On typical weekends, a SOLDIER First's work day ended around 1330. Sephiroth looked forward to weekends because he could either catch up on any work needed or tackle larger jobs without expectation of interruption.

Which was why he eyed the door warily when he heard a knock at 1307. He would be meeting Genesis and Angeal at 1400 and he wanted to start playing the game as soon as possible, if only to get it over with. He didn't want to have to address any serious problems and have to postpone or cancel on them… which was sadly likely.

Perhaps they could play without him if it came to that? He didn't like that idea, as he wanted to see the information the game would provide first hand, but he rarely received short assignments on weekends…

"Enter," he said.

To his surprise, the door opened and Reno, of all people, peeked around the edge of it.

"Yo!" he said with an enormous grin. "Am I interruptin' anythin'?"

Sephiroth blinked, then internally sighed. Turks were not a good sign. He would have to send a text message to Angeal and Genesis, telling them to go ahead with the game and to let themselves into his apartment if he couldn't be there when they got there.

So the Silver General shook his head. "Nothing critical. I merely need to finish this and send a message."

"Ah, this won't take long, yo," the red-head said as he slouched through the door. How he got away with his lack of respect and wearing his Turk suit like he'd slept in it, Sephiroth would never know.

"Nevertheless, I would appreciate it if you would allow me five minutes to finish this task."

The Turk looked annoyed for the briefest moment before he shrugged nonchalantly. It looked real. Somewhat impressive. "Whatever, Sir. I'll wait, if that's whatcha really want."

Sephiroth nodded at the chair on the other side of the desk in both acknowledgment and invitation before turning back to the form he'd been going over. It wasn't much, merely talking about the possibility of storing supplies for SOLDIER in strategic locations on the Western continent if someone needed to find them. Peripherally important to the war, but not critical, unlike main supply lines in Wutai.

At the bottom, he signed off and then set it in his finished stack of paperwork for the day. After that, he took out his phone and told Genesis and Angeal that they had his permission to continue with their 'research project' as he may not be able to make it to their pre-arranged meeting, and that permission extended to his apartment for access to his notes. If Angeal didn't get the subtext to that, Genesis would (although he'd be surprised if either one of them had any real problem receiving his hidden message).

Once finished, he put his phone down and looked up at Reno. To his surprise, he found the red-head staring at the phone he'd only just snapped closed. He set it down carefully, and the red-head's eyes followed it. Interesting.

"What can I do for the Turks today?" he asked, folding his hands across his desk and giving his full attention to the man slumped in his chair.

Said man sat up with a lop-sided smile. "Oh, it's nothin' like that, yo. We just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelin's 'bout us not realizin' you'd claimed an apprentice, an' all."

Sephiroth blinked. He highly doubted that was the only reason for the Turks to send one of their own to talk to him face to face. He decided to play along for now, though.

"I acknowledge an unfortunate error in the paperwork that contributed to the confusion. It should be corrected soon. As long as there are no more attempts to poach Mr. Strife, or any other SOLDIERS and SOLDIER candidates, I see this morning as a simple misunderstanding and nothing more." Well, that was a blatant lie. He knew there was something suspicious about the Turks approaching Cloud, but if the Turk could tell he was holding back information in an attempt to gain more of his own, Sephiroth would be very impressed.

Thankfully, he didn't.

"Good, good!" Reno said, his large grin returning. "Also, the Turks have been gettin' some… suspicious e-mails recently. We suspect a prank taken a little too far, but security risks and all that." He shrugged casually. "Wanted to see if ya knew of anythin' suspicious like that?"

Sephiroth frowned. "What, specifically, would I be looking for when it comes to… suspicious e-mails?"

"E-mails with funky attachments, like programs or worms or whatever."

The SOLDIER stared at the younger man for several seconds as his mind whirled with the prospects. Was this the proof they'd been looking for? Did the Turks have a game too?

One way to find out, he supposed.

"Games?" he asked cautiously. If they had a game, this seemed like a safe thing to tip his hand for. If they didn't, it wouldn't be difficult to play it off as something else.

The red-head straightened up, a knowing glint in his eye. "So you have gotten 'em, yo?"

Hmm. That mostly answered that question, but… he seemed a little too eager for Sephiroth's liking. Also, he didn't want to give his current game up to them just yet so…

"No. I merely overheard some Turks talking about the subject." He tipped his head to one side, wondering if he should push for information. "What is so significant about a game?"

Reno deflated in obvious disappointment. Then he sighed and shook his head. "Nothin' yo. We just want ta find who's been sendin' em. All the Turks have gotten it, yo."

