Thought it was about time I got one of these so... Yep.
Cross posted on my Tumblr and AO3 accounts (got one of those too!) Both under the same name.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the games associated with that series.
It was a quiet evening that day, the threesome were waiting for their youngest lovers to come home and for dinner to be ready. They were in Sephiroth's apartment. Genesis lounging in Sephiroth's favorite armchair, his red hair was glinting in the rooms light and LOVELESS in his gloved hands; as was the norm.
The brunette Angeal was stationed in the kitchen. A smile across his lips as he noticed Sephiroth standing in the doorway, cat-like eyes following Angeal's every movement.
"Would you like to help?" The burly man asked after a while. A low chuckle rumbled from his chest when Sephiroth nodded almost eagerly. "Tie your hair back then."
As Sephiroth and Angeal cooked in the kitchen, out in the living room Genesis jerked in surprise as the front door flew open and banged against the wall. Looking up from LOVELESS, Genesis scowled at the dark-haired teen in the doorway. "Handle the door with care, Zackary," he scolded. "It may be reinforced, but it can and will break," he warned.
"How do you know that?" Zack asked playfully, making sure to carefully shut the door behind him and a grin spread across his face. Kicking off his boots he practically bounced from the entryway and over to the large couch. Amethyst colored eyes never looked away from Genesis as he did this, ages of practice and failures left him with the knowledge of where the couch was exactly and how many bounced it would take to get to it from the entryway.
A grin slowly crossed Genesis' face as he closed LOVELESS with a quiet snap. "Sephiroth once decided to throw something close to a temper tantrum and slammed that very door shut with enough force that it flew off the hinges. It nearly bent in half too, if I remember correctly."
"Seriously? Seph did?" Zack asked in disbelief, eyes wide as he plopped down onto the end of the couch nearest to the armchair.
Genesis nodded sagely. "Seriously. He was in his teenage years," he added. "It was a pretty big tantrum. That door wasn't the only thing injured during it." Genesis chuckled. "President Shinra wasn't very pleased when half of his forces were put in the infirmary for a few weeks."
"I thought we promised never to speak of that incident again, Genesis," Sephiroth stated from the doorway between the kitchen and front room. His calf-length hair was pulled back into a high pony-tail as Angeal had requested. Sephiroth was leaning against the doorframe, a silver brow raised as he looked at the redhead.
"You and Angeal promised, dearest. I, on the other hand, never did," Genesis reminded him with a smirk and Sephiroth frowned.
Sensing an oncoming argument, Zack quickly interjected. "Sephy's temper tantrums aside, I need help working out a few issues I'm having with my new Materia. Will you help, Genesis?" he asked, turning his 'puppy-dog eyes' on Genesis while Sephiroth vanished back into the kitchen.
Although Genesis and Sephiroth were the only ones out of the fivesome to be able to resist Zack's 'puppy-dog eyes', Genesis caved. It wasn't like he was about to deny help when it came to his lovers, or Materia. The Commander knew the dangers that came with malfunctioning Materia, and with those who didn't know how to use the magic properly. It never ended prettily.
"What are you having issues with, darling?" he asked. Sitting up properly he sat LOVELESS aside onto one of the side tables before leaning forward and towards his dark-haired lover.
Zack scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm having issues with Stop and Warp."
"Show them to me," Genesis partly-requested, partly-demanded. Pulling the Materia from his pocket, Zack handed them over. The redhead appraised them before handing the marble-sized objects back to the other man. "They seem to be in fine shape. Perhaps it's how you're trying to use them?"
"I dunno, maybe?" Zack shrugged, holding the marbles in his hand he frowned as he glanced down at them. "Uh, Genesis? Are they supposed to be doing this?"
Genesis, who had picked up and had reopened LOVELESS, looked up from the book and paled. The Materia were glowing, as they usually should. But instead of letting their power out, the power was thrashing about inside, causing cracks to form on the outside of the Materia.
"Zack, drop them!" It was the redhead's yell that drew Angeal and Sephiroth from the kitchen as Zack dropped the Materia.
"What's going on?" the General asked, his brows knitting together as Genesis whirled around to face the two. Grabbing the back of Zack's shirt, the redhead hauled them towards the kitchen doorway.
"Out! Get out of the ro-" but before Genesis could finish his warning, the Materia on the floor shattered. Lightning-like sparks shot out and a bright light engulfed the four of them.
"Uggghh…" Zack moaned, blinking blearily as he sat up from where he had been thrown onto his back. "What the hell happened?" he wondered aloud, shaking his head.
Amethyst colored eyes gazed around and the Second Class SOLDIER froze. He wasn't inside Sephiroth's apartment anymore, that much was obvious. He was outside, but it wasn't anywhere he knew, at least he didn't think he knew it. Zack didn't see any of his lovers either. It seemed like he was inside some sort of run down or abandoned city, like those he had seen back in Wutai, just more modern. It reminded him of the Slums, but he couldn't be in the Slums. Looking up, he could clearly see the blue sky above.
