Seeking Truth

[Penelo]

Penelo could admit it. This fight had taken a lot more than she had thought it would. She remembered a time when she could fight constantly for an entire afternoon, and not be this tired. She had been out of the danger zone for quite some time, and that had made her soft. She knew that. She had lost her combat stamina after they returned from Lemures, and because of that she had to slowly work up to that fighting god she used to be. She was almost mad at herself for letting herself get this soft, but in her defense, she hadn't wanted to be like that anymore. She never liked fighting, but this was ridiculous. She wiped some sweat from her brow and took a minute to breath. She felt the beast begin to cast a spell and she started to back up, out of range a little. She could survive if it was another water spell--well she would survive regardless, but she could continue to fight if it was a water spell. But if it was something else, she might just be out of commission. She needed to tell Genesis that, because it was something he should know. If she did manage to fall out, he needed to know that it wasn't fatal, just momentary. She felt the spell getting bigger and stronger.

It must be one of the -ja spells, maybe wateraja. If that was true, Penelo needed to cast curaga on herself or she probably wouldn't make it. She looked over at Genesis, however, because of what he said. How could someone fake a cast? Penelo had never come across something like that before, but she was in a different world. She took Genesis' work for it, and as insurance she cast Curaja on the both of them. She took in a strong breath of the magic as she felt the healing magic take effect, it ebbed away the aches in her arms and legs, and it set her heart and breathing back to normal.

That was however, before the monster cast it's spell, Ultima, as Genesis called it. She found it odd that the spell had the same name as her Esper. She wished Ultima could speak, because then she would ask the giant woman about it. She looked at the monster as he unleashed the spell, and she was caught in it. The power of the explosion sent her flying, and the egg in her hand exploded, from contact with the explosion. She let out a short scream of pain, she felt the burned skin of her forearm throb from it. Not to mention the earth caught her from being thrown from the damaging spell.

She landed on her back, her view of the sky was extremely blurry for a few moments, the tree tops doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled, and then everything faded until she passed out. She should have told him after all, but the unconscious girl hadn't thought a single spell could have. Everything had heart in those fleeting moments she had feeling, but in the dark void, there wasn't anything. No pain, no monsters, no senses, no time. It was reality, but it wasn't. If Penelo was conscious, though, she would have felt extremely bad for leaving Genesis all alone to fight the monster by himself.

[Genesis]

Damn.

As the flash of green light filled the Air, Genesis braced himself as the massive roar of emerald-colored wind, magic power and kinetic energy smashed into him. The blast of the Ultima spell had been bigger then Genesis had anticipated, and more powerful. Knocked off his feet, Genesis was thrown straight back through the air roughly thirty feet, slamming into the trunk of a nearby tree.

The damage from the impact was minimal, unlike the damage from the spell, which had been considerable. The red knight, however, was still very capable of fighting. Looking around to survey the damage, Genesis still beleived that the battle was firmly in control. However, that was before he saw the fallen form of Penello. She was laying, appearing to be knocked unconcious (or worse) roughly thirty feet away from the monster.

Dammit.

he felt his body grow seething hot, with anger at the monster and himself. Although the monster had cast the spell, Genesis had been the one to gravely underestimate the creature. His mistake might have cost Penello her life. That did not mean, however, that Genesis was going to give up. Quite the opposite, in fact: Genesis was going to end this battle immediately. Lord Onzozo was about to experience the true power Genesis held within him. A power that was revered and hated. For although this power was indeed great, Genesis felt himself change with its every use.

"My friends, The fates are cruel." Genesis began. Although the quote from LOVELESS was merely a formality, it was also there to punctuate the sudden and rather massive increase in magic power that had built up within Genesis body. A red aura had also engulfed his Rapier, shining like a brilliant ruby sun even against the brightness of the sun. The entire action of both speaking and powering up was meant to help grab the attention of Lord Onzozo away from the fallen Penello.

And it worked.

The creature immediately turned to face Genesis, a primal fear evidently awoken in its eyes. In a way, the creature even began to tremble with fear, not daring to approach the sudden force of nature that had begun to awaken before it.

"There are no dreams, no honor remains."[/b] Genesis continued, reciting the same verse of LOVELESS as before. As he did, a storm of black feathers seemed to swirl around the red knight. This act accentuated another: the unfolding of a massive, black wing from Genesis left shoulder. The black wing of JENOVA. Genesis ultimate blessing, and his ultimate curse.

