System Shock
Genesis sighed faintly as he collected a change of clothes for Kunzel so he had something fresh to change into when he was released from the adaption room. The sigh had nothing to do with Kunzel or having to take him a change of clothes, it had to do with Tseng and Angeal's trip. They were also returning that day, and with them came the data he would have to show Sephiroth. While he knew he needed that data, and that it would all be very useful, he wasn't looking forward to that discussion, and could only hope it was complete data. With Hojo's temperament, that was no guarantee.
After collecting the change of clothes, he headed to the Quartermaster's office so he could see about getting the appropriate gear and Materia for his mentee. The man there gave him a slip with the items for a new Third, and he was relieved to see that a Shinra Alpha was one of them, along with enough Materia to fill all the slots on the Alpha and the slots on the standard-issue SOLDIER sword. Using all the Materia was a choice for the new Third and their Mentor, if they had one, so Genesis definitely had some say in his mentee's gear.
The Alpha had six slots in three linked pairs, and the sword had two singles, so eight Materia. The selection Sephiroth had chosen for Kunzel had been a good starter set, so when Genesis made his way to the supply room to find the bracer, sword, and Materia (and other assorted gear), he took the same set. He was even able to find an All at level two, much to his amusement and relief. Once he had everything from there, he found the pen he kept in one pocket, listed the specific Materia on the paper, and put the slip in the slot near the door to affirm that he'd taken those items permanently.
From there, he went down to collect Kunzel's uniforms, in case he wanted to change right into one, then headed to Kunzel's recovery and adaption room. At the door, he paused, then knocked, and heard the younger man call, "Just a minute!" There was a few moments of silence, then a snapping sound from behind the door, a curse, and the sound of something falling to the floor, which made Genesis snicker and shake his head.
Finally, though, the half-Wutain opened the door and blinked owlishly at him for a moment before stepping back to let him in. His clothes were a bit torn up, but not too bad. The light in the room was fairly low still, which made Genesis frown. "I already told you, keeping the light low won't help you adapt," he commented, scanning the room for whatever broke. Nothing was immediately visible.
"That's not because I've been keeping it that low, it's because I was taking a rest, hoping for a nap, when you got here," Kunzel replied dryly, turning the light up to a normal level and showing no eye strain at doing so.
"Why were you trying to nap in the middle of the day?" Genesis asked in surprise and a bit of apprehension. It wasn't even noon yet!
The younger SOLDIER's eyes became amused as he grinned and said candidly, "Because I got almost no sleep last night thanks to Zack sneaking in for some attention like a homesick puppy."
First, Genesis blinked. Then, his mind caught up with what Kunzel had said, and he began laughing with mirth at how that was just such a Zack thing to do. When he calmed down, having noted Kunzel chuckling as well, he commented, "Well I guess I can forgive that, then. But, you can obviously handle the light, so you're good. I brought your uniforms as well as a change of clothes from your room—I wasn't sure which one you'd want to change into just now. You have today and tomorrow off with only some casting and tactics lessons we'll go over tomorrow, and we'll get to full training the day after—you should have finished adapting by then."
"Great. It looks like you have my gear and weapons, too?" Kunzel commented, eying the pile of stuff Genesis was carting around.
"Of course," the red haired man told him, brow raised. "I'm your Mentor, so it's part of my responsibility to make sure everything you need is ready on time, or ahead of schedule. Some things I could only do today, so I figured I'd get it all done at once. The Materia are all the same types as Sephiroth first got for you to practice with, but now, these ones are yours. The only one with decent use is one All, and the rest will grow with you now. We'll work on changing and adding to that set once you show the proficiency I want to see from you."
"Okay," Kunzel agreed with a surprised blink.
"What did you break earlier, by the way?" Genesis asked, lips twitching in amusement.
"Break?" the younger man blinked, then it was like a light went on in his head. "Oh, I have a reading light that's decidedly durable—Zack-proof, you know?—and it had been on the bed beside me. The basic premise is that it can be positioned any way you want it, but when you bend it certain ways, it makes a snapping sound because it's so old. When I rolled over onto it, it bent in one of those ways and put a nice bruise on my ribs, so I tossed it on the floor."
