Angeal shook off the last of the snow caking his shoulders, his boots, coat, and nearly everything else following it to the floor beside the door. Ordinarily he would never leave such a mess, but stepping back into the hotel room had assaulted him with even more urgency than he had already felt during his journey weighted down with things to help - and the scents and soft sounds he could sense and hear through the still open doorway of Sephiroth's room had him stripping haphazardly once he'd dragged everything in off of the luggage cart he'd brought his purchases up on.

He'd had to insist a bit forcefully that he could handle it when the hotel's manager had tried to take the things from him, and it hadn't taken long for the concierge and the bellhop he'd summoned to assist Angeal that he was not in any mood to accept help. He had, perhaps, growled a bit more forcefully than he'd meant to - and sudden understanding had flicked across both men's faces. They'd apologized, sworn to send some sort of meal for all of them up later, and appropriately backed away from the alpha who was clearly and perhaps violently protective.

Angeal had allowed them to help in only one way - to launder the blankets and pillows he'd purchased, to strip them of the scents of the people that had touched them in the shop. The more he'd thought about it as he'd walked, knowing intellectually that they weren't scent marked by another alpha, the more he'd wanted to be certain he wasn't putting some other alpha's scent into his nest. The housekeeper had promised to bring it up as soon as possible, and had wisely said she would leave them outside the door.

Angeal, when he was being more logical and in control of himself, hated intimidating people. But he wasn't being logical and he was just barely on the right side of being in control of himself. Even though he was completely aware of the fact that no one was going to come into his temporary den and no one had any nefarious designs on his omegas, it didn't stop the way he felt.

Fuck. His omegas, plural. Angeal shook his head - Sephiroth wasn't his, he wasn't theirs, but fuck if Angeal didn't want him to be. They shared space, meals, and training already, Sephiroth was as good as pack without actually marking one another.

Both omegas were still in the pathetic nest and Angeal's nostrils flared as he recognized the newest scent permeating the room - it covered Sephiroth's pain a little, muting it down to something more bearable. Genesis had gone into a sympathy heat, which Angeal knew had never happened before. Genesis wasn't the most sympathetic at times, but then he'd never had another omega he particularly cared for either until now.

"Gen?" Angeal carefully peeled the blankets back to reveal both omegas pressed close together, the scent of heat and sweat and fear assaulted him and it didn't at all help the protective and possessive urge to climb on top of both of them.

It also didn't help in the least that Genesis' eyes were red-rimmed and his lower lip trembled before it was bitten between his teeth. Gen always got emotional when he was in heat, and it seemed like this one was going to be worse than any of the others due to the reason he'd gone into it.

"Hey, Ang," Genesis whispered, curling himself even tighter around the taller man spooned against him, "have you ever wanted to rule the world?"

A startled chuckle slipped out, "What?" he asked, brushing back a lock of sweaty hair from Genesis' forehead.

"The world," Genesis said, again, "or at least the bits Shinra controls, you know, which is more than two thirds. Or half, or three quarters? I can't think about geography right now."

"Gonna take over?" Angeal asked, a little bemused. Genesis was burning up, the same as Sephiroth, and he pulled the blankets back further and continued to inexorably uncover them to get some cool air on their feverish skin, "gonna mate Rufus, or something?"

"Maybe, if that's what it takes," Genesis said, and his eyes focused a bit more on Angeal's, "and maybe I'm not joking. What would you do, if I killed all of them? The board and all their lackeys I mean. Would you let me?"

"Gen…" Angeal stared at the completely serious expression on his mate's face, "what's going on?"

"Help me get him cleaned up," Genesis said, pushing himself up on his elbow and shivering in the cooler air, "and I'll tell you what I know."

There was always an immediate flash of fear, controlled and hidden by long practice, when Sephiroth realized he was in a different place than the one in which he had fallen asleep. He kept his eyes closed, kept his body limp, listened and felt and tasted the air around him.

He'd been so afraid already, remembering what could barely be called a conversation some indeterminate time before he had lost consciousness. Now that he had regained it, he desperately tried to remember what might have slipped out. Genesis had been angry, he remembered that much, but he also remembered saying far more than he should have - the things that happened in the lab, stayed in the lab. It wasn't merely for security reasons, but those of perception. Sephiroth must always appear untouchable and show no negative emotions, pain and fear were the worst things he could let slip.

