Chapter Text
[booting system]
[…]
[…]
[registering User >>Player<<]
//Ah goddamnit.//
He really did start something without changing the player name. Again.
[assigning role]
[…]
[…]
[assigned role: The Crimson Commander]
„Welcome to the system“, was the first thing that greeted him when he first awoke. Or should one rather say before he awoke?
Nevertheless, he came to in pitch black. Only comforted, or startled, by the machanical voice of some Siri variation that welcomed him to some random bullshit.
What did he get himself in this time? And most importantly why was he thinking in English?
„You will be provided with the best immersive experience we have to offer. The choice is yours, destiny awaits.“
That phrase seemed pretty familiar.
„Enjoy.“
//Thank you Siri.//
„You're welcome.“
//Wait what?//
Before he could really process what was happening right now, the darkness slowly faded out into some kind of menu, with two options.
> New Game
> Continue? <
Continue was currently slow-blinking at him like a cat, but less friendly.
There were no settings and now exit. And apparently even the interface was in English. He would have to make do with this.
//Atleast I know English good enough. I just have to focus a little more than I am used to.//
There was no way to close the menu, so the focus slowly trailed away from the non-existent language options and instead to the actual options that were provided.
A New Game would obviously start from the very beginning of... something? That was clear enough. But Continue wasn't faded out. No, rather it was currently selected, which probably meant there was some kind of safeload already existing.
//Curiosity only kills the cat once. So, how do I confirm my selection?//
His mind focused on the continue button for a few seconds, until a faint clicking noise echoed through nothingness.
The menu faded out and he was once again thrown into the void.
Seconds went by without anything happening and he already suspected that he was now dead. Or dying. Or some relatively similar state to either of those.
Atleast already being dead was no longer an option when a new sound found its way to his ears.
A slow and steady Beep. Sounding like it was emitted by a machine.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Yeah, a machine. Probably a heart rate monitor, was his first guess.
And surely, when he blinked his eyes open, he was greeted by a well known white. Bright ass hospital white.
Slowly turning the head to his side he could face the monitor to confirm his suspicions. Definitely a hospital.
There was the monitor standing right next to him. White barren walls and some awful display of art on the wall. Atleast no tragic clown, but the soulless coastal view was not a fuck better.
Allright, so why would he be in a hospital? That is one of the first questions that should be answered. Was this system only a dream?
His last memory was of a cozy evening, sleeping in on the couch while watching random YouTube videos. Absolutely nothing that would warrant a hospital visit.
And with that thought a headache made itself known. As it increased by the second he furrowed his brow.
//Did I hit my head?//
„Thank the Goddess, you're finally awake.“
A deep voice cut through the everpresent robotic beeping, from the other side of the bed he was currently residing in.. A sign of relief seemed to accompany this verbal exclamation so he decided to follow the lead and turn his head to the guest.
And what a guest it was.
The broad frame of the man only barely found place on this tiny visitors chair. His black hair orderly kept, but the dark circles underneath the eyes told the story of an exhausting or worryfull night. This man really seemed to care about him. But what he himself cared about was the otherworldy blue of those eyes. They had a striking glow to them one could loose themself in. Which he did.
Until he realized something.
He knew this face. He knew the name of this man.
//Well, if that ain't Angeal fucking Hewley sitting right next to me.//
He had to close his eyes.
Apparently this system put him in a Game. Or the world of a game. Or however one would prefer to put this.
Fact being: He was currently situated right next to one of the strongest Soldiers of this game. And if this system stayed more or less true to canon not a lot of characters were an option to be close enough to Angeal fucking Hewley, to have him loose sleep over some kind of apparent injury.
OH sweet fucking Gods. Or Goddess in this case, he assumed.
The moments dragged on as he still owed his bedside guard a response.
But how was he supposed to respond?
„How are you feeling, Genesis?“, Angeal inquired after he blessed him with even more silence, lost in his thoughts to find an appropriate response.
Swallowing once, he tried to find his voice.
„Fine enough. My head hurts.“ He tried to keep it simple. And this should hopefully satisfy the other party waiting for his timely response.
He was still overwhelmed by this situation. He was not only in a Game, he was also playing the fucking Antagonist. Not as illfated as other characters in this world, but still not the best option that he could've been thrown into.
He chose the continue button though. That was probably the mistake.
If he started a new game he would probably play as the protagonist or as some minor character that would have to work his way up somewhere.
But nope. Not for him.
He got a character already on his peak. And to be even more specific, a character right before his downfall.
