Genesis was annoyed. One of the few times he swallows his pride long enough to ask for some help and what does he get for it? A (admittedly attractive) young woman who very obviously had no experience with combat. Her eyes were boring into his back as he led her towards the ruins in silence. At least she wasn't complaining about the climb. Now if only the Foundation had thought to give him some information on the woman... On top of that Genesis had no idea why the Lifestream had spat him out this time and usually he did. It was making him cranky.

They arrived at the 'ruins' and he gave her a moment to absorb it all. In a small valley what looked like a futuristic, metal city rose up from amid an emerald sea of trees. At the far end were numerous waterfalls tumbling down in a distant, muted roar. At the base of the waterfalls, Genesis knew, was a lake that fed rivers and streams throughout the valley that tumbled into yet more waterfalls or pools.

"The valley is deeper – and larger – than it looks." He warned her and started heading down.

She hurried to follow.


It was an hour later when she realized just how right he was. Most of the trees that could be seen from above were actually on over-lapping and inter-connected terraces, each one being supported by sturdy latticework. The architecture of it all reminded her of what she had seen within Pandemonium... In fact, she realized with a sudden jolt, it was identical. Satella was beginning to wonder if these 'monsters' were, in fact, Demons. To confirm or disprove her theory she asked him what the monster's looked like. His answer all-but confirmed her suspicion.

"Upright, white starfish with teeth in the upper arm. Sometimes they have other features as well, but it's hard to tell."

Wonderful. They sounded just like the Demons that Pandemonium had turned into her 'antibodies' when the Sinners had made their attack. How did they end up in this valley? Had they been present from the start and simply changed with the others when Pandemonium rose out of the ocean? Satella supposed that she she'd get her answers soon enough. In the meantime, she had another question.

"If this place is guarded by monster shouldn't we be proceeding with more caution?"

"They don't like sunlight, so we're fine for now."

Well, he certainly didn't lack for confidence.

"Don't worry," He added over his shoulder and – just for a moment – she thought that he was going to be nice, then he said condescendingly, almost movkingly, "You'll get your chance to see your 'monsters'."

She wanted to hit him.


A/N: Sorry to all of the Final Fantasy: Crisis Core fans out there. I know that Genesis is out of character, but it has been thousands of years... So I have some leeway, right?