A/N: 5413 words long. I got carried away... Genis and Yuan are just a lot of fun to write. R&R!

"Oh, my Goddess."

Harley stopped, looking over his shoulder with amusement as Mesha stood just outside the city gates of Meltokio, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of the castle far above her. The red-headed half-elf tweaked her ear, rough fingers pulling at the delicate, pointed tips.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that if you leave your mouth open too long, flies'll get in it?"

"Hmm?" Mesha blinked several times before answering. "Not really. My mother's been dead for three years."

Harley winced. "Oh. I… uh, I'm sorry."

"It's OK," Mesha shrugged, beginning to edge towards the shopping district. "She was six hundred when she died- not bad for an elf woman, y'know?" Eagerly glancing through the shop windows, she seemed ready to jump up and down with excitement. "Do you think when we're done the Professor will let me go shopping?" Her eyes sparkled. "Shopping! In Meltokio! It's like a dream!"

"An overrated, overpriced dream," Harley said, knocking the back of her head with his fist. "Meltokio isn't that great. Now come on- the Professor's waiting for us."

"Oh! Right!" She glanced around. "But I don't see her. Is there some sort of Rheiard shop she goes to?"

"Heh," Harley hooked his thumbs into his belt. "Hey listen, don't base everyone outside your village on what you see in us. Not everyone has a Rheiard- in fact, there's less than a dozen who do. And they all know each other. This way." He moved off in the direction of the big stairs, leading up to the noble's district.

"That's…" Dizzying, if truth be told. "Interesting. So you know them all too?"

"Well, not know them know them, but I at least know their names. First off is the Professor and the other eight heroes, then there's a ninja named Ken Akamatsu, and a half-elf everyone calls "Yuan". He has the second-largest collection of Rheiards anywhere. Then there's these two noblemen- or, one nobleman and a noblewoman- who live here and they have two of their own. Pandora Epiphany and Max Kynes- or was it Keiths?" He tapped one finger against his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway… then there's me. And in a few moments you'll see what it means to be a part of this exclusive little club."

Mesha couldn't help but grin. "Cool."

"I know," Harley said, smugly. He looked up and Mesha realized they had arrived at their destination: A lavish mansion bigger than any other house she had ever seen. Suddenly nervous, Mesha hung back as Harley went up and knocked on the door.

"Uhm, I'll just wait outside…" she said in a small voice.

"What, are you kidding?" Harley raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Raine's in there, and since we're her students we have to foll- oh." He had kept on knocking while he was talking to Mesha, and the unlocked door swung open under his fist. "Jeez, this guy never locks his own front door!"

He stepped inside and Mesha, wracked with indecision, finally decided to follow him. Treading carefully on the lush green carpet, she kept her arms pressed close to her side in case she were to reach out and accidentally break one of the many crystal vases and other fragile, expensive things decorating the foyer. "This place is so…"

"Obnoxious?" Harley offered.

"Big!"

"….Obnoxious, just like the owner."

"Who lives here?" Mesha asked him, keeping her hands clasped together so that she could better resist the urge to grab everything and take a good close look at it.

"Just a guy. He likes to think he's hot shit, but he's nothing but a loser."

Mesha winced. "Could you please stop using bad language like that?"

"Yeah, sorry. Bad habit." He plopped down on a creamy white sofa, kicking his legs up on a nearby table.

"I should think so. You need to watch your tongue when in the presence of a young lady."

Mesha, startled, turned her attention to Raine and a strange man, standing in the hallway to her left. Her heart stopped beating. One second. Three seconds. Fifteen seconds. Wait, her heart was still beating, she just wasn't breathing. If anything, her heart was beating full pace- faster than full pace.

Who was that with the Professor?

She took a long, shuddering breath, she mumbling some sort of greeting while looking down at the floor. Distantly, from somewhere far away, she heard the Professor speaking.

"This is Mesha," she said. And on the heels of that: "Don't hit on her."