There was probably some ongoing war, he could get injured in some kind of training, which would set off degradation. He woukd sprout a wing and go on some insane cloning spree to heal himself. Only to cause the death of his best friend, the insanity of the other. And probably everything else.
Step one was to figure out how long he would have until said downfall. So he could figure out a way to prevent just about everything.
No pressure though.
„Genesis“, the deep and patient voice called out again.
Ah, yes. He trailed off for a moment.
„Did you listen?“
Apparently not.
„No.“
He really liked the sound of his own voice. Steady and soft. Like velvet. Used for a lot of fancy words, but now reduced to the basic vocabulary. What a tragedy. He would like to apologize in advance. But the previous owner of this body, this character, was probably dead. Or never alive at all.
No, no he was trailing of again. This time into philisophy. That's no good. No logic, only listening.
„You got knocked right out when you hit the wall“, his friend ended his quick explanation again.
And again, he missed some crucial parts of exactly this. Goddessdamnit.
„Why did I hit the wall again?“
Angeal sighed, but with a hint of concern. His gaze narrowing.
„It seems that you are still in a state of confusion. I will go and get Hollander.“
That name rang a bell. A bell of impeeding doom.
No hospital then.
„Could you not?“, was his way too soft sounding response to Angeals exclamation.
The last thing he wanted right now was to be questioned by a scientist. A weird, slimy scientist. Better than Hojo who wouldn't touch this character even if he had to. But still an awful pick.
„Why not?“, was now the increasingly concerned question of Angeal who was already about to lift himself up from the armrest.
His eyes were focused on Genesis. Waiting for an explanation why medical examination was denied.
Well, that explanation could get a little weird. And being weird could earn him a one way ticket right to the dude where he did not want to be at all.
„Uhm...“
Ah, how could he properly voice his disdain for the scientist without rising suspicion this soon?
„I am okay, just give me a moment.“
That wasn't too much to ask for in his mind.
And Angeal seemed to agree. Sitting his ass back down onto the tiny chair.
This sight earned a faint but still amused smile.
//One would assume that they would have Soldier grade chairs in the labs.//
„So, now. Would you please repeat the tale of myself hitting a wall once again?“, he inquired.
„This time you will face my full attention.“
//Am I speaking too formal?//
So Angeal explained the cause of Genesis' hospital visit for the third time in a row now.
Goddess bless the patience of this man, because he would need every single ounce of this.
//What even is an ounce?//
The retelling of Angeal painted the picture that Genesis was injured in a spar with Sephiroth. Which made sense, but also caused him to start sweating profusely for a moment.
The second Angeal mentioned a spar, he sat straight up and accidentally tore the hospital gown apart, while trying to move the fabric from his left shoulder, to get a good look at it.
To his relief there was no sign of an injury and he coulnd't stop himself from exhaling loudly.
All while Angeal watched on how his friend ripped his clothes like a maniac, because Sephiroth was mentioned.
Genesis had no explanation.
„Uhm, sorry. I kinda underestimated my strenght? At I thought I remembered a shoulder injury. I still seem to be slightly dazed“, he tried to salvage this to keep face.
Angeal sent him an understanding nod in turn, as he was honest.
He really did not expect the gown to rip by the faintest touch.
Speaking of Soldier strenght.
That would take a while to get used to and he really hoped that the Soldier apartments were also Soldier proof.
Or this gown wouldn't be the only thing torn to shreds.
And this he wouldn't be able to blame on some unconcious daze.
„So, do I have to wait for someone to discharge me or can I just do this on my own?“
This earned him a knowing but worried look.
Apparently this was a typical reaction of his friends, which he had to handle a few times already.
So he spoke up with a gentle voice. A compromise to be offered.
Ah, what a peacekeeper.
„I am not stopping you, but I highly recommend to get in a last check up. You have been out of commission for a few hours.“
//Only a few hours after being knocked through a wall by Sephiroth?// He was pleasantly surprised. This body was really a work of art. Being able to withstand such forces and with no further trouble than a little headache.
„Well, since I do not show any other physical impairments I see no reason for myself to remain in this facility. So I will gladly remove myself unless you stop me within good reason.“
He was kinda proud of this statement.
//Throwing in some good vocabulary right here. A for effort.//
A sigh later, Angeal leaned his head to a bedside table, where his clothes were already waiting for him. Neatly folded by the mom friend himself, he guessed.
What a service.
But there was something missing wasn't it?
