Author's note: Sorry for the wait! It's not as long as I would have liked it, but I haven't updated in a while so I wanted to put up something. The next chapter is going to have an interesting bit. Thanks for all of your comments! They really help me out! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Warnings: None. Well, maybe language.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea and OCs.

Word count: 4,609

"You really liked her?" Zack asks, turning to look at the red head. "I mean, you aren't just saying that to spare my feelings or anything?"

Genesis looks amused. "I would never. And yes, I do like her. She reminds me an awful lot like you and a lot like Gillian." He looks over at the door for a long moment before looking back to Zack, seeing the confused look on the younger boy's face he adds, "Gillian Hewley. She's Angeal's mother." Zack makes an 'ah' face. He nods, looking over at the door again, leaning back on the couch next to Genesis.

"What is she like? Angeal's ma, I mean. Is she like him?" Zack looks over at the red head.

Genesis looks around the room curiously for a moment, before smiling to himself. "Yeah, she's really wise and kind and she loves Angeal more than anything else in the world. She took me in whenever I was getting into fights with my family. Angeal had to grow up fast to be the man in the house after Gillian started getting sick, but she never wanted him to worry and always supported his dreams." He huffs through his nose, closing his eyes. "Hell, she even convinced my parents to let me go to Shinra when I went bitching to her one day." He shakes his head. "Now, that is a woman that I love."

Zack smiles lightly. "She sounds wonderful. Do you think Angeal will ever let me meet her?"

Genesis turns to look down into Zack's light blue eyes. He smiles faintly. "Yes, I do believe he would. He likes you a lot. I'm sure he would love to have you meet her. She really is a lovely woman. Hell, she's been taking care of me for years now. She even looks after Sephiroth when he goes down there. Angeal visits every year. I usually go with him to see her, but my relationship with my own parents is rocky and most of the time catastrophic." He shrugs his shoulders. "It doesn't mean much to me anymore."

"I'm really sorry that you don't have a good relationship with your parents," Zack says softly. Then a thought occurred to him. "Was that bad? Bringing my ma here to meet you? Does that make you feel bad? I'm sorry!" Zack steps in front of Genesis and looks up into his eyes.

Genesis grunts, waving the boy's words away. "It doesn't matter. How did you like her visit?"

Zack smiles easily, still looking a little sad for Genesis and his lack of a good relationship with his parents. "It was good. My ma is like my best friend. She's the one who knows me better than anyone. My pa was there but he's not the big lovie dovie type. Ma was the one that took me everywhere."

Genesis nods very slowly, bringing his eyes up to stare at the door once more. "It's good that you had a mom that cared so much for you. Among Sephiroth and myself and even Angeal's dad, our little group could go for some better parental figures."

Zack's smile fades and he tilts his head in confusion. "What happened to Angeal's dad?"

Genesis shakes his head slowly, mind far away from Zack. "Who knows?" He mumbles softly, more to himself than to Zack. The young boy stares at him for a very long moment, before looking over at the door too, and waits for Angeal to return.


"Thanks for visiting, ma," Zack says, hugging the woman who bore him tightly. She kisses his cheek over and over and over again, before finally pulling away. She caresses his cheeks lovingly before kissing his cheek one more time.

"I love you, Zacky. I'm so glad I got this chance to see you. Next break, you have to come home, okay? Or pa and I will come up here to see you," she laughs at Zack face. "Don't be a teenage boy. We love you. Take care of yourself." She looks past Zack to Angeal and smiles over at him. Angeal smiles faintly in return, bowing his head slightly in respect.

"Love you, ma," Zack says, kissing her cheek. He walks her over to the train. She smiles at him for a moment before finally stepping into the train and finding her seat. Zack backs up until he's side-by-side with Angeal. Victoria leans out the window and waves before going back in.

Zack looks down the platform to see Chase, shaking hands with his an older man. He watches curiously. There is a group of like seven people. Six men and one woman. All of them are graying with age. One of the men glances up at Zack, noticing him staring over his glasses. He murmurs something to Chase and Zack's friend spins around, eyes falling on Zack. His face brightens and he waves Zack over.

"I'll be right back, Angeal," Zack says, looking up at the older man. Angeal nods, staring off as if lost in thought.

