To new readers: Hi peoples! Hello and welcome to Shattered! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. :)

To old readers: I HAVE RETUUUUUUURNED! I'm rreeeeeaaaallllllyy sorry this took so long again. D: I just wasn't happy with my writing or the characters before. Aerith was too much of a crybaby; Lexie was too Mary Sue; and Genesis was too emo, too nice, and not nearly as cocky and hotheaded as his character really is. And he never even quoted LOVELESS! D: I originally thought that Zack's death and all he'd been through would change him, but I now realize I was WAY overdoing it.

To all: Google Translator is stupid. :/ *sigh* Don't bother putting the "Wutian/Wutainese" in it; it won't come out right. I'll just tell you what they're saying when it's important.

Anyway, I really do apologize for the delay!

Disclaimer: This disclaimer disclaims the disclamation of its disclaimancy and anything else you want to be disclaimed, including disclaimer that disclaims the fact that I came up with this disclaimer to disclaim that I own FF. Now did anyone actually follow that?

Date: October 1, 0007

Location: Midgar: Sector 5

A low rumble echoed through the polluted air underneath the Plates of the eight Sectors of Midgar. Rain had been cascading from deep grey clouds above the city since just past noon, and the time was now well after what many considered to be the middle of night. Precious few drops reached below the Plate normally, but the unceasing gallons of water had penetrated the densest parts of Sector 5, adding frigid wetness to the already oppressive atmosphere.

The icy liquid collected in pockets above the ground only to spill on those passing at select, unexpected times. Several of those instances had caught one man in particular, but he paid them no mind as they splattered on the left shoulder of his leather jacket. The bitter cold had no effect on him as he stood, paused, outside of an abandoned church, replaying the past few hours of his life over and over in his mind. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes... remembering...

"We're not monsters, you hear me? We're SOLDIER!"

"Open your eyes!"

"I've come here to help you!"

"Don't let it take over! You're not a monster, you're one of us!"

"You're gonna make it, too, you got that?"

"Can I help you?" A soft, female voice drew him from his thoughts and back to the present. He instantly locked onto the face of a girl outside the church, carrying a flower basket with one hand and dressed in a light pink dress, who was standing not five feet away from him. She flinched, stepping back with an almost inaudible gasp as her deep, forest green eyes met his tired, mako infused ones.

"Aerith Gainsborough?" He already knew, and his face didn't give the slightest hint of emotion with the question. He was almost positive there were no other flower girls in the slums; it had to be her. Moreover, she was exactly the way Zack had described her.

"Maybe." She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes from his.

"I have a message for you." He swallowed. "It concerns Zackary Fair."

Her eyes widened suddenly, seeming to fill with hope for an instant before returning to their suspicious glare. Neither of them spoke for several seconds.

"Well?"

He hesitated. "It's a long story; we would be wise to take this inside." He pushed open the wooden door to the church.

She gave another slow nod of agreement. "Okay."

He held the door open for her, but she didn't budge. He felt a slight smile pull at the corner of his mouth. She was wise: she wasn't going to turn her back on him or let him out of her sight. Since he didn't share the same fear of her as she obviously did of him, he broke eye contact and stepped inside the church first. He didn't turn back to face her as he moved deeper into the abandoned building, instead relying on her footsteps on the creaking wooden floor to let him know she was following him.

"Um, hold on. Let me latch the doors so they don't blow open in this wind." She reversed her course, returning to the old, cracked doors from which he had detected the slightest metallic scent of rust on the hinges.

"Hmph," he acknowledged, still not even glancing in her direction. His eyes skimmed the interior of the church, taking in every detail. On this kind of night, anything could be lurking in the shadows. He paused when he reach the bed of flowers, which sat in a circular whole in the floor of the center the church. Haunting moonlight reflected off the closed yellow and white bulbs, and small rain droplets clung to them.

