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Darkened Skies	By : Cynthia Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 949 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters are the property of Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfiction, it’s for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter List
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"Darkened Skies"
Chapter one: prodigies
A Final Fantasy 7 AU fanfiction
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Author's note: This is a prelude story chronicling the events that took place before the disaster that started "Ashen Skies". Be aware that this story branches off from the original canon timeline due to some events occurring differently or not occurring at all. The main pairing in this story will be Angeal and Genesis.
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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.
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            His family was so broke this month that they could barely afford grain and oats. Sometimes, he would take throwaways from the market and cut out the bad parts so he and his mother could have something besides bread and porridge. He did chores for the more well off families too, like chopping wood, plowing fields or minding livestock—in exchange for a small amount of gil or a bag of food goods to take home. Sometimes, he'd even steal—which always hurt his pride as well as his heart. He never did it unless he couldn't earn food or gil and this month was one such time.
            Angeal stopped on the path outside of the estate and he looked up at the plump, tempting fruit hanging from the gracefully arching branches. He licked his lips and his stomach growled. He loved dumb apples...and he only needed a few until his mother's next benefit payment came in. He looked around guiltily, hating himself for what he was about to do. He took out a piece of paper and prepared to tack it to the nearest tree. He always left the apology note when he had to steal from his neighbors to eat, but he never signed them.
            After securing the note to the tree, Angeal started to climb the fence and reach for the nearest blue-violet apple.
            "Leaving another 'IOU'?"
            Angeal was so startled he nearly fell off the fence. He hopped down and turned to see a boy around his own age standing on the path near the road. He had collar-length auburn hair and blue-green eyes. He was smaller than Angeal, but most children in his age group were. Angeal recognized him. He was the son of the wealthy landowners Angeal had been ready to steal from, seconds ago. Other kids talked about what a snob he was. Last week, one of the larger boys in the village pushed him down in the mud and ran off, leaving the redhead to pick up his books alone. Angeal stopped and helped him, but he doubted this finely dressed, cultured boy would remember a hick like him.
            "I'm sorry," Angeal apologized evenly, flushing with embarrassment even as he refused to make excuses for himself. "I was hungry. I was going to pay your family back."
            The aqua gaze slid over him appraisingly and a haughty, amused smirk adorned the other boy's lips. "With what? Ink and paper?" He sounded more like a grownup to Angeal than a seven or eight year old boy.
            "With work," insisted Angeal, "or gil...whatever comes first. I always find a way to earn it."
            "Hmph. We have servants to do the work around the estate and your meager coin won't make a dent in the treasury." The redhead narrowed his eyes on him. "You're familiar. I think I've seen you around the village."
            "You have," answered Angeal with a nod. "You...uh...dropped your books on the ground last week and I picked one of them up for you."
            The other boy digested that information and then he scowled slightly. "I didn't 'drop' anything. That filthy bumpkin knocked them out of my hand."
            Angeal supposed that as a 'bumpkin' himself, he should have been offended by the contemptuous words. However, Rhapsodos hadn't actually called him any rude names yet and the boy from last week did bully him without provocation. Still, he felt he should remind this pampered prince he was talking to one of the poor folk he seemed to hold so much derision for.
            "Yeah, you've got to watch out for us bumpkins." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the fence. "We were all raised in barns."
            For a moment, the redhead looked gravely offended and Angeal was sure he was going to go running off to his parents to identify him as an apple thief. His expression changed after a few seconds and a hint of a smile curved his lips.
            "It takes some brains to use decent sarcasm. Maybe you aren't as dumb as the others."
            Again, Angeal tried to get offended, but even the common kids in town snubbed him because his family was so poor. It was hard to muster any umbrage on their behalf.
Angeal shrugged. "Maybe."
            The redhead seemed intrigued again. "Who are you?"
            "Angeal Hewley. I live on the second street by the market. What's your name?" He already knew the kid's surname but he had no idea what his given name was.
            "Genesis Rhapsodos," answered the redhead. He gestured at the estate up the winding path on the hill. "You already know where I live."
