AN: I hesitantly call this an OT5 as I'm not totally sure how things will come together yet. It may not be as complete and wholesome as usual OT5 stories, given Genesis's condition, and I will do my best to handle this topic with great care. Mental illness is a sensitive topic with me anyway, so I promise to avoid stigmas and stereotypes. Please be prepared for characters from other FF universes to make an appearance! Psychosis will be the main theme. Trigger warning for emotional portrayals of mental illness.

My friends, the fates are cruel.

There are no dreams, no honour remains.

The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess.

The tip pierced my supple heart, the gift I offered.

There is no pain blacker than to have seen her turn away.

One day you, too, will feel the 'joy' of her look; eyes both light and darkness.

Never shall I return.

They had let him write it down. It was conceived within his third night of his being here—in this room. The missing act of LOVELESS. Genesis knew it now. The square bit of paper was tacked to the wall, close to the floor so he could sit by it; think about it, dwell, chew and weep over the bitterness of each word. His heart was more than broken, it was a 'tangled smear at the feet of his Nephilim'.

—Some part of Sephiroth had hoped that Genesis would never be found. Behind the clinical facade, he was tormented by his old friend's state. The man had been too much of a genius. The line between brilliance and insanity had ripped like the last thread of a spider's web. Was it always inevitable? Sephiroth stared at the photo on his desk; Angeal, himself and Genesis, all smiling and dressed in lab coats.

Angeal had seen it coming. He had studied in detail the lives of great professors Hojo and Hollander—how they had descended into madness—but did anyone heed his warnings? From the moment Angeal had first seen the Turks drag Genesis into custody, an incurable sting racked his heart. He could not, would not visit Genesis. It was too much. It shamed Genesis's worth—Angeal knew that—but he continued to stay away. The latest report of patient Romeo3 was open on his desk. The closest he could get to Genesis Rhapsodos without being consumed by grief.

Zack watched it all. One could even say he had known this would happen—even more so than Angeal. He could have prevented everything, maybe. Angeal would not stare right through him, Sephiroth would not cry and night, and Genesis would not be locked in a padded cell. If he had only done what was right; known the difference between honour and what secrets should not be kept… That bright smile on Genesis's face, still there, always for Zack, would not make him feel sick.

"Thank you," Genesis would say, "Thank you. I know now."

And Zack would smile back because he had to. He could not help it.

Now was the time to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor at one of the ShinRa Asylums (sight location #5). Cloud had studied hard, passed though his advanced studies with optimal results. At twenty-one years old, he felt ready to face the world. Well, readier. He had heard of the top priority patient Romeo3. Rereading the address in his notebook, the ink smudged by the torrential downpour, Cloud was relieved to see this was the right place. His new home, Nibelheim mansion, with the porch occupied by three waiting figures.