After the briefing was finished, everyone stayed in the room, trying to suggest viable options. Everyone except Tifa. Vincent and Reeve were the only two to make a note of her leaving. They both assumed she was on her way to find and speak with Cloud. If anyone could calm him down, it would be her. The two of them had finally fallen into a comfortable rhythm with each other. No one was sure if their relationship was romantic, but they couldn't deny the two were close.
After she left, the conversation turned to who would fight and how, if it turned out the threat was of a more organic nature. Everyone agreed that they now had a handful of excellent fighters, able to stand up to superhuman tasks, but until they figured out exactly what they faced, it was a moot point trying to figure out the best approach.
Their looped conversation was interrupted by an out of breath guard rushing into the room. "Director Tuesti, we have... oh great! Everyone is still here! The man that has been in the infirmary woke up a short while ago. He started trashing the lab before one of the doctors was finally able to sedate him again. They told me they doubted he would be out long, so if you could head there right away, it would be great!"
Everyone froze for a moment at those words, but the silence was broken when they all started moving towards the exit at once. There wasn't really any shoving, but it seemed as if they were dancing around, trying to all leave together. Finally, Genesis had had enough. "Stop! Enough already! Reeve, I know you want to talk to him, but it would be best if I speak with him first. Sephiroth, if you would accompany me, please? I believe you are the only other person he might be willing to tolerate until we can get him calmed. I am sure you have the room under observation already and can watch from outside the room, correct?"
At his shout and subsequent request, everyone stopped moving towards the door. Reeve looked at him with a contemplative look before nodding. "Yes, there are cameras in the room already. We will observe while you talk to him. If it seems the two of you can't handle it, we will get involved."
Genesis waved off his concern. "Fine, fine. I understand. If you send anyone, Vincent should be the first one. There is a feeling around anyone that has previously been touched by Jenova, and he might be less likely to lose it any further with those of us that share that trait, not to mention he'll be likely to recognize him as the one that defeated him, even when he was merged with Omega. That should serve to calm him." He lowered his head before adding a caveat under his breath. "Or it will make him lose his calm, but it shouldn't come to that."
Only Sephiroth and Vincent had heard his last statement, and they were neither inclined to add anything. As for Reeve, the information about the connection between those that carried Jenova cells wasn't a thought that had previously occurred to him, but he nodded in understanding, realizing they didn't have time now to get into it. With the decision being made, Genesis and Sephiroth moved to follow the antsy guard while everyone else followed Reeve to the monitoring room.
Genesis was the first to enter the infirmary, with Sephiroth following slightly behind, senses alert for danger. When they entered they were both relieved to find Weiss still sleeping, but he was already stirring. Genesis hurried to his bedside and waved the rest of the infirmary staff to wait outside. He didn't want Weiss to wake and see them, not when he would identify them as attackers since they had to tranquilize him.
It was only a few tense moments later that Weiss finally opened his eyes. Genesis moved slightly to make sure he was the first thing the waking man would see. He relaxed a little when Weiss' gaze fell on him, and his eyes lit with recognition. The prone man lifted himself on one arm, then reached out to grasp Genesis by the arm. It looked as if he were trying to reassure himself that the redhead was really there and not a dream. Once he was reassured, he sat up and grasped Genesis' forearm in a clasping handshake. "Brother! I thought I had passed into the lifestream. Am I truly still alive?"
Genesis gave the man a small but genuine smile before answering. "Yes, much has happened, though. I will tell you everything I know, but it won't be easy to accept. Can you at least promise to hear me out before deciding your course of action?"
At Genesis' request, Weiss sat back. Genesis noticed shadows seeming to leak from Weiss' skin and had to resist the urge to back up. It was apparent that Nero's power was still alive and whole within Weiss as well. The shadows finally died down, much to Genesis' relief, before Weiss finally spoke again. "I vaguely remember becoming the host for Omega. I was... I think I was being controlled by Hojo." Genesis watched him shudder at that but didn't interrupt. "I remember being defeated. What happened to the rest of the Tsviets?"
