Chapter Nine
Angeal stared up at the stars above him. In contrast to the day, with its thick fog and dense cloud cover, the night had cleared completely. This gave him an almost dizzying view of the thousands of stars in the night sky from his position where he was lying on his back and trying in vain to get some sleep. Pity that he couldn't appreciate the view at all.
He turned his head to the side, so that he could see Genesis's silhouette framed against the light of the fire. It was one of the reasons he had chosen to sleep outside, never mind the fact that the tents that the other party had been using were some of the casualties of the earlier skirmish with the giant snake. Until they reached civilisation, probably Junon at this rate, they wouldn't be able to get any replacements and now only had two between the eight of them. Cloud and Red were also sleeping nearby, with the girls in one of the remaining tents and Sephiroth claiming the other. Barret was on guard duty, sitting on a rock to the side of the valley. From there, the light was behind him and he had a good view out into the marshes.
Angeal turned his gaze upward again. He was bone tired, but sleep wasn't going to come to him tonight. He was still wired from the events of the day, with stress and worry gnawing away at him endlessly.
Genesis, his oldest and closest friend, had nearly died. No matter how many times Angeal told himself that it wasn't all that bad in the end, he couldn't deny the truth of it. Genesis had been broken and fragmented and all Angeal could do was stand there uselessly and watch him die. That he survived was almost a miracle, thanks to Red and Cloud and their quick actions and with no help at all from Angeal. He'd frozen in shock, both at the sight of his battered form and the hideous black wing that lay crumpled underneath him. Luckily, Red had jumped straight into action and Cloud carried high level healing materia with him. Even now Angeal didn't know what to make of the wing. It was unnatural, long and grotesque. A glimpse of the future deterioration of SOLDIER, perhaps?
He tried to stifle that thought, turning instead to the memory of their return to Barret and the girls. Red briefed them in advance of the SOLDIERs' arrival and they had been prepared, an area already set up for Genesis near the warming fire. Aerith had immediately taken over when Angeal placed him on the bedroll, her natural healing magic swirling in shades of green while Tifa watched on with concern written all over her face. It hadn't taken Aerith long before she'd rocked back on her heels and announced that there was nothing further she could do. Apparently, the elixir Cloud had given him was busy working; she agreed with Sephiroth's assessment that all they could do was wait now while Genesis slept. She did throw a strong enough sleeping spell at him that he should remain asleep until the morning, just in case.
From then, it had been a sombre party that had erected the tents and prepared the camp for the night. Sephiroth had dragged Angeal towards the mines to assist him in removing the carcass of the snake that was still impaled on the tree. He said it was to save anyone else having to see it, but Angeal suspected he really wanted something destructive to do. He was under no illusions that Sephiroth was probably every bit as concerned about Genesis as Angeal himself, just more reserved about showing it. Indeed, if anything Sephiroth's expression was even more wooden than usual as he kept a tight hold on his emotions. Finding an outlet for that frustration made them both feel less tense afterwards, even if the worry didn't decrease.
Finally giving up on sleep entirely, Angeal got to his feet and walked over to Genesis's prone form. Following their efforts in the marsh and the additional healing from Aerith he now seemed to be sleeping naturally instead of the terrible stillness when Angeal had first stumbled up to him. With a sigh, Angeal brushed a wayward strand of auburn hair out of his friend's face.
A hand grasping his shoulder startled Angeal, but it was just Barret. The large man looked over at him sympathetically.
"He'll be alright."
Angeal shook his head. "Do you really believe that?"
To his credit, Barret took the time to mull over his response. "I'll put my trust in Aerith and say yeah, he'll be ok. But you won't be if you don't get no rest."
"I couldn't sleep." A humourless smile crossed his face. "Genesis has always told me I'm a worrier."
The hand on his shoulder squeezed once before letting go. "Well if you're up anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay. Not all of us are enhanced and there ain't no point having two of us keepin' watch."
"Good idea." Barret's loud footsteps thudded away as he strode over to the tent Sephiroth had claimed. Angeal spent a moment trying to work out how the two very large men would fit into the one tent, but then decided that was only going to hurt his head. Instead, he crouched down next to Genesis, careful to avoid stepping on the wing that was folded out to the side, and took his friend's hand. He worked his fingers up towards Genesis's wrist until he could feel the steady heartbeat, reminding him that Genesis was still alive and well.
He didn't know how long he crouched there for, but the sky was just beginning to turn a lighter shade when a tap on his arm told him that Cloud was awake to take his shift. A coffee was then passed to him, for which Angeal gave a grunt of thanks. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't even heard the blonde make it, let alone realise that he'd woken up.
