-x-

That discovery was an accident.

When Vincent searched through Sephiroth's file to understand his connection with his beautiful child and how he was treated in his absence, it wasn't a plan of his to read up on students Hewley and Rhapsodos. It was a second perusal through the secret files within the ShinRa database by will of his mentor Veld's friend, Gast Faremis. Through him, he had clearance to these documents which were otherwise ones that would never see the light of the day.

He only intended to have a read through his son's biography written by Doctor Hojo and Professor Faremis. Professor Faremis, he trusted for that Head was the only one whose smile reached his eyes, sentiment straight from inside when he cared for the students.

Today changed that for Vincent. What was revealed to him through his search had even him step back and draw his palm over his lips.

Professor Faremis is… dead?

If he was dead a couple of years ago, then who is this man who trudged the halls of the Academy? The one the students are currently familiar with.. is he a… a replacement?

The agent had opened a can of worms with the curiosity of his son's life. Apparently, the Gast Faremis that roamed these halls is a body double, pretending to play the kind Head Doctor of the Medical Wing to keep from rousing suspicion.

To keep from the two disciples from starting a contest as to who should take over after him.

The real Professor Faremis had deceased out of a disease, apparently contracted when he created the cell enhancer, JENOVA. This "enhancer" was used as a mandatory injection to every student that made their way into the Academy to maximize their strengths at the earliest of age and develop upon it. Sephiroth was filled to the brim with JENOVA after he was found almost still born in the womb of his dear Lucrecia. The poor woman grew so weak over stress and her pregnancy, it wasn't enough to keep him alive.

It was then Professor Faremis reminded the team the previous success with two subjects of JENOVA. The baby dying in the womb could be saved if his body was introduced to the drug. When the baby showed signs of life, they deemed the material to be worth using for every member of their Alumni.

Vincent shut his eyes, reeling himself back for a second. His son was dead—near dead with his sweetheart. Poor Lucrecia.. poor Sephiroth. How happy those two made his life, how close he was to losing both. Losing one was enough heartache for him, he wasn't even sure how he was still walking with the blood of Lucrecia dressed over this Academy, caressing the grounds below.

Breathing a ragged breath, crimson eyes opened to flick through the itching need to see if he could reach for something more. Sephiroth's files were still under the works, it seemed. Every year there was something new within it, and each time it had the agent resist a retch. He was disgusted by what the Academy permitted to do to his son without his knowledge, without the boy's consent. He was mortified to know that they had him swear loyalty to them, to refuse to advocate against him for they held the rights to his baby.

They were not afraid to hurt the child of his, fearless to pin the blame on him for being a horrible father. And hell, the public would buy that without a second thought.

Why would the renowned ShinRa Academy lie?

His baby was submerged in that substance for a good couple of years. Soaking in that pungent liquid until he was awoken only to be the Academy's weapon. Even though he had him decommissioned from that horrible life, he was subject to a triple dosage of the drug every month. Vincent did not consent to it, but the memorandum had it deemed a necessity for each student, Sephiroth not an exception.

Stepping aside from his silver child's file, he flicked through the catalogue of digital files and handwritten notes. His current clearance was next to Veld's only after he had it transferred. The Headmaster was not eager to grant an agent exclusive rights in departments that were not his. Public safety being one of them. There wasn't a conference in place for Veld's possible retirement. Peculiar as it was, the Academy believe he is on an expedition of sorts, not a retired man.

For now, Vincent had the ability to search through anything the Head Agent could. What could he say? He deserved that right as compensation for unwillingly taking his son and positioning him in the stronghold. It was the least they could do to ensure Sephiroth's presence in the goddamned place.

Two names rang through his head in his son's deep yet little voice: Hewley and Rhapsodos.

Those were the surnames of the two children who were in the Headmaster's office the couple of weeks ago, those two who stood up for his boy, extending their hands to him and took the reins to show him the world he missed out on. As father to the silver child, it wasn't wrong to take a couple of notes on his little friends, no?

