AHH less than a month until Crisis Core - Reunion! GAH-

I don't own anything, anyone or anywhere you recognise. Sapphire, along with a few others who'll crop up every now and then, are mine.

Gonna give a really quick summary of the last chapter, just on the off-chance anyone skipped over it due to sensitive topics:

The events at Banora in Crisis Core played out more or less as expected, but precious Gillian lives (VocalVenom was it? Think you or someone who reviewed said they wanted me to save her, I wasn't gonna but I came around to the idea. Yay canon divergence!). Angeal grabbed his lovely mum and ran for the hills. Equally precious Zack is present, unsurprisingly, and our Saphie predictably has a fairly strong emotional reaction to the Puppy, though he doesn't recognise her. (Or does he?! He did say: "You look familiar." More on that in this chapter, so STAY TUNED!)

Before they flee Banora, set to be bombed, Sapphire at last finds the nerve to confront Genesis about, y'know, being a villain and all that, sadly without a satisfying conclusion as it's cut short when Genesis decides it's time to go, nabs her and they fly away. Explosions cause some issues to Sapphire's psyche, they land and squabble for a bit (because obviously), which is again cut short as the events of the day catch up to Sapphire and she faints like an actress.

Hmm... I feel like closing out a chapter with her fainting is bleh. I hate characters losing consciousness at the drop of a hat. I'll try to do better. I have fainted a couple times in my life so I try to draw on that experience, to make it as realistic and undramatic as possible.

(I felt dramatic though xD)

Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter! Hugely appreciated, as always~

Cheddar, you keep on speculating! Loving your theories. Hope you enjoy where it's going :D

Nyx, thanks for sticking around! I know I've been pretty neglectful of the story lately, just life getting busy. Otherwise I'm totally grand, hope you're keeping well too!
Honestly, as I was writing in Saph and Zack's little reunion, I just got so happy and it just flowed. Zack gives me the warm fuzzies, he's so pure and innocent, and I physically NEED them to reunite properly. So yeah, rest assured, it's bound to happen!
So glad you're liking how she and Genesis are getting along as well. I feel like there's going to be a lot of teetering between fun banter and heavy discussions (and arguments), so I'm gonna try my best to keep a balance of both in a way that makes sense for where they are in the plot, and for Genesis' gradual fraying at the seams. Trying my best, but if it feels too cheerful or too angsty, or if Genesis seems too stable or unstable, please let me know! So far I'm assuming I'm doing a decent job and carrying on xD

Nearly at the quarter-century now! And on...we...go!

Chapter 24 - What Happens Next

Angeal hadn't dilly-dallied. The ex-SOLDIER had made haste to Mideel (and with the ability to fly, the word 'haste' took on a whole new meaning), he had located his mother's neighbour's vehicle, sternly told the elderly woman off for leaving it out in the open regardless of who was using the garage, lay his mother down in their spare room, and closed the door behind him without a second glance.

He couldn't look.

His poor mother, the woman who'd given him everything, and she'd tried…

And he hadn't been there. He didn't deserve the title of son. He'd been elsewhere, refereeing a standoff between two opposing sides that he hadn't even been able to choose between.

Sapphire had saved his mother, whatever her reasons, and thus he was indebted to the young woman. The young woman who was familiar and heartbreakingly foreign at the same time.

She would have made it out; Genesis would have flown her to safety, quicker than Zack would have left the village, and Shinra wouldn't have destroyed Banora with his old student as collateral. Zack was too valuable. In this game of chess with an unending supply of pawns on both sides, Zack was Shinra's knight, able to skip over the warring ground troops and fight the opposing king head on.

Angeal rolled his eyes. Those sorts of metaphors were better left to Genesis.

The man cleared his mind, and tried instead to enjoy the thrill of flight; soaring through the air over the quiet sea and towards the wooded edge of the eastern continent. Aiming for the mako city, he kept a keen SOLDIER eye out for any splashes of red leather or burgundy cotton.

The spinning helicopter blades roared over his head, but the deafening sound did nothing to mute his thoughts.

Zack was stunned into immobility. So much had happened in such a short space of time that his brain had short-circuited.

Angeal's mother incapacitated, Angeal helping him only to walk away, that woman from Ash's sketch and her weird alliance with Genesis, then Genesis sprouting a wing and the pair flying off, then the town being destroyed and Tseng hurrying him onto the helicopter to get them back to Midgar.

