Okay, first off, I'd like to admit that I was little off my rocker when I thought of this story. Please don't flame me too bad?

Also, the title AMARANTH has absolutely NOTHING to do with FFIX's Amarant. An amaranth is a red flower that's sort of like a resurrection lily with the whole dying-and-then-coming-back thing. You can google it.

I'm trying to make the characters as Canon as possible, but young Kuja is definitely OOC. Sorry. But, you know, he couldn't have always been a little sadistic, narcissist, right? He had to be at least a little innocent!

Well, enough rambling. Hope you enjoy!

AMARANTH

Prologue- Where the Angels Dwell

As the sky suddenly flashed dark, stars littered the blackened outreaches of the anxious group's view. Said group gasped as the stars, one by one, fell.

However, even more picturesque than the shimmering stars, the pyres of light turned out to be the life stream, falling once again back to Gaia.

Among the falling wisps, there was a set of amethyst wisps.

A young Wutai ninja, her eyes stinging with tears, took a step forward. "…Vincent?" Her small voice was one she rarely voiced.

And the hero she loved as both a brother and a surrogate father… would not be coming back.

Yuffie let one tear fall, then another, until she was sobbing. Any other time, she would have forbid herself from ever letting that out. A Wutai ninja was proud: they didn't cry. A Wutai hero was strong: they didn't fall on their knees.

But Yuffie Kisaragi did, and for the first time in her life, she didn't care about being Wutai's greatest ninja heroine. She cared about Vincent! Why did that stupid man have to go!? Why!?

The amethyst spirit draped over her, as if Vincent was hugging her, telling her everything was alright.

Behind the scene lay the broken apparition of a man, far too weak to move. He watched in fascination at the shimmering lights before him. All of them fell down around the man- all but one. He hazily looked up at the orb. It burst open, revealing the image of an old, balding man in black armor. On his chest was a red orb that seemed to draw up the man's apparition into it. The old man reached out his hand to Hojo with an emotionless face. In a monotone, he said, "Come into me and your life will be saved."

The ShinRa scientist rolled his head back and laughed. After the laugher turned into a fit of coughing, he snapped, "Whatever makes you think I'll go into that decrepit old body? I'd rather die than be weak!"

In response, the spirit grabbed Hojo by the neck and lifted him high. "I am not weak, I assure you. I only wish for the revenge I was not able to fulfill in my lifetime. Now, you will carry on in my footsteps."

"As if I'd ever-"

He tightened his grip. "You too shall soon fade if you do not accept this gracious offer. Perhaps I will ask Vincent Valentine if you are so eager to join the life stream. He is now dead as well."

"V-Vincent?" Hojo let out a howl of laughter. "That monster is just that: a dead weight!" He cackled some more. "I should know- I created him!"

The old man nodded. "You shall be perfect then." He lifted Hojo up in front of him and pressed open the red orb on his chest. "You are Terra's savior. You will avenge my people- the Cetra."

Before he could ask what Terra was, or why the long-deceased Cetra were being brought up, the red orb started to suck him in. With one last scream, Hojo and the old man were one.

"I…," he started slowly, uncertainly, "am… Garland…."

There is a stream of blue light around here somewhere….

Under the ruins of Edge!? You daft old man! Why did you bring me into this mess!?

Silence! You and I are as one now! You are only calling yourself a daft old man, fool!

Then… you just called yourself a fool?

You, the Hojo part of our combined form, Garland, are an idiot.

Garland harrumphed and marched through the dimly lit sewer. Suddenly, just as the old man had said, there was indeed a shaft of bright blue light that faintly pulsated. "This is it?" Hojo asked in his new, gruff voice.

"Of course it is," the old man snapped, using the same voice. Hojo thought himself lucky that no one else was here to call him mad. Perhaps he was, allowing himself to be caught in this ill-fated predicament. It didn't matter, however, for he was already known to be mad- a mad scientist, aside from the pun. Garland cracked a grin- something very, very insane. "This mighty Terra is a force to be reckoned with, correct? Then we can use this to our advantage?"

A searing pain ripped through his skull. "No, you stupid fool, Terra is ours to save, not use for world domination! Really, you insolent, mortal Gaians…. Ugh, you can be so repulsive sometimes. Okay, now step through the world thread, and we will be in Terra."