Though the church in the daytime might have been a nice sight, it was just plain eerie this night. The gaping hole in the ceiling, which no doubt normally kept the flowers alive with sunbeams, now let in the deadly flashes of lightning. That and the broken floorboards, multiple destroyed benches, and slowly crumbling pillars created an ominous environment most civilians would be terrified to enter.

"What are you doing in a place such as this at this hour?" He removed his right glove to run his hand across the top of one of the few still intact the benches. He closed his eyes as the sensation of the rough, moist texture scraped across his fingers and palm. Gaia, it was good to have full feeling back in at least one arm. Though he was exhausted both mentally and physically, and suffering from battle wounds he'd tried to cover up with bandages–he didn't have energy to use his materia–before coming here, pain was no longer lancing his bones and blocking out every other sensation. He felt more alive than he had in years.

"Oh, I was going to wait the storm out, but I realized that wasn't going to happen, so I'd just started home when you showed up." Her footsteps headed his direction again.

"I see," he said as tugged his glove back on. She had stopped directly behind him. He placed one foot behind the other, intending to turn around, but he never got the chance. Something struck him in the back of his skull and he fell unconscious before he hit the ground.

Date: September 3, 0007

Location: Ruins of Banora

Warm. He felt warm. Not just on the surface of his skin, but in his blood for the first time since his degradation had reached such a severe stage years ago. He almost thought it was a dream, and he didn't dare open his eyes for several seconds after he regained consciousness. Eventually, the cold breeze on his face roused him enough to drag open his eyelids. He blinked a few times as his mako eyes adjusted quickly to the change in light. His surrounding were too familiar for it to take much time to remember where he was and the events of his last few hours came rushing back instantly.

Genesis shot to his feet and found the bright sun still in the sky. He relaxed a little as he realized he'd only been unconscious for a few hours. The change in temperature had made him think it was longer, but that appeared to be due to a cold front moving in, if the dark clouds on the horizon were anything to go by. A storm was on the brick of reaching him. He didn't particularly want to get caught in it, so he decided to leave quickly.

But where would he go? He honestly hadn't thought about what he was going to do after he was cured. It had been his ultimate goal for so long he'd almost forgotten about any other plans he'd once had.

As he was contemplating, something hit the ground in front of him with a thump. He glanced down to find the Banora White Zack had placed in his hand just a few hours ago. Strange, he hadn't even really felt it in his grip in the first place. He clenched his left fist and frowned at the strange sensation that came from doing so. A sudden crackle of thunder in the distance made him return his focus to his location and dismiss the problem with his hand. It was probably only a lingering remnant of degradation that would disappear in a few days' time.

He thought where he would go once he left the ruins of his home town. He needed a plan. For some reason his thoughts kept coming back to Zack. Genesis closed his eyes, frustrated at his own weakness. He owed Zack. The man had never given up on him, even after everyone else had. Zack had still believed he was worth saving.

His eyes flickered open again as he made his decision. He wasn't going to let Angeal's student get killed by Shinra after all he'd been put through in the last few years. Wherever Zack was headed, he was going to help him get there.

He turned his gaze to the sky again and estimated the time he had until the storm arrived. Seeing he only had ten minutes at best, he broke into a brisk jog towards the Banora caves. He knew the winding passages by heart, and it didn't take him long to find the item he was searching for.

He slid his gloved hand around the cool metal of the crimson Rapier that was sticking out of the ground in front of him. It glistened in the narrow beam of light pouring down from a crack in the ceiling. It was really the only thing of color in the entire maze of caves. He pulled gently on the hilt, freeing the blade from the grey dirt without effort.

A crack of thunder echoed through the area and a few raindrops fell from the various cracks in the ceiling. One drop in particular landed in a puddle already on the floor of the cave, causing a gentle splash. The sound drew the ex-SOLDIER's attention, and he watched the ripples distorted his reflection in the water.

"Ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest," he whispered softly.

His eyes drifted away from the puddle. Strange how at least one verse in every stanza of LOVELESS related to him. He was no doubt a wandering soul at this point in his life, and he hadn't truly rested in years.

