Let's Play War - naia97 (2024)

Chapter 1: The Blessing of the Goddess or Free Healthcare to Glorified Babysitters?

Chapter Text

“We will all join the Lifestream. You are no exception…”

“Don’t let it take over! You’re not a monster! You’re one of us!”

“The Planet has become my guardian!”

One minute, Genesis was succumbing to the throes of death via degradation (and Angeal’s stabby little Puppy) and the next he was staring at a literal angel. She must have been the personification of both life and death, given her ethereal beauty and shining armor. Her peaceful elegance at odds with her mythical weapons, glowing with power. Like a Mary Sue, but just underutilized enough to make her canon. He staggered towards her, unable to look away. She was radiant. Genesis knew in an instant that she was the beloved Goddess he’d read about countless times. Why was she here now…? Pain ripped through his body, the tremors enhancing every ache.

Oh, right. He was dying. That would do it.

As if sensing his acceptance of his supposed fate, Minerva shook her golden head. A small smile graced her face and she waved her hand. The SOLDIER felt every injury, curse, and broken part of him heal itself. Even the degradation that had plagued him for so long was gone. He was free of the torment of the G-Cells poisoning his body. It was finally over.

Arms outstretched to the Goddess, he was ready to die in peace.

You can imagine how surprised he was to feel the floor disappear beneath him and send him hurling through the time-space continuum like some kind of human hacky sack.

You must right the sins of the past to prevent World’s End…

Become the dew that quenches the land to spare the sands, the seas, the skies…

And heal this world to bring forth a new age of enlightenment…

His memories rattled around his mind like a box of hard candies, finally free from the haze brought on by everything Hollander did and didn’t do to him. Then his body crumpled to the ground when he made his unexpected landing. Yet none of that mattered. He was alive. He was cured. And he was filled with a new sense of purpose. The Goddess herself entrusted him with this task.

“Nothing shall forestall my return,” Genesis swore to the sky empty of her visage, but full of her light as the golden sun rose over him.

He could do this. He could rise above being the Prisoner. This time he would be the Hero of Dawn, the one destined to heal the world. This was a sign of the Goddess. Everything in Loveless was connected! He would have been dead without it. The Goddess had left it behind to lead him to salvation when the monsters wearing human skin infused him with imperfect Jenova Cells. Only now he had a chance for redemption. It was all coming to fruition and he would prevent the atrocities Shinra brought upon the world.

He was about to find out the hard way how much of that was easier said than done.

Genesis had awoken in a pleasant field of flowers, growing wild and carefree. Which meant that he was nowhere near Midgar. Not that he’d let it bother him. His feet carried him to civilization. It wouldn’t be a long walk, especially at full strength. How long had it been since he felt such purpose in every step?

Shinra was going to burn.

Genesis Rhapsodos might not spend the hours upon hours of time wasted on strategy that Sephiroth and Angeal seemed content to overthink, but he wasn’t an idiot. (He led a very successful coup while half his brain was on fire courtesy of SOLDIER rat poison, thank you very much). The former Commander would spend as much time that was required for a raid on the Shinra building and not a moment longer.

“Can I take your order, sir?” a young woman approached his table.

And he’d do it in Kalm’s most renowned coffee shop. Because offices are for interns and stuffy old men married to their job. Genesis provided the waitress with his order, resuming his brainstorming session as she scribbled it down.

Okay, then. ‘Right the sins of the past to prevent World’s End…’

Now Genesis couldn’t be positive, but he was pretty sure that meant dismantle Shinra and bash in the heads of every awful science gremlin who wronged him.

“Anything else, sir?”

“No,” Genesis felt his lips curl into a smile. “That will do nicely…”

He truly had no words for how incredible it felt to be functioning at 100% again. After years of slugging by at 70% at best, this was like a dream. For the first time in years, his mind was his own again and his body wasn’t deteriorating with every heartbeat.

Shinra could put up whatever front they wanted, but Genesis knew the truth - they were a shell of what they once were. A skeleton picked clean of everything useful. The fools had lost all their greatest SOLDIERs over the last few years. Who would stand up to oppose him? Heidegger’s cannon fodder? Scarlet’s mechanical toys? Hojo’s failed science projects? None of them could hold a candle to Genesis at his peak, all toxins and curses purified from his body by the Goddess herself!

More than being physically ready, Genesis was mentally prepared as well. He didn’t spend all those years living in the shadows staring at rocks. Faking his death made it that much easier to ‘acquire’ certain confidential reports. Between Hollander’s inability to shut up and Hojo’s horrendous organizational system, Genesis now had a working idea of the Jenova Project. He knew how it tied in with enhancing himself and every other SOLDIER with more than mere mako infusions. That the genetic degradation was no fault or weakness of his own...simply the end result of dosing unknowing humans with otherworldly poison and expecting them to make it work.

That knowledge only served to infuriate him even more.

Genesis forced himself to slowly exhale. He wasn’t some nameless mook. He had an image to uphold. One that did not involve crushing the restaurant table with his bare hands, preferably. The SOLDIER appreciated the adoring public keeping their distance today. He hadn’t been bothered one time since arriving in town. There were the looks of adoration, mind you, but his fans avoided flocking him for photo ops and autographs. It was simultaneously refreshing and odd.

“Here is your order and newspaper, sir,” his waitress tore him from his thoughts.

“Wonderful,” he nodded his thanks, eyes scanning over the date printed on the corner.

That can’t be right… Is this a prank?

“Excuse me, miss,” Genesis waved her down before she left. “Is this today’s paper?”

“Yes, sir.” she smiled. Her face was so familiar... “Will that be all?”

“Yes...thank you.”

The young woman walked away and Genesis had the first of many mental breakdowns.

There’s no way this can be right!!

But this date…! I’m not even a SOLDIER yet! SOLDIER’s barely a thing yet! Which explains the lack of fanfare, but that’s not the point! What am I supposed to do over fifteen f*cking years in the past?! How is this even possible?!

Rage pounded in his temples, distress thundered in his chest. Genesis gripped the side of the booth, waiting for the moment to pass. He took several deep, calming breaths. He could do this. He had to. The Goddess entrusted him with this mission and was relying on him. He was the Hero of Dawn, the Healer of Worlds… He would finish this jam tart and proceed to make the best use of the Goddess-given time he was granted to fix the planet before it was destroyed.

Re-evaluating his timetables, his past self would be ten years old in this world. Not old enough to recognize the glorious warrior he would grow up to become, but certainly old enough to team up. Genesis had been slinging spells and weaving magic before most kids learned how to tie their own shoes. Imbeciles. Shinra would regret every crime they committed while playing god soon enough.

The auburn-haired man lost himself in his thoughts and his latte for several minutes. His eyes radiated frustration. He looked so serious that the wait staff wondered if he was secretly a food critic. No one had ever given such an intense look to their coffee before. And were his eyes...glowing? The barista tried to recall how many shots of espresso he ordered.

To avoid publicly reeling at other jarring revelations about time travel, Genesis tried to focus on the world around him. Find other truths to build on, then look at the whole picture. The leaves of all the flowers in the window were blighted by patches of yellow. A sure sign of being overwatered. The framed photograph of a bridge overlooking the sea was taken in one of the upper sections of Junon, away from the polluted waters mucking up the lower levels. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to the SOLDIER if the images of seabirds on the opposite wall were too. His waitress looked familiar and Genesis still hadn’t placed her. Windswept brown hair, a heart-shaped face, with amber eyes… He had seen her in person and all around Midgar...then it clicked. She was the lead actress in Genesis’s favorite production of Loveless. Or at least she would be in another nine years. He thought the ‘Cinderella story’ of the actress who waited tables until getting discovered was just publicity, but perhaps there was more truth to it than he originally thought?

“Is everything alright, sir?” The future (and finest) Maria asked him, already having schooled her concerned expression into a calming one. Actors learned early. Those Who Wait Tables learned even earlier. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Not at all, my dear,” chuckled the time traveler, secretly answering both questions at once. “This meal has been most enlightening.”

“I’m happy to hear that, sir.”

“Speaking of hearing things, I heard that you are considering a career change?” Genesis gave her a small, but genuine smile. “The stage would make a perfect canvas for you.”

“Nothing’s set in stone,” she replied, expertly covering up the fact that it was creepy as hell that some random stranger knew about her little wish.

“True,” he granted her the point. “But it would be a shame to miss out on every opportunity that comes your way because some insufferable moron at table two needs another coffee refill.”

“How fortunate that you’re sitting in table three, then,” the young woman smiled again and left.

Genesis ended up leaving one of his backup copies of Loveless along with a generous tip for the waitress who would go on to become one of the most talented vocalists he’d ever heard. When he was suffering through his various mako infusions (and Hollander’s half-assed attempts at a cure), her recording of Theme of Love had brought him an uplifting sense of comfort. He stopped short of leaving her a message on not giving up on her dreams because he could hear Angeal laughing at him from beyond the grave, time, and space.

His next stop was the Inn. It would give him a safer place to take stock of all his supplies. Genesis might not be charging in quite yet, but he needed to know what he had on hand and how far his resources could stretch in this era. Inside the modest building were leafy plants and the scent of fresh linen and floor polish. (So good of them to tidy up for him). There were also several more framed pictures of the Junon seaside and marketplace dotting the walls. The local photographer must be a fan.

Had he been in Junon, Genesis may have considered dropping by the Shinra apartment complex to pay Rufus a surprise visit, but it would still be a few years before the blond tried to assassinate his father and end up under house arrest. Which was a shame. If there was anyone on Shinra’s side who understood the value of showmanship, it was Rufus Shinra. They might stand on opposite sides of a great divide, but at least Rufus stood with style.

The general public might argue that Sephiroth also had a sophisticated sense of style, but Genesis knew the truth. The Silver General had an entire PR team dedicated to making him look impressive and mighty 24/7. Sephiroth loathed it. The only trends he set on his own were battle records. Seph was more than happy to slice his way through monster waves in even the most mundane of gear, as long as it was durable and sensible.

And Angeal? The only fashionable clothes he owned were the ones Genesis personally selected and gave him as presents. Stupid, frugal lummox…

He was getting off track.

“Please enjoy your stay,” the little old man at the front desk handed him a key.

“I plan on it.”

The more memories that returned to Genesis (and were filed in chronological order), the more confident he became. Yes, the time element was a bit of a hurdle, but nothing he couldn’t handle. It might even benefit him in the long run. Back in the old world, his hometown had burned, his friends were dead, and the Planet was set to follow… Here, he had opportunity. Here, he could make the greatest impact.

Genesis decided to start with a small, but elite team - himself, obviously. His younger self would be an asset. Angeal and Sephiroth too. They would grow up to become the backbone of Shinra’s military. No sense in giving those bastards another advantage... Whatever else the little SOLDIERs needed to learn to succeed in battle could be taught by himself. And without the need for periodically cutting them open or experimenting on them. They were getting quite a deal, if anything.

He tapped his finger on the table, before reluctantly adding the Puppy to his mental recruitment list. Sure the kid would be Unenhanced at this point in history, but he did have potential. One doesn’t kill Angeal, defeat Genesis (but only because of the Degradation, dammit), and survive a duel with a batsh*t crazy Sephiroth without skill of some sort (and unparalleled dumb luck). Perhaps if he took the kid in soon enough, the brain damage would be minimal. Or at least reversible.

This was quickly becoming a ‘Playing the Long Game’ plan. Unless he came off as a Shinra authority figure, it would take Sephiroth in particular at least a solid six months to take orders from him. Maybe later he’d ally himself with Lazard again, or some Turks, or that comatose, chocobo head that Zack had been so determined to drag around Gaia for months on end… Genesis was pretty sure he was important somehow, but damned if he remembered why.

Regardless, his raid had turned into a retrieval mission. Genesis needed the best of the best for this to work. How fortunate that he knew exactly where Shinra kept their best SOLDIER operatives… It would literally be child’s play to free his younger self, Angeal, and Sephiroth from the devil’s clutches. They could hide out in whatever backwater town the Puppy called home and recruit him while they were at it. If he recalled correctly, Zackary had actual parents, but flashing his old Shinra ID card should more than suffice. It wasn’t as if anyone could refuse the Corporation that bled gold and mako. He could only imagine how quickly his biological parents sold him out as a baby to the highest bidder.

Best not to dwell on that.

Another steadying breath. And then another. He didn’t need to focus on the past any more than he was already reliving. Revenge was in his grasp. Shinra would pay for their crimes. The world would sing his praise. He could rewrite the somber tale of the future into a brighter one…

The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess.

Chapter 2: That's NOT How Adoption Works...

Chapter Text

Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation…

Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation…

The words echoed inside Sephiroth’s mind like a heartbeat only he could hear during the nightly physical exam. He just had to get through a few more steps and he would be done for the day. This was the easiest part of his routine, but today was special. Today the staff added onto his rigorous training with annual skill reviews. Once a year, every inch of his physical and mental state was pushed to their limits. They didn’t just test vital signs, vision acuity, motor reflexes, and breathing. On this day, they tested combat proficiency with every weapon he knew (and some he didn’t), they measured his height and weight compared to his peers (with punishments, should he not be keeping pace with the growth spurts of strangers), and they poked and prodded him with every needle imaginable to evaluate his pain response and ability to complete mentally-straining tasks under pressure.

Every year he had to show progress or there was hell to pay.

It was a date always remembered and recorded, but never celebrated. It was Sephiroth’s birthday. Had the scientists moving about around him had a shred of kindness (or any functioning empathy), they might have wished him a happy tenth birthday.

Just because nothing was done on this day, didn’t mean Sephiroth didn’t understand the significance. Or at least the rituals. He had heard the lab assistants talk about their own birthdays to each other. The boy had overheard chatter of a special meal, presents, and getting together with friends and family. A few mentioned getting ‘hammered’ but Sephiroth didn’t see the appeal in getting attacked by carpenter tools. Did they also have to avoid tape measures and backsaws? Dealing with medical equipment was bad enough. But odd birthday mallets aside, the majority of conversations were positive about birthdays. They were things to look forward to all year.

The boy in the lab never believed his would be celebrated, but it would be nice if at least something out of the ordinary happened…

Sephiroth’s ears picked up an energy surge ringing through the overly excessive wiring like a swarm of homicidal bees. The alarms never had a chance to go off before everything went dark. The Enhanced child’s eyes adjusted easily enough, but the scientists were not happy. Sephiroth could feel the hairs of his skin stand on end. Everyone was acting like it was a routine power failure, but he wasn’t so sure…

Beyond the buzzing, there was another presence in the area and it was not happy.

The emergency lights went on, but flickered as if they might go out at any point. None of the technology was working, all the monitors dying mid-recording. No one could tell how much data was compromised. No one could tell how many heads were going to roll when Hojo found out. Initially, there was more frustration than panic among the staff...until somebody pointed out they couldn’t manually open the lab doors on their own.

As soon as the whitecoats realized they were trapped inside Hojo’s Lab of Horrors like a rat in a cage, the panic spread in waves. Sephiroth backed up against a wall to stay out of the way while the adults raced around him screaming and pounding on every sealed exit. The more feral specimens fed off the chaos and started thrashing around in their cages, sending the scientists into a renewed state of hysteria. If those beasts got out, it would be an all-you-can-eat buffet. Mob mentality kicked in and the staff members started hurling chairs, garbage cans, and whatever wasn’t nailed down at the steel doors to smash their way out.

Naturally, it failed.

Before things got too bad, their wish was granted...sort of. The impenetrable doors were ripped open like a cheap foil wrapper. Sephiroth watched as the door was flung across the room. Fire and lights emerged from the other side, lighting up several labcoats.

Cue a madman storming the place, disguised in a terrible Halloween costume. Or rather, a combination of costumes. Golden chocobo feathers outlined a frightening Malboro mask, an extra large, tattered Tonberry robe adorned the intruder’s unrecognizable frame, complete with Moogle wings, and a dazzling light-up wand to complete the look.

Genesis made it so outrageous that no one would ever suspect it was him.

The SOLDIER’s eyes filtered in the light particles from his majestic wand and the flickering lights to locate Sephiroth within seconds. Without any other powerful auras around him, he knew the other boys were located somewhere else. A quick Scan spell confirmed this...giving him free reign to turn everything else around them into the deadliest rager these little nerds had ever seen.

Sephiroth just stared wide-eyed at the bizarre scene playing out in front of him. His shoulder length hair whipped past his face on the blasts of wind, warmed by the flames. It was almost like an indoor fireworks display. Which would have been cooler if all the beakers and test tubes stopped shattering all around the place. Hojo had never been one for lab safety, so any of those random chemicals could become the propellant that blew this place sky high.

Not that the intruder cared. He actually seemed to be addressing several of the senior scientists by name as he turned the laboratory into an active volcano. Sephiroth could feel his eyes on him before, causing him to duck behind a half-crushed surgical table. He winced, grateful he had been at the Palpation stage of his exam. Sometimes they strapped him to the table for the Inspection portion…

All the screaming and shouting started to trail off. Each scientist was taken by smoke, flame, or blade. Sephiroth pressed his lips together. The metal table started to feel hot to the touch, but retreat meant giving away his location. He would need to get moving quickly, but there were no openings. Everything was happening too fast. The silver-haired boy didn’t know what to make of the masked man who gracefully backflipped over the nearby flames, landing with flourish before him, not a fake feather out of place. The man held out a hand.

“Come with me, if you want to live!”

3 Hours Earlier…

Genesis was never one to linger in the Slums if he could avoid it, but it made tracking him much more difficult...and he fully expected to get Shinra’s attention after today.

He didn’t want to attract any eyes to his style, even if Shinra wasn’t aware of it yet. It would be best to throw them for a loop now and attack them seriously later. He’d need a disguise that no one would ever suspect someone of his standing to even look at. Something so horrible, he wouldn’t normally be caught dead wearing. Walking past a secondhand costume shop, Genesis’s face split into a grin. Everything in the main window was hideous, trashy, and clearly third generation knockoffs of knockoffs.

It was perfect.

Finding exactly what he needed took ten minutes at most. On his way out, Genesis thanked the cashier and carefully wrapped him in a Sleepel while packing up his things. The man would wake up several minutes later, groggy, confused, and not remembering a thing. (Granted, the poorly hidden bottle of whiskey behind the counter implied that happened even without a little magical nudging). Genesis took his rebellion seriously and would not settle for subpar work. That’s how you got Turks on your ass, flying helicopters into your base and bothering you nonstop.

Genesis stuck to a section of the Slums that wasn’t monitored (so...basically everything outside of Sector 5). He waited for the cover of nightfall to pay a visit to Hollander. There was no doubt he was in his “secret” laboratory, which was difficult to reach without clearance...Unless you had a freakishly huge wing that could sprout out of your back and fly you anywhere.

“All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow…”

Tracking down Hollander’s little playfort took less effort that it did to tie one’s boots. At least for Genesis. He could remember the map of secret bunkers the old bastard set up like a constellation over Gaia. They ended up serving as Genesis’s temporary homes over the last few years back in his old world. Even if all of them hadn’t been built quite yet, the SOLDIER was confident the ones around Midgar would be active.

Sure enough, they were. Genesis kicked off the manhole cover like it offended him on a personal level. It seemed fitting that Hollander would want to hide his business from the world like the rat he was. The auburn-haired man dismissed his wing into a flurry of black feathers. He tugged on the Phantom mask that he picked out just for this mission, and began his slow descent into the gloom. Not that he was afraid. Far from it.

Genesis wanted to enjoy this.

Before he could grant the gift of freedom to Sephiroth and the others, Genesis had a few things to take from Hollander. While it was unlikely he’d find Angeal or his younger self here at this hour, his odds of securing military supplies and an EMP for future raids was very good. The heels of his boots tapped out a soft rhythm over the industrial linoleum floors. Genesis wondered if Hollander could hear his own funeral rite playing for him.

Security was as dismal as Genesis remembered, but then again this was Hollander. A viscid slug so paranoid over his work, that he rarely hired human security. Machines might break, but humans will steal all your research and give it to Hojo. His bloated ego kept Hollander believing that he actually had work important enough to steal.

With all their petty rivalries, it was remarkable the Science Department got anything done at all.

“Security alert...Security alert...State your name and—”

The first of several dozen Blast-Rays pulled Genesis from his thoughts and met his blade before it could properly scan him. More tried, and the SOLDIER changed things up by alternating between Thunder magic and swordplay. It was growing a bit dull by the time he emerged from the entrance tunnel, but he didn’t let it completely sour his mood.

Would it have killed that overgrown worm to place a few Cutters or Sweepers to keep things interesting?

He strode down the hall like he owned the place. Which he would shortly, if he chose not to set the place on fire for all the nightmares it dragged to the surface. Some people had bad dreams featuring bloodthirsty monsters, axe murderers, and being chased. Genesis had those too. The primary difference was the setting. He didn’t imagine a misty graveyard or an abandoned warehouse, he remembered this cold, grimy lab. His own memories were far worse than anything his sleeping subconscious could dream up.

It wasn’t long before he was face to face with his final obstacle. One thing stood between him and revenge…

“Your greatest defense is a locked door?” scoffed Genesis, fully aware of the camera on him.

“This door can keep out a flock of Behemoths!” Hollander’s voice spat over the speaker system. “I’d like to see you try to get past it!”

Genesis smiled almost sweetly and kicked the door down like it was made of paper.

“Behemoths travel in packs, you colossal idiot.”

Hollander jolted back, reached into his labcoat for his gun, and fired off five shaky shots at Genesis. The man in red swatted the bullets away with his sword like annoying bugs. It almost wasn’t worth Rapier’s time. Hollander’s eyes nearly bulged right out of their sockets. He tripped over himself trying to get away from the red demon before him, letting out a pained whine from the floor.

“P-Please don’t hurt me!” Hollander soaked the floor he groveled on with tears and mucus. “I-I’ll give you anything! Anything!”

“Pathetic…”

“Did H-Hojo send you?! I’ll pay you d-double whatever he did! I have w-weapons too! Chemicals and Shinra tech too! W-Whatever you want! Just don’t hurt me!”

Genesis wondered if the chicken sh*t in front of him begged and pleaded for his life like this to every hitman coming for his life, or if the SOLDIER was just special. Zack probably granted him a quick death a world away. Genesis wouldn’t be so benevolent.

“Tell you what, you filthy cretin, you can give me something,” Genesis made himself comfortable in the work chair, giving Hollander a false sense of hope. “I want an EMP.”

“O-Of course!” the older man fumbled through his storage shelf, hastily shoving a machine into the monster’s hands. “One Electromagnetic Pulse device, at your s-service!”

“I can tell if it’s good quality or not,” Genesis’s eyes narrowed, as he eyed the capacitors and tapped the antennae to test its durability. “You would do well not to cross me.”

“I-It’s a good one, I swear! I made it m-myself!”

“That doesn’t inspire great confidence in its quality,” snorted Genesis, but deemed the product acceptable. He decided now would be a good time to test it out. Flipping on the switch, the device released a pulse of energy. Genesis didn’t care if the electric or the magnetic energy form was dominant, he just had to see if it worked.

Rotating security cameras went slack and the lights gave way, plunging them both into darkness.

“This will do nicely.”

Any ideas of escape that Hollander came up with completely evaporated upon seeing the assassin’s glowing eyes in the darkness. They actually glowed through the fabric-covered eyeholes of the mask. They were so much like SOLDIER eyes, but impossibly more mako-concentrated. This was eerily similar to what Hojo was hoping to attain with his spawn and the other boys. Hollander would be impressed if he wasn’t so focused on not pissing himself.

“Now then, swine…” Genesis strolled over towards his prey, as if he were walking in daylight. “I have some questions for you.”

He knew that at this stage, both Angeal and this world’s Genesis should be here, when not at the Main Building. They would all be ten and the Banora boys would have arrived a few months ago for a formal ‘education.’ And Shinra was very specific about the education provided to their top labrats - mako infusions, J-Cell co*cktails, a neverending boot camp from hell...the works. Hollander’s lab was always teeming with cell samples and DNA cloning equipment he’d begged for from the Board or stolen from Hojo. And yet...there was zero evidence of Project G here.

Genesis had made a perfect mental picture of the lab before activating the EMP. The place was definitely still a Wererat-infested dump of a lab that only Hollander would claim, but it was housing different projects. Weapons, dying materia, monsters that looked like a taxidermist’s nightmare abound and nothing that glowed. Nothing that creeped or called out to him. Nothing of Project G.

Now that Genesis’s new toy was blocking out the camera feed, he could find out why.

“Where are the kids?”

“The what?”

“Angeal and Genesis. Your Project G specimens.”

It took everything he had not to violently flinch at the title. Hollander had a similar feeling, but for different reasons.

“Hell if I know!”

“You aren’t helping prolong your life.”

“I honestly don’t know! H-Hojo has the reins on them!” he sputtered out, feeling fear crawl back through his bones. “P-Project G was a failure! Who cares what happened to those brats?!”

“Tell me what became of them or you’ll follow a similar fate.”

“Th-They aren’t dead! Both specimens had to b-be reconfigured with S-Cells to remain functional!”

Genesis quirked an eyebrow up at this. In the old world, Hollander lied about Sephiroth’s cells being effective on his degradation and refused to provide him with any. If this world’s Genesis was given S-Cells right away, would his symptoms develop at a slower rate? A part of him hoped he might even be cured. Genesis wouldn’t want to put any version of himself through that again.

“Hojo humiliated me, so he can have those brats who failed me!” Hollander’s fear was losing its edge to the bitter jealousy and anger he held towards his superior. “Thanks to those lead balloons, I have to find another way to best Hojo and win wars for Shinra, so I can claim the Director’s seat!”

That had done it.

“You foolish man…” Genesis felt his blood boil. He removed his mask, crushing it in anger. “You incompetant, half-assed, egotistical sh*t of a man. You want to control the world through science, but you never truly cared about what it could do, did you? Like all the other selfish bastards here, you only cared about what it could give you…”

Hollander’s blood chilled as flames rose from the blade in the SOLDIER’s hand.

“Congratulations. It gave you me.”

What happened next shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the way Hollander screamed like the world was ending (or his apple juice supply had been permanently cut off) implied it was somehow an unforeseeable revelation. Was it really that shocking that his former specimen deemed it appropriate to take him apart piece by piece? It was considerably less painful than being ripped apart at the cellular level to create clones, whose pain was only amplified in their source.

Yes, Hollander really should have seen this coming. Perhaps he was an even worse scientist than Genesis thought. Should he ever find his way back to the future, he’d never be able to apologize enough to Angeal for killing the man before his fellow monster.

That didn’t mean he enjoyed it any less.

Back In The Present…

Sephiroth could only stare at the strange man who was...threatening (?) him with a child’s toy.
The mini-SOLDIER regained his senses and prepared himself for battle. The scientists were always quick to throw him at escaped experiments, after all. This is what he did best. But then the masked man did something strange… He conjured a black wing on the opposite shoulder of Sephiroth’s own.

“I’m like you. I’ve come to free you from this torture!”

Sephiroth contemplated this. Was this another one of Hojo’s tests? The people running around on fire didn’t seem to think so, but it was too early to put it past him.

“If you’re still unsure, you should follow me out of here at least,” Genesis grinned, taking out a bomb from his Tonberry robes. “Because this place is about to blow and I’d rather you not go with it.”

Without another word, he tossed a bomb he ‘borrowed’ at the main computer station, grabbed the kid, and bailed (tossing around a few fireballs for good measure). Genesis had been prepared to use a Sleepel spell on Sephiroth, but the boy was compliant for the moment. Whether that was due to recognizing superior skills or the whole experience creating some kind of natural confusion status effect wasn’t important. The exploding bomb was. The following blast ripped out a new observation deck into the laboratory and made sure that nobody else survived to explain what happened. He waved at the destruction behind him as the curtain closed on another perfect performance.

Since they were leaving nothing behind them but dust, Genesis was hoping Shinra would write Seph off as dead. Theatrics aside, faking one’s death worked better than one might think. And if worse came to worse, the bomb was stolen from Hollander, which would implicate that fat bastard if the Turks went digging deep enough.

He didn’t start the War of Beasts, but he knew how to fight it.

What had started off as another forgotten birthday for Sephiroth ended up with him sitting down at a table in Kalm at some Inn with a spread of unfathomable food in front of him. He could have escaped the man at any time, of course. But in the end, Sephiroth had given into his own curiosity - why was he being abducted? Why was he being handled so carefully? He wasn’t drugged or knocked out, was the man that arrogant? What was this man trying to accomplish? Would this end in a fight? Maybe he—

“Happy Birthday, Seph.”

“What?” the boy blinked. Surely he hadn’t heard his captor/rescuer clearly.

Genesis just grinned at him. Of course he knew his old friend’s birthday. Which is why he made it a point to get him freedom, soft pajamas with racing chocobos on them, unlimited TV, and mountains of junk food...basically, everything Hojo would hate. Judging by all the hesitation in all of Sephiroth’s actions, he knew it too.

“There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess…”

Or at least beloved enough in a state of true sanity that the Goddess deemed him another soul that could be saved. She probably had a different opinion of the Sephiroth who grew up and literally set the world on fire in a previous timeline...but best not to mention that part. Young, impressionable kid and all.

On the other end of the wooden table, Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to process...any of this. The poor boy had gone completely rigid to the point that he couldn’t even speak. The child SOLDIER was more statue than person, cut and sculpted from the strongest slab of Introvertedness. It was similar to his first interaction with his Silver Elite fanclub at one of the Shinra galas back in the old world. He just needed some time to recalibrate. Genesis didn’t seem to mind and talked enough for both of them, between bites of food.

“If you want proof the food isn’t poisoned, I’ll happily demonstrate,” he grinned, reaching for another cookie.

Sephiroth stared at him. His mouth was still fused shut, so his body tried to restart itself via pinpricks of uncomfortable energy at what felt like every nerve ending he possessed. It got his brain back in action, analyzing and calculating. He realized that this scenario must have been premeditated, as Genesis had picked up supplies for him. Cat eyes flickered over the other bags in the corner. The man in red (he removed his ridiculous costume at his earliest convenience) was familiar with him. He knew Sephiroth’s birthday and clothing size. Judging by the other sizes of clothing...two or three other children were also expected.

“Ah, I suppose I should introduce myself. You may call me Genesis.”

A flicker of recognition went through Sephiroth’s eyes, but strict training kept him from voicing that.

“Our similarities don’t end in wings. It would appear we also share the fate of being named by people who should never have been allowed anywhere near children,” he couldn’t help but enjoy himself. If for no other reason than Seph was a pipsqueak and he was finally the tallest of their trio. “There was absolutely no chance of me leaving a fellow child soldier in their hands. You’ve been through more than enough.”

All of this was suspicious, but at the same time Sephiroth felt valued for something other than test results. When had anyone in the Science Division treated him like a human instead of a specimen? Even if the man, Genesis, was a bit...odd, he took the time to get Sephiroth out of the lab before blowing it up because he said Sephiroth was important.

“You said we are alike...what did you mean?”

“The next generation of SOLDIER,” the man pointed to his glowing eyes. “Although, they forgot all about the failure of Project G, which I was a part of, when they gained their masterpiece - you and Project J.”

Sephiroth took another slow bite of food and nodded, accepting the answer. He didn’t fully believe it, of course (Genesis had been dispensing Firaga blasts like the candy machine in the hotel lobby without breaking a sweat), but he didn’t argue.

For his part, Genesis didn’t take Sephiroth’s struggling conversational skills personally. He had gone through it once before, after all. It was humorous to see that both Sephiroths shared the same strategy of coping with inner turmoil by avoiding all modes of communication. Genesis decided to follow in Angeal’s footsteps and keep the attitude of the room light while piling the table high with food. He ended up ordering a skillet’s worth of Banora White Apple Cobbler. Genesis could tell by the label that the fruit preserves came from his family’s orchard. The man laughed at the irony of finally achieving one of his old dreams of serving them to Sephiroth in an epic humblebrag about his own life accomplishments.

“Well...it isn’t quite how I pictured it, but enjoy, Seph. These apples are the best of the best.”

The boy was still wearing his distrust like a second skin, but decided to try the dumbapple dessert.

“Is it good?” Genesis could feel his eyebrows raise.

“It’s...good.”

“The dream came true,” He laughed lightly, more to himself. “Of course they are. See? I told you so.”

Sephiroth still seemed uneasy, even after a taste of freedom (or perhaps, because of it). So it fell to Genesis to put his mind at ease... without grumbling about how Angeal made this look so easy ages ago. He was on a mission from the Goddess. He could handle a socially-stunted preteen.

“You’re probably wondering why I chose the strategy I did to free you, hm?”

“It did seem...highly unprofessional.”

“Unprofessional? Try highly advanced,” he snorted, resisting the urge to flick the kid’s nose. “I played the part of the crazed terrorist to completely throw Shinra off my scent.”

“I thought they didn’t know who you were…”

“Correct, and this way they never will. Those pencil-pushing criminal profilers and idiotic fire inspectors will be looking for a radicalized terrorist cell now, not the two of us,” he smugly smiled, clearly very proud of himself. “I’d be shocked if they didn’t find a way to blame this on AVALANCHE.”

“What’s AVALANCHE?” The word felt strange in Sephiroth’s mouth.

“Hippy protesters at this point, but they’ll figure out what guns are in a few more years,” Genesis waved it off. “What other questions do you have?”

Naturally, Sephiroth asked where Genesis got all his intel and Enhancements. There were SOLDIERs around already, but none at the man in red’s calibur. The boy tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear, a nervous tic the other swordsman picked up on. Even as a child, Sephiroth wasn’t used to being outclassed.

“Hm. Unfortunately, I can’t go into many details because I want to give you a chance to join me or walk away,” Genesis admitted. “Either way, you have the shot at freedom you rightfully deserve. The wind sails over the water's surface, quietly, but surely.”

Before Sephiroth could open his mouth to protest or ask something else, he was interrupted. Because Genesis loved to talk.

“But the gist of it is I was a Shinra guinea pig who was granted freedom in exchange for agreeing to save the Planet, and the best way to do that is to take down Shinra for all the pain they’ve wreaked upon Gaia and its people.”

This concept was harder for Sephiroth to understand, the slight tremble in his shoulders made that abundantly clear. Genesis bit back a frown. He had rehearsed this in his head several times already (although he had anticipated Angeal and ten year old Genesis would also be present), he wasn’t about to fail here.

“Why don’t you think it over with more food, hm?” Genesis slid another helping of pastry cakes coated with dumbapple jam towards the birthday boy. “I appreciate your power and skills, which could be very helpful in taking down Shinra when the time comes.”

Now that they’d crossed the Straight-Up Treason threshold, Sephiroth was starting to lose his grip. There were too many changes in such a short time that neither his mind or physical self was ready for. Science had put him through the wringer earlier and not even the soft jammies could lessen the blow of even considering treason. Crimes like these had been hard-wired into his brain as serious dangers to avoid (in place of more practical dangers, like Hojo). His hand twitched, wishing he could reach for one of the practice swords he was given during combat lessons. Using it would be ill-advised in this situation, but he always felt more comfortable with a sword at his side.

Grasping at straws, Genesis spent the next hour calming Sephiroth’s nerves by discussing when to use the textbook Flying Wedge formation over the calvary-repelling Hollow Square, and warzone extractions so professional, a Turk would take notes. It seemed like a weird topic to walk into, but helped Sephiroth feel more comfortable. Some kids liked lullabies and nursery rhymes and some kids liked tactical battle formations and sword katas, whatever worked.

In the end, Genesis was able to recruit Sephiroth.

The mini SOLDIER didn’t want to go back to daily torture and Hojo—a man who should come with his own warning label. Sephiroth could tell from Genesis’s brief description of his own time as a Shinra experiment that he’s the real deal (or at least went through something similar). He was also surprisingly honest, a trait Sephiroth didn’t normally associate with adults.

Genesis wanted to help the Planet for saving him. That took a lot of power. Sephiroth had a lot of power, but he didn’t know how much he wanted to use to strike back at Shinra. He didn’t know anything beyond the Shinra Building…

“It’s horrible how much Shinra deprived you of things they shouldn’t,” Genesis gave him an almost-pitying look while he inwardly tried to calculate what the boy’s currency was. If he could identify that he could convince him to join his cause…

But Sephiroth didn’t know what Genesis was talking about specifically. How could he? More than revenge, Sephiroth wanted answers. He wanted to know what he had ‘missed out on,’ the motivations of the company that raised him, and every scrap of info he could get about his real parents.

The more he realized Genesis could provide those answers, the easier it became to walk away. Maybe Hojo would believe Sephiroth was killed in the blast, it wasn’t like him or the others would care...as long as he didn’t get caught.

But to be fair, even if he was dragged back, they couldn’t do much worse to him than they already had.

Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation…

Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation…

The words inside his head came faster and faster to match his already anxious heart. Tonight would be the first time in recent memory that Sephiroth wouldn’t be required to complete his nightly exams. It felt a bit strange to stray from routine after so many years, but he didn’t think he would miss the cold stethoscopes and reflex hammers designed for SOLDIERs, not children.

The boy who would become a man-made Calamity finally fell asleep shortly after midnight. For the first time in his life, his blankets were warm and his pillow was soft. Genesis watched him for a few moments while finishing off the bottle of wine he bought himself as a reward for a job well done. The time traveler thought it would be much harder to sell his pitch.

‘Shinra must really be stepping up their torture game this time…’

All the same, it was his first of many victories.

Chapter 3: Gen Spills the Tea

Chapter Text

Sephiroth woke up feeling like he had lumps of rotting garbage piled in his stomach the following day. Whether it was the type of less nutritious ‘junk food’ Genesis gave him or the sheer amount of it, Sephiroth was unsure, but he did know that he wouldn’t be making that mistake again. The snacks were delicious, but moderation would be key if Genesis offered him more. With some effort, the silver-haired boy was able to keep everything in his belly. He was less than thrilled with his introduction to the term ‘gut rot.’

Taking his mind off of the nausea helped. Sephiroth was mesmerized watching the sunlight spill into the room. Genesis had allowed him to draw open the curtains, bringing in more of the warm light. Sephiroth had been in the field for training a few times before, but never was he able to simply lie in the sun, soaking it up like a content housecat. He stayed like that, curling and uncurling his toes for several minutes.

Then Genesis called him over from the other side of the room. His voice had a lilt to it, as if he was trying to sound more kindly than he actually was. This was the tone people used to make an inconvenient task sound fun and exciting. Sephiroth approached, eyeing the bottle of hair dye with disdain. He did not like where this was going, but remained silent. Bad things happened when he questioned authority, which Genesis technically was.

...Even if he did run around committing treason dressed up like a badly dressed eldritch abomination.

“Good morning, Seph~ How would you like to learn more advanced survival tactics for urban establishments?”

“Listen, sir. I completely respect the fact that you’re...insane, but—”

“I’m not insane, you’re not insane, and this is going to help you blend in better!” came the annoyed response. All the honey had dripped away from his previous tone. “Now, hand me that old newspaper.”

“I never implied that I was insane…” the boy grumbled, but obeyed.

Genesis was just grateful it was shoulder-length hair at this point. In the Old World, the Silver General’s hair was longer than some people were tall. That would make a quick dye-job much more of a chore. The man continued pulling apart newspaper pages to set on the ground like carpet shields. No need to stick the staff with a complicated clean-up. Those always raised questions.

Sephiroth could see the appeal in some changes - alternating materia, upgrading equipment, or perhaps faster travel routes…but hair color seemed extreme. It was so drastically different from what he already had. Not to mention…

“Why are you making that face?” Genesis asked, looking over his shoulder, mid-hair salon prep.

“...Sorry, sir.”

The box advertised a beautiful woman with shiny black hair, but somehow Sephiroth only saw Hojo’s beady eyes mocking him from behind scraggly locks of black hair. It was almost as unsettling as the mounds of junk food rotting inside his stomach. Would this make him more like Hojo too? Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to verbalize this.

“Tch, I told you to call me Genesis.”

“Right.”

The taller SOLDIER set down the hair dye kit and stared him down, analyzing the boy for answers. He then heaved a sigh.

“It’s not permanent, Seph. Even the best dye doesn’t stick around long with mako in our systems,” explained Genesis. He decided against telling the boy which pranks were involved in him learning that knowledge. “In fact, it’s more temporary than temporary hair dye. It’ll last three days tops. Just enough time to leave the Midgar area and stay under Shinra’s radar.”

Sephiroth glanced away, not sold. Genesis frowned.

“Does the color...remind you of someone else?”

The boy meekly nodded.

“One day soon, I will introduce you to someone with black hair who embodies all of humanity’s best virtues into one exhaustive package of a person. The living embodiment of Honor! He’s essentially the exact opposite of Hojo.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and if you’re good, I’ll introduce you to his future apprentice too.”

“Is he also like that?”

“He’s the Goddess’s most perfect idiot,” Genesis snorted. “But he’s not half-bad with a sword. Or at least he will be by the time his Mentor is done with him.”

“...How do you know they will work together in the future?”

“Well, funny story there, Seph…”

Genesis learned quickly that the most effective way to further throw Sephiroth into a near anxiety attack was to force a distinctive physical change on him, and then tell the kid time travel stories between coating the hairline and hair dye application steps. While waiting for the dye to set, he tried breaking the ice with tales of three SOLDIERS who were able to throw their own swords through dumbapples placed atop the head of another. When that failed to win any smiles, Genesis tried telling Sephiroth about the time he fought a literal Ghost Ship monster, rowing skeleton and all. Growing desperate, he even tried recalling some of the Puppy’s more humorous assignments gone wrong. Because who doesn’t love hearing about fighting off an actual armed invasion with a beach umbrella?

Sephiroth, that’s who.

‘Maybe I’m telling these wrong…?’ the man began to doubt his own storytelling abilities for a moment. He shook his head. Of course not. The boy just didn’t have enough of a connection to the characters yet. Hell, this kid looked like he didn’t have a connection to anything but his chair at the moment.

Poor Sephiroth hadn’t moved from his spot in the last 15 minutes and Genesis had stopped talking 10 minutes ago. Not even fresh tea could rouse him from his stupor. How could Genesis properly tease him about looking silly sitting around in a shower cap and towel cape? Something needed to be done.

“Want to see your new look?” He asked, flashing a mirror. “Turned out excellent, considering I’ve never done this before!”

“...No.”

“No?” Genesis repeated, connecting the dots as he watched Sephiroth fiddle with a strand now-black hair that escaped the constraints of its shower cap prison. “I already told you that you look nothing like him.”

Genesis didn’t know who Seph’s actual mom was, but the General owed her a great deal for passing on her good looks. He was downright blessed that her genes triumphed over Hojo’s...but since Genesis couldn’t recall when Sephiroth heard about his father’s identity, he didn’t want to say anything at the moment.

“Look, no matter what color it is, your hair has more volume in one strand than Hojo’s entire head,” Genesis assured him. “And that hack scientist might know what conditioner is, but he clearly never learned how to use it.”

“...I don’t either,” the boy admitted in a quiet voice.

“Then we’ll fix that,” his new hair stylist shoved a bottle into Sephiroth’s hand. It was a similar vanilla-scented Shampoo/Conditioner set that Shinra had made for the General in the future. He had picked it up on his earlier shopping adventure, because he knew his friend liked the scent, even if he’d never admit it. Here’s to hoping it made the kid feel more comfortable and helped make up for the impromptu dye job.

“How do I use it?”

“Lather, rinse, and repeat. Always repeat.”

One successful dye-job later found Sephiroth sitting on a chair, attempting to run a comb through his hair. The stuff Genesis had given him to detangle it helped, but the boy was less familiar with the variety of combs and brushes before him. It reminded him of the last Shinra gala he was sent to, when he sat at the dinner table and saw no less than eight eating utensils surrounding his plate. Since he didn’t have a model to follow, he started at the far left with a comb and moved to the right.

Genesis occupied himself with giving Sephiroth a brief rundown of how the hell he got here from his old timeline.

“Now that we’re on the same side, I feel it’s acceptable for you to understand how I came to be here.”

“Your...parents?”

“And here I thought your sense of humor didn’t develop until you hit puberty.”

“What?”

“Nevermind, anyway, this will sound a bit crazy, but I can assure you that it’s the truth,” Genesis began. “Tea?”

Sephiroth already didn’t like the sound of this. Anything deemed crazy by a man willing to commit treason against a mega-corporation in mismatched Halloween costumes was bound to be sheer madness. The formerly silver-haired boy took a small breath and nodded his head, preparing for the onslaught of crazy.

“I’m from the future.”

“What?!” Sephiroth couldn’t help himself.

“Don’t interrupt, let it steep like the tea,” he hushed the boy, refilling both cups. “Yes, I am from about 15 years into the future. And trust me, it isn’t a bright one.”

But he’d get into that later.

“You might have heard of my younger self at this point in your life - Genesis Rhapsodos. He’s ten years old like you and eventually we became friends while in the SOLDIER program.”

Through a considerable amount of mediation on Angeal’s part.

“Like I said last night, you were a part of Project J - the success story. I was a part of Project G - the failed project.”

Sephiroth instantly had questions sprouting on top of other questions, but remained silent.

“I was Enhanced with Mako and G-Cells instead of undiluted J-Cells, which made me very powerful, but at a price - cellular degradation.”

This time Genesis took a small breath. He realized his hand was shaking ever so slightly. Setting the teacup down before Sephiroth noticed, he feigned interest in his own hair. It dawned on him then that he hadn’t really talked about this to anyone besides Angeal and later the Fugitive Puppy, and those had mostly been monologues he’d crafted to kill time, not actual conversations. It didn’t feel right for him to make himself vulnerable after returning to the height of power, but Sephiroth had this funny tendency to fly into a murderous rage when facts were twisted or kept from him, so Genesis wanted to at least try to be as honest as he could for now.

“I was a model SOLDIER for many years, until one day my body stopped healing itself properly. It went downhill from there. My friend, the fates are cruel… I only survived as long as I did because I was as strong as I was.”

Sephiroth had stopped brushing his hair. Honestly why he had switched back to a brush instead of a comb to work out the knots was beyond him. The touchy subject had spiked Genesis’s impatience, so this wasn’t helping.

“Hang on. You’re taking forever,” Genesis motioned to the space in front of him, grabbing a comb in the process. “Sit here and I’ll do it.”

Sephiroth frowned. He was uncomfortable about someone touching his hair (or any part of him). It was difficult enough to sit still while Genesis had gloves on to work the dye into his hair earlier. And giving his back to a combat-proficient stranger? Forget it! …But when had his opinion ever mattered before? Reluctantly, he moved his chair.

“Okay, I think it would be best to tell you about the future in small doses to make it less overwhelming,” stated Genesis, already combing his way through the now-black hair. It also gave him more time to collect his thoughts as they returned to him once again. Flighty things, those memories.

“Now then...Shinra’s highly esteemed Science Department…”

Sephiroth could tell by the periodic, slightly more forceful tugs on his hair at certain points that Genesis didn’t care for that particular memory. Still, he went along with it to get answers. For once there was an adult giving him actual answers about something.

“It’s been run by Hojo, that miserable pile of Doomrat sh*t for as long as I can remember,” Genesis continued on. Hojo was a key player, but the SOLDIER had to bring the conversation back to himself. He tried to vague things up a little to avoid sending Seph down any dark roads. “Which has only been trouble for the Planet. As you know, he’s not the most humane of people to be in power. He doesn’t care who or what he hurts for the sake of his warped science.”

Sephiroth could attest to that.

“The one I had the misfortune of knowing better was Hollander,” he spat the name out. “He’s cut from the same inhumane cloth as Hojo, but less successful. Which spun him on an envious track that could rival just about any aging actor who has watched a younger lead role perform and wish they got into the industry sooner themselves.”

Sephiroth had no idea what that industry was, but it probably wasn’t important.

“Project J was always three steps ahead of Project G, so much of my teenage years were spent playing catch-up with a psychopath at the helm, willing to risk the sanity, safety, and lives of everyone else around him,” Genesis could feel the frown cutting into his face deeper. “He didn’t care if he hurt me, or his subordinates, or even his own son ...as long as he got results.”

The SOLDIER didn’t realize he had punctuated his statement by knocking over his teacup.

“Dammit,” Genesis shook the tea puddle off of his gloves. It never crossed his mind not to swear around the kid. After everything he’d been through, it was difficult to see Sephiroth as a kid.

The kid in question looked away from it all. Pointing out the mistakes of a superior officer never ends well. In a swift action, the man had mopped up the spilled tea with a small stack of napkins.

Genesis quickly wrapped up the discussion of degradation for a more positive one - liberation at the hands of the Goddess. He wanted Sephiroth to know there was a light at the end of the very long, very dark tunnel.

“Not for the first time in my life, Loveless had pulled through for me. My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey in my own salvation,” he smiled fondly. “It was the guiding light that led me to that salvation.”

The boy, having long since moved his chair back to a more comfortable distance during the story, tilted his head to silently ask how.

“With some inspired recasting, I was able to recreate the meeting of the trio of friends from Loveless in my world,” Genesis closed his eyes. Some of those memories were still a little hazy, but he remembered that Zack succeeded Angeal and carried S-Cells from Sephiroth. He’d call it a reunion, but something felt... odd about that word. “I located the Goddess materia and the Goddess herself answered my prayers.”

“...You’re certain it wasn’t a Summon?” Sephiroth couldn’t help but ask. Hojo always frowned upon any ‘spiritual garbage’ that couldn’t be proven or defined by science.

“No Summon could heal my degradation, believe me I tried,” the man felt a warm smile emerge like the soft light of the deity who freed him from his suffering. “This was the Goddess of our Planet. She saved me because she had a mission for me…”

“To stop Shinra?”

“Right on the money,” Genesis grinned at his old/young friend. “You must right the sins of the past to prevent World’s End… Become the dew that quenches the land to spare the sands, the seas, the skies… And heal this world to bring forth a new age of enlightenment…”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s what I’m interpreting. They were her exact words to me,” the taller SOLDIER explained, still remembering the feeling of hearing the words of the Goddess with his soul, rather than his ears. “Shinra was the cause of the world’s destruction in my time, so I was sent back here to stop them and prevent one global disaster after another. It’s the only way our Planet can survive and evolve. Imagine if we didn’t find the Promised Land...what if we turned the entire Planet into the Promised Land?”

“Why would she ask you to do that?” It was asked without malice, but didn’t stop Genesis from feeling the tiniest bit offended.

“Because she chose me,” came his reply. This was his story, Loveless reborn, the hidden act sealed away until the time was right.

“But why?”

“Because I was always destined to be the hero,” Genesis said with the utmost conviction. “How could I be anything less?”

It gave Sephiroth a lot to think about. It still sounded crazy, decreeing Shinra to be the source of all the world’s evil…and yet he could tell by the man’s expressions and heartbeat that he was telling the truth. Or at least Genesis believed what Genesis was saying. He might sound more like a Judge than a Hero, but good luck trying to recast the diehard Loveless fan once his mind was made up.

“You sound like the Genesis Rhapsodos I know…” he allowed.

“You speak as though we already know each other,” the man chuckled.

“I should. I met the Genesis of this time several years ago.”

“Several... years?”

Now this had the auburn-haired man’s attention. Sure, they had met around age ten from a distance at some Shinra gala in the Old World...but this Sephiroth seemed pretty confident he already had been introduced to Genesis’s younger self (as one does not forget meeting any form of Genesis Rhapsodos). Which didn’t sit well with him, as he and Angeal weren’t supposed to catch Shinra’s eyes until they were nine… They were supposed to have a fairly normal childhood up until then (minus Genesis’s birth and initial rejection from the G Project in infancy). If Shinra had showed up early in this world…

“What about Angeal Hewley?”

“Yes, he was with you each time,” Sephiroth amended his statement. “The version of you that I met years ago.”

This was not good. This was Doorbulls rampaging through Loveless Theater levels of bad. This required answers that neither he or Seph had. Genesis had a short list of people he could trust, but Gillian Hewley was near the top of it. She should be able to shed some light on this massive oversight.

“Seph, you should finish your breakfast and pack your things, we’re going on a trip!” Genesis forced a smile.

“Where?”

“Banora Village.”

“I haven’t heard of it.”

“Not a surprise,” Genesis rolled his eyes. “Nobody ever has.”

Sephiroth nodded and set about organizing things to pack (the thought of even more food made his stomach turn).

“Ah, but I didn’t tell you the best part…” the man grinned, feeling more genuine this time. Once the dramatic pause had done its job, he finished with gusto. “—We’re flying there!”

Any other person saying that and Sephiroth would assume an aircraft would be involved.

“Are you sure you don’t want your tea?” Genesis gestured to the half-empty cup.

Sephiroth didn’t want tea. He wanted the world to make sense again.

Back in the Center for Everything Wrong With The World (i.e. The Shinra Building), Hojo was losing his damned mind. The aftermath of the terrorist attack was deplorable, to say the least. The Director of Science walked past the medical tables filled with various bins. Some were marked, some were not. Some were human, some were not. Whatever remains could be found in the destroyed lab were brought directly to him.

“Wasteful…” he ground his teeth angrily. He had research to be conducted and here he was sacrificing his valuable time to dig through sub-par body parts like some kind of scavenger. Only Hojo’s dedication to Jenova drove him to press on, despite his other duties.

While he’d like to think his most prized specimen, the torchbearer of the Jenova Project, could survive a little firebombing, he was nothing if thorough. If the specimen survived, he would put him under stricter precautions. And if he didn’t...Well, every part of his body contained J-Cells. Which meant every part of his remains would be harvested and used to the benefit of the next generation of Jenova’s children.

As Hojo was angrily planning out how much of a setback that would involve (years and years of research and training down the drain!) a shivering intern approached him with a tablet in hand.

“What is it?” the head scientist snapped at him the way a Zuu might snap at its prey. “Speak!”

“Th-This is what they could scrape together of the bombing via bio-footage, sir…”

Well…’footage’ might’ve been an overstatement. One of the Materia Developers had pried the visual from a Zenene specimen’s memory. Hojo wasted no time in snatching it up and all but ripped the unlucky intern’s arm off in the process.

It was grainy, unreliable, and faulty. The pathetic beast was too frightened to keep looking at the intruder. And yet, Hojo could see blond spikes poking out from the ridiculous man’s so-called disguise. Further footage showed advanced materia skills and clear mako Enhancements. The man made his way directly for Sephiroth, clearly the intended target before the transmission was lost and the beast was sent flying into a wall by the force of the explosions. That distance was the only thing that kept the animal alive long enough for a scientist to rip out its memories via new support materia and digitalize it using Hojo’s own program.

A hideous grin screwed itself onto Hojo’s face. He brought his hands behind his back and cackled. The intern (who wanted to continue breathing) instinctively tried to shield himself with the tablet, scrunching his eyes shut. If he was lucky, the device would take the brunt of whatever Hojo released.

“My, my...what an unexpected development…”

“Sir?” The intern cracked open an eye.

“Out of my way, filth!” Hojo shoved past him. “I have a plane to catch.”

He adjusted his schedule for the remainder of the week and left for Gongaga with another cackle.

Chapter 4: Apple Juice

Chapter Text

Any more tasks to complete in Banora and Genesis was going to have to make a to-do list on the Inn’s complementary stationary. Several pages had already been removed by other travelers. No doubt reminding themselves to pick up supplies, fix their gear, and restock their medical kits.

How Genesis envied the simplicity of those journeys.

He thought his quest would be comparably easy. He was wrong. Extremely, undividedly, very, very wrong. Somewhere along the way, the time-space continuum had a little hiccup (or possibly a seizure) and now his younger self and best friend were already in the hands of Shinra scientists, his personal funds had been displaced, and Sephiroth had sprouted a wing about a decade too early…

Genesis had been more than a little surprised when he found out the boy could already manifest his own wing. Initially, the SOLDIER thought Sephiroth’s mimicry game was above average upon seeing Genesis’s own wing, but the skill Sephiroth used to navigate the skies, adjusting individual feathers, and overall speed indicated otherwise. That could only be learned through practice.

So here they were, off to save some kids, secure less-traceable funds, and throw Shinra off their tracks. Genesis felt the familiar whoosh of the ground leaving him and the sky embracing him. No need to worry about an audience today. The darkening rain clouds covered them. They crossed the country as ghosts; silently, swiftly, leaving no footsteps.

On the dirt road leading to Gillian’s house, Genesis took stock of Banora. It was certainly a trip down memory lane, except for the apple juice factory. That entire building appeared unused. What a disappointment. He had planned on picking up some apple juice for Sephiroth to try back in Kalm, but they didn’t have any. Even here, there were no advertisem*nts for it or roadside stands selling it (which was odd, given that it was supposed to be their primary export). He shelved the thoughts away for later.

“We’re almost there,” Genesis informed his companion.

“Yes, sir.”

“Genesis,” he corrected him. Scrutinizing the kid, he decided to elaborate. Sephiroth clearly had more questions, but the behavior ‘lessons’ drilled into his brain were for obedience, not opinions.

“We’re going to go talk to Dr. Gillian Hewley about some of the differences between what happened in my world and what’s happening here,” explained Genesis. “Any questions, Seph?”

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Seph?’”

“It’s a nickname, of course,” the man shrugged at the question. “You know what a nickname is, right?”

“Nicknames are for people whose names don’t fit them properly,” the boy responded. He’d never had one before for that exact reason. Even before he was born, they had measured him. Perfection was the requirement, resizing was never an option.

“Nicknames are given to people by their friends, that’s why Hojo has no idea what they actually mean,” Genesis countered, a grin forming on his face. “The only friends that old bastard ever had became science experiments.”

Sephiroth let the conversation die off. Presumably like Hojo’s friends. Moments later, they walked sleepy streets to the Hewley home. Genesis used the same ‘secret’ knock he did as a child. He hoped Shinra hadn’t spirited his younger self away before it became a ritual in this world.

“Yes?” Gillian answered cautiously (and who wouldn’t be suspicious of unexpected visitors in this town?)

“Good morning, Mrs. Hewley,” Genesis offered her a smile. “I’m a friend of Angeal’s and a big fan of the Dumbapple Pancake recipe you taught him…may we come in?”

The Hewley home was as basic as Genesis remembered, but there seemed to be a few more gadgets and gizmos lying about. A faint mechanical humming noise echoed from some kind of equipment down the hallway. The recently freed lab rat boy went into panic-mode. Whether it would end in fight, flight, or freeze was anyone’s guess. Genesis wanted to groan. He hadn’t thought of this. Sephiroth having a meltdown in the middle of nowhere wouldn’t help anyone.

“Here, dear,” Gillian slid the portable radio towards Sephiroth. “You can pick the station for your visit.”

Sephiroth accepted the offered device, uncertainty floating in his eyes like algae in a pond. Hojo had always taught him that music was just a frivolous distraction fools used to escape their work. It accomplished nothing. It proved nothing. It was useless. And engaging with useless things wasted valuable time and earned a strict punishment.

“Go on, dear,” nodded the kindly woman, quickly piecing together Sephiroth’s hesitation. “I give you permission to use it.”

But Genesis said Dr. Hewley used to be a scientist. It wouldn’t be breaking the rules if a scientist told him to do so…right? It had even been another scientist at Sephiroth’s last Shinra gala who explained to him how different instruments worked (her research involved sound waves). The woman had kept the conversation purely academic, but Sephiroth had savored every detail and new sound he learned that night.

Sephiroth slowly began fiddling with the radio, exploring different channels. He’d skip through ads, but pause to listen to each song he encountered to completion. Some resonated with him better than others, but he wanted to give each one an equal opportunity to impress him. For now, he was successfully redirected.

The SOLDIER shot the scientist a grateful look, over Sephiroth’s shoulder.

He began explaining his impossible story to Gillian, who was strangely cool about time travel (although she called it Quantum Transit). She actually smiled between sips of coffee, recalling a colleague’s research on the topic. None of it was ever proven until now, but the theories and possibilities were endless.

Some of the talk rattled Sephiroth’s brain. He realized he must not have fully processed some of the details before. What he had no problem processing was the fact that Dr. Hewley used to be a Shinra scientist. She used to be a Shinra scientist and Genesis brought them right to her. Just when he’d finally grown accustomed to the idea of leaving Shinra, his so-called savior led him back to the exact kind of person who could report his location to Hojo.

Sephiroth managed to slowly convince himself that Genesis wouldn’t do that. Airy flutes changed to fast-paced guitar strumming. Not after he knew what Sephiroth had gone through in the labs. Not after going through similar trials and torture himself. Guitar blasts changed to soft piano. Sephiroth didn’t have to trust this former scientist. He just had to trust that Genesis knew what he was doing and wouldn’t allow anyone to take them back to Shinra in cages and chains.

Having settled on a jazz station he hoped would cover up his erratic heartbeat with percussion of its own, Seph busied himself by drinking the milk Mrs. Hewley provided. Genesis also drank some, so the boy deemed it safe. He was trained to pick out most poisons by their smell. For the odorless ones, well, they didn’t affect him much at this point. The Mako in his system burned up most toxins before they even had a chance of making him dizzy.

Genesis and Gillian shared a short laugh about some joke Sephiroth missed. Shaking his head, he tried to refocus. He was still a little hurt that Genesis was sitting around explaining everything clearly to some random adult over the person he was supposed to be teaming up with. Maybe grown-ups always stick together? The grown-ups at the lab always sided against him too.

“And what happened to Banora?” Gillian asked. “You’re aware this village is a Shinra site to monitor their side projects, yes?”

“Painfully aware, yes,” replied the card-bearing member of one of those side projects. “There’s no real delicate way to put this, but…about ten years from now, Shinra had the entire area bombed. They covered it up completely.”

“What was the catalyst?” Gillian’s mouth formed a grim line. She had her suspicions, but had to make sure.

“Hm?”

“Shinra isn’t above decimating land and feeding propaganda to the masses, but they’re always motivated to do so,” she tapped an angry rhythm on her walking cane. “Banora has plenty of secrets that Shinra wants to keep hidden away, I want to make sure Project G wasn’t one of them.”

Genesis could feel the tension rise from both of the people in the room with him. Much more and he could probably cut it with Rapier.

“It was…my fault.”

“How so?”

“My degradation had eaten away at both my body and mind,” Genesis continued his dance with truth and withholding information. “By then I became a threat. I had set up a base here and Shinra forces came to eradicate that threat.”

“In what way was setting up a base here a degradation side effect?” Gillian arched an eyebrow. “A predictable decision, perhaps, but not necessarily a poor one, given the right leverage.”

Oh this was quite the dilemma. How best to explain his previous G Project coping mechanism of killing the whole damned village, save for Gillian, without driving her to suicide (again) over her involvement in one of the devil’s science fair projects, all while using terms appropriate for a traumatized ten year old?

“Let me just say that Hollander is an absolute bastard.”

Gillian acted with speed surprising a SOLDIER. One minute, she was sitting in her chair in quiet deliberation, and the next she had a kitchen knife in hand and words for Hollander. Genesis gently took the knife away, passing it off to the kitchen countertop for safe keeping. With all the grace of a falling feather, he guided her back to her chair.

Naturally, he still counted this as a win, since any expressed interest in murdering Hollander was a positive reaction in Genesis’s book. He’d be sure to give her the full story when Seph was out of earshot another time. For now, he assured her that karma caught up with her horrid ex-husband. He gave her a quick wink and her smile confirmed that she understood and would bring the tea and biscuits for that conversation.

“And this boy? Another victim of Hollander’s?”

“No. Worse—Hojo.”

“You poor thing…”

Gillian gave him a look of pity laced with empathy. She knew firsthand how ungodly painful the undiluted Jenova cells could be. Horrible. Gillian had seen things in her head that she’d never be able to unsee. On the dark nights just after Angeal was taken, when she’d truly hit rock bottom, Gillian had heard something reach out to her. It was less of a voice and more of a dripping sensation. Like the IV she was hooked up to was delivering poison instead of medicine. It echoed in the back of her head, dripping words that dissolved the barrier of her psyche on their way into her mind. Making promises in exchange for allegiance… But even in her despair, Gillian refused to make another deal with the devil. Her contract with Shinra had been devastating enough. Eventually, the voices stopped. As if Gillian had outgrown her use.

It was only years later that she realized that presence was likely Jenova.

Gillian also knew that Jenova cells matured with their host body. She was a young woman when she was infused with them, but well past puberty. Gillian’s Jenova cells could only advance and evolve so much. But in a child? How did the cells develop in a fetus? Or did Jenova have him since the embryonic stage? Between all the rapid growth a fetus goes through in the womb and the fact that the human brain develops more in the first five years of life than any other stage, the Jenova cells would have evolved with him at astronomical levels. Did Sephiroth gain more power for every growth spurt he had? Or did the voices take more power away from him in exchange for strength? Gillian feared what adolescence would bring on this boy…

Sephiroth didn’t like being watched so closely, but when he met Gillian’s gaze he understood. She didn’t know him, but she knew something about him. Sephiroth had been indulging himself with questions ever since Genesis freed him from the labs. They were forming so fast he could barely contain them. Did this lady also have answers he sought? He just had to work up the courage to ask…

‘Well, sh*t.’

Genesis could feel himself beginning to sweat. Gillian knew what Jenova was. Or at least enough to know it wasn’t human. Sephiroth was told his mother’s name was Jenova. He absolutely could not have this or any other conversation concerning that parasite until he had solid evidence of who Sephiroth’s real mother was (because ‘is’ would be a stretch for Shinra’s Science Department).

“Hey, Seph, how about you go secure the perimeter?” Genesis asked, keeping his voice even. “Just in case.”

Sephiroth breezed by them, willing to perform the required task, but quickly, so he didn’t miss much. As he walked by Gillian, her eyes went wide and glassy. The knuckles gripping her chair and walking cane turned a ghostly white. Sound tried to escape from her throat, but could not. It was all Genesis could do to remain calm until the child had closed the door behind him.

“Gillian…?”

“They’re… burning…”

“What?” The SOLDIER had never seen her like this.

With practiced ease, Gillian pulled a small notepad out from her apron pocket and started scribbling furiously. Her eyes were still unfocused, but her hands knew what to do. Genesis glanced at the notes, unable to make sense of them. Once her episode had faded away, he let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“What was that?”

“That was…my J-Cell side effect…”

“Your what?” Genesis blinked. “You haven’t been given infusions in a decade, how do you still have side effects?”

“That’s the difference between getting your cells straight from the beast and getting a donation from someone else…” the woman answered. “I’m a bit sturdier and heal faster than average humans, but what I hid from Shinra were the visions…”

“Visions…?” Genesis did not like where this was going. It bothered him that this was becoming a recurring theme for him.