            Angeal shrugged. If it made the other boy feel important to point it out, so be it. "Well, I'm sorry about the apples. I won't take any more."
            "But what about the ones you've already taken before?" demanded Genesis when Angeal turned to leave. "You still owe us for those."
            Angeal bit his lip, troubled. He couldn't very well cough up what he'd already eaten weeks ago. "Well...what do you need done that the servants can't do for you? Like I said, I'm willing to work for what I've taken."
            Genesis appeared to think about it, but Angeal suspected by the sly look in his eyes that he already knew what he was going to ask for. He waited patiently while the redhead deliberately procrastinated. Finally, when it became apparent that he wasn't going to rattle him, Genesis made his demand.
            "You can be my personal servant."
            Angeal stared at him. "What?" He began to revise his opinion that the other boy talked like an adult.
            "That's the deal. You be my personal servant for...a month...and I won't tell my parents you've been stealing our dumb apples."
            While Angeal was generally a patient and practical boy, he did have some pride. "You have enough servants."
            "Do you want to be announced as a thief?"
            Angeal clenched his jaw before sighing. "What do you want me to do as your...servant?"
            Genesis smiled, looking pleased with himself. "You can carry my books when I go into town, clean my boots and recite plays with me."
            "Recite...plays?" Angeal could think of other things he'd rather do with his time. "Couldn't I just be your bodyguard instead? You know...keep other kids from picking on you like that boy did last week?"
            Genesis flushed indignantly and glared at him. "I don't need a bodyguard. I can take care of myself. That...bilge rat was just lucky I was more concerned with my books than putting him in his place!"
            ~Oh boy,~ thought Angeal, ~maybe I should just turn myself in.~

            He seriously considered it when he imagined himself spouting poetry and acting out plays with this odd rich boy, but a part of him was curious, too. It might be the closest thing to a friendship he could ever have in Banora.
            "Okay. You have a deal."
            Genesis looked at him with both eyebrows raised. "Oh? Even with the play recitals?"
            Angeal smiled impulsively, finding the redhead's surprised expression amusing. "Yes, if that's what it's going to take."
            Genesis regarded him a bit warily, as if suspecting him of teasing. "Okay, then. Uh...meet me here tomorrow, as soon as you get out of school."
            Angeal nodded. "Where do you go to school at? I never see you at the building."
            "I'm home schooled," answered Genesis.
            The answer didn't surprise Angeal. Lots of the rich kids in town were schooled by tutors at home. "See you tomorrow, Genesis."
            As he turned to leave for the second time, Genesis stopped him again. Angeal rolled his eyes a little before turning to face the other boy once more. A large, ripe dumb apple was sailing through the air toward him in an arch. Angeal quickly caught it, his reflexes reacting without conscious effort. He looked from the fruit in his hands to the other boy, puzzled.
            "I have to keep my servant fed," explained Genesis with a little smile. There was even a playful twinkle in his eyes. "How can you carry my things if you're weak with hunger? I'll see you tomorrow, Hewley."
            Angeal smiled hesitantly back. Something in the other boy's eyes and actions led him to think he was trying to be nice, in his own way. "Thanks."
            He ate the apple on his way home and every day for the next month, he met up with Genesis as agreed and he did every mundane, silly or even annoying thing the redhead asked of him. Sometimes, he thought Genesis was purposely trying to see how far he could push him before he snapped. Angeal stoically put up with it all because he found Genesis interesting and funny, even if he was a snob. He discovered they both liked swordplay and even after his "indentured time" was up, he and Genesis met every day to spar, play and trade ideas.
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            Angeal never again stole a dumb apple from the Rhapsodos property and Genesis always brought one to share with him when they got together. Before either of them knew it, they became fast friends—despite being polar opposites. They grew from boys to men together and when the time came, they left Banora to join SOLDIER, at the invitation of ShinRa Inc. Little did they know, their fluke friendship couldn't have been more convenient for the people keeping tabs on them.
            Sixteen years after that first fateful meeting in front of the Rhapsodos estate, Genesis went missing and he took with him several 2nd and 3rd class SOLDIER operatives. He was pronounced a deserter and his only two friends, Angeal and Sephiroth, refused to believe it until they had proof for themselves. Eventually, a lead was confirmed and Angeal got the opportunity to find his old friend and discover what really happened.