As much as he grew to like the two, they deserved to know their roots. He needed to know if they could be kept in the Academy, stay as Sephiroth's friends before he grew too attached to them. He would hate to see that soft child of his contort with disappointment, with anger, with resentment.
Not his child who deserved nothing but happiness.

With that in mind, he swallowed a lump in his throat before clicking open Hewley's. He wasn't sure what to expect in either, but there was a churning in his gut that spoke out. He should probably read the calm raven-haired boy's profile before going to the auburn one. Something about Rhapsodos warranted the cautious eye around. He couldn't tell why, it must've been the way his eyes almost reflected nothing.. not a far cry from his son's that led him to hesitate.

Hewley was brought up by a kind old woman who went by the name Gillian. Interestingly, the name "Hewley" wasn't of the husband. It was her maiden name that she adopted onto her son, the same way Sephiroth's surname was listed as Crescent, which was Lucrecia's. Not Valentine, and certainly not Hojo.

Hewley's family came from a line of warriors, the protector of the small village that remained as modest and humble as his family. Stubborn followers of peace and harmony, Angeal was the only son born of Gillian, who had no siblings that were listed within the family line.

It seemed that even during childhood, Hewley was very much in-tune with nature. Loving all that Mother Nature had provided turned the boy into one who was sensitive of the lives that provided them with the air to breathe. By Gillian's tender care, he was growing into a headstrong boy with a heart of gold. The boy was shown to be modest and so grateful for every chance he was given, Vincent had resisted a laugh at himself.

If Hewley was his son, it would've been too hard to resist spoiling the sweet child.

What wrought that little smile was the reveal of who his father was, who Mr. Hewley was supposed to be.

Hollander.

Doctor Hollander was his father. That one competitor of Doctor Hojo, conspirator to hiding the truth behind what happened to the real Professor Faremis. Possible accomplice to the death of said victim. It wasn't out of the equation if Doctor Hojo was the one who killed Professor Faremis in a pursuit for his position in authority. Doctor Hollander could've been a suspect as well, fiercely combatting the other Doctor by throwing proposal after proposal and facing constant rejection.

Vincent couldn't imagine such a close friend of his son was the son of a Doctor yet again. Did Hewley have a good relationship to his father? Did he even know him?

"Goodness gracious.."

If he wasn't aware of his parental figure, then the agent would feel sorry for him. For some reason, this whole trip of parenthood was softening him into a mushy piece of love, Hewley was another child he wanted under his wing, and he suspected the same would happen for Rhapsodos. He met them only once, heard a year's worth of information from his son and he already grew fond of them.

At least, Hewley had a mother who stayed by his side, taught him right and wrong before he made it to ShinRa Academy. She didn't feed him with lies that most parents accidentally did to soothe their child's rattled nerves. He was a witness by ear and by eyes that Hewley was a good, well-rounded boy. Those same morals were reflecting in his son's rapid growth.

Familial relations aside, he read onward. Hewley wasn't doused with the JENOVA drug as his child was, according to the record. In fact, Doctor Hollander's sketchy handwriting noted shock that he was given the smallest dosage and had already shown multiple signs of growth. His body didn't reject it as much as.. Vincent couldn't read the scribble but presumed it was a quick note on Rhapsodos.

He set the note on Rhapsodos with the "to be read" pieces, not wanting to see that child's file till he was done with Hewley's. He had to brace himself for the worst with that one. It had red flags all over it—metaphorical, of course.

Hewley's administration of the drug was listed as one of the few anomalies that occurred in the Academy records, going as far as to say he had the potential to be as "perfected" as Sephiroth. At that very word, Vincent pressed his fingers into a fist and nearly broke the computer within the crammed room.

How dare they.. they have the audacity to classify his son, what remained of Lucrecia as a "perfected experiment". Oh, how they'll wish they never wrote that…

Vincent was ready not only to end their career, but to completely eradicate its existence.

Hewley's body was strangely too stable, requiring so little of what they called JENOVA. It was a vast contrast to the regular students who showed little to no reaction with the dosage given to them, and an even bigger difference to the child he planned to read on after he was done. For better or worse, it seemed Doctor Hollander was at loss at words with the way Hewley's body handled the drug. It was not only once where this occurred, but each time they administered the said injection.