“Limited precognition with fire as incitement,” explained the former scientist. “I can see various events in the future that involve significant amounts of fire. That’s why I was surprised when you said Banora burned and you took the blame. You were sincere about your efforts to protect it, because I didn’t pick up on it at all with you.”

“Are you saying it’s prevented?” It was almost too much to hope for.

“For now, yes. I don’t foresee it happening anytime soon,” she reassured him. “Of course the future can change in an instant, but things like that are usually very clear.”

“Then…what did you see from Sephiroth?”

Gillian told him of a village in the snow catching fire at night. Smoke so black and thick, it blocked out the mountains. Of a man in black carrying a bloodied sword walking through a wall of flames. Then the skies of Midgar blazing orange and red on a dark night as a meteor the size of a moon loomed over it and fell. It might’ve been easier to simply show him the Vision, but Gillian still remembered how terrible that ended the first time she tried projecting a copy of her Vision onto another human…

Genesis didn’t understand the second half of the Vision, but was able to identify Nibelheim by the description. He had seen it from afar all those years ago. He had watched his former friend descend into madness and not do a thing about it… All because he wanted to see Sephiroth fail, so he could finally rise above him…

“Then…that’s going to happen here too…?”

“Perhaps not.”

Relief washed over the Commander like a flood. Gillian explained that if her Visions are clear, they are very difficult to change. However, when a Vision is blurry, wavers, or otherwise unclear, that indicates it’s not set in stone. She saw the Vision around Sephiroth because they were so significant, but both were fuzzy, like watching a TV show with a broken antennae. Both outcomes were horrible, but still preventable with the right intervention.

“Genesis…What was that?” she asked him as the front door opened back up. Sephiroth had returned with the all clear.

“...A future I’m going to prevent.”

Sephiroth had been curious as to what the two adults had been discussing. The room had taken on a much more somber tone than he’d left. Both Genesis and Gillian had continued discussing Angeal and the Genesis of this world, but the boy had a feeling it was more than that. What he didn’t know was why they didn’t trust him. Genesis had seemed almost flippant about what he shared with him earlier—secrets of Shinra figureheads, the darker side effects of creating SOLDIERS and Mako-mutated monsters. Could this really be any worse than that?

Gillian confirmed that both Angeal and younger Genesis were taken from Banora at age five. Nobody reported it, save for Gillian. The cowards were too afraid. Banora had been built to cover up a failed mining site for a potential Mako Reactor. It also served as surveillance for Angeal, Genesis, and other key players in Project G. Over time, Shinra went back on their word to follow Gillian’s recommendation of letting the boys mature before looking into further mako infusions. She was the only person left in town who knew the ins and outs of Project G, but it had been cast aside like a broken toy when Hollander was forced to end the project in failure and hand over all of his findings and specimens to Hojo to make them usable. Since then, Banora was generally overlooked by Shinra. It made for good cover nearby Midgar, but was growing increasingly different from the Banora the time traveling Genesis once knew…

“Do you…really believe you can free the other boys?” Gillian asked, picking up on his apprehension.

“I absolutely will,” Genesis found his conviction. “You just keep playing the role of the ‘well-behaved, retired scientist’ until I figure out how.”

“That must be another difference in our worlds, then.”

“That’s why it’s a role, Gillian. Not a lifestyle.”

“Anything else I can do?”

“Yes, might we be able to borrow your kitchen?”

Gillian nodded and her two guests entered it. The boy watched his caretaker rifle around through pots and pans. He was inspecting them for something, but what?

“What are we doing?” Sephiroth asked, uncomfortably awaiting orders. He didn’t have any kind of training for this.

“Inventing apple juice,” the man tossed him a dumbapple. “Come on.”

Genesis was furious at how things were developing in this world. It was no wonder the Goddess above deemed it in need of saving. To counter all the odds stacked in Shinra’s favor, they would need power of their own. Fortunately, the Goddess chose her champion wisely. One didn’t grow up as the Landlord’s son without learning how money made the world go round. If Genesis was going to rise up against the Electrical Power Company from hell, he’d need weapons, equipment, materia, and power. To get those, one needed a steady stream of gil. He didn’t have to think long to come up with a money-making plan.

“What’s all this?” Sephiroth asked the world’s angriest chef. He stared at the large basket of dumbapples, enough water to drown a man, and several pots of varying sizes. Genesis continued his digging until he found some kind of giant metal netting that looked like a certified weapon. Were they preparing for battle?

“These are the necessary ingredients to recreate the beverage that won me the prestigious National Agricultural Award for the Processed Foods Category when I was seven,” he almost boasted. “It was my apple juice invention that secured a lot of financial deals for Banora in my world and became their biggest export.”

Sephiroth nodded in understanding. Both at what Genesis was saying and the knowledge that he wouldn’t stop talking about it anytime soon.

“When we arrived here, there was nothing advertising it. The factory on the edge of town should be up and running, but it looks barren,” he gestured wildly with his hands. “Since those bastards in white coats took my younger self four years early, he never had a chance to invent it. And apparently none of these other hicks were able to figure out how to make it themselves!”

Pots were carefully measured with water, apples were cored with care. Sephiroth proved useful enough at cutting off the stem and blossom ends once shown how. Stars above, he could only imagine if one of the other residents had even tried to make it. Jorge would have burned it… Millie would end up with apple-flavored vinegar… He didn’t even want to know what kind of disaster that old bitch Margaret would bring into the world…!

“Now it’s time to introduce them all to what delicious is supposed to taste like!”

Sephiroth watched as Genesis carefully poured the steaming apple-water concoction through the strange mini shield with holes in it. The strainer caught the apple remnants and only the juice escaped into the pot below. Genesis told him how a flour sack towel or a cheesecloth would work better to strain everything, but Sephiroth was intrigued enough by the strange device regardless.

Ever the resourceful/frugal mother (it was clear as day who Angeal took after), Gillian was able to collect the leftover pieces of apple pulp and skin to whip up some applesauce after they had patiently waited for enough of the juice to naturally drip into the collection pot. Genesis had advised against not squeezing the ingredients or too much pulp would get into the juice. To succeed, they needed to make this first impression count.

They left a significant portion of the drink with Gillian as thanks for all her help. The rest was stored in a fancy glass bottle Genesis had picked up in Kalm. Sephiroth had suggested the thermos. Genesis did his best not to roll his eyes. That poor boy knew nothing of presentation.

Not long after, Genesis walked Sephiroth to his adoptive parents’ house with the prize in hand. He had even used his Ice materia to slightly chill it.

“Are you sure they’ll like it?” asked the boy. Even he knew that one shouldn’t accept unmarked liquids from strangers.

“Trust me, they’ll love it,” grinned the tall SOLDIER. “You just act like a shy kid and don’t say anything unless they ask you a question. They’re really big into the whole ‘children should be seen, not heard’ brand.”

The tiny SOLDIER nodded back in understanding. At least that was a task he could do. Most of the scientists were the same way. He blinked. Were these people scientists too? A cold dread set in…

Ding-dong!

“Can I help you?” The door was answered by a butler Genesis didn’t recognize.

“Yes,” a salesman smirk formed. “Please inform your lord and lady that I’ve arrived to save them from a dreadfully boring teatime.”

Genesis could pick up a stifled laugh in the background. His adoptive mother was never one for answering her own door, but her nosy nature often led her nearby when she wasn’t expecting guests.

“Ezri, who is that at the door?” she called out.

“Your name, sir?” his eyes met the stranger.

“Genesis Rhapsodos,” came his reply. “The Senior.”

That was enough to spark both Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos to sit down with him immediately. They had been expecting some kind of custody concern, not a business opportunity. Playing off Shinra’s web of lies and secrets, he claimed to be a relative of their adopted son. He’s not sure what exactly, but one knows not to ask when Shinra is involved. It just wasn’t polite. (or a good way to prolong one’s life). All he said he knew was that Shinra gave that name to a group of boys they wanted to groom for various military roles in the company.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t cut out for battle,” Genesis managed to sound disappointed. “So I was dropped from the program…”

“Oh, you poor dear!” Mrs. Rhapsodos exclaimed.

Genesis barely contained a derisive snort. He knew damned well that her adopted son would get no sympathy if he was dropped from the SOLDIER program…

“Ah, no worries madam,” he locked a smile onto his face. “For you see, I discovered that I have a penchant for business instead!”

“What kind of business?” Mr. Rhapsodos wanted to know.

“May I present to you…Banora White Apple Juice!”

Genesis pitched the idea to his adoptive parents, along with the sample, and the fools loved it. The flavor was memorable and all of the ingredients could be locally sourced. He stated how he wanted to sell the brand in their name to give it a small town feel. Sure it was actually to keep Shinra off his back, but they didn’t need to know that.

The stage taught him the value of showmanship. He was always an eager student and understanding your audience was the first lesson. The landowners were greedy. They would agree to his deal because they got to own everything in their eyes, while he simply hid his identity under enough paperwork to confuse any nosy investigators. Anyone dedicated enough to find that would likely believe it was set up for their son.

His performance was flawless. They sang his praises loud enough for the audience at the Grand Stage of the Gold Saucer to hear. Outwardly the smile never left his face. But on the inside he’d already set them both on fire. Thrice.

This wasn’t exactly rocket science, he invented the same thing last time at a quarter of his age. Back then, they cared more about his award and the prestige it brought over his invention itself (at least until they were able to profit off of it). Sephiroth could sense the mana spiraling around Gen angrily, but knew better than to say anything (it wasn’t like the Unenhanced people could detect it). As long as it didn’t morph into miasma, it would be fine. Probably.

The landowner couple wanted in on the future marketing success. They could communicate this to each other through silent conversations with their eyes. That factory had gone bottom-up and sitting empty for far too long. This was exactly what they needed to fill it. Opportunities like this didn’t often walk up to their doorstep all on their own. The Goddess must be looking out for them.

“Oh, so you’re the lucky landlords of the factory,” grinned Genesis after they’d offered it up. “Let’s breathe some life back into that building! The wandering soul knows no rest.”

If they recognized the Loveless reference, they made no indication of it. They were too distracted by Genesis’s business instinct. He began providing them a list with what they would need to start up the apple juice process (his memories of expense reports were still fuzzy, but his mental layout of the place was sound).

Sephiroth remained dutifully still on his chair. The cushion was soft, especially compared to the steel exam tables and metal chairs in the labs, but this was no atmosphere to relax in. Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos agreed to start making arrangements to bring in the required supplies. He thought that would make Genesis happy, as it was their goal, but the SOLDIER/Businessman was silently raging. The difference between Enhanced and Unenhanced must be more drastic than Sephiroth thought. How could these people not pick up on Genesis’s aura practically seething underneath the blanket of his smile and compliments? What had these people done to get such a reaction out of him?

“Excellent!” Genesis heartily agreed with something his previous adoptive father said. “My ward and I have several meetings lined up with other towns to expand the label, but I’ve decided to move to Banora. This will be our Headquarters and processing plant location.”

The landowners were pleased with this and agreed to start the staffing and training process right away. How could they resist working with such a fine, upstanding gentleman? Their company label would be in good hands. When Genesis spoke, others listened. He was suave. He was sophisticated. He sounded like he knew what brandy is.

Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos might be power-hungry, but they weren’t fools. They knew when a golden egg had landed in their lap. To fully profit, they needed to pamper the goose who laid it. The landowners insisted that no Inn was good enough for their new business partner. They told Genesis to stay the night in their Manor and they would look into finding him a suitable home tomorrow.

“And we won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!” guffawed Mr. Rhapsodos.

“Yes, and until then you simply must join us for dinner!” Mrs. Rhapsodos agreed, crinkling her face into a practiced smile. “And of course your adorable little assistant is invited too!”

“Ah, well, if you’re sure it wouldn’t be an inconvenience…”

“Of course not, we love children.”

Genesis had been referring to the housing offer.

Poor Sephiroth wasn’t sure which was the source of the inconvenience, but had a feeling it was him. He deflated a little. His caretaker wanted to run the pair of fools through with their words, but there was the matter of business to attend to first. Genesis had to swallow some bile to do it, but eventually accepted the request.

Chapter 5: Dinner Party Procedures

Chapter Text

Glasses were raised and toasted many times throughout dinner. To good fortune, to new friends, to health, wealth, and everything in between…The wine and drinks flowed freely that evening. Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos were so taken with their new business partner and prospects, that they had invited several other high-society guests (or at least whatever passed as ‘high-society’ in Banora. Midgar’s elite had clearly spoiled Genesis) to a celebratory dinner. The SOLDIER turned Businessman wasn’t one to actively seek out the company of others, but knew the benefits of mingling with his audience. Even better, he could do that and check on his actual partner at the same time.

“How are you holding up, Seph?”

“Fine,” the boy responded. “They keep trying to give me that bubbly stuff, though.”

“The champagne?” Genesis wished he could be surprised, but he wasn’t. In fact, he remembered having to ‘acquire a taste for it’ around Sephiroth’s age so that he wouldn’t embarrass his adoptive parents at parties by reacting poorly to the bitter drink. “My friend, the fates are cruel…”

“Should I drink it…?”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Genesis ran a hand through his hair. “It won’t hurt you because of your mako, but isn’t intended for children.”

“I see.”

“That and it tastes awful. You never particularly cared for it, even as an adult,” chuckled the time-traveler, keeping his voice lower.

“Why did they give it to me, then?”

“Because they’re fools.”

“...Then why are we here with them?”

Genesis couldn’t suppress a smirk. Seph was getting a little braver about asking questions. The auburn-haired man had no issue answering questions that didn’t involve psychotic space parasites. He wanted to encourage it, even.

“Each of these foolish guests are going to play a role in funding or supporting our little apple juice project, so making a good first impression is important.”

Sephiroth nodded, following so far. He didn’t fully understand how money worked yet, but was very familiar with the importance of securing funds for various science programs. It had always been a hot topic in the labs. They told him he was going to be the ‘face of SOLDIER’ one day. Sephiroth decided he preferred the juice project. It tasted much better.

“We’ll stay here long enough to do that and then we can take our leave,” Genesis smirked. “We can always just say you’re up past your bedtime.”

“Is that similar to Lights Out?”

“Yes, but with actual pillows.”

“Why would it require pillows?”

Genesis’s social smile faltered. He took it back. Answering questions like these made him realize how deprived these kids were. It made him want to punch Hojo’s lights out. Bedtime couldn’t come soon enough.

Genesis was a performer at heart, so covering up his anger with a smile was an easy task for him. Sure, the Planet was slowly wasting away from Shinra’s poison, and Hojo was likely torturing small children, and the entirity of Sephiroth’s social emotional skills had more gaps than Cosmo Canyon had crators… He could be upset later, for now he had a show to put on. Even if his co-stars were practically fawning over a stranger, but lectured and disregarded him a world and lifetime ago during his role as Genesis Rhapsodos, child prodigy and inventor of Banora’s primary export.

Okay, so maybe he needed some more of that wine.

“And who is this darling little boy?” Mercedes Cartier, the future Account Manager asked, waltzing over. “Such beautiful black hair, I’m jealous…”

“This is Seph,” answered Genesis, sensing his companion’s uneasy silence. He made sure to refer to Sephiroth as ‘Seph’ around all of the guests. When out of the boy’s earshot, he said ‘Seth’ just in case Shinra was listening. He would have to give the kid the Alias Talk later. “Seph, say hi to the nice lady.”

“H-Hello.”

“Such a cutie!” she cooed, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. “My name is Ms. Cartier. How long are you visiting Genesis?”

Once again, Sephiroth felt a cold dread settle in over his entire body. Had he heard her right? How long was he visiting Genesis? Was their agreement more temporary than Sephiroth had thought? The SOLDIER had told Sephiroth that he had met most of the town in his own timeline, so he knew what to say to impress them, but…

He just hoped the promise Genesis made him about getting back at Shinra wasn’t an act too.

“Forgive me, Ms. Cartier, I was too distracted by your beauty to introduce him properly,” Genesis cut in with a gentlemanly bow. “Seph is my ward and little business partner. I never leave home without him.”

“How adorable!” Mercedes beamed. “You are so lucky to have such a good business partner!”

“Yes, he makes all the difficult decisions,” grinned Genesis. “Pretty soon, I’ll have to start actually pulling my own weight!”

Sephiroth seemed to relax a little when the Account Manager went back to the larger crowd. Genesis could only hope his words had settled him somewhat. He patted the kid on the shoulder to reassure him more. It was an action he’d seen Angeal do many times in the Old World when someone around him needed comfort. A bitter memory resurfaced and Genesis found himself wishing he hadn’t shoved or shrugged off Angeal’s concerns as much as he did.

‘Now is not the time for this…’ he squeezed his eyes shut and refocused.

“Genesis…?”

“Yes?”

“Was she telling the truth or being foolish?”

“For the sake of your own sanity, assume everyone here, excluding ourselves, is being foolish.”

“Okay.”

“You’re not visiting me, Sephiroth,” the man reminded him. “We have a very important goal to achieve, remember?”

A nod.

“Good. Our goal might take some time, but we will accomplish it.”

Sephiroth was still struggling with the fact that Genesis lied as easily as he breathed. However, seeing him in action, Sephiroth was starting to learn how to separate fact from fiction. He was certain that Genesis meant what he said about accomplishing their goal to save the Planet and take down Shinra. One day he would wake up and not have to worry about Hojo or any other adult hurting him ever again. No more cuts. No more shots. No more pain. Seeing this resonate more strongly with the boy, Genesis was able to excuse himself to win over some more party guests.

‘There’s always a time when I actually miss being surrounded by loose acquaintances who think I’m smart, witty, and charming…’ he idly thought to himself. ‘...And then I attend events like this and remember why I put so much distance between them.’

Genesis was introduced to several key players as far as the industry was concerned. As he reacquainted himself with every face, he desperately tried to shut his memory recognition off. While he could recall growing up with most of them, he could also recall either himself or one of his Copies cutting them all down in the Old World. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing to remember at an upscale social gathering.

The Banker - Never stops talking about her family or what you should be investing in, sword thrust to the gut.

The Mechanic - Comes off as gruff, but knows lots of cheesy jokes, knocked into a boiler.

The Lead Supervisor - A people-person by nature and well-liked in town, slit throat.

The Head Gardener - His agricultural knowledge is second to only Genesis, he actually tried to fight back and got decapitated with his own machete.

The SOLDIER fought back a flinch. His memories were trying to overwrite each other, leaving him with a tangled mental mess. He could shake their hands in the present, but all he could see were their lifeless bodies. He hadn’t been prepared for this. Now where, oh where, was that wine?

On his quest to find something that could numb his brain for a few blissful seconds, he passed no less than three others who complimented his ‘beautiful’ and ‘hypnotic’ eyes. The nice thing about distancing himself from Midgar and being five years away from when SOLDIER really took off was that people didn’t put two and two together about mysterious glowing eyes. Whoever did ask was given a brief ‘accidental mako poisoning as a result of an unmarked pool’ explanation. They ate it up like appetizers.

Somehow, (after Genesis was told for the 97th time how crazy of a coincidence it was that he had the same name as Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos’s son) the pair had gotten through the impromptu dinner party and were shown to a guest room. Ezri, the butler, had taken Genesis to what he recognized as the VIP Guest Room. It was the one he was never allowed in as a child, as it was for only the most exclusive of visitors. Once, his ‘parents’ had boasted that Director Veld himself had stayed with them. Maybe if those imbeciles knew what the Turks actually did, they wouldn’t be so keen on having them over again…

“Goodnight, Seph,” Genesis waved to his companion, entrusting him to the butler.

For one fearful second, Sephiroth had a look of terror pass over his face. Ezri missed it, but Genesis didn’t. Even his heartbeat spiked. Was the kid…scared?

“Oh, that’s right!” Genesis pretended to recall something. “The boy still has to do his treatments… How silly of me to forget!”

“His treatments?” the butler’s brows furrowed. Sephiroth’s did the same beside him. “Is he ill?”

“No, no… He recently got over a bad bout of mako poisoning, so he needs his medication to help him regulate his sleep,” Genesis fibbed. There wasn’t an actual medication that did that, but it’s not like these hicks would know.

“Would you like me to wait for him here?”

“He can stay with me, so he doesn’t miss a dose by accident,” the taller man feigned concern. “You know how children get when they’re tired…”

Ezri nodded and bid them goodnight. He didn’t actually know, but had heard enough of his employers complain about ‘unruly children’ to last him a lifetime.

Genesis and Sephiroth entered the gigantic room. It looked more like a luxury hotel suite than a guest room. Premium bedding that pushed the 800 thread count mark. One of only about two dozen TVs in all of Banora was mounted to the wall. Lavish paintings lined the remainder of the walls all the way to an actual champagne bar, complete with enough booze to give to every home in town a bottle and still have leftovers. Genesis half expected to see mints on the pillows of the two beds.

“I have…mako poisoning…?” Sephiroth asked, worry tinged in his voice. He didn’t have enough composure to notice all the fancy surroundings yet.

“What?” Genesis turned to look at him. “Goddess, no! Why would you think that?”

“Just now… You said…”

“No, Sephiroth, no,” the SOLDIER bit back a laugh. “That was just to get the butler to keep you here without raising a fuss. Believe me, if you had mako poisoning, you’d know it.”

“So…you lied to him because we can keep watch better from one location than two?”

“Because you looked scared.”

“What…?” Sephiroth’s surprise quickly shifted to shame. “I’m…sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“But I showed weakness around—”

“Seph, you showed emotion. That’s okay around civilians, especially when you’re a kid,” Genesis cut off the argument that was coming, courtesy of Hojo’s Social Training From Hell. “You’ll never be in trouble with me for showing emotion.”

“Really?”

“Really… Unless you’re being annoying,” he amended. “Just don’t be a brat and we’ll be good.”

“What constitutes as ‘annoying?’”

Oh, boy.

“Whining,” he finally settled on. “I don’t do whining. If you need a better example, I’ll point it out to you when we pass some urchin throwing a temper tantrum.”

“I will take care to avoid whining.”

Somehow, he doubted the future General even had it in him. Which was good. Even the thought of the mighty Sephiroth whining would probably cause one of those Time Paradoxes Gillian had described.

“Good,” Genesis busied himself with unfastening his boots. “Then you can tell me what caused such a worry in the first place.”

Sephiroth looked down, trying to put his thoughts to acceptable words. He knew he was allowed to be more opinionated with Genesis, but he didn’t want to be ‘annoying’ in the process. His frown deepened. Kalm had been tolerable when it was just him and Genesis, but here…? Everyone kept saying things that they didn’t really mean and the few trustworthy people he met were starting to be questionable (Genesis and his lies for survival, Gillian and her past involvement with Shinra as a scientist…)

The more he saw of the world, the more it confused him. Even though he believed all the answers sought out would come with that freedom, there was so much he couldn’t explain. So much that didn’t fit into the little folders he had created to fill with knowledge about the outside world. Or maybe he was the thing that didn’t fit? Sephiroth himself couldn’t narrow it down to one thing over another. Genesis had to bite back an order to tell him to just spit it out, but he was glad he did.

“I don’t like it here, but I don’t know why…”

“Same here, kid.”

Breakfast felt a lot like dinner, but without the additional guests. A parade without the crowd. Their hosts were pulling out all the stops to impress their guests, there was altogether too much food, and Genesis’s aura still felt like it wanted to violently kill someone.

Sephiroth passed on the pastry dishes topped with icing and chocolate…his recent experience with junk food still fresh in his mind, and carefully ate his sausage and eggs. He noticed Genesis sprinkle some kind of spice on them, so he did the same. The result was very flavorful. His tastebuds approved, now he just had to hope his stomach did as well.

Once the food was cleared away, the group returned to the same lounging area as yesterday. A lesser, more wiggly child may have balked at the thought of sitting still and keeping quiet for hours on end, but not Sephiroth. He was honestly just grateful he didn’t have to interact with anyone other than the staff members serving him water. Genesis had been concerned how Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos would chat with him, but so far he only had to say about five words to them total. It was a relief to the boy who hadn’t received training for conversing with others regularly. Even if the looks of disdain they sent him when they thought he or Genesis weren’t looking cemented the fact that he wasn’t welcome here.

The hosts were preoccupied with their adult guest, but the serving staff stared at Sephiroth like he was a thought-to-be extinct animal spotted in the wild for the first time. Most kids his age would be interrupting the adults talking or running around. At the very least, they’d be fidgeting with nothing else to do. But this kid? He hadn’t moved in an hour.

“I’ll bet he’s a robot or something…”

“What?”

“Shinra can make those things, right? I bet he’s one of ‘em.”

“Keep your stupid voice down or they’ll hear you…”

Sephiroth ignored them. Holding still for this amount of time? Amateur hour. Theatrics be damned, this was still leaps and bounds better than holding still on the exam table. Where any flinch might cause a scalpel to slip… At this point, the amount of anesthetic it took to have any effect on Sephiroth was considered ‘not worth the expense’ by Hojo. Sephiroth suppressed a shiver. No matter how overwhelming and confusing this world was, it was so much better. He just had to keep reminding himself that.

He diligently watched as Genesis drew up a business plan with the other grown-ups in the room. Sephiroth had begun to toy with the idea of casting Esuna on Genesis to get rid of all the poison and curses that had begun to seep into his aura like wood slowly rotting away. Then again, that might be more fitting for Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos - they present themselves as polished, prideful people, but it’s all layers to cover up the wood rot underneath.

Exhaling slowly to prevent disturbing the others, Sephiroth allowed himself to briefly close his eyes. He really shouldn’t have read those magazines back at the Inn. Now he was starting to make analogies. He was better than that.

Maybe he needed to cast Esuna on himself.

Angeal forced his eyes to open and blink, adjusting to the harsh light. His body felt heavy, but unharmed. When he saw his unfamiliar surroundings spin into being, he knew why. New cells were always an ordeal. The scientists called them ‘rooms,’ but both boys called them what they actually were.

A split second after having the thought, Angeal’s arms flung out, reaching for the bunk that usually showed up beside his. The boy’s vision was still swimming, so he relied on his hands to find his friend.

“...’Geal…?”

“I’m right here.”

The Genesis that Angeal knew was burning up and sweating more than a little, if his arm was anything to go by. They had probably outfitted him with more Fire materia. Angeal was just glad his friend wasn’t sick this time. He hated feeling helpless when his friend had mako poisoning and nothing could be done…not screaming for help, pounding at the cell doors, or begging the awful adults to do something.

“They moved us again?” Genesis managed to sit up slowly.

“Yeah.”

“Why so soon? The slime they called food at the last place was so good…” Young Genesis had picked up the concept of sarcasm a few months back and had been making excellent use of it ever since.

“You did go and call that older assistant a walking wrinkle specimen, Gen,” Angeal rubbed his eyes, managing to smile for his friend. “I’m blaming you for this one.”

Both boys knew the procedure for moving to a different lab. They had been drugged for transport, so Angeal had no idea how much time had passed. None of his Enhancements were effective in the sterile cell for providing any clues. He’d have to wait and see what the scientists smelled like.

Angeal rubbed his eyes. Those bastards could take their time as far as he was concerned. Nothing good ever came from them - shots that burned, icy hands poking at every organ, his only friend screaming in pain, ‘medicine…’

Sometimes he wished the cell doors would stay shut forever.

Sephiroth opened the door to a new residence. For all the talk and false claims Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos had made in the short amount of time he had the misfortune of knowing them, they did make good on their promise of finding Genesis a suitable home.

It was larger than any room Sephiroth had stayed in before. In fact, it had several rooms inside. Each one had more windows than Sephiroth was used to. Clearly the architects had no concerns about snipers. The design was very open and the place was sparsely furnished and decorated with a simple apple tree theme. Genesis had told him it was theirs now, but Sephiroth didn’t fully understand what that meant - were they staying here like the Inn?

“Alright, Sephiroth, I’m in a generous mood today. Which room do you want?” asked the man in red, strolling in with a pack over his shoulder.

“Huh?”

“I’ll give you first pick.”

“What procedure is this?” Sephiroth furrowed his brows.

“Oh, for Goddess’s sake…” Genesis muttered under his breath, but managed to brighten his tone at the end. “Let’s go, SOLDIER!”

The boy obediently followed him through all four rooms. It was the fastest tour to ever happen inside that house. Genesis had been making mental calculations on converting one of the rooms into an office, but recalled that he’d need all of them for his secret army. He’d have to hold off on the office for now, or at least move a desk into his room.

“Well?” he asked the boy.

“Well…?”

“Which room do you want?”

“For what purpose? Training?”

“Living, Seph. For living in,” Genesis rolled his eyes. “Pick a bedroom and it’s yours.”

He watched as the idea finally dawned on the kid. It was both happy and sad that the boy had never had a real bedroom before, just a cell. Not surprising, but there were some things Genesis wouldn’t mind being wrong about.

Sephiroth picked the upstairs room with forest green wallpaper (that provided the tactical advantage of being close to both the stairs and the upper bathroom). Genesis was secretly relieved he didn’t pick the master bedroom on the main floor (that one had a bigger bed and an attached bathroom).

Genesis went about fussing with Sephiroth’s room, inspecting various things, such as the quality of the blankets and the near-barren state of the bookshelf (they would need to go shopping soon). Sephiroth just stood in the doorway, still acclimating to things. After the limits of his patience had been met, Genesis finally ushered the boy inside and helped him settle in and unpack the few items he had.

“What am I to do now?”

“Whatever you want, kid.”

Sephiroth absently tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. He was growing worried at the overwhelming concept. Was this a trick? How was he supposed to react to a lack of instructions? Genesis seemed to catch this, as well.

“Kick your feet up, take a nap, read a book…” his eyes flickered back over to the selection. “Or...don’t, actually. Here.”

Sephiroth tilted his head as Genesis pulled something from his coat pocket. The man gestured to follow him to the living room and his obedient duckling obeyed.

“Sit with me.”

The boy did so. Close enough that he could see the book in Genesis’s hands, but far enough away to avoid any contact.

“This book is my greatest treasure, Seph.”

“What is it?” replied the other, genuinely curious now.

“It’s called Loveless,” he grinned. Finally an excuse to get his friend to read and enjoy it! “Prepare to be enlightened!”

Sephiroth was still sitting absurdly rigid, but nodded, eyeing the fancy cover with interest.

“Loveless: A Prologue…” Genesis began reciting the tale. “When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end… The Goddess descends from the sky…”

Chapter 6: Jungle Beasts

Chapter Text

Okay, so Banora didn’t go over as well with Sephiroth as Genesis would have liked, but that was fine. They were overdue for a quick ‘business trip’ anyway. Genesis had planned on stopping in Lastonbell to represent Rhapsodos Orchard’s newest product - Banora White Apple Juice. He had an official meeting set up with several marketing agents and everything. Strictly business. It was in no way suspicious…

Of course he was taking Sephiroth with him, couldn’t leave him on his own, right? (Well, he probably could, Seph had more survival training than most, but that would be child neglect and besides the point…) The point was that the boy was going to discover a newfound love of fishing to celebrate securing another trade partner. Yeah, Sephiroth loved fishing! (or at least he was going to). So, it would be cruel not to take him to several nearby areas to try his luck. And if one of those locations happened to be Gongaga, well…what were the odds of that?

They arrived in Gongaga on the third day of their trip. They probably could have made it in one with any effort, but Genesis didn’t want to push Sephiroth too hard at this stage. Training could come after trust. The last thing he wanted was for Seph to think he was keeping him around as a science project like Shinra did.

It turned out Sephiroth did not love fishing. Sephiroth was willing to try out fishing to help keep their cover. Sephiroth was willing to research it with the limited outdoors-y magazines and dusty How-To guide lying around the house in Banora. Sephiroth was not prepared for how boring it could be. Sure, it was relaxing to a degree, but it was extremely lacking in directives. At least with social events he could preoccupy himself with hiding his unease and meeting group expectations. Here he only had Genesis (who kept telling him to chill no matter what the weather was) and the fish (who had no identifiable expectations for him and couldn’t be bothered to even make an appearance).

It wasn’t as exciting as Sephiroth had read about, but they were able to pass the time with Genesis sharing bits and pieces of info about Gongaga from his old Timeline like snacks to tide them over. Sephiroth had never been there in this world, but Zack had been trying to convince them to visit the place in the Old World, so he had an excuse to drop in on his parents. After weeks of delicious curry descriptions and several bold, potentially fatal prank plots involving throwing a Touch Me frog at the Silver General himself, Angeal was going to surprise the Pup with a mission in the area, but…well, not everything panned out the way he hoped it would. Defection will do that.

It was a shame. ‘Operation Frogiroth’ had some great blackmail potential…

Back in the current world, Sephiroth did a quick scan of his surroundings, catching his own reflection in a store window. After resembling a storm cloud about to rain, it was a relief to see strands of silver poking out from under his hat. Even just hints of silver was enough to make having to wear a hat in this humidity worth it. It was good to have his natural hair color coming back.

“So what are we doing here?” Sephiroth asked.

“Well, you’ve been such a good boy, I figured I’d get you a Puppy.”

“A...puppy?” The tiny SOLDIER couldn’t imagine what practical application a puppy would provide.

“Yes, a rambunctious, noisy thing, but he means well,” Genesis laughed at his own joke.

“Okay…”

“You’ll see soon enough. Kids like surprises, right?” Genesis waved it off. “Let’s be off.”

Sephiroth silently nodded, trying not to frown. He liked solid facts and consistency. He did not like surprises.

Despite the trek through the jungle that felt like walking through Ifrit’s armpit, Genesis was actually looking forward to this trip. Zack would be the easiest to tame, coming from some muddy town in the middle of nowhere. All he needed to do was give the kid fancy tech and video games to keep the Unenhanced child content. Simple.

He even knew exactly where to go, thanks to his travels in the future. During his previous game of Ultimate Hide and Seek: The Global Edition with Shinra, Genesis had actually crash landed in Gongaga for a spell. It was the rainy season (because of course Genesis couldn’t catch a break) and the degradation had drained him of all energy. He stared face up at the rainfall like a drowning turkey until an umbrella popped into view. A woman named Victoria Fair (who proved boundless energy and the drive to help every troubled person/monster/unholy-combination-of-the-two to cross her path ran in the family) dragged him to his feet and insisted he stay with her and her husband to wait out the rainstorm. Over coffee, both locals spoke excitedly about their brave son who was making a name for himself in SOLDIER. They were so proud of how he was changing the world for the better.

Genesis didn’t have the heart to tell them how their son had become the latest lab rat for a mad scientist with all the morals of a dish rag.

“The house we want is just over this ridge,” Genesis told his present day companion.

However, the farther into town they walked, the more they saw it had been upgraded into a tourist trap. Stranger still, a tourist trap that bent over backwards to praise Shinra, even a continent away. Brightly colored Shinra banners blew in the wind, that tone-deaf military march tune was broadcast over any outdoor radio within earshot, forget buying local—the only products for sale had Stamp the Shinra Lapdog on them, and every news stand had President Shinra’s face plastered over pro-Shinra articles…hell, there was even a military presence—a few guards on patrol to keep the peace (and remind residents who owned the place).

‘What could they possibly gain from taking over some backwater town like this?’ Genesis tried to wrap his head around it. Banora might be a solid 8 on the Boondocks Scale, but at least it had hidden value to Shinra. What was being covered up or contained here?

If not for the town sign, Genesis would’ve believed they made a wrong turn somewhere. It was unsettling to see what Gongaga had become. Even the individual lawns looked almost manicured compared to the vibrant personality they had a world away. Within a few minutes, both SOLDIERs stood outside the Fair residence. Genesis knocked and hoped for the best.

“How may I help you?” an elderly man answered the door. Definitely not the Puppy’s parents…

“Good day,” Genesis flashed his old Shinra ID, covering up the second half of his name with his thumb. It wouldn’t fool anyone with half a brain, but was perfect for the general public. “My name is Gene Kelly. Would you mind me asking you a few questions, sir?”

“O-Oh! You’re with Shinra!” the little man practically jumped out of his wrinkly skin. “Of course! What would you like to know?”

“Do you own this home?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“Oh, maybe two or three years now…” the man scratched his head. Genesis suspected lice over forgetfulness.

“What can you tell me about the previous residents?”

“Not much. I never met them.”

“Didn’t you buy the house from them?” He was becoming much more aware of how clammy the air felt.

“No, sir. I received this residence from our esteemed Shinra housing managers.”

“...I see,” replied the SOLDIER, feeling his mouth form a grim line. “Thank you for your time.”

Genesis needed to walk and process for a minute. The muggy air around him was doing nothing to cool his nerves, especially with his trench coat on. But horrible, humid jungle air or no, he would rather melt than remove his prized jacket. He had standards, dammit. Besides, the role called for it, so he would deliver… even if he wanted to blow this miserable little town to hell (it clearly wasn’t far off, given the heat) as he stomped away. Sephiroth was right at his heels.

“Who is Gene Kelly?”

“Kelly is the surname of an actor who will one day portray my favorite role in the greatest adaptation of Loveless to grace the stage. Gene is…well,” Genesis showed him the trick with the ID card. Sephiroth seemed more impressed that someone would actually fall for that.

“Did this man not have the puppy you were looking for?”

“No, he didn’t.”

When talking to others in the area, Genesis reprised his role of Gene Kelly, Super Important Shinra Official. But no amount of bolster could give him the answers he sought. They didn’t find Zack and everyone seemed jittery when talking about the Fair family. General consensus was that they either never existed or moved away a long time ago. The only Fair families in town were either larger or smaller in size.

They were next on Genesis’s list. With some luck, he could find a relative to clear things up. In a perfect world, that would have worked, but this world was far from perfect. Somehow, every single relative made things clear as mud. They seemed even more reluctant to talk about their kin, exchanging many a shaky look with each other. Hushed tones in other parts of the house betrayed them—parents encouraging their children to ‘say it how we practiced’ and loved ones reminding each other to get it right or they’ll ‘be next.’ Foreboding as it was, both SOLDIERs were grateful the townsfolk didn’t know about their exceptional hearing.

As Genesis was wrapping things up with their latest dead end (Granny Fair who outright denied ever giving birth to her own son), Sephiroth felt something tap against the back of his head. He spun around, but no one was there. Glancing at the ground, Sephiroth found the culprit - a balled up piece of paper. Carefully, he opened it. Hastily scribbled inside were the words ‘Meet at Jungle entrance.’ Sephiroth alerted the frustrated Genesis.

“Should we look into it?” Sephiroth asked. “It might be a trap…”

“At this point, it’s also our only lead,” facepalmed the taller SOLDIER. “Let’s investigate.”

Genesis was grateful their little mystery man didn’t disappoint. Overlooking the village at the entrance to the jungle was a young boy, around Sephiroth’s age. The kid had spiky black hair held back with a hair tie and glasses framing sky blue eyes. He was too old to be Zack, but there was no way he wasn’t related to him.

Further proof was the fact that the kid was carrying an actual katana.

Sephiroth approached cautiously, but Genesis wasn’t concerned about some little punk with a stick. It had been a long day made longer with walking through the airborne soup this town called ‘humidity.’ He was far more concerned with what answers he had for them.

“We got your message, Mr…?”

“I’m Balto!” the boy proudly exclaimed. “You’re the guys looking into Aunt Victoria’s family.”

It wasn’t a question.

“We are. Do you have something you’d like to add to that?”

“Why are you asking around about them?”

“We’re gathering numbers for the village Census.”

“Bullsh*t,” the kid crossed his arms, clearly not buying it. “I’m not telling you jack if you’re gonna lie to me.”

“Alright, then…” Genesis forced himself to smile, but could feel a vein throbbing in his head. Annoying him with minimal effort must be another Fair family trait. “We believe they are in great danger. I’m here to oversee their extraction to somewhere safe.”

“Yeah…well, you’re too late.”

Accepting the previous answer, Balto explained that despite what the town reported, his cousin is real. His aunt and uncle too. They were good people and shouldn’t be erased like this. Genesis carefully pressed for details.

“I can’t help them if you don’t tell me what’s going on,” he insisted. “It would appear my intel was very outdated.”

Balto wiped his eyes before continuing. The Gongagan boy had the sharp eyes of an eagle, sizing up even the SOLDIER in front of him for any weaknesses. He wasn’t happy about leaving his cousin’s fate in the hands of others, but was determined to save him by any means necessary. According to him, one night Shinra suddenly came to town and raided Zack’s house. Balto watched them from the rooftops next door. His little cousin was carried out, sprawled over a Suit’s shoulder, clearly drugged, while Balto’s aunt and uncle left in body bags. He remembered being so scared that he was frozen in his spot for hours after the Suits left, terrified they were coming for his family next.

“...After that, my folks told me never to speak of them again,” Balto finished, clenching his katana tightly. “I just know some evil Shinra spooks are behind it all! It’s way too fishy!”

Genesis nodded for him to continue.

“Suddenly, the whole town changed after that. Shinra took over and nobody’s allowed to badmouth them or they just disappear…” growled Balto. “I wonder if I will too one day…”

“Then take care of yourself around Shinra to prevent that,” Genesis advised. “Thank you for the information. You’ve been very helpful.”

“...Zack should be about five right now,” Balto glanced down at his necklace, counting the three black beads of mourning he added every year since Shinra’s raid. “I’ll consider us even if you find my little cousin.”

They needed to move quickly, Seph’s hair was already looking dusty. Much longer and his silvery roots would be showing. That wouldn’t be a problem in Old Gongaga, but this was New Gongaga, populated with a hive mind of Shinra loyalist sell-outs perfectly willing to tattle on anyone suspicious to save their own skin.

They decided to leave town to look for more clues around the Reactor, the only other major Shinra landmark. Genesis was mentally preparing a plan to get them inside, since his futuristic ID wouldn’t be recognized by any of the current-day scanners. It was Sephiroth who heard the padded footsteps first. They looked across the path and saw a displaced wolf pack among the trees and tropical foliage.

A displaced wolf pack carrying a small child.

The largest of the wolves was transporting a kid by his scarf, as they would carry a pup by the scruff of its neck. Genesis’s eyes widened. Despite the longer hair and pallid skin, he was able to recognize the kid as Zack. Assuming the worst with the boy’s faint heartbeat, he charged in before the wolves could make an easy meal of him.

Any Unenhanced, sickly, unconscious kid would be an easy target…

The wolf dropped Zack and charged Genesis with the same fervor as the SOLDIER. He must be the alpha of the pack, driven to protect it above all else. Noble, but not enough for Genesis to spare him.

Moving like a flash of red, Genesis slayed the monster. As Rapier ripped through the beast he could practically smell the mako coursing through him. The wolf’s glowing green eyes dimmed and Genesis realized it had been dosed enough to borderline mutate.

He expected the others to flee or attack and repositioned Rapier in a defensive position. The warrior was confused why they circled him instead, sizing him up like a human opponent would. Only a few carried a flicker of mako glowing in their eyes, but amber, not poisonous green. Was that the source of their strange behavior? The materia in his sword brightened in anticipation…

Just outside the battlefield, Sephiroth was prepping counter-spells. Genesis had given him a bracer and what he called a ‘survival set’ of materia. Sephiroth had been trying to predict which wolf would strike next. He wanted to get a Barrier over whoever their target was - Genesis or… Sephiroth blinked.

Are they…guarding him…?

Several of the wolves stood defensively around the fallen boy. He seemed more valuable to them than being their dinner. None stood close enough to touch the child, but their fangs would make any normal human think twice about taking one step closer.

Right around there, Sephiroth felt a memory ripple and resurface from his time in the labs. During one of his swordsmanship trials, he faced off against two Wrath Hounds. One of the lab beasts was determined to guard the other while facing off against Sephiroth. It was a futile effort, but sparked the boy to ask one of the more chatty scientists about the strange behavior.

It had been a mother protecting her young.

Sephiroth was confused by the action before, but it started clicking into place now. He quickly shouted his findings to Genesis.

“I’m a little busy for a chat at the moment, Seph!” he shouted back. “Stay back for now!”

But Sephiroth believed in his hypothesis. He set his bracer down to show the pack he meant no harm. Slowly, he stood up again. The wolves watched him carefully.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Genesis yelled over his shoulder. “Pick that back up or you’ll end up with rabies!”

Then the wolves surprised the humans yet again. The three beasts that had been flanking the duo near Sephiroth’s position, stopped their stealthy patrol. Without a second glance, they trotted over to rejoin the main group. The staring match resumed.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” groaned Genesis. Carefully, he set Rapier on the ground. He kept telling himself it was a show of peace, not something as embarrassing as surrender. “Satisfied?”

The wolves watched this play out with a wise sentience that didn’t belong anywhere in their species. Suddenly, one of the wolves with glowing amber eyes signaled the pack with a mournful howl. The pack howled back and took off as quickly as they came. Only the tawny-colored wolf who initiated the howl remained. When she was certain her pack was safe, she nuzzled Zack’s hair for a moment and raced off after them.

They had done all they could for the boy and could only hope the other humans would help one of their own pups.

Zack wasn’t harmed by the wolves, but his condition wasn’t good either. His breathing was shallow, his skin feverish, and his clothing was drenched in sweat. The kid flinched in pain from even the slightest of movements. Even with prodding, he was out cold. He looked sick and Genesis was furious with himself for neglecting to pick up a Sense materia. The man cast the angriest Curaga of his entire life.

“What do we do now?” Sephiroth asked. He’d never seen another person like this. Only the specimens in the labs.

“Dammit…” Genesis scooped the child up, trying to ignore the tiny shudder of pain. If Curaga on Genesis’s level hadn’t done much for him, medical care was a must. “We need to sneak back into town and find a place to stay that won’t attract attention.”

Sephiroth nodded and put his tactical training to good use. They were able to scout out an old warehouse near the edge of town by the docks. As long as they kept the lights off and a low-profile, they should be safe from nosy neighbors.

Sephiroth went first to secure a route and open the side doors. Genesis followed using SOLDIER speed, darting inside with the bundle before any passerbyers noticed. Together, the two set about making camp.

“I think they were trying to protect him, like the mother Wrath Hound protecting her young,” Sephiroth explained his theory once again to Genesis. “They were guarding him, not attacking him.”

Genesis didn’t fully buy it. Mako makes people, animals, and even plants do plenty of uncharacteristic behaviors (Malboros were proof that if plants could figure out mobility, they’d be a bigger threat than most bears). Still, he nodded along, humoring Sephiroth. Carefully, they tended to the sleeping child and got some water in him. Genesis tried to reassure Seph that keeping down water was a good sign. Especially for your standard, Unenhanced kid. Children were weaker than adults, but Zack was a fighter. He’d pull through this or else.

“Are we…going to return him to his cousin?”

“No,” Genesis shook his head. “It would be safer to recruit him. Shinra already killed off his parents and kidnapped him before. Who’s to say they wouldn’t try again?”

Sephiroth was silent.

“If we leave them with his cousin’s family, they might turn him in. If they don’t, their neighbors will likely turn them in,” the SOLDIER frowned. “I don’t think I have to tell you what happens to civilians who oppose Shinra…”

He didn’t.

“But if the Puppy stays with us, we can teach him the skills he needs to survive and never be taken again,” Genesis winced slightly at the memory of a much older Puppy being taken away to Hojo’s lab. Carted away on a stretcher, wounded and unconscious, but still reaching out for something. If he had stepped in...no, that was in the past.

Genesis had been too injured from the degradation slowly killing him from the inside out. And there was no way Zack wouldn’t wake up and instantly try to kill him back then. At least here he had a nice clean slate with a normal kid who could be bribed with screen time and new video games.

Before either could add onto that, there was a slight groan. Both conscious occupants turned their attention to the bundle of blankets between them. Zack began to stir, covering his eyes to shield them from the bright light filtering through the windows (the thin curtains left much to be desired).

“Zack? Can you hear me?” Genesis tried to sound reassuring. It was a struggle. “You’re in Gongaga. My name is Genesis and this is Sephiroth.”

The boy shifted again, poking his head out of the blankets, spiky hair sticking out in every direction.

“I’ve come here to help you,” Genesis echoed the words an older Zack once said to him.

The boy tried to respond, but his voice was cracked and dry. Sephiroth gave him some water with more care than Genesis had seen the kid do anything.

“Where’s Lady…? ‘Nd Nymeria…?” Zack tried looking around.

Genesis didn’t know how the kid could see anything. He eyed the messy mop of hair and decided a haircut would be in order, following a bath.

“W-Where’s…?” the child started to sound distressed.

“It’s okay, we’ll help you find your caretakers once you’re healthy again,” Genesis tried to calm him down. It was a relief that at least someone had been taking care of the kid for awhile. “Sephiroth, go grab my Ice materia.”

The taller boy nodded and retreated to the side of the room where they kept their pack of additional materia. He reached for a glowing green gem at the same time Genesis reached for a can of soup from the supply bag.

“Tell me what you remember,” Genesis said, heating the can with a low-grade fire spell.

If there was one thing that carried across timelines, it was that Zack was a chatterbox, regardless of his injuries.

“There was…a big light… My friends got me out,” Zack managed through bites of chicken noodle soup. “I need to find them! Greywind’s gonna be really worried!”

“Greywind?”

“Yeah, he’s the leader, and he’s really nice…” Zack’s eyes darted around. Even in a lethargic state, panic was riling him up. “Where are they? Mister, are they okay?”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Genesis tried to keep the kid calm with food. “Tell me about them.”

“Well, our leader is Greywind…he’s got grey fur and really cool eyes,”

“Wait…fur?” Genesis choked out the last word.

“Yeah, Lady has brown fur and Nymeria has brownish-grey fur,” Zack went on to describe the pack. “I think they’re sisters, ‘cause they have the same eyes…”

The SOLDIER was grateful he was already sitting for the revelation. This Puppy was literally raised by wolves. And Genesis had gone and killed one of them…

Oh shi—!

“Do you know them, mister?” Nearly half of Zack’s face was obscured by hair, but for the better. Genesis wasn’t sure he could handle the full scope of the kid’s pleading expression. “They’re okay?”

“We found you with the wolves,” Genesis told him as gently as he could manage. “But one died and—”

“—Which one?” Zack’s voice was small, as if he was far away.

“...The largest one,” Genesis described the wolf who died, but not how. “He had grey fur. Most likely the alpha…”

Zack suddenly threw himself backwards and howled in anguish. Genesis didn’t see the blazing blue catlike eyes until it was too late.

“Impossible!” he hissed as wind kicked up around Zack in his fury.

The smallest of the three lost control of his emotions. Rage and anger erupted from inside him like a dam that burst under too much pressure. He summoned several shimmering weapons from thin air, spinning around him in a deadly arc. The blades shocked Genesis and nearly cut him in a few places. He would have been shish kabob without his own SOLDIER speed. He motioned for Sephiroth to take cover.

This went from bad to worse - Zack was supposed to be the easiest recruit! This kid was Enhanced, modified with some strange ability, and Genesis just killed one of his only friends!

f*ck.

Chapter 7: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire (taken literally)

Chapter Text

Today was not going well for Genesis.

He had started strong by getting to his destination, only to realize it had gone from an old-fashioned jungle village to a two-faced Shinra black site. Not letting it impede him, he spoke to the batsh*t crazy villagers until a sword-wielding tween directed him to his target. Did Genesis manage to find the disappeared child? Oh, sure. In the jaws of a mutant wolf. Genesis tried to do the right thing by slaying the monster to save the kid…only to learn said kid had been raised by those wolves and he just murdered the equivalent of the child’s father…which could happen to anyone, really. Genesis would just rationally explain the situation and—nope. Kid turned out to be another bonkers science project and threw the world’s stabbiest temper tantrum.

Now Genesis felt like he was inside a rage-fueled blender.

“Sir?” Sephiroth called out to him, awaiting directions despite the blade tornado.

“Stay down for now, Seph!” ordered Genesis. At least the older boy had been by the crates. They could give him some decent cover (which was something Genesis wished he had at the moment). He created enough space that he could safely bring out Rapier to deflect weapons madly whirling about in every direction.

”You’re lying! Bring Greywind back!” Zack knocked over a camping lantern with the foregrip of a crossbow. Sparks sailed over towards Genesis, who was already busy enough dodging around flying pointy projectiles.

“It’s the truth!” Despite being the catalyst for many other fires, the Crimson Commander wasn’t a fan of being set on fire himself. “Just calm down and listen to me!”

No. There would be no calm. There would be no rest. Not until Zack could see Greywind again. He was the strongest in the entire pack. There was no way he could be dead like all those other people…

He’s lying! He’s lying! He’s lying!

Greywind is strong! He’s a warrior! He couldn’t be cold and unmoving. Those people never woke up again. They went away and never came back. Zack felt tears fall from his eyes, stinging his skin where they landed. He couldn’t let that happen to Greywind… There was no way… He had to find him!

Sephiroth watched the spectacle between boards of his makeshift barricade. The smaller boy clenched his fists and howled like a beast again. This time it cranked the speed up on his spinning weapons. A shortsword embedded itself in a nearby barrel, breaking it open and spilling grains across the floor. The shortsword careened towards the wall, where it made a loud clanging impact. Sephiroth would have preferred a sword to counter it, but made due with a loose board. Oddly enough, the blade didn’t want anything to do with him. It scraped against the wall with a terrible screeching sound and launched itself back into the air, rotating around the child like the world’s most deadly solar system model.

“Zackary Fair, stop all this right now before I—!” Genesis could hear the Dad Voice overpower his own and that made him angrier than the blades spiraling inches from his throat. He had made fun of Angeal for less in the Old World. Clearly, the Goddess had a sister named Karma, who was a fan of comedy.

Less funny was the effect it had on the boys. Zack started spinning the flying blades around even more wildly. There were several more clanging sounds from the weapons colliding into themselves. Genesis noticed Sephiroth backing down when he had raised his voice. The SOLDIER mentally slapped himself. He couldn’t scream at them like angry scientists did, he needed a different approach.

While coming up with said different approach, he cast Barrier on himself and Sephiroth. Noticing Zack cut himself with his own damned weapons, he tossed a spell his way too. Genesis honestly couldn’t tell if the boy was controlling them or being controlled by them at this point. He needed to sever that connection before anyone lost any limbs.

“Seph!” he called out to the boy wisely using a metal crate as cover. “Get to the materia pack and throw me a Seal!”

He did so without hesitation.

Genesis held out a hand, ready to catch it, but a stray dagger hit it mid-flight, throwing off its trajectory. Both sane swordsmen watched helplessly as it plinked off several other weapons doing its best impression of the inside of a pinball machine. Finally, it landed inside a large, dusty crate.

It was closer to Genesis than Sephiroth, so the man exhaled a few curses under his breath. He made a scramble for it, ducking under a jagged sword on the way. The spear rushed him, so Genesis flipped over the shaft while the spearhead crashed into the ground. He tried to grab it, but was instantly repelled by some kind of energy jolt. Best to just let it loose, then.

At the crate, Genesis reached in with one arm and held Rapier in the other hand, parrying anything nearby. He strained his muscles when he could just barely brush the orb with his fingertips. In the back of his mind, adult Angeal and Sephiroth had a good laugh at his expense. Like it was somehow his fault that they had overgrown apish arms to go with their towering height. At least he had balance.

Genesis finally managed to fish it out of the crate, ignoring whatever powder now coated the length of his entire arm. Not bothering to fully equip the materia, he spun on his heel and hit Zack with two rapid-fire Sleepels. It wasn’t quite as elegant or fluid as his normal battle tactics, but one had to improvise when one was being attacked by a literal child.

“Genesis?” Sephiroth managed to ask, rubbing his ears from all the chaotic resonance. The weapons dimmed around them, fading away like shooting stars. “...What was that?”

Genesis had no earthly idea what the actual f*ck that was. His memories had stitched themselves together enough to recall Zack had an...unusual Limit Break, but he was quite certain that wasn’t it. He didn’t sense any materia on the boy, so it wasn’t some kind of Summon. The SOLDIER had never seen or read anything like that.

And who the hell gives a bunch of dangerous weapons to the poster child of zero impulse control?! In what realm was that a logically-sound decision?

He was going to find Hojo and hit that overgrown weasel so hard that he would end up time-traveling into next week.

Deep in the labs lost to time and sunlight, a young Genesis and Angeal were having their patience tested as well - specifically, emotional detachment.

“Weapons are no good to Professor Hojo if they can’t follow orders under pressure,” the lead scientist explained. “He’s scheduled to arrive here after Gongaga and we need to have both specimens in top shape for field testing.”

“Guards have entered the specimens’ room, sir.”

“Excellent. Proceed.”

The boys looked up when a group of five guards entered their cell. That was never a good sign. More concerning was the fact that they stayed in a loose formation, as if there on an informal visit. Something off the records…

“What do you want?” Genesis snapped. Angeal had been pushing his Enhancements to the limits all day. It would be better if Genesis could keep their attention on himself. Fortunately, he was very good at this.

The guards laughed to themselves. If there was some kind of joke, they were all in on it.

“Telling jokes?” Genesis quibbed. “I’ve got one too—it’s the biggest joke ever.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s called ‘your career.’”

This caused quite a few smiles to drop. A guard who looked more gorilla than man stepped forward.

“You talk big, but you little sh*ts belong to Shinra!” He spat at them. “And that means we can do whatever we want to you!”

“We’re not Shinra property,” Angeal cut off Genesis’s huff. “We still have parents.”

“Things change, brat,” the gorilla man’s mouth formed a twisted grin. “It would be easy to slip into some backwater town and raze it…”

“Who’s to say we didn’t?” his crony added. “You got a mom, right? Maybe I already went in and slit her tiny throat.”

Angeal struggled to keep his temper, visibly shaking with the effort. Genesis noticed and did what he does best.

“Do you take requests?” he laughed back. “I can give you the address for mine.”

“Why’re you laughing, you piece of sh*t!” Mr. Overcompensating Chest Hair wasn’t a fan of this kid. He itched the corner of his mouth, waiting for the order to clobber him. “Maybe I already cut out their guts and fed them to the dogs!”

Genesis rolled his eyes, but was secretly grateful they didn’t say that one about Mrs. Hewley. Angeal would’ve ripped out their guts instead. “It’s too bad you're such a liar, or you’d have done me a favor!” he sneered. “At least I know how to find your Commanding Officer. He’ll be the most disappointed person in the building.”

“What?!”

“You’re a liar,” Genesis spoke slowly, as if explaining something to a very dumb child. “You keep touching your mouth, your balance is crap, and you’re blinking way too much. Classic liar. That’s probably why you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Why you little—!” The primate-human hybrid charged them.

Angeal pulled Genesis back to safety, while his friend lit the guard’s pants on fire. The remaining four loomed over the boys. Genesis squeezed Angeal’s hand while concentrating on his next spell. He could feel Angeal’s skin ripple with power flowing to it, likely an armor skill. Two of the guards raised their steel batons with the intent to bash their little brains out.

“Alright! Break it up!” a voice thundered from the door. “That’s enough!”

Both sides backed down when the Infantry Captain (and several others with guns) poured into the room. The man with flaming pants was put out in more ways than one and his buddies cursed loudly about the interruption. One of the scientists told them the test was over and to exit the room.

Genesis quickly let go of Angeal’s hand. He learned a long time ago not to show any weakness, especially in front of people in labcoats. If they didn’t hurt him, they’d hurt his only friend in the whole world. A familiar scowl formed on his face.

One day he’d make them pay…

Sephiroth could only stare at the small child lying before him. He was breathing harshly again and his blood smelled more like chemicals than rusty metal from the spots on his arms he had carelessly cut with his own summoned blades. Genesis had already begun closing the wounds with another round of restorative magic.

What was that…?

“Seph.”

The boy turned his attention to the SOLDIER at his side.

“We need to talk about the wolf who died today…”

“The one you slayed?”

“...Yes,” Genesis frowned at the phrasing. “I think it would be best not to give Zack here all those details yet.

“You want me to lie to him?”

“I want you to say we found the alpha wolf dead,” Genesis elaborated. “I don’t think Zack can handle the truth just yet.”

He could tell by the way Sephiroth chewed his lip in silence that he wasn’t getting through to him. Genesis always had a knack for picking up on all the unsaid words a person’s body language betrayed.

“We don’t want a repeat performance of…whatever that was,” he gestured to the demolished area around the sleeping boy. “Naturally, we’ll tell him once he’s ready for the whole truth.”

“...Fine.”

Genesis was visibly relieved, writing it off as a necessary evil. He was glad Sephiroth could see it that way. It allowed him to focus on other pressing matters.

“I’m going back into town to pick up more medical supplies,” Genesis stood up. “Think you can keep an eye on the Puppy for me? I should be back before he wakes up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t be like that,” Genesis frowned over his bag. “Pouting doesn’t suit you. Here.”

Sephiroth caught the materia tossed to him. Seal.

“Just in case he wakes up and goes crazy again,” the SOLDIER explained. “It’s a level one spell, so I have complete confidence in your ability to use it.”

“Thanks.”

Bad news travels fast in Gongaga, Shinra Hivemind Village. Shopkeepers of every stripe greeted The Man in Red with more fake smiles than Palmer’s entire department congratulating him on all the ‘progress’ and ‘great strides’ he’s made for Space and Aeronautics at every yearly review. The overly-exuberant employees asked Genesis what he was doing in town, complimented his purchases, and thanked him for his super-important Shinra work. Genesis hoped Zack recovered quickly, so they could leave before anyone caught wind of his real mission.

Genesis purchased everything he needed quickly. He normally enjoyed looking around the shops for any hidden gems (he once found an actual Magnify materia in a run-of-the-mill stand), but he was on a time crunch. It also got him away from the way everyone with a nametag smiled at him. There was something offsetting about it. Either it was too wide or showed too much of their teeth… Genesis wasn’t sure which, but it bothered him all the same.

On a whim, he took a slight detour by Balto’s home. Part of him felt like an idiot for reporting to another child, but he felt the incessant tug to say something. Maybe the Goddess had restored his long-dead conscience too?

Balto happened to be doing what he assumed were what passed for backwater sword katas in his yard. He noticed Genesis walk by and the man’s subtle gesture towards their previous meeting spot. A few minutes later found the First Class SOLDIER face to face with another unreasonable child.

“Did you find him?! Is he okay?! Where is he?!”

Gen sighed. He really needed to be getting back to Sephiroth, lest the Puppy lose his temper again. He didn’t want to come back to the warehouse and find either of them stabbed via magical weapons. Still…he owed their little informant something. Balto did put them on the right path when the rest of the town tried to cover up the Fair family’s very existence…

“We found him. He’s safe,” nodded Genesis. “He’s a bit under the weather, so my partner is keeping watch over him.”

“Oh, thank the Goddess…” Balto fell to his knees in relief. “Can I see him?”

“...It would be better if you didn’t,” the SOLDIER replied. “At this stage, bad people are going to be looking for him. I can’t keep you both safe if you’re discovered. We’ll be leaving town shortly as it is.”

“Can I…at least say goodbye?”

“...We’ll see.”

Balto’s spirits soared. Genesis’s ego stumbled. Since when had he been such a softy? Angeal was such a bad influence on him… Exiting the town unnoticed was going to be a tactical nightmare if either boy caused a scene! But this way, Balto was on their side. And Genesis had a few more questions that needed answering.

“Before I return to them, I need to know about the other people who were taken.”

“What about them?”

“Who was taken, how many, and where were they imprisoned?”

“Shouldn’t you know? I thought you found Zack!” Balto was on the defensive.

“We did, but it was less infiltration and more stumbling upon him near the Reactor.”

Balto told Genesis everything he could (which was impressive for a kid. Maybe the Turks would be scouting him in the future?) Everyone who opposed Shinra in some way - from peaceful protesters in the town square to claiming President Shinra wore a toupee with your pals at the bar - mysteriously disappeared or had some kind of unfortunate ‘accident.’ At least 30 of the original villagers were taken. Shinra then shipped in other people to take their residence and keep the village booming.

“And where were they taken?”

“Nobody knows. Most are too afraid to ask.”

“What about the Reactor?”

“Maybe, but some of the townsfolk work there,” Balto frowned. “My dad does maintenance. He didn’t see what happened to his brother. No way would he stand aside and watch them hurt his nephew.”

A valid point, however biased.

“Zack was able to say something about a sudden flash of light,” Genesis offered. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“There was that weird explosion near the Forest of the Ancients a couple of days ago…”

“Weird explosion?”

“Yeah, we didn’t see anything in town, but it sounded like dynamite,” explained the boy with an almost comical ‘boom’ sound effect. “All the Shinra troops were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, but we never got told why.”

That sounded like a secret lab explosion if there ever was one. The Reactor was completely intact. There was no way Zack would’ve escaped that even with his wolf companions. But a love for hidden labs was one of the things Hojo and Hollander had in common. That, and having frequent delusions of grandeur. If there had been an incident inside the facilities that took out the guards and had enough space between the site and the town reinforcements, the Puppy could’ve feasibly escaped.

“Are you gonna check it out?”

Oh, how he wanted to… All these newfound responsibilities were becoming a pain in the ass.

“...No,” Genesis turned around. “I need to be getting back to the others. Keep me updated if you hear anything else.”

Sephiroth was starting to feel conflicted about partnering up with Genesis. Not second thoughts, per se, but confliction. He genuinely hoped Zack would never ask him about Greywind, because lying didn’t sit right with him at all. Just the thought of it made his stomach twist uncomfortably. Why would Genesis ask something like that of him? One should always tell the truth. Spreading lies and ignorance was more contagious than some diseases. Certainly more harmful. Did Genesis know something he didn’t? He mulled it over while keeping watch over the sleeping boy.

With Genesis out procuring more supplies, Sephiroth realized how easy it would be for him to leave before the SOLDIER got back. Especially since he could fly wherever he wanted… Just before the dangerous thoughts of leaving drifted more, Sephiroth saw something tug at the blankets. The unconscious child was reaching out for something… The way his face scrunched up and his breathing came in short bursts made it look like he was in pain.

Sephiroth wondered how alike he was to this boy. Zack came from the labs too, did he have the same invisible scars? Although his pupils went back to ‘normal’ they looked as catlike as Seph’s when Zack had been unleashing his power. It was something Sephiroth hadn’t seen before, even in other SOLDIERs. It had been worrisome then, what with the magic swords tearing up the room and all, but now it was almost comforting to know someone else had eyes like him even for just a little bit.

Zack kept tossing and turning, stretching his hands out for something in his sleep. Sephiroth assumed he wanted water and reached over to get the water bottle for him. As he reached over, he felt a tiny hand grip his sleeve with superhuman strength. Sephiroth winced as the kid’s knuckles brushed against his wrist, as touches were protocol for pain in his experience. But as frantic as this one was, it was also very warm.