The creature, despite being terrified, charged foreward in an act of instinctual desperation: Closing the distance as fast as it could, Lord Onzozo was desperate to simply erase this feeling of absolute fear: to fight it with every fiber of its being.

Yet its fate was already sealed.

Readying his sword, Genesis dashed towards the charging creature, closing the distance in a mere second. A tendril of the creatures swung twoard the red knight with tremendous force, but was quickly severed by a single diagonal slice from Genesis empowered blade. Six more swings followed from Genesis, his attacks stringing together in a symphony of destruction. After the sixth swing, the creature was knocked off balance and seemed to stagger backward, reeling in agony.

"The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess."

Rushing forward, Genesis took the opening he had been given, seeming to phase through the creature with his next attack. The attack so fast and brutal that the creature, even if unstaggered, would simply have no time to respond. It's freedom, like its life, would simply be stolen from it.

A split second after Genesis high-speed movement, a massive, red slice arced vertically through the creature. This was followed almost instantaneously by another exact copy of the cut, this time moving horizontally through Lord Onzozo, forming the shape of a cross.

A Crimson Cross. This was the name of this force, an attack developed by Genesis to purge the wicked by ending their lives within a symbol of divinity.

Merely seconds after its formation, the massive crimson cross then vanished in a flash of red, the form of Lord Onzozo taken with it. Meanwhile, Genesis simply stood holding the hilt of his sword in front of his face. Almost as if he was offering a prayer to a higher power.

"I offer thee this silent sacrifice."

As he slowly finished his prayer, Genesis black wing faded away into nothingness. Once the red aura around his sword faded away soon after, Genesis once again regained his human form. The battle over, the red knight's attention quickly turned to that of his fallen comrade. Rushing over, the red knight knelt down and gently propped up Penello's back against his knee.

"Penello?" Genesis called softly. No response. It was at this point Genesis reached his index and middle fingers to Penello's neck, to check to see if she had a pulse.

Genesis heaved a sigh of relief when he discovered she did possess one. It was weak, but there. From the looks of it, the young woman would recover with rest and time. Time that Genesis would definately provide.

Not wanting to try and transport her to a village (Genesis still had issues with flying while holding someone else) the red knight spent the next few hours setting up camp. While he had to take some liberties with Penello's bag in order to get the tent and sleeping bag up, it was better then letting the young woman rest on the cold and unforgiving dirt.

Setting her in the sleeping bag inside the tent (leaving the door open so he could keep an eye on her condition) Genesis then proceeded to set up a campfire. Sitting down next to it, the red knight was about to settle down for a night of guarding the tent when something caught his eye.

It was shiny, and about the size of a materia crystal. Its shape was rather odd, though (it looked like a chunk of raw ore). walking over, Genesis realized that this was where the creature had been.

Lord Onzozo must have dropped it.

Picking it up, Genesis decided to examine it more closely near the fire. A decision part of him immediately regretted, as he suddenly realized the truth of what the crystal was.

It was Nethicite.

Genesis would spend the next few hours looking over the crystal, examining and gleening what information he could from it. Ultimately, however, Genesis was aware of the fact that he knew very little about nethicite.

However, He realized that Penello just might. Seeing as how she was from a foreign land (perhaps the place where nethicite originated from) maybe there was something she knew that Genesis did not? The red knight would simply have to wait and see.

Until then, he could only hope his worst fears were not realized...

[Penelo]

It was like breaching the surface of water, or taking that first deep breath in the morning. At one point, it was all nothingness. She didn't feel or think, but then she took a deep breath and her eyes opened. She was disoriented because the sky she had expected to see was actually the cloth of her tent. The pain she expected to feel was pretty numb, and the shout she expected to hear wasn't in the air. She did, however, hear the crackling sound of fire. She sat up slowly. The skin of her forearm was fresh, new, and it pulled at her muscles where it didn't connect properly. Someone had healed her. She moved out of the tent slowly, her muscles ached from the fight..that afternoon? She could see it was night, but that could mean little. It could just be days later. Or something like that.

