For those of you that have read Memory, some of this is going to sound very familiar. Part of this story is the retelling the events from Genesis's POV. It also clears up a few questions that it may have left open.
Angeal and Sephiroth stood in Genesis apartment, not sure what to think. Cloud was cooking something in the kitchen, and Genesis, well, he wasn't being Genesis. Genesis never let anyone in his kitchen. Genesis was a control freak in every aspect of his life. And he didn't go this long without quoting Loveless at least once. More so then the stories of the future and the knowledge of their own grim deaths this set them on edge.
"How did you meet him, originally, I mean." Angeal asked awkwardly.
Genesis's face had a look of nostalgia on it when he happily answered the question. "He was still in the cadet program at the time, actually it's probably about 2 or 3 months from here. There were reports of Wutai spies south of Gongaga and I was dispatched with a small team of 2nds, a few cadets and infantry. Cloud and I were crossing an old bridge just ahead of the rest of our unit when it broke. I blamed him of course, even though I should have tested it out, since I was the commanding officer. We were separated for nearly a day from the others. My injury was making me slower, even though the degradation was barely beginning to show and I got caught in a Basilisk's stare. I was completely paralyzed. "
"Cloud however managed to avoid the creature, took my sword and positioned himself behind it as the creature moved in to finish me off. He struck it directly in the head and cut straight down into its brain, instantly killing the creature. He then proceeded to carry me out of the hot zone, we weren't a mile from the enemy camp, and fought off most of the monsters we came across while carrying me. Afterwards he never mentioned a word of it in any of the reports, even though it could have greatly helped him on his way into SOLDIER. I was too much of a coward to say anything, knowing that I would have been denied the deployment in Wutai not a month later.
"I was completely taken by him. No one had showed me that sort of self sacrificing kindness, outside you maybe, Angeal, and I had been a horrible person to him just right before the encounter. I asked him out under the guise of thanking him for saving my life. I screwed that up too, getting piss ass drunk looking for my courage. I didn't know how to deal with a cadet when I wasn't giving him orders. He ended up dragging me home, making sure that we weren't seen, saving me yet again. Finally, before we made it back, in my drunken state I semi- confessed to him and kissed him." Genesis said, shaking his head.
"Let me guess, he fell right into your arms?' Angeal said, shaking his head.
"Ha! Far from it, he slugged me." Genesis said with a bit of a laugh and Angeal and Sephiroth really were feeling uncomfortable with this man who called himself their friend.
"That only intrigued me more and he looked at me, a bit of fear in his eyes at what he had done. He was still firm, however, and told me that I was a Commander of the Shinra army and that if I wanted to ask him out, I should at least have to courage to do it right and not piss ass drunk." Genesis shook his head, "I could have had him thrown out, but that was the last thing I wanted."
"I suppose this isn't any harder to believe than the time travel." Angeal acknowledged. "But he doesn't seem like he wants to punch you now for kissing him."
"Oh no, my charm eventually worked, that is to say I waited a week to gather myself, then showed up at his dorm after classes one day with flowers and properly asked him on a date. He was slightly mortified at the time actually, even if there was no one else around, but he did agree." Genesis was now smiling like a fool, reliving his memories. Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably. Genesis was talking about the same man who had killed him in the future with such love, although apparently he had a good reason.
"Everything was great up until we left for Wutai," Genesis's face fell at little bit. "We kept things secret, but he did manage to accompany me. When I defected, I took everyone with me but him. He was sent back and pulled out of the SOLDIER program. The rest you know now. I was so degraded at the times I did manage to meet him, I ignored him. In my mind he was a traitor like everyone else with Shinra. "
"When I regained my mind, he was with Zack in Banora, but I thought he wasn't long for dead, his Mako poisoning was so severe, and I wasn't well off myself. I let Zack take him." Genesis said, shaking his head, and Angeal's attention became more focused at the mention of his student. "When Zack died on the cliff's of Midgar protecting him, Cloud was written off as dead and that's what I was led to believe. I fell into Deepground, another long story I don't feel like sharing right now, because if we are successful, it won't matter at all. Well, it will, but not to you and we can do something about it sooner." Genesis said, starting to ramble. "Anyway, the point is, I didn't see him again for nearly 5 years. I was stunned. I was in the ruins of Midgar and I had discovered not long after my awakening that someone had built a shrine to the Buster Sword." Genesis said, looking to the Sword on Angeal's back.
