I would like to thank everyone who reviewed or added this story to their alerts and/or favorites! Thank you so much, it is you who keeps me writing, and (in case you hadn't noticed) the more response I get back, the faster these updates become.
A/N: Installment fourteen!
Review please!
Rating (Chapter): T
Words: 976
Summary: Living forever is a blessing and a curse, one that strips away everything that once defined you. After 500 years and his share of tribulation, Cloud Strife stands as the immortal guardian of human kind. Will a prayer answered and a crisis' emergence, give rise to the only thing he ever desired? CloudxSephiroth. Alternate Universe. M-PREG. Dark.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters; I am merely abusing them for my entertainment and for the entertainment of others.
Guardian
By Catsitta
Chapter thirteen:
It was all so confusing…so strange. One minute he had been standing beside his goddess, Minerva, and the next, he was drowning in darkness. He had promised himself to her, to be her champion and warrior…her hero. And that promise he thought was an eternal vow of dedication, for in return for his pledge, he had what he desired most.
But now, he stood beside his beloved goddess no longer. Instead he was in a world starkly unfamiliar to the one he left behind…the world that turned him from man into monster.
Lost in his thoughts, Genesis did not notice a small figure approach.
"Crimson." Said Rena.
Only hard earned composure kept him from jumping,"What is it?"
The girl did not touch him; rather, she drew beside him and stood uncomfortably close within his personal space bubble. Those honey-tinted eyes of hers were focused on the gardens in which Genesis had retreated to upon his arrival. With the tiniest of smiles, she replied,"You are upset."
Genesis grunted and brushed back auburn bangs with an elaborate gesture. He was the picture of cool and collected, calm and composed. After all, he was not yelling or throwing things about like a madman, ranting on about how he despised Sephiroth for being so damned perfect, and how he wished people would stop comparing the two of them…
"Your friend will awake when he is ready, Crimson. Perhaps then you will realize how your fears no longer have bias."
"Pardon?"
Rena smoothed her skirts, still not looking at him,"You never hated him. He was your brother in arms and in heart. You were rivals and friends, inseparable in every way. He needs you as you do him, especially through these trials that will lie ahead."
"You know nothing—" Genesis began, only to have himself cut off by the girl's steady gaze meeting his own. She was infinitely older in mind than body, and could feel something strange about her…something familiar. Something not quite right.
"Knowledge and understanding are two different things, Crimson. What I know is more than even I can understand. Piece-by-piece I must put together the puzzle of life so that I may interpret my own purpose in this world. But you, I can see very clearly where you fall. So complex…yet so simple." Rena turned and began to gather her hair up into a ribbon,"Be patient, Crimson, and stay strong."
Genesis pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a short breath, dramatizing his displeasure.
"Dinner will be ready soon," the girl said with preamble—as if their entire conversation had not occurred. "Do come inside and rest. The nights can be bitterly cold here."
"Why is a child acting as nursemaid to grown men?" The question was asked in a crueler tone than intended, but Rena seemed unaffected…unfazed.
"Because it is my duty to care for my Guardian. He may be WEAPON now, but like you and Silver, he was once human. And human born WEAPONS possess empathy, though it wanes with time, and need a sense of purpose…of family. Without it—without my family and myself—he would have neglected himself. Through that neglect he would have forced an early slumber, making it very difficult for the Planet to wake him should a Crisis come."
There was a long pause between them, the air static. Genesis wanted to make a snide remark, but found himself holding his tongue—too tired to argue. Wearily, he allowed his body to visibly slump, his wing twitching meekly.
Rena patted his shoulder, her fingers just barely brushing against the base of his extra appendage. Pain lanced through the limb, causing him to flinch. And then, gentle fingers worked around the swollen joint where the wing met his shoulder blade, applying the slightest of pressure.
"It seems that Silver is not the only one who is healing…but you've had longer to rest than he…and less to mend…less to break." Curiosity washed over Genesis as Rena's hand fell away. "I suspect within the next few days you will be able rebuild your strength." She smiled brightly at him for just a wink, before slipping out of the gardens and back into the church, leaving him dreadfully alone.
000X000
Cloud stood like a sentinel—a dark, brooding statue of a man—as he watched his arch enemy sleep.
His new…brother.
A grimace worked its way onto his lips and disgust was tying knots in his gut. How he wanted to slit the man's throat. To end all the suffering before it could begin. It is because of Sephiroth that he was a WEAPON. If it was not for his fall into madness, Cloud would have found his end long ago. This world he would not know. He would have never seen human kind become so fearful of technology that they stunted its growth. He would have never watched those with ideas become culled from the herd. He would have never watched countless wars ensue over pointless beliefs…pointless fears.
He would have become part of the Lifestream…his soul a piece in the patchwork of memories that created life itself.
But there was no changing the past.
He was stuck as a WEAPON and now, so was his eternal rival.
Though there was something very off about the man. Something about him just sent off warning bells inside Cloud's head, making it impossible for him to ignore the silver-haired warrior. Add in the fact that he felt compelled to touch. Yes, touch. It was an idea he scoffed at, but he wanted to tangle his fingers in those silky locks as much as he wanted to use that thick fall of hair to strange Sephiroth in his sleep.
"Why couldn't you stay in my memories?"
000TBC000
A/N: (Review please! Oh, and check out the new poll on my profile. Thankies~ Also, Sephy-kins will wake up soon.)