If the correction and reeducation would have been unbearable before, it would be worse now. Would they do the same to Genesis? To Angeal, if Genesis revealed what he knew? Would they all be decommissioned? How long had he been unconscious? Had Genesis already made his report, all unknowing that it would end in his own suffering or termination, and they'd been taken already?

He tried to remind himself that they had been trapped in the hotel, for however long the high winds and intermittent blizzards continued, but then there was no telling if there was a facility near enough for Hojo to have them come and claim them for later pickup. How later was it? Had they been taken long enough for Hojo to come and retrieve them?

Sephiroth couldn't stop his heart rate from picking up, or keep his breathing to a deep and sleep-like rhythm.

He quickly took stock of what was around him. He half floated in warm water, not hot and not cold, nearly the same temperature as his body - familiar somewhat from sensory deprivation tests. There were unfamiliar smells, something heavy and musky, and something he could only describe as warm… both were somehow comforting, but that made him trust it even less.

"It's alright," the deep voice was right beside Sephiroth's ear and he went still, swallowing down a sharp noise that burst from his throat. He didn't register at first that the voice was Angeal's.

He twisted slightly, realizing he'd also not noticed he was laying against Angeal, or more accurately, in his arms. He had Sephiroth back in that massive bathtub, this time the water clear rather than tinted that odd Mako-green. Sephiroth was across his lap, head back in the water and only his face above it. The heat that had been overwhelming was gone, the sweat cleaned off of him, the pain ebbing but not quite gone - he'd been so afraid, it hadn't even been on his radar.

"See, everything's okay," Angeal said, and did something so unfathomably strange that Sephiroth's eyes widened as he looked up at him. He pulled Sephiroth closer, dipped his shoulder, and shifted so that Sephiroth's cheek rested in the curve of his shoulder.

That deep, almost dark, scent filled Sephiroth's nose again, and he wanted more of it just as much as it concerned him - it worried him that his body relaxed completely and the pain became… not nonexistent, it merely didn't matter. And when the alpha's chest began to vibrate, a rich sound that was almost but not quite the same as Genesis' purr, he felt, entirely and frighteningly against his will, safe.

"Goddess," Genesis' voice was closer and the warm scent drifted over him as the omega reached out and stroked his hand and wrist over Sephiroth's cheek. The words were soft, but weary sounding, "I don't think I want to know but…"

"What's wrong, Sephiroth?" Angeal asked, still growling deep and slow, in and out with his breath, the rhythm just as strong. He gave a deeper hum as Sephiroth tilted his face further against the alpha's neck, instinctive - he thought, and that was frightening all over again. He shouldn't have this drive, this sudden and all consuming need to curl closer, to press his nose against the heady scent on the alpha's skin, to bring a trembling hand up and wrap it around his alpha's neck, to get his protection.

They weren't safe , no one and nowhere was safe, but Angeal and Genesis felt so safe . It was illogical, those instincts he shouldn't have - omega instincts, Genesis had said. He shouldn't be this way, it was going to be terrible when this was over, but he wanted it for now. He gave into the feeling, curling closer and letting Angeal hold him tighter, let Genesis pet his wet hair, and slipped away into the feeling of warm safety and a security like nothing he'd ever known in his life.

"I think he's going under again," Genesis said as Sephiroth blinked slowly up at them before his eyes slipped closed.

"Stay here a minute," Angeal carefully maneuvered Sephiroth from his lap into Genesis' before getting out of the tub. He quickly stripped Sephiroth's bed of sheets and blankets, bundling them up and tossing them in the corner of the room he had been sharing with Genesis. The scent of pain and fear was clinging thickly to the fabric and he was at least somewhat hopeful that they could keep that from becoming too overwhelming again.

After a moment of thought, he went and stripped the other bed, where he had scented Genesis all over the night before, and carried the bedding into Sephiroth's room. The sheets and blankets felt far more right than the new ones that were waiting outside the door with the freshly laundered blankets and pillows - he brought those in as well, pulling them out and absently rubbing them against his neck and stroking them with his wrists until they smelled more like himself.

