"Get back here, Yuffie," Hazuki pleaded as the tiny ninja disappeared behind yet another chimney. Cloud would feel bad for the thief's guard if he wasn't so exasperated. He hadn't been inside Kalm more than two minutes before he found Hazuki running frantically through the square searching for Yuffie, who'd given her the slip.
Cloud took pity on the woman when Yuffie very visibly climbed out a second story window, and scrambled up the rain pipe to the roof. A red-faced townsman was brandishing a gardening trowel as he leaned out the window shouting obscenities at the retreating thief.
Thus, Cloud found himself on the roof with Hazuki, trying to chase down a clever little girl with delusions of grand thievery. Every now and again, he would catch glimpses of red as Nanaki tried to cut her off, but Cloud had clearly underestimated how evasive Yuffie was. He'd never actually tried to chase her down like this when she was running like a wild rabbit with no clear indication of direction instead of trying to hide and set traps.
Cloud felt a massive wave of materia backwash flash across his skin before he heard the combined explosion of fire and lightning in the central town square. Cloud slid to a stop, roof tiles rattling beneath his boots. Hazuki kept her sprint across the roof after Yuffie, but Nanaki showed up next to him.
"Genesis?" Nanaki asked.
Sensing the faint, cracked, mental presence of the former commander flaring in the back of his mind, Cloud gave a sharp nod. He said, "Get Yuffie and Hazuki out of town. Track me down afterward, or head to Midgar. Use status materia on the little brat if you have to. Just get her out of here."
Nanaki gave a short nod and shot off between the chimneys. Cloud sprinted for the square where the occasional fireball or lightning bolt soared harmlessly into the air before dissipating or blew up part of a roof, send debris into the sky instead. Cloud pulled the fusion sword off his back and activated a MBarrier around himself as he neared the square. He slowed only the barest bit to take stock of the site.
Genesis, still wearing that ridiculously red cloak, had his sword in hand and was currently hurling fireballs at a handful of Turks. Cissnei, Cloud recognized, and a man with brown hair and a scar down one side of his face to the jawline, probably Veld. There was also a blond, slim man running around with nunchaku, and a black haired woman, who was taller than the blond, throwing knives into every available opening.
Shears and Elfé were both attempting to assist Genesis. Cloud could only wonder at their stupidity for fighting again so soon. Tseng was actually standing at the edge of the central square snapping pictures of the altercation, and Cloud could only wonder what the hell the Turk was doing.
Assessment made, Cloud leapt right down into the middle of it, landing between the blond, nunchaku wielder and Shears. In a flash, he shoved at Shears' shoulder, pushing the man down. Then he swung the flat of his blade at the nunchaku-weilding Turk to knock him out as gently as he could. He wasn't sure how well that worked out when the man crumpled like a puppet who's strings had been cut.
He flung the fusion sword around, the knife-throwing Turk's weapons clattering against it before uselessly flying off across the square. He darted toward the woman and slammed his sword into her shoulder, hearing one quick snap. He winced at the sound. It was a bit more reverberating than if he'd only broken her arm. He might have damaged her collarbone.
When he turned his attention to Elfé again, the woman lowered her weapon and slightly relaxed her stance. Clearly, she didn't want another fight with him.
That left only Genesis, the man who was probably Veld, and Cissnei. Genesis was in the process of throwing another fireball, while Veld attempted to erect some kind of MBarrier and Cissnei desperately threw her shuriken, probably in attempt to distract Genesis or throw off his aim.
Ice crystals formed at Cloud's fingertips, then released with a shock and a chill that echoed up through his arm. The mid-powered Blizzard spell slammed into Genesis' fireball, freezing it with a steaming hiss. The frozen fireball veered off course and slammed into the ground, shattering on impact at Tseng's feet. A second Blizzard hit Cissnei's shuriken mid-flight, sending the weapon clattering to the ground. Cloud was actually surprised that didn't shatter, too.
