Sephiroth and Angeal both watched the two fighters in front of them. Angeal didn't like Genesis's arrogant attitude towards Sara. Though it surprised him that Sara would suggest a duel against his childhood friend. Yet, he had hoped that Genesis would go easy on her. He was wrong.

Genesis's fighting skills mainly were brute force, along with using powerful magic spells. Sara, on the other hand, seemed more fluid and focused on precision than force. She mainly targeted her opponent's vital spots and left no room to find an opening. Angeal was impressed by Sara's fighting skills, yet he wondered why Sara was in the ranks of 2nd Class. Shouldn't she be in 1st Class?

Sephiroth carefully watched Sara. The first thing Sephiroth noticed was like Angeal, Sara focused on aiming Genesis's vital spots. Yet, he saw something else that Angeal did not. It seemed that Sara was holding back her strength. Sephiroth could tell by the look on her eyes and her expression. The way she bit her lower lip, it would seem that she was trying her best not to hurt Genesis. Yet, like Angeal, he wondered the same thing. Why is Sara not in 1st Class?

While the two men were watching, Genesis was getting frustrated. How could a woman like Sara be able to keep up with him and not break a sweat? He didn't think that Sara would put up a fight to where he would have to defend himself most of the time. Every time Sara would aim for his vital spots, Genesis had to protect himself. Whenever he saw an opening, Genesis tried to attack her with fire spells. But Sara would deflect any spells before they hit her. It was as if she was trying to out skill him, looking for a weakness in every movement he made. As time went on, Genesis concluded he was not dealing with some weak opponent. He was dealing with someone dangerous, and he had to think differently. The two broke off and stood still, giving each other a break.

"Seems like you're no weak woman," Genesis sneered.

Sara humphed, "And you're one cocky red-headed punk."

"Well, I think it's time to raise the bar a bit."

After saying that, Genesis's left hand glowed brightly. Sara dashed towards him in an attempt to not let him cast magic. But, he had already cast a fireball towards her; naturally, she sliced it in half, and her katana collided with Genesis's sword. Genesis held up his sword one-handed while his left hand still glowed. He moved his left hand away, which confused Sara. Why would he thrust his hand out? A second later, Sara felt her back becoming hot; she quickly realized what was coming from behind.

She kicked Genesis away before jumping high into the air and below where she stood. Dozens of fireballs hit the metal floor, creating a small crater. Where did those fireballs come from? Then she remembered when she sliced the giant fireball and Genesis moved his left hand? She wondered was he controlling the fire?

"Great, the punk can control fire," Sara muttered.

Sara landed a few feet away from the crater, and Genesis was coming her way. She readies her sword and attacks Genesis again; she uses a bit more force than before. Sara held back her strength because she didn't want to hurt Genesis the whole time. Sara knew at least from fighting against combat sims that she can take on at least four fully grown behemoths and not have any injuries. Though she did not know the full extent of her powers, she knew that she had superhuman strength. But now that the punk wasn't going to go down that easily. Sara had to rethink how much she could do without severely injuring her opponent.

Sara and Genesis continued clashing swords. Whenever their blades hit, sparks flew as both fighters glared at each other with the intent of not backing down.

Sara swung her sword, sending Genesis a few yards away from her. Genesis was getting frustrated; he was not going to let a woman beat him. He regained his stance and infused his fire magic with his sword, creating a fire blade.

Seeing this, Angeal gasped, "Shit! He's getting serious this time."

"Time to end!" Genesis declared.

He dashed towards Sara, who clashed her sword with Genesis's fire blade. She deflected it with ease but was not expecting Genesis to place his left hand on his blade, infusing more magic causing Sara's blade to crack!

Sara's heart began to sink when she saw the cracks on her weapon growing longer. She backed away a few yards away as she was ready to call off the fight. But Genesis pursued her; she clicked her tongue and dashed towards him despite using an almost broken blade.

However, she felt a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her away, and saw Angeal blocking Genesis with his sword.

"Out of my way, Angeal!" Genesis barked, not happy that his friend intervened.

"That's enough, Genesis!" Angeal scolded.

"Tch!" Genesis clicked his tongue, "I was about to defeat her! Why did you and Sephiroth stop us!?"