Instead of attempting to return to his bedroll to catch a small amount of sleep in whatever was left of the night, Angeal took his coffee and walked towards the marsh. Choosing a boulder carefully, he made himself comfortable and watched the horizon slowly lighten. He heard the camp begin to stir as the sun slowly rose in the distance, though from his current position he couldn't see them nor they him.
Eventually, soft footsteps approached his perch and a shadow fell across him. "So this is where you've been hiding out." Aerith leant over in front of him, a smile on her face and her green eyes sparkling.
Despite himself, Angeal felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Oh no, you've found me." He replied dryly. Aerith hopped up onto the boulder next to him and handed him an energy bar.
"I had help," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. "Cloud told me which way you'd headed."
Angeal chuckled slightly before lapsing back into silence, his heart not really in it. Aerith pulled apart a fruit scone, carefully eating the raisins before devouring the rest. When she finished, she dusted crumbs from her hands and brushed down her skirt. "You should eat," she nudged the arm next to her, which also still clutched the energy bar she gave him. "I know you SOLDIERs are made of tough stuff, but we're heading into the mines later…" she tailed off and gave him a sheepish grin. "I thought you'd want to be at your best."
Eventually, Angeal gave in and unwrapped the bar to eat. It was tasteless, though he did immediately feel a bit better. He hadn't realised how much he had needed it.
"Did you look at Genesis?"
"Yep." Aerith crossed her legs and looked up at the clear blue sky above them. "He's better, I think he'll wake up soon."
Angeal nodded, screwing the wrapper up in his hand and thinking about carrying Genesis back to the camp the night before. A dead weight in his arms, the huge black wing draped over them both and still trailing to the floor behind him.
"Is this what happens to SOLDIER in the end? We all become monsters and have to be taken down?"
Aerith didn't say anything for a while. She picked three long strands of grass from a tuft wedged into the cliff wall and wove them into a simple plait. "I don't know." She said eventually. "I don't think having a wing makes you a monster. I think wings are what you make of them."
Angeal snorted derisively and shook his head. "Normal humans don't have wings."
"Normality is overrated. Normal humans don't speak with the planet either. Half-Cetran flower girls from the slums, however…" Aerith shrugged a little and turned to him with her bright green eyes. "Monsters can have wings, yes. But so do birds. You are what you choose to be."
Angeal dropped his eyes, unable to keep looking at that earnest gaze. He turned back to the expanse of marsh in front of them. "That other Sephiroth, he had a wing."
"And he is a monster, it is true. But that isn't because he has a wing." A feather-light touch brushed against his arm, the fingers stroking gently down his bicep. "Genesis will need you to be strong."
"He nearly died." Angeal couldn't stop the words that were pouring out of him now, threatening to choke him in their urgency. "He nearly died and I couldn't do anything. I just stood there. He is all but my brother and I just…" the words stuck in his throat, the marshes distorting in front of his eyes. It took the wetness on his cheeks for him to realise that there were tears forming in his eyes. "I failed him." He ground out, bowing his head.
The small hand that had been stroking his arm curled up inside his bicep and squeezed it tightly, a head resting against his upper arm. A strand of chestnut brown hair that had escaped her braid drifted onto the bare skin of his arm, creating a light tickling sensation.
"You didn't fail him." Aerith told him firmly. "You froze for a while, yes, but anyone would. He is your family and he was severely injured. It's ok to need help sometimes. And Genesis will be fine – back to his usual self soon, you'll see." She let out a deep sigh, tactfully ignoring the large hand that swiped at his eyes. "And in the meantime, you'll be able to help him recover. I don't…" she tailed off, her voice hesitant. "I don't know how he will react to everything." When Angeal turned to look at her, she smiled sheepishly but couldn't keep the concern from her eyes. "I did what I could but his body is still fighting a war against itself, and now with the wing added to it... I think he will need your support."
Angeal nodded slowly. "I will do my best." He swore to her.
"Then that's all anyone can ask." With a final smile and a pat on the arm she was gone, leaving him to his thoughts. Angeal used the time to calm himself, drawing on the breathing exercises he had spent months trying to drill into Zack's head.
By the time, Angeal returned to their camp in time to see Genesis's eyes begin to flicker open, he was prepared to be the rock that his friend would need.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
By the Goddess, he hurt. But, he was alive and he hadn't really thought that he would be. Genesis basked in that knowledge for a moment, before he tried to catalogue the injuries. Judging from the pain emanating from his everywhere around his body, there were a lot of them. Gingerly he tried to move his hands and feet and sighed out softly in relief at the small movements he achieved.