If they poured any more, it would prove to be harmful.

Nothing more was written that Vincent could find, earning him a couple of minutes to breathe. So far.. he was relieved that within this mess of students with rough lives, Hewley was in a tad bit of safer hands. Gillian Hewley was to be trusted as one who—similar to Lucrecia, only strived to protect her child and continue the family tree that was declining.

She had an heir, and that was all she wanted.

Heaving a sigh, he set aside Hewley's file to peek at the clock on the screen. If he could take about fifteen more minutes, he could leave without anyone even knowing he was there in the first place. Any minute later, he could assume one of the Professors intruding and causing a disruption to his peacefully, uninterrupted business.

He checked the splayed manila as he scrolled through the list to find that last student he wanted intel on: Rhapsodos. Fearing what he would find, he closed his eyes, bringing a pale hand to rub the bridge of his nose, giving it a little massage before proceeding. Something about him came to his very last nerve.

It wasn't the child himself, but what happened to him that was striking a bad chord. He should probably leave it for another day, he should definitely take a read over once he could compose himself as he was currently in a losing battle against his wits.

He opened the file.

Of course, the first thing his crimson eyes caught was what had him so tempted to close the file, throw it aside and get court documents to get a hold of the child.

Rhapsodos—or "G" was not biologically born of the listed family. He was listed as just a "creation" rather than one that was borne out of a womb of a loving woman. The name "Genesis" came when he was signed off to the Rhapsodos family, otherwise he was a mere existence, a trial run to say.

Vincent regretted reading even before getting to the worst part. He continued.

Rhapsodos, as it was still the name he was accustomed to, was one of the few children who were created by an experiment. It was rather strange as he never spent a moment's time living in the ShinRa Academy until the year before. Sephiroth in contrast, was kidnapped by the ShinRa Academy and raised, away from Lucrecia and Vincent where he should've been.

The auburn child was human by all means but born synthetically. The prototype of his son. What caught Vincent like a deer in the headlights was how he was born with the egg of an unnamed woman to protect her identity..

And sperm of the original Gast Faremis.

Secondly, there was another child that was born two years after by the same woman. That child's name was not listed as the staff had no idea where she had gone to. The mother's location was also unknown, informing Vincent that before Professor Faremis' death, he hid them somewhere the Academy would not be able to pinpoint.

The boy had a sibling he most likely had no idea about!

The only thing they had on record on the sibling was that she had eyes that were "green as life". Vincent was rather surprised at how this mysterious girl was not Sephiroth's sibling, judging by how they called him the perfect experiment—ugh, and how Rhapsodos was another anomaly they weren't sure about.

In fact, it appeared as though they had absolutely no idea what to do with him when they casted him aside to the rich family in Banora. Were they hoping he lived a normal life outside their involvement? Was it a surveillance trick to find the missing daughter and exploit her?

They were caught off-guard when Rhapsodos made it to the Academy, seemingly forgotten this was the same child that was born of Professor Faremis' remains. In fact, they didn't piece two and two together due to how different he grew out to be. What they listed as a normal child was in fact, not a normal child at all.

Administrations of JENOVA were doubled in his body—so the handwritten notes stated. The first dosage didn't have any visual effect on him, as if the body rejected and destroyed it the first instance. The second showed some tapping into his rather lithe body before it blew out.

They expected such results to be present in Hewley who had a sturdier body to boot.

Double doses were required each time they administered the drug into the auburn boy, but Doctor Hollander skipped a couple of months in favour of watching how well his body handled it. Strangely enough, that was a good judgment on his end as the boy's body would've overheated with the scheduled administration.
In a way, he did care about his well-being. That earnt him some points to redeem on his handbook of who was right or wrong.

While Rhapsodos' body took longer to take the drug into his body, the results were quicker than any other student. Almost immediately, he was able to control the new effects on how his bloodstream worked, connecting a little too well to it as if he knew his figure contained a stream of magic.