He stared at the bed and contemplated what he wanted to do and how he wanted to build their nest. The overwhelming urge to fix it and make it safe and comfortable was deepening more and more - he didn't like falling into his instincts so much, especially when someone needed to be level headed. He wasn't certain what Genesis even meant by ruling the world but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the reasoning behind it. He wondered if he'd be able to stay focused more if he gave in, just a little…

The bed was heavy, but it was nothing for a Second Class SOLDIER. He shoved it into the corner, then surveyed the rest of the room. A couch, an armchair, a rocker by the fireplace the same as in the other room. He quickly moved them, creating somewhat of a bulwark between the bed and the doors - nothing and no one could easily rush into the room and get to his nest and the omegas he wanted to protect…

"Let's get you both dried off and in the bed, and I'll build it up around you." Angeal said, helping to pull Sephiroth up out of the tub and lifting him. His body was still limp and relaxed, but there was a pinched line between his eyebrows and his lips were compressed into a thin line of pain - whether physical or not Angeal desperately wanted to smooth it out and get him feeling comfortable in every possible way.

Genesis wasn't nearly as out of it as Seph was, but the moment he had them both in the nest and began to build up the circle of blankets and pillows he sighed and settled behind the other omega and began to scent him even more vigorously than he'd done before. It seemed to help at least, and Angeal leaned in to stroke his hands and wrists over both of them. He willed safety and comfort into the marks he left on their skin and hair, and it mingled so well with Genesis' protection and affection. Even without all of the nest arranged the way he wanted it, it felt so much nicer than it had been before.

Genesis gave him a lazy grin as he tucked the new blankets closer around them and Angeal smiled back as his omega began running his fingers over the bumps and ridges on the sensory pillow he tucked beneath Genesis' head. Sephiroth unconsciously nuzzled into his and both of them went still as the younger omega began to purr.

It was a small and rusty thing, stuttering and hesitant and interspersed with tiny chirps of distress that had Angeal climbing into the nest without even thinking about it. He hovered over both of them, tucking the blankets in a bit tighter and bringing the quilt that had lain over the top of Sephiroth's first attempt at a nest over both of them.

"I'll be right back," Angeal extricated himself from the nest without disturbing much of it, even as his instincts kept telling him to stay right where he was and keep anyone from even looking at his omegas. He reminded himself that there was more to caring for Genesis and Sephiroth than shielding them with his body, and it helped immensely as he fetched the bags he'd left near the door. He dragged the small dining table from beside the kitchenette over to the bed - both another obstacle between the nest and the door as well as a place to arrange everything he'd bought within reach.

Genesis raised his head as the smell of strawberries hit him and he reached out for one, fingers wiggling in little grabbing motions as he grinned, then pouted as Angeal took them back to the sink to rinse them properly.

"Finally," Genesis whispered, accepting the fresh fruit and, rather than biting into it himself, wafted it temptingly beneath Sephiroth's nose.

Angeal had to bite the inside of his cheek as Sephiroth's eyelashes fluttered and his nostrils flared as he roused and looked at the small bit of fruit offered up.

"I'm not-" he began, eyes widening as Genesis pressed the fruit to his mouth.

"Permitted," Genesis said, giving Angeal another of those significant looks he couldn't parse yet without the knowledge behind it, "I know, but you need the sugar, it'll help. And who's the expert on omegas and heat? Not you, for certain, now have some."

Just as the night before with the illicit nibble of cake, Sephiroth gave a little sound of pleasure that was utterly pure and full of wonder. Angeal ached with an affection he might have hidden better if they weren't all being driven into a feedback loop of hormones and instincts. Genesis didn't bother holding back - he never did, and he cooed in delight as he coaxed Seph into having the rest of the strawberry and then one more.

"Seph, I know you probably feel a bit better after your bath but it's going to be bad again soon. Do you think you can take this for me, for your fever and the cramps?" Angeal held up the bottle of liquid pain reliever, and went still as Sephiroth recoiled away from him instantly and shook his head. The sweet lassitude he'd been floating in a moment before was burned away in clear panic. What he said next was more than unexpected, for Angeal at least - Genesis' expression darkened as though he'd expected it.

Sephiroth stared at the bottle as though Angeal were offering him a dose of lethal poison, "I am not permitted, I won't tell, I promise," Sephiroth clutched his hands to his chest, flinching when Genesis put an arm around him.