Angeal just looked confused, "You had passed it on to Zack when you died and he did the same to Cloud. It's that very sword that he used to kill Sephiroth." Genesis stated.
"I wish you would refrain from referring to my death at the hands of your boyfriend so casually." It was the first thing Sephiroth had said.
Genesis looked slightly surprised as Sephiroth spoke, he was so deep in his memories.
"I'm sorry, it's just, all of this is so old, and at the point in time we came back, so irrelevant..." Genesis said, trailing off a bit.
Sephiroth, still caught off guard by an actual apology from Genesis, just looked at the man and said, "Well for some of us," He eyed Angeal, "This is all fairly new and quite a tale."
"Anyway," Genesis started again, the part of him that hated to end a story before it was finished never really died, be it Loveless or his own life. "Cloud's memories had been completely fractured at that point and, even though he was starting to heal and realized who Zack was, he never remembered you because he never had known you. He assumed that it had always been Zack's sword and built the shrine in his memory. I found him there one day, cleaning the sword. I didn't even realize who it was at first, I thought Cloud had died many years before and the experiments and, well," Genesis glanced at Sephiroth, "His other struggles had changed him physically a great deal. I knew the man had to have a connection to the sword with the way he handled it and I asked him about it. When he looked up I knew who he was, but he didn't know me." Genesis had a bit of grief in his voice and Angeal had the urge to hug him. Sephiroth just continued to listen with an unreadable expression. A timer went off in the kitchen, alerting them that dinner was likely close to being done.
"Eventually he did remember though, with my help. And we had a few years together before the world started to fall apart completely. I thought his friends would have a hard time accepting me, but they were all a bunch of misfits and outcasts and I fit in like I had always been there." Genesis's smile returned to his face. "We need to locate them and help them if we can. Especially the one I mentioned, Vincent Valentine."
"Where is this Valentine?" Sephiroth asked.
"In the basement of the Shinra Mansion in Nibelheim currently. Or so Cloud said, that's where he found him." Genesis informed Sephiroth, "We plan to head there as soon as we can to free him, check on his friend Tifa and make sure Jenova is in the reactor while we decide what to do about her. If we can manage it, we'll probably also make a stop in Rocket Town to check on a few things."
"Have you thought anymore about Cloud's position?" Angeal asked, no matter what the reasoning was, Cloud obviously had enhancements he shouldn't have and Genesis was correct that they hadn't been there a week ago, Angeal had seen his profile and shown it to Sephiroth.
"The plan is right now, for me to take him on as an apprentice. Not that he actually needs the training, hell, he could kick my ass if he so felt like it, but it would be the easiest way for him to be promoted to 3rd Class. As for attention from the Science Department, we plan on playing both Hojo and Hollander, if they each think he's a product of the other's experiment, they won't touch him. I never really understood before, but have you noticed how Hojo won't ever touch me and Angeal nor Hollander touch Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth and Angeal looked at each other as they both realized that Genesis was correct. They had never been seen to by the other scientist or really any of the other science department personnel. There were a lot of little things that didn't make sense... outside Genesis's odd story that was.
"I never thought about it before." Sephiroth admitted.
"But still, taking on a student after only a week, when he hasn't had any training at all? I'm not sure even we could pull that." Angeal said, looking between his friends.
"Well, we could have a demonstration. I've thought about it at least half the afternoon." Genesis said, still looking thoughtful. "He would have to hide a bit of his skill, but he can prove he's at least 3rd class material and, if he wears his helmet, no one will see his eyes. I can remember what the two of you were like better than I can remember myself, but I've always been stubborn. Claiming I stumbled across Cloud trying to get in some after hours training, found out how skilled he was and determined that making him go through the regular cadet program was a shame and a waste of time.
