Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy seven. Enough said.

A/N: I got this idea suddenly in my head while playing dirge of Cerberus then looking through my ff7 pictures. And then it got supplemented by my watching Advent Children Complete. If you can watch it, do so. It's awesome.

Also: Happy Birthday Genesis! I found somewhere that Mr. Rhapsodos' birthday is September 21st so that's what I'm sticking to.

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Genesis perched on top of what was left of the Shin-ra tower in the center of the Midgar ruins. After he had been released from his self-imprisonment due to Omega's defeat, Genesis had escaped his cavern and had settled in Edge, disguising his noticeable accent and speech with one that he had adapted from other residents of Edge. As for his appearance, he took to wearing a large dark coat and a hat to hide his cinnamon colored hair. Lucky for him, his hat's brim cast enough of a shadow to hide Mako's tell tale glimmer in his eyes.

When he could, he slipped away to Midgar and made his way through the rubble, walking to clear his thoughts. The citizens of Edge were warned against entering Midgar for fear of monster attacks and Mako radiation. Genesis, however, was a born and raised ex-SOLDIER. He could easily stand the Mako, and the monsters of Midgar did not frighten him in the least. If anything it gave him practice after having sealed himself away for what seemed like forever, which was probably only five years. Besides, with his wing he knew he fit right in with the monsters, even if he knew he wasn't one. Being in Midgar was also the only time he would dress in his normal red leather. He missed wearing it in public, but he didn't wish to be recognized…not yet.

Letting his thoughts drift back to the present, Genesis looked out over the ruins of the city from his seat on the highest perch of the ruins. It was sad, but he could still picture the broken and destroyed buildings how they were in their glory…before he left Midgar. Feeling the breeze on his face, Genesis stretched his wing and stood. It was a good day for a flight. He'd do that before donning his disguise and returning to his current home.

Taking off, Genesis circled the city once before deciding to fly over the wasteland in a lazy, ever widening spiral, still circling Midgar. He was looking around the ground on his fifth circuit when a faint glint of metal caught his eye. Flaring his wing he banked and headed to the cliff where he had spotted the glint. Landing with his back to Midgar, Genesis folded his wing and hid it away once more before turning to examine what had caught his attention. It was a rusty sword sticking out of the ground. Stepping closer, Genesis let out a little cry of dismay upon recognizing the sword.

It was the Buster Sword…his best friend's pride and joy. Only, it was chipped, dulled and rusted…everything that Angeal tried so hard to prevent happening. Reaching out to touch it, Genesis hoped that it wasn't the Buster Sword…that his mind was playing tricks on him. However, when his gloved hand made contact with the wide sword, he knew that this was indeed Angeal's sword. Falling to his hands and knees in front of the sword, Genesis closed his eyes, feeling grief well up inside him. He knew Angeal had been dead nearly ten years already…but seeing his sword all rusted and shabby made it hit home for Genesis.

"My friend…the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains…The arrow has left the bow of the goddess. My soul, corrupted by vengeance…Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey…In my own salvation…And your eternal slumber," Genesis choked out, recalling lines from Loveless, mildly surprised he remembered it after so long of not reading the poem. It was amazing how well that passage fit right now. Hands clenched suddenly in the dirt as rage overcame the redhead. Zack had the Buster Sword last as far as he knew. How dare the puppy let his mentor's sword go to rust!

Suddenly, Genesis tensed as he heard a motor coming up behind him. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts again, he hadn't heard the purr of a motorcycle's engine approaching. Bad soldier, no cookie. Staying still, he remained where he was, listening to the bike come to a stop and then turn off before footsteps started approaching him. "Who are you?" asked a soft voice. Obviously the male who interrupted Genesis' thoughts was trying not to startle Genesis too badly.

Genesis gave a small humorless laugh as he stood and turned to glance at the male behind him. A blonde…shorter than himself but had a confidence in his Mako-glimmering eyes that made up for his height. "Who I am is none of your concern," Genesis told him haughtily before reaching behind him for the hilt of the Buster Sword. Feeling the hilt, Genesis turned for better leverage and started to pull it from the ground.