"Won't tell who, or tell them what?" Angeal asked, pulling the bottle away and setting it down. Sephiroth's eyes followed the movement the same way he would follow the motion of a weapon turned against him.

"That you offered the medicine," Sephiroth said, as though this should have been obvious.

Genesis tightened his hold on Seph, who looked for a moment as though he fully intended to launch himself out of the nest. Angeal brought his hand up, fully intending to try and comfort the new omega, and felt stricken as Sephiroth flinched. As though he'd expected a blow.

"Oh, I…" Sephiroth's eyes slid away and to the side, head tilting to the side in a gesture they had never seen him make - a little act of submission, baring his throat for the alpha he thought was threatening him, "forgive me, I will take it, I know I must do what… I'm sorry I didn't realize…"

"Realize what, precious?" Genesis said as Sephiroth trailed off.

"You called them, and they said to…" Sephiroth's voice was quiet and so very resigned. He began to shake, gazing just over Angeal's shoulder, "you don't have to lie about what it is. They won't care, but it's kind of you to… to pretend it's something else."

Angeal crouched down by the bed, putting his hand gently on Sephiroth's throat and curling his fingers around to lay a bit of pressure on the swollen glands on the sides of his neck, the most careful and subtle scruff. Sephiroth didn't seem to know what was happening, eyes going glassy and distant as his body was forced to relax.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, bringing his other hand up and rubbing his scent gland on his wrist on the crown of Sephiroth's head, filling the air with the heavy scent of protection and safety - his need to guard and protect and provide for his omegas who he wanted to keep safe.

"You don't want to ," Sephiroth said faintly, breath trembling out of him as he leaned into the attempt and comfort, "I know you don't, but I don't blame you - I don't want them to hurt you too."

"He thinks it's a sedative," Genesis said, his grip tightening further as he forced himself to purr, something as close to a vicious growl as an omega could make, "don't you Seph? You think it's a sedative and we're giving you up to Hojo and the lab."

Sephiroth nodded, eyes growing heavy as both Angeal and Genesis did their best to impress safety into him, even if he saw their care as false, "I know it is, it's alright."

"Hey," Angeal tapped Sephiroth's cheek, releasing the back of his neck and trying to draw his attention, "look here okay?"

It seemed like the last thing Sephiroth wanted to do was open his eyes. Angeal thought he must be expecting a blow, physical or emotional, and the thought of it made anger kindle in his chest. This is what was making Genesis want to commit some kind of coup, and Angeal had a feeling that when he learned a bit more… Well, he would be locking them into this room for the duration because if anyone came near his omegas he wasn't going to be able to control the violent urge to do anything to keep them safe.

Angeal held the bottle up again, shaking it back and forth vigorously to mix it up in the most obvious way. He opened it, poured a dose into the little clear cup, and swallowed it himself. He put the bottle into the nest, right next to where Seph's hands were clenched together over his breastbone.

"Let's sit here a bit, and you can see that it isn't a sedative," Angeal kept his voice low and his body language as unthreatening as he could, "I swear to you it's just a pain reliever and a fever reducer. Which you're going to need because I can feel you getting warm again, and when the fever comes back so will the pain."

Genesis sat up and plucked up the bottle with deliberate motions, slow and steady and making it clear there was no bait and switch with the bottle. He took the plastic cup and poured another dose in to swallow himself, "See, I need it too - I'm burning up because if you're going to be miserable we ought to do so together and make Angeal dote on us both hand and foot."

He handed both cup and bottle to Seph, who took them with his trembling fingers and held them close as he watched them. Time passed as they all stayed together, Genesis curled around Seph in the nest and Angeal kneeling on the floor and letting Sephiroth count - he was counting seconds, minutes, his lips barely moving, and nearly thirty minutes passed before a wondering expression dawned on his face.

"You meant it," Sephiroth said, voice soft and brows drawn together in confusion.

"Yeah," Angeal nodded, "I just want to help you. If I'm going to call anyone it's going to be an Ifrit-damned strike team to wipe out everyone in the science department."

Genesis eyes lit over Seph's shoulder, the promise of setting anything on fire clearly appealing.