"As for where the skill came from, well Nibelheim is a rough area. Survival there isn't easy. In the future, his friend Tifa Lockhart was able to keep up with him, the equivalent of an enhanced 1st Class SOLDIER, simply from training she received from a martial arts master by the name of Zangan and surviving the area."
"It's a story that the Turks will eventually start poking holes in if they want and we may be able to put that fire out before it becomes a problem, but even if it does, we hope to have most of our plans set in motion before it becomes an issue." Genesis explained.
"You're really serious about all this, this time travel stuff, you really believe it." Angeal said, looking at his friend.
"I do and I need you to believe me. I want to say I'm doing this just for the world, for the good of all mankind, but despite wanting to be a hero for so much of my life, I'm a selfish man. I want to help you and Sephiroth and Cloud and all our friends. I want to give us a future worth living. I've told you this because I trust you, but don't get me wrong, if either of you stand in our way, we will strike you down and move on. The world won't fall, we can't live through that again, and we will succeed, no matter what it takes." Genesis's voice was deadly serious. He didn't like threatening his friends, but they had to understand how dire the situation was.
It was at this moment Cloud finally walked out of the kitchen with a tray of food as the three of them stared at each other, with a tension so thick it was palatable.
"You convince me not to go all hostile again and this is what I walk out to?" Cloud said, a tone of annoyance in his voice. His gaze fell on Sephiroth and, while the burning hatred wasn't flaring up, it was still smoldering.
"I was just trying to get them to understand." Genesis said, looking to Cloud.
"We've promised not to do anything, at least until you have proof. We'll help you get Cloud into the SOLDIER program, because it's at least physically obvious he belongs there. I believe you, I do, it's just still very hard to comprehend, you have to understand that at least." Angeal said, shaking his head.
Sephiroth was still silent and obviously in a sour mood. He and Genesis had always had a delicate relationship, mostly because of the red-head's fiery temper and competitive spirit. Now here he was calmly sitting on the couch, telling Sephiroth that he was some mass murder in the future and talking about his death like was a fond memory! To top it off, he apparently had died at the hands of a mere Cadet, no, even worse, the kid had been an Infantry Man when he had killed him. Sephiroth wasn't sure exactly how to describe what he was feeling, but seeing Cloud look at him with those eyes of his made Sephiroth want to stomp out of the apartment right now and go save some helpless orphans or something, just to prove to the blonde that he wasn't an insane homicidal psychopath bent on world destruction.
He had a feeling though that even that wouldn't work. Though why he felt the urge to prove himself to a man he'd never met before, but had claimed to kill him, he didn't know. Either way, 'Jenova' be damned, he wasn't about to prove either of the two right. If he ever saw this Jenova thing as they described it, he was going to put Masamune through her chest. If that wasn't enough, he'd steal Genesis's fire materia and make sure she was ash.
"Are you all going to stand there or are you going to eat? It's been a long damn time since we've had a decent meal and I would like it better if it didn't get cold." Cloud demanded.
"Sorry, love." Genesis said, moving to the table and kissing Cloud lightly. "Oh my Gaia, you made apple pie." Now Genesis looked like he was about to cry.
"It's been a lot time, so I'm not sure if it turned out right, but you had a basket of Banora Whites in the pantry, so..."Cloud trailed off. "It was supposed to be an apology for over reacting, but then I came out and saw you."
"I don't care, it will be absolutely delicious. And I am absolutely sorry for threatening them, nothing but warm fuzzy feelings, I promise." Genesis said, placing one hand over his heart and holding the other up.
"You've spent too much time around Reno." Cloud said and smacked Genesis on the arm. "Now eat before it gets cold." That last part was directed at the other two in the room as well.
Angeal wanted to know how Cloud and Genesis knew the eccentric redheaded Turk that he had been stuck with on a recent mission, but just decided that, with everything else, he didn't want to know. There wasn't any proof it was the same Reno anyway.
The meal had been obviously prepared with care. It was a large tender roast with potatoes and carrots. There was bread, cheese and a large bowl of noodles. To Angeal, it reminded him very much of the meals his mother would serve back home. The apple pie was sitting at the center of the table.