Genesis deigned to halt his onslaught against his opponents, who temporarily ceased their attack out of shock or injury due to Cloud's arrival. Genesis' mouth twisted in an arrogant sneer as he attempted to stare Veld down. Veld wasn't even paying Genesis any more attention. His gun of a prosthetic arm was pointed at Cloud. Cloud hadn't even realized Veld had a gun arm. None of the Turks from his former future ever told him that.
Keeping his sword out for a shield in case Veld decided to start shooting, Cloud surveyed the now quiet scene. The whole lot of them had torn up and burned the surrounding buildings. Several nearby, peaked roofs still smoldered, gray smoke curling into the sky, no doubt attracting yet more attention.
Cloud threw a questioning glare over his shoulder at Genesis, though his goggles dampened the effect. Genesis just glared right back. Cloud's gaze moved to Tseng for an explanation.
The Turk took a few cautiously slow steps forward. "Veld and the others confronted Genesis when he entered the square. Elfé and Shears came to his defense."
In other words, no one had said anything, and simply started shooting and throwing fireballs.
"Genesis is to be taken into custody," Veld said rather authoritatively, "for crimes against Shinra Company and the civilians who depend on Shinra for protection." It was an odd thing to say, Cloud felt, while the man's gun was pointed at him instead of Genesis.
Cloud could have rolled his eyes. The Turks were trying to arrest people. Ignoring the comment, he moved his attention to Elfé, and pointed to Veld. "Veld is your father." Elfé's eyes widened while Shears took in a sharp breath. Veld jolted as if struck. "Your real name is Felicia." Elfé's mouth actually dropped open.
Tseng said, "You do realize that sufferers of amnesia need to be worked into knowledge of their past or they risk mental breakdown, don't you?"
Cloud's mouth twisted in confusion while his gaze turned to the Turk. Was that supposed to be some sort of jibe at his own delusions and mental breakdown? Tseng's calm demeanor gave Cloud no indication if the man was mocking him or simply making a factual statement. Cloud supposed his best bet was to ignore it.
"Are you openly working with other terrorist groups now?" came the question in Cissnei's cold voice.
Cloud's attention moved to the woman, who was clearly asking the question of him. "Avalanche ambushed me," he said bluntly and without further explanation. Eyes moving unseen behind his goggles, he noted the Turks slowly repositioning themselves, regrouping closer to Veld and Cissnei as it were.
"You don't seem to be fighting now," Veld stated, eyes wavering between Cloud and Elfé.
Cloud didn't glance around at the sound of Elfé's voice. "I fought him one-on-one," she said. "He triumphed where I failed, and he took the poisonous materia fragment from my hand."
Veld tensed all over again, his gun arm trained more tightly on Cloud. "Hand that piece of Zirconiade over, terrorist," he demanded.
Cloud frowned. Did the Turk actually expect him to just hand it over? The gun trained on Cloud's face certainly seemed to indicate so. A quick glance at the remainder of the Turks revealed the knife thrower subtly readying herself for attack and the nunchaku wielder feigning unconsciousness, if the slight glint of visible eyes were any indication. Even Cissnei seemed to be positioning herself to reach for some hidden back up weapon.
"Stand down," Veld commanded. "Hand over the Zirconiade piece, don't interfere with Genesis' arrest, and we'll ignore your presence for now."
Scowling, Cloud wondered if it was the fact that Genesis had killed a bunch of people that made him higher on the priority list of "persons of interest". Gaia knew Cloud had stolen a ridiculous amount of property and blown up even more.
The more practical side of his mind wondered just how he would get both Tseng and Genesis out of Kalm. Genesis didn't seem to want to leave, and Tseng could hardly keep up with the speeds Cloud or Genesis were capable of.
"Enough of this," Genesis said.
Apparently, Cloud wasn't going to be making the decision as to what was going to happen next.
"My soul," Genesis began quoting, "corrupted by venge—agh!"
Genesis' words choked off when Cloud took a fist full of jacket collar and propelled them both to the roof of the nearest building. Cloud ignored the choked rasping and the whizzing of bullets as he ran across the roofing, intentionally keeping Genesis from recapturing his feet.
