Murphy's Law Become Reality (or The Incarnation of the Potter's Luck)

by dragonqueen909

Translation fic La Loi de Murphy Devenue Réalité (Ou L'incarnation de la Chance Potter) Soulmates are considered a legend. Yet even across different worlds, they can find each other, and sometimes, especially when the Goddesses agree, meet. Some are so broken that only the link can allow them to hold on... especially when dreams are the only way to communicate.WARNING RAPE/SEX

4. Fragments of Fire Part 1

READ ME:All right, now so some people start flaming this fic and make pot shot at my translation. Let me remind you that im translating this fic for you guys,im not obligated to do so. And while yes i may miss something while i translate, im going to point out that every chapter of this are long ass chap. there is also the fact that im not the only one you are insulting with those comments, but 3 of us. Me, the author (Fumseck73) and a friend that do a last pass on it before posting when she has time (Selerastar).

We 3 do so while considering the readers, but we are not perfects we will miss somethings, so while it may make some translation wrong, take in note that it could be worse and not been edited at all.There is also the fact that the author is Pure French from France while my french is Canadian/Quebec. sometime I myself dont understand her context so it is the hardest to translate at points. Now the tertiary editor is a pure English Canadian with bad grammar...

So if it displease you that much dont read it.

Now for those that dont actually care for the sometime wrong translation and just read it to enjoy the actual story i thanked you all for the support and please enjoy this new chap you were all waiting for.

Chapter 3: Fragments of Fire - Part 1

Genesis emerged, blinking, then glared at his clock. He hated getting up so early, since he really wasn't a morning person. Angeal sometimes called him a Coeurl, joking that he behaved like a cat... suffering from pyromania. Generally, the redhead only reaction was to flip him the bird. He liked his childhood friend too much for throwing fireballs at his face as he did to others.

With an annoyed grunt, he got up, running his hand through his hair to tame them a minimum. The gesture, however, remained distracted, even as he entered his bathroom, his mind continuing to drift towards the girl with whom he had spoken in his dream. Was there a connection with the fact that he no longer dreamed of the flower as usual? Well, no longer dreamed of the flower... he still had dreamed of a bush of flowers the following night. In a castle. Talk about a cliché, he thought ironically. On the other hand... what was up with this goat trying to attack the flowers? He wondered with frustration. Because the bushes... looked sick, and in a sorry state. He had pulled out Rapier, furious, and had done his best to slice the goat, but he was fast and smart enough to dodge him, to his utmost frustration.

Seriously, he couldn't stay still for five seconds, so he can take care of it? He thought absently while getting dressed. It made him think of the puppy. Genesis couldn't stop the jealousy that ran through his heart whenever he thought of the hyperactive kid. The kid was still... quite adorable, he had noticed. A radiant disposition, and a cheerful temper, which took pleasure in helping those in need. He also dreamed of being a hero, like Genesis, and he could only admire him for his courage.

These thoughts led him to rethink about the girl he had dreamed of. Her... pessimism and cynicism about the hero status, now that he had a little time to think about it... worried him, to be honest. What could she have lived through to be so cynical? Certainly... she had told him that she was an orphan, like him... and that someone was after her life, while another refused to help her. Then the jealousy of her friend she had mentioned... why was it touching a string in him?

He entered the kitchen, thoughtful, sitting in his usual place. The Puppy was calm for once, respecting the fact that Genesis wasn't a morning guy. He was barely staying in place, of course, but he clearly showed that he was intelligent and empathetic enough to realize that some were not able to function until a certain time. And it raised the redhead esteem for the kid. Although he couldn't help but be jealous that he was taking a lot of Angeal's free time.

Sephiroth was at least right on one point, aside from the sword (and he saw the kid using the same kind as Angeal's in the future), Zackary Fair hadn't yet shown any real preferences for magic or the sword. He seemed ok (not extraordinary, but not bad like Angeal either) with Materia, and had some potential. Genesis had seen recruits with more potential, but very few. And a good part of them had been discharged for harassment and bullying.

The redhead shook his head, disgusted. He himself hated bullies, having been a victim when he was a child. His bookworm side had attracted a lot of mockery from the other Banora children, until Angeal came to his aid. And not because he wanted to make buddy-buddy with the son of the town mayor, with access to his finances or something else (as some who had wanted him to pay them things... they had quickly left, and joined the ranks of bullies in spite), no. Just because it was the right thing to do. Genesis didn't knew him before, or had barely seen him, but he knew he was one of the poorest in the town. And yet... Angeal hadn't asked for anything in return, Genesis had been the one who had offered him some Banora Whites.

He let out a sigh, his mind continuing to think of what the girl had said in their discussion. Why was she so pessimistic about the hero status? What could have happened to her to be so cynical? He wondered, unable to turn his mind away from this discussion of the following days.

His reflexions took his attention so much, sometimes, that he was completely lost in his thoughts. And even Sephiroth, who seemed totally disconnected socially, had realized it, apparently. Even if Angeal had been the one who had asked him what was on his mind, without knowing what to answer to his question whether it was wrong to want to be a hero. He hadn't really been able to give a clear answer, though. But... he told him something interesting... and similar to what she said. That you couldn't be everyone's hero... and that you couldn't put everyone in agreement with your actions.

He hadn't dared to say that it was someone he was talking to in his dreams who told him that, though. Rather pretend that it was someone with whom he corresponded, even if it was unlikely. And he hoped his fan clubs would never hear about it. He loved the worship of the crowd, yes, but some were really too crazy for him. Like those who sent used panties... of all kinds. Just the memory made him shiver, though he remembered laughing slightly maliciously when it happened to Sephiroth at first. And he laughed even more when he found the perfect way to punish some SOLDIERS. Have them open their fan mail and sort the letters. All that was useless or frankly beyond the reasonable ended up in the fire... and that included the dirty panties. And that way they didn't have to suffer that themselves.

Genesis was still looking forward to seeing that happen to the puppy, just to have the opportunity to laugh at him. But if he knew Sephiroth as he thought, the day the kid would have his own fan club like them, the silverette would add his mail to the mail sorters schedule. The SOLDIERS who were in these teams usually did their best to avoid this punishment again.

His lips twitched with amusement as his pencil ran over the sheet, adding details here and there. Reading Loveless wasn't his only way to relax, it was just the easiest to transport and store quickly. He also liked to draw, although many would have looked at him with bewilderment at seeing that yes, he had the patience to draw. Angeal was probably the only one who knew he could draw, and very well on top of that. Genesis tilted his head to one side, frowning as he grabbed the eraser to remove a poorly made line on one edge of the drawing.

He had several erasers, each with their degree of hardness and different sizes for each type. Some were large and very abrasive, others thinner but equally abrasive, others still large and soft when it needed to erase a large area, or to create shadows by spreading the pencil. Same thing about drawing material, by the way. He had everything from different types of paper, pencils, different types of paper to pens, and even paints (gouache or oil), or crayons. Everything was carefully stored in one of the drawers of his dresser, and he always took great care to put them back in place. Not that he was ashamed of his hobby, but he liked to be able to draw in peace.

Cackling like a Behemoth, he added the final touch to his drawing. The Puppy, with dog's ears and a tail moving a hundred times a minute... or that gave the impression anyway, with the multiple images of tails behind him, traits connecting them to give an impression of movement. He put the pencil next to the drawing, staring at it with amusement. Yes, it was just perfect. Now, it only remained to ink it and add a little color in the skin and eyes…

Genesis frowned, however, realizing that his Wutai ink bottle was empty. He swore softly, also realizing that he also had almost no gouache in some colors, especially blue and red. And if he wanted to be able to color the puppy's eyes with the right color, he would have to experiment by mixing these two colors to get the right shade.

With an annoyed sigh, he put his drawing in his drawing binder which was reserved for those who were still unfinished. He had a good package for each size or so, and in two copies: one for those who were finished, and the other for those who were not. Whether it was because he had no ink/pencils/paint of the right color, or because he lacked a detail, or was not satisfied with it. Sometimes... he would redraw a drawing a dozen times, until he found the right stroke of pencil.

Speaking of that... Genesis took out his copy of Loveless, the one he always had on him, which had become as iconic about his character as his sword and scarlet coat. It almost made him laugh to know that this edition, originally decried because of its pale pink color, was worth a fortune now because his fans were fighting to get one... and all because he always kept it on his person. While it was the cheapest edition, and that Angeal had offered him for one of his birthdays, having worked hard in the plantations to be able to offer it to him.

Opening the book, he looked at the drawing slipped inside, protected by a plastic film. The flower was beautiful, but he never knew what kind it was. With a sigh, he put away his equipment and put the book back in his coat pocket, undressing.

His dreams... had changed. Now... it wasn't just the flower he saw. Now... either he was talking with this girl (he had to admit it, Flower was a nickname that suited her well, even though he would have liked her to find something else than Mr Apple Pie or Mr Apple and Smoke as a nickname for him), or he dreamed of this castle or what was apparently the area where she lived (with local critters), even her memories. And by the Goddess... he would have liked to strangle the person who had apparently locked her outside in the middle of winter! Was it related to the snow-covered flower he had once dreamed of?

Genesis rubbed his hair in frustration. So many questions... and so few answers.

The redhead shook his head irritably, slipping under the covers with a sigh. His scholarly side sometimes drove him crazy, especially when there were insoluble riddles like this. And above all... how was it possible to speak with someone in his dreams? Because these dreams and the details they had were far too complex, detailed and mostly logical to be just dreams.

Closing his eyes, he let himself go, sliding slowly into sleep. Why… was Flower undergoing all this? He wondered while falling asleep. Nobody deserves to live through that!

oOo

Genesis raised an eyebrow at the dream. What was this place? He wondered, rather intrigued.

The room was quite dark, and there were... aquariums? in the walls. It took a while to realize that they were actually vivariums, in which there were reptiles. Probably a kind of zoo, he thought, seeing all the people around Flower. There was very little of those on Gaia, and most were reserved for the noble (CAD the rich), or SOLDIERS, so that the new 3rd Classes could watch the monsters safely, at the same time as their instructors explained to them the weak points of the various monsters, where to slice and/or pierce these latters to kill them as fast as possible and with a minimum of risks for their person.

Genesis had religiously attended all the mandatory classes for 3rd classes, even those not required in order to have maximum knowledge about monsters. The redhead was well aware that knowing as much as possible about the monsters' weak points could save someone's life, or subordinates if the person rose in rank. And Genesis had every intention of being a good superior. Pyromania or not. And now that he was a Commander... he took his duty very seriously, and that included protecting his subordinates. Oh, if they made idiots of themselves and didn't pay attention to lessons, he let them get hit by monsters a bit before intervening. Never enough to put their lives in danger, but enough to get the message across. Usually they didn't do it again, and most of them even asked to retake the lessons they didn't pay attention to.

