That's all truly remarkable, but it explains absolutely nothing. You're handling yourself rather well for someone in a completely foreign world. The day we met… not only did you know my name, but you also knew how to cure the illness I told no one about." His nose wrinkled slightly. "I suppose you'll tell me you're some omnipotent being next."

"I can also shoot lasers from my eyes," I pointed out.

He gave me a look that indicated he was very done with my shit. The look made me nervous, because it was beginning to set in that our friendship was at stake over this—a friendship that I hadn't realized I valued so much until today. But I was a mess inside as usual and I didn't want it to show, so I hid my true feelings and rolled my eyes at him.

"Look, I was getting to the important stuff," I told him. "You can save the scathing remarks for after, as I'm sure you have a lot. Jesus, isn't it obvious why I was trying to avoid this conversation?"

My tone was supposed to be exasperated or whiny, to indicate that I was also done with his shit—but there must've been a pained note in there somewhere, because I saw some of the contempt leave his face. His eyes were still sharp, though, watching me very carefully.

There was no other option. I couldn't withhold any information from him. Maybe we wouldn't be on the greatest terms after this, but if I refused outright to tell him about my foreknowledge… somehow I felt that antagonizing Genesis would be the worst choice I could possibly make. It might even set things back on track with the original plot. And… well, I really didn't want to be his enemy.

Gathering my resolve, I continued.

"Ah, shit… it's just going to get worse from here," I admitted, running a hand through my hair. "Okay, you're not allowed to interrupt until I finish."

Now I firmly looked away from him, because I didn't want to see what expressions played over his face while I spoke.

"It's a video game from a series called Final Fantasy—the seventh game in the series. Wildly popular, came out over a decade ago… it's about a corrupt organization called Shinra and a man named Cloud who fights against it."

"Cloud?" He was sneering, I could hear it in his voice.

"What did I say?" I grumbled.

"Fine." A sigh. "Continue."

"Anyway," I said, "that whole plot takes place years in the future, I think. There was a prequel that came out a few years ago called Crisis Core. Zack's the main character. You're in it, and so are Sephiroth and Angeal. That's how I knew about your degradation—in Crisis Core you suffer with it for years. Questions?"

"A video game."

I forced myself to look over at him again; it was hard to read his expression. There was definitely plenty of incredulity in there, I could tell that much.

"I know," I replied, my laugh a nervous titter. "Probably would've been easier to tell you I was psychic, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You are from another world. And this world, as you say, is the setting of a fictional story. A story in which I am a character."

"It was the same last time," I replied. "So this isn't the first time I've had this conversation with someone. Actually, over in Aselia they didn't even know what video games were, so that was fun to explain."

"The research project that produced me. What was it called?"

"Jenova Project G," I replied immediately, lowering my voice and glancing around quickly before continuing. "Project Gillian. Angeal doesn't know, but Hollander told you. Project G was shut down due to the success of Project S, which produced Sephiroth. Hollander claimed he could heal you, but really he just wanted to use you to get back at Shinra and Hojo. Originally you were going to desert at the end of the war, and your desertion was going to kick off the entire main plot of Crisis Core—but you ran into me before any of that could happen."

Speechless again. He was clearly thinking hard and making connections, because his eyes were focused and sharp and his brow was furrowed.

"That's impossible," he finally said.

"All of it?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I told no one of my plans to desert. Hollander trusts no one. If you had been able to somehow eavesdrop on our discussions, then the Turks would have known about it as well, and I never would have lived to meet you." Now he looked frustrated. "This is all extremely confidential. How could you know?"

"Your degradation wound was from training with Angeal and Sephiroth," I continued. "You insisted on taking on Sephiroth alone. The fight got too heated and Angeal intervened. You kept trying to fight because you're a stubborn jackass; you went and broke Angeal's sword, and the tip cut your shoulder as it flew past. You called it 'just a scrape' and walked out of the room, reciting LOVELESS as per usual."

He was aiming an intense glare at me now, but I didn't think it was because I had called him a jackass.

"Oh," I added, "and you guys fought on the Sister Ray. And wrecked it."

Dumbfounded and agitated at the same time.

"A video game," he repeated.

"Yup."

"This is the story you expect me to believe," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't expect anything, actually," I replied. It was hard not to start fidgeting. "I just made a deal. You helped me, so now I'm giving you the truth. Genesis, I may not be a genius, but I'm not an idiot either. If I was going to lie to you, I could've come up with something a hell of a lot more convincing."

