Gift/request fic for darkhaseo90! He wanted a fic with Genesis and Cloud in it, and I was surprised to write what I did for this first chapter. I honestly didn't think it would turn out this way. A little AU with a bit of Crisis Core spoilers... then it gets really twisted and is nothing like the storyline at all. You'll see what I mean. Hope you all enjoy it. More chapters to come soon.

By the way, this is NOT a vampire story! Just to clarify!

WARNINGS: [Yaoi/explicit content to come in later chapters]; blood, cutting, slight molestation, murder.

I do not own the characters, nor do I plan to make money from this story; it's just for fun.

Cloud's head dropped forward onto his chest and he whined softly as the bearded scientist injected him with more of the foul-smelling mako. He was limp against his restraints, made to stand upright in the cold lab. His abuser, Dr. Hollander, was quite busy today: ten straight injections of mako and a heavy dose of something Cloud vaguely remembered the doctor calling "S Cells".

Cloud had been dragged into the lab against his will by Hollander while he was alone in his room, rendered unconscious by a strong dose of sedatives injected into his arm. Stripped of his clothes, beaten, and now… this. He looked down to see Hollander kneeling in front of him on one knee, a clipboard balanced carefully in one hand. The other hand slowly moved to Cloud's bare thigh and gently caressed it. Dirty and slightly pudgy fingers worked their way up to his crotch.

"No!" Cloud shouted, only to be shushed with a harsh slap to his groin. He cried out and tried to kick his legs, but he was nonetheless met with resistance from his restraints. "God damn it!" he yelled even louder, now trying to flail his arms. That, too, was completely useless.

"Here, now," Hollander said, softly ghosting his hand across Cloud's limp cock. To both of their surprise, the flaccid member began to slowly fill with blood, its flesh becoming engorged and slightly hard. "Hmm, that's good. I like what I see," Hollander said. "Tell me, Cloud. Do you think you could be so kind enough as to give me a sample of your precious semen?"

He set his clipboard to the side and reached into his lab coat and popped open the cap on a small vial. He held it closely to Cloud's reddened, and now completely hard, organ. Running his hand down along the shaft, Hollander began to pump it gently. Cloud bit his lip and squirmed even more against his restraints. This was not happening to him! "Zack!" he cried out hoarsely, hearing nothing in reply but the echo of his own voice.

The lab door suddenly burst open and both Cloud and Hollander jerked their heads up to see what the commotion was all about. The missing First Class SOLDIER, Genesis Rhapsodos, was standing in the doorway, his rapier giving off a slight glow. "Genesis!" Hollander exclaimed, standing up quickly and pocketing the vial. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice wavering.

"Good doctor, I know that you know how to stop this degradation," Genesis said, his single black wing springing free from his shoulder. A few feathers came loose and floated soundlessly to the cold lab floor. His skin was a deathly pale color and his hair had began to fade.

"You're out of luck, Genesis. What was left of the S Cells are now inside of Cloud. He is to be the new experiment, and perhaps he will be of far greater strength than Sephiroth or Angeal. Or you for that matter," Hollander said, laughing cruelly. Genesis stepped forward, his rapier held out directly in front of him. He held the tip to the doctor's neck and lifted his chin as he began to speak. "And just how am I supposed to survive this degradation? You see what is becoming of me. I will probably not last but for a few more days," he said. Hollander laughed at him again and said, "That's not my problem, Genesis."

"The hell it isn't!" Genesis yelled, pushing the blade a little deeper into Hollander's neck. A small drop of blood began to drip slowly down his skin, and he began to panic. "Genesis, don't! You need me!" he yelled. Genesis shook his head and looked at Cloud. "Not anymore," he said with a smile, thrusting the rapier straight through the doctor's throat, pinning him to the wall behind him. A gurgling noise filled the room and Cloud bucked against his restraints, screaming hoarsely. He didn't want to hear this, didn't want to see it. Sure, he hated Doctor Hollander, especially after all he had done to him, but Genesis was murdering him with a smile on his face. It was almost evil.

When Genesis withdrew his rapier, Hollander crumpled to the floor and he wiped the blood nonchalantly onto the doctor's lab coat, smearing the thick and sticky mess onto bright white material. He walked over to Cloud and hummed deeply in his throat. "Now, what am I going to do with you?" he wondered aloud to himself rather than to the cadet. "You can get me down from here, for starters!" Cloud yelled, growing more panicked and afraid by the moment. His fear was quickly turning to anger. Genesis chuckled at him. "A little spitfire, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not going to keep you here. You have something that I need, and you're coming with me," he said, a sly smile on his face.