Sara just realized that Sephiroth had his arm wrapped around her waist. The silver elite glared at the red-headed punk while refusing to let go of Sara. She looked up at Sephiroth and felt her heart beating so fast for other reasons.

Angeal glared at Genesis and spoke sternly, "Did you not notice that you almost broke her weapon? Would you still fight her even while she has a broken sword?"

Genesis gritted his teeth and pushed Angeal away while the fire on his blade diminished. He looked at where Sara stood and saw the cracks on her blade. Though it annoyed him that the fight ended like this, Genesis didn't want to fight someone with a useless weapon. But, he would never admit it.

He looked at Sara, who was held by Sephiroth, though seeing that annoyed him. What does that woman have that he does not?

Genesis humphed, "Whatever, I'm done."

"Wonderful! I'm glad to receive such valuable data."

Hearing a familiar voice that wasn't among the group, Genesis and Angeal looked around, wondering who said that. While Sephiroth frowned and Sara's heart sank as she bit her lip.

The virtual Junon began to transform back into the large empty room. The group turned to a window where the observation room is and inside was Hojo. Genesis and Angeal didn't like the mad scientist when they first met; when they saw Hojo, they frowned in disgust. Sara only glared at Hojo before turning away, yet she felt Sephiroth slightly tighten his grip.

"I must say that was quite a performance," Hojo smirked, "Too bad that powerful spell damaged Saraphina's weapon in the process, but we can replace it. However, I'm here to tell you 2nd Class gentlemen have a new mission to complete. Go to the director of SOLDIER to receive more details of your task."

Genesis rolled his eyes as he and Angeal exited the room.

Hojo turned his attention to Sephiroth, "Now then, Sephiroth, I would like to have a word with you private and Sara go somewhere else until I call you."

Hojo left the observation room while Sara and Sephiroth stood in the room alone.

Sara placed her hand on Sephiroth's hand and said, "You can let go of me now."

But instead of obeying, Sephiroth spoke, "Not until you answer my question."

"Um, what was it again?" Sara asked.

"What are you doing here? Pacifically, in Shinra," Sephiroth answered.

Sara sighed; she knew that he was not going to let go until he got an answer. Thus, Sara began to explain all the events that happened a year ago. From how she was forced to leave home to Hojo's experiments on her. After explaining Sephiroth said nothing, Sara wasn't sure if that was a good thing. But she didn't want to keep Hojo waiting on Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth, let go of me," Sara said.

Slowly she felt Sephiroth's arm off of her waist, and she went to the exit. She halted her steps before looking back at Sephiroth, who hadn't moved much.

"I'll see you around, and I do hope we can become friends."

After Sara spoke, she left the training room. Though she didn't know what to do next, she decided to head back to the recreational facility. As she was walking down the hallway, she saw Angeal running and stopped in front of her.

"Angeal, what is it?" Sara asked.

"I'm glad I run into you because I'm here to deliver a message to you from Genesis," Angeal said with a smirk.

"Oh? And what does he have to say?"

"He says that the match is a draw and that you're a fine fighter."

"That it?" Sara raised a brow, "I thought he would want a rematch?"

Angeal chuckled, "Well, I did give him a lecture before he decided to call it a draw."

Sara giggled, "Hehe, I'm glad you gave him a lecture."

"Let's exchange numbers," Angeal hands out his cellphone to Sara.

"Gladly," Sara takes Angeal's phone and puts her number into his device before returning it.

"Thanks," Angeal smiled, "As much as I want to chat, I've gotta go."

"Where to?" Sara wondered; Angeal sighed before replying.

"Wutai."

"Oh..."

"Mm, the company is sending more troops to the frontlines, and that includes members of SOLDIER," Angeal explained.

The war had been going on for a long time; naturally, Sara didn't like the news of hearing more people being sent out. Many families are losing loved ones. But until the war is over, the cycle of sending troops will continue.

"You two be careful; I hate to hear the news of two people I've just met being on the killed-in-action list."

Angeal smiled before leaving; Sara could only watch and pray that Angeal and Genesis would have a safe journey. Sara felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket and noticed that it was Hojo calling. She groaned before answering.

"Hello?"

"Saraphina, have you acquired a new weapon yet?" Hojo asked.

"No, I haven't," Sara replied annoyingly.

