Chapter 1: Unexpected Wisdom

Stupid stupid stupid, how could he do that to Zack? Was the pup even still alive?!

Angeal flew down below the plate in a mild panic. He had been lost, confused, but that was no excuse to hurt his pup. SOLDIERs were made tough, especially 1sts, but a fall from the plate to the slums far below? Could Zack survive that? He beat his wings faster. If Zack was alive, he would discretely take the pup the nearest medical center and fly away, leaving him non the wiser.

If he was dead...

He didn't know what he would do.

So down he flew, until he spotted what looked like a church with a SOLDIER sized hole in it. He set down ontop of the church and peered down. He spotted Zack collapsed unconscious ontop of what looked like... a bed of flowers? In the Slums? How the hell...

He went tense as a figure entered his vision, and then relaxed. It was just a teenage girl. He watched the girl timidly approach and poke Zack a few times. "Hellooooo?"

Angeal wanted to snort with amusement. Maybe would have, if the situation was anything else. He carefully descended into the church and knelt on wooden beams high above the floor, watching carefully. He suckered in a breath when Zack twitched. The pup was alive...

...and apparently not quitting on his attempts to woo every girl he met, near death experience or not. "Heaven?"

Angeal smacked his own forehead and sighed softly. Oh Zack...

The girl giggled a little. "Not quite."

Of course, the pup didn't leave it at that, calling the girl an angel, to her amusement...

...and Angeal practically dove, pressing his body against a support beam, after the girl introduced herself as Aerith and pointed at the ceiling. "You fell from the sky."

Angeal held his breath, but when the girl didn't shout, and Zack didn't show any reaction, he figured he hadn't been seen. He waited a few moments before peering back over the side, only to roll his eyes as Zack tried to offer the girl a date as a 'reward' for 'saving' him. Really Zack? Boy needed to learn a few things about the opposing gender, including when to drop the ego and pup act...

And of course it took the pup near stepping on the flowers to first take note of them. Angeal held in a sigh and sat down, watching bemused, until the pup finally left. That boy was ridiculous sometimes. Thankfully he at least lived to be ridiculous, the fall could have easily killed him if he landed on something sharp, or not as soft as a patch of flowers...

"You can come down now," called up the girl.

And Angeal fell backwards in surprise, falling off the beams and landing on his ass on the not-as-comfortable wooden floor, making the girl giggle, at least until she saw his wing. "Oh..."

She stared at it, a little transfixed, before looking him over. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, are you okay?"

Angeal dusted himself off and stood up. "I'm fine."

He looked the girl over for a moment. Young, early teens, so thirteen or fourteen maybe. She had brown hair that oddly reminded him of Sephiroth's. Her eyes a softly (glowing!) emerald green. She wore a light-blue dress with a blue ribbon on it's center. She had sandals on, which he felt odd considering all the junk in the slums she could cut her toes on. What really struck him was the odd sensation she gave off now that he was closer. It didn't feel SOLDIER, but something... other. He didn't know what to make of her.

When he stood up, to his full height, wing flexing a little, a hint of fear showed in the girl's eyes as she took an uncertain step back.

Angeal held out both hands passively where the girl could see them. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Her eyes weren't on his hands, but his own eyes. "You're SOLDIER."

It wasn't a question. "I was, but no more."

That answer made Aerith relax a little. "Oh."

But not nearly enough for Angeal's taste; especially when she hadn't shown a hint of fear to Zack; was there just something about Angeal that screamed to people that he was a monster? "You weren't scared of Zack."

Aerith smiled sheepishly. "He's to silly to be scary."

Angeal came off guard at that, tension mercifully bleeding out of his shoulders as his dark thoughts faded away. "That he is. He's a good pup."

She tilted her head, curious. "Pup?"

"He DID try the puppy dog eyes on you," he pointed out, "He's as loyal and playful as one too."

Aerith had a brief fit of giggles. "Okay, I see what you mean."

Slowly, her smile faded away, and she glanced up at the hole in the roof. "You were checking to see if he was okay."

A flash of guilt crossed his face. "I... yeah..."

The look didn't pass by fast enough to miss. "You... knocked him off the plate?"

Angeal bowed his head, shying away. "I... I didn't mean..."

There was a gentle touch on his arm. "Here, sit down."

He offered no resistance, letting her lead him to a bench.

"You care for him," she said softly.

"Yes," said Angeal hoarsely, "He's my pup."

"Was it an accident?" she asked.

"Yes, no, I don't know," he whispered.

A gentle touch laid on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He laughed bitterly. 'Do I want to confess my sins? It is one of the things churches are for after all."

"I'm not sure I'd call a mistake a sin," she answered softly, "It's easy to see you didn't mean to hurt him."

"But I did," said Angeal, "I'm doomed to hurt those I care for. What did Genesis say? 'Such is the fate of a monster'."