Ah, so no information they wanted to share… except that all the Turks seemed to have received a game. Were the games all different, he wondered? 'It' implied a singular game, but could be referencing the email, and not the attachments. Best not to press too hard right now, though.

"If… any e-mail of note comes up, I will make sure to inform you, but to my knowledge, no SOLDIER has received any e-mails like you describe, though I shall inform my commanders to listen for rumors. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Reno waved his hand back and forth dismissively as he stood. "Nah. We're fine, yo. Just let us know if you get any e-mails like that. Oh, and don't go spreadin' it around beyond yer commander-people, if ya know what I mean. We're still investigatin', yo."

"Of course."

With that, the red-head left, waving behind him… like they were friends or something. Or was that just Reno? And yet, Sephiroth knew how ruthless the boy could be.

Perhaps he was beginning to see why the red-head was a valued member of the Turks despite his… eccentricities. (Not that any SOLDIER was one to talk, in all honesty… including himself.)

Sephiroth contemplated that for several seconds before he glanced at the clock. It read 1318. If he wanted to finish on time, he'd have to hurry on his rounds, but it wasn't an impossible task. He nodded, reached over to shut his computer off and grab the stack of papers to deliver to the proper departments. How fortuitous that he had some information to share with the others, and he would be caught up with his paperwork today, and that Reno hadn't needed too much of his time (thank Gaia).

Good. He was… relieved he should reach his apartment before the others after all. He didn't want any distractions from the (what was that term Zack had used? Ah, yes) 'game session' this afternoon.

xXx

At 1358 hours, Sephiroth opened his apartment door and strode inside. He'd had to clock out a bit late, as some of the paperwork had needed delivery confirmation signatures and one of the offices had been empty when he'd arrived. At times like these, he sometimes found himself wishing he still had a secretary. Unfortunately, none had been able to maintain either his typical workload or standards, they didn't seem willing to try and improve, and/or they wouldn't work weekends. Most quit very quickly after starting, so after the twelfth left, he'd resolved himself to filling, filing, and delivering most of the forms himself.

But it would have been nice to hand some of the work off to someone else, today especially. As it was, he had time only to remove his pauldrons, before a knock sounded, and he returned to his front door to find a familiar group of SOLDIERS standing there, each looking thoughtful. Sephiroth stepped aside and let them all file inside.

Once he closed the door, he glanced at Angeal and tapped his ear. The brunet nodded and handed the jammer back to Genesis, who double-checked that it was indeed working. He gave an affirmative nod before pocketing it again.

"It seems we all have something to say," the silver-haired man commented. "Some of our own research or findings about the game no less. Who would like to share first?"

Suddenly, Zack's hand shot into the air. "Oo, oo, oo! Pick us!"

Genesis rolled his eyes while Sephiroth shook his head fondly and raised an eyebrow in the puppy's direction. "Very well."

Zack grinned while Angeal shook his own head, both embarrassed and amused.

Then the boy just let the humor fall away, leaving behind a SOLDIER Third class, ready to report. "We found another Final Fantasy VII game, sir."

That certainly drew the other two's attention.

"You what?" Genesis asked, voice quiet and intense. Sephiroth felt his own expression cool and stared at the boy. If Zack noticed, he didn't give any indication.

"Reeve Tuesti has a Final Fantasy VII game subtitled 'Dirge of Cerberus'. We spotted it on his desk. It looked like it had Vincent Valentine on the front and Director Tuesti says he's supposed to play it with us."

"He asked us, specifically, if we were the people the note that came with the game referenced," Angeal added on. "Unfortunately, the note had been… misplaced. He said he'd continue to look for it and has agreed to meet with us to discuss more later." He stopped, then nodded back at his subordinate to continue, so Zack did.

"We also saw his Cait Sith. It isn't finished, more a box of parts than a robot yet. He said it was just a personal project of his." The Third frowned. "He was really dismissive of it."

Sephiroth frowned as well. "What is your read on him?"

Angeal sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "He's apparently been hounded by Hojo. He didn't mention anything specific, but I suspect he's been… asked to create some sort of equipment for scientific experiments. He outright and almost aggressively refused before he realized his 'appointment' wasn't with Hojo, citing ethics."

"It seems our esteemed Head of Science is not only disliked by us SOLDIERS," Genesis commented ruefully.

The larger SOLDIER nodded. "From what Tuesti said, he's trying to hold the department budgets over him as blackmail, but he still refuses."

