A/n: Hare: Hey, everyone, welcome back. Guess what, we have the first chapter of part 2 here for you. Hattress couldn't be here with us today because she had some prior engagements. But I said August first, and damn it, I meant August first. So here's the first chapter. All of this takes place after Dirge of Cerberus. Now that ShinRa and Deep Ground have been defeated, everyone can get on with their lives ... we think.

D/c: Hare: I don't own a damn thing. Hattress has Aradia, Square Enix has the FFVII franchise. This time, though, the plot is all Hattress and I, so I guess I do get to claim something this time. Huh, how about that.

Chapter 1

It's been a year. A year since her escape from Deep Ground. A year since she was able to take out the restrictors with the help of her fellow Tsviets. A year since she learned that everyone she loved and cared about was dead. Just a year.

Aradia Maynard sighed as she looked up at the sky. It was raining again. That wasn't a bad thing, to be honest. They'd had such a dry summer that it was worth it if they could get the crops to grow. They'd been having to import from the Icicle, Corel, and Woodland Areas in order to get their produce. Aradia shook her head and ducked into Seventh Heaven, the bar where she'd gotten a job, smiling at Tifa as she made her way behind the bar. "Afternoon, Tifa." She said, happily.

Happy. She hadn't been truly happy since Modeoheim nearly ten years ago, but she was content. She wasn't living her life in the fog she had after Cloud had told her everything. The night on the cliff had been just the beginning. She sat out there for days watching as havoc was wrought within Edge because of the Tsviets. Cloud had come to her when it was all over and told her what had happened. It wasn't long after that Vincent Valentine had brought Shelke to see her. She could remember it with ease.

"Ara." Shelke called as she walked over to the her. "You're okay."

"Shelke." Aradia murmured. "How are you still alive?" She rose from her seat and turned to face the young girl and the man that was with her. They were all that was left of a once great unit.

"My sister. She was a member of the WRO. She'd been looking for me, Ara, just like I knew she was. Then Azul killed her."

Aradia's temper flared and she wanted to pull the girl into her arms to comfort her, even though she knew that Shelke wouldn't accept that. "I'm so sorry, Shelke. I should have been there."

Shelke shook her head. "No. You were right where you needed to be. You weren't right, and you would have been torn between your loyalty to us, and Cloud."

"I have no loyalty to Cloud." Aradia snarled.

"Yes you do." Shelke said. "He's all that you have left of Zack. He told me everything, Ara. Everything that happened when you were in SOLDIER. I know. I know about your relationship with Project G. Everything."

Aradia buried her face in her hand. "Oh, Shelke, what are we going to do? Your suit isn't going to last forever and my injection is coming up soon. I only have the three syringes that Weiss gave me when we parted ways."

Vincent cleared his throat. "I believe I can help you with that. If you're willing. The WRO is willing to help Shelke. I'm sure you'd be no exception." he told her in a flat monotone.

Aradia looked back at him before looking away. "You're the one that Cloud was talking about. The one that brought down Weiss and the others."

He nodded. "I didn't have a choice. They were wreaking havoc and going to destroy the world."

"Believe me, I know all about it." Aradia told him. "You know that that was never their intentions. Weiss became corrupted before we had completely relieved ourselves of the Restrictors."

Shelke looked up at her in shock. "You knew?"

"I'd known Weiss for a long time, Shelke." Aradia told her. "I just didn't know what had corrupted him. The plan was never to awaken Omega. We simply wanted out. You know that as well as I do. He had plans to set up a place where you all could live in peace, and I was going to find my way back to what I knew. I was going to find Zack. I was going to find something familiar."

"And then Hojo got hold of Weiss?" Vincent asked.

Aradia nodded. "Yes. He started talking about power and reforming the world. Nero and I were the only ones that Weiss confided in. Rosso was too unstable. Shelke and Azul, were far too new to the organization."