"They're going to kill you," Sephiroth's voice was filled with something close to wonder.

"We outnumber them," Genesis said, conversationally, "as I said before. And when we get back I'm going to break Hojo's neck and pin him to the wall with Rapier as a lesson to anyone else who would think of trying anything to hurt you."

"What makes you think they'll kill us for helping you?" Angeal couldn't keep the growl from slipping out, his breath rolling in and out in dangerous rumbles that only heightened the oncoming rut that he wasn't going to be able to suppress.

"It's happened before," Sephiroth said, as though this was a matter of course, "and SOLDIERS who don't obey are decommissioned."

Angeal's fingers curled into the barrier of blankets around the nest, "Decommissioned?"

"Like Rio Anderson was decommissioned," Genesis replied, teeth bared in something painful and his purr rattling in his chest as he forced it to keep going, "like how decommissioning means given to science for…"

Sephiroth looked away again, the little plastic cup in his fingers compressing and nearly cracking as he finished Genesis' sentence, again with that tone that meant he thought this was normal , gods…

"Vivisection."

"I don't think your beast of a sword is up to the task but I'm sure Rapier could be wielded delicately enough for Hojo to survive for hours," Genesis sounded flippant, or maybe he wasn't. He was blinking furiously, lower lip bitten between his teeth hard as he forced back tears that hit the air anyway.

The smell of salt mixed with heat and fear and pain and Angeal cupped his hands around Sephiroth's, a snarl curling his lip, "Nothing will happen to you, Seph. Anyone who comes through that door without my permission, will die by my hand."

Angeal helped steady Sephiroth as he poured more of the medicine into the cup, swallowing down the liquid without even a grimace at the overly sweet taste, although he looked confused by it as he looked at the illustration of fruit on the label.

"I'll get you real cherries sometime," Angeal said, accepting the bottle back, his instincts mollified a bit by the hope that this wouldn't be the only time he would care and provide for Sephiroth in the same way he did Genesis. If Sephiroth would let them mark him, Angeal would take care of him until the end of time, "they're harder to find in the winter than strawberries."

Sephiroth held himself still and tense as he began again to count - waiting for something bad to happen. Angeal's chest hurt with a mix of rage and despair until Seph realized nothing bad was going to happen after all.

"Have some water, and maybe one of these protein bars before your heat hits again. It's going to last… a while, probably. At least a week," he looked at Genesis with one eyebrow raised, "expert?"

Genesis snagged another strawberry, popping it into his mouth and flinging the green top of it in a random direction off of the bed and silently dared Angeal to scold him for it. He grabbed one more and brought it back to Sephiroth's lips. Bemused, Sephiroth opened his mouth and accepted it.

"More like two or three," Genesis said, much to Sephiroth's clear alarm, "your glands are very swollen - this has been backing up for a while and it all needs to get out. Goddess knows you've earned a vacation, even if it comes with being a little bit miserable. And Angeal is going to take care of us and he's very serious about the murder bit if someone were to make it through the storm to try and get to us."

Angeal telegraphed his movements as he reached out again to comfort Seph, and this time the omega leaned into it with confusion mixed with something almost close to trust.

It took a little while for Sephiroth to fully slump into the nest again, his hormones rising once more and dragging him under into a much more comfortable state - it took him even longer to start that broken purr.

"This has been his whole life," Genesis whispered, sitting up and grabbing the collar of Angeal's robe. He dragged him close, wiping his red eyes with the soft material and shoving his nose against the scent gland in the curve of Angeal's neck for comfort.

"Remember earlier, when he said we would 'disappear' if we helped him?" Genesis climbed over Seph, putting his body over him as though he were an alpha himself and shielding him from anyone who could possibly mean him harm. "Like that was just… normal for him. Someone's nice to him where a scientist can see and they take them away. He asked me if he was dying and when I said he was presenting he said… he said that he wasn't supposed to be 'anything' and that if he was an omega the 'experiment' would be a failure and they'd cut him up to see what went 'wrong'. He thought we knew that, he thought we all knew! "

Genesis lowered his head and began to brush his scent glands over every inch of Seph's back and arms, nuzzling the long silver braid he'd twisted the silver hair into. Angeal climbed in after a moment, joining Genesis in doing everything he could to make Seph feel safe, at least here he could feel safe.

