The Apple and the Core: Chapter 21
Something Worth Fighting For
Sephiroth's heart and temples pounded in time. Ifalna hovered over Angeal's lifeless body. Her face was agonizingly guilty as she fought back the tears. Genesis took turns trying to comfort Ifalna and shooting daggers of hatred at Sephiroth. He closed his eyes. He wasn't about to confront Genesis in front of Ifalna, and certainly not in this tiny little space. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to take stock of their situation. His mind covered every option, every angle, but yet he found no answer. He knew his futility would enrage Genesis, but there was nothing he could do. They couldn't hide in this ventilation shaft forever. He sighed heavily as he opened his eyes and looked at Genesis.
"We have no choice. We will have to leave him."
Genesis' head jerked to the side violently, his hatred boring right into Sephiroth. "And what? Leave him here to die?" He sneered causing Ifalna to look up in alarm. When Sephiroth had no response, he continued, "He may not be your best friend, but he's mine." Sephiroth began to protest, but Genesis cut him off. "You know, it's your fault we're in this mess to begin with…" Genesis jutted a gloved finger right at Sephiroth, causing his silver eyebrows to peak. "Ifalna used up the last of her magic to heal YOUR leg. It was YOUR idea to hide in this room." His chest heaved as his voice got louder." If it wasn't for you, we'd be in bed right now, asleep!"
Sephiroth's jaw hung slightly slack. For once, his great mind was failing him, leaving him in a flurry of thoughts of anger, but mostly guilt. He was right, he realized. Ifalna did use the last of her magic to heal his broken leg so HE wouldn't be left behind. It was his idea to hide in this room, but dammit…He mentally swore. He didn't know when he broke his leg that someone else would need Ifalna's leg more urgently. He didn't know that there was a bomb hidden in the same room that they were hiding in. He heard Ifalna began to sob. Apparently, Genesis' last comment hit her especially hard. His gloved fists tightened and his lips pressed. He could hurt him all he wanted, but he would be damn sure that Genesis didn't hurt Ifalna again.
"So you would have left an innocent mother and child to die in a lab?" Sephiroth growled lowly.
"If it meant choosing between her and the life of my best friend…" Genesis glared back at him.
"STOP IT!" Ifalna put her hands over her ears as if she could hear no more. "JUST STOP IT!" Her tears streamed harder as she seemed to curl into a ball.
Both young men stopped and looked at Ifalna. Sephiroth watched as Genesis' face melted into a mask of horror at what he'd just said. He reached out toward Ifalna to put an arm around her, but she withdrew further into the shaft and further into herself as she clutched Aeris to her chest. She began to rock back and forth as Aeris watched her with large, questioning eyes. Her eyes flittered to back to Genesis and then back to her mother. Genesis opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked back at Sephiroth, his eyes no longer angry, but full of sorrow and a guilt all their own. Sephiroth knew Genesis hadn't meant the things he had said in anger, but Ifalna hadn't known Genesis long enough to be privilege to that information. He had noticed that Genesis had been particularly protective of her, and wondered if there was more to that than what met the eye. Angeal would know, but Angeal laid hopelessly bloodied and bruised across the cold ventilation shaft floor unconscious. Genesis wrapped his arms around his knees, and Sephiroth sighed quietly to himself wondering what the hell they were going to do now. Everything seemed so utterly hopeless.
Reeve pulled the headset off his ears and held his head in hands. The odds were one in a million that Veld's "diversion" was hiding in the same room as the boys and their escapees. How had this happened? Now, Angeal was laying critically injured in an air duct, leaving the other three in a hopelessly difficult situation. He knew he was thinking the same that the others were: Angeal would have never left them behind had the roles been reversed. He pressed the palms of his hands further into his face. Angeal was the sort of kid that he had hoped his son would grow up to be: Loyal, brave, and honorable. Was this really the fate of all good men? Did good guys really finish last?
He heard the door open and close behind him, and he figured that if anyone had finally come to arrest him, they might as well get it over with. This night had been one roller coaster of a ride, and he wasn't made for this. He was an engineer, not a crusader. He felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder.
"What happened?" Veld asked solemnly as he looked up at the monitors.
"The bomb went off in the same room the boys were in." Reeve squeezed his eyes shut. "Debris fell everywhere and…"He paused, his voice catching in his throat. "One of the servers crushed Angeal." He heard another set of footsteps appear behind him. Tseng, he realized.