"Well, get a new one as soon as possible and meet me back at my lab."

After that, Hojo hung up while Sara put her phone back in her pocket and headed for the company's weapon shop. The weapon's shop was near the division of advanced weaponry. Though Sara usually wouldn't come to the shop unless it were necessary. She had her reason, and she hoped that she wouldn't run into a sassy director.

She found the shopkeeper and walked over to the front desk. Sara placed her cracked sword on the counter, and the shopkeeper took a look at it.

"Mmm, it seems that the steel on the blade did not withstand whatever you encountered last time," The shopkeeper spoke while looking at the sword.

"Is it fixable?" Sara asked.

"I can fix it," The shopkeeper answered, "But it will take time."

"That's fine as long as it can be done," Sara smiled.

"And just what is it that needs to be fixed?" A familiar cocky voice spoke that made Sara frown.

Sara looked over her shoulder and saw Scarlet, who walked over to the counter, grabbed the sword, and took a close look at it. The director clicked her tongue and slammed the blade back on the counter.

"Fix it now," Scarlet demanded.

The shopkeeper immediately went pale and stuttered, "B-but Madame, I-I have other weapons that need to be fixed."

"Did you not hear me?" Scarlet's voice went cold, "I said; fix it now."

The shopkeeper nodded, not wanting to anger the director. He took Sara's sword and went to the room in the back to start fixing it. Scarlet turned to her infantryman subordinate and gave him an order.

"Bring me the sword when it's done."

"Madame!" The subordinate acknowledge.

"Come with me, Saraphina," Scarlet said as she began to walk down the hallway.

Sara sighed before following; she didn't like the fact that she had to follow Scarlet. Sara never liked Scarlet; the woman was vile and cruel. She only cared for new weapon development or materia. Yet, Scarlet had shown interest in Sara. She didn't know why; maybe it was because she was the only female in SOLDIER. Yet, Sara always thought of Scarlet as such a sassy woman.

Sara followed Scarlet to a large warehousing area where they were building new machines. Scarlet stopped in front of a massive mecha that was shaped like a spider. Sara could tell that Scarlet marveled at the mecha as if she was looking at a new toy.

"Tell me, Saraphina, what do you make of this new prototype?" Scarlet asked.

"Uh, it's interesting," Sara replied.

"It is," Scarlet smiled, "It's made to not only shoot missiles, but it can also shoot chain nets to capture any intruders. It is also built to climb on walls without falling. I call it the Guard Spider."

"Such a fitting name," Sara rolled her eyes.

Scarlet chuckled and turned to Sara, "Yes, which is why I would like for you to test it."

Sara frowned and thought, There she goes again, using me as a guinea pig. No wonder why she told the shopkeeper to get my sword fixed.

On cue, Scarlet's subordinate came back with Sara's sword. The man presented Sara with the weapon, and she took it. Scarlet smiled in satisfaction. The spider mecha began to move as it pointed several machine guns at Sara. Sara gave Scarlet a stern look before walking over to the testing arena. The mecha followed her and stopped right at the center while Sara circled it.

But before she could make a move, Sara's phone rang.

She let out a groan before answering, "Hello?"

"Saraphina, have you acquired your weapon?" Hojo asked.

"Yeah, I have, but Scarlet dragged me to her testing area to fight against a new weapon," Sara quickly explained her situation; she was a bit relieved that Hojo called in time.

"Has she? Well, that's too bad because I need you to meet me at the briefing room now," Hojo insisted.

Sara sighed, and she hung up then started to leave; Scarlet frowned and walked in front of Sara.

"And where do you think you're going?" Scarlet dictated.

"That was Hojo," Sara replied, "I need to head for a meeting."

Scarlet scoffed, "That vile rat disrupts my testing. I'll soon teach him a lesson one day."

Sara said nothing but left Scarlet's warehouse and headed to the briefing room. The briefing room was on floor forty-nine in the Shinra building. The room is mainly used to discuss missions for SOLDIER members. The floor also serves as the SOLDIER Floor, besides the briefing room. There is a lounge area for off-duty SOLDIER operatives and a combat simulator. Floor fifty serves as a dorm floor for SOLDIER, but the floor also has private apartments only belonging to 1st Class SOLDIERs, though Sara had received her apartment due to her gender.

