After making sure everyone in the party was healed up and had enough mp, Genesis wandered around until he realized he needed to go up the elevator right next to the save point.

Once they reached the top, the party found Aeris inside a tank similar to the other 'specimen' below. Somehow, that did not strike Sephiroth as promising. Cloud spoke to Hojo and said they were taking Aeris back. None of the SOLDIERS (with maybe the exception of Genesis) announced themselves on the battlefield and as such, all of them frowned. Actually, this was getting to a point where Sephiroth was taking mental notes on what should and shouldn't be taught in the SOLDIER program to cadets. If there were this many holes after they were gone…

Hojo countered the party's rather impassioned declarations with his usual smug logic (although Sephiroth had worked with him often enough to poke holes in what he said. Who else could run the equipment? Please. Hojo rarely lowered himself to run his own equipment when it came to experiments. Which was also proven when he commanded someone else to bring the two 'specimens' together. One of them was what looked to be a beast.

"I thought he wanted to keep the girl alive," Genesis frowned.

Of course, then Hojo went on to explain that both of them were endangered species and he, somehow, expected them to mate.

Angeal turned to Sephiroth. "He isn't serious, is he?"

The General frowned. "I can see his thought process, but I have never seen him go to quite this open extreme or disregard…"

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't get to that point of arrogant aloofness," Genesis muttered.

Sephiroth certainly hoped not. The idea of Hojo driven to his extremes was not a pleasant one.

Then Barrett stepped up and shot at the controls of the tank to free Aeris.

"Finally does something useful," the red-head muttered. Sephiroth agreed that Barrett did seem to not use his assets to the fullest…

The tank glowed, Hojo panicked about his 'precious specimens' the door opened and… the lion-beast ignored Aeris to go straight for Hojo.

Well, served him right. Sephiroth may or may not have smiled a little at that development.

Cloud ran in to get Aeris, she thanked Cloud and ran out.

"Why is she thanking him? Barrett freed her!" Genesis pointed out, sounding exasperated. "My friend, the fates are cruel…"

Then, somehow, Hojo sat up as the elevator began to move again. Sephiroth wondered the same thing Angeal did, apparently.

"How is he still alive after being attacked by a beast like that?"

Then said beast spoke.

What.

"Wait," Angeal said, "I've heard of a species from the western continent who can talk and has human level intelligence – or higher. They're lion-like and have a sort of light on their tails that looks like fire. Could this creature be one of them?"

"I've certainly never heard of them," Genesis said a little dismissively as he studied the screen. "I'm going to have… Tifa take Aerith to safety."

"Why don't they all stay to fight? Or all run away?" Sephiroth asked, once again bewildered. Or better yet, kill Hojo and then run away.

"Game logic," the Commander said nonchalantly. "Apparently we can only have a party of three people."

"That's ridiculous," Sephiroth shot back. "If you have the assets, use them!"

The red-head just shrugged and Sephiroth sat back. He was not pouting. The head of ShinRa's army, the Silver General and Hero of Wutai didn't pout.

Hojo commented that the 'specimen' coming was particularly ferocious, then ran away… and no one chased him.

What.

Then Cloud, the lion-beast and Barrett were thrown into a fight with several smaller 'specimens' surrounding the… monster that Hojo had summoned. If the smaller… beings were killed, they just came back, so they eventually decided to ignore them, power through the hits and focus on the main monster.

Annoying, but they managed.

"Perhaps you should look for more fights to take advantage of this leveling system?" Angeal asked. "That was a rather close battle."

"Hmm. Perhaps," Genesis said once the battle had finished.

Cloud asked if Aerith was alright, which Tifa said she was. And a cynical lion-beast joined the party.

"He seems rather arrogant to me," Genesis said. "He speaks of 'two legs' as if they aren't worthy."

"To be fair, he has been in Hojo's lab for who knows how long."

Genesis grumbled, but conceded the point. If Hojo was Sephiroth's first contact with humanity, he'd not think so highly of 'two legs' either. Although, now that he thought about it, Hojo had been his first contact with humanity as a child… He knew now not everyone was like that man, but it was still an interesting point, now that he thought about it.

"Oh, look. They're splitting into groups, again," the red-head said, drawing attention again. Sephiroth looked at the screen and sighed. They would indeed be noticed in a group of five, but they would likely be just as noticed in two groups of three and two respectively. At best one would be a distraction for the other, but they would likely have more chance of fighting their way out as an entire group.

They were practically begging to get caught.

They grabbed the enemy skill materia (what a rare find, but somehow Sephiroth wasn't surprised Hojo would use something so valuable in an experiment) and then went on their way.

And were promptly caught.

By one Turk.

In an elevator.

Where it would be easy to overpower him.

Of course, then they'd have to deal with the fallout and likely a trap below, but it was still a stupid move on the Turk's part. It could have easily turned into a hostage situation.