Genesis cringed at the question. He had hoped Weiss would have remembered those details, as telling him now was not likely to go over well. Not that Weiss really cared for any of them except Nero, but trying to convince him to work with Vincent and the WRO would probably become even more difficult. He wasn't going to lie to him though. "They were all defeated before you even merged completely with Omega. All except Nero. Nero merged with you to push Hojo out."
Weiss looked down at his hands where there was still a trace of the shadows dancing around his fingers. "I remember that. I thought the others had all been killed, but then again, I thought I had been as well. So, I am the only survivor from Deepground?"
Genesis started to answer affirmatively but paused. He had almost forgotten that Shelke had survived as well. She had begun helping the WRO before Omega was summoned, but she was still living, at least the last he had heard. He wasn't sure if Weiss would be happy to hear that, though. It was only the fact that he would likely run into her at some point that made Genesis decide to tell him. "As far as I know there is only one surviving member of the Tsviets beside you. Shelke was living in Edge the last I heard."
Just as he expected, Weiss grimaced at that news. "She wasn't even a proper Tsviet, how the hell was she the only one to make it!?"
Genesis decided not to reply to his outburst. They already had a long road, and he didn't want to alienate him before having a chance to explain. "We have many things to discuss, and I'd rather go somewhere more comfortable to do so. Before we leave this room, there is something you need to know. We are in the WRO headquarters. I am here willingly, so I would appreciate it if you don't have any more outbursts."
Weiss jumped up at his words, the betrayal he felt was easy to see, made even more dangerous by the fact that the shadows from earlier were floating out in large tendrils. "Why?"
That single word was like a slap in the face for Genesis. He had spent countless months nursing this man, so to have him jump to the thought of betrayal as the first possibility was irksome at best. He pushed the irritation away as he remembered the life the man he was facing had gone through. Genesis understood well the hatred a person could harbor when they believed everything they knew was a lie. He still could barely keep the irritation from his voice. "Stand down, Weiss. They are not our enemy. All I ask is that as repayment for bringing you back from the cusp of death, is for you to listen to what I have to say."
While Genesis had been talking, Weiss had finally looked around the room. When his eyes landed on the tall, silver-haired woman leaning against the door he froze. He had never seen Sephiroth in person, but he had seen enough pictures to realize she could have been his twin. He doubted she would be standing there so calmly in the stronghold of the people that had helped to destroy Sephiroth without a good reason. That more than the words he barely heard from Genesis calmed him. He didn't bother answering Genesis. Instead, he moved to stand closer to the woman. He noted she was nearly as tall as he was himself, extremely tall for a woman. She also didn't seem to be ruffled by anything that was done or said up to this point. He could feel a pull from her, like the one he felt to Genesis or previously with the Tsviets. He understood it was probably something to do with the experiments done on them all, a fact that made him wary of her, but not so much he wasn't going to speak with her. "What exactly is your part in this?"
At the question from Weiss, Sephiroth stood. He didn't know anything about this man other than he was the commander of the Tsviets. They were a group that could have rivaled the Firsts easily from what he had learned, with Weiss being the strongest of them. He had been evaluating him while Genesis spoke and found even Genesis held wariness where he was concerned. He also noted that, although Genesis seemed reluctant to, he had not hidden anything. Taking a clue from those facts, he decided to be honest, as well. "I was recently returned from the lifestream. It seems as if the planet is gathering champions to face a threat."
The look the man gave him bordered on incredulous. "I'm not sure which is harder to believe, the fact that the planet is responsible for returning any person back to life, or that you seem to be inferring I am one of those people."
"I'm certain they both seem ludicrous, but the fact remains that I am almost positive every person in this room now has died and been brought back." At that, he pointedly looked over at Genesis to take over.
"Sephiroth is correct. I died and was brought back before you and Nero even gathered me up from Banora. You were also dead when I first found you after your defeat. I was able to revive you, but you have been in stasis in mako for nearly a year."
Weiss interrupted Genesis at this point. "Are you saying it was a year ago that I merged with Omega and tried to destroy this planet?"