"Hold up a minute, if I remember right." Genesis said, going into his bedroom, the others heard some shuffling as Cloud looked at the doorway, annoyed.
"Success." Genesis said, carrying out a bottle of wine.
"That's the bottle of wine your parents gave you from the first year your farm started bottling it." Angeal looked surprised.
"Yes, yes, it is and last time I waited so long that I never got to have it. I can't think of a better reason to open it than to celebrate not being dead and getting a second chance to set things right." Genesis said, setting it on the table before retrieving 4 wine glasses.
"There was that bottle that Tifa had in the bar. I specifically remember you breaking down and crying when she gave it to you." Cloud pointed out.
"A precious gift I was never able to repay." Genesis acknowledged.
"It was wine." Cloud said and Genesis looked like he was about to murder Cloud.
"Wine from my family's farm." Genesis said defensively.
"What I meant was, it was wine, a bottle of wine in a well stocked bar. Tifa knew what it meant to you, there wasn't anything to repay. It was damn good wine, but still." Cloud finished.
"Still, we may need to head down to wall market before we head to Nibelheim." Genesis said before taking a bit of his roast.
"It might not even be there at this point, we wouldn't have fond it for another 6 years. It might not even exist yet." Cloud pointed out, realizing Genesis was speaking of Premium Heart, Tifa's beloved weapon.
Angeal and Sephiroth just ate and listened. The way Cloud and Genesis interacted, it was clear they had known each other for quite some time.
"Then, we'll find out who made it and commission them to make it again. Same goes for your sword." Genesis pointed out. "I know I'd be going crazy if I didn't have Rapier."
"I can almost feel the fusion blade at my finger tips." Cloud said, shaking his head. "I almost feel naked without it."
"Fusion blade?" Angeal asked, Sephiroth had wanted to, but he didn't dare speak to Cloud. As it was, the blonde was simply ignoring his presence.
"After I regained my memories, I gave up the buster sword. I had found several other swords along the way, but none of them felt right in my hands. Eventually I designed and built First Tsurugi, a fusion sword that broke apart into 6 pieces. It gave me a distinct advantage in various combat situations, plus it had more materia slots than any of the other weapons I had come across, since I was able to slot each individual sword." Cloud explained.
Sephiroth couldn't stand it, that was just so, so foolish. "Why would you ever want a sword that can fall apart on you?" He was almost insulted that this man was claiming to have killed him with it.
He almost instantly regretted it as fiery eyes full of hate turned back to him. "It's better than that oversized toothpick you carry around. At least I can still manage to fight someone that gets within 5 feet of me." Sephiroth was in shock, no one had ever dared to insult Masamune before. "Further more, First Tsurugi could never 'just fall apart'. The locking mechanism on the blades is too good, it takes a deliberate movement to get them apart, but it is still fluid and easy to use in combat."
Sephiroth was about to defend his sword when Genesis just started laughing. "Toothpick, oh Gaia." He could barely breathe. "Why did I never think of that?" He wiped his face as tears appeared.
He didn't know why he was acting like this. He had never been so, so happy. He supposed escaping death after so many times could really affect a person. His laughter and his stories were very therapeutic for the man. Too bad Cloud and the others didn't seem to share his views.
Oh well, at least it didn't appear as if Sephiroth and Cloud were about to burst out in a fight again. Though his mind still pictured it, Sephiroth drawing Masamune while Cloud stole the buster sword right of Angeal's back, fighting to death on his dining room table. Oh Gaia, he was still laughing as Cloud glared at him, which for some reason just made everything funnier as he damn near fell out of his chair. Why couldn't he stop laughing?
Oh, they were all going to think that he'd gone mad. How could he get Sephiroth and Angeal to believe him now if he was cackling like a maniac?
"Are you alright, Genesis?" Cloud was at his side now.
"I think so!" He said, still laughing, but as Cloud pulled him into his lap, the laughing stopped, but the tears didn't.
"We're really here, aren't we, back in time, I'm not dreaming right?" Genesis said, looking into Cloud's eyes.
"We are and you're currently freaking me and your friends out. Are you sure you're ok?" Cloud said and his eyes turned soft.