They were out of the town in under a minute with no sign of pursuit. Cloud didn't release Genesis until they were in a sparse stand of trees two miles out of town. The man immediately called a fireball and attempted to smash it in Cloud's face. Cloud sidestepped, leaving the still disoriented Genesis to overbalance after not hitting anything with his fireball. The only thing the man succeeded in doing was lighting that ridiculous red cloak on fire.
Genesis hissed and quickly put the fire out, and turned his furious glare back on Cloud. "Give me one very excellent reason why I should refrain from melting down your very bones," he ordered malevolently.
Nonplussed, Cloud said, "There are more important things to be done than letting you posture for the Turks."
Surprise flickered across Genesis' face. "You mean to tell me that wasn't some altruistic attempt to keep me from burning yet more bridges with Shinra Company?"
Cloud rolled his eyes and started walking out of the sparse grove. "Who am I to tell you not to burn bridges with that company? What's fighting with a handful of Turks to blowing up a couple reactors?"
Sometimes, Genesis seemed really dumb for all his devotion to literature. Weren't people like that supposed to be more intelligent?
Nero's eyes fixed themselves on the end of the street. The sniper they'd stationed at the edge of Midgar had signaled that Strife was entering the city along the expected path. He had only one companion with him.
"What do we know about this partner?" Weiss asked, his white hair shifting as he glanced at Nero.
Nero didn't remove his gaze from where he expected the terrorist to appear. "Nothing. This one is new. He's wearing a red cloak and appears to be carrying a type of longsword at his waist. Strife has no known companions meeting such a description."
"We'll find out soon enough then," Weiss said. "Here they are."
And indeed, there they were. Strife was wearing his disguise, though how the rest of Shinra Company hadn't seen through it, Nero didn't understand. The man looked both more nondescript and tougher without his blond hair sticking up all over the place, though the ridiculously large sword hanging on his back destroyed any sense of inconspicuousness he might have been attempting.
The red-cloaked companion was obviously trying to hide his identity, hence the cloak. However, he would be painfully obvious in a crowd because of said brilliantly crimson cloak. From the man's walk, Nero could tell he was a competent fighter. Normally. There was a slight hesitation in the man's movements, perhaps indication exhaustion or weakness of some kind.
Strife's behavior was unpredictable at best, and always perplexing. None of Nero's spies had yet to discover what the man was doing with that flock of chocobos. Perhaps he was also collecting injured fighters as well.
"Let's go," Weiss said, dropping off the edge of the building.
Nero fought back a sigh at his brother's impulsiveness, and followed. He watched Strife's gait slow slightly, so they'd been noticed, but the man didn't stop or speak to his equally silent companion. Both appeared unperturbed to face off with the two highest ranking Tsviets, making Nero curious. Were they actually more capable than he and his brother, or did they only think they were? Blowing up reactors and subduing Turks was no true indicator of mako-enhanced skills.
When Nero and his brother stopped some ten feet from Strife and his companion, Weiss wasted no time in getting to the point. "What's this trap that's supposed to take me out? It sounds like propaganda and a pathetic attempt at intimidation."
Strife's expression didn't flicker, but what was visible of his comrade's face, namely his mouth and chin, twitched up into a smile.
"If a restrictor dies," Strife said, "a dormant virus already in your body will activate and kill you within three days," Strife said bluntly, ignoring the vagueties he'd been dealing in so far.
Nero's eyes widened. That was very specific.
"Doesn't matter," Weiss said, making Nero wince at his cavalier attitude. "There will be a cure. I'll find it in Shinra's systems."
Flatly, Strife said, "And when you perform a Synaptic Net Dive, you'll be invaded and possessed by a malignant artificial intelligence that then tries to kill the rest of the Tsviets, including your brother."
Weiss' eyes went wide at that. Nero's heart just about stopped. The thought that his brother would attack him at all was unfathomable, but perhaps it would shock his brother out of his normally impulsive manner.