Vincent had filled her in on what Cloud hadn't known, and it became the longest interaction they had. You didn't see him often, if you were lucky, maybe once or twice a week. Shelke saw him more than anyone because he had taken it upon himself to take care of her, much as Aradia had. Aradia had done so because Shelke was like a little sister to her, and the only other remaining Tsviet. No one knew Vincent's motivations.

Aradia smiled to herself as she set up for the afternoon. She usually worked from six at night till two in the morning. Tifa, however, needed her to cover a longer shift tonight because Cloud and Tifa were taking the kids out of the evening. Aradia didn't mind.

Suddenly, Aradia found herself with twin missiles in her stomach. Denzel and Marlene. They had found out she was a friend of Cloud's and had taken an instant liking to her. They had heard about what she had done in the Wutai War, and had begun to hero-worship her. She smiled down at them. "Hey, kids."

"Dia, what are you doing here so early?" Marlene asked.

"I'm taking over the bar for Tifa tonight so that she can go with you." Aradia told her, smiling.

Denzel looked confused. "You're not coming with us to visit Aerith?"

Aradia shook her head. "I didn't know her, and I think it would be rude of me to intrude."

Denzel shook his head. "That's silly."

"True as that may be, she has her beliefs and we have ours." Cloud said, appearing at the bottom of the stairs. "Dia." he greeted.

"Hey, Cloud." Aradia greeted. He'd taken Zack's nickname for her. She was happy for it. It had been a long time since she'd heard that name. Most of them called her that now. The only times she heard the name Ara was when she was from Shelke or Vincent.

"Tifa, we're ready to go when you are." Cloud called.

Tifa smiled. "Alright. Thanks again for doing this, Dia."

"No problem." Aradia told them. "Go enjoy yourselves."

They left the bar and Aradia switched the sign to open. She knew that it was going to be a slow night. Mondays usually were. Tomorrow she had off. She would go spend about five hours in the WRO building before she made her way out to the cliff to see Zack. She went every time she had a day off. It didn't usually coincide with her injections, but this time, she couldn't help it. She needed to go. She needed the time by herself.

Aradia sat down on her usual stool and pulled out a much battered copy of Loveless.

Aradia walked through the ruins of what was once the ShinRa's Midgar Outpost. She wanted her things, if she could find them among the wreckage. Cloud was waiting for her just outside what was now considered a contaminated area do to the amount of Mako in the air and ground. It didn't bother her. She lived on Mako. Cloud had offered to let her go into the pool to see if it would cure her of her dependency, but shed' declined. Her dependency wasn't like the Stigma. It wasn't a disease. It was a genetic alteration from all of the experiments that she had been under.

They didn't understand that. She looked around and saw a woman picking through the wreckage. She had mid back length silver hair, but Aradia paid her no mind.

She walked into the dilapidated building and went straight to her old rooms. There, amidst the rubble, she found her old copy of Loveless. The one Angeal had given her when she'd expressed an interest in it after Genesis had lent her his copy.

She smiled and hugged it to her chest and turned, looking around more. In the corner, under what was left of her kitchen, stood a small planting pot. Inside it was a tiny sprout, hidden amongst the dead leaves and stems. She snatched it up too, recognizing it as the one that Sephiroth had given her, just to piss Genesis off. She laughed, remembering the reaction.

Genesis had never given he a gift like these. Instead, he had trained her, left a piece of himself within her. He had instilled in her a love of the arts and a deep respect for friends and fighting. He'd left with her his SOLDIER pride, as Angeal would have called it, and his honor. She was, as Cloud was to Zack, his living legacy.

She took her two keepsakes and made her way out of the wreckage that was once her home. She held no love for this place. It had been the source of both the culmination of her misery and her happiness, though the latter was found in a person, rather than her profession as the former was.

She set the plant in the window and watched every day as it flourished. How it survived so long, she would never know. She wasn't even sure why her things remained in her rooms.

Until Cloud came to visit her.

"I remember that plant." Cloud had told her. "Zack used to keep it in his room in the ShinRa building. He used to bitch because he had gotten the smallest room in the building before sighing and saying how much it reminded him of an old friend. You."

