LEFT BEHIND
BREAKDOWN -1
June 29 – Medical Centre – 3 PM
Tseng was yelling into the phone as he ran up the stairs. Cloud had already passed him and had crashed through the door on the roof. He needed backup and he doubted that his Turks could handle it.
He didn't even know if Cloud could.
He punched some more numbers as he ran and hear the building go into shutdown happen. Not that it would do any good really. The problem was on the roof and he hoped that what they were going to encounter was not actually up there.
He burst onto the roof. Cloud had his swords out and looked like a feral animal as he looked at their new enemy.
Genesis.
The dead SOLDIER stood there with his arm wrapped around the waist of Lore. Lore looked like he was trying to talk to the should-be-dead SOLDIER. His piercing blue eyes were focused on the as they stood at the stairwell.
"I don't remember you being in SOLDIER," Genesis said as he stared at Cloud.
Cloud grumbled. "I was never in SOLDIER!"
"Genesis!" Tseng yelled.
Genesis gave him a large smile that made him look quite insane. "It has been awhile, Tseng. I won't be staying long though. I just came to collect Lore here and I will be on my way." Genesis wrapped his arm tighter around Lore waist.
Lore made a small gasping sound and shook his head violently. "I can't leave! Gen! Stop this! I can't leave Lira and Errow."
Genesis frowned at the man in his arms. "Quit being defiant."
Tseng gasped as a large black wing emerged from his the man shoulder. He heard Cloud growl at the sight.
Tseng had his gun out. He doubted that he could really hurt Genesis but he would try. Cloud twirled one of his blades in his hands, there was a fury in his eyes that Tseng had not seen before and it was quite terrifying to see.
Is that how he looked when he fought Sephiroth?
"You are supposed to be dead!" Cloud roared.
"And why would you care?" Genesis said.
Cloud growled. "Why do YOU get to come back from the dead?"
Genesis brow furrowed. Lore was trying to free himself and failing miserably at it. Genesis had him in a firm grip. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Genesis said.
"What do you think it means!" Cloud said and lunged forward without another word of warning. Genesis blocked the blow and from the look on his face was quite shocked to see the power in the blow. He threw Lore to the side as he skidded back from the impact.
"This is not your battle!" Genesis yelled. "I just came for my Lore."
Tseng knew that Genesis and Lore had developed a relationship all those years ago, but he did not think that it had lasted past a couple of letters. Again, a sign of his failure to read that situation in Bearnin correctly.
Cloud screamed as he hacked and slashed. Genesis used his wing to leap into the sky in one smooth sweep of his ring and at the same time threw Lore towards him. Cloud was not perturbed at all by the leap. His body was starting to glow as he leapt after Genesis.
Tseng caught Lore, loosing his gun in the action. He set down Lore who was panting and looking quite pale after being thrown. "I didn't know Tseng. I really didn't know. I hadn't seen him since Sephiroth died and I thought that that he had died with him. I didn't know." His voice was hushed and frantic.
Tseng didn't say anything. It didn't really matter what he had to say. He was keeping his eyes on the battle that was raging. There was a crash to the roof as Genesis was knocked down into a crumple of wings. Cloud had joined his two swords together and in a terrible and mad sounding scream came straight at Genesis.
He knew Cloud was a superb fighter. He had been defeated by him before as well, but this fight was a hell of a lot more power and anger being thrown about. He had not witnessed how he had fought and defeated Sephiroth but this is how he must have looked.
Genesis must have seen it coming, but couldn't move out of the way in time as Cloud's sword pierced his belly and pinned him to the roof. Cloud was way to fast.
Lore gave a horrible gasping sound and Genesis screamed. He felt the boy (Tseng had to remind himself that he wasn't a child anymore) tried to get up. Tseng pushed him back down. He may not be a child anymore, but he was not strong enough to deal with the two crazed mako enhanced fighters.
"You are supposed to be dead! Dead! Why the hell do you get to crawl out of your grave and terrorize the world again! Why do all you assholes get to come back from the grave!" Cloud said as he twisted the sword slightly, causing Genesis to scream again. "Why can't… can't someone good come back." Cloud's eyes looked they were full of blue fire.
"Why can't…Z…Zack… or… or…Air… Areith…" Cloud pulled the sword out of Genesis body, sending a spray of blood across his own face. Genesis lay there gasping and holding the hole in his belly. Blood dribbling down his lips.
"What are you?" Genesis gasped through the blood. Not, who are you? What.
Cloud laughed as tears rushed down his face. "I am the perfect monster. Hojo's greatest failure." He continued to laugh as he split his sword apart.
"Don't kill him!" Lore pleaded, his voice was small and weak. It was not really a true plea and Tseng was pretty sure that Cloud could not hear him. Genesis must have for his head turned towards them.
"Cloud!" Tseng said loudly standing in front of Lore. "He is done."
"He still breathes!" Cloud said as he ran his right hand through his hair, smearing blood through his blond hair. He was still laughing and the laugh was quite disturbing.