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            Angeal was roused from dreams of his childhood by Lazard's call. The director asked him to come to his office immediately, to discuss a security matter. Not one to dawdle when given a direct order, Angeal changed into his uniform immediately and went to Lazard's office. The blond director appeared to be deep in thought when Angeal walked in. He was sitting at his desk and looking at something he'd brought up on his data screen. He looked up at the tall Soldier and told him something that gave him hope.
"We think we have a location on Genesis."
            Angeal's heart lurched in his chest upon hearing those words. He moved around behind Lazard's desk to look over the director's shoulder at the data screen. "Where?"
            Lazard tapped some info into the computer and brought up a map on the screen. "There have been sightings reported from three different areas, all around Wutai. Our initial suspicions were correct. He's simply avoided detection from the search teams sent there."
            "Why would he stay near Wutai, knowing he's being searched for?" Angeal murmured the question as much to himself as to the Director.
            "Perhaps he wants to be seen," mused Lazard. "Rhapsodos was ever the arrogant Soldier."
            Angeal gave the director a less-than-friendly look, though he couldn't deny his assertion that Genesis was indeed arrogant. He wasn't so narcissistic that he would risk capture just to gloat over his successful "theft" of several 2nd and 3rd class Soldiers, however. There was more to his disappearance than a snap decision to go AWOL, Angeal was certain of it. He looked at Lazard and he wondered if the man knew more than he was letting on. Someone was hiding something, or there was more happening beneath the surface than anyone could guess.
            "He's after something," Angeal said after a moment's thought. It made sense to him and he nodded slowly, looking at the sighting marks on the screen. "These are all on the outskirts of the main city. Where was Sephiroth stationed, when he was sent on his last Wutai mission?"
            "To the same area," answered Lazard. "But he was on a separate mission. He was the one to report it when Genesis and his group failed to rendezvous with him at the appointed time."
            Angeal nodded, hardly surprised that there was no help from that quarter. Even on his best days, Sephiroth was reclusive and he rarely shared information unless specifically asked or ordered to. They hadn't had the chance to speak since Genesis went missing and like Angeal, Sephiroth was doing everything possible to keep himself busy while the search was on. It was just easier, that way. It made them both feel less helpless.
            "Have you contacted Sephiroth about these sightings?"
            Lazard shook his head. "No, but he's been sent the information. He's already on his way to Wutai on a mission that will hopefully help end this war, if he succeeds. I would like you to front the investigation on Genesis, there. As his closest friend, I think you may have a better chance of finding out what's really going on than anyone. I'll be coming along for evaluative purposes and you can choose an operative of your choice as your mission partner."
            Angeal could only think of one other person besides his fellow officers that he would want at his side. "Then I'll bring Zackary Fair, a 2nd I've been grooming for officer status. He's been rising through the ranks fast and his skills are unmatched by anyone else in his class."
            Lazard removed his wire-rimmed glasses and wiped off the lenses. "You sound very impressed with him, Sergeant Hewley. Do you think he's 1st material?"
            "Absolutely." Angeal nodded. "In fact, I'd like to recommend him for 1st, should he do well on this mission."
            "I'll take that into consideration."
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            Zack was, of course, thrilled to hear the news that he would be joining Angeal on the mission to Wutai. He was even happier to learn that his mentor had recommended him for a promotion in the ranks. Angeal had to push the enthusiastic young man away when Zack impulsively hugged him and blurted: "I love you man!" after getting the news. The slightly hurt look Zack gave him made Angeal feel like he'd kicked a puppy. When they were alone in the locker room retrieving their gear, Angeal took a moment to try and explain why he was so on edge.
            "This is serious, Zack," admonished Angeal. He checked his guns and ammo before securing them. While the sword was the signature weapon of a SOLDIER operative, one never could tell when firearms might become a necessary alternative.
"Not only could this mission potentially help end the war with Wutai, but it may clear the name of someone important to me. Do you understand?" Angeal looked at his protégé searchingly, holding his eyes.