„Where is-?“
//Fuck, I am not even trying to pronounce this swords name correctly.//
„Rapier is with Sephiroth. As you know weapons are prohibited to enter this area.“
For obvious reasons, was left unspoken but made him roll his eyes.
That also explained why Angeal was without his signature weapon.
//Rapier huh? Well now I can atleast refer to my weapon correctly without making a fool of myself.//
„Very well.“
With that, he moved the white blanked off and pushed his legs to the side to get some ground under his feet.
„Take it slow“, Angeal reminded him.
Yeah yeah. His SOLDIER circulation should take getting up well enough.
Or so he thought.
The second he rose to a standing position his sight turned black once again.
Only for a quick moment, but enough for his body to sway a little.
//Ah Goddamnit.//
On instinct he steadied himself on the lean of the chair next to his bed. Only mere millimeters off from Angeals shoulder.
While this boulder of a man already rushed forward with a helping hand to stabilize his friend.
His warm hand slightly holding him at the waist so he could not fall over in his direction.
Well, that's emberrassing.
Clearing his throat, Genesis got his body under control and stood up straight.
Turning the back to his friend he walked over to the table to collect his clothes and get dressed.
The gown fell off on its own anyways, so he didn't even bother to enter the bathroom for this maneuver.
„I am waiting by the door.“
Angeal exited himself after he made sure that Genesis could stand on his own.
So he could figure out this outfit in private.
Pants, sweater, weird looking stomach guard, his coat and a lot of belts later he was dressed enough. Until his gaze fell upon the boots.
//Are those heeled boots? How does he run in heels? No, how do I walk with those?//
He contemplated every choice in his life that put him into this situation.
That's what you get for being socialized as a girl but refusing to learn to walk in anything except for flats.
He took a sweet moment to massage his eyes and come up with a solution to this problem.
//I could just go barefoot and claim to still have bad balance.//
Right before he could bend down to pick up the boots and head out, a warning sound rang out and startled him in his movement.
The System popped up with a warning for the first time since his awakening.
[OOC Warning!]
//What the fuck is an OOC Warning?//
[OOC means Out of Character.]
[Acting OOC resolves in points being deducted.]
//So, I am being forced to walk in heels because Genesis has a size inferiority complex or what?//
[Correct.]
He exhaled audibly to voice his annoyance. Stupid system. Those points are probably only good for shits and giggles.
[Points can be used to purchase perks. If your points fall below zero your account will be terminated.]
Well, thank you for clarifying. That was once again one hell of a statement.
//My account will be terminated? So I die or what?//
[Correct.]
„How about you go and fuck yourself?“, he muttered under his breath as he took another look at those damned boots.
No existence without suffering.
So he troubled himself with squeezing into those awful things and took a few steps.
It took a while to get used to the feeling, but this body seemed accustomed to suffering, so that was a bonus.
As he got ready for leaving he decided to do a quick check of his pockets interior and spread everything out on his bed.
Gloves, a silver bracelet with three glowing orbs (probably materia but he had no clue how to get those out of it yet for further inspection), a free roaming tennis ball sized green materia he dared not to touch any further. Next to those he pulled out a travel sized edition of Loveless and a keycard. No purse, no money. Not even something to tie his hair.
//Atleast I didn't get Sephiroth. His hair would annoy the fuck out of me.//
He still had to resist the urge to push back the hairstrand behind his ears, but he would get used to it.
Hopefully.
What a pain.
He put on the gloves and stored everything else back in the pockets of his coat.
//The worst part of it all will be to figure out how to use materia and the ridiculous sword without anyone noticing.//
Degradation and this mess of a plot he could handle. But he had absolutely no clue how he was supposed to pass as a First Class Soldier capable of combat.
In his life he never ever touched a sword, or even hit the gym.
//Allright, this is a problem for... not yet.//
Shaking his head and feeling the dangling earring atleast calmed his nerves a little. Oh, this was good for stimming.
Pushing his worries aside he strut to the door and pushed it open.
„Let's head out.“
He waited for Angeal to get off the wall he was leaning against, one of his brows raised.
„What?“, Genesis snapped at his weird demeanor.
„What did you rant about in there?“, Angeal inquired curiously.
He came to a stop.
//Ah, shit, he heard my cussing. Fucking Soldier hearing will fuck me up real bad if I don't watch myself.//
„Ah-“
He raised a hand to his head and brushed his hair.
„Nothing, really. I got annoyed. Don't bother with it.“
Soon after, they left the floor and entered the elevator.