Aerith raised an eyebrow. "A monster you say?"

Angeal flexed his wing a little. "Yeah, a monster."

"A monster doesn't regret," chided Aerith gently, "A monster does not care nor love nor go out of his way to make sure someone is okay."

He looked away. "You don't even know me."

"You are not a monster," she said sternly before softening, "You're just scared, sad, and alone."

Angeal couldn't helped the way his wing protectively curled around him.

"What have you done that's so bad that you think you're a monster?" she asked.

There was something about the girl that made him want to confess everything, but, "I can't get a innocent child involved in a Shinra conspiracy."

She closed her eyes, tilting her head towards her flower bed, as if listening to something; when she opened her eyes there was an oddly steeled and determined look in them. "Considering I'm one myself, I think I could handle it."

Angeal went still.

"But you already figured there was something different," she said pointedly, "Your curiosity keeps you here, otherwise you would have left right away."

"You're eyes glow a little," he admitted, "And your presence is... strange."

"No more strange than yours," she jabbed back with a smile.

He glanced at her, taking in her appearance again. Aside from her eyes and presence, she was so unassuming. "Alright then, whats a 'Shinra Conspiracy' doing in a church in the slums?"

She raised a challenging eyebrow. "I believe I asked first."

Angeal chuckled. "That you did."

His face fell a bit. "I... found out that I had been experimented on, before I was even born."

The sadness in her eyes was palpable. "Go on."

It came spilling out in a torrent. "I can see it so easily in hindsight, how Genesis and I were 'encouraged' to become SOLDIERs. Led right by the nose seeking 'glory', thought we would be doing good."

He scoffed. "There was no glory or honor in Shinra. None we didn't personally create ourselves. The Wutai War was based entirely on greed. We... I... was just a cog in Shinra's machinations,more for good publicity and training SOLDIERs to fight and kill in Shinra's name than anything else."

"Are you saying you did no good at all?" she questioned, "Shinra tots SOLDIER's monster culling missions a lot, and when you all rescue people."

"Does a few good deeds outweigh the whole?" he countered, "And besides, if you belived all the good PR about SOLDIER you wouldn't have been afraid of me."

"I had my own reasons that have nothing to do with SOLDIER reputtion," she answered quietly, "I've... always had a fear that one day someone from Shinra will come to take me back."

It was an honest fear, and justified to. "There are a number in SOLDIER who suffered that fate, and were pressed into service. I, and the others, did nothing about it, looking the other way on that and so many other crimes."

She studied him for a moment. "You are no more specifically guily or monsterous for any of that than any other SOLDIER. You shouldn't avoid whats really troubling you."

"It ALL troubles me! It all greates!" he snarled, causing her to shrink back; he looked away in shame. "I'm not avoiding or delaying, I'm just going in order."

Aerith took a moment to conquer her brief fear before scooting a little closer. "It all adds up, doesn't it? Becomes a weight so hard to bear."

"It does," he answered quietly, "But what you've heard so far is hardly the worst. You can walk away now, if you so wish, and no one will be the wiser. Hear any more, and you become a major security risk for Shinra."

"I already am," she replied softly, a distant look in her eyes, "Shinra murdered both of my birth parents. While my mother wouldn't have been known to the public, my father was."

Anger rippled through Angeal at another of Shinra's sins. "I'm sorry for your loss."

She merely shook her head. "It was a long time ago for me."

He nodded slowly, accepting her answer, before his eyebrows furrowed. "If I may, who was your father? I don't know your last name."

She smiled sadly. "My adopted last name is Gainsborough."

There was a hint of hesitation on her face, struggling to decide if she wanted to cross this last line and share this secret. Though, Angeal couldn't imagine who her father would have been to consider her a security risk if news of his murder spread...

"My last name is Faremis, my father was Gast Faremis," she answered.

Angeal's world froze for a moment. "Gast Faremis? As in former head of Shinra Science Department? Professor Faremis?"

Aerith nodded. "Yes."

That... that was actually big. Gast's fate had been unknown, having disapeared over a decade ago. That Shinra had him murdered, and had Hojo take over the Science Department...

"I don't doubt you, but do you have any proof to publically challenge Shinra?" he asked.

Her face fell a bit. "No, I was a baby when it happened. I only know what my birth mother told me."

Angeal nodded. "I suspected as much. One thing Shinra has always been good at is cover ups."

There was a shared bitter silence for a moment before Aerith asked, "So, what were you going to tell me next?"

He refoused his thoughts, going through the incidents one by one in his mind. "It's a long tale, it started when my friend Genesis was injured..."

So he told her, everything. The fight, Genesis's disapearence, his encounter with his friend in Wutai, Genesis's wing and madness and cloning ability, Hollander's tightly guarded slips on 'Project G', Angeal's own wing and cloning ability that he had thankfully not used on people yet, then...