That inert network woke with the injection of JENOVA, and now Rhapsodos was one of the only students who could cast magic without the use of Materia. Something that his son could not manage at his age.

So that was the reason why he was allowed to stay by Sephiroth's side—while listed as an oddity to them all, he was considered an equal to Sephiroth due to their prowess being in entirely different fields. Sephiroth had the potential to be the master at the blades, and Rhapsodos the master of magic.

"That lock was easier to pick than I thought." The rather shrill voice had the agent jump. Who in the vicinity could open the locks he placed on the door? He specifically engineered it so the staff would not know, so that the Headmaster would not step in, and certainly not one with expertise with swords.

He snapped his face to the direction of the door, eyes blown wide and resisting the urge to lunge at the intruder. What stopped him was the lack of height in the person who stepped in—it was not an adult, it had to be..

Auburn hair.

"Rhapsodos." Should he be calling him that..?

Just how in the hell did a fifteen-year-old boy break into the highly-secured room that no student knew about?

Rhapsodos stared at him with eyes he couldn't read, those bright cerulean reflecting absolutely nothing as Vincent glanced back at him as if he was caught red-handed. While grateful that it wasn't the authorities, fear welled up his chest knowing that the file on display, the ones in his hands were of the child himself.
Nothing about the files had anything good to say. Not something a child should know.

The child's eyes met his, and the agent waited for him to break the silence that had formed within the tiny room. Surely, he would be curious as to why Sephiroth's caretaker was in this room of all places, in a restricted zone and perusing through confidential files.

Why wasn't he in the dormitory wing?

The child's lips were in a tightening line, his lip chewed on as he continued staring with those listless eyes. Vincent began to ponder why he was here. It couldn't have been a revelation of his birth that he wanted confirmation of.. was it?

"Sephiroth had a seizure, Mr. Valentine."

It was then, within that pregnant silence that Vincent's eyes darted to the boy's hand, feeling the warmth emitting so strong and yet so tame in his hand. He burnt the locks. What a dangerous skill to possess.. they would have to invest in magic resistant locks if they hoped to have more security. Noting crimson eyes on his palm, the boy uncurled his fingers and there fell the remains of the lock. Ashes and crumpled metal dropped to the ground, resounding a loud thump! as it met the ground of the obsidian shaded room.

Taking a closer look to the boy's soft face, he found that the unreadable expression was one of unshed fear. Rhapsodos was afraid, so scared of what happened to his friend that he must've rushed through every hall to find the one Sephiroth trusted the most—who happened to be snooping in the medical reports of theirs. It was only understandable that he glared at him as if he was some horrible creature.

His son could've lost his life there and he had no idea?

"How… is he?" Vincent froze at the thought of nearly losing his baby a third time. Two times was too much as it was.

"He's asleep, Angeal carried him to his room while I made sure he was awake, talking," azure eyes lowered as he made a glance at his feet, "he kept thinking he was hallucinating."

Vincent swore. "Thank you for watching over him.. you have no idea how much he holds you two so close to him."

His gratitude went on deaf ears as Rhapsodos closed his eyes.

"He said he heard a woman's giggle.. and that he's imagining us."

It wasn't until the boy took a couple of steps forward that the agent realized he had the door closed behind him. Was there any other person who knew that the auburn child came into this room? Vincent really hoped not.

Blue irises flicked up, "you are the closest to kin that he has, Mr. Valentine. I hold you to a very high esteem for your help back in the Headmaster's office, and even now."

Small hands slipped and deftly swiped the papers from his hands that hadn't had a strong grip on the file. Vincent let out a gasp.

"Wait, don't read those!"

He should've known it was too late.. after getting a study of Hewley's character, he should've left the room. At least if he met Rhapsodos at the door, this would not be happening. The child would not be reading of his horrendous unorigin, his life that was a huge conjured lie.

"I know.. I'm not a 'Rhapsodos'." That small voice that usually had a soft edge was firm, cold and callous. "They've made sure to mark that on my back that I was not theirs. What makes this so scary to read?"