The Slums didn't have a sky anymore, with the Plates above them and those living under hadn't seen the sky for a long time. Shaking his head again, Zack started towards the center of the ruins. Knowing the others, he knew that that was where they would head first. "Angeal! Genesis! Sephiroth!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth in an attempt to amplify his voice.
"Zack!" Was the shout he got as an answer fifteen minutes later from just a few streets away, it seemed. It was Angeal's voice.
Turning towards where he heard the shout come from, Zack bolted town the empty streets. If there were any passersby, he would've looked like a dark blur shooting by. Running around a corner, his movement was forced to a stop as he ran into Angeal. Literally.
"Thank the Goddess." Genesis sighed from behind Angeal, who embraced Zack. Pushing Angeal aside after a moment, the redhead wrapped his own arms around the younger man and hugged him in relief. "We just have Sephiroth to find now."
"You haven't found him yet?" Zack asked as he pulled away from Genesis.
The Commander shook his head, a frown on his lips. As Zack opened his mouth to ask another question, gunshots rang out from nearby, followed by the familiar sound of bullets being deflected off of metal. More specifically, it was the metal that made Masamune's famous blade.
Blood drained from their faces for moments and the three SOLDIERS ran towards the sound. As they exited an alleyway, they found themselves inside what seemed to be a square. A flash of silver caught their attention and Genesis cast a Wall around the three when a bullet barely missed Angeal's cheek.
"Seph!" Zack called worriedly to where the silver-haired man was surrounded by some sort of officers. From where they were, the three could make out the large initials on their outfits the back of the uniforms, WRO.
WRO? Genesis and Angeal exchanged confused looks while Zack rushed past the two and over to where Sephiroth stood, Masamune in hand. Though the General made to movement to attack the officers, merely defending himself from the bullets.
At least one of them had a weapon. Buster, Rapier and Zack's sword had been left at Sephiroth's apartment. Angeal and Zack both had training in Hand-To-Hand combat and with their enhanced speed that made them very lethal. Genesis of course, had his Materia.
But still, having a blade would've been nice.
"What's going on?" Zack demanded, placing himself in front of his silver-haired lover, Genesis and Angeal flanking Sephiroth.
One of the officers sneered, pointing the barrel of his gun at Sephiroth, "You with 'im?" He jerked his head towards the man, dark brown hair getting in his eyes.
"Yes."
"SOLDIERs." The man growled, taking notice of their glowing eyes. "Loyal dogs to the end, the lot of ya."
"Lionel." A voice nearby snapped and a man approached them, also wearing a WRO uniform. This one, unlike his colleagues, wore a helmet that covered the upper half of his head. From the end of his nose and below was visible. "Back off." Turning his head slightly, he addressed the rest of them. "All of you."
Slowly, the other officers lowered their guns and the man – who was obviously in charge – turned towards the 'Puppy'. "Zack?" the man asked slowly, ignoring his coworker's scowl and the others' confusion. "Zack, is that you?"
"Kunsel?" Zack recognized his best friend's voice and a grin spread across his face instantly. "Great to see you, buddy! Can you tell us what happened? One minute we're in Seph's apartment and the next we're in the middle of these ruins?" he quizzed, looking around in confusion.
"Zack, what year is it?" Kunsel asked, almost hesitantly.
"It's 2000, you should know that." Zack answered his grin fading. "Why? And what's with that outfit?"
"Look around you, all of you look around. Tell me, what do you see?" The WRO officer ignored Zack's second question. "Really look around you."
Brows furrowed in confusion as the four SOLDIERs looked around. Almost instantly Genesis' expression turned grim while it took a few moments for Angeal and Sephiroth to realize where they were. Zack, stayed confused.
"What happened to Midgar?" Genesis breathed. Jaw dropping in surprise, Zack turned to face him so quickly that most people would've gotten whiplash.
"What do you mean 'What happened to Midgar?'" Zack demanded while looks of realization dawned on Angeal and Sephiroth's face as they too looked around. "We're obviously not in Midgar, Gen! We're in some ruins someplace… Wonder if that Materia I had was Teleport or something…" He mused.
"You're in the ruins of Midgar," one of the other WRO officers final spoke. "This town is Edge."
Spluttering in shock, Zack wheeled around to face his other two lovers, hoping they'd speak sense. Both had grim expressions. "It's true, Zack." Angeal stated. "Look around. We're in LOVELESS Avenue, or rather what used to be LOVELESS Avenue, if I'm not mistaken."
"You're not, Lieutenant Hewley," Kunsel agreed before shaking his head. "As much as I'd like to tell you, it's not my place to tell you what happened. If you come with me, I can take you to our boss and he'd be able to tell you. He or one of his friends will. Probably one of his friends," he added.
Turning to his coworkers, Kunsel's expression hardened. "Back to your assigned areas, all of you! I'll escort these four to the President."