"My own mother killed herself," he spat out painfully, bitterly, "Because of the shame of having a monster for a son."

Aerith stared at him with such sorrow. "Angeal... I'm so sorry."

He didn't know whether to accept her words or scorn her pity.

Either she was a mind reader or he wasn't schooling his expression; she chided him gently, "It's not pity, its sadness. Both for your loss, and that you think its your fault."

"Isn't it?" he asked bitterly."

"No," she said softly, "It's not. Look past your anger, your pain, your grief. If she took her own life, it was from her wn guilt in what she allowed to happen to her son."

He looked away, saying nothing.

"A lot of what you said is worse than I could have imagined," Aerith said solomly, "Part of me wishes that I didn't know what I do now. The other part realizes that I have to know, that I can't hide from what is going on anymore, that I have to act."

Angeal's eyebrows furrowed. "And what would a at most fifteen year old girl be able to do about any of this?"

"I don't know," she answered anxiously, a tint of fear in her eyes, "But it's my duty, by heritage, to try and stop this from getting worse. Shinra has no idea what it's doing, what it's getting into. Your and Genesis's powers are but a symptom and a herald of something so much worse, that should have stayed lost and forgotten."

Angeal had the notion that something else was going on here. "What are you talking about? And why is it your specific duty?"

"Because I'm the last...," began Aerith.

There was an audible creak from the church door. They both turned and went wide eyed as a huge assortment of Turks began to file into the church, Veld Verdot at their head. Holy shit... was that the entire on-site Turk department?

Angeal half turned his head, one eye on the Turks, one eye on the girl. "Not to be rude, but I think you haven't tol d me something, there's more to you than just being Professor Faremis's daughter to get the entire Turk assembly and Diector Verdot here."

Aerith made a small chocking fearful sound. "I... I was about to."

The Turks all lined up against the Church's entranxe wall, weapon's ready, faces grim or carefully masked, while Veld took two cautious steps down the isle. "Lieutenant Hewely, Miss Gainsborough."

Both Angeal and Aerith stood and moved to the center isle, in front of the patch of flowers, Aerith standing a bit behind him to the left, Angeal out in front. "To what do we owe the pleasure to, Director Verdot?"

Veld's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm going to have to ask you t step away from the girl. She will be coming with us to a more safe and secure location."

Aerith tensed, her body trembling. "I escaped Hojo's labs when I was seven years old with my birth mother and you people killed her! What will happen next time? Will you kill me too?"

Indignant rage poured through him. Hojo? Aerith had been experimented on along with her mother in the labs? A horrific existance, one he and the other 1sts had looked the other way on. They knew aweful things happened in the Science Department, but did nothing about it. He felt a desire to protect, something supressed since this madness first began, resurface. It had been dishonorable back then, to do nothing, and like hell was he going to hand deliver someone to that now. Especially haing found out both of them were experiments...

Veld at least had the deceny to show a tint of rremorse. "That was regrettable, Ilfana's death wasnt't upposed to happen."

"Whether it was by the experiments in the labs, or from one of your bullets," said Aerith slowly, and in a cold maner Angeal hadn't yet seen from her, "Shinra would have killed her because she couldn't give Shinra what they wanted."

Veld pursed his lips. "Look, Miss Gainsborough you are n a very dangerous situation. You need to come with us, now."

"I'm not going back!" she shouted in distress.

"You will be taken into protective Turk custody, not to Hojo," stated Veld, "Now step away from him."

Aerith instead stepped closer, a hand loosly gripping Angeal's arm. "I think I'm safer with him than back in that building."

Veld opened his mouth to argue, but frankly Angeal had more than enough of this. "I belive she's made herself clear, Director Verdot, I think it's time you left."

The Turks all tensed as Veld cleared his throat. "She will be coming with us, away from you, by force if need be. Not even you can take all of us at once Hewely."

He begged to dffer, but not when he had a ward to protect. "Aerith, do you trust me?"

She nodded, gripping his arm tightly. "I do."

Without waiting for anything else, he scooped up Aerith, flapped his wing, and took off as the Turks scrambled. He and his charge were through the hole in the church roof before they could even take a step forward, flying off and leaving Midgar far behind...

Path Two of Three of the 'Trio's Angel' series, sister book to Genesis's Angel and the eventual Sephiroth's Angel. There will be one story each for Genesis (already started), Angeal (this one), and Sephiroth, for how Aerith saves/pulls each of these sorry lot out of their rut. None of the three stories will be connected, aside from the theme of Aerith being there for them, eventual slow romance, and kicking Jenova's ass, maybe Shinra's too.

While Genesis's story will focus more on the spiritual, Angeal's will focus more on honor, responsibility, and doing the right thing. Sephiroth's is still to be determined.