Suddenly, he wished that the child would approach him the way children complained: with passages of LOVELESS and nonsense he could pick from a theatre about finesse and disinterest in anything else unless it pertained to rising in the ranks. This serious, observant and sullen Rhapsodos was not the one that Sephiroth was not accustomed to. This was the side that.. was silenced.

"It.. scared me too." Vincent chose his stance carefully.

On one end, the child deserved the truth of who he was before it would hit like a sledgehammer, and on the other hand, he wanted him to stay as prissy and innocent as he was in the Headmaster's office, the way he was. The personality that brought a smile to his son's lips every time he described him.

To his unending amazement -Genesis smiled at him, albeit ruefully as he knelt, files in his hands. There was a swirl of warmth that welled up in Vincent's heart. This child gazed at him with gratitude, such love that he perhaps had no knowledge of. If this was the warmth he gave to Sephiroth every time their eyes met, he understood why he was so fascinated.

For someone so young, he was considerate. Strangely, Vincent felt.. acknowledged.

"All that awaits you is a somber 'morrow. No matter where the wind may blow." When the agent raised his brow, he let out a mirthless laugh, "being hurt is all my family taught me. Allow me not to think of them well."

Those warm eyes shifted from him to the handwritten jargon, narrowed in concentrated as he took every syllable into mind. For a moment, ruby red eyes watched him, observed every chink in that mask of indifference, the way those baby blues gleamed as he sank lower into the scribbled notes.

It was for the umpteenth time difficult not to take these three children in his arms and give them the comfort they needed.

"Mr. Valentine, was Sephiroth born like this?"

He expected a question about Professor Faremis, about how they handled—mishandled the care Genesis needed in order to develop as a proper boy, about why the Rhapsodos took him in despite their clear dislike for the boy. They were not subtle about the fact that they did not want him around—a little too excited to have him enroll into the Academy.

"He's not that crackheaded quack's son, is he?"

Vincent bellowed a small chuckle at the choice of terms for Doctor Hojo. There were worse words to use, to associate with that rat bastard, and none were decent.

"He's not the quack's son." And what compelled him to tell young Genesis the truth? It was something simple he concluded the first time he met him and Hewley: they're trustworthy.

"Thank the goddess..! I wasn't sure what to say if you said he was. He doesn't deserve Seph." That sigh of relief told the agent it was the right choice. To see the child so pleased that his new friend and the Doctor had no relations was a sign of true friendship.

The nickname was icing on a yummy cake.

"Are you not going to ask who his father is?" he couldn't help but smile a little at the auburn boy. Once again, he could see why Sephiroth adored him so—he too was growing fond of his honest nature.

"That would be a stupid question," Genesis smiled back at him, small and with a little scrunch of his nose, "it's you."

As the child leant forward in a giggle, Vincent ran a hand through his slightly long auburn hair, ruffling the clearly stylized strands. The boy merely laughed.

"Clever child…. Is it really that obvious?"

"Oh yes, it is. You both talk and act so similarly; I was having a hard time not imagining you to be part of his family line." The snicker escaped his lips, fleeing as it came and falling into a jaded sigh. "So, have you learnt something interesting of my worthless existence?"

A frown replaced the smile on Vincent's lips, disappointed that he caused that laugh to run away like a terrified child. Even more upset at the self-derogatory association Genesis had with his own life. It was cruel life he had, wondering why his parents couldn't love him the way he did, to being dismissed at every call. How many times did they refuse to hold his hand, to take him into their arms as he cried to them?

How long ago was it that he found he was adopted—rather, pushed into the occupation by the Rhapsodos family? For Genesis to have no remote reaction to the ugly truth? From being shipped off from Midgar to Banora, to those savage people who should never, ever be called parents in their short lives, while they kept a close eye on his growth like a.. like a...

Test subject.

How could they do that to a young boy? To a child who gazed up from his dwarfing height to them in hopes that they protect him from the cold, heartless Planet. If Vincent was permitted to be with Sephiroth, never would he have allowed all that was done to him, and here.. here the Rhapsodos had all facilities to keep their "son" safe, all measures to guard him from unrelenting hands.