His lip curled, and he let out something that sounded suspiciously like a groan. Genesis, groaning like an aggravated teenager? I was surprised and somehow not at the same time.

"Of course. The girl full of secrets could never give a simple explanation—just an entirely new mystery. An absurd mystery."

"I'm sorry this is so inconvenient for you," I apologized, tone laced with sarcasm. "I really screwed myself over on this one, honestly. Saving you was good—if I could've just done that and went home, I'd be fine. But no, I have to end up working with the one person who would have leverage to dig the truth out of me. You know what else is great? Being coerced into working for a seriously messed up company-slash-de-facto world government, and then having a bunch of mako and cells from an evil space alien injected into me."

All evidence of Genesis' irritation faded with my rant, and now he had the nerve to be smiling.

"All absurdity aside, this has the potential to be very interesting," he remarked, tilting his head. "You healed me, robbing me of my immediate reason to join that fool Hollander and desert. But let's see… given the fact that I desert in your story and Zack is the main character, I suppose that would make me the antagonist."

He was right, but that didn't stop me from being annoyed. Not an antagonist, the antagonist. Genesis wouldn't settle for being a minor character, no sir. If he was gonna be bad, he was going all the way.

"Your point?" I prompted, not wanting to tell him if he was right or wrong.

"You've irreversibly changed things," he pointed out, the smile growing into a smirk. "Now the villain has taken you under his wing, and you're working for the enemy. What will you do now?"

I thought of Zack lying on his back in a pool of blood, the rain falling around him. Cloud holding Aerith before letting her sink into the water, her body returning to the lifestream. Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy.

Frowning defiantly, I met his gaze. "Change some more."

Things went back to normal after that.

Sort of.

Genesis never fully revealed if he believed anything I had said or not. He went from being incredulous to agitated to dubious to somehow intrigued, and I just didn't know what he was thinking anymore. But I think he sensed some truth in my story, because he didn't treat me like I was a nutcase. In fact, he was overflowing with questions I couldn't answer.

He was right about the Corel reactor explosion serving as an excellent distraction for us. The Turks definitely sniffed around for a while after we returned, but nobody had been able to identify us, and nobody had any reason to suspect us. Though investigations of the break in were high priority, the company had its hands tied trying to cover up the Corel fiasco at the same time. In the end, we were able to rest easy.

I wasn't sure how to interact with Genesis now that he knew my Big Bad Secrets, so I fell back on the usual routine and tried to pretend nothing had changed. Sass, sarcasm, LOVELESS, wash, rinse, repeat. Other than the fact that he was watching me like a hawk in an ongoing attempt to prove (or more likely, disprove) my story, everything was pretty much the same as it was.

Now that I didn't have the Exsphere problem to worry about, I was back to my original dilemma. How was I supposed to go about changing things while staying under the radar, and what exactly was I supposed to do?

In the end I decided to wait and gather my bearings a bit at Shinra first. It would probably be better to lie low for a while, considering so much chaos had occurred almost immediately following my recruitment.

A week and a half had passed since Genesis and I had returned from Kalm. I had the day off; for once I had actually gotten to sleep in, since a certain redhead had left for a mission last night. Unfortunately the lack of morning training made me feel a bit useless once I woke up. I ate breakfast and wandered the SOLDIER floor for a bit, inwardly hoping to run into someone I knew.

Kunsel was nowhere to be found—he generally kept busy, so that didn't surprise me. And Zack… well, I hadn't seen Zack since I returned. Last I heard, he was off on some mission in the middle of nowhere. The place felt too quiet without him running around and pestering Angeal and challenging people to squat contests.

Pausing by the window in the sitting area, I frowned and looked out over the city. Was I bored? Yeah… bored. I had felt so starved for alone time for a while there, and here I was not knowing what to do with myself.

Oh! Everyone was gone, and it was still relatively early in the day… maybe that meant the training room was free. There was an idea.

Humming quietly to myself, I headed over in that direction. My hopes swelled when I only passed two other people on the way; this place was dead today. Everyone was busy. Sweet!

I ducked through the doorway into the training room's antechamber, looking around to make sure there was no one at the controls. Genesis had shown me the ropes the last time we were here and had given me a clearance code so I could access the more advanced settings if I wanted. Being his protégé definitely could have its perks. Though I did have to wonder why Genesis was so eager to chuck me into difficult situations while Angeal was busy cautioning Zack not to get himself into them. Some days I thought 'throw her to the wolves' was Genesis' favorite training style…

Ah, well. While there were definitely days where I wondered if he was actually trying to kill me during training, I wasn't going to give up, not when I was desperate to grow stronger. If I wanted to save Zack and prevent it all, I needed to be able to hold my own with the best of the best. I wasn't sure if I could get to that point with the limited time I had, but damned if I wasn't going to try.