He then pointed to the bottom of the bed, and Genesis leaned over to see the floor at the foot of the object in question. Sure enough, there was a lamp which still looked functional, if tilted at an odd angle, sitting on the floor there. Giving his head a wryly amused shake, Genesis looked back at the new Third and repeated flatly, "Zack-proof."
For some reason, that amused Kunzel and he began laughing. "Speaking of," he began when he stopped. "Could I ask you to get something for Zack to wear while I'm changing and collecting my things, Genesis?"
In normal circumstances, the Commander would have refused—that would have been the sort of thing Kunzel would go back to do once he'd put his own things away—but Kunzel was giving him a level of puppy-dog eyes he was hard-pressed to resist. To compromise, he asked, "Why can't you do that yourself once you've taken your things to your room?"
"Because he's not good at waiting, and the only clothing he has left—mostly—is a pair of underpants. He'll walk out of there in just those—or in his birthday suit, even—if he has to wait too long, and by his behavior last night, we only have about half an hour more before he'll do it," Kunzel explained. His tone was so serious Genesis had to blink. Then he remembered Zack's energy level and realized it was probably true—if he'd already snuck over to Kunzel's room, he wouldn't stay in his own much longer.
Blinking, Genesis looked down at the bundle he held, then back at Kunzel to ask, "Do you trust him to keep one of your uniforms in one piece?"
"If they're the same as the Cadet uniforms, if he destroys one of 'mine', I can always hijack one of 'his' in compensation," Kunzel answered in wry amusement.
At that, Genesis sighed and dropped everything he was carrying on the bed, fished out the bundle of uniforms, and pulled one out. "Fine. Get ready to go. I should be back by the time you're done." He then walked out, pulling the door shut behind him as he heard a cheerful, 'Thank you!' from Kunzel.
Of course, because he was Kunzel's Mentor, he'd been able to find out which room Zack was in—it was well-known the two were friends. He supposed in normal time it would have been harder to find out, but not by much, since he was also one of the SOLDIER Commanders. As it was, though—no one had questioned why he wanted to know both room numbers, even though he had no reason to know Zack's in the first place. But just then, it made things a lot easier, since he didn't have to take the time to find Zack or find out where his room was, he could go right to the door and knock.
It was pulled open by a very agitated Zack dressed only in a pair of underpants with a torn hem and one seam on the side torn nearly all the way out. Shoving the bundle into the surprised Third's arms, he said, "Kunzel sent over one of his uniforms so you aren't walking around in your undergarments. Or less. And he said that if you damage his uniform, he's hijacking one of yours to replace it." He then stepped back and shut the door—only to cringe when he heard Zack literally guffaw, the sound obvious even through the door.
Hellfire, he'd only even heard either Kunzel or Zack through the reinforced doors due to his enhanced hearing in the first place! But to hear the other young man laughing—! He was sorely tempted to open the door again and demand to know what was so funny, but figured that would be rather infantile. And he had the excuse that he had to get back to Kunzel. So, he went back to his mentee's room and waited outside for the couple minutes it took for the door to open...And by then, a fully dressed Zack was making his way ecstatically down the hall.
Genesis sighed, and Kunzel (also dressed in a uniform), who had seen and heard the action, snorted in amusement. He then looked at Zack and asked, "Well?"
Zack gave him a thumbs up and replied, "Thanks a bunch, buddy! Now, let's get out of here! I'm bored stiff already! Oh, and yes, you can hijack one of mine if yours is damaged."
"Good." Kunzel then faced Genesis and commented, "You said I have the day free because I'm still technically adapting."
He then stopped there, at the most loaded of loaded statements Genesis had ever heard, and the red haired man sighed. "What do you want to know first?"
"Can we visit Neirine?" Kunzel asked.
Genesis should have expected that, but he hadn't, so he groaned and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I have to call Veld to find out who's minding her right now and whether they'll suffer your company for awhile or not."
"Okay. When's Tseng going to get back? I have a question for him," the younger Mage said, without giving Genesis time to make the call, even though he'd managed to pull out his PHS.
"...That also has to go to Veld," the red haired man replied.