Garland furrowed his eyebrows. "It it was that easy all along to get to this 'Terra', then wouldn't someone have found it already?"

Actually…

Three years prior…

"Hey, Cloud, what's that stream of blue light over there?" Aerith asked innocently.

In front of them, the monster roared loudly, remaining unnoticed by the captivated Ancient. Cloud and Tifa (already weary from all the battles they had to fight to get thus far, only to realize that Cloud looked hideous in a purple dress and that old pedophiles loved Tifa) looked up in annoyance at the new fiend. "Aerith! We need some help here!"

She reached out to touch it, but Tifa yelled, "Good Lord up above, there's a freaking second one!"

The two young women then heard a stream of profanities spill from the ex-SOLDIER's mouth. "Cloud!" Aerith reprimanded, turning away from the portal, bristling. "There are ladies present!"

The same stream of profanities (with an added mix of vulgarities) spewed from an Tifa's mouth as a third showed up.

Aerith, sighing, picked up her rod and hit the first monster in its sweet spot. It fell over cringing and the three ran.

Present Time

Garland reached out and, right as his finger touched the light, he was zapped away.

"My beloved Terra… I am home."

Garland looked around- seeing a landscape so much unlike anything he had ever seen. Blue mushroom-like trees covered every inch of the stalked-forest, and the water beneath Garland's feet was frozen- as if etched deep within Time's flow, never to move again of its own accord. The sky was a pale blue against a cerulean landscape, yet something among the dead area stirred within Garland. Seeing this land filled with the ancient Cetra once again….

That was his mission.

What must we do? Hojo inwardly asked, snickering.

"We are going to revive this land. A strain of genomes will be created with your extensive knowledge of mutation and biology. I can easily bring you any materials you may need, so long as you agree to create these creatures."

Garland thought for a moment. "These… genomes. Could we implant souls into them?"

"…I see no problem in that. Why do you ask?"

Wryly grinning, Garland answered himself. "Why, I believe I know a soul that would be quite eager to return. If I could blend those two's souls into one being…. Brilliant! Now, which traits to use and which to discard…."

Garland's other half shifted through the other's thoughts. Two fearsome warriors- best friends. Both dangerous adversaries when pitted against another.

Two SOLDIER first class generals: Genesis and Sephiroth. Garland grinned again. "Perhaps you are brilliant. Shall we search the life stream for these souls?"

"Yes. Yes we should, my dear Garland."

Using the same voice, the two laughed.

Four years later…

The silver haired child looked up at its creator with pale, icy blue eyes. He seemed completely apathetic towards Garland, who wasn't quite sure the boy would be a great fighter or not. He was scrawny and unpracticed in swordplay. The latter, of course, would quickly be taken care of.

"…Hello," Garland began, beaming at his creation, despite its obvious faults.

He blinked. "Hello."

The two examined each other for a moment. Garland's eyes widened when he saw a silver tail flick from behind the child. He slapped his forehead. "When did that thing grow?"

The child picked his tail up. "This? Didn't you create it along with me?"

"I wanted to create a warrior- not a worthless little runt," Garland muttered. He glowered at the child. "Go find something suitable to wear."

He didn't move. Garland narrowed his red eyes. "Well, child? I gave you an order. I expect you to do what I requested."

Instead, he asked, "Can I have a name?"

"…What?"

"A name," he repeated. "Can you give me one?"

Garland turned away from the idiotic child. He had Sephiroth's features, but Genesis's attitude. The scientist was beginning to think that combining the two was a bad idea. Still…. "Kuja. Is that suitable?"

Kuja grimaced. "What kind of stupid name is that?"

His creator turned and glowered. "You receive what you give. You didn't obey me, and thus your hideous name. That is fair enough, is it not?"

"It's not."

"Regardless," Garland snapped, "I ordered you to find clothing. After you find something, go to your room."

The silver-haired genome scowled at him. "And just how do you expect me to do that?"

Growling under his breath, Garland used a power that instantly came to mind. Lifting Kuja by his tail with a psychic kind of ability, he carried him out into the hall and proceeded to slam the laboratory's metal door.

A failure. His first creation- made of two of the most fearsome souls to ever live… and he was a complete failure!