And after all that, he had to just sit and stew, turning it all over in his head and wondering how he could possibly describe it all to Lazard in a coherent manner for his mission report.

It'd be strange making a mission report without Angeal doing ninety percent of the talking. Or more recently, General Sephiroth hovering over his shoulder, ready to jump in with a correction or an observation or just a better way of explaining what had happened.

It had been annoying then, but Zack decided he wouldn't have minded it this time. He needed someone smarter than him to figure all this out. Someone like Angeal, he thought bitterly, the sting of betrayal fresher in his mind now than ever.

"Don't think so hard." The suggestion, shouted in an effort to be heard over the din, came from the perceptive man who was paid much better than Zack was, sat across from him in the helicopter. Tseng looked no worse for wear after their encounter with Genesis in the factory, the lightly singed lapels of his jacket being the only suggestion of a scuffle. "You only need to say what happened. It's someone else's job to understand why."

"I guess you're right," Zack agreed, sounding defeated, "just feels like I'm missing something obvious."

"She stays with us."

No room left for argument, but he did anyway, "She's a target with us, she's not safe."

"She's safest with me."

Angeal sighed, a limp protest. He knew that unshakeable tone. And he was selfish enough to hope that the bond Genesis shared with his old student might help drag him back from the brink.

Angeal also hoped that it wouldn't push the girl to it, with a greater feeling of trepidation.

"What happened to her?" he asked instead, frowning at the girl cradled in Genesis' arms. The faded red smudge on her face was a stark contrast to her ashen face, only a shade or two apart from her thoroughly tousled hair.

Leather creaked as fingers curled. "She fainted. Too much happened too fast. She'll need to rest for a time."

Angeal nodded in acceptance.

"And what of your mother?"

The ex-SOLDIER swallowed down his animosity to answer, truthful but terse, "Sleeping when I left her."

How easily he had left the woman who had raised him, made him who he was today. Or rather, who he had been. The man she had raised would have been there when she needed him, and stayed with her until she needed for nothing. Angeal was no longer that man; his honour lay shattered at his feet.

Whatever was left was something he didn't recognise. A foreign creature. A monster.

"I'm going to meet with the army. Most should be well on their way here by now, with the boats we had prepared in advance on the northern coast."

The unspoken question hung between them, in the moments of heavy quiet that followed. Will you be joining us?

"I have another location in mind for us to continue our research," Genesis continued, with the faintest upturn of his lips. The lack of response to the lack of a question seemed to be enough to convince him to use inclusive pronouns. "Somewhere uninhabited. Somewhere with easy access to all the tools and equipment we could ever need."

Angeal raised an eyebrow. "Sounds too good to be true," he challenged warily.

Genesis' slight smirk widened into a feral grin.

When the fog of my mind cleared, my strongest prompt to return to the land of the living was the sound of a loud, authoritative voice I hadn't heard before.

I was surprised then, when I cracked my eyes open, to see a familiar face. "Angeal?"

His eyes fell to mine, a warm shade of amber. I squinted. Previously blurred features sharpened into a face I didn't recognise.

"Not Angeal…"

"No, not quite," that other voice boomed, his tone and sardonic smirk distinctly not Angeal. "My name is Hollander."

"Nice to meet you," I whispered absently, while my mind churned over the fact that the villain who experimented on infants was standing over me.

A harrowing cackle echoed in my ears.

"Am I okay?" I asked. Whatever the reason behind it, I suspected Genesis would only let the scientist near me if I was unwell.

"Hollander? I'd like to thank him."

"I'll pass it along."

"For now, yes," was his deeply unsettling answer as he got to his feet. The sight of him towering over me had me sitting abruptly upright, my feet flat on the mattress and ready to spring me up and away for escape at a moment's notice. "Would you like me to fetch Angeal for you?"

After a moment's thought, I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm good." Hollander nodded, and left the small room, closing the unfamiliar wooden door behind him. I could've sworn he bellowed a laugh as he left the room, but I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt as I'd heard a different laugh from a different scientist only seconds previous.

I'd think I was losing my mind, but since I was aware it wasn't real, that meant I was fine, right?