However... zoos with only ordinary animals were very rare. Especially because they brought in less money than others, and could be called "private collections". At Flower's place... things were different, obviously. He still hadn't seen monsters, and maybe there weren't any?

He was drawn from his thoughts by an obese boy, who insisted that a snake do something. Even his... father, if he trusted the resemblance, tried to make the reptile react. It was apparently the biggest of the room, but seemed to prefer to sleep rather than react to this idiot or his friend. Genesis snorted with contempt. If he had been there... he would have gladly swung a fireball at their hair to teach them good manners. Pyro or not... he had been educated properly, and above all, he had been taught good manners. Not like these two idiots.

His eyebrows climbed, almost disappearing in his bangs, however, when Flower began to speak with the snake. And the reptile... seemed to understand her? The discussion made him snickers... until a scream made her jump. Genesis would have happily grabbed the boy for a good spanking if he had been there (something the boy had clearly missed when growing up), because hitting his own cousin (and Flower had been pretty sweet in calling him a fat ball in her descriptions) to remove her from the window was not correct.

On the other hand, the window which disappeared by itself... it was weird, impossible to deny it. But to the point of getting mad at her, when she clearly had no idea what had happened? And that voice that had spoken when the snake passed by Flower? It wasn't wasn't the snake who had spoken, right? And what did "menina" mean?

And above all… send a child to a closet (which had all the look of a bedroom)? Genesis had the mad desire to charred the house... before pissing on the ashes afterwards. And it didn't matter to him that the occupants (with the exception of Flower) were there or not. All just because she would have talked to the snake? It was unusual, okay, but to that point? And the way she had gone into the closet... there was such a sensation of... resignation that Genesis had wanted to gather her against himself to comfort her... especially when her... not uncle, but torturer, had told her to go to bed without food.

oOo

Genesis awoke, growling in anger. He wasn't as furious as the day he saw the flower bleed, but he was still in a very bad mood. What… sadist deprived a child of food?! Besides... if he trusted what he had felt… Flower was unusually short for her age.

When he had asked how old she was... he was shocked to learn that she was going to be 14 this summer. Except that she wasn't even reaching his shoulder if he relied on the height at which her head touched his back! She could barely get to his shoulder blades! And to top it all off, he wasn't quite done growing up yet, even though he figured he would be a good 5'10 to 6' feet. Maybe a little more.

Frowning, Genesis stood up, preparing for the day. No matter how his mind turned Flower's situation around... the only conclusion he came to was that she was being seriously abused by these people. And that was the best case scenario. Anyway, he understood why she didn't consider them family, if the glimpses of memories he had seen so far were a bit representative of what she was going through there. And why didn't she abandon them? He wondered while having breakfast, lost in thought. Even if an old schnock wanted to control her life... there was something fishy behind it. He should ask her the question.

With a sigh, Genesis went to his office. He had work to do, even if he hated paperwork... and still, he had far less than Sephiroth. He carefully avoided thinking about what the bleeding flower could mean, if it was indeed related to Flower. Because the images that came to his mind... was the kind that made him want to burn everything in his path.

Lazard had moderately appreciated having to repair the VR room for the second time in a year. Rumors also said that Angeal had smashed the same room a few months later... and Sephiroth would have been the first to shut it down. Genesis couldn't help but ask him if he would rather have each of them shut down a VR room, or go after the same one. Lazard's face was worth its weight in gold, and even though he had been stuck for a month teaching the Cadets the basics of using Materia instead of Sephiroth, Genesis continued to maintain that it was worth it.

He snickered again, remembering the blond's expression. No, really, he wished he had a camera on hand at that time.

Sitting at his desk with a grimace in front of the piles of papers, he tackled the long task of trying to get rid of the paperwork. Fortunately, his reputation as an explosive pyro prevented most people from ditching more documents at him every five minutes, unless they were really important. It was Sephiroth who underwent the bulk of the administrative paperwork related to the requests for the SOLDIERS, especially concerning the missions. Lazard managed the rest.

Genesis frowned, patting the pen thoughtfully on the desk. He had done some research, but even with the authority he had, he couldn't find any clues on Flower. It was to believe that she didn't exist... and that he had invented everything. The problem with this theory... was that it didn't fit with what he had observed. Too much detail, and above all it was far too logical. Not like those voices he remembered hearing after some injections.

He shivered at the memory. The pain in his left shoulder remained after some of Hollander's "special injections", but the hallucinations seemed to have... disappeared, for lack of another term, since he started speaking with Flower... or saw her life/country. No more murmurs of a female voice trying to impersonate his mother. He pursed his lips as he thought about it.

He had never known his biological parents... and even his adoptive parents knew nothing about them. At most that his mother would have apparently died while giving birth to him. And that they adopted him when he was only a few weeks old. Genesis closed her eyes, thinking back to his childhood. Until he had "met" Flower, he would never have called it idyllic. Oh, he had been treated properly, yes, and had received the best education money could offer. But during his early childhood... he had been heavily neglected emotionally by his adoptive parents. They had almost completely ignored him, entrusting his education to the servants, and it was only because the latter insisted that the Rhapsodos were his parents that he had integrated this notion a little bit. For him... until he was about 10-12 years old, they were the people he lived with. Almost foreigners. Even now... their relationships remained extremely distant.

And yet... after starting to speak with Flower... he had realized that if his childhood could not necessarily be called "nice"... his was idyllic compared to her's, if he relied on the clues she had let out… and the glimpses of memories he had caught sight of. He, at least, hadn't been hit or starved, or locked outside because she had burnt breakfast... at the age of six!

Genesis swore abruptly when the pen caught fire in his hand, and hurriedly threw it into the trash, emptying a bottle of water over it to stop the fire as quickly as possible. He preferred to avoid triggering the fire alarm or the fire system, because that meant redoing the papers he had just done. He let out a fit of coughs as he went to open the window, the smell of burnt plastic was horrible. The pollution from the outside was no better, he thought with a grimace, but it was the best way to get rid of the burning smell inside. He turned on the fan to clear the smoke, and not for the first time, was half happy half annoyed by the precautions taken in his office against fire.

His pyromania was so well known to the Shinra services that when he was promoted to commanding officer, his office was specially designed to resist fires, if he relied on the gossips of the company (the secretaries should really do something else with their time than to gossip, he said to himself with exasperated amusement). The floor was tiled, the walls covered with fire-resistant paint (up to a point), there was always a bottle of water on hand in case, his wastebasket was made of metal and not plastic like that of Sephiroth or Angeal, the library shelves were covered with fire-resistant runes... and the fire system was triggered only if flames were detected on the sensors. Which rarely happened. In general, the fireballs remained at breast height.

The fan was more there to help dissipate smoke odors quickly. The rest of the time... he didn't use it. Unless the air conditioning broke down, which was very rare. Genesis closed the window as soon as possible, but didn't immediately return to his desk. Instead, he leaned against the edge of the window, lost in thought. Flower had a prominent place there, he wasn't ashamed to admit it. The little she had told him about her life… worried him. He may have been an arrogant and pyromaniac asshole (as some people called him behind his back, but it didn't bother him), but he had manners, and he wasn't a bastard. The other SOLDIERS still agreed on this point. As long as you avoid insulting certain subjects (Loveless and remarks about the bleeding flower), he didn't throw fireballs without real reason. Or that you were bullying Cadets, he thought, frowning, thinking back to Kunzel.

One thing that he, Angeal and Sephiroth had in common was their hatred of harassment and bullies. He and his childhood friend may not have had the authority to expel a student from the military in the event of proven bullying, but Sephiroth had gladly given them the authority to suspend the idiots for going after weaker than them (in any case Genesis thought it was with joy, Sephiroth rarely showing his emotions). Some had feared that Genesis would take advantage of it to abuse his authority, but he had shown them that he knew how to be serious. And Sephiroth always interrogated in depth those whom Genesis or Angeal laid off, showing that he was getting to the bottom of things before making any decision.

And the redhead was at least proud to be able to say that he had never laid off a cadet for no reason. He had refused the help of his adoptive parents to have a higher position in the company from the start, wanting to deserve his rank. Especially knowing that they wouldn't have helped Angeal, who wouldn't have wanted it anyway. His friend may have been poor, but he had his pride, and worked hard. And just for him... Genesis always wanted to do his best, without help if it was possible.

Retracing certain events of his childhood in his mind, he realized that it was around the time he had formed his friendship with the gentle giant (even as a child, Angeal had been over several inches taller than the other boys their age) that his parents had started paying attention to him. He sniffed. As if they were afraid that he would be "corrupted" by the poorest kid in town. It was quite the opposite, the boy's values had rubbed off on him, offering the taste of hard work done by oneself. Genesis especially regretted that Angeal hadn't been able to share the credit of the Banora White Juice that he had created as a child. He had been the only one to receive the award, despite his protests. The redhead wondered if his parents were behind that, before shaking his head wearily.

Even if that were the case... too much water had flowed under the bridge now. No need to dwell on it. And he had stood firm in his friendship with Angeal, refusing to be separated from him. The opposite had been equally true, the black haired man having refused to be separated from his first true friend. There had been ups and downs, of course, and sometimes violent arguments, but they had always been reconciled, sometimes having let a few days go by so that the redhead's temper calmed down. But they had always been there for each other, Angeal when Genesis' parents weren't paying attention to him, and himself for his friend when his father literally killed himself to pay off the loan that he had contracted to pay for his son's huge sword when he entered SOLDIER.

Despite protests from his friend, Genesis had insisted on finishing paying the debt. Gillian and her husband… took more care of him as a child than his own parents, and he didn't want anything to happen to her because she had worked too hard to finish paying for the sword. Without counting the funeral of her husband. He still wasn't entirely certain that Mr. Hewley was Angeal's biological father, but had never brought up the point. He could very well take more after his mother than from his father. And he really had been a father to his friend.

Shaking his head, he returned to sit at his desk. The paperwork was an endless stream, he said to himself with exasperation, staring at the stacks with disgust.

Genesis continued to work as usual for the next few weeks, but still kept an attentive ear for gossip, snickering with amusement as he heard people speculate about why he seemed to have his head often elsewhere, but also why he had stopped flirting with everything that moved. He couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from pulling down when he heard it, though. And it wasn't like he could give an explanation.