And yet, this is what they have done to him. It was a shocker that Genesis was not a bitter person who held a mindset of a desperate man out for vengeance against the world. If he did, the agent would empathize entirely with them. Even he resisted with every nerve to keep himself from exploding this Academy.

This child could flick his wrists and set anything he wanted on fire. He could incinerate the entire Planet and he refused to.

Why?

Vincent assumed that he didn't want to see Hewley nor Sephiroth frown at him. Surely, Hewley would not side with such an underhanded method, he loved the Academy, and Sephiroth… poor Sephiroth would be caught in a knot of his own. He'd be blackmailed to kill Genesis, loading his soft, sensitive mind with lies and heartbreak.

"Genesis, I don't you want you to refer yourself as such. Your adoptive parents have made a fatal error in not treating you how they were supposed to, how you deserved to be raised."

The hand running through those bright strands shifted to his shoulder, the other making a quick move to shut the computer off before Genesis' eyes landed on the horrific discovery of his birth. He didn't have to know that the Professor Faremis that they knew in the infirmary was likely a clone created by his remaining cells. It was not exactly the one who had fathered him.

"You're an incredibly important friend of my son and Hewley, even I hold you to an elevated regard." He hoped that the child understood that he meant every word. The auburn child was the gateway to Sephiroth's social life—if he wasn't his friend, he doubted that the kind and honourable Hewley would've been. "To hear you lower yourself to such an extent breaks my heart."

"Why does it?" the child coldly asked, not making any motion to swat Vincent's hand off him. In fact, he was leaning to that kind touch of his. "I am just a creation, just something built in a tank. That's not even a human."

'We are.. monsters.'

Shaking his head, the agent pulled the paperwork away from the child. When the child's eyes met his, Vincent pulled him for an embrace that was long due. Pulling the child to his chest, he missed the slight gasp from him as he ran a long hand around the small of his back, resting the boy's head on the crook of his neck.

"From all the people I have met, you are one of the most human, Genesis. Do not doubt that for a moment."
Vincent heard a sniffle and felt Genesis lean in, hands hesitant around his elbows but snuggling close.

"Thank you, Mr. Valentine." The boy heaved a sigh of appreciation as he laughed in a mirthless manner, "Sephiroth really does have a good father to look after him. I'm relieved."

The agent resisted another swear. He was supposed to be returning to his son after he reached the end of Genesis' file, but now, he wasn't sure how much time passed with the child's arrival and conversation that threw him off his initial plan.

The child must've sensed the bit of distress that was washing over the agent. The hands on the sleeves of his blazer tightened before it loosened. He was trying to both part and not.

"Maybe not today.. but could you tell me who made me some time later? We need to check if Seph woke up or not."

It was unfortunate that his need to part was weighed heavier than the urge to keep the child in his arms. There was a chance that Sephiroth would fall into a panicked state if his friends or his caretaker was not around. While Genesis pieced their relationship together, the silver-haired boy had yet to attain the first clue to who Vincent truly was.

"You're right. We have to mosey on."

At this, Genesis broke into a snickering fit.

"Did you honestly say mosey on? That's so old man language!"

Vincent couldn't help but do the same, pulling on the child's cheek as he parted with reluctance that he never once had.

"What do you know about language, kid?"

"Enough to know you're out to date."

"Is it out to date, or are you making an excuse for not having a wide vocabulary?" how long has it been since he had joked? When he and Lucrecia shared their bond? That was a good twelve years ago.

"Certainly.. the work of ancients." Genesis was now smiling cheekily, loosely and quite happy.

"I'm certain that your LOVELESS book is older than me." The agent shook his head with a little pout.

The two shared a laugh.

"Let's make haste. Sephiroth needs you, Mr. Valentine."

"Just call me Vincent, Genesis."

As I won't go around calling you "Rhapsodos" a constant reminder of a lie, but I can't use 'Faremis' until you know the truth.