            Zack calmed down and he set his broadsword down on the bench. He nodded soberly at Angeal, his amethyst gaze curious and sympathetic.   He'd only met Genesis in passing so far, but he was aware that the redhead was Angeal's friend. "I know you guys are tight and you've been worried about him, Ange. I've got your back, whatever happens."
            Angeal smiled at him fondly and he indulged in a moment of brotherly affection, reaching out to ruffle Zack's fluffy raven hair. "Just remember to listen to orders, Zack. I don't want to worry about you getting reckless on me."
            Zack nodded. "Sure thing."
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            Things did not go well with the mission. Wutai soldiers jumped them on their way to the rendezvous point and Angeal shouted for Zack to get Lazard to safety, while he held them off. Zack started to argue with him but Angeal cast a furious look of warning at him and reminded him of his promise to obey orders.
            "Your priority is to protect the director from attack! Get out of here now, Zack! I'll be fine!"
            The younger operative gave him one last, worried look before taking Lazard by the arm and ushering him off the road, into the bushes. Angeal raised his broadsword just in time as the first enemy got in range and opened fire on him. He deflected the bullets with practiced skill; his blade throwing sparks as the slugs ricocheted off it. The enhanced steel was strong enough to take the ringing hits without breaking and Angeal closed in on his first target quickly, still deflecting the bullets meant to tear into his flesh. He felt a slug hit the protective body armor around his torso and he grunted as it absorbed the impact. Two of the other Wutai troops had come into range and they were adding their efforts to the first.
            Angeal didn't spout off smart-ass comments as he fought, as Zack would have. He didn't perform fancy flurries like Genesis, nor did he slice things with razor-like precision like Sephiroth. Angeal's style was more like a freight train coming out of nowhere. He didn't speak as he fought—he only issued a grunt here and there. He struck with brutal force and his opponents rarely recovered from the first hit in time to retaliate before they were dispatched.
            There was an audible crunch of something internal breaking as Angeal slammed into the first trooper with his shoulder. He struck out with his sword at the same time, cutting a broad gash in the second target's armor and drawing a spray of blood. His fist punched out at the third, hard enough to crack the protective mask connected to his helmet and send him staggering.
            Though Angeal wasn't as fast as his associate operatives, the power of his attack made up for it and it all happened in only three seconds. He drove his broadsword into the first victim's chest just as the other five closed in. Angeal leaped into the air to avoid an explosive lobbed at him and he felt something strange. There was an odd ache around his right shoulder blade, and he wondered if he'd been hit without realizing it. He had no time to check, because two of his enemies threw nets at him the minute he touched down again and he was forced to roll away.
He sprung to his feet quickly after avoiding capture and he threw his sword abruptly at the nearest troop. As it spun end-over-end through the air at its target, Angeal drew both his guns from the holsters at his thighs and he fired several rounds at the troopers on either side of the initial target. Two troopers went down with holes in their throats, seconds before a third was literally skewered to the tree behind him by the blade of Angeal's spinning sword.
Angeal didn't pause. He fired several rounds to force the rest of his opponents to seek cover and he closed in on the nearest ones as quickly as possible. He was out of ammo by the time he reached the first, but he used the hapless trooper as a weapon to make up for it. He picked the man up bodily and hurled his struggling form directly into the ranks of his remaining fellows. While they tried to sort out the tangle of limbs, Angeal went for his sword—still impaled in its victim. A gun fired just as his hand was about to close over the hilt and he was forced to withdraw it and dodge.
Now the only weapons he had immediately available were his own body and his beloved family heirloom, the Buster Sword. Angeal sighed at the thought of subjecting the big sword to possible wear and tear, but situations like this warranted its use. He drew the huge, heavy-bladed sword and he tore into his enemies, taking a couple of kicks and punches in the process. His weapon flashed in the moonlight as he hacked with it, smashing ribs more often than cutting flesh, due to the nature of the Buster Sword. Genesis used to call it a battering ram.