When she finally got out of the tent, she saw Genesis at the fire and she was immediately embarrassed for passing out, then she was sad and ashamed that he had wanted help from her and she had turned into a liability, and then she was curious as to what he held in his hand. She pulled herself up to her feet and shuffled herself over to the fire. She sat down and looked at the flames. She actually didn't know what to say. She couldn't think of the words she wanted to say to him. She drew in a semi deep breath and looked up at him. "I'm sorry. I should have done something when you told me he was casting Ultima....but honestly. I've never heard of that spell before. I didn't know what to expect. I'm sorry I wasn't there to--is that nethecite?! Where did you get it?!" Her thought trail was thrown off completely when she recognized what she saw in his hands. It glowed just like the one Larsa had given her, and no doubt it was from the Lhusu Mines, just like every other piece of nethecite--besides the Dawn Shard and all of it's counterparts. Those were all from the Pharos. She leaned forward a little to look at it. She then glanced around, seeing that the clearing they were in was actually where they had fought Lord Onzozo. That meant that Genesis managed to fight him off. Penelo hoped he wasn't injured in the process.

(Ah! The size! I'm sorry it's so small!)

[Genesis]

(its okay ^^ you've done an amazing job!)

It was not long after Genesis began to truly start and puzzle upon the small, empowered crystal that he saw the resting form of Penello begin to move. A sense of relief washed over Genesis as he saw this: from the looks of it, she looked a little sore, but still okay all things considered.

No thanks to him. Genesis knew it was him who got her mixed up in all this. He was the one who pressured her into helping him, he was the one who, perhaps because he was simply a bit lonely in his travels, hoped that some company would ease the tension of his mission.

And it was his fault that she got hurt in the process.

That being said, Genesis managed to hide his guilt somewhat well: but it was easy to see by his somewhat tense body language that something was bothering him. As Penello managed to make her way out of the tent, Genesis heard her voice over the crackle of the fire.

"I'm sorry. I should have done something when you told me he was casting Ultima....but honestly. I've never heard of that spell before. I didn't know what to expect. I'm sorry I wasn't there to--is that nethecite?! Where did you get it?!"

Genesis was both somewhat relieved when the conversation switched gears from apologies (which penello did not owe him, but he owed her) to the nethicite. Clearly, the young woman's response indicated that she did indeed know something about it. This was a very lucky break for Genesis, one he intended to take full advantage of.

"I found it after the monster died. I have reason to believe that it was inside its body of the monster. As to why it was there, I do not know. This is not like any kind of Nethicite I have ever seen: according to my information, Nethicite is a manufactured substance that is created to drain massive quantities of magic, and is highly regulated even in vana'diel. Instead, this Nethicite is radiating magic power power, and rather large quantities of it. Looking at it, it almost seems-"

Genesis paused, his face becoming increasingly concerned as the peices of the puzzle suddenly fit together in his mind: part of him wondered why he had not thought of it sooner, seeing as it was such a simple yet horrific conclusion.

...It almost seems like it was planted in the monster intentionally, to change its form or deviate its evolutionary pattern." Genesis hypothesized. Looking over at Penello, he held out the magic stone with a single outstretched hand, offering it to her.

"is there anything else you can tell me about it? Anything would help. The look on your face tells me you have seen something like this before, and that it was not entirely a pleasant experience."

[Penelo]

Penelo rocked back and forth as she listened to what he said, not because she was cold or in pain, but because she was scared. Seeing that nethecite, it opened all of the doors she had closed. Seeing that one shard destroy the Leviathan one of the Archadian flag ships. It had almost killed her and Vaan as well, but they were saved because by Balthier and his airship. She had also almost been killed by the Dawn Shard that same day, but Larsa had given her some deafacted nethecite to hold. That nethecite she had had absorbed the nethecite of the other. Penelo hadn't understood it at the time, and she still didn't quite understand all of its powers, but she knew to stay away from it.

She had hoped she had been done dealing with the magical stones, but this one before her looked just like the others--well it wasn't a Dawn Shard, or a Dusk Shard, but it was definitely nethecite. No doubt. Straight from Lhusu. She shifted in her seat as he asked about it, she drew in a deep breath before she began to tell him about it. "Nethecite is from a mine where I come from---the continent it is on is called Bhujerba, and it's special because it flies above the earth. The nethecite is what levitates it. It's mined for its magical properties." She began to explain.