"In fact, the malignant AI," Strife continued, "will probably try and infect you regardless of whether or not the virus has been activated because it recognizes you as the best specimen for its agenda."
"How do you know this?" Weiss demanded. Strife shifted, but didn't immediately speak. In a flash, Weiss drew one of his revolver swords and had the blade tip hovering in front of Strife's face. "How do you know this!?" Weiss snarled.
Nero had to give Strife some credit. He hadn't so much as flinched at Weiss' behavior. But then the situation broke.
Strife's companion drew a longsword in a flash, the red blade sizzling silently with barely restrained power. He knocked Weiss' blade away and stood defensively in front of Strife. Nero drew both his guns, readying for a fight if Strife's comrade couldn't control himself. That Strife was still standing there without a weapon drawn was the only thing that kept Nero from opening fire on them both.
"I don't care how tolerant Cloud is of your disrespect," the stranger said darkly, voice smooth. "I will not tolerate it. Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end."
Nero faltered. Was that a Loveless quote?
"Stop it," Strife said, words directed at his comrade. "There's no need to start a duel to the death because Weiss is twitchy."
The red-clad comrade's mouth twitched toward a smile again. Nero saw the hesitation in his brother's frame. People didn't just say things like that in front of the Tsviets.
"Genesis Rhapsodos?" Weiss asked, his tone matching the incredulous expression on his face.
Nero's eyes widened, gaze snapping back to the stranger. All the clues were there. Red leather was visible under the cloak. General Rhapsodos' Rapier was unmistakable with the magical energy making the blade shimmer. Nero could mentally kick himself for not realizing immediately who Strife's comrade was. He could only account for the oversight on his part by blaming the sheer improbability of the rogue general joining forces with Strife blinding him to the possibility of it actually happening.
Rhapsodos didn't so much as acknowledge Weiss' identification of him. "We've been searching for you," Weiss said, lowering his sword, apparently choosing to ignore Strife's presence for the moment.
"Obviously not thoroughly enough," Rhapsodos drawled. He didn't lower his sword until Weiss and Nero lowered their weapons. Nero didn't like how it felt to have a blade pointed at him while his own guns were lowered. But he would follow Weiss' lead in this particular situation.
"We're planning to overthrow the Restrictors," Weiss said conversationally, as though talk of sedition were commonplace. Nero mentally winced. They were lucky the Turk wasn't traveling with Strife at the moment.
Weiss said, "You're an excellent leader, General Rhapsodos. Our Deepground Soldiers would benefit greatly under your tutelage."
"Not interested," Rhapsodos said with a slight sneer and an uplifted chin.
"With our combined skills," Weiss pressed, "nothing Shinra has will stand in our way, not even Sephiroth."
"Not. Interested." Rhapsodos' words were like ice, in stark contrast with his usual fiery vehemence.
"But we're like family," Weiss protested, anger creeping into his tone. Nero had never known his brother to take well something being denied to him. The look of slight incredulity on Rhapsodos' face told Nero his brother definitely wouldn't be getting what he wanted in this instance.
"The experiments done on all of us in Deepground stemmed from the work done with you. We even have elements of your same genetic coding."
"The only thing we have in common," Rhapsodos said archly, eyes narrowed, "is that we were grown in a lab. That does not make us brothers. I follow the path of my own choosing. I follow the path Cloud shows me at the behest of the Goddess. To become the dew that quenches the land, to spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I do not seek the destruction of all things. I seek to protect those that need it."
"You don't think we're worthy of your help?" Weiss asked darkly.
Sneering, Rhapsodos finally sheathed his blade. "I don't think you need it. Cloud already gave you the information you need. I don't see why I should bother with people who can already fight."
The anger leeched from Weiss' frame at the backhanded compliment, and his eyes widened fractionally. "You'd choose to help that terrorist over us?" Weiss asked incredulously.
Rhapsodos shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes with a faint sigh. He didn't deign to respond to Weiss, simply giving Strife a look and a sharp nod indicating they should leave. Without another glance at Nero and Weiss, Rhapsodos continued down the street around them. Strife lifted a hand in farewell, his expression remaining flat and uninterested before following the red cloaked man.