"You're going into rut, aren't you?" Genesis asked, and seemed to melt under the blanket as Angeal scented him more aggressively. He grasped Genesis' hand and pressed a kiss to his palm before bringing it to his face and rubbing against it. Genesis tugged his hand away, giving him as much of a chiding look as he could when he began to purr and relax further into the nest just the way Angeal wanted him to.

Angeal ignored Genesis' soft accusation for a moment more until he had to quietly admit it - it wasn't the first time he'd gone into a protective rut, it hadn't even been the first time this year. He'd gone into one in the spring when two members of the infantry they'd been training with had been injured and needed someone to care for them before help could come. They'd been doing a joint exercise near the swamps on the far outskirts between Kalm and the old mythril mine and it took two days with the heavy rain that began to fall for a medical team to get there. Angeal had kept them safe until then, in one of the tents that had really only been meant for two people - the close quarters and scents of pain and upset had flipped that little switch in his brain and it had been difficult to get himself back under control enough to let the two men out of the tent and into the truck meant to take them back to the city for treatment.

Angeal brought his head up and surveyed the arrangement of furniture between the nest and the door. It seemed a great deal less illogical now, and far more necessary. How long would it take for Shinra to fetch them back, how long would it take for someone to realize that Sephiroth had presented - and as an omega at that? How many people could Angeal take down by himself if it came to that?

It wouldn't come to that. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Genesis was absolutely right that they outnumbered anyone who would or could attempt to stop them from doing what they wanted… Angeal was a good SOLDIER, and good SOLDIERS were supposed to guard and protect Shinra… but that all hinged on Shinra doing the same for them - didn't it?

"I'm going to take care of this," Angeal said quietly, forcing his hand to stay steady as he ran his palm over Seph's hair a few more times before he began to get out of the nest.

"Oh no you don't," Genesis said, in something between a whisper and a shout, moving to climb out with him, "we'll figure it out together and I'm-"

"Stay," Angeal rumbled softly and Genesis gave him a look even as he went utterly limp and submissive beneath the commanding tone. The omega half-turned on his side, head tilted back to show the bare line of his throat as Sephiroth had done unconsciously. If Genesis hadn't been in heat, it probably wouldn't have worked so well.

He almost never used that ability - it made him feel controlling in the worst way and left a bad taste in his mouth the one time he'd ever needed to use it on Genesis. That had been when Genesis had been sick, not long before they'd both gone to Midgar to join Shinra. He'd insisted he didn't need help, even though he could barely breathe - he hadn't wanted to stop training, didn't want to get his parents involved, but if Angeal hadn't made himself order Genesis to lay down and let him call his mother he would have gotten far more ill as it had turned out he'd had pneumonia.

He especially hated the thought of using it on Genesis in particular as his parents had used it whenever they wanted their adopted son to fall in line or get out of their hair, which had been often.

"I'm sorry, he needs someone and that's you right now," Angeal lowered his head and nipped at Genesis' throat, then touched their foreheads together - Genesis' skin was hot, and he knew he'd have to get more medicine into both omegas when he got back from reporting in to someone who might be able to help.

Both of them looked at Sephiroth, who's eyes were half open with one of those panicked looks beginning to dawn on his face again until Genesis turned to curl around him again and purred madly until Sephiroth subsided and turned his whole body into the affectionate gesture.

"Fuck you," Genesis whispered, drawing Sephiroth close and cuddling him. Eyes half lidded and arm lifting slowly as though it was weighted down, he patting Angeal on the cheek rather than slapping him as he clearly wanted, "better make it up to me, oh big strong alpha."

Relief untied the knot in his throat - Genesis was being far more forgiving than he'd usually be, which meant his retribution when he was back to normal would be legendary.

Angeal shook his head to clear it, feeling a haze of protective rage settling over his mind. He didn't have much time before he was lost to it, and he forced himself to get out of the nest and into the other room. He huffed air in and out through his nose, trying to clear it of heat scent and Genesis' anger and fear, of Sephiroth's desperate need to be protected and his anguish that he was convinced no one could help him.