Genesis then opened his eyes and realised he was looking straight up at a cloudless blue sky. Typical. He nearly died on a day he wouldn't have been able to see a behemoth at thirty metres and yet today there wasn't a cloud to be seen.
"Hey," a voice said softly to his left. "Welcome back." Genesis tilted his head to the side slightly, wincing at the pain that lanced down through his shoulder as he did so. Angeal was sitting somewhere near his left hip. He looked almost as bad as Genesis felt, with enough stubble it could nearly be called a beard and dark bags under his eyes.
"Thank you, I think." Genesis started to shift, intending to prop himself up slightly, when a firm hand in the centre of his chest pushed him back down again.
"Careful there. We need to get Aerith to look at you again now you're awake, you were pretty beat up. What's the last thing you remember?"
Genesis thought back, wincing at the memory of the gigantic snake. "An overgrown serpent that didn't like being poked with sharp objects. It threw me into the air and didn't have the grace to catch me, I gather that is why I feel as though I've been run over by a truck?"
Angeal gave him half a smile but it didn't do much to lift the worry on his face. "Something like that." He wasn't quite meeting Genesis's eyes, which was a concern. Fed up with lying prone on the ground, Genesis tried to sit up again. He placed his left elbow down for leverage, confused when it hit something soft and warm instead of cold earth. With a frown, he pushed himself up, squawking immediately when something behind his left shoulder pulled painfully and the soft surface moved under his hand. Angeal reached forwards and caught him gently, allowing him lift his hands and look behind him.
The sight of a huge black wing, stretching out to his left, caused his mind to stutter for a moment. He didn't immediately link the strange appendage to him, didn't realise what he was seeing. It wasn't until he shifted and saw it move, feathers ruffling in the bright light as muscles he wasn't previously aware of flexed and released.
Something inside him turned over, and he tipped himself sideways just in time to empty his stomach on the ground.
"Aerith!" Came Angeal's panicked cry.
A hand started drawing small circles on his back. "It's ok, let it all out." Aerith's voice filtered through to him. Genesis panted, staring at the foul-smelling black gunk he had brought up, some stained red with his own blood. He retched again, more clots and goddess only knew what else coming out of him.
"You were very injured, and though we healed the wounds you'll need to get rid of all the blood that ended up in the wrong place." Aerith told him calmly. "This is normal."
"Normal?" He gasped. "Nothing about this is normal!" He gestured sharply to the wing, before another wave of nausea had him doubling over again.
"It's fine," she soothed. "Can I get some water please?" She called out loudly, though Genesis couldn't see if anyone responded.
"Oh, God." Tifa had evidently run over. "Here." A cup of water was thrust in front of his face and he took it, relieved to be able to swill out his mouth.
"That's it," Aerith said encouragingly. "Feeling better?"
Genesis averted his eyes from the mass of feathers, now liberally covered in his vomit as well, as he considered the question. His stomach was no longer roiling quite as fiercely, although the awful stench of the matter he'd just thrown up was trying its best to set him off again. "Yes, I think so," he answered eventually, still unsure whether he was being honest or not.
A strange sensation had him flinching and looking around. Tifa froze, one hand holding a sponge hovering over the wing. "Is this… ok?" She asked, gesturing to the soiled feathers. Uncertain how to reply, Genesis shrugged and immediately flinched again as the movement caused the mass of feathers to ripple. He turned his face away and instead looked at Angeal, who was looking a bit green. Making an excuse about finding Sephiroth, Angeal stumbled away from him and towards a pair of tents set up a short distance away.
A warm and soothing feeling washed over him and distracted him, accompanied by swirling green light. Aerith then rocked back on her heels from where she had been kneeling behind his back. "There," she said with a smile. "I think that's as good as its going to get."
Genesis bit back the scathing retort that would have pointed out that there was nothing good about this situation at all. He still hurt all over, most of it centred around his left shoulder but there was still a persistent ache spread throughout his body accompanying it. Instead, he nodded curtly. "Three friends go into battle," he murmured quietly. "One is captured, one flies away, and the one that is left becomes the hero. I suppose flight is my fate."
Tifa looked up at him from where she was cleaning feathers, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Is flight such a terrible thing?" She asked quietly. "Better to fly than to fall."
Genesis studied her for a moment. "I suppose you do know a thing or two about fallen heroes." He conceded after a moment. "But what about those that do not fall?"
She got to her feet, tossing the sponge into a bucket. "I do not believe in heroes." She said with a quiet conviction. "You should not look to others to save you, it only ends in disappointment." With that, she gathered the cleaning supplies and left. Genesis watched her go contemplatively, before Aerith popped her head into his field of view.