Inputting the clearance code, I gained access to a bunch of Second Class settings, mock missions, and enemies. This was… wow. Thirds had a very limited number of things they could do in here without a superior present, but this stuff for the Seconds was awesome.

Look at all those enemies… Behemoth, Malboro, Eligor, Nibel dragon… damn. If I wanted a challenge, I could have one. They were all rated in order of difficulty, though I knew the names well enough to be able to tell for myself. I scrolled down, wondering what else was available—

Whoa.

My stomach did a little flop when I saw the last entry in the enemies list. No way…

Sephiroth. It was just his name, with no difficulty listed next to it—of course, you couldn't rate him on a regular scale, he was way beyond any of that.

This was the same simulation Zack and I had faced back then. This Sephiroth possessed an eighth of the strength that the real deal had.

It's not wise to test the limits of your mind by putting yourself in situations where you're bound to be overwhelmed.

Yeah, Angeal, I know… shit, was I actually considering this? Was I really this big of a masochist?

But it was Sephiroth. He was the person I'd end up facing if everything did blow up in my face. Could it really hurt to at least try, to get a feel for the way he moved and his style of combat?

Screw it. I was doing it. If everything went to hell, I could just abort the mission.

I felt like a bit of a daredevil as I pressed the button to lock in the settings. Though I could usually spar with Genesis without getting completely demolished, this was on an entirely different level. This was going to be a psychological battle as well as a physical one, because I was terrified of this guy.

Walking into the training room, I drew my sword. The door closed behind me and my surroundings changed; I was in upper Midgar again. The city setting was the best one I could think of at the moment, as I didn't think I was ready to deal with any terrain difficulties yet.

The plaza was quiet. I stood, alert, sword at the ready.

"Activating Combat Mode."

There was a brief moment of panic as I attempted to figure out where he was lurking. Then I noticed the disturbance in the air about twenty feet in front of me, and realized the system was bringing him in.

For a few seconds his form was just a series of numbers and computer symbols; then he solidified, and all reminders that he was a simulation vanished. He looked as real as the man I'd had that heart-stopping conversation with two weeks ago.

My eyes met his and my muscles wanted to freeze up.

"Hm." His lips turned up in a smirk and he fell into a combat-ready position, holding up Masamune.

I tried to imagine it, to get into the right mindset—a day in which everything went wrong, and this was my last desperate bid to fix everything. Genesis, Zack and Angeal were dead, Cloud was recovering from mako poisoning, and my only option now was to kill Sephiroth.

Steeling my resolve, I raised Kerberos and lunged.

Sephiroth saw my muscles tense and anticipated the strike before it came. He was out of the way before I even got close and I was immediately forced on the defensive as he attacked from behind.

It was just like last time. Everywhere I looked, there was Masamune; every time our swords clashed I was forced back a step and the attacks were so rapid that it wasn't long before I was stumbling backwards.

Too fast. My feet couldn't even keep up and I tripped. Sephiroth impaled me through the stomach. In that second I was engulfed by a feeling of sheer terror—it was a simulation but I forgot, and those glowing eyes were demonic, the stuff of nightmares, why did I do this—

The simulation ended with my defeat and my surroundings melted away, replaced by the familiar metal walls of the training room. I sat there stunned for a minute before groaning and flopping over, lying sprawled on my back.

Now I understood what Angeal had meant. There had been a moment there where it was no longer pretend for me. It couldn't be healthy to put my body through that on a regular basis.

My heart was still pounding, and internally I berated myself. That battle had lasted all of five seconds—was that really the best I could do?

No. I needed to keep a calm head on my shoulders. If I wanted to become strong enough to protect everyone, I needed to overcome my fears.

Okay. One more time. I would be more prepared this time around.

Pulling out my PHS, I input the commands to repeat the simulation with the same settings. Once again my surroundings faded, replaced with the familiar cityscape.

Sephiroth appeared in much the same manner as before. He smiled when he saw me.

"Back so soon?" he taunted.

My heart skipped a beat, though part of me realized the system would have records of how frequently I made use of the room.

Still, the simulation's ability to speak—to act self-aware—was unnerving. As if facing Sephiroth wasn't daunting enough already, whoever designed this wanted to make it as intimidating as possible.