Zack turns and heads over to Chase, half way there, Angeal's phone goes off. He turns his back to Zack to answer it. Zack rolls his eyes playfully and heads over to his friend. As he gets closer, he starts bouncing until he's next to Chase. He throws an arm over the older boy's shoulder and smiles charmingly at the group of older men and the single woman.

"Hey Zack," Chase says, smiling at the younger boy. "This," he gestures to the older man in front of him, "is my granddad."

Chase's granddad is a old man with furry eyebrows and a wrinkling face. His hair is thin and long and stark white. He's straight postured and strong, even though he's old. The man shares the same darker complexion Chase. Zack pulls away and holds out a hand for the older man with a smile. Zack's eyes lock with his white-blue eyes. The old man smiles as they take each other's hand and shake.

"Zack Fair."

"Gerard Mattison," the older man says. "It's very nice to meet you. Chase has been writing to me about you for a while now. It feels like I already know you."

Zack smiles back, shaking the older man's hand firmly. "Chase and I were actually just talking about you the other day when he was building up my self confidence." Zack laughs.

Gerard tilts his head slightly, smiling kindly. "It was very nice to meet you," he says again. "Thank you so much for looking after Chase." The other six older people exchange looks. Gerard looks at Zack hard, like he was trying to see something, before he finally lets go of Zack's hand. "Zack Fair, you are a very kind and sweet boy."

Zack blushes, waving his hand around. "Oh gosh, thanks for that, sir. But really, sir, Chase and I haven't been friends for very long, but he's been a really good friend to me. You raised him well."

Gerard glows, beaming proudly at his grandson. "Thank you, Zack. I look forward to seeing you again."

"Ditto, sir." Zack beams at them. He turns to Chase. "Dig the family. You've got his eyes. Love you man, now I'll leave you to say goodbye to your family." Zack turns to walk away before stopping and throwing his arms around Chase and hugging him close, even going so far as to lift his leg pretending he's going to wrap it around Chase's waist. The other boy is nearly falling over with both Zack's added weight and his attempt to try and contain his own laughter.

Zack drops his leg and steps away. He laughs and turns around, running off, yelling out his goodbye to Chase and his family.

Zack stops in front of Angeal, waiting patiently for his mentor to finally finish his phone call. Zack turns around to look back at Chase, seeing them all staring at him, before turning back to each other when he looked at them. Zack grins to himself, recognizing those looks. He makes them think he's weird. He just loves to have people find him humorous. Except for when he doesn't mean it. Then it's just confusing.

Finally, Angeal says goodbye to whoever he was talking to and then turn to Zack. "Are you ready to go?" Angeal asks.

Zack nods. "Sure thing!" The two step down off the train platform and head for the main street toward the Shinra tower. They walk in silence, side-by-side, down the busy street. People send Angeal awestruck looks and stepping aside a bit to let the pass by without being jarred too much by shoulder checking people. Zack nudges a guy pretty hard. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Zack says, turning the guy. "Are you okay?"

It was an older man, graying dark hair and long beard. He smiles friendly at Zack. "It's alright, son. It's all right."

"Good," Zack says, smiling back. "I sometimes forget that I'm not that scrawny little kid anymore. Sorry."

The old man pats Zack's shoulder. "It's just fine. Have a good day."

"You too!" Zack says, turning away and follow after Angeal again. "Sorry, I suck." He shakes his head. Angeal lets out a little laugh. They keep walking for a few more minutes.

"So," Angeal says slowly, "Your mother told me something yesterday that I didn't know and wanted to talk to you about."

Zack looks over at him curiously. "Yeah..?"

Angeal hesitates, before turning off the main road, waving for Zack to follow. The young boy does, living up to the "pet" name that Angeal calls him. Zack's not sure what sector they enter, but when he sees the water fountain, Zack rushes past his mentor and bounces over to the fountain. He sits down at the side and peers into it. He can see all the glittering money at the bottom.

"Isn't fountains wonderful?" Zack asks the approaching SOLDIER. "They give people hope. Make them realize their wishes and I think having dreams and working hard to achieve them are just wonderful. And..." Zack smiles, touching the water with the tip of his finger, making the infinity sign in the water. "I like to believe that the Goddess is hearing them."

"Perhaps she does," Angeal says, sitting down next to Zack. Zack pulls his hand out of the water and turns back to Angeal, smiling broadly.

"You really think so, Angeal?"

The older man nods. "I do."

