You guys...!

I don't own anything, anyone or anywhere you recognise. Sapphire, along with a few others who'll crop up every now and then, are mine.

A few chapters ago I was asking for reviews, and now I get two within an hour of posting chapter 16? Feeling the love, thank you so much! Ink Scribble, JustAFemaleGeek and Entranced by you, you're all so amazing. Haha, such fantastic reactions! I'm sure the events of the last chapter have been a long time coming so I hope it met your expectations :D

Also thanks to Clement Rage for dropping a review on Shenanigans - if anyone's unaware, as I haven't mentioned it in a long time, it's a fun little compilation of silly stories I wrote for the prequel. Mostly for poops and giggles, but if you squint there's bits that are actually plot-relevant. (If you don't care much about the details of the prequel, then the only chapter that may be of interest is the last one, for the first chapter here. Just FYI!)

Now that you're done over there, feel free to sink your teeth into this new chapter!

Chapter 17 - Let's try that again, shall we?

Consciousness returned with an almighty throbbing in the back of my head, bringing with it an awareness that I hadn't had the last few times I'd awoken. With a deep groan, I rolled over in the giant soft cloud I lay in, carefully and slowly blinking my eyes open.

It took a few minutes for my vision to sharpen enough to see more than just dizzying blobs of vague colours. The room was very stark, undecorated and grey, with wood floors. At my right was a plain wooden chair, and a wooden lamp atop a cream bedside table. The cloud I was in was actually a double bed. Who'd have thought?

So much light, why… I threw a hand over my eyes to block out the endless light, fingertips brushing a bandage wrapped around my forehead.

Hmm. I'd have thought my wounds would have just been magically healed. So, I'm not dead?

Duh. My head was splitting. Feel like that should have been the first indicator. I wanted to roll my eyes at my own idiocy, but that wouldn't have helped with the whole blurry vision and headache issue.

It was just starting to get too painful to slip back into sleep, so I wondered whether I had any potions close by. I tried to map out my room in my own head, assuming I had staggered in here after my fight.

My fight with the SOLDIERs. Wait, had I won? Had I… had I…?

Opening my eyes to stare at the grey ceiling, relishing in the ache in my head, because after all, I deserved that. I had, actually…

Self-defence. I was protecting Lilah, they attacked first. Get out of your own head, Sapphire. Self-defence. You knew you'd have to at some point.

I must've been reeling from doing such a thing, and staggered back to Banora. This was my room, in Gillian's home. She would have bandaged me up. And she had liked to check in on me as little as possible, so if there were potions, they would have been left in arms' reach.

Bedside table, lamp, and maybe a vial or two? I turned my head to look over. My temples throbbed as I smiled, because one, two, three of the glorious little vials. Gillian to the rescue once again.

Scooting over dreadfully slowly, I eventually got my fingers wrapped around one, easing myself into an upright position, and guzzled it down in three gulps. Immediately I felt fresher, the headache ebbing slightly. The second potion got the same treatment.

I nursed the third one slowly, as if the anticipation of the restorative drink would coax me into healing better on my own, and gave the room a second look over. Besides a wardrobe, this was literally all it was. It really was a sparse room, wasn't it? The nice woman looking after me could use a hand with interior decoration.

She had left me a note though, on the bedside table along with the potions. That was unlike her. Her way of paying attention to me was just generally having everything I'd need ready for me without having to say anything.

Curiosity took hold, and passing the vial to my left hand—

Distracted by the twinge in my left wrist, I fumbled and dropped the vial, the precious liquid seeping into the white sheets and staining them a lime green colour. Oops. But come on. White sheets were a terrible idea, just begging to get stained.

The justification didn't make me feel any less guilty about it though, and I half-heartedly rubbed it down with the sleeve of my hoodie, looking again at the bedside table. No tissues. I sighed, giving up on the stain, trying to recall how my wrist was injured as I replaced the vial with the others and picked up the note.

Back soon. -G

What the what? Gillian was out? No! Didn't she see the state of me after my excursion?