Suddenly wobbly, probably from sitting up too fast, I eased myself down onto my back once again, straining to remember how I'd got as far as this stiff, small bed.

Wasn't I looking after Gillian? I was sure the room she'd allowed me to stay in had a much comfier bed than this one.

Floorboards creaked under approaching footsteps, and I didn't get an opportunity to wonder who was at the door before they'd let themselves in. I scrambled to sit upright once again.

"Are you alright, Genesis?" I gasped, when he turned his back to close the door behind him.

The ex-SOLDIER cast me a mystified look. "You would ask me that? Of course I'm fine. Sapphire, are you alright?"

"Just, your coat, it's…" His prized leather coat was unforgivingly torn, beyond repair, several inches straight downwards from around his left shoulderblade. What could've caused that damage?

I ran out of words as my mind kicked into gear, images and sensations and conversations choosing that moment to catch me up to speed. Arguing. Abandonment. Genesis. Cold. Fear. Wind. Wing. Blast. Rush. Angeal. Terror. Gillian.

Softness. Care. Zack. Zack. My friend. A stranger.

"You look familiar."

"Sorry," I murmured with closed eyes, drawing my knees up to curl my arms around them. "I remember." My head throbbed. I pinched the bridge of my nose, fingers and thumb massaging to little effect.

Rustling to my right, as Genesis settled himself beside me. "That's good," he offered, I suspected earnestly though his delivery was a bit limp. "Here."

A glass tapped against my hand, which I accepted without looking, and took a slow sip. The water was almost room temperature, so I supposed it must've been sitting a while. "Thanks."

"I want you to help me."

That was enough for me to crack my eyes open. "With what?" I asked, intrigued. Unconsciously I registered that my bed must've been so uncomfortable because it was only a mattress, as Genesis had sat on the floor to be at eye level with me.

The redhead smirked weakly, "Keeping my head on straight."

…What?!

Did he think I'd have tips?!

A distant breathy cackle echoed in my mind. A shadowy, twisted, nightmarish figure was amused at my expense.

Perhaps seeing (and correctly interpreting) my outrage, he hastily added, "I apologise, that was poor phrasing. But… no less accurate even so. May I explain?"

Clamping my mouth shut, I nodded, looking away from him to study the wall instead – and maybe to try to hide how offended I had been, as an added perk.

"I know Angeal has told you of my condition, my degradation, and that it is the reason behind my desertion of Shinra. I don't doubt he explained it to you adequately, however one factor he may have failed to mention is that, as it affects my body, it will surely affect my mind as well. I fear that as the process continues and my condition worsens without adequate treatment, my mind will begin to fail."

Outraged a second time for an incomparable reason, I reached out to him, pain scrunching my eyebrows. I couldn't quite find it in me to reach, so in a move that was plenty familiar to both of us, I let it fall between us, palm up in an open invitation. Similarly, my mouth fell open to say something, but my mind came up with nothing, and I closed it a moment later, brow furrowed in consternation.

Silently, Genesis took the step that I hadn't previously been brave enough for, and settled his gloved hand on top of mine. I focused on transferring my empathy to him through osmosis, curling my fingers firmly around his hand and hoping the meaning would assimilate through flesh and leather.

As if they were just waiting for a better moment, the right words now flowed, "I'm here for you."

And in every sense of the phrase, I was.

My quiet assurance was enough to lift his tense frown, the corners of his lips just barely tilted upwards. There was a weariness to that look, that tiny smile, an honest display that I was transfixed by.

Straightening his back, he made a show of pressing a hand to the base of his spine and sighing. The action put a striking amount of distance between us, as if we'd been leaning closer—

A little grateful for the withdrawal, I extended an olive branch with a squeeze of my fingers around the hand that hadn't left mine. Clearing my throat, I threw a bucket of ice cold water over us with a question I wasn't sure how to ask, "Did you, ah… talk to Hollander, at all?" The 'about me?' went without saying.

Because if I was going to help Genesis keep his head on straight, I'd probably need my own to be the same way.

Fortunately Genesis seemed to understand that, and dove straight in. He spoke slowly, radiating empathy.

"He only recently gained some findings from a sample he took the day you first arrived, and expressed regret that it took so long. Hollander confirms that you are indeed a SOLDIER on a cellular level, infused with mako. He has managed to isolate another foreign element, although he was unable to identify the source of those cells, nor their effects. In all likelihood, only Hojo will know. You have my sympathy."