Despite the power behind it, the Puppy didn’t hurt him. His fitful sleep even calmed quite a bit once he had contact with someone safe. The older boy huffed at this, repositioning his arm. Zack wasn’t the only one with strength beyond measure. If Sephiroth wanted to, he could use his own strength to pull himself free…but if he did, whatever horrible nightmare that plagued his charge would likely return. Sephiroth knew that the main difference between ‘normal’ nightmares and the ones people who dealt with Hojo had was perspective. Civilians had nightmares. SOLDIERS had memories.

Sephiroth stayed because he couldn’t leave this child behind.

Chapter 8: Is There A Doctor On This Thing?

Chapter Text

Young Genesis of the current world enjoyed books for many reasons - escaping the horrible labs into the pages of an alternate reality, learning new concepts, killing time after a mako infusion put him on bedrest, among others. As long as they were Hojo-approved and didn’t cause any maladaptive daydreaming, he was golden.

Even the scientists were quick to enable this hobby of his. If Genesis was reading, he wasn’t talking. They didn’t have to deal with him if he entertained himself. Few went out of their way to get him anything that wasn’t on the Mad Scientist Reading List, but he seemed content with whatever they shoved into his hands. He’d retreat to his room and not be troublesome. They’d catch up on paperwork. It was a win-win. Enough to even overlook his tendency to ‘hide’ his favorite novels under his mattress (or take them somewhere safe in his sterile cell).

But his favorite thing to take away were the words… Words taught him how to interact with others. How to fake social skills the scientists could never teach… He even gave Angeal a lesson or two in his highly acclaimed lecture series Words: How To Use Them Without Sounding Like A Maladjusted Science Project.

And along the way he learned how to weaponize them.

He twisted them, tempered them, and made them sharp. Genesis turned them into bullets that hurt others without leaving a trace. You couldn’t see a word, just like you couldn’t see the wound it left behind. He was feared for his magic prowess, and for a good reason, but he relied on his sharp tongue and extensive vocabulary when he needed to insult someone while immobilized.

Naturally, this got him into trouble, but that taught the fiery boy control. He learned that he could say just about whatever he wanted to the average grunt and nobody would step in, but anyone with actual rank required respect. The labcoats were the exception, of course (weren’t they always?) Even without rank, little Genesis had to be on his best behavior around them. They controlled too much of his life to risk otherwise.

He hated that.

Ugh…I hate this…

Public transportation was the bane of Genesis’s existence, but there really was no other way to transport the sick child in his care. The worst of Zack’s fever had subsided and there were no reappearances of the strange swords he could call on, but he wasn’t exactly ready to fly with them.

Especially since Genesis would’ve been the one carrying the kid and certainly didn’t want to get stabbed if Zack woke up on the wrong side of the figurative bed.

The boy spent the last two days sleeping and eating soup in a daze. The SOLDIERs watched his mako eyes like a hawk for even the slightest slit of cat’s eye pupils. In the end, Zack could barely keep them open long enough to see much of anything. The boy was more lethargic than when they initially found him. Genesis would’ve liked to stay longer (it was downright unsettling to interact with a version of Zack that didn’t exude sunshine, positive vibes, and endless prattle), but wasn’t very trusting of the state of the highly suspicious town. He felt like walking on a taut string—everything was wound so tightly that he didn’t want to be around when it snapped.

Genesis disliked tossing around words like ‘brainwashed’ so lightly, but facts were facts. It wasn’t as backwater as it once was and nearly everyone was undyingly loyal to Shinra. It would only be a matter of time before one of the boys was recognized. Especially since he never got around to cutting Zack’s hair/mane. Who knew what kind of triggers produced the flying swords from this pup? Sephiroth tolerated the changes pretty well up to now, but even he looked stretched thin.

…And he was a kid in control of his impulses!

So here he was, The Hero of Dawn, Chosen One of the Planet itself, sitting on deteriorating vinyl seating, glaring at anyone who got too close to his little entourage or questioned him about the bundle of blankets in his arms.

Thank the Goddess the puppy was housebroken.

“Excuse me, handsome, is this seat taken?” An elderly lady gestured towards the open spot next to Genesis with a wink. Her deteriorating eyesight allowed her to escape his irritated glare unscathed.

The fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains…

“Yes,” the man replied through gritted teeth. He was in no mood to entertain. Obviously she was spot-on about his appearance, but how could she pick up on that and miss the glare that sent grown-ass SOLDIERs running in fear?

“Then I’ll just make myself comfortable~”

“Hard of hearing too? Fantastic…” grumbled Genesis. He pulled the child in his lap farther away from the nutcase. He could hear several different voices in his head scolding him for his lack of manners. As if they didn’t understand his lack of sleep.

“Well, look at you…” the old lady practically leered, her thick glasses catching a glint of light. “Don’t you look cool and collected…?”

“Thanks, it’s a facade.”

“Excuse me, hotstuff, could you do an old woman a favor and rub down some of these old bones?” she wagged her eyebrows gesturing to her back. “Some of these spots are just so hard to reach myself…”

“Fall off a bridge, please.”

Oblivious to his guardian being hit on by a woman who looked like she was present for Jenova’s birth, never mind initial crash landing, Sephiroth stared out the window. He felt all out of sorts and was hoping the passing scenery would calm him.

He recalled leaving Gongaga through the Jungle entrance at dawn. The perk about not sleeping much was that he didn’t have to wake up early. Sephiroth knew that sleep was a requirement for his body to operate at peak performance, but between medical uncertainties and crazy locals, that was a tall order. So he let his memories drift with the scenery…

They didn’t encounter a single soul on their way out of town. Either security was lax or Genesis actually did his homework before taking action. Both seemed a little far-fetched. Sephiroth’s eyes narrowed upon sensing a presence near the Jungle entrance. He tensed up, preparing for combat.

And then felt Genesis’s hand on his shoulder, waving him down.

Is he…expecting someone?

Balto emerged from the shadows (apparently sneaking out of the house was nothing for him, Shinra patrol officers be damned). His stubborn attitude was still in place and just as prickly as the day Sephiroth met him. And yet it quickly softened into rice pudding when he saw the bundle of blankets in Genesis’s arms.

“Can I…can I see him…?” Balto wiped his eyes. There was a wobbling, wet tone to the boy’s voice.

Balto was clearly not in control of his emotions, there was no way they could possibly—

“Sure, but be careful not to wake him,” Genesis answered. “Like I said, he’s a bit under the weather.”

The man didn’t even shush Balto when he started bawling.

Sephiroth now understood the saying about feeling one’s jaw drop. This went against every military regulation. Why did Genesis look so calm about it?

Sephiroth was further confused when Balto approached him. His eyes were a bizarre mix of sad and determined. As if he was mourning a loss and moving on simultaneously. Balto grabbed the taller boy’s arm, causing Seph to flinch away at the contact. Balto didn’t take offense, he didn’t even drop his gaze.

“I need you to promise me something,” he crossed his arms.

“What is it?”

“I need you to take care of my little cousin, since I’m not…able to.”

Sephiroth nodded in agreement, unsure of what else to do.

Balto seemed to learn from his previous bad touch and didn’t make him shake on it, taking his word for it instead. A few more words were spoken between Genesis and Balto before the SOLDIERs pressed forward.

“Why’d you let him see us off?” Sephiroth finally asked. “We could have been caught.”

“Some things are worth the risk. Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul,” quoted Genesis. “This was what he needed to move on. It wasn’t easier to oblige him, but it was still better than causing more pain.”

Sephiroth was getting a crash course in the different types of pain. He was well-versed in physical pain, but emotional pain was another beast altogether. Even though Balto faded into the shadows of the trees, Sephiroth could still feel his eyes on his back.

He hoped this wasn’t a chronic type of thing…

A whimper escaped the blankets when the bus ran over a pothole in the road somewhere outside of Junon. Genesis felt his heart sink a little more. Four excruciating hours into their journey across the Eastern continent on some relic of a bus and he was losing his confident flair.

This was pathetic! It wasn’t as if the Puppy was knocking on Death’s Door. He simply had a run in with the flu or whatever fun illnesses were floating around the jungle he was dredged up from. The kid probably wouldn’t even remember putting them through this by the time he recovered. And SOLDIERs recovered fast. Mako saw to that.

It was just that…Zack seemed to be getting worse…and nothing they had done for him had helped. Not that Genesis cared. He was here to topple a tyrannical monopoly systematically wiping out the Planet. He wasn’t a doctor. This wasn’t his area of expertise! How would he know how to deal with something like this? There should be a much simpler solution than waiting around with his hands tied for this little punk’s fever to break. And between all the Cure magic and potions, something should have taken hold! Genesis had even picked up some generic cold medicine in a fit of desperation. Yet nothing—absolutely nothing was working!

Genesis hated when things were out of his hands, particularly if health conditions were involved.

Was this how Angeal felt a world away when degradation started sapping away Genesis’s life? His stupid, stubborn friend never let it show. Not even when he began degrading himself. Angeal hated inconveniencing others. Now that Genesis had the gift and curse of hindsight from a sane point of view, he wondered if Angeal’s degradation flared up from natural causes or from Genesis forcing him to betray his Shinra family to attempt to save his childhood friend…

Zack growled something in his sleep. Probably something ridiculously cliched and naive. At least he was par for the course in that aspect. There was no turning back. If Adult Zack could figure out how to keep a degrading ex-SOLDIER alive long enough to find a cure through blind optimism and overwhelming positivity, then Genesis could take care of a sick kid. Like hell he was going to face Angeal in failure.

Because what Genesis lacked in basic emotion regulation, he made up for in good old-fashioned materia know-how! He sat up a little straighter into the peeling, floral upholstery.

As if on cue, the gentle hum of materia from the bracer Genesis had equipped Zack with caught their attention.

“What did you give him?” Sephiroth asked. Materia use while sick seemed inadvisable.

“Chakra,” Genesis said simply. Seph seemed unfamiliar, so he continued. “It’s fairly uncommon. It restores your health by using willpower instead of mana.”

And if there was anything the Puppy had in spades, it was the will to fight.

“I’ve had this one awhile, so it should provide a nice boost each time it’s activated.”

Sephiroth nodded approvingly. He might disagree with a lot of Genesis’s behaviors, but his materia expertise was unrivaled.

“You should rest,” the man told him. The poor boy looked like he hadn’t slept either. It was an expression that would be right at home on the General’s older self, but had no business on a kid’s face.

Sephiroth was still Sephiroth, so he nodded at Genesis and proceeded to not sleep at all.

The auburn-haired man sighed, but allowed it. There wasn’t much he could do about it either way. They were safe for the moment. The ID-scanning buses came after the ID-scanning trains, and those were more than a few years out. Shinra thought they were all-powerful, but their reach only extended so far. Crossing country roads on travel buses might be cheap and irreparably damaging to one’s reputation, but it did provide a source of safety.

…Which lasted until Genesis had time to think.

Angeal and the time-traveler’s younger self being held somewhere else wasn’t completely off the normalcy scale. Barely a blip. But the entire Gongaga experience made him feel like he landed in a different world, not a different time.

Gongaga itself was some creepy advertisem*nt for Shinra loyalty. It lacked any of the heart and soul future Zack described it with. Speaking of the Puppy, Genesis wasn’t sure where to even begin figuring him out…

Genesis was there when 3rd Class SOLDIER Zack Fair got his first dose of mako infusions. He remembered it vividly, (because he spent the majority of it teasing Angeal for being a mother hen) so he was absolutely sure Zack didn’t become Enhanced until he was 16 years old.

Yet somehow this version of Zack (who was unquestionably the Puppy) was already dosed with an unknown amount of mako and had some strange summoning ability spliced into his tiny body (Genesis had double-checked to make sure it wasn’t materia). It was similar to adult Sephiroth’s ability to summon Masamune, but that technology was supposedly too difficult to replicate. Not worth the expense outside of Shinra’s top SOLDIER. And somehow Zack had at least seven different weapons…

For as much evaluating as he was doing, Genesis tried very hard not to think about the fact that this kid was an orphan here. Genesis couldn’t recall any standout details about Zack’s parents besides their overly-chipper meeting in a rainstorm, but the Puppy was always so happy whenever he talked about them (which might have something to do with why Genesis repressed it. Envy was a bitch).

Sephiroth might’ve been the same here as the Old World, but that was only because Shinra had ruined his life since birth already. It was kind of their thing. Had the Goddess not chosen this specific time to send Genesis on his quest to save the world, he would have felt worse about not arriving sooner. (A tiny part of him still did…)

Completing the circle, Genesis went right back to worrying about Angeal and little Genesis again. If Gillian was to be believed (which she was), Shinra took both kids in much earlier for SOLDIER. Would they just have an extended training? Or would they wind up a completely different warrior like Zack?

It was a lot to analyze and Genesis didn’t like any of it.

About 15 miles outside of Banora, the weary SOLDIERs hit their final roadblock on a superb day of strangers with boundary issues and delightful buses reeking of expired air fresheners.

“I’m very sorry, sir,” the attendant informed him. “But the next bus to Banora won’t be arriving until tomorrow.”

“...I see,” Genesis normally would’ve smooth-talked his way into a free ride regardless of when the bus was supposed to show up, but he was tired. He was bone-achingly, mind-numbingly tired. It wasn’t worth the effort.

He readjusted the bundle in his arms, holding back a sigh of relief when the child’s raspy breathing found its shaky rhythm once more. Genesis collapsed into a bench with as much dignity as he could muster. Sephiroth wasn’t far behind.

“What should we do, sir?”

“Seph, if you call me ‘sir’ one more time, I’m going to dye your hair neon pink next.”

“I’m sorry…”

Genesis groaned. It wasn’t Sephiroth’s fault they were in this mess. He was just too tired to think straight. Who knew fretting over small children was this draining? One would think it would be easier with kids who had the durability of a walking tank, but nooo…

“Here, take this and go buy dinner,” Genesis handed over his wallet. “There’s a shop over there. Buy whatever you think we need. We’ll fly home after we eat, no matter where the winds may blow…”

Normally, the SOLDIER wouldn’t trust another person with his wallet, but Seph was reliable enough. Certainly more so than most adults.

Sephiroth entered the gas station/gift shop with a sense of unease. It wasn’t a large store, but the shelves carving out aisles of junk food (divided into ‘cheese,’ ‘not-cheese,’ and ‘chocolate’), fifty types of bubble gum (he still didn’t understand the popularity of chewing on artificially flavored rubber), and energy drinks that looked more dangerous than anything Hojo had put into his system. Sephiroth’s simple task spiraled into a daunting task. It was getting harder and harder to pull himself out of his worries. A certain amount of rational detachment was drilled into him for as long as he could remember, but this…

He had been on edge all day during their travels. Every time he’d try to sleep, he’d hear Zack’s erratic heartbeat and jolt awake. What if something happened to the child while he indulged himself in a nap? Sephiroth wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. Following his training, Sephiroth stuck to completing his current task—picking up rations. Just past the water bottles was where he saw it…

…A stuffed wolf-dog.

It shone a brilliant gold. The flickering fluorescent light couldn’t take away its natural glow. The light danced off its big black eyes—larger than any predator had the right to have, but this creature was bound by the Laws of Chibi, not the Laws of Men. Sephiroth walked over, half-asleep, half-entranced. This toy was calling out to him as the Planet did its Ancients. His hands eagerly stretched outwards before he could even will them to… In the space of twenty seconds, Sephiroth was filled with new purpose.

Just outside, Genesis was also being filled with a new purpose—solving the conundrum of setting irritating travelers on fire or not.

“Well, what’ve we got here?” An older man, likely somebody’s obnoxious grandfather, strode over to the private bench party. “Aww! Your road trip must’ve tuckered the little guy out!”

Genesis didn’t know how to respond to that. Why were the weirdos out in full force today? He had even put on his Commander Face, for Gaia’s sake! The one that radiated power. It said ‘I am in control. I have no emotions. Don’t even think about approaching me with your measly little problems.’

…Then again, holding a small child in a soft blanket didn’t do a whole lot to incite fear. No matter how hard Genesis channeled his old Drill Sergeants, having a kid around only made him more approachable. Dammit.

“We aren’t on a road trip.”

“You should be! Travel broadens the mind!” the man guffawed. “You get to see a side of yourself you might never have met otherwise!”

“What if I don’t like the other self I meet?” Genesis didn’t care which assisted living facility was missing a resident from its dementia ward, he just wanted the old timer to leave.

“You couldn’t be any worse off than you are now!”

“Presumptuous, aren’t you?”

The Imparter of Unwelcome Advice left soon after, thank the Goddess. Sephiroth also returned, bags in tow.

“I was starting to think you got lost,” chuckled Genesis at the older boy’s return. He eyed the pre-packaged sandwiches, steaming containers of soup, water, and…some kind of yellow stuffed animal?

Without a word, Sephiroth tucked the wolf-dog into the blanket bundle for Zack. Genesis didn’t comment.

There is no world in which the Puppy isn’t a puppy, is there?

They all but stumbled through the door of their home, tired and exhausted. The way Sephiroth looked at the couch like a sailor gazing at the sea made Genesis question if the taller boy would even find his bed. Genesis let him be while he settled Zack into his designated room. He unscrewed the cap of the water bottle, in case the Puppy got thirsty and was still uncoordinated. If the kid made a mess…well, it was just water, right?

Frowning, he moved the stuffed animal to the other side to avoid any accidental drownings. Not that he particularly cared, mind you. Those gift store toys weren’t exactly high quality. He just didn’t want the Puppy to whine about the loss of his chew toy or Seph to sulk about his efforts being all for naught.

Genesis left the door open a crack for ease of entering without a sound, should he need to return quickly. On his way towards the stairs, he poked his head into Sephiroth’s room, not surprised to find it empty. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the boy’s quilt and made his way back to the first floor.

Predictably, Sephiroth was sprawled over the couch, completely out. The fact that he wasn’t as rigid as a mummy confirmed how exhausted he was. Sephiroth didn’t even flinch when the quilt was deposited on him. Hopefully a good night's rest would do the trick for everybody.

Genesis could have taken his own advice, but a long, hot shower came first. He didn’t want to know how many layers of sweat, dirt, and bug spray he was coated in. The villagers in Banora weren’t as toxic as the people in Gongaga, but they were nosy. As soon as someone realized Genesis and Sephiroth had returned from their camping trip, there would be visitors.

And Genesis Rhapsodos was not opening his door for anyone until he was a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 again.

Chapter 9: The Doctor Is In

Chapter Text

The sun rose and Genesis’s optimism sank. Zack was still feverish and Sephiroth was getting anxious again. Whether it was the state of his companion or the future potential of lying about the slain wolf was unclear. Not even the state of the silver returning to his roots moved him. Between the camping outdoors and camping in the storage warehouse, the kid had been neglecting it. Had Genesis not run a comb through it that morning, some Wererats would have moved in.

Genesis was loathe to admit it, but his heart broke when he watched Seph—the kid who hated all forms of physical contact—actually hold the smaller boy’s hand, as if he was losing a battle to some terminal illness. Which was ridiculous, the Puppy’s heartbeat was starting to show signs of improvement (Genesis had been able to get a solid four hours of sleep before it fluttered oddly and warranted investigation). Of course he was getting better. He had to.

The SOLDIER cast another ineffective wave of Cure over the sick boy, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

“Thank you…” Seph’s voice was small, yet still appreciative. Maybe he knew the spell wasn’t doing much, maybe he didn’t. The only thing both knew for certain was how much they hated feeling useless.

Genesis was torn—he wanted to get the Puppy medical attention, but without drawing attention. He weighed their options over a nutritious breakfast of military rations and canned fruit.

“Seph.”

The boy stopped sitting and forced himself to stand at formal military parade rest.

“Pride is lost, kid,” Genesis frowned, but pulled the kid’s head towards his shoulder in a quasi-hug. “We are going to get him help and he is going to get better.”

“Really?” Sephiroth’s voice had the slightest tremor he couldn’t mask.

“I’ve seen him recover from a lot worse.”

“But…wasn’t he older?”

“I promise you he’s going to be fine,” Genesis released the silver-haired boy, so he could see his face. “We’re going to go see a friend who can help him.”

“Gillian.”

Sephiroth nodded, but the older SOLDIER could tell he was reluctant, despite swearing up and down that Gillian’s a retired labcoat. One who is not loyal to Shinra in any way and won’t hurt him or Zack. Genesis wanted to say she was different, because she was, but he was trying to be honest with Seph, since lying had set him off already and there would be lots of questions…

…And he didn’t really have a good answer for why the ‘nice scientist’ was willing to use her own child as a lab specimen all those years ago.

Gillian greeted her early morning visitors with all the grace of a kindly housewife and the professionalism of an Emergency Room doctor. It was a good thing being an early riser ran in the Hewley family. Genesis set Zack down on her couch, so she could look him over easier. She had picked up on Sephiroth’s concerns right away too.

“Sephiroth, dear, do you remember how to work the radio?” Gillian asked. At his nod, she continued. “Please set it to a station you think Zack would enjoy. It’s very likely he can still hear bits and pieces of what’s going on around him.”

While the boy fetched the device from the kitchen, Gillian opened Zack’s eyes, checking his pupils to make sure they were equal in size and reacting to light. Genesis didn’t miss the small frown dig its way into her expression. Seeing so much mako in such young children was never a sight to celebrate. But a brain that wasn’t showing signs of bleeding was! The auburn-haired man allowed himself a small sigh of relief. By the time Sephiroth returned, Gillian was taking Zack’s temperature, scribbling some notes, and checking his pulse.

Sephiroth had set the station to some kind of synth-pop/hip hop/dubstep abomination. Oddly enough, the Zack that Genesis knew probably would appreciate that kind of noise.

“Thank you, Sephiroth,” smiled Gillian, seemingly unbothered by the selection. “Could I trouble you to fetch some warm water?”

Genesis watched from his perch on the dining room chair as the boy took off again, obediently completing each task presented to him. She was good at giving him a bunch of jobs to keep him busy helping and not fretting. It was a little refreshing to see a scientist willing to use her powers of observation for good and not personal fame dressed up as ‘for the sake of scientific advancement.’

“Genesis, could you help him find the washcloths?” Gillian asked, without looking up. “They’re in the drawer next to the sink.”

The great and mighty Commander was halfway into the kitchen before he realized he just got played too.

Gillian’s sidequests kept the boys busy and took their minds off of things until Gillian requested to take a blood sample from the boy. She explained she had a gut feeling about something, but couldn’t prove it without checking Zack’s toxin levels. Genesis consented without a second thought, but Sephiroth watched the entire process with a frown.

Sephiroth (who had never been a fan of phlebotomy) refused to leave the boy’s side while the empty vial filled with blood. Gillian pulled out the needle (no need for a bandaid thanks to SOLDIER regen) and Sephiroth breathed a sigh of relief that it was a minimal amount drawn…and nothing strange being injected into him. As Genesis would testify, the Puppy was strange enough without the help.

Gillian didn’t have all the fancy equipment she used to, but she managed just fine with what she had. Her clinical chemistry analyzer had served her and the community well over the years whenever the local healers were stumped about a sickness in town. As the machine got busy scanning Zack’s blood sample for whatever was impacting his bodily functions, Gillian returned to her guests. Sephiroth had resumed changing radio stations, finding new favorites. Genesis sipped his coffee and tried very hard not to make snide comments about the Silver General absently nodding his head along to enough heavy metal to open up a steel factory. Or as Genesis liked to call it - cruel and unusual punishment.

“Is there anything else about him you can tell me?” she asked, adjusting the washcloth on the sleeping boy’s brow. The poor thing shivered, despite all the perspiration she had wiped away.

“The morrow is barren of promises…” Genesis heaved a sigh, leaning back into his chair. “In my world, he was just your average, hyperactive kid at this stage… I didn’t know him personally at that point, but Angeal told me stories. He was penpals with the Puppy’s parents after their kid made SOLDIER.”

Sure, some of those stories were currently blurry memories at best, but nothing that stood out. Genesis figured his brain was saving his most boring memories for last and prioritizing the urgent matters first.

The group quietly chewed on dried dumbapples and crackers while waiting for Gillian’s machinery to finish up. At the completed ding and rumble of equipment shutting down, the resident scientist looked over the data.

Her hunch had paid off.

“It’s poison,” she announced, walking back into the room. “He’s been recently poisoned.”

“Mako poisoning?” Genesis arched an eyebrow. That didn’t seem quite right…

“No, I found trace amounts of Zolokalter venom in the blood sample.”

“He’s tiny, but he’s Enhanced,” sniffed Genesis. “It takes quite a bit to poison us.”

“Which is why it’s so distressing that there are still trace amounts in his blood,” Gilian’s mouth formed a grim line. “The poison is what’s making him sick, along with agitating it with battle and using his abilities so extensively. Given the amount remaining in his system, I would suspect he was given an IV line of the venom—at least 2 bags worth.”

“How could anyone inject that much poison into a child?!” Genesis shot out of his chair, his temper flaring. “What purpose could that possibly serve?!”

“Hojo…”

The others turned to look at Sephiroth, who rested his head by the radio.

“He doesn’t always have a reason until his experiment is over…”

It took a lot of deep breathing and counting backwards from triple digit numbers to keep Genesis from flying directly to the Shinra Building, ripping out Hojo’s spine, and strangling him with it, but he managed.

While Genesis was busy restraining himself from committing a well-earned felony, Gillian started preparing a universal antidote for Zack. The General Store wouldn’t be open for another hour and even then, it wasn’t a guarantee there would be any in stock. Luckily, Gillian always kept a full stock of medical supplies since the…attack.

Her eyes fell on the child wracked with pain on her couch. Was this how Shinra handled their child soldiers now? Did her Angeal undergo similar torture veiled as ‘experiments?’ Gillian took a steadying breath herself and added two parts activated charcoal to her concoction. She would save this child and then save her own. The mixture darkened. How many others like Angeal were there? How many children were ripped from their families to unwillingly serve Shinra? How many were beaten, drugged, and poisoned into submission like the boys in her living room? This was not something she would stand for.

She and her contact would have much to talk about next time.

On the bright side, Zack began healing much faster now that he was being treated for poison and not the flu. It also doubled as a way for Seph to see that ‘nice scientists’ really do exist.

“You’re going to be okay,” Sephiroth told the half-asleep boy. Finally, the confidence that had been missing in that statement before had returned. “The medicine is helping.”

“Hnn?” came the slow blink in return. Zack’s joints had unlocked enough that he didn’t feel pain in them, but still needed a chaperone to make sure he didn’t faceplant into his soup. If he wasn’t so dizzy, he’d be impressed that the talking albino jungle cat had made him lunch. Or was it a long-haired Coeurl? Unsure, he settled back into his blanket nest and hugged the soft, yellow wolf cub closer to his chest. He could figure it out later…

Genesis allowed himself another moment to appreciate the only time in history that Sephiroth was more talkative than the Puppy. On his way to answer the polite knock at the door, he brainstormed ways to document this noteworthy event.

Gillian had been fine with making a house call on the final day of Zack’s antivenom treatment. This check-up was a vast improvement over his initial one. Color had returned to his cheeks, his heartbeat grew strong, and his breathing went from ragged to peaceful snores. The boy had taken well to his medicine and was predicted to make a full recovery within the next day or so.

“What do I owe you, doc?”

“Oh, just some pitchers of apple juice when you get around to it,” she smiled. “That will more than suffice.”

“I could bring you Kelzmelzers,” offered Sephiroth. “They are native to this location and can be morphed to make powerful antidotes…”

Because of course Sephiroth made it his personal mission to learn every shred of information he could about poison when the Puppy was diagnosed with Hojo-induced poisoning.

“You’re just going to assume I have Morph materia?” Genesis crossed his arms.

“Do you?”

“Of course I do, I’m the world’s leading expert in—”

“—May I borrow the Morph materia?” Sephiroth asked. “I also need to request permission to search the woodlands around town for the target.”

“I’d rather you not,” Gillian shook her head. “I know you are quite capable, but the Kelzmelzers are exceedingly territorial this time of year. They recently had their babies and are ruthless to anyone who gets too close to their young.”

Sephiroth did not openly argue with an authority figure, but his dissent was hanging in the air around him.

“You are correct that they make good antidotes, but they also create powerful poisons to defend themselves,” she continued. “Each strain is difficult to treat because they are so unique. The Kelzmelzers actually create an individual type of poison on their own, that they blend with other Kelzmelzers by touch. They have built up a resistance to it over time, but other species are not so lucky.”

The SOLDIER’s eyes widened. Genesis wasn’t sure how to explain it, but something suddenly clicked in his head. Gillian and Sephiroth’s exchange set off a chemical reaction in his non-corroding brain that sparked an epiphany. Or possibly an aneurism. It was hard to tell.

Genesis realized that Sephiroth was right about the Gongaga Wolves. They weren’t trying to hurt Zack, they were trying to protect him. The leader, the one Genesis had killed, was a dead wolf walking and somehow he knew it. Zack was in his care, so all the poisons, toxins, and mako on the boy were affecting the wolf.

Every other member of the pack had been protecting Zack, but not touching him to avoid self-poisoning. The leader was their strongest, so he took it upon himself to care for the kid until help arrived. That wolf was the one literally licking the child’s wounds. He’d rather poison himself than leave a part of the pack behind to die alone. The other wolves didn’t charge in to avenge him, because he had wanted to go out like that. The wolf—Greywind, wanted an honorable death, a warrior’s death.

Somehow the beast had done more for the child than Genesis did, even with all his resources.

“Genesis?” a gentle voice called to him.

The SOLDIER steeled himself. Sure, he was suddenly smacked with the feeling that all’s a disaster—Sephiroth, ticking insanity time bomb, didn’t trust him and he returned with a poisoned Puppy in the place of what should have been an Unenhanced chatterbox…but he would save face. He had to. The Goddess chose him. She needed him…

“Sorry, Gillian,” he smiled. “Just thinking about all the chew toys I’ll have to purchase this little monster when he gets better.”

“That’s good,” nodded the former scientist, not buying his act for a second. “Because he will recover and before you know it, you’ll have your hands full with two superpowered little boys.”

Somehow it sounded a lot better coming from a mom. Genesis allowed himself a small smile.

“You’d better sleep now while you can.”

“I don’t know if I trust them enough…” he half-joked. Zack was still sound asleep and Sephiroth had excused himself to get another book. Had it been any other kid, Genesis would’ve gone and double-checked that his Morph materia was still in the secured materia crate next to his bed.

“Well, I can’t speak for Zack, but I know that Sephiroth trusts you.”

“Huh?”

“He ran into me earlier by mistake, which is when I saw it…”

“Another Vision?” Genesis was almost afraid of the answer. How badly had he screwed up the future within two weeks of trying to fix Sephiroth’s fate?

“The boy has no tangles in his hair at all,” she concluded, smoothing out her skirt. “I know how deplorable lab conditions can be, so I can only assume you’ve been the one helping him comb his hair.”

“...What?”

Gillian spared a moment to chuckle at the stunned expression Genesis wore like a poorly fitted party hat.

“I didn’t get any kind of premonition from him,” she smiled. “He’s cleared of any major arson for the foreseeable future.”

“He…is?”

“You must be doing something right if Fate that strong can be broken.”

Genesis would deny it to his dying day, but at that moment he collapsed with relief right in the middle of the living room. It was a strange sensation, feeling all the energy—both good and bad—pass right through him. He assumed it was like those ridiculous slides in every park he’d ever seen (Genesis didn’t have firsthand experience because a child playing on children’s playground equipment wasn’t befitting of his status). Then, just as quickly as everything left him, feelings of comfort and gratitude returned to him in alleviated waves. How could intangible emotions practically bowl him over? He didn’t let himself cry. Instead, he felt the cool floor press up against his forehead. It was almost therapeutic in an incredibly embarrassing, repress-this-memory kind of way.

Who knew that looking after a pair of troubled kids could be so mortifying?

Following Gillian’s recommendations, Zack was up and about within another day. He was ready to properly meet his new family, explore the town, and either win over or confuse the entire population. The sun was shining brightly and Zack’s enthusiasm for everything matched that.

It was then that Genesis started having regrets about healing the kid.

Chapter 10: Table Manners

Chapter Text

Blue eyes opened, brighter and clearer than they had in over a week. Zack stretched his arms, letting a huge yawn escape him. There were two figures in the door frame before his feet even hit the floor.

“Hi!” Zack greeted them with a cheerful grin. He vaguely recalled the tall man in red and boy in black taking care of him while he was sick. Lady had entrusted him to their care, so they must be the Good Guys. “I’m Zack! Who are you?”

“It’s good to see you up and about, Zack,” the auburn haired man eyed him carefully. Analyzing for weakness, but not in the same way the whitecoats exploited. “My name is Genesis and this is Sephiroth.”

“You’re the ones who took care of me, right? Thanks!”

Genesis was comfortable reintroducing them to the boy, but didn’t feel the need to elaborate why Zack was sick to begin with. It was regrettable that Seph knew as much as he did about that awful event, no need to further traumatize another kid. It was unclear why Hojo used so much poison on a child (even an Enhanced one). And Hojo being Hojo, the answer was likely to be just as murky - a test? A punishment? A whim? It was impossible to tell.

Zack didn’t mention it and Genesis would do all in his power not to bring it up either. He’d seen plenty of kids suffering in the Slums or clinging to anyone or anything during the War with Wutai, but things hit differently when he was the one holding the kid with a fever that could’ve killed an adult man in his prime and ragged breathing that made Genesis shudder at the memory. It was better to focus on the present.

“Um…where are we, mister?”

“You may call me Genesis,” he corrected the Pup. “We’re in a village called Banora. It’s a long, long way away from your old…location.”

“...Do I have to go back?”

“Absolutely not.”

“So…I get to stay here now?” It was a lot to hope for, but Zack did anyway.

“Yes.”

“For real life?!” Zack practically bounced off the bed, blankets and pillows flying every direction.

Genesis felt a soft smile break through his Professional Babysitter mask. As wound up as the kid was getting, at least he was full of life again.

“For real life.”

Zack cheered, jumping into the air and just barely avoiding a head on collision with the ceiling.

“But you guys’ll be here too, right? We’re a pack now?”

“The human version of a pack, sure,” shrugged the SOLDIER.

“Does this mean you’re my brother now?!” Zack zoomed back over to Sephiroth, eyes practically glittering.

“It’s… that is…” Sephiroth’s discomfort was palpable, but he made the mistake of making eye contact. He became the first victim of the Puppy Eyes. “...Okay.”

Zack hugged him, oblivious to the older boy’s uneasiness. He let out another loud cheer and ran around his new pack like a human version of a chocobo racing around the circuit.

“Genesis, what was that, just now?” Sephiroth asked in a concerned tone.

“What was what?” Genesis feigned ignorance.

“Zack looked at me and he looked so…hopeful. Like he needed me to agree with him…” the older boy bit his lip. “Did he use a status effect on me? Does he have mental manipulation powers?”

“No, that’s just the power of Puppy Eyes,” Genesis chuckled.

“...So, it is an ability?”

“In a way,” the SOLDIER amended. “Many children make that face to try to get something important.”

“Then why use it on asking to be brothers?”

“Because you’re already important to him.”

“But I just met him…” the confusion was evident.

“Some people are more trusting than others.”

“That can be dangerous,” Sephiroth murmured. “I will have to keep an eye on him…”

“Thanks, Seph,” Genesis patted his shoulder, keeping it brief enough to avoid more discomfort. He knew he had the right man for the role.

“Just let me know if there’s any bad guys and I’ll make them go away!” Zack summoned a silvery dagger to his hand, spinning it in midair. “I don’t want any bad guys to try to come here.”

The others noticed the second half of that delivery had less bravado than the first half. Genesis summoned flames to his hand like a tiny campfire.

“No bad guys are going to last long here. This is our home and we will protect it together,” he closed his hand, extinguishing the fire. Genesis didn’t want to push Zack to explain his powers. Not yet. He had to make sure the kid was loyal first. Instead, he reminded Zack that they were hiding from Shinra

“Like Hide and Seek?”

“Yes, like Hide and Seek,” he nodded. “And if we do things that capture people’s attention, such as running too fast or using materia too much…we would stand out and Shinra will find us.

“I won’t do anything like that!” Zack quickly promised. “Nothing the other villagers can‘t do!”

“That would be best, but you can be yourself around myself or Seph and we’ll return the same courtesy to you.”

Genesis had Sephiroth keep an eye on Zack while he gathered the tools to cut his hair. It was a small miracle he had waited that long. The younger boy sat in the designated chair, kicking his feet up and down, absently humming a tune. Sephiroth had no idea what to do in this situation, so he stood nearby on guard duty.

“Hey, Sephiroth?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know where this guy came from?” Zack asked, holding up the stuffed wolf.

“The train station near Kalm Village,” affirmed Sephiroth. “There was a gift shop.”

“I don’t remember that…”

“You were asleep.”

“Then how’d I get him?” Zack’s bright blue eyes looked up at the animal held above his head.

“I got it for you,” Sephiroth answered, as if it was obvious.

“Huh?” the Puppy’s arms dropped back to his lap. Sephiroth did his best to navigate the emotional minefield without setting the child off.

“You seemed...upset about...the wolves…” he shrugged. “I thought it would help to have one with you.”

“You got it...for me?”

“Well, I did pay for it,” Sephiroth answered, confused.

“Huh?”

“We can’t take things from stores without paying for them.”

“Huh?”

“It’s yours now, okay?” Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to get through to the younger child.

“It’s...mine? I get to keep it?” Zack’s eyes started watering up.

“Yes.”

“But I didn’t pay for it.”

“It’s okay, I did and I’m giving it to you,” the newly designated big brother tried to explain. “It’s a present.”

“A...present for me…?”

“Ye—”

Sephiroth had no other warning. In a flash, the Puppy had begun full-on bawling. He glomped onto Sephiroth, squeezing him and the toy for dear life. He tried to thank him between hiccups and more tears. The silver-haired boy stood as still as a statue, sweating in panic.

What’s the protocol for this…?!

Sephiroth’s first instinct was to worry he did something wrong. He managed to squirm out of Zack’s surprisingly strong grip, pick the kid up, and rush him to Genesis. The resident adult turned around from all the racket, hands full of scissors, combs, brushes, and a large towel.

“What happened?” Genesis quickly unrolled the towel over his prized jacket before reaching for the blubbering child.

“...I think I broke him.” Sephiroth handed him over.

“Care to elaborate?” The SOLDIER arched an eyebrow over the sad puppy’s head, but managed to keep patting his back (and praying that the towel held up through all the waterworks).

“He was fascinated by the toy, so I told him how I bought it for him and he started crying,” explained Sephiroth. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”

The pieces fell into place for Genesis.

“Sephiroth, he’s not sad. He’s happy.”

“But he’s crying.”

“Those are happy tears.”

“How can tears be...happy?” Sephiroth managed to become more confused than when he started.

“Are you feeling okay, Zack?” Genesis pried the Puppy off his shoulder. The boy had managed to calm down some, but still hiccuped.

“H-He gave m-me a p-present. I’ve n-never gotten one b-before…” he scrubbed at his eyes. “Th-This is the b-best day ever!”

“Then I am happy too,” Sephiroth nodded, readjusting the yellow wolf-dog for Zack.

Through careful compartmentalizing, Genesis buried his deep-seated hatred and rage at Hojo for ruining the lives of kids. Obviously he was glad both boys were getting along, despite being polar opposites (he just didn’t realize how many more reasons he’d find to justify killing Hojo).
Their team was coming along nicely, though. Seph would be a good role model for Zack, and Zack would be a good lesson in expressing emotions for Seph.

Genesis had tried to be as patient as he could, but the time had finally arrived - the Puppy was getting a haircut, no more excuses.

Zack didn’t fully understand the procedure, but was as compliant as a bubbly, happy-go-lucky kid could be. Genesis ended up trading out his initial towel for a different one after the ocean of tears had passed through. So, the Puppy was currently sitting at a chair with a large towel draped over him as a makeshift salon cape. Zack had been excited to hear he’d get to wear a cape, even if Genesis put it on backwards.

Sephiroth was on standby with the collection of combs and brushes. He still wasn’t sure what they were all for, but judging from Zack’s wild mane of hair, he’d probably need them.

Genesis managed to entertain the kids with his ability to float a low-grade water spell around Zack’s hair like an oversized bubble (the sink attempt had been a disaster since this Puppy was so short and discovered splashing soon after the faucet was turned on). Genesis tricked them into believing the water spell only worked if everyone held completely still. Zack was vibrating with excitement, but did his best to listen and praised Genesis for making it feel just like the creek.

The World’s Foremost Master of Materia tried very hard not to cringe at one comparing his superior magical prowess to muddy river leakage.

Once the kid’s hair was damp enough to work with, Genesis decided the best course of action would be cutting off the longer sections first. No need to waste his time detangling that undesirable disaster. Genesis debated checking to see if they had any garden shears once he began cutting the child’s absurdly thick hair. All the tangles and snarls didn’t help either. If Seph’s hair was a Wererat risk, Zack’s hair could probably house a drake or two. It was a wonder the scissors held up. Had the potential of a bald child not made Genesis think of sickly children, he would have buzzed the Puppy’s hair and called it a day.

He continued hacking away at the literal jungle head, wishing his memories of his monthly trips to Shinra’s Salon, staffed by a PR Team that was more dedicated to their job than bandits to gil were a bit clearer. As Genesis got closer to unearthing his newest charge under all the hair, he was surprised at how natural the gravity-defying spikes were. He had always assumed the future Puppy used some kind of hair product…or wood glue.

“Seph, pass the barber comb,” Genesis requested, holding a hand out like a doctor in the middle of a surgery.

“Yes,” Sephiroth fumbled for a moment, putting a comb into the open hand.

“Thank—this is the all-purpose comb,” the expert blinked at the tool.

“Sorry, this one?” Sephiroth held up a bristle brush. He wasn’t the best hair care assistant, but he was doing his best, dammit.

“...Perfect.”

He didn’t miss the small smile Sephiroth had about helping. Sure, it was the wrong tool, but the stiff bristles would still do the job of detangling Zack’s Rust Drake nest. Genesis could teach them about each comb and brush later. Goddess knows none of those whitecoats had the common decency to teach either boy proper life skills.

A few more snips (accompanied by mental curses) and the task was complete. Genesis had tried to give him a sensible hairstyle, but it ended up being similar to the Puppy’s 2nd Class look. The important thing was that it was over now. There was a whole month before they’d have to do this again—plenty of time to stockpile some bourbon or rye whiskey…possibly both. A classic Old Fashioned never went out of style in Banora.

“What do you think?” Genesis, SOLDIER and professional stylist gave him a hand mirror to see.

“Aw, but I liked my tail!” Zack hugged his stuffed wolf with a silly smile.

“Your…tail?”

“My hair was kinda like my tail,” Zack gestured to where his longer stands previously ran down his back.

Genesis eyed the fallen rattail on the floor with the same amount of disdain he had for a certain red-haired Turk.

By the end of the haircut, all the boys were getting hungry. Already exhausted from the morning, Genesis opted to go get food from the local cafe. Given the crazy sleep schedule they’d been keeping as of late, the concept of time was dead. Days didn’t exist anymore. Which was probably a sign to pick up coffee too. He left Sephiroth and Zack in charge of setting the table. It was a simple enough task that even an Unenhanced child could do it.

…Which helped explain his shock when he returned.

Genesis walked in with homestyle biscuits and gravy, but could only stare. The table was half-set, one of the plates lying broken on the floor among fallen silverware casualties. Sephiroth was trying to coax the bristling child down from the tallest cabinet with all the grace of someone who has the social skills of a pufferfish. Zack was forsaking his puppy moniker to hiss like a cat and refuse to come down for anything. Somewhere off in the distance, a lamp fell over. Nobody even noticed Genesis enter the room.

He knew he should have picked up more coffee.

When Genesis was finally able to pry the puppy off the cabinet, he was determined to get answers from both boys. Digging deep, he grabbed onto what little patience he could find and asked Sephiroth to start explaining, while the Puppy sulked like a trapped football under his arm.

“I was showing Zack how to set the table. He followed me and then became noncompliant.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” the younger boy insisted. “I don’t want to go to the table!”

The others stared at him.

“I’m sorry I broke the plate, I didn’t mean to!” Heavy tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “I’ll do better next time, please don’t make me go to the table!”

Genesis was able to piece together that Hojo must have ruined tables for this kid somehow. He looked at them both, so neither felt on the spot.

“What happens at the table?”

“We eat at it,” Seph replied.

“Surgery,” Zack shivered.

That was all Genesis needed to hear.

“Zack, this is not the kind of table they kept at the lab.”

“Really?” the boy looked up at him with watery eyes. The eyes of a kid who wanted to believe him, but spent enough time in the labs to not fully trust him.

“Really,” nodded Genesis. “We use this table to eat our meals, write our shopping lists, and play our board games. Only the fun stuff.”

“You promise?” he squeaked. It was the softest any of them ever heard Zack’s voice.

“I promise. You let me know when you’re ready and I’ll show you.”

Zack thought it over and Genesis made a mental note to add plastic plates on the next shopping list. Sephiroth excused himself to quickly pick up the glass shards on the floor. The man could feel the anxiety in the silver-haired boy, who quickly covered up his finger that had been cut on a stray piece. Genesis added broom and dustpan to his mental list.

“Thank you, Seph,” Genesis knew enough not to call attention to the cut.

“Yes, sir,” the boy accidentally reverted back to formal titles. He was focused on picking up the mess. Knowing it was there had felt like a nail being hammered into his head. He couldn’t focus on the others, because he knew the broken plate was on the floor. Unattended messes were how people got hurt. How people got yelled at and punished. It didn’t matter if they were accidental. Sephiroth didn’t want that in his new residence.

They finally managed to settle down at the table for their meal. Zack abandoned utensils and ate like he was raised by wolves. Or at least prove that he was. Sephiroth stared at him in shock, a mixture of disbelief and apprehension that he would get reprimanded. Genesis forced himself to laugh it off for now. At least the boy was seated at the table. Baby steps.

“We’ll work on table manners later,” Genesis offered a strained smile.

It was taking all his acting ability to appear calm and collected. On the outside, he was a model human being. On the inside, he had already planned 17 different ways to dismember Hojo and sew him back together before killing him for good.

Genesis eventually got back to his office several hours later than intended. The stack of paperwork had been piling up from the Apple Juice venture. The man wrinkled his nose at the prospect of spending his precious freetime on tedious busywork.

This is already tiresome. Perhaps I should just invent social media before it really takes off here…

The idea intrigued him, but the inner workings evaded him. Genesis was too drained to figure out how to capitalize on his insider knowledge of future viral videos, popular apps, and meme culture. He’d shelve that topic for another day. For now, he needed to keep up appearances as a respectable and diligent businessman.

That meant he had to strike now at his workload, while the two rugrats were actually asleep. Zack was healthy, but still tired. Seph was finally able to sleep now that his new companion was safe and sound. The former Commander grimly recalled the era in the Old World when he deserted Shinra and Sephiroth in one fell swoop. He took a third of the SOLDIERS and the Silver General’s only other friend - Angeal. Genesis had thought the emotional blow would weaken Sephiroth or lower his guard. Imagine his surprise when the most hyperactive SOLDIER on staff managed to befriend the most stoic…

It would be interesting to see if the two would become friends in this world too. Genesis opened up his notebook to update his observations.

Chapter 11: Sunny

Chapter Text

Like rain hitting against a windowpane, Genesis’s memories started to return. As they pelted him with glorious battles and ridiculous VR Room stunts, he wrote them down before they rolled down the glass and out of his head… Well, maybe not all of the ridiculous VR Room stunts. It wouldn’t do to leave potential blackmail lying around. It was a blessing and a curse to recall that almighty Saint Angeal once accidentally landed a little too hard on the steel skeleton of a construction site setting, snagging his trademark Buster on an unfinished wall during a sparring match. As if that wasn’t enough, he slipped on a paint roller, knocking an open can of ‘blushing flamingo’ over his head, and managed to twist his damned ankle on his ride down the scaffolding. (Clearly some of the programmers had a sense of humor, the paint was surprisingly realistic). However entertaining it was, the world wasn’t ready to know about it. Either world.

At least he made a sufficient distraction… A pity I was preoccupied with laughing at him to make use of it and attack Sephiroth…

Genesis hoped that writing down as much as he could would help speed along the memory restoration process, and ensure nothing was missed. The SOLDIER found it informative, productive, (and even a little therapeutic) to start a memory journal. It was his personal Logbook on his voyage through time, to help him navigate his spliced-together memories.

Even if it led to frequent ‘cliffhangers’ (which often got completed later on).

It was like watching a time-traveling theater spectacle in his head. Except the script was tossed into the air and hastily put back together, Acts all over the place. Sometimes a power ballad would be interrupted by a drunken, sea shanty. The main cast had talent, but the supporting cast were a collection of understudies and volunteers. He wished it had been possible to have a word with the Director sooner. All together too many tragedies seemed to pop up during Genesis: The Later Years. Still he wrote them down, taking care not to repeat the past here.

This was helpful, so Genesis did the same process to note key details about his current daily life. His wing boasting healthy, glossy feathers was a prime example. Other examples included Seph’s near-allergic reaction to any kind of touch and Zack’s aversion to tables. Honestly, how f*cking twisted could one man be to ruin hugs and tables for children?! Hojo was a dead man the minute Genesis got his hands on him.

Sensing that he was getting off track, the man closed his observation book. At this rate, he’d have to start a third notebook on ways he’d planned on killing Hojo.

Eventually, Genesis made his way downstairs, telling the boys he was going to pick up breakfast. Sephiroth was to set the table and Zack could pour the apple juice in the kitchen. The eldest child set out to complete his task immediately. The Puppy continued to prance around with his stuffed wolf, babbling some kind of song to it.

It was about as much as Genesis could’ve hoped for.

Silverware gleamed up at the silver-haired boy, shining in the morning sun. Sephiroth lowered the blinds on the window letting the sunbeams in. After being in a lab for so long, natural lighting felt…too bright at times. The fluorescent lights weren’t exactly relaxing, but sunlight was too warm. Too strong. Sephiroth shook his head and finished his job. Once the table was set to perfection, he called Zack over.

Predictably, the (louder) younger boy didn’t answer, so Sephiroth tracked him down (again, aided by the fact that this kid was loud enough to be found in an urban setting with heavy traffic and background noise). Sure enough, his new companion was in his room, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. He always seemed to be in motion.

“Did I do okay?” Zack hugged his stuffed wolf close to his chest. “It was really, really scary, but I ate at the table just like you asked.”

Seph stopped, was Zack talking to the inanimate object or him? He didn’t know his younger colleague very well yet, but both seemed like reasonable answers.

“Thank you for that,” Sephiroth spoke up, not wanting to be rude. “But your table manners could use some improvement.”

“Huh?” Zack turned his head around, smiling curiously when he saw the silver-haired boy. “You thought I did okay too?”

So he was talking to his wolf toy. Figures. Perhaps one day Genesis can give a proper lesson on these ‘people skills’ he deems so important…

“Yes, but you can do better.”

“I can?” Zack bounded over to the other. “How?”

Sephiroth handed him a spoon and fork. Zack’s smile faded.

The only thing that passed through the town faster than gossip was Vienna’s secret taco casserole dish…and the aftereffects of eating too much of it. The Bakery was abuzz, even given the early hour. When Genesis arrived he found out why—the nosy little townsfolk had been waiting for him. The piranhas.

Apparently, it had been obvious from his frequent food trips that he sucked at cooking. And several gossipers at the Apple Juice Factory were talking about how he was working at home, because he was welcoming another ward into his family (which was a huge workplace privacy violation, if there ever was one). The rest was a lot of guesswork and some wishful thinking.

“You have to introduce us!” Mercedes insisted. To her credit, as much as she loved gossip, she was also genuinely interested in learning about others. She blocked his path to the coffee with a smile. “I bet he’s another cutie! Definitely a little one!”

“What makes you say that?” Genesis hadn’t even mentioned Zack to anyone in town besides Gillian (who wasn’t a snitch) and his elitist business partners (who wouldn’t deem taking care of a child to be worth the gossip).

“Because Seth is old enough to look after himself, but not a new kid for long periods of time.”

“And you’ve been ordering for three at the cafe,” winked Mrs. Colby, who took eavesdropping on her customers to a whole new level. “I can’t think of a kiddo who doesn’t like chicken nuggets!”

“Aww, is that true, Genesis?” Millie asked. “You seem really good with kids. It’s so nice of you to help them out.”

“You let me know if you ever need a good baby-sitter!” Clarice piped up. “My two eldest kids are always looking for a way to help out!”

“You’ll be bringing them to the Hob, yes?” Jorge poked his arm. “We have an excellent selection of extra-durable shorts and pants, perfect for rambunctious little boys!”

Sephiroth was the exact opposite of ‘rambunctious’ but that held up well enough for Zack. That boy was single-handedly giving Genesis a caffeine addiction. In any event, the townsfolk were very excited to meet Genesis’s newest addition, correctly identifying him as younger, for all the reasons Mercedes and Mrs. Colby pointed out.

Their recon game was on point with most Turks.

“Of course you’ll all be able to meet him soon,” Genesis cut off another wave of questioning. “He’s been fighting off a nasty flu from his old town, so we’re quarantining him to be safe. Once he has the all-clear, I’d be happy to introduce you.”

“Oh, you’re such a natural!” Vienna gushed, bumping her husband’s arm, who nodded. “You sound like a dad already!”

“Ah, such kind words are wasted on me,” Genesis drew up a smile, managing to not look absolutely affronted. “But I fully intend on allowing donuts and sweets for breakfast and lunch if we don’t finish them off.”

“Yes, yes, with deals like this, you can’t not splurge a little now and then!”

Genesis tuned out the rest of the conversation. It wasn’t going anywhere and he had places to be. He could only force so many smiles about being called ‘such a good dad.’ His true role was to be the Hero of Dawn, handpicked by the Goddess herself! Fathers and caretakers were the supporting roles. In the Old World, they didn’t even qualify as a formality. Neither Angeal, Sephiroth, or himself had supportive fathers. (He’d set his fair share of military personnel on fire for one too many uninspired ‘Daddy Issues’ jokes). The only involved father was Hojo and that was entirely because Sephiroth was his ticket to creating a living war machine/achieving scientific accolades for successfully ruining the lives of others. That psychopath didn’t exactly tuck his kid in at night and read him picture books.

Genesis had no intention of becoming a weak, sappy father figure to a group of traumatized kids. He would support them into becoming powerful enough to help him set Shinra ablaze, saving the Planet in the process. He was destined to bring the will of the Goddess to fruition, completing the final act of Loveless. He was destined to burn brighter than the stars. Genesis was destined for greatness, not fatherhood.

He gave the residents another PR-worthy smile on his way out the door. Not all the conversation was to his liking, but it helped create new memories of the Banora residents in his fully-sane, 100% not deteriorating brain.

Whatever helped him not see the overlap with their pale and bloody bodies from the Old World.

Genesis returned shortly after with croissants, jam, and enough donuts to open up his own food stand. He eyed the table, relieved to see no broken glass, but confused at the additional table setting.

“Are we expecting company?”

“Yeah! Sunny!” Zack poked his head out of the kitchen.

“Sunny?

“Sunny!” the boy pointed to the golden wolf riding on his head.

“You named your wolf-thing...Sunny?”

Zack nodded with such enthusiasm that his wolf almost tumbled off.

“Of course you did,” Genesis ignored the smile tugging at his mouth. “Here’s to hoping Sunny has better table manners than you.”

“Don’t worry, Seph’s been teaching us all about the dumb forks and spoons and stuff!”

Genesis was almost disappointed he went to get food when he could’ve watched The Silver General teach basic table etiquette to a wildchild and stuffed animal. That would’ve made a good picture. Maybe he should be adding photos to his observation journals…? To document growth, of course.

“That must have been something,” Genesis glanced at the older child, who sighed.

“I tried.”

“I like to pretend the fork is like a metal claw!” roared the youngest, flailing his finger ‘claws’ around recklessly.

“...He might need a few more lessons,” Sephiroth admitted.

Approaching the table to sit, Zack still felt uneasy, so he busied himself with poking at the bag of food. He was unfamiliar with the sweet scent.

“What’d ya get?” he asked, unbothered by the taller SOLDIER swatting his hands off.

“Wash your paws before you come see for yourself, Puppy.”

The baker’s ability to stack everything together without crushing a single pastry was nothing short of supernatural. Genesis pulled out load after load of donuts, croissants the size of saucers, and Banora jams. The smell of freshly baked bread and icing intensified.

“Whoa…!” Zack eyed all the treats. “We can really eat all that?!”

“My friend, do you fly away now? I don’t see any scientist stopping us,” smirked Genesis.

“Please don’t attempt to eat all of it,” Sephiroth shook his head, recalling his experience with too many sweets and the gastrointestinal armageddon that followed.

“I’ll save some for you guys too! We’re a Pack, remember?” Zack laughed, picking up his fork when his big brother gave him a look to remind him.

The Pack sat down and dug in.

Genesis was never a fan of paperwork, not even when he got to write glowing reports about his field experiences in SOLDIER. The Apple Juice paperwork was considerably more boring, taking that much more effort to work up the motivation to complete it. To make matters even more challenging, Genesis kept running into a roadblock. A Puppy Roadblock.

No matter where Genesis took his work, the youngest boy would always find him. The kid even scaled the house all the way to the roof to inform his caretaker that the sun was in fact very bright that day. Replying to the Pup only encouraged him and ignoring him only convinced the kid that Genesis was intently listening. He honestly wondered how Sephiroth hadn’t set something on fire yet. By the Goddess, he was about ready to!

Genesis wouldn’t describe Zack as ‘needy…’ Not exactly. More like… a non-stop, sugar-fueled chatter machine. As if the little extrovert would explode if he didn’t share every single thought that went through his busy brain.

Perhaps honey-glazed bear claws and extra large dumbapple fritters for breakfast was a mistake…

Having Zack around really amplified how little Seph actually spoke. Making conversation with this Seph was equally as challenging as his older counterpart. Small talk was like pulling teeth. Genesis could see something was bothering the kid, but he wouldn’t say what it was. Sephiroth probably had it ingrained to never bother adults with his own problems, but still… Enough prying and Genesis finally got him to talk.

Okay, okay, he got Zack to get him to talk, because for all the kid’s ramblings, he wasn’t half-bad at listening when someone else spoke. (He just lacked any and all comprehension of ‘leave me the hell alone for five minutes’ body language.)

“Are you okay, Seph?” Zack poked his head over the other armrest, blue eyes fixed on his big brother.

“I am fine,” came the reply. Sephiroth glanced over his book, unsure how much recognition he was supposed to give the other child. Sephiroth clearly outranked him, but one could never be sure…

“You don’t look ‘fine…’” Zack’s face scrunched up at the last word, but softened. “You came from the labs too, yeah?”

“A…different one than yours, but yes.”

“Now I know you’re not ‘fine.’”

Sephiroth wasn’t sure how to answer. Behind the door on the other side of the room, Genesis wasn’t sure, either. The smaller boy scrambled up the couch, so he could see better.

“But we’re safe here!” Zack beamed at him, arms spread wide.

Genesis could tell from the moment of silence that Sephiroth had got stuck staring at the direct sunlight.

“...That’s true.”

“So you don’t hafta be scared here!” the youngest bounced around the couch. “Isn’t that awesome?”

“I’m not scared,” Sephiroth was on the defensive. Is that how his new colleagues perceived him? Fear was no SOLDIER’s friend. Fear caused panic and indecisiveness. Fear was something to be ashamed of. Something that needed corrections…

“Well, I am, sometimes!” exclaimed Zack, without a shred of shame. “But not as much anymore.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because you, me, and Genesis—we’re a Pack and a Pack protects each other.”

It was delivered so matter-of-factly, that not even Sephiroth’s rock-solid, logical brain could argue.

“Whatever you say.”

Genesis completely agreed that sometimes the best way to get the kid to shut up was to agree with whatever ludacris thing he said…only this time, he hoped the conversation would be longer. He could tell by the slight, nearly imperceptible inflection in Seph’s voice that the Pup got through to him. Sephiroth might not have the words to express himself yet, but he knew he could talk to them when he did.

“Annnnd I think Sunny ate my sock,” frowned the five-year-old. “Can you help me find it, so Genesis doesn’t get mad?”

“Sure.”

Genesis wouldn’t get mad. (Nor would he question where the sock actually did go…)

Gillian was making another stop at the house to check on Zack’s recovery and speak with Genesis of an important matter. Genesis knew this because she was carrying a bag of cashews, chickpeas, and…peanuts? Any Banora-born worth their salt knows that when a visitor brings you anything involving legumes, it’s best to prepare comfortable seating because you will either fall to the ground in shock or be there for awhile. Mixed nuts means mixed feelings. No need to involve young ears with that.

“Sephiroth,” Genesis eyed Gillian’s arrival with a small frown. Even from half a mile away, he could tell it wasn’t good. “I need you to go play a game with Zack.”

“...What?”

“Hide and Seek or something,” the man waved off his concerns. He needed to keep the bookworm and the hyper child away while the grown-ups were talking. “If you don’t know how to play, look it up.”

Sephiroth obediently walked over to the child drawing something in the dirt. Some kind of animal…? Zack was in his natural state of barefoot and covered in dirt.

“...Hello.”

“Hi, Seph!”

“We need to go research Hide and Seek,” he informed the other. “Genesis’s orders.”

Zack responded by excitedly latching himself to his companion’s leg with a cheer. The spiky boy was awesome at Hide and Seek. Even those jerkass scientists said so…in slightly different words. Sephiroth looked down at the child, puzzled by his antics.

“...I accept your surrender,” was all he said, attempting to walk away with an overly-exuberant barnacle stuck to his leg.

Both boys took off, one out of a sense of duty, the other overjoyed to have a playmate. They stopped only to politely greet Gillian on their way to the backyard at the silver-haired boy’s insistence. Seph really was shaping up to be great big brother material, even without any model or reference point. Genesis felt some strange sense of pride, but was unsure why.

“He seems to be recovering well,” Gillian inclined her head towards the youngest.

“Yes, he’s nothing if not resilient. In my old world, he grew up able to walk off being pickled in a tank of mako and begin a cross-country trip with his comatose friend on the same day,” chuckled the SOLDIER “He was one of the few Firsts who resisted degradation and full-blown madness. The adult Puppy’s probably relaxing in Costa Del Sol with his friends back there.”

The resident adults took their conversation to the safety of indoors. Gillian’s grim look never left her face, but something seemed to linger underneath the set frown—hope?

“Angeal and your younger self have recently been moved,” she was never one to mince words. “I’m still working on where.”

Ignoring Genesis’s surprised look, she continued on.

“It was handled almost entirely by the Science Department, which is odd for transporting people,” the former scientist informed him. “Someone or something must have spooked Hojo even before your arrival.”

“How do you know all of this?” Genesis asked, crossing his arms. This kind of knowledge required more than just the hacking skills he assumed she used before.

“I have friends in high places, but that is a difficult conversation for another day,” she replied. “Until then, I’ll keep you posted on when to move out.”

She was starting to feel more confident in the SOLDIER’s skills, given the state of the lab Sephiroth was freed from and the absolute catastrophe that befell the Gongaga lab. Should her son or little Genesis be found in a similar state as Zack, there was no way the time traveler wouldn’t become the personification of another natural disaster and rain fiery vengeance down upon the fools responsible. Gillian declined the offer for coffee and left shortly after. Keeping her visit to a minimum was the best way to avoid curious eyes.

Genesis was curious himself as to how she was getting her intel in this world. Previously, she was effectively cut off from the Company, which was why she was so easy to contact and not draw attention to (although she most likely only helped look into a degradation cure for Angeal’s sake). Genesis didn’t have long to mull it over. Within a few minutes a worried Sephiroth entered his office. Or at least as worried as his friend’s frozen facial expressions allowed him to be. Only a trained eye could see Seph’s jaw twitch and set like stone.

“I don’t suppose you were picking up snacks?” Genesis offered him the bag of nuts left behind by their guest.

“I…I am unable to find Zack,” admitted the boy.

“What?”

“We went over the Hide and Seek specifications and began the operation as ordered…” Sephiroth stated (Genesis tried very hard not to roll his eyes at the idea of turning a children’s game into a military op). “Zack insisted on being the one who hides, so I allowed it.”

“And…?”

“And I have been unable to find him since…”

Genesis was a little disappointed in Sephiroth’s inability to find the loudest person on the Planet, but agreed to help search. It might be ridiculous, but it would complicate things if anyone tried to kidnap the brat. He was going to find the Puppy, tease Seph about overlooking such an obvious spot, and move on with his afternoon.

Or so he thought.

They checked around the trees. They poked a few bushes. They even jumped to the roof. Zack might be an Enhanced kid, but he was still a kid. Kids were loud and this game hinged on a person’s ability to remain silent. Where were the usual giggles and wiggling around? The more Genesis participated, the more idiotic he felt. He wasn’t about to admit he was losing to a freaking five year old!

Fifteen minutes later Genesis defied his stubborn pride and used a Scan spell to find the kid. Turns out, Zack had made use of the forest just outside their property line. Somehow he’d managed to fold himself up and hide in a hollowed out tree. The Puppy even pushed another fallen tree in front of the cracked trunk to hide his scent.

“How the hell did you manage to fit inside this tree?” Genesis could barely keep the stunned tone out of his voice. “And for over a half hour?!”

“I thought you’d find me faster!” Zack grinned back, jumping up and dusting himself off for round two. “I toldja I’m really good at this game!”

He had to be. It was a life or death skill for him to gain back in the Labs.

Genesis couldn’t believe it. He was destined for so much more than menial paperwork. This was just disrespectful! It was becoming increasingly more urgent to get this Apple Juice Empire to take off so he could go back to saving the Planet. How unfortunate that money made the world go round, no matter which world he was in. Second chances were hard to come by. Like hell he’d squander that. He was playing the long game with President Shinra and his snakes. They didn’t know him, but they already wanted him dead.

“Geeeeenesiiiiis!” came a howl from two rooms away.

Then again…they might not get the chance.

This Work-Homelife Balance was going to be the death of him, he just knew it.

Whenever he was making good progress on his work, there would be some kind of interruption. Sometimes it was a noise. Once it was Sephiroth accidentally knocking over a bookcase. Mostly it was a Puppy. He didn’t understand why the boys were so reliant on him. When he was a kid, he avoided his adoptive parents like the plague. Especially when they retreated to their office to work. Anything even bordering on interrupting during a non-scheduled interaction was swiftly met with lectures and public shaming. Once, Mr. Rhapsodos tried to strike him, not taking into account that even a little Mako could make a kid as tough as a tank, and busted up his hand spectacularly. Genesis then got another lecture for that. Even as a child, Genesis knew that whenever adults were working in their office, they were to be left alone.