I flung the covers off with enough gusto to send them off the bed entirely, and leapt out of bed, scanning the room for my supplies. Not out, so in the wardrobe?

With a breath of relief, I grabbed up my sheathed sword from inside the wardrobe, the strand of beads that had once been entwined in my hair clicking together comfortingly as I attached it to my hip. I paid no mind to what I was wearing, not even looking for my comfy SOLDIER boots to change into, dashing out in my same hoodie, jeans and cheap plimsolls, with extra added blood. Fashion, or at the very least discretion, could wait until after I made sure Gillian was safe.

When I left the room, I had expected to see the top of the staircase. What I saw instead was a dusty storage room, with wooden boxes and a large control panel of some description against the wall. It definitely wasn't the first hint that I was somewhere completely different to where I thought I was, but it was the most obvious, and the first one I picked up on.

I… I hadn't thought my room in Gillian's house was as bare. But then where would I be, for her to be here too?

"Identify yourself!"

I recalled the first SOLDIER, who had demanded to know who I was. Among my theories at the time was that there were certain people they were looking for, for who-knows-what reason. Maybe Gillian was one of those people? But then if she and I were taken captive, would we be allowed to move freely like this?

Maybe the SOLDIERs were here to protect the people. They couldn't be all bad. And just mine and Lilah's fleeing had rung alarm bells? Maybe that innocent-looking couple we spotted getting beaten on by that SOLDIER weren't actually innocent?

Oh, my head. I really could have done with the rest of that third potion. Think. What had actually happened? There must've been some comprehension after Lilah drove off, and that first SOLDIER…

Ugh. I could hate myself later. Gillian could be in danger right now.

I fought, but I didn't recall stopping. I didn't recall staggering the couple of miles back to Gillian's house. I would've retained some memory of that, wouldn't I?

So, did I lose, and get captured? Maybe on my way back I got picked up. Maybe they'd already captured Gillian and when I was brought in she demanded to see to me?

But then how could she be free to move? And me? Maybe I wasn't a threat unconscious, but I had fought, and they must've known that when I awoke I'd fight again. Why wouldn't they take precautions?

They had Gillian. She was out there somewhere. They could hold her hostage. But she said she'd be back soon. Where had she gone? And why? When would she be back?

Should I wait? I looked back into the other room, with its stained sheets and its open wardrobe. I noticed a waste bin beside the wardrobe, that looked to hold discarded, dirty bandages; quite a lot actually. Did not think I had been that badly wounded. Disregarding that, I continued my hesitating scan of the room. My eyes caught on the contents of the wardrobe.

I approached on tiptoe, and perused the clothes inside without moving anything. A few black SOLDIER uniforms, a few pairs of soft trousers, and assorted other men's clothing. So, this was one of the SOLDIER's rooms?

Why would I be here? In a SOLDIER's bedroom? In some building with dusty storage rooms…

Dusty storage rooms. Might be something someone would find in an abandoned factory. The abandoned factory Lilah had told me about, the one the SOLDIER army had taken over, perhaps. A bare-bones bedroom with SOLDIER gear probably meant that they were planning on being here a while. I would guess this room belonged to the SOLDIER in command, while the rest were in some makeshift barracks in other rooms. An army in here, wouldn't imagine many would get their own rooms. So, I was in one of few single person rooms, because…?

The commanding SOLDIER was busy? Eh. It was the only actual bed? Feel like, as a prisoner whose injuries were from fighting my captives, I would forego the right to my own bed in my recovery. Probably some of the SOLDIERs wouldn't be overly fond of me, to put it nicely. That'd put me at risk. Maybe this was the most secure location?

Feel like nowhere in a rundown old factory would really be secure to a vengeful SOLDIER of any rank, but eh. A couple of impartial SOLDIERs standing guard? A locked door?

I should try that next door. I doubted trying to open it would really put me in trouble. Besides, I had my sword with me in case someone decided I was fair game—

Why would they store my sword with me, if I was a prisoner? Typical. Just when I had a theory that was starting to make sense to me…

Well. About time for me to go on the hunt for more information. Returning to the storage room, a quick glance around assured me that the room was unused in recent times, and I strode purposefully for the other door, not allowing myself to hesitate before turning the knob.