"Who, me?" said the beautiful young man. If he was a man- somehow, even though she heard his distinctly male voice, he felt like a woman. He's a phoenix, she thought briefly, her heart skidding dangerously fast as he approached her. Androgynous, blazing male strength and feminine grace, beauty, compassion. He gently tipped her head up, one finger under her chin.

"Look at her!" he said, grinning. He admiringly ran his free fingers through strands green hair.

Look- look at the freak!

"Look, she's so cute!" he squealed, surprising her by wrapping her in a huge bear hug. "Darling, where have you been my whole life? I've missed you, hunny! ♥"

Is he talking about me? Her stomach churning, she suddenly pushed him away, as far away as she could while glaring at the floor. "I would appreciate it," she said softly, "If you please kept your distance." When he didn't respond, she dared to peek up at him to see the oddest expression on his face. Then he grinned again, stepping back with one hand on his hip, the other flipping his thick red hair back over his shoulder.

"Hmm," he said, grinning still. "She's somewhat resistant to my devastating beauty and natural charm. Of course, only somewhat- no one is truly safe! Ah hah hah hah ha!" He threw his head back to add further dramatic effect to his laugh. Mesha felt the first twinge of annoyance at him now that her startling first impression was beginning to wear off. He was so like a girl, it was almost disturbing. Mesha had never met a man like him before.

Raine sighed, shoving him roughly out of the way. "In any case," she said. "I'm still not sure if she should be riding a child's sized Rheiard or not. Now that you've seen her, what's your opinion, Zelos?"

Mesha's eyebrow twitched as the Professor tread on dangerous ground. "I am not a child!" she said. "I'm just small!"

"Oh, but I can see that, Mesha," the red-haired man purred. Now she was definitely annoyed, even if he was agreeing with her.

"Who are you, exactly?" she asked him, her arms crossed. "It's not fair that you know my name but I don't know yours!"

"Ah, forgive my rude manners." Before she could register what he was doing, he swept her up in another, tighter embrace. "Darling," he said, impossibly blue eyes boring into hers, "My name is Zelos Wilder."

Then, ruining all hopes of being respectable in her eyes, he added in a much brighter tone: "But you can call me Master Zelos! All my other hunnies do."

"Your what?"

"You fell asleep in your clothes?"

Genis opened up his clear grey eyes, looking too alert for someone who had just been shaken roughly awake. Sitting up, he ran a gloved hand through his spiky blue hair, glancing around the room. "…Yep," he said, swinging his legs to dangle over the edge of the top bunk he shared with Mighty.

"Elves are so weird." Mighty shrugged, opening his dresser to find a clean shirt.

"No, I'm the only one that's weird, and I'm only half-elf," Genis said, springing off his bed and landing silently on his feet. "Where are the towels?" he turned to see Mighty flinging a towel at him and caught it without a word. Unbuttoning his navy blue coat, tossed it up onto his bed and stretched.

Mighty's eyebrows arched up in surprise, but he didn't say anything. He had figured that Genis was wearing leather gloves, but that turned out not to be the case. He was wearing some sort of tight, black shirt that covered his upper body from the base of his neck to his finger tips to right below his belly button. It looked like leather at first, because it seemed to be tight enough, but as Genis walked by with the towel over his shoulder he easily shrugged it off, no buttons or zippers. It just fell off of him into his waiting hand, folding like cloth.

"You've got weird tastes in fashion," Mighty said.

"It's not fashion. It's body armor. Here- catch." He tossed the black shirt to Mighty, who looked at it in suspicion. He tugged at it curiously, running his hands through it. Not cold, like silk, but smoothly flowing. Not fragile, either.