"I didn't expect him to refuse so soundly," Weiss said with disbelief.
Nero nodded rather than answered. He hadn't expected it either. He frowned. He still had to figure out how to keep his brother from dying or being possessed when they killed the Restrictors. If Weiss couldn't do a Synaptic Net Dive without being compromised, perhaps they could use the Shelke girl. She seemed to be far enough along in her enhancements. She would be a good alternative to risking his brother. And it would be no great loss if she were possessed instead.
"We need to talk," Cloud said without preamble when entering the Gainsborough house. Aerith and her mother both snapped their gazes to the door, conversation ceasing on Cloud's entrance. The two were seated at the table, a pot of still steaming tea and two full cups between them.
Aerith merely nodded, rising from her seat. Mrs. Gainsborough, however, had spotted Genesis. "Commander Rhapsodos?" the woman blurted, clearly surprised.
Cloud pulled his hood off and his goggles down as he crossed the room to the stairs with Aerith. He shot a quick, "Be nice," over his shoulder at Genesis and headed upstairs. He slipped into the second bedroom with Aerith and closed the door behind them.
At Aerith's glance, he didn't bother leading into the topic. "I found the Healing Water, Aerith." Her eyes widened. "It's in my blood. The Cetra showed me my fight with Avalanche in Wutai. Some of my blood splattered one of the soldiers and it healed him. Damn Minerva hid all the Healing Water in my blood."
"I see," the girl said softly, understanding lighting her eyes. "She probably needed a way to send it into the past with you. It probably didn't exist in the original timeline, and she didn't want to take the time to recreate it." She frowned at him. "Why are you so upset? With this we can probably heal Genesis now. We can cure any of the copies that still have minds."
"How are we supposed to do that?" he demanded, throwing his arm wide in frustration. He didn't understand why she was taking this so easily. "Do we pour my blood on Genesis' head? Do we tell him he has to drink it?"
Cloud wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't for Aerith to burst out laughing. The girl was actually laughing so hard that tears leaked out of her eyes as she clutched her sides. His ire evaporated like mist on a hot day. "Aerith?"
When she tried to speak, her laughter renewed. She held up one finger, obviously asking for a moment. With a sigh, Cloud sank down on the edge of the bed. The thought of continuing to feel frustrated seemed a bit ridiculous in the face of Aerith's mirth.
The young woman sat hard on the bed next to him, making the both of them bounce a bit. She tried three more times to speak, only to restart her own laughter.
"Oh, Cloud," she breathed, voice colored with amusement and another chuckle, "you silly, country bumpkin. Here in the big city, we have a little something called a blood transfusion. There's no need for some evil ritual involving bathing in or drinking blood."
Cloud's face heated up sharply as he buried it in his hands. It didn't help that Aerith started laughing again. With as much time as Cloud himself had spent in labs, he really thought he should have realized that it would be a simple procedure to give Genesis a bit of blood. He wasn't even entirely sure he could blame the oversight on being surprised by finding out where the Healing Water was. Or the bizarre memory he still didn't understand from the original timeline when Zack was trying so very hard to keep Genesis from eating Cloud's hair.
When Aerith's laughter was dying down again, Cloud asked, begged really, "When everything comes out, please don't tell Zack."
Aerith burst out laughing all over again.
"Are you alright, Zack?" Sephiroth asked from the other side of the desk.
Zack looked up from his PHS, blinking in confusion at the general. "My parents moved," he said, surprise evident to his own ears.
"Is this surprising?" Sephiroth asked carefully.
"Yeah," Zack blurted, eyes going wide. "Our family has lived in Gongaga for at least ten generations. My parents aren't supposed to just up and move."
"You did."
"Well, yeah," Zack said, shrugging one shoulder, "but I figured I'd go back to Gongaga when I retired." He shook his head. "But my parents even sold their house. They say they packed up all my stuff and took it with them."
"Did they indicate why they left?"