Sometime later, when the deafening static in my ears died down to a gentler hum, I looked down at our still-clasped hands and nodded in acceptance. "Thank you," I tried to speak, but it came out as a barely-audible croak.

"Hollander and I also spoke of your memory troubles," Genesis continued gently, "and it is his belief that they, along with your headaches and your collapse yesterday; all of it is due to stress and trauma. No incurable illness or unknown affliction, simply… too much happening all at once."

The creak of leather suggested movement, and a moment later the backs of his gloved fingers brushed over my downturned cheek.

"Isn't that good news, at least?"

I glanced up to meet his earnest mako gaze, and smiled as brightly as I could. "Yep," I agreed with a nod.

"Come here," he invited with arms opened wide, and without preamble I scurried forward into his embrace. The faded rug morphed to wood, the mattress behind me into a fluffy white cloud of a bed, and the view of trees through the window became the side of an overarching cliff.

Finding shameless comfort in the familiarity of it all (and idly noting our safe space was no longer an empty white room in my mind), I looped my arms around his neck and nestled my cheek into his chest.

Leather-bound arms enveloped me, and his chin came to rest on the crown of my head. In lilting tones, he recited, "When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the Goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting…"

It was soothing. Not that I'd ever tell him that.

…

"Angeal, hey," I greeted, unable to temper my smile at the sight of him. The bulky ex-SOLDIER looked like he'd been thinking hard about something worrisome, and the way those stress lines faded from his face to be replaced by a gentle smile warmed me from head to toe.

"Sapphire," he returned the greeting, getting to his feet and stepping forward to put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "Good to see you, you're looking brighter."

I grimaced. "I guess yesterday took its toll. What a day…" Running a hand through my hair, I almost leapt a foot in the air when a certain someone came to mind. "What about Gillian, how is she?"

"I brought her to her neighbour in Mideel. She agreed to look after her. Not exactly a long term solution, but hopefully it won't have to be."

Pressing my lips together, I found tears springing to my eyes, to my unending frustration. Anything would tip me over these days. "That's good." My statement earned me another shoulder squeeze. Looking between the two former SOLDIERs, I took a deep breath and decided that the time for greetings was over. "Where are we, anyway?"

Whatever the building was, it was poky. The walls, floors and ceilings were entirely made up of rough wooden planks, the shelves coming down with knickknacks. The vibe cast my mind back to a certain tent I'd visited months before, north of Mount Nibel. The distinct vibe of a bomb could go off in here and it'd neaten it up.

It was endearing. But poky. I could already feel myself bumping elbows with the two bulkier-than-average men.

"Judging by the supplies in the closet, it's a fishing cabin," Genesis supplied, taking up position leaning against the wall between the door and window. Maybe he was feeling a little claustrophobic as well.

"More's the pity," Angeal grumbled. At my intrigued look, he raised a hand at his childhood friend, looking exasperated. "It's given him an idea."

Raising an eyebrow and casting the smug redhead the side-eye, I warily questioned, "What sort of idea?"

He shrugged, as if it were no big deal. Strongly implying that it was in fact a big deal. "The best way to get into Midgar undetected. No doubt infantry will be patrolling the entire southern half of the continent, best way to avoid them on land is to travel by sea."

My brain shorted out. "Hold your chocobos. I… I'm so lost. We're going to Midgar?!"

"Yes." As if it was obvious. The 'duh' was silent.

"…Why?! Isn't that the last place you wanna be?"

As if on a cue, a daredevil smirk broke out on his face, his eyes narrowed dangerously. The look suited him far too well. He extended his challenge, "Entirely the contrary. To be a stone's throw from Shinra and their labs would put us in the best possible position to find a cure to the degradation. And, if we happen to have time to look through some notes from a certain professor, maybe even find a way into my old suite where I stored a certain something, well… there are too many benefits to list."

I narrowed my eyes over blushing cheeks, letting out an indignant huff. Why was he making this about me, and my sword?!

Angeal abruptly interjected with an inquiry for me, "You went to Midgar, some months ago. You risked your freedom going there, why?"

I gulped, studying the frayed rug at my feet with wide-eyes, following the lines and loops of its pattern.