"Gen?" Lore whispered behind him.
Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul
Pride is lost
Wings stripped away, the end is nigh
Genesis voice was soft and weak and after the piece of poetry spouted from his bloodly lips, he laughed as well.
Tseng retrieved and raised his gun and wasn't to sure who he should point it at.
BREAKDOWN -2
June 29 – Medical Centre -4:00 PM
Reno was a shaking mess and he knew it. Being trapped in the elevator sure as hell didn't help him with his nerves. Rude had been waiting for him with the door opened.
He was not proud that he was huddled in the corner of the elevator waiting for it to start moving again. Rude grabbed him and carried him to a private room and waited for him to compose himself. Rude had stood there quietly not saying anything. Being the silent brick that Reno needed.
He wanted to ask what happened, but the words did not come out. He was able to insult Strife but he couldn't ask a simple question. It nearly caused him to breakdown again and he just furiously brushed at his eyes.
Rude made a small grunting sound. "Genesis."
He looked at Rude. Sometimes he was grateful that Rude could sometimes read his thoughts.
"He came for Lore," Rude said. Lore. Yeah. Of course. He was a Loveless freak too. He remembered being tortured with that stupid play/poem (whatever it was) as he would babble about the interpretation, even when he couldn't talk back to him.
But…Genesis was supposed to be dead! MIA. What the hell was he still doing alive! Of course, so was Sephiroth and he found ways to get back, Genesis must have found a way as well.
"Ready to go?" Rude said.
He nodded. As ready as he was ever going to be.
Of course, he had to come out of that room at the worst possible time.
There was Tseng, Cloud and Lore walking down the hall. Tseng had a grip on Lore neck and a heavy frown on his face. Cloud had a deep frown on his face.
And they were all full of blood.
Clouds odd preppy clothes were splashed with blood that was even more gruesome than if it was he normal leathers, also the fact that he had his sword out and gripped tightly in his hands. Cloud was being a SOLDIER. He kept saying that he never was a SOLDIER, and he knew that was true, but he still had the look and behavior of one.
Lore was splashed with blood as well and his knees were soaked with blood, as if he had been kneeling in a pool. Tseng even had a splash across his face.
Lore didn't even look at him but looked like he was weeping.
They were a very gruesome threesome.
"Shit," he was able to whisper at the sight of them. Rude grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, out of the gloomy troop's way. Cloud glared at him. Reno saw how his eyes were cold and non-responsive.
He was no longer really curious as to what had happened and just wanted to go home. He wanted to get away from the madness. He wondered who blood they were splashed with. It was Rude that answered him unspoken question. "Genesis."
BREAKDOWN - 3
June 29 – Medical Center – 3:30 PM
Errow was glad that people were leaving him alone. He hated that they were always hovering around him. Everyone had rushed out of his room and he was grateful that he was finally alone.
It had been so long since he had been alone.
He hadn't been able to see his mother.
He hadn't been able to see his uncle.
He was alone and scared and in a lot of pain. The treatments that they said that would help him didn't do anything to help how it felt like his back was going to cause him to split in two.
He knew the pains would come again and cripple him for a couple more hours soon, but he was going to take advantage of being left alone.
He slipped off his bed and padded on his bare feet to the room where they knew they observed him. He wanted to get to the computer. He was tired of them comparing him to his father without saying his name! They would just say, he has the same hair as he did or he has the same color of eyes, he has the same build, he has the same… same…same…
And he didn't even know who his father was!
He was tired of being compared to something that he had no idea was.
He sat down at the computer and wonder where he should start. He didn't know what his fathers name was. Not even his own family would tell him.
He clicked on the mouse and saw his file. There was a bunch of lab results that meant nothing to him. He clicked through the file, looking for signs that maybe, maybe he could understand who is father was before he died.
He knew that there were all trying to save him but he knew that he was going to die. You didn't become in so much pain, and not die.
He scrolled through all the files that were open on the screen. There was nothing on his father and he felt the ache starting to build in his back. It was coming early today, but he needed to find something. Anything!
He held back the tears that he knew would be coming. He could cry when he was in pain. He clicked through boring medical files and then he found one with a strange name on it.
Sephiroth.
He opened he folder and saw a huge array of folders that was full of more medical information.
Sephiroth.
He knew his fathers name began with the letter S.
He scoured the files, clicking as fast as the computers would allow seeing if he could find a picture. Something. He found a folder was named images. He opened that folder and then there was more folders that were labeled by age. They ended with a folder with the word… older than 30. His dad died when he was in his thirties. He opened the folder and opened the first picture that was there. He swallowed hard as a picture of a man, that could be nothing else but his father opened on the screen. He clicked through all the pictures that were in that file. His father. He did look like his father and his father looked like a man to contend with. Every picture had him in armor and with a very long and intimidating looking sword on his back or in his left hand.
His father had been a member of SOLDIER. That was evident.