"Magic?" he asked, poking a finger through the holes that would accommodate Genis's Ex-spheres. Genis didn't answer, instead shrugging and leaving to take his shower. Mighty made a face at the closed door before going back to examining the armor, curious and determine to figure out how it worked. Slipping his arms through it, he tried to find out how it was fastened when the shirt answered him itself. It tightened automatically to fit his body, but while it was flattering for someone who obviously worked out (like Genis) it was embarrassing for someone who was beginning to develop a pot-belly (like Mighty).

Grimacing at himself in the mirror as he waved his arms about, he tried to get a feel for the armor. He kept on expecting to feel the restricting tightness of leather but was pleasantly surprised when the shirt allowed him to move around as if he was wearing nothing at all. The student began to grin, tapping his fist against his chest, feeling as though he was rapping his hand against metal but feeling soft cloth.

"Sweeeeeet…" he breathed. "Hey GENIS!" Mighty yelled over his shoulder at the closed bathroom door. "Where did you buy this thing? I want one!"

There was no answer except the continuous hiss of running water. Mighty growled under his breath, tugging at the armor and trying to take it off. When the smooth, soft material only slipped out of his hands, he began to search for a zipper or maybe an on/off switch that would make it fall off of him like it had with Genis. "Off…" he muttered. "Fall off!"

Genis's voice floated over through the door, over the sound of the water. "It doesn't respond to voices…"

"Then how do I take the damn thing off?" Mighty demanded, wriggling inside the armor that only shifted and flexed to mimic his movements.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before putting it on." Click. The water stopped and Genis walked out of the shower, toweling his hair dry and wearing a fresh seat of blue jeans. "See how my arm is red?" he pointed to his right hand, the one wearing the smaller, weaker Ex-sphere. The arm was normal in every way except the pigment of the skin was a deep, rich crimson. The stain spread all the way up his arm, reaching his chest before it stopped.

"Yeah…" Mighty said slowly.

"The armor did that." Genis nodded. "It's a magic armor that takes years and years to master before you can put it on and take it off at will. Otherwise there will be…" he trailed off, his grey eyes dramatically wide. "…Consequences," he whispered.

"What?" the other teenager's eyes widened considerably. "What? What does that mean? I can't take this off for a year?"

"Years. Plural."

"That's bullshit!" He started tapping all over the armor, looking for a way to take it off. He tried pulling it over his head like a normal shirt but it clung on to him possessively, causing him to start to panic a little. "Come on, Genis. Tell me how to get this off."

"I already told you. Now I have to train you how to use it properly." Before Mighty could open his mouth to complain again, Genis said, "But… maybe…"

Mighty couldn't help himself. He really didn't want to be stuck in this unflattering armor for years. "What? What maybe?"

"No…" He placed his left hand over his right shoulder, looking down at his arm. "When I tried to take it off without learning how to properly handle the armor, my arm was ripped off and I had to have my sister reattach it."

Mighty's pale face paled further.

Genis looked him in the eye, his face dead serious. "You're so gullible."

A few seconds ticked by before Mighty exploded. "You asshole!" he yelled, yanking at his light brown, blondish hair. "Crap! Crap! I thought I was stuck in this- don't you dare laugh at me!"

Genis needed to put one hand on the wall to support himself, one fist crammed tightly against his mouth to try and suppress his helpless giggles. "Oh…. Ohoho… oh you thought… oh man… oh you thought I was serious…. Ahahha…." He waved his left hand at Mighty and the large, pulsing Ex-sphere glowed brighter than it normally did for a moment. The armor fell off of Mighty, folding itself neatly onto the floor. "Anyone can put it on," he said, grinning. "But only the person with the properly attuned Cruxis Crystal can take it off. In other words: me."

"I really, really hate you." Mighty collapsed down onto his bunk as Genis, still chuckling, opened up a suitcase at the foot of the bed and pulled out a plain blue polo. "Do you only wear blue?" he demanded for lack of anything else to snap back with.