No reason not to be honest. Except the honest truth makes you sound desperate, and granted you may have been, but does he really need to hear that you genuinely risked it all just for the slim chance of meeting him? Just for the desperate hope that someone would remember you?

With a shrug, I abandoned my reservations and murmured just loud enough for SOLDIER ears, "To see him."

Peering through eyelashes and locks of silver, the sight of Genesis' perplexed furrowed brow and slack jaw did not help, as he openly stared at me. "What?" he questioned, just as quietly as I had spoken.

"You were the only person I remembered. So I wanted to find you. Kinda thought you'd show up to see this new production of Loveless or whatever… but you didn't, or I didn't see you, so I had to move on."

"I had tickets for opening night," Genesis slowly whispered, his tone inscrutable. "July the twenty-fifth."

The sudden, swift movement of Angeal's head snapping in Genesis' direction made me jump. "The virtual training room." He spoke the relatively mundane words with such gravity, though the significance of it eluded me.

It didn't elude Genesis though, and in a blink he was slamming the door behind him, causing a rattle in the cabin that knocked a few items off the walls.

"The first wound that never healed," Angeal swiftly filled me in, as without so much as looking in his direction I catapulted myself over a sofa on my journey to the door.

I ran full-pelt at the redhead, vastly underestimating my pace as I barrelled straight into his back in no time. He kept his footing, rigid as a tree, but fell still as I wound my arms around him, nestling my cheek between his shoulderblades. The rough edge of the hole in his coat and wool turtleneck tickled. "It doesn't matter. Things all worked out, didn't they?"

"Three months. You were left wandering alone, all that time."

I decided not to nit-pick ("Well, three and a half, but who's counting?"). "Yeah, how dare you intentionally injure yourself enough to miss out on seeing your favourite play. It's almost like you knew I'd be there and you were actively trying to avoid me."

He let out a rush of air, a not entirely reassuring sound, but one of his gloved hands reached up to curl around one of mine, clinging to the leather straps that criss-crossed over his chest.

"No offense, but this is a dumb thing to get upset about. You didn't see me for… basically three years. Three months is no big deal."

"Your empathy could use some work," the redhead sniped, half-hearted but rude enough to put my mind at ease.

I snickered. "Look who's talking."

His trapped elbows nudged at my arms, so I dropped them and took a step back, allowing Genesis to pivot and meet my eye. His jaw was taut, but other than that he looked reasonably calm.

"So tell me about this sailing plan of yours. How exactly do you intend to get all these SOLDIERs to Midgar without anyone noticing?"

…

The idea that had struck Genesis in a moment of madness grew into a plan over the course of the next week. I wanted to help, but my general knowledge didn't go as far as knowing how many SOLDIERs would fit on a fishing trawler boat (or whatever they called it), nor where to source a large number of said vessels.

It was nothing short of a miracle that two of Genesis' SOLDIERs were from one of a few small fishing towns west of Midgar. They were able to give a rough measure of how long it would take to sail from here to the coast nearest to the mako city - a staggering minimum of three whole days in best conditions, and without breaks!

Hearing that had been enough for me to decide I was better not knowing, and so to pass the time I picked up my worn sword and trained until my arms gave out and my legs turned to jelly.

By the time Genesis approached me and told me that it was my time to go, a full month had passed. From near constant training, I felt fitter than I had when I'd arrived in Banora, what felt like years ago. And yet, I felt no keener to go on a fishing boat and sail for up to a week than I had when I'd first understood it to be a possibility.

Funny that.

Genesis could read my face better than he read poetry, and tried to console me, in a tone of voice that suggested he had no qualms tying me to the mast for the trip if he deemed it necessary. Did trawlers have masts? "I understand your trepidation, but just remember that six boats have already made it to Midgar without detection, and the seventh due to arrive there in a matter of hours."

"That's great and all, but still. There's something that's just a little off-putting about going straight to the source of all our problems without any possible escape route, and just kind of hoping they don't notice us."

The redhead raised his eyebrows, his visage floating somewhere between amused and annoyed. "We've been over this. If you're accompanying us to Midgar, you'll do so by sea. If not, we part ways here."

Folding my arms, I looked away and scowled.

"I regret this is our only option. If you encounter any issues, you can tell me all about them when I arrive in the boat after yours."