He shook his head. Now was not the time to be wallowing in thought. There was a 1st Class SOLDIER out there who needed his help, and he wasn't going to let him down, even if it meant flying through the freezing rain. As soon as he cleared the cave, he extended his jet-black wing and took to the skies.

It was going to be quite a search to find a 1st Class SOLDIER who was trying to stay hidden. Fortunately, he had years of training and experience in the wilderness that Zack didn't, and Zack was also literally dragging someone with him. Odds were Genesis would find Zack before Shinra did.

Genesis sighed in irritation as he scrutinized the forest again from the skies. It turned out Zack didn't need years of experience in staying hidden in the wilderness: he was either a natural at it or the rain was washing away his trail. Genesis had only managed to find tracks that were already days old, and those had been left during a hurried battle, by the looks of the patterns. It seemed that even though Zack was dragging his catatonic friend with him, he was living up to his reputation as a 1st.

As Genesis circled around again, he frowned, remembering something he'd read on Zack's Shinra personnel file. He suddenly felt incredibly stupid. Of course Zack wasn't leaving much of a trace: he was no city dweller–he was a country boy from Gongaga. Before joining Shinra he'd probably spent half his life in the woods. Genesis swore. This definitely complicated things.

Just as he was thinking of all the ways in which he could adjust his searching strategy, something caught his eye. It was faint, but there were slight wisps of smoke rising from the trees. He frowned in thought. Zack was too smart to leave a sign like that. He was trained to withstand harsh weather conditions; he wouldn't risk lighting a fire unless he thought it necessary. Genesis pondered this for a few seconds, and he came to one conclusion that made sense: Zack likely didn't need the fire, but the unconscious infantryman probably did, and Zack was the type willing to risk being caught if it would help his friend survive.

Genesis angled his wing and started descending towards the area. He chose a narrow break between the trees to make a quiet landing. As he drew near to the ground, he fluttered his wing rapidly in order to hover for a moment before his feet connected with solid matter. He wing disappeared, leaving only a few lingering black feathers and some scattered leaves in his wake as he moved under a dense canopy of trees, taking refuge beneath their wide leaves from the icy droplets, which had turned into half-formed hail.

As he continued forward, he brushed off the shoulders of his jacket, trying to rid it of the layer of water on its surface. He silenced his footsteps as he drew close to the source of the smoke. He knew if he wasn't cautious, Zack could very well take his head off before he realized he wasn't an enemy.

Genesis stopped at the edge of a campsite, scanning the area briefly before entering it fully. It was obvious Zack had left already. Much to Genesis' surprise, a small, now dead fire and a few spots of smashed grass were left behind, along with a deep gash in the ground and tracks leading deeper into the woods. He silently made his way to the gash first, hoping to find some answers. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it as an incision made by the Buster Sword when it was dug into the ground in order to keep it from falling over.

He frowned, not having expected Zack to be so careless. Perhaps the rain was what was keeping him hidden. Zack playing in the woods when he was younger didn't necessarily mean he knew how to cover his tracks well. Or perhaps he was in too much of a hurry. The monsters in the area were highly dangerous, after all.

Genesis rose from his crouched position by the gash and made his way to the remains of the small fire. Kneeling again, he removed his right glove and placed his hand near the ashes. They were still warm, as to be expected from the smoke, but heat told him that he was very close to catching up with Zack.

His train of thought was shattered as an ear-splitting scream tore through the air, silencing the wildlife and startling several flocks of birds into flight. Genesis snapped his head around, eyes narrowing as he yanked his glove back on and summoned his sword while breaking into a run. The scream was one of agony, of almost certain defeat, and it undoubtedly had come from the man he was searching for.

Zack Fair sighed as he stared out from his small shelter beneath a few trees into the rain. He didn't know where exactly he and Cloud were, but the only things around for miles were trees and grass. His muscles ached from overuse, injury, and malnutrition, but he dared not use anything to sooth them. They were running low on food, potions, and ethers, but the chances of them finding civilization anytime soon weren't very high, and he knew that. It was almost killing him to do so, but he had to be frugal with what they had. Sitting still was making a potion seem even more tempting, however, as his muscles were becoming more cramped the longer he stayed inactive.

