Meanwhile, at Shinra Headquarters deep in the garage, a caravan pulled in from Sector 0 outside, emptying out its occupants one by one, all garbed in infantry uniforms save for two. Teri, now a First Class SOLDIER, walked silently through the underground level with a Third in tow. As the two stepped into the glass elevator, she watched the walls of each floor pass them by as they ascended, barely noticing her reflection staring back at her with the same expressionless face. Only once they reached the above ground levels did her vision fill with the sights of Midgar. With a small twitch of her brow, a strange sensation coursed through her mind like a memory. The sensation of the cool glass upon the skin of her face was all she could remember, and grey eyes, her eyes, staring back at her in front of the nighttime lights of the city...even, a promise? She closed her eyes and breathed, mentally shaking the image away. She had no memory of the sort. It must have just been a dream on some night or another. Her memories were only with SOLDIER: the training, the wars, even the betrayal of her tutor and his colleagues. That last thought filled her gut with a burning hatred. But beyond that, there was nothing else to remember.<br/><br/>“So...that mission sucked.” The third next to her exclaimed as they continued their elevator ride to the SOLDIER floor. Teri did not know this individual, nor did she care to know. He was dressed the same as any other SOLDIER third, in his blue uniform and his helmet that only allowed his mouth and chin to be visible. He looked over at her, expecting a response, but her eyes remained glued to the window. “Tch...you always this talkative?” The third grumbled as he crossed his arms and turned away.<br/><br/>“We completed our mission.”<br/><br/>“What?” He looked back at her, surprised.<br/><br/>“Our mission was to gather information from the mob boss and relay new orders to him, and we did just that. I see no failure in it.” Teri responded, a professional tone in her voice, but her gaze remained ahead of her.<br/><br/>“What? No. I mean...I meant it sucked, as in it was boring and creepy. Not that we failed it.”<br/><br/>“A mission is a mission, regardless of its contents. If you are a SOLDIER, you take your work with pride. You don’t complain about the tasks you’ve been given.”<br/><br/>“Come on, you can’t honestly say you didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable talking to the Don.”<br/><br/>“I felt no discomfort. It was only talking. I do not even feel uncomfortable when fighting, unless I have been wounded.”<br/><br/>The third just looked at her dumbfoundedly. “You serious? The guy was hitting on you the entire time.”<br/><br/>“I’m sorry?”<br/><br/>“You know, hitting on you? Making his moves?” When Teri just lifted an eyebrow, showing him the smallest hint of confusion, he continued, a bit more energetically with his arm movements, “The guy was practically drooling the moment you took your helmet off, not that he hadn’t already started a bit when he saw that you had-....uh...well.” By this point he had his hands raised, cupped to look as if they were holding two large round objects in his palms towards his own chest, fingers making a squeezing motion....only to stop from embarrassment as he realized what he was about to say to his superior, and even moreso what he was miming. He quickly dropped his hands and clasped them behind his back, standing at attention and cleared his throat, averting his gaze back to the sight of Midgar, “nevermind...”<br/><br/>Teri just inwardly sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes. The elevator had stopped at the SOLDIER floor and she swiftly turned a full 180 and left the small glass encasement without another word to the man. The third didn’t follow too close behind her, fearing her wrath should she decide to strike him for that comment. She had no intention of it though. Being a female in SOLDIER was no easy task. It required an immense amount of self-control and discipline. Even Sephiroth had his reservations about taking her on as a pupil due to her sex, but Hojo insisted. Luckily, she excelled and took the Silver General by surprise, passing his training, as grueling as they were.<br/><br/>But why did he leave? The fire in her body flared up again the more the scenes played out in her head. One day, he was there, teaching her, sparring with her, as if everything was normal, and the next, he went on some mission in some backwater town. and went completely AWOL.<br/><br/>Her right hand balled into a fist as she continued her way down the hall towards the locker room, her steps taking on a slightly quicker pace as her anger fueled her gait, only to stop short when a beady-eyed, bespectacled, Black-haired man stepped into the middle of her path. She was only inches away from him before she halted her movements. Her eyelids dropped in disappointment while he smiled his greasy smile, “You’re due for another checkup, dear.” She hated this man, for a number of reasons. One: because he called her “dear,” a derogatory term that belittled her worth. Two: her tutor despised him, believing him to be a third rate scientist compared to Gast, and to Teri, Sephiroth’s word was like scripture to her. Three: whenever he was finished with whatever he was doing to her, she’d always feel out of sorts: woozy, nauseous, and her mind clouded and drowsy. She hated losing control of her bearings like that. And four:......four? There was a fourth reason she hated the man, she knew it. However, for some reason, she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. He..hurt somebody? No...I mean, sure, he’s probably hurt many people. He has no sense of empathy. But she’s certain he did not hurt anybody she knew.<br/><br/>Three. Only three reasons she hated Hojo. For now, at least. And, reluctantly, she followed him, for no other reason than that her checkups with him were mandatory.