QE:This might be the first time its been updated on time. *dies in shock*
Evestar:Although this another chapter that someone feel horrible for writting.
QE:Like I said in the first chapter. Its a horrible mutilation of the time line.
E.S.P:Oh yeah. If anyone wants to write a story as to why Kunsel's mad at Reno you hav eour permission to do so.
QE:It'll make more sense further down.
Cyndaquil:We own naff all. Got it memorized.
None of them were happy. Why was it all three of the trinity and Zack was on this mission in the helicopter with Tseng of the Turks. It was like some badly scripted drama program.
Genesis was unusually quiet and he also didn't have LOVELESS out which was rare and worried both the dark haired males. He wasn't talking so it left Zack with only Angeal to talk to not that he really care but neither of them wanted to talk near or to the silver haired general. They positioned themselves to protect Genesis at all costs. It was cold but the fire user felt even colder and the tension between all of them was frigid. Zack had cleverly resorted to PHSing Kunsel for some form of human contact. They had already been briefed so that was out the way annoyingly. At least then there was noise other than the rotations of the blades above them.
Outside was white. Inside was grey. Both were boring.
Zack couldn't help himself it was just sooooooooooo boring. He started to hum I know a song that will get in your nerves.
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The pile of paper work was stacked high, not only in Cloud's arms but also Kunsel's.
"Hey Cloud." Kunsel mumbled from behind the pile of paper. "Do you have the keycard to get into Zack place still?"
Cloud made an affirmative noise.
"Cool."
They made a few stops around the building. This helped the pile to go down however on occasion it would go back up again. After Zack and Reno's clever plan with the mail trolley and the really long hallway resulted in the second being reduced to carrying all the stupid paperwork. Kunsel was thankful for having Cloud around. It beat having Luxiere who was creepy on so many levels. He kind of regretted blackmailing one of the Turks but it had been worth it. However he felt bad for what he was about to do next.
They stopped outside Zack's apartment, they had to drop off other paperwork to other rooms. "Here." Cloud said trying not to drop all the papers while pulling the piece of plastic out of his pocket.
"Thanks." Kunsel managed to pocket it and walked off. "Zack said you can't have it back until you reconcile with Gen."
"Basterd. Why?" Cloud called out running after him.
"Because they are stuck on a helicopter with Sephiroth and he had nothing better to do then mess with your life. I also know you still keep Genesis' apartment key on you." Kunsel explained knocking on the next door. He kind of had to deliver to Turks as well and he really didn't want to see Reno after the incident. The one that will never be spoke of.
"Hey Kunsel."
"Shut up Reno."
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Nothing. He sighed and looked at Genesis. He had the fluffy hood pulled up over his face and was only visible in the snow storm due to the fact his coat was red. The snow storm had gotten really bad in the last hour. He hoped Angeal and Sephiroth were having more luck. They really needed answers.
"Any luck Gen?" Zack yelled over the wind. They needed shelter and soon.
The hooded figure shook his head but pointed to a structure he could barely make out. They went over, sword ready. Thankfully the goddess was smiling on them and it was a small rust house but all the windows still existed in place.
"Let's go in." Zack grinned. It wasn't trespassing, no one lived there and Shinra was the highest authority. As he kept telling himself.
It was so nice to get out of the wind and the snow. Zack quickly took off his coat and shook the excess snow off. Without the wind it was just a bit nippy. However it was warm compared to the outside. Genesis had taken his coat off and hung it on the back of a chair while he started on the fire place. Bonus points for being with a fire user in cold weather.
"What happened between you and Cloud?" Zack asked suddenly.
"I lost my temper and he lost his." The pyro answered not looking up from the logs. "Look around for some wood. This is all sodden."
The house was searched through with a fine tooth comb. It upset Zack how these people just up and left. There were still kid's toys and clothes left abandoned. Thankfully someone took all the pictures. He really didn't want to look at someone's face while he went through their stuff looking for kindle.
The roaring fire was so nice against his frozen bones that had been forced into a cross legged position. He glanced at his PHS, still no signal. Gen wasn't having much luck either. He had moved the chair closer to the fire and was sitting on the floor leaning back with one leg out in front of him and the other under him.