It opened. Still without a working theory, I wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not.

I peeked through the small crack in the door, and seeing no opposition, I gradually edged out, casting an eye over the area. Seemed like that part of my reasoning was spot on; definitely had the vibe of an abandoned factory about it. Immensely high v-shaped ceiling, huge garage-styled door open and letting in fresh air and bright sunlight. The great open space that likely made up most of the building was oddly empty, save for a couple of SOLDIERs milling about. I probably would have been spotted immediately if not for the good fortune of being on higher ground, on a balcony several feet off the ground and a few feet wide that stretched around the perimeter, excluding the entrance wall. The stairs up to the balcony were against the opposite wall.

Seemed like a good time to get out of here, and find Gillian. I could probably catch the couple patrolling SOLDIERs by surprise, get away before they could retaliate. She wrote that she'd be back, but I couldn't wait for her, not in a place like this. What on Gaia would prompt her to leave, if we were left alone in there, safe and out of the way?

Whatever her motivation, I had to find her. If I had to search this place top to bottom I would. I'd just start top, because it looked like there were less SOLDIERs up here, and more rooms. Pretty easy to search down below in just one open room.

No rooms to my left, so I crept to the first on the right, stopping to listen at the door for noise inside. Due to my own SOLDIER treatment, my senses were enhanced enough that I could typically hear a person breathing from a few feet away. I felt confident, even despite my distracting headache and paining muscles, that no one was in this room, assuming this door wasn't any thicker or more solid than the one outside my door.

It wasn't, unsurprisingly, and I was met with another boring storage room. How boring. Didn't even look like there was a connecting room like with the last one. Unless there was some secret mechanism hidden behind some ragged cloths hung against the walls, which seemed more than just a little bit unlikely. That said, it couldn't hurt to look…

Gah. One pushed-aside stretch of cloth later to reveal a boring, dusty wall, and I felt like an idiot.

My ears twitched, and embarrassing though the bunny-like action was, I didn't have time to be embarrassed. Breathing. Someone was coming—

"I thought you were on bed rest."

Scratch that, someone was here. Someone who sounded authoritative, who spoke softly yet with the confidence to know that each syllable would be listened to.

I had kind of assumed that most SOLDIERs would be shouty gruff people, like that one yesterday. But I knew SOLDIERs, I was one before. My tutor had spoken with a soft, lilting voice like that. My tutor had spoken with a voice very much like that.

Trying to ignore my train of thought, I spun to face my foe, hand falling to the hilt of my sword suspended at my hip. Relentless, my mind carried on, as I took in the sight of the new arrival.

My tutor, who I had found outside Banora, and had tried and failed to resuscitate. My tutor, who wore a black SOLDIER uniform beneath a magnificent red leather coat, very much like—

My tutor, falling to his knees before me, jaw falling slack and a deep furrow in his brow, before his mouth turned up in the smallest of smiles—

My head—

I pressed my hands to my temples, paying no mind to the bandage over my forehead. Legs wobbling and knees quaking, they faltered. I wasn't allowed to fall very far until gloved hands grabbed my arms just above the elbow in a secure, supportive grip, keeping me upright. Despite his swift approach and close supporting hold, nothing more than his hands touched me, as if it would be a crime to touch more than necessary. The thought brought me some comforting amusement, as I had often thought in the past that touch was too far for what our relationship was, beyond the necessary at least.

Only necessary touches, of course. Though I had an all-consuming compulsion to throw my arms around him and squeeze the Loveless right out of him.

A roaring in my ears, but I could hear more of that voice, so I tried to focus on it. I squeezed my eyes open and gazed at his mouth, as it moved out-of-sync with the muffled garbled nonsense my ears couldn't accurately decipher. Eventually my eyes caught up with my ears though, as he said, "I should have been here when you woke up."

Was that… an apology? It sounded remorseful. From this guy?

His smirk and breath of laughter implied to me that at least some of my incredulous line of thinking had been more than just thought. "There she is," he remarked fondly, his smirk widening, into something I might've called a smile, lopsided and imperfect and real.

