Here's a lullaby to close your eyes.

A/N: quite a long chapter this time.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Final Fantasy VII


There had been no noise from Genesis yet; odd since he was able to keep me up most of last night. Somehow he had managed to get the strength to yell at me every couple of hours. But then again as they say, there's no rest for the wicked.

Bringing him here definitely wasn't the best idea I'd come up with, but what else could I do? Leave him there so that another SOLDIER could come and drag him up before the President? He'd have been killed on sight.

I paused in my thoughts and looked towards the kitchen; I wasn't that hungry, but Genesis might be when he woke up. He's the only one who got a bit of decent sleep last night. What did you give to someone who had degradation anyway? Soup, maybe?

I searched through cupboards, shoving sauce packets and other ingredients aside. "This is your fault Angeal" I muttered darkly. "Just because you liked to experiment with cooking doesn't mean you could turn my kitchen into a larder!"

"Talking to yourself, Zack? That's the first sign of madness."

I whirled round, managing to knock my head on the cupboard door. "Oh ha ha, and how do you know that, Genesis?" If it were possible, he looked even worse today. His pale skin had turned a light shade of grey.

"I studied," he replied smoothly, and his lips curled into a smirk. "What are you doing now?"

I stuck my head back in the cupboard again and whooped with triumph as I found a can of chicken soup. I stood back up, managing not to hit my head this time. "Well, I wondered if you were hungry...and since I don't know anything about degradation..." my voice trailed off as I saw Genesis's face. He looked livid.

"So you decided to treat it like a common cold?" he hissed, stepping forward menacingly.

I backed away, holding up my hands. "No no, I just didn't know since I've never really been told how to deal with degradation. It's not like it's a common disease."

He stopped and threw me another furious glance before backing down. "No, it's not common," he leaned against the wall. "I think I'm the first one to contract it."

"...really?" I asked, trying to keep the civil conversation going. To be honest, I think it's one of the only times I've had a polite conversation with him.

He cast me a contemptuous glance but went on. "Yes. For the last couple of months I've been a lab rat, subjected to test after test to try and find both the cause and the cure."

I poured the soup into a bowl and put it in the microwave - that's the extent of my cooking. "Hollander did all that?"

"...and more," he closed his eyes and I watched him warily, wondering if he might collapse again. I was relieved when he opened his eyes again and rubbed his temples.

"Did you have to escape?" I asked tentatively.

"Obviously!" he spat, "that so called scientist has no regard for the feelings of his subject."

"And you thought Hojo would be any better? Seriously?"

Genesis sighed. "I'd hoped that he'd at least be gentler than Hollander."

I shook my head sadly. "You didn't see what he did to Seph recently. It was some kind of injection involving a lot of Mako and something else, and then I think he got him to fight against that summon Odin," I shrugged sadly. "He came out looking like he'd been in a train wreck."

The microwave pinged and I turned away, missing the chance to see Genesis's expression. When I turned back round again holding the soup, his face was carefully expressionless.

He took the soup without a word and gazed at it thoughtfully.

Not wanting to disturb his thoughts I went out the kitchen and into my bedroom. I'm not a huge fan of tidying things, unlike Angeal and Sephiroth. But, I liked to keep things neat if someone was staying over, and since that particular person was very disagreeable and unpredictable, I didn't want to get on his bad side. Changing the sheets seemed like a good idea, and besides, I'd noticed him shivering last night, so I decided to put a few extra blankets on the bed. When I switched on the light, I let out a yell of surprise and horror.

Genesis moved behind me and clamped his hand over my mouth.

"You see!" he hissed into my ear, "you see now! What I'm going through?"

I nodded soundlessly, still staring at the sheets in horror. "W-what is it?" I asked as soon as he released his hold on my mouth.

He tapped his cheek and smiled bitterly. "Degradation has side effects; my back always bleeds like that after I pull my wing back into my body."

"You could have said..." I whispered as my gaze trailed over the black stains covering the once spotless white sheets. Somehow I think I would have coped better if it was red; it was easier to make sense of. But black blood…I felt a sudden sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach.

"I'll just..." I rushed forward and grabbed the sheets before he could say anything and raced out the room, shoving them quickly into the washing machine. I sank to floor, closing my eyes tightly to stop the flow of uncontrollable, unnecessary tears.

What the hell was I crying about?

I wiped my eyes viciously and took a long, deep breath.

"Calm down, puppy."

I felt like snarling at him; trust him to kick me while I'm down. "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

"I figured, since you offered to help me, that you would understand the risks and nature of my condition." He knelt down in front of me and pushed me back against the wall. "This is no joke, Zack! This is life or death, and if you can't help me, then you're of no further use to me."

I wanted to push him away so I could punch him; I wanted to say that I could help him. I didn't know what I wanted.

Genesis interrupted my internal battle as his hand shook against my throat. I looked up to see the Mako enhanced eyes glow brighter than usual. With a shuddering gasp, he tore himself away from me and leaned forward. His wing shot out of his back and he started to tremble uncontrollably.

"Genesis!"

He turned around and snarled at me, his teeth bared, his pupils contracted into narrow slits. For the second time that day, I backed away and pressed myself into a corner, waiting for his fit to pass. I had no idea that degradation got this bad, though it reminded me of some reports I'd read about Mako poisoning. The sufferers sometimes had fits similar to this. I felt slightly disturbed by his suddenly feral reaction.

After ten minutes of watching him, I decided to do something. Standing up slowly, I reached over to the sink and quietly filled a glass with cold water. It was risky, but I was fully prepared to defend myself if he came after me. I crouched down near him and carefully threw the water in his face.

Genesis froze and all his strength left him. He slumped against the wall, gasping, and vomited violently. I felt my face twist with disgust but I went to his side anyway and rested my hand on his back. "Easy, easy..." I muttered as he gagged and moaned. "No more chicken soup for you," I said jokingly, but he only glared at me.

"This is your fault!" he whispered, "if you hadn't annoyed me, I wouldn't have-" he broke off as he started to retch again.

I slipped my arm around his chest, the only place I could really reach and tugged gently. "Bed," I said quietly and smiled, suddenly remembering the time when I was ill and Angeal said actually the same thing to me.

He relaxed, leaving me to pull him up with no help at all. Not that I think he could have helped if he wanted to. I pulled his arm over my shoulder and half-carried him back into my room. "You'll be okay for a while, won't you?" I asked as I laid him down on the now sheet-less bed.

He shook his head. "No...after I have a fit, it gets worse for a while."

"Dear Gaia," I ran my hand through my hair despairingly. "What can I do?"

"Just stay here." Genesis gritted his teeth and I quickly went out of the room, bringing a bin back in with me. I put it next to him and stepped back.

"Let loose."

He shivered and leaned over it, waiting, and when nothing happened he rolled onto his side and moaned.

I pulled some extra sheets some the cupboard and pulled them over him. "Get some sleep, okay? I'll ask Seph about Mako poisoning later."

"Don't go."

I frowned at him, confused by the sudden change of tone in his voice "I kinda have to, I have a meeting with Lazard."

Genesis's hand shot up and grabbed my collar, forcing me down to his eye level. "You will stay off work. I don't care what excuse you use."

"Genesis, you seem to be stable, I mean...you're not dying yet are you?"

"You're staying." His hand fell back down to his side. "No buts."

I swallowed nervously. "I'll see what I can do," I said quietly, and closed the door behind me.


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Thanks for reading

Meganoodledoodle

Beta note; It's Lioneh again! BWAHH! Gen...I feel so sorry for you. D': Don't forget to leave a review!