He quickly picked up the telephone, asking for food to be brought up that could be eaten cold, as well as drinks and snacks that could be eaten with their fingers - he wasn't going to be able to fix anything complicated anytime soon. Then he stared at the phone in his hand for a long moment, depressing the little prongs to hang up on room service and dialing the number for one of his CO's - Ronaldo Garza was a First Class SOLDIER who had originally been scouted for the Turks before he'd decided he'd much rather fight in the open than in the shadows. That didn't mean he'd not continued to hone the skills and mindset that had fast-tracked him for the agency, and he was the best they had in gathering intel and keeping the secrets that SOLDIERS had amongst themselves.

"It's Angeal, call me back at this number on a secure line," he said, rattling off the number taped across the bottom of the phone and hanging up again.

He paced in front of the telephone, stopping only when a soft knock heralded the delivery of the foods he'd asked for - the rolling tray had been left unattended outside the door, the woman who had delivered it disappearing around the corner. Sliced cold meats and cheeses, crackers that looked fancy enough to grace the Rhapsodos' table, and packages of protein bars would definitely help keep them going for however long the omega's heat, and his rut, went on for.

He picked up the phone before the first ring had even finished, Ronaldo's voice clipped and quiet as he murmured, "Report."

"Sir," Angeal answered respectfully, the older Alpha's voice was heavy with command even over the staticky line from wherever he'd managed to find a phone that wasn't being tapped and recorded, "there's something you, and everyone else needs to know… and I think things are going to get interesting when we get back from this mission."

He pushed as much meaning into the word 'interesting' as he could, the implication of danger and what he hoped came across as righteous fury.

There was silence on the other line for a moment, "How bad?"

"Bad enough that I kind of want to kill a lot of people," Angeal admitted quietly, "and you know me, I'm not… like that, usually, but I think we all need to reevaluate where our loyalties lie and I want to think we both know that most of that lies with each other."

He hesitated before adding, "Remember when Anderson broke his back and got 'decommissioned'?"

"Yeah?" Ronaldo drew the word out, making the single syllable into something dangerous with the low growl that accompanied it.

"Decommissioned means dead, it means given to Hojo to cut apart, maybe even while he was still conscious if what Sephiroth implied is accurate. It means Shinra sees us all as disposable fodder for whatever the fuck Science wants to do with us, and it means that they can do that to any one of us for any reason - including disobedience and 'thinking wrong', according to what I was just told."

He lowered his voice a bit more, explaining the disturbing things that Sephiroth had told Genesis about what he expected to happen, what he was used to, and how he'd been so hopeless he'd thought Angeal was going to punish him for not obeying him - even when he thought Angeal was going to drug him and hand him over.

How it seemed like it had happened before.

The last thing Genesis had whispered as he left the room, that Sephiroth had been told he wasn't a real person, just a weapon.

Ronaldo didn't swear often, but the string of invectives that crackled over the line was both vicious and creative when Angeal finished explaining everything that had happened over the last… gods had it barely been more than twenty-four hours? He was as quick on the uptake as Angeal knew he would be, "And if we don't do something then the kid's going to be locked up in Hojo's fucked up dungeon of horrors maybe permanently, or at least until he's their perfect little experiment again. And the two of you, probably, since you know too much."

"From what I can tell that 'probably' is a 'definitely'," Angeal said, reminding himself not to break the phone's receiver when he wanted to tighten both hands into fists and punch something. He could feel the low growl in his chest more than hear it, and he could definitely hear the far more vocal snarl in Ronaldo's voice as he breathed in and out through his nose harshly.

"No one can bring you back if all the choppers are out of commission, and it'll take two or three times as long if they have to try and get a truck out that way," Ronaldo said slowly, "and a few people owe me favors… This is…"

There was another pause, another growling breath, "It's going to be messy, bloody probably, but Shinra should have known better than to make an entire army of men who can snap them in half without breaking a sweat and then treating them like they're disposable."

Angeal answered with a relieved and wordless sound - if SOLDIER were a pack it was Ronaldo who would have been their alpha, and the older SOLDIER's dangerous tone of voice set him at ease that he wasn't in this alone.

"You keep Sephiroth safe, we'll keep you three safe," Ronaldo ordered, and there was enough command in it that Angeal's shoulders relaxed in spite of himself, "We'll handle it, even if it means tearing down this tower brick by fucking brick."