"What are you doing! That's Zack's sword!" Cloud exclaimed, moving to stop Genesis. He had only taken a step before he stopped, a crimson rapier at his throat.

"Zack's sword?!" Genesis snapped, grip tightening on his rapier, "This is not Zackary Fair's sword! It was his mentor's who actually cared for the blade properly!"

Suddenly Cloud understood. He knew he had recognized this man from somewhere, and it just clicked. He had seen this man in Modeoheim before he had become a cadet, and had seen him a few times during his Mako-poisoning haze. Not to mention he used to have posters of him and Sephiroth while he had been growing up in Nibelheim. "I know who you are! You're soldier first-class Genesis Rhapsodos!"

Genesis stiffened as he recognized the blonde now. Cloud Strife, tag along to Zack Fair and a former target of his when he had been trying to get Jenova cells to stop his degradation. "It matters not if you recognize me or vice versa, Strife. I need to speak with Zack. And obviously you know where he is."

Cloud felt slightly flattered that one of his idols, …well, the one that didn't make the last few years of his life a living hell, actually knew his name, but still he managed to strike a sensitive subject. "You can't talk to Zack…he died on this very spot protecting me from Shin-ra troops," he answered, hoping that Genesis would lower his sword.

Instead of lowering it, Genesis moved his sword so that the tip was resting right up against Cloud's throat, eyes narrowing in the process. "So if he died, then logic would say that he entrusted this sword to you, correct?" When Cloud nodded slightly, Genesis' eyes narrowed further. "Fine way to take care of it!" Genesis drew his arm back slightly to stab at Cloud, but suddenly the blonde wasn't in range anymore. He had leaped backwards towards his motorcycle and pressing a button, made the sides pop out to reveal six swords.

Cloud grabbed two of the swords and rushed at Genesis. All Genesis had managed to do was piss him off. Granted he probably could have taken better care of it, but he had thought it had made better sense to place it on the cliff that Zack had died on as a marker. Swinging at Genesis, Cloud cursed as Genesis easily zipped away and parried his slashes. Genesis was faster than he thought. No matter, Cloud could defeat Sephiroth and to his knowledge, Genesis had never bested Sephiroth so his chances of success were good.

Their fight took them all over the surrounding area. The wastelands were a good place for a cat and mouse fight. Maybe only Midgar topped it, but that was because Midgar had more structures to play with. Though they were out away from civilization, they were unaware that there was an audience.

The audience, if two people could be called that, watched the fight with interest. If one were to look at the Buster Sword at a side glance, one would see two corporeal forms near it, one standing with his arms crossed comfortably, and the other sitting on the ground, back against the sword. "Cloud has gotten really strong…its quite surprising," the one sitting on the ground remarked.

His companion chuckled softly. "You saw he had promise. You yourself trained him for a time. Not to mention that somehow with his Mako poisoning, he absorbed your memories which allowed him to excel at fighting, Zack. Cloud improved greatly with your experience under his belt."

Zack smiled softly. "Yeah he beat Seph…something you and Genesis never succeeded at…and you two always double-teamed him!"

"Only for a little bit, puppy. Genesis would usually tell me to stay back after a few minutes, that he wanted to fight Seph on his own. Defeating Sephiroth was always a goal of his, but he never seemed to gain the upper hand on Sephiroth," Angeal replied before chuckling, "It became quite a sore subject."

Zack playfully scowled at his nickname. Looking back at the battle, he winced when Genesis' sword managed to slice open Cloud's shoulder when the blonde lost his footing for a moment. "So…are we going to intervene?"

Angeal nodded, grimacing when Cloud returned the favor of being sliced but to Genesis' leg. "Yes. If we don't, Gen will ignore his wound and continue to fight. Usually that ends up in serious injury. Cloud doesn't look well off either. He's having trouble holding up his sword."

"Let's go."

Genesis panted slightly, facing Cloud from across a decent sized span of dirt. Both were hurt, Genesis favoring his left leg, Cloud trying to keep the weight of his sword from affecting his left shoulder. "I must admit, strife, that you're tougher than I expected," Genesis started, slinking into a stance that would enable him to push off with his right leg and speed towards Cloud. Cloud, ever wary, kept his own stance. "However…You're still merely a cadet!" Brandishing his sword, Genesis sprung forward, using his left leg to give him more propulsion. Cloud growled and sprung forward as well, intent on meeting Genesis head on.