"Figured as much," Kunzel nodded sagely. "Okay, last question—what do you recommend Zack and I do, here or in the city, so he can use up some energy and I can get a change of scenery? After we visit Neirine, of course."
Genesis' head tipped to the side for a moment before he asked in return, "After the incident with Dante, are you sure you're ready for that kind of outing?"
Kunzel paused for a moment, expression becoming completely serious as he said, "I've had a few days to think about all this, with no one else around. I've realized I'm a 'people person', and I don't like being isolated. Maybe something will happen, but—I'm not going to be alone, and I know I'll have support if something does. And maybe nothing will happen. I'd hate to miss out just because I was too scared to move forward. I want to recover, not stay scared." Zack thumped him on the shoulder in a clear show of support, but the younger Mage's eyes stayed fixed evenly on Genesis'.
He'd seen that expression from Weiss when he'd made the decision to move forward and heal, to open himself up—and to flourish.
"Fine," he agreed at last. "You want a change of scenery and Zack needs to use up energy. I don't think today is a good day for actual training or real fighting, due to your adaptation requirements, but if you really want to learn to control your strength, doing it with help from others is a good way to start. I'll let you two borrow some cash to go down to the Behemoth's Den bar and dance club, which opens around six, so you can get something to eat and do some dancing. On the way there is a park of sorts—no trees, but things you can do and some open space. Depending on how early you leave, you may want to spend some time there. Now, I have a call to make, and both of you need to first visit your rooms. And Zack, you'll also have other stops to make."
"Other stops?" he asked in confusion.
"To the tailors to get your own uniforms, and to the Quartermaster to get your combat gear—bracer, sword, Materia, and other allowed items," the red haired man replied. "Were you already given your new room number?"
"Paired with another new Third, yeah," Zack agreed. "It's just on the floor up from the Cadet floor, too. If I know where to find the other two, I can do that and join you two after lunch? Then, we'll be able to visit Neirine, and head out after that."
"Sure," Kunzel agreed, then turned to Genesis. "So, do we wait here while you make the call or head back to the apartment while Zack runs around collecting things?"
Shrugging, Genesis selected the tailors' number and let it dial as he held it to his ear, and when it was answered, he said, "Yeah, Commander Genesis Rhapsodos. I was collecting my mentee when one of the other new Thirds gave away the fact that he has nothing but underpants to wear." Zack blushed faintly at that, and Genesis went on, "He's borrowing one of Tarins' uniforms right now, but he needs the full set of his own. How soon can you have that ready to go?" Admittedly, he liked the answer he got back, so agreed, "Yes, please do. It's for Third Zack Fair—he should be there within half an hour." Agreement returned, so he gave a 'great, thanks, bye' and hung up, then chose a new number. Roughly the same thing happened when he spoke with the Quartermaster, though without the 'nothing to wear but underpants' part.
"So I'm all good?" Zack asked with a grin.
"You're all good. We'll expect you at our apartment around lunchtime. You're heading to—" Genesis said, listing the two locations of the offices and the one for the storage room Zack was going to get his gear from. Once he had all the data, Zack ran off (literally) to collect everything, grinning like a maniac as he did. In the meantime, Kunzel and Genesis calmly walked back to their apartment.
Sitting at the table with a faint sigh, Genesis found Veld's number to call him for those two questions, one of which he also wanted answered. Veld answered without greeting or preamble, just asked, "What can I do for you, Genesis?"
"First, when are you expecting Tseng and Angeal back?" he asked.
The man sighed faintly and commented, "I have Heidegger breathing down my neck to hand Tseng over to him, so if they haven't called me by noon—they're supposed to stop at Costa del Sol to refuel and get lunch—I'll call them around then. And I'll be telling them to return as late this evening as possible, so likely between eight and nine."
Genesis gave an impressed whistle and sigh, commenting, "Yeah, that's not going to leave much time for Heidegger to get to him. Kunzel had a question for him, and I need to get the data he should have collected on the way."
"Your data will get to you, regardless, but I can't guarantee Tseng will be here long enough tomorrow for Kunzel to talk with him. If not, make sure you've got his question and can pass it on."