He had always liked going out with all the women (or men for that matter) he could seduce, but for the past few months... he had almost stopped. Or even totally, he thought, running his hand through his hair, ignoring the secretaries who were whispering as they tried to get his attention. He had always hated sycophants, and trying to shamelessly flatter him was one of the surest ways to get a fireball to the face. He could see that people were nervous around him, obviously afraid that he would explode from one moment to the next due to sexual frustration, but he couldn't convince himself to sleep with the first come as before.

Before, he could sleep with women (or men, he was openly bisexual, even if it was not really advertised by the company) for a one night stand without problem (even if he often had to go see Angeal or one of the other 1st Classes afterwards to be really satisfied). For the past few months... he always had a feeling of unease, even if he got along well with the SOLDIER, except when he had sex with Angeal. And it ruined the act so much that he had almost completely stopped. It was only with Angeal that he could achieve some satisfaction without feeling like he was cheating on someone. And that's what was driving him mad. He always loved sex without attachment or consequence, so why did he feel like that now?

And that was without counting the concern he felt for Flower. Even if they continued to bicker with each other in their discussions/dreams... they had at least concluded a truce, and avoided talking about hero status as much as possible. Genesis was even beginning to wonder if his dream shouldn't be overhauled… with Flower's help. At least, if she could survive her year, he thought, pursing his lips. How could they have decided to revive this competition (apparently canceled due to the excessive number of deaths), knowing that the murderer of her parents was still in the wild? But apparently everyone thought he was dead. Only Flower's school headmaster believed otherwise, but the others preferred to play Chocobos and refused to do anything against the latter's servants. Supposedly they were exemplary members of the community! Genesis wanted to snort with contempt. Just because they had money, they thought they were above the law... much like President Shinra, he realized sharply.

And he shared Flower's pessimism about her being entered in this tournament against her will. Given how lucky she was... it was an absolute certainty, apparently. She had done some research, and hoped it would do the trick to avoid being treated as a pariah, like in her second year. Shaking his head, he applied a final coat of paint to the drawing he was making. Still Fair, but this time trying to ride a Chocobo without taming it first. Angeal had looked so desperate that day that Genesis had laughed until his ribs hurt. He had really needed it, honestly, especially after the dream where he had seen/lived the scene in which the walrus had literally throw Flower in the cupboard which served as her "bedroom". The redhead sometimes suspected Fair of doing the idiot on purpose when he wasn't in a good mood, just to make him laugh. And if that wasn't the case... he had a great sense of timing to his mischief when he made them.

Shaking his head, he put away his materials, letting the drawing to dry on his desk. He would put it away when the paint had dried... and speaking of that, he was still going to have to reorder somes, he thought, checking the color tubes. He had struggled to achieve the precise shade of purple in the kid's eyes, a very light amethyst color, and had used more than half the tubes of red and blue.

With a sigh, he stood up, taking off his clothes and folding them carefully. He liked things to be ordered a minimum in his bedroom and bathroom (and how he had been surprised to discover that the apartment had a bathroom for each room, although given the frequency with which Sephiroth's shower got out of order, it wasn't a bad thing), without it being at the silverette level. The latter stored everything to the nearest millimeter, or almost, the redhead could have sworn it. One of the unspoken rules between them was that everyone managed their room as they wished, and that they were taking turns for the common areas.

Genesis quickly showered, and went to bed without bothering to put on any underwear. Most of the time, he was sleeping in his underwear, but he didn't feel like it that night. Genesis was also a light sleeper, which annoyed him when he went on a mission with the infantry... even if the latter had quickly learned that it was better to avoid making too much noise when the Scarlet Commander was sleeping. It was a sure way to be bombarded with fireballs.

Genesis quickly fell asleep, thinking about what Flower had told him about her second year of school. How could a Midgar Zolom have strolled around a school without anyone noticing?

oOo

Genesis blinked in disbelief at the spectacle before him.

Half a dozen children were in the room, and if he trusted the decor, it was probably a rather old-fashioned infirmary. The children were all lying on beds, but Genesis had a hard time figuring out what was wrong with them. They didn't look hurt. And why did they stay in these strange positions? It must have been so uncomfortable for them! He almost felt like he was in a bad horror movie, and he hated that genre.

He noticed that he was sitting next to a bushy-haired girl, and wondered why she was so familiar, before realizing that it was Flower's friend, the little budding scholar. She was as rigid as the others, and the redhead realized when hearing the nurse that she was petrified, but that the potion made from... Mandrakes? Will apparently be ready soon. Genesis would have loved to know more, but apparently neither Flower nor her red-haired friend had more details.

He noticed the sheet of paper clenched in the kid's fist before Flower did, and quietly encouraged her when she began to try to free it, wincing many times when he thought she was going to tear the page. Finally, she managed to free it, and began to read it in a low voice, to Genesis' relief. He was unable to read what was written on the sheet visibly torn from a book, and it was driving him crazy. The name of the creature blocked too, but only the description gave him chills. A snake capable of killing with its eyes? It looked like one of Hojo's creations.

He listened to the discussion carefully, still frowning. A monster like this who has been wandering around the school for a millennium, and no one has noticed anything? Even when it had killed someone half a century earlier? He had serious suspicions about the school headmaster. And the teachers were really useless, he said to himself angrily a moment later, attending the discussion in the teachers' room. Especially the blond dumbass. He understood better now why Flower didn't like him. More incompetent than that... there was hardly anything but Palmer. And even. Even Palmer wasn't that incompetent.

He couldn't help the sadistic laughter that escaped him when the other teachers made sure he had no choice but to go face the beast himself. Even though he knew, from Flower, that he had tried to flee.

A furious frown escaped him in front of the funeral atmosphere of the tower, when Flower and her friend returned there. Especially from the other redheads. What was this Pureblood bullshit? Genesis made a mental note to talk to her about it one day, if he could figure out how to bring it into the discussion without telling her that he had witnessed some of her memories from her point of view.

Genesis would have gladly let them know the bottom of his thought, however, when they decided to go out to see their teacher... who gave him all the impression of being a coward. An impression that turned out more than true in front of their discussion, and he pursed his lips. The coward's apologies made him want to make him meet Rapier… very, very closely. And knowing that he was erasing people's memories to take credit for their exploits... he understood now that Flower hadn't supported him. Genesis could at least be proud of the fact that his fame was due almost entirely to his own actions, and that he was not a coward ready to flee when he faced real danger like him.

He couldn't help but cheerfully applaud Flower and her friend when they disarmed the idiot, despite his frustration that he couldn't understand the incantation. An act of magic that was both admirable and seemingly commonplace enough for children to learn. He couldn't restrain the sadistic laugh again, seeing that the two children had decided to use him as a human shield. That was all he was good for, obviously.

The ghost, on the other hand, gave him the Choco-bumps. Why... would a soul refuse to return to the Lifestream? The specter's reasons, on the other hand, made him despair. Just because this girl made fun of her, she was unable to move on? The mention of yellow eyes, on the other hand, surprised and worried him. Just like the fact that she apparently died seeing them. Was it the famous snake capable of killing with a look?

He looked at the scene that followed with some puzzlement. Why was the snake on the pipe important? And why did the redhead told Flower that she had spoken normally? Genesis shivered when he saw that the snake seemed to move in the light of the torches... before being left speechless when the sink turned on itself in a white glow, revealing a passage large enough to let an adult pass. He snickered again at the two children's actions. The idea of using this coward as a canary against danger was a well-deserved revenge.

He groaned mentally in disgust, however, at the state of the pipe into which they jumped without hesitation following the idiot. Ewww... how long has it been since it was last cleaned? Genesis wasn't necessarily obsessed with cleaning, but some things didn't change for most people. And such a level of dirt would make anyone want to wash immediately afterwards! Although there, it seemed difficult.

The smell was certainly horrible, but he could understand that they had something else in mind, and that it was the least of their worries. The tunnel was dark and damp, making the redhead wonder how deep they could be. Far, anyway. Probably between two and three hundred meters deep perhaps... and certainly far from the castle too. The faint glow created by the wands made the atmosphere even more scary than it already was, especially by distorting their shadows. The noises were also amplified, and the sound of water dripping in a corner accentuated the atmosphere of horror movie… magnified by the skeletons of dead animals lying on the ground. Genesis was really starting to get the chill with this story, especially when they fell on a giant snake skin around a curve.

The creature must already have exceeded twenty meters when it had moulted, easily, he said to himself, comparing the size of the moult with Flower's companions. Before insulting the blond coward who had attacked the redhead, grabbing his wand. And to want to burn him alive when he saw him boast, boasting that he would write his next bestseller on the death of children!

He didn't understand the spell the idiot used, but felt his heart skip a beat when the boy's wand literally exploded in his hands, causing the tunnel to collapse. Fortunately, Flower had good reflexes, and ran off in the opposite direction the second it exploded. After the collapse had stopped, he heard her call for news of her friend, and sighed with relief when the latter replied, sounding shaken but unharmed. He let out a sadistic laugh at the idiot's cry of pain, as if the redhead had kicked him in the shin to verify that he was still alive. Flower exchanged a few words with her friend, deciding to go on while the boy cleared the landslide. Genesis felt her hesitate for a few seconds, probably wanting to stay to wait for her friend, despite the fact that he was now disarmed, before setting off.

The redhead who was looking at the scene with her eyes could understand her reasoning. If the kidnapped girl was in danger of death, every lost second reduced her chances of survival. He could imagine, however, her condition in the tunnel, now that she was alone. The door in front of which she finally arrived made him whistle slightly admiring, especially in front of the detail of the snakes engraved on it. The emeralds set in place of their eyes were probably worth a fortune, he thought absently, each stone having to be the size of Angel's fist, easy.

He would have bet his pay that the gleam of the emerald eyes flickered when Flower cleared her throat, and if he ever met her, he would give her his most respectful congratulations in front of her courage. In a corner of his mind, he absently wondered if he shouldn't have his earring changed to gold, to pay homage to the colors of her school house. A shiver ran through his back when the snakes parted at her command, opening the door without a sound.

The room she entered while shaking like a leaf, was even more disturbing than the tunnel Flower had been in before. The columns around which other snakes were wrapped were lost in a ceiling made invisible by the semi-darkness of the room, just lit by torches burning with a green light, to his greatest perplexity. How could these torches still burn, if they were a millennium old? He ended up deciding that it was probably thanks to magic, and especially that it had nothing to do with her current situation.

The statue at the back was absolutely hideous, causing him to sniff contemptuously... before stifling a curse seeing the kid lying on the ground at the feet of the said statue. He would have said two words to her about dropping her weapon, but he knew that Flower was still a child, and one who hadn't been trained in the art of war. So it wasn't surprising that she would react like any child in these situations, especially when a friend (possibly?) was lying unconscious on the ground.