Zack lowers his head to smile to himself. "There is a really small fountain in Gongaga that's like this one," Zack waves his arm over the water before dropping it back into his lap. "My ma used to tell me that fountains have the magical powers to bring the wishes to the Goddess because the water is a sign of purity, which walks hand in hand with harmony. Which the Goddess is said to be able to control."

Angeal nods thoughtfully. "That could be true. I guess I wouldn't know."

Zack closes his eyes for a moment, listening to the water fountain. "As lame as it sounds, I wished in the fountain in Gongaga that I would be able to achieve my dream of being a hero." Zack flushes a little when he sees Angeal smiles. "Oh god, you're going to laugh at me. Don't laugh at me, I'm serious about my desire to be a hero!"

Angeal waves his hands around dismissively. "I'm not going to laugh at you. In fact, I think it's great that you are so faithful to your dreams. Most people give up on dreams that they aren't really passionate about. It's nice to see that you are so passionate about yours."

Zack flushes even more. "Thank you, Angeal. Now, sorry, you wanted to talk about something that my ma said?"

Angeal nods, turning so that his body is facing Zack. "You weren't originally recruited for the SOLDIER division, correct?"

There is a subtle shift in Zack's posture. The small, gentle smile that had worked it's way across his face fades away. Zack's eyes adapt that far away look that they always do when he thinks back to the still shady reasoning behind his joining the program. Now Angeal is starting to understand why there was no reason written down by the recruiter that pertains to why Zack was able to get in. Usually there is just a brief explanation. Like, big boy, or really fast, or great aim with a BB.

But now things are starting to become clearer. It was a Turk that approved him joining early. Of course a reason wouldn't be put down.

"No," Zack finally says, pulling Angeal from his thoughts. "I was asked to join a different program, but I didn't want to join in. I don't even really know what the division he was referring to was. All I knew was that I wanted to be in SOLDIER." Zack shrugs his shoulders. "I was really flattered but I want to be a hero." Zack blinks back into the present. He tilts his head to the side. "Is that selfish?"

Angeal stares at him. "No."


"They asked him to be in their program. Why?" Angeal says, standing in Sephiroth's office. Genesis, draped over the chair with his legs over one arm and his head hanging over the other in front of Sephiroth's desk sits up a little bit to look at Angeal with raised eyebrows. Genesis blinks once, then twice, before looking over at Sephiroth.

"What the hell did he say to me?"

Sephiroth tilts his head. "He said, 'They asked him to be in their program. Why?'"

Genesis squints at him. "Okay. Decipher for me."

Sephiroth lays down the pen he was using, before interlacing his fingers on the desk top. He calmly watches the raven haired man glare out the window over his head, strong arms crossed over his chest. "I believe that the 'him' that was previously referred to would be Zackary Fair. And as for the program, there are plenty that are offered by Shinra." He stares forward blankly recalling the list of known programs. "Cadet, Infantry, Science, SOLDIER, Space-"

Genesis holds up his hand. "Sorry I asked. Thanks. But the list? In alphabetical order too. Nice."

Sephiroth nods, blinking back into the room. "You're welcome."

Genesis shakes his head, turning to look at his childhood friend. "So, what's up? What are you talking about?"

Angeal sighs, dropping his hands to his side and turning to his friends. "Never mind. I'm just over-thinking something." He rubs his face tiredly with one hand. "Sorry, how are you guys."

"Horrible. Now what's going on with Zack," Genesis says right as Sephiroth says, "Pleasant, thank you." They both look at each other.

Sephiroth gives Genesis a blank look. "Are you telling me that you are in a horrible mood while in my presence?" His eyebrow twitches up a bit. "Do I not amuse you?"

Genesis grins back at him. "You do, actually. And it's nice to see you in a good mood." He gives Sephiroth an appreciative smile, just to show the long haired man that he's serious. "But I'll talk all about you in a minute, first Angeal." He looks back to his other friend. "Now spill. What's going on with Zack?"

Angeal walks over to the couch in the corner and sits down, letting out another sigh. Genesis groans, hefting himself up and stands. He lifts the chair and turns it at an angel toward his friend, while making sure he can still see Sephiroth before dropping back into it. Sephiroth looks a little bothered by the sudden change in his office but doesn't comment in favor of letting Angeal talk.

"I'm just a little..." Angeal shakes his head. "I don't know how to say this other than to just say the facts."