Sara made it to the forty-nine floor and walked into the briefing room. As she did, she noticed that not only Hojo was there, but Sephiroth and the director of SOLDIER, Lazard Deusericus. Lazard is a polite and friendly director; he was nice to Sara the first few days she came into Shinra. Lazard wears a striped blazer paired with a pink shirt, a purple tie, and white gloves. He wears blue glasses. He has coiffed blond hair and blue eyes.

Lazard sat in the chair at the end of the large table; sitting to his right, Hojo and Sephiroth, who had a stoic look, sat next to Lazard on the left. When Sara walked in, Lazard gave her a small smile and was the first to speak.

"Hello, Saraphina. Good to see you again. Have a seat. The four of us have something we need to discuss."

Sara nodded and sat near Sephiroth. Sara didn't want to sit next to Hojo, and she didn't want to sit too far from the group. So she could only sit next to Sephiroth, though she didn't sit close to him. Thank goodness that the chairs had wheels on their legs as Sara gently pushed herself a few inches away.

"Saraphina, as you might've heard, the company is now sending more troops to the war. This includes SOLDIER units as well, and because of this, the president wants to send you to war as well." " Lazard said professionally.

Sara's heart sank when she heard the one thing she dreaded to attend—being sent to join the war.

"Because of your unique abilities and situation, Professor Hojo and I have discussed what would be the best assignments for you to take during your time in Wutai."

"And that is?" Sara asked.

"Top-secret missions or, in a better term, Black Operations," Lazard replied.

"Huh?" Sara tilted her head and asked, "Shouldn't those missions belong to the Turks? Why send me who's a SOLDIER?"

It would make sense to send a Turk to go out on secret missions, for that was their job. But it is unheard of for a SOLDIER to do secret missions.

Lazard smiled and explained, "One very few people in the entire company know you're the only woman who is a SOLDIER. Two, to gain more experience for you, and three, the missions you'll be given require a SOLDIER's strength, which is why you make the perfect cadet for these missions. We can't afford to lose more members of the Turks and SOLDIER members."

Though Sara understood, that did not make her feel better. She had been going through training this whole time that did not mean that she was experienced in actual combat or gathering accurate information. At least that's what she believes.

Lazard continued, "However, given the fact you've only been sent on missions to clear out monsters and using the combat sim in the past. You still lack discipline, which is why I've decided to assign a mentor to you."

Sara's eyes widened, and she guessed who her mentor is. But she didn't want to believe it, but Lazard confirmed.

"That's right; Sephiroth will be your mentor."

Sara wasn't sure if she should be happy or not. There are so many members in SOLDIER that would dream of being mentored by the war hero. Yet, Sara wasn't like those members. She was different and treated differently than any other members in SOLDIER. Hearing that her mentor is Sephiroth, Sara felt that she was being spoiled. However, she didn't have problems with it either, even considering it a change of pace. The only thing she did not like was that she was going to Wutai.

"Do you have problems with the decisions?" Lazard asked.

"No, sir," Sara replied, though she was unaware that Sephiroth smirked after her reply.

"Good," Lazard nodded, satisfied with the response. He turned to Hojo and asked, "Professor Hojo, do you still need Saraphina here for more testing?"

"Not at the moment," Hojo replied and stood up, "Now I believe I've wasted enough time. Good day."

Hojo left the room; Lazard shook his head, a bit annoyed at Hojo's abrupt exit. Lazard turned back to the remaining two in the room.

"I'll be assigning your missions like normal. Sephiroth, you may begin her training when you're ready. I would like to send her out as soon as possible."

"How soon?" Sephiroth asked.

"Mmm, I'll give you two weeks."

"That's not enough."

"And the president is not a patient man, as you know. He wants both of you to be heading to Wutai as soon as possible. Two weeks is all that I can give you."

"Hmph."

Sephiroth immediately stood up and left the room. Lazard sighed as he shook his head.

"Does that mean I'll be going to Wutai in two weeks from now?" Sara asked.

"I'm sorry to say this, but yes," Lazard replied with a sad look.

Sara lowered her head and muttered, "Why?"