The older teenager who suddenly appeared out of nowhere startled him, before frowning at his appearance. Like looking at him through steam in a foggy bathroom, or something like that. In any case, his apparition and appearance were already worrisome, but his speech was even more so. And above all… how could he know so much about Flower? The blocked names made him half mad with frustration, mostly because it deprived him of much of the context he needed to fully understand the conversation. And what he said about the unconscious kid... Genesis would have strangled him. Manipulate a child? Use them to commit crimes? All this for what?

His eyes narrowed when he started talking about Flower's parents, among other things. And what he did... not just to his parents, but to other people. The gratuitous and evil cruelty he displayed... He thought that only Hojo and Hollander were like that... or, in any case, as bad. Even if, according to rumors, Hojo was by far the worst. And the way he boasted of draining the redhead's energy... like her life didn't matter to him. And why was he so obsessed with Flower? Why did he want to know how she apparently would have defeated her parents' murderer?

He swore heartily in his mind when the teenager wrote something in letters of fire, before rearranging them. Why couldn't he read their handwriting, even though they apparently spoke the same language?! And what was this kid's problem with his parents? Why has he such a grudge after his father, even though he apparently abandoned his mother before his birth? Genesis wouldn't have been surprised to learn that he had murdered his own father, honestly, or even his grandparents.

He could only applaud Flower's courage and loyalty, however, when she refused to bow down before this sadist. The repulsive face he exhibited at her words gave him a bad feeling, but the song that rose a few seconds later left him speechless.

Flower's gaze rose, visibly seeking the source of the song. Genesis's breath caught in his throat when he saw the good-sized bird emerging from behind a pillar, like a spray of flame. About the size of a swan, mainly scarlet in color with flight feathers and its long tail, similar to that of a peacock, gold in color, the bird made him furiously think of Phoenix, the fire type Summon which could resuscitate those who had recently died. Was he related? The song, in any case, resounded in Flower's chest, it was so powerful, and Genesis felt like his hair stood on end.

The bird suddenly dove to perch on the little girl's shoulder, surprisingly light despite its size, dropping a ball of rags at her feet. The redhead let out a whistle at the size of the animal's golden beak, and his talons of the same color weren't outdone, he noted in a corner of his mind. He groaned when the name of the bird (phoenix?) was blocked, frustrated. Why were names blocked? What purpose did it serve?

He nearly missed the rest of the action, barely paying attention to their next exchange, but fortunately got out of his thoughts on time. He would gladly have done a facepalm in front of the theatrical side of the serpent's appearance... if he hadn't been busy trying not to pissing himself in terror when he could finally see the serpent in question. The creature was indeed the size of a Midgar Zolom... only the hood missing. The fangs more than made up for it, however, he told himself when he saw the reptile trying to target the Phoenix. Its jaws bristling with sharpened hooks like razor blades only brushed against the bird, which suddenly plunged. The snake's hiss of pain told him that the Phoenix had managed to hurt his opponent, which was proved a moment later when he turned towards Flower.

The bloody orbits almost made him wince in sympathy for the animal... if he hadn't been trying to kill his friend. Because yes, he ended up considering Flower as a friend. Caustic, bitter and suspicious, but a loyal friend despite everything. And see her fight like this for her life... Genesis would have had two words to say to her school Headmaster. How was it possible that children were endangered EVERY fucking years?!

She managed to dodge the snake's tail, plunging behind a pillar when it dived in her direction, blinded but still deadly. The bird kept singing, the sound both scary and encouraging. Genesis saw it keep trying to distract the monster, fluttering around its head and pecking it at times.

Flower had just dodged the snake again when she took a ball of tissue to the face, and the redhead realized that it was the kind of witch hat that the Phoenix had brought her a little earlier. He watched her take it with some astonishment, and even more so when she put it on her head, begging someone to help her. But nothing to do with the surprise he felt when the hat contracted, as if a giant hand had squeezed it, dropping something heavy on Flower's head, nearly knocking her out. He felt her tear the hat off, probably hit senseless, and blinked, incredulous, seeing the hilt of a sword protruding from the hat opening.

She took it in a heartbeat, and Genesis couldn't suppress a cringe at the way she was holding the weapon. His perfectionist side wanted to scream at the mediocrity with which she wielded it, while the realistic side was quite impressed at the fact that she didn't do so badly for someone who has never touched a sword before. And her courage in front of the giant snake… Genesis could only respect her. She clearly knew that her chances of winning were almost non existent, and yet... she was ready to fight.

He couldn't restrain the horrified cry, however, when the snake rushed straight towards them, only the knowledge that Flower had survived keeping him from panicking. He had a very good view of the snake's mouth full of fine, sharp teeth like sabers, as well as the thin arms of Flower wielding the sword, far too flashy and tacky for him. Oh, it had a certain elegance, certainly, but... really not to his liking. Rapier was much, much better from his point of view.

Flower managed to dodge it the first time, the head of the blind snake hitting the wall with a hiss of frustration. She dodged a second time, the forked tongue of the reptile slashing her in passing, like a wet whip. Then she grabbed the sword, holding it firmly with both hands above her head. The snake attacked again... and just aimed right this time. Genesis felt Flower thrust the sword with all her might into the snake's palate, piercing its brain in passing... the sensation accompanied by a fountain of blood and dazzling pain, just above the elbow. One of the long poisonous fang was buried deep in her flesh and snapped when the snake tilt and fell to the side, the body agitated with convulsions.

Genesis saw Flower collapse against the wall, watching her tear the poisonous hook from her arm, causing a spray of blood. But he could feel it was already too late for that, a burning pain spreading across the poor child's body. She dropped the fang to the floor, her gaze continuing to stare at the stain of blood that he could vaguely see spread on her robe. Her vision, already mediocre, deteriorated even more, the cave becoming more and more blurred. A rustle of wings caught his attention, and he felt her lift her head with effort, her eyes falling on the Phoenix, which looked more or less like a big red blob at that moment.

Genesis would have liked to have had a Materia with Esuna on him at that moment in time, even knowing that this event had happened a year earlier. Hearing her sound so weak when she thanked the Phoenix... drove him crazy. He watched the bird rest its head on her wound, the large pearly gray tears falling from its eyes, rolling over the glistening scarlet feathers before touching the wound. Genesis had already lost his life once or twice during the Wutai War, and owed his survival only to his Revive Materia. The experience hadn't been pleasant, however, even if his obsession with the crystallized orbs led him to bring them to Master Level as soon as possible. But to see Flower die? When she was so young? Revive Materia or not… it was still awful.

The redhead had paid little attention to Flower's enemy's words, too worried about her… until he realized that Flower was getting better, and he scared the bird away. Genesis felt immense relief when he learned that his intuition was right, and that the scarlet bird was indeed a Phoenix. He had heard the legends about these majestic mythical creatures, not just about the Summon of the same name. The wound was now covered with a thin shiny layer... well, the place where the wound had been located so far. He could see the scar that was there now, but the wound itself had closed.

Suddenly, a rustling of wings rose just above Flower... before a small diary fell on her lap. Genesis noticed the way the older boy's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and panic... just before Flower grabbed the fang that had pierced her arm and stabbed it in the diary, without hesitating for a second, to his amazement. There was a long piercing howl, a terrifying howl. A stream of ink gushed from the book with big bubbles and trickled over Flower's hands, surprising the redhead. The teenager was now writhing on the ground, waving his arms in vain, screaming with all his last strength. And suddenly…

He disappeared. Flower's wand fell to the ground, then there was silence. You could only hear the faint and steady noise of the ink continuing to drip from the diary. The venom of the giant snake had made a hole in the little black book, burning the pages right through. Apparently, the snake's venom was even more powerful than he thought, Genesis realized. And it was nothing to say it.

Her whole body trembling, Flower got up. Her first reflex was to pocket the objects close to her, namely her wand, the fang she still had in her hand, and the little black book. Then recover the sword used to kill the snake, of course. The next was to approach the little girl who was more or less her age, and Genesis hoped that she was still alive.

Fortunately, that was the case, the redhead stirring as she approached. Bursting into tears as soon as she was coherent enough. Babbling about what she had done, and fearful of being expelled from school. Flower did her best to calm her down, but he could see that she was exhausted herself, and wanted only one thing, to sleep. A long while, if possible. Finally, she calmed down enough for Flower to help her get up and turn around, leaving the absolutely creepy room from the Scarlet Commander point of view and the famous corpse of the giant snake that she had told him about during their first conversation.

The Phoenix was waiting for them at the entrance of the cave, adding the light it produced to that of Flower's wand, and accompanied them into the tunnel, its presence reassuring and comforting. Finally, the two girls arrived at the cave in, and Flower called her friend, ensuring him of his sister (at least, he assumed it was his sister, they looked alike enough to confirm the suspicion of family relationship) life and that she was fine. The boy's cry of relief confirmed his suspicion, especially when his relieved face appeared in the opening he had dug in the collapse. He held out his arms and helped his sister pass, trying to hug her next, visibly happy that she was still alive.

The latter pushed him away, however, sobbing violently, and Genesis could understand why. She had just had a particularly traumatic experience, and he hoped that she had received psychological help. Really. He mentally howled in laughter, however, realizing that the idiot who made a living by appropriating the exploits of others after having erased their memory... was now an amnesiac fool who had been very lucky to remember the necessary things to live... like breathing for example.

Genesis continued to snickers at this return of karma, needing to laugh after the stressful events that had just occurred, while the three children and the useless adult went back the opposite way until reaching the kind of sticky slide that they had hurtled down before. After talking for a few moments about how they were going to get out, Flower noticed that the Phoenix was fluttering in front of them, waving his tail feathers, as if to encourage them to grab onto them. She took matters into her own hands, making them cling to each other before taking hold of the long golden feathers.

Genesis was speechless as the Phoenix took flight, carrying them down the stinking pipe until they finally arrived in the bathroom they entered. He barely had time to see the sink go back into place before the dream ended, much to his frustration.

oOo

Genesis suddenly sat up in bed, like a devil coming out of his box, gasping and covered in cold sweat. It took several seconds before he realized he was awake, and ran his hand over his face, letting out a trembling sigh. He thought he knew a number of things about Flower, between what she had told him and what he had seen for himself in his dreams/memories... but that was more than that. And calling that episode he just watched "a little snake problem"... was like calling a Behemoth a big dog. An understatement so disproportionate that it became ridiculous, especially considering the danger it posed.

