Genesis was a dead man walking. The thought had crossed Zack's mind in Nibelheim, and it did once again as he emerged from the tree line.

His hair was snowy white and brittle, his skin pale with an unhealthy sort of yellowish tint, and his eyes… mako eyes were naturally brighter than normal, but there was a feverish gleam to them now. Even his wing, unnatural as it was, reflected his illness, having lost its sheen and shedding feather bits far too easily as he moved.

He was a sick, sick man, and it was a relief to think that maybe - hopefully - they would be able to help him. As angry as he was with the former SOLDIER, Zack had always sort of hoped he'd be able to bring him back. For Angeal, and for Sephiroth. They were gone, now, but… that made it even more important. He was the last one left of the big three.

Genesis' eyes swept over them all, and he hesitated when they landed on Vincent. Sensing Chaos, no doubt. And yet he continued to approach after that one pause. Bold indeed.

"Well. Quite the tracking party," Genesis said. His voice, at least, had not failed him yet, the same lyrical tenor he'd always had. "Four First Classes… I'm flattered. I haven't even caused any trouble lately!"

"Would you believe it if I told you we were actually here to see someone else?" Benji asked casually. "She sends her regards."

Confused suspicion flit across Genesis' face, leaving behind a frown. "Don't be cryptic, Richards, it doesn't suit you."

"Do we feel different, Genesis?" Zack prompted.

Genesis was slow to drag his eyes away from Benji, likely because he was the one he knew could match him in magic, weakened as he'd become. His frown deepened as he stared at Zack, then looked back to the other three Firsts. "…what have you done?"

"No icky alien cells!" Benji said cheerfully, bouncing on his heels. "Pretty damn nice, given, you know, what goes down with those at our level."

"You've… removed your Jenova cells?" Disbelief was heavy in his tone, his gaze rightfully incredulous. "That's not possible."

"Well no, not for us to do ourselves," he agreed. "But if you want in on it, we've got a sweet deal with a healer…"

Aerith waved, and felt a wash of nerves from Cloud as she drew Genesis' attention. "My name is Aerith. I am a Cetra - the last of them, as far as I know."

"A true Ancient," Genesis murmured, voice carrying only because everything had gone still around them in the presence of so many predators. "May I assume the presence of your suited friends is related to her presence?"

"She sorta just came in one day after Hojo and the President were shot, actually," Benji said, smiling at Genesis' wide-eyed stare. "Yeah. We've been real busy lately."

"Shot, you say." He eyed Veld and Vincent speculatively, but didn't give voice to his suspicions. "And you came down here for what, again? The ruins are hardly a hot spot for… anything."

"C'mon, Genny. Cetra plus these ruins you used to go on and on about? Top tier mystic shit," Benji said, smiling at the narrow-eyed glare the loathed nickname got him. It was nice to see some of his fire. "Think on it. You were always the clever one."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Genesis said darkly, but it was clear his mind was racing.

Then his eyes widened, pale lips parting but no sound coming out. He looked to Aerith again, and she gave him a gentle smile.

"Will you let me help you, Genesis?" she asked softly. "That's all you've wanted, isn't it? All this time…"

"I have learned help comes at a cost," Genesis said stiffly. "What price do you ask of me, Cetra?"

"I think 'stop killing people' is a good start," Aerith said mildly. "Or at least, if you must, perhaps some on a short list?"

Someone made a choked sound at that coming from her. It might have been Veld, though no one caught him at it. Typical Turk for you.

All the same, Genesis' interest was piqued. "You have a list? Really. More Turk-style than SOLDIER, isn't it?"

"It's less a specific list and more 'we're pretty sure these guys who are crazy overloaded with J cells are going to try to kill us all really soon and we'd like to get them first,'" Benji supplied helpfully.

Genesis stared at him with a hint of concern. It wasn't the first time he'd gotten that look, but it was… oddly heartening to see it. "…what in the Goddess' name have you gotten into?"

"Funny you should say that," Zack said, drawing his attention once more. He liked that better. Even on death's door, Genesis was deadly and it wouldn't do to forget that. "What do you know about WEAPONs? Like, the planetary sort."

"…Fair, if you tell me that you have located honest to the gods WEAPONs of the Planet and pissed them off, I'm leaving," Genesis said flatly.

"First part kinda, second part not that I'm aware of?" Zack said carefully.

"That's as clear as mud, thank you," Genesis said dryly. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"When Sephiroth was killed, he took a large portion of Jenova with him into the reactor - into the Lifestream," Aerith said. "Now that she's in the Lifestream, Jenova is able to influence anyone with high enough concentrations of her cells. Zack. Probably you. Probably the other Firsts, we didn't test it. And some others that we've recently discovered."

"Hojo's work," Zack said quietly, and Kunsel squeezed his hand.

Aerith inclined her head in agreement. "Jenova is a world destroyer, and would very much like to take this Planet for herself. The Planet does not agree with this, and as people living on this planet we'd rather she not as well. So we're preparing for a very different sort of war."

"Or not so different. Still killing people, just… fairer fights," Benji said, rocking on his heels a bit, nervous energy just barely contained by the solemn air.

It helped that Genesis no longer looked even the slightest bit hostile. Instead, he was intrigued. Confused and probably suspicious, he wasn't an idiot, but most definitely intrigued. "And how, exactly, do you intend to fight Jenova? What… WEAPONs. You have means of summoning WEAPONs?"