"Yeah, the office and reception area was… kinda dumpy and second hand, so I guess it's not an empty threat," Zack said with a helpless shrug. "That's… really uncool. He's a nice guy! He's friendly and helpful and seems to be pretty straight forward. He always paid attention to whoever was speaking to him and had suggestions to go above and beyond why we were there. He didn't ignore me, which is way different to how a lot of ShinRa higher ups act."

Another sigh from the larger SOLDIER. "The Pup's not wrong. If I didn't know what I do from the game, I'd like him."

"I like him," Zack countered, firm in his decision. "Even with what Angeal told me after, about your game.

Sephiroth thought about the new information, but eventually he shook his head. "I still don't like bringing other people in like this." Especially not ones he wasn't sure he could trust.

Zack bit his lip, and eventually decided to speak up. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we have a choice."

The three Firsts turned to him.

"Whatever do you mean?" Genesis asked haughtily. "It wouldn't be difficult to take it."

The Third shook his head. "No, you don't get it. He got it for a reason. We may not trust him, but whoever is giving these to us does. At least as far as the game goes. If we try to cut him out, what's to stop whoever it is from giving him another copy or something? Wouldn't it be better to be able to influence that? Or at least prepare through participation and observation."

Everyone stared at him in silence for several seconds. He seemed to get flustered and began to fidget. "What?"

Angeal sighed and shook his head as a smile came to his face. "It seems you deserved that promotion."

Zack blinked. "Promotion?"

The larger SOLDIER's smile widened, slightly teasing, slightly pointed. "Oh, it seems I somehow completely forgot to tell you." Angeal managed to hold the teasing expression for all of a second, before he huffed a laugh and smiled proudly. "Your promotion to SOLDIER Second came through today. We'll get you a new uniform Monday morning."

The younger SOLDIER's eyes widened. "Wait… really?!"

"Oh, for…" Genesis muttered, rolling his eyes. Sephiroth shot him a warning look, and he seemed to take that as he didn't say anything to Zack's exuberant shout.

"YES! I DID IT! JUST ONE MORE CLASS TO GO! WOO-HOO!"

And one more step closer to when everything would (theoretically) begin to go downhill.

Still, now was not the time to bring that up. "Congratulations, Zachary," Sephiroth said with a slight smile and a nod of his head.

The boy practically beamed at him. "Thank you, sir!" Then he paused. "But it's still Zack."

Sephiroth nodded as Genesis snorted.

"We'll get something to celebrate tonight for dinner, okay, Zack?" Angeal asked.

"Awesome!" the newly minted Second replied happily.

"As much as I hate to bring the mood down," Genesis drawled, "we should likely go back to discussing whoever has been delivering these games to us."

Angeal frowned over at the red-head and even Sephiroth shook his head, but he wasn't wrong. Zack deflated a little.

"Yeah, you're right."

"I, too, may have come across another game," Sephiroth said, figuring Zack and Angeal's news led nicely into his.

"What?!" Zack and Genesis asked at the same time. Angeal just stared.

"At least it is a high probability, considering the circumstances. I came to this conclusion when Reno of the Turks confronted me about e-mails with attachments. I received a visit to my office just after 1300. Based on how the Turk had been eyeing my phone when I messaged you, I suspect a mobile game, but wanted to be sure that that form of game was feasible." He looked at Zack and waited for the youth's nod before continuing. "Is it possible the game you saw is what the Turks received?"

Zack immediately shook his head, "No way. The game we saw was for a GameStation2, and while I've heard from Kunsel that there's some phone tech in R&D that maybe could handle it in a few years, there's no way mine could play anything like a GS2 game. So, unless the Turks' PHSs are way better than they look, nuh-uh."

"I see," Sephiroth said, nodding in acceptance before moving on. "When I asked after games, I received an interesting reaction, but little to no specific information."

"You told the Turks?" the red-head asked, looking both shocked and upset.

"No," the Silver General replied, shaking his head. "I told him I'd overheard other Turks talking. My excuse seemed… readily accepted."

Zack chuckled a little. "Right, with our level of hearing and all."

Sephiroth nodded before going on. "I believe that approaching the Turks for more information at this time would be… unwise for the same reason we haven't handed our game over yet."

"They would likely confiscate it before we finish," Angeal stated, nodding his head firmly in agreement. "And I doubt they would keep us abreast of any investigation. Not to our satisfaction."

Genesis snorted derisively.

"Yes," the Silver General said. "Which leads me into my next point. I believe I know who is delivering these games."

That got a moment of quiet shock before several of the SOLDIERS let out exclamations along the lines of, "What?!"

Sephiroth just held up a hand and waited for quiet. He didn't have to wait long.

"It's Cloud," he said, figuring he should probably let them in on his strange dreams.