"It's my favorite color," Genis responded, his voice low and soft again. The momentary burst of emotion had passed. "I'm going to go walk around campus. You have fun now." He walked out and slammed the door shut behind him, smiling thinly as he heard Mighty shouting from inside. Oh, what a typical angry human teenaged boy. At least he was somewhat amusing. He leaned against the closed door, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

Somewhat amusing.

"This is my dream," he whispered to himself, slowly, before glancing down at the Cruxis Crystal embedded in his left hand, and Marble's Ex-sphere he still kept on his right.

"I know she gets offended at the thought of riding a Rheiard meant for children, but I'm just concerned for her," Raine sighed, one hand to her face as she closed her eyes, frowning delicately. "For her personal safety it would just be better to be on a machine easier to control. She's not Sheena."

Zelos shrugged. "She seems pretty competent to me, and she is a half-elf."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a compliment, hunny. Almost all the half-elves I've seen have been, well, capable. In a lot of ways."

"I'm not going to risk my student because of a hunch you have."

"I'm not saying to risk anything! I'm saying give her a chance to show what she's made of."

Their eyes met, and they sighed as one, hanging their heads. "Oh, what to do?" they said.

Mesha silently steamed, sitting on the couch next to Harley. "I wish they wouldn't talk about me as if I wasn't right here."

Harley smiled, patting her head. "It's ok, kid- I mean, Mesha," he corrected himself quickly. "It's not just you. They're condescending to everyone they meet."

"Ugh. They're good for each other, then."

Zelos's ears perked up at that and he snatched the Professor close, putting one arm around her waist and squeezing her against his side. He laid his cheek down on the top of her head, smiling at Mesha. "Aren't we, though? I keep trying to tell her that, but alas. Her heart is set on another."

Raine glared at him, extricating herself and sitting down on one of his armchairs. "In any case," she said, her cheeks starting to turn red, "Mesha? I truly don't mean this as an insult to you, but you're going to have to ride on a child's sized Rheiard."

"If it's any consolation," Zelos added brightly, "Presea Combatir is about your size and doesn't mind using a smaller Rheiard."

"I'm not Presea Combatir," Mesha said. "But I see your point. I'll stop being a fuss- I mean, I should be grateful I'm even getting a Rheiard. Err… Mr. Wilder?" She shrunk back in her seat as Zelos clasped his hands together in front of his chest, giving her a huge puppy-dog face.

"She's so mature!" he said, seeming ready to swoon. "Oh she's so, so cute."

"Uh-Uhm, Mr. Wilder, p-p-p-please keep your distance."

"No, no, Mesha," Harley said, "You have to do it like this." He leaned over in front of Mesha, shoving Zelos back roughly. "Get your ugly mug out of my face!"

Zelos brought one hand to his chest, shocked. "Ugly? You're the ugly one here! You're a disgrace to redheads, you are."

Harley opened his mouth, his face turning as red as his hair, when a voice interrupted them. "Hey Zelos!" the female voice said. "I know you're gonna laugh, but I'm really lost in this house of yours. Where's my room again?"

Zelos stiffened, his eyes shifting to glance at the Professor. Raine had looked up at the voice, an odd expression on her face. "Uh, uh!" Zelos waved his arms wildly. "Raine? I know I should have told you this earlier but-"

Sheena froze in the entrance to the hallway, her wet hair dripping onto the carpet as she clutched her towel tighter around her barely concealed curves, her eyes widening in shock. Raine did her best to try and show no emotion, but she couldn't be sure that her face wasn't the complete picture of misery and despair.

"…Raine," Sheena said, and then flinched, taking a step backwards. She turned around and bolted back the way she came, her face bright scarlet.

Raine half stood, reaching out with one hand as if to try and grab her back, but then slowly sat back down onto the seat, staring down at her hands folded on her lap. "You should go after her," she said to Zelos, not looking up. "You're her friend."

Zelos helplessly looked from the departing Sheena and the oddly calm Professor, clearly torn. Finally he decided, chasing after the ninja and leaving a very confused Mesha in his wake. She gave Harley a confused look but he shook his head, unable to answer. Raine stood up, turning to leave by another hallway, on the other side of the room from where Sheena had appeared.