"Conveniently overlooking that any issues might mean I never arrive, say like, an explosion maybe?" I sniped, knowing it was too far in the same moment. With a sigh, I let my arms fall slack, my shoulders slumping. "Sorry, I just—"

"No." Genesis reached for my upper arms, grasping with bruising force, teeth fiercely bared and voice a dark, dangerous rumble. "That will never happen again."

Shocked, I reached up to hook my hands over his arms, awkward due to his hold on my own. "That was thoughtless of me, I shouldn't have mentioned it, I'm sorry."

It seemed my words hadn't helped, as he lingered there, jaw clenched, mako eyes bright and burning into my own. Time lost all meaning, while he seemed to struggle in a silent war with himself.

Why so serious? It's not like he was there. "Are you okay?" I tentatively asked.

Though he didn't outwardly react, gradually, his grip eased. "I'll be sure to double-check your vessel for explosive material, if it will put your mind at ease," came his unconvincingly snarky reply.

"That'd sure go a long way," I made my own poor attempt at sarcastic banter. "Could say it'd be a blast."

…Well now getting blown up would just be a mercy. Genesis even winced, his hands withdrawing from my arms like I had suddenly caught on fire (which I might've, judging by my instantly burning cheeks). Turning to face away from me completely, he eventually responded "…I'll see you off today. And you'll be the first person I look for when I arrive."

I choked out a thank you as he swiftly retreated, finding myself grateful now for several days on the water, away from civilisation and away from Genesis.

…

Turns out there was another reason why making light of my previous traumatic vehicle experience, prior to setting sail on a much lest trustworthy mode of transport, was probably not my best idea. The first day I counted twenty-eight sudden losses of balance that I couldn't attribute to the rocking of the boat, and five dashes for the railings with a queasy stomach, before I stopped counting altogether.

The second day I fell overboard. A sudden sweeping in my stomach prompted a familiar rushed gallop to the nearest side of the trawler, coinciding with a particularly rough wave hitting the other side. My crewmates broke their previous stoic silence towards me and were almost weak with laughter by the time I was dragged aboard.

Despite myself, I joined in. Somehow, the notion that I could tumble into the sea felt like a good thing. Or maybe it was that I emerged from the ocean, waterlogged and chilled but ultimately no worse for wear. And even though I'd become the sort of village idiot of our group, it broke the odd tension between us. By the end of that day I had joined them for a card game I didn't fully understand and had actually won once, apparently.

Realising the opportunity I had on my hands (and cursing myself for never thinking of it beforehand), I tentatively broached a topic I'd been curious about the next night, after the cards had been put away and most had retired to their beds. "Why are you all going along with this?"

Three pairs of surprised and sombre SOLDIER eyes studied me carefully. Eventually, one looked to his hands, fumbling with a lighter and a half-full box of cigarettes. The other two looked away as well, one to the horizon and another to the skies above, alive with a breathtaking array of stars.

"I think he's doing the right thing," the horizon-watcher spoke first, sounding contemplative. "Shinra are the bad guys, not Wutai. Only chance we have to knock them down a peg or two is with each other, as a united front."

A solemn silence (but for the waves rhythmically lapping against the boat) followed. It was broken by the click of the lighter closing, and a heavy sigh. "Mad if you think we'll have any effect on Shinra."

"Well, we're going to Midgar now, aren't we? Right into the belly of the beast. Even if we don't succeed, we'll for sure hurt them."

"Man," the stargazer spoke next, his tone exasperated, "you gotta realise, Commander Rhapsodos isn't trying to fight Shinra. He's only looking out for his own ass."

"He hates Shinra though. And he's getting us all so close to them. Even if he doesn't give us any direct orders to attack, he's not going to tell us not to, right?"

"Maybe not," the smoker conceded after a drawn-out drag of his cigarette. "But if he expects us to attack HQ, you first. Place looks fancy but it's a fortress."

"More SOLDIERs on our side than theirs now, though."

The stargazer huffed a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, but they've got the General."

That took the wind out of his sails.

While I tried to keep my inward chuckles under wraps, the smoker looked my way. "Why I'm going along with this, right?" I nodded in encouragement. He took his time answering, a haunted look falling over him in the quiet. "Saw some bad stuff over in Wutai. Did some bad stuff, and have done since then, we all have. I wanna start doing some good, and the way I see it, best chance of that is by sticking with these idiots for now."