I didn't reply, just holding Kerberos at my side for a moment. Sephiroth continued to smile, watching me. Masamune was clutched in his hand, but he made no move to raise it. He was waiting for me. Giving me the chance to move first again.

Don't screw it up this time, I thought, eyes narrowing.

Gathering my courage, I lunged and then immediately feinted to the right. Sephiroth anticipated my attack once more, moving out of the way—but this time when I actually struck, our swords clashed.

"Heh." I earned an amused smirk for my efforts. There was a split second where our eyes met.

He was fast. Unbelievably fast. My only chance was to stop him from attacking, because once he put me on the defensive, it would be all over.

My mind raced as I swung Kerberos like my life depended on it, and Masamune was a blur, appearing everywhere I swung almost before I even moved my arms. How did he do that? Was I subconsciously broadcasting my movements? I had learned to move automatically with the flow of battle and not to overthink my strikes; was there some other tic giving me away? Could he actually read my body that well, to be able to anticipate my moves a tenth of a second before I made them? And to react in that impossibly short period…

Gritting my teeth, I called up every attack in my currently small repertoire, trying to throw him off-balance somehow. My Fire materia use was improving thanks to Genesis' hardcore training, and I cast Fire 2, engulfing my opponent in the blaze. Anticipating the next strike, I cast another fire spell on my sword, the magic clinging to the blade; then I leapt into the air, swinging around to use Hell Pyre.

Sephiroth emerged from the smoke of my last spell just in time to intercept my next attack, our swords clashing and sending fire and sparks in all directions. I was thrown backwards from the force of it and just barely managed to right myself in midair, my feet skidding backwards as I landed.

"You'll have to try harder than that," the man remarked as I held my blade up once more.

There was a moment where his eyes narrowed wickedly and I sucked in a breath, realizing I had paused for too long.

I heard the very slight creaking of leather sliding against leather as his muscles tensed, catlike, ready to pounce.

Then he was on me, just like before.

Our swords clashed. My ears were filled with the sound of metal hitting metal and I was lost in the chaotic dance, my muscles straining with the sheer effort of keeping up with him. His blade sang as it cut through the air, almost too fast for my eyes to follow. I was panting heavily; he was chuckling, not even exerting himself at this point.

A particularly powerful strike came and my feet weren't placed exactly right; I was sent hurtling backwards, crashing into the fountain in the middle of the plaza and utterly destroying it.

He gave me no time to recover. I was dripping and there was water in my eyes and I was still fighting, my feet moving too sluggishly due to the resistance of the water. He knocked me out of the fountain and I flew backwards, skidding across the cobblestone twenty feet before coming to a halt, my sword clattering out of reach at Sephiroth's feet.

That smug smile was a constant presence on his face. He began to saunter up to me; the city lights at his back turned his form into a menacing silhouette, his glowing eyes the only distinguishable feature.

A feeling of dread hit me and I knew this was it; I was vulnerable and the only plausible outcome to this battle at this point was me becoming mincemeat.

"Abort mission," I croaked.

The words caused Sephiroth to stop in his tracks, slowly lowering Masamune. It gave me time to pull out my PHS.

The system had recognized the words, and now a confirmation screen popped up on the device. I hit OK and the room dissolved around me once more, Sephiroth's chilling form disintegrating.

Again, I laid on the cold metal of the training room floor, staring at my sword sitting on the other side of the room. I lost; it wasn't that surprising. But this time, I had read the situation and reacted correctly. If I did that every time, I wouldn't have to deal with the trauma of being completely overwhelmed and forcibly ejected from the simulation.

Every time? Was I actually thinking of doing this again?

Oh… of course I was. Because I needed to be up to the challenge. I was facing an impossibly difficult task, so it only seemed fitting that my training for it be the most difficult I could find. It was the next best thing to sparring with Sephiroth himself. I could practice fighting him without ever having to actually interact with him.

Right. I couldn't give up; I needed to keep trying… but that was definitely enough excitement for today.

The sound of the training room door sliding open caused me to look up.

"I was wondering who was in here… Brittany?"

It was Kunsel strolling in. I offered a tired smile, happy to see him.

"Hey."

He pulled off his helmet and tucked it under one arm, raising his eyebrows at me. The Second shook his head with disbelief.

"Can't believe it… I know the Commander's away on a mission, so I was expecting to find Angeal. But that was you taking on the Sephiroth sim?"

I blinked, sitting up. "You couldn't tell?"