A look upon his clock snatched a groan from him. Too early to get up, but too late to go back to sleep before the alarm rings. Grumbling annoyingly, he got up anyway. The images dancing in his mind made him too nervous to want to laze in bed, as he usually did when it happened to him. His gaze fell to his desk and the drawing still on it, and he knew what he was going to do while he waited for breakfast.

Once washed and dressed (minus his iconic coat), he sat down at his desk, taking out his drawing materials. Selecting a pencil after consulting his range of choices, he slowly began to sketch the snake, the worst. From what he could assess Flower's size in relation to himself, and considering the difference between them, especially taking into account the fact that she was younger at the time... he assessed the size of the snake at all just ten meters less than that of a teenager Midgar Zolom. Or a good thirty meters long. Largely large enough to swallow a twelve year old child. And those fangs… Genesis shivered as he drew them. Each of them was the length of Flower's arm, from fingertips to shoulder. And the eyes... he was relieved to not know what they looked like, in a way. The "kills with a look" part added to the terrifying side of the animal... even if the part on of the rooster song which would be deadly, seemed to him more folklore than anything else.

After finishing the basic snake sketch, Genesis was already feeling a little better, having put down some of the horror he had witnessed on paper. He would have liked to be able to do the Phoenix too, but a glance at the time told him that he didn't have time. Grunting in frustration, he finished roughing up the drawing, adding a few details, before placing it in the drawing binder reserved for the unfinished.

He then entered the kitchen, where he met an already awaken Sephiroth... a folder next to him. The redhead shivered at the sight. He had compassion for the silverette, whose workload forced him to bring some back to the apartment to work there early in the morning, and sometimes late at night, when he couldn't stay in his main office. Just for that, Genesis didn't want his job. Briefly, he wondered how Sephiroth was doing. In his place, Genesis would have already cracked long ago, so his friend had all his compassion.

The rest of the day... was honestly quite trying from his point of view. Fortunately, Angeal was the only one to note that he wasn't behaving quite as usual, sincerely terrorizing (more or less) innocent cadets instead of those who really pushed things too far. He had calmed down when his childhood friend remarked it to him... before starting again a few minutes later when he left to take care of the puppy. Seriously… couldn't he stay with me? Genesis wondered, unable to hold back a fit of jealousy. The younger cadets were traumatized even longer than the average, but he couldn't convince himself to worry about them. And honestly, as some instructors said, if they weren't traumatized, then they hadn't learned anything.

Genesis let out a sigh of relief as he finally returned to the apartment. He might be sociable... there were days when his tolerance was extremely low, and when a small thing was enough to make him explode. And when Angeal was not there to play the buffer... it usually ended badly. It was almost a miracle that no cadet ended up in the infirmary this time. But whatever they may say about him… he still had enough control not to throw fireballs at a cadet who had not received enhancements… even if it was not the desire that made him itchy for it, sometimes.

Sighing, he removed his coat as he entered his room. He needed to relax... and sex wouldn't do the trick right now, not until he calmed down a bit first. And above all... the Puppy was still there. Until he was in bed, Genesis had no plans to go to Angeal to deal with his frustration. However... he had an unfinished drawing he wanted to finish, and another one he wanted to start before forgetting the majesty of the bird.

The Scarlet Mage quickly lost himself in the gestures necessary to draw, his mind relaxing despite the rather terrifying subject he was lying on paper. Finally, Genesis put down the brush he had used to ink the snake's drawing, frowning, taking a look at the colors he'd taken out of the drawing case. Unfortunately, the low brightness in the dream (coupled with Flower's apparent poor vision) meant that he was unsure of the exact color of the reptile's scales. He was almost certain that they were green in color, however, mostly because of the molt the teenage girl had encountered in the tunnel. The creature itself he was less certain, especially because of the light there was in the cave where she had faced it. The eyes, impossible to know their appearance with certainty, since looking at them apparently led to immediate death. However, according to the ghost, they would be golden.

Shrugging, he began to prepare the colors. He had to start over several times, making the green more or less dark, before deciding on a shade of emerald green. The color of the eyes was faster, being a simple gold, and it took longer to decide on the shape of the pupils. Round or slit like Sephiroth's? He ended up making up his mind to be slit, mostly because he was poisonous (and apparently violent). He delicately painted the snake, taking care to underline every nuance he had guessed in the scales, even if he hadn't been able to clearly see them, guided by an instinct which he was unaware of.

Finally, he straightened up after a last stroke of the brush, contemplating the drawing with satisfaction. One or two areas may have required him to return, but for the moment he was going to let it dry.

Putting the paint away for the moment to save space, he took out a blank sheet of paper and began to sketch. Each stroke of the pencil made the muscles in his shoulders relax, without him knowing why, the tension making him feel like it was being drained from his body. Delicately, he sketched the feathers of the scarlet and gold bird, completely indifferent to the outside world. He didn't even pay attention to Angeal calling him to eat, or poking his head in the doorway to check if he was there. The man shook his head at the sight as he withdrew, noting to leave something for Genesis when he was done.

The redhead's attention was completely on what he was drawing, each feather a marvel of details. When he finished the preliminary sketch, Genesis studied it carefully to make sure nothing was missing. He then took out the paints, relieved that the colors were rather solid, without too many problematic nuances. With his tongue poking at the corner of his mouth, he delicately began to paint the body, a deep red, saving the golden parts for later.

Carefully, he smeared ink on certain lines to accentuate them, coloring the eyes black. Then he took care of the golden feathers, tilting his head under the effect of concentration by painting the tail feathers. They were really long, almost as long as the rest of the body. Maybe even more, he thought, comparing with a critical eye.

Finally, Genesis put down his brush, and leaned himself against the back of his chair, contemplating his drawing with some satisfaction. He found that he had been rather faithful in his reproduction of the Phoenix in mid-flight, managing to capture his majesty on the sheet. Something vaguely tugged at him, however. Not unpleasantly, not really. But he didn't really understand why he felt such… attraction to this mythical bird. Why it was so important in his mind.

His train of thought was brutally cut off when his stomach gurgled loudly, surprising him. Raising his head, he realized with some surprise that night had fallen... and that the light was on, when he didn't even remember getting up to flip the switch. Suspecting that Angeal must have stopped by dinner time to see why he wasn't coming, Genesis stood up, cracking his joints with a grimace. Leaning on a paper sheet for so long wasn't really good for his back, he told himself as he made his way silently to the kitchen. Angeal and Zack must have been in bed for a long time, he knew it from the time. And he too should have gone to bed a while ago, he thought to himself with a grimace, taking out the sandwiches that his friend had left him. He would have really preferred something hot, but the noise of the microwave would wake up Sephiroth, who certainly had just gone to bed, he told himself while contemplating the dishes drying on the drip tray.

With a silent sigh, he ate quickly, cleaning the plate by the way. Genesis quickly got ready to go to bed, counting the days in his head, and realizing that this night was one of those he would speak with Flower. And if he wasn't mistaken, it was the evening when, precisely, the so-called impartial judge was going to choose the champions in this damn tournament.

He growled angrily at this. What idiot was trying to revive a deadly tournament where children had already died in it? We were no longer in the gladiators days! Grumbling in a low voice with annoyance, he turned to the side, trying to fall asleep. If only he could protect Flower…

oOo

Genesis frowned at the dream atmosphere. Dark and windy, almost stormy, it perfectly matched Flower's state of mind, from what he could feel. She was leaning against his back, both tense and shoulders slumped, as if she was disillusioned. And that made him angry.

"You okay?" He asked anyway.

"No," she growled in response. "My life stinks of shit."

He sniffed with some irony.

"Things didn't go the way you wanted, right?"

She let out a bitter laugh.

"And the ocean is wet. Do you have other stupid euphemisms of the same kind?" She asked, somewhat aggressive.

Genesis made no comment on her tone, however, partly understanding why she was like that. Getting into a deadly tournament against one's will was enough to stress the calmest person… and Flower already had a fairly stressful life like that. Besides, she had a surprisingly sweet nature the rest of the time, despite the bitterness she felt. She sighed at that moment, suddenly sounding tired and worn.

"I'm sorry," she said, her tone exhausted. "I know I shouldn't take it out on you. It's just that…"

"You had a horrible evening, didn't you?" He asked gently.

He felt her nod her behind her, and raise her arm, presumably to rub her eyes. Really, he would have liked to hug her to comfort her. Finally, after a few weeks, he managed to convince her to call him something other than "Mr. Apples and Smoke" or "Mr. Apple Pie" (even if she had joked that he was really tart sometimes). A name related to fire suited him much better, frankly, regardless of whether it was the odor she smelled in the dream. He was drawn from his reflections by her weary sigh.

"I hate this date. As I expected, I was chosen to be the fourth "champion," she replied bitterly. "Of course, everyone was convinced that I wanted more glory and fame. As if I was not famous enough with my parents' murder!" She declared, raising her arms to the sky, furious and bitter.

He shook his head in sorrow, his mind drifting briefly towards Sephiroth. Why did he see parallels between them? He wondered, frowning, before forcing himself to focus on the presence behind his back again. At the same time so small and fragile... but with a will of steel, refusing to give in. Sometimes, he had seen, she bent, but never broke.

"And the oath?" Genesis asked, remembering what she said the last time.

She sighed, letting herself go against his back once more.

"I could swear I didn't enter my name in that damn Cup myself, but... the old schnock who runs my school tried to stop me. Fortunately, I was able to finish. And people seemed to believe me. As a precaution, I also swore in front of the real champions and their headmasters too."

He nodded, slightly satisfied. It was already that.

"And now?" Asked the redhead. "What are you going to do, Flower?"

Genesis felt her press her head against his back, making him feel like she was looking at the gray sky.

"Train to face a dragon," she grumbled.

"Sorry?" Asked the redhead in an incredulous tone, wondering if he had heard correctly. "You are telling me that you are going to have to face what?!"

He felt her snickers, half-amused half-bitter.

"A fucking dragon, yes. You heard right, Kasai."

Honestly, he didn't know if he should get angry or desperate at such stupidity. Seriously, her people were completely stupid or just cruel?! We were past the days of gladiators facing monsters with just a weapon or Materia for a long time now! The furious rant that escaped him made Flower laugh, especially at the inventiveness with which he cursed them. Secretly, he was glad to hear her laugh like that, more amused than bitter, which was why he went on longer than he would have, using all his creativity to cheer her up.

Finally, he ran out of steam, and fell silent. The silence stretched, but this time it was more friendly than uneasy. He felt her sigh after a while, before she spoke to him.