"So many years ago, before the Kingdom I lived in was founded, a man by the name of Raithwell, the King of Kings, he was called... He had these two swords, more powerful than any others. He found something called the Sun Cryst, where he used one of the swords to cut Stones from. Those Stones were passed down for generations to his children and so on, as birthrights to the Throne of Dalmasca." Penelo paused to bring in a shaky breath. That stone represented so much heartache to her, she was so worried history would repeat itself, like with Dr. Cid, Balthier's father. That was when the thought struck her about the Occuri. The messengers of God might be interfering again. She hoped it wasn't Venat again... He was scary enough the first time around. And even though the Occuri were supposed to be neutral, they wanted Ashe to use a new Stone from the Cryst so she could take over with power. Penelo missed Reddas, who sacrificed himself to destroy it. He was nice.

She rubbed the sides of her face before she continued. "The large country to the north of us....their leader, Vayne Solidor, had an interest in the Stones and he wanted to collect them. I think that was why he attacked our country, and not just because he was at war with Rozarria...but I'm not a part of all that. Well, I was there. I had a piece of the nethecite, it was deafacted...not like that one you have there. The one I had had been altered a little. And one of the people from Archadia...well he tried to kill us with one of the Stones that the King had cut himself. The nethecite I had absorbed the power from it. Then he had some people test it....it destroyed it all." She paused, only because it occurred to her the difference of the normal, not as dangerous nethecite, and the one he had.

"T-that nethecite. It's not from--it can't be from Lhusu mines. Genesis! That might be from the Cryst! It's different from the others....or..." She leaned back and rubbed her chin. "Or someone is experimenting with them again? Maybe it is Deafacted. It couldn't be from the Cryst, because I was there when it was destroyed. I felt the blast, I saw...I saw it." She didn't like that what she was looking at was unknown. It didn't make sense that it was cut from the Cryst, one because the Cryst was destroyed, and two because Ashe had the two swords that were capable of cutting the Cryst. Penelo felt like pacing, but she didn't want to push herself at the moment.

"Animals are drawn near the nethecite, but they don't...they don't eat it. Someone had to have put it in there, like....like an experiment. Genesis. This person has to be stopped, nethecite isn't something that can be messed with...it...it destroyed an entire city, and made it inhabitable." She looked up at him, there wasn't a single laugh line in the girl's face. She was completely serious about this.

[Genesis]

Genesis listened to Penello's somber story, paying careful attention to not just the facts that she told him, but the emotional reactions that she displayed. At first, Genesis saw some concern in her state, but as time passed, this concern grew into fear, and then into sadness.

It was clear not only from Penello's words but her body language that much of her life had been changed by this simple rock. Changed by the war for it, the destruction around it, and the lives taken by it. Worse, however, was that Penello had confirmed Genesis fears.

"...I see. So the monster did not eat it, and it was as I feared: Someone put it inside the beast, and transformed it into that. At least we ended the poor creature's suffering." Genesis mused, his attention diverting from the perturbed young woman back to the stone.

It almost seemed unbelievable, that such a small stone could cause such pain and suffering. That such a stone, in the wrong hands, could wipe out entire cities. But the truth in Penello's voice made it all to clear that such things were indeed fact and not fiction.

It also made what needed to be done that much clearer.

Putting down the stone at his feet, Genesis gently reached over and grasped Penello's right hand with his. Slowly, he then moved his left hand, and swung it through the air. As he did, a massive, black wing was summoned from his left shoulder, outstreatching to its full length and flexing as the wind rushed past it.

Gently reaching his free hand back to his wing, he plucked a single, long black feather from it. A pinching sensation causing him to twitch slightly. feeling the soft feather in between his index finger and thumb, he spoke in a soft and comforting tone.

"This wing...I was "born" with it. It represents everything I have lived my life around, and is a symbol of the blessing and the curse I bear by choice. I use this power because I do not wish to see others suffer. I use this power to protect, even though I know that it was created to destroy. It is a gift, but one with a heavy price. I now see that this stone, this "Nethicite", is nothing of the sort: it is merely an instrument of destruction, with no consequence attached to it, an ill will and a single purpose its existence is based around: the purpose to destroy."

Genesis then gently turned the palm of Penello's hand upward and gently placed the feather he had pulled from his own wing into the young woman's hand. Slowly, he then closed her fingers around the feather with his own, allowing its softness to be felt in the young woman's hand.