"I walked in just as the battle finished, but I saw what settings were in place," he explained. "Sephiroth, eh… you're really a glutton for punishment. Even at a fraction of his strength, Genesis and Angeal are the only people who have been able to beat him. Not for lack of trying—it's something of a contest among the Seconds. The longest anyone has lasted is twenty minutes."

Curious, I paused to check my phone. I had lasted… five minutes and sixteen seconds. Oh.

"Damn," I murmured.

"Five minutes?" Kunsel paused to read before helping me to my feet. "Pretty good for a Third, if you ask me. But then again, you have been training with the Commander."

"Still not good enough," I sighed as I walked over to retrieve Kerberos. We exited the training room together, and I immediately felt my muscles begin to relax.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kunsel laughed. "That Sephiroth sim is an enemy of an entirely different caliber. The movement patterns are insane. There were rumors going around for a while that it was impossible to beat—at least until Genesis proved them wrong."

"Solely for bragging rights, I'm sure," I replied, rolling my eyes. I could just see him walking into the room with a smirk, dozens of Seconds gathered outside the window, watching with awe. Oh yeah, he probably loved every second of it.

"Anyway," I said, "didn't you want to use the training room?"

Kunsel shook his head. "I've actually been looking for Zack—he's supposed to return from his mission today, but he's late and he hasn't been answering my texts. I was hoping to find him with Angeal."

"Huh." It wasn't completely unlike Zack, so I couldn't find it in me to really worry. He was probably still out in the city somewhere.

The Second shrugged. "Well, either way, he knows where I'll be. Are you free? I was going to head over to Cara's to watch the race if you feel like joining in."

Cara's was a tiny pub tucked away in Sector 2. It was one of the better above-plate places from what I'd heard; SOLDIERs were frequent customers, but most other Shinra employees avoided it.

The race, of course, was referring to Chocobo racing. It was one of the most popular sports in the area. I didn't follow it much, but the races were entertaining enough to watch.

"Sure," I said with a smile. "To be honest, I've been pretty bored. Just let me get changed—"

"Brittany!"

The sudden yell caused me to jump, and I looked up to see an excited Zack running in my direction. Where the hell had he come from? Why was he—oh, god, he wasn't going to stop!

All I could get out was a startled cry before Zack tackle hugged me, nearly barreling me over. He swung me off my feet and I felt myself slowly being crushed in his arms.

Instead of helping me, Kunsel just laughed, the bastard. "What's all this about?"

"Dying… help…" I croaked.

Hearing my protests, Zack finally released me, gripping me by the shoulders with a radiant grin.

"You're the best, you know that?"

"I… I am?" I blinked. "What are you…" He was still talking, too excited and happy to stay quiet.

"—I mean she's so cute! The way she smiles and laughs, wow, where did you find her? No, that's stupid, the church obviously, but—" He halted midsentence, bouncing in place. "I'm gonna help her build a flower cart tomorrow, and Saturday we're going on a date."

Suddenly it clicked, and I felt myself slowly smiling back. "You met Aerith. I knew you guys would hit it off."

"I really owe you one," he said in a giddy voice, finally releasing me.

Kunsel tilted his head, putting two and two together. "I never would've taken you for a matchmaker."

"I am just full of surprises," I laughed. Happiness bubbled within me; I was really glad Zack and Aerith had finally met. It felt good to see him like this. And now I had an excuse to go visit her!

"All right, Zack, quit swooning," Kunsel said with a laugh of his own; his friend was still grinning uncontrollably. "We've got a race to watch."

"Oh—right! That starts in fifteen minutes, doesn't it? We'd better get going," he said, sobering a bit. "You're coming with, right?" The question was directed at me.

"Of course," I replied.

We began to make our way towards the elevator; it wasn't long before Zack started babbling away about Aerith again. Kunsel and I exchanged knowing looks and humored him, smiling all the while.

Spending time with them was fun, relaxed, and just…easy. It felt nice to have friends again.

Time passed surprisingly quickly. Weeks flew by in a flash, and I kept busy. Between going out on missions, frequenting the library, training with Genesis, hanging with Kunsel and Zack, and avoiding Sephiroth while battling his simulated counterpart on the side, there was never a dull moment.

It had seemed impossible in the beginning, but I had found my niche in Shinra. Gender-related insults rolled off my back now, and with Jace gone, they were coming less and less frequently. Nobody wanted to mess with one of Genesis' students, because he took everything personally and really enjoyed getting revenge in creative ways.