"I suppose you don't have an idea to help me out?" She asked wearily, sounding much older than the fourteen years old she was supposed to be. "Because the only plan that I can implement involves using my broom to try to convince the dragon to lift herself long enough on her hind legs to snatch the golden egg placed in the middle of her brood. And as spectacular as it is, I am not foolish enough to try to challenge an apex predator in her chosen field, namely the sky."

Her words briefly left him speechless, shocked by the sheer stupidity of the wizards, before he resumed fuming at them. His rant lasted even longer than the previous one, largely because he was so mad with rage at these assholes. And this time, there was no comedy to make it continue, he was sincerely furious with the idiots who organized that. Nesting Mothers? But even the Puppy wasn't stupid enough to disturb them! Any idiot on Gaia knew that a nesting mother dragon was the most dangerous thing in the world!

Flower remained silent, patiently waiting for him to finish, snickering from time to time at a particularly well-formed insult, until he managed to calm down. Seriously, if he hadn't been afraid to set his bedroom on fire in his sleep, he would have been happy to throw fireballs in all directions. Just to pass his nerves on something.

He made a mental note to go and let off steam in a VR room when he woke up, and above all to set it to the maximum simulation level. He really needed to let off steam on something… and charring Behemoths sounded very attractive at that moment.

After a while, he managed to regain his composure, albeit with difficulty. An idea crossed his mind, lighting the proverbial light bulb in his mind. Why not teach her his preferred method to deal with hecklers?

"Flower, how about learning my favorite method for dealing with people who piss you off?" Genesis asked, an evil smile stretching his lips.

He felt the teenager tilt her head to the side, visibly intrigued.

"Does it also work with dragons?" She asked, her tone curious and interested.

"Ooooooh yes," he replied without trying to hide the sadism in his voice.

"In that case, I'm all ears," she replied, her tone reflecting his.

In response, Genesis created a fireball, causing it to float in circles around them. Flower's "ohhhhhh" both admiring and marveling sincerely pleased him, especially when she spoke again:

"Okay, I want to know how to do this. Does it also work on old goats or albino ferrets?"

Genesis snickered softly, and how terrified those who knew him would have been to know that he had contaminated someone with his pyromania. His smile was bloodthirsty when he replied:

"Of course, this is very useful in deterring unwanted people from disturbing you. Personally, I really like to call this little game "Dodge fireballs," and it does wonders for teaching cadets how to dodge. Besides, thanks to that, people don't bother you unless it's really important."

"How do you do that?" She asked with fascination as he stopped the fireball in front of her with a thought.

"Well... you have to... "flow", I would say, your magic into your palm," he began to explain.

Genesis spent the rest of the dream teaching her how to make fireballs, very amused at the idea of her launching flaming spheres at those who annoyed her. He hoped to be able to witness this in one of his future dreams/memories. It would make him laugh... as long as it wasn't facing the dragon.

oOo

Genesis opened an eye when his alarm clock rang, supremely annoyed. Seriously... why did it have to be set to such a strident ringtone? He wondered annoyingly, turning off the alarm clock. It twisted his ears every time!

Annoyed, he got up and dressed quickly. At least today he didn't have to shower to remove the layer of cold sweat. He pursed his lips angrily as he thought about that. Poor Flower... almost died that time. And from what he understood, it wasn't the first time that it had happened... and it would certainly not be the last, considering what was going to happen this year, he said to himself as he passed a hand in his hair in frustration.

Unable to stay still, he began to walk back and forth in his room, unable to sit for more than a few seconds. A look at his drawing table made him shake his head angrily. Drawing usually appeased him... but not today. The idea that a child under the age of fifteen should be forced to face a nesting mother dragon made him want to tear his hair out. Who was crazy and cruel enough to do that? Even if, according to her, the other participants were all adults according to the laws of their country... it was a planned murder. Nothing else to say on this point.

Genesis could thank the fact that there was no mission scheduled today, he would have been unable to concentrate. At the ends of his nerves, he decided to take extreme measures and left the apartment, struggling against the urge to slam the door, not wanting to wake Angeal. Stepping forward, he ignored the employees who were hurrying out of his way, staring at him with concern at his frustrated expression. Everyone knew that when Genesis was in a bad mood, you had to avoid talking to him and especially to block his path. New hires were warned of his bad temper upon hiring, especially if their job could get them to work with him. And if they chose to ignore the warnings... well, it always made a job vacancy.

Entering the VR room, he slammed the door behind him, approaching the terminal and hammering the keys in search of the simulation he wanted. Launching it, he watched a King Behemoth appear with dark pleasure. The golden brown beast roared defiantly, about to attack, and the redhead raised his sword, ready to fight.

If someone had witnessed the scene at that precise moment, he would have felt pity for the beast, despite the fact that it is only a particularly realistic cluster of pixels. Genesis... showed no mercy, attacking with his sword as well as his magic again and again, until eventually fatigue and hunger forced him to stop.

Breathing a little forcibly, sweat running down his forehead, the redhead reluctantly deactivated the simulation, knowing that he needed to eat... and a good shower. When he got back to the apartment, he went straight to his room, undressing almost furiously before entering the shower. Letting the water run over his body, he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to regain his composure. The idea that Flower was in danger... drove him crazy to be honest. Especially because he was helpless, unable to do anything to help her. Genesis fought the urge to hit the bathroom wall, not even realizing that tears of frustration were running down his cheeks, washed away by the water before he knew it.

He eventually regained control of his emotions after a while, and finished washing quickly, more or less calm. Getting out of his shower, he quickly threw his things in the room, getting out clothes to dress. Once decent, he walked into the kitchen, knowing that Angeal was there, and that he was taking care of the meals.

Entering the room, he briefly greeted Sephiroth, who looked at the end of his rope, strangely. Genesis only got to see it because he was getting to know him well... and he felt like the silverette... was lowering his guard with them, for lack of another word. Showing his emotions more clearly than with anyone else.

The redhead was taken away from his considerations by a flyer on the table, and grabbed it with a mixture of shock and greed when he saw Loveless written at the top. Going through it quickly, he realized that it was an advertisement for a new adaptation of Loveless... the first of which would take place in the afternoon. Genesis struggled to wait until they were done eating, and literally dragged Angeal and Sephiroth with him to attend the performance.

The silverette protested furiously, saying he had too much work to be away like that, but the redhead turned a deaf ear, not letting him go until they were outside the theater. He then informed Sephiroth, without remorse, that he had to learn to let go of his work. The concerned was on the verge of strangling him when Genesis turned away and walked to the counter, ignoring the people around him, who respectfully deviated from the Scarlet Mage, knowing both his flamboyant character and his love for Loveless.

Sephiroth just wanted to tear his hair out from this situation. For once he had decided that he wanted to enjoy Angeal's cooking instead of the cafeteria or take-out, the redhead had to take advantage of it to kidnap him. And brings him to a play, when he didn't have time for that at all! Angeal's hand landed on his shoulder, surprising him. Meeting the look of the gentle giant, he noticed his compassionate expression.

"Genesis isn't really in a good mood today," he says kindly. "And then when he has an idea in mind... hard to get him to change his mind. Besides... I think sharing his passion with you will make him happy and help him calm down."

Sephiroth let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Okay, but I can assure you that he will help me deal with the paperwork that accumulated on my desk during my absence," he grumbled. "By will or by force."

Angeal chuckled softly, amused.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he does."

The silverette rubbed his hand on his face, tired and exasperated. To be honest... a break in the paperwork was welcome, especially since he felt he was in danger of cracking if only one more stupid request landed on his desk. That, plus his concern for Flower… he was on the verge of snapping. Luckily, people now seemed more interested in Genesis than in him, and he was thankful for the break. Contemplating the room around him, he could see people of all ages and backgrounds, helping him to distract himself. Despite everything, Sephiroth was amazed to see so many people for a theater play.

An ironic sniff escaped him when he saw Genesis strutting a little further, apparently delighted with the attention that was paid to him. Feeling sudden small jerking tugs on his coat, he looked down in surprise, suddenly pulled from his thoughts. His gaze fell on a little girl who couldn't have been more than four years old (maybe even just three), whose big black eyes looked at him with confident fascination, leaving him speechless. He blinked, bewildered, when the little girl smiled happily at him, babbling with a slight lisp:

"Sir, sir, you pwetty eye they weal?"

"My eyes?" He asked, puzzled, not knowing how to react.

The little girl nodded happily, her little hand not letting go of his long black coat.

"Yes, you eye they look like kitty eye. They weal kitty eye?"

Sephiroth really didn't know where to put himself. Usually, children didn't approach him, or the parents came to take their offspring brave enough to annoy him. But there, nobody did anything. He could have sworn he hear Genesis snickering in his corner in the sudden silence, but no one came to his aid. He clumsily patted the little girl on the head, fearing to harm her, while answering her kindly.

"Yes, these are my real eyes."

The little girl giggles, visibly amused, before answering with incredible confidence:

"I will have kitty eye like you one day too!"

Sephiroth didn't really know what to do or say, the memory of his horrible childhood experiences still haunting him. But he could hardly say that to such a young child. Instead, he just replied that he hoped she would get there someday, patting her head again. The little girl gave him a bright smile, before returning to where she came from, and Sephiroth looked after her in spite of himself, his eyes coming to rest on a woman who obviously had to be her mother, being the only Wutai woman in the room. Which seemed both terrified and disconcerted.

The mother had been frozen in horrified panic when seeing her little girl go and pull on the famous Demon of Wutai's black coat... who looked, at that moment, like a lost child, she realized with a certain shock. Her family had sent her news of the war in her home country, even though her parents had settled in Midgar long before it started. She was close enough to hear the discussion... and see the General so feared and hated by her people... but also respected for his sense of honor, refusing to attack innocent civilians... clumsily patting her daughter's head. Almost like he was afraid of hurting her. Her little, precious child then came back to her, hopping happily as if she had gone to talk to any other person. The mother really couldn't miss the demon's relieved expression… just like the Scarlet Mage losing the fight against his laughter in the background. Next to them, their powerful friend watched the scene with an amused, indulgent smile. Shaking his head, the giant grabbed his red-haired friend, dragging him behind him as his strangled laugh began to be heard, the General following the movement with some relief in his attitude.

Genesis couldn't help but find the situation hilarious. The terrible General Sephiroth, who did not know how to behave in front of a child! The combination of the scene and the play put him in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon… until his superior grabbed him by the collar when he was about to leave the elevator, snatching a cry of surprise from him at the feeling of being pulled back. Turning his head, he met the impassive look of the silverette.

"Did you really think you were going to get away with this?" He asked calmly, as Angeal walked out after pressing a button, blocking the door with its imposing mass. "No way. You made me lose several hours of work, so you better help me to make up for all this."