"That's because it was my room, Cloud." Aradia told him, smirking as she flipped through the battered pages of Loveless, reading the notes she and Genesis had made in the margins as they discussed it. "That explains how everything was still there, though."

Aradia sighed as she heard the bell on the door ring, alerting her to a customer. She sat the book down and turned to face the man that hand entered. "Can I get you anything?" She asked in a polite tone.

He nodded. "Anything is fine."

Aradia nodded and reached for her personal favorite, the rum. She poured him a few fingers and smiled. "Anything to eat for you?"

"No thank you."

Aradia shrugged and turned to put the bottle away. She heard him pick up her book and laugh a little to himself. "Loveless, eh? I haven't seen that title in decades."

Aradia smiled. "It's a personal favorite of mine." She told him. "I've had that book since my days with ShinRa."

"Really? You were a SOLDIER?"

"For a few months anyway." Aradia told him she turned and leaned against the counter. "I was among the deserters." People didn't frown on the deserters anymore. After all the evil that ShinRa had done, people supported the deserters.

"Really?" the man asked. "And what happened to you? I heard that some of them were caught in the Modeoheim raid."

Aradia nodded. "I was one of them. I was sent into Deep Ground after that."

"You were a part of that massacre?" The man asked.

Aradia shook her head. "No. I left the Tsviets as well. I was looking for piece and quiet. What about you?"

He smiled. "I've been … away for a while now. I was just looking for a drink to celebrate my return to civilization. I guess I got more than I bargained for. A good drink and a pretty girl."

Aradia laughed. "Sorry, Hon, I'm off the market. I have been for a long time."

"It's a damn shame, but whoever he is, he's a lucky lucky man." The man finished his drink and handed her the glass. "How about another one?"

Aradia nodded and poured him another drink. "So what have you been doing since you left society?" She asked. She turned away to pour herself a glass and heard a gun click behind her.

"Hunting down traitorous scum like you." the man snarled. "Turn around. Slowly."

Aradia did as told and took a slow sip of her drink. "You know, it's assholes like you that make me lose money." She told him. "Because I end up causing damage and getting the repairs docked from my pay. Not that Tifa minds, of course. She likes watching me beat the shit out of you people."

"What people would that be?" he asked.

"Former ShinRa dogs that don't realize that they've lost." Aradia murmured casually, taking another swallow of her drink. She still wore long sleeves for a reason. She swore a year ago she would never leave home without her babies. Argento had fashioned them for her, and she refused to let them go to waste. Her arm blades were her pride and joy. "If you think you can win," She murmured huskily, setting her glass down and locking the fingers on the opposite hands into the triggers of her blade, "Then by all means, fire a shot. If not, pay your tab and turn around and walk out that door. Remember, you infantry bastard, I was a Tsviet, not a foot soldier."

"It doesn't make a difference." The man said, closing his finger around the trigger. The shot fired and Aradia blocked it with her blade. The bullet ricocheted away and imbedded itself in the wall, indiscernible amidst the other bullet holes.

"Are you sure about that?" Aradia asked, looking behind him. Shelke was standing there with her sabers. She must have slipped in when the gun fired. Vincent was standing in front of the door. "Why don't you turn around?"

The man glanced behind him and jumped as Shelke aimed on of her sabers at him. He spun away from both of them as Aradia drew her other blade. Most Tsviets used dual wielding. The only ones that didn't were Argento and Azul, and even Azul had his huge canon.

"Are you messing with my sister for a reason?" Shelke asked, tilting her head to the side. "Or are you just stupid?" her voice fell flat with the last word.

"Deserter scum." the man snarled, firing at both of them. Shelke rolled her eyes as they blocked. Aradia sighed and blocked the bullet aimed at Shelke's head.

"Do you want him, Shelke?" Aradia asked. "The blades make such a mess."

Shelke smiled and stabbed him through the throat. Her Sabers were electromagnetic and cauterized the wound as she made it. She had to actually stab you with them in order to kill you.