"I think I'll head up to the roof…" she said, distant. "I'll have your Rheiards waiting for you outside the town gates in a half-hour."

"OK, Professor," Harley said, but she had already left. He sighed, loudly. "Geez. Sometimes I really wanna know what happened between those two."

"What happened?" Mesha asked.

"Dunno. They used to be great friends but now they're like…" He shook his head. "Dunno." Shoving his hands into his pockets, he smiled down at her, trying to change the subject. "Anyway… uh…still wanna go shopping?"

Several days later, Genis had already proved himself to be the top student, right above Mighty. The human boy grew even more resentful of Genis, if that was possible, and yet one could always find them together. Of course they were generally silent, not goofing around like the other boys, and when they did acknowledge each other it was to insult or taunt the other.

Today was such a day.

"It's lunch time already," Mighty said over the rumblings of his stomach. They were sitting in the plaza, near the fountain built in memory of all who died in the Palmacosta disaster. If Genis felt uneasy around the reminder of his and the other's first failure, he didn't let it show. "I'm gonna go ahead and head out to the cafeteria. Of course I will not be seeing you there, since you're obviously too cool to eat with the rest of us pitiful humans."

Genis pushed his goggles up higher on his head, shrugging. "I don't like the food they cook here," he said, under his breath.

"What was that?" Mighty cupped a hand around his ear, leaning closer to the half-elf. "You've gotta stop mumbling. Speak louder, half-elf."

"I said: the food here SUCKS!" Genis screamed into his roommate's ear, causing several people to stop and stare at them. Softer, he added, "I cook better."

"Psh. You can't cook," Mighty said accusingly. "What can you cook- toast?"

"Hmm. Just you watch." Genis leapt to his feet, purposefully striding towards the cafeteria. Mighty blinked a few times before getting up and following him, curious and a little confused. But when Genis bypassed the long line for food and marched straight into the kitchen, he understood. He quickly ran after the half-elf, tugging on his elbow.

"Hey, hey!" he said. "Students aren't allowed back here!"

"They'll make an exception for me, don't worry!" Genis said, casually snatching up an apron from the pegs on the wall. "Just act like you belong."

"What?" Mighty grabbed an apron as well, following Genis nervously past dozens of stovetops and ovens baking for the entire student body and staff. Genis found an empty stove and pulled out a frying pan, pointing a knife at Mighty.

"What do you want?" he asked, eyeing an icebox where perishable goods were stored.

"To eat?"

"No," Genis said, his face blank. After a moment's pause he shrugged. "No answer? OK, you'll eat what I give you."

"But I-"

"Hush hush hush!" Genis sang out cheerfully. "Genius at work here! Hmm, Genis the Genius. Ever notice the similarities?"

"Not really. I always thought it sounded like pe-"

Genis noisily rummaged through the icebox, drowning out Mighty's words. "Stir-fry," he said decisively, tossing the ingredients onto the pan and lighting a fire under the stove without so much as a single word of incantation to ready the spell. With the intense heat the fireball provided, the food was done in a little less than a minute. Scooping the sizzling, delicious heap onto a plate, he shoved it under Mighty's nose. "Eat," he ordered, whipping out a fork from somewhere on the counter.

"Uh…" Mighty said, but the aroma was getting to him. "No thanks," he managed to say. "You eat it."

"What's the matter?" Genis said, "I thought you were starving? What do you want then- pasta? Steak? There's nothing I can't cook."

"I'm just not going to eat anything you cook."

"Shut up," Genis said, shoving a forkful of the stir-fry into Mighty's mouth. "It's delicious."

Mighty had to admit it was, if only to himself. He made a face, stepping back and trying to ignore the increasing frequency of his stomach earthquakes. He looked out to see that the line for food was still miles long and then glanced back at the plate Genis offered him.