"Thanks," Sephiroth says in all seriousness. Sephiroth understands a lot better when people don't sugar coat anything.

Angeal stares at Sephiroth with the corners of his mouth curving up a bit. "You're welcome," he says, then leans forward, letting his hands dangle between his knees, balancing his elbows onto his thighs. His mood dropping again. "Zack was originally recruited by Reno to join the Turks." Genesis and Sephiroth both stare at Angeal with varying versions of shock.

Genesis's eyes are slightly wide. His lips parted a bit. A small crease between the eyebrows like he couldn't believe what he had heard.

Sephiroth's surprise is a lot more masked. His pupils are dilated and he's looking at Angeal through his eyelashes. The bright blue of his eyes glowing brighter. He straightens up and closes his eyes, hiding his tell. He reigns in his surprise for nonchalance.

"What?" Genesis says, sitting up straight. "Those damn Turks." He jumps, looking up at the ceiling, then around the room, tense. Like he's expecting the entirety of the Turk division to bust in through the door, rope down from the ceiling and climb in through the windows to kick his ass. After a terse moment, he finally turns back to Angeal, ignoring Sephiroth's rolling eyes in his peripheral. "So, what does this mean?"

Angeal sighs again. "Nothing. He chose SOLDIER. I was just surprised is all."

Genesis settles back into his seat. "What in the hell happened? He was let into the program early not just by any old recruiter but by a Turk? And he was asked to join... well... them? And he refused?" Genesis raises his voice to an annoying pitch. "What the hell?"

Sephiroth glares at him. "Stop that," then to Angeal. "They will never stop pursuing him. You do realize this, correct?"

Angeal groans, falling back into the couch, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Yes. I do. But thankfully, he's adamant about staying in the SOLDIER program." He pauses, lifting his arm to look at Sephiroth. "Could they do anything?"

Sephiroth considers thoughtfully. "Not if you stay close, Angeal."

"No," Genesis says, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. "Not if we stay close."

Sephiroth and Angeal share a look before Angeal finally says, "He's not like that, Gen." The red head waves him off.


A week had past and Zack had just finished another oral test. He thanks Angeal and heads out. The program is only getting harder. Ten boys from a different class already dropped out just the day prior. Zack waves to the two Firsts standing in the hall. They wave back. He rounds the corner to a woman flipping through a bunch of papers in her hands. One slips free and lands on the floor. She sighs about to kneel down, but Zack gets there first. He plucks the paper from the ground and hands it to her. She blinks in surprise.

"Thank you," she says.

"No worries!" Zack says, laughing. "Have a good day!" He waves and moves past her to the elevator.

"You too!" She calls after.

Zack hits the button for the elevator and waits patiently, bouncing up and down slowly. Two Firsts walk by talking about something on the news. Zack waves to them and they wave back. The elevator dings and the doors open up. The two people inside step opposite directions of one another, letting Zack step in between them. He turns to face the door as it dings again and closes.

"What floor?" The man to his right asks. His voice is a deep baritone.

"Lobby, please," Zack says, smiling at the man. He's bald with dark skin and shades. He's decked out in a really nice black suit. When the man looks down at him, he waves. The bald man nods in return. Zack turns his head to look at the other man, smiling at him too and waving. He turns away and is quite for just a moment before gasping loudly and twisting back to face the man to his left, pointing at the man. "It's you!"

The man looks at Zack with dark eyes. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Zack."

"I remember you, Tseng, right?" The man nods. Zack laughs, happily. "I met you outside of the tower my first day. How have you been?"

"Fine," Tseng says. "Thank you for asking. And yourself?"

"I've been great! Thanks! I made it into the Cadet program. Awesome, right?" Zack laughs. "I'm no SOLDIER yet, but I'm excited."

Tseng stares at him with dark eyes, his face completely clear and devoid of any emotion. He looks at the happy smile on the young boy's face and the excited way he bounces from one foot to the other. His eyes rise back up to Zack's face before nodding. "Yes, definitely."

Zack tilts his head a bit. "Are you okay? You seem a little tense." At his words, the man to his other side, shifts a bit. Zack looks over at him. Looking him up and then down. "You too. You weren't tense a moment ago?" Zack tilts his head. Both men stare at him with unreadable looks on their faces. "Are you scared of heights?"