Before the two could meet however, they both staggered as their surroundings faded into white nothingness. Cloud felt hands on his shoulders, holding him back but careful of the wound. Struggling for a second, Cloud tested the strength of the hold before relaxing and lowering his sword. The presence in the area was comforting. It usually was when he found himself in this realm.

Genesis, however, thrashed against the hold on his right wrist, his arm held firmly in its attacking position from where Genesis had been snagged. "Stop it, Genesis," came a firm voice from behind him, causing him to tense up and freeze in surprise.

"…Angeal?" Genesis whispered, hardly daring to hope that he wasn't hearing things. The force on his wrist, which he could now identify as a large hand, relaxed its hold, allowing Genesis to lower his arm.

"Yes, it's me," Angeal replied, watching as some tension left the redhead's shoulders.

"Are you ok Cloud?" Zack wondered softly from behind his friend.

"I'll be fine," Cloud assured, feeling Zack's presence move around to in front of him. Both combatants watched in awe as Angeal and Zack appeared between them, both looking concerned.

"You two need to stop this fight," Angeal told them, frowning at Genesis slightly.

"He started it," Cloud muttered, causing Zack to snicker behind his hand, stopping though when Angeal shot the spiky haired males an exasperated look before focusing on Genesis.

Genesis shifted uncomfortably under Angeal's gaze. He hadn't had that gently reprimanding look focused on him for almost a decade…it was safe to assume that he was no longer immune to it. "Have you seen the sorry state of the Buster Sword, 'geal? One would think that you'd be more upset about it than me," came the defending whine. The only response/change in Angeal was a raising of his eyebrow.

"Looks like you aren't immune to the gaze anymore, Gen," came a soft chuckle off to Genesis' right. Turning, Genesis could make out an off white shape that gradually gained color until Sephiroth was standing next to him.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud hissed, eyes narrowing and his whole body tensing up, to which Zack laid a hand on Cloud's good shoulder with a muttered 'easy spiky…'

Green, cat-like eyes slid over to gaze at Cloud. "Cloud. Normally I would be delighted to see you since that usually means a fight, but I'm not here for you. So kindly butt out," Sephiroth drawled slightly before looking back at Genesis, thus ignoring the indignant sound that Cloud released.

"Gen, you need to let go of this grief and anger…it'll do you no good," Sephiroth told his still-living friend, watching the myriad of emotions swirl in Genesis' troubled eyes. The normally clear aqua was clouded by confusion and sadness.

"But…I…"

"We know it's not easy for you anymore, that you have no one alive to fall back on," here Angeal looked over at Zack and both nodded, making a decision. "I've known you since we were little. You always needed something or someone familiar to use as assurance. I will continue to watch you, as will Seph, but just so you have your physical anchor, I offer you the Buster Sword. You've seen me take care of it numerous times, I'm confident that you will bring it back to how it used to be," he told Genesis gently.

Genesis struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. "I will…I promise I'll care for it with the honor it deserves," he pledged.

"Good. Now don't be sad anymore," Seph told him, reaching up to wipe a stray tear from Genesis' eye, "We'll all be together again in the lifestream in due time."

Genesis offered a shaky smile and nodded. Slowly, the three spirits started to fade until he and Cloud found themselves back on the cliff that held the Buster Sword. Once Genesis regained his bearings, he turned and walked to the Buster Sword and pulled it from the ground.

"Genesis?" he heard Cloud ask. Once Genesis turned to regard Cloud, the blonde spoke again. "Look, I…I want to say that I'm sorry for not taking better care of the Buster Sword. I knew how much it meant to Zack, but for some reason I didn't treat the sword better," he apologized, putting his swords away before settling on Fenrir. "I'd like to help you restore the Buster Sword as an apology. Come to seventh heaven in Edge and ask for me. I'll be waiting for you.

