The Apple and Core: Chapter 7

Fathers and Sons

The paintings on the walls of Shin-Ra Headquarters seemed like blurs as he walked down the hall in his bare feet. He was in a hurry to nowhere, escaping the inescapable. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew that he couldn't go back to sleep. The nightmares had been horrible. He had been screaming in his sleeping, tossing, turning, and throwing his covers off the bed until the other bunkmates had insisted that Genesis woke him up. Genesis was not, by any means, happy about the situation. They all had a conference with the press the next morning. Genesis had thrown his pillow angrily at his chest, and it was at that point, that he knew that anywhere was better than there.

He kept walking at an accelerated pace, not noticing the rising of his chest getting quicker and quicker. Images of Carol, his father, and the other massacred people at the theater flooded his mind like a movie on a continuous circuit. His eyes began to burn. He wasn't sure if it was from tears, the tiredness, or both. He just knew he had to keep walking.

…and little did he realize that he walked right into Sephiroth.

"—oof!" Angeal stumbled back a few steps, finally snapping out of his self-imposed hell. Sephiroth, much to Angeal's surprise, didn't fall back an inch.

"Are you all right?" Sephiroth looked down at him, more than a little concerned.

"I'm fine…" Angeal muttered. "I just couldn't sleep." He muttered quietly, looking down. Moments of agonizing, awkward silence followed as he continued to stare down at Sephiroth's boots. He felt Sephiroth's scrutinizing gaze fall upon him, but was afraid that his own face betrayed every emotion he wished to hide. He felt his face become hot.

"…Angeal?" Sephiroth cocked his head to the side. Angeal slowly lifted his eyes to meet the other teenager's. He was shocked to find barely hidden pain etched on the other teenager's face as well. A certain understanding began to pass between the two SOLDIERS, a commonality that seemed to speak that they understood each other's pain.

Angeal smiled weakly at Sephiroth. "Would you like to have some tea or coffee in the lounge?" Sephiroth raised a silver brow. Angeal wasn't sure if being invited to some sort of social gathering was a foreign idea to him, or if he just wanted to mull over what was bothering him by himself. "You don't have to if you don't want to." Angeal trailed off. "I just figured that since we were awake, we wouldn't have to stare at the ceiling. "

Angeal watched as his expression turned thoughtful before he slowly nodded. "I do not think I will be returning to sleep for quite some time." He looked at Angeal rather suspiciously, but then shrugged in a guarded stance. Apparently, the great Sephiroth was awkward when it came to social situations, Angeal smiled to himself, although he still did not know what was eating the other man. "I have… a lot on my mind as of late."

Angeal nodded appreciatively, knowing exactly how the other teen felt. "I know what you mean. Maybe we can talk about it once we get to the lounge."

xxx

"HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Lazzard pounded his fists against the conference room table. He glared at the two scientists at on his left with heavy suspicion, and then tore his eyes away from them as each maintained a completely neutral expression. Veld continued to calmly sip his coffee as he stood in the back of the room, and Lazzard took a deep, cleansing breath, wondering how every once in the room could be so calm about this. His eyes fell back on the two scientists. "Neither of the boys could have afforded tickets to that show." He said with barely restrained contempt.

"Perhaps the boys were the recipients of the generosity of Genesis' parents…" Professor Hojo took off his glasses and began to wipe them on his lab coat. "They are, after all," he paused to hold his glasses to the light, "half owners of that backwater little town." Hojo set his glasses back on his face with a satisfied smirk. Oh, how Lazzard wanted to punch that smirk right off his face.

Hollander quickly turned his head and watched Veld's expression carefully. He had to admit, Hojo did have a certain gift for twisting things, and he was grateful to have him on his side this time around. After all, no one really had to know about the bet between the two scientists to see whose creations would out preform the others.

"If they had received anything from Genesis' parents, we would have known about it." The leader of the Turks raised his mug to his lips again. Hojo momentarily faltered, giving Hollander one moment of glorified satisfaction.

"Well, perhaps you missed something." Hojo smugly leaned his elbows on the table, watching as Veld slowly lowered the cup from his mouth. "After all, I hear you are having trouble with your own second command." Hojo's voice crooned sweetly. "If you can't handle one young man, how can you expect to handle tw—"

"Enough." Lazzard cut him off midsentence, his temper about to boil over as he reached for the coffee pot. "Tseng is none of your concern, Professor. I assure you Veld has him completely under control." Lazzard shot the scientists such an ugly look that Hollander slouched slightly in chair. He took that as a clear admission of guilt.