"Is he dead?" Veld's voice was devoid of emotion.
"No…" Reeve finally had the courage to look up at Veld, but he had a hard time keeping eye contact. Somehow, he felt like this was entirely his fault. "But Ifalna has completely depleted her healing magic and Genesis was trying to blame Sephiroth for Angeal's injury…." When he looked up, he found Veld staring at the monitor, deep in thought. "They're falling apart, Veld."
Veld looked down at Reeve, in surprise. A small smile followed as he squeezed Reeve on the shoulder with his human hand. "No, they're not." He yanked the headset off of the table with one determined swoop and the microphone up to his mouth. "They're made of tougher shit than this." He glanced at Tseng, who merely nodded and walked out of the room without a word. "Listen up…" He began, causing both Sephiroth and Genesis to snap to attention on the monitor. "You're going to have to continue without Angeal." When the two young men began to protest, Veld cut them off. "Tseng will coordinate Angeal's pick up. He's trained in field medicine."
"They'll arrest him on sight!" Genesis threw up his hands. "They'll arrest all of us because of Hollander!"
"Don't worry about Hollander. As much as I don't trust him, I know him well enough that he'll be out to save his own hide first. We have a little bit of insurance on our side. Proof that he let you go among other things." Veld muttered under his breath. "He's also on a ventilator right now in the medic. He's flat lined several times. I don't know what he did to himself, but he's not talking. He may not ever talk again, for all the hell I know."
Reeve looked at Veld, wide eyed. Hollander was dying in the medic? He'd never wished ill things on anyone in his life, but this news was unexpected and he felt guilty that it gave him a little more hope.
"What happened to Hollander?" Sephiroth asked gravely.
"Don't know. Don't really care." Veld snorted. He watched as Sephiroth looked down with guilt at Angeal. "I know he's your friend, but Ifalna's safety depends on the two of you now. We'll take care of him." Veld nodded mostly to himself.
Sephiroth exchanged a questioning look with Genesis, who looked down at Angeal, torn.
A voice so quiet that Reeve could barely hear it over the static, whispered, "Go…" Angeal coughed hoarsely. "Leave me…" His chest heaved with a sense of urgency. "Take Ifalna and go!"
"I won't leave you." Genesis said firmly.
"You have to…" Angeal coughed, leaving a small trail of blood coming from his mouth. "I'll be….fine." Angeal looked Genesis in eye. "Be the hero…you always…wanted to be."
"Stop it with the sacrificial lamb shit! 'I'm not giving up on you!" Genesis' face contorted, trying to argue, but Angeal had passed out again into unconsciousness. Tears burned in his eyes, and he tried to shield them from both Sephiroth and the camera.
Sephiroth quietly cleared his throat. "Get Ifalna…" Sephiroth looked down the duct to where Ifalna had crawled off to. "We're getting them out of here." He spoke quietly. When Genesis looked like he was going to argue, Sephiroth replied softly, "It's what he wants."
"To hell with what he wants!" Genesis raged back at Sephiroth.
Sephiroth merely nodded, the fight in him had completely left. "Then, I'm taking Ifalna on….Stay here with him if you like." Sephiroth turned in the duct, leaving Reeve to look at Veld in despair. Was he really going to just let Sephiroth leave with Ifalna and Aeris? Veld merely held up a finger, signally Reeve to wait. Reeve wondered what he was waiting for until he finally saw her. Genesis hadn't heard Ifalna slowly crawling toward Genesis with baby Aeris in her hand.
He jumped slightly as he felt a soft hand on his arm. "I don't want to leave you here." Ifalna looked up at him with teary eyes. "Leaving him behind is bad enough..."She pleaded. "I don't want to lose you too…"
"I…" Genesis hesitated as he looked into her eyes. "I…I can't." He tore his eyes away from her's. "He's my best friend."
More tears began to fall down Ifalna's face, and Reeve couldn't bear to watch her heartbreak.
"Come on then, Ifalna…" Sephiroth said quietly as Ifalna wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve. Reeve watched as the two of them disappeared into the darkness, leaving Genesis to wrap his arms around his knees and rest his forehead against them.
Tseng walked into the destroyed server room, his fists balled tightly as he spotted the vent grate down at the end of the large room.