"They got new jobs," Zack said, pointing at his PHS. "It says right here. 'Hello Zack. Dear, your father and I got new jobs. We've sold the house and we've moved away from Gongaga. Don't worry, we've brought all your things with us. We'll let you know when we have a permanent address. The new company is making the arrangements. We love you, dear. Write when you get a moment.'"
Sephiroth still wasn't making any facial expressions, so Zack asked, "Am I supposed to worry when my parents tell me not to worry? Isn't that something you tell your kids when you don't want to trouble them with your problems?"
Sephiroth arched one brow. "While I have not had parents of my own to gather that sort of information," Zack winced, "I would imagine that if there was a problem, they would ask for assistance. You've never indicated that your parents are prone to lying, and I can't imagine how obtaining new employment where the company is willing to pay relocation costs is in any way dangerous."
"I guess you're right," Zack said grudgingly. "Still, I thought they had a pretty good thing going at the reactor. The pay raise must be pretty significant if they're willing to move."
Sephiroth frowned slightly.
"What?" Zack asked with his own frown.
"I didn't think any reputable employers had better salaries in general than Shinra Company." The general paused. "Do you think your parents would be likely to take positions performing questionable work?"
The blood drained from Zack's face as he imagined his father beating up some poor blue collar worker who couldn't pay back a loan shark while his mother watched on in the background, wearing one of those outfits the girls at the Honey Bee Inn pranced around in.
Zack shook his head violently. "No," he said firmly. "My parents wouldn't do anything like that. It's got to be something they're already good at. My mom worked reception in the reactor, and my father was in maintenance. Maybe they just got promotions."
"Perhaps," Sephiroth said, sounding less than convinced.
Zack pushed out of the seat on his side of Sephiroth's desk. "I think maybe I'll just go look up if they got promoted. Maybe they were sent to Junon."
"The message said they had a new employer," Sephiroth said as Zack opened the door. "It's not likely that they work for Shinra Company anymore."
Zack frowned again. "I'm going to check anyway."
His PHS vibrated again. As he hadn't returned the device to his pocket, he flipped it over to see the display. Grinning and opening the PHS, he said, "Message from Spike." A quick perusal of the message had his grin even wider. "Cloud's back today. He says he's free tonight unless we're busy." Grinning at the general, he asked, "You ready for a night on the town."
"We'll be staying above the plate?" Sephiroth asked, one brow quirked.
Zack nodded. Sephiroth nodded in return. Zack said, "I'll have Spike meet us at the train station at six. Good?"
The general nodded again, so Zack slipped away. That would give him plenty of time to do some digging on his parents and decide what to do with his friends.
"That's all?"
Cloud winced at the incredulity in Genesis' voice. He nodded.
Warily, Genesis said, "I was expecting something slightly more dramatic. Are you positive a simple transfusion will work? How can you even know your blood is compatible? I refuse to die of blood poisoning because you think a transfusion will work."
Ignoring Genesis' worries, because his own had been so outlandish, Cloud said, "The Healing Water removed Jenova's taint before. My blood should do the same. And because it's in my blood, it means it will purify the Jenova cells instead of removing them. You'll still have your enhancements."
At least he hoped so. After talking it over with Aerith for three hours that morning, they couldn't come up with any other way that made sense. Cloud was supposed to heal Genesis, and was supposed to learn how to do so before Cloud felt Genesis should be healed. That Cloud had had his epiphany mere minutes before Genesis showed himself to be in the right mindset confirmed for both Cloud and Aerith that this was the solution.
"And you believe you're qualified for the procedure?" The question was directed at Aerith, who was standing next to Cloud in a white frock with surgical gloves and a face mask on.
Cloud had never seen that dress, in person or in Zack's memories, and frankly, she looked creepy, especially when her eyes crinkled up in a smile while her mouth was hidden by the mask. He just tried not to look at her.
"Exceptionally qualified," Aerith said.
Cloud kept his face a neutral mask. He wasn't going to ask questions. It would throw their already shaky credibility to the wind.
"And this will cure my degradation?"