Intrigued and curious for more, I was disappointed when he nodded at the final SOLDIER to give his answer, the one who had argued quite strongly in opposition to Genesis. Interestingly, he shrugged, and eventually replied, "Army's my life. Fighting Wutai, fighting Shinra, doesn't matter."

A heavy silence fell over our group after that, even the waves lapping at the boat seeming to quieten in response. Unsure where to look, I decided to follow his previous example and watched the stars.

"Way to kill the mood," laughed the one who'd answered second, flicking his cigarette out into the ocean before pushing himself upright. "Think when chat turns heavy it's time to turn in. Night."

I was the first to follow, taking my bunk below deck and thinking too hard to really sleep for the third night in a row.

We arrived at the fishing village two days later. There was no pickpocketing ID cards here; we needed some more thorough subterfuge to disembark without arousing any suspicion at this unexpectedly hectic port.

Our sailor (because some SOLDIERs were taught how to sail? Sailing was a hobby of his? I hadn't asked) was the first to go ashore, looking the part in bright orange waterproof overalls, and came back some minutes later with a bundle of clothing of a similar fashion. Supposedly these were items the first group had found – AKA stolen – and had worn to blend in and easily leave without being questioned. Just not all at once, obviously.

For such a slapdash plan, it worked perfectly well. Despite the amount of people around, they were busy and bustling, focused on their own work. It seemed like no one cast any of us a first glance, let alone a second, in our ill-fitting fisherman gear.

Then for two days, I sat on an isolated section of the rocky beach about a mile from the docks and waited. After ours had left I hadn't seen another boat leave, so the fishing boats must've started early. Every day, eight of them would arrive back, with enormous crates full of fish, and every day I was stunned by the sight of just how much there was, presumably the vast majority of it to go to Midgar.

The beach was absolutely freezing, with stones instead of sand and a bracing, near constant wind. Although I didn't feel any particular discomfort from the breeze, I missed the fleece-lined hoodie I'd left in all the chaos back in Banora; it was more comforting to huddle into than my current one.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd catch your death out here," one of the SOLDIERs who'd sailed here with me had mentioned once.

Every couple of hours one would come out and join me for five minutes, if only to check I hadn't wandered off. It made me curious to know their reasons for doing so; out of some misplaced sense of chivalry, or perhaps more likely, following orders.

On the third night after arriving, long after the usual trawlers had docked for the evening, another boat appeared on the moonlit horizon. Transfixed, I watched its lazy approach.

From over my shoulder, "Who are you waiting for?"

The question was followed up with a hearty chuckle, as before it had finished I had leapt up and away with a screech. "Don't do that!" I gasped, clutching my chest over my racing heart.

"Perhaps a lonely maiden; yearning for her lover, lost at sea on the day of their wedding. She watches for him, every night until dawn, adorned in her bridal… hoodie, and scruffy jeans—"

"Shut up," I chortled, giving the playful redhead a half-hearted shove. He staggered back as if wounded, and put a gloved hand to his chest, furrowing his brow in exaggerated torment.

"Alas, she laments for her fallen groom so, that she would spurn the courtship from another. Even as he gifts her—"

In a swift movement, he produced a flower from the inside of his coat, sweeping it in an arc through the air to present it with a delicate hold on the stem.

"—the most perfect rose."

I blinked. "Is that what it is?" The poor thing had seen better days…

Genesis' shining eyes narrowed. "As it turns out, sea winds are not so kind to flowers." Even as he spoke, one of the three remaining petals was torn from the flower and carried away by the breeze into open sea.

That tipped me over the edge, and I laughed without a care.

Despite himself, Genesis warmly chuckled along with me.

By the time I regained my composure, my cheeks ached, and Genesis looked on with the brightest smile I'd seen on him for quite some time. "Can we go already? I need a warm drink and a bed."

"Of course," he readily agreed, and offered his arm with a raised eyebrow. I hesitated.

I skirted around his elbow to grab the limp rose from his other hand and toss it in the direction of the sea, before skipping ahead in the direction of the town. He caught up in a matter of moments, but kept his hands and arms to himself this time.

The wounded look he shot me set me off a second time.