"So how do you really feel? Ready to try getting up?"
Genesis rolled his shoulders and groaned. Pulling his legs up towards him, he pushed himself to his feet. He immediately staggered, but Aerith was underneath his left arm and able to hold him steady. The weight dragging on his left shoulder had left him completely off-balance and the weight pulled on already sore muscles. With an expression of disgust he twisted and stared at the wing.
"What am I meant to do with this?" He flexed his shoulder blade and it lifted, sweeping backwards and knocking into the fire, sending embers scattering. He tried to pull it the other way but only succeeded in nearly knocking Aerith over as it flapped uselessly back.
"Steady," a new voice said, holding onto his good arm. Cloud looked over the wing, frowning slightly. Genesis didn't even know where he'd come from, he'd crept up silently from the marsh behind him. "Can you pull it in? Fold it up slightly?"
Concentrating hard, Genesis focussed on folding the muscles back in together. He grimaced at the sensation as the wing slowly lifted from the ground, pulling in tight against him. A wing joint towered over him and the tip still touched the ground near his feet but it was significantly better.
Cloud had stepped in front of him, scrutinising the wing with a frown. "Does it hurt?"
"No more than anything else." Genesis raised and lowered it a couple of times, slowly getting used to the sensation.
"Well, that's good. It was pretty broken so we had to try to fix it. That might be why it's a bit of an unusual shape."
"Oh, and I suppose you have a wealth of experience to go by?" Genesis bit out. Cloud rolled his eyes.
"Well, I don't think bird wings are normally that shape. But whatever. You gonna be ok to get going?"
"Cloud," Aerith spoke up in concern. "He probably needs more time to rest."
"Am I going to get more healed if we any longer?" Genesis questioned abruptly. Aerith looked like she wanted to argue but eventually shook her head slowly. "Well then," he stated. "No time like the present." He took a step forwards, beginning to overbalance again before correcting himself. Aerith had half darted forwards to catch him and grinned sheepishly.
"Well, looks like you're getting the hang of it."
"See?" Genesis replied airily. "No reason to delay on my behalf." When she turned away he grimaced, his left leg aching terribly. Cloud huffed as he passed him, having seen the limp he was trying to conceal. With a scowl, Genesis followed over to the tents.
Aerith was talking to Tifa when he finally arrived, both girls turning to watch him make his way over. "Are you sure you're gonna be ok to head into the mines?" Tifa asked in concern, turning her deep red eyes onto him. Genesis momentarily lost his train of thought.
"Legend shall speak of sacrifice at the world's end," he quoted eventually, sweeping his arm in a wide gesturing. With his wing seemingly copying him, it was quite a statement.
"Right." Tifa replied, evidently confused.
"He means that he will endure it, but remind us all endlessly of the hardship he is enduring as he does so." A dry voice came from his right, as Sephiroth appeared. His habitually impassive expression softened slightly for a moment when he saw Genesis standing there. "It is good to see you, Genesis."
Not quite sure what to do with what was, from Sephiroth, a rather impassioned declaration, Genesis scoffed lightly. "Well, I could not allow yourself and Angeal all the fun. Talking of, where is our friend?"
At that Tifa chuckled slightly. "He took Red and Barret to scope out the mines and see quite how bad it is in there."
"Meaning 'he couldn't handle watching Genesis throw up and decided to run away for a bit', right?" Aerith chirped. Tifa nodded with a short laugh.
"Honestly, men." She rolled her eyes and turned towards the nearest tent. "Well, guess we'd better get these down if we are heading out. Unless we want to wait for tomorrow?" She looked to Cloud.
The blonde shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter if it's daytime or not in the mines. How long will it take us to get through?"
Genesis shook his head, he had never been through the mines. Sephiroth crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his bicep in thought. "It has been a long time since I ventured in them," he said slowly. "But I believe it used to take a full day. From morning, back around to morning again." He added, nodding at Aerith. "Moving more slowly, as we will, possibly two days? If we take minimal rest."
"Yeah, I don't think we wanna be spending more time in there than we have to." Aerith grimaced. "Right then, lets pack and go!" She punched the air with one arm, grinning around at them all. Cloud rolled his eyes as he stepped forwards towards one of the tents, while Tifa giggled.
"Sure," she said with a smile, before sobering up at a glance out at the marshes. "I won't be sorry to see the back of them," she said with a shudder.
Genesis sighed, his wing flaring slightly with the breath. Terrible as the marshes had been, he couldn't help but feel that there was likely to be far, far worse yet to come.