Cloud fought down a wince at the glimmer of hope in the man's voice. All Cloud did was nod.
Genesis sighed, closing his eyes for a moment, and whispered, "She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting." Opening his eyes, he gave a silent nod, and the trio headed upstairs, Aerith leading the way.
Sealed away in the last bedroom down the upstairs hallway, Aerith directed Genesis to lie down on the bed and Cloud to seat himself in the chair closest to the head of the bed. Cloud was grateful Minerva hadn't done something stupid when she altered him, like give him wings. Genesis didn't look too comfortable lying on the single wing folded up beneath him.
"This won't take but a minute," the young woman said, moving to the closet to pull out a nondescript, white bag. She sat in the chair facing Cloud's and set the bag on the floor before opening it.
Cloud cringed slightly at the second pair of medical gloves she pulled on. He still didn't like anything medical-related even after all these years away from Hojo's labs. Next came two blood bags, two lengths of thin, clear tubing, and a small device that Cloud vaguely recognized.
"Normally," Aerith said as she set up a small metal stand between Cloud and Genesis, "we would need to test blood types and clean things up a bit. But you're both stronger than normal." She smiled softly. "Cloud, we're going to send your blood straight to Genesis without filtering. Genesis, Cloud's blood will correct what's wrong with yours and reverse your degradation. It's as simple as that."
"How long will it take?" Genesis asked, staring narrow-eyed at the woman.
"Less than a half hour, I think," she said. "We shouldn't need more than half a pint of blood. It shouldn't make a strong, strapping, young man like Cloud even mildly lightheaded."
"And that will be enough?" Genesis asked.
"Oh, yes," Aerith reassured. Cloud had discussed this very fact earlier. The girl thought they shouldn't need more than a spoonful, but she wanted to use half a pint just to be sure.
Aerith tied a tourniquet around Cloud's bare bicep then slid the needle into the vein at the crook of his elbow on the first try. His deep, red blood immediately flowed into the tubing and up into the bag, pushed by the force of his own heartbeat. She quickly and precisely inserted another needle in Genesis' arm just as the small device hanging between the bags began forcing Cloud's blood down the other tube and into the other man.
Cloud kept his face blank while Genesis watched on with mostly concealed trepidation. Cloud didn't speak, feeling the atmosphere wasn't right for conversation. The other two apparently agreed as fifteen minutes passed in silence.
Genesis' expression slackened somewhat as his gaze moved from the flowing blood to the ceiling. With a somewhat thoughtful frown, the man said, "The stars shine with the Goddess' laughter beneath my skin." Then his eyes closed, and he apparently dropped unconscious.
Somewhat alarmed, Cloud asked, "This shouldn't poison him, right?"
"No," Aerith said, reaching over to press a bit of gauze to Cloud's arm and withdraw the needle. "I expect he'll just be asleep for the rest of his healing." She let the blood continue dripping down the tube still hooked up to Genesis. "After all, he's healing much more than just geostigma." The young woman fingered a lock of the unconscious man's hair. "See, he's already getting color back."
Taking a closer look, Cloud realized she was right. Though there was still gray in Genesis' hair, it was more red than gray now. Even his skin had more color.
"You should go," Aerith said quietly. Cloud looked up, but her eyes were still trained on Genesis. "You're off to meet Zack and Sephiroth after all. You wouldn't want to be late." She cracked a smile and eyed him sideways. "After all, even the great General Sephiroth might not be enough to make sure Zack shows up on time if he gets it into his head that something needs to be taken care of along the way."
Cloud huffed a laugh pushed to his feet. It was true. Zack was rarely on time, usually being rather early or late instead. Though he suspected that because Sephiroth was coming, it was far more likely that they would arrive early. He would swing by the church first and leave the fusion sword there. After all, if the situation blew up in his face, he'd rather regroup there for a fight than at Aerith's house. Besides, he'd rather keep Yuffie out of the fight if he could, and the girl might show up with her escort and Nanaki before Cloud came back. He definitely didn't need the half sized ninja trying to attack Sephiroth.