Title: Three SOLDIERs and a Lady

Author: CrisisChild

Summary: AU Angeal always considered himself to be quite responsible and honourable and his mettle is put to the test when an unexpected turn of events leaves him a father. And Genesis and Sephiroth as the unwitting uncles.

Rated: K+

Prompt: Original Crisis

Disclaimer: I do not own Crisis Core. Enough said.

Author's Note: More Original Crisis! There is a point to this mini-series, I promise you.

Original Crisis

The Case of Denzel

Denzel really didn't like his commanding officer. She was a crazy slave driver who didn't know when to quit; there was not an ounce of humanity in her that wasn't irredeemable according to Denzel. He swore that Persephone was out to embarrass the hell out of him when she wasn't working him to the bone. 'Waste not, want not,' was what she always told him. As if that made any sense! And why him? Why not some other soldier in the W.R.O.? Alright, she used to babysit him way back when, but that did not give the older woman any right to harass him and dragging him onto every mission she was assigned. There were other people out there!

What was worse was that Persephone only took him. No one else ever followed them along whatever assignment the W.R.O. commander happened to be on. Ever since he had joined the ranks of the W.R.O. Denzel had been stuck in Persephone's shadow. At first he thought she would go easy on him, because she had been easy-going with him, growing up - however, instead of the warm young woman who used to take care of him as a child, he was met with a monster of a woman...

...who had her flashes of humanity every once in a while.

Though it had been years now, there were still traces of Deepground scattered throughout the world causing trouble for the W.R.O. and the Planet it protected. Acts of terrorism had died down recently, but they were still an all too common an occurrence for everyone's tastes. Everyone was on high alert thanks to them.

Denzel had been in Junon on assignment alongside a squad of W.R.O. soldiers led by none other than Commander Redfield. Deepground had launched a surprise attack on the port town, resulting in many civilians getting hurt by a wave of strange winged monsters in red. New monsters cooked up by the underground organization? Probably, who knew? Denzel didn't question how they came to exist - all he cared about was shooting these things down and not dying. He had done his best, taking down the enemy from one end of the port to the other, winding up on the old airfield where Persephone was dispatching a particularly nasty looking winged monster with cold efficiency.

When she was done, she turned to him and smiled pleasantly. "Denzel. Took you long enough to get here," she teased as was her nature. Her coat, he noticed was disturbingly immaculate, compared to the mess she left on the metal ground. "It would seem as if there are more of these...creatures. There have been other sightings of them in other towns, such as Wutai, Nibelheim, Kalm…"

"I see," stated Denzel.

"…And...Edge."

Denzel, to say the least, was quite alarmed. It took him the better part of a three hour gauntlet to get from the very bottom of Junon to the airfield up top with nary a break - and she was telling him there was more? And worse yet, at home, of all places? Considering the circumstances, Denzel knew Wutai and Nibelheim would take precedence over home. And knowing Persephone she was probably going to drag him with her to the other locations to exterminate their latest string of problems. But he couldn't go, he just couldn't. Not when Edge was in danger. Not while Marlene was in danger.

Like an omen of ill fortune, Denzel heard Persephone chuckle as she walked past him.

"Permission to return, granted," said the commander, surprising Denzel.

"Huh?" Realizing his jaw was dropping and he was staring impolitely at his commander's back, the soldier straightened up and gave a proper reply and salute. "Yes, m'am."

Persephone chuckled and kept on going, most likely to head operations on the other areas.

"Take care, Denzel," she replied, that familiar warmth from their youth now in her voice which had him staring in shock again.

Automatically, he replied, still a bit bewildered by the sudden show of humanity, "You, too."

"We'll meet again soon, Denzel. Tell Marlene 'hello' for me."

And then she was gone and that would be the last time Denzel would ever see Persephone, commander in the W.R.O. The next time they met, she was one of them.

Prior to Denzel meeting Persephone in Nibelheim, months after the attack on Junon, there had been rumours about a mole inside the W.R.O. feeding information to Deepground, which was why their covert operations and rescue missions always ended up in a stalemate, or worse. The only times, some would say, that nothing bad had ever happened was when Commander Redfield was in charge and it probably wasn't just her 'talent' shining through. There was something suspicious about a young woman so high up in the ranks.

Of course, Denzel got mad whenever anyone insinuated anything about Persephone. She may be a heartless task master at times, ruthless and aloof on others, but, deep down, Denzel knew that Persephone was a good person and she was still that girl who took care of him as a child, even if only for the briefest of moments.

And even though she had the infamous Masamune pointed at his chest now, here in Nibelheim, where the W.R.O. had gotten an anonymous tip about Deepground activity, he could see it in her eyes.

No matter that the all too human emotion of grief was showing in them.

"Boys don't belong on the battlefield," she stated, monotonously. "Leave this place, now, while you still can."

Without hesitation, he levelled his rifle at her. It would be an insult to his commanding officer, if he didn't go all-out. It would be an insult to his memory of a friend.

"Sorry, commander. Got lots of people to save. My job, you know."

And her eyes narrowed just a bit as her brows pinched just a sliver of a millimetre; it made Denzel grin, knowing he could cause this monster of a woman to react like that. Within this enemy beat the heart of someone who cared too much, no matter what kind of atrocities she had committed.

"You're a fool."

"Nah, just a little crazy," he said, eyes never leaving his opponents. His expression was serious as he unlocked the safety of his rifle. Then, he said, "Don't worry, Persephone. I'll save you. That's a promise."

A startled look passed over her features for a split second, before it became blank again.

"I don't need to be saved by the likes of you!" said the ex-commander as she swiped the ridiculously long blade at the younger man, starting the first of many battles between the two of them.

And they would meet and clash many a time, sometimes with only each other, sometimes Denzel having back-up or vice versa. Denzel fought long and hard during each fight, stubbornly never giving an inch no matter how many times he was thrown back or injured. No matter that Marlene kept begging him to stop. Because he wasn't just fighting for the Planet. He was fighting to save someone who needed him. Denzel realized all too late that he cared for Persephone like family – maybe something more, but now he would never know – and he could see it in her eyes when her blade met the side of his rifle. They were the eyes of someone crying out for help.

And he promised he'd save her. Denzel never broke his promises.

Although he did, because somehow…that spark of humanity had vanished from his mind completely – as if it had never been there before – when Denzel heard Persephone had killed an entire village, taking Marlene with them and that had caused the young soldier to do something he would regret for the rest of his life.

On a battlefield, a year after Persephone defected from the W.R.O., as if replaying some age old story, Denzel had dealt the final blow to his old commander using Persephone's Lost Pride – a sword constructed from the remains of Cloud's friend's old blade – the Buster Sword. There was a look of shock on the dark-haired woman's face as they stood together, in the ruins of Midgar, at the end of their final duel. The blade had gone cleanly through her abdomen and slid out easily, dripping in the woman's blood.

Persephone stumbled forward, grasping onto Denzel and chuckling softly, as if she had one more last secret…

One more last bit of humanity in her.

She looked up, defeated, still holding onto him. And she smiled the most dazzling, puzzling smiles he had ever seen.

"Heh. You've grown up…Denzel…"

He stood there motionless, emotionally drained and tired. This was his enemy's last moments and he knew he should hate her with everything he had, but…

"Denzel…"

Red hot tears simply started prickling at his eyes.

"I'll see you soon."

And just like that, she fell. Right in front of him, smiling ever so peacefully, as if she had any right to.

As if she, of all people, had any right to die peacefully as a human being.