"As I said, the president is an impatient man, and he wants to end this war as much as possible," Lazard explained, "It took quite a lot of convincing for him to agree to have you train for a bit longer. "

"I do appreciate your effort, "Sara said with a small smile, "Is there any chance I might see my dad? I haven't seen him in a long time and my mother."

"I'm sorry, Sara," Lazard said, "I can't let you see your mother, but I can let you see your father. I also suggest that you should send letters to your mother since you're not allowed to see her."

"Why?!" Sara demanded, "Who said that I'm not allowed to see my mom! That is not right!"

"Hojo," Lazard replied, "I do not agree with his decision on that either. But, you can still send out letters to her. I'll see if I can find a way for you to see your mother."

Sara was glad that Lazard was willing to help her by letting her visit her mother. It had been so long since she last saw her mother.

"Now, I'll send you the location on where you can find your father and let you know when your first mission in Wutai is coming. Until then, good luck with your training."

"Yes, sir!"

The meeting was concluded. Though it wasn't in Sara's favor, she had no choice but to go to Wutai.

A few hours after the meeting, Sara received an email from Lazard about her dad's whereabouts. According to Lazard, Darius was sent to Junon for an entire year and is now back in Midgar. After being away from her father for a whole year, Sara couldn't wait to see him. Sara immediately went to Sector 4 over to the housing district where most of the residents are employees of Shinra. She found the house that matched the address Lazard gave her. It was a simple house, nothing facey though it had a cozy feeling to it.

Sara walked over to the front door and rang the doorbell several times. The door unlocked then opened; behind it was Darius, who looked at Sara in shock.

"S-Saraphina?"

"Hello, Dad," Sara spoke softly.

Her father immediately pulled her into a hug that caught her by surprise. It was only a brief second embrace before he dragged her inside, shutting the door and locking it. Darius looked back at his daughter; he was filled with relief but also worry. Why is Saraphina here? Was she sent here? He was uncertain, but he was glad that Saraphina was alive and well. On the other hand, Sara looked at her father with mixed emotions. There was so much for her to tell her father after what happened. But, she didn't know where to start.

"Dad," Sara took a step forward, "I have something to tell you."

Darius nodded, "Come, let's enjoy some warm tea."

The two of them walked into the kitchen, and Darius began to brew some tea. Sara looked around and noticed that there were still some boxes that someone hadn't unpacked. There was a faint scent of fresh paint. Sara wondered if someone had just built this house.

"Is this a newly built house?" Sara asked her dad.

"Actually," Darius replied, "It's been renovated. Shinra ordered the house to be renovated before my moving date."

Darius brought over to freshly brewed teas and gave one of the cups to Sara. She gladly took it and grabbed a cookie from the plate that was in front of them.

"So, things been going well?" Darius asked.

"I'm..." Sara paused before she continued, "Not sure if going well is the correct answer."

"Oh?"

"In two weeks, I'll be sent to Wutai."

Darius spitted out his tea before wiping his mouth. His face said it all; shock, anxiety, and anger.

"You'll be going to war?!" Darius spoke angrily.

Sara didn't flinch at her father's tone. She knew that he wasn't angry at her; he was mad at the fact that Shinra would send his daughter to war. Sara quickly gave Darius a brief description of what had happened during the meeting when she explained to her father that Sephiroth would be her mentor. She could see that he was slowly calming down.

After Sara finished her talk, an awkward silence fell in the room. Darius sighed heavily before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I can't believe this," Darius groaned, "I prayed and prayed that they would never send you to Wutai. But in the end, we can't help it. It's a good thing that Sephiroth will be your mentor. He'll make a good fighter out of you."

"Dad, there's something else you should know," Sara muttered.

"And that is?"

"After you left me that day, Hojo experimented on me."

Darius's eyes went dark, yet he listened to Sara as she recalled the events that happened when Hojo experimented on her. After another awkward silence, Darius lowered his head as he stared at his unfinished hot drink.

"That bastard..." Darius mumbled, "I should've known that he would do that. I knew the moment they sent me to Junon, they would do that to you, and I was right."

"Are you going to tell, Mom?" Sara asked, "They won't let me see her, so I assume that they allowed you to visit her."

"I will tell her but in a different time and way. As of this moment, I believe that Shinra is monitoring both of us." Darius answered.

"Why would they monitor us?"

"To make sure that we keep the company's secrets. But also..."