I offered the best smile I could muster in my weak state, meeting his eye. "Hi, Genesis." Familiar, perhaps overly so, since I had only ever called him Commander Rhapsodos in the past, but that just didn't feel right somehow. He hadn't been my superior officer in almost a year. Since then, he had been my… well, my imaginary friend, but he was never going to hear about that. I had been gifted with an opportunity to reform old bonds into something new, and I was determined to start strong.

For my bravery, I was granted a light squeeze to my arms, and a warmly intoned, "Sapphire." I counted that as a success. "Though your timely arrival has stirred up a number of questions in my mind, I will have to test my patience further, and wait until you are fully recovered before I subject you to an interrogation."

His lilting voice caressed my ears like soft silk. His words were eloquent, and came slowly, carrying a gravitas that left me hanging onto every word. All too familiar. Embarrassingly, I was overwhelmed, and tears came to my eyes. I took a stuttering deep breath and scrunched up my face in an effort to prevent them escaping. "I thought you were dead," I admitted in a whisper. With that tear-prevention technique quickly failing, I decided instead to wipe furiously at my eyes before squinting them to gaze at his, their calming green and blue hues grounding me.

Genesis, for his part, looked equal parts disbelieving and amused. Seeing that I was steady on my feet once again, he let me go and straightened to stand upright, looking down at me. I couldn't help but be pleased to notice that he didn't have as far down to look anymore as he used to. "I think that makes you the pot in this scenario," he murmured.

Taken aback enough to forget my tears, I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow, feeling like I had missed something earlier in the conversation. "What?"

The SOLDIER waved one gloved hand flippantly, "Some expression Angeal often uses. The pot calls the kettle black, as it is itself."

Angeal. Not Angie with her pigtails and her self-importance, Angeal, with his warm smiles and his overbearing protectiveness and his unending patience for his friend.

Genesis' slightly derisive laugh drew my attention back to him again, and the defeated smile he wore. "Rest, Sapphire, and recover your strength. Waiting to hear your story will be the death of me."

Too soon. "It better not be," I argued weakly, the memory of finding his body all too fresh. I folded my arms and held my elbows for comfort, looking away to avoid his eye.

After a thoughtful pause, the redhead raised one gloved hand to the door, palm up. "Would you like me to assist you back to bed?" he offered kindly.

Outraged, and refusing to think of the offer as anything but innocent because I was pretty sure he'd be merciless if I did, I glared at him in good humour. "Thanks, but I can walk." To demonstrate, I unfolded my arms and marched back into the bedroom, without the slightest wobble.

Wait, why was I following orders? Gillian was—

Gillian wasn't the one who wrote the note. G. Genesis was. The thought warmed my heart and clenched my stomach.

Gillian wasn't here, she was safe at home. Genesis was looking after me, while I was here, in the base of the SOLDIER army… held captive? Was I a target, were they looking for me? Was Genesis protecting me?

So much about all this didn't make sense. My head was starting to hurt again, trying to make sense of it all.

"Very impressive," Genesis sardonically remarked, standing at the doorway. Blocking the only exit. Preventing intruders? "Ah. There'll be a change of bed covers in the wardrobe."

What? Oh yeah, the spill, fully on display in a bundle on the floor. I raised an eyebrow, noticing he didn't offer to help, but with more pressing matters on my mind than to tease him about it. "Can you tell me what's going on?" I requested, hesitantly perching myself on the end of the mattress. He leaned against the doorframe, with an unreadable stare levelled at me. For a few moments, we both waited for the other to speak. "I…" eventually sighing, forcing myself to be vulnerable, I asked softly, "Am I safe?"

His expression not changing in its intense seriousness, his response to me was, "You're safe."

Reassured but dissatisfied, I leaned back on my hands and raised my eyebrows expectantly at him. "You may be okay with waiting until I'm in perfect health for an interrogation, but I'm not. What's going on here? I saw SOLDIERs attacking villagers, Genesis."