Honestly, this 'game logic' made little to no sense and it was starting to get on his nerves.

The group, minus Aeris, were taken before the President.

"If they can't overpower two Turks, then they aren't even third class level," Genesis scoffed.

The President assured them that Aeris was safe. Likely, he wasn't lying. He went on to explain that as the last Ancient (or Cetra, still an unfamiliar term, although Red XIII seemed to know it), she could lead ShinRa to the promised land. Where there would be plenty of mako to exploit.

And honestly, there were so many things wrong with that entire statement that Sephiroth wasn't sure where to start.

"That… is utterly ridiculous," Genesis said, staring at the screen with a disappointed frown.

"I've never understood the President's obsession with Mako," Angeal said. "I know that learning to convert mako into energy has literally made him a world power – the world power, even – but he quite literally has the whole world in his hand? Why would he need more?"

"And why does he want it so badly?" the commander asked, gesturing to the television. "He's the one who insists that Mako is an unlimited source of energy. It runs throughout the entire planet. If he's so sure it won't dry up, then why go through all the trouble?"

Sephiroth decided to answer that with an observation of his own. "I have rarely seen the president as a… rational person." If his room was being jammed, he'd take advantage of it. A good businessman? Sure. But a good president? A rational person? Not exactly.

"I hate to admit that you have a point," Angeal muttered, looking a little sick.

"Why is he even telling a bunch of terrorists all of this?" Genesis asked. "He's not that irrational."

"Just what happened in the intervening years?" the brunet said under his breath. Well, it was either that, or the game developers had taken liberties again. He honestly wasn't sure which one he preferred at this point.

All five of them ended up in cells, naturally. The high-security cells too.

Even Aeris was there… although Sephiroth had no idea why the President would separate them just to put them in adjacent cells.

Genesis walked Cloud over and spoke to Tifa, who said he was brave. Then Cloud went up to the door and another menu popped up wondering how everyone in the other rooms were doing. Sephiroth frowned. Was this some sort of introspection or speculation scene? Then his eyebrows rose ever so slightly as, apparently, these cells had ventilation enough that they could hear each other from the different rooms. From multiple rooms away, even.

"Do you suppose that is true?" the Commander asked thoughtfully. "That they can talk so freely from different rooms?"

"I suppose it's my turn," Angeal said as he stood. "I'll get an infantry man and see if that is really the case." With that, he walked out of the door, leaving Genesis and Sephiroth behind again.

They learned that Aeris didn't know if the 'Promised Land' even existed. It was supposed to bring happiness to the Cetra who returned there… which sounded rather like a culture's belief in an afterlife more than an actual place. They learned this, of course, after Aeris and Tifa got into a semi-heated discussion (he wouldn't call it an argument as they didn't take opposite sides and argue a point).

The girl went on to talk about how the planet sounded loud and full of people and it was difficult for her to make anything out, but that she would eventually get out of Midgar and find her Promised Land.

That… actually sounded rather ominous to Sephiroth if his suspicions were true. Would Aeris die in this game?

He decided not to say anything aloud. Angeal would likely take something like that the hardest, but it was also merely a suspicion at the moment. If it was based on real life, then this foreshadowing meant nothing. Of course, he may not have the correct definition of the concept of 'foreshadowing'. He'd only picked it up from hearing Genesis speak about it so often in his own pursuit of literature.

Barrett went off on another rant. Red XIII wondered about his grandfather, and then they went to sleep.

All in all, a little useful information, but nothing major. Sephiroth still took note of it to relay to Angeal when he returned.

The screen faded to black, supposedly in sleep (if the music was anything to go by).

Cloud woke to silence.

"Why on Gaia is the door open?" Genesis asked, annoyed.

Of course, Cloud asked the same thing.

They found a body outside.

Genesis and Sephiroth exchanged glances.

"Is there a way to get a key off of him?" the General asked.

"Pragmatic… but apparently not. I just keep kneeling down by him," Genesis responded.

"Perhaps… speak to the girl?"

"Tifa?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"It seems you're learning to think in game logic," he commented with a smirk as he had Cloud head back into the room to speak with Tifa.

Of course, then they got the key card. What, did the game think Cloud would leave them all behind? No SOLDIER – or decent infantry man for that matter – would leave comrades behind unless there was no other choice. ShinRa didn't want to have to train new ones to take their place. Sephiroth simply hated the failure of watching his men die.

Apparently the man had both key cards for both doors on him because Tifa got Aeris while Cloud went for Barrett and Red XIII. The latter went on ahead while Barrett said he'd stay behind to clean up. The blond got the girls and went on.

Would the game really limit them to three people at a time? Rigidity like that tended to get people killed in the real world, but he supposed that people could only do so much when it came to games and programming.

