A/N: Chapter updated 4/4/17

Generally, when someone said 'Tony Stark is a player' they didn't mean actual games, but if you thought he spent as much time with technology as he did without playing something along the way, you were severely underestimating the allure of video games. Yeah, he was a player. But he was a gamer, too. And while he wouldn't admit it immediately, he had a long lasting love of the chunky pixelated forms that had been the JRPG revolution in the late nineties, including Final Fantasy VII.

(The irony that he would one day go on to fight a pretty boy alien with a god complex and major family issues was not lost on him.)

Sure, there were a lot of issues with the Final Fantasy franchise - he would never get over the abuse of the word Final - but overall they were a guilty pleasure that never got old. When Advent Children came out, you bet he watched it - it was practically a love letter to the original game, problems with the Turks aside. And Crisis Core? He didn't even wait for the North American release, he'd had a copy shipped in from Japan.

He hadn't expected to love it as much as he did.

When he'd played the game for the first time in 2007, even knowing that of course Sephiroth was going to fall and Zack would die, he'd been sucker punched by the ending. Puns aside, it wasn't fair. And he'd never expected to go and get attached to the others - Angeal was a little righteous and hypocritical for his tastes, but Genesis. Man, there was a train wreck of a man he really, really felt for. And there'd been so many missed chances to make him so much more. 'I can do better' was almost an automatic thought. And with a remake of the original game rumored to be coming up… he'd come back to the thought, again.

It was a side project, he was still incredibly busy especially with Bruce around and the cleanup after Loki and the Chitauri invasion… there was always so much to do these days, but he made time for it. He stripped the models from the original game and Crisis Core to start, throwing together the beginnings of some real AIs to fill in for the main characters. It started off as sheer indulgence and really didn't get any deeper than that, but the project continued to get more and more detailed as time went on, until he finally had to turn it over to JARVIS.

A few months later when he checked in, he had a full virtual simulation of Gaea ready to be tested, the gaps left from canon filled in by JARVIS. Bruce, bless him, was just interested enough in the mechanics of it to come along for the maiden run.

"So, where are we coming out?"

"I've got it programmed to interrupt at the perfect moment - where it all started." Tony flashed him a grin. "You'll see."

"ENOUGH!"

Angeal was used to being the mediator between his friends, but this was ridiculous. Genesis had been increasingly on edge lately and no one could push his buttons like Sephiroth. Still, they'd never let it go this far, and enough was enough.

There was genuine surprise in Sephiroth's voice when blades clashed. "Angeal…"

He didn't miss the sudden push at his back, and realized that Sephiroth hadn't checked his blow, Masamune clanging against his hilt. Somewhere between shocked and outraged himself, he glared back at him.

"Out of my way!"

Far too late, he heard the crackle of energy in Genesis' hand, saw him surging forward. Everything slowed for a moment as he pushed forward. Rapier was fine, it was a brilliantly forged blade, but the SI blade he was carrying snapped. Wide-eyed, they watched as it spun in the air towards Genesis and-

A low whine filled the air a moment before the spinning blade was interrupted, shot back over Angeal's shoulder and then again for good measure.

Stunned, the three SOLDIERs turned to face the source, red and gold metal forming a human shape - no, no a suit of armor. The faceplate lifted and revealed a man with a bright, pleased smile. "Awesome. Is my timing perfect or what?"

Whatever differences the trio may have had a moment ago fell to the wayside as they shifted, the runes on Genesis' blade gleaming again as Sephiroth took a single step to the side, nodachi at the ready. SI utterly ruined, Angeal slowly pulled his Buster. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

"Tony Stark, long story - really long, actually, you're not science-y types - but basically Gen there is my favorite and I really, really just could not let things end this way." He tilted his head. "Can you not point those at me? I don't like having weapons pointed at me."

Behind him, there was a burst of nervous laughter, another man squinting at them behind his glasses. "This is your perfect moment? Oh god… this is such a bad idea."

None of the swords lowered, three sets of glowing eyes narrowing a little at the two men. "Is the recording off?"

"Of course it's off," Genesis muttered. None of them liked the idea of their sparring for fun being on record. "I suggest you answer the question. And my name is Genesis, or Commander Rhapsodos to strange men who intrude on private interactions with my comrades."

"Wow, let's try saying 'friends' please? Comrades sounds rude."

"Tony…"

"Not now, give me a second here." The armored man - Tony Stark, as he'd identified himself - tapped at the side of his helmet. "JARVIS? You come through okay, buddy?"

Enhanced hearing could very faintly detect an accented voice. "It seems I've made the transition, Sir, but I'm afraid I am no longer in connection with the tower."

"Huh… might need a little more juice, we'll work it out okay? Okay. You three, no more pointy things, you're making Bruce nervous. That's a bad idea."

"This is all a bad idea." The other man sighed, running a hand back through his hair. "Look, ah… guys. I'm sorry, this is… this is really not thought through as much as I wish it was. We can discuss this civilly, right? But just, lowering them a little would be great."

Angeal tilted his head a little, lowering the Buster Sword until the tip touched the floor. "Your eyes…"

"Hn." Sephiroth didn't lower Masamune, merely holding it off to the side a little. "I suggest the two of you talk quickly. You would be surprised how familiar I am with science."

"Less surprised than you think, actually." Still, Tony relaxed his own stance some. "Okay, here's the deal. I was told a possible future for you guys. And you all die, which is not okay. Well, okay, two of you get better, but one of you keeps dying and it's just nasty. So I'd like to fix that."

Sephiroth merely arched a brow. "Assuming we believed you-"

"We don't," Genesis interrupted.

"- proof is required. And there is also the fact that you broke in here." Sephiroth was unfazed by the interruption, green eyes fixed on Tony.

"Okay first I'm just gonna point out the hypocrisy there because you guys literally sneak in here." Tony shook his head. "Not what I expected, very cool to hear. Acting your age is nice. But okay, a little proof right now. That sorry little toothpick of a sword Angeal there was using - and really? Really, two swords? I get you're cheap, but that's like… it's a blade. It is made to use. Kinda dishonorable not to let it serve its purpose."

Genesis startled into a laugh, and there might have been a fleeting twitch to Sephiroth's lips at the sound Angeal made. But Tony wasn't done.

"- so that shard I shot off? It would have jammed into Genesis' shoulder and cut deep. And while he would have called it a scrape and walked off quoting Loveless - which is fantastic for drama very nice exit - the fact is that Hollander is an idiot and it would have caused major issues. Like, possibly kill you but definitely destroy your mind and wreck the next few years of your life issues." His eyes were more serious now, as were the three SOLDIERs. There was too much there to just shrug off. Whether he was right about the eventual result, the fact was that he knew things he shouldn't have.

"You're going to have to come with us."

Tony grinned. "Excellent!"