I wasn't exactly content, but I wasn't unhappy, either. I was enjoying the way things were; I liked seeing Zack alive and happy, going on dates with Aerith. I liked seeing Kunsel in his element, always helping people out and gossiping and texting one person or another. I liked catching glimpses of Genesis, Angeal and Sephiroth off duty, grabbing a beer like any normal trio of friends.

If only I could take this moment in time and hold on to it forever. The more I enjoyed myself, the more I dreaded watching it all fall apart. So I kept training harder and harder, battling sim-Sephiroth until my muscles screamed, practicing materia with Genesis until my mind felt like it was going to crack under the strain. I was improving… but not fast enough, never fast enough.

Then, one day, the message came. It was from Lazard.

Brittany –

I have something to discuss with you. Please report to my office at your earliest convenience.

I stood there, looking at my phone with a slight frown. I had been about to go into the city to update my materia arsenal, but it could wait. What could the director want? Usually I only saw him during mission briefings. It had been quite a while since I had actually been to his office.

Lazard didn't have to wait long for me; it was fifteen minutes after he sent the message that I arrived at his office. It hadn't changed much since the last time I had been here, though I was a bit surprised to find Genesis waiting for me there as well. He offered me a decidedly mysterious smile when I walked in, but said nothing, instead inclining his head in the direction of Lazard's desk.

"Brittany." The director smiled. "Punctual as always; thank you."

"Ah, it's no trouble, sir," I replied, smiling politely back. "What exactly did you want to discuss with me?"

"You've put in a lot of hard work for the company over the past few months," Lazard began. "It's been brought to my attention that you're operating at above the level of an ordinary Third. That doesn't come as much of a surprise—after all, even killing a Zolom is a Second Class mission. At this point you seem to have a good understanding of how SOLDIER operates—you seem comfortable."

He paused for a moment, so I rubbed the back of my neck, a bit uncomfortable from the praise, but sort of happy for the validation of my abilities. A small, insecure part of me still thought of myself as a helpless teenager in way over her head; it helped to have someone tell me otherwise.

"I—I suppose I am, sir," I fumbled. Behind me, I swear I heard a quiet snort—shut up, Genesis. "But what exactly…?" What exactly are you getting at was what I wanted to say, but it sounded sort of insolent and impatient, so I hesitated midsentence and bit my lip.

Lazard reached up to adjust his glasses before pushing a paper across the desk to me.

"Genesis has recommended you for Second. I approved his request—congratulations, SOLDIER. You've been promoted."

"Wha…?" My eyes widened and I picked the paper up, staring at it. It was just as the director said; the First had actually sent in a formal request. He had vouched for me.

Now I looked over my shoulder at Genesis; he was smirking, arms crossed, everything about his expression saying You can thank me now.

I wasn't sure how to feel. Was it a good thing or a bad thing? It was strange, since this wasn't really something I had been shooting for. A tiny part of me was amazed and proud, though. Second Class. I was on par with Zack now.

"Wow," I finally said, turning back to the director.

Lazard straightened out the papers, still smiling a bit at my stunned response. "I'll have your uniform mailed to your room—it may take a day or two, as yours has to be custom made, of course. Make sure to turn in your old equipment once you've received it."

"All right," I replied, still at a loss for words.

"And with that out of the way…" He straightened a bit, watching me. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I have an assignment for you—your first assignment as a Second. You see, we recently acquired a new recruit, and the process for him is going to be much the same as it was for you. I'd like you to get him settled in and show him the ropes."

My spirits dropped a bit and I nodded, uncertain; I wasn't much of a teacher, and I had a bad feeling about how a new recruit would handle having the only female SOLDIER as his mentor. But if Lazard wanted me to do it, then I was up to the task.

"Okay, I'll do my best," I said, trying to perk up. "What's his name?"

"Cloud Strife."

I tried to hide my shock. My mind flashed through half a dozen images and memories and then I sorted out my thoughts; somehow things had been altered and Cloud was in SOLDIER, fucking Cloud, oh man. And I was going to be his mentor? This was—this was all kinds of amazing.

"…Genesis? Is something wrong?" Lazard was frowning.

I swung around to see that Genesis' eyebrows had flown up and he was staring at the director like he'd gone completely off the deep end.

The First shook himself out of it immediately; the expression vanished from his face, replaced with a very familiar look of disdain.

"What kind of an absurd name is Cloud?"

A/N: OH YEAHHH. Here he comes. And about time, too. I have a lot of misadventures with Cloud planned.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I had a lot of fun writing it - though I bet a lot of you had to look at previous chapters to refresh your memories. Whoops.

Anyway, reviews are very much appreciated!

Next time: Hey there, rookie!