"We will have to wait until the storm moves on." The fire user stated with distaste.
"Yeah." He would have found the dancing snowflakes outside pretty if he wasn't so worried about Angeal. He didn't trust the General one bit.
"Maybe if we told stories it wouldn't be so bad." Genesis offered. The fires light flickered around and made him look more like a storyteller of old not the complete nutter he was.
"No. I don't want to hear LOVELESS again." Came the really childish reply.
"Fine you tell one."
Zack racked his brain for a story. He had never been one for them he always used to jump around the room with a bed sheet tied around his neck like a cape. "Erm. Give a man a fire he's warm for a night. Set a man on fire he's warm for the rest of his life."
"I can set you on fire if you want." The offer hung in the air while he received weird looks off his restless partner.
"No."
The red head took his gloves off and rubbed his eyes. "There once was a princess. She was beautiful and her heart was so pure everyone who came close to her left so happy that they couldn't stop smiling for weeks. She wasn't very old and one day a passing noble decided to take her. No one thought that anyone could be so cruel and take the heart of the land. When she woke up she was on a strange island where she had no memory. She made friends with two boys who she loved deeply. One night a great darkness swept through the island destroying everything in sight. The Princess in attempt to save the boy she loved the most gave him her heart. This left her in a coma. The other boy fell into the darkness as its slave. The hero had no idea he had her heart and woke up in a strange land just as the princess had all those years ago but unlike her he remembered and set off to find his friends." Genesis stopped much to Zack's annoyance. "I really need to reread that story. I haven't read it since I was six."
"What was it called?" Zack asked slightly miffed.
"Kingdom hearts." The auburn haired male ignored the weird look off Zack. "There were a good few books last time I checked."
The dark haired male remembered his Mum trying to read it to him. That failed. He kind of regretted it now, it sounded so interesting when told Genesis it. "Those books are huge. Did your Mum or Dad read it to you?" He couldn't help but notice Genesis shiver slightly.
There was a distinctive no off Genesis. "They didn't care."
Determined to keep the mood light he changed the subject. "Hey for a brief moment I really thought you were a proper story teller. With the cloak and everything."
Genesis laughed. A proper laugh the sounded like a forgotten melody that the world shouldn't be without. Zack kind of wished it hadn't stopped. "Gaia, maybe I missed my calling."
It was so sudden that it caught Zack off guard but Genesis' eyes went unfocused and he went limp before spasms raked through his body and forced his spine to arch.
The second class jumped over to help him. His hand recoiled in pain. Genesis was so cold it was like touching an icicle. "Damn it Gen why didn't you say you were cold?" He knew Genesis couldn't respond. His top was soaked through. Genesis probably didn't realise how quickly he was losing his temperature.
Zack quickly stripped the top off ignoring the ewws that racked him the back of his brain. Contrary to popular belief he rather guys stayed clothed. Girls however were a different ball game. He worked up courage and checked the trousers. Yep they were soaked through as well. "I hate you. You do know that right. How did you get your top wet anyway? You were wearing a decent parka." Zack shook his head and started on Genesis boot. How he wished Cloud was here right now. He could have pulled rank and made him do it.
Something changed. Genesis started to scream out in a strangled way. Zack went to check he wasn't choking on his own spit when tremors ran through the body. Genesis wing had to choose now to release itself. After its arrival the fire user calmed down but tears were present. "I'm sorry Gen." Zack truly felt it as well. He checked the wing over. It was thankfully warmer than the rest of him. If he could coax it around later that would be really helpful. "You have all the worse luck." He worked himself up to remove the last of the wet clothes. He wasn't going to enjoy this one bit. How he wished a crazed fan was here to strip Gen.
He never expected the kick to the face when he touched the zipper. The wall thudded when he made contact with it. Looking back at his superior he was curled up into a tight ball crying to himself and mumbling 'please don't' and 'sorry'. Zack was finding this all ridiculous and cried out to Genesis. "Short of hell firagaing this whole place what do you expect me to do?" Gen's wing was pinned awkwardly underneath him. Zack got up and pulled out a stun. Gen was already weak anything else could kill him but if he could stun him, strip him and get him warm before cure him quick enough then he could be onto a winner here. "You have no choice in this Gen it's for your own good." He knew those words were going to have a negative effect but they were to help himself. Slotting the stun into the wrist band he quickly focused on Gen and let the energy go. He got to work as quickly as possible. He felt guilty because he knew Genesis was fighting against the magic.