He didn't particularly mind traveling in the rain, but he knew it wouldn't help Cloud's condition any. That fact, unfortunately, did not keep him from being restless. Even if his muscles weren't giving him grief, he didn't like sitting still for any length of time, especially now he knew he was being hunted by Shinra.

A sudden growl had Zack instinctively grasping the hilt of the Buster Sword. The noise was close enough he knew he was going to have to fight whatever it was that was coming. He grunted as he heaved himself from the ground and into a somewhat balanced stance, then staggered into a slightly less dense part of the forest where the ice cold rain began to strike his face. The refreshing blast made him snap to almost full awareness and he pushed forward in search of the creature.

A couple of minutes passed without sound, and he began to feel jumpy. Monsters didn't usually hide from something they were trying to attack. He frowned. Well, that was unless–

Zack's eyes abruptly widened in realization and he threw himself to one side just as an Iron Claw he hadn't seen before leaped from a nearby tree and sliced where he'd been an instant ago. Zack let out a curse as three more Iron Claws landed only yards from him. Of course this was an ambush–he'd been too unfocused to see it before.

He gritted his teeth and instinctively charged up one of his favorite magical attacks. The Iron Claws began closing in, but Zack withheld the attack until they were almost within striking distance. Just as one of the creatures was drawing back four of its eight claw-arms to strike, Zack let the built-up magic loose. Several lightning bolts shot down around him in a random pattern, hitting three of the five Iron Claws, but only one of them died. The two that hadn't been hit swiped at Zack, and he dodged just in time. He pivoted on one foot, swinging his leg around to hit the closest monster across the face. Another Iron Claw charged at him and he spun, swinging the Buster Sword in a high arc. The move took the head of the creature clean off, leaving the odds at three to one. He didn't dwell on this information and sent a Hell Thundaga at the closest enemy, also killing it.

Zack bit his tongue to smother a yell of pain when four claws raked across his back. Another Iron Claw had joined the fight. Even with the injury, he whipped around and impaled the beast in retaliation. He yanked the sword out and spun around to face his two last opponents with a grimace as he felt the warmth of his own blood dripping down his back.

His bright blue eyes reflected yellow and orange as three fireballs hurtled towards him. He grinned in relief, as he expected to feel a burst of energy and strength as Heike Soul absorbed the magical attack, but that never came. The fire connected with his torso, setting the front of his SOLDIER uniform aflame, and there was no hope of stopping the raw scream of pure agony that tore from his throat.

In that instant, his mind shot back to that morning. The rain had made his equipment uncomfortable, so he had taken it off once he found cover and set it aside while he dried. He hadn't thought much of it then, as he was fully intent on re-equipping them before he went into battle again. Only, he'd been drained of energy and forgotten. That rookie mistake was now likely going to cost him his life.

He stumbled back, desperate not to lose his footing completely. The pain blinded him to the next attack, and he didn't see it until his skin had waves of electric currents dancing across it. He couldn't scream as shock overtook his mind and body. He only managed a few weak, strained groans, and then the magic faded, leaving every inch of his skin searing. His legs caved in, sending him flat onto his back in the wet, blue-green grass of the forest.

His vision blurred and his breath came in sharp gasps. If he'd been in better condition, he might have laughed. He'd been through so much: made it to 1st, killed his own mentor, escaped Shinra, defeated Genesis, and even held his own against the mighty Sephiroth, yet he was going to die now from a simple rookie mistake and leave his best friend for dead. He fought to keep his eyes open, even though he knew his chances of survival were next to none. The monster drew close, and he prepared for the end.

Then, just as the monster was readying the deathblow, a Firaga turned its friend to ash. Zack stared uncomprehendingly as his former enemy charged onto the battlefield at a speed he didn't know the man possessed. Some small part of his mind realized just how injured Genesis had been the last time they fought. They had been almost evenly matched before, but now Zack knew why the Banoran thought others below him. Most SOLDIER were, probably including him.