Veld sat his cup on the wooden coffee and leaned against the wall casually. "Actually, I will be happy to answer that question, if I may, Lazzard." He crossed his arms across his chest, but kept a neutral expression as Lazzard nodded. He had to admit. He was a bit curious himself on how Veld managed to handle this. "You will be happy to know, Professor, "Veld paused, "that Tseng was not even on the continent at the time. Tseng was at Banora getting information from a spy we have within the Rhapsodos home."

"And you can prove he actually went there how?" Hojo sneered. Hollander knew that Professor Hojo was now on the losing side of this battle, but his pride wouldn't allow him to drop the subject.

The corners of Veld's mouth pulled up into a tight smirk. "Because the woman is now deceased by a gunshot wound to the chest." There a small hint of a threat in Veld's voice and Hojo quickly averted his attention to something interesting in his notes. Lazzard pretended to cough so the argumentative scientist wouldn't see him smirk. "However," Veld looked up at Lazzard seriously. "I have spoken with him. I think his outburst was caused, more or less, by his initial shock at our plan, having had no prior knowledge of it. You can imagine his shock, of course, considering it is his home country." Veld paused to reach for his cigarettes in his pockets. "However, he has assured me that there will be no further disruptions."

Lazzard nodded. "Good." He glanced back over at Hojo who was muttering something ugly in Watuian under his breath about Veld. "Well," he paused, actually now taking the time to pour himself a cup of coffee, "now that that is settled. Even though there were a lot of….surprises involved in Operation Theatrics, the Operation is to be considered a success."

"Has Wutai made any response to the attack?" Veld asked quietly.

"None, yet, anyway." Lazzard brought the cup to his lips. "However, his Imperial Highness has always been slow to respond to any of our demands. I imagine he is looking at what little options he has."

Veld nodded thoughtfully. "And will there be any restitution to the poor soldier who lost his head to Sephiroth?"

"He was in an awful mood, wasn't he?" Hojo finally looked up from his paperwork, a small frown on his lips. "I shall have to put this in my notes on him…"

"What? That you failed and made him a sentimental fool?" Hollander smirked, causing Hojo to shoot him a very dangerous look.

"He must have gotten that from his mother." Hojo snapped before he went right back to his notes.

Lazzard sighed as he took another sip of his coffee. "His widow will be given the customary restitution."

"And the body?" Veld asked, raising a brow.

"She won't be given one, Veld." Lazzard said sharply as he sat his cup down, noticing that Veld had made a small face behind the mass of his coffee cup. He supposed he couldn't make everyone happy.

"Genesis and Angeal did extremely well, don't you think, Director?" Hollander straightened in his chair.

"They did extremely well considering their lack of training." Lazzard nodded, putting a hand to his chin. "They showed excellent decision making, bravery, and swordsmanship, a lot better than even some of our seasoned veterans. Sephiroth did very good as well." He nodded to Hojo. "He plays the role of hero very well."

"Of course he does." Hojo quipped. "He is my son." Lazzard thought he heard Veld laugh into his coffee cup, but thankfully, Hojo ignored him. "He will be the new heroic face of Shin-Ra." His voice swelled with pride.

"It's a miracle you could even HAVE a son at your age." Hollander muttered.

"I assure you…my manhood is quite a fine specimen." Hojo's eyes sparkled behind his glasses.

"I really didn't need to know that." Veld muttered, causing Hollander to smirk back at Hojo. "But more seriously, I know that Angeal and Genesis aren't perfect, but why not have three heroes for Shin-Ra?" Hollander sat up straighter in his chair. "They seem to have the right stuff…"

"Because true heroes are designed well, and won't fall apart in battle." Hojo spat, causing Hollander to spin in his chair and glare at Hojo. "Anyone can be stupid enough to charge into battle and swing sword. A true hero comes from planning and good stock."

"While I agree that how the public sees someone affects their fame, I think it is a great waste to just have Angeal and Genesis sitting around here like lumps, waiting to die." Veld looked across the table at Lazzard. "Every warrior should have the right to some dignity." Veld searched Lazzard's eyes. "What is a warrior without his own war?" Veld was afraid that he had said too much after Lazzard was quiet for several moments. Hollander had also turned to ignore Hojo's bickering to sit on the edge of his seat and wait on their director's decision.

Lazzard finally looked up at all three men, but his eyes finally settled on Veld. "All right." He nodded. "After they go through their basic training, we'll put them in the same training regimen as Sephiroth."