He grabbed the blanket off the empty sofa and covered Genesis before flying around the house to get more clothes.
"Still hate you." Zack sighed. All their clothes were drying and he slipped under the covers. Thankfully neither of them were naked as the day they were born but it was still awkward as hell for Zack. "At least your wings warm."
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Waking up to the annoying ring was always the least favourite way of waking up for Zackary Fair. He nuzzled Aerith and ignored it. To hell with whatever Shinra wanted. Feeling like he wanted to be a complete pervert he squeezed her boob. Except it didn't feel right. There was too much muscle. Cracking his eye open he regretted it and desperately tried not to scream out. Yesterday came back to him and he grabbed the PHS. "Hey Tseng. Please say there is good news."
"No. Angeal went missing last night. Sephiroth is currently looking for him." The indifferent voice stated.
"Yeah well Genesis was suffering from hypothermia last night." Zack sighed, he wasn't entirely sure that was what it was but he had no better explanation. "I'll try and drag his ass there but I'll doubt it would do any good." 'Why would Angeal run off?' Rang through Zack's head. He was sure Angeal was a lot better about his wing then he was when it first appeared. He was even sitting watching films with it out before they left.
There was intense silence between them.
"Attempt to make it back to camp before nightfall." Tseng stated. "If you can't. Message me. I have your location already."
"Thanks." Was all Zack could say. He ended the call and dropped his PHS before cuddling up close to Genesis. It was cold and he was warm again.
"Zackary. Why are we naked?" Asked a really confused voice.
"We're not. We both have boxers on." The puppy stated listening and counting the heart beats. It was steady but not entirely strong yet.
"But why?" The warm body started to shift.
"How much do you remember of last night?" Zack asked shifting to look at Genesis. Maybe it wasn't hypothermia but he had a session. A really bad session that didn't fill Zack with any confidence. This could be dangerous.
"Telling stories then I blacked out."
"Pretty much that but I thought you were dying of hypothermia."
Blue eyes relaxed and Genesis shifted away from Zack. "Let me get up then. I'm fine now."
They quickly got dressed and sat around the newly made roaring fire. Zack was finding the entire situation awkward.
"So how much does Degradation affect you?" Zack asked hoping to break the silence.
A glare was shot his way so he fell silent.
"We need to go get food." Zack stated, he was thinking along the lines that if he could get them doing something then it would be a lot better than sitting around.
"So base camp then?"
A slow nod was his reply.
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The snow drifted happily to the ground but it didn't make Zack feel any better. They trudged through the ground and disturbed all the snow in their path. They were heading towards a cluster of buildings they had failed to check last night. For some reason Tseng thought it was a good idea to check them out now. Even if Genesis could have died last time.
"I hate the cold." Zack grumbled while tugging his parka closer around his body.
"Where were you from?" A concerned voice asked from behind him but there was still some mocking tone in it. "A tropical area."
"Yeah." Zack turned around and flashed a grin. "I wish I could go home soon. Maybe take Aerith and Cissnei." Zack started to smile. "Mum would love to me you, Cloud and Angeal. Knowing her she'd slap me first. I ran away from home." He gave Genesis a sheepish grin. "Maybe she could make us her famous frog pie." He ignored the fake retching Genesis mocked. "Man want I'd do to be there now."
"Home means that much to you?" Genesis asked confused again. "I know Angeal goes home because he feels he has to and I go home because he drags me."
"Home's in Midgar with you lot." Zack smiled gentle. He kicked a half fused together door down. "Being back with my parent's would be nice but to be honest I'd rather spend time with Aerith. And of course you."
They both looked around confused. It had been bugging both of them because this area is abandoned and often monsters would inhabit the place. However their entire trip here had been monsterless. Even here in the old bath house nothing jumped out at them.