He busied himself with undoing Cloud's restraints, making small conversation as he went along. He would now be tied to this young man, whether he liked it or not, because he held the key to his longevity and life. "What was your name again?" he asked, working on a strap around Cloud's wrist. "Cloud Strife," Cloud said, pulling his wrist free when Genesis finally worked the strap loose. "And you're the missing Genesis. There's been a lot of talk about you around the company. It was even reported that you were dead," he added.

Genesis laughed softly. "Well, as you can see, I'm only half-dead. Hollander has made a monster out of me," he replied. "And you, as you heard, have the last bit of pure S Cells in your system. I need those cells to stay alive."

"And you propose...?"

"I'm taking you with me, as I said. I have a place that I've been staying at. It's safe and no one will bother us there. We can figure the rest out later. Here, give me your hand." Genesis had undone the last restraint and was now holding his hand out to Cloud, as in truce. Cloud took the man's hand and tried to take a step forward. He almost ended up collapsing, and he would have if it had not been for Genesis being there to catch him. Naked, cold and shivering, he let himself be carried out of the lab and through the building. When they got outside, Genesis clutched him tightly to his chest. "Hold on and close your eyes," he said. The next thing Cloud knew, he was floating. He dared to open one of his eyes, and he found that they were soaring through the air at a fast speed. He felt lightheaded and nauseated, so he closed his eyes again and didn't open them until he felt Genesis touch down onto the ground.

"We are here, Cloud," Genesis said breathlessly. The somewhat short trip had exhausted him, as weak as he was, and the degradation only worsened the feeling. He stood Cloud up on his own two feet and took the blond's arm and slung it around his neck. His own arm draped around Cloud's shoulder. "We can help each other get inside," Genesis said, and Cloud nodded. So far, so good. They made it inside of the small home: a quaint little two-story white house with old furniture inside. Cloud's nose wrinkled at the smell of mold and dust. They shuffled over to the couch and slumped over onto the dusty cushions.

"I don't feel so good," Cloud mumbled. His body pitched forward and he scrambled to his feet. He fled to the door and threw it open, just in time to vomit into the bushes nearby. He heaved and retched until nothing was left inside of him. The stench of stomach acid and mako hit his senses and he began to vomit again. When he was emptied completely, he closed the door and went back to the couch. "My face feels hot," he said, laying down and curling up on his side. He pulled a dirty blanket around his body. Genesis was staring at the wall across from the couch, his facial features scrunched together. Cloud could tell the man was thinking about something very seriously. "What are we going to do about your degradation?" Cloud asked. His stomach turned and he closed his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have spoken again so soon; talking seemed to make the nausea worse.

"I have a couple of ideas, but I don't know what you will think," Genesis said, turning slowly to look at Cloud. Their eyes met and Cloud's breath caught in his throat. "What are they?" he asked. He was almost too afraid to know. Genesis sighed and rested his head against his cheek against his hand, his arm propped up on the side of the couch.

"One idea is that we can go back to the lab and grab supplies. Needles, syringes, the works. I could draw blood from you each day and inject it into my own body, which will stop the degradation."

Cloud tensed up. "I don't want to go back to the lab," he said. "And if you do, you might get caught. Then where would we both be? Neither you nor I can survive without each other now. If you die, I won't know what to do with myself. I mean, I'm not a fucking weakling, but I don't feel right. Something's wrong with my body, and you have the knowledge of what's going on with me, don't you?"

Genesis nodded. "Your body is getting used to the introduction of the S Cells and mako into your bloodstream. You might go through changes similar to what I have undergone, but I don't know. I was born this way, so I don't know exactly what will happen in your case. That's up in the air right now," he admitted. Cloud shivered and clutched the blanket around his body even tighter. "Then we stay here and I feed on you," Genesis said hesitatingly. Cloud's head jerked up. "You'll what?"

"Feed on you. Cut you in small places and take your blood. That will heed the degradation. It's almost the only way," Genesis answered. "Although... the idea doesn't completely appeal to me. I can't imagine drinking blood. I don't even like my steak rare. It might shock and sicken you, but think about the fact that I am the one that will have to be feeding from you and not the other way around." Cloud blanched and held his hand to his mouth, afraid he might vomit again. His stomach flipped and flopped then settled back down. As calmly as he could, he took a deep breath and swallowed back a thick stream of saliva.

"Alright. But... you're not going to hurt me too badly, are you?" Cloud asked. Genesis shook his head. "No. I'm going to try to cut you as lightly as I can. Or, if you'd rather, you can do it yourself," he said. He stood up and went to the kitchen, bringing back a small knife. "Here," he said, handing it to Cloud. Cloud hesitated but took it into his hand, looking at the shining blade reflecting sunlight from the window. "Where do you want it?" he asked. Genesis shrugged. "Wherever you think will hurt the least," he said. Cloud held the knife steady above the skin on his upper arm. He played with the idea for a moment, lightly sliding the sharp blade against his flesh. He looked up at Genesis. "If you think this is the only way, then this is what we will do. I help you, you help me, right?" he said nervously. Genesis nodded and Cloud took in a sharp breath and bit his lip. He quickly sliced open his skin and watched through half-squinted eyes as the blood began to trickle lightly down his arm.