"Why would he be gone again so soon?" Genesis asked in surprise. "And apparently out of touch, too?"
There was a long silence before Veld sighed and explained, "Heidegger knows he's coming back today, and if he can't get his hands on him today, he'll get to him first thing in the morning. I think he knows he can't touch Kunzel, so he reverts to his default with Tseng. I have to send Tseng on an undercover mission to get him out of Heidegger's hands until we can figure out some way to keep him away from Tseng."
"Oh," Genesis replied in surprise and worry. He had honestly not realized the situation had been so bad in the past...But then, maybe Heidegger hadn't had to push so hard because no one knew there was a problem, and no one ever tried to keep Tseng from him last time.
"Yes, oh," Veld agreed. "So, Kunzel's question needs to be with us sometime today and Tseng will hopefully have an answer for him before I send him out. What else did you want to ask?"
"Kunzel and Zack just got out of the adaptation rooms, and they want to visit Neirine," Genesis commented. "We need to know who's minding her and if the boys will be welcome visitors."
"Hmm...I believe most of the day work actually gets done by Ansha and Kariya. I doubt Neirine will mind visitors, as long as you're sure they won't hurt her accidentally with their new strength," the older man replied, his tone a bit dry by the last part.
"I'm sure they're good for that," the red haired man replied as dryly.
"Then I'll let her know to expect them...Around when?"
"They were thinking early afternoon, probably not long after eating lunch."
"Good enough. They know she's still staying at Tseng's apartment?"
"I can remind them and give them the room number."
"Good. Anything else?"
"Nope, all good now."
The two men said their goodbyes, and Genesis put his PHS away to look at Kunzel, who had been standing across the table from him the whole time. It was the younger man who asked, "I probably won't get a chance to talk with Tseng personally, will I?"
"Probably not," Genesis agreed. "Is your question too personal to ask through others?"
Kunzel frowned faintly and looked away, saying, "I'm not sure it's appropriate to ask about the Blessing through others."
"Anyone getting it will know about the Blessing," Genesis replied, his brow quirked.
"It's not..." Kunzel began, then sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't translate well into Standard, Genesis. I have to be able to ask him in Wutain."
The red haired man blinked, then said, "Oh." He knew there really were some things which didn't translate well between Standard and Wutain, and a lot of those were things steeped in Wutain tradition and culture—all the categories the Blessing fit under. "I'll let Veld know and see if there's something he can do to allow that."
"Sure, thanks," Kunzel agreed, looking up with a grateful expression. "And visiting Neirine is okay, and she's—I guess at Tseng's apartment, even though he's not there?"
"Yes. I'll make sure you have the number before you leave," the Commander agreed. He then called Sephiroth and asked him to pick them up a lunch for four—which would be a lunch for five because it included Zack, and Zack ate enough for two.
The rest of the day basically progressed as he'd thought, with him having most of the afternoon and evening to himself while Kunzel and Zack were out. He remembered to call Veld again about Kunzel's problem, and just got back a 'we'll see what Tseng has to say.' It was better than nothing, so he took it. It was nearly nine at night when Angeal walked in, carrying a rather large file folder and looking decidedly tired, but he also seemed to be...apprehensive?
"Everything all right?" he asked Angeal as he rose from his favorite chair to take the papers from his honorary brother.
"I just found out first-hand what Jenova is like," he commented, wincing slightly. "Now I know why they wanted to eliminate her. And somewhere in there is the data about Sephiroth's parents?"
"Amongst other things, yes," Genesis agreed, sitting at his table to lay out the paperwork. "Thanks for bringing it over. Did you want to crash here for the night, or are you good on your own after having to fight off Jenova?"
The larger man actually hesitated before sighing and saying, "I had a bit of time to flip through those papers, too. I'm not sure Tseng knew what he was looking at, or if he didn't care, but both of our parents are listed as well, and they aren't who we thought they were."
Genesis' gaze lifted to him with a frown as he asked, "What? Are you saying Gillian Hewley isn't your mother?"
"She is," Angeal answered, then shook his head. "But Hollander is my father."