He closed his eyes. "OK, fine. So maybe you cook OK. It's kinda girly of you though."

"Girly? There's nothing girly about cooking. I happen to know a woman who can't cook to save her life." Genis paused, sighing. "Literally. And the best chef I know is a man. It's a common misconception- people just have these sorta pre-set rules for life and love and marriage. They think only the woman cooks; the guy brings home the bacon, yadda yadda yada." He waved his hand around dismissively before taking a taste of his own cooking, an almost experimental expression on his face. He seemed disappointed in the result.

"You don't like your own cooking?" Mighty asked, wanting to snatch the plate right out of the half-elves hands.

"Hmm? No, that's not it…" Genis glanced away. "Anyway, whenever I get married I don't care if the girl can cook or not. If I ever get married. Not sure though." He shrugged, shoving the plate back at Mighty. "Here, have it. The way things are going, I'm never going to get the girl I want."

"Ahhh, you've got a girlfriend hiding somewhere?" Mighty grinned through his mouthful of stir-fry.

"Something like that. We like each other a lot but… it's complicated." Genis suddenly seemed to snap to attention, glaring at Mighty. "Why am I telling you this?" he demanded.

"I don't know. I guess we're friends, or something."

Genis made a face. "I guess," he agreed, somewhat reluctant.

"Heh. You know it's bad to obsess so much over one girl. If you don't get her in the end, what are you gonna do?"

"If I'm not gonna get married to her, I guess I'd like to be with this other guy. Not like that!" he added quickly as Mighty's jaw dropped open. "No, it's just I never really had a brother. This guy… I still don't know him too well, but I think if I could choose, I'd like someone like him… to be my brother…" Genis trailed off, rapping his fingers down on the counter. Or so he thought. When he glanced down he realized he had been putting his hand on the hot stove top. He quickly pulled his hand away before Mighty could notice it as well. "But I know I don't want to be alone. If I'm going to live for a long time, I'd like to be with someone. Because people need people. That's what someone close to me said, once."

Mighty slurped up the rest of his meal. "That was a touching speech."

"Damn it. I knew I shouldn't have spilled my guts to you."

"No, no, I'm serious!" he grinned, tauntingly.

"Hey! What are you doing here? Students aren't allowed in this area!"

Genis and Mighty stood up straight, giving each other glances of alarm. "See ya!" Genis said, shooting off in a seemingly random direction. Mighty tossed his bowl aside, desperately trying to follow him and take his route of escape. Genis didn't bother to see if he had made it or not, deftly undoing the knot on his apron and tossing it at a surprised chef as he passed by, exploding out the back doors as he made his escape.

OK, OK, let's just find a place to lay low for an hour or so, he thought, stopping to take in his surroundings. Think, Genis. You're in a school. Where's the last place everyone wants to be?

He thought for a split second before running in the direction of the classrooms. He chuckled under his breath, slowing down as he ran through the hallways so he wouldn't attract much attention if the janitors happened to be about. OK, if I take a left here, I'll find some of the math class- yaaah!

Genis went sprawling in a spectacular heap of tangled limbs that would have made Colette proud. He quickly tried to get free of the person he had just knocked over, but the stranger grabbed at his arm, yanking him back onto the ground with an angry snarl.

"Watch where you're going, you little brat!" the silver-haired stranger said. Just from being near him, Genis could tell he was a half-elf. The tell-tale hair color was just the start- his ears were pointed, his features slim and effeminate, and of course Genis could feel the chaotic swirl of his mana floating all around him.

Anger flared in him. "Hey, I wasn't the one on the freaking floor! Who are you, old man?"

"O-old…? You take that back!"

"Not until you apologize for calling me 'little'!"

The half-elf opened his mouth to say something else, probably offensive, when he stopped and looked at Genis closely. Recognition flitted across his features before he smirked. "Being called 'little' still grates your nerves, huh brat?" He sighed at Genis's confued, blank look, and reached down to hold up the end of the cape he was wearing. He waved it in his face. "Still don't recognize me?"