"Don't be too hard on him." Veld cautioned on his earpiece. "The last thing we need right now is an altercation between you and Genesis."
Tseng snorted, but nodded silently. "He gave up on the mission, Veld." He said flatly, not hiding any disdain in his voice. "He abandoned his friends as well, leaving the two of us to clean up any mess that this might accrue." He sighed heavily. "He was too immature to take on a mission this large."
"That may be true," Veld sighed. "But Sephiroth is still working his way out of the building with Ifalna, and we need to get Angeal immediate medical attention. We need it done with the least bit of attention drawn as possible."
"Understood." Tseng nodded as he crossed the room and looked directly above him at the closed grate. He leapt straight up and pulled on the metal vent, opening it with his body weight. As he pulled himself into the dusty shaft, he almost did not recognize Genesis curled into a ball next to his best friend. He didn't even lift up his head.
"I heard what you said." Genesis muttered morosely through his knees. Tseng frowned, having expected a more combative Genesis. He tilted his head and remained silent for a few moments, waiting for Genesis to say something. When he didn't, he began to crawl closer to Angeal. Right as Tseng was inches away from taking Angeal's pulse. Genesis looked up with blurry eyes. "I don't care." He took a slow, deliberate breath. "I don't care what anyone else thinks…" Genesis pleaded with his eyes. "Just please tell me you can fix him."
Tseng was taken aback as he pulled out a stethoscope from his bag and began to listen to Angeal's heart and lungs. "His pulse is accelerated and his breathing is labored..." He looked up at Genesis. "I can tell that he has several broken ribs, too." He stuck the stethoscope back into his bag. "We need to get him to the medic to see if he's bleeding internally…"
Genesis lunged and grabbed Tseng by the arm. "And what if they arrest us?"
Tseng looked down at Genesis' shaking hand wrenched tightly around his arm and then at Genesis, levelly. "You don't have a choice. If we leave Angeal here, there is a very likely chance that Angeal could die from his injuries." When Genesis still didn't let go of his arm, Tseng narrowed his eyes. "Would you rather have him alive and imprisoned or dead?" He snapped. He, then, felt Genesis's hand slowly slip from his arm. The young man hung his head, looking absolutely defeated.
"…it's over, isn't it?" He slumped against the wall of the shaft.
Tseng sighed as he lifted Angeal's feet and motioned to Genesis to grab his shoulders. When Genesis made no motion to move Angeal, his ire had finally reached a boiling point. He could feel the irritation rising again as his temples began to pound. "Fine." He rubbed his temples. "If you want to give up, and rot in this hellhole, be my guest…." Tseng muttered. "I have an obligation to everyone on this mission. I'm sorry that you're too much of a coward to not only finish the mission, but to help your so-called best friend as well."
Tseng didn't even see Genesis lunge as he grabbed his tie, and pulled Tseng within inches of his contorted face. "He IS my BEST FRIEND…!" And with that, Genesis punched Tseng in the face, snapping his head back as he absorbed the impact. Tseng felt his nose snap and blood gush violently from within as he fell backwards onto the palms of his hands. His gamble had worked. He had managed to use Genesis' anger to his advantage. The question now was: Had he gone too far? "You have no idea what he means to me…" He snarled.
"Then, prove it." Tseng glared at him as he stuffed some Kleenex from the kit into his nose. "Help me get Angeal to the medic!" He challenged, but then his expression softened. "
"Remember, that if they know and catch me with the two of you in the medic, Veld and I will be in just as much trouble as the rest of you." Tseng muttered as they two of them began to back Angeal out. "Do you think we would put our lives on the line if we thought the risk of getting caught was great?" When Genesis didn't answer, he sighed. "On my honor, I promise to do my best to make sure nothing happens to him."
Genesis snorted as he picked up Angeal's shoulders. "You better."
Sephiroth strode with a definite mission as he continued on his chosen path to the doorway that led to the stairwell. His mind was numb and oddly blank minus a few meandering thoughts that flittered between anger, guilt, and betrayal. The sudden sound of heavy footsteps and rapid breathing made him turn around, and see a red faced Ifalna behind him. He sheepishly had to admit that he had almost forgotten she was behind him.
"Can…we…stop for a second?" Ifalna grinned between pants as she leaned on the wall with her free hand.