"For your suffering, you deserve to take this stone and see it destroyed: returned from the darkness from which it came. However, if you would allow it, I would offer instead this "feather", a feather from the wing I carried since birth, as a placeholder for this stone. With this feather, comes a promise: I promise that if you let me take this stone, I will do everything in my power to ensure that no more like it will taint the world, and that you will never have to experience another loss at its hands."

Placing his free hand on top of her hand, clenched around the feather, Genesis held her single hand within his two.

"Will you entrust this stone to me, this accursed nethicite, so that I may use it to find whoever or whatever created it, and make this abominable weapon nothing more then a memory?"

[Penelo]

Penelo felt that Genesis truly understood her plight, that he understood that the nethecite couldn't be used for 'good.' It could only destroy. She could see that he got that. Penelo was pretty good at determining good nature. She rubbed the corners of her eyes but looked at Genesis, a little surprised as he took her hand. She wondered if it was because he thought she couldn't handle thinking about all the...crap that stone had caused for existing. She could handle it--well she had to. There wasn't another choice. She looked at his hand as he flourished it and then her mouth opened in a little 'o' as the wing materialized.

The wing reminded her of Lloyd, and she wondered how he was--him and all the other Aegyl on Lemures. They were a hume like specials, only they had wings...and of course lived on Lemures which had recently been completely unknown to the people below on Ivalice. Penelo had been one of the first sky pirates to be on the floating continent, only where other sky pirates attacked the Aegyl, Penelo and Vaan made friends with one, Lloyd. He helped them learn how to control the Yahri, which were fiends, but only illusions. It was strange, but it seemed....natural on Lemures.

And Genesis' wing. It was so dark and beautiful, she could see what he meant about the gift also being a curse. She could tell he had a rocky past, because of how he spoke about it. She didn't speak, because she really didn't know what to say at the moment. She looked at their hands together as he placed the feather in it and she looked back up at him. She was slightly surprised he cared so much of her opinion about the stone, and made this production out of it, but she cared deeply that he thought so much of her to do this formality.

Once she had told him about the Stone, she didn't have a doubt in her mind that he would feel comfortable with leaving it in her possession, but it mattered to her that he did that. She reached up with her free hand to wipe the corners of her eyes before she nodded a little. "I don't have it in me to demand I take the stone. If that were to fall into the wrong hands, it'd kill so many people. I am trusting you with the lives of more people than you can imagine. That stone must be taken to Queen Ashelia B'Nargan of Dalmasca." She told him Ashe's name slowly, so he wouldn't forget it. She looked into his vibrant blue eyes as she spoke as well. "She definitely won't be glad to see the stone, or the story behind it, but you have to tell her, you have to warn her. And if she still doesn't believe you, give her my name, we're friends." She wiped her eyes again, feeling the weight of not only her world, but all the other worlds out there that could be effected by this. "That's priority above all else. I accept your promise, and I'll warn you, that that stone will probably absorb all kinds of magic cast near it, while it works to the advantage sometimes, it also absorbs healing spells. And just as well, it carries a Mist with it that sometimes drives people mad. I've seen this myself, and you have to believe me. It has to be protected from everyone, including yourself. Don't let the idea that you can use it at all, for any reason. Drop it in a pocket and forget which one it is in until you reach Dalmasca, on Ivalice. And if you break this promise, Genesis, I swear to whatever God you wish that I'll find you." Penelo knew she wasn't very threatening, but she meant it. She would fight Genesis to the death if he turned into something like Cid or Vayne Solidor. He was too nice of a person to have that nethecite be a burden to him.

She slowly pulled her hand out of his and scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. She drew in a deep breath before she set back. "So we've made promises for each other. I honestly don't want to complete mine, but I will, Genesis. And don't you dare underestimate me." She pointed a finger at him in warning before she looked down at the feather in her hand, it gleamed in the light and she smiled a little. Even the promise behind it was grave, she felt the specialness that Genesis trusted her enough to show her the wing in the first place. It was magnificent, and if Penelo was being honest, she was a little jealous of it. Penelo was just an ordinary orphan from the streets of Rabanastre who got caught up in everything. Only by accident did she come to command the High Seraph and to have mastered some of the strongest spells in all of Ivalice. She wasn't all to proud of it, but she knew what she had done in the past four years were quite the accomplishments. She just couldn't be proud of them, though. No one should have to do what she did, ever.