"Yessir." The officers saluted to Kunsel before leaving. The last one to leave was Lionel, who scowled darkly at the SOLDIERs before storming away.
"Sorry about him, he doesn't like SOLDIERs much," Kunsel apologized, turning to face the four. He jerked his head towards a street nearby. The one that, Genesis noticed, should headed towards the Shin-Ra building, if he was correct. "C'mon, WRO Headquarters isn't far."
Reeve Tuesti stared across his desk and at the four men who were supposed to be dead. Well, rather they were dead in this timeline, but not yet in theirs, if what they were telling him was correct.
"Let me get this straight." The WRO President frowned. "Li-erm, Second Class, Zack Fair was messing around with a couple of Materia and the next thing you knew you were wandering the streets of Edge?" He caught himself from calling Zack, Lieutenant.
"Yes," Genesis answered, ignoring Zack's protest that he hadn't been messing around, but that the Materia had done it on their own. He was lounging comfortably in one of the leather chairs that was placed in front of Reeve's desk. To most it seemed like lounging, but Reeve knew better. Having spent time with Vincent and Cloud, he knew that the Crimson Commander – despite his relaxed appearance – was on high alert.
The others were as well. The brunette SOLDIER was sitting in the matching chair, next to Genesis'. Unlike his lover though, Angeal wasn't lounging. Instead he was sitting up straight, arms crossed in front of his chest and dark brows were furrowed thoughtfully and in worry.
Zack was standing a bit away from the table. He was rotating between fast-paced squats, which Reeve vaguely recalled that the dark-haired teen had been famous for, and pacing around Reeve's office. Reeve could see from where he was sitting in his own comfortable leather chair that Zack was chewing his lip nervously.
The only one who truly seemed calm was Sephiroth, who was leaning against the cool glass pane of the window, his head tilted just slightly to press his cheek against the glass. Sharp, emerald colored eyes were looking out the window and down at the city below. Like Angeal, his arms were crossed against his chest but unlike his lover; his face was neutral of any emotion. Reeve couldn't get a proper read on him.
And that worried the older man.
It had been an hour ago when he had gotten a text from his Second-In-Command. Apparently the man had been patrolling in the Slums when he had heard gunshots from one of his platoon and went to investigate. What he had found was several of his platoon members shooting at Sephiroth.
Then Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley and Zack Fair had shown up. According to Kunsel, they thought that the year was 2000. The ex-SOLDIER had sort-of corrected them and had led them to Reeve's office.
The four then had explained the events of their evening and how they had woken in Edge this morning.
"Well," Reeve began, "it seems like whatever Materia Zack was using has sent you to this time." He ignored the snort and look from Genesis that practically said 'Well, duh.'
"Until we can get this problem sorted out and you back to the correct timeline, I've asked a friend of mine to help you settle into living here in the WRO. I'm certain he will tell you what has happened to cause Shin-Ra's downfall and the end of Midgar." After their explanation, Reeve had quickly sent a text the person he knew would be best suited to taking care of these four.
"Why won't you tell us yourself? Kunsel was unwilling to tell us as well." Sephiroth spoke for the first time since entering the office. His cat-like eyes met Reeve's dark ones.
"If anyone is to tell you what has happened, it should be him," Reeve answered.
"Who is he?"
"I will not tell you that, but I can tell you that you know him." Reeve only hoped that having him work with Sephiroth and the others would be healing, rather than damaging. A quiet noise caught their attention and Reeve looked down at his PHS.
"Ah, he's on his way up."
It was a few minutes in silence before the door handle turned and all five of those inside of the office turned to face the newcomer as the door swung open. Who stepped inside surely had to be the child of the Goddess, each time-traveler thought. With sun-kissed hair that shone gold in the light and spiked up into a Chocobo-like crest. He had a lithe form and skin as pale as snow. Sapphire colored eyes that were big and seemingly innocent looking. His sleeveless sweater showed muscled arms that were adorned with bare-visible scars.
Zack's low whistle caught the man's attention and Cloud Strife froze in shock at seeing not one, not two, not even three, but all four of his dead lovers sitting in Reeve's office. "Damn, Chocobo! You got hot!"
"You have filled in nicely, very nicely indeed," Genesis agreed with his younger lover, aquamarine eyes raking over Cloud's form, taking in every detail. Angeal nodded in agreement before he looked curiously at what he could see of the large swords in the harness that was strung on Cloud's back. He noticed that a few looked almost to be based off of his own Buster Sword. Maybe they were?
Sephiroth though, looked at the older version of their blonde lover in confusion. He alone held Cloud's full attention, and while that would've made him smile any other day, today was different. Sapphire eyes weren't looking at him in love and affection, as they had done earlier in their time.
No. These eyes, tinted with the ring of green Mako around the pupils, were staring at him in what could only be one emotion. One that Sephiroth was accustomed to seeing on nearly everyone, from those in Wutai to President Shin-Ra himself. He was used to seeing it on everyone but his 'father' and lovers' faces.
Terror.