"Saying that. Cloud wants to go back to Nibelheim to see his mum." Zack stated poking open a door with his sword. He wasn't going to get close if something was in there. Nothing was there. Genesis was doing the same on the other side of the room. "Or get his mum down here. Whichever is easiest. Talking on the phone just isn't good enough."
"Why don't you phone your parents up?" Genesis called from the other side.
"They don't have a phone and reception in Gongaga is shit."
There was a small confirmation noise. Genesis had stopped listening. It was nice while it lasted. Zack rarely got to talk about home.
Fingers ran across a disturbed area on the wall. It looked like a blade had impacted it and the dust had been disturbed. He looked down. A brown stain had imprinted itself on the floor. "Gen." Zack whined. Not far from the brown stain was a more reddish brown stain. Then a similar set if droplets moving away.
He tried not to jump when a hand lay on his shoulder. "That doesn't look good." Genesis stated following the red drip road.
There were move indents on the wall. There were much deeper and more of a fury. Stuff had been cut into pieces. "What do you think could of happened?" Zack asked slightly confused, normally he only had to deal with ninjas and monsters and none of them left this kind of trail.
Genesis ignored him and ran an ungloved hand over one of the slices. "This is one of the buster sword's."
Zack tried to ignore the pained look in Genesis' eyes. "Wait Angeal never uses his buster sword." He received a nod. "Then what happened?"
"Whatever it was it never left a mark anywhere."
They both eyed the blood trail and silently drew their own weapons.
Zack could feel his heartbeat increase but he breathing slowed down. They headed forwards in silence just like they had trained. Sunlight slowly invaded their eye sight and the wind picked up carrying ice with it.
The room was large. With huge windows. Some had been broken leaving the room open to the elements. The setting sun cast warm glows throughout the room.
In the middle of the room layout a dark body. Around it laid white feathers looking like a funeral ornament. Red stains around the feathers refused to touch the whiteness. There was no sound in the room. Not even any detectable breathing from the bundle. The entire room looked as if it was locked in time.
Everything was shattered as the youngest male raced across the room. He skidded to a stop next to his mentor. Automatically he checked for a pulse.
His skin was frozen cold and blood oozed out slowly through wounds on his abdomen. He feebly called out Angeal's name. "Please don't die." Zack had never seen a loved one die before and he really didn't want it to be here and now. He wanted everyone together just a little longer.
"Zack?" A cracked voice asked.
Zack glanced back to Genesis. He was on his PHS and obviously trying to get help here and fast. He prayed it would be quick enough.
"It's ok. Just rest we'll get you out of here safe." Zack forced a smile and grabbed his water container. Angeal just needed something to drink then his wounds healed. He'll be fine. He just had to be. He tried not to get angry when Angeal refused the liquid.
"You did well Zack." Zack hated to way he sounded like this was his last breath. "The rest is for you." Angeal struggled to push the buster sword towards him.
"Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine." He held back the tears.
"Hold on to your dreams and don't let it get away from you. If you want to be a hero you have to hold onto your dreams...and also your pride."
It only took a mere second. One second and Angeal was lost to the world. One second and the Gaia stream took its son back. One second a mentor and a friend was lost forever. Only old memories existed and the ability to create new ones lost.
In one second the world became a lonely place.
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"If we are on the upper city the sky must be close right?" Aerith called from her flowers. She knew Zack walked in. What worried her was he was silent.
She turned around and walked over to him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she placed her head against his and let him cry.
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Cloud ignored the front door opening and closing. So what Genesis was home he didn't have to care he existed. He was still mad at him. He wasn't even going to admit he kind of missed him.
He pulled his cover further up his head and tried to get back to sleep. He wasn't listening to the body moving around in the other room.
He tensed as his door was opened and the body walked in.
He sat up to glare and have a go at Genesis when he saw the state he was in...He looked like a walking corpse. His auburn hair hung in front of his red framed eyes as his head was lowered. He was shaking.
"Angeal died." The voice was so full of fear and could barely stop itself from crying.
Cloud couldn't think of anything to say or do. He grabbed Genesis and pulled him onto the bed and hugged him tightly as he could and refused to let go. They both shared tears.
QE:The words 'don't kill me' come to mind.