Genesis took a moment to double check the materia, which was a good thing because they'd all been stripped.

"How did they get the materia back if ShinRa took it?" Sephiroth asked.

"Game logic."

"Which isn't logical," Sephiroth responded, put out.

Genesis shrugged. "They need it to go on, so the game says the guard had it."

"ShinRa would never—"

"Game logic."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "That isn't an excuse."

The red-head just snickered.

Of course, about then, Angeal came back, that uneasy expression back on his face. "It's true," was all he said as he sat down.

This was setting an… unsettling precedent.

Sephiroth quickly caught Angeal up as Genesis moved Cloud along, wandering through what looked like a series of dead bodies.

They met Red XIII in the science lab's lower floor, which also had a good amount of red all over the floor and an empty chamber.

"Is that blood?" Angeal asked, almost sounding offended.

"It would seem so," Sephiroth responded.

Red explained that the 'Jenova' specimen had gone upstairs using the elevator.

Sephiroth's breath caught in his throat.

Jenova…

"My mother's name was Jenova," he said softly.

"How did Red XIII know the specimen's name," Genesis asked.

"He was in the lab for quite a while," Angeal pointed out uncomfortably. "Or he could have heard Cloud say it earlier."

The other two turned to him. "What?" they both asked.

Angeal blinked. "Cloud said it earlier, when he looked in the tank. Didn't you two see that?"

No… he hadn't.*

When no one said anything, Genesis moved Cloud on, leaving Sephiroth to his own thoughts.

The Silver General didn't know what exactly the game makers were trying to say at this point. How did they know about Jenova? He'd had to almost pry that out of Hojo after years of wearing him down. It wasn't something he spoke of lightly.

And apparently, they still had to fight monsters on their way up. Without the normal battle music, which really, just made the whole thing more ominous.

Angeal reached down and opened another bag of chips, which he offered to Sephiroth, who took them and ate them. He still wasn't sure if he really liked them, but he knew he didn't hate them.

The crunching of the three of them chewing only added to the atmosphere, somehow.

Apparently, no one in the building had been left alive.

Which left the question: Why had Cloud and his friends survived?

None of the elevators seemed to work, and it took them a bit of wandering before they just headed up to the top floor…

And found President ShinRa dead. His body slumped over his desk/console with…

Sephiroth felt his mouth go dry.

"That can't be Masamune…" Angeal said warily. "You aren't even at the company…"

"And they gave the impression that the 'Jenova' specimen was the one to break out and attack," Genesis agreed.

Sephiroth nodded, appreciating their efforts.

Tifa and Cloud both shot said efforts down not seconds later.

Sephiroth read the words on the screen with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

'Sephiroth's alive?!'

Genesis paused the game. Apparently Sephiroth wasn't the only one to sit there in shock.

Two little words and there was so much wrong with them…

"How could you, of all people, be dead not a decade hence?" Genesis asked, sounding incredulous.

Sephiroth had to admit, he agreed. He hadn't really given the idea of his own demise much thought for quite a while… because nothing had been strong enough to give him a challenge for over a decade. Had something so great come up that it would kill him? Create a vacuum for someone to send a copycat in to take out the President… because that was the only thing he could really come up with at the moment.

"It has to be a copycat," Angeal said, echoing Sephiroth's thoughts. "You wouldn't do that." The silver General felt the knot in his chest loosen a little at his friend's words.

"No, he wouldn't," Genesis muttered. "There is something else going on here."

Besides… he couldn't actually be dead… right?

The Commander unpaused the game. Cloud said only Sephiroth could use that sword. Well, he wasn't wrong, but it wasn't terribly difficult to take said sword and stab someone with it.

In the back.

Like a coward.

Then Palmer came out of hiding (from behind a pillar? More game logic…) and ran straight through Barrett and Cloud, who easily caught him.

"Did he really think that would work?" Genesis asked.

Then Palmer implicated Sephiroth. Then said he saw Sephiroth with his own eyes and heard him say something about not letting 'us' have the promised land.

While Sephiroth didn't much care for the idea of someone like President ShinRa getting to a place abundant with Mako so as to suck it dry, he wouldn't kill for it. Not unless ordered to, and even then he'd try to find a way around it.

He'd always hated killing. Hojo had ordered him to kill too often and it had taken interacting with Genesis and Angeal to understand the implications of taking a life.

He clenched his jaw, but otherwise made sure he showed no sign of how this turn in the story annoyed him.

Barrett asked if Sephiroth was a 'good guy'.

And apparently, despite being a fan in his younger days, Cloud did not like Sephiroth at this juncture. To a point where he wouldn't even consider him having a legitimate excuse. Not that there was an excuse for murdering people like that, but still. The boy had been a fan… what had changed his opinion so much?

At this point, he'd had about enough. Whether this followed precedent or not, whoever had made this game obviously didn't know him in the slightest. He stood.