This time, it was his turn to be stared at by the others, expressions ranging from incredulous to outright disbelieving.

"What?" Angeal and Zack asked again as Genesis said, "Excuse me?"

Sephiroth sighed. "I've had… dreams recently. They aren't normal or like any dream I can remember before we received the game. In them, I spoke with an older Cloud, from the future." He'd tell them that. He didn't have to tell them the other creepy or downright terrifying parts of the dreams.

"He admitted he's… dead," he paused and had to suppress a wince, noticing Zack did the same, "and from well after the time period covered by the game –" he glanced at Zack, "– games. He explained that under specific circumstances, someone can return from the dead, but they must have a focus – a goal, if you will. He said he could have come back as a courier, or a warrior… but if he came back as a warrior, all of his effort and energy would go into that mind-set. He would become a WEAPON– the Golden WEAPON – and would not stop until all traces of Jenova were obliterated. He strongly implied that that would include all of us."

"Because we've all had the SOLDIER treatment and that includes Jenova cells," Zack muttered. Everyone stared at him. "What? It's in my report!"

"Which we haven't gotten around to reading yet," Angeal reminded him.

"Right, sorry," the younger SOLDIER sighed.

"So… all SOLDIERS have Jenova cells?" Sephiroth asked slowly, his mind racing through the implications of that. They'd suspected, but if Zack's game posited it as the truth…

"More or less. I couldn't tell you how much though," the younger teen replied tiredly. Such a change from his exuberance just minutes ago. It didn't suit him.

Genesis broke in, sounding like he was trying for disdain, but only managing disapproval. He also looked rather sick. "Why am I not surprised?"

Because it was Hojo and Hollander… and ShinRa? No one had to answer that one aloud, probably because an answer was not needed.

Genesis inhaled deeply. "Why should we assume this dream of yours is real?" The red-head asked, blatantly and unrepentantly changing the subject.

"It was real," Sephiroth said.

"Can you prove it?" Genesis asked.

Did the receipts count as proof? Not definitively, he decided. "Not yet."

"Then—"

"It. Was. Real," Sephiroth repeated firmly. Genesis scowled but thankfully backed off.

"Why a delivery boy then?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth shrugged. "It suited his purposes. He delivers. That is his focus. He described it as an encapsulating persona. Everything else is classified as superfluous and becomes fuel for that focus."

"And one needs a focus to come back from the dead?" Angeal asked, half skeptical, half for clarification.

"So he claimed, yes," Sephiroth nodded.

"What do you mean, 'everything else'," Genesis asked with a frown.

"He was not specific, but implied that all other thoughts, ideas, and actions unrelated to that focus – in this case, those of a courier – goes into the energy keeping him… corporeal."

"Does that apply to you, too?" Zack asked, thoughtful. Silence met him and he looked around at their stony stares. Then his expression morphed into horror. "I mean game you, of course!" That… didn't help as much as the General would have liked, but he ultimately decided not to dwell on it or take offense.

Sephiroth nodded. "Most likely as he… seemed to have a similar realization."

"That certainly explains a lot," Genesis muttered.

"It does," the Silver General agreed with another nod. "In any case, he informed me that he started a delivery service in the future. It became… becomes difficult to travel – dangerous with monsters and a recovering society from… many poor decisions and actions."

"Well, at least we know that Meteor doesn't hit Gaia," Zack said hopefully.

He wasn't wrong. Although… with how future Cloud described the world from his time, he wasn't entirely sure the world was all that better off.

Admitting that to the others at this point did not appeal to him.

So he changed the subject.

"I also may have figured out why the Cloud from the game never made SOLDIER." Everyone seemed to freeze before turning to stare at him, blinking. He repressed a sigh. "Our cadet Cloud never responded to my offer of mentorship yesterday or this morning. When I went to communications this morning to investigate why, I found him there as well, cornered by Reno and Rude. I assume he ran into them, and I believe it may have something to do with their game."

"So we can presume Cloud is in their game, too?" Angeal asked.

"Highly likely," the Silver General agreed, "but that occurrence, while noteworthy, is only tangentially related to my suspicion of his lack of advancement. When I questioned the boy, I learned that he did not know what an email was."

More silence.

Zack's mouth dropped open.

Then Genesis: "You must be joking."

Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I am not. Seeing as he is from an isolated country town on the Western Continent, it is a plausible explanation and infers a great deal about his computer knowledge and skill, or lack thereof. And while it cannot explain everything about him not being even considered as a SOLDIER, it was a likely factor."