Sephiroth nodded. "Sorry." He muttered. "I forget how long my legs are compared to other people's." Sephiroth couldn't help but notice the rims around her eyes were still an aggravated red. She put up a brave front, but he could tell she was hurting just about as much as was. Genesis had blamed Angeal's injuries on him. That he could tolerate. However, he had also blamed Ifalna in the same breath, and that seemed as inexcusable as it was correct. He clinched his fists, feeling the muscles tighten in his shoulders. He turned from her, not wanting her to see how upset this entire situation truly made him.
He felt a small hand rest on his shoulder, and he whirled around with wide-eyes, unused to the familiarity of human touch. He found her startled with wide eyes, not having expecting that reaction, and then her expression crumbled into sobbing. If he felt lost before, nothing compared to how he felt now. "You blame me too, don't you?" She then began to cry uncontrollably.
"I…er…" Sephiroth began, but then he sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "No, I do not blame you." He said softly as he swallowed hard and took a step toward her. "I…" He looked further down the hallway, suddenly wanting to look at anything but her. "I blame myself."
He didn't have to look up at her, to know that his words had startled her once again. "But Sephiroth, you didn't have anything to do with…" She stuttered. "I'm the one who you were risking life and limb for…" Her voice steadily rose in pitch. "I'm the one Angeal was protecting while we were hiding…and…"
Sephiroth looked up at her with hardened eyes. "And Genesis was wrong." He felt the anger slowly seep back into his shoulders, and for a brief moment, he wanted to strike out at the nearest inanimate object. Stealth and prudence made him think better. "He was wrong. Like he always is." His baritone voice seemed to resonate with anger, which surprised him.
"You're angry with him, aren't you?" She asked quietly, daring to look deep within Sephiroth's eyes.
Sephiroth's breath caught in his throat as he saw the deep pools of compassion within her eyes. He quickly turned away from her. He didn't want to be swayed at the moment. He wanted to feel angry. He wanted to feel justified. "Yes." He muttered tersely. "Yes, I am."
"Why?" She asked softly as she reached up to his shoulder. He turned before she could place her hand on him again.
"Why are you not?!" Sephiroth demanded causing her to withdrawal. "He has not only almost single-handedly killed your child in the lab!" Sephiroth inhaled sharply. "He also blamed you for Angeal's severe injuries, and abandoned us…you …" He paused, hoping she didn't catch that. "…to stay with an injured man who was going to be adequately cared for!" He threw his hands in the air and began to pace slightly. He was surprised when he turned around and found her smiling slightly at him through the tears. "…what?" He looked at her in confusion.
"It sounds like you're angrier for my sake than you are your own." She cocked her head to the side, causing Sephiroth to mimic her in question. When she smiled at him again, he looked at her in bewilderment.
"I suppose I am." He snorted. "But I am angry with him for other things as well."
"…because you believe he abandoned you?" She offered. Sephiroth mentally swore. She was more perceptive than he would have ever given her credit for being.
He sighed. "When you are a SOLIDER, you always complete your mission no matter what the sacrifice. It is our sworn duty." He said sharply as he nodded to her, but something made him turn his head at the last moment. He realized with resignation that in reality, it seemed a very weak excuse, and her expression denoted that she wasn't buying any of it.
"Were you a SOLDIER first?" She paused. "Or were you a man?"
"I am really tired of speaking of this…" He almost whined, but he caught himself. When she continued to look at him, waiting for an actual answer, he sighed, "I was a man before I was a SOLIDER." He muttered. "But I fail to see what this…"
She cut him off. "…and before you were a man, you were a child." She spoke patiently.
"I don't see what this has to do with anything…" Sephiroth complained. "We're wasting time…"
She cut him off again, this time with a bit of annoyance. "No, I think you know exactly what I mean." She looked at him pointedly. "You know that Angeal is Genesis' childhood friend, and probably the closest thing to a brother he has ever had." She marched up to him and jutted her index finger right over his heart. He couldn't do anything, but stare at the outstretched appendage. "Tell me there isn't someone out there that you would do the same thing for?" She looked him right in the eye. He finally pulled his eyes away from her finger, and looked her in the eye. He couldn't say anything, but he felt compelled this time to give her an honest answer: He slowly nodded and opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. He was going to tell her that she and Aeris were those people, but with a small smile he realized: She probably already knew. She winked at him, and then began to slowly meander toward the door at the end of the hall. Sephiroth could only shake his head as he began to follow.