Genesis was on the verge of protesting, even using Exit to escape, before realizing something. To do that would be to do what was easy, instead of doing what was right, that is, helping Sephiroth to make up for lost time by his own fault. And the idea of doing that... thinking about what Flower would say if she ever learned about it... made him honestly uncomfortable. So he didn't even struggle, obediently following his superior to his office. If the latter was surprised at the lack of protest from the redhead, he didn't show it, and contented himself with dividing the piles of documents to give half of them to the Scarlet Mage, ignoring his disgusted grimace. The redhead, however, took on the task diligently, despite his disgust. Checking the papers and placing them on different piles (or in the document shredder) according to Sephiroth's instructions, he did his best to help his friend out of the paperwork trap in which he found himself through his fault.

Some documents required only a reading and a stamp in certain places, others required the silverette's signature, and some, finally, went directly to destruction, because asking to send SOLDIER in missions for which they had neither the enhancements nor the capacities. He was nevertheless surprised to see that his superior didn't even watch him work, and realized with a certain shock that he trusted him to not sabotage his work. The thought made him feel strangely humble, and he continued his work methodically, if not with pleasure.

With his help, Sephiroth was able to finish his working day at roughly the same schedule as usual, not even stopping to eat the sandwiches that Angeal had brought them around dinner. Finally, they took care of the last stacks, and Genesis let out a sigh of relief, stretching with a grimace. Without looking up from his own work, the silverette spoke to him:

"Have you learned the lesson, Genesis?"

The latter rolled his eyes as he stood up, responding calmly:

"Never interrupt your work, understood."

"Good," said Sephiroth with satisfaction, standing up in turn. "Let's go."

"I still want to tell you that it is not very healthy for you to work every day," noticed the redhead as his superior closed his office behind them, a pile of files under his arm.

The concerned snorted sarcastically.

"And who do you want me to entrust my work to?" He pointed calmly. "You? Angeal?"

Genesis winced in spite of himself.

"Honestly, I'm glad I'm not at your post. And Angeal... has enough to do with the Puppy."

"Exactly," Sephiroth confirmed.

They continued on their way without a word, Genesis' mind turning and turning the situation in his head. Something... wasn't really right in this whole story. Why not bring someone over to Sephiroth to help ease the load? It was as if... someone wanted to see him crack under the mass of work he had... because he could have sworn that he didn't have as much work when they met each other. Admittedly, some of the documents he had seen pass were extremely sensitive... but why not train someone to assist him? Or make sure that only truly important queries end up on his desk?

The redhead continued to mull over these thoughts for the next few weeks, trying to use those thoughts to avoid thinking about what was going to happen to Flower during this damn tournament. Prepared or not (and she had confessed to him training at throwing fireballs at the slightest opportunity, gaining a more or less deserved reputation as an pyroman, to his great evil pleasure), the poor girl was almost as stressed as Sephiroth, which vaguely gave the impression of being a dragon on the verge of snapping and doing a general carnage. The only good point in this whole story was that his workload had dropped significantly, people starting to be afraid of bringing him unimportant documents, preferring to bring them to Angeal.

The redhead's gaze fell on the calendar hanging on the wall, pursed lips seeing the date. November 24. It was today that Flower had to face the dragon... which she had described as extremely dangerous, even for this species. Genesis would have had two words to say to the asshole who had found it clever to make them face nesting mother dragons! Seriously, were they all totally stupid or what?

Coming and going like a caged Coeurl, Genesis ends up forcing himself to lie down, knowing that he needed to sleep. Fortunately, he had managed to ask for a day off the next day, which gave him time to calm down. He knew he wouldn't talk to Flower tonight, but chances were he would see what she had been through. Turning endlessly in bed, unable to fall asleep, he ended up using meditation techniques suggested by Angeal to try to calm himself down enough to slip into sleep.

oOo

Genesis studied the inside of the tent he was in carefully, regretting that he couldn't look around. Still, he carefully recorded the details he could see, storing them in a corner of his mind so he could analyze them later.

With her were three other teenagers, two boys and a girl. The girl, a little older than Flower, just like the two others apparently, was of an ethereal beauty which must have made many teenage boys her age turn their head, but, obviously, the two present were visibly too stressed to give her the slightest glance. He himself was left indifferent, too worried about his friend, whom he could feel almost sick with anxiety, and that was also valid for her, he realized when he saw her slightly greenish tint. The blackhaired boy had a particularly closed expression, and the brunette, if he looked stressed, smiled weakly at Flower, as if to encourage her. She answered him with a nod, starting to pace.

The moron who happily entered the tent made him want to strangle him. We were talking about children who were going to face dragons, for the love of the Goddess! There was nothing joyful about it! He could sense that the teenage girl was half sick with anxiety because of the situation, so couldn't they speed things up a bit?

Genesis hardly paid any attention to the idiot's speech, other than the fact that they would pass one after the other, once they had drawn the figurine representing the dragon with which they were to face. Each of the official champions seemed particularly stressed, but they, at least, had signed for it. Not Flower. A loud noise rose outside the tent, and the redhead realized that it was probably the spectators. His lip curled up in contempt. He felt as if he had gone back two centuries ago to the days of the gladiators, as the situation seemed barbaric to him.

Finally, the noise subsided, and the moron handed the bag to the older girl with a cheery "ladies first!" ". She drew a small green dragon figurine, which seemed fairly classic to the redhead. The latter noticed her lack of surprise, and remembered what Flower had said to him when he was worried about whether the other participants knew about the dragons. She had nodded, stating that she had warned her fellow student, since he wasn't aware of the reptiles, which put him at a serious disadvantage compared to the others. The number "2" hanging around the figurine's neck indicated that she would go second, which meant she wouldn't have to worry too much about the wait.

Flower was next to pick her dragon, and let out a sigh as she pulled out a small figurine representing a black dragon, sporting bronze horns, just like the spikes that were along its back and tail. Genesis barely paid attention to the other two picks, noting that Flower's figure had a "4" around its neck, signifying that she would go last. He felt her sigh, before pacing, sending the idiot in yellow and black out when he tried to lure her outside to speak to her in private. Flower's "you wouldn't be trying to help me cheat to pay off your debts?" made him snicker in spite of himself, especially when he saw the shocked stuttering of the blond moron, that told him that it was probably the truth.

She then ignored him, resuming walking back and forth, ignoring the champions, who returned it. Anyway, everyone seemed to be on the verge of being sick. After too long, the idiot's voice echoed outside, briefly warming the crowd before calling for the first champion, the brown haired boy. He paid very little attention to the comments, especially since he saw nothing. After a while, the excited screams of the crowd told him that the boy had managed to grab his golden egg, and was apparently almost unharmed. Moments later, a new whistle sounded, signaling for the other champion. Once again, Genesis ignored most of what was going on outside the tent, his attention focused on a nauseous Flower, probably due to stress. If he could... he would have taken her in his arms to comfort her. Because she badly needed it.

The blonde girl eventually grabbed her golden egg, and the crowd got excited again, before calming down when the scores were posted. The third whistle announced the turn of the dark haired boy with the hooked nose, who seemed particularly constipated at this stage. And the wait resumed for Flower, punctuated by the cries and gasps of the crowd. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the redhead, the roar of the crowd indicated that the last champion had managed to grab his prize, if he judged by the horrible howling of the dragon. After a few moments when they announced the notes, the last whistle announcing that it was Flower's turn sounded, and he felt her sigh of relief, heading for the entrance to the tent. Her legs gave him the impression of being marshmallow, and he could almost feel her panic rising crescendo, as its own stress levels.

He blinked, surprised, seeing that Flower was entering a sort of arena surrounded by rocks... which strangely reminded him of the dream of the night before.

In this dream… (or was it a memory of her watching a movie? He vaguely remembered a television) he had seen a teenage boy with disheveled black hair coming out of a small tunnel of rocks… a golden egg in the foreground, just before he is attacked by a species of brown wyverne, with a spiky back. The boy had done his best to dodge the tail blows of the angry wyverne, before succeeding in taking shelter in a corner, helped more or less involuntarily by the wyvern's tail, before shouting something, most certainly an incantation if he judged by the fact that the words were blocked, to his greatest frustration.

The kid had dodged several more jets of flame before Genesis saw a flying broom, of all the things that could have appeared, flying in his direction. He couldn't hold back a facepalm in front of the stupidity of the kid, whose intention was clearly to challenge an apex predator in its chosen field, namely the sky. The redhead was unable to determine if it was courage or stupidity when he saw this. Probably a bit of both… and especially of the second. He watched the teenager jumped on the broomstick as he passed by, cheered enthusiastically by the crowd.

He had to hold back a groan when he saw him rush towards the golden egg, missing his shot because of a jet of flame from the Wyvern, forcing him to deviate from his trajectory and regain altitude, followed by the reptile. The latter was stopped by the chain which tied it to the ground... before it broke it with a roar of frustration, and gained altitude, following the boy, who had opened wide frightened eyes when he had looked back, witnessing the scene... especially when the wyvern decided to spit fire... taking up the whole screen of the television.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a roar, and realized that Flower was facing the dragon she was supposed to face... a thick brute covered in black scales and bronze-colored spines. The mother dragon was nesting her eggs, wings half closed, her yellow eyes, wild, fixed on him. Like a monstrous lizard with black scales, it waved its tail bristling with spikes which imprinted long and deep marks on the hard ground. The crowd was shouting in a great uproar, to encourage Flower or to make fun of her, Genesis didn't know and didn't care. He felt like he was on the verge of a heart attack, especially when Flower deliberately approached the nesting mother, diving behind rocks to take shelter until she was close enough.

He felt her catch her breath, feeling the warmth of the rock submitted to the dragon's flames, certainly waiting for it to stop before continuing. When the strident roar of the dragon sounded, signifying that she had to stop to catch her breath, Flower spurted from behind her protection, braking just in front of the dragon, which flinched back, visibly surprised. The next second, Genesis was now proud to see that his friend had taken his teachings to heart, and managed to throw half a dozen flameballs with a gesture. She had been training really well, he noted with satisfaction. The only small... problem was the color of the flames. Instead of being yellow-orange... they were a pale green, almost like Mako. And, to his amazement... a single volley was enough for the dragon to flatten herself on the ground with a terrified whimper, trembling with terror.

He could hear Flower whispering a bewildered "what the..." before the mother dragon grabbed the golden egg, rolling it towards the teenage girl, who grabbed it immediately, obviously not wanting to discuss her good fortune. The dragon then wrapped around its nest with a terrified whine, visibly trembling with fear for a reason that eluded him. Flower then rushed without hesitation towards the tunnel where she had come from, the stadium plunged in shocked silence. Genesis was himself stunned.