No one seemed to know what to say to that until Zack finally cocked his head to one side and said, "Huh. I never thought about it before, but if I hadn't had a cousin who was super into tech and let me watch sometimes, I coulda ended up not knowing about computer stuff too."

Since no one seemed to want to continue after that, Sephiroth decided to conclude his informal report. "That is most of what I have discovered concerning the situation since we last played. I will admit there are a couple of details I am puzzling through, but I would rather not discuss them just yet." He turned to the red-head beside him, already feeling tired and stretched thin. But they weren't finished. "Genesis?"

Thankfully, they didn't push it. However, the Commander looked at him for several seconds before sighing. Sephiroth thought it was in reaction to what he'd said until the red-head spoke quietly. "You won't like what I have to say."

The Silver General wasn't the only one who frowned at that. There wasn't a great deal of news he'd been pleased about recently.

Shaking his head, Genesis continued. "Hojo's back early." He said it so matter-of-factly and without any of his usual dramatic inflection, merely informing. Sephiroth felt himself stiffen and his breath caught in his throat. "I thought it something you all should know."

Why was it that even with just the scientist's presence Sephiroth felt trapped again – held down and chained to a life and a reputation he'd never wanted or chosen?

In the background, Zack was saying something, with Angeal offering the occasional sentence, but he couldn't make the words out. He forced himself to stay calm, to breathe evenly. He'd known Hojo would be back. It wouldn't be the first time he'd returned early either. A day or two in the long run wouldn't make a huge difference and Sephiroth didn't have to interact with him more than once or twice a week anyway. When he came back didn't really matter.

It didn't.

It occurred to him that the others had stopped talking. Taking a subtle but deep breath, he pushed everything to the side for later. Maybe they could have a sparring session again and he could take his… everything out there.

Then he looked up. The other three SOLDIERS all stared at him in various states of concern.

"Apologies," he said, proud that his voice came out as smooth and steady as ever. "Did you want my input?"

The others exchanged glances with each other.

"Um… dude, are you okay?" Zack ventured carefully.

"I am fine."

Zack didn't look convinced, but Angeal, who knew better than to protest or argue further, put a restraining hand on his protege's shoulder. The larger man looked resigned and Genesis… was that guilt?

No.

"Thank you for telling me," he said to his friend. "I appreciate the ability to prepare… as unpleasant as the news is."

Instead of an expected sniff or brush-off, Genesis just met Sephirotht's gaze and nodded. The taller SOLDIER returned the nod, each knowing the other understood, at least to an extent. And the lack of flair from the red-head was a breath of fresh air and very welcomed.

An awkward silence fell over the room, but no one seemed to want to break it. After a few more seconds of forcing himself to calm down, Sephiroth took another silent but deep breath and turned towards his couch.

"I believe we should get started."

Zack groaned. "Aw, man. I've never wanted to not play a game so badly."

"We get it, Pup," Angeal said quietly. "But—"

"I know, I know," the smaller brunet groaned. "Are we going to order food tonight? Since you mentioned we'll celebrate my promotion, I know a great place that serves food from my home area! If y'all are okay with that!"

Sephiroth didn't answer. He didn't particularly care… but it would be more difficult to keep it from Hojo now. He almost wished he hadn't insisted Angeal take the leftovers the previous evening.

"I suppose," Genesis muttered, following Sephiroth. "But later. I had a late lunch."

"That's fine with me, and if you want something from your home in celebration, that's perfectly reasonable. Genesis imported a box of Banora fair when he was promoted to Second." Angeal smiled.

"We were promoted at the same time, you lump," Genesis quipped. "And I shared."

"Exactly," Angeal chuckled. "Did you want the floor again, Zack?"

"Yeah, that's fine! Oh! There's still some snacks from yesterday, right? Can I have some of them now, Angeal?"

A chuckle. "Sure, Pup."

And with that, they settled in for their next (torture) gaming session.

xXx

AN: So a lot of people asked about Cloud using a limit break. In 'Before Crisis', the Turk Mobile Game, Cloud came in about chapters 5-7 and he had a limit break despite being an infantry guard – and a young one at that. He was also able to talk the main character around a bit and made an impression on them. So that's why Reno and Rude were looking at him, thinking that he may have unlocked his limit break already and that he'd just fallen through the cracks of finding exceptional people to fill in Turk or SOLDIER ranks in the game. So they wanted to change that. I don't know if I'll be able to get this into the story, so here it is.

Thank you, as always, to Imagination7413. You guys don't know how much effort she puts into these, so thank you! Also thank you to anyone reading this. :D

Discord: discord. gg/xDDz3gqWfy (no spaces)