The First Class did not look surprised. "I heard. Those responsible have been punished appropriately." So Genesis was the man in charge. I wondered idly what the appropriate punishment would be for such an act.

"Why did it happen? Why are you here?" I interrogated, my eagle eyes on Genesis as he sighed, standing up from his leaning against the doorframe to look inside the wardrobe.

"We…" he trailed off, expressing such uncharacteristic uncertainty that I started to get concerned. Bed covers in hand, they occupied his attention for a few moments. One gloved hand pinched and plucked a loose thread from them, and dropping it on the floor, he met my eye. "We are in hiding. We have deserted Shinra."

Well. At least they weren't here to cart me back to Hojo. But as I considered his admission, things started to make a lot of sense. This town was in a pretty remote location with minimal Shinra presence, and the abandoned factory seemed a pretty clever place to house a literal army of deserted SOLDIERs.

On the other hand, there were so many questions. All beginning with the word 'why'. Brain ticking over, when Genesis gestured me to stand up from the bed I silently complied, watching as he set about remaking the bed, throwing the covers back onto the bed and undressing them. Huh. Did not think he was actually going to do that.

Seeing my old tutor carrying out such a menial task was my tipping point, the relief and shock and confusion all becoming overwhelming, and I fell into helpless giggles. The redhead shot me a look but said nothing. He looked faintly amused himself as he stripped the bed.

"You don't plan to help, then?" Genesis held one corner of the sheet in my direction. I nodded and accepted it from him, still snickering weakly. "Took you less time to lose your mind than I expected."

"You underestimate how maddening your company is," I replied, quick as lightning after his setup, pulling the covers down over the duvet. He laughed sarcastically at my quip.

The conversation lulled as we finished, and it was… weird. Probably both of us taking the moment of respite to try and narrow down the many questions we had. At least I was, though I still felt like it'd take a day for me to ask all the questions I wanted answered.

When the duvet was dressed and cast onto the mattress, I let my hands drop and refocused my attention on my old tutor. Studying his back, I requested quietly, "Can we talk some stuff out? Only I'm not tired, and I've been kinda living under a rock, you could say."

As if he hadn't heard me, Genesis continued with the clasps on the end of the covers for a few moments, then buffed out the covers, leaving the bed as good as perfectly made as I had seen. He didn't tuck the duvet in at the bottom of the bed. I noticed because I never did either; easier to curl up with the duvet loose around you that way. Finally he turned to me, placing his hands on his hips, and instructed, "We can talk, but I won't unless you're in bed."

I blanched at that. "Uh, what?"

"I'll put on my most soothing voice, maybe I'll lull you to sleep with a bedtime story."

Blessing my instinctive reaction, to cover up embarrassment with sarcasm, I answered with a raised eyebrow, "Would need to be a pretty boring story, then." It was only after it was out that I realised it was possibly the lamest retort I'd ever heard, from me or anyone else. It also sounded vaguely complimentary, which was assuredly not my aim.

Genesis thanked me with a wicked smirk, obviously having picked up on it, and moved to sit in the chair at my bedside. Oh boy. Genesis, not Gillian. He had been watching over me while I slept? He had left the duvet untucked. Oh boy.

Flustered and seeing no way out of it, I threw the duvet over my head and crawled up the bed, settling with only the top of my head and eyes over the edge of the covers. Genesis looked perplexed, so in my (hopefully) temporary insanity, I explained with a question, "You been perving on me while I've been sleeping?"

Ugh. Just stop talking, seriously. The ex-SOLDIER: First Class played it cool, explaining with a shrug, "This is my room, so my generosity left me with no other option."

"Your charity knows no bounds," I remarked dryly. He bowed his head pseudo-modestly in response, that same smirk written all over his face that I was starting to get sick of. "So! Bedtime story?" I requested, and allowed him a few quiet moments to collect his thoughts. Idly, I wondered if he had work to do that I was keeping him from, but I supposed he would have said something if he did.

He began with a tightness to his voice that I hadn't expected, "Shinra provided the narrative of a terrorist attack conducted by Wutai. I had my doubts about that, and I now I see for sure that I was right. Your name was included on the list of the victims, on the basis of your personal effects being found and identified."