Currently, he was bracing himself for the tackle he knew was coming, if the pitter patter of tiny feet moving at Mach 1 was anything to go by.

“Geeeeenesiiiiiiiiis!” Zack burst into the room, nearly knocking the man off his chair even with preparations. “I’m hungry! Let’s go hunt!”

“Don’t scare the locals,” the auburn-haired man rolled his eyes. What happened to the leftovers from breakfast? “Just go eat whatever Seph is eating.”

“Um…’kay!” the boy smiled and raced back out, papers flying in his wake.

Genesis cursed under his breath, catching the fluttering reports and re-organizing them. He wondered how much force the floorboards could take. Perhaps a new rule of moving slower than the speed of sound while indoors was becoming necessary? He did tell the Puppy to be himself when around his fellow labrats, but didn’t think it would be at the price of their house.

Not ten minutes later, Genesis was interrupted by yet another loud noise. This time, coming from the kitchen. He would have ignored it, if an audible “Uh-oh” hadn’t followed.

Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul…

Genesis investigated, eyes widening at the sight—a pot of questionable liquid and uncooked noodles lay overturned on the center of the floor, surrounded by enough ketchup to create a crime scene, a collapsing mountain of mangled vegetables, and two very guilty looking children. Apparently Sephiroth had attempted to make something to eat, but ended up creating a kitchen disaster instead.

“Hiya, Genesis…” Zack waved Sunny’s paw innocently. “Want some…soup?”

“I…I’m sorry…” Sephiroth ducked his head down in shame, bracing for the verbal onslaught he was sure would come.

Before Genesis could blow his top, he reminded himself that not even adult Sephiroth could cook. The guy would sooner go without eating or consume a rations bar before he put effort into cooking something. His younger self in this world wasn’t much different in that regard. Genesis didn’t have to be a master of reframing the situation to realize what likely happened. Sephiroth was probably minding his own business when the Puppy stampeded in, insisting they eat something. The older boy likely told Zack that he wasn’t hungry, but ended up making the cooking attempt because Zack kept pestering him. Unfortunately for everyone involved, both boys equally suck at cooking, hence the mess.

“I’m going back to my office for ten minutes…” Genesis pinched the bridge of his nose. “When I come back, I expect all of this to be cleaned up. We’re going to pretend it never happened.”

Zack cheered. Sephiroth blinked in disbelief. Genesis walked away and fought the urge to scream into a pillow.

True to their word, the boys had the mess tidied up to the best of their ability upon his return. Genesis then taught them how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in exchange for not bugging him for the rest of the afternoon.

Naturally, Zack ignored this order and showed up thirty minutes later with the messiest PB&J sandwich in all of creation.

“Zack...what did I tell you about interrupting me?” Genesis asked through clenched teeth. All he wanted was some time to himself to finish this godsdamned paperwork. Was that really so much to ask for?

“I know, I know, but I remembered you didn’t take a sandwich…”

“What?” Genesis set the paperwork down.

“When you showed us how, you didn’t take one!”

“So?”

“So, I made ya one!” Zack set the plate down with pride. “You’re probably pretty hungry, yeah?”

“You made this for me?” Genesis looked down at the sloppy sandwich, then back at the grinning boy.

“Yup!” his smile grew as he rocked on his feet. “I’m way better at it than Seph!”

Genesis didn’t doubt that.

“...Thank you.”

“Welcome!” The Puppy smiled brightly again, giving a waving salute and ran off with Sunny.

Genesis carefully balanced the plate on his lap to avoid spilling on any papers. How long had he spent working on this bureaucratic bullsh*t anyway? He was getting a little hungry…and it was really hard to screw up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (unless you were Sephiroth). The SOLDIER took a decent-sized bite of the sandwich and nearly gagged.

“Is that ham?!”

“You want me to authorize an extraction of my alleged bastard son and the mayor’s daughter on the heels of your absolute failure here in Midgar?!” President Rupert Shinra roared.

Nothing like laying into one of your more arrogant subordinates to get the juices flowing before a Board Meeting.

“Yes, sir,” Hojo paid his respects, but his dull tone betrayed his apathy. Why was this fool doubting him now? “I can assure you the assailant responsible will strike there next for those very individuals, unless we—”

“—All because your Artifact said so, hm?” Rupert nearly bit through his cigar. “Let’s not forget how your ‘better half’ quite literally blew their stack in Gongaga! That set us back millions!”

“But it confirmed the identity of—”

“Enough! I’ve heard enough!”

Hojo wisely shut his trap, but didn’t miss the condescending look from the entitled brat at the President’s side.

“If his little pair of monster specimens hadn’t escaped, I’d suggest he spend some time in the cages with them, Father,” Rufus smirked.

“I hardly see how that’s relevant,” Hojo glared back. That little sh*tstain was only present because daddy dearest decided to favor him to avoid a prophesied patricide attempt. All the same, Rufus’s taunts were making his old man proud, relevant or not.

“Believe you me, it will be a long time before I approve anything for your little side projects,” Rupert returned to laying into Hojo. “Get back what’s ours and we’ll talk, Professor.”

“Kya, ha, ha! What do we have here~?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard Hojo get chewed out in years! So sorry I missed it!”

The other Directors began to file into the room. The spineless head of Urban Development was tactfully quiet and Veld finished the ‘work email’ he’d been typing out on his phone before Heidegger and Scarlet ruined a perfectly good chance to eavesdrop. For years, there had been whispers of some kind of ‘Artifact’ that only the President, his son, and Hojo were privy to (although the Director of the Turks suspected more players were involved). Normally, Veld couldn’t care less about that sort of thing, but Rupert insisted on basing big decisions on it without filling in the others on his reasoning.

He knew not to let curiosity get the best of him, but he was a Turk. He’d get to the bottom of it eventually.

" alt="sunny sketch" />

Chapter 12: The Three Little—Oh, Hell No’s!

Chapter Text

Sephiroth enjoyed looking at the stars on nights when sleep escaped him. Their small size hid their true strength. They were powerful, they guided people, and if the picture book Zack showed him was to be believed, some even told stories based on their formation. They weren’t a constant (what with the Planet’s rotation around the sun being confirmed years ago), but they were a comfort nonetheless. A silent reminder of brilliant power.

Until they weren’t.

The boy hoped he had started dozing, because suddenly the sky was ripped apart and the stars snatched away. Sephiroth found himself falling in every direction. Winds whipped around him as he fell into the sky and back to the land. He managed to twist himself around like a cat, poised to land on both feet, when the land simply swallowed him whole. He passed through it like the gelatin dish that didn’t agree with his stomach.

This is a dream… This is a dream… He tried to logic his way out of it.

Now Sephiroth was swimming in dark waters. Which wasn’t all that unheard of, his basic training courses had prepared him to survive in a wide variety of environments. He just found it odd to be doing in a dream. His nightmares leaned more on the side of reliving previous ‘Correctional Methods’ which Genesis had since relabeled as ‘torture.’ Sephiroth had always been an excellent swimmer, so he needed very few remedial lessons in that area. His brain should have a lot less to draw from there.

But here he was thrashing about through black waves of sludge.

Why can’t I wake up?!

The silver-haired boy couldn’t explain it, but the water felt…wrong. It was heavier than anything he’d ever swam through before. Despite feeling almost oily, the liquid didn’t roll off him. It clung to him, as if trying to pull him into the slimy depths. Sephiroth felt his skin crawl. The more aware he became of the substance, the more repulsive it became. He frantically tried to wipe it off, to no avail. Wave after wave crashed into him and refused to let go. Sephiroth’s arm twisted out of the ocean to get away from the overwhelming sensation. He felt cold. He felt sick. He felt like he was melting into the liquid.

He had to get out.

The boy shuddered and thrashed around. His strokes were becoming sloppy. He couldn’t escape like this. A horrible sense of terror washed over him. His limbs were moving on their own to escape the watery prison like they were being controlled by four separate puppeteers having seizures.

Eventually, his movements slowed. The water thickened around him, finally pulling him under. As much as he struggled, paste-like liquid surrounded him, filling his airway before he could cry out for help.

“I could help you, child…”

Sephiroth frantically looked around the slimy darkness around him. He didn’t recognize the voice, but it sounded familiar somehow…

“Come to me, child…” the disembodied voice called out. It was everywhere and nowhere at once. “I will show you the way…”

A set of stone steps materialized under his feet. Sephiroth looked up and they led to a glowing doorway. Stars twinkled around it, lighting his way. Was he dying or dreaming? The boy was unsure. He took a step towards the door and could feel some kind of intent behind the void. It was pleased he was following orders. It would have him right where it wanted him soon.

Sephiroth froze in place. He reluctantly took a step back. This time the intent shifted from pleased to annoyed. The voice carried the same calming cadence, covering up venom with honey.

“Come to me, child… I can save you…”

Sephiroth felt like whatever polymer nightmare was oozing around him was clouding his judgment and clogging his senses. All he could hear was the voice calling out to him. Not his own heartbeat or footsteps. Even his own breathing was muffled. He wanted to remember something, but was getting blocked by whatever distortion this was. Sephiroth squeezed his eyes shut to focus. He thought of Genesis freeing him from Hojo’s lab. A new beginning. He thought of reading books to Zack and getting to pick the next story. Freedom.

“I can save you… Come into the light…”

Don’t go into the light!

“I’ve already been saved.”

An inhuman scream tore apart the silent realm. Leaving the presence to rage above, Sephiroth leaped off the stairs and took his chances with whatever lay below. The intent he was sensing quickly devolved into deadly vehemence. Around him, walls shifted and appeared out of the oozy, sludge walls. Lights flooded around him. He was back in Hojo’s lab, strapped to an exam table, unable to move even with his superhuman strength.

“Why have I been cursed with such an inadequate specimen…?” Hojo stepped forward, horrible sneer on his face. “Do you need to be reminded of the chain of command again, boy?”

Sephiroth kept his expression neutral and his breathing even. He tried to not think about what was in the needle Hojo materialized from the darkness.

“You have no power here! You never have!” Hojo jabbed the needle into the boy’s arm without warning. For a dream, it felt a little too realistic. “You are here to do as you’re told! Banish all foolish thoughts of doing otherwise! I didn’t create you to fail, boy!”

Hojo continued rambling on. Years of practice enabled Sephiroth to look at him without flinching.

“You will obey me and you will hate me and you will prove me right. Above all else, you will prove me right.”

“...I will not.”

“What did you say?” The Professor turned around, eyes wide in anger clouding shock.

To be fair, Sephiroth was a little surprised he was able to speak up too. Finding his voice once more, he wielded it like a sword.

“I will not.”

“You will obey me and you will prove me right!” Hojo spat at him, towering over the exam table.

“I will not!”

“You will prove me right! You will prove every—”

Sephiroth’s eyes snapped open. No longer in a lab, he sat up in his bed. Stubborn sunbeams poked through the edges of his curtains. His pajamas clung to him from the layer of sweat and he felt more than a little dizzy, but he wasn’t in the lab. He was safe.

He was home.

Eyeing the time, the young SOLDIER frowned. The dream had a tight hold on him, causing him to wake up last. His nightmares weren’t usually that strong…he would need to become stronger. Strong enough to never see something like that in his sleep ever again.

He changed and made his way downstairs to find Genesis scolding Zack about eating with his hands again. By the looks of it, they were having some kind of porridge. Sephiroth had learned to look at Genesis’s plate first for clues. Zack had a bizarre habit of adding meat to everything that wasn’t dessert food.

“Nice to see you’re finally up, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Mornin’ Seph!” the tiniest SOLDIER waved excitedly, porridge remnants flying about.

“Good morning.”

Sephiroth’s nose detected an unfamiliar scent coming from the kitchen. He predicted some kind of meat, but had no idea what kind. He was still learning about new foods every day. This particular smell was very intriguing. He could feel his mouth water without having the slightest clue what food was causing it. Sephiroth would definitely catalog this one away for further research. The silver-haired boy instinctively kept his comments to himself before remembering where he was and who he was with. He was allowed to ask questions here.

“What’s that smell?”

“Breakfast!” Zack exclaimed.

“And…what is for breakfast?”

He immediately regretted asking…but not for the reason he was expecting.

“The pigs!!” Zack howled back, launching into a huge rant. “Those bad pigs are tellin’ lies and making people think wolves are the bad guys! Oh, no. No, no, no! Pigs are the ones who will eat almost anything, even people’s bones! Wolves are awesome! Wolves take care of each other and can even swim! You don’t see pigs doing that!”

Sephiroth didn’t want to think about swimming at the moment. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he quickly found his place at the table. It might have been a little mean to exploit the younger kid’s weakness, but Sephiroth had no idea how to deal with the fired-up Pup. What had started this protest?

Something to do with the picture book he’s now swinging around…?

The large book had fancy ‘Fables and Fairy Tales’ inscribed in grand, flowy letters. Sephiroth didn’t recognize it, so it must have been new (or recently unearthed from the storage space). Apparently, Zack was personally offended by the number of stories containing a ‘big bad wolf’ character. So offended that he couldn’t move at anything less than lightspeed. His rant took him from standing on chairs to zipping around the hardwood floors.

“I think he gets the idea, Puppy,” Genesis plucked the boy off the cabinet for the second time. “You can focus on eating now. With a spoon.”

“Those bad pigs are giving us a bad name!”

It wasn’t the first time Zack forgot that he was in fact, not an actual wolf.

“You’re…upset by the stories?” Sephiroth asked, as Zack was deposited in the chair next to him. Did he not receive the same instruction on fiction being…well, fiction? Sephiroth was never allowed to read anything not deeply rooted in scientific facts or positive Shinra propaganda before Genesis took him in. ‘Ignorant drivel’ the scientists had called it.

“It’s like almost all of ‘em you and Genesis read me have a ‘big bad wolf!’” he crossed his tiny arms. “Where did they even come up with that! I bet they never even met a real wolf! Not all wolves are bad! But you know what is? Wild boars! They attack everybody!”

“—And that’s why we’re having bacon this morning,” Genesis set down a plate of it, doing his best to ignore the youngest boy start aggressively eating it.

“Take that, Little Pigs!”

“Genesis, can I have some paper?” Zack asked, carrying the remnants of his breakfast plate to the sink. What he lacked in table manners he made up for in copying whatever he saw his big brother do.

“Why?”

“So I can write a book.”

“Oh?” Genesis arched an eyebrow. Did he potentially have a playwright on his hands? “About what, Puppy?”

“I’m gonna make my own story tale about wolves being the good guys!”

“Oh,” the SOLDIER’s enthusiasm fell flat. “And you know how to write, then?”

Zack blinked twice, lifting his hands up. He stared at them, as though they betrayed him.

“Oh, no…” he whispered.

“Maybe stick to illustrating,” suggested the resident adult. “Seph can show you where the crayons are. Do not write on the walls or I’ll make you pet the pigs on Mr. Denver’s farm.”

“That’s right!” Zack bounced back up, spirits lifted. “Seph! Seph! Can you help me with something?!”

Through the power of Puppy Eyes, Zack managed to secure an author. Or, more accurately, a scribe. The boys were currently camped out on the living room floor, surrounded by papers, crayons, and jarring, almost violently-vibrant sketches. It was as if someone dipped a Cactuar in paint then set it loose on a stack of papers. Had they been closer to the desert, Genesis wouldn’t have put it past the Puppy to try.

“What do you want me to write for…this one?” Sephiroth held up another scribbly paper. His little brother’s artistic skills were only a notch above his writing skills. The writer had learned early to ask what to put down instead of trying to interpret what the pink, red, and green blobs were supposed to symbolize.

“Oh, can you have it say…the Big Bad Pigs came to the town and tried to eat everybody up? Oh, and then the Awesome Hero Wolf Pack zoomed in and kicked their curly-tailed butts!”

“Okay—”

“—And the people were so happy they let the wolves live in the castle and gave them twelve holidays and all the candies and sheeps they could eat!”

Now Genesis was fairly certain he didn’t show either of them how the TV worked yet, but maybe it was time. Who knew how long they had before the Puppy’s insanity spread? Genesis adjusted a curtain by the window. Outside was beautiful—the sun was shining, birds were singing, the nosy neighbors were respecting boundary lines for a change…

…It was far too gorgeous to spend indoors.

All the same, Genesis didn’t feel confident letting them roam too far into town with Shinra more alert and potentially throw off finding the others. That and he really didn’t trust the hyperactive five year old on his own to begin with. Sephiroth would probably be fine, but Zack wouldn’t take well to being left unsupervised.

He supposed he could just bring them with on his scheduled grocery run. They’d be outside for a bit, get some practice using their fake identities, and start introducing the boys to a few of the locals turned paparazzi.

How hard could it be?

Chapter 13: You Will Gain The Groceries You Seek At The Price Of Your Sanity

Chapter Text

The air was dry. Drier than the wastelands that ensnared Midgar. More painful than the scorching deserts in the Corel Region. The fusion of acrid smells hit like the moment before a forest fire began to blaze and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Feet echoing down empty aisles, his eyes flitted over faceless workers sitting behind empty stands. They laughed at his agony. Genesis would make them pay. Fighting off the jeers of the growing crowd only made him realize how alone he felt. The Crimson Commander had been betrayed…the sting of it piercing through his very core.

But he couldn’t stop.

He rounded the bend—empty. He sprinted across a well-worn rug—nothing. He was surrounded by enemies, yet utterly alone. Was he going to be next? After they had their fun with him, were these monsters wearing human masks going to slaughter him where he stood?

Genesis could feel his heart rate spike at the same time as his nerves. Did his SOLDIER instincts and enhancements short-circuit? His whole body burned. The figurative forest fire had begun. Even the sweat dripping between his shoulders felt like someone seared him with a hot iron, tracing and retracing the scorch marks. All he had left was his thundering heart and the salt water in his eyes that threatened to fall. He didn’t know what he was feeling. He just knew that he hated it.

“Um…Genesis, right?” a concerned citizen approached him. “You okay, hun? You look a little rattled.”

No, really? Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul…

“Anything I can do to help?”

Call. The. Military.

No, no, of course that wouldn’t work. They couldn’t call the military. He was the military. Formerly, at least. Genesis pushed on. Little good it did him.

The walls were closing in. Terror seeped into his bones. Genesis wanted to kick and scream his way out. None of that could save him. He wasn’t in battle. Lobbing Firagas at his enemies didn’t apply here. If anything, it would only prolong his suffering. His pulse thundered in his ears.

Pu-dding!
Pu-dding!
Pu-dding!

Why oh, why had he taken the brats grocery shopping?

Earlier that day…

Genesis had errands to run, so why not bring the ankle-biters along? It was supposed to be a brief trip without raising anyone’s attention. They probably wouldn’t even need to use fake identities yet. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. Who’d even be out shopping at this point in the day?

He quickly learned that grocery shopping was difficult before (Genesis rarely went on his own back in his original timeline, wishing now that he paid more attention when Angeal dragged him along on his misguided quests to pass along elusive Adult Life Skills). There were so many ridiculous things to remember. Shopping in smaller towns meant even more running around and praying to the Goddess above that some idiot delivered supplies in a chocobo-drawn carriage on time for a change. Yes, grocery shopping was difficult.

But it was damn near impossible with two kids on the opposite sides of the Gremlin Behavior Spectrum.

They had gone to the Hob, Banora’s equivalent of a farmer’s market inside the Town Hall building. His parents had rented it out to local farmers and vendors to promote buying local and village togetherness (but deemed themselves too elite to shop there themselves). Obviously, Mr. and Mrs. Uptight Landowners had given it a different, pretentious type of name—The Local Banora Exchange Market, if memory served Genesis correctly. However, this was a mouthful to say and quickly shot down by the people who actually used the place. One of the locals called it the Hob after some form of shelf used to hold food or utensils by a hearth (here Genesis’s memories were fuzzy, as he’d only used fireplaces for recreational purposes, never cooking). Given the variety of items sold there, the name stuck and anyone calling it otherwise automatically got a 20% hike up on their final sale price.

Genesis referred to it as ‘The Hob’ but only because he preferred the storybook definition of a Hob being a mischievous spirit who also helped local people in need.

The building itself was very nice, made up of many windows that were open to catch every crossbreeze during warm days, then insulated on the cold days like a giant hearth, when vendors made the transition from crops to quilts and itchy sweaters.

The SOLDIERs entered the building and Genesis started having regrets.

“Hey, Genesis…are they prey?” A strange expression flickered over the youngest’s face.

A part of him wished Zack was referring to the stall with live chickens to promote their collection of eggs so fresh, a hen just squeezed them out. Then a part of Genesis wished that wasn’t the case, should a fight involving too many feathers for his taste break out. More than likely, he’d be adding another essay to the Death Note he was personalizing for Hojo.

“Is what prey, exactly?

“Um…” worried blue eyes glanced around at the people around them. Zack wasn’t sure how to say it, but as luck would have it, he didn’t need to.

Hojo was a dead man.

“None of these people are prey,” Genesis explained in what he hoped was a calm voice. “Remember not to stand out unless you’re in serious danger. Hostile Shinra employees are our primary enemy. Do you understan—”

He was cut off by the small child immediately running off. Thirty seconds in and they were already off to a magnificent start.

“They’ve got meat here, Genesis! Real meat!” Zack was bouncing off the walls. Literally.

“Apologies for the commotion,” the SOLDIER carefully plucked the feral boy from a smoked meat stand before the little carnivore started salivating over the pulled pork. “He’s not from around here.”

Zack wanted to smell and poke around at everything...even the veggies he swore some kind of vendetta against. He couldn’t hold still and zipped around in and out of the cart. Genesis cursed himself for grabbing a cart (or anything with wheels around this child).

“You can’t just run off and take things,” Genesis hissed at him. “Don’t you recall your lesson in economics with Sunny?”

“Sure I do!”

“Then stop getting into everything. We came here for groceries and only groceries, got it?”

“Okie-dokie, Genesis!” Zack gave him a thumbs up.

Genesis didn’t believe that for a second. He wasn’t buying into the cute act. It was definitely not endearing to see Zack’s younger counterpart do the same gestures as his older self. Not cute at all. Not even a little.

Genesis shook the cart a little to knock the Puppy off balance. The kid toppled over into the sack of potatoes his brother added to the cart. The SOLDIER felt a little better…at least until the boy realized that enhanced speed + wheels = rocket propulsion.

“Wheeeeeeeeee!!”

Never again, carts. Never again…

Sephiroth had never seen such a variety of foods, at first overwhelmed by the smell of it all. When he eventually recovered, he wanted to go and read all of the things. There was so much to learn - the names of all the fruits, different characteristics of leafy vegetables, how the meat was cut, nutritional values… Although Sephiroth didn’t cause any trouble, he was constantly wandering away from the group to analyze something new.

“Stay by the cart and read the things here, if you’re so curious,” Genesis had to practically drag Sephiroth away from a mountain of potatoes.

“I do not believe the owner had concluded his report on root vegetables…” the silver-haired boy didn’t openly defy him, but it was clear he wanted to listen to some dusty farmer hype up harvesting dirt.

“He said plenty,” the taller SOLDIER was trying to pinpoint his other charge. “You can read nutrition labels when we get home.”

“Hi, I’m Zack!” the unattended boy was already introducing himself to other shoppers. By the wrong name. Again.

“Why hello, Zack!” a middle-aged woman smiled back at him. “My name is Mrs. Fields. I’m the town banker.”

“What’s a banker?”

Genesis cursed under his breath, ignoring the questioning look from Sephiroth (who could totally hear it), and strode over, fixing his social smile onto his face.

“You’ll have to excuse him, Mrs. Fields,” he tugged his charge back. “He comes from a small, remote village. Very little exposure to the rest of the world, and all.”

She nodded in understanding and happily welcomed the newcomer to Banora.

“I like her,” Zack waved, popping a candy into his mouth. “She’s really nice too.”

“What do you mean ‘too?’” Genesis turned his head. “And what did you just eat? I told you not to eat anything from here.”

“But I didn’t get it from the shops! The old lady over there gave it to me because I didn’t know what butterscotch was!”

Genesis sighed. Apparently no amount of time in a lab will stop a child from accepting candy from strangers.

“Do you want one, Seph?” he asked the older boy. “I could ask Mrs. Colby for another candy for you.”

“No thank you.”

By the end of a long row of flower stands, Zack had accrued several more “Welcome Candies” which he shared with his big brother. Sephiroth wondered why he didn’t get any when he initially arrived, but brushed it off. He was a little older than Zack and it seemed to involve the troublesome requirement of talking to unfamiliar people. For now, it was best to let the Puppy do the talking and securing the treats.

Genesis would be adding this topic to their growing Basic Human Etiquette lessons.

“You could practice talking to people.”

“You just told us not to.”

“No, I told him not to,” Genesis inclined his head towards the pouting puppy. “You could use the practice.”

“Very well.”

The victory was short-lived. The cart was empty. The Puppy was gone. So was one of the nearby chickens…

“Wheeeee!” cheered Zack, gripping the bird by the legs and jumping off of large supply crates. “I’m flyiiiiiiiing!”

Genesis didn’t know if it would be more expensive to buy the owner’s silence or pay the bird’s future therapy bills. Zack continued leaping off boxes, leaving a feathery trail of chaos in his wake. The bird’s cries grew increasingly frantic when its kidnapper started scaling a mountainous canned food display. All Zack knew in that moment was the taste of butterscotch candy and the call of the skies. And he Must. Go. Higher.

Nothing like a little freestyle rock-climbing to liven up the town.

“He might slip!”

“Somebody catch him!”

Sephiroth stared at the townsfolk fretting about such misconceptions. Did they not have faith in an Enhanced person’s ability to right themselves in the air and land safely? He knew they were supposed to keep a low profile, but were regular people really that clumsy? (Besides, either he or Genesis could catch the falling child, if it came down to it).

“My chicken! He has my chicken!”

“Where are his parents?!”

“He’s gonna fall and break his neck!”

“That is physically impossible for him from that height,” Sephiroth informed them. “He would have to hit the ground falling from at least a forty foot drop to fracture anything.”

The kindly old couple just stared at the polite boy who just dropped a morbid truth bomb on them.

“But he could survive a basic fracture as long as he lands on his feet first and not his back. That would shatter his ribcage and destroy his vital organs.”

The old folks didn’t know what to make of that either. Sephiroth took their stunned silence as acceptance. He caught Genesis’s twitching eye. Assuming he did well with his assignment, he nodded at his ‘successful interaction.’ Slowly and awkwardly the boy attempted to make a fist with his thumb sticking up, mimicking Zack’s earlier gesture.

Genesis had never seen something so out of place in his entire life.

“What does Vitamin A do?” Sephiroth asked.

“What now?” Genesis had been preoccupied with wrangling a rambunctious puppy into a shopping cart in some futile hope of containing him.

Sephiroth pointed to the sign advertising carrots. Shinra had provided him with all his meals, so his nutrition education was a little lacking. While this may have appeased the average person, it only drove Sephiroth to seek out the information more.

“Oh. Uh...vision and cell growth,” the auburn-haired man replied. He knew there was more—he was a recipient of the National Agricultural Award, dammit—but trying to hold a conversation and hold down a wild child was proving more difficult than he expected.

“We need pudding cups!”

“You sit down or I’ll make you sit down!”

“Natural cell growth or curative cell growth?” Sephiroth wanted to know.

“Natural cell—what do you think you’re doing? No more sugar for you!” he winced when he realized he sounded like Angeal, the unlikely fusion of the Mom/Dad Friend (honestly, with him around, you didn’t even need parents). It was horrifying enough to distract Genesis for a moment.

And that moment was all Zack needed.

“PUDDING CUPS!!!” he burst free of his wheeled prison and launched himself over a shelf.

“ZACKARY FAI—!!” The SOLDIER caught himself. Now he was blowing the carefully constructed cover he’d put so much effort into maintaining. His shoulders hunched over. How could a pair of brats make him lose his cool so easily? And how much of this insanity could he feasibly blame on a ‘sugar high’ to the curious onlookers?

“To improve our vision we require Vitamin A?” Sephiroth asked, as if his caretaker wasn’t having a meltdown in the middle of the woven baskets display. “The sign mentioned carrots enhancing one’s eyesight…”

“That’s what we call ‘false advertising,’ Seth…” he responded through gritted teeth.

“Like the name ‘Seth?’”

Leave it to Sephiroth to deliver that line with such poise and deadpan.

“It’s the first and final two letters of your name. Think of it as a nickname, if that helps.”

It didn’t. But this time the boy stayed quiet about it.

“PUUUUUUUUDDIIIIIIIIIING!!”

“You get back here this instant or I’ll ban you from pudding for life!!” At least Genesis knew where to intercept the kid.

Probably for the better. Sephiroth returned his attention to the vendor selling carrots and other veggies. Something had to be done about his widespread misinformation.

“Can I help you with something, sonny?” the man asked, crinkling his eyes in the corners with a friendly smile. “This here cabbage can help you digest a car!”

“You sit in a cabbage patch of lies.”

They were so close to the end of their arduous journey to the f*cking grocery store. Genesis could feel it. Or feel his patience completely wither away. He was once a proud, noble SOLDIER. Now, he was at the mercy of two small children in the hat section of the Hob. He just needed to look at some basic hats to blend in better and they could be on their way. At last!

“Seth, keep an eye on Puppy. I just need to pick up a hat. Do not let him out of your sight.”

Sephiroth nodded. Genesis questioned if the tween truly understood what was at stake here.

“We’ll be good!” Zack smiled, happily holding his companion’s hand.

Genesis gave him a warning look and returned to his headgear side quest. Zack started humming to himself and swinging the older boy’s hand around. Sephiroth wasn’t sure what to make of that, but decided he wouldn’t lose him at least.

“Aww! Who is this?” a sugary-sweet voice floated over to the duo.

“I’m Zack!” the boy piped up, waving with his free hand.

“I’m Mercedes,” the pretty girl returned the wave. Sephiroth vaguely recognized her from the Apple Juice party. “You’re so cute. Are you visiting Genesis and Seth?”

Zack wavered for a second. Worry washed over his face. Was he only visiting? Luckily, Sephiroth recognized the look, having gone through the same thing.

“No, he is my brother. He lives with us now.”

“Yeah!” the Puppy bounced in place, confidence restored. “I’m gonna be tall like Seph!”

“That’s wonderful,” smiled Mercedes. “Welcome to Banora, Zack.”

“Thank you, nice lady!”

Genesis shook his head a few stands over. He used one hand to load the check-out counter with more hats than he’d ever need and the other to cover up his mouth (which was dangerously close to a smile of his own) at the exchange.

Two hours and twenty minutes after their journey began, they finally left the storefront. Genesis felt exhausted, disorganized, and fairly certain that none of the food he purchased would go together well as a meal. Except for the package of pudding Zack was constantly trying to sneak into the cart (Genesis eventually let him, just to get him to stop zipping around and scaring the locals).

That evening found them eating another round of delicious sandwiches. Genesis felt like he had run a marathon or twelve, and was out of sh*ts to give. Shopping was complicated. Sandwiches were easy. The boys didn’t mind—one with his sensible PB&J and the other with his peanut butter, jelly, ham, bacon, and cheese monstrosity.

“Zack, stop using your magic daggers to make sandwiches,” Genesis reminded him. “It’s unhygienic.”

“Uh…I don’t know what that means.”

“Clearly.”

The tallest SOLDIER himself was getting sick of sandwiches...he was almost to the point of going back to military rations, just for the ease of it all. It’s not like either boy would complain. They frequently followed him around the house when hungry (or when hungry, but hiding it and making sure a certain younger child didn’t drive the current caretaker up the wall). Everyone always wanted something from him.

Even a world away, during his coup, people followed him for the chance to have a piece of his power. Why else would they willingly be modified with his DNA? Granted, several were ugly enough to merit the biological face-lift just for the sake of looking good, but most were in it for the power.

Which made talking to his chocolings a bit more challenging.

Willingly or not, each child was already granted enough power to level just about any standard threat thrown at them, and with training, they could take on the bigger ones. These boys did not want power, they wanted something else and he had to quickly figure out what that was to use as leverage...er, a reward.

“Boys, come see this,” he called them over to show off the special purchase he had made without them noticing.

“What is it?” Sephiroth asked, eyeing the carefully wrapped object that Genesis slid over to them.

“Is it candy?!”

“See for yourselves.”

The boys slowly pulled off the old newspaper, neither familiar with the concept of gift-wrapping. When the last section was tugged off…it revealed a radio. It was very similar to the model Gillian had in her house that Sephiroth had been so fascinated by. Hardly the world’s most advanced technology, this looked more like a radio receiver cobbled together with wood and whatever junked parts the shopkeeper could scrounge up.

It didn’t make it any less amazing in the kids’ eyes.

“Seph has the most experience with these, so he’s in charge of it for now. Ask him nicely and he might teach you how to use it, Puppy.”

Carefully sliding the device closer, Sephiroth powered it on and tuned in to a folk station. His eyes lit up as a reassuring harmony filled his ears. It washed over the room in a relaxed pattern, smoothing everything over like the stones at the bottom of a lake.

“Thank you…” he was staring at the radio, but directed his words to Genesis.

“You’re welc—”

“—Thanks, Genesis!” Zack beamed, relying on tackle-hugging to show his appreciations.

“Off,” the man loosened the monster-child’s hold on him, briefly wondering where the Puppy even learned about hugs, then decided not to follow that trail of thoughts. “That should entertain us for the next project.”

Both boys stared up at him again. What other exciting adventures were lined up for the afternoon?

“It’s time you both learn another important technique…how to deal with dishes.”

So that he could avoid it on another day.

The mini-SOLDIERs proved reliable enough with dishes. Sephiroth was laser-point focused on getting every speck of food, stain, or otherwise out with the precision of a souped up dishwashing machine. Zack was fine, as long as he was on dish-drying duty. Over the course of the half-hour, the Puppy was able to graduate from plastics to glass.

Satisfied that he taught them something valuable for the day, Genesis dried his hands and turned to get back to his neglected work. He felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Now what?” bright blue eyes blinked up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you want to play?” Zack’s sunny smile was even more powerful in kid form.

“Excuse me?” Genesis knew better than to show weakness.

“I promised Seph I’d teach him how to play Hide and Seek better, but we can play something else if you wanna.”

“Why would you think I’d want to…” He trailed off, answering his own question in his head.

Zack’s carefree attitude was impervious to Genesis’s disregard of playtime, but he could see that Sephiroth looked very anxious about the Puppy speaking so flippantly with the adult in charge… It reminded Genesis of the way he’d look at his adoptive parents in his youth when he forgot which piece of cutlery to use when given seven options or some other trivial mistake.

Anything less than perfection was failure.

Genesis sighed. He couldn’t believe he was going to go through with this. Stupid children with their guilt trips…

“It’s a bit too late for Hide and Seek,” he explained. “Let’s play Simon Says, instead.”

“Yaaaaaay!” Zack cheered, racing around the room again.

“Really?” asked Sephiroth, still very uncertain.

“Yes, but only for a half hour,” Genesis added. “Then you brats better brush your teeth and hop right into bed.”

“Can you read us another book too?” the Puppy’s eyes glittered. “I really liked the last story with the dragons!”

Genesis felt his mouth draw into a tight line. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

“Fine, fine!” he consented. “One game of Simon Says, one book each, and then both of you clean up and go to bed without a peep!”

That definitely wasn’t going to happen.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Zack practically sang, bouncing around his caretaker.

Sephiroth nodded his thanks. Still uncomfortable with the idea of negotiating with an authority figure, but appreciative of the results.

Two hours later, Genesis finally wrangled the tiny monsters onto the couch for a story. While neither had been opposed to storytime, they had been having too much fun with Simon Says. Genesis thought the game would bore them, but Sephiroth was in his element of following directives (despite Simon not having any pre-established military rank) and Zack was just happy to play a game.

That and when the participants had super speed and the ability to jump tall bookshelves in a single bound, it got more interesting. Genesis had managed to trip over the hand-me-down rocking chair twice and was ready to hurl the thing through the window. Or turn it into firewood, at the very least. It wasn’t like they were using it. Then he remembered he was supposed to be the role model, so he let it be for now. He had stories to read.

Although Seph was still avoiding touching or being touched by anyone, Zack had no concept of personal space. He sprawled out over his caretaker and as much of the couch as he could reach. Sunny was tucked under his arm, snout facing the book (so he could see the pictures too).

“Off, Puppy. Time for bed.”

“Just one more story? Pleeeeeease?”

“No. Bed.”

“No bed?”

“You know what I meant!”

“But you didn’t say Simon Saaaaaaays…!” grinned Zack. He wagged Sunny’s paw to add emphasis.

“Simon Says get moving before I toss you into a field of green beans and smelly cabbage!”

“What?! You can’t do that!”

“Try me, kid.”

“You hafta catch me first!” Zack started scooting away faster.

“Don’t you even—”

“Run, Sunny! RUN!!”

Sephiroth blinked from the bathroom, where he had been brushing his teeth with his light-up chocobo toothbrush. Genesis had dived over the coffee table, hands fully ready to catch and throttle the little trouble maker. Zack threw something that Sephiroth couldn’t track from his current angle and vanished on the spot. Genesis didn’t walk away empty-handed, however. In the dark-haired boy’s escape, Genesis managed to knock Sunny out of his arms and capture him.

Cue hostage negotiations with a wailing child and a tired adult.

Wincing at the volume of both, Sephiroth quickly spat out his toothpaste and rinsed his toothbrush. The yellow two minute timer was still flashing on his toothbrush, but it would have to be close enough. The silver-haired boy’s ears couldn’t take much more of this.

Eventually Genesis promised to give Zack more candy tomorrow if they promised to go the hell to sleep. Bribery didn’t seem like a good child raising tactic, but he was getting desperate. A win was a win.

Chapter 14: Potato Noodles

Chapter Text

Nobody ever ran into Heidegger on purpose, any unscheduled conversation with the braggart was always misfortune on the other person’s part. Veld had considered his luck to be rotten when he was stuck sharing an elevator with him. It was just the two of them trapped inside the slowest elevator in all of existence, so the Laws of Toxic Masculinity drove Heidegger to brag about his ultra-manly chest hair (the less said about that, the better) and surplus amount of troops this year.

“Gya, ha, ha, ha! Recruitment is at its highest in nearly a decade! Shinra said he’d give me the funding to match!”

Veld bit back a comment about there being a higher number of troops who failed the SOLDIER exam. The program was still fairly new and the test requirements continued to change each year. Which turned out for the best, because Heidegger started bragging about having more than enough men available to put that town in the middle of the boonies under martial law.

“Those pissants on the Western Continent won’t know what hit ‘em!”

“Oh, really?” Veld feigned interest.

“Damn straight! Just got the troops out today and we’re already on top of things!”

Veld let Heidegger talk (he never had to worry about suspiciously asking for more info, Heidegger was too stupid to shut his trap long enough to filter his boasts) and learned that a few days ago, an order from the President found it’s way to Heidegger’s desk. He was to quietly tighten the leash on sleepy Nibelheim for Reactor security reasons. No one in or out without half a dozen hoops of approval to jump through. With both Wutai and Gongaga under Shinra’s iron fist, the Director of Security didn’t think anything of it.

He would make a terrible Turk.

It was only through rigorous self-discipline and Felicia’s college fund that Veld didn’t strangle the other Director and save the rest of the world the misery of sharing an elevator with Heidegger an hour after Taco Tuesday. The man clearly had a love for jalapenos that wasn’t reciprocated. Even worse—the ego to power through too many of them at the cost of everyone else’s breathing air.

The very instant that man was off the elevator, Veld went through his own private channels to locate the submitted paperwork. It was supposedly ordered by Rupert, but a glance at the signature proved otherwise. The real President Shinra had a rather distinct way of writing the H’s in his signature. To add unnecessary flair or something of the sort. It was something he included on everything he signed off on, no matter how hasty. This signature had the same pompous loop to it, but on a much smaller scale.

And President Shinra never did anything on a smaller scale.

Now who could possibly risk forging an official document to oversee Nibelheim had more checkpoints than security to this very building? Veld quickly retraced the electronic trail left by nearly every order. As expected, it didn’t come from President Shinra’s office. His eyes darted in the direction of the Science Department.

Why was it that anytime something horrible happened, they were always involved?

Tiny feet kicked towards the ceiling from underneath a fleece blanket. A pillow or two tumbled off the blanket mountain, covering the throw rug in a pillow-lanche. A muffled laugh escaped the mountain and a spiky, black-haired head poked out. The first rays of light danced through his window. Sunny made an appearance to see it too.

Zack’s bed, stuffed wolf, and cozy chocobo jammies were the softest and most comfy things in the world right now. If he couldn’t lie next to his wolf caretakers for soft, furry body heat, this was the next best thing. But he was plagued by two things - immeasurable amounts of energy and hunger. He physically could not stay in bed, no matter how comfy it might be.

His most recent routine was to wake up and wait for Sephiroth to get up before breakfast. Zack didn’t want to get yelled at by Genesis for eating on the floor again, but that table thing still creeped him out unless someone else was with him. His skin prickled uncomfortably where the restraints used to hold him down. He hugged Sunny to ward off the phantom pains of surgery. Soft footsteps padded down the hallway.

“Mornin’ Seph!!”

“Good morning, Zack.”

Luckily, Sephiroth was an early riser.

Before long, music filled the kitchen from their new radio. There was never really a setting anyone in their house couldn’t hear, but Genesis allowed them to keep it on quietly in the mornings, in exchange for not waking him up until a ‘reasonable hour.’

Zack beamed when Sephiroth started to make toast. Toast was awesome because nobody complained when the Puppy ate it with his hands instead of spoons and forks. Score! Sephiroth always made the best toast with butter and fresh dumbapple jam. Zack got to work cutting up the non-mashed up fruits. He was awesome at cutting stuff up! Lady had always praised him about pulling all the meat off the bone back with the wolves. Zack wanted to make sure he taught Sunny how to do the same, since his old Pack had taught him.

“Zack…” Sephiroth began.

“Yeah?”

“You’re not supposed to use those…”

“Oops! Sorry!” He had been so distracted, he’d used one of his summoned daggers out of habit. Quickly as he pulled it out, he dismissed it over his shoulder into thin air.

“Shouldn’t you wipe it off first?” Sephiroth paused his bread retrieval mission.

“Nah, they come back clean every time,” Zack waved his concerns off. “They’re lucky, they don’t have to take baths!”

“And you’re lucky you get to, Pup,” Genesis walked into the kitchen, announcing his arrival with digs at his companions as usual.

“Good morning, Genesis!” Zack bounded over like a puppy-shaped bullet.

“Oof!” He felt the air leave him. No martial art or combat training can prepare one for tiny children lunging themselves at you. He carefully pulled the child off before his shirt wrinkled. “And we’re lucky you get to. Or you’d smell like a puppy too.”

The final pieces of breakfast were carried off to the table. Sephiroth carefully watched Genesis start brewing coffee. The resident adult hoped it was just engineering curiosity. He didn’t want either child consuming anything with caffeine until they were old enough to drive. Maybe drink. Definitely able to be left on their own, so he didn’t have to chase them through town himself. Mako-enhanced individuals could run a lap around the entirety of Midgar and still have enough gas in the tank to go bar-hopping after.

He was relieved when Sephiroth lost interest and joined the youngest in lugging things to the table. Genesis followed suit with his coffee mug.

Some people preferred to say grace or some kind of thanks before eating a meal. Genesis wouldn’t describe himself as particularly religious (since the only thing he felt strongly about led to his Loveless Study Group becoming a recognized cult in the Old World), but he did consider himself to be a spiritual person. Especially after his firsthand meeting with the Goddess herself.

In any event, prayers at the dining table weren’t really his forte. If he was going to give thanks to any deity, it would be for the children not burning the house down or a plea for their meals to one day not consist of sandwiches or toast, when left to their own culinary talents. Genesis instead improvised.

“Shinra may have enslaved us, but the Goddess freed us— she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting,” he proclaimed. As with all his monologues across the worlds, Sephiroth showed silent comprehension and Zack stared at him blankly. “Shinra tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat food the entire Science Department would frown at.”

“Yeah!!”

He was always careful not to overwhelm the boys. Or worse, give them the same sense of brainwashing that Shinra inflicted on them for years. He was simply sowing the seeds of realization. One day, those would blossom and destroy Shinra. The roots of hatred ran deep in all of them, even if the boys couldn’t fully process it.

They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat.

After the disastrous attempt at acquiring supplies from the Hob, Genesis decided to scale back the boys’ social lessons to basic recon. A tour of Banora would do them all some good. Since the locals were nosy by nature (that tended to happen when you live in a town that has more goats than people), blending in would be good for both business and hiding their identities.

Genesis knew lying was especially hard for Sephiroth, so he reframed it as a game. Seph would be ‘Seth’ and Zack would be ‘Zeke’—the same aliases he’d intended for them to use in the Hob. These were their secret identity names for talking to the public. They could use their real names around each other, Genesis, and Gillian. It was important to always win this game, so Shinra didn’t find them (even if Zack’s name was common, Sephiroth stood out like a Cactuar at the Icicle Inn).

“I understand,” nodded Sephiroth. He would try to treat it like a mission and carry it out to the best of his ability.

“I don’t get it…” Zack was the one who surprisingly struggled with it.

“Why?” Genesis found that odd. The Puppy he knew was very good at talking his way out of trouble (which you had to be when one got in it so often).

“It’s really hard to remember…” Zack frowned, crossing his arms.

“It’s a single phoneme! How is that difficult?”

“Because I’ve called him “Seph” so much already!” huffed the boy.

“Then just don’t use his name,” Genesis was fighting the urge to facepalm.

“Okay!” Zack brightened, turning to Sephiroth and tugging his sleeve. “Can I just call you ‘big brother’ instead?”

“Uh…”

Genesis was no help to the silver-haired boy, as he was preoccupied with trying to subtly laugh into his glove. Zack didn’t take notice. He smiled at the older boy again.

“Or just ‘big bro?’ Something like that?” The battle was over once the Puppy Eyes made an appearance.

“S...Sure.”

“Yay! Thanks, big brother! Zack hugged the defeated-looking boy’s arm. Sephiroth was making slow, but steady progress getting used to the kid glomping him.

“You’re welcome.”

Genesis chuckled, resting a knuckle to his chin.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen…

Walking through town went about as well as Genesis could have hoped. The boys basked in the fresh air and the bare minimum amount of threats were made to get Zack out of the occasional tree. Then the sky darkened and the flowers drooped when Old Lady Margaret started walking in the same direction as them. They were clearly her intended targets.

“Genesis, what is this…reaction?” Sephiroth asked, lifting up his arm. It was warm, but he had goosebumps that appeared out of nowhere.

Oh, look at that. Even his overpowered monster genes are reacting to the true source of ultimate evil. That old quim managed to beat out Jenova! Jenova!

“That is the mark of good survival skills.”

Sephiroth managed to look even more confused. Margaret loomed. It was impossible to tell if she was smiling or frowning under her long-beaked nose. Neither expression would end with a positive interaction. Genesis quickly decided to show the kids all the fun ways you could climb the boulders just outside of town and they were golden. Uneven terrain and rain were Iron-tooth’s only weaknesses.

“Ooh! We didn’t talk to her yet!” Zack pointed at the scowly woman.

“Yes, and if you’re very, very lucky, you won’t have to.”

“Why?”

“Because she likes to kidnap small children to eat with her chicken feet and poisonous mushrooms.”

“Whoa, really?” Zack’s blue eyes went wide.

Sephiroth studied his caretaker’s expression. Clearly this was another one of his ‘exaggerations.’ Genesis was smiling and his eyes were relaxed.

…But he didn’t answer.

Lunch followed soon after. Of the non-chicken feet variety.

The party of three entered the cafe. It looked like any other small town cafe—floral patterns, generic landscape prints on the walls, a hint of dust, and utterly boring. Despite the lackluster setting, Genesis entered with all of his pride and panache. Because when Genesis Rhapsodos made an entrance, his audience felt it.

Heads turned as Mrs. Colby sat them at a table front and center of the establishment. Genesis gave the youngest a nudge when he noticed his sharp intake of breath. He knew Zack would be wary of their table and was hoping the surrounding booths would help differentiate his unpleasant memories.

That and the near constant flow of locals making their way over to meet, greet, and visit with them.

“So, this is the guy who re-opened the factory!” a large man chortled. Genesis recognized him as one of the town carpenters. He was well-known for cutting corners because he thought he could get away with it. Too bad he was about as slick as Heidegger during a ‘dry spell.’

“Best thing to happen in Banora in ages!” the woman with him exclaimed. If Genesis recalled correctly, she was a retired Shinra exec who got a degree in Technology Management entirely to spite everyone in town who said she couldn’t, just to later cash in early on a cushy pension and relish in the haters' anguish. He would be speaking to her about procuring a better computer workstation soon.

“You still looking to hire more electricians? I got a cousin who knows a thing or two about wires ‘n such.”

“Of course,” a business smile worked its way onto Genesis’s face. “Please have them contact Millie and I’m sure she’ll be in touch.”

And of course by ‘contact’ it was understood he meant ‘catch Ms. Mattheson on her way to work some morning and chat with her on her walk.’ It was weird not having people email or call the lead supervisor, but Banora was about as out in the sticks as you could get before entering absolute isolation territory. Like those poor bastards in Nibelheim. Genesis couldn’t imagine dying without knowing what the internet was.

Several others were eager to talk to Genesis about the Apple Juice factory. It was the buzz of the town. The townsfolk themselves were eager to praise Genesis for creating plenty of new jobs, boosting the economy, and coming up with the recipe that set everything into motion.

“That idea you had with the juice was brilliant!”

“Even the cafe serves it now! Let me buy you and your boys a glass!”

“Yes, please!” Zack cut in, eager for familiar ground.

Genesis simply smiled and thanked them all. For all the pencil-pushing, backwater business management he’s had to do lately, it better be a raging success!

“You boys sure are lucky to have such a good guy looking after you!”

“Uh-huh!” beamed the Puppy before the crowd got too invested in putting his brother on the spot. He could feel Sephiroth try to lean as far back as possible without bolting out the window. Zack didn’t know why the older boy was so scared of all the nice people, but it didn’t matter. He was going to be the Hero! “Genesis said he was going to teach me to be a real-life Hero, so that’s what I’m gonna do!”

Genesis himself was currently dying of internal laughter at the prospect of Future Zack and Sephiroth being grateful for the Crimson Commander of all people to look after small children.

“What about you, Seth?” one of the grayhairs with a headscarf politely nudged her way forward, only to be blocked by Zack bouncing in his chair and leaning over to excitedly talk to her about her fur-lined bag, correctly identifying it as rabbit.

“Why, yes! How did you know that?” the successfully distracted lady asked.

Zack gave her a toothy grin, but remembered not to mention his old Pack. Next to him, Sephiroth gave a small sigh of relief. They were getting lots of attention, but Zack made for an excellent barrier. People were more often drawn to the excitable kid and gave Sephiroth more space. He just had to endure a little more observation before they could return to the safety of their home.

Sephiroth had been told to listen and behave, but had no idea what these people were looking for. Genesis was quite clear on not talking about Shinra or flaunting any special abilities…which was all that he had been taught to do prior. His stomach flipped uncomfortably. What did these non-Shinra personnel want him to do? Why couldn’t they just give him the orders? They had no problem frowning and whispering about him from other corners of the restaurant. All he could do was wait until it was all over. He’d re-evaluate whatever he could piece together of the Banora Social Rubric then. When the crowd finally died down, Genesis was able to order them food.

“What would you like, hun?” Mrs. Colby asked.

“Chicken nuggies!” the youngest nearly rocketed out of his seat.

“What side do you want with that?”

“Oh…um…” Zack pointed at the menu picture. “Potato noodles, please!”

Zack’s baby blues looked worried when she giggled instead of writing it down.

“Do you have potato noodles?” he looked over at Genesis. “Did I do it right?”

Genesis’s palm found his face, muttering that they got the picture. Mrs. Colby assured him they were very well stocked on ‘potato noodles’ and from that moment on, half the restaurant refused to call them anything else.

If left to their own devices, Genesis and Sephiroth would spend the entire afternoon reading. Which is why Zack seldom left them to their own devices (unless they were offering to read to him).

“Guys! Guys! Come draw with me!” he zoomed around the house at his preferred SOLDIER speed.

“Alright, Pup,” Genesis accepted the offer. “...But only if we work at the table.”

Zack noticeably paled a bit, but determination to color with his Pack won out, so he nodded fiercely. Sephiroth brought over the radio for background music. Today’s featured station was a Calypso set so good you could almost feel the sand between your toes and a cold drink in your hand.

“This sounds like something from Costa Del Sol,” Genesis let his old memories wash over him like beach waves at the sound of steel drums and maracas.

“What’s that?” inquired Sephiroth.

“It’s basically a beach resort on Western Continent where people go vacation.”

“Beach…resort?”

“They took a beach and made it a tourist trap.”

“That sounds mean!” Zack pointed out.

“If you avoid the main shopping section of town, it’s actually not too bad. It has pleasant weather year-round,” Genesis noticed he had their attention. “Perhaps we’ll go visit one day…”

“Yay! We can break all the tourist traps too!”

“Although, Zack had quite the bad luck streak whenever he even attempted to vacation there in my time, so we’ll have to leave him home.”

“What?!”

“I’m sure Gillian could dog-sit for us…”

The complaint he got from that was ear-shattering.

“I’m joking, Puppy, I’m joking,” Genesis waved his concerns away. “We’ll give you an umbrella and you’ll be fine.”

Conflict resolved, they got back to the matter at hand—coloring. Sephiroth stared at the supplies in front of him. The pack of crayons and blank paper stared back at him. Zack was scribbling furiously and Genesis had started sketching with as much sophistication an adult with crayons could muster.

“What is the procedure for this?”

“The what now?”

“The procedure. What are we to do with our supplies?” He glanced at Genesis for help. “I understood my role to write with these before. Do we have a different set of roles today?”

“Just draw whatever you like,” Genesis mentally groaned. “There is a lot of freedom with art.”

“Yeah!” Zack beamed, holding up a scribbly picture. “I drew a wolf with wings like you guys!”

“That is…improbable.”

Zack grinned back at his brother, clearly having no idea what that meant.

“I know, right? So prob-apple!” the boy went back to adding more apple details. “I can’t wait to see what you draw, Seph!”

Sephiroth thought about it for a moment, then picked up the black crayon. Mirroring the way Genesis slanted his own crayon, color started to bloom over his own paper. He sketched the night sky he’d taken a liking to watching each night. Slowly, deep blues and violets wove themselves into the nightscape. He made sure the constellations matched the mental map in his head.

“Whoa! Seph, that’s really good! It looks just like the sky!”

“...Thank you.”

Genesis wasn’t sure what to think, the echoes of Gillian’s meteor warning still fresh in his mind. Sephiroth might have been cleared of it for now, but his original involvement was still a mystery.

Distraction time!

“So, how was socializing today, Seph?” Genesis took a sip of apple juice.

“...Inconclusive.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“...Not well,” the taller boy admitted. “The grown-ups said I wasn’t very approachable.”

“To your face?” Genesis was annoyed. How had he missed that?

“They don’t have to,” Sephiroth shrugged, gesturing to his ears.

“You know, being approachable isn’t all that important anyway.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Genesis picked up his glass again. “Mrs. Shinra hasn’t smiled since her wedding day and her birthday parties are still very well attended.”

What was today’s bribe to get the kids in bed and secure a moment to himself? Promising to show them his Secret Base in the caverns from his childhood the following day. The weather was clear, and the wifi connection was strong enough to allow Genesis to get into fights with strangers on the internet over the intricacies of literary prose. He had missed that.

During a water break, Genesis heard a quiet conversation upstairs. He was approaching this after committing verbal murder on some fool who believed The Epic of Gilgamesh was superior to Loveless in terms of enduring feats of heroic valor, so he was more than ready to yell at both kids…and through a crack in the door, saw it was just Zack talking to his wolf toy while rocking back and forth on his bed.

He didn’t know which was more irritating—the constant rolling around here or the squat habit his older counterpart made use of. Perhaps, Genesis found a good home for the out of place rocking chair…provided the Puppy didn’t rock himself right out of it.

“It’s okay…they’re really nice here. It’s not like…back there,” he hugged Sunny tightly against his chest. “I don’t ever want to go back there…”

Genesis’s hand froze, just a hair above the doorknob. Zack was laughing, but there was a hint of sadness under the surface.

“I like it here… It doesn’t always make sense and I keep messing up, but my Pack is really nice… They don’t make me hunt the others…” a shaky breath left him and he smiled again. “Well, asides from dinner, but I like hunting the rabbits. I’m gonna catch a deer real soon too! That’ll make ‘em super happy! Greywind always said spotted deer is the best!”

Predictably, the stuffed animal didn’t reply, but Zack seemed to take solace in the imaginary answer regardless. The air felt heavy from carrying all the big emotions in that room. It would seem hiding all his worries behind a smile was something that the Puppy learned to do in his actual puppy days.

Genesis returned to the kitchen as stealthily as he left it. Kids shouldn't stay up past their bedtime or they turned into insufferable beasts that fed on getting on every last nerve of their caretakers…but maybe he could allow it…just this once.

Chapter 15: Secret Base

Chapter Text

Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return
To become the dew that quenches the land
To spare the sands, the seas, the skies
I offer thee this silent sacrifice

To Genesis, it all made sense. To everyone else, it was clear as mud. Even in his sleep, Genesis dreamt about the final act of Loveless, granted to him by the Goddess herself. These words became his mission, his new meaning in life. Something to strive towards…a way to prove his reclaimed honor. Not as a SOLDIER, but as a person. He couldn’t go back and show the Old World what he accomplished, but he would have a chance to save this world and that was far more—

Why the hell do I smell smoke…?

Genesis woke up to a thin layer of smoke curling above him. As Shinra’s premier arsonist, he knew exactly what to do—curse up a storm, stumble out of bed, and race down the short hallway that connected his first floor bedroom with the rest of the house to pinpoint the fire.

While the house wasn’t burning down, the boys had done a number on the kitchen. Smoke had been billowing from the stove, while Zack tried to fan as much as he could out the window armed with a hand towel and Sunny the wolf.

“You shouldn’t burn the ingredients,” chided Sephiroth, opening more windows.

“Yours burned too!” the designated fanner pointed out.

“My second attempt is going much better.”

“What the hell is going on?!” Genesis roared.

Both boys jumped, having been too caught up in the cover up.

Long story short, they woke up, were hungry, and wanted to make breakfast. They had managed to do this with the regular toaster and cereal, so they wanted to try the stove today. One of the magazines left behind by previous renters had pictures of ‘country cooking’ which caught their eye.

Genesis crossed his arms. Neither boy mentioned being too afraid to wake Genesis, but he could read between the lines. It wasn’t that long ago that he had his own Shinra-learned lesson of ‘never wake the caretaker.’ He was surprised it stung a little.

“I’m very sorry…” Sephiroth handed Genesis the magazine article.

The silver-haired boy explained they were trying to make a cheese omelet…which ended up morphing into cheesy scrambled eggs…after his previous attempt (and Zack’s) ended up on fire.

“Seph promised that it’s like eating tiny chickens, so I’m gonna try some too!” Zack flashed his teeth in a wolf-like fashion.

Genesis didn’t miss the finger Sephiroth brought to his lips to signal him not to say anything else about the subject, so the SOLDIER returned his attention to salvaging the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what to do about the pans, but ventilated the house by pushing smoke out with a small Aero spell. Not long after, they were finally seated down for whatever food could be saved.

Genesis pretended not to notice that the biggest serving of eggs (with extra cheese) was reserved for him.

Both boys fell into the category of ‘morning person.’ Genesis did not. Nor did he relate to the ‘night owls.’ He preferred to keep his own business hours.

A task made next to impossible after kids.

“How are they still running around…?”

Genesis identified somewhere in the middle of the Introvert-Extrovert Spectrum. He didn’t have a good outlet for socializing yet (since his preferred company was currently imprisoned, a child, or both). Since he didn’t have actual adults on his level to talk to in person, he desperately needed some alone time to recharge (and maybe add an entry or two in his Hojo Death Note).

Although he was making progress on managing aspects of a business with extremely outdated technology, he found filling the hours of the day difficult. He tried to maintain good rapport with each child, but didn’t feel cut out for rereading Boco the Racing Chocobo for the nine thousandth time or answering endless mundane questions about everything with the same tone of voice, expression, and body language to prevent certain tweens from shutting down.

Time to pull out the big guns.

“And this is the TV, boys,” began Genesis tapping the top of the device like a car salesman. “It broadcasts moving pictures and sounds from one place to another..”

It’s also going to be your babysitter for the next hour or so.

Both boys (and one stuffed animal) watched with curious eyes. Genesis showed them the important buttons on the remote and left them to it. Sephiroth was very curious about the set-up and how it functioned, but quickly lost interest after figuring it all out. Of course his swift exit may have also had something to do with…

“Mirage Masters! Fight together! Mirage Masters! Our hearts are stroooong! Mirage Masters! We’ll save the day! Our friends are our power~!” Zack half-sang, half-shouted from the living room. It hadn’t taken him long to memorize the lyrics to his new favorite show.

It was enough to make Genesis scribble down ‘headphones’ on his shopping list. One he would be completing without the help of his gremlins next time. Perhaps he should look into hiring someone, now that the factory was really taking off… But on the other hand, he’d have to go through a screening process so excessively thorough, the Turks would be asking him for an outline. He couldn’t risk anyone discovering that his charges were considerably more…extraordinary than other kids. It would only take one slip up before the local authorities were called…and Shinra from there…

He could look into it in greater detail later. At least the cartoon had been entertaining Zack for the last hour or so. Genesis was a little annoyed he’d waited this long to use it.

After enough TV Time (read: Genesis had now also learned the opening theme to Mirage Masters through no desire of his own) it was time to escape and head to the Secret Base.

“Boys, we’re going for a walk,” he called out. One of the perks about raising supersoldiers who can hear a pin drop during a thunderstorm was that he didn’t have to shout at them to get their attention. (Not that he let that silly little fact stop him when he was annoyed or frustrated enough). Children raised their voices when they felt like they weren’t being listened to. Adults raised their voices when they felt like they weren’t being obeyed.

The duo gathered lightning-quick at the front door.

“Let’s be off,” Genesis turned the doorknob. “The wandering soul knows no rest.”

Leaving Sunny at home had been a challenge, until Genesis convinced Zack they needed a guard for the house. Sephiroth didn’t react in any way, so he was either getting used to Genesis’s methods of tricking small children into good behavior or he knew something about that stuffed animal that made him trust it as a security guard.

Sephiroth had observed the locals for quite some time now. The people of Banora were considerably more informal than the scientists or other Shinra staff he was familiar with. He learned to wave instead of salute. He figured out the polite greeting protocol to implement whenever someone engaged him in salutations. He noted that the people here often traveled in groups (more for social reasons than safety). He knew that many of the children held their caretaker’s hand for security measures.

It still didn’t brace him for Zack suddenly squeezing his hand.

“Wheeeeeeeeeee!”

The remaining two members of House Rhapsodos stared in disbelief as the Puppy was rocketed halfway to the stratosphere. Sephiroth’s arm/launchpad fell to his side.

“I-I’m sorry,” a distraught Sephiroth quickly apologized for his blunder. He took a few steps back, squeezing his eyes shut. “I was careless and—”

“Just don’t let it happen again,” Genesis heaved a sigh, moved several paces to the right and held his arms out. “We were lucky nobody else was around.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Woooooooooooo!” the Puppy fell back towards the ground, abandoning all thoughts of self-preservation for the zoomies. He landed in Genesis’s arms with another cheer. “Again!”

“What?” Sephiroth stared at the brain-damaged child. Certainly he couldn't mean that…

“Again! Again! Again!” Zack hopped out of the taller SOLDIERs grasp and towards his big brother, arms extended for Round 2.

“Enough of that!” Genesis hissed, picking the child up by the scruff of his shirt like a poorly behaved cat. “You know not to surprise him like that. You have to ask before you touch someone, Puppy.”

He noticed Sephiroth giving him another confused, questioning look. Of course neither child would have much of an understanding of any form of consent. They were never allowed to have basic autonomy thanks to a team of assholes in whitecoats who thought they were smarter than everyone else in the room. Sephiroth would have spent his entire life being poked, prodded, and experimented on whether he liked it or not. Genesis knew from his own experience that any kind of resistance was met with swift punishments.

Genesis fully planned on outfitting Hojo with a linked Final Attack and Revive materia against his will to see how he liked being butchered and revived several hundred times.

“Are you…sure?” Sephiroth couldn’t help but ask. This concept was completely foreign to him.

“My rules now, Seph,” Genesis reminded him. “The new rule is that people can’t touch you without your permission.”

“Got it!” Zack cut him off, lifting his arms up to hold onto the hand anchored to his shirt. “I’m holding your hand then.”

“Did you not just hear what I said?” Genesis fought the urge to shake some sense into him. “You need to ask first.”

“But you’re already holding me!”

“...Point taken.”

And that was how the mighty Genesis Rhapsodos ended up having a child hold his hand all the way to the Banora Caverns.

The exterior of the caverns were exactly as Genesis remembered them—all crumbling rock and weathered spires. It was the interior that disappointed him. His Secret Base had been reduced to some dusty lighting fixtures, dilapidated crates, and broken tools. Rudimentary at best and nowhere near as used as it was in the past. This was closer to the condition they found the abandoned area in all those years ago.

Genesis walked on, taking it all in. Each step on the disintegrating throw carpets threatened to grind them to dust. Where were the bookshelves? The camping equipment? The secret materia stash? He spent hours upon hours here as a child, which just went to show how much earlier Angeal and his younger self were taken in this world.

I swear I will find and free you both… And when I do…Shinra will pay.

His Secret Base had been reduced to a simple void in the ground. It was only fair he’d return the favor to whichever facility was holding them.

The boys didn’t know any better, of course, and enjoyed climbing around the caverns. Without any civilians nearby, they were allowed to cut loose and move like SOLDIERs. Or rather, two children who were given super powers that were clearly best left in the hands of responsible adults. Or at least someone who could handle their own coffee, much less the ability to bend steel pipes like cheap straws.

“Let’s move on, boys.”

“How far does this go?” Sephiroth inquired. His curious eyes glowed in the dim lighting.

“The main section of the Secret Base is just ahead, but the Depths of Judgement span all the way beneath the Apple Juice Factory. The Lake of Oblivion is in that area, as well,” Genesis tapped his chin. “We’ll avoid those areas for today or we’ll be stuck in the Cage of Binding and the Howling Fang forever finding the proper means to get to the Portal of Severance.”