Aradia released her triggers and let her blades slide into hiding again. She kicked the man and sighed. "Great, now I have to get rid of him. The WRO isn't going to like this."

Shelke shrugged. "It was him or us. Personally, I don't understand why the loyalists are acting like they do."

"I do." Aradia sighed. She hauled the man up over her shoulder and carried him out the dumpster out back. She walked back inside and washed her hands before grabbing the bag she had stashed behind the counter with shirts in it. "So, what can I do for you guys?"

"Nothing much," Shelke called as Aradia walked into the back room and pulled on a leather tank top that zipped up the front. Her blades were out in the open. She was done fucking with people. "Can I get a beer."

"You're only 20, Shelke." Aradia said, sliding her a soda. She slid the beer in her hand to Vincent and picked up her own glass. "I don't know why I keep attracting those idiots."

"Quit telling your story so openly." Shelke said. "People either hate or love ShinRa. We don't need them to know what we are, either way."

Aradia sighed. "Right. Have you been to the WRO today?"

Shelke nodded. "Of course. They're setting up for you for tomorrow. They've been so busy that it should be a quick in and out."

"Four hours is not quick." Aradia told her. "Fuck, it usually takes five, just because of the waiting time."

Shelke laughed. "Then it should only be four hours tomorrow."

Aradia nodded. "I'm going up to the cliff tomorrow, when I'm done. I need to get out of this damned town and I'd love to be somewhere I didn't have to clean up my mess if someone attacks me."

"I'm surprised your blades have held up as well as they have." Shelke told her. "It's been a year, and then how long before that. On top of near constant use. You remember how Rosso was with weapons."

Aradia snorted. "That's because she never cleaned them."

Shelke nodded. "True."

Aradia glanced at Vincent. He never said much. When he did, it was usually pretty insightful and vague at the same time. Shelke muttered something under her breath and slid off the barstool, leaving Aradia and Vincent in a comfortable silence. They didn't talk. The most they had ever talked was when he was filling her in on what happened with the Tsviets. Normally, they didn't even greet each other. He wandered in with Shelke whenever she went to get him from the Crystal Cave, which is where he was usually lurking. Cloud often called him a Hobo Vampire, or something to that effect.

Aradia sighed as she leaned on the counter. Life was uneventful now. Since the fall of ShinRa and the Tsviets, all she got was a random loyalist with a grudge. Not that she minded, of course. It was peaceful, and she didn't have to worry about whether or not she was going to be destroyed.

Shelke came back and slid into her seat. She looked Aradia over. She looked tired, more so than usual when it came to her injection. She was wearing herself thin because of her loneliness. She needed to get over Project G and move on with her life. Of course, she wouldn't, and that made Shelke worry.

"I've been hearing some funny rumors." Shelke said quietly, as she stared into her drink. "About a woman with silver hair terrorizing little kids and trying to get them to follow her in some odd cult."

"What else is new?" Aradia sighed. "People are crazy these days."

Shelke nodded and glanced at Vincent. "True, but I think there might be something behind it. It might be worth looking into. A little excitement."

Aradia shook her head. "Nope. Shelke, it's the WRO's job, not ours. We're retired, remember?"

Shelke nodded and finished her drink. "Well, I've got things to do. Some of the Scientists want to do some work with the SND."

"Have fun with that. I can't believe you volunteered." Aradia told her.

Shelke shrugged. "Might as well do something."

"I hear you. Later."

"Bye."

Aradia watched as Vincent waved and followed Shelke out. Why he escorted her everywhere when she drug him out of the cave, she would never know, but he followed her around faithfully, as far as she knew. At least, she never saw him without Shelke at his side.

Aradia shook her head as customers started to trickle in. It would be a long fucking night.

A/n: Hare: Review and tell us what you think. You know you want to. I'll beg if I have to. We've got a whole new adventure in store and will be thrilled if you decide to take it with us.

The Hattress and her Faithful Hare

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