"Where are you going?" Genesis asked.

"To the restroom," he said as he walked down the small hall and into the toilet.

He knew the other two would be staring after him worriedly and almost immediately berated himself as he closed the door. He should have just stayed and not shown how much that had gotten to him. Which brought up the question: Why? Why was he letting this… this game unsettle him so?

Because so many things they'd initially dismissed were being proven correct, little and more problematic issues alike. The game was set an undetermined amount of time in the future, but they had so many things right… not everything, but most of that which wasn't correct could be broken down into narrative or limitations in the game play. Hence the 'game logic' he was coming to despise.

But the details that could translate into real life… those had been scarily accurate a large portion of the time.

At the end of the day, though, it boiled down to the fact that his gut was telling him to listen, while his mind insisted that this whole thing was ridiculous at best. He received a strange package in the mail, for something he would usually never even look twice at, and it proceeded to pick and prod at his life in ShinRa; maybe his life in general.

This wasn't an accident.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he turned and caught his reflection in the mirror. The same reflection he saw every day stared back. Silver hair, green, slitted eyes… so unlike anyone else, even the other soldiers. Still, they were his eyes. His face. He saw nothing new in the image. He was the strongest SOLDIER and could take on armies.

The game had gotten many things right, but this wasn't one of them. Sephiroth was strong enough to mow down anything that got in his way. He would live to a ripe old age… doing ShinRa's bidding… before dying when he couldn't do what they wanted anymore…

He blinked.

He'd… never really thought of it that way before. He had a good set-up, but everything in his life had been chosen for him. He was good at it, but eventually he would age and die like everyone else. Somehow, that hadn't ever really occurred to him before and it… unsettled him.

Was this the root of his unease? His own death? How weak was he to be this shaken simply by contemplating his mortality? Perhaps he hadn't been seriously forced to think about it since he'd been a child, but still, he should be stronger than this.

He turned that thought around and around in his mind, eventually realizing that his unease at said idea gave him the answer. Yes, that was a large part of it. The idea of something strong enough to actually kill him was an unsettling idea simply because there weren't many situations he could consider that would be able to do so. Not unless he was particularly distracted or it was world-ending (which, it couldn't have been, seeing as the world still existed in this supposed future without him.

Sephiroth also hated the idea that people thought of him as a murderer and nothing more. Was this how the world saw him? It had already shown other sides of what people supposedly thought, but this… He wasn't a murderer.

He wasn't.

Wutai aside… as he hadn't had a choice.

Or had he?

No, now was not the time to dwell on that. He didn't like the idea of his own mortality, he didn't like the idea of something stronger than him coming along, and he didn't like the idea of people thinking so terribly of him.

Funny, he thought he'd gotten over caring about other people's opinions years ago.

Having identified the problems that seemed to grate on his nerves helped. So he could (and would} take a deep breath, go back out there, and finish watching a bunch of pixels on the screen that represented people in the real world. A game.

That seemed to want to paint him as some kind of monster who went around killing indiscriminately.

Either that leak wasn't as good as they had thought or someone involved was terribly biased. Because he had his own code of honor, just as Angeal did, and it had nothing to do with killing innocents. Or even the guilty like the President. Not unless he had no other choice or faced them in a battle to the death.

Somehow, this had just become far less amusing.

Closing his eyes, he went through a meditation exercise. He'd allowed himself to become distracted by the scarily accurate details in the game. He'd lost sight of his goal, which was to analyze this game so he could give a report to the Turks when he turned it over. He'd had to do plenty of unpleasant things in his life. This was no different.

So he would go out there, and he would be fine.

He'd contemplate his… mortality more thoroughly at a later time.

With a firm nod of his head, he flushed the toilet (clean, but he had to keep up the pretense) and then walked back out, making sure to wash his (gloved) hands. Thankfully, said gloves were waterproof.

Then he went back out into the hall, ready to face whatever would come next.

Or… so he thought.

xXx

AN: Some people pointed out that Cloud said 'Jenova' when he peeked into the tank in the previous installment. In the walk through I was following, it was either changed, or I missed it. I did go back and check different walk throughs, though, and they did have it so, sorry. He was exchanging a glance with Genesis at the time and missed it… *ahem* Apologies.

Discord link: discord (period) gg (forward slash) zJQSDa8 (without spaces) I will be putting up podfics (starting with my Star Wars series... as soon as we can get it to work), I am going to start streaming art drawings for illustrations for my fics and I hope it's a nice community where people can go to just talk, geek and have fun. :)

Also, AGAIN, someone sent me a, "What if this happened and you wrote it!" idea... the same one I've gotten from a guest at least three times now from a guest. PLEASE STOP. I don't have time, and I'm sorry it won't happen.

Thanks to Quathis for all your help! And to everyone reading this!