Sephiroth nodded. He didn’t have to ask who named all of those things.

Water dripped off stalactites into the abyss beneath them. There was no crossing for the Wingless without the wooden ladder on the other side. Well, technically the wooden ladders. That had been roped together to cover the entire chasm. By a pair of five year olds. Genesis couldn’t believe he and Angeal used such a rickety old thing. He would clearly need to have a safer means of crossing constructed. It wouldn’t do to have any of the boys fall to their imminent doom while playing tag.

“I can retrieve the ladder,” offered Sephiroth, summoning his wing.

“That won’t be necessary, I can—”

“I got it, guys!” Zack beamed. Before the others could blink he summoned a dagger to his hand.

“What are you—”

“Ready? Watch me! Watch me!” he spun around with excitement, tossing his dagger into the wall on the other side. “Are you watching?”

And watch him, they did. Genesis and Sephiroth watched in surprise as the tiny boy was teleported to the other side in a flash of blue energy. He gripped his dagger, pulled it out of the wall, and let it fade away into shimmering lights.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Zack puffed out his chest with pride. “Wanna see it again?”

“After the ladder,” the silver-haired boy gestured to the forgotten equipment.

“The what now?”

Once again digging into the depths of the liquid patience only coffee can provide, Genesis suggested they fly over to save time. He would feel a lot better if he was the one setting up the ladder bridge.

“These’re so cool!” Zack poked at their wings, oblivious to their discomfort.

“Give him some space, Puppy,” Genesis carefully used his wing to push him away from a very uncomfortable Sephiroth.

“Do you think I can grow one too?” Zack bounced up and down.

“No.”

“You… want to?” asked the silver-haired boy, confusion in his voice.

“Yeah!”

“Why?” Sephiroth risked Puppy tackles to get his answer. “These aren’t…normal.”

“So? They’re still cool!” Zack insisted. “I wanna fly too!”

“You’re enough of a flight risk as you are,” sighed Genesis.

“But you guys get ‘em. It’s not fair…”

“Nothing in the world is fair.”

“I am!” beamed the boy, as he started collecting feathers.

“Really, now?” Genesis groaned at the horrible name pun. He hid the part of him that was relieved Zack knew his full name. Self-identity was often one of the first things they robbed test subjects of at Shinra. “Aside from giving me a headache, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to collect enough of these to make my own wing!”

“They disappear after an hour or so,” Genesis did not drink enough coffee for this.

“Oh, no! I gotta go fast then!”

“Why do you want a wing so much?” Sephiroth was still baffled.

“‘Cause then I’ll be like you guys!” the youngest blinked, rushing over to his brother’s side. “But don’t worry if we’re a little different! Greywind and Lady and Nymeria and all of them still let me into their Pack when I didn’t have a tail.”

“What?”

“So, I’ll still let you guys in my Pack, even though we’re not exactly the same,” the Puppy laughed. “That’s too boring anyway!”

Sephiroth stared at the child arranging feathers on a stick. He had no words for this. His caretaker did not share that problem.

“Oh, it’s your Pack, now?” Genesis huffed. “Last I checked, I was the one in charge.”

“I’ll fight ya for it!” Zack held up nonexistent claws.

“Hmph, no contest,” Genesis pinned the Puppy to the wall with just his wing, adding a fake yawn for theatrics. “When the war of beasts brings—Ow! Did you just bite me?!”

“Genesis tastes like chicken! Genesis is a chicken!”

Did the most sophisticated and mature member of their little family bound by psychic alien DNA and crazy glue calmly explain proper etiquette for disagreements doesn’t involve biting? Nope, Sephiroth was preoccupied with shaking his head as Genesis moved in to chase the little teleporting punk.

“You take that back, this instant! I will not stand for biting or interrupting Lovele—”

“—Chicken!!”

Sephiroth watched Zack hang from the ceiling on a dagger like some kind of spiderling, with Genesis below him, throwing a fit (and all rational leadership qualities out the window). He still wasn’t sold on the mental stability of this group, but the acceptance for one another made him smile, just a little.

Back at the Shinra labs, Hojo’s teeth were grinding. So much that his assistants low-key had a bet going on how long it would be until nothing but dust was left. Even so, they had to be smart to be accepted into the Science Department…and smart people don’t tell Hojo they have betting pools about the state of his dental health.

Hojo had been rewatching the security footage of Sephiroth’s capture for the upteenth time now. He was too proud to admit that he royally screwed up and had allowed lax security to cover Jenova’s favored vessel. No, it was far easier on his pride to blame other people.

Half a dozen specimens are on the loose thanks to that chocobo-haired failure…!

If nothing was done soon, that failed experiment would ‘liberate’ his younger self and childhood friend next, just as Hojo predicted. The troops were already in place due to Heidegger’s ego, they should move along with quarantining the entire village and capture the fool in the act. A specimen like him would prove much more interesting this time around.

What kind of biased tragic garbage was he filling Jenova’s children and enemies with? She had done everything for them, she needed her children, he could hear her call out to them every night…

Hojo had worked very hard to ensure each and every one of those specimens fell into his hands. Several had been quite difficult to acquire, but the Artifact took care of the details. Others had put up a fight, but Hojo always won out in the end. His intellect had never been bested, nor would it ever. That was why the President gave him authority. That was why the department served him like a king.

That was why Jenova entrusted him with everything.

Things had been going so well. He had more power at his fingertips than others could only dream of. His subjects had been making steady progress. Shinra was poised to rule the world again. Until that rat crawled out from the gutter to steal everything— and Hojo did not like it when others took his things.

He would make sure this ridiculous vigilante with a savior complex learned that lesson thoroughly.

Genesis dusted off a chair to sit on. He knew better than to breathe too deeply and have a musty odor stuck in his nose. The SOLDIER was just glad there was still some furniture in the Secret Base…even if it was probably older than his two charges combined. His younger self would undoubtedly scoff at it, but after spending the better part of six years camping out in an assortment of grimy hideouts while decaying from the inside out, Time Traveling Genesis was less picky.

The boys followed suit—one mimicking Genesis’s actions of brushing off a chair and the other plopping onto the old couch, sending himself into a sneezing fit from the dust cloud that rose up. Genesis prepared for an onslaught of questions from Zack, but it was surprisingly Sephiroth who spoke up first.

“Did we come here in the future too?” he craned his head, looking around.

“Not exactly. Or at least not at the same time,” the tallest answered. “Puppy did, but I don’t believe you did.”

“What did I do?”

“You grow up to be the greatest.”

“The greatest what?” Sephiroth was unsure how to picture himself. He had always focused on fitting the mold Hojo and President Shinra presented him with.

“SOLDIER, Tactician, General, War Hero…” Genesis waved his hand dismissively.

Threat, Villain, Pawn of Jenova…

“Ooh! Ooh! What about me?” Puppy was eager for answers too. Genesis smirked.

“You became his best friend.”

It wouldn’t be very truthful to say he had the luxury of actually growing up into a ‘real job’ when Shinra branded their most loyal SOLDIER a fugitive lab specimen.

“Awesome!”

Genesis wasn’t entirely surprised that the Puppy was happy with such a simplistic answer. He tilted his head at the older boy, who still looked like he was flipping through each of Genesis’s statements, considering each and every role. He wasn’t sure what brought on the sudden curiosity in his Old World, but he could roll with it.

“Which is yet another reason I took you both in.”

He had their attention again.

“Seph, in my world you’re the pinnacle of perfection…but only because Shinra never allowed you to fail,” he began. “They pushed and pushed you in every area that led you to be a SOLDIER, but that was it. If they didn’t deem a skill worthy of SOLDIER, you weren’t allowed to learn it. You weren’t even allowed to take a modicum of interest in it.

“To…save time?”

“More like stunt your growth,” there was a sour taste in his mouth. “Perfection is a lie. Everyone should be allowed to try and fail different things. That’s how people grow. You might’ve been the perfect General in my time, but you never got to feel fully complete because of so many missed experiences.”

Thank the Goddess he and Angeal had discussed this at length in the Old World. His friend had a way of agreeing with him, but keeping the sharpness out of his words. It made explaining things to small children considerably easier in this world.

“Wait, wait… I was his best friend and I let that happen to him?” Zack was distressed at this.

“Puppy, you were the only reason he ever learned what pizza and burgers taste like,” Genesis reassured him. “You performed your best friend role very admirably. It’s no exaggeration to say it was you versus an entire corporation pulling every trick in the book to convince him he was only allowed to be a tool of war. People looked up to you too. You saved so many lives…you became a Hero.”

“I…did?!” blue eyes glittered. “A real Hero?”

He liked the sound of that.

Genesis handed them each a dumbapple and a promise.

“As I have said, you have my word that I will train you both,” he held up his apple. “I will train you to control your powers and become strong enough to stand up to Shinra… However, I’ll also ensure you have a more well-rounded education. I have no interest in raising robots.”

“Yeah! Let’s fight those bad guys!” Zack was on his feet, fists clenched. “I’m gonna be a Hero!”

Sephiroth nodded, lacking the confidence and enthusiasm as his brother. Did they really want to fight Shinra? He supposed it would become inevitable at some point, but…had Zack and Genesis not seen the consequences of failure? Hojo was never shy about making examples out of anyone who failed him or was deemed a traitor. Genesis was strong, but he was one man. How could one man possibly hope to win against an entire world power?

“We can do it, Seph!” the tiniest of the SOLDIERs appeared in front of him, fists still clenched in determination. “When we get bigger, we’re gonna be heroes and stop them!”

“Why?” the question escaped him before he filtered it out.

“Because we’re gonna get so strong that they’ll have to listen and stop hurting people!”

Sephiroth nodded again, this time with more resolution. He didn’t have to factor just Genesis or himself standing against Hojo and all of Shinra. They were a team, now. A team of Enhanced individuals that Hojo spent a significant amount of time engineering into perfect soldiers. Sephiroth recalled every conversation about how much gil was being sunk into Hojo’s SOLDIER projects. About how risky it was to house the Subjects near each other. Sephiroth had always believed it was about resources running out, but…what if it was fear?

If Shinra feared them as children, how could they even hope to contain them as adults?

The trio made their way home, munching on dumbapples. Rocks and forest made way for homes and gardens. The forest creatures were soon outnumbered by human residents. Zack enthusiastically greeted every person they passed by name. Several were delighted he remembered them and gave him more candies.

So much for lying low, but at least the kid was paying attention to something on our previous tour…

“Is it really okay for me to not become a General…?” Sephiroth asked, the topic stuck in his head since the caverns. “That is what I was born to do.”

“No, that is what Hojo told you to do,” corrected the auburn-haired man. “I believe we’ve more than covered how he is a fatuous cretin with a superiority complex. Don’t spare him a second thought, when he’s not worthy of your time.”

Sephiroth contemplated this.

Was Genesis in a good position to throw shade at someone with a superiority complex? No. Was he going to let that stop him? Also, no. Hojo earned every shred of contempt he had for the man and then some. Even the Crimson Commander’s own high opinion of himself and haughty defense mechanisms paled in comparison to the asinine idiot in charge of Science. Genesis could at least recognize his own faults. Hojo set the Good Role Model bar so low that even a worm would rate higher. Hell, if current Hojo had to compete against himself at raising healthy, well-adjusted kids, he’d come with a shovel and find a way to make it worse.

“You will choose what career path you take when you’re old enough to make the decision for yourself.”

“...It was my understanding that we would require military training,” came the boy’s hesitant response. Because in the end, that’s what both sides wanted him for—battle. Genesis may give him more freedom and a chance to find his family…but everything had a price, even kindness.

“As I said, I will teach you both how to control your powers, what you do with them is up to you.”

…But striking down a tyrannical company at the heart of every major global catastrophe would be highly encouraged. By then, Genesis would have their trust and loyalty. They would see for themselves all the pain that Shinra had wrought upon them and countless others. Of course they would stand with him to end the oppression… Loyalty through hardship is one thing, loyalty through cruelty is another.

Sephiroth nodded, sullenly mulling it over again. Undoing his rigid disciplinary training that had more in common with brainwashing than child raising was going to be Genesis’s own undoing. But it would be worth it, in the end. These two, along with the next Enhanced duo he freed would be invaluable to saving the Planet. Together, their little makeshift family would offer up Shinra as a silent sacrifice to the Goddess herself.

Genesis thought he was in the clear, until Zack stopped walking. Large tears streaked down his face faster than he could wipe them with his arm. A soft whimper escaped the youngest.

Damn it. It would seem our Future Careers conversation may have been a bit premature.

“What is it, Zack?” Genesis used his actual name to let him know he was serious.

The boy sniffled, holding out a shaky hand. A few wrapped candies remained, but nothing out of the ordinary.

“Are you injured?” Sephiroth asked. It could be an assassin or an unintended glucose vs. fructose syrup war waging in his belly after eating too many sweets. “Have you been poisoned?”

Zack shook his head, a few stray tears clung to his rosy cheeks. Blinking more away, he found his voice.

“My tummy is full, but I want to keep eating.”

This child…

After yet another lesson in why some canids eat their young, Genesis felt the bizarre need to stand up straight (despite his perfect posture) long before he saw his adoptive parents over the hillside.

My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey…

The couple was more than happy to rub shoulders with the businessman who single-handedly put them into a new wealth bracket thanks to something as easily produced as apple juice. They looked at Genesis and saw a walking money bag with fancy hair. In fact, their tunnel vision impaired them long enough to realize he was accompanied by two young gremlins, er, children.

“Mr. and Mrs. Rhapsodos…” came his cordial greeting. “Always a pleasure.”

“Oh, and look at you, Genesis! You’ve picked up…another child?” Mrs. Rhapsodos’s social smile waned. “How…delightful.”

“Nice to meetcha! I’m Zack!” the Puppy beamed, shaking both their hands at once. All the uneaten candy despair had left his face for the chance to meet more people.

“Is this one yours?” Mr. High and Mighty Landlord tried to talk over the child (and desperately disengage the vicelock).

“He’s quite gregarius, don’t you think?” the Wicked Witch was coming to terms with the fact that her lacy white gloves were forever stained by the boy’s muddy hands.

It didn’t escape Genesis’s attention how uncomfortable Zack made them. He secretly planned on giving the kid extra dessert later.

“Family is what you make of it, yes?”

“Why yes, we have plenty of experience adopting, as you must know.”

“Indeed, our Genesis was blessed enough to be granted the opportunity to study in Midgar at the finest of schools.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” It took everything this Genesis had to force his smile and not rip these two snakes a new one.

“Hey, mister, how come you have shiny rock buttons?” Zack asked, tugging at the man’s sleeve to inspect the designer diamond cufflinks.

For a split second, it looked as if Mr. Rhapsodos was going to get another broken hand in his attempt to strike an Enhanced kid for the crime of being a child. Sephiroth acted first.

“Brother, you are supposed to ask before you touch someone, remember?” Sephiroth spoke gently to the boy before fixing his eyes on the landlord. His cold, unblinking, cat-slit pupil eyes. “People who break the rule are faced with consequences.”

“I-Indeed,” the man looked ready to sh*t a brick. There was something…not right about that child. Dirt on his fancy man-jewelry was now the least of his worries.

That settles it. They’re both getting extra dessert.

“We, well, we must be on our way, now,” stammered the lady, all but yanking her husband along. “Business to attend to, you understand.”

“I do. Have a pleasant evening,” Genesis bid his farewells. He bit back a comment about hoping his own adopted kids would haunt their nightmares for a few weeks.

Genesis realized two things from the encounter:

1 - The Puppy might be a little feral, but had no issue charming everyone around him who didn’t sell their soul to Shinra. If anything, this was absolute proof that Genesis’s adoptive parents were some kind of soulless husks parading themselves around as humans.

2 - Sephiroth stood up to what would normally be considered an ‘authority figure.’ The kid still called him ‘sir’ sometimes, but he dropped all pretenses of blind obedience with the landlords. Another point to the soulless husk theory.

The boys did well exposing the monsters for their true nefarious nature. Such bravery deserved a reward.

“How do you boys feel about ice cream for dinner?”

Chapter 16: Set. Strike. Return

Chapter Text

The TV flicked on in the Break Room. Another overzealous ad was playing that had far too much flashing neon orange than anything advertising the military had the right to. Because even when you already worked for Shinra, you couldn’t escape its marketing team.

“Have you ever considered a career in success? Do you want to wake up every day as a winner? What calls you? The proud and mighty military sector of the Shinra Company, that’s who!” the announcer answered his own question in a voice that sounded better suited for some cheesy game show. “You too can wear the proud iron badge of courage and be known to the rest of the world as a real SOLDIER!”

“Again!”

Angeal readied himself for another set of reps. He sank into his natural stance, legs shoulder-width apart. He kept his body loose until he exploded into a punch. They had long since removed targets for him to connect with during basic drills.

Set. Strike. Return.

The instructor on the sidelines of the Training Room was not satisfied. They never were.

“Again!”

“You’ll train to be the best of the best and graduate making more money than any other armed forces! Because when you fight for Shinra, you fight for justice!” the actor carried on. He clearly believed that the hype of a military’s ad directly corresponded with its actual strength in real life.

Angeal felt the itchy sensation of sweat drip down his back. Another bead of it slipped between his eyes. He ignored it. He knew what happened if he broke formation or lost focus.

“Again!”

He slid back into ready position. His thumbs crossed over his first two fingers as he formed a fist on each side. Angeal kept his punch straight to keep maximum power behind it. He tried to focus on the little details like feeling his fist turn over, mid-strike…making sure he kept his elbow a little loose to keep it from locking up…taking a deep exhale…anything to keep his mind preoccupied.

“You too can meet with a certified SOLDIER recruiter and find your real potential! Unlock your inner strength!”

“Again!”

Angeal ground his feet into the ground, setting up his knees to be looser. When he punched forward, sweat launched itself to the mat. His vision was starting to blur in time to the throbbing of his headache, but he couldn’t stop now. If he stopped, they would correct him.

He did not like Corrections.

“You could be the next legendary SOLDIER! Winners walk with winners!”

Set. Strike. Return.

“Again!”

Set. Strike. Return.

“Again!”

Just a little longer and Angeal would be able to return to his cell. He had to make sure Genesis was safe…

Set. Strike. Return.

“Again!”

“Don’t just watch helicopters! Answer the calling and fly with them!” the announcer shouted as several Infantry paratroopers leaped out of a helicopter in some snowy environment, guns out and ready for action. That was in no way staged. Nope. Because they just did that all the time…thirty years ago. The snow was likely as real as this dude’s working knowledge of parachute protocol.

The air was so dry, Angeal may as well have been breathing through sand. Even so, his feet found solid ground and he kept the rest of his body upright. He was almost done. He could do this. He tried to lick his dry lips, but his tongue felt like sandpaper.

Set. Strike. Return.

“It’s time to answer your calling! Pursue your true dreams! Join us at Shinra, where the real winners work!”

Whoever wrote the script had likely never served, but may have seen a poster of a SOLDIER or two up close. Why the most advanced military in the world still needed cringe-inducing propaganda was left unanswered. The TV was flicked off.

“God, I hate ads!” a scraggly man grabbed his coffee and made his way over to the Break Room door.

“I hear the Turks found a way to skip the ads…”

“Bastards…” the man rubbed his facial hair. He couldn’t remember the last time he had time to shave. “Which brat are we working with today?”

“Specimen A.”

“At least it’ll be quieter than the other one.”

Shinra had the most advanced Science Department on the Planet. Within that were several divisions, because hey, it wasn’t all How To Train Your Child Soldiers and turning aliens into biological weapons. Sometimes they studied whatever strange animals they encountered during field assignments…which usually led to throwing those at SOLDIERs or experimenting on them enough to turn them into security weapons in their own right…and thus the cycle of Mad Science was complete.

Today, a rare creature was being brought in. A team of Shinra biologists discovered a small herd grazing on the outskirts of the Forest of the Ancients. Naturally, they seized custody of it and brought it in to study. An initial physical description report was passed around to the scientists at the Receiving Bay.

Class: Mammal

Height: 4 feet, 10 inches

Weight: 479 pounds

Length: 8 feet, 2 inches

Diet: Herbivore - grasses, ferns, fruits

Unique Features: single horn protruding from base of its forehead. Striped markings on legs. Possibly a new breed of cervid.

They watched it be walked into an observation room upon arrival. Everyone was silent. Only the clacking of hooves and the whirring of machinery was heard.

Nobody pointed out that it resembled a unicorn because Hojo was present.

And Hojo was not the kind of guy who would welcome talk of unicorns in his lab. He didn’t believe in unicorns. He didn’t believe in anything that couldn’t be proven with science…Which made his obsession with chasing the Promised Land fairy tale all the stranger.

After some initial tests, there were no unusual signs in its bloodwork or cellular structure. The only unusual behavior was that the creature interacted differently with individuals. For some it rested by their legs, for others it licked their hand and allowed them to touch its fur, seemingly without a care for its environment. However, all the humans in the room knew being cooperative wasn’t enough. Prey animals never lasted as long as predators in the lab, so those intrigued by it wanted to demonstrate its worth.

“Let’s send in Specimen A.”

Angeal was used to being escorted to all kinds of sectors in the lab without being told why. Usually to further develop his powers. He wondered what he would be fighting or absorbing today. This time they bothered to give him a water bottle before the trip. That never was a good sign. Kindness didn’t make SOLDIERs. The hardest traits to absorb came from the most hostile of donors.

I hope it’s not a Zenene again…

Angeal was led to one of the larger observation rooms. He was let in and walked down the glorified glass hallway connecting to the main room. His arms were still sore from training earlier, so he hoped it would be an easy test. Maybe he could absorb something to boost his own regeneration? Angeal stopped short when he entered the room and saw the fascinating creature. Its fluffy coppery fur hugged its torso, ending just before its flank, which had shorter fur in a black and white striped pattern. The animal let out a soft chuffing noise to greet Angeal. Most curious of all, the boy could’ve sworn he saw its horn glow for a second.

“Specimen A, your task is to absorb the other specimen’s DNA,” the static-laced speaker pulled him from his thoughts.

“Understood,” responded Angeal with an internal pang of guilt. He hated scaring any lab specimens, especially the gentle, non-aggressive ones. This one was clearly not a fighter, it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and snatched.

Angeal slowly walked over, feeling guilty when the deer-unicorn-thing looked up at him. This time he was certain the animal’s horn glowed and prepared for some kind of attack. Instead, it trotted over, made another chuffing sound and nuzzled the side of its face into Angeal’s hand. Its nose was cool to the touch. The rest of the muzzle was fuzzy and smooth like velvet.

The boy was stunned for a moment. How long had it been since he touched something so soft?
This reminded him of the times he’d pet Farmer Porter’s deer when walking with his parents on the edges of his memories. They had always appreciated a scratch behind their ears, so Angeal did the same for the mystery creature.

Although the memory was bittersweet, it was as if the animal was doing it to be kind. To bring a ray of light into the gloom of the underground labs. Angeal found himself stroking the thicker patch of fur along the kind Unicorn/Deer’s back. Angeal softly chuckled at how it resembled a built-in sweater compared to the rest of the short fur covering its body. The soft fur felt nice on his calloused hands. He didn’t realize how long he had been petting it until the speakers crackled back to life, reminding him of his task.

Angeal continued petting the creature’s fur, but this time reached out with his power to see what traits he could pull from it. Invisible tendrils swept through the target, causing it to shiver from the strange contact. Angeal bit back a frown. It was always easier when he knew what he was looking for—sharp claws, wings, enhanced vision…but here he was going in blind. All he knew was the creature wasn’t born in the labs, because he’d never seen anything like it before. Aside from the obvious physical appearance, it seemed so calm. A little skittish around the guards (then again, who isn’t?), but every other lab specimen either feared Angeal or saw him as a threat and got hostile immediately.

“Well?”

The researchers on the other side of the glass were getting impatient. Angeal needed to pick up the pace of his DNA scan.

“I…don’t feel any stronger or weaker,” he began, feeling the soft fur grow over his own arm. He had to find something fast, but he didn’t feel the familiar tug of an obvious physical change. Nothing stood out like they were expecting it too.

Cones clicked into place within his eyes. He could see well using the creature’s vision, but it was about the same as mako-enhanced humans like him. Angeal blinked back black eyes for steely blue-green again. His sense of smell had improved with barely adjusting his own nose, but he knew it wasn’t enough to save the creature. The leathery black nose melted back into his own human cartilage. His ears were actually a little weaker using the creature’s model—still more perceptive than an Unenhanced person’s to be sure—but not enough. Angeal needed to find something that was enough. Something that—

“This is a waste of time.”

Nothing good ever came from bored or frustrated scientists. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. He needed to figure it out faster for both their sakes. It then hit Angeal that he had never seen the guards around this creature, but somehow knew it was skittish around them. It was almost as if it had shared some of its memories with him. Angeal worked quickly to try to establish some kind of mental bond to figure out how that worked.

Suddenly the sea of adults parted and Hojo strode over to the glass.

“Please, I can figure it out…I just need—”

“Terminate it.”

Angeal’s eyes went wide.

What can Hojo be thinking to order that over not understanding its purpose?

Sparks seemed to flood in Angeal’s mind. Everything felt fizzy around him. Like those carbonated drinks the adults were so obsessed with. He looked at Hojo to see if he’d remotely doused him with something…but all he heard was madness.

The Artifact is absolute! Proof of my mastery! Jenova’s will shall be done!

Angeal felt a torrent of information pelt him like hail. ‘Artifact’ and ‘Jenova’ were constantly echoing around Hojo in his voice, despite his mouth bent into a deep frown. Oddly enough there was a feminine voice whispering something to him, as well. Just when he thought he could make out what she was saying, her voice hissed and sounded like glass scraping against his skull. Angeal recoiled instantly. The fizzing hail faded away.

It was the first time a voice scared Angeal as much as Hojo’s. Whoever she was, she was not a pleasant person. Her very voice dripped like poison. Hojo turned his back on the failed experiment. Could he not hear that horrible voice? Angeal clutched his head in pain.

“What is Jenova? Is it an artifact?” he blurted out.

Hojo turned around, eyes lighting up as though he solved a puzzle.

“That explains it,” Hojo sneered. He didn’t quite cackle yet, but it was definitely coming up. “I understand now. You’re just too weak to comprehend a superior mind like mine.”

Angeal turned back at the creature, calmly kneeling onto the floor. It must have been tired from Angeal drawing upon so much of its power to identify it. When he made eye contact, he felt a warm connection fizzle into existence again. He saw the whitetails from Farmer Porter’s farm again. He could almost hear the fawns bleating at him. Despite any fatigue dragging it down, the creature stood up and nuzzled the boy’s hand again. Its horn glowed with effort.

At that moment it all clicked together for Angeal. This extra furry unicorn had a very special ability, indeed. It could read a person’s mind to identify what makes people happy and act on that. That must have been why the scientists didn’t get the same reaction each time. Because some people preferred cats purring on their laps and others like dogs jumping around them in excitement. This creature existed to spread joy as others interpreted, which should be considered advanced. It’s passive, but surely worthy to save if he could just convince—

“We can’t let something like this roam around with Shinra military secrets,” nodded the deranged Director. He turned back to discussing the creature’s death sentence to his underlings as casually as the weather. “The horn is the only useful part, so we’ll study that. The rest is useless.”

“S-Sir, please wait, that’s not it—”

“What did you say, boy?” Hojo practically spit the last word. His attention was focused squarely on the ten year-old so openly defying him.

“I, I don’t think—”

“That’s right,” Hojo briskly walked through the sliding glass door. That was never a good sign. “You don’t think. You’re not capable of it. You are a tool for a greater purpose. Nothing more.”

Angeal bit his cheek to prevent saying anything to make the situation worse. He thought the doctor was coming for him, but Hojo strode past him towards the shaking creature. Ears pressed tightly against its head, it skittered backwards. The creature wasn’t used to smooth surfaces. Here it was exposed, its camouflage useless in a lab that only came in harsh white and steel gray. There was no forest to hide in. It had nowhere to run. Angeal was painfully familiar with that sensation.

“Our world does not welcome wild things.”

Angeal didn’t need a mental link with Hojo to know that he meant every word. It was one of Shinra’s most brutal truths. Anything that existed outside of their corrupted algorithms was expendable. Animals were slaughtered, villages were massacred, ecosystems were left to rot…then the people on top questioned why any surviving pests dare encroach on their land.

Quick as a viper, Hojo pulled out a syringe from his labcoat. He injected the creature with some kind of orange liquid. Angeal could only watch in horror as the docile herbivore began to grow and mutate. It was almost as if air bubbles were caught inside doughy skin. Various sections expanded, with skin and fur pooling over the side of the slower-growing parts. The glowing horn utop its head started to slowly twist like an invisible drill was unscrewing it inch by inch. Everything kept expanding as the creature cried out in pain.

“This will boost its power to allow me to study it,” Hojo nodded, walking away from the bleating mutant. “I need the horn in one piece, the rest is garbage.”

Angeal stood rooted in place.

“Did you not hear me, Specimen A?” Hojo looked at him with the same contempt as stepping on a co*ckroach. “Kill the beast.”

Angeal had fought many beasts in many situations. He had absorbed the DNA of countless apex predators. He had been bitten, poisoned, stabbed, slashed, and nearly crushed to death by a bestiary’s worth of monsters. Angeal knew what a beast was. This animal was a victim.

“You will kill it…” the scientist trailed off at the boy’s reluctance. “Or I’ll have Specimen G take its place. The order will remain the same for either opponent you face.”

Angeal could feel his face grow hot. Tears brimmed behind his glowing eyes. The only thing he could do was put the creature out of its misery. He sank into his natural stance, legs shoulder-width apart…He kept his body loose until he exploded into a punch…

“Again!”

He slid back into ready position… His thumbs crossed over his first two fingers as he formed a fist on each side… Angeal kept his punch straight to keep maximum power behind it…

“Again!”

Angeal ground his feet into the ground, setting up his knees to be looser… His vision was starting to blur... Just a little longer and Angeal would be able to return to his cell… He had to make sure Genesis was safe…

Set. Strike. Return.

Long after the creature breathed its last, Hojo forced Angeal to continue attacking. The boy felt bile rise up in his throat, but didn’t release it. He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks, but didn’t dare stop. Any other scientist and he wouldn’t take them seriously, but Hojo was insane enough to follow through with his threat to have Angeal and Genesis fight to the death.

None of the hostile or insane opponents he had previously fought had ever hurt him as badly.

“Genesis! Come fight with me!” Zack bounded into the living room. “The world is under attack again!”

“Pass,” the older SOLDIER didn’t even look up from his book. This made the fourth time the world was under attack since breakfast.

“Boo! You never come fight with me…” here came the pouts and kicking invisible rocks the ground. “Coward…”

“Guilt trips don’t work on me, Puppy,” smirked Genesis, flipping to the next page. “You have no idea how much violence it took to become this gentle.”

And the bored boy was off. The world was peaceful again…for about ten minutes.

“Pew! Pew! Pew!” Zack slid down the banister, whilst swinging two tree branches he picked up from his last forest adventure. “Take that, evil monster!”

“What are you doing?” Genesis asked, hoping against all odds the child would have one coherent thought to guide him into a sensible answer.

“Playing Loveless?”

“Like that?!”

“Don’t they…fight giant robots in Loveless?” Zack asked. “With laser guns and pirate ships?”

Genesis stared at the kid for a full minute.

“I don’t even have time to tell you how wrong you are…”

“Okay,” the Puppy shrugged. He rested his laser gun/stick over his shoulder and almost got away.

“Actually—” Genesis plucked him up by the back of his hood. “It’s going to bother me if I don’t. Have a seat.”

Lounging in the shade (a few hours after a spectacular take on historically accurate weaponry found in poetry epics that defined the genre), inspecting and polishing his materia collection the way a dragon hoards gold…this was the kind of productive afternoon Genesis enjoyed. But that would’ve been too easy. About halfway through his drink, he recalled a time a world away when he would do a full materia cleaning and inspection—any time Angeal was put under by Hollander for any number of Project G experiments. Even then, Genesis never fully trusted the man. Certainly not enough to leave his friend alone and vulnerable in a lab full of misfits. No, Genesis had been blessed with incredible magic that practically sang when boosted with materia. What was the point of all of that if he didn’t use it to intimidate the hell out of anyone who even blinked suspiciously around his best friend?

…And it wasn’t enough to save him in the end.

Everything tasted sour. He frowned.

No one who spent any extended period of time in the Drum ever came back the same way. Shinra saw to that. And every day Angeal and his younger self were held hostage to Hojo and his crew of stooges, they suffered more. Hojo was a narcissistic psychopath. He never truly pioneered a project in his life. All of his real accomplishments were stolen and twisted from others. Yet there he was, perched on a pedestal dictating how everyone underneath him would live their lives.

My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey… In my own salvation and your eternal slumber…

Genesis believed that fate was something to be chosen, not forced. Which was why he couldn’t stand for Hojo or the Company forcing a career, lifestyle, and moral code (or lack thereof) on children. They were natural fighters, yes, but they should be the ones to decide who to point a sword at. They had the power to potentially save the entire Planet. He wasn’t going to allow Shinra to take that from them.

Genesis wasn’t worried about helping Zack grow up and become a hero. Honestly, that would come second nature to the boy once he was old enough. It was helping Sephiroth reach his goals that would be more difficult. So far, the only leads he had on his real family was Hojo. It would be a cold day in hell that he’d give Sephiroth that bit of information without the cushion of identifying his mother and all the good traits about her…whoever she was. With Hojo as her competition, she could be a reclusive serial killer and still be a better role model.

Given his upbringing, Genesis had to give Seph a lot of credit for adjusting as well as he had to civilian life. Especially since Zack made it look so easy, being a natural social butterfly. As he pondered what Sephiroth’s secret was, he overheard the boys in the forest. And clanging metal.

“Time to investigate, then…”

The SOLDIER quietly crept through the grass and undergrowth around him, narrowly avoiding an encounter with a particularly nasty patch of burdock in full thorny bloom. In a clearing, Sephiroth was scolding Zack for being reckless with his blades, as the younger child tried to pull a short sword that was forcibly embedded in a half-crushed rock.

“Swords are an extension of your body,” Sephiroth quoted his many teachers.

“Well, yeah! Otherwise this would never work!” huffed the Puppy. He gave up prying the blade out and dismissed it instead.

“If you don’t respect them, you won’t learn how to wield them.”

“How do you train with ‘em, then?”

Sephiroth picked up a large stick, swiftly plucking off the excess branches. He lifted it above his head and fell into a simple sword kata. The weight of the stick was completely different, but it was still manageable. He raised the stick above his head at a flawless 45 degree angle and swung forward in a continuous movement. Somewhere along the way, he went into a lower stance to thrust the ‘blade’ at his foe’s throat. He spun around quickly, twisting the blade parallel to the floor and demonstrated what making mincemeat looked like. Whoever the Seph’s invisible opponent was, their internal organs now had more holes than Palmer’s stories about appropriately managing departmental funds.

“Like that. It’s relaxing.”

Leave it to Sephiroth to find a way to make swordplay with a stick look elegant.

“That’s so cool!” Zack leaped into the air, cheering.

“It’s just a basic form…”

“Nobody ever even taught me how to use my blades yet!” the Puppy explained. “Just how to hold them and throw them. Oh, and punching and stuff. I’m really good at punching stuff!”

“I see.”

“Hey, hey! I’ve got an idea!”

Genesis could feel Sephiroth internally groaning from here.

“You can borrow some of my blades when you wanna practice!”

Sephiroth was uncertain. Someone had to be rational.

“It’ll be fiiiiine,” insisted the Puppy. “I can learn by watching you and you can relax better with a real sword, yeah?”

“I suppose,” the older boy rested his knuckles over his mouth, a gesture he did as an adult too. He could see the logic in his younger brother’s suggestion (which was a rare occurrence).

“Awesome!” Zack spread out his arms, summoning his sword-type weapons only.

Sephiroth watched in wonder as the blue crystals shattered into each sword. Slowly they spun around Zack like a moving buffet. Only, instead of choosing a tasty dish, he got to pick out a weapon of choice. Sephiroth grabbed the short sword, spinning it in his hand to test the weight. It was very well-balanced.

“That the one you want?”

At Seph’s nod, the other weapons shimmered and faded away. He watched the katana with carefully hidden awe. Wutai-based weapons were his personal favorite. The craftsmanship and mindset were on another level entirely. These were forged as sacred treasures, rather than simple weapons. He had been working his way up to longswords now that he was taller, but decided to stick with the smaller blade for Zack’s sake. The Puppy was shorter than him and would learn more from a smaller weapon better suited to his size.

“Are you ready?” Sephiroth asked, bringing his blade up into a starting position.

“Yeah!!”

“Very well. This is called Shinra Sword Form Number 1.”

Sephiroth rushed forward, impossibly fast and fluid at the same time. He brought the blade down from his shoulder to his center in a blur. Then, twisting his hips, he uncurled and lunged the blade forward in a perfect thrust. He whirled around and sliced through another set of invisible enemies. The silver haired boy’s feet were grounded, but mobile. Precision like this didn’t come naturally, this was a sword warm-up Sephiroth had done many, many times before. Now it was second nature.

Despite the weapon in the child’s hands, Genesis could see it really did soothe the kid somehow. Likely something that was ingrained into his routine at the labs, which got completely upended when escaping to Banora and gaining a brand new lifestyle. He squashed the twinge of guilt forming in his gut.

“Wooooooow…” the Puppy practically had stars in his eyes. “I wanna try!”

“Sure,” Sephiroth nodded, handing the boy a stick. “Start here and move up.”

“Huh?”

“When you can do it safely with that, you’ll be ready for a sword.”

Zack pouted, but agreed with his sensei’s terms and conditions. He threw himself into a wilder version of the demonstration Sephiroth had given. Where Sephiroth was decisive movement and precision timing, Zack was wildfire, even adding a flip or two that hadn’t been in the original kata. Genesis was more and more grateful for Seph’s choice to start the kid with a stick, not a sword.

“Whaddya think?” beamed the Puppy. “Pretty good, huh?”

“Let’s try it together.”

Sephiroth stood back in starting position, talking the dark-haired boy through where to put his feet and how to hold the substitute sword. To his credit, Zack seemed very focused on his brother and tried hard to copy him.

“You should try to focus on your footwork today,” Sephiroth nudged his brother into the correct stance. “Right foot forward. Do not lift your feet from the ground. Slide them instead.”

“Like this?” Zack slid into a sort of shuffle-step.

“Good,” nodded the silver-haired sensei. “Keep your toes down, but don’t drag your heels or your opponent will hear you coming.”

“Okay!” the younger boy readjusted his steps and held his ‘weapon’ up with as much ferocity as he could muster…so he basically looked like a corgi carrying a twig.

Genesis decided to head back on that note. Any longer and he’d risk giving himself away with laughter. Sephiroth was being safe (his swordsmanship was already on par with far older swordsmen) and this seemed to bring him some peace, so why interfere? Staying in shape would be beneficial when it came time to start the actual training to take down Shinra.

And if anyone volunteered to teach the Puppy self-control, who was Genesis to stop them? Hell, they’d be doing him a favor.

He walked back to the house with a soft smile.

Chapter 17: Stars and Requests

Chapter Text

Standing in front of the mirror in his room, Sephiroth faced his unfamiliar reflection in grim determination. The boy furrowed his eyebrows and tapped his cheeks with the palms of his hands. According to the TV, people did that when they wanted to prepare themselves for a difficult mission—skydiving, running a race, selling alpine wood-scented body wash. (Which was a…tree? Why did people want to smell like trees?) It was a little confusing to be sure, but he was willing to try just about anything to calm his nerves.

“Hiiiiiiii, Seph!” Zack rocketed around the corner. “Ready to watch Mirage Masters?”

“Did you get what we agreed on?”

“Um, yep!” the Puppy pulled out several different tree branches. “I wasn’t sure what elkhine wood was, so I gotcha a bunch!”

“This will suffice,” nodded the older boy, taking the collection off his tiny hands. Honestly, he wasn’t sure either. Shinra Science Department Education never covered the really important stuff.

“Why’d ya need ‘em, anyway?”

“I need to smell like manliness.”

“Manliness smells like trees?” Zack tilted his head to the side.

“And lawnmowers,” Sephiroth nodded, imparting great wisdom upon his little brother.

“Oh, okay,” shrugged Zack. “But don’t forget you promised to watch Mirage Masters now!”

“One episode this afternoon, yes.”

Zack cheered and zoomed off to inform Sunny about their special guest. Sephiroth took the assortment of leaves, branches, and pinecones to the bathroom. Laying them out on the counter, the silver-haired boy frowned. How was he to properly extract the right odor from these into soap form? The TV assured him that manliness was necessary to overcome any hardship, so this was essential to his mission. He picked up a pine branch and shook it. Thin green needles fell into a pile and tree sap stuck to his fingers.

“Manliness is problematic...”

In the end, Sephiroth filled a bowl with water and soaked the branches in it. Diffusing the essence of manliness by stirring it occasionally, Sephiroth watched the twigs and leaves dance around each other. After he was satisfied the bowl contained the primordial soup of masculinity, Sephiroth removed the forest bits. He properly disposed of the branches through a window and returned to his concoction.

“...Now what?”

Imitating the commercial, he slathered the sticky water on his arms. He splashed some in his face, but immediately regretted that choice and spent more time than he would have liked picking sap out of his hair. The boy reapplied the ‘body wash’ to his arms for an extra dose of Menergy. Finally, he was ready.

Sephiroth approached the door leading to his objective with more than a few doubts, but he couldn’t give up. His hands felt sweaty, so he wiped them off on his pants before knocking on the door.

“Come in, Seph,” a voice called. Even without enhanced senses, Genesis could tell which child it was by the eldest’s ability to politely knock.

“Thank you.”

“Can I help you with something?”

“No sir, I mean, I-I mean…yes?”

Genesis spun his chair around. Sephiroth stammering was never a good sign. He took a breath and tried to patiently wait while the boy gathered his scattered words.

“May I borrow the tape dispenser, please?” Sephiroth said a little more forcefully than required, as if the words were burning his hands and needed to be set down.

“Of course?” Genesis raised an eyebrow, reaching for the object. All those nerves for office supplies? An Unenhanced person could probably hear the boy’s heart hammering in his chest from this distance. And why did his office suddenly smell like a forest with anxiety issues?

“Thank you,” Sephiroth eagerly took the tape and left as quickly as dignity allowed.

Mission success!

The boy speed-walked back to his room. Piles of starry skies carefully etched into countless papers awaited him. It had taken him quite some time to map out the entire night sky from his window, but he was satisfied with the results. Soon, he’d be able to see the stars at any time of the day. He just had to secure them to the ceiling.

Sephiroth called upon his wing.

Days rolled into one another like waves on the beach, allowing Genesis to realize exactly how much he took Sephiroth’s love of naturally socially distancing himself for granted. He was like a cat—all Genesis had to do was remember to feed him a few times a day, make sure Seph actually brushed his hair, and the boy would be content to sit in a cardboard box all day with the right selection of books. Maybe he plotted world domination and maybe he didn’t. At least he was polite about it. The only time the resident adult got to his morning coffee without a speeding Puppy-shaped bullet colliding with his leg was when the boy had been sick.

Once everyone was settled into breakfast (and no one was latched to his side), Genesis read the newspaper and asked his boys what sort of shenanigans they’d be getting up to today, with a firm reminder to stay out of Farmer Porter’s vegetable garden. The children laughed good-naturedly and a studio audience applauded.

Just kidding.

It was Second Breakfast (growing SOLDIERs need snacks), the kitchen was airing out from an itty-bitty grease fire, the newspaper was from last week, and Genesis was still working on his mug of coffee from First Breakfast. The therapeutic power of monologuing had been unfairly snatched away from him, so he coped by giving many an impassioned speech about how Shinra was the root of all evil, as cruel as their Science Department was creative (which was endlessly), and if left unchecked, Shinra would drain the very life from the Planet, killing it long before the space aliens could have a go at it.

“And that’s why systematically dismantling plutocracy is allowed, provided you have the Goddess granting you permission,” he finished with a smug smile. Because they absolutely did.

It got to the point that Genesis felt like a freaking AVALANCHE recruiter or poster (although he liked to think he was more well-spoken).

“The…space aliens, sir?”

“We’ll get into that when you’re a little older,” Genesis frowned at the unsightly memory of Jenova, floating around like the world’s most dangerous tentacled raisin in a tube of poisonous jello. “We have time.”

Probably.

“Puppy!” Genesis started the crowd participation of his presentation. “Why are you here?!”

Zack jolted in the middle of reaching for another handful of crackers. In his confusion, he pointed to Sephiroth. The older boy had retrieved him from chasing rabbits in the garden for this meeting.

“Ah, yes. The old ‘I want to be just like General Sephiroth when I get older’ routine.”

“I’m not a General.”

“Titles are meaningless when you’ll fight like one some day,” Genesis waved the argument away.

“Nice! You’ll be an awesome General!” Zack cheered, clenching his fists together.

“...I don’t think I want to be,” Sephiroth’s gaze fell to the floor.

“That’s okay too. You don’t hafta,” Zack hugged his arm.

Sephiroth wasn’t sure how much weight Zack’s words actually carried as far as the Shinra Board of Directors went for that topic, but he appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

“Thank you.”

“You bet!” Zack gave him a squeeze and then remembered to give space too. “I got your back!”

“...Wait,” Genesis was perplexed. “You want to fight even if he’s not a world-famous General?”

“Um, yeah. He’s still Seph,” smiled the Puppy. “He’s my brother.”

This threw the man for even more of a loop. Here was a child, willing to fight tooth and claw (literally, since the boy was still quite feral) against any threat...all because his big brother figure was too? He was going to follow them to hell and back...just because his brother was going? They didn’t even know each other until a few weeks ago!

“Don’t worry, Genesis! I got your back too!” Zack clenched his fists together again. “We’re gonna win!”

“Are we not supposed to fight for each other?” Sephiroth questioned, unsure what to make of his caretaker’s baffled expression. Perhaps it was a test. “We are allies.”

“It’s fine,” Genesis looked from the oldest boy to the youngest. “I was merely intrigued that your driving force was your allies and not the dying Planet.”

“Oh, yeah!” Zack blinked, recalling that bit of information. “That’s really bad! We should stop them from doing that too!”

Genesis made a mental note to look up the onset symptoms of having an aneurysm.

Later in the day, Genesis finished reading Gaia’s Pilgrimage, a rare find for the local book shop, if there ever was one. Setting the classic down, he glanced through the window. The boys were outside working on their swordsmanship again. Genesis had casually mentioned standard weapons training being ‘approved’ for the backyard. No need to hike into the woods every time Sephiroth needed to calm his nerves with a kata or wanted to show Zack how to properly wield a sword without accidentally impaling someone.

The older boy had the common sense to arm the Puppy with a tree branch instead, thank the Goddess.

“Good,” nodded the big brother at Zack’s ‘sword’ selection for the day. “That one appears better balanced for your height and reach. Now show me starting position.”

“Like Iron Giant XL from Mirage Masters!”

“...I do not understand what that is,” Sephiroth stated, confusion dotting his face. “But starting position is keeping your body straight with your right foot in front for this kata. Your left heel should be raised a little more.”

“Um…which one’s the left again?” Zack stood on his tiptoes.

“This side.”

“Okie-dokie!”

“Now, the tip of your sword should be pointing at your opponent’s throat,” Sephiroth helped him adjust and continued. “This way—”

“—What if my opponent doesn’t have a throat?”

“...What?”

“Flans don’t have throats!” he insisted. “Except for maybe Flan Princess…”

“...Dessert food only attacks if you try to eat it first.”

“Alrighty!” Zack nodded. He’d make sure not to provoke it. You were supposed to attack those things with magic, anyhow.

It might have been weapons talk, but Sephiroth seemed a lot more at ease about it. Genesis hoped it was his audience and not just the topic that had been drilled into his head. At least he could depend on the Puppy asking all kinds of ridiculous questions that never popped up in Swordsmanship 101.

As the boys got ready for another round of sword katas, Genesis heard a frantic knock on the front door. The SOLDIER wasn’t expecting company and he cared for it even less. All the same, he answered the door like any good host. Gillian practically flew inside.

“The boys…!” she managed to get out between breaths. “I know where they’re keeping the boys!”

Chapter 18: Camping

Chapter Text

Zack was ecstatic about going camping in the Secret Base! And getting to stay there overnight and everything! Genesis had even picked up a handheld video game so he could actually play Mirage Masters whenever he wanted! (And if Genesis had neglected to mention the fact that besides occupying Zack, it would encourage him to practice grading the amount of force he used to be more precise in the real world, then it was still a win-win situation).

“And since we’re camping for a few days, I get to bring you too, Sunny!” he excitedly informed the stuffed wolf. “You get to ride on top of the stuff!”

No coach class seating next to the lame travel toothbrush kit for his favorite toy.

Packing was a boring mission made easier by humming the Mirage Masters theme and taking frequent dance breaks with Sunny. Zack had never been camping before, so he stuffed some random clothes in the bag Genesis had given him. That didn’t seem like enough. A blanket, box of broken crayons, bag of beef jerky, and a pair of mismatched socks were tossed in too. Zack nodded proudly at his work.

He dragged his bag down the hallway to show Sephiroth. Entering the room with all the grace of a rampaging Heavy Tank, he beamed at his brother.

“Look, Seph! I’m all packed! Do you need help?”

Sephiroth glanced over his bag of neatly rolled clothes cushioning a few of his favorite books to the haphazard pile of…things…Zack had packed. Honestly, it looked more like the boy had dumped a drawer full of junk into his bag and called it a day.

“...No thank you.”

“‘Kay!” Zack rested his hands behind his head, leaning back and forth. “Don’t worry, I won’t start the game until we’re camping!”

“Huh?”

“So you can see Mirage Masters too!”

“That’s…” Sephiroth didn’t know how to finish that. He was going for a polite refusal (he’d been getting a little better at those lately, especially when Zack’s cartoon show was the offer), but made the mistake of making direct contact with the Puppy Eyes. “...Okay.”

“Yay!” Zack cheered, grazing the ceiling with his excited leaps. “We’re gonna have the best time ever!”

Sephiroth simply snapped his backpack shut. He was still convinced that pleading look was some kind of ability that caused status effects.

Packing completed, the boys headed downstairs to meet Genesis. They each made drastically different observations. One boy noticed Genesis wasn’t packed at all, save for a pack of general supplies. The other boy homed in on the basket full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“What’s…going on?” the silver-haired boy asked.

“The thing is,” Genesis began. “...I won’t be joining you on the camping excursion.”

Zack’s eyes wided. Genesis wouldn’t be going? Did he do something wrong? And what the heck was an ‘excursion’ anyway? It sounded like an unpleasant procedure. (And everybody knows procedures are never a good time). The youngest boy tried to fight off a shiver that ran down his back, ducking behind his older brother just the slightest.

Genesis picked up on their concerns. He really shouldn’t have led with that. Now he had to explain in kid-friendly terms why upon hearing where his younger self and best friend were being traumatized, he slammed the Revenge button so hard he should have bought it dinner first. A plethora of red materia hummed in his bracer.

“Because I won’t be joining you, I’m taking you somewhere I know you’ll be safe,” he explained. Shinra failed to find him in the caverns a World away last time and haven’t been doing much to impress him this time. “I plan on freeing the final two child SOLDIERs from their prison, as I freed you both. You understand, don’t you?”

Ohhhh…Genesis wants to go blow stuff up and save people!

Zack was disappointed, but able to see it as Genesis being a Hero, so it would be okay.

It would.

It wasn’t okay.

At all.

None of this was remotely close to the boring, fictitious suburbia of ‘okay.’ Forget neighborhood, they weren’t even on the right continent anymore.

Sephiroth didn’t take the change in plans well (as to be expected by literally anyone who knew him). He spent the entire hike there asking Genesis hypothetical questions ranging from what if Zack eats all the food to what if some Cthulhu-esque WEAPON rose from the depths of the sea to wage war with all of humanity? There was no shortage of creative concerns.

“And if the Killer Bees invade our base to attack?”

“Then you would target the weak point—their heads,” Genesis did his best to keep the annoyed tone out of his voice. Here he had thought letting Sephiroth bring a practice sword would help him feel safer.

“What if they call for reinforcements?”

“Oh, oh! What if Seph’s sword breaks?” Zack bounced happily at his side, completely unaware of the damage he was doing.

“...What if my sword breaks…?” Sephiroth discovered yet another worry.

“Zackary, you of all people do not have to worry about running out of weapons,” Genesis gave the Puppy a look. “And Sephiroth, even unarmed, your physical strength is more than a match for any creature foolish enough to attack.”

“But what if—”

“You know what, I’ll leave you a Fire materia. If you’re ever in doubt, kill it with fire.”

For the briefest moment, Genesis regretted finding these two before the others. He and Angeal camped out here plenty of times before… Why couldn’t the others just cooperate too? He was trying to do the whole ‘responsible’ thing and hide them somewhere safe, so he could go commit a few felonies, throw a Killer Bee hive in the lion’s den, and come home with more child soldiers who deserve a shot at a normal life (and vengeance) from Shinra.

Genesis exhaled slowly, reminding himself that they were just scared. If he didn’t have complete confidence in his ability to deep-fry anyone who stood in his way, he might be a little scared too. Or at least a teensy-bit cautious. Not that he normally would associate that word with himself. Hiding the kids in a safehouse was about the extent of his caution. He didn’t want to worry about them getting identified after going to all the trouble of faking their deaths, and he certainly didn’t want them to risk recapture if things went sideways.

Yes, the boys were strong, but they weren’t ready for a full-on raid, and he wasn’t about to underestimate his enemy. Not with the entire Planet at stake. If he truly believed an army was necessary for today, he’d gather every single retail worker in Midgar and lead them to battle. Genesis would liberate the final prisoners and the employees would get about ten years worth of therapy in a single day. Everyone wins.

Except for Shinra.

Inside the Secret Base, Genesis helped them set up. Despite being taught numerous ways to survive in the wilderness, especially the wolf-boy, neither child seemed acquainted with basic camping gear. Even Sephiroth had very little experience with the standard army-issued survival gear. Genesis didn’t know what to do with this information, so he stowed it away in the reservoir of hate he had going for Shinra. Perhaps he’d be drawing on it soon to free the others.

“What’s this thingy do?” Zack held up a can-opener.

“It’s a can-opener, Puppy. What do you think it does?”

The youngest gave it a contemplative look.

Does he seriously not know what a can-opener does?

“So…if we lose this thing we don’t have to eat those yucky peas you packed?”

He knows exactly what a can-opener does.

The resident adult entrusted Sephiroth with the tool.

With a limp hand, Sephiroth added it to his bag. He was currently in the process of unrolling his sleeping bag near the nest of blankets and pillows his brother set up. Genesis felt another one of those inconvenient Adult Figure Guilt Pains settle in, like melted rubber coating his ribcage—putrid and heavy.

“I will be back,” he promised the boy. His tone was low, but lost no amount of conviction.

Sephiroth nodded, not meeting his eyes.

“Seph, the location is just east of Junon. I don’t even have to leave the continent,” continued the SOLDIER. “I swear upon my First Edition I will be gone for two days, tops. Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return.”

This time the boy almost looked convinced when he nodded. Truly, Loveless fixed everything.

“...Next time will I be strong enough?”

“What?” Genesis turned back to face him. Sephiroth’s voice had been so quiet, even he’d almost missed it.

“If I am too weak to accompany you this time…I want to be worthy enough to go next time.”

“Seph, you are worthy enough to accompany me to the depths of Purgatory and back,” the auburn haired man smiled sadly. He certainly wasn’t recalling a time leaving a certain General out of a certain Rebellion ended very badly. Emotionally, of course. “The Goddess has blessed you with the bravery and strength of an entire military.”

“...Then why can’t I go?”

Hojo. Jenova. Hojo’s bookshelves of Flawed Scientific Fanfiction. Mental illness triggers. In that exact order.

“Why am I still not good enough…?”

“It’s because you are so powerful that I can’t risk them recapturing you.”

“...Because I’m not ready.”

“Because I can’t guarantee your safety on Shinra grounds yet, but not for the reasons you think,” explained Genesis. If Loveless couldn’t fix this, he’d have to resort to vulnerable honesty. The sour distaste of weakness filled his mouth, but he didn’t let it coat his words. “I don’t worry about you making any mistakes. My concern falls on me failing to keep you and Zack safe from any underhanded means Shinra uses with their proprietary advantage.”

Sephiroth tilted his head, silently requesting more information.

“For example, if they took the Puppy hostage, it could cause me to hesitate for a moment,” the SOLDIER continued. It wasn’t like Shinra was opposed to dirty tricks. “My lapse in judgment could get us killed, or worse…readmitted to Hojo’s labs. Neither of which I’m willing to let happen.”

As much as Genesis loathed vulnerable honesty, he had to admit it helped. Shadows of gloomy resignation remained on Sephiroth’s face, but the self-doubt and guilt had faded away nicely.

“You are more than just a blade, Seph.” Genesis could feel shards of guilt bury themselves in his chest again, but he carried on. Now, more than ever, he needed to fix the damage he caused another version of the boy before him. “You are worthy of having a safe, normal childhood. And Shinra be damned, you are worthy of the freedom to pursue your own path.”

Sephiroth’s tiny green eyes widened. Genesis berated his inner self. Clearly he had liquified the child’s brain. Now he needed to do damage control.

“The day will come when we will fight side by side to take down Shinra once and for all, but today is not that day,” Genesis finished with a quote, because it was the only way to end a proper motivational speech. “There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess. So, don’t blame yourself. You will have your day to shine and reign hell upon those tyrannical bastards. And it will come sooner than you think.”

Sephiroth nodded the way a chocobo bobbed its head through rocky terrain.

“But before that, how would you like to read these instruction manuals for the camping stove and lanterns?”

A set of tiny hands quickly grabbed the offered pamphlets. Finally, an easy choice.

With the campsite completed, Genesis waved them farewell. Normally, he exited rooms in a more…expressive fashion. Even the action of waving to the children felt a bit odd. Maybe it was the location? Still, he waved. It was returned by a bright, excited wave on one side and a stony face trying to keep fear from creeping in on the other.

The SOLDIER needed to return quickly.

He summoned his wing, shouldering a small supply bag in the process. Multitasking with the best of them, Genesis set up a delayed text on his phone. Should he not deactivate it in two days time, it would send Gillian the boys’ coordinates. Not that he believed it would be necessary. Just another precaution. He would’ve told them, but didn’t want to drag doubt into their minds and scare them into revealing their location to Shinra. The insurance policy was complete before his feet reached the other end of the chasm.

Back at the campsite, the two boys watched their caretaker vanish into the shadows. Sephiroth was certain he transmitted complete control on the outside, unaware the anxiety slipped into his clenched jaw. He knew Genesis wasn’t abandoning them… He knew there were other children out there undergoing the same ‘experiments’ as he did… He knew Genesis was the only one who could do something about it, but…

“Hey, Seph! You should turn on the radio!” The Puppy had already fetched the device. “That always cheers you up!”

Sephiroth was unsure what he meant by that, but agreed that some music would be a good distraction. His hands powered it up and adjusted the dials to his favorite station. The channel didn’t matter…the radio refused to pick up anything but static. Sephiroth tried very hard not to see that as an omen.

“Huh…” Zack rested his hands on his hips. “Well, that sucks! Let’s eat instead! I packed extra beef jerky!”

The older boy followed, not particularly hungry, but somebody had to make sure the Puppy didn’t eat all the food in a fit of boredom.

He was starting to miss his stars already.

The rumble from the dark skies above shook the cavern to its core. They had shelter from the rain, but the rocks did nothing to stop the howl of the wind tearing and ripping into every crevice, as if hunting them down. It was a small favor none of the local monsters thought to do the same.

Of course the night Genesis left them in the Secret Base to play Camping it stormed.

“What if they need us?” Zack’s little voice wobbled against the thunder. Noise aside, he was too ansty and worried to sleep. “What if they need help?”

His brother didn’t have an answer for him. The same thoughts had been racing through his mind too.

“We’re a Pack…we shouldn’t…we shouldn’t leave anyone all alone…”

“Genesis is our leader. He knows what he’s doing.”

Probably.

“I just want everybody to be okay…” tears rolled off his reddened cheeks. He hiccuped and tried not to howl.

Sephiroth was completely out of his element. He awkwardly tried to comfort the kid by giving him another piece of beef jerky, only to helplessly watch the sunny boy dissolve into sobs.

“A Pack is s’posed to st-stay together!”

And so began the competition of who could wail louder—the boy or the storm. There was no clear victor, just a set of ringing ears for Sephiroth until both storms passed. Sephiroth was finally able to hold Zack in a cocoon of his sleeping bag and blankets until he fell asleep, gripping his stuffed wolf and brother for dear life.

The touch was another weight tied to Sephiroth’s nerves. He doubted any amount of ‘normalcy’ would change a lifetime of painful handling from his laboratory upbringing. But as uneasy as it made him feel, he was afraid to set the kid down and have Zack wake up and start panicking again.

Instead, he was stuck awake, feeling simultaneously anxious and exhausted while a second storm raged above. It didn’t take long for the invasive thoughts to start. Icy whispers in the back of his head that maybe Genesis abandoned them here… Serpentine hissing that he’s replacing them with the other children… Or that Genesis was killed in battle (unlikely, but mistakes happen) and nobody would be coming back for them. It was best to abandon the little village entirely. The whispers inside his brain grew stronger and stronger, as if they weren’t connected to his arms and torso that were occupied by a feral child who would sooner sleep on hot coals than get off of him.

Sephiroth stayed up most of the night thinking of worst case scenarios and having to argue them with logic, a game that grew increasingly challenging after three AM.

Genesis wouldn’t save us just to abandon us… He has a plan…and he needs us for it.

Adults are liars… Genesis is a liar… but he keeps his promises…

I have to be strong… I can’t run… I am needed here…

The plan…and Zack… I am needed here…

It will be fine soon… It’s just two days… I can be strong for two days… It’s just two…

He wasn’t sure when, but he found himself hugging the smaller child for support by the end of it.

Chapter 19: Dogs of War

Chapter Text

How could fate have become so twisted?

On his way to Hojo’s secret lab of horrors, Genesis wished he had better scenery. Whatever might’ve taken his mind off of the conversation loop he was trapped replaying. Gillian’s last visit had been eventful to say the least. She told him the location of the boys with complete certainty, which led him to ask how she confirmed it. Being the type to do anything to save her son, she did. The story didn’t start at her source, though. First came the truth about how Shinra really got their disposable latex mitts on Angeal at such a young age.

It was a story Genesis was not prepared for…

Angeal had grown up in Banora very similarly to the counterpart Genesis knew. He was raised with love and a deeply ingrained sense of honor by Gillian and a financially-challenged step-dad, who Angeal believed was his biological father. (He was better off that way). Angeal rose with the sun every morning and did boring, honorable stuff like carrying groceries for old people. Or actually using the crosswalks. He helped his parents around the house, because there was always something that needed fixing. Honestly, he would’ve been the poster child for mundane, obedient country boys if not for the mako shots that made him tougher than a Behemoth’s backside.

Shortly after his fifth birthday, the Hewley family went out for an afternoon stroll in the orchards. They could enjoy the smell of dumbapple blossoms and let their worries drift. It had become a Sunday tradition for them to go before the sun dipped too low in the sky. It was Gillian’s favorite part of the week. A well-deserved break from managing Project G reports, monitoring the boys’ vitals, and arguing with Shinra about Hollander’s misplaced rivalry insisting they up the mako dosage in both boys. It was her small slice of paradise…

Except Shinra had sent a team with Guard Hounds to ambush them on that fateful day.

It was over before the second howl. The Hounds attacked from all sides suddenly, providing no escape for the family. Gillian instinctively shielded Angeal with her body. His stepfather did the same, throwing himself over Gillian’s arms. He knew he couldn’t save himself or his wife, but this would give Angeal a fighting chance. Maybe the mako-boosted boy could escape in the mess? Even if all he could do was block the pack’s initial deathblow for Angeal, it would be more than enough if their son survived.

“I love you,” were his last words to them both.

Gillian didn’t need words. She knew what her husband was doing when he wrapped himself over her arms, completing the protective seal around Angeal. She didn’t have much, but she would use every scrap of grit and tenacity she could muster to keep Angeal alive.

“You will…fly free, babbu…”

Fangs pierced her skin. She dug her arms tighter around her son. Gillian would become the iron bars separating her child from the monsters.

“Mama…?!” the boy’s nose was overwhelmed with a copper scent. His mother’s arms remained around him…even as red blossomed across her yellow sweater.

Hounds snarled in frustration. Another set of jaws found her legs and clamped down, pulling them back like a tin can. The last thing Gillian remembered were white gloves with a red Shinra logo pulling Angeal away from her, kicking and screaming. Physical enhancements aside, he didn’t have the combat training to escape.

She tried to call out to him, but her voice was strangled by a Guard Hound sinking its teeth into her shoulder and flinging her backwards. Everything went dark. Her husband was dead. Shinra left her to share that fate. Angeal’s voice drifted farther away…

She screamed into the dirt. Forcing her arms to push her up. She couldn’t let them take Angeal! Shinra couldn’t have her baby! Blood ran like tiny rivers over her hands. She had to get Angeal back! Gillian frantically tried to stand from the reddened gravel crunching beneath her. Her legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground like wet paper. Adrenaline coursed through her. Struggling to her side, she pushed up and tried again. And again. The ground was stained red. Gillian tried again. Her legs didn’t respond at all. Finally the injuries caused her to pass out.

But stubbornness alone activated her Jenova-Cells to keep her alive.

In her dreams, Gillian remembered those white gloves. She had just given birth to Angeal. Scientists of all kinds flowed in and out of the room like unwelcome gnats. They were constantly taking Angeal from her. He must be weighed. They needed to measure him. An entire department wanted to observe the fruit of their labors with their own beady little eyes. The first specimen in Project G was unstable, but this one would be different. He had to be. Angeal was taken again by an unapologetic doctor. Gillian’s arms were empty again.

She just wanted to hold him a little longer…

Gillian’s J-Cell count was lower than Lucrecia’s, but it was enough to close her wounds over time. A mother raging against all odds and physical limitations intrigued Jenova. It was worth extending her lifespan just a drop. Humans were such curious little creatures…

Gillian woke up to a sky of stars. She couldn’t stand, so she dragged her broken body back to town. Dirt and gravel clung to her hands. If the scent of blood hadn’t attracted any monsters by now, she might make it without any encounters. White hot fury coursed through her veins and blocked out the pain. But she didn’t let it block out her common sense.