Genesis gave a nod and Cloud roared off. Letting his rapier disappear, Genesis held tight to the Buster Sword and took off, flying back to where he had left his disguise, glancing back once at the site of the battle. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a shimmering figure standing on the cliff watching him go.

…

Later that evening at 7th heaven, Tifa was tending bar and the bar was quite packed so it was easy to miss a man enter the bar. The man was dressed in an ankle length trench coat and a brimmed hat with a wrapped bundle on his back. Looking around as he walked, the figure approached Tifa at the bar. "Excuse me miss, but I am looking for Cloud Strife," Genesis said, disguising his accent.

Tifa blinked in surprise. "May I ask who is looking for him?" she asked warily.

"You may. Tell him Genesis is here to see him. He's expecting me." Genesis said. Tifa nodded and headed into the back. She returned a few minutes later with Cloud right behind him.

"Genesis, good of you to come," Cloud greeted, "Come, we'll work in my office." Turning he led the ex-SOLDIER into the back and into his delivery service's office. "May I ask why you dress like that?" he asked once the door was shut.

"I'm not sure if I'm still being hunted, even though soldier was pretty much disbanded," he replied, shedding the hat and coat, running a hand through his hair, straightening his red leather coat idly before kneeling to unwrap the Buster Sword. "Not to mention that I really don't want attention right now. I caused a lot of problems when I deserted…who knows what the citizens will think of me upon recognizing me."

"You gotta face it sooner or later…maybe just go without the hat or one where you can see your eyes. There's plenty of people that have Mako glows to their eyes, no one really notices or cares about that," Cloud suggested taking from his desk a materia, polish, and a sharpening stone.

"I'll think about it," came Genesis' answer. Taking the materia, Genesis looked it over and cast restore on the blade, watching the chips, scratches, and rust disappear in a matter of moments. Smiling slightly, Genesis took the sharpening stone and started to sharpen the blade till it could cut anything easily while Cloud set to work cleaning and polishing the blade. The whole process took about an hour and a half until Genesis was satisfied and the Buster Sword looked new.

"Are you going to display the Buster Sword somewhere?" Cloud asked, admiring the gleaming blade.

Genesis sat back on his heels and thought about that. "I may display it later, but right now, I am going to take it home," he answered. Cloud nodded and stood when Genesis stood and led him out the back door so he wouldn't have to go through the crowded bar with the Buster Sword on his back.

"Hey Genesis, don't be a stranger, ok? Come back whenever you'd like," Cloud told him as the red-head started to depart. Genesis turned enough to see over his shoulder and nodded before disappearing into the darkness.

Genesis walked to the edge of Edge that was closest to Midgar and located the section his home was in. entering the house, Genesis cast his coat and hat to the side before moving into the living room. Taking the Buster Sword from his back, Genesis moved to an empty wall and leaned the Buster Sword against it before summoning his Rapier and after carefully cleaning it, leaned it so that the crimson blade crossed in front of the large blade. Stepping back, Genesis admired the look, until he felt that he was not alone.

"It looks good…however, it looks unbalanced…like its missing something." came Sephiroth's voice, "Hold out your hand, palm up." Genesis obeyed and was surprised to see Masamune form in his hand, his hand closing around the blade once it had fully manifested.

"I want you to hold onto Masamune for me. I don't need it in the lifestream, and if I ever become real again I can just summon her," Sephiroth explained. Genesis moved forward and gently rested Masamune where he knew it would look right. After securing the blades in place with supporting pegs to prevent slipping, Genesis reached into a box and removed three long feathers. One white, one a matte black, and a black feather with a bit of a shine to it.

He had collected these feathers from his friends and himself. Spreading them on a shelf in a mimic of the swords on his wall, Genesis stood back with a smile. He knew Angeal and Seph were in the room, so he knew they knew the importance of the placement of the swords. The swords were in the position of their insignia that a clever subordinate had drawn up for them while they were in SOLDIER.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land to spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I offer thee this silent sacrifice," Genesis recited, feeling a warm hand from each of his two friends come to rest on his shoulders, Seph on his right, and Angeal on his left. And for now, Genesis was content with the present.