[Genesis]

Genesis once again listened to the young woman as she explained just how dangerous the nethicite was. A corrupting force, capable of even turning the most pure-hearted intentions with it into dark ambitions. While Genesis had mostly assumed that to be the case from what he saw within the nethicite, to actually have his fears confirmed regarding it was an entirely different matter. The hug, despite being friendly (Genesis reciprocated by hugging the young woman back) was also a reminder of how important this is.

After it was said and done, Genesis picked up the small nethicite rock and quickly stuck it in his pocket. While he wasn't sure he could forget which pocket he put it in (it was kinda difficult when dealing with something so sinister) Genesis was certainly able to make sure that the object did not see the light of day until he had his meeting with the queen of dalmasca. Getting an audience, even with the name of a connection, might be difficult, but it was a difficulty that the red knight would have to face.

If only for Penello's sake.

The seriousness starting to waver somewhat, Genesis focus returned to the immediate situation. Namely, the fact that they had set up camp without much food aside from the spare provisions he had seen in Penello's bag, which he dared not to touch (lest he suffer reprocussions for the action).

In Genesis experience regarding recovery from dangerous encounters, Penello would need something to eat: Chances are her body used up quite a bit of energy recovering from Lord Onzozo's final attack. So (rather skillfully) Genesis pulled out another Banora white apple (his last one) out of one of his many coat pockets and, extending a hand, offered it to Penello.

"You should eat this to help you-"

Almost on cue, Genesis heard his own stomach growl rather viciously. It was almost as if his own stomach was getting upset with him for even THINKING about offering Penello the apple. After a few moments of audible protest, his stomach managed to settle down and allow Genesis to finish his offer.

"As I was saying, you should eat this to help you recover from that hit you took. I also think you should go rest some more to alleviate any muscle aches that might soon make themselves felt from the battle. Ill go see If I can't get us some form of food during that time."

[Penelo]

Penelo was all worked up from the sighed of it, which was really the last thing she wanted to be. She needed to recover first, for her own health, but seeing that stone and everything...well she was thinking of millions of people she'd never met and how their lives could end in a painful magical explosion. She didn't want to waste time by eating or sleeping when all those people could well...die. She really wanted to join Genesis on his journey there, but he could obviously travel more efficiently than her. She really would just slow him down. And he didn't ask her to come with him. She wouldn't ask it of him either. She had to get the airship fixed and get back home.

After she set back after the hug, she brought her braids in front of her shoulders and started to unravel them. Braiding her hair usually took her mind off of...well the world, or it's potential destruction. She sighed and felt her stomach contract around it's emptiness and she sighed wistfully. The dried fruit in her bag wasn't what she had in mind to eat, and she'd like to save that for later. Maybe she could go run to the stream and catch a fish or two for the both of them. She already had half of her first braid done when she thought about suggesting it to him. She was pretty sure he wouldn't like it, but she felt like she owed him for all that he had done so far.

She looked at him, rather surprised, when he offered her one of those Dumbapples. She was about to thank him, when his own stomach voiced it's offense to it. She couldn't reach out and take it from him, not when he was just as hungry (if not more so) than she was. She was about to voice her objection, because it had been decided beforehand that she was the more skilled hunter (even if he was the better fighter). She resigned and took the apple, even though she was sure she had recovered enough to be of use, again.

"I can help, with the food gathering, the Guado were pretty helpful with that. And it seems there are local monkeys that couldn't be too hard to catch. I'll feel bad just sitting here while you're out doing all the work." Penelo couldn't just take something for nothing, anyway. She wouldn't accept it, and she'd like to avoid any sort of confrontation about it. The faster that Genesis could accept that she wouldn't just go lay down, the better.

(again, not the best. Sorry)

[Genesis]

((OOC: its okay! I think this will be my second to last post before we call it closed, if you don't mind. Sorry, we can do another thread in the future though ok? ^^))

"I can help, with the food gathering, the Guado were pretty helpful with that. And it seems there are local monkeys that couldn't be too hard to catch. I'll feel bad just sitting here while you're out doing all the work."

"No, no, its fine. I'm sure I can manage, after all, I-"

Genesis was cut off midsentence by a sudden chill that ran down his spine. His senses kicking into gear, the red knight's preception of the world seemed to slow down to a crawl. Something had unconciously caused Genesis a great deal of anxiety: something that he felt deep within his unconcious mind. As this happened, Penello would have seen him stand up, his face growing slightly pale as he turned to face the water.