She knew Shinra had set them up, so when the concerned citizens came running, she reported the ambush as a wild dog attack to get the village moving. If they could throw off the kidnappers, Angeal could escape. Her child could fly to safety and be free.

A search party was sent out to find the boy and recover his step-dad’s remains. Neither came back. Gillian grieved alone in her rotting paradise.

Unsurprisingly, Shinra ‘found’ Angeal within a few days. They quickly gave custody to Hollander, claiming Gillian was ‘unfit’ to endanger her child like that. With extensive injuries limiting her mobility, it was only due to the company’s ‘kindness’ that her retirement pension was still active. It allowed her to scrape by during the next few months of intensive recovery.

A normal person would’ve died or at the very least never walked again. Gillian needed a cane, but was otherwise mobile, determined to get her son back. All the while, Jenova cells carried the story to their master. Gillian—soft, meek, simple Gillian Hewley turned into a fountain of obstinacy, overflowing and flooding everything she could to reach out to her son. Angeal sat in his cell going out of his mind trying to get back to her. The cells in him studied countless guards and scientists tell him that his parents were dead. Ripped apart by Guard Hounds…and yet something inside Angeal still dared to hope for the better. An unseen connection to his mother that allowed him to ignore the words of others and try to claw through the steel doors to get back to her.

If they hadn’t secured Genesis as leverage shortly after, he just might have succeeded.

Gillian got a job as a Dumbapple genetic consultant. Nearby towns wanted to cultivate them without being so close to Shinra’s evil eye. Mideel had a lovely mako spring that would function just as well as the underground one in Banora. Gillian felt no loyalty to the town that cost her everything. Spies were everywhere. All of the families in power had Shinra lining their pockets with gil and small town power.

How much did my husband’s life cost…? What did they pay for my son’s freedom…? I did everything they asked…why did my family have to suffer…?!

The more Jenova watched her little carrier, the stronger Gillian’s fire visions became. Gillian started to feel more like a witch than a scientist by the time she prevented Kalm from being bombed by accident. None of it mattered as long as she could use that ability to gain allies to secure Angeal’s freedom.

If they don’t listen to a retired scientist, maybe they’ll listen to the Director of the Turks…

It was true the fire seer was incompatible with creating the Calamity’s true heir to destruction (Angeal was proof of that), and yet…Jenova couldn’t look away. Did they not see how they were driving themselves mad? What was this connection, this bond that overrode all rational thought and sanity? Did others possess it, as well? Was this why Hojo had exiled Lucrecia from Project S? At the time, Jenova believed it was to prevent a future power struggle. Without the Artifact and Jenova’s influence, Hojo was quite replaceable. But this ‘motherly bond’ could prove useful. Perhaps Jenova could fill the void Lucrecia left behind…? Once she had the absolute configuration of the social bond between mother and child her own heir would be under her power indefinitely.

Unaware of the parasite stirring inside her cells, Gillian was in a courtroom before she was even back on her feet. There was no reason she shouldn’t have Angeal back, but Shinra kept stonewalling her. When judges in their pocket giving unjust rulings didn’t stop Gillian from finding more and more legal loopholes, Shinra dragged out the court proceedings to make her unable to afford it.

Veld was the one who convinced her to finally stop until they found a better way.

“You saved my family from being taken from me, so I’ll be damned if I don’t do my best to get yours back,” he had promised. “But this isn’t the way to do it.”

Veld couldn’t offer much at the time to free Angeal, so he did what he could to help the kid. A stray Cure spell here or there. A (dumb)applesauce cup when no one was looking. Veld was also the one responsible for having a guard ‘slip’ that Gillian was still alive within Angeal’s earshot.

It took him years, but he was able to deliver the rotating prison to Gillian.

“It’s 36.5323° N, 116.9325° W.”

“What is?” Genesis tried to get a solid answer out of the breathless woman who ran halfway across town to give him a random set of numbers.

“My boy and your younger self are being held in a secret bunker at those coordinates,” Gillian trusted Genesis with the location. If anyone could free them, it was him. Her second sight had seen the proof of that when he answered the door.

As expected, he was quick to keep his word. They formulated a plan under the guise of a social visit. When Gillian left, he sank back into his chair, shocked by the full story. Especially since the starring role was played by a parent who desperately wanted to get their kid back and did everything in their power to do so. In a private part of his mind, he wished his birth parents had done the same but didn’t survive a potential attack without J-Cells, so it was deemed a foolish dream.

He had no doubt in his mind that his adoptive parents simply turned his younger self over to Shinra without a fuss. But the Hewley family…? Shinra didn’t even bother asking. No, they did what they always did and tore people apart until they got their way. They destroyed Angeal’s family because they wanted a better weapon. Shinra didn’t care how long Gillian and her husband suffered on a hill soaked with their own blood until either Jenova or death claimed them. Shinra certainly didn’t care what kind of ‘treatments’ Hollander and Hojo forced children through because they wanted super SOLDIERs.

When he was sure the kids were still outside playing Hide & Seek: Expert Edition, Genesis stormed into the cellar. He needed to be away from others to get his rage under control. His aura was already scalding hot with anger and he really didn’t want to scare the boys. The cold cellar air whooshed past him, doing nothing to cool off his burning skin.

Sephiroth had been forced into The Perfect SOLDIER mold by Hojo cutting away at everything that didn’t fit…

Zack had been raised, caged, and poisoned like an animal…

Angeal had watched his own family being ripped apart limb from limb before his own torture sessions in the labs…

Both forms of Genesis had an adopted ‘family’ who happily handed him over to the devil for their own profit…

He let the waves of heat boil off of him until his skin was clammy. Genesis didn’t know how long he was down there, but he did know one thing for certain…

Shinra wouldn’t know what hit them.

Chapter 20: The Part with Explosions

Chapter Text

Despite the torrents of rain and the absolute rager Ramuh must have been throwing all night, the campsite was still in one piece. Its residents a bit rattled, but hanging in there…the power of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches soothing their less-knotted stomachs.

“Theesh are the besht!” Zack declared, hoisting his dripping sandwich up like a trophy. His mouth was full of food, but his brother didn’t have it in him to point that out. Staying awake took priority. Right now his eyelashes felt so weighed down that whenever he blinked, he thought his eyes might refuse to open again.

The PB&J feast didn’t go unnoticed. Squeaking on the edges of lantern light brought Sephiroth jolting to his feet.

“Enemies…!” he hissed.

“Huh?” Zack paused halfway through a bite.

“Wererats…” the eldest felt sweat drip down the side of his face. “Maybe Doomrats…”

“Uh…I think it’s just the normal kind…” Zack sniffed the air. It lacked the mako smell that followed mutants exposed to the green stuff. “They probably smelled food. Or maybe they live here? Now we have camping buddies!”

Sephiroth had no interest in ‘camping buddies.’ Not when he was convinced they were under attack. The enemies managed to sneak up on him! How many were out there? Thanks to his sleep-deprived senses failing him, he allowed himself to get surrounded. Even worse, he’d failed to keep Zack out of danger. He was failing the one directive he was given! How was he going to keep them safe now? And round and round he went on his anxiety spiral.

“Seph?” Zack tugged on his shirt, trying to calm the silver-haired boy down by offering his sandwich. “C’mon and eat. You can have mine, if ya want.”

“Get behind me,” he ordered his little brother.

“What’re you gonna—hey, my sandwich!”

There was no warning, just white-hot fire magic incinerating the (normal) rats. Unfortunately, precise magic attacks and panic attacks never mixed well together. The limestone making up the areas hit by fire went from damp to superheated. Cracking, the limestone started to explode into rocky bullet chunks the boys had to dodge.

Sephiroth managed to yank Zack out of the way, but forgot to release the final hold on his spell. Several sections of his Fira blast toasted their picnic area. Accuracy was always one of the first things to go in overly-stressed magic users. Sephiroth hastily stomped out the stray embers on their blanket.

“Were they…prey?” Zack stared at the piles of ash where their potential ‘camping buddies’ had stood.

“Yes,” replied the older boy without looking up from smothering a few flames. “But also enemies. You can’t eat them.”

“...Does this mean I can open up the candy, now?” the spiky-haired boy asked, shaking out his hands.

“Did I…hurt you?” Sephiroth realized in horror.

How could I have made such a stupid mistake! Only a failure casts crooked! I’m such a—

“Nope! Doesn’t even hurt!” Zack gave him a big grin. “I’m special like you! See?”

He held up his tiny hands for his brother to inspect. Sure enough, the mako-boosted healing factor had kicked in. Any burns had turned into nothing more than slightly pink skin.

“You don’t gotta worry, Seph!”

But he did. And he would. And he still cast a low level Cure over the boy’s hands to be safe. Zack sat through the whole thing, not saying a word when part of the Cure spell spilled over onto his leg too. Sephiroth was just a little sleepy.

“Hey, Seph?” Zack tilted his head at his brother. “How do you think Genesis is doing?”

Sephiroth was quite tired, but managed not to list off the horrific scenarios that kept him up all night. The younger boy nodded at Sephiroth grumbling something akin to ‘fine’ and decided to change the topic.

“Seph! Seph! Let’s play the Snack Game!”

“How do we play that?”

“First, you give me a snack…” Zack held out a hand expectantly.

“And then what?”

“I win.”

Outside, where the sun and moon couldn’t agree on ‘early’ or ‘late,’ Genesis was preparing for his raid on the lab in the countryside outside of Junon. Close enough he could see the outline of Sister Ray in the distance, but far enough that his SOLDIER nose didn’t smell a half-rusted patchwork of pipes inevitably creeping closer into the saltwater bath below. He hadn’t even heard of this lab before. Whichever idiot designed it, plunked it right in the middle of a cornfield and did a half-assed job disguising it as a grainery. Still, Genesis made the most of the blanket of trees on the outer perimeter to use as cover (his trademark red coat would stick out too much in the amber waves of grain).

He reached out with his Scan spell (boosted significantly by several special support materia) to get a feel for the layout of the place. As with most things involving Shinra construction crews…he was unimpressed. There were a dozen or so people armed with materia, scampering around like rats—the guards. Their materia made them the easiest to track, giving Genesis a decent enough mental picture of the building—two floors above ground and four below ground. Everything on cornstalk level was part of the front, which meant more human guards than machines. Scarlet’s little death-bots were roaming the lower basem*nt levels in semi-coordinated patrols. She would be quite upset if she realized exactly how many Hojo had taken for this poor excuse of an agricultural center. The security system here was a potentially deadly mystery, but that’s what Hollander’s EMP was for. Genesis activated the device.

Angeal and the younger Genesis were located in the lowest levels of this hell.

The numbers weren’t in his favor, but Genesis had abilities that made up for that. Just because he didn’t have his Clones or other SOLDIERS didn’t mean he was going in alone. A Summon could go a long way in a classic raid, while Shinra were bigger fans of skirmishes. They were all about annihilating the enemy and forcing defeat by pulling out the big guns. Genesis was more goal-oriented. Yes, there were times to cast Apocalypse and call it a day, but there was nothing wrong with aiming for a set of objectives. Why go to all the trouble of scorching the earth, when the same battle could be won by assassinating the enemy’s leader and helping oneself to their supplies (i.e. materia)? He employed the tactic several times in the War with Wutai and a few times in his own Rebellion. Ifrit and Bahamut were always more than happy to assist.

And lucky Shinra was about to meet all of them at once.

A roar, a heatwave, and a bath of flames took out the field before the corn kernels even popped. The hellfire exposed hidden wires and traps littering the field, now rendered useless. Sparks sailed through the air. The Flamebringer was not a fan of sneaky battle tactics and took his time ripping the field apart with gusto.

Genesis remained in his secure location, channeling more mana. Summoning Ifrit was a breeze. He could do it in his sleep. Summoning Bahamut on top of another active Summon was trickier. Both magically and mentally when the two vied for territory, like children squabbling over a mana-flavored ice cream cone while standing in front of an ice cream truck.

Guards started pouring out of the wetwork, pissing themselves, and calling in mechanical backup. Shinra didn’t pay them that much! While Ifrit was enjoying himself with property destruction and melting bullets, Bahamut took offense at the pathetic opponents who dared face him. The mechs were half-functional at best, so they had at least a 1% chance at victory over the almighty Dragon King. He snarled, flew above the labs and blew the top off it…triggering the barrier containment trap.

Metal poles burst from the ground, singing the song of materia enhancements. A total of four rose up to various heights, depending on the success of their manual launch. All of them started to glow brighter and brighter. Hexagonal plates of magic started to form around what was left of the grainery.

Not that either Summon noticed between roaring at each other. Honestly, Genesis had to wonder if they even noticed the energy barrier go up around them. Territorial prats…

Genesis did take note of the energy barrier. It was decidedly materia-based in origin, making the EMP useless in jamming any and all electrical signals. It was a surprisingly well-crafted force field too, fueled by at least ten separate Barrier materia. It was unclear how it was being operated, but there would be time to figure it out later. Genesis had one more guest to invite to the party.

Calling upon Bahamut Fury shortly after the others was going to end in a migraine down the road, but that was a problem for Future Genesis. It would all be worth it when he freed Angeal and his younger self. He made himself stand up again and watched the Summons obliterate the bizarre barrier system hiding the labs.

He might not even need the EMP.

The Summons were destructive, but efficient. Each responded to the image of Angeal and a younger Genesis that the older counterpart forced into their brains. They were too proud to acknowledge him, but he knew he could trust them to hold up their end of the deal—sparing the boys in exchange for cutting loose on everything else.

Shinra’s side was not taking well to the excessive amount of Summons on the battlefield. Assault teams were sent into the forest to shoot what they believed to be at least three summoners. Guard Hounds caught the target's scent, leading their masters in for the kill. They were ready to take on any terrorist that stood before them!

They were not ready to take on Genesis.

“Who else has Shinra sent to die at my feet?” an arrogant voice questioned them.

It was the last thing they heard before blazing steel ended their lives.

Across the battlefield, all three Summons were raising the bar for hit and run tactics. The magic attempted by the guards was pitiful at best, and guns just annoyed the mythical beasts. They ripped up the Barrier pods maliciously. Wires snapped and metal groaned as a giant fire cat and a pair of flying lizards made the Materia R&D team cry over their broken new toy. There wasn’t much to be done to an enemy Shinra couldn’t catch.

“I want eyes on all the enemy casters! We need to take them down now!” ordered an Elite Grenadier, ducking for cover from another volley of fireballs. One melted off a broken corner of his helmet and his left eyebrow was no more.

“Yessir!”

“Where are we on the mech reboot?!”

“They’re not coming back online! Something’s jamming our signal!”

“Dammit! How many terrorist bastards are out there?!”

“No visuals have been made on the human targets, sir!”

“Tch…send out whoever is left on bikes with the IRIS code to Junon,” the Elite ground his teeth once the earth stopped shaking for a few seconds. “We’ll hold off the bastards long enough to get clear of the jammers and send out the emergency signal to Indigo.”

“Yessir!” Generic Infantryman #3 took off to deliver orders.

“Get every essential non-military personnel evacuated to the safe room!”

“Th-There won’t be enough room!” a terrified scientist pointed out.

“I said ‘essential’ didn’t I?!” Elite Asshat shouted back. “Go send your interns to ‘guard the specimens’ somewhere else!”

“But Professor Hojo will—”

“—If those little sh*ts are anywhere near what he keeps claiming, they can handle a little fireworks!”

Team Shinra was outmatched, but they never went down outgunned. Strapping the last of the explosives from the lower levels of the building to the glitching Sweepers, they manually activated the lower thrusters, sending the machines towards the forest to explode. Genesis was not amused.

“This is the might of Shinra?” he easily leapt away from another stray suicide bomber. “Pathetic.”

After the human fodder stopped coming to him, Genesis decided to show them why people called him The Crimson Commander. A live demonstration would be best. With Rapier, naturally.

“All that awaits you is a somber morrow...”

Genesis burst out of the foliage and into the smoldering cornfield, cutting down any who opposed him. None of these troopers were innocent, so they all were destined to burn.

“We have eyes on the enemy!”

“How many?”

“One man so far, sir!”

“Well, one person can’t do all of this! Cut him down and find his partners!”

“Yessir!”

A green signal flare shot off in the distance. The troops cheered. The Elite Grenadier smugly grinned.

“Light ‘em up, fellas.”

Another trooper returned the green signal flare with one of their own. After that, the surviving infantrymen tried to make themselves scarce. Coat billowing in the air like an overdramatic flag, Genesis wasn’t having any of that. Personally hunting them down just became his next goal. There were only a handful of security officers left…

Something humming caught his attention in all the chaos of the battlefield.

“What is it now?” The SOLDIER glanced at the sky. He couldn’t sense any magic, but there was…something there.

A single tungsten rod twice the size of a grown man shot down from the heavens, impacting the forested area surrounding the building. Mana hastily shifting into glasslike walls, Genesis didn’t quite get a solid barrier up in time (that rod moved faster than any missile he’d seen). SOLDIERs are built to withstand a great variety of explosions. Their bodies are enhanced to superhuman levels of endurance, perception, and durability.

This does jack sh*t to protect their eardrums from intense sound energy.

The deafening sound waves almost made the scorching blast feel pleasant. As both crashed through the broken glass of his half-formed Barrier, Genesis felt boiled alive. The unstable spell flickered out on all sides. His ears screamed with the overpowering noise ripping through them. Had he been anything less than a First, there would have been permanent hearing loss. (Which was of little consolation when Genesis felt like he stuffed an entire bag of cotton balls into each ear). The SOLDIER dug his palms into his eyes and stretched his fingers back to cover his ears, settling on a Regen spell to boost his healing factor to all parts of his battered self, starting with eyes and ears. He couldn’t afford to stand around Curing every injury.

In his deaf-blind disorientation, half of an uprooted tree struck him in the torso when he had nowhere to move. Enhanced or not, there was a distinct crack at his core. The only benefit was that the hit launched him into Ifrit, who caught him like a very angry beachball.

Genesis sputtered off a few curses, not pleased with his undignified landing. Upon being set down, he ignored the way the ground spiraled away from his feet. His foundations felt like liquid, but Genesis had the power of nearly two decades’ worth of resentment on his side. Cracked ribs couldn’t stop him any more than a mana bleed. He was about to resume raiding the place when another hum echoed in the skies. IRIS-Indigo had launched another hypervelocity rod…and their aim was getting better.

“Bahamut!” Genesis commanded.

The OG Dragon rose to meet the rod, but even a draconian king can only redirect so much of a deadly projectile getting dropped at Mach 10. Bahamut roared as his claws slowly disintegrated with contact. He wasn’t prepared for the sheer force of the kinetic energy and flung it with what strength he could muster. This time the impact struck the dividing line between forest and charred cornfield.

As the dust settled, Bahamut’s tattered wings drooped. They had been held wide to shield his summoner, but could do little more after. Genesis was forced to dismiss Bahamut from all the extensive injuries. In the confusion of it all, some of the shrapnel from the blast managed to clip Ifrit in the arm. The Infernion roared in anger at the stupid human mosquito craft that dared shoot at him. All the same, Genesis wasn’t a fan of arm injuries (the phantom pains of his old shoulder wound twinging), so he jumpstarted Ifrit’s healing with a well-placed Fira.

What in the name of the Goddess was that?!

It turns out IRIS was an experimental solar satellite program. An experimental solar satellite program with wifi and weapons of mass destruction. Another take on creating a man-made ‘calamity from the skies.’ Not that Genesis knew that. The best he could glean from his super-boosted Scan at this distance was that there was something Not Nice floating around up there.

“That’s quite the unwelcome surprise…” mused Genesis, calling the matter to one of his minion’s attention. “Even if the morrow is barren of promises…nothing shall forestall my return. This must be another one of their newer inconveniences…”

New, but no match for Bahamut Fury, who treats space travel like Sunday strolls. Whatever was shooting at them from the Planet’s exosphere was blasted to bits before it could launch another rod. Space swept up the broken pieces. Bahamut Fury was sure to aim his Exaflare away from the Planet. They needed more of those blasted rod missiles blindly falling like they needed another malignant narcissist on Shinra’s Board of Directors.

Stretching the limits of his spell range, Genesis commanded his remaining Bahamut to return to the skies and send anything approaching them to the freaking Promised Land. Summons didn’t normally stick around after using their special attacks, but Genesis could be persuasive. And had plenty of mana to toss around. Following suit, Ifrit remained topside, ready to serve as back-up and keep the exit open. The final key to a successful raid was to achieve your objective before the enemy had time to remobilize and counter-attack in full force.

Genesis plummeted into the darkness. The back-up generators weakly kicked in, bathing the labs in a pale orange light. Bodies wearing badges that might have meant something to Payroll littered the floor. They looked like broken ragdolls. Even if they had survived the first judgement rod, the second blast did them in if the dents around the walls were any indication.

How did Angeal and his younger self fare after such an attack?

Genesis walked a little faster. He had never been in this lab, but it was constructed very similarly to Hojo’s other hellholes. Hollander’s too. For spending most of their careers at each other’s throats, the two rats were a lot alike. It at least explained the secret nests. Grinding his teeth at several of the lab safety protocols and labels strewn about, Genesis tried to block out the flood of memories, it was draining enough of his concentration just to keep his Summons active from such an extensive distance.

The cold steel of the exam table…

A large needle jabbing into his arm. Glowing green pain racing through his veins and branching out like an infection…

The itchy regenerating of his fingerprints from the corner of his cell after repeated fire and thunder casting…

Someone’s dirty hand reaching for a bright light…

Stray sparks licked the SOLDIER’s heels as he strode down the final hallway to the primary containment cells. He tore open the door’s pathetic excuse for a lock. From the farthest corner of the room, both boys made eye contact with him. Genesis was finally there, he was able to free them…!

…So why did they look at him like every other whitecoat?

“I’m here to free you both,” he explained, offering a hand in good will.

It was ignored.

Genesis was baffled. They should have been happy, but both were biting back terror. His younger self tried to call upon a baby fire spell, but couldn’t focus his mana properly. Angeal was crouched protectively in front of him, arm extended into what looked like a Behemoth claw. He certainly appeared brave, but the older SOLDIER could see his muscles vibrating with fear.

Genesis’s smile faded. Maybe attacking with three Summons at once wasn’t the best idea…

Chapter 21: Security Blanket

Chapter Text

Angeal and Genesis were minding their own business in the labs when the goddamned Fire Nation attacked.

They had been dragging their feet after a particularly grueling training day—cellular modification regimens, unwillingly overhearing boring podcasts in the Med Bay, the works. Corrections complete, they were being transported to a different level to test Goddess knows what. Right around there, things got a little crazy. ‘Crazy’ as in the building around them was ripped open like a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos because Ifrit was ready to feast.

The Infernian wasn’t clearly visible as natural light blinded everyone in an instant. They were, however, very much aware of the giant clawed hand rummaging through the ruined building looking for tiny people snacks. Fire erupted from his arm to clear the way. He was on a mission and nothing in Hojo’s Lab of Horrors was going to stop him. Noxious smoke filled the air as flame met unstable chemicals…

It was time to bail.

Quickly, the boys were prodded back to the lower levels alongside the staff. Angeal didn’t understand why they kept screaming about casting a Super Barrier after they had personally drained Genesis of most of his mana…probably for the better, as he didn’t seem willing to comply.

And that never ended well for anybody.

Genesis didn’t have to rely on flickering monitors and radio chatter. He could feel the tremendous level of magic being tossed around like explosive confetti above them. The Shinra troops didn’t focus on materia use (with the exception of the short-lived Barrier that served as a force field of some kind for the entire facility), so the surge of power coming from the other side really stood out. How many had grouped together to build such a towering beacon of mana?

Another explosion tore through the world’s most technologically advanced grainery. If it had been damaged before, it was in shambles now. Only the secret basem*nts remained and even those were looking sketchy. Red Saucer robots crashed into each other, sputtering as they shut down forever. Genesis kicked one of the Death Roombas out of his way. He had never been particularly fond of them.

Brittle ceiling tiles caved and crumbled away. The group had the best seats in the house to see everything go to hell (again) before their very eyes. A trail of fire filled the labs for a moment, illuminating not one, not two, but three Summons. Which should have been impossible! Everyone and their magically-stunted cousin knows to use one at a time or the deities lose their damned minds. What kind of a group was responsible for this idiocy?

“D-Do something!” shrieked one of the researchers, shoving the literal child in front of himself for protection. Genesis stumbled at the unexpected push, but fully recovered with enough grace to face the man with a snort and all the sass Minerva could cram in a person.

“I’m assuming you’re demanding a Barrier, but how exactly do you expect me to call one up when you drained me of all my mana?” Genesis crossed his arms. “Not very bright for a scientist, are you?”

Several more pieces of ceiling crashed, their dust illuminated by a burning, orange light. Ifrit had landed nearby and began to dig around their location, his claws half a hallway down from Genesis’s position. The boy turned in shock, mesmerized by the terrifying glow of the Infernian’s eyes. Ifrit, ceased his treasure hunting mission, staring back as though he could see the fire blazing inside Genesis. The way a Garuda looked at a fire ant who showed spunk.

But more realistically—this was a Summon known for random acts of violence. Escape was their only option that didn’t end in a barbeque.

“Gen!” Angeal cried out, throwing his transformed arm out to save his friend from the heatwave. He ignored the way his monster skin boiled and flaked off. It would be a crapshoot of whether they would regenerate themselves as Behemoth fur or human flesh at this point.

There was no time to process the info. Both boys were stuffed into an elevator with several terrified whitecoats-in-training. The actual guards were probably busy with whatever disaster was going on above them. Genesis was annoyed by their idiocy. For a group of people that prided themselves on their intellect, they certainly didn’t think through crowding into an elevator during a fire.

By some miracle, they made it to the safe room. Well, a slightly safer room. Genesis suspected the true bunker was being occupied with the higher-ranking staff. The interns here could barely scan their ID cards, their hands were trembling so badly. Genesis was ready to mock them for it, but his own legs had been shaking ever since he made eye contact with Ifrit. Cosmic energies wrapped up into a rage-filled beast spurting the flames of hell didn’t seem stable. And yet some idiot casters were out there summoning every incarnation of Bahamut they could think of on top of the aggro pyro.

Genesis was not thrilled with the way things were going, so it was time to do what he did best—being difficult.

“Ow, ow! Somebody get help!” the actor doubled over in ‘pain.’ The phrase wasn’t to his liking, but it signaled Angeal that he wasn’t actually hurt. “Augh! My mana…! Goddess, have mercy…!”

“What is it now?!” an intern spun around, not ready for even more disasters.

“My blood feels like it’s on fire!” Genesis painted fear over his face. “Did Ifrit do this to me?! It feels like something is burning my blood up!”

The interns hadn’t been around for long, but all of them had read Hojo’s notes about Genesis’s magic-induced, potentially deadly flare-ups. They had read the damage reports too. One of those stood out more than the other.

“Get them inside the cell now!”

“Unlock the door!”

“Hurry up before he blows!” they shouted amongst themselves, all professionalism and tact lost in the nightmare unfolding around them.

The manual lock clicked into place. Genesis barely concealed his smirk. His goal of acting up enough to scare the interns into locking himself and Angeal in the containment cell was a success. It wouldn’t provide much, but it would be more durable than the open office if Ifrit got this far.

Angeal gave him a look, as he focused more on the fact that they were now trapped inside an inescapable room during a freaking incursion. He anchored them down with his Behemoth arm when the earthquake began, trying to ignore the way he could hear the bodies of the adults slamming into the walls just beyond their own.

“This is fine! We’ll leave the lab when it’s all over!” Genesis proclaimed through clenched teeth.

“Who’s going to let us out if they’re all dead?!”

A pyromaniac with a vendetta against unethical corporations, as it turns out.

A young man with glowing eyes broke open the door with ease. Hand outstretched to the prisoners, the mystery man approached the boys as if he was inviting them to tea. Too bad he chose to play pretend savior at the same time Ifrit roared from somewhere above them—a warning to any survivors getting dumb ideas. As if the man wasn’t the reason they were huddled in a cell, desperately choking back their fear from the terrorist attack that left everyone else dead in its wake.

Right. They sure as hell weren’t going anywhere with this madman.

Angeal felt heat from underneath his clawed arm. Genesis had attempted to call upon a fire spell, but his mana had all been bled dry. It fizzled out as quickly as it had been ignited. Angeal focused all his remaining power into his monstrous limb. It was all they had at the moment and he would make it count.

“I’m here to free you both,” the man tried to convince them of his good intentions of saving them.

Genesis didn’t believe him. Knowing Hojo’s twisted sense of curiosity, this could very well be another test. His friend shared the sentiment.

“Stay away from us…” Angeal said carefully.

The trenchcoat man seemed put out at their reluctance, frowning slightly. Had he really expected them to blindly go along with whoever showed up?

“But I’m just like you,” the man leapt into the open space Ifrit had created. “Allow me to demonstrate…”

Bringing a hand to his forehead and then extending it for dramatic effect, the man descended from the burning skies, a wing the color of night behind him. He put out the nearby fires with carefully controlled water magic (none were chemical fires, by some uncharacteristic stroke of luck) and carefully approached them.

“Do you understand now?”

The only thing they understood was ‘armed and dangerous.’

Genesis saw a threat in human form. This man had more mana in him than any human being had the right to. He was smiling, but dangerous in the way a Coeurl is while approaching its prey. Angeal was on the same page of the Top 100 Reasons Why We Don’t Trust Adults handbook, powering up the beast claw after a full day of using it. Genesis knew his brother in arms was already pushing his limits of utilizing it, but Angeal wasn’t letting physical restrictions impede him. This man was a threat and he wasn’t about to let him hurt his only friend. They had survived too much to die here!

“Stay back…” Angeal repeated himself.

Angeal couldn’t place it, but something about the man bothered him. He seemed almost familiar… but Angeal had no idea how. He’d never met him before, but Mr. Trenchcoat Terrorist still looked so much like someone… Even this guy’s general vibe of walking the line between making the same old mistakes and exciting new mistakes sparked all kinds of deja-vu. And red flags. But mostly deja-vu.

Angeal stifled a low hiss when his overexerted arm twinged painfully. To the shifter’s surprise, the mystery man didn’t take advantage of his weakness and strike. In fact, he appeared almost…concerned? The stubborn kind that enforced annoyance on the outside, but the telltale signs of the clenched jaw and twitch in the frown gave it away every time…

Angeal’s eyes widened. Risking a glance at Genesis, he saw the same expression on his face. They were identical!

Could this man be…Genesis’s actual father?!

Sephiroth woke up and the first thing he realized was that Zack wasn’t there.

“Zack!” he jolted up in horror, tripping over the blankets stacked on him, and sending a stuffed wolf flying. He didn’t have more than a few hours of sleep in him, but adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

Zack wasn’t in the large cave room at all.

Sephiroth smelled smoke and raced towards it, stumbling over the pit. His wing got him across, yet he was in too much of a hurry to dismiss it. The sting of banging it on a wall or two didn’t even register. He had to find his little brother!

“Zack?!”

“Hi, Seph!” the Puppy greeted him at the entryway of the cave. He was crouched next to the portable stove, where he was attempting to make food (he had learned from a previous attempt that ventilation is important). He picked up a plate with a bright smile. “Look! I made you those cheesy omelet things!”

Relief flooded him and exhaustion threatened to consume him. “You...what?”

“You said you liked those, so I made you some! See?”

Sephiroth wobbled over, sitting beside the bubbly child. He’d never been so relieved to see burned eggs.

Despite the heart attack the child had given him, Zack made the effort to make the meal, so Sephiroth attempted to eat it. The eggs were food and he couldn’t remember how long ago he ate a sandwich or two before the enemy rodents attacked. A few shaky bites into his glorified egg taco, he nearly choked.

Zack already finished off his own omelet and made himself comfortable next to his brother’s wing. He’d been carefully petting it, beaming at the sleek black feathers in the afternoon light. It sent a bizarre sensation through Sephiroth’s shoulder and down his spine.

“What are you doing?” Sephiroth asked, flicking his wing upwards like a spasming fish. He tried to shake out the tickly feeling.

“Nothin’!” giggled the smaller boy, reaching up for it again.

“Zack…” Sephiroth tried to sound firm, but ended up more in the realm of Emotionally Drained Babysitter.

“Oh!” his eyes lit up. “I forgot again! Can I see your wing?”

“What?”

“Pleeeeeeeease?” Zack clapped his hands together and tilted his head to the side. He resembled a baby animal begging for a treat.

“...Why?”

“‘Cause I wanna see if it’ll work!” stated Zack, as if that explained everything and nothing at once. “It’ll be really cool, okay?”

“...Fine.”

Sephiroth was too tired to care. He resumed eating and tried to ignore the scratchy, tingly feeling of someone else touching his wing. Or folding his wing, in this case.

“Taa-daa~!” Zack cheered, loosely wrapped up among the feathers. He poked his head over the edge of the wing where primary feathers spread. “You’ve got a built-in blanket!”

“It’s a mutation, not a blanket.”

But the Puppy wasn’t in the mood for science class. He was cozy and fighting off a food coma. His big brother was there and the sun was shining. It was all he needed in that moment.

“Are you listening to me?” he carefully lifted the tips of his wings up to check. Zack was completely zonked.

Sephiroth stared at the sleeping child. He contemplated the infinite mystery of how young children could go from wide awake to deep sleep so quickly. Did that work in reverse too? Another sigh.

What am I supposed to do now?

Sephiroth rearranged his wing, so it wasn’t bent at such a weird angle, but still covered his younger brother like a not-blanket. He supposed he could leave it out while he finished his omelet at least…

Chapter 22: Mr. Buttons & Stranger Danger

Chapter Text

Turks by definition, are hardcore. They were the ones called in when a terrorist group needed thwarting. Turks handled the cover-ups needing special care. (Usually involving carpet bombing.) Dead body? No problem! They can investigate it, hide it, and log it before the standard Shinra employee even finished their coffee. With work days like that, how did they spend their days off?

Picking up teddy bears from their front yards, according to Director Veld.

Mr. Buttons was no doubt right in the middle of a very important adventure with Felicia, but Veld’s wife was still the commander of this base. And when she ordered her people to be extracted for bathtime and storybooks there was no room for arguments. Mr. Buttons should just be glad to avoid more field work. One of his button eyes was coming loose again.

It wasn’t often Veld got the day off, today must be fate. He knew Gillian was going to act soon with whatever support she had now to get Angeal back. Initially, he would’ve talked her out of it, as he had many times over the years…but something had Science in a tizzy and they were getting increasingly unsafe in their handling of their youngest specimens. (He frowned at their designated role being ‘specimens’ over ‘children.’) If Gillian had a way to get Angeal out, now was a good time. No human could endure much more of that, mako enhancements or not.

Veld had always been willing to help Gillian where he could. An update on Angeal here, ordering Turks to secretly look out for the boy there…it was a dangerous dance around Hojo’s beady, yet keen eyes, but completely worth it. Especially after Veld became a parent himself. Felicia wasn’t that much younger than Angeal, but unlike him she got to grow up with her family. She got to be a kid.

And he owed it all to Gillian Hewley.

Not even Veld was privy to all the experiments she had taken part in and become a part of. He did know that one of her covered-up side effects allowed her to see premonitions involving significant amounts of fire. Instead of using this to blackmail him, she used it to prevent the Kalm Bombing Tragedy that would’ve taken his family from him.

He looked at Mr. Buttons and tried to ignore the goosebumps from the fateful call Gillian made to him. Her skill helped her predict the incident by recognizing several landmarks and buildings. She ended up calling the Turks because she recognized Director Veld crying over a tattered teddy bear. Initially, he thought it was a twisted prank. It was a miracle he stayed on the line long enough to hear the words that chilled him to his bones.

“I could see you collapsed in the remains of what might have been a blue house with the shrapnel of a white picket fence,” she spoke with certainty. “I thought you might be crying over a body, but I was wrong. The only one you had left to grieve was a yellow teddy bear, stained with blood. It was missing a brown button eye and stuffed with shredded fabric instead of cotton. Do you also have a child, Director?”

He almost lost that child that day.

Because of the call, Veld was hyper-aware of all operations around Kalm. The would-be fatal bombing was prevented. The error caught in time.

He didn’t enjoy taking credit for it, being praised for his observant nature…but it was the only cover he had to hide Gillian’s ability. Science would want to get their hands on her if they found out about it. Veld discreetly kept in contact with his family’s savior, forever in her debt.

He looked up at his home. One phone call had made the difference between its pristine, picturesque walls now and smoldering ruins.

“Honey?” a voice pulled him back to reality. The one with flowers and a white picket fence.

“Anne,” he greeted his wife. His beautiful, loving wife who was looking at him like she wanted to beat him over the head with a frying pan. “What’s wrong?”

She held up a glowing orb in her hand. “Felicia found this and tried to use it to jump to the top of the fridge.”

“After the cookies, I see,” Veld knew not to chuckle. Anne could summon her frying pan faster than anyone ever pulled a gun on him. “How did she manage to equip it?”

“She didn’t,” the brunette tossed him the materia. “Which is why she only made it to the countertops.”

Veld rolled the yellow orb across his palm. It was his old Jump materia. He hadn’t used it in quite a while. His knees weren’t what they used to be.

“How about we keep that locked up a little better and out of the hands of small children?” Anne’s lips were pulled tight. This sounded like a question, but he didn’t have to be Director of Administrative Research to know it was an order.

“Yes, dear.”

The Turk Director tucked Mr. Buttons under his arm to pocket the materia and adjust his briefcase. He needed to keep that secure as well. It would be easier to mail Gillian the fake transportation papers he had made for her and Angeal from Kalm than through the office.

Zack powered down Mirage Masters, tucking the video game away in his bag. He’d been playing it for…however long it took him to level up his Copper Gnome to an Iron Giant, while Sephiroth was busy ‘keeping watch’ or something. No way something that boring could be any fun.

“Hey, Seph!” the boy fell into step alongside him. “Wanna play?”

“I must keep watch.”

“But you’ve been keeping watch,” Zack tilted his head. “Don’t ya wanna do somethin’ else?”

“I must keep watch,” the taller boy repeated, firm in his answer.

“Huh…okay,” Zack stopped walking and watched his brother from the blanket pile for a bit.

‘Keeping watch’ included a lot of pacing. Sephiroth had already worn a path along the perimeter. That thing was going to become its own tripping hazard in another few laps. In a way, it reminded Zack of his old Pack. When one of the wolves was worried about something, they’d often pace. The parents did that a lot when the whitecoats took their cubs for Surgery. It was scary. Nobody knew if the cubs would come back the same. Some never came back at all. Zack wondered if Lady or Greywind did that for him when it was his turn. Did they worry about him turning cold and unmoving like the others?

The wolf-boy looked at Sephiroth’s eyes for more clues. He didn’t always show a lot of expressions on his face, but his eyes told plenty of stories. Like right now when they kept flitting all over the place, daring enemies to step forward.

No, that’s not it…

Sephiroth was gripping his borrowed sword tightly. The materia on his bracer was flickering, with a spell on the tip of his tongue. It was more than being ready for enemies. Sephiroth needed something to fight. Like when food got scarce and Zack’s old Pack spent so much time scouring the forest for prey, just begging something to come out. Only Sephiroth’s stomach wasn’t hungry (Zack made the best cheesy omelets), his brain was. He looked like he needed something to pop out so he had a reason to fight. Sephiroth was spun so tightly, he needed to be right about monsters, so he could achieve his self-imposed purpose.

Zack’s heart sank. It made him feel bad to see Sephiroth doing that. He must be really worried about Genesis and the other kids. The boy wanted to help, but his brother already turned down video games and Second Lunch. They already took a nap, or at least Zack did (he wasn’t sure Sephiroth fell back asleep while he was in the wing cocoon). He’d exhausted all his ideas.

He needed to bring in the expert.

Zack dragged over a dusty chair, repositioning Sunny on the edge of it. His golden fur shimmered against the gloom.

“What do you guys think we should do?”

Genesis could not comprehend why the boys continued to distrust him.

This was a fine example of why giving them the ol’ razzle dazzle should stop just short of committing war crimes. It was very difficult for the intended audience to give any trust when they were preoccupied with fire monsters teaming up with dragons and several counts of murder occurring nearby.

“It is imperative that we leave before back-up arrives,” Genesis gestured to the hole in the ceiling leading to certain freedom. “Stay here and they’ll lock you away forever.”

“Certain death is more reliable than following a casting abomination around,” the smallest SOLDIER found his voice first, unsurprisingly. “We know where we stand with Shinra, we don’t know you at all. Who’s to say you won’t try to kill us the second we turn our backs?”

“I think I just felt a part of my brain die trying to follow your logic.”

“Well, the rest of you can follow suit.”

“We need to leave now,” The time-traveler was reaching for any tactic that might work. “That’s an order, a command.”

“An adjuration? A demand?” Genesis Jr. sneered. He was a lot more confident, now that he was reasonably sure the man wasn’t going to hurt them. “You expect us to follow you and do your bidding, almighty Sorcerer Supreme?”

The SOLDIER clenched his teeth. Leave it to himself to know how to get under his own skin. Two could play at that game.

“Gen…maybe we should at least start moving away from here?” Angeal finally spoke up…only to be silenced with a glare. It wasn’t like they had the energy to summon their wings, even if they wanted to.

“We have nothing to fear from a defunct, unsung hero,” Little Genesis flopped his hand through the air. “He knows our combined strength outclasses him.”

“If you’re going to try to sound intimidating, work on your posture, boy,” spat Genesis. “You look like a washed out actor who learned everything from secondhand books.”

He could tell it struck a nerve that he almost exploited out of habit.

“And you look like a burnt out candle! Deformed and completely useless without your flame!” Genesis Jr. shot back.

“Hmph. Here is the child, loathsome as a toad.”

“You are the toad—ugly and venomous!”

It was all that Angeal could do to watch helplessly as the two look-alikes tried to verbally murder each other to establish superiority. The rate they were going, it might take awhile. Both sounded like they had spent their downtime reading dictionaries for fun.

Genesis resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. For all his attempts to prove he was an ally, neither boy trusted him. There was absolutely no way dragging them home by force was going to end well for any of them. So he took the next best course of action and shoved some dwindling mana into a Sleepel. He had enough problems at the moment, Future Genesis could deal with the brats when they woke up.

The trenchcoat terrorist turned his back to the boys, as if he was giving up on them. That’s what they focused on. What they didn’t know was that he had memorized their locations, so the sleep magic could find its mark with the slightest flick of his hand. Both exhausted boys crumpled to the ground. Judging by their appearance, a second spell wouldn’t be necessary just yet.

…I should have just done that from the beginning.

Hefting a child over each shoulder, Genesis flew them out before they pushed their luck any further. The time-traveler flew lower this time, grateful for the forest coverage just beyond the warzone. Not ten minutes into his flight, Shinra helicopters whirred overhead, racing to the scene, vultures to a fresh kill. Genesis landed quickly. It was better to hide among the trees until they passed.

The sound woke up little Genesis (he always did have a higher magic resistance than his friend). Instinctively, the boy demanded to be released. Genesis obliged, dropping him to the ground.

“I was under the impression that you would catch yourself.”

“Who the hell are you?!” Little Genesis shook off the last dregs of sleep magic.

“A friend,” the man set Angeal against the tree.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Good. You shouldn’t trust strangers,” Genesis’s eyes flickered in the gloom. “Especially Enhanced ones.”

“Then why should I trust you?” he huffed, pointing an accusing finger at the taller SOLDIER. The teapot pose seemed really out of place on a child.

“Because I’m leading you away from Shinra,” Genesis pointed to the back-up choppers zooming overhead. “Now get moving or they’ll find us.”

“Why should I listen to you?”

“Do you want to go back to the labs?” The SOLDIER’s patience was wearing thin from arguing with himself. It was hard not to snap when his brain was thoroughly tuned into the Migraine Station.

“How do I know you won’t get caught?” The boy asked.

“Because I’m good at what I do,” snorted Genesis. “If by some miracle they do catch us, you’ll play unconscious and pretend you were kidnapped. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky.”

The younger, somehow sassier, Genesis reluctantly went along. He stuck to Angeal’s side like glue. His older counterpart tried to push off the persistent migraine before the occasional dots flickering across his vision multiplied. He really shouldn’t have called up three Summons…

His ten-year-old self glared at him.

He’d forgotten how defensive and untrusting he was as a kid too, he was already looking forward to when the more rational Angeal woke up.

Chapter 23: The Road Home

Chapter Text

“You really expect us to believe that you’re a time traveler—”

“—Yes.”

“Who got sent back in time by the Goddess herself—”

“—Only her power could pull that off.”

“So you can destroy Shinra before they destroy the world?!”

“Precisely.”

“And you’re not Genesis’s father?” Angeal added his two cents.

“Angeal, we’ve been through this, please keep up.”

Little Genesis all but collapsed onto a log to take everything in. Again. “I don’t know what’s crazier—that story or your claim to be the future me.”

“Don’t worry, you can become as handsome as me with plenty of hard work and a daily facial routine.”

Angeal snorted, but his friend didn’t look amused.

Trying to give The Talk to the kids was going about as well as to be expected. Which was to say it was a disaster. In his mind, Genesis had provided them with details so smooth and elegant, you could frost a cake with them. But somewhere along the way, the cake was thrown in a box, beaten with a stick, and the time traveler was stuck serving that mess on a fancy platter.

“I still don’t believe you,” Little Genesis was glaring at him again.

“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” his older self rolled his eyes. It didn’t help the migraine doing a drum solo behind his skull at 90 beats per second, but presentation was more important. Both boys had been (understandably) watching him like hawks. Genesis knew he couldn’t risk looking like a threat (or a target), but that didn’t mean they could take his biting wit away from him.

How fortunate that his life couldn’t completely fall apart, since he never had it together in the first place.

Angry almost-teenage glares aside, they marched on. Civilization was in their grasp! (Yes, even backwater towns that had so little going on that children playing in the street never had enough traffic to shout ‘Car!’ still counted as ‘civilization’ in this scenario). The hike was slow, but steady with the occasional break for truth bomb recovery/the hiking party had to wait until Little Genesis was done draping himself over rocks and low tree branches. Genesis humored the boys and walked in front of them. He could tell by their footsteps they were skittish, fully believing their only anchor to the group was his fantastical tale of traveling through time to make things right. In his mind, it explained how they progressively started walking closer to him.

It was probably closer to the fact that they were sleepy bear cubs who could smell food in his pack, but couldn’t coordinate a good plan of attack to steal it.

“Are there any other time travelers like you?” Angeal was curious.

“Impossible. Only I was worthy,” the SOLDIER gestured to himself. The Goddess didn’t pick a stirring WEAPON or a new hero. She didn’t even pick the adult Puppy. She picked him—The Hero of the Dawn, Healer of Worlds.

“What do you really think you are?” Angeal couldn’t help but ask.

“I am glorious above all things.”

“He must be you…” Angeal stifled a laugh, nearly getting shot down by a look from his friend. “Okay, okay, if you’re really on our side, how did you find us, sir?”

“I didn’t, your mother gave me the location,” shrugged the man. “She got it from an inside source.”

The inside source.

“You worked together to save us?” Angeal tried to keep the hope out of his voice. It was as effective as keeping smoke off fire.

“‘Geal…” came a warning tone from fun-sized Genesis. He tried to ground his friend in the most kind and caring way he had—threats.

Genesis ignored himself. “We are, yes. She never gave up on freeing you.”

“Then…tell me something about her only I would know,” the taller boy wrung his hands on his shirt.

Genesis nearly blurted out several of Angeal’s favorite recipes he learned from her, only to realize that this Angeal might not know them. “…You were on your weekly stroll when Shinra sent their dogs on you. Both your parents shielded you to protect you, but only Gillian survived.”

“You could have read that somewhere…” his response was quiet, yet firm. His heart twisted painfully.

“What?”

“He said that’s not good enough!” Little Genesis was quick to jump to his friend’s defense.

“Well, how about the fact that Gillian calls you babbu endearingly?” His eyes jumped from one child to the other. “Or that you two were starting to build a secret fort in the cavern system just outside Banora before Shinra interfered?”

“Easily researched. Stop wasting our time,” the mini-me crossed his arms.

Angeal’s shoulders slumped. His grief was whispering words of mistrust into his ears. Genesis wracked his brain, needing to come up with something before the kids got mutinous. He couldn’t risk losing them, especially not so close to Shinra turf.

“…Your mother was given Jenova Cells. That’s why you gained additional powers, but Gillian covered up the fact that she did too.”

Angeal’s eyes widened.

Got him.

“Your mother can see premonitions involving fire,” explained the resident adult with the same ease as discussing the weather. “Even without any mako boosters, she’s maintained the ability.”

“That’s…true.”

“What?” Junior Genesis tried to meet his friend’s eyes.

Angeal shook his head with a frown. “I didn’t know until a little before they took us… Back then I didn’t know how to control my power…I thought I was turning into a monster.”

“You are not a monster,” Genesis mentally kicked himself for the impulsive interruption. One or both of the Puppies must be rubbing off on him.

“I know that now,” a soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Because Mom told me so. She even told me about a secret power she had with seeing stuff that had to do with fire. I thought she meant she saw stuff in fire, but I guess about fire makes more sense…”

“It still doesn’t prove anything,” the shortest SOLDIER tried to discredit the tallest, Priority Mail Express-shipping him a look that fell somewhere between rebellious tween and vengeful serial killer.

“My mom wouldn’t tell just anybody about that.”

“Maybe he’s got an ability that tells him other abilities?”

“Gen…”

If he had to guess, Genesis would bet his younger self was angry that there was something about his best friend he didn’t know, but a ‘stranger’ did. At least that would have pissed off Old World Genesis, had he been in that position. Not that it would now, mind you. He was a sophisticated, mature adult.

“How would you like to return to Banora and see her again?” Big Genesis smiled.

“You can…You can take me back to my Mom?”

“Idiot!” Little Genesis snapped at him. “You’re letting that blind you!”

“Then it’s a good thing you have my back.”

The older SOLDIER glanced away to disguise his smug victory. True, he was happy to help Angeal reunite with his mother. However, he was Genesis Rhapsodos. All victories must be celebrated properly (which usually involved some level of gloating).

His younger self picked up on this, scoffing paving the way for the eventual relenting. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he turned to snarl at his older self. “And don’t think I’m not keeping my eye on you!”

“Please do. You might learn a thing or two in the process.”

Going over his mission with Angeal and his younger self was completely different than talking it out with Sephiroth and Zack. For one thing, degradation was a Big Deal. There was no real kid-friendly way of saying Hollander and all the other Shinra ‘caretakers’ had more business sticking forks in electrical outlets than they did playing Questionable Science Projects with young children. No surprise the kids infused with G-Cells weren’t keen on living like ticking time bombs, the products of a failed project.

Until Angeal spoke up. “We won’t degrade.”

“How do you know that?” both Genesises asked in varying tones.

“Because when we were placed under Professor Hojo’s care, he gave us something called ‘S-Cells’ to ‘eliminate the impurities,’” explained Angeal. “I know because the scientists talked about it while they were ‘mapping out my genes’ or something.”

“There you have it,” shrugged Big Genesis. “An even longer grace period.”

“We don’t know if it will work or not,” the auburn-haired child pointed out. The ability to find faults in another’s reasoning was a shared genetic Genesis trait.

“Perhaps, but we do have plenty of time before that comes into play,” the adult crossed his arms. “We can always have Gillian take a look at you both to confirm your status.”

That sated them for now, but worry was still dwelling just under the surface. The old wounds of feeling as though their bodies contained more parts from other people than themselves reopened. As with Sephiroth and Zack, Genesis tried to turn the conversation over to purging Shinra in retaliation and preventing future victims. Even with Sephiroth’s allergy to strong feelings and Zack’s two second attention span, both had been completely on board with dismantling the plutocracy. Furthermore, the initial two liberated labrat kids actually believed they could do it. They understood the importance of striking down Shinra before it was too late. The latter two clearly wanted revenge, but were cautious. Shinra rose to power by crushing everyone who opposed them. Would risking their best friend be worth the gamble of victory? Caution was well and good, in small doses.

Small, unhampered doses.

“You both have been quiet about this,” Genesis smirked. “Don’t tell me you came up with a better plan than mine.”

“You just charged headfirst into Shinra territory with three summons and spells blazing,” his younger self pointed out. “We’d have to put in actual effort to come up with a worse idea.”

“For your information, I did that to cover my tracks. No matter where the winds may blow…”

Throwing everyone into complete, unnecessary confusion and wrapping things up with Loveless quotes was a total Genesis move if there ever was one.

The hike was silent again. Genesis listened to the footsteps drift behind, then catch up long enough for unease to cause them to pull back again. Like the tides, this cycle repeated over and over, but both boys were in sync with each other. Where one went, the other followed.

“As I’ve said, it’s ultimately your choice…” the time traveler flicked his hand across the air. “But I can protect you from Shinra while allowing Angeal to see his mother again.”

“You might have mentioned that already,” Little Genesis scoffed. “What will you try to bait me with?”

“Nothing at all,” Genesis met the stubborn child’s glare. “You’re free to go back home to the legal adoptive family that loves you so much.”

Little Genesis snorted at this. “Well played, at least that proves you’re me.”

The reluctant alliance didn’t come easy, but it was better than compliance through threats. Genesis agreed to fill them in more about relevant future events after they’d eaten a meal and rested. He was fairly certain he wasn’t supposed to see so many dancing lights blooming across his vision, but played it off as he simply didn’t know when the children had eaten last. As if them ‘inconveniencing’ him would later equate to brownie points and gratitude.

Genesis still had a lot to learn about kids.

Not long after, the SOLDIER made good on his promise. With the setting sun in the distance, they feasted on the granola, jerky, and water Genesis packed. In the world’s most awkward picnic, they ate in silence, each taking in the sunset. Their shadows grew long as the sky painted itself with gold more valuable than anything Shinra could dream of. A sunset was a prelude to dawn—during which Genesis fully planned on being passed out in his luxurious bed. Setting aside his sleep goals, the resident adult had always enjoyed watching the slow spread of color giving way to the night. Glancing at the boys, he wondered if his younger counterpart did as well. Both kids were staring at the sight, completely transfixed.

“Everything alright?”

“Yes, sir,” Angeal began, eyes still wide. “This is…it’s the first sunset I’ve seen in a long, long time…”

Little Genesis nodded almost imperceptibly beside him.

“You should see the view without the trees,” Genesis informed them, but his voice lacked enough bite to be condescending. “The sun sets magnificently over the ocean, so it can watch its own reflection in the waves.”

Neither child could even fathom it.

The memories of chittering and shrieks made by the enemy invaded Sephiroth’s ears. The neverending scratching over and over again. It was becoming difficult to tell if he was remembering them or hearing reinforcements.

I must concentrate…

Limestone rock, exploding from the force of a poorly-cast Fire spell, shot past him like superheated bullets.

Scratch…scratch…scratch…

I must concentrate…

Zack’s hands, pink from healing fresh burns, flailed about on some quest for cookies.

Scratch…scratch…

I must concentrate…

He couldn’t afford any more mistakes like that.

Scratch…scratch…scratch…

It was inside his head. The enemies had invaded his camp. It was so loud. Tiny claws digging around his skull. He dug his own hands around his ears. Why couldn’t he make it stop?! The sound was driving him insane. Sephiroth’s eyes tore around the campsite. He needed the noise to stop! He needed to eliminate the source!

‘You are more than just a blade, Seph.’ Genesis’s voice echoed dimly in his mind.

He wanted to believe the words, but he kept messing up. He couldn’t do anything right. He even hurt Zack… A small strangled noise of regret tried to escape his throat. Now he was broadcasting his weaknesses to any lurking enemies. They were sure to strike!

This sword is all that I have left…

Sephiroth gripped his practice sword tightly. He was allowed to use it to secure their base. If his magic was impaired, then this sword was his last line of defense against the onslaught of enemies he could feel creeping in over the edges of his mind. The Secret Base must be guarded. It must be patrolled. And above all else, it must be protected.

Zack didn’t care about any of that.

Inspired by meeting with the greatest minds in Cavern Therapy, Zack rushed over to his brother. Sephiroth hadn’t been himself, so this time the spiky-haired boy remembered the lesson he was prone to forgetting.

“Can I hold your hand?” the wild child had already outstretched his.

“Zack, I told you I must keep watch,” Sephiroth looked away, forcing his free hand to his side. Away from the monsters clawing at his head. Farther still from the boy he injured mere hours ago.

“Yeah, I know!” laughed the boy, rocking on his heels. “I came to help ya!”

“Help me?”

As he fell into step with the older boy, Zack began to hum. Within a moment or two, he started singing a song he learned long ago. The one that got him through the days following a Surgery. When he otherwise might’ve succumbed to the poisons and toxins burning him up from the inside. They were dark times, but the song was the golden light of salvation he latched onto. He might not be able to get it completely right, so he focused on putting some feeling into it to make it count where he could.

“...What are you singing?” Sephiroth was curious. It didn’t sound like anything he’d heard on the radio. His heart sank a little when he realized how much he missed hearing music.

“Before I knew words, I knew this song…” the song faded back into being after his answer. As if Zack cast Common into the vast ocean of the world’s languages and let the different sounds of the Planet drift back to him.

The older child stopped to listen more without realizing it. Imagining a time when Zack didn’t know any words was difficult, to say the least. He had heard Zack talk to him plenty during their camping trip (the kid talked enough for both of them), but this was different. This was some kind of communication on a different level.

Sephiroth was taken aback by how clear it sounded. Not the words (the song was still in some kind of language he’d never heard before), but Zack’s voice. It was like an open sky. The rise and fall of the lyrics spanned entire eras. It was a chaos language and brought everything into balance.

The scratching melted away…

The song transported him back to the star charts in his room. He closed his tired eyes to try to see the image clearer in his mind. Bright stars flickered across his vision, constellations connecting into a story as they danced across the night sky. It was nonsensical for time to move so quickly for him, but the stars had captivated him. They heard the song and recognized it somehow, now they were sharing their story with him…

It wasn’t long before Sephiroth had drifted off to sleep.

Guilt was a powerful motivator. Not to mention a hefty weight. And also the main reason Genesis let the boys watch the remaining twenty minutes of sunset. (Not that he’d ever admit it). Only when the smallest flickers of red escaped the hills, did they press on. Banora was so close…

It was more dangerous to cut through town to get to the Caverns. Nor did it save time. Genesis had them go through it, because he had a hunch they’d go through the same initial state of shock he did when he returned. Reality upheavals didn’t look good on anyone. It would be better to avoid an audience if possible. Granted, it was a bit more jarring to go from “haven’t seen this place since it was bombed off the face of the Planet,” than ‘haven’t been home in a few years.’ Then again, Genesis was learning that children interpret things considerably differently than adults.

Angeal walked between both Genesises. (Genisi? Gen2?) He felt the anger pouring out of his friend, aimed directly at their liberator, by reason of no other targets available. Biting back a frown, he kept putting one foot in front of the other. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Angeal knew he was the reason his friend agreed to trust the alleged time traveler long enough to get to Banora. He hoped Gen understood. After all that had happened…he just wanted to see his mother again. Being ripped away from her by Shinra foot soldiers…leaving her bloody body on the ground beside his dead father…it was too much. His heart ached to know that she really was okay.

They walked through the welcoming orchard. Branches arched over the travelers, shielding them from Shinra’s eyes in the sky. Angeal could remember his father telling him stories about dumbapple trees taking their unique shape as a means to reach back towards the ground and hug the farmers who tended to them with such care. Or perhaps it was because they were bowing to show gratitude for the gift of life? He blinked back tears. Angeal was never going to get the chance to ask which version it was now.

This path was empty save for the fugitives and the trees. It was picturesque. It was thankfully different than the one on the strolls Angeal’s family used to take, yet didn’t stop his brain from replaying the image of his dying family that had been seared into his memories. Angeal felt his friend carefully pat his shoulder. It was enough to give him the strength to press on. He was so close to seeing his mother again! He could make happier memories once they were reunited!

The streetlights at the bottom of the hill were beacons in the growing evening. Banora was a sleepy village (when your main source of late-night entertainment was Bingo Nights at the Community Center, there wasn’t much reason to stay up late). This would work in their favor. The three SOLDIERs looked like they got into a disagreement with Hades on their way out of the Underworld, but no one was around to judge them. Even the nosiest of the town gossips were tucked away in their homes by now. It was the perfect time to soak everything in.

The taller Genesis never claimed to be much of an empath. He was more of a snarky emotional sniper type. But he did know himself and could feel the apprehension radiating off his younger self in waves. The boy was playing it professional, but inwards was a wreck. His brows were knitted together. His mouth set in a grim line. Worst of all, ever since they hit town limits, he was walking several steps behind Angeal. Close enough that the larger boy would know he was safe, but far enough away that Angeal didn’t have a clear angle of his face.

How is coming back to Banora a good thing? This has to be a trap!

Will my parents want me back? Will Shinra get involved?

…Will either care that I was missing?

Little Genesis mentally cursed out the traitorous thought. The Rhapsodos family and Shinra Company were the enemy! How was he supposed to walk back here like nothing had happened? Like his adoptive parents hadn’t shipped him off to Shinra to be turned into a living weapon! They’d probably lecture him for sullying the family name by not completing his Child Soldier training and try to send him back to get in Shinra’s good graces again. He should burn this place to the ground to prevent that from happening!

He could feel his alleged Future Self’s eyes on him, as if he knew what he was thinking. There wasn’t any outright disapproval. Clearly, even his adult self had entertained the thought at some point. Little Genesis tore his eyes away from the group. The better play was taking in his surroundings first. He could turn the town to ash later…while avoiding his favorite dumbapple trees, of course.

New homes had sprouted along the hillside to the north. Remodeled farms dotted the outlying sections of town. Where had that giant factory even come from?! Everything looked so foreign to him, even the world’s most backwater village had changed so much from the few fuzzy memories he had of it.

I don’t belong here! This isn’t my hometown anymore, this wasn’t even—

Genesis gave the kid’s shoulder what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.

...Sometimes the hardest thing to find is the road that takes you home.

Chapter 24: The Gang's All Here!

Chapter Text

“Pack your bags and rejoice, boys!!”

Once they were at the entrance of the Caverns, Genesis took it upon himself to loudly announce their return.

“Great, now I have a headache too,” his younger counterpart complained.

“I thought you said they were deep in the Secret Base…” Angeal rubbed his ear from the sudden hollering.

“I told you,” the man gestured to the cave as if that answered everything. “These boys are like you two. They’ll hear us.”

“Them and half the town. What, afraid we’ll startle them too badly?” Little Genesis found the energy to sneer.

Genesis turned back to the gloom of the cavern. “Trust me, these are the last two people on the Planet that you want to startle.”

And that was how they made their grand entrance—loud and showy. The Rhapsodos Way.

Staring them all down, Sephiroth wasn’t sure what to make of the two new arrivals. Operating on very little sleep and being under lots of stress wasn’t encouraging him to roll out the welcome mat either. He would admit some of that faded when Genesis returned, but he still felt the sting of betrayal a bit. Genesis looked exhausted himself, like he pushed his magic too far. Sephiroth knew very well what it felt like to bleed out with one’s mana from overuse. That was reckless when the time traveler had Zack and himself relying on Genesis to return safely. Right about there Sephiroth realized he was relying on an adult who had lied before, which made him more frustrated.

Luckily, Zack was there to smooth everything over like a hug dispensing steamroller.

“You’re baaaaaaack!” the youngest child leapt a solid eight feet into the air.

Genesis resigned himself to accept the wild hug, for there was no escape, only dreams of the morrow. And dreams of the coffee. Genesis was too tired to pluck the child off his jacket anyway. It wasn’t like the Puppy could make it any worse for the wear that the previous battle did. Instead, the time traveler patted the feral kid’s shoulder until he was freed. Angeal did the same out of confusion when he found himself catching a full-powered Zackle. He gave the older SOLDIER a look of ‘Who is this child and why is he hugging me?’ It went unanswered.

“Are you part of our Pack now?” Zack released the taller boy and clamped his arms around the miniature version of their caretaker with the speed of a bullet train. “Genesis said he was gonna save you too!”

Little Genesis was not pleased about any of this.

“Try that again and I’ll light you on fire,” he hissed out a threat, shoving the smaller kid off him.

This, in turn annoyed Sephiroth, whose icy aura made even Mini Gen think twice about trying to threaten anyone for the moment.

Oh, this is going to be fun… Genesis thought to himself miserably.

Genesis had the boys grab only the essentials (Sunny, video games, and the radio), so his exhausted troops could hit the road towards a well-deserved rest sooner.

“We should take the food too,” Angeal insisted, picking up the food pack. “It’ll attract mice.”

“Yeaaaaah, I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” laughed Zack.

“Please tell me your carnivore brain didn’t convince you to resort to eating rodents,” Genesis was already massaging his temples. He couldn’t take much more of this.

“Nope!” the child giggled.

“Then I don’t care,” he decided. “Let’s be off.”

The walk home was silent, save for Zack’s endless questions and Angeal’s fumbled attempts at answering them all. Both Genesises were in their own world, while Sephiroth was preoccupied with analyzing every step the newbies made. The new guys should’ve had some experience with this land from what he understood, but stumbled along over the dirt trail as if they’d never done a field mission in their entire lives. Sephiroth attempted to establish rank by forcing his posture to expel any and all signs of exhaustion. He moved with the grace of a jungle cat. The silver-haired boy nodded approvingly at Zack’s ability to complete the entirety of the hike backwards, so the child could see everyone better.

The path finally opened up to reveal Banora. Somehow they made it back home in one piece.

“We’re staying…here?” Angeal gazed up at the large house in awe. Fancy woodwork lining a fancier two-story frame stared back at him. Which king or queen owned the place before them?

“Isn’t it awesome?!” Zack zoomed around the group. “It’s got a forest and a TV and everything! Even a rabbit trap!”

Which was more commonly referred to as a ‘garden,’ but Genesis was too tired to correct him.

“Zackary, you are many things, but quiet is not one of them,” the Commander spoke through gritted teeth to his loudest recruit. “I need you to keep your voice down or my head will literally explode.”

He expected the boy to point out that he yelled to them first when arriving at the Secret Base, but apparently Zack didn’t fully process figurative language and only offered a rushed apology. Genesis was more than happy to take the win. He barely had enough patience to show everyone in before his migraine got bad enough that he could now hear colors.