"-iar!" Zack felt Genesis tap the side of his face in quick, repeated motions. Zack realized must have blacked out, because it seemed to him that Genesis had just appeared at his side. "Hold on..."

Burning. Oh, how his wounds were burning.

Zack gave a slow, dreary blink and he suddenly saw their location had changed. Another blackout must have hit him.

By then, he'd gathered the strength to let out a strangled scream as he felt Genesis putting pressure on his wounds with one hand while he searched his pockets with the other.

"Who's Aerith?"

Zack's eyes shot from being closed in pain to wide open. "Wh-what? How...how do you–?"

"You called for her. She your girl?"

He cringed in pain and gave a weak nod. "Y-yeah."

"Tell me about her." Genesis ripped the lid off an Ether and downed it before searching his pockets again, presumably for a type of Cure materia.

"Why do you care?" Zack snapped, extremely reluctant to give his former enemy any type of information on himself, especially about the girl he loved.

"To be perfectly honest with you, Zachary, I couldn't care less about your personal life. I'm just trying to keep you focused so you don't lose consciousness and die."

Zack barked out a laugh. "Wow... your bedside manner... sucks. Ah!" The wound Genesis was putting pressure on suddenly flared in blinding pain, and Zack jerked as muscles gave a spasm, causing his back to arch.

Genesis cracked a smirk as he held Zack down softly. "I never claimed otherwise. Now, tell me about your girl."

"What about her?" Zack groaned as he shuddered in agony.

Genesis actually rolled his eyes. "I will repeat: I do not care. What's she like? How does she look? Just pick one and stay conscious."

Zack weakly nodded as he felt the mako in his system trying to close his injuries. He knew Genesis was right. He had to find something to keep him breathing, and Aerith was a very good choice. "She's...a flower girl...sweet...not a fighter..."

Genesis glanced up from his search to raise an eyebrow, but quickly returned to his task. He pulled a green orb from his jacket and frowned at it before it lit up, and Zack felt the healing take affect.

"It's just a Regen–keep talking." Genesis stared at the materia, looking deep in concentration, and it lit up even brighter.

Oh, that felt better already. "She's got...light brown hair...and these...beautiful...forest green eyes..." A frown crossed his face. "What are you doing?"

"I am accelerating the healing process of this materia."

"What? You can't do that..."

Genesis smirked. "Truly? Then how do you explain your lack of injuries?"

Zack glanced down at his chest and his eyes widened. He'd felt the pain lessening, but he hadn't expected his wounds to be almost completely healed over. He sat up half way, using his elbows to prop himself upright. "How did you...?"

Genesis chuckled. "I genuinely find it sad what Shinra teaches its recruits about magic." He tossed the materia in the air, caught it, and then put it back in his coat. "They could be capable of so much more."

Zack observed him with a tense posture, his mouth set in a firm line.

Genesis obviously noticed the hostility and suspicion Zack knew he was practically radiating, and he lifted a brow. "Even after I save your life, you still keep up your guard?"

Zack had no reply and his expression stayed the same.

Genesis smirked yet again. "A wise choice. Angeal trained you well."

Zack felt himself involuntarily flinch at the mention of his mentor and his brows drew closer together in a frown. "What do you want, Genesis? Why are you here?"

"I am here"–Genesis shifted from his kneeling position, rising to his full height–"because I owe you a debt." He cocked his head. "I don't much like having debts. So, I am going to repay you, and then we will go our separate ways." He offered his gloved hand down to Zack.

The hostility Zack was supporting fizzled out. He never was good at carrying grudges–he just didn't have the personality for it. Even so, he dragged himself to his feet on his own. Grudge or no grudge, he wasn't about to let Genesis see him as weak anymore than he already did. "Consider us even," he grunted, staggering a few feet past Genesis while he tried to recover his bearings.