"So close," Benji said, squeezing finger and thumb together. "Almost there. Think a little crazier."

"Richards," Veld warned.

Genesis scrutinized him, eyes brightening a touch. There was the static feeling of magic, but subtle - nothing offensive. Sense, most likely. Assessing them. Because he knew most of them, most definitely knew the other, more seasoned Firsts. He knew what he should be seeing.

It should have been impossible for Genesis to pale further. It wasn't a good look, and no one was comfortable with the stunned, borderline awe he was regarding them with as the spell deepened, more magic poured in to eke out every last bit of information he could gather, more than the materia generally allowed, as only a master mage could. His voice, when he spoke, was just above a whisper. "…what have you done."

He'd asked them before, but this time it hit differently. For a moment, no one answered him, suddenly unsure. Of them all, he had been the reverent one. He had been the one to speak of gods and legends and myths with reverence, and while it had been annoying at times, sure, it had also been an integral part of who Genesis was.

For a long moment, Zack was pretty sure they all felt absurdly self-conscious of what they had agreed to.

Benji broke the silence at last, because Benji had never been good with silence to begin with. "We, uh. May have made a deal with the Goddess? To, y'know, fight Jenova. If we had the power to."

Genesis' eyes merely grew wider. And for someone who had so often spoken of the gift of the Goddess, indeed seemed to crave it, when finally faced with such a thing he had a lot more fear in his eyes than they'd expected.

"You… you've promised yourselves to the Goddess' service," he said, sounding and looking dangerously faint. "And in turn, she has made you her WEAPONs."

"And I have been given the power to heal those with Jenova's taint," Aerith said simply. "I don't know what it would cost you to lose that. But it may save your life, and it will save your mind."

Genesis looked painfully lost, staring at them all. Overwhelmed but unquestioning this new reality.

Someday, someone would have to ask him what he'd seen when he looked at them that made him so readily believe such a wild claim. But right now, no one dared.

"Genesis," Aerith said, raising her voice to catch his attention. "I ask you again, will you let me help you, knowing the origin of my power?"

"And the only price is… my aid?" He asked carefully. "In this war against Jenova and these… others?"

"Yes," she agreed. "You help us. You don't need to make any vows, or have any other changes."

Genesis smiled tightly. "Very well."

"You agree, then?" she asked, wanting to hear it.

"I agree," he said. "If you do heal me, you have my blade in this battle, so long as I can wield it."

She nodded with a warm smile. "So be it."

She held out her hands to him, coming forward, and he met her in the middle. Nowhere near far enough from the other Firsts to get away if he'd tried something, but there was a rawness to his expression that said he wouldn't dare. More than the fear and awe, there was a painfully desperate hope. Genesis knew he was dying.

He was not ready to die.

Aerith took crimson gloved hands in hers, and gave them a little squeeze. "…this might hurt."

Genesis didn't scream or cry out in pain, but his legs dropped him like a dead weight. Despite his superior strength, even if he'd wanted to he wouldn't have been able to pull from Aerith's gentle hold.

Under their collective, fascinated stares, her magic blossomed into visible wisps of healing green even as the oily black smoke began to rise from Genesis' kneeling form. His wing gave a weak, reflexive flap that did little more than rustle her hair, before the changes began.

It started most obviously with his hair, the stark, brittle white beginning to bleed back to rich auburn red. From there, fair skin lost its jaundiced hue to return to a more porcelain tone, the veins losing their prominence. Even his wing looked healthier, feathers gaining a glossy sheen.

When his eyes opened, there was a clarity that had only come in spurts; they were unusually wide, yes, but no longer fevered or mad. The look he gave Aerith was borderline reverent. "You… saved… me?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"I…" Genesis blinked slowly, shaking his head a little. "…I think I'm going to pass out, now."

Aerith made a startled sound, attempting to ease him to the ground as he rather abruptly tipped over. It didn't really work, but fortunately he was probably sturdy enough now that it wouldn't have really hurt him.

"Well then." Aerith looked back to Zack and Kunsel. "I think I did it?"

"I think you did too," Kunsel agreed. "Anyone have an ether? Benji?"

"Yeah, hold on…" Benji fished around a moment before coming up with one. "I always carry them. You never know when battle will happen."

"True enough," Kunsel said, passing it over. "Ever had one before?"

"Once," Aerith said. "It's not bad."

"Try taking a half dozen back to back and get back to me," Benji drawled.

"Don't," Drew advised. "Unless you actually have to."

"Mmm, I sense a story," she said, sipping at it.

"More like a rant or five, but yeah." Benji came over to kneel by Genesis, prodding his shoulder. "Huh. Out like a light."

"His stamina is probably nowhere near where it used to be," Kunsel pointed out. "As sick as he's been, I'm not surprised that knocked him out."

"Do we wait for him to wake up, or…?" Aerith looked at the SOLDIERs uncertainly.

"We don't have time." Vincent spoke up instead, voice dropping in pitch as Chaos took over. "We need to get back to Midgar. The Calamity is aware of what has happened, and will be making a move soon, if not already."

"Right." Aerith squared her shoulders. "Someone carry him, then, and we'll get back to the ship."