Their footsteps echoed down the empty hallway as they finally reached the Atrium. Angeal hadn't spoken much to Sephiroth, nor had Sephiroth spoken to him on their small trip to the break room to get coffee, but Angeal found that he didn't mind. He found it comforting to just be near someone, the silence speaking volumes of its own. The other teen seemed distracted, and Angeal wondered if he would speak what was on his mind. They hadn't known each other for very long, but...

Angeal looked up as they entered the Atrium proper. There were many large green-leafed plants that had been potted all around the room, with large windows in the back portion of the room to allow proper lighting. The next floor above had been opened up, as well, allowing the room to seem more airy and have a cat walk above, for privacy. He followed Sephiroth to a table by the huge glass windows that looked over Midgar sparkling skyline. He found himself lost in it, looking over every detail until Sephiroth's deep voice brought him out of it.

"Was this your first battle?" Sephiroth took a small sip out of coffee cup. Angeal tried to conceal his expression of surprise, but Sephiroth merely chuckled behind his cup with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Angeal snorted and looked down into his cup with a bit of embarrassment. "Yes…" He said quietly. "I just had dreams of bullets flying, pools of blood on the floor, people dying…"

Sephiroth leaned back in his chair and looked out toward Midgar. Angeal noticed that he didn't seem amused any more. "It is nothing to be embarrassed about, Angeal." He said quietly as he sat his cup down on the table. "Most soldiers have some sort of reaction after their first battle. People…deal with it in different ways." He said thoughtfully.

"Genesis seems to be dealing with it just fine…" Angeal muttered anxiously, hoping the more experienced young man wouldn't think less of him for admitting his weakness.

Sephiroth turned back around and studied Angeal for several quiet moments. Angeal looked at him questioningly until a ghost of a smile appeared on Sephiroth's lips. "The fact that it is bothering you is not a sign of weakness, Angeal." Sephiroth looked him in the eye, and Angeal swore he saw a small bit of moisture in his eyes. "A very," Sephiroth hesitated, "wise man… once told me that there are two sorts of people in battle: There are those who fear more for themselves than they do for others, and there are those who fear more for others than they do for themselves." Angeal smiled, instantly recognizing which of the two he was as Sephiroth continued to talk. "I would much rather fight…beside someone who cares those around him, than fight beside someone of whom battle has no effect. " Sephiroth leaned on the table by his elbows. "Do you understand what I mean, Angeal?"

Angeal nodded silently, taking Sephiroth's words to heart. He began to also wonder what it meant for Genesis. He quickly pushed those thoughts from his mind as Sephiroth began to speak again. "He said that if you care about what goes on around you, you will hurt, and you will hurt many times over. However, if you do not, you will have never truly lived."

Angeal just shook his head. "I never imagined that it would hurt so much, Sephiroth…to hurt another person to take someone else's life…even if it was in battle." Angeal shook his head miserably. "I'm not sure I am cut out for this."

Sephiroth merely shook his head and picked up the cup in his hands. "I think…you are thinking about this the wrong way." Angeal raised an eyebrow as Sephiroth continued. "Do not think of it as stopping the life of one enemy, but protecting the lives of several more innocent people. When I pick up my sword, I think about what there is to protect in this world. I think you can agree that protecting someone is much more "honorable" than destroying them?" Sephiroth gave Angeal a little teasing smirk, catching him off guard in an otherwise very serious conversation.

Angeal grinned despite himself and shook his head. "Did this "wise man" tell you all that, too?"

Sephiroth's expression suddenly fell dramatically. He quickly turned toward the window, trying to hide his face from the teen across from him as all of the muscles in his body went rigid. "Sephiroth?" Angeal asked quietly as he leaned in closer.

Sephiroth was quiet for several long moments. Angeal could tell by Sephiroth's reflection in the dark glass that he was fighting some sort of strong emotion internally. Angeal hesitated, not knowing whether he should pry or let him have his space. Just as Angeal had decided to leave Sephiroth alone, he heard the teen's voice solemnly whisper, "That "wise man" died yesterday."

Angeal almost reached over to touch the other young man on the shoulder, but shrank back as he watched as Sephiroth seemed to fold in on himself, his muscles tensing. Sephiroth turned toward the window again and stared out the skyline for several long moments. Angeal wondered if the he had done so just so Angeal wouldn't see him cry. Angeal searched his mind for something, anything, to say, but all he could come up with was, "I'm sorry, Sephiroth." He managed to muster weakly. It seemed so utterly inadequate.