The younger man choked on air, then dove into the paperwork to find the data on his, Angeal's, and Sephiroth's parents—and was mildly surprised Sephiroth's were in a different part of the folder, which was probably why Angeal hadn't found it. Sure enough, Angeal was listed as Gillian Hewley's and Hollander's son, and as he'd known, Sephiroth was listed as Lucrecia Crescent's son...but the space for his father was blank. If he was Hojo's son, that should have been listed, not blanked out! Then, he found his own—and almost died on the spot.
"Holy fucking Hellfire..." he breathed.
His parents were listed as Shalyn Rui—probably related to Shalua and Shelke Rui, the former who he'd heard of and the latter who he'd known, a little bit, in the future—and as Kariya, the Death God of the Battlefield.
The red haired man only realized he was shaking when Angeal's arms wrapped around him from behind, closing over his hands to steady them. It was instinctive to lean back into the other man, still trying to process this new data—and he was suddenly sure Tseng hadn't known before finding the paperwork himself, and that it was everything else which had kept him from sharing it. Maybe that was also why he'd passed the paperwork on to Angeal—because this was personal information for all of them, and he was suddenly grateful Tseng had simply handed it off.
When Genesis finally stopped shaking, Angeal asked, "What are you going to do?"
For a few more minutes, the red haired man had to think about that, then he said quietly, "I don't think I like being blind-sided like that, but...Did Tseng show any signs of telling Kariya?"
"I don't think so?" Angeal questioned in confusion. "I'm not good with recognizing Turk tells, Genesis. I wouldn't know if he planned to tell something like that to another Turk, but with Kariya being in the thick of the paperwork, he'll probably find out pretty quickly, anyway."
"...Right..." the younger man muttered. "There's that. But that also means someone removed that data about the two of us from Shinra Manor before everyone started seriously looking in the future, because I'm sure this wasn't there the day the shit hit the fan. I'd have been a lot less likely to behave the way I did if I'd been reeling from this."
"Hojo?"
"He'd have no reason to."
A long silence fell, then Angeal finally commented, "What I don't grasp at all is why the 'father' space on Sephiroth's paperwork is blank—he's sure that's Hojo, and that's what Hojo's been telling him."
"And if it was true, there would be no reason for it to be left blank," Genesis answered tiredly. "But then, who would have not been listed?"
"Someone Hojo doesn't like?"
"That's nearly everyone."
"...I meant something more specific, someone he has a personal hate on."
"...The only one who really comes to mind is Vincent Valentine."
Both men then froze as their eyes widened and the pieces all fell into place. "Oh, fuck..." Genesis breathed, and Angeal nodded against his head.
"I think you two should probably have not had that discussion in your kitchen," Kunzel said from near the front door in a dry tone, and both men jumped, then turned to look at him in surprise. He was there alone, leaning on the wall.
"...How much did you hear?" Angeal asked warily.
"Enough to know who all three of your parents are, or aren't," the younger man replied evenly, not looking worried at all.
After a long silence, Genesis asked, "And you're not a Turk why?"
Kunzel gave them a sad smile and replied, "After the firebombing of Kalm last year and the accompanying coverup, I realized I couldn't handle doing a job like that. Even the firebombing itself wasn't the problem—it was the coverup I couldn't handle. Making a whole community not exist, to make them disappear, just because Shinra didn't want any 'bad publicity', and to do a job so thankless as making your own family vanish without a trace—I couldn't do that."
Genesis winced as Angeal looked confused. "What firebombing?" the larger SOLDIER asked in confusion.
"Turks caught one of the Death God's terrorist members on the outskirts of Kalm, and the Infantry were supposed to bomb the terrorist's hideout. The communication system somehow cut out and the bombs hit Kalm directly," Genesis answered. "The town was destroyed and there were very few survivors. I only knew about it many years after the fact, when it was being investigated by a group in the future called the WRO. They were working to undo all the damage Shinra had done to the world—restoring the existences of the people who died in Kalm was one of those things."
"...Oh." Angeal muttered, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it.
"Go to bed, Kunzel," Gensis told the younger man, who nodded, pushed away from the wall, and headed for his room.
In the end, Angeal crashed on the couch, and Genesis didn't sleep at all that night.