"I don't know!" He exclaimed as the tears kept coming. Great, now he was breaking down.
Angeal was now standing over them, too. "I just, everything, I think it's just catching up to me."
"Mom and Dad, Angeal, Angeal's mom, Sephiroth, Zack, everyone! You ! Wutai even! All my mistakes, everything I did wrong with my life! None of it has happened yet. I can fix it all, but I still don't know exactly how." Genesis confessed, "I suppose it's just overwhelming and then you and Sephiroth, I just…" He shook his head.
Cloud placed a finger on his lips to silence him. "It's ok, why don't you go and lie down?" Cloud said, placing a kiss on his head.
"I'm not leaving the pie." Genesis said, looking back to the table. "Nor you and Sephiroth alone for that matter."
"Angeal's here and we'll save the pie, I promise." Cloud said, comforting the man.
"Angeal can't stop you from stabbing Sephiroth, if you really wanted to." Genesis pointed out, but he was starting to get a handle on himself again.
"Neither could you, if I really wanted to." Cloud replied.
"Well, not physically, I would at least hope you'd listen to me long enough to stop." Genesis said, but he was tired after his outburst.
"I'm not going to stab Sephiroth, I promise." Cloud said, trying to coax Genesis to lie down. The man in question was still sitting at the table.
"Alright." The stubborn man relented, before standing and making his way back to the bedroom.
Cloud watched him go, the concern and love clear in his eyes. When he turned back to the other two however, his eyes held no trace of affection.
"Please don't push him. He's spent years feeling guilty over everything that happened. He never really forgave himself. If he means half as much to you as you do to him, you won't show your doubts to his face again. I understand why you would have them and, if our positions were reversed, I would feel the same way. He's waited for 15 years for forgiveness he never thought he was going to get." Cloud said and his calm delivery carried more weight than even screaming at them would have.
Angeal went to respond, but Sephiroth beat him too it. "I'll endeavor to take his words as they are, if you stop judging me for a crime I haven't committed. You still look at me like you know everything about me, but you know nothing about me. The mad man you describe in your stories only resembles me in appearance. "
Cloud just looked him over again. He had never been so conflicted. He knew, especially after speaking with Genesis, that this Sephiroth was not the same man he had fought, but the very idea of accepting Sephiroth went against his very nature. He could still see him falling through the air and impaling Aerith with his massive sword. He could still feel the heat of the flames in Nibelheim on his skin as Sephiroth stood there, madness in his eyes. They were visions that would haunt him for all eternity. But as he looked again, he could see that the eyes were different and he was younger, if not by much. His coat and armor were more pristine, this Sephiroth had yet to find someone who could truly challenge him in combat. This Sephiroth Cloud could dispatch without much thought.
If he could separate the two in his mind, he might be able to accept this Sephiroth and keep his sanity. He would do it for Genesis, if for no other reason. Besides, he didn't really want to fight him again. No, he had battled Sephiroth enough to last him for eternity.
"I suppose that is a fair request." Cloud said, holding out his hand. "I will do my best to judge you as you stand before me, not for transgressions that have yet to pass."
Sephiroth had the feeling of victory that came after a harsh battle course through him as he took Cloud's hand.
I know it's a bit shorter than the last two chapters, but this story is being contrary. I will likely keep it on the once a week time frame, just to give me a chance to work out exactly where I'm going with the plot. I'm also debating on other pairings, but I warn you I do tend to use uncommon pairings.
On a side note, I have to share a story idea (one that I'm not EVER going to write because well I don't think I could do it justice and it's just out there) . Basically it's a cross over between My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and came about because I've been listening to music from the show like nonstop for the past week while writing. (especially "This day Aria" ). It occurred to me that both Applejack and Genesis were apple farmers. So of course in my mind that meant that ponified Genesis was Applejack's cousin. And of course Genesis had to go to the family reunion, dragging along our favorite SOLDIER's (and cadet). Hilarity eventually ensues especially when Zack and Pinkie Pie meet (can you IMAGINE those too together?)
Anyway it's all complete crack which is why I will never write it. If someone else wants to try your more than welcome too. -DHT