"I heard. I saw the memorial." Eight names, my own among them.

Genesis slowly nodded, the air between us sombre. "Thus the war with Wutai resumed. I found myself deployed often to fight and infiltrate, and could see that the war was not only one-sided in Shinra's favour, but also that the forces of Wutai were not the aggressors Shinra painted them to be, a fact I had often suspected. The SOLDIERs under my command could see the same, and so, years later than I should have, I proposed desertion to those that I trusted. They passed word on to those that they trusted, and so on. As a result, almost my entire platoon abandoned Shinra's war, running from the fields of Wutai.

"You understand, an army of SOLDIERs cannot cross continents without being noticed. As such, some of my men fell into bad habits, being too aggressive in defence of their brothers-in-arms. This is what you witnessed a few days ago. SOLDIERs being overzealous and exerting their superior strength to protect our secrecy as a whole. I insisted that such measures were unnecessary, certainly no physical violence was required, but it seems I was not strict enough in my orders. Of everything, I regret this most of all. The innocent people of Banora should never have come to harm." Genesis looked up from the floor for the first time since he began, and met my eye. "Thank you, for standing up to them as you did."

I broke eye contact to look up at the ceiling, refusing to acknowledge his gratitude. I had stood up to them. They had been in the wrong, and I had been protecting innocent people. But in saving lives I had taken lives, and I wouldn't accept thanks for that. Not that I would resent Genesis for failing to recognise what his SOLDIERs were capable of; from the sounds of things, he couldn't have known how far it'd go. After a few moments of contemplation, I thought of an appropriate segue, "So, is Angeal here too?" One of the defining features I could think of in relation to Angeal was that he and Genesis were close friends.

The redhead's features darkened, and he let out a hissing breath, turning his face away. "Despite all that Shinra have done, Angeal remains with SOLDIER. He has too much honour to abandon their cause, it seems," he explained bitterly.

Honour. Smiling, returning my gaze to my old tutor, I murmured, "I remembered that." Genesis looked at me with subtle curiosity, so I clarified, "Angeal, and his honour. I forgot so much, but I remembered his honour, before I even remembered his name."

"That's him," Genesis agreed fondly, bitterness set aside. Then he frowned, "You forgot things?"

"Almost everything," I answered solemnly, returning my eyes to the ceiling contemplatively. "I remembered the basics, and as time went on I recalled more and more. Though a lot of it is filling in the gaps. In fact… there's a lot I'm unsure of."

"Would you like me to assist?" Genesis offered, drawing my eyes once again. "I understand if you refuse."

I remembered enough about Genesis that I trusted him not to deceive me, and at any rate, what would he have to gain by feeding me false information? And this was all I had spent the last six months looking for; someone from my past who could help me remember who I was before my capture. "Please, everything you remember," I requested. He smiled gently, nodding, before raising a hand to speculatively stroke his chin.

"Mainly, I remember you as a thorn in my side," he divulged, chuckling as he dodged a pillow I threw his way. Or attempted to. He really didn't have to lean very far in his seat. Aiming with my sprained off-hand was not the easiest. "Our relationship started when you burst into Angeal's office, after he took a liking to you, and you became my long-suffering student. I treated you as a nuisance for the majority of your time as a Cadet, something that I never apologised for."

"I enjoyed it," I forgave easily, shaking my head lightly. At his raised eyebrow, I clarified, "At least, I think I did."

"I went too far," Genesis corrected me gently, with a small self-flagellating upturn of his lips. He adjusted his weight in his seat then, and looked slightly pained. "Perhaps you would not have been so glad to see me if you recalled our interactions in full."

"Maybe," I agreed airily, "so are you gonna treat me better this time around?"

The SOLDIER looked startled by my uproarious laugh. He huffed a breath of laughter, shaking his head, that downtrodden look thankfully gone from his face. His big sad eyes were killing me. "I shall have to try," he agreed, and paused for a few moments, looking contemplative.