Wild dragons used fire to assert their dominance over one another. The more fire a dragon produced over a long period of time, the more it was respected by others. Usually half a dozen fireballs was far from enough. Dominance fire struggles could last up to half an hour for the most powerful and stubborn. Genesis was one of the few humans able to enter a dragon territory and not be immediately attacked on sight, having defeated several dragons in combat with fire. The latter generally left him in peace when he had to pass through these areas, even if they came to challenge him when he was leading a battalion through their territories to save time.

But never, ever, had he seen a dragon submit as quickly, and above all give up something that they kept. Whether it's a treasure or an egg… and for this dragon, this object represented both.

Flower was joined by a strict-looking woman whom she called Professor, making him understand that she was a member of the teaching staff. Her questions about how she had learned to use Necromancer fire were met with frank disbelief. She insisted that she had never used this kind of spell, claiming that her only training had been to create normal fireballs. And that it was the first time that her fireballs took on this color. Her teacher seemed highly skeptical, but as the nurse's brief examination revealed that she was unharmed, her teacher brought her back into the arena, more exactly by the stands, bringing her to a small box which looked like the official grandstand of the big sports stadiums, where the judges were.

The idiot looked slightly uncomfortable in front of Flower, but kept his cretinously happy expression... and he would never have said that, but he still preferred Zack's happy-go-lucky attitude. The boy was at least honest, while the blond man was clearly questionable. He then announced that he would give the points to Flower (and Genesis growled angrily when her name was blocked again) before the huge woman (she was even taller than Angeal, he realized with shock) raised her wand impassively, but the stick trembling minutely before a silver ribbon came out of the tip, entwining to form a six. Next was a stern man, the ribbon forming a seven this time, followed by the old schnock with questionable tastes, who gave the same note. Another man, even more doubtful than the blonde (and who was in no way hiding it), raised his wand in turn... letting out a two. He felt Flower snort ironically, whispering "some things don't change" before the old goat spoke quietly, his voice ringing around them, probably amplified either by loudspeakers or by magic.

"Miss ******, will you allow us to ask you a few questions?" He asked calmly.

The concerned sniffed with a certain contempt, before responding.

"Go ahead."

The shady man with black hair, wearing a goatee, spoke, his tone and his attitude so contemptuous that they made Genesis want to make him taste Rapier.

"Are you aware that you have broken at least several laws in your country with your little demonstration, Miss?" He asked, revealing blackened snags, disgusting the redhead. "With such a display of black magic, you wonder how the people here can call you their Savior, if you are so ready to use forbidden magic," he quipped.

Flower gave a growl of anger, visibly exasperated.

"By all the... I have no idea what you're talking about, you old schnock! Anyway... you know something about dark magic, no? With your past?" She asked mockingly, giving him the bird. "And what magic are you talking about anyway? I'm sure I've never heard of it!"

"In any case, how did you manage to learn how to use Necromancer Fire?" The old goat asked sternly, looking at her with a disappointed expression. "This is the darkest magic there is! Who taught you?"

Flower's bitter laugh visibly surprised them, judging by the way they stirred nervously. Then she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm and contempt.

"Do you really think I will answer you after the incompetence you have shown?" She growled in response, visibly furious. "You, who allowed me to be entered in this tournament AGAINST MY WILL? And you imagine that I will answer you? What next? I DIDN'T signed up to participate in this farce! All this just because you are too cowardly to fight on your own, and prefer to send a child who has been abused by her family to the stake! In WHAT should your opinion matter to me?" She asked, contemptuously.

"You used black magic, girl!" Thundered the goatee man, glaring at her while straightening up in his seat. "A magic so dark that it was banned centuries ago!"

Fleur snort contemptuously once more, especially when the old goat added his two cents.

"**** is right, Miss ******. This magic has been banned for a good reason, you shouldn't know what it is, or even less use it."

"Oh, as I wasn't supposed to know about the Cerberus locked behind a door in the second floor hallway?" She sneered. "Or the fact that it only took a spell learned less than a week earlier to open that fucking door?"

"Miss ******!" Exclaimed the woman who had accompanied her, visibly scandalized by her language.

But Flower was far from finished, and was even just starting to warm up.

"Or the fact that the obstacles it was protecting were simple enough for a trio of first years to overcome them, with ********* himself waiting for us at the end? Trying to kill me?"

Genesis didn't understand the name that had been spoken, but the shock he perceived in the stands made him understand that it was important, especially when he saw the people before him shudder. The goatee man and the strict woman in particular. The huge woman seemed to be torn between shock and anger, but he could sense that Flower was far from done, quite the contrary. Her voice had gradually increased in volume, and he could almost feel it echo in his body.

"Or the ******** who wandered in the school during my second year?" She asked angrily, making the goatee man opened his eyes wide, leaving him speechless. "Petrifying students on *********'s orders? Trying to kill one? Who had to deal with this shit? Not you, Professor, even though you had had half a century to solve the puzzle, including the fact that a student was killed that time! How do you explain that a second year student could do it for you? And let's not talk about last year!" She exclaimed, raising her arms to the sky, starting to walk back and forth, too furious to stay still. "*********! Fucking ********* posted around the school! Around helpless children! I almost died because of them!"

"Miss ******!" Exclaimed the old goat, a slight shade of panic coloring his voice. "That's enough!"

Flower suddenly turned to him, stopping her pacing. Even if Genesis couldn't see her expression, he could perfectly imagine her gaze burning with contained rage.

"That's enough?" She asked softly, the cold in her voice making chills go down the redhead's back. "No, Professor, it's not enough. Far from it. I would also like to know why ****** ***** didn't receive a trial, and was sent to ******* without further ado. When he was my godfather, and should have taken care of me when my parents died, not my magic hating aunt!"

"Who told you that?" Asked the old goat, who was almost sweating, visibly uncomfortable.

Flower sniffed contemptuously.

"Unlike the sheep that make up the majority of the wizarding population," she scoffed, "I don't eat everything that I am told. When I learned that the fugitive who had escaped from prison was my godfather, at the end of last year, I wrote to the Ministry asking for details about his trial. And guess what? No one has been able to answer me. Which means that his case was either... "lost"," she said sarcastically, "by people who had a vested interest in his staying in prison... or he was never tried. And you ask me to trust you?" She asked coldly, her tone contemptuous. "To respect you? Are you stupid or just completely senile?"

"Miss ******!" Thundered the old man, rising and letting out something furiously reminiscent of Sephiroth's aura to Genesis. "It's not about me or the Ministry! Answer the question!"

Flower looked at him for a long time, silent, before answering softly.

"Answer your question? I'm going to do a lot better than that," she said, taking out her wand, raising it to the sky. "I, **** **** ******, solemnly swear on my life and my magic that I have never used Necromancer fire, and never wanted to do so. I also swear I never found any information about Necromancer fire, so mote it be!"

The redhead shivered as he felt the magic literally swell in and around her, absently realizing that the very ground was shaking underfoot, and that the air made him feel like it was vibrating down to the molecular level. The very plan of existence shivering around them. The sensation disappeared as quickly as it came, and Flower brought up a flock of birds from her wand, before putting it back in her pocket.

"Now," she said softly, her low, dangerous voice echoing in the sudden silence, "Are you going to continue calling me a liar, or are you going to end this farce, and let me go rest?"

Silence reigned for a long time, before the idiot in yellow and black robes rose, a falsely cheerful smile on his lips, and approached her with a leaping step, also addressing the other champions that had certainly arrived meanwhile, and that Genesis hadn't noticed.

"Congratulations to all!" He exclaimed, looking as happy as if he were the one who managed to snatch a golden egg from a dragon. "And now, a few clarifications very quickly. You will have plenty of time to breathe before the second task, which will take place on February 24 at 9:30 a.m. but, meantime, we will give you something to think about! If you look closely at the golden eggs that are in your possession, you will see that they can be opened... You see the hinges, there? So listen carefully: these eggs contain a riddle that you will need to solve to find out what the second task will consist of and how to prepare for it. Everything is clear? Are you sure? All right, you can go!"

*I just have one last word to say to you, Mr ******," replied Flower calmly, approaching him.

He looked at her without understanding, visibly curious, and opened his mouth, beginning to speak... before cutting himself into a strangled squeak when the teenager struck him with all her strength in the crotch. Genesis may have hated him... at that moment he couldn't hold back the grimace of compassion. It must hurt. The "ooooooooh" from the stands was probably made by the male half of the audience, including the other men in front of him. Flower's voice rose again in the near-total silence, barely broken by the moans of pain from the idiot prostrate on the ground in front of her.

"That was for insisting that I participate in the tournament when I'm a minor. And that," she says with a kick in his already battered jewels, "is for not having suggested changing the test! Are you totally stupid or just completely sadistic for sending a child who didn't even pass her first exams yet to face a fucking dragon?" She growled angrily. "You're disgusting," she finished in a disgusted tone, shaking her head.

She then turned around, her back stiffened with anger, passing by the official champions without giving them a look. Genesis could, however, see them fearfully move away from Flower, which he could hardly blame them, any more than her explosion. But if he had been there, he would have gladly offered her his arm to escort her out of the arena... and most certainly far from this school. He could clearly see that she was so done of all their bullshit, and he sympathized. She didn't deserve all of this.

Genesis heard two voices cheering her in the stands, echoing in the near-total silence. His lips stretched into an amused, ironic smile as he began to realize that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to fall for her. Flower... had that flame in her that he desperately sought in the people he seduced... but that practically no one had. Only his friends seemed to have that same flame that was burning in Flower... even if it would have been more accurate to speak of an infernal blaze at that moment. The redhead would have taken great pleasure in charring the majority of the people present... before turning his back on the ashes and taking Flower with him, far from these imbeciles.

A trio of redheads (including her friend) and a girl with bushy brown hair rushed down from the stands, surrounding her. But not to congratulate her, unlike the idiot, more to make sure she was fine. The dream began to dissipate for Genesis, even as he felt Flower's shoulders relax, the tension slowly dissipating from her body. However, he would have liked to take her in his arms to comfort her, the frustration of being unable to do so was driving him almost mad.

To be continued…

Here is the first chapter devoted to our favorite pyroman, out of three in total, given the length of the next one. Each chapter of the Elites will have a different task for those who see it, with some common elements, and interludes on their side. (Happily singing Burn baby burn - Dragon)

Once the school year is over, there will be an interlude with Rose's point of view, before resuming for the next year.