Sephiroth continued to stare out of the glass, aching silence reverberated throughout the room as Sephiroth dealt with his loss, and Angeal was reminded of the loss of his own father. Thinking that Sephiroth just needed time to sort through his thoughts, he arose from his chair and grabbed his paper cup off the table. He took one last glance behind him before he began to walk toward the door.

"Angeal," Sephiroth paused. "wait." Angeal turned in surprise, nearly spilling what was left of his cold coffee all over his shirt. Sephiroth was looking at him from across the room, his red rimmed eyes searching Angeal's. "I'd like some company, if you don't mind." He said quietly.

Angeal gave him a slow, sad smile as he crossed the room again. He sat slowly across from him, sitting his elbows on the table, intent on listening to anything the silver-haired teen had to say. "I'll be here to talk if you want to." He said quietly, shaking his head. "But I'll be here if you don't, too."

"Professor Gast, "Sephiroth paused, inhaling deeply, "was a like a father to me…" Sephiroth trailed off, suddenly looking down into his cup as if the cold liquid was suddenly interesting. "My real father," Sephiroth snorted with contempt, "was not much of a man at all. It was Professor Gast that taught me to be a man of honor."

Angeal leaned back in his chair, slowly digesting that information. He thought about his own father, and how his father had taught him to be a man. Memories flooded his mind, and he did his best to push them out to focus on Sephiroth. "How did he die?" Angeal asked quietly.

Sephiroth's hand quickly clinched the paper cup, causing coffee to gush out of the top at an alarming rate. Angeal grabbed a nearby napkin, but stopped when he saw how badly Sephiroth's hands were shaking. "I don't know…" He whispered, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "I don't know how he died!" Sephiroth repeated, his voice getting louder. Sephiroth suddenly leapt from his chair and threw the paper cup across the room.

Angeal quickly leapt from his side, and was at his side in moments. Angeal watched Sephiroth's chest rise and fall at an alarming rate, his eyes narrowed in barely concealed rage. Angeal stood beside Sephiroth, remembering his own rage at his father's death. He remembered the feelings of betrayal, but most of all, the aching, never ending hole underneath it all.

Sephiroth lifted a gloved hand to his head, and Angeal softly placed a hand upon his shoulder. "I'm sorry." Sephiroth whispered after several moments of silence.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything." Angeal said calmly. "I felt the same way when my father died."

Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder at Angeal, searching his eyes again, trying to scrutinize if the other young man truly understood. Seeing the pain in Sephiroth's eyes brought fresh emotions to Angeal's own, and Angeal swore he was not going to cry.

"He left mysteriously about a year ago." Sephiroth began, heaving a heavy sigh and reigning in his emotions. "He left in the night with one of Professor Hojo's most valuable experiments. When I awoke the next morning, I found a letter addressed to me on my dresser from him." Sephiroth paused.

"What did it say?" Angeal asked gently.

Sephiroth closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "It said that he was sorry and that he had to leave. He said that there were things in the past that he needed to make amends for, and that he hoped I understood. "Sephiroth looked toward the ceiling, as if beseeching it for answers. "The last thing he said was that his only regret in leaving Shin-Ra was that he could not take me with him, and that he hoped we would see each other again someday." He tore his eyes from the ceiling and met Angeal's. "That was the last news I had heard from him…until today."

Angeal took a deep breath of his own, taking each of Sephiroth's words to heart. He had known what taken his father's life. Angeal knew where his father lay. And most importantly, he came to understand that his father did not abandon him but that death comes for everyone. Angeal closed his eyes as he realized that Sephiroth knew none of those things.

Angeal was about to ask Sephiroth about his mother, when he heard the sound of crinkling paper from above. Sephiroth had apparently heard it too as he turned to the source of the sound. A small sheet of paper floated back and forth across the air currents in the lounge until it finally came to a rest at Sephiroth's feet. He leaned down to pick it up and was quiet for several long moments.

"What is it?" Angeal asked hesitantly.

Sephiroth looked up at him, his expression completely puzzled. "It says, 'Meet me at the Lonely Hearts bar in Sector 6 tomorrow at midnight if you wish to know more about Professor Gast's demise. Bring your friend, if you must, but bring no one else.'"

Angeal began to immediately scan the catwalk above. Neither of them had heard any sort of footsteps. He finally looked back down at Sephiroth. "What are you going to do?"

Sephiroth crushed the note in his hand. "I have to find out what happened to him, or I'll wonder for the rest of my life."