Spira was calling to him.

As his mind focused, Genesis began to have images flash through his mind: hundreds, one after another, coming together to form a mental scene in his head. A memory, not belonging to Genesis, but the planet.

He saw visions of a vast, seemingly barren plain, covered in heavy thunderclouds without rain. Only lighting existed in this storm. Gazing over the vastness of this wasteland, Genesis "mind" gazed upon a single figure, walking through the wastes. A figure clad in black, carrying a massive thin-bladed sword. Meanwhile, Genesis body,entranced by what was happening within his mind, gazed skyward as he focused on the vision. The red knight's perception of the vision suddenly changed, as now he found himself looking at the back of the figure's head.

"...Are you spying on me, Rhapsodos?"

The voice that echoed through Genesis mind was so eerily familiar he recognized it immediately. So it was him. He was here, in Spira for some unknown purpose. Genesis then saw the man in his vision turn his head slightly, menacing green eyes gazing at him through the vision. Eyes of a Soldier, Eyes of a legend. These were the eyes of the harbinger.

The eyes of Sephiroth.

"I know where you are. Ready or not, here I come.

The vision quickly and abruptly ending, Genesis sank downward into a kneeling position and held his head with his right hand as a strange pain shot through it. Was that really him? Was Sephiroth really in spira? Why? How? For what purpose or reason would he be-

Wait.

Genesis remembered the nethicite in his pocket, and realized that it could not be coincidence. That man always acted with a plan, no matter how obvious it was. Sephiroth had to be linked to the nethicite somehow.

Unfortunately, as Genesis began to work through the sudden headache caused by the vision, he realized immediately that he could not get Penello involved in a battle with Sephiroth. Doing so would almost certainly mean death for the young woman, considering how ruthless the harbinger of JENOVA was. This left Genesis in a terrible bind: He wanted to stay and make sure that Penello had healed enough to take care of herself, and yet Genesis also needed to confront Sephiroth before he came to his current location to investigate. If Genesis wanted to absolutely stop his nemesis, he would need to preemptively find Sephiroth and prevent him from ever reaching Penello.

First, however, Genesis needed to find a way to stop his head from ringing and hurting so badly.

"...Dammit..." Genesis groaned, trying to get the world to come back into focus. He needed to warn Penello before it was too late.

[Penelo]

Penelo had been shifting her feet against the ground and looking at them as she did so when he started talking. When he abruptly stopped, she lifted her gaze to him, and was about to ask what it was. He was facing the water, his eyes distant and uneasy at the same time. She wondered what he had seen to cause such a reaction. She started to stand slowly, the muscles in her legs protested from the act, but she didn't want to be left in the dark if some great big thing was hunkering towards them silently in the night. God, she hoped that wasn't what it was. She tried to peer over the fire, around it, and through the night to see what Genesis was looking at.

But she just couldn't see anything but the water. There wasn't anything moving, or making any odd sounds (that she could discern). She stood in her awkward half-crouch half-standing stance until her legs wouldn't allow it any longer and she stood up and walked around the fire to stand in front of Penelo, worry was etched deeply on her face. She waved a hand in front of his face to see he didn't blink or move his eyes from the landscape to her face. Nothing. He was in some sort of a trance, or petrified, which didn't make any sense. She couldn't feel any sort of magical affliction on him, so she honestly didn't have any idea---the nethecite!

What if it was...doing something at the moment? She took a small step towards him, "Genesis?" she asked him in a meek and quiet voice. He didn't move. It didn't even look like he was really breathing. She waved her hand in front of his face a little more frantically but still; nothing. She paced a little, trying to figure out what it was that was causing this, but all too soon, she saw him move and she stopped pacing a few feet away from him and looked him over intently. She heard the curse and her eyebrows furrowed in thought. What?

"Genesis? Are you alright? What happened? Sit down." Her questions were quick and her tone was as well, however her command was soft and she took a light hold of his elbow, and went to guide him back to his seat by the fire. Nothing at the moment made any sense and because of that, Penelo didn't know what to do. However, Genesis was clearly in...some sort of pain, so she immediately wanted to correct that, first.

(Sounds good to me! And I am gonna hold you to it ^_^)