Genesis appeared to have moved them to the fake camp he'd set up. He knew Shinra was looking for them, so he'd set up a fake camp and then made their real one close by, camouflaged. It was an effective way of alerting him when troops were in the area. It also led them into a trap if they followed the obvious footsteps into the woods.

Zack hoped Cloud was okay during his absence. As soon as Genesis left, he was going to have to return to him and then get his equipment back on. He was not going to make that mistake twice.

"I disagree." Genesis' voice broke his thoughts, and he turned back to face him. "I don't feel I've repaid you evenly yet."

Zack sighed, irritated, and leaned his head back. "Well, what will make you feel like that?" He honestly preferred Genesis just leaving right then.

There was a brief pause. "Allow me to accompany you wherever you're going."

Zack sighed again, dropping his head forward. "That's really not necessary..."

Genesis tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "You cannot tell me you wouldn't like some assistance getting your friend through all this." He gestured to the woods around them without taking his eyes off Zack.

Zack blinked quickly. "Cloud's dead."

"You are a terrible liar."

"What? I am not–" He cut himself off with a sigh. "Yeah, okay. Guilty as charged..."

"Indeed. Now, are we going to get moving, or wait for the lapdogs to track us down?"

Zack frowned and jerked his head to the left. "This way."

Genesis followed him through dense forest without a word. Zack led them around the traps he'd set very carefully. Once they'd arrived at the real camp, he immediately checked on Cloud, who he was relieved to find perfectly fine.

"Hey, buddy, sorry that took so long," he muttered under his breath as placed a hand on the infantryman's forehead to make sure wasn't catching a fever.

Zack spun around suddenly, ready for combat, when he felt Genesis grab his shoulder. Genesis' gaze was hard as held something in his face, oblivious to the fact that Zack was very close to trying to decapitate him with the Buster Sword. "Where did you get this?"

His voice was so serious and harsh, Zack forgot about attacking him and narrowed his eyes on the object. They widened as he realized exactly what accessory of his Genesis had found, and he snatched it back. Heike Soul was not something he wanted in his former enemy's hands. "You mind not stealing my stuff? In a cave on a mission."

"Hm." Genesis didn't appear to hear the first part of what Zack said, or he just didn't care. "It's a very nice find. I wouldn't recommend letting it out of your sight."

"Yeah, well, I don't intend to again..."

"Ah, so that was the mistake you made then." He was smirking again. "The rookie error."

Zack had the urge to punch the smirk off his face, but he refrained and settled for a scowl. "Get some rest. We can head for Midgar once the rain lets up a bit."

Genesis' eyebrows shot up. "Midgar?"

He nodded.

Genesis stared at him in disbelief. "As in, the source of all Shinra's forces?"

As though he needed reminding. Another nod.

Genesis blinked slowly. "Are you completely mad?"

Zack shrugged. "I suppose it's a possibility."

Genesis gave him a withering glare. "Fine. Midgar it is. I hope you know what you're doing." He pushed past him, walking off.

"So do I..." Zack whispered, and then frowned. "Where are you going?"

"To get an aerial view of the perimeter," Genesis called back.

It had been two days since Genesis had joined forces with his fellow ex-1st Class, and few words had been spoken from then on. It was safe to say neither trusted the other, and Zack's hand still flew to his sword hilt every time Genesis made the slightest move. Genesis would merely raise an eyebrow at him and go back to what he was doing at the time, inwardly rolling his eyes.

It was obvious to him Zack was less than happy about the situation, but Genesis was content due to the fact he had no other plans. He found it refreshing to wing it for a change after all his years of plotting against Shinra. This was more of a vacation for him than anything else. He was especially fond of the silence, which he hadn't expected from Zack, though he suspected it wouldn't last much longer. Midgar was several weeks' travel away, after at, and he couldn't imagine someone like Zack to remain silent for that long. He turned out to be correct on the third day.

They had just made camp again in a calm, secluded clearing. With Genesis around, they no longer had to worry about smoke from campfires, because he had long ago discovered how to make special materia fires, which didn't cause any smoke. The previous days had gone by smoothly, and the few battles they had run into against monsters had taken next to no time with their combined forces. This left the two SOLDIERs and one infantryman at relative ease of their surroundings.