The siren song of pillows serenaded everyone over the age of five upon entering the house. Angeal craned his neck back and forth, still taking in such a grandiose home. Little Genesis walked around like he owned the place already. His older counterpart dropped all of the packs he was carrying in the entryway. He could deal with it in the morning. Or possibly the afternoon. Trusting Zack to quietly take care of the grand indoor tour (finally the chatterbox’s skill came in handy), he bid them all goodnight.

He barely remembered to hit the cancel button to his delayed text to Gillian before his head hit the pillow. He’d reunite mother and son when the world stopped spinning.

Zack led the new boys around the first floor of the house, enthusiastically explaining every room and piece of furniture. The newbies were tired, but tried to endure. Angeal had to elbow Little Genesis several times, but they would endure.

Sephiroth did an upstanding job of looming in the background, making his presence known. He didn’t want to leave Zack with the fresh recruits, so he shifted his camping pack and continued staring them down. He wondered how well he’d sleep with strangers under the same roof, even with the home field advantage. How could Genesis just leave them with these potential threats? He could only hope their caretaker had at least done his due diligence checks before bringing them home.

Using his very best ‘indoor voice,’ Zack zipped around the tour of the first floor. Having new members to this Pack was an exciting feeling. It was like he couldn’t get the thoughts out of his head fast enough. There was so much they needed to know! Zack told them stories about the cooking disasters, the location of the best coloring books, and where to find the majestic TV.

“And the table’s not as scary as long as we sit together!” he beamed. “And you’re part of our Pack now!”

“That’s, uh, that’s great, Zack,” Angeal intervened before Mini-Gen flipped his lid about being led around like a schoolchild. “Could you maybe show us where we can sleep tonight? We’re really tired.”

“I’m not tired at all!” Little Genesis snapped at the same time Sephiroth glared at them for their lack of respect. Camping in the Caverns wasn’t a cakewalk either.

“Okay!” Zack chirped, unbothered by the semi-hostile environment brewing. “You guys are upstairs like me and Seph!”

The boys made their way over to the stairs, Zack bouncing up them. Angeal wasn’t far behind (he didn’t want to get lost), leaving Sephiroth and Little Genesis in another staredown at the base of the stairs. They could fit up the stairs shoulder to shoulder, but there was no way that was happening. Neither wanted to give their back to a potential enemy either… Actually killing their opponent wasn’t an available option, so they settled on the next best thing—glaring hard enough to drill holes through the other’s skull.

“C’mon, guys! Up here!” Zack tried to direct them.

Picking up on another silent battle, Angeal turned around. He regretted it as soon as he saw them. “Oh, for Odin’s sake…”

Blue-green eyes narrowed. “I’m the guest. Show me where to go, mighty Sephiroth.”

“It is my understanding that guests are welcomed,” the temperature dropped around the taller boy. “After you.”

Not to be outdone, Genesis Junior made use of his partially restored magic to call out his wing. The open staircase and high ceiling gave him plenty of room to stretch. His mouth arched in a smug expression, feathers fluttering around him.

“Whoa! You have one too?!” exclaimed the youngest.

‘Too?’

The mage glanced at Zack for the briefest of moments, only to turn his head back around to see Sephiroth unfurling his own dark wing.

Sephiroth was too polite to inform his housemate that wings aren’t all that special in this household, but he had zero issue being intimidating enough to fully extend his wing with ease.

“If you both are done showing off, can you please fly up here so we can go to sleep?” groaned the voice of reason.

Zack eagerly shook Angeal’s arm. “Do you have a wing too, ‘Geal? It’s okay if you don’t. I don’t have a wing either.”

“You don’t?” the older boy was surprised to be in a place where non-winged people were the minority. After a moment, he realized the kid was waiting for an answer. “Yes, I, uh, I have a wing.”

“Ooh! That’s so cool! Does it look like theirs too? I’ve only seen black wings, but a blue wing would be really cool!” Zack rambled on. “Wouldn’t a blue wing be really cool, ‘Geal? I heard chocobos can have different colored wings, so people should too!”

People aren’t supposed to have wings in the first place…

If the two show-offs on the first floor took any longer, Angeal was moving on without them

Tap…tap…tap, tap…tap…

I should’ve gone into Botany like my parents wanted.

Tap, tap…tap…tap, tap, tap…tap…

I was a fool to major in Microbiology! Who goes into Microbiology when Director Hojo’s in a bad mood?!

Tap…tap, tap, tap…tap…tap, tap…

Random Science Intern Man was in a pickle. Okay, he was in a petri dish of deep sh*t. Director Hojo had been erratically tapping his foot while reviewing reports for the last ten minutes. It was Random Science Intern Man’s job to make sure the tapping stayed contained to foot on floor and not nail in casket. Specifically his casket. If there was even enough of him left to bury.

I could be studying endangered wildflowers in Wutai, but nooooo! I had to go into Microbiology! I had to ‘make it big in Midgar!’ What was I thinking?!

Tap, tap…tap, tap, tap—

He certainly wasn’t thinking about politely asking Hojo to stop incessantly tapping his foot. He couldn’t. As irregular and distracting as it was, Hojo did not see it that way. Nothing the greasy ball of pent-up complexes did was ‘irrational’ to himself. Mr. Intern had seen the Professor throw an unlucky colleague into a cage filled with hungry zenene for the crime of blowing his nose too loudly.

It wasn’t how he planned on wrapping up his first week on the job.

Gods, I only wanted to bring him his coffee and leave!

Said coffee was lying in pieces and puddles on the floor. The messenger didn’t hear the foot tapping until it was too late. Now he was trapped. One does not simply walk out of a room without first getting dismissed by whichever crazy Director is inside it.

Random Science Intern Man squeezed his eyes shut and prayed to every deity he knew to either help him get out of this alive or strike him dead before Hojo had the chance. At some point, he’d started fidgeting. Hojo didn’t like that.

“Can’t you see that I’m reading here?!” the Director spat. “Get out of my sight!”

Random Science Intern Man lived to see another day!

Hojo was in no mood to share his underling’s joy. Hojo was furious at ‘the failed experiment’ stealing away the wrong specimens. He was confident the specimens were still alive and under the fool’s watchful eye. That weakling didn’t have it in him to terminate children, even Sephiroth.

“That is what makes him weak! He is unwilling to do what is necessary for her sake!” Hojo stormed across the room. “Jenova’s will must be done! It is known!”

The flickering computer screens had little to say about that.

It should have been the Soon-To-Be Specimen C and the mayor’s daughter that were taken next. A fact so undisputed it should have been in the Artifact’s reports! What connection did that fool even have to Project G? Hojo now had yet another destroyed lab to cover up along with more fugitive specimens. He was just grateful it was one of his personal labs, which meant he could bury it in paperwork and the President would be none the wiser.

The casualties were small enough to be written off as a training accident involving grenades. Heidegger’s men were certainly stupid enough to pull something like that off. Nobody ever paid much attention to those things until the death count reached 25+. He’d have his people talk to the handful of survivors first to make sure they had their stories straight (and then recruit them to be test subjects in a month or so to prevent loose lips sinking ships)

Rage pounded in his temples, fear unwanted and unfamiliar, thundered in his chest. Hojo gripped the side of the desk, head bowed, waiting for the moment to pass. He had all the pieces that mattered—Jenova and the Artifact! Everything else was replaceable!

The latest developments were enough to make him consider bioengineering a virus that killed off everyone except Jenova and himself. But then he would be unable to prove his Reunion Theory was correct (and gloat about himself to lesser beings). Accepting responsibility for one’s miscalculation was for employees who were weak. Employees who wanted to talk about their feelings and weep over mistakes, like Gast. Hojo was above such things. The Director simply needed to list all of the superior qualities he possessed over the entirety of the human race and move on. Fortunately for everyone involved, this was a coping ritual that took place entirely in his mind.

Why isn’t the little mouse running the maze as expected? What use would he have with the failed G-Project specimens? Why prioritize them over Jenova or even the experimental materia? What advantage was there to avoiding a vulnerable Nibelheim entirely?

He already had Nibelheim on lockdown, so setting up transport to bring Jenova back to Shinra Headquarters took very little effort on his part. She might be upset with him, but it was for her own safety. The Jenova Project would be completed. This was absolute.

The battle of wills had been settled and Sephiroth found himself closing the door on the two roommates. He had debated barricading the door, but that would take too much effort and Genesis likely wouldn’t approve. Honestly, he was a little surprised the younger Genesis had approved of being roommates with Angeal when everyone else had a room to themselves. Maybe they were too tired to care? Or maybe that’s what they wanted him to think…It would be easier to get around Sephiroth’s enhanced hearing by sharing quarters with each other. There was nothing he could do about sign language, writing notes, or even mouthing words with a wall obstructing them.

He must’ve been staring at the door a second or two longer than he should because Zack was tugging on his sleeve with a worried look.

“Seph?”

“Yes?”

“Are you scared about being in the house again?”

“What?” Did lighting dozens of enemies on fire somehow fail to imply that Sephiroth was a person who did not get scared?

“You can borrow Sunny if you want,” the younger boy gave his stuffed wolf a hug before offering it to his brother.

“That will not be necessary,” Sephiroth began walking towards his own room. “I am fine on my own.”

“Okie-dokie!” he bounced in place beside his brother. “Hey, Seph?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for being my camping buddy.”

“Of course.”

Chapter 25: The Only Reunion That Doesn’t End In A Genocide

Chapter Text

First light danced its way through Sephiroth’s window. It was a small miracle his younger brother didn’t follow suit and dance into the room to ask about learning a cool new sword technique (or ‘special attacks’ as Zack called them), what would happen next in their storybook, or what other toppings could be stacked onto toast for breakfast (Zack often took whatever route got him out of using eating utensils). As tiresome as the intrusions could be, Sephiroth almost welcomed the distraction now.

Last night had been a restless sleep. The kind that evades you while you toss and turn every direction searching for it. He was certain he drifted off at some point, as he had two separate nightmares, but they were too exhausting to be considered rest.

Sephiroth had spent his entire life training to become the perfect weapon. He could catch boulders. He could catch throwing knives. But his training was far from complete. Sephiroth could not, in fact, catch a break. People were invading his home and a malicious voice was invading his dreams. Neither was ideal for catching up on sleep. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep if he tried, Sephiroth pushed his blankets aside, his hand brushing the wall as he did so. Cleanly sliced plaster met his fingertips.

…What?

The silver-haired boy discovered a set of scratch marks on his wall, paint flaking onto his bed. Judging by the sharp lines, it wasn’t his doing. SOLDIER strength would leave thicker lines. Had they been there before he fell asleep? Surely, he would have woken up if he heard scratching… Sephiroth shook his head, frustrated he gave into exhaustion before securing his rest space.

Then he realized he let his quarters get damaged—he would be reprimanded.

His throat went dry. Inside his chest, his heartbeat quickened. How would he solve something like this? Sephiroth was a warrior, not a carpenter! He had never received training on how to fix things like this. This was the space he was entrusted to take care of. Genesis was going to be upset…

A very faint laugh echoed in his head. He had a feeling it didn’t belong to the mother he was trying to find.

The morning following the world’s most awkward sleepover came too soon.

The older children were cranky, chewing on toast and casting distrustful glances at the others. Zack was less concerned with sizing up the newest kids and far more focused on stacking as many slices of ham and cheese on his toast as possible.

“Genesis says this stuff is finger food,” explained the boy. “It’s so awesome! You don’t hafta use spoons or forks or anything!”

The newbies were unsure what to make of this. Instead of responding, they watched Zack pile on a dozen more slices of both. What kind of game was he playing? Shinra wasn’t above using young children for misdirection/ambush purposes. And they knew Zack was Enhanced…

As if reading their minds, Sephiroth cast a dark look over his plain toast and Breathe Beautiful in Banora cup. Zack was a loose cannon, but he was the one Sephiroth trusted the most in the house. No matter how impulsive the boy was, he was loyal to a fault. If anyone deserved suspicious looks it was Angeal and Little Genesis (and his older counterpart, depending on the day).

“D’you guys want some?” Zack asked, offering to split the rest of the spread. He had missed the angry glare exchange the rest of his Pack sent over his head. “They’re gooooood!”

“Uh…no thanks,” Angeal managed to answer for both of them.

“Okay,” the chef shrugged and immediately began stuffing his mouth full of food. This time the newbies felt their eyebrows nearly hit their hairlines. Zack ate his breakfast like a wild wolf ate a fresh kill.

Sephiroth’s expression hadn’t changed, but somehow his eyes said ‘I told you so.’

It was not noon (in fact, Genesis refused to even look at a clock until the sun got a little higher). The energy in the dining room could best be described as ‘uneasy at best.’ Genesis didn’t even get to complete half the steps of his morning routine (the basic cleanser and stay-in hair tonic was non-negotiable). Which meant he left the house looking slightly less than his best…but it was still worth it.

Because Genesis made good on a promise—mother and son were happily reunited.

The Hewleys never went out of their way to be chatty—it must have been in their DNA to be super serious with the exception of stupid puns every now and then. Their reunion followed that pattern.

“Apple juice delivery,” Genesis let the group into the Hewley residence before they gathered any unwanted attention. He set a jug of fresh juice on the nearby table like the stage prop it was.

“Genesis?” A voice called out from down the hallway. Hurried footsteps followed. “What news do you have about—”

Time froze for a moment for Gillian to see her little boy standing before her in one piece.

Angeal barely got out a strangled ‘Mama’ before she pulled him into a hug and they collapsed to the ground crying tears of joy and relief. They were too overcome by emotion to recall how to string sentences together.

Angeal struggled to not forget his strength and squeeze his mother too hard. Even if he did, Gillian wasn’t likely to notice. She finally had her baby back in her arms. It took such a long, long time, but Angeal was home. She smoothed his hair back and rubbed his back in circles. Neither was letting go anytime soon. All the pain from the last five years, all the fear and guilt, every ounce of energy had left them in a moment. There was nothing left but their restored world, big enough for just the two of them.

Genesis made mental notes of the other boys’ reactions. Staring wide-eyed were Sephiroth and Zack. The two watched the scene unfold with a sense of wonder, not fully understanding a motherly role. Sephiroth never knew his biological mother in either timeline (Genesis needed to make more progress on identifying that woman sooner than later) and this Zack’s memories of any parent who wasn’t a wolf were iffy at best. Little Genesis looked politely uninterested, which wasn’t surprising. That boy had a better connection to the fictional mothers in his books than the genuine articles.

Genesis guided the others to the small kitchen. They could order second breakfast in another hour or so, but until then settled on raiding the pantry for a quick snack. The SOLDIER was pretty sure Gillian wouldn’t mind.

“Where’s the meat?” Zack was alarmed.

“Ugh, you’re in the way,” Little Genesis hissed at the little carnivore. “I’m trying to walk here!”

“Uh, sorry?”

“Stay out of my way and go wait at the table or something!”

“By myself?” Zack looked horrified at the suggestion.

“Yes, by your—”

“—I’ll join you,” Sephiroth cut in.

“What?” the younger Genesis was annoyed they’d even consider making him wait on them.

“Good, take the plates and handle set-up, boys,” the taller Crimson Commander handed them a stack of place settings.

“Thank you!” the Puppy eagerly grabbed the entire pile and bounded into the dining room with Sephiroth. He was just grateful he didn’t have to stay at the table alone. Bad things happened on the table when he was ordered there…

“You’re seriously going to let them slack off?” Mini Gen spun around to face his future self.

“Unless you want to pull Zack off the top cabinet kicking and screaming, absolutely.”

Another baffled look.

“I’ll explain later…”

It was going to take some time for them all to get used to each other.

Gillian started off her career where she was happiest—biology. Sure, she dabbled a bit in physical science (the life sciences are her jam) and maybe a little computer engineering for fun, but didn’t see herself studying anything other than cell structure in Banora Whites. Then she got hired by Shinra. Possessing all of the positive traits that made Gast the Head of Science Research and Development with none of the vices that made others second guess Hojo’s eventual promotion, she rose to the top. And one doesn’t enter the Jenova Project without collecting more medical and scientific degrees than a Fort Condor enthusiast collects game boards. Now was the time to put at least half of those to good use.

Gillian performed a quick exam of the newest arrivals to make sure both boys were physically okay. Her main focus was looking for signs of degradation and checking on how smoothly the S-Cells adapted. Little Sephiroth had no idea how valuable his genetic code really was. It was a pity that Hojo and his followers did.

“I’m going to use this to check your heart rate first, then listen to your lungs after,” Gillian informed both boys while placing the stethoscope in the palm of her hand to warm it up. “It won’t hurt, but please let me know if something doesn’t feel right.”

Neither of the newest SOLDIER kids objected to the tests. If anything, Gillian was practically holding their hand while she walked them through every step of the procedure before she did it. An adult showing genuine concern about their welfare wasn’t something they were used to.

Despite having little to no attachment to the others, Sephiroth and Zack tensed up during the exam. The youngest visibly bristled every time something was removed from the nearby table. They had less of a connection to Gillian, so gaining any kind of reassurance there was a bust. Genesis tried to distract the two, now aided by the stethoscope Gillian lent them.

Genesis wasn’t even surprised when Zack shoved it on his chest, trying to hear his heartbeat through his signature jacket. “How’s it sound, Doctor?”

Zack listened for a moment, nodding solemnly.

“Like bees.”

“I want a second opinion,” the oldest SOLDIER frowned.

The lil’ Crimson Commander had little to say about his abilities, not that Genesis needed them explained to himself. Angeal was willing to explain his, however.

Angeal was altered with traits of many monsters, since he had the ability to pass on or absorb genetic traits. As with all things, it had its limits. In Angeal’s case, it was more of a temporary thing. Eventually his own DNA overwrote it and the monster traits had to be reabsorbed—through physical touch, consumption, or injection.

“Thank you for informing us, Angeal,” nodded Genesis. Nothing about this Angeal’s ability varied from the Other World, but Genesis remembered how much his old friend disliked talking about it. Claimed it made him feel more like a monster when he said it out loud. He would need to avoid that with this version.

None of the others were shocked by the information either. Of the only two people who didn’t know about it, Sephiroth processed every detail without a shred of emotion. He was calculating every aspect of the ability without giving away a thing. Zack was holding the stethoscope up to one of his summoned swords listening for a heartbeat.

“No blades in the house, Zackary,” Genesis scolded him. The last thing they needed was for him to break something while chasing a squirrel with a claymore.

“Sorry~” the dark-haired boy casually tossed it over his shoulder. Genesis tried very hard not to grind his teeth when it faded into blue sparks mere inches away from some very complicated looking equipment.

One of these children grew up to lead all of SOLDIER with strength and professionalism that had no equal. The other willingly charged into battle facing off against armed assailants with nothing but a beach umbrella…multiple times. Moments like this really drove home both facts.

Yet, Sephiroth was the one to lose his mind…

Dammit. Now was not the time to walk such a depressing trail of thoughts.

“Are there any other developments with your ability?” Gillian took out a different tray of tools.

“No, Ma—Mother,” Angeal corrected himself. He was still over the moon to see her again, but he wasn’t a child. For some reason, calling her ‘Mother’ sounded better.

“Would you both be comfortable with me drawing some blood to check on how well your organs are functioning?”

Both new recruits nodded. It was part of their regular day, after all.

“Puppy, Seph, I need you to secure the perimeter,” Genesis requested as soon as word of needles were had. Whatever he could do to avoid their exam triggers would surely go a long way in awarding him with an uninterrupted sleep later.

The two were off and the check-up was completed shortly after.

Gillian pursed her lips, not letting the worry slip onto her face. She took a few more DNA samples of his to make sure he was as stable as he claimed. Jenova Cell involvement or not, this wasn’t magic, it was science. Angeal had to subconsciously tell his body to rip apart every double helix in the area he was transforming, how to restructure it using a tiny sample, and hope he got the pattern of all four bases correct. If there was anything she learned at Shinra, it was to trust your own work, not someone else’s. Especially when someone else was Hollander and Hojo—the dynamic dumbass duo of the Science Department.

“Given what we have to work with, analyzing the blood samples will take some time,” Gillian tugged off her gloves. As she smiled, the scientist was fading more into the mother. “But everything looks fine for now. If there’s anything urgent, I will inform you right away.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Gillian,” Genesis already didn’t want to think about how he was going to pry Angeal off of her to go home. The boy had been attached to her the entirety of the exam. He even held her hand during the blood draw.

“I’ll hold off on delivering the results for a few days to prevent looking suspicious.”

Angeal’s arms held tighter around her, recognizing the goodbye. He would have to leave his mother behind and go home to a place that’s not home. Silent tears escaped his eyes despite his best efforts.

He just wanted to stay with his mother.

“We’re back and we—uh…” the lookouts returned and they had candy—candy they did not have when they left the house.

Zack chomped down on his lollipop and shoved the chocolates into his pockets. The silver-haired boy beside him held his own lollipop in his hand, absently staring at it. An awkward moment stretched between them all.

“Uh…bye!” Zack seemed to temporarily gain the ability to read the room. Without another word, he tugged Sephiroth back through the doorway they entered from.

Sephiroth allowed himself to be half-dragged outside. His skin felt dry and itchy. All he could think about were the scratches on the wall. Genesis had found Angeal’s mother. At some point, the invader had demonstrated qualities Genesis deemed advantageous. (Allowing one’s quarters to be damaged was not likely on that list…) As a result of Angeal’s performance, he was rewarded by being reunited with his mother. Angeal’s search was over so quickly. Sephiroth’s was ongoing, despite doing his very best to adapt to the new environment, learn the new village living expectations, and blend in. Why hadn’t he been reunited with his mother too? Resisting the urge to claw up his arm to get rid of the irritating feeling, he tried to refocus on the situation at hand. Glancing behind him, Sephiroth noticed Angeal looked like he was scratched far worse than his wall.

…Maybe he shouldn’t attempt to find his mother after all.

Angeal felt like someone had torn him apart from the inside. He wanted to stay here with his mother! Shinra wasn’t even here and they were still hurting him. They were heartless, forcing him to leave so soon. Tears hit the ground like a rainstorm. Angeal tried to contain them with the palms of his hands. His grief baked his face under the pressure. How could Shinra be so far away and still winning?

I just want to stay with Mother! Let me stay with my Mother!

He understood why he couldn’t, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Gillian shared the sentiment, trying to hide it for her son’s sake. He was struggling to choke back another sob. Crouching down, she patted his cheek with a pained smile. Her own heart ached when he met her eyes. One more hug and a promise. She could do that.

“We are closer to a day we can see each other every day, babbu…”

Little Genesis took a step back. Something inside him twisted angrily. Angeal’s family actually wanted him back. Gillian was genuinely sad to see him go to a house not ten minutes away. The shorter mage inhaled deeply, stamping the jealous feeling back into his heart. This type of scene was overdone, but he could overlook it, as he has all the respect in the world for Angeal (even if he won’t admit it).

Gillian tried to cover her tears when she took a step away from Angeal. He was less successful. Before he could lose himself further, his best friend was there. Young Genesis stood beside him to help them both walk a little taller.

The boys had barely made it past the Hewley doorstep before there was trouble again. Angeal had calmed down some, but there was no fixing the intensity of Genesis’s obsession with making the world his theater.

“Now remember, you’re Angelo, distant relative of the Hewley’s on your father’s side.”

“That sounds like a dog’s name!” Zack blurted out.

“It is not a dog’s name,” Genesis snapped at him. Why didn’t anyone appreciate the effort he put into this? He returned to coaching Angeal. “As Angelo, you are an only child, but very proud and hard-working like literally every Hewley I’ve met. You are my ward while your parents are on an extended business trip. Got it, Angelo?”

A quick nod.

“How quaint, angel names must run in the family,” sneered Little Genesis.

“Be grateful good looks run in ours,” his older self was not going to let anyone insult all his hard work in developing every alias into a full-blown character. “You’re Genesis Rhapsodos II. You go by ‘Junior’ now.”

“Why do I have to be the bastard child?”

“Because you have the first half of that role down so convincingly.”

“There’s no way any of this is going to work—”

“Can we call you ‘Junior’ at home too?” Zack interrupted again. “That’s way easier to remember!”

“What? Your puppy brain can’t remember something as simple as ‘Genesis?’” the pint-sized SOLDIER lifted a hand towards his older counterpart. “It’s the same as his!”

“Yeah! That’s why it’s all weird!”

“You are hardly the standard for ‘normal,’ you know!”

“Let’s save the arguments for home and not Mrs. Hewley’s flower garden, hm?” Genesis ushered the boys down the pathway to a larger part of town. “You are also my ward, as you are a close relative of mine. Your parents are on a research trip. Due to my numerous feats of greatness, your parents named you in my honor.”

“What, you didn’t want to be the father?” scoffed Junior.

“People who are trying to build successful beverage empires can’t have any loose ends to unravel the entire plan.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” his mini-me continued to undermine him. “Given our appearance, I think people are going to be more suspicious if we aren’t brothers or parent and child…”

“You actually want a father…?” Genesis picked up on the thread of hope tangled deep below that statement. Pulling it was a mistake.

“Of course not!” his younger self exploded. Sparks danced off his clenched fists. “Your character roles are just poorly thought out! I’m keeping Shinra away!”

“By screaming about it in public or by turning yourself into a sparkler?” Genesis hissed under his breath. They were lucky no one was around to see this. “Get it together, Junior.”

“Whatever you say, father…”

Now that they weren’t escaping a battlefield, Genesis could fully appreciate his future warriors. By far, the strangest to take in was still his younger self. He thought he’d get along with himself a bit better, but this brat didn’t act a thing like him. And there was something unnerving about seeing himself as a child…

The Crimson Commander never batted an eyelash at the army’s worth of his own Copies, but kid him was…different. Little Genesis walked around the unfamiliar hometown trying to cover up the shaking in his legs with bravado. As if rolling his eyes could make the fear go away until he had the strength to deal with it. He was a reminder that Genesis had been weak at one point in his life; vulnerable.

Pride is lost…Wings stripped away…

And that wouldn’t do with destroying Shinra on the table.

They needed to be prepared, vigilant, and powerful. These children were, well, children—but that didn’t change his goal, just his timeline. With enough years of training under their belt, they too would choose to take up the Goddess’s calling. But for now, he’d reacquaint the boys with their hometown. (Although, to be fair, any change in scenery would be an improvement considering the hellhole they were pulled from.) One quick tour would certainly jog their memories. Genesis didn’t anticipate it lasting very long. Banora was so small they couldn’t even designate a Town Drunk (so they all took turns).

“Is that building for law enforcement?” Angeal asked, inclining his head towards a single-story building. “I saw a man with a gun enter.”

“It’s officially the police station, but not much of a threat,” explained Genesis. “Shinra would never advertise the base of their actual threats.”

“But he was still armed…”

“Banora’s entire police department answers more calls to assist the population with opening jars than arresting people.”

“Mr. Duncan works there!” Zack was happy to add his own commentary, despite having known people for a lesser amount of time than his caretaker. “He’s really, really good at card games, but his aim sucks! Probably because he messed up his shoulder like a hundred years ago.”

Genesis was intrigued to learn a new tidbit or two, he’d be sure to add that to his Logbook later. These facts would no doubt trigger another memory at some point when adjusted for the Puppy’s grand exaggerations of time. But such fabrications were normal in kids—predictable, even.

It was the blank looks from Angeal and his younger self that bothered Genesis.

They passed through a sea of faces without being able to recognize anyone. Even Genesis, lost in time, firsthand survivor of Shinra-inflicted madness could pull out facts about the townspeople—a memory of eating fresh baked bread from Mrs. Colby in the winter, sharing his apple juice recipe with an excited crowd at the carnival, dancing with Mercedes in the Town Square…

These boys didn’t have those memories. They barely recognized the people or the town itself. The two lost children were just as displaced in time as Genesis, himself. Shinra had robbed them of so much already and they weren’t even old enough to attend a matinee unsupervised…

A fire burned inside his blood once more. It wouldn’t fade until it spread to the Shinra Building and burned the empire to ashes.

It was never a good sign when a Turk approached you with a folder of any size and a look in their eyes that said ‘you’re officially f*cked.’ (Actually, any time a Turk openly showed any kind of emotion that wasn’t arrogance or actual stone-face usually meant you were in for a Not Good Time). The lower-ranked rookies were easy enough to cover-up as an ‘unfortunate laboratory accident’ what with all the Zenenes having different feeding times and the Behemoth mutates just existing in general.

The Turk Director was another story.

A stack of folders was unceremoniously dumped onto Hojo’s desk, sliding over his notes on what happens when you give Ahrimans mako-based eye drops. The creases on the Veld’s face were particularly cemented today. Probably from years of alcoholism and covering up assassinations. Hojo welcomed him with his usual sneer. The Turk’s face got angrier, if that was even possible. Perhaps Veld should have invested more time covering up his drinking problem than his personal body count.

Veld slammed his hand on top of the folder stack, leaning in dangerously. He wasn’t even bothering to play mind games. Hojo would’ve felt insulted, if he was capable of expressing anything other than apathy or disdain. Clearly, Turks could only operate at their best when their department was the one running unchecked.

“Did you really think you were fooling anyone with another forged set of orders from ‘President Shinra,’ Professor?” he confronted the greasebag. This one had been sent out to the Turks to locate Specimens A, G, S, Z, XIII, and XIV. As well as both escaped Ancients. A group of literal children, an uncooperative mystic, and a pair of endangered animals.

“I’m almost offended that you believed I’d fall for a fake signature,” Veld snapped. “Several of the people on this list are presumed dead.”

Hojo cackled. Leave it to dismal human perspective to fail on such a colossal scale.

“You’re going to tell me what I want to know before I bring this up with Rupert,” demanded the taller man. It was common knowledge that Hojo was on thin ice with the Shinra President.

“Hehehe…You’re quite welcome to, Director,” began Hojo, his neck craning at a bizarre angle. “But only if you want to go home to an empty home…or rather a ruined one.”

Now he had his attention.

“Kalm managed to scrape by this time, but there was a time when a blunder on the Turks behalf left me with quite the assortment of new specimens…notably your child.”

Forget Veld’s attention. Now he had his ire.

“Actually, you should be handing the child over to me and beg that I help her reach her true potential. She won’t be able to reach it any other way.”

Veld then proceeded to do what any concerned father would do in that situation—he lost his sh*t and punched Hojo in the face.

“You stay the f*ck away from my family,” Veld brought his fist back. It was a little red where it connected with the scientist’s jaw, but he kept it clenched. Round 2 could be very well approaching and Hojo didn’t look any worse for the wear.

Either enhancements or years of pissing off enough people were likely suspects.

“Stay away from my family,” Veld repeated with a little more composure.

“Then be a good little spy and reunite Jenova’s,” Hojo’s beady eyes gleamed. “It is your job and you will carry it out.”

Veld stormed off. He didn’t acknowledge that Hojo was too dangerous to go forward to the President just yet. He needed to temporarily relocate Anne and Felicia, secure the safety of his Turks, and go from there. There was no telling what Hojo would do if he felt like he was in a corner.

Ved wasn’t willing to risk his family or his people over that.

The more time the group spent in the open, the worse things got. This tour had hit a snag half a dozen hellos ago. Angeal didn’t want to see anyone else except his mother. Genesis Jr. was getting increasingly frustrated at the glances his older self kept sending them, as if expecting them to suddenly recognize someone in town after Hojo had replaced every happy memory they had with steel walls and glass cages.

“If you don’t stop giving me that look, I’m going to pluck out your eyes!”

“It’ll be fine, little one,” Genesis lifted a hand upwards, as if to catch the words that brought him peace. “There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the Goddess.”

“What’s that mean?” his younger self made a scrunched up face.

Genesis looked affronted, but then again, he always did. Clearly his mini-me had misheard him. “The Goddess descends from the sky, wings of light and dark spread afar… She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

“I don’t understand…” Little Genesis shook his head. “Are you referencing something?”

His older self blanched. Blood running cold, he realized in an instant that Hojo had isolated child Genesis from any and all contact with Loveless.

The SOLDIER had never been inflicted with a more painful wound.

Chapter 26: Bad Dreams

Chapter Text

J1144…

J1144…

Was the Aether carrying an unanswered call? It was impossible to tell.

Bubbles uncomfortably jetted past her decaying flesh. This so-called scientific marvel of a life-suspension tank was providing about as much support as a soup can. Still she weathered on. One eye, ever glowing, but never seeing what she wanted to…

Jenova wasn’t pleased.

Sometimes the phantom pain still lingered. Even after countless centuries, Jenova could feel the moment it was severed—her greatest resource ripped away from her.

Her hair covered the scars left behind by those wretched, wretched Cetra. Those sniveling cowards, who managed to land a lucky blow to what was later called the occipital bone by Humans. Like the little worms on this miserable little mudball, Jenova possessed one too. It served two purposes—connecting her head to her spine, as well as connecting Jenova to her kind.

After that fateful day, it was shattered, a ruin left behind to remember those accursed Cetra by. Jenova was uprooted from the Aetherplexus, crippling her powers. Slowly, but surely her body started to decay. Her natural regenerating abilities were as effective as humanity’s concern for desecrating the Planet’s lifeblood. (Which would save her some time in the future, but that was neither here nor now). Jenova could no longer claim her place among the ‘Of Quastellara.’ Not without her Aetherplexus. After what the Cetra had done to her, no Queen would take her back into their fold. Jenova would starve for her connection to the stars even longer. Jenova would feel her flesh decay faster than she could restore it every moment of every day.

But she was blessed with more power than this Planet could ever hope to contain…and she was going to enjoy tearing the remaining Cetra to pieces very much.

“What is this thing?” feeble human voices conversed with each other outside her crate. “We had to hook up everything from back-up generators to a damned freezer to transport it!”

“Beats the hell outta me.”

“It’s for Professor Hojo,” another answered. “You’re better off not asking questions.”

Inside the cargo crate was dark, but Jenova had been sealed for over a millenia—it was nothing. The poor attempts at efficiently transporting her were far more rattling. Upon entering the wasteland’s limits, Jenova picked up on something interesting. Her signal to her recent creation—her children —was boosted significantly. And not just her current scion. The strands connecting all her children were much stronger here.

It was true that the Cetra cut off her original connection to her kind, but they hadn’t anticipated her evolution. If Jenova could not reach her primal Aetherplexus, she would simply make herself a new Queen and create her own following. Through them, she would grow strong enough to return to her original being—and surpass it. Jenova herself was proof that when separated from Of Quastellara, an isolated entity became an ambitious one.

If the Humans had taught her one thing, it was the importance of a bond. And the bond between mother and child was one of the strongest she’d seen. Jenova would ascend from Queen to Queenmother. None of her children would turn on her. They would be undyingly loyal and ensure that Jenova’s reign was eternal. Until even whispers of other Of Quastellara Queens were treated as whispers of the past. Until Jenova’s new kind replaced them.

No Queen liked to be challenged. There would be blood. But Jenova would be powerful enough to take over her original Aetherplexus and grow even stronger. Consuming… Always consuming….

Aether made up the universe, but only Jenova’s kind truly understood how to use it. Even traces of it could be found in what this Planet called the Lifestream…through these meager scraps, Jenova grew stronger. Through every SOLDIER larva carrying her cells that perished and rejoined the Lifestream, she grew stronger.

Yet Jenova wasn’t pleased.

Nibelheim was her destiny, not the tainted wasteland her arrogant larva brought her to. He may have a purpose at the moment, but lacked initiative. That rat-tailed maggot was content to live in muddy water and feed off of decaying matter. Infuriating, when Jenova knew she was capable of so much more. Plans would need to be remade. Pawns would need to be located.

The new distance made it difficult to sense her emotionally-compromised incubator. With every turn of events lately, the incubator was becoming important. Jenova reached out over the Aether to pinpoint her—there she was, tucked away in her crystal tomb, safe and sound. Ready to do her Queenmother’s bidding, should the need arise. Jenova had much experience with being sealed away in mako crystals. The incubator would remain in pristine condition—Jenova’s cells saw to that, like a materia that didn’t get much use. Shiny and healthy. Ready to create more followers carrying the genetic material that made them Of Jenova.

A humming sound droned on. These machines were buzzing like flies that couldn’t be reached. Jenova released her grip on the incubator, charging Aether for a different task.

The green liquid was becoming an eyesore. It swished around with every move the rickety vehicle made. It was never an agreeable temperature. How had these monkeys failed to develop proper teleportation devices yet?

Jenova wasn’t pleased.

Sometimes the Queen had to endure for the Army. As much as she would like to use identical genetics, finding her True Son’s biological father was proving to be a task. Especially since her arrogant larva actually believed himself to be that role. But as proven with her other children, simply cloning her True Son could be an option.

Why settle for raising one god when you could be the Queenmother of an empire of them?

She reached out to those strands of Aether tucked away across all Planets and emptied her magic into them, carrying messages to her children. The response would be swift. All of them could hear her because all of her children were connected to her. (Some were just more malleable than others, a defect she would take care to purge in this generation and the next). What good were her little soldiers, if they couldn’t follow orders?

Her icy grip rippled to those bearing the mark of the beast at the base of the brainstem—the area of the body most affected by Jenova’s influence. Hojo had described her control to focus on the central nervous system, as it was primarily the spinal cord and brain affected by her Aether transmissions.

If she had the capacity to roll her eyes at the pawn, she would. Hojo spoke of her power as if it were limited. He failed to understand that she wasn’t weak, she was efficient. Even in her current deteriorating state, she put her power to use effectively. Why waste more energy on a servant than needed? She wrapped her power in this central nervous system, because it was all she needed to control others.

From there, it was a simple matter to remotely fire off whatever neurons were needed. She could send messages to any part of their body to take action or she could send images and sensations to their brain to make them feel something. Sometimes it was even a combination of the two. Her cells had very little difficulty hijacking the electrical impulses inside her children—their neurons might as well have been her own.

Four messages sent. Four messages received simultaneously. As expected, her children were gathering together. Even the most unresponsive child was able to clearly hear her call. It was only a matter of time before they all fell in line. They would obey. They would come for her soon. Reunion was imminent.

“I heard the Turks brought this one in!” a painfully Human voice squeaked.

Jenova had returned to the main building. Her arrogant larva’s underlings wouldn’t dare speak so boldly elsewhere. Here, among their tablets and tools they felt safe. How long would it take them to realize that feeling was misplaced?

“You don’t think it’s one of those escaped specimens, do you?”

A specimen? Her? Those ‘specimens’ needed her to become gods. When it came down to it, Mother could control their muscles. She could corrupt their sensory system and tell it what she wanted it to see, hear, or feel. It didn’t have to be there in reality, not when she could block out reality itself. She could even regulate their breathing and stop their hearts if they disobeyed. But they needed to be closer. Jenova needed to have control again. They had been apart for too long. They needed Mother’s guidance. Didn’t they see? The powers she could give them were endless!

Where were they? Why did they not answer her call? What traitorous Human had stolen them away from her?

Jenova wasn’t pleased.

She had given them so much! Wings were one of the easiest boons to grant her children. Given their close proximity to the spinal cord, it was one of the easiest mutations to manage. She had given them the ability to fight with the strength of an army. Not to mention regeneration. Jenova was decomposing in a vat of mako, but her cells still remembered how to restore themselves in others. Those blessed with her genetics received the greatest of Mother’s care. It was only right for them to use those gifts to repay her.

It was time for them to come home to Mother.

She would protect them from the wretched Cetra and Humans that hurt her. She would make them strong, stronger than they could ever imagine. They would love and worship her, giving their very essence to empower her. And they would do it with a smile on their face…Just like the one she planned on wearing when she was able to send every last worthless Human to empower the Lifestream, creating an Aether-boosting power source.

This planet would burn like all the others. She would ride it like a flaming chariot, traveling the stars to conquer more like it.

All she needed was a Reunion.

Run fast!

Don’t look back!

Everything hurts...

Keep running!

Legs burn. Blood burns more.

Poison! It’s burning through him, it’s—

Run faster!

If he could just reach the golden light, he would be safe…

Keep running!

If he couldn’t run, then…

That night, Genesis was rudely awakened by not one, not two, not even three, but four children having nightmares at different points. Zack woke up first, wailing about poison. The pain was so big it was eating the world.

Genesis was headed up the stairs when the caterwauling echoing through the hallway turned into rambling. By the time he was opening the door, the youngest was half-singing, half-babbling something to calm himself down. Genesis frowned. Something in the room felt…off. As if an invisible monster lurked in the shadows, ready to attack.

“Nonsense…” the SOLDIER muttered, but couldn’t quite stifle the urge to slay unseen beasts. The rude awakening must be getting to him. It would be better to focus on dealing with what he could see.

Sitting on the floor beside his bed, Zack was rocking back and forth with Sunny. Rivers of tears were still pouring down his cheeks and the Puppy broke into sobs again when he saw Genesis.

“Here,” Genesis offered a hand to the child. Zack got up, unfolding easily from what had seemed like such a crumpled position.

On auto-pilot he carried the kid to the well-used rocking chair, sleepily patting his back. The SOLDIER started to wonder if he should’ve even checked on the kid, but Zack thanked him for showing up and eventually crawled back to his bed and fell asleep beside his loyal stuffed wolf. He tried to focus on the golden, soothing touch and not the nightmare whispers.

‘You can’t kill me… I created every part of you that matters…’

Sephiroth was the next to stir, heart hammering in his chest. Genesis struggled with how to approach him about his nightmares. On one hand, he could tell that Seph tried his best to cover them up. The jury was still out on that being an ingrained action from the labs or if he really was that worried about inconveniencing anyone’s sleep. Noble, but troubling given the fact that Sephiroth had more nightmares than anyone. And since Genesis was doing his damndest not to let that little calamity in a can grow up to become a nightmare, he always ended up checking on him anyway.

Fortunately, he could rely on their odd, but effective strategy of door/nightstand morse code. Genesis knocked lightly on the closed door twice.

All good?

Almost immediately, two knocks sounded from inside the room.

All good.

Sephiroth was fine. Genesis closed his eyes in relief. His pillow was calling him back downstairs.

It was the third child of the night that chilled Genesis to his very core. Out of nowhere at sometime after too late to be awake, screams tore through the house. They weren’t ordinary screams, they were terrified screams…and they were coming from Angeal. He tore up the stairs, like his life depended on it.

Genesis hadn’t heard any form of Angeal scream in true pain or fear in years. Back in the Old World, it was a point of pride for the larger SOLDIER. Genesis always gave him a hard time for ‘showing off,’ but they both knew it was for his own sake. Back in the current world, Genesis burst through the door, ready to blast the source of Angeal’s pain to tiny bits.

There was no one.

No one but an extremely annoyed younger version of himself sitting besides a profusely sweaty Angeal, grasping his clawed arm.

Wait. What…?

“Seafood doesn’t agree with him,” Little Genesis read his older self’s mind. His snide comment was intended to distract the adult’s attention off his friend.

“Your ability did this?” Genesis ignored the ploy, crouching beside the frazzled boy’s bed.

“I-I’m sorry…” Angeal squeezed his eyes shut, willing the last of the red plating to shift back to flesh. He noticed the sliced up sheets. More panic. “I can fix them, I just—”

“Then we don’t have a problem,” Genesis assured him. “You break it, you fix it. Just ask the Puppy. And I’m willing to bet you’re a lot better at fixing things than him.”

“You’re not…mad?”

“Just tired,” huffed Genesis. He didn’t like hearing the mighty Angeal sound so small. And he definitely felt his mini-me’s eyes studying him for hidden messages. “As I’m sure you are. Let’s all go back to bed, you seem to have this under control now.”

“Yes, of course,” Angeal still ducked his head down in embarrassment. “They usually don’t…show up like that. It won’t happen again.”

“If it does, it does.”

Both boys stared at him.

“But at least try to hold off until after my next coffee break, deal?”

“Deal.”

On his way back to his paradise of 800 thread count sheets and fluffy pillows, Genesis could sense that Sephiroth was awake, by his nervous heartbeat. He walked past the silver-haired boy’s room and knocked twice. Sephiroth returned the knock from inside. It was going to take a small miracle that any of them got a solid six hours of sleep.

Maybe Zack will sleep in tomorrow…?

One hour and forty two minutes later, Genesis was woken up again. This time it was his younger self slamming a door upstairs. That wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary for any version of himself, but the elevated heart rate was. The SOLDIER sent a mental plea to the Goddess for strength as he hauled himself out of the blissful sleep for the fourth time that night.

He opened the door to the boys’ shared room and felt a wave of heat hit him in the face. That woke him up. Mana was hanging in the air, uncast, but no less deadly.

“Where is he?” The Man With The Migraine growled.

Angeal wordlessly pointed at the locked door in the closet. His best friend’s older self practically tore it off its hinges. A boy came tumbling out, breathing heavily.

“Genesis Rhapsodos, you set this place on fire and you’re grounded until you learn how to drive.”

Did his mini-me not understand the amount of care that was put into creating an adequate library way the hell out in the boonies? Even with SOLDIER speed, there was no way he could evacuate all of the kids and save every book in a house fire.

Already in control of his mental facilities, the younger mage wasted no time pointing out the obvious flaws in that threat. “H-How do you expect me to learn if I can’t leave the house?”

“Exactly.”

“Bastard.”

“Only when the situation calls for it,” his older counterpart crossed his arms. “Mana flare-up or mako flare-up?”

Little Genesis gave him a colorful response, face flushed from the heat around him and his own embarrassment. Thank the Goddess the other two brats didn’t see him in this pathetic state.

“Kid, keep up the attitude and I’ll hit you with a Sleepel and a Silence.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Try me.”

The tiny mage grit his teeth. “...Mana.”

“Now, was that so hard? Hold still,” Genesis snorted, holding up a hand with a materia glowing green.

“You’re not really going to cast Silence, are you?” Angeal was understandably worried. He’d seen firsthand what happened when his friend’s magic overloaded with no means to use it.

“Of course not, this is a Drain spell designed for mana,” the man explained, mid-cast. “He can’t burn the place down, if he doesn’t have the mana or the materia to do so.”

Blank stares.

“Where is your fire materia, anyway?”

“Your jokes are getting worse and worse,” the boy on the floor grumbled. He could feel portions of boiled-over power leaving him. “Are you sure you’re really me?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, brat?”

“We don’t need materia!” Fun-sized Genesis stood up to his full height of about about ten dumbapples to get through to his older self. King-sized Genesis would have snapped at him for the volume, if the sentence wasn’t so disturbing.

“What?”

“We. Don’t. Need. Materia,” his younger self snarled. “What? Are you going deaf in your old age?”

“You can’t cast without Materia, idiot.”

“You…can’t?” this time Angeal spoke up, expression screwed together unevenly.

“You’re telling me you can?”

“I’m telling you I can,” little Genesis snapped. “And here I thought you could too.”

Genesis sat down, listening to his parallel self explain the process of Hojo’s experiments with infusing raw materia into human subjects. Most of them couldn’t hack it, but they weren’t the Goddess’s gift to materia like he was. None of the specimens were Hojo’s endgame. He specifically told them all how they would give their lives for the project, the end date was their choice.

All Hojo seemed to care about was ironing out the details—how much could an Enhanced body take? Could they be inflicted with Silence and still cast? How much were their spells boosted when both infused and equipped with the same type of materia? If the connection between materia and caster was broken, could they still weave spells with the materia merged with their bodies?

The process was slow. The process was painful. But the results spoke for themselves. This boy was only ten years old, but could strike, unarmed, with the power of a dozen experienced spellcasters. He’d been fused with more Fire materia than most merchants kept in stock. It took at least five infusions to begin any of your basic tier one spells. At his last performance exam, he could cast Firaga without breaking a sweat.

Genesis almost wished he didn’t have the expertise to keep up.

The sun slowly started to rise. All of the boys went back to sleep. The house was still, silent at last. Even Genesis had managed to return to his room without further issues. However, he found himself to be the next one who couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t having a bad dream or anything similar, just the opposite, actually.

Genesis spent the remainder of his night plotting how he could become Hojo’s personal nightmare.

Chapter 27: (Attempts At) Settling In

Chapter Text

It was a new day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everyone in the Rhapsodos house were basically competing against each other over who could have the weirdest day. Genesis was currently in the lead by making everything just shy of a blood contract to allow his younger self to read his First Edition Loveless book. (He had to work fast before Zack discovered rabbits invading the garden and reclaimed his True Agent of Chaos title by chasing them off, howling like some kind of feral, four-legged pogo stick).

“You’re…letting me read this one?” asked little Genesis, brushing his fingers over the cover in a rare show of genuine care.

“Of course.” The time traveler had been planning on giving the kid one of the copies he had on the shelves, but after learning that his younger self had been deprived of the literary masterpiece his entire life, that simply would not do.

And so Genesis handed over his pride and joy—the First Edition, leatherbound, gateway drug. As if its granulated wove pages, silk ribbon bookmark, and the original paper binding touched by the author themself, could somehow make up for this.

“You so much as sneeze on it and I’ll end you.”

“Wouldn’t you die too?” huffed the mini SOLDIER. “...But thanks.”

Completely ignoring any concerns over grandfather paradox variants, Genesis watched the brat take off. The kid’s tight grip on the book did little to mask his excitement. More often than not, Genesis was finding himself having to compensate for how much Shinra had taken away from the children. Not power-seeking adults—children. Tiny, argumentative bundles of joy who never signed up for becoming living weapon experiments.

It wasn’t a trend he liked to see.

Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return
To become the dew that quenches the land
To spare the sands, the seas, the skies
I offer thee this silent sacrifice

The Goddess’s mission filled him with maybe five seconds of tranquility. An explosion of dirt and screaming filled the air—Zack found the rabbits.

A familiar throb worked its way through Angeal’s chest. Not seeing his mother was painful, so he did his best to keep busy. Currently, that involved touring the garden and shed to see what supplies were available. Would that be easier on his own? Yes. Was that possible with three other kids and their nosy caretaker at home?

Absolutely not.

“They think they’re so fast, but they’re not!” Zack was accompanying him, explaining how he was waging a secret war with the nearby rabbits. Complete with wild hand gestures. Because Zack. “They keep tryin’ to eat everything, but they don’t know about all the special attacks Seph is teaching me! We’re gonna win!”

“I see,” Angeal, the indomitable saint of patience, let the kid talk while taking stock of everything.

He had never maintained his own garden before (and from the looks of it, neither did the others), but he could vaguely recall memories of planting seeds and watering sprouts with his father. They would grow all kinds of things with names that escaped Angeal. Then, they’d wash the vegetables and his father would help him make a salad for lunch. If his mother was running late, they would bring her plate to the lab when she’d get too wrapped up in her work. Each time, Gillian would look surprised at how fast time flew, then laugh, placing kisses on their heads and thank ‘her boys’ for taking care of her.

His face fell for a second, as he recalled wisps of his dream from this morning. Something about his mother calling out to him. Her voice seemed a little…different, but it was definitely her, it had to be! She missed him so much too. He needed to go see her again soon, but Shinra was still on the hunt. Would they ever be in the clear to see each other everyday like she promised?

“We’ll send Mrs. Gillian some too!” Zack tugged Angeal out of his thoughts by the arm.

“We’ll what?” He’d missed the first half of that conversation.

“‘Cause she’s your mom and she’s really nice!” Zack gestured to the garden. “She’s gonna love ‘em! They’ll be tasty for sure!”

“Yeah…she will,” smiled Angeal. “But it takes time for vegetables to grow, so we’ll have to get started right away.”

“Wha…?” Zack wrinkled his nose. “Why would we send her smelly vegetables?!”

“What were we sending her then? Flowers?”

“Rabbits!”

This was shaping up to be a very long, very difficult day for Angeal.

Genesis leaned against the kitchen counter. He was waiting on the coffee maker to provide him with more elixir to make it through the afternoon. After all the coffee he made this morning, he had a newfound respect for all the secretaries and interns who delivered drinks so promptly to the SOLDIER floor. These machines took forever…

He had been watching the boys walk around the garden for some time now. Genesis didn’t need a parenting book to tell him that Angeal’s brave front was to cover immeasurable sadness. He didn’t need to see Gillian to know she wore the same mask.

Nobody at Shinra would ever believe that that OG Genesis was here via time-travel, so Banora was under less scrutiny, but still checked on. Shinra had eyes in every town that mattered. It was such a shame that Banora mattered. The Lifestream boon that once helped empower his rebellion ages ago was now just enough of a potential profit to keep Shinra’s greedy fingers in the town pie. Gillian being a former employee of house-arrest interest didn’t make visiting hours easy either. Even more so with Angeal’s supposed death/disappearance.

The Shifter’s ability let him temporarily grow in size, but not shrink, so he couldn’t turn himself into a bird and fly under the radar. Angeal confided in both timelines that he was honestly afraid to shift more than half his body at a time, for fear of not coming back the same way he started. Which was understandable, but eliminated Genesis’s undercover plan of having Angeal morph into the family dog being taken for a walk, their route just so happening to cover Gillian’s neighborhood, as well.

Then again, neither Hewley would probably appreciate a plan involving a large dog, past history considered.

The timer on his PHS went off. He cast the still-brewing kitchen appliance a mournful look. The pot was barely filled enough to offer an ant a cup of coffee.

Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return…

“Puppy!” Genesis called out. “Come pick up lunch with me!”

“Chicken nuggieeeeeeeees!”

Shinra was strong. Their influence was everywhere. They most certainly had spies roaming the town at this very minute. But Genesis had an unexpected weapon to identify spies - The Very Sociable Puppy.

Zack might’ve been raised by wolves (literally), but will pack-bond with whatever he could. Humans make this easier by speaking the same language and many being social creatures themselves. The little old ladies practically lined up to give Zack candies for reasons unfathomable to his caretaker.

“The man outside the Hob?” Genesis carefully murmured to little Zack, who was holding his hand and some kind of messy caramel treat on a stick in the other.

“That’s Mr. Denver,” Zack waved at him. “He’s got a really big garden. ‘Geal should talk to him about our garden, he’s the best farmer ever!”

Indeed, Oran’s agricultural knowledge is second only to mine.

“The wicked witch slithering in the shadows over there?”

“Oh, that’s Old Lady Margaret.”

“What’s our rule about Irontooth?”

“To stay away from her!” Zack crouched down, as if defending himself. “Because she eats kids and bad mushrooms and chicken feet!”

“Very good,” nodded Genesis. Spy work suited the boy. “The woman in gray on your left?”

“Uh…?” Zack looked at his feet for the answer. Genesis sighed, subtly tugging the child’s hand in the proper direction. “Oh, her? Um…I dunno. Can we say hi?”

Caught you, little fly.

It wasn’t a complicated game. Whenever Zack had to ask Genesis who someone was and the time traveler didn’t recognize them either, odds were good they were a spy. A spy with a very specific profile to look for. Too bad they were woefully unprepared for his doting father role and Zack’s ability to hug everyone.

“Hey, Champ! What do you say to a chocobo-back ride to the cafe?”

“Yeah!!” Zack was already scrambling up him like a tree, latching onto his hair. Any other time, there would have been Words about this, but they had a performance to complete.

The spies had a long list of suspicious people to look for, including an actual Genesis Rhapsodos, but they would never expect him to be the guy cheerfully dishing out piggyback rides, abandoning all forms of dignity and hair-care regimens to do so.

Fools.

Angeal’s feet creaked up the wooden staircase. Normally, he’d avoid that step, but this time he wanted to make his presence known. While Genesis was out playing Spies with Zack and his best friend was pulled so far into a book that he’d owe rent soon, Angeal was tracking down Sephiroth. He’d heard many whispers about Hojo’s ‘masterpiece,’ but hadn’t seen too much of the guy—and he’d like to get to know his new ally.

For some reason, Sephiroth frequently kept himself holed up in his room. Angeal found another creaky floorboard to help announce his arrival. Was Sephiroth trying to avoid newcomers? How in the world did he manage to adjust to Zack? The youngest only had good things to say about ‘Seph’ during their garden tour.

Carefully, Angeal knocked. He waited patiently for Sephiroth to mumble something affirmative before entering. The silver-haired boy had been taping something over his wall. Some kind of map? Suddenly, Angeal got a whiff of something pungent. Had Sephiroth spilled turpentine somewhere?

“What’s that smell?” the visitor looked around. It wasn’t the conversation-starter he had in mind, but he was caught-off guard.

“What do you mean?” a green eye twitched.

“It smells like…paint?”

The silver-haired boy went quiet (which didn’t involve a great amount of effort on his part).

“There it is,” Angeal spotted the paint can beside Sephiroth’s desk and a napkin being used as an impromptu paintbrush.

Sephiroth stood in front of the evidence.

It took some coaxing, promises, and a whole lotta patience, but Angeal was finally able to convince his housemate that he had no designs on blackmail. Sephiroth reluctantly showed him the marks on the wall. The whole experience made his arm scratchy.

“I see why you wanted to add a coat of paint…” Angeal glanced from the wall to the agitated boy. He left off the part about paint simply recoloring the problem, not fixing it.

“I will report it to Genesis when he returns and accept whatever punishment is required,” stated Sephiroth. He hoped it wouldn’t delay Genesis’s promise to help him locate his mother for too long. Suddenly, the irritation faded from his arm.

Angeal was too busy frowning at the wall to notice. “I’m more worried how the scratches got there.”

“I do not know,” admitted the slightly taller boy. “They showed up at some point after embarking on the camping trip.”

“I guess it’s possible an animal got in while you were out,” Angeal shrugged, trying to make the other feel better. “Want me to help you fix it before you tell Genesis?”

Sephiroth furrowed his brow. His head tilted to the side, processing the statement.

“Heh, did you learn that from Zack or did he learn it from you?” Angeal imitated the head tilt.

“How do you know how to fix this?” leave it to Sephiroth to keep them on topic.

Angeal explained how he learned from a revolving door of maintenance people who fixed things he wrecked when his power was still unstable—metal, concrete, wood, and walls of all kinds at undercover sites. His own cell had been expendable, but training rooms and testing facilities needed to be in top shape. Hallways and door frames were also fixed up quickly. Shinra staff did not make six figure paychecks to work in a dump.

“I’ve been walking around the house a lot today, so I know Genesis has some basic plaster in the basem*nt with the other random building supplies,” the boy gestured over his shoulder. “And brushes—real brushes.”

Sephiroth wanted to ask if he meant the handful of brushes and combs Genesis used to tame Zack’s wild mane of hair when cutting it, but decided it was likely not the same. He thought the offer over some more.

“I think…it would be best to try to repair the wall as a show of goodwill.”

Angeal grinned. He was able to make a connection with the least social of his new roommates! To say Angeal was familiar with prickly personalities was an understatement. He knew that trust absolutely had to be earned. Putting his hand in the wall would be a great way to put his foot in the door, so to speak. He rushed off to get the supplies, starting the project as soon as Sephiroth cleared some space. Sephiroth observed him silently.

Is this the skillset Genesis is looking for? I will learn it if it will help me find my mother sooner…

Angeal was a fast worker. He had the plaster setting in two shakes of a chocobo’s tail. The boy tried to talk his housemate through the process, despite the limited participation. “Do you have any questions?”

Sephiroth did not. He wanted his space back.

Angeal seemed genuine enough. Zack was always trying to help him with things too, but it didn’t mean Sephiroth trusted the older boy just yet. Both newbies had an alliance, which Sephiroth would be careful not to overlook. It could very well be that Angeal’s kindness was the distraction and Little Genesis was the proverbial knife in the back. Taking Junior’s competitiveness with the wings into account, the latter seemed more likely.

The plaster had set quickly, true to the promise on the label. Sephiroth was still nervous about reporting it to Genesis, but the quality repair job made him feel a bit better. Maybe it was the paint and plaster fumes, but Sephiroth felt his eyelids droop. Retrieving the book he’d started yesterday, he dove back in on the living room couch. Sephiroth might be the only one in the house that Advancements in Mathematics Research wouldn’t put to sleep. The comforting sounds of a slow, melodic piano played on the radio beside him.

The silver-haired boy heard Genesis and Zack return home from their scouting mission. Neither were able to do anything quietly. From the sounds of it, they were successful, but might’ve oversold it.

Sephiroth’s ears heard Genesis hand Zack off to Angeal at the door, requesting him to entertain the Puppy for a half hour, so he could take a power nap. Sephiroth turned the radio off to prevent waking Genesis up. He’d report to him about the wall later.

“‘Geal! I’m hungry!” Zack announced. “Let’s have chicken nuggies!”

“All you eat is meat,” the older boy sighed. “Were you raised by wolves?”

“Um…”

Genesis snorted from his chair, unlacing his boots.

“And you shouldn’t make just chicken nuggets, sir,” Angeal turned on the resident adult. Carefully, just in case.

“I have never wasted my efforts on chicken nuggets in my entire life,” Genesis informed him.

“Then where does all this food keep coming from?”

“The cafe, naturally.” Just because Angeal wasn’t around for the Grocery Run from Hell, didn’t mean that Genesis had forgotten about it.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just make meals yourself?”

“Do I look like a chef to you?”

“But…you invented apple juice!”

“I would be delighted to tell you how to grow and process food,” he smiled with pride. “As long as I don’t have to harvest or cook anything myself.”

The conversation trailed off there. Genesis retreated to his office while Zack pried open the to-go container to show Angeal all the ‘potato noodles’ he was going to devour too.

“See! I eat lotsa other stuff!” Zack huffed victoriously. “Even vegetables!”

“Those are not vegetables.”

“Is cheese?”

“No.”

“Huh,” Zack stared at the box in his hands. “Weird…”

Sephiroth didn’t have much experience with kids his age, but could tell that Angeal and younger Genesis were very different. Angeal seemed content with obediently following orders and regulations, which was something the silver-haired boy could relate to…but little Genesis walked around as though his only purpose in life was to spread anger and discord. Sephiroth honestly wasn’t sure which one was the better role model for acting like a ‘normal’ kid. He absently rubbed his arm, where countless mako injections had been forced into him.

Maybe none of us are ‘normal…’

“Hey.”

Sephiroth looked up at the new arrival. “Yes?”

“How much did you hear?” Genesis Junior crossed his arms.

“Just now? That Zack and…your older self returned,” he still wasn’t sure how to properly address either Genesis when talking to the other.

“I’m referring to last night. I know you were awake when I talked to ‘my older self,’” he just wouldn’t admit that it was Angeal who told him, since Angeal wasn’t preoccupied with having a magic meltdown and wanted to make sure the other residents weren’t inconvenienced. “So spill.”

Sephiroth gave his water glass a confused look. “I would never spill anything intentionally. Supplies must be carefully—”

Genesis pinched the bridge of his nose, as Sephiroth had seen the older Genesis do when frustrated. “I meant what exactly did you hear us discussing last night?”

It had been a trying week for everyone. They all had taken turns being forced to absorb a lot even in just the past day. Learning that Little Genesis was powered up with materia fused inside his body was another weight added to the pile, but Sephiroth had grown numb to the lows Hojo could sink to. Human experimentation was common in the Midgar labs. It was awful, but it was all the namesake of Project S knew. Was it not that way in the other labs?

Sephiroth had no interest in a showdown. He was younger than Genesis, but taller. The silver-haired boy also had the advantage of seniority at this residence. That had to count for something, right?

Wrong.

Both Genesises would walk around telling people over the age of 50 how they’re not automatically entitled to the respect of Genesis Rhapsodos if either were in the right mood. It wasn’t even about winning the argument as much as it was about watching the gates of hell open before them.

“Not so talkative without someone to do the work for you? Fine!” the glare Junior gave him was of the Melt Your Eyeballs Using Your Skull As A Cauldron variety. “It’s not like it changes things! I’m still the superior spellcaster and you’d best not forget it!”

Sephiroth watched the other child SOLDIER leave the room in a show of sparks and overall rudeness.

I know Genesis said we grew up and became friends in his world, but…this leaves me with more doubt than anything…

The unease didn’t settle and Sephiroth decided to report the clawed wall to his caretaker sooner than later.

The silver-haired boy had spent a few months in the house, but could count the amount of times he’d been in Genesis’s office on one hand. It was a quizzical place, just the opposite of the Shinra offices Sephiroth had seen. Those had been sterile—a phone that always blinked with one or two ignored messages, fancy pen holders, and fluorescent lights. Walls were canvases for displaying enough awards to remind visitors that the owner had a superiority complex. There were usually some books on a shelf, but all related to specific projects or fields of study.

And then there was this place.

Genesis had actually taken down a painting or two in order to fit another bookshelf. Shelves were lined with a variety of books (because running a major branch of a factory brought a variety of stress). Paperwork was strewn about the large wooden desk in piles that only made sense to the resident adult, yet they had nothing on the pens. Every conceivable work space had a pen or two. There were even pens in places one couldn’t possibly write. And of course there were at least three empty coffee mugs around the office. Because while Genesis couldn’t be bothered to remember to bring dirty cups to the sink, he never forgot to replace the discarded mugs with fresh ones. The lighting was dim to accommodate SOLDIER eyes, so perhaps Genesis believed he could live like this since no one without mako in their veins could even see it?

“What can I do for you, Sephiroth?” Genesis could feel the boy’s eyes on him. He was so close to his nap, he could almost hear the siren song of his pillow promising interruption-free, sweet dreams one room over.

“I…I must apologize.”

sh*t…

“For what, exactly?”

Sephiroth tried to capture all the words he needed for his explanation before anxiety sent them scampering off. Genesis was going to be mad with him. Genesis would see this as a betrayal of trust…but it would only get worse if Sephiroth stayed silent. Carefully, he reported what happened with discovering the scratches on the wall and the repair process.

Genesis was a SOLDIER—a First Class SOLDIER, at that. He marched miles across the Wutai front during the war and countless before and after during dangerous missions. But the thought of having to walk all the way up those goddamn stairs one more time today after making the climb so many times during the night was enough to nearly push him over the edge.

Sephiroth, of course, read the angry body language as failure on his part.

“I-I apologize, I never should have—”

“You said Angeal helped you fix it?” Genesis exhaled through his nose.

“Yes, but I was the one at fault for—”

“Then it’s fine.”

“Sir?”

“Angeal knows what he’s doing,” the adult waved it off. “You got it fixed, so it’s fine.”

Sephiroth slowly blinked.

“Now if that’s everything, I’m going to lie down and attempt to convince my body it got more than four hours of sleep last night.”

Sephiroth watched the man go. Was he not in trouble, after all? Could this be a sleep-deprived lapse in judgement on Genesis’s part?

He wasn’t going to look a gift chocobo in the mouth (or however his most recent novel about popular colloquialisms had put it). It just felt…odd compared to what he was used to. Even after so much time in this environment, Sephiroth wasn’t used to it. He made for his room. Without his previous routine, he let the numbers comfort him, as he always had.