"Yes, between Meteor and Omega, Midgar was hit the hardest, but it has been long enough now that the people of Edge, of the world, are finally starting to rebuild. You wouldn't recognize the world if you walked out there today. Everyone is still wary, but hope is much more prevalent, even after so many have been lost." Genesis was so caught up in his own speech, talking about the world that he had promised to protect going forward, that he missed Weiss' grunt of disbelief.
That changed when Weiss grabbed him by the arm. "Are you trying to tell me you want me to help you, all of you, try to save a planet I almost destroyed? What sense does that make!?"
Genesis focused his attention on Weiss with a disappointed look. He was getting ready to go into another of his dramatic spiels when Sephiroth interrupted their conversation. "So did I. I called Meteor down and forced the planet to react. That was my first crime. There were countless people killed by my actions, and yet here I am, as is Genesis. He rejected Shinra for their lies, but Shinra isn't the whole world. They never were, no matter how much they tried to make people believe it. There are good people out there worth protecting."
Weiss' eyes had narrowed during Sephiroth's speech. "Sephiroth is the one that called meteor. I know that much." His look was disbelieving before his eyes widened with a realization. "Wait, Genesis called you Sephiroth! What the hell is going on here?"
Sephiroth held up both hands to indicate non-aggression. "That's because I am Sephiroth. I did say the planet recently brought me back to life. It is a complex story, but the basics are that this was part of my punishment. Right now, though, the gender of the body I occupy is of little consequence. What does matter is that we only have a matter of days before this planet is going to face an event that could mean the end of all life, and there is no way any of us will survive unless we band together. Even then, it might not be enough, but I, for one, do not plan on sitting idly by and watching."
Weiss didn't respond immediately. He looked between the two people that had been trying to explain the current circumstances to him. He had spoken with Genesis a few times before he went off on his own. He knew the man always had a flair for the dramatic. Everything he had ever heard about the General, though, had pointed to a man that did not let emotion sway his judgment. He realized there were several years where he had supposedly lost his mind and went for world domination or destruction. However, the woman in front of him showed nothing but cold logic, even during her impassioned explanation on her stance. "I think you were right, Genesis. We do need to sit down and talk. There are too many questions and not enough answers. Do you have someplace we can go, and you can explain to me what in the nine hells is going on?"
Genesis made a slight flourish toward the door before answering. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." Sephiroth had opened the door and waited as Genesis passed before looking to Weiss. With a shake of his head, Weiss followed after the redhead.
When Sephiroth followed them both into the hall, he found a tense scene waiting for him. It seemed as though Vincent had been waiting, and Weiss was not taking it very well. Sephiroth walked out to Weiss pinning Genesis to the wall. "You didn't say anything about working with him!"
Sephiroth immediately moved to interfere. "That was going to be one of the things we talked about. Vincent is sharing a room with us currently, so there will be plenty of opportunities for you to air your concerns. Now is not the time or the place. Trust me, we have been understanding to this point, but I will not put up with unnecessary destruction." The three men only looked at the woman with disbelief.
Vincent had still not figured out what her ploy was, if she even had one, and it was looking more and more like she was truthful. Her actions continued to speak for her loud and clear, and most were almost instinctual.
Genesis was staring openly in admiration and something else that might have been jealousy. He noted it was so easy for her to slip into the role of a commanding officer, and she was good at it. There was a reason he had always envied Sephiroth and still followed his orders, especially on the battlefield.
As for Weiss, this was unexpected. He had given special consideration to her words up to this point on the off chance she really was Sephiroth. It wasn't that he owed her anything, but if what she said was true, it lent a certain push to the circumstances that words alone could never accomplish. Staring at her now, any doubts he had that she was the revived General were quickly being pushed aside. She exuded power like breathing.
With a huff, he let go of Genesis' collar and gave another glare to Vincent but turned to look once more at Sephiroth before heading down the hall. "I'm assuming it's this way, but you'll have to tell me where we're going. I'm amazing at many things, but I still can't read minds.