Most SOLDIERs had at least some rudimentary materia skills, if only to pass through formal qualifications to make SOLDIER - though those that had been at war knew any and every advantage should be taken, and that meant learning enough magic to patch yourself up and give yourself a ranged attack in a pinch.
Genesis was renowned for being the best of the best with magic. Benji was a close second, but he was deemed far less charming and marketable and therefore was not really 'known' the same way, at least not outside the upper ranks and any enemies smart enough to research Firsts outside the big three. They both liked it that way, so it worked out.
Together, though… there was a rare menace indeed in that duo. It had been years since they'd worked together, since either of them had worked with a mage who could keep up, and yet they synced back up immediately, like they'd never stopped.
And yet for all their power, all their experience, they didn't find Nero until he was ready to be found, his energy suddenly there, blotting out the rest of the SOLDIERs in the area, one by one - Drew, Nik, Kunsel - and prompting an explosive limit break from Zack.
Genesis kept driving because he was Genesis and even things that stunned him didn't stop his automatic press to continue his mission, but beside him Benji sucked in a breath and stared blankly at the point in the distance where he'd felt Zack's energy amp up to levels he'd suspected but never witnessed. "Holy shit."
"It seems Angeal's puppy has grown up while I was away," Genesis observed, outwardly calm despite a hint of shock in his gaze as he tore through the streets.
Even at the speeds Genesis drove, Benji knew they weren't going to make it in time to make a difference. Burning with that level of energy, Zack was either going to wipe out Weiss and Nero both, or he was going to burn himself out and they'd be left to pick up the pieces. There wasn't the slightest sign of him attempting to moderate and make it last. He had been pushed over the edge and the floodgates had burst open and he was riding it out however long he could keep it up.
It was less than five minutes. Less than three. Zack took Weiss out, and then…
Then Nero took him out, must have, because there was just a big cold blank where that burning power had been.
"He's not necessarily dead," Genesis pointed out, grim but apparently determined to be at least somewhat positive. "He could have burned himself out."
Benji nodded faintly. That was the hope. They'd have to catch up to Nero, find out what he'd done…
Whatever he'd expected the answer of that to be, it hadn't been finding a whole building being swallowed by the tangible manifestation of shadows. Literally, there was this writhing mass of dark… stuff that was actively attempting to consume a church. And it was succeeding.
"What the fuck?" Benji whispered.
"Good question," Genesis said grimly, driving up within maybe twenty feet of the darkness.
"Did it eat them?" Benji asked, as if Genesis could possibly know. Neither of them had seen magic like this, had so much as dreamed of magic like this. "What the hell are we supposed to do about that?"
"How does one fight the shadows?" Genesis asked grimly, leaning back in his seat a moment.
Benji didn't wait for an answer, bailing out of the car and going to grab some of the rocks and rubble in the surrounding area.
Under Genesis' incredulous gaze, he hurled a piece of debris easily the size of his head at the roiling darkness and cursed loudly as it vanished without so much as a ripple on the surface. Gone, without a trace.
"Well what did you expect?" Genesis asked, getting out and perching on the car, his bangle lighting up as he prodded his Sense materia to try and get actual answers.
Benji threw another rock, yelling furiously, "GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME YOU BASTARD!"
"Benjamin, you are literally shouting into the void," Genesis said dryly.
"Yeah, well the boogyman is in there somewhere and I'm going to keep shouting and throwing shit until he gets his ass out here!" Benji declared. This time, lightning crackled around a piece of metal he sent flying.
It did nothing to illuminate the darkness.
"We may have to walk in, ourselves," Genesis observed. "There's no guarantee he'll hear you, and on a scale of likely to not, I find it nearly impossible that you will outwait him."
"Oh fuck you, Rhapsodos," Benji growled. "Get over here and do something other than fire off your mouth."
"Didn't work out the first time, can't see it helping now," Genesis retorted, sliding off the hood and walking over to join Benji. "I see you're running out of debris -"
"I will hit you with that car, Genny," Benji warned.
Genesis snorted, amused despite the loathed nickname. "You said your magic restores itself without need of ethers?"
"Yeah, weird but handy," Benji agreed, then squawked when an ether was deftly pilfered from his supply belt. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Genesis smiled, tapping the top a moment, then giving it a solid shake before uncapping it. Before Benji could ask, he covered the top with his palm, and the liquid lit up all at once.
He capped it in a hurry and hurled it for the darkness, shooting a thin, precise stream of fire at it and exploding it into so many gleaming shards. This time, they could make out a little more detail of the mass, actually a very deep violet energy that remained impenetrable to light, looking almost matte in the bright light instead of any of the luminosity you would expect from energy.
Then the shards, too, were absorbed.
"…the fuck did you do that for?" Benji demanded.
"Trying to figure out if it's selectively solid, or completely amorphous," Genesis said.
"It will eat your sword," Benji informed him.
"It can eat my magic," Genesis said evenly.
"Oh now you wanna - heeeey, here's our prince of darkness," Benji said, taking a step forward as a lean figure emerged from the shadows. Hard to tell with his mask, but it sure seemed like he looked annoyed. Well good. "So, people eat buildings where you're from huh?"
No response, save a put-upon sigh from Genesis somewhere behind him.
"You must be Nero," Genesis observed.
Crimson eyes looked Benji over, then slowly moved to Genesis. "…I am. I assume you have come to join your comrades?"
"If by that you mean are we here to burst your emo bubble and save their asses, yes," Benji said.
It was impossible to tell if he was smiling, but Benji had a hunch he was. Jackass.
And then he took a step back into the shadows, holding his arms open invitingly. "Come along, then. I'll even let you join them."
Benji hissed softly, eyes narrowing. "Do not like."
"Me either," Genesis said.
"But I'll take the bait," Benji said grimly. "You tell the others. Figure out some backup plan if this doesn't work."
"…if what doesn't work? You don't have a plan!" Genesis said.
"I work best on the fly," Benji said, which was maddeningly true. "Besides, have you ever had trouble finding me in the dark?"
Genesis smirked at that, despite his unease. "…fair, I suppose. Don't do anything stupid."
"I like how you said 'stupid' instead of 'reckless'," Benji approved. "Knew I liked you for a reason."
"Of course. I'm you, just younger and prettier," Genesis said, the familiar banter grounding in the tenseness of the situation. But he sobered, patting the car, and let his wing out with a rustle of feathers. "I'll get back to the others, see what we can think up. Try and make it pointless, hm?"
"Oh I will absolutely waste your time and energy," Benji said, grinning and giving him a thumbs up. "Hurry up and wait, yeah?"
Genesis snorted. "Don't forget a Wall."
"What, do I look like a rookie?" He waved him off. "Get goin' you oversized crow. Bring me back something shiny."
Genesis flipped him off and took to the air, watching a moment before quickly flying away with a few flaps of his wing.
How the hell he didn't just do circles was beyond Benji's limited understanding of physics. Had to be magic, though, which he would gleefully poke at until he'd figured it out.
Later.
Right now… he had some idiots to save.
The faint blue light of a Wall flicked over him, and he walked determinedly into the darkness.