Chapter 36

Act II

Aeron's eyes fluttered open and she look around her. Reno was walking away with Weiss, who was supposed to be long dead. Yazoo and Loz were sitting around her and they seemed to be in a cave type structure. Reno walked through a large curtain a disappeared. 'Great, I'm surrounded by dead people.' she thought.

"Reno." she rasped almost inaudibly, but Yazoo and Loz heard her. They whirled and stared at her before helping her sit up.

"Where is Reno?" she asked, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. Her shoes were gone, but she hardly noticed.

"Weiss took him outside to kill him Little Sister." Loz said as though it was no big deal. At that, she sprung to her feet and almost fell over from dizziness. Loz quickly caught her and let her lean on him.

"Why?" she asked, referring to Reno's demise.

"He was supposed to be bait for Vincent, but since we don't have someone for that anymore, Genesis ordered him to be killed and displayed to lure Vincent here." Yazoo explained. Aeron's eyes filled with tears and she stumbled forward quickly. Loz followed her, making sure she wouldn't fall. Slowly gaining her senses, she quickened her pace and nearly ran through the curtain. The Remnants followed her curiously.

She reached the cave entrance just as Weiss raised his blade to deal the finishing blow. Reno was kneeling in the mud, staring down at the ground. A sudden burst of energy tore through her body and she lunged forward as the blade began to come down.

"Stop!" she shrieked and slammed into Reno, sending him flying. She landed where he'd been kneeling and glared up at Weiss, who had halted his sword. The man regarded her with curiosity and sheathed his sword, offering her his hand. She took it and was hauled to her feet.

"I take it you had a good reason to stop me from completing my task?" he asked.

"You mean other than the fact you and Genesis are complete fools?" she replied angrily. By now, Reno had righted himself and moved into a sitting position. He watched Aeron and Weiss as the Remnants stayed in the cave entrance, doing the same.

"Oh? And how is that?" the white haired man asked, slight annoyance in his voice.

"You have me, don't you? Vincent would easily come for me." she explained, looking at Reno out of the corner on her eye. Weiss looked confused for a moment, turned and silently walked back into the cave. Once he'd disappeared, Aeron walked over to Reno and stood in front of him, studying him. Without warning, she fell to her knees and threw her arms around him, holding him tightly. He returned her embrace and buried his face in her hair, which was becoming soaked from the rain.

"Don't ever do that again!" she growled into his ear and let out a small sob. He held her tighter and kissed her neck.

"I'll try not to, yo. I just didn't want you to be used as their bait." he explained.

"There is no hate, only joy for you are beloved by the goddess.

Hero of the dawn. Healer of worlds.

Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul.

Pride is lost, wings stripped away.

The end is nigh."

Genesis's voice echoed through the cavern as he walked out into the rain. He was referring to Reno's luck at still being alive as being 'beloved by the goddess'.

"Loveless, Act 2." Aeron replied, planting herself firmly between the man and Reno. He smiled, and for once, it was a sincere smile.

"You no longer have a need to fear me. My dilemma is solved, so his life is no longer in danger." he explained. He wasn't one to lie, so Aeron got to her feet and turned to help Reno to his.

"Already on Act 2 are we? I feel so out of the loop. Have we really already passed the Prologue and Act 1?" she asked Genesis, who smiled fiendishly.

"Vincent will have opened with our Prologue by now and we've already performed Act 1 when you arrived." Only Reno noticed it, but at the mention of Vincent, Aeron's hand involuntarily clenched into a fist. She was worried about him.

"So, why do you want Vincent?" she asked, her voice showing only curiosity. Reno was beginning to see that Aeron was rather good at hiding things from people. Even Genesis seemed to drop his guard around her.

"It's not so much Vincent I want, but what's inside of him." At that, Aeron rolled her eyes.

"Of course." she muttered.

"I take it I'm not the first to want something like this from him."

"No, you're really not. So, which is it? Galian Beast, Death Gigas, Hell Masker, or Chaos?"

"Will he die if they're removed?" he asked.

"I don't know. No one's lived long enough to succeed in that venture." she retorted, the challenge clear in her voice. Weiss had emerged from the cave and taken up a spot beside Genesis. He patted Aeron on the head and laughed.

"She's a feisty one, isn't she." he remarked, earning a nod from the taller man. Aeron resisted the urge to snap at him and decided a death glare would suffice.

"Don't worry Aeron. We won't be removing them or anything of that sort. In fact, we don't even want to kill him. All we want is the energy that he creates when they're provoked." Genesis assured her and tilted his head toward the sky. The clouds overhead were becoming black and threatening.

"Since you've succeeded in drawing almost everyone out into this torrential downpour, can we please return to the warmth and dryness of the cave? I'm sure even a hostage would prefer that." Without waiting for a response, he walked back into the cavern, pulled off his soaked and dripping shirt, and disappeared.

A/N: I know it's not detailed at all, but there. Now you have a shirtless Genesis. Just for you xxDarkAssassinxx.