Finally, Angeal stood alone and unchallenged, standing over a group of scattered bodies. He caught his breath and once he was sure no more enemies were coming, he took a quick moment to wipe his Buster Sword off with the polishing cloth he had rolled up in one of his pant pockets. After giving the blade a quick wipe-down and inspection, he replaced it in its holder at his back and he started to retrieve his other sword. As he stepped over one of the still bodies, he noticed that the helmet was half off and something about the shape of the man's exposed jaw and mouth gave him pause.
Angeal squatted down beside the trooper with a frown, feeling an odd sense of foreboding. He lifted the helmet the rest of the way off and his eyes widened when he saw the face of his missing friend, void of expression in death.
"Gaia...what have I done?"
Angeal immediately gathered the man into his arms, his rational mind deserting him in the face of shock, grief and horror. "Genesis...how...why?"
His vision swam with tears as Angeal touched the still, sculpted features of the cocky, arrogant poet he'd grown up with. He hardly noticed the returning ache in his shoulder; all he could think of was that he'd just killed the man that he'd come there to try and protect in the first place. The confusion and pain he felt overcame his common sense—otherwise he might have questioned why Genesis would have gone through that entire fight without speaking to him...even to taunt him. He might have wondered why his friend would have joined Wutai troops and attacked him to begin with. Most of all, he might have found it curious that he could have so easily beaten Genesis Rhapsodos in a fight, without the man even raising a blade against him.
            It was an even bigger shock to his senses when he heard the voice of the man he'd just killed speak to him from the path up ahead of him.
            "I never tire of seeing you fight, old friend. I only wish I had arrived to watch it from the beginning."
            Angeal looked up from the body he held and stared openly at the speaker—who he hadn't heard approach. Clad in his signature red and black leather ensemble, Genesis Rhapsodos stood on the gravel road before Angeal. His red-bladed sword was naked in his right hand and the tip pointed down in a neutral manner. The flash of Mako in his aqua eyes and the crooked little smirk on his face gave every indication that it was in fact Genesis.
            "I would have lent you a hand," Genesis went on, walking slowly over the bodies with that smirk still on his face, "but I knew you could deal with these on your own."
            Angeal looked down at the body he held again and he gave a start when he saw that the lock of hair escaping from beneath the helmet was ashen gray. He made himself gently push one of the eyelids up so that he could look at the color of the eyes. Even in death, they should have retained a subtle glow from the Mako—but these were dull as any common human eyes.
            Genesis stopped before Angeal and knelt, speaking softly to him. "It's not me, Angeal. You can stop looking so…guilty."
            Angeal gently laid the body on the ground and shut the eyes again before lifting his gaze to stare at his friend, who looked so much like a ghost to him in the pale moonlight. "I thought I'd killed you."
            Genesis gave a nod and glanced down at the body with flashing, aqua eyes. "I can see that." He looked at the big man again and tilted his head a bit, his brows furrowing. "Although I must admit, I'm a little insulted that you'd believe I would go down so easily. It's as if you don't know me at all."
            "Genesis," Angeal's voice cracked and he swallowed and tried again. "What's going on? Why does this man look like you and what have you done with the other Soldiers?"
            "You're looking at the other Soldiers, right now," answered Genesis with a general nod at the carnage. "As for why they look like me—"
            "Wait…'they'?" Angeal felt like he was losing his mind.
            "I gather you haven't checked under the hood of these other vehicles," Genesis said dryly. "Go ahead, Hewley."
            Hearing the dead men referred to as "vehicles" was chilling enough in itself, but the eager look in Gen's eyes and the tense stance was even more disturbing. Something was terribly wrong with the redhead and because he needed to find out what, Angeal did as advised and checked the identities of the other men.
            Every single one of them looked like a copy of Genesis, in the face. They had been easily mistaken for Wutai troops due to their body armor, but Angeal was able to locate ID tags tucked into the body armor of one of them and he recognized the SOLDIER emblem and name.
            "Private Riley," Angeal read aloud, frowning. He remembered a blond recruit by that name—which looked nothing like Genesis. He looked up at the man who had once been his friend and he slowly got to his feet, wondering if he would have to draw raise his weapon against him. The thought of fighting his friend for real made him sick to his stomach.