Garland threw his lab table against the wall, yelling in fury. "A stupid failure!" he yelled. "Why are they always stupid failures!?"

Outside, Kuja listened to his ranting. He plopped the floor and pulled his knees in close. A failure? That's what he was?

Narrowing his icy eyes, Kuja stood. Well, he would make certain Garland would change his mind. Kuja was not a failure! He was a marvel of nature, nothing short of a miracle, even! He was an angel, now. A beautiful, wonderful Angel of Death!

Grinning now, Kuja stood and happily walked off.

* * *

"Cloud, where are you at now?" Tifa asked into her cell phone. The dark-haired bartender sighed as she was met with silence for a moment.

The naturally morose, chocobo-haired ex-SOLDIER-now-delivery-boy stiffly answered, "I'm away right now. I'll come back home soon- promise."

Tifa glowered at the wall in front of her. "Really. You're away. How convenient, seeing this is the anniversary of Vincent's death!"

This time, Cloud sighed. Without bothering to say good-bye, he hung up and stashed his phone in his pocket.

He was, actually, at a grave. Cloud got off Fenrir, his motorcycle, and walked over to the crystalline lake. He didn't know why he was here- most times he went off, he visited the giant Buster Blade that marked Zack Fair's final stand against ShinRa. Aerith's watery grave… why now? Why today?

At a loss for words at the water's edge, Cloud stood there, silent. The area was silent and seemed to be frozen in time- just like the last time he was here. Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz had been here that time with the children marked with the geostigma. Aerith… she had been there then. He knew it. He had felt her standing by, watching over him as always.

She had been the last Ancient- the last of the race of Cetra, whoever they truly were. Those with the power to commune with the planet… just how and why did they die out? Who killed them?

Right as Cloud turned to leave, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He smiled, despite himself. "Hello, Aerith."

He received no answer, but warmth radiated through his cold self for a moment, assuring him the Ancient truly was there. "Four years ago. That's when Vincent left us."

Left them. Not died, simply left.

Cloud sighed. "Aerith." He paused, letting the name sink in a moment. "Aerith, comfort Yuffie- not me."

Then he walked off.

Right before he got on his motorbike, Aerith's voice stopped him. "There's a child of mine, Cloud. I want you to help him before he ruins his life."

"Who now?"

She was gone again. Cloud looked down at the faintly glowing soil. "Who on this forsaken planet isn't a child of yours?"

* * *

Dressed in a silver and white garb that Kuja made sure his tail could fit out of, the first genome walked down the halls, taking in everything he saw. Finally, he came across Garland's lab. The old man had since quieted down, still locked within. Kuja took a fearless breath and knocked on the door.

After quite a bit of grumbling on Garland's part, the man opened the door. He narrowed his eyes at the beaming, cocky genome in front of him. "What do you want, you ignorant mess?"

Kuja simply smiled. "I did what you asked. What else do you want me to do?"

"Rot. You're nothing but an abomination in my eyes."

The genome's act faltered for a minute, hearing the heart wrenching comment, but he quickly recomposed himself. "I'm your first, though. Surely you don't want to use me as an example?"

"An example of what?" Garland testily demanded. "An example of my mistakes?"

"An example of what should not be allowed to happen again. You see, if you remember what faults I have, you won't ever make that mistake again on any future attempts at creating a genome. So I am of importance, if only to be used as a reminder."

Harrumphing, the old man turned away from the child in disdain. "Your words are only those of Genesis's. Nothing you say will ever truly surprise me. Come to think of it, he too was an abomination. Only Sephiroth was a true marvel- but he was proved to be expendable. You are just like them. A mistake that will one day cease to be even a memory. Is that the path you want?"

Kuja gave Garland a look that matched the one Genesis so often used to give him that it at first made him question if the boy really was such a failure. "My dear, dear Garland. The past is the past, never to be nothing more than that. I am a brilliant future. I pity you for not realizing this yet."

That witty tongue. It seems that too had been passed down. What had come from Sephiroth, then? The scorn he had for all living things once he realized where he came from? If that was it….

Then Kuja was going to be a fearsome little boy.

Please Review, everyone! You can flame me if you want, I completely understand (My non-fanfiction . net editor hated how I combined these two Final Fantasies). As always, if you see a mistake or something grammer wise, feel free to correct me.

-WiREP