Genesis watched with amazement as this was all going on. He hadn't been sure if the young man would actually go through with it. He had figured that he would probably have to take Cloud's blood with force, but he saw now that it wasn't the case. He slowly lowered his head down to Cloud's offered arm and closed his lips around the bleeding cut. He was shocked at first, the copper-tasting fluid flowing gently across his tongue, then the shock slowly turned into the realization that the taste was not too bad after all. It had a slightly sweet taste to it and seemed to dance along his taste buds as his gentle suction quickly turned into a frenzy.

Cloud was poised to defend himself, even though he knew he was much too weak to do so at the moment. He watched as Genesis fed from him, his hair turning back into a normal reddish-brown. His black wing was slowly strengthening and beginning to fold back into his shoulder. His cheeks became rosy. "Genesis," he said, tugging on his arm a little. "Your degradation has ceased. You can probably stop now."

Genesis lifted his head up and moved away from Cloud, leaning back against the couch. He sighed heavily, almost contentedly, and closed his eyes. "I feel much better now. Thank you," he said, then opened his eyes. "Why don't you sleep a little while? I'll get you some clothes from the closet upstairs in the bedroom. You're welcome to sleep in my bed as well. I will cook us some dinner and we can talk some more when you awaken."

"I don't feel like sleeping," Cloud said, but his eyelids were drooping. Genesis chuckled at him and leaned over. Picking him up with the blanket draped carefully around him, he carried the blond upstairs and put him on the bed. "Sleep, okay?" he said. Cloud weakly nodded then drifted off to sleep almost instantly. Genesis smiled and began to rummage through the closet. He found a pair of old black pants and a button-up black shirt that looked like it would fit the small cadet. He laid the clothes out on the end of the bed and went downstairs to prepare a light meal of stew and bread. A couple of hours later, he heard footsteps falling on the stairs and turned to see Cloud dressed and looking fairly rested. Only one thing was off, and Genesis couldn't stop staring.

"What is it?" Cloud asked, his stomach growling loudly as he ladled a large helping of stew into his bowl.

"Your hair. You are a natural blond, yes?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Cloud shrugged, grabbing a large piece of warm bread. He sat down at the table and began to practically shovel the food into his mouth. Genesis handed him a napkin and said, "You have a black streak on the side of your head. I mean, one of your spikes is now black."

"What!" Cloud exclaimed, then stood up. "Where's a mirror?" Genesis pointed toward the living room. "In there," he said. Cloud took off into the living room and stood in front of the mirror, his mouth gaping. "I told you, you might start seeing some changes," Genesis said. "Impossible," Cloud whispered to himself, reaching a hand up and running it through his spikes. He returned to the table after a few more seconds of staring at himself, then began to eat again. Genesis had already eaten and was mindlessly playing with the spoon in his bowl, turning it this way and that. He looked up.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you."

"Thank you," Cloud replied. He honestly didn't know what to say at Genesis' apology. It wasn't as if the man had caused this to happen to him, after all.

"Is there something else I can get for you?" Genesis asked. Cloud shook his head. "I see. You want me to leave you alone?" he added. "No, you're fine," Cloud said.

"Did you notice that the moment I stopped feeding from you, your cut healed?" Genesis said. "It means the S Cells and mako are working in unison, healing you quickly. That is a blessing."

"It actually didn't hurt whenever I made the cut, either," Cloud said, then shrugged. Maybe this situation would not be as bad as he thought it would be. It would mean that he would almost be invincible and able to withstand anything that came at him, whether it be a cut, a burn or a wild animal with teeth snapping at his ankles, ready to devour him. Devour. He looked at Genesis, who was staring off into space. It was then that Cloud realized how beautiful the man looked now that he was not degrading.

"I'm going to watch some television. Do you want to join me after you finish eating?" Genesis said suddenly. "Sure," Cloud said, then watched as Genesis stood up and went into the living room. He heard the buzz of the television turning on, then heard Genesis snickering at a comedy show. Cloud finished his meal and cleaned up the kitchen without a second thought, washing up their dishes and putting away the leftovers into the refrigerator. He made his way to the couch and sat down on the opposite end. Slowly, he found himself laughing along with Genesis at the comedian on the screen and relaxed as he finally realized that he had nothing to fear. Genesis had saved him, and in return he was saving Genesis. They were almost even now. It kind of felt... good.