He went back a folder and then selected the one that was marked age 8. He gasped. There were pictures that could have been him, maybe a little bigger of build than he was now, but still he looked so very much the same and was even wearing the same type of hospital gown. Sitting on a table looking…scared. Did his father go through the same thing that he was going through? There were more pictures of his father when he was 8. There were a lot of pictures of him in what looked like the same type of medical facility that he was in and a lot of pictures of him around people with lab coats.
Did his father go through all what he was going through?
There were no pictures of him with kids his age. There were no pictures of him with anyone that looked like they cared for him. He went to the age 0 file. Same type of pictures. They weren't recording the happy moments in his life that were supposed to be there. They were even comments on the pictures about some stage of development. He was beginning to understand why his mother did not want him to be around so many doctors and began to understand why she acted the way that she did.
He randomly picked the 20 year old folder. The first picture showed him a picture of his father smiling. He was around other SOLDIERS and obviously it was from a battle field. He wasn't in the black armor that he wore in the other pictures; he was in the armor of a Second Class SOLDIER with another man's arm around his shoulder. It looked, even there; his father was not a man that was used to smiling. There were other pictures of him smiling, and they were all on a battle field and every picture had his father holding that long sword with blood on it. His back ached.
The pain would be unbearable soon but he wanted to know more about his father. He wanted to know more about his father and the pictures seemed to be the only way that he could know his father. He clicked on a folder and didn't see the age. He strolled through pictures. He was in the usual garb that the older pictures had. The long leather jacket and there was even a few pictures where he actually looked happy and there wasn't blood on his sword in those. What was his father really like? He wanted to ask his mother and uncle all these questions. He wanted to ask everyone what his father was really like and why everyone feared him.
He then clicked on a folder that said MISC. He opened it the numbered photo and gasped. It was a picture of his father, blurry, but defiantly his father, fighting that guy with the mako eyes and blond hair. They were enemies? A pain that rippled through his back again. He opened another picture blurry, but showing that his father was fighting someone, this time the guy had black hair. Another picture of him fighting the blond. A picture of his father, hovering with a strange appendage on his back, looking like he was in pain and that blond guy was in the picture again.
His father… what the hell was he?
He started to cry.
Was this why no one wanted to talk about him? Was that why he never met his father and his mother didn't want to talk about him?
His back rippled with pain. He didn't scream. He didn't scream anymore, at least when he was awake.
How much was he like his father really? He opened another file and he recognized the background in the picture. It was a picture of his home and there was his father, and his mother, standing talking to each other in front of the inn. Another SOLDIER talking with his uncle and that Turk that sometimes came to talk to him. Tseng. There were a few pictures of her mother and father together, looking quite professional.
Mom looked young and happy in the pictures that they obviously did not know about. Mom hated pictures.
Did his dad love his mother? Even if it was only for a little while? The images became blurry as his eyes teared up. He wanted to talk to his mom or his uncle and ask them all the questions that viewing the pictures had given him. Did his father even know about him? He never realized that it could hurt so much thinking about a father that he had never even known. He realized he missed the father that he didn't even know.
"Hey!"
The lab coats were back. He recognized one of their voices. He looked up and saw that there were three of them coming at him.
"Errow, you shouldn't be out of bed."
He blinked and shook his head at them. "I want to see my mom," he whispered and not for the first time. They started to talk to him about how they would try to arrange to have it happen and knew that they were lying.
He thought about the picture of Sephiroth, his father, when he was eight. He wondered if they talked to him like that too. Telling him lies to make him comply.
His back felt like it was rippling. A different type of pain that came through him. New and just as painful. Someone said something about the pictures he was viewing and someone was getting cursed out for not locking the console.
"Come on now, Errow. Let's get you back to bed." He thought that voice belonged to Alice. She had been nice to him, but she was still wearing the white coat and she wasn't telling him the truth about anything.
Surely that is what his father had felt. "I want my mom," he said. Mom at least understood.
"You know, dear, that she is in special care right now," Alice said.
"I don't care. I want my mom!" Errow yelled as the pain rippled through him again. He wasn't going to let it control him. "I want my mom now!"
Alice continued to talk but he no longer listened to her. The computer with the pictures of his father was shut off. Someone was moving him back to his prison of his hospital room.
He was scared.
He wanted the comfort of his mother and uncle and his grandma and his grandpa and… …he wanted his freedom back.
The pain shifted a bit. It was still pain but it felt like something loosening. Like when you get that pesky sliver out of your skin that embedded deep into your palm. He heard his shirt that he was wearing ripping and everyone around him screaming and backing away from him in a startled manner.
He knew what it was.
It was that picture, the last blurry one of his father, hovering over the ground, with the blond getting ready to attack him. That told him what was wrong with his back, even though none of the doctors could figure it out.
He was glad to finally figure out how he could be free of the pain. Pain that wasn't going to kill him after all, but to set him free.
Now he had to figure out how much he was like his father, a man that he had just begun to learn about from those pictures on the computer and had already helped him past the pain that had just about consumed him.
…next chapter… rebuild…
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