            "How did this happen, Genesis?" Angeal's expression was grim and his tone was flat. "What did you do?"
            Genesis' cold expression faltered for a moment, revealing bitterness and anger. "This happened because they did it to them too. These men underwent some of the same procedures that they did on you, Sephiroth and I, Angeal. I was able to alter them because…because they were already infected. This thing in me…wants to multiply. It's in you, as well."
            Angeal knew he was staring at his friend like he was stark, raving mad, but he couldn't quite conceal his concern and doubt. He tried to keep his voice calm and he attempted to reason with Genesis, fearing something had been done to him that made him delusional. "What 'thing' are you talking about, Genesis? A virus? Are you saying the organization infected us with something during our Mako treatments?"
            Genesis gave him a tragic little smile, his face softening slightly. "One could never accuse you of being overly observant, Angeal, but you have a way of stumbling onto the truth without even trying. Yes, they put a virus into us. They did it to Sephiroth, too. Our whole lives, we've been nothing but experiments…monsters. They wanted to re-create Minerva's chosen ones, but…"
            Genesis touched his forehead as if pained by a headache, and then he made an out-sweeping, graceful gesture with his left arm. Feathery blackness erupted out from behind Genesis, originating from somewhere around his left shoulder. Angeal stared in bewilderment at the giant, sweeping raven's wing that spread gracefully, spanning several feet as it stretched out.
            "They created monsters," finished Genesis softly, opening his eyes to look at Angeal. Seeing how stunned he was, the redhead approached him. Angeal tore his eyes off the single, perfect wing and looked at his friend's face as Genesis stopped before him.
            "This…is going to happen to Sephiroth and I too?" Angeal asked, trying to understand and unable to deny what his own eyes were seeing.
            "Most likely," answered Genesis, "although, I can't be sure about Sephiroth. You and I were deemed failures and cast away. They used us and discarded us. They handed me over to strangers and they left you and your mother to fend for yourselves. We were nothing but throwaways to them…unlike their precious General."
            "Wait," pleaded Angeal. "I don't understand."
            "You will," promised Genesis. He pulled something out from the hidden folds of his jacket, and a first Angeal thought it was his most prized book: his copy of "Loveless". Instead, it was a bundle of what appeared to be some kind of documents, bound together in a leather case.
            "The answers are all here," Genesis told him, displaying the paperwork to Angeal before replacing it in the inner pocket of his coat.
            "And how did you get them? What's this about 'degeneration'?"
            Genesis looked away, his gaze going to one of the gray-haired copies lying on the path. "That day I got nicked when the three of us sparred," he explained, "the wound wouldn't heal completely. It kept getting worse and though it doesn't hurt or bleed, I can feel it draining the life from me. Sephiroth wasn't a suitable donor because his cellular makeup is different from you and I."
            "What about me, then?" Angeal pressed, forgetting his own potential danger in his concern for Genesis. "Did my donation do anything for you?"
            "No." Some of the madness faded from Genesis' eyes and a bit of warmth briefly sparked in them. "Your cells are just as faulty as mine. It did as much good as trying to put out a lit match with another lit match. We're going to deteriorate eventually, Angeal. Just like these poor bastards." He made a sweeping gesture at the bodies. "I sent them out to take care of who was tracking me. If I'd known it was you, I would have chosen a different path."
            Angeal's expression hardened. He still didn't comprehend everything his friend was telling him, but he did understand that Genesis had somehow controlled the hapless Soldiers he'd taken with him and sentenced them to death in the process.
            "You did this to them. Why? Just to see if you could?" Angeal's voice rose. "You murdered your fellow Soldiers and you made me your accomplice by sending them after us! Tell me why, Genesis!"
            "They were already dead!" Genesis yelled the explanation back at him, his features twisting into a rage. "These men have been infused with the same cells they put into us. Someone has been fucking around with SOLDIER candidates, keeping it off record. These men were doomed before I did a thing. I just enhanced them with my cells, to give them the power to strike back at them."
            "Who?" growled Angeal. "Who were they supposed to strike back at?"
            "ShinRa, of course! Do I have to spell it out for you?"