The man looks over at him slowly, inclining his head a bit. "But we are descending."

Zack opens his mouth, looks around the elevator, then closes it. He makes a face, and then nods. "Got it. But you could still be afraid of heights, we are still pretty high up." Zack automatically turns around and looks out the glass back to see the city and just how high up they were. Zack sways a little and falls to his knee, turning away from the window.

"Are you okay?" Tseng asks, reaching down slightly to help.

Zack nods and laughs unevenly, shaking his head, taking a moment to let the unease fade. "Yeah, I forgot. I'm afraid of heights." He laughs nervously until his stomach settles and he finally stands again with Tseng's help. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. You are pretty popular amongst the SOLDIERs," Tseng says slowly, facing forward again.

"Really?" Zack says, eyes wide. "Why?"

Tseng looks at him from the corner of his eye. "It's not every day when Angeal Hewley, Genesis Rhapsodos and Sephiroth let anyone into their circle. Or at least close enough to peak inside."

Zack shakes his head slowly. "What do you mean?"

"They are considered enigmatic by most of the world," the other man says. His words are slow and deliberate, almost like he's fishing for something. Zack wonders what. "Do you not feel the same?"

Zack shrugs. "I guess a little. But they are really cool. They said that we could be friends. Which I'm so happy about. Do you want to be friends too, Mister...?" Zack trails off, realizing he never caught the other man's name.

"Rude," he says.

"Rude," Zack echos. "It's mice to meet you." The man nods, not responding. He turns his gaze forward, or at least Zack thinks he does, he can't tell with the shades on. "Why wear sunglasses inside? Can you even see?"

The man's chin turns a bit toward Zack. "I see enough."

Zack smiles up at him and taps the side of his own nose. "Do you really? Do you wear glasses to keep everyone out? Or do you wear them to keep yourself in?"

The man, Rude, turns to look down at him. "What makes you say that?"

Zack shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. People can't see your eyes and some say they are the windows to the soul. On the other hand, perhaps you don't want people to see who you are underneath. You don't want them to see your soul." He laughs. "And that's philosophy with Zack." He throws his arms up behind his head right as the door opens for the lobby.

The three of them step off the elevator and walk down to the main level. Zack turns to them and waves his hands again. "It was awesome talking to you guys. Let's talk again sometime. See you!" He turns and runs out of the lobby making his way back to the barracks, dropping his hands back down to his side.

Rude said that people saw Angeal as enigmatic. He's not sure exactly what that means, but people did look at his mentor with admiration and like he was something unlike this earth. Zack thought he was really cool, but he didn't think he was the next best thing since sliced bread. Angeal was awesome, but he was still just a person. He had little quirks that Zack thought were cute, but he also had quirks that were a little less than what was desired. But that was everyone. Angeal was a stickler for academics, where Zack would prefer to run around in the wild, like a dog.

Merely thinking the pun made him cringe.

Zack walks into the barracks, waving at all the guys he passes and stops at his bunk, falling onto his back on the bed. He brings his hands behind his head and closes his eyes.

The blond figure that Zack saw at that night club, from what seems like forever ago, comes back to him. It's like Zack is staring into darkness and he can see her twirling around in it. She's like a beacon of light, spinning around and around. Zack reaches out to her, but she doesn't seem to see him. He opens his mouth to call out, but there is no sound.

Zack takes a step toward her and the ground beneath his feet light up. Zack runs toward the girl as she spins and twirls farther away. Lighting up the path. He tries to call out again, but still no noise leaves his throat. Closer and closer, he gets to the woman but before he can really see who she is, the image freezes and suddenly Zack can't move.

"Hello?" Zack says.

"Hello?" the dream echos.

"Is anyone there?"

"Is anyone there?" the dream echos again.

"Who are you?" Zack asks the bright light. "What do you want?"

"You," a woman's voice whispers and Zack is blinded by a bright light. He throws his hands up over his eyes and tries to turn away from the light, but he can't move. The light is engulfing his entire body, swallowing him up in it's warmth.

Zack opens his eyes and it's night out. The barracks is dark. He can hear the sounds of the boys around him sleeping. Some of them shifting, some of them mumbling and some of them making unintelligent noises. Zack stares at the bunk on top of his. He blinks a few times, wondering what that strange dream was about. But he's too tired to think of it now.

Zack closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep.