I was going to leave the Angeal/Genesis fandom in the capable hands of its many talented authors but I was in a pet store and this came to me.

The story takes place about 4 years before the start of Crisis Core.

I don't own any of the human characters in this story (but they certainly own me).

The Spy

The three strongest men on the planet gathered in an abandoned field in Wutai. Sephiroth had called Angeal and Genesis to an impromptu meeting to discuss strategies and tactics. He took any chance he could to meet without the presence of ShinRa executives. Those spoiled, highfalutin cretins had no idea what it took to fight a war, much less to win one. And yet, they all seemed to think they were experts on the subject.

Fortunately, the President valued Sephiroth above all others and he allowed the General a certain amount of 'creative license'. He did, however, reserve the right to call on the General's expertise should a situation arise that seemed especially dire. The head of the ShinRa Electric Power Company could always count on his Number One to pull a rabbit out of the hat. He had Sephiroth's number on speed dial and Shinra had an itchy trigger finger. This favoritism awarded the Silver SOLDIER endless ribbing from his friends for being the President's personal 'boy toy'.

So there the famous trio stood, with grass up to their waists, going over mission objectives, some minor cases of espionage, the enemy's strongholds, etc. Things were beginning to wind down when a soft rustling in the field came from nearby. As suddenly as their ears had picked up the sound, Masamune shot out and cleanly sheered the grass in front of them, leaving a perfectly mowed half circle about 50 feet in diameter. Had Sephiroth had the ambition to, he would have made one hell of a gardener.

As impressive as it was, the strike revealed…absolutely nothing.

The SOLDIER stood unmoving, green eyes fixed to the spot of their would-be attacker. A derisive snort came from behind him but he paid Genesis (and he was sure it was Genesis) no mind.

It was irregular that Sephiroth would miscalculate a target. Actually, it was more of a scientific impossibility. These men were programmed not to miscalculate anything. For the first time they wondered if their Mako-enhanced hearing had betrayed them.

As if in answer to their question, a tail popped out of the now shin-deep grass and everyone including Genesis (though he would never admit it) breathed a mental sigh of relief. So the world hadn't tilted on its axis after all. Better an assassin there to kill them then the possibility that one of their senses was off. That was the SOLDIER mindset for you.

In addition to a tail, the grass had now sprouted two floppy brown ears to match. Angeal immediately put his hand in front of Sephiroth's sword to halt any further attack. "It's a dog!" He let his own standard-issue sword drop to the ground as he jogged over to the little creature to see if it was injured. After a quick inspection he called out to the other two. "He's ok! If he had been full grown Sephiroth would have taken his head off. But he's not, he's just a little puppy. That's right, you're just a little puppy, aren't you? Aren't you? You're just a little poopa-doopas."

Angeal was no longer talking to his two friends- at least, they hoped not. Genesis would have taken offense to being called little and Sephiroth couldn't for the life of him figure out what a 'poopa-doopas' was. He felt ridiculous even just saying the word in his head.

Angeal continued to shower his attention on the puppy. "How'd you get here, huh? There's no one out here for miles. You must be very resourceful. You're a smart boy, aren't you? Yeaaaah, you're a goooood boooyyyyy."

If the puppy had been planning some type of covert operation, that threat had been effectively neutralized when Angeal found that spot on his stomach that made his leg shake uncontrollably.

Sephiroth turned to his redheaded companion. "So is this how he gets the Seconds to listen to him?"

"Pfft. I doubt they get so much as a 'job well done' out of him. And that's after they've done considerably more than lie on their back in a field somewhere."

Angeal and the puppy were now facing off, both on all fours ready to pounce. One went left, the other went right. One surged forward, the other backed down. One let out a growl, the other had a stupid grin.

Sephiroth and Genesis continued to watch from the sidelines, the redhead looking more and more disgusted with the spectacle. "Jesus, Angeal, pull yourself together. You're a First Class SOLDIER for Christ's sake. This is embarrassing." At that moment, Angeal was only tuned in to the ancient art of puppy wrestling.

Sephiroth let out a chuckle and Genesis whipped his head around to glare at him. "Don't tell me you condone this kind of behavior, General?"

"Jealous?"

Genesis' eyes flashed for a second before he composed himself. "SOLDIER is comprised of elite, superhuman, killing machines whose bodies have been trained to not only utilize their maximum potential but to go beyond it. They are meant to inspire fear and awe in every living, breathing creature on Gaia- not roll around on the ground like an idiot with some field tramp!" He took a moment to turn back to Angeal who was now on his back while the puppy assaulted his face with kisses. "Oh Angeal! You don't know where that mouth has been!" Once again, his words fell on deaf ears.

Genesis returned to his tirade. "And besides, we're on hostile territory in the middle of wartime. He's left himself completely open to attack and he's unarmed! An assassin could easily take him out. Hell, a novice could easily take him out!"

Sephiroth still looked amused. "I'm not going to pretend that that's what you're actually worried about but it is time we got going. Angeal! Either dispose of the enemy or invite him into your party! We have to go."

This got Angeal's attention. "Invite him into my…you mean take him with me?"

"I don't see anyone out here to claim him. You can consider him a POW if you want. Just make sure he doesn't interfere with your mission."

Genesis looked extremely put out but Angeal was positively beaming. The little girl in him was squealing and jumping up and down. He scooped the squirmy little ball up and tucked him under his arm like a proud papa. "I'm going to take care of you and make you big and strong. No one's going to want to mess with you."

After he grabbed his sword the men finally headed out, Angeal doing his puppy talk the whole way. Genesis had to keep himself from throwing up a few times. The redhead couldn't help feeling that this war had suddenly become unpleasant.

...o0O0o...