I wanted him to have his time to think things through, but I also wanted to know more about my time in SOLDIER. It occurred to me that maybe he couldn't figure out how to proceed, not knowing how much I knew and how much might've been forgotten. "You were training me for quite a while, though I remember you had another assignment for a while, right?"

"Indeed," Genesis agreed, though something about the way he spoke made me think there was something he withheld. I decided not to press it; he was already telling me so much, confirming what I thought I knew. He was helping, so generously, and I was sure had nothing to gain from hiding important things from me. I would allow him his privacy, and believe that he would tell me all that concerned me. "The next time I saw you, it was to hear you announce your intent to withdraw from the Cadet Program, meagre days before the SOLDIER treatment commenced."

Hold up. "Before... the SOLDIER treatment?" I echoed hesitatingly.

He'd had his doubts about Shinra's explanation of my capture. He knew now they were false, knew for sure. That's what he had said, but I was too wrapped up in my own head to think about that for more than half a second. "Yes," Genesis confirmed simply, with a nod. I appreciated his brevity, as the cogs in my head turned.

If I was honest with myself, I'd had my suspicions of whether I was an actual SOLDIER or not. Sometimes it didn't feel right when I called myself as such. Due to the overwhelming evidence, it should never have crossed my mind to doubt that I was once a SOLDIER. But so much of my recollections, those I were sure of, was under his tutelage—

How long? How long had it been since I was taken, and seven people killed for no reason? How long had Hojo held me captive?

"How long since I left Midgar?" How long since you had forgotten all about me, while I dreamed of you?

"Two years, and ten months."

My eyes unfocused, and I slowly turned onto my back. With that familiar burning behind my eyes, I flipped onto my left side, tears coming far too fast.

Genesis gently called my name. The difference in how it made me feel now, compared to before, was staggering. "Can you leave?" I requested, with no small amount of difficulty.

"I'm sorry," murmured the man, to whom I must only be a misfortunate stranger, and he left without a sound. Or maybe I just couldn't hear it with the roaring in my ears.

Two years and ten months. Four months as a Cadet, and over two years at the whim of a madman. Months spent separating dreams from reality, and I had taken for granted that the durations of my time in SOLDIER and in captivity were the reverse of what they had actually been. Two years.

When sleep eventually came, it brought a nightmare that made me miss my prior fitful tossing and turning. When I snapped awake, I found comfort in the blank white ceiling, as darkness gradually made way for light.

Sluggish, I extracted myself from the bed covers, and took notice of the hoodie I still wore, stained and stiff with blood. I draped the covers over me, convincing myself I felt powerful and ready to adventure in my magnificent soft cape. The next room was empty, so I ventured out onto the balcony.

And there was Genesis. His back was to me, a tray with a teapot and mug to his left. Reading the situation, with a smile on my face, I perched myself at the edge of the balcony at his right, entertained by how he sat with his feet dangling over the edge and positioning myself the same, kicking my feet.

"Good morning," he murmured, his voice slightly gruffer than I was accustomed to. He placed the mug he had been nursing on the tray before slowly turning his head to me, the faintest smile on his face, which I returned, blinking with bleary eyes.

"Is it?" I moaned, deadpan, before yawning. "Pour me some tea?" After all, things were always better when someone else got them for you.

Genesis obliged, passing me a filled mug moments later. Sleep-deprived, I nearly took a sip before I recognised that it was coffee, not tea.

"Coffee, in a teapot? …You monster."

*waves* It's been a while since I wrote a note at the bottom of a chapter! Sorry if you were expecting more story. Don't worry, plenty more to come in the future!

Just wanted to say, Merry Christmas, and a Happy End Of 2020 to you all! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the final chapter of this year. With it comes the end of my update schedule, but now it's up to you! The rate of updates will be directly proportional to the quality and quantity of reviews I receive ;)

...Okay, that was kind of a lie, but hey, can't blame a girl for trying! Update frequency will be variable and largely dependent on how busy my life is, but I cannot put into words just how significant your feedback and insight is. I can say for sure I wouldn't still be writing here if not for the excitement and encouragement my readers have passed along through their kind reviews.

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