            "In this case, you might!"
            Genesis took a deep breath before exhaling again and speaking with forced calm. "The biological research department. Hojo and four other scientists started a project called 'Jenova'. You, Sephiroth and I were all products of this experiment. Three of the other scientists have been missing for years, so that leaves only Hojo and Professor Hollander…who happens to be your biological father."
            Angeal shook his head and frowned deeply at Genesis. His mother told him that his father was a poor fisherman who…died at sea…
            "I can tell you're questioning whatever anecdotal story your mother fed to you about your origins," Genesis guessed. "I have the proof, Hewley. You have to come with me. Hollander has promised a cure, but we need to build an army and take down ShinRa for him to access the resources he needs."
            "This is madness," Angeal murmured. "I…need to think."
            Genesis stepped closer to him, again capturing his gaze. His expression was earnest…seductive. "You feel it too, don't you?" whispered Genesis. "The cells are waking up inside of you."
One of Angeal's most closely guarded secrets was how often he fantasized about Genesis standing so close to him, speaking in a seductive voice with his eyes full of invitation and intensity. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, though. Despite how wrong the situation was, Angeal felt a shiver race through him, prompted as much by Gen's strange words as by the feel of his breath caressing his jaw. That peculiar ache bothered his right shoulder again and he rotated it uncomfortably. Genesis' mouth was so close…all he had to do was lower his head and lean in—
Thoughts of how inappropriate his urges were abruptly ceased as a burst of pain flared through his shoulder, followed immediately by the unmistakable sound of rending cloth. One of the buckles on his body armor popped open as something grew out of his back. Angeal cried out in pain and confusion, and Genesis supported him to keep him from falling to the ground.
"I…had almost hoped I was wrong," whispered Genesis when Angeal righted himself. The smaller man pulled away from him and stepped back, looking him over with curious, regretful eyes. He said something then that Angeal had only heard from his mouth two or three times since first meeting him. "I'm sorry, Angeal."
Still dazed and disoriented, Angeal gingerly felt along his back as best he could, trying to determine what he'd grown. "Tell me what it is, Genesis," he demanded hoarsely. "Tell me what I've grown! A wing, like yours?"
"A wing, yes," answered Genesis, looking him over with a touch of awe on his face. "Two, actually. Not like mine, though. You have a large one and a smaller one beneath it…both white."
Angeal tried to twist around to see it, working muscles he wasn't accustomed to as it stretched out and flapped.
"Come with me, Angeal," urged Genesis. "This is proof that you'll suffer the same fate as me, if we don't find a cure."
Torn between loyalty to his friend, his organization and his honor, Angeal shook his head. "I can't. I won't fight my allies, Genesis. I—"
"Angeal?" A young man's voice called out from the separate path leading into the woods. "I'm coming, man! I've got your back!"
"Shit," Genesis snapped, giving Angeal a glare. "You brought the puppy."
"Don't start anything with Zack," warned Angeal. "He doesn't know anything about this."
Genesis briefly looked conflicted, his gaze flicking to the sky visible through the trees' canopy. "Don't make me fight you, Angeal. This has to be done."
"I don't want to fight you either," replied Angeal, "but I won't allow you to harm my student. You can't expect me to just turn on everyone, Genesis!"
Genesis hesitated, glancing at the other path as Zack's calls came closer. He looked at Angeal and his inner struggle was visible in his eyes. "Good luck then. If you change your mind, I'm confident you'll know where to seek me out."
With that said, Genesis spread his single black wing, looked up at the sky and launched himself into the air. Angeal watched as he ascended to above the canopy and flew away. He flexed his own mutations, wondering how it was possible for anyone to fly with a wing or even two on only one side. Genesis evidently had no problem with it.
He felt the warning signs of shock and he focused inwardly, practicing a quick meditation exercise for calm. He couldn't afford to panic or go into a rage. He needed answers…he needed to think!
"Angeal!"