"Also?" Sara tilted her head confused.

Darius shook his head, "You're not ready to know yet, but one day you will. In the meantime, I suggest that you do your best and come back safe from the war."

She nodded, but she could tell that her father wanted to say more, but he couldn't. Sara knew that Shinra was good at silencing those who spill secrets, and if her father believed that Shinra was monitoring him and Sara, that would make things difficult.

"Also, I know your mother's birthday is coming up. If you want, you can buy her a gift, and I'll deliver it to her in person."

Sara raised a brow and wondered, "You've never done anything for Mom or me on our birthdays. Why the change?"

Darius sighed and muttered, "When I was in Junon, I never felt so helpless when I was away from you. Then I began to think about how wrong I was when you were living with your mother. So when I was able to return to Midgar and decided to make sure to spend more time with the two of you."

"Took you long enough," Sara scoffed.

Darius lowered his head, "I know that apology isn't enough. I've treated you and your mother wrong, but I do hope that you can forgive me and that I hope to make things right again."

Sara could tell in her father's eyes the regret and sadness were all swirling. Sara had never been one to hold a grudge, and in the depths of her heart, the longing to have that relationship with her father was still there.

"When the war is over," Sara spoke softly, "I would like to have dinner together as a family one day."

Darius looked at his daughter and smiled. He was glad that Sara had decided to start things over and hoped that there would be a brighter future.

Sara felt her phone vibrating, pulling it out of her pocket and answering, "Hello?"

"Saraphina, come to the virtual training room as soon as you can," Sephiroth spoke.

Startled by her mentor's voice, Sara asked, "Are we starting training?"

"Come to the training room, and you'll find out."

Sephiroth hung up, leaving Sara confused. What does Sephiroth have in mind?

Darius asked, "Was that Sephiroth?"

"Yeah," Sara nodded, "He wants me to head back so that we can begin training, I guess."

"You don't seem that thrilled?" Darius crossed his arms while tilting his head as if trying to decipher what Sara was thinking.

"I just don't get him," Sara rolled her eyes, "He seems cold and uninterested in a lot of things. I wonder why he chose me as his student?"

"There are many things in this world that we will never understand and some things that can't be explained. Even a scientist like me knows that there will be unexplainable things."

Sara turned to her father in shock. That was the first advice she had received from her father. Though the words he spoke did prove a point, there are things that no one can't explain. Such as why did Sephiroth decided to mentor her. It was a question with an unknown answer.

Sara stood up from her seat and put her teacup in the sink before leaving. She hugged her father and headed out the door.

As soon as she made it to the virtual training room, Sephiroth was already there waiting for her. The silver-haired elite noticed Sara walking down the hallway and walked through the door to the training room. Sara followed him inside and stood a few feet away.

Sephiroth's green eyes looked at Sara and asked, "Ready to begin?"

Sara nodded; Sephiroth turned to the control panel and typed a few things in before the room began to change. Instead of a forest or a city, they were now in a desert. Though the temperature was not blazing hot, yet it still had a warm feeling. Sara quickly turned her attention to Sephiroth, who stood there with his long sword.

"Now then," Sephiroth spoke, "From what I saw when you battled against Genesis. You seemed to be holding back your full strength, am I right?"

Sara nodded but was amazed that Sephiroth noticed that much. Sephiroth smiled in satisfaction before continuing to speak.

"So, this session will be a test."

"A test?"

"Yes, I want to see your full strength, and to do that," He paused and readied his weapon, "I want you to come at me with everything you got."

Sara gasped; she had never fought with her full strength. She was always worried that she might do severe damage to things around her, even in the training room. She wasn't ready to fight at her full strength, but seeing Sephiroth in front of her with a confident smile seemed to have reassured her a little. Sara knew from all the stories that she heard about Sephiroth's strength that they all had one thing in common.

Sephiroth is not meant to be taken lightly.

Sara chuckled nervously before readying her sword and said, "If my sword breaks again, you get me a new one?"

Sephiroth said nothing, but he chuckled.

Everything around them was silent as the two fighters stared at each other, waiting for the first move.

Sara moved her left foot slightly and gripped her sword tightly. In an instant, she dashes towards Sephiroth with her sword raised. The silver-elite blocked her attack, and the battle began.