A flurry of numerals danced before him. Sephiroth closed his eyes and focused on placing them into the open slots of his mental equations. When his numbers didn’t match up, he thought up more lines of simple addition problems and complex trigonometry formulas until everything fell into place. Detangling the garbled strand of numbers into orderly equations almost felt like combing the snarls out of his hair until it became smooth. Hair combing was one of the few routines adult Genesis did require out of everyone under his roof. Combining it with creating mental equations might make the task almost enjoyable. Sephiroth wasn’t used to having routines that weren’t strictly strength-building.

He especially wasn’t used to others popping up to chat and not initiate Corrections.

“Hi, Seph!” Zack greeted him brightly. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Mental math.”

“Is that like baths?” the smaller boy reached for something, then jerked back, remembering. “Can I hold your hand?”

“That is fine,” Sephiroth found himself answering before thinking about it. Normally physical touches bothered him after moving mountains of stress. “Mental math is about numbers, not baths.”

“Well, it can’t be all that bad, then!” grinned the wolf-boy, swinging Sephiroth’s hand towards the porch door.

Zack wasn’t going to let his big brother look so sad. Not when the sun was shining. Not when there were more books to read.

The older you get, the more you appreciate the power of a good nap. And while, Genesis was loath to admit he was getting older (adopting four kids will flat out knock even the strongest genetically modified warrior on their ass), he was tempted to compose a sonnet to the person who normalized power napping. Genesis knew he felt a million times better after a 30 minute power nap that morphed into an hour and a half.

Instead of questioning what sorcery the older kids used to keep the Puppy quiet, Genesis busied himself trying to be nice and brought out a tray of apple juice to the kids. Currently, all the boys were outside. The resident adult’s first stop was the reading duo. Sephiroth paused the storybook he was reading to Zack, thanking him for the drink. Zack had been trying to convince him to ‘do the voices’ which was a struggle. (Although, Genesis had noticed that some of the books Sephiroth read to Zack captured his attention more than the child’s, or he’d find them both starry eyed by the end of it). Even if Sephiroth was getting his childhood several years late, it was better late than never.

Angeal was preoccupied writing a letter of some kind. The recipient was obvious. Genesis dropped the glass off quietly to not break the boy’s concentration. He had no aims of making this ‘serving others’ gig a Thing, but Genesis did acknowledge he was good at it.

And then he encountered his younger self.

“You’re joking, right?” the boy brushed off the offer, returning to his book. “Come back when you have tea, instead.”

If Junior hadn’t been reading his prized 1st Edition copy of Loveless, Genesis would’ve dumped the juice on him.

How was this version of himself so...insolent? He was never like that at that age. How was it even physically possible for the boy to be so bratty while reading Loveless? It seemed impossible to catch all four boys in a good mood. There was always one of them who was upset with Genesis for one reason or another.

…He might have to cave and look into a parenting book, after all.

Chapter 28: Mail Day with Zack

Chapter Text

“And then me and Sunny followed the Cactuar Conductor to the train, but we couldn’t get on because we didn’t have peachy keen tickets! Do you know where we can get peachy keen tickets, Genesis?”

Children were delightful little bundles of curiosity. Small conjurors imagining realms that didn’t exist yet… But they were a hell of a lot less delightful before Genesis had a chance to stumble through half his morning wake-up routine.

“Why are you barging in here again?” Genesis plucked the jumping boy from the swivel chair.

“Mr. Postman came!” Zack pulled out a handful of crumpled envelopes from his pockets. “You got a buncha letters from your friends!”

The resident adult took the stack of letters, grateful they didn’t have any jam or half-melted candies coating them like last time. “These are bills, Puppy. They only want money.”

Zack scrunched up his face, the excitement fading. “You need better friends.”

“And you need to mind your own business.”

“But they have apple stickers!” protested the boy. Stickers changed everything!

“Those are stamps and address labels.”

“What’s an ‘address?’ Can you eat it?”

And that was how Genesis found himself teaching pouting puppies about the Gaia mail system and unforgiving nature of bill collectors. The electrical bill from Shinra did not inspire this lesson in the slightest.

“They really take your stuff if you don’t give them money?!” Zack stepped back in shock.

“Yes, now please go bug your—”

“We gotta stop them, Genesis!” proclaimed the little hero. “Before they take my video games!”

Genesis absently wondered if the older kids knew anything about mail from their involuntary military service. Recalling Angeal wrote a letter to Gillian, he decided they most likely did. Even Shinra would have taught such basic skills. And if Genesis had any sense, he’d find a way to get Sephiroth or Angeal to tutor Zack in those basic skills. The thought of having an afternoon void of answering the countless questions the youngest came up with was too appealing to pass up… even if it was an unattainable dream… As if on cue, a tiny hand tugged his jacket.

“You have that look on your face where you really want your brown morning potion, but you already drank it all.”

“You’re standing on thin ice, Puppy.”

“I’m standing on the floor,” came his matter-of-fact response.

“It’s an expression.”

“It’s a carpet.”

Genesis would definitely be looking into getting both boys to tutor the little hellion.

Zack had just finished hiding all his video games under the couch when Little Genesis and Angeal walked in. Well, Angeal walked in. Junior strode in with as much prideful showboating as his older self. Zack wondered if both Genesises heard musical cues or studio audience applause in their heads like on TV.

The mage pretended to suddenly notice the boy. An impossibly fake smile graced his face. “Oh? Zack…! Just the person I was looking for!”

“Gen, don’t—” hissed Angeal. He was cut off by his friend standing in front of him, smiling at the younger boy like a lion about to eat a snack.

“Yeah?” Zack looked up at them curiously.

“You’ve been living here awhile, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you know who I am, yes?”

“Did you forget?” Zack tilted his head. Maybe Junior had some kind of memory problem? He looked to Angeal for answers, but the tallest kid looked like he’d much rather be tickling scorpions.

The auburn-haired boy managed to stiffly smile. “I’m your guest. So you have to be a good host while I’m here.”

This had the opposite effect and panicked the wolf-boy.

“You’re…going somewhere?” Zack’s eyes widened. “You too, ‘Geal?”

“We’re not going anywhere, Zack,” Angeal quickly assured him. This was exactly why he opposed this plan. Once again, the mage stepped in front of him, nodding sympathetically.

“Or at least we’re not, as long as you help us.”

“Okay!” the boy bounced up. “We’re a Pack, so that’s alright!”

“Very good! And Packs have to fight off monsters—”

“—Like bill collectors!”

“Like bill collectors.” Little Genesis lied through his teeth. “So we need materia.”

“Yeah, you don’t even have any weapons. You gotta protect yourself somehow,” Zack reasoned. “Materia’s all weird, though. I can get you a really strong tree branch!”

“Materia is not ‘weird!’” the actor broke character when his beloved glow rocks were insulted.

Angeal could only facepalm, while Zack gave him a questioning look.

Little Genesis tried again. “You and Sephiroth have your weapons—”

“—Do you want me to ask him to teach you to use ‘em? They’re much better than glitter rocks!”

Angeal to his credit, did not laugh. He bit his cheek and had to turn away, but he did not laugh. (Yet.)

“Look, do you want to be a Pack or not?” Junior’s tank was quickly running out of Nice before he got his answers.

“Yeah, we’re a Pack!”

“Then tell me where I can find my older self’s materia,” he crossed his arms. “I can use them just as well as him!”

“‘Cause you’re both cranky?”

This time Angeal did snort. His companion nearly throttled the kid, but managed to rein in his temper long enough to get an answer.

“I haven’t really seen ‘em, so they’re probably with him. Or maybe in his office…? I’m not supposed to go in there…”

The semi-master manipulator smiled evilly. “Thank you, brat.”

“Zack,” corrected Angeal.

“That’s what I said.”

“So, we’re a Pack now?” Zack beamed at them.

“Sure, sure,” little Genesis dismissively waved his hand. “Which reminds me, I’ve got some top-secret Pack mission to go on.”

“Then we should all go together!” the Puppy was raring to go.

“No!” Junior sniped down the offer. Shutting down his housemate so harshly was insensitive at best, but he didn’t have time to be the wildchild’s minder. That was the TV’s job. “I mean, nooo, we need to learn the…territory. Yes, we’ll scout on our own and let you know what we find later.”

Zack frowned, mulling it over. “…Okay, but howl if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Zack,” sighed Angeal.

“Yes, thank you!” Genesis spun on his heel to exit. “And remember, it’s top-secret! Don’t tell the others yet.”

“Okay!” Zack watched them go. “Big kids are so weird…”

To celebrate his Pack finally coming together, Zack decided to celebrate with some hot dogs! Big Genesis had promised they weren’t made from actual dogs the last time he picked them up from the Hob, (but made a point of not mentioning where they did come from.) To Zack, the important thing was that they were meat and could be eaten hot or cold whenever he was hungry.

“I should bring some to Seph…” Zack walked past the counter, a paper catching his eye. He was climbing up the stool to investigate before he knew it.

The little detective poked at it. Because he wasn’t starring in a horror movie, nothing poked back. By all appearances, this looked like one of the letters delivered to their house by Mr. Postman. Zack realized it must be the letter Angeal was writing his mom the other day. It was left out where Angeal had been sitting for breakfast and based on previous observations, Zack wasn’t so sure that Junior knew how to write. It must be Angeal’s! …Who must have forgotten to add it to the mail pile. As misfortune would have it, Genesis had already taken the stack of bills and other envelopes. Probably to get a pre-emptive strike on the bill collectors.

If ‘Geal leaves his letter here, they might find it and take it! Zack’s thoughts sounded the alarms. He worked really hard on it too!

Clearly, the only solution was to play Mailman.

Zack picked up the envelope. None of the squiggly letters meant anything to him. No big deal, Angeal probably knew what he was doing. He noticed there was no stamp in the corner. Recalling Genesis’s lesson about them, all letters had to have them or the mail didn’t work.

But Genesis told me to stay out of his office…

Zack improvised.

It was a beautiful day to be exiled to the porch. Or at least that’s what Sephiroth told himself. Apparently, one is required to ‘air out their room’ after painting it. A misstep on the silver-haired boy’s part and low-grade headaches to whoever had to walk past the fumes with SOLDIER noses. Nobody was quite sure how Sephiroth actually slept in his room and woke up with any brain cells remaining. (It did create some free entertainment for the kids to watch a rudely awakened Genesis fail at not cursing in front of them, rip open up a vial of Antidote, and cast Cure on Sephiroth twice before remembering the spell he wanted was Esuna).

On a completely unrelated note, Genesis put the Poison Control number on speed-dial.

“Seeeeeeeph!” the Puppy raced across the wooden floor, dropping a few crayons in the process. “What do stamps look like?!”

Sephiroth gave him a quizzical look. “Small, brown, and…furry?”

“Thanks!” the boy ran off again.

Sephiroth returned to his constellation pull-out poster, with no idea what the Shinra mascot had to do with anything.

Zack smiled at the envelope in his hand, he hoped his artwork looked ‘furry’ enough to count as a stamp. He was just happy his crayon box had a brown in it, some of the colors had a habit of going missing. He couldn’t recall exactly what pictures were on the stickers/stamps earlier, but knew they were important and that he could always trust Sephiroth’s judgement.

The bill collectors were still at large and Angeal was counting on Zack to deliver his message (even if he didn’t know it), so the boy played his strengths and snuck around the outskirts of Banora to get to Gillian’s house. The path was pretty straightforward, so it was easy to keep an eye out for any dangerous bill collectors. As long as he followed the rules and stayed away from the neighbors, he could battle the fiends at full strength.

“Don’t worry, letter!” Zack patted his pocket. “I’ll deliver you!”

And he did.

Leaping to the middle of the oak tree just outside the property line, the wolf-boy pulled himself up to a familiar branch. Crouching down, he closed his eyes and forced his breathing to follow the rhythm Nymeria taught him for hunts. Granted, it was a lot easier picking out human scents in a jungle lacking many, than a village packed with more Two-Legs than Zack had ever met in his entire life. The other smells of baked goods, car exhaust, and air fresheners that made ‘Tropical Breeze’ smell more like bottom shelf margaritas with musty eucalyptus leaves, didn’t help clarify things. The boy suspected that the only jungle whoever made that had visited was a travel guide.

“Bleh…they should visit a real jungle and take all their yucky candles with ‘em!”

Back in Gongaga, Zack could identify every member of his Pack by their scent or voice alone. Here, he felt like he had mud up his nose. So many of the humans smelled the same from far enough away. It was as if their defining scent got lost in everything else. Short-range was much easier, but he needed more practice. One day, Zack wanted to have his own training montage like the Mirage Masters whenever a Big Bad loomed in the distance.

Long story short, he relied on his ears yet again. There was a lot of noise here, but it was different from all the laboratory sounds. And nothing like the jungle. Nobody was taking a stroll in the woods, which meant it was play time.

The Banora White trees were surprisingly springy compared to the bulkier hardwood trees dotting the edge of town. Then again, any tree dramatic enough to drape itself over like an arrogant Noble one-upping their detested rival at the annual winter gala in some crazy Medieval court drama, had to be flexible. Springing branch to branch on all fours, Zack was able to make good progress and use the large leaves as cover.

Not ten minutes later (he got a little distracted watching a caterpillar climb some tall grass), Zack was shutting the Hewley mailbox door like he’d seen Mr. Postman do plenty of times at their house. (Hey, what’s a little mail tampering felony or two between family?) He took a deep breath. Maybe he couldn’t pick up Mrs. Hewley’s scent, but there was a hint of lemony soap in the air. That was from the kitchen, he remembered. (Because if there was a smell in her lab, she didn’t allow anyone inside). It would make a nice waymarker if he ever had to travel here in the dark. Most of the Banorans used apple-flavored products with the same vigor as Upper Plate Midgar residents losing their mind for two months over pumpkin spice everything.

“Okie-dokie! Time to go home!” Zack clenched his fists together, pleased with his successful mission. The bill collectors had no reason to target him without the letter. He could take the dirt road back through town. If he was lucky, one of the grannies might even greet him with candy again.

Thoughts filled with sugary treats, Zack headed past Mrs. Field’s zinnia garden and Mr. Denver’s vegetable truck. Zack still couldn’t believe that such a nice guy would put such horrible food all over his truck. On purpose. Grown-ups made no sense. Like the one who started following him in the shadows of the Banora White trees.

“Zaaaaaack! There you are, little jet!” boomed a cheerful voice just beyond the neighbor’s fence. It was difficult to tell where the man ended and his toolbelt began. Zack wouldn’t be entirely surprised if he pulled out a Reactor drill from his side pocket.

“Hi, Mr. McDougall!”

“You weren’t planning on going to the Hob and climbing my stall again, were you?” the merchant teased him.

Zack grinned back, putting more distance between the shadow and the pleasant conversation he was attempting to have with Mr. McDougall. “Those cabbages had it coming!”

“Oh, for sure. They came from ol’ Morris, after all!” Jorge poked his shoulder, good-naturedly.

“Honey…” his wife cuffed him in the arm, half-heartedly chided him.

“Sorry, dear!” Jorge returned his attention to their walking buddy. “Now what’s a little guy like you doing all the way out here?”

“I’m not little! I’m gonna be tall like Seph some day!” Zack huffed proudly. In every dimension, Sephiroth was the perfect balance of mental instability and success the young Puppy aspired to be. “I was helping Genesis with the mail!”

“Such a good helper you are!” Vienna patted his back. (She hadn’t been to the Hob at the same time as Zack.) “We were headed to the cafe! Would you like to join us for a treat?”

“Yeah!!” Normally the boy remembered the manners Genesis attempted to instill into him, but everything flew out the door when food was involved. Not that either resident minded. It had been awhile since such an excitable kid brightened their town.

Vienna and Jorge resisted the nervous urge to cast a glance over their shoulders. Both had lived in Banora their whole lives. They couldn’t help but be suspicious of outsiders. Genesis came to their town and helped it prosper. But not everyone was so benevolent. Shinra’s name wasn’t plastered over every banner. There was no official branch building. And yet the company’s claws were latched to the village as firmly as any reactor town.

Stories of kids being taken away in broad daylight were too real for Banora. Vienna shuddered. Not so long ago, she was helping the doctor treat Gillian Hewley for near fatal lacerations after Shinra troops showed up for a few hours. The image of Gillian bleeding out and begging for them to bring her son back was etched in the merchant’s mind forever.

A tiny hand wrapped around her own. Warmth spread up her arm, soothing her tense muscles. Vienna wasn’t surprised to find Zack smiling up at her, much like how her own son used to before he grew up into an angsty teenager too cool to hold his mother’s hand. She smiled back at the kind boy.

Those were the ones who needed protection the most.

“Let me guess,” Mrs. Colby didn’t even bother taking her waitress pad out at the new arrivals. “Potato noodles for my favorite customer?”

“You remembered!” Zack bounced onto the barstool in front of her. Jorge pretended to stretch before sitting down. He just so happened to be by the window too. No one had followed them this far down the main road. Yet.

Vienna finished ordering for them both. The waitress caught her worried eyes and nodded. Banorans always looked out for their own.

“I gotta give Kris a call to come pick up his order, then I’ll put yours in,” Mrs. Colby laughed. “That bum must think we deliver!”

“Now, now, Mrs. Colby…” grinned Jorge. “I’m sure he’s very busy downtown fighting bankrobbers and such!”

“Really?!” Zack’s eyes sparkled. “That’s so cool!”

“It would be if it were true,” Vienna chuckled. “He probably lost track of time taking his dog for a walk.”

Just spending time with others and chatting was fun for Zack. He told them all about helping Genesis with the mail again and they praised him as if it was the first time they heard about it. Mrs. Colby brought out his extra crispy french fries, hot off the fryer. Vienna reminded him to blow on them first, while Jorge taught him to make ‘campfire sauce’ by mixing ketchup, mayo, Behemoth barbeque sauce, and some spices Mrs. Colby brought over when they asked nicely.

“Don’t tell the others, but I like to add a little hot sauce too,” the merchant whispered conspiratorially. “Gives it some zing.”

Zack popped a fry in his mouth coated with the stuff. The flavor was zesty enough to make his tastebuds dance. He didn’t know it, but being from Gongaga basically made him genetically predisposed to craving food with some heat. All those years of missing out on spiced meat barbeques, Hellfire Curry, and chili-themed stir-fries activated in an instant. He didn’t know what hot sauce was, but he knew he could probably down the entire bottle of it and still ask for seconds.

“Can you make more?” the boy asked eagerly. “I wanna show everybody at home!”

“Sure thing, jet!” Jorge grinned in victory. “I’ve been telling them all for years that ketchup is good, but campfire sauce is better!”

Mrs. Colby took the spices out again and left the condiment connoisseurs to do their thing. It was a good excuse to ruffle Zack’s unruly hair on her way back. He wasn’t bothered by her instinct to pet cute things. It reminded him of when Lady used to do the same thing with her muzzle.

Zack happily kicked his feet under the barstool. These people were good. Like the Not-Pack people from before, but nobody had to be prey here. It was nice. Zack decided that he would make sure he looked out for them, protecting them from the bad guys, just like the Mirage Masters!

Deputy Kris Horton was the next face to pop into the Cafe with his trusty hound, not missing the relieved faces of the adults. They all knew his badge didn’t mean squat to a Shinra lackey, but his country pride made for a hell of a deterrent. The little squirt parked between the McDougalls greeted him with the same level of calm as an acrobat discovering trampolines for the first time.

“Mr. Horton! Did you catch the bank robbers?! Were they working with the bill collectors?!”

“Not this time, kiddo.”

Zack slumped back into his seat, a little disappointed at the news. Kris’s dog sounded like he was too with the way he grumbled and groaned.

“What’s troubling Holster?” Mrs. Colby busied herself filling coffee cups.

“He’s complaining about eating something bad,” Zack answered, completely unaware that he wasn’t being addressed. The locals still got a kick out of it.

“And here I thought this old dog was begging for a treat like at breakfast!” laughed the Deputy. “Zack, would you be a good sport and talk some sense into him?”

The adults had a hard time not laughing at how seriously the boy took the job. Zack crouched down to Holster’s eye level and barked very sternly. Holster, for his part, looked deeply unsettled by the imitation.

“Did you tell him to lay off the snacks?”

“Something even better!”

Their show was cut short when Mrs. Colby announced Jorge’s lunch break was almost over. She avoided looking at the window again, as if she had seen something distressing outside.

“Time for you to head home too, I’d wager,” the waitress patted Zack’s head. “Would you like to see a special surprise before you go?”

Zack was an impulsive, five-year old boy. The answer to that question was always yes.

Before Jorge walked the kid home, Mrs. Colby gave them a quick tour of where the super-cool, employee’s only back door was located. Zack did such a good job helping with the mail that he could even use it on that very day as a reward. He gave her a hug and then let Jorge take him ‘the scenic route’ home.

Having lost sight of his target, the stranger causing such a stir entered the cafe, greeting others like a regular would. Mrs. Colby poured him some coffee. Deputy Horton welcomed the outsider to town. Vienna recommended the fried chicken. None of them missed his squirrely eyes hopping all over the place. This man was here on morally iffy business.

“Oh, I just stopped in for a coffee to go,” he claimed. This was of course bullsh*t, as anyone could see he was more of a stale beer kind of guy. His too-shiny boots clicked over the floorboards in his haste to get to the counter. He was tall enough to see no one behind the counter except the waitress when he leaned on it.

“Can I get anything else for you?”

“No.”

“Uh-huh, and what was your name again, sugar?” Mrs. Colby took out a marker to write down his name on the styrofoam cup like those fancy places she’d heard of in Midgar. It was completely unnecessary without a line of people waiting on orders, but helped provide their own local recon.

She was careful not to look at the regulars. They all knew she called people she disliked ‘sugar.’

“...John.”

‘John’ was in fact not the agent’s name. Shinra had long since taken that away. Numbers were easier.

“Stay for awhile, friend!” Kris prodded. “Are you here early for the festival?”

“Not today,” John snipped, not possessing the patience to one day earn his Suit and cast his lots with the Turks. “I’ll just take my coffee and be on my way.”

Holster had other ideas. Walking over to the strange man, friendly as you please, Holster barked once and promptly emptied his stomach all over the outsider’s fancy shoes.

Chapter 29: Tree Tag

Chapter Text

Genesis mentally checked off ‘begrudgingly appearing before an in-person meeting’ on his personal Adulting Bingo sheet. Now all he needed to do was buy a minivan and fold the laundry while humming a cheerful tune.

Goddess above, he hoped he never got a Bingo.

The weather was as pleasant as 9:00 AM in Banora allowed, so he opted for a leisurely stroll to the Factory. By the looks of things, half the town had the same idea. A few tractor-pulled floats hauling a collection of random farm animals flanked by anyone fit enough to march with an instrument without faceplanting and they could have themselves a small town parade. He was glad he told the boys to stay put in the house while he was out. Not because it made him Parent of the Year, but because he was being followed by two of the spies he and Zack identified recently.

He took his usual route, stopping to chat with a few of the least-offending folks on the way. The dirt path rose and fell in time with his patience. Genesis carefully wrapped his very last f*ck in a blanket of lies, hoping it would sleep long enough for him to escape all the idiots. It took a lot out of a person to sound enthralled to be having a conversation about fruit bags so early in the morning.

“The bags’re good. The pain is finding enough hands to use ‘em.”

“I’ll send the boys your way next harvesting season, Mr. Denver!” Genesis patted the weather-worn man’s shoulder. “They can make up for any shortage of apple pickers. I want them to gain an appreciation for the entire apple juice process.”

They certainly have the energy to burn…

Convincing the town that the boys were normal was an impossible task. Convincing them that Shinra’s littlest super soldiers were essentially unsupervised, backwater kids with weird hobbies was slightly more manageable.

Having vivid memories of the Hob in the wake of Zack and Sephiroth’s first… eventful visit, all the farmer could pull off was a non-committal nod. The others were quick to pick up his slack.

“That’s wonderful!”

“We’ll turn you all into proper country boys, soon enough!”

The conversation spun itself out to make the world’s most boring, backwater sweater. Both spies hung back just far enough to listen in, without being pulled into the conversation. If the wool hadn’t been pulled over their eyes by now, there was no way either was going to willingly wear that ugly sweater. It was almost a pity to Genesis. He also disliked Banora’s taste in high-end fashion.

Brand names aside, the locals knew he was holding a winning hand of money and connections. They were always happy to be ruled by that. What reason was there to ostracize him? They loved him! (Save for Old Lady Margaret on both counts, but he wasn’t counting she-devils wearing the skin of humans in his villager headcount). The only attention he drew to himself (in his eyes) was saving the town from withering away into dust with the Apple Juice Factory.

Yet every time he left a group of enchanted villagers behind, the spies stuck to him.

“Good morning, Genesis!”

“How’s yer day going?”

“Good morning. Quite pleasant, thank you,” he responded, brushing the hair out of his eyes. The SOLDIER was a firm believer of accentuating your best features by pointing them out. He measured his success by how many yokels trailed behind him. (Today’s high score was seven).

It was only at the Factory did the unwanted attention die down. Oddly enough, the spies ditched him to go stalk a jittery Mr. McDougall. Most would be relieved. Genesis was offended.

The nerve of those bastards! In what world is Jorge McDougall a bigger fish than me? If ignorance was a virtue they’d be saints by now!

As tempting as it was to storm over to the spies and inform them of their newfound sainthood, Genesis continued into the building. It sure would be a shame if the Inn they were staying at lost electricity for the day…Hard to call for back-up once their PHS batteries died too. Stealth wasn’t his forte, but the SOLDIER could certainly manage sneaking to the Inn’s outdoor electrical box and overloading it with a carefully controlled Thunder spell. Genesis adjusted his bracer, where said materia slumbered for now.

Wait…

Either his materia was in a full-on coma or it wasn’t there. Risking a glance confirmed the latter. Genesis allowed himself a moment to curse under his breath. He didn’t have to worry about stray sparks shooting off of his person because apparently materia thieves were the larger threat. Not just any had the skills to pull that off…

With some effort, he avoided stomping all over the brand new tile flooring inside the lobby. They wouldn’t make designer boots like his for another decade at least. Genesis also thought it best to provide the receptionist a fabricated answer when she asked what was on his mind. It would only cause unneeded stress on both sides if he told her he was speculating about whether killing his younger self qualified as suicide or not.

Leaving the lobby behind him, the SOLDIER nearly bumped into a gentleman with a hardhat and the security clearance of a weasel.

“Whoooooa! G’morning, Mr. Rhapsuds!” Glarus Porter wasn’t officially the town drunk, but he filled the role more often than not. Why the idiots in the warehouse saw him fit to operate heavy machinery was beyond Genesis.

“Mr. Rhapsodos.”

“Where?!” Glarus had enough sense to not let the company boss catch him smelling like cheap booze.

“Move along, I have places to be.”

“Yessir, Mr. Rhapsuds, sir!”

Genesis didn’t have to take that from a guy who started his academic essays with ‘Howdy.’ In fact, the SOLDIER would’ve given him a harder time if not for his interest in the unfamiliar man in the secondhand business suit using the distraction to walk towards the collection of offices.

He would definitely be bringing up building security at the meeting.

More and more shadows lingered in Banora. An uncomfortable amount for the sleepy village. If Genesis didn’t have his Spot the Spy game with the Puppy, even he would’ve missed some…which meant Shinra was starting to send out people with actual qualifications now. He had been too busy recovering from suddenly having to raise four kids to even try to toe the line. (For a few days, anyway). Banora White Apple Juice sales had been steadily increasing. Could this be over Shinra’s inability to let any small business rise to the level of potential competitor in any category? Had one of the boys slipped up while his back was turned? All of them were believed to be dead, weren’t they? There was nothing left of the labs Genesis broke them out of. Was there a need to update disguises?

Somebody in town must’ve said something to bring in more goons. He needed to narrow down who ratted them out or Turks would follow.

Genesis exhaled sharply through his nose. He was built for manufacturing drama and dealing with consequences later. Worrying was the Old World Angeal’s forte. All this stress was going to give him more gray hairs than Degradation ever did.

At Breakfast 2.5, one could smell the scent of bread, jam, and Simply White eggshell finish interior paint.

While Sephiroth had the mental capacity of someone three times his age, he had only recently learned that when a freshly painted room isn’t properly aired out, the odor will seep into clothes, hair, and even skin. This was especially noticeable for SOLDIER noses.

Windows were open 24/7. Candles were lit. Candles were blown out once Zack tried to roast hotdogs over them. A tip from Gillian about baking soda absorbing odors led Genesis to buy out the entire Hob’s worth of product. There were no less than three boxes of baking soda in every room.

“What were you thinking?” Little Genesis pinched his nose for dramatic effect. “You still smell like a chemical plant.”

“I think it’s cool!” Zack smiled up at him, even though the fumes hurt his head. He shook one of the many boxes of baking soda into a white cloud. “It’s like a special attack! Like when a Malboro uses Bad Breath!”

Sephiroth made use of the one good thing to come from Adult Genesis’s tutelage—aggressive sighing. It was frustrating that yet another important daily living skill was left out of the How to Raise a Weapon of Mass Destruction handbook the Science Department used in his childhood. None of the other boys seemed surprised by the painting information. Angeal even had some basic carpentry skills before leaving the labs. How drastically different was their training from his? What other concepts had he failed to learn?

Meanwhile, Angeal found himself on the conflicted bench on the sidelines. Again. Gathering plates to wash seemed like a good exit strategy.

“My friend, do you fly away now?” Genesis allowed his plate to be collected before following him to the kitchen. “We all could use a break from that horrible odor.”

Sephiroth was unsure of how to react to someone taking his plate for him. He usually took them to the sink and tried to wash them himself, but justified it with the fact that people used to take his food trays in the lab after meals. More worrisome was the sudden exit. There was little Angeal would be able to do to tamper with the plates, but maybe he should make sure…

“Seph! Mirage Masters is gonna start!” Zack already had his arm, excitedly dragging him towards the living room. “Can I have more candy too?”

“That will make you sick.”

“It’ll make me happy first!”

Angeal said nothing in the kitchen, mechanically placing dishes in the bubbly water to scrub. His friend leaned against the counter. Angeal didn’t have to see Genesis’s face to know which disappointed expression he wore—chili powder sprinkled over fresh lemon.

“You seem happy trying to bond with our fake family,” he scoffed. “What’s next? Folding their laundry?”

“It’s not like we’re enemies, Gen. They all went through a similar experience as us.”

And by ‘experience,’ he meant ‘trauma,’ even if he didn’t know it.

“It’s always been us against the world and it always will be,” insisted Genesis.

Angeal’s stomach twisted again. Hugging his arm to try to comfort himself, he reminded himself that he couldn’t just abandon his best friend. His only friend…

Why not…? Echoed in the back of his head

Angeal wanted to stay in Banora to be closer to his mother. He didn’t expect Genesis to understand, given his own strained family situation. The taller boy sighed. Did choosing one mean losing the other? Why couldn’t he keep both?

“If the world is against us, then what about the older you?”

“Never trust an adult, even if he claims to be some version of myself,” Genesis warned him.

“But they want to fight against Shinra too…”Angeal sounded less certain. He could argue with his friend, but he wasn’t cut out for opposing life-altering decisions with him. “Wouldn’t we be better off teaming up? You saw what he can do.”

“Adults teach you to stand up and fight for what you believe in until what you believe in differs from what they believe in.”

Angeal’s eyes fell to the fading bubbles in the sink.

“Let’s at least go to the Secret Base,” Genesis’s tone softened slightly. “I need to get away from the disgusting fake family ambiance.”

Angeal didn’t know what all of those words meant, but he understood it actually meant his friend didn’t know how to process all this and needed some space away from it to breathe. They gathered a few things and made for the front door.

“Where’re you going?” Zack poked his head over the couch. He was curious enough that he was willing to pause his episode of Mirage Masters.

“Out,” was the only answer Mini Genesis gave.

“Our orders were to stay here,” Sephiroth reminded them.

“I’ll share my potato noodles, if you’re hungry…” the youngest added.

“I am not some little bird, content to watch the world from afar,” Genesis brushed both off and rested a hand on the doorknob. “Let’s go, Angeal.”

It was a lot harder to walk away from comrades watching you go, but Angeal ended up siding with his childhood friend. Partially to keep him out of trouble, partially to get out before his mask crumbled. Being in close-quarters with others granted Enhanced hearing meant few secrets.

You don’t belong here with strangers… You belong with me… The voice echoing in the back of his skull hadn’t faded with his last nightmare. It wedged itself firmly between Angeal and everyone who claimed to care for him.

He could cry in front of Genesis, but was afraid to show weakness to anyone else.

“Hey, wait—!” Zack’s voice was cut off by the door shutting. He spun around to face Sephiroth. “What are they doing?”

“...I am uncertain,” admitted the older boy. “But they did not pack enough supplies to run away.”

“Why would they run away?!” the Puppy was becoming increasingly distressed. “We’re a Pack!”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Then I’ll show you!”

Leaping over the couch like a hurdle, Zack rushed to the porch and began hollering at the others to come back. When his demands were met with preteen eye-rolling, he got irritated. This wasn’t a terrific combination on the best days, so it didn’t translate well to a tense day at all. Before Sephiroth could prevent an illegal weapon possession crime, Zack summoned a dagger to his hand.

“Zack, sto—”

It was too late. The youngest boy threw the blade between the deserters so fast they heard it whistle. It embedded itself in a nearby tree and they turned back with a start.

“What was that all about?!” Genesis demanded of Sephiroth.

The silver-haired boy stood alone on the porch, looking just as surprised as they did. Sephiroth briefly wondered what the protocol for allies throwing deadly weapons at allies was in this case. It was further hampered by the fact that Angeal and Younger Genesis kind of deserved it.

“You can’t leave like that!” Zack suddenly appeared behind them, startling the older boys again. “You just—you can’t! We’re a Pack!”

Not giving them another chance to ignore him, the feral child swiped their supply bag and warped to the top of a tree with another dagger.

“I’m not giving it back until you go inside!” he huffed, plunking himself down on a sturdy branch.

Genesis recovered first, shock giving way to anger. “Return it at once! That’s my materia bag!”

“...Where did you even get materia from?” Angeal glanced at his friend.

The mini mage ignored the question and gathered flames to his finger tips. “You will give me my bag back, brat!” He aimed the gathering fireball at Zack.

At this point, Sephiroth made his way into the argument, standing between the lion and the wolf. It was enough to make the older boy’s spell waver.

“Gen, wait—he’s just a kid!” Angeal quickly jumped in, aiming his friend’s arm down.

Genesis pulled his hand back, the fireball flicking into stray embers, but refused to listen. It was at that moment, he remembered he had wings. He brought a hand up to his forehead to focus as feathers danced around him. Suddenly, a wing shot out at the same time he extended his arm.

Zack pouted as the angry birdboy flew up, hand extended for the backpack. Genesis was red-faced and eyes burning about the whole ordeal. What he didn’t know was that Zack was just as stubborn as him.

The youngest stood up, carefully dropping a small throwing knife between the tree branches. Zack made a show of hefting the bag up towards Genesis. The older boy floated closer to snatch it, but was left with a handful of blue sparks.

“What is this?!” he roared.

Angeal blinked in disbelief. Turning to Sephiroth for answers, he got none. Even at age ten, the taller boy had a spectacular poker face.

The puppy’s laughter broke up the confusion. Genesis rushed him. Again, the older boy had only fading sparks of energy to show for it. Completely unaware of the danger he was putting himself in, Zack laughed again. He loved new games! Genesis was fast, but there was only so much wing maneuvering he could do among the trees. Zack had fun dodging around the older boy, completely at home in the forest.

“You give that back or you’ll regret it, brat!!”

“Why do I have to listen to you?” Zack plunged towards the forest floor, causing a burst of blue sparks to coat the fallen leaves.

“Because I’m bigger than you!” Genesis Reasoning was nothing if not direct.

“Trees are bigger than you,” the Puppy perched himself on a tall branch. “Lots less bossy too.”

Rather than offering his praise to the wooden overlords, Genesis snapped off a branch in spite. Without another word, he hurled it at the mischievous child. Zack simply laughed, swinging himself to a lower branch out of harm’s way.

“You should be nicer to the trees!”

“I’m going to turn them into toothpicks, if you don’t get back here!” Genesis’s aura glowed a steady red around him.

“You look like a Bombino!” the youngest puffed out his cheeks.

“I DO NOT!!”

“You’re causing a scene,” Sephiroth pointed out, ending the game before any nosy neighbors took notice. “I can’t teach you swords if you break the rules, Zack.”

The spiky-haired boy warped over to Sephiroth, sticking his tongue out at the others. “I’m only giving the bag back if you promise to come back.”

Angeal wisely cut in before Genesis decided to have words. “We’re just going to the Secret Base. We’ll be back soon.”

“Oh,” Zack blinked, tilting his head to the side. “You shoulda just said so.”

“We did!” Genesis dismissed his wing in a flurry of feathers.

Sephiroth returned inside. Even watching the oversaturated children’s cartoon about badly animated Fiends and friendship was less painful than this.

Chapter 30: Lessons in Espionage

Chapter Text

When Sephiroth’s dreams didn’t terrorize him, he dreamt of the stars. Of floating through galaxy after galaxy, traveling solar systems like forgotten pathways. The map was lost to time, but a road revealed itself if one knew where to look.

He let himself drift, content to hear the stars sing to him, asking that he listen just a little longer…They had so many stories to share. New lights emerged from the colorful clouds dancing in the distance. New life began once more. It reminded him of the Lifestream holograms he’d seen. Wispy strands of energy sharing all its knowledge and strength with every new world it touched…

And Sephiroth was at the center of it all.

The boy felt a sense of calm flow through him. His body was numb, but warm. As if the spiraling gases existed to wrap him up and share their heartbeat with him. He was a part of something bigger. He was accepted. It almost felt like a homecoming.

If only there was a way to share this with the others.

Three eternities passed by in a kaleidoscope of nebulas and the birth of new stars. It wasn’t long before he was in his own solar system. Curiosity drew him closer…

Before him was the sun. It beckoned him with warm, golden rays of light to fight the frost trailing up his legs. Sephiroth moved towards it. When had he gotten so cold? The sun would thaw him. It pulled him closer like a magnet.

Something was wrong.

Sephiroth was shivering now, completely robbed of his body heat. The boy knew space was a dangerously cold environment, but he had been fine before…even comfortable. Only the sun could make him feel strong again! All he had to do was stay on course. The sun was calling him. Gravity could handle the rest.

His body twisted harshly to the left. He realized something else was pulling him.

A part of his back started to ache. It throbbed in time with his anxious heart. The frostlike feeling grew across his legs, crystalizing his footsteps.

Footsteps…?

When had he stopped floating? Where were the stars fading to? Sephiroth reached out and his dream turned to sand, slipping between his fingers. The skies around him crumbled to dust.

Even the sun grew cold, every last ember dying out. Before he was plunged into darkness, Sephiroth attempted to grab onto his planet. He squeezed tightly, feeling the lifeforce drain from it. Green energy choked and sputtered into space until all that was left was a dead husk. What once was his home was now a decayed mass of rock and bone. But there was still something inside it. A glowing red eye opened—

He woke up by his window ledge with no knowledge of how he got there.

Sephiroth pulled his hand back from the screen—what had he been trying to do? Taking a shaky step backwards, the wooden floor felt like ice. Something in the back of his head was ringing—some warped form of laughter? It didn’t sound anything like Zack laughing at the TV or Genesis snorting at a humorous book. Even the younger Genesis’s attempts at bullying ‘jokes’ sounded different.

Exhaling through his nose, the boy tensed and relaxed his muscles as many times as it took. He was in control. He had to be. He knew what happened to soldiers who were…decommissioned.

Sephiroth carefully closed the window and returned to bed. Even the warmth of his blankets couldn’t counter the cold chill setting in around him. Dread weighed his chest down with every breath. He glared at his window. How was an inanimate object becoming the center of all his problems? When it was closed, paint fumes turned dangerous. When it was opened, he got chills and bouts of sleepwalking.

It’s just a draft from the windows being open… It’s just a bad dream… This place is secure…

The logical side of his brain nearly succeeded until he recalled that he never opened the window.

Whispers in the back of his skull clawed at him for attention once more, demanding he drift back into his dreams. He told himself he wouldn’t sleep. Not until he figured out what was going on.

Sephiroth couldn’t be scared. That weakness was removed from him by his training at Shinra. He could see why—his heart hammering in his chest and breathing difficulties made it next to impossible to strategize. How was he going to succeed under these conditions? How was he going to find his mother?

Mother…

Another wave of fear spiked inside him. It burned through his veins like poison. Every fiber in Sephiroth’s body screamed at him to sleep, but it was too dangerous. What if he woke up somewhere else? What if he found what really made the claw marks on his wall? What if—

His door opened.

He shot out of the bed, ready to face whatever monster had come for him. A flash of golden light blinded him. Had the true sun rose early? He fell into a dreamless sleep and stayed that way for hours.

When Sephiroth’s eyelids forced themselves open, he panicked again. An unfamiliar weight pinned down his side. Sephiroth reached for the invader, hands gripping fur. He jerked his arm upwards to pull back…Sunny. All he could do was stare down the snout of Zack’s stuffed wolf.

“Nhnn…?” another voice stirred. “Oh, hey! You’re awake, Seph! Let’s go eat!”

Sephiroth slowly pulled away from the younger child. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a bad dream.”

“...And?”

“And it sounded like you did too,” he shrugged, kicking his feet back and forth against the side of the bed. “So I thought we could help scare off each other’s bad dreams.”

That made very little sense to Sephiroth, but his head hurt enough without trying to decode the kid’s logic any further. (And he did feel a lot better after getting some actual sleep).

“Very well. Let’s go.”

Zack cheered, kicking his legs faster. His feet might not be able to touch the ground, but his kindness had reached his brother. Zack bounded down the hallway with a big smile. He had heard that when he was sick, Sephiroth stayed by his side to look after him. Even if Zack was only able to scare off one or two bad dreams, the wolf boy was more than happy to return the favor.

Today’s breakfast consisted of awkwardly cut fruit, burnt toast and what Genesis could only assume were pancakes and not topographical maps of Cosmo Canyon. All the same, Genesis didn’t complain—he knew his attempt would have gone much, much worse. (And that if he scared off his tiny chefs now, he’d inevitably have to do some cooking because the Cafe was closed on holidays).

That was quite horrifying as far as unpleasant thoughts went.

After breakfast had been consumed and insults dispersed among the little rascals, Genesis called over Angeal to join him in shopping at the Hob. Of the four children he shared a home with, Angeal was the only one he’d tolerate a shopping trip with, his younger self included.

“Can I come too?” Zack pleaded.

“Certainly, Puppy,” replied Genesis. “We could use an extra set of hands to carry all the vegetables back home.”

The spiky-haired boy jumped up in alarm, taking off the opposite direction with a shriek. Genesis simply smirked at his handiwork, gathering his jacket. Angeal questioned if instilling a fear of veggies was a good way to get the kid to eat them.

“Why do you need me for your errand?” Angeal hesitantly poked at his words. He didn’t mind going, it was just odd. Genesis did most of his errands alone after what he called ‘The Great Hob Tragedy.’

“Why, we’re picking up gardening supplies, Angeal,” his caretaker explained. “So, you’re best suited to the task. Don’t forget your hat and jacket.”

“Alright,” Angeal couldn’t help but think he was missing something besides his impromptu disguise. He followed the former First out the door and down the dirt road. The boy's eyes flitted around them, scanning their surroundings out of habit.

Genesis narrowly sidestepped a small pool of blood. He had mistaken it for a puddle, but when had it rained? There were enough to stain the ground red. Warriors wearing his face huddled over the path, covering up the bloodstains to keep Shinra off their trail for just a little longer… It was only when Angeal walked right through a puddle of the stuff that Genesis realized it was all in his head. A frown formed on his mouth. These little intrusive thoughts were rooting themselves like weeds.

Genesis desperately shifted his thoughts to something less gruesome. This was supposed to be a pleasant trip with his old friend. It wouldn’t do to let bad memories dampen it. He tried to embrace the normality of his flannel shirt and dark denim pants. Both items specifically chosen to blend into the crowd better. It had nothing to do with the fact that Genesis despised doing his own laundry and was behind on it. (Adulting was hard, dammit!) If Angeal could sense something was wrong, he didn’t risk mentioning it.

“Just make sure you act natural inside the building,” Genesis mentioned quietly (not that he was a role model in entering places with any shred of stealth). “You never know who you’ll run into.”

The boy bit his bottom lip. Why did that sound more like a threat than a warning? Maybe threats came more naturally to the mage? Angeal nodded and tried not to overthink it.

Just gotta treat it like regular orders…

The domed building was getting closer. Colorful strips of fabric welcomed them in the breeze. He could already smell the distinct cedar from the woodworkers. And something fresh from the oven too. A little bit of everything wafted over, trying to pry open the curtains on Angeal’s oldest memories of Banora.

The inside of the building was as busy as Angeal remembered it. (And since he was from a small town, ‘busy’ meant a dozen or so people and one goat out shopping and socializing.) He froze on the spot, taking it all in. Beside him, Genesis tried not to sigh. If this was how the boy reacted to a small gathering, his tiny little brain would shatter when he experienced rush hour at any Midgar train station.

“Ripples form on the water’s surface—” began Genesis, reciting Loveless as one would a calming mantra.

“The wandering soul knows no rest,” Angeal finished the quote.

All annoyances with small town shock vanished from the auburn-haired man. In fact, he was beaming with pride. “Well, well, it’s about time you finally start developing some taste,” Genesis patted Angeal on the shoulder, trying to keep his cool. This was unsuccessful. “It took you much less time in this world, congratulations!”

The boy started to sweat. Angeal definitely didn’t want to tell him that he only knew it because Genesis’s younger self practically narrated the entire book to him from memory while hiking to and from the Secret Base.

One of the invisible actions that linked the worlds together were Genesises drilling the intricacies of Loveless onto unwilling Angeals.

Angeal treated walking to the veggie stand with Genesis like following his superior officer into battle. Eyes alert. Shoulders squared. Feet forward. The nearest shopkeeper knew they meant business and stood in front of his pudding cup wares like a man ready to lay down his life for his country. Shinra-raised SOLDIERs weren’t allowed to sympathize with the enemy. That brought on the even deadlier force of empathy. Angeal could see the fear in the man’s eyes, but failed to hear the maniacal echoes of ‘Puuuudding! Puuuudding!’ that would forever haunt him.

“Genesis, what is that man selling?”

“Which vendor—?”

Genesis was a proud man. Feelings like shame and regret did not suit him. But the moment he locked eyes with the Pudding Man, he felt embarrassment that burned hot enough to leave third degree burns on his First Class pride.

“We don’t speak of the pudding cups, old friend.”

“Uh…”

“Stay away from the chickens, as well.”

At a stand near the back of the building, they picked up some seeds and work gloves that weren’t falling apart. Then Genesis started putting his agricultural knowledge to good use with Mr. Porter. He called it ‘bartering.’ Everyone else called it ‘bragging.’ Figures that a rich kid never got the hang of haggling.

“Yer lucky you caught me here,” Mr. Porter jumped topics like a cactuar taking up breakdancing. “All those city boys came out early this year.”

“Oh?” Genesis was intrigued. “What for?”

“Well, I got myself a side hustle raising white-tails,” explained the farmer. “City boys come out this way every Fall and pay more for a buck to hunt than I make on my entire stock of crops each year.”

He didn’t mention that he only continued growing them because Banora relied on them.

“Such a waste…some of ‘em don’t even do the hunting themselves. They just want the antlers for a trophy they didn’t earn,” he sighed. “They take the deer just outside city limits and shoot ‘em in the truck.”

“How shameful,” Genesis made a mental note to relay that to the boys later. If it was a well-known tradition, there would be spies willing to use that as cover. Especially if that cover granted them a reason to be armed.

Angeal didn’t have much to contribute, so he stood back to let the adults talk. He ran his fingers over the stitching of the work gloves to pass the time. Both of his parents were good at sewing. He never got to learn how. From behind him a soft voice called out “Babbu?” Angeal turned around to see his mom.

Suddenly, Genesis’s warning made sense. He desperately wanted to run to his mother, but had been ordered to stay put. Would she even recognize him in his disguise? Gillian walked over, fighting back tears of her own.

“You must be Genesis’s new ward,” she offered him a strained smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Angeal felt like every good feeling since returning to Banora had been squeezed from his heart. Why was she acting like she didn’t know him? Was she even acting?

“M-Mother…?”

She refused to break down in front of him. There would be time to cry later. Right now, she needed to be strong. Gillian inclined her head towards the town, hoping to convey the message of stealth to keep him safe. “You’re such a well-behaved boy, I bet your brothers could learn a thing or two from you.”

“I…I…” Angeal scrubbed at his eyes.

His mother realized Genesis didn’t fully prepare Angeal for the meeting. She made a mental note to cuff the back of his head later. Enhancements be damned, SOLDIER noggins were just as smackable as an ordinary person’s. If Genesis didn’t know that, he was going to receive an education at an inconvenient time.

“Here you go, dear,” Gillian handed her son a handkerchief. “No shame in tears. Your honor shines with your feelings, not without them.”

Angeal could only nod, not trusting his words with how tight his throat felt. His mother squeezed his hand again, passing along a hidden piece of paper.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hewley. I didn’t see you there. Sometimes I get so carried away with my questions…” Genesis was back to putting on a show. He nodded to his unknowing supporting actor. “Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Porter. We’ve been looking forward to starting our gardening project at home. Angelo, what do you say to Mr. Porter?”

“Th-Thank you,” Angeal managed to force the words out between a stray tear or two.

Morris Porter was known for two things—vegetables and jumping to conclusions. It was no wonder he wildly misinterpreted Angeal’s tears as being overwhelmed with joy to begin the wonders of gardening. “Of course, young man! Here, let me throw in another packet of seeds, on the house. I can tell you’re going to be a great gardener!”

Angeal nodded again, taking the lettuce packet that was offered to him.

“What’s this?” Mr. Porter spotted the note in the boy’s hand, while giving him more gardening swag.

Angeal froze on the spot.

Genesis had to fight the urge to facepalm, but managed to keep his smile plastered on. “There’s our shopping list!” he plucked the paper from Angeal’s hand with a laugh, stuffing it into his coat pocket. “I keep losing the darned thing!”

The farmer shared a laugh with him.

“Alright, Angelo,” Genesis faced him. “I believe that’s everything on our list, so we’ll be off now.”

Gillian took that as her cue to bid them farewell. The boy’s wide eyes never left his caretaker’s pocket. Surely Genesis knew about the note. He was going to give it back…right?

Upon leaving, Genesis noticed a man of authority shouting at a salesman about some kind of shoe polish treatment designed for dog vomit. His anger was aimed at the vendor, but his eyes roamed the crowd, looking for someone. Genesis didn’t have to see the trademark black suit to know that man’s authority was Shinra.

Dammit…I was too late!

The two exited the Hob quickly. Genesis was confident they weren’t seen, but they weren’t home free just yet. He still hadn’t figured out who in this mudball of a town had the rank and reasoning to call in Turks. It could be anyone! Ideally not anyone after them, but Genesis always had a closer relationship with situational irony than good luck.

“Angeal, keep up with me and do not look back, no matter what.”

The boy swallowed hard, following the new orders without hesitation. Angeal’s grip tightened on the bag he carried. He was terrified he messed up the surprise stealth mission. Did failure mean he wouldn’t get to see his mother again? What if Genesis was really mad at him and threw away the note?

Just before he fell to pieces on the ‘scenic route’ home, Genesis passed the note back to him.

“Your mother took the time to write you such a nice letter. Try not to lose it so quickly next time.”

Angeal held the paper tightly in his hands and let the relief wash over him.

Before even changing out of his I’m A Local disguise, Genesis gathered the Order of the Labrats.

“You’re probably wondering why I have called you all here today,” Genesis began with an air of importance. To achieve this, he opened a window prior to the meeting to allow a breeze to add some movement and flair to his jacket. Standard Genesis stuff, really.

“You’re finally embracing the Banoran Lumberjack look,” his younger self offered.

“I have been following the paint and proper ventilation procedures,” Sephiroth eyed the open window.

“We’re getting a pet?!”

“We already have you, Puppy.”

“Shut up, Junior!”

“No more questions,” the resident adult waved a hand to silence them. It was a mistake to give an open floor to a bunch of bickering children.

The encounter at the Hob was cutting it a little too close for his liking. Spies, they could deal with, Turks were a bigger challenge. Depending on who Tseng (or was it Veld at this point in time? Genesis couldn’t remember) had recruited by now made all the difference. Some agents would shoot their partner in the back if it got them closer to their paycheck. Others would eat a bullet if it meant their partner got a clean shot at anyone foolish enough to open fire on them.

And there was only room for one Criminal Found Family in this town.

Genesis described the role of the Turks to the kids. One of the few advantages to dealing with children traumatized by Shinra was that he didn’t have to scare them into cooperation. They already believed him. If anything, he was sugarcoating what Shinra’s agents were capable of.

The Big/Little 3 took this seriously. Zack stared at a bird outside the window.

Genesis felt his eyebrow twitch. It was obvious he was losing the Puppy’s attention, so he made him a visual reminder. He drew a crude man in a suit with the reminder ‘Turks = Bad’ written below. Sephiroth pondered if Genesis needed the reminder that Zack couldn’t read. The smallest SOLDIER went right back to ignoring the tallest in favor of a new distraction—a cool picture!

Whoa! A sunglasses guy with a zappy stick!

“What kind of tie is that?” Junior’s inner fashion critic was showing. “It looks like a four-in-hand! Did he tie it on his way to the schoolyard?”

If this wasn’t interrupting such an important discussion, Genesis might’ve been proud. “It’s a half Windsor, learn to tell the difference.”

“It’s too clunky to be a half Windsor,” his younger self shook his head. That knot looked wide enough to store the spy’s gun and personality problems. “It’s a four-in-hand technique…and a shameful one at that.”

“If you don’t stop interrupting me, you’ll be the one wearing a four-in-hand knot every time you leave this house.”

Little Genesis leaned back with a snarl. He wanted to return the volley, but knew better than to push the guy who could summon Ifrit and two Bahamuts at once…at least until he learned how himself. Even if Future Genesis had fifteen years on him (and not nearly as many inches as he was hoping), the boy found it easier to analyze the other rather than identify with him.

Resuming the briefing mission, Genesis told the new kids they would need better disguises. He wouldn’t blame them for the uptick in creeps. Banora White Apple Juice had started to take off and the factory was instantly under observation. The town’s economy went from trickling to flourishing, so of course Shinra investigators were sent in. Just to cover all their bases, Genesis also wouldn’t overlook the timing of their arrival or the potential enemies he’d made in town.

He was, however, happy to overlook that it might have had something to do with the fact that he personally blew up Shinra’s fancy new satellite tech with a magical dragon.

There hadn’t been an issue with either Sephiroth or Zack’s appearance. Cutting their hair seemed to do the trick. Sephiroth tended to avoid people to begin with, so he had extra insurance (finally, poor people skills were working to his advantage!) Zack looked more like your average kid now that his hair wasn’t a matted mess that trailed to his legs. The fact that Shinra hadn’t found him with the wolves in Gongaga made Genesis think they had more reason to believe he was dead.

The former Crimson Commander would work on procuring better disguises soon, but could use the stash he already had whenever they headed out, even if it was to garden or go to the Secret Base. He pulled the box out to show his wayward children.

“Junior, Angeal, this is where you’ll find your selection of disguises for leaving the house,” he gestured to the pile of rejected Halloween costumes. “Put it back in the coat closet when you’re done looking through it.”

“It says ‘Dress Up Clothes…’” Junior all but hissed.

“Obviously,” huffed his older self. “It’s a disguise for the Disguise Box. Any guest who comes across it will believe it to be some children’s plaything.”

Neither boy affected by the Disguise Rule were thrilled to play dress up from the shoulders up, but understood. Little Genesis was just more willing to voice this.

“Really?” Junior wasn’t done taking great personal offense to each and every hairpiece. “Blond spikes? I don’t even understand what this wig is supposed to be.”

“It’s like a chocobo!” Zack’s eyes glittered. He shoved it on his head and proceeded to jump around the living room, yelling ‘Chocobo Stomp!’ with enough gusto to rattle the furniture in more ways than one.

“I’m taking this one back,” Genesis pulled it off the force of destruction. His coffee table silently thanked him. Now that he thought about it, he should probably avoid keeping disguises he’d already used around Shinra. There weren’t many, but he did wear that wig when liberating Sephiroth…not that he’d left any witnesses.

Angeal rifled through the box with a resigned look on his face. Some of these disguises were…shoddy at best (how were they expected to pull off a mustache/beard combo?), but he would do whatever he was asked if he got to see his mother again. His friend continued to rant about not wanting to be caught dead in any of those garments. For someone who spent half his life in Hojo’s care, he had a surprising amount of fashion sense.

“Just remember boys, this is only a temporary nuisance. We will get through it. Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end...”

For the first time in his life, Genesis was able to wrap things up with a Loveless quote and everyone in the room could appreciate it. He might not be comfortable being a father figure, but did he ever savor moments like these…

Glow-in-the-dark wristwatch? Check.

Classy bowtie he convinced his caretaker to give him? Check.

Ability to cause considerable property damage through silly games and childish antics alone? Check.

The more he thought about it, the more these ‘Turkeys’ sounded like the Spy movie Zack watched on TV. And those guys were really awesome, so the Turkeys must be too! …Well, he was still a bit confused on how large flightless birds could learn hand to hand combat, but maybe they adopted humans into their ranks like his previous furry caretakers.

Can they grow wings and fly like Genesis and Seph and the others? Zack bounced in place. He decided that even if the human Turkeys couldn’t fly, just having wings would be pretty neat. I bet they can use all kinds of weapons and run super fast too! And they all have special attack spy moves!

Some of their ‘spy moves’ were really cool like his own powers, but Genesis made him promise not to do those in town. So he proceeded to spend the rest of the afternoon playing “Spy” in the forest. This was his playground to pull off the greatest spy feats known to mankind! Jumping out of airplanes! Waterskiing blindfolded! Maybe even sneaking an extra dessert!

“Take that, jerks! We’ll send you back to desk duty!”

Did the Turkeys Genesis mentioned know about desk duty? Not important! With that scathing insult, the forest became alive. Zack leaped onto the nearest tree branch in pursuit of his unworthy opponents. He chose wisely. The branch bent underneath him, propelling him forward in an instant. Wind whipping past his face, he almost felt like he could fly. Thankfully, he remembered to keep his mouth closed this time. (You only have to choke on a bug once to learn your lesson about chatty human rockets eating more than just fuel).

A twist in the air and he landed on the next tree. The spin made his brain zoom, so he twirled over to another branch. From there, he spotted enemy snipers. If he didn’t stop them, his teammates were in danger! Zack launched himself to greater heights. A familiar sensation of rough tree bark under his hand signaled a successful landing. All in a day’s work for a Master Turkey Spy like him! Zack easily flipped through the air to dodge his enemies’ attacks, returning fire with rocks and daggers. He pretended to team up with the other spies to fight off their mutual enemy—Bill Collectors.

What could be cooler than spies?

He skidded to a stop.

The only thing cooler than turkeys as spies…were wolves as spies!

He did a tiny dance to try to hold back his excitement—it failed.

Scouts kind of did spy stuff already. His old Pack had taught him well. Even if he did lose himself in his games, he couldn’t help but notice everything around him. He just had trouble deciding which thing to focus on when there was so much—Like the smell of smoke nearby.

It’s safe. It’s from town.

Zack’s daring escape had brought him closer to his Pack’s house again. It wasn’t on fire. His ears perked up at Genesis’s voice in the distance. Something about having red hands and lecturing Junior about keeping his mitts off his materia. Little Genesis complained about wanting to learn something that wasn’t Fire for a change, but the conversation didn’t involve Super Secret Spy Wolves, so Zack didn’t bother listening to more. His Pack was safe. The house was not on fire. There was something else, though. Focused on the strange, new scent, he followed it to the creek.

Bleh…it smells worse than that time I left wet socks in my boots…

The air was foul the closer he got, as if a pile of moldy vegetables took a spoiled milk bath. His eyes started to water. The nausea overload owed its rotting smell to the body lying dead in the creek. Zack landed just beyond the bank, approaching carefully.

Not all Prey was as unmoving as it wanted you to believe. He had been tricked before and Ashfur had paid the price. Shielding his nose and mouth with one arm, he summoned his dagger with the other. He promised Sephiroth he wouldn’t be reckless with them until his big brother finished training him, but needed it for a quick escape should this Prey be any less dead than President Shinra’s take on proactive environmentalism.

The body didn’t move from its final resting place on the rockbed.

It was bloated, bloodless, and sported a bullet hole between the eyes, but remained still. Zack was certain it wouldn’t strike when he turned his back to pull it out for the scavengers. The boy grabbed a boot and yanked him ashore, praying neither the shoe or the leg popped off. This Prey had been left out for awhile.

Ugh…this one smells way worse than when Seph forgot to open a window for his paint…

The thought of Sephiroth made Zack remember his training with him. The dead man’s head made an unpleasant scraping sound against the last of the rocks. Zack’s body wanted him to get away from the smell, but he had to check—

“Concentrate,” Seph told him in his memory, and he really, really tried to, but the smell—

Zack hopped away, gagging. The smell clung to him like fog. He had to get away, but he had to check—he had to concentrate—!

The boy attempted to hold his breath and return to the unmoving Prey. There wasn’t a lot to go on, but it didn’t look or dress like anyone from Banora. His Pack was safe and no one in their Territory had to become Prey.

His mind kept spinning, but not in the fun, zooming way. He found himself trying to calm the odd, tingling feeling in his fingers. The one that told Zack to use any spell he could to get through this. He wouldn’t get tired, he just needed to cast. Power surged around the bracer Genesis had given him. Zack squeezed his eyes shut and reminded himself he wasn’t carrying any materia.

Cast something now!

Hurry up! Hurry up!

No!

The Pack is safe.

The town is safe.

All of them are safe.

He couldn’t even remember what Sephiroth was doing in his memory. Maybe a sword stance? Or a kata? Was it over?

Zack needed it to be over.

Dagger in hand, he threw it as hard as he could. The familiar weightless feeling of teleporting overtook him. Anywhere far from here.

Somebody used to make the unmoving Prey disappear before, they must have missed one. They could have it. Them or the black birds unafraid to eat death.

Zack didn’t pay attention to where he ended up. It took three more full-strength warps to escape the rancid smell. Finally the pictures and numbers stopped spinning in his head. After a few more seconds, the tingling feeling in his hands faded away. He crouched down, taking greedy gulps of fresh air. Zack stood up when he was convinced his lunch would stay down.

He had to return to his mission and keep his Pack safe from the Bill Collectors!

There are few secrets in Casa Rhapsodos. Which is how Sephiroth overheard Angeal mentioning to Genesis Jr. about the surprise meeting with Gillian. Apparently, she had given him some form of letter that also contained a family recipe. A small part of Sephiroth was curious about what a mother would write to her son. Why share a recipe? Was there some significance to that he was missing? Sephiroth had never met his mother. Did she have recipes she wanted to share with him before Hojo…intervened?

It was even more confusing when Angeal asked him to help him prepare the meal. Sephiroth stared at him for a good fifteen seconds. Even Angeal’s smile started to wane.

“...Why?”

His cooking skills rivaled a vampire with a sun tanning routine.

“Because Hewley Ultimate Mac & Cheese tastes better when you make it together.”

A recipe that required multiple chefs to prepare it? Sephiroth frowned. He really had a lot to learn about cooking. He accepted the offer out of curiosity.

“Great!” Angeal’s worry wore off. “I was going to ask Zack if he wanted to cook too, but I couldn't find him.”

“Did you try opening a package of hot dogs?”

Angeal laughed at that, thinking it was a joke—It wasn’t.

Seeing the cooking prep in progress, both Genesises made themself scarce. It was survival instinct. The remaining boys started pulling out all the required materials. Hewley Ultimate Mac & Cheese was made with fresh veggies from the garden (or food stand, in this case) as well as the more traditional ingredients. Angeal started identifying various kitchen tools and appliances for Sephiroth as they went. His muscle memory was starting to kick in from years of disuse.

He could remember making this meal many times before with his parents. It was a little different running the show himself, but not as difficult as teaching cooking basics to a kid who never stepped foot into a kitchen until a few months ago. Well…it wasn’t as difficult as deactivating a bomb, but the similarities were definitely there.

“What am I to do with this?” Sephiroth held up an onion.

“Uh…just set it down for now. You might need to level up a bit before you tackle one of those.”

The silver-haired boy frowned at the new adversary, but obeyed. A day would come when onions would tremble before him.

Angeal noticed his assistant looked a little bummed. That was a big no-no when making his family recipe. “Hey, can you cut up the bell peppers over there? We need two for the recipe.”

“Understood.”

Angeal returned his attention to blending the cream of chicken soup with sour cream. It wasn’t like Sephiroth didn’t know how to use a knife. The room was already starting to smell like a real kitchen. Angeal stirred the vegetables he’d been sauteing. Or as his father had called it ‘browning the greens.’ A small smile tugged at his lips.

All seemed well until Sephiroth scooped his work into a bowl to transport the peppers to the pan.

“I gathered all of the components, no matter their size.”

“That’s great, Sephiroth. You—oh.”

“What?” The boy looked at his bowl for imperfections. What had he missed?

“You…kinda scooped up the seeds too.”

Sephiroth tilted his head. “Was I not supposed to?”

“Um, let’s just rinse these off in the sink,” the Masterchef paused his work to help his companion.

Right around then, little Genesis walked through the dining room. Through the open wall, Sephiroth noticed the gold-embellished book under his arm.

“Isn’t that Genesis’s? The older one’s?” The younger boy gestured to it.

“Oh, this?” Junior smugly pulled out the book. “Why yes. It’s his First Edition copy of Loveless.”

“He called it his treasure,” nodded Sephiroth.

“Yes, well, he entrusted me with it,” his pride was palpable. “He said it would change my life.”

“Perhaps. It’s an interesting story.”

“That’s all you have to say about it?” the mage was aghast. “It’s a treasure for a reason! Did you even read it?”

“Technically, the older you read it to me.”

“You read it before me? You don’t even appreciate its—”

“—Maybe I could read it?” Angeal tried to defuse the situation. “I feel like I’m the only one who hasn’t. Aside from you and older you quoting all the time…”

“Angeal, you are my dearest friend and I trust you with my life.”

“…And?”

Little Genesis grinned.

“Get your own copy.”