The tall Soldier looked in the direction the voice was coming from. Zack would arrive on the scene at any moment. Sephiroth was due to arrive for the appointed rendezvous as well. Angeal didn't know what to do, but he knew that he couldn't let Zack or Sephiroth to see him in this condition. He couldn't let Genesis go off on his own, either. Not that Angeal was in an ideal state of mind himself right now, but Gen was determined to start a war and apparently, Hollander was involved in it.
Angeal made the only choice he could at the moment; he dove into the bushes and ran away from the path, into the woods. His stealth training availed him little as his cumbersome new wing crashed against the underbrush that he tried to navigate. The foremost thing on his mind was to get away from his allies as quickly as possible. He had the good sense to pause, take his cellphone out and smash it to bits against a rock before moving on. He kept his heading in the general direction he'd seen Genesis fly, his mind drawing a map for him of the landscape.
~************************************~

            "Angeal! I'm here to—"
            Zack charged onto the scene and nearly tripped over one of the scattered bodies.
            "—Help," he finished, looking around in bewilderment. He recognized Angeal's handiwork when he saw it, but there was no sign of the big man anywhere.
Zack kept his sword ready and a wary eye out on the shadows as he stepped over the sprawled victims.   He moved among them with his heart in his throat, half-expecting to find his mentor lying somewhere amongst them. Still suffering problems with keeping his voice down and his impulses under control, Zack started yelling for Angeal again.
"Ange, if you're out there, say something! If you're hurt I can—mmph!"
A black-gloved hand clamped down over Zack's mouth, interrupting his final sentence. He smelled leather and musk and he caught a glimpse of silvery hair dropping over his arm before he twisted in his ambusher's hold and the man abruptly let go of him, leaving him to stumble. Zack caught his balance and turned to face the threat, only to find himself staring at the silver-haired general of SOLDIER.
"Your shouting is going to attract unwanted attention," said the general.
"Sephiroth," Zack gasped, affectively awed. He'd seen him around before, but never this close. Sephiroth's impossibly long, silver hair stirred in the wind and he watched Zack with expressionless, serpentine eyes.
"Angeal was here," Zack said, gathering his wits. "We got jumped and he told me to get the director to safety while he held them off."
"So he did," replied Sephiroth in a resonant murmur. His startling emerald gaze went to the bodies all around them, doing a quick count. "Is Director Lazard safe?"
Zack nodded. "Yeah, he's back at the chopper under guard. I came back to help Angeal, but I can't find him anywhere."
Sephiroth looked down at one of the bodies and he delicately moved its broken helmet aside with the long, thin blade of his masamune. He frowned at the face staring blankly up at him and he gestured Zack closer.   Wary but curious, Zack relaxed his stance and joined Sephiroth's side.
"That's…Genesis!"
Sephiroth shook his head. "No, it isn't. This is a copy. The real Genesis is still at large."
Zack stared at him and then he looked around at the rest of the bodies. "A copy? Like a clone?"
"Yes. All of them are." Sephiroth checked to be sure and he nodded, his angelic countenance tense and grim.
"What's going on?" demanded Zack.   "We have to find Angeal!"
Sephiroth mused over one of the copies before kneeling and checking the tags around its throat. He pulled them free and clenched them in his hand, narrowing his eyes. "I suspect Angeal has gone AWOL too."
~**********************************~

            Zack vehemently denied that Angeal could ever be a deserter or a traitor, but he couldn't be reached on his cell and all evidence pointed to desertion thus far…just like Genesis. The young Soldier tried hard to keep his mind off his missing mentor or the strange Genesis copies he'd seen. The department was keeping everything hush-hush and Sephiroth was about as talkative as a corpse when Zack tried to engage in conversation about it with him. Flirting with girls helped, but all the pleasant female company in the world couldn't make him forget his worry for Angeal or his nagging curiosity.
            Something was definitely going on, and he wasn't the only one trying to work out what that could be. His friend Kunsel had a freakish knack for getting information without anyone noticing. How he did it, Zack could never be sure, but he always found something useful. After a couple of weeks, Kunsel sent Zack a text stating that he might have found something, but he wasn't sure what.
            Zack read the text message and he frowned. "Who the hell is 'Jenova'?"
~*******************************~

-To be continued
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Darkened Skies