Crickets chirped and the fire crackled as they sat by it, minding their own business. Genesis had taken to sharpening his sword far more often than necessary simply because it unnerved Zack, and that was something he had no problem admitting he enjoyed. Every so often he saw the younger man's eye twitch, which made him smirk.

"What is it with you and that sword?" Zack asked when Genesis guessed his patience had finally worn thin. "I mean, it only has one materia slot. Surely you found better when you were taking on missions?"

Genesis' hand halted abruptly. He'd been expecting Zack to snap at him to cut it out, not strike such a sensitive topic.

"It was a gift," he answered finally, his voice as distant as his gaze, which was completely unfocused. "Angeal gave it to me as a temporary weapon when I was promoted to 1st. He thought it would be better than the standard SOLDIER swords, but that I would replace it quickly." He shook his head with a faint, sad smile. "Never could bring myself to part with it. Instead, I tried experimenting on it to make it better. I did, but I never could do anything about the single materia slot."

He set the sword aside in the grass, no longer in the mood to bother Zack. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they both recalled their separate memories of Angeal. The silence probably would have stayed for a while had Zack's alarmed warning not shattered it only a few minutes later.

"Um, Genesis?" Zack's voice made Genesis snap his gaze up to find the other man with wide eyes, which were staring at the ground near the campfire on the redhead's side. "Your arm is on fire!"

If Zack's tone had not been so panicked, Genesis might have thought it a joke. As things were, however, he instantly snapped his line of sight down to check if the Gongagan was telling the truth. Much to redhead's dismay, his arm, was in fact, on fire. A curse slid from his lips as jerked his left arm away from the edge of the campfire and started swatting at the flames to put them out. Had he not been so focused on his thoughts of Angeal before, he would have smelled skin burning. Even though he hadn't fully put the flames out, he could easily see his jacket was ruined and he had second degree burns going up his arm to his elbow.

He stared at the burns intently, waiting–no, hoping–for the pain to come.

It didn't.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zack staring at him, somehow managing to look horrified, concerned, and confused at the same time. "Could you not feel that?" he demanded.

Genesis swallowed, not taking his eyes off his scorched hand and arm. "No."

Zack's eyebrows drew close together. "What?"

Genesis shook his head. "I can't feel anything in this arm. I thought it was merely a lingering side effect of the degradation, that it would dissipate in few days time, but... it's not going away."

Zack tilted his head. "Any idea why?"

Genesis frowned, finally dropping his arm and reaching into his coat with the other to grab his Regen materia. "Well, it was the first area to be affected by the degradation." The materia lit up and the burns began to heal slowly. "I had a shoulder injury that wouldn't heal. It spread from there." Even healed, the flesh didn't look healthy. It was several shades paler than his normal skin tone and would have seemed more in place attached to a corpse. Still, that was nothing compared to his shoulder, which he knew was rather grotesque in appearance.

"Shoulder injury?" Zack's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh, from the sparring match with Sephiroth?"

Genesis' eyes snapped over to Zack, narrowed into a glare. "Angeal told you of that?"

Zack shook his head. "Nah. Seph did a few years back."

His glare softened. "Honestly?"

"Uh-huh, yeah. Why?"

Genesis shook his head. "He wasn't usually that open. You must have truly won his friendship."

Zack didn't reply for a few seconds, but when he did, he also shook his head. "How did things get so messed up so fast?"

Genesis blinked slowly. "I don't know Zachary. I truly don't."

The rest of the night passed in complete silence. Neither Zack nor Genesis felt the urge to speak after the memories of their dead friends had been brought up. The mere mention of them seemed to completely drain both their energy and drive them into their own separate thoughts.

Annnnd cut!

Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking Aerith is a bit out of character. I have reasons for that! They will be revealed in a later chapter.

Also, reviews make a happy author! No reviews make an author that doesn't update! :)