"Y-Yuan?" Genis took a step back, a puzzled smile on his face before he remembered Yuan's lessons on how not to show emotion. "What are you doing here? And why were you on the floor?"

"Inspecting it for cleanliness, what else?" Yuan said, dismissively, until something on the floor caught his eye. He quickly stooped down and picked up the small jade ring, slipping it back onto his finger with a slightly guilty expression. He coughed.

"Lose your ring again?" Genis asked, grinning. "Maybe you should wear it around your neck, like on a chain or something."

"Did I ask you for your opinion?"

"No, but you need it."

"We're getting off the subject!" Yuan scowled before regaining his composure. "I'm here for Kloitz's Cruxis Crystal."

Genis tried for a sad face. "You didn't want to just visit me? Catch up on old times? Chat about- hey! Cut that out!" Yuan had taken a handful of Genis's hair and yanked hard.

"What's this?" he asked. "What- what's this? You dyed it blue?"

"You're one to talk!" Genis said, swiping a hand at Yuan. The seraphim deftly hopped back a few feet, clapping his hands as if to rid them of dust. "You dyed yours silver!" He charged after Yuan, punching out.

"The agreement was that whoever didn't subdue Kloitz had to dye his hair," Yuan said, catching Genis's fist with one hand and his upper arm with the other, twisting hard until Genis was on his knees, not in any real pain but knowing that his arm could break if he didn't do something. "You doped him up and sent him to jail, remember?"

Genis managed to break free, kicking out with both legs. Yuan simply hopped over the kick and landed squarely on where Genis had been lying before he rolled out of the way. Genis crouched a few feet away, one hand on the floor and one hand raised up in a fist.

"No, the agreement was 'Whoever killed Kloitz had to dye his hair.' I never killed hoof!" Genis had his breath knocked out of him as Yuan moved faster than he could see, tackling him to the ground and pinning him there on his stomach, his arms both twisted on his back.

"Neither did I," Yuan agreed. "So it's fitting we both accepted that we lost. Now accept that you lost this battle just now, and kindly give me back the Crystal."

"But- but you gave it to me! You asked if I wanted to be an angel and I said yes." Genis squirmed, trying to get loose. "Geez, what's wrong? I said I'd come back when I was done with school."

"But I specifically told you not to try and unlock the seraphim powers on your own!" Yuan said, twisting Genis's arms viciously before remembering he probably couldn't feel anything. "Are you stupid or something? You wanna accidentally trap your soul away like we did with Colette?"

"I wanted to be stronger!"

"You're a moron!" He slapped Genis on the back of his head. "You can't even win in a fight against me without Lloyd to back you up. Now give me back the Crystal and go back to play school with the other children."

"I- I hate you!" Genis said, squirming, but Yuan had him pinned down tight. He couldn't escape. "You're not a brother to me, or anything else!"

"Yeah?" Yuan scowled. "Well… well next time, don't make me come all the way from the Triet Base to stop your dumb ass from killing yourself!" He tapped the Cruxis Crystal a few times and the bright, steady glow slowly dissipated. To test it, he gave Genis an experimental pinch on his shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Good enough," Yuan said, grimly, getting off the younger half-elf. He turned aside, wrapping his cape tighter around himself as he sighed. "If you don't do something stupid like that again, you can keep it. But you've got to choose- you can stay here and finish up with your school, or you can go back to Triet with me and I teach you how to use that thing. But not both." He looked up to see Genis getting to his feet, looking disoriented and dizzy. "Genis?" he asked. "Did you hear- ah!"

Genis lunged, catching the seraphim by surprise and pinning him down in exactly the same manner he had just done to Genis. "All right then!" Genis said, smiling with the same traces of almost manic energy they had seen in Kloitz. "Take me to Triet. Childhood dreams are overrated."