Synthia had never seen the men stand so still. She started to back up out of the room but bumped into Vincent. Expecting a metal claw to grip her shoulder, she was surprised when a gentle hand was placed on the top of her head. Cloud looked pained for a moment but after pulling himself together, he glanced at Barrett. Vincent closed the door and motioned for her to sit down. He stood next to her as Barrett started to explain.
"Aeris was a dear friend of ours," he said, " she sacrificed herself to save the planet…to fight…an evil man."
Vincent cut in, " She had a good heart. I've never seen someone as accepting as her."
" Aeris was the last of the Cetra. Shinra wanted to use her to get to the Promise Land so that they can get more Mako energy. She joined us to fight Shinra and to fight-"
Vincent shook his head and Barrett didn't finish his sentence. Synthia looked at Cloud. " Why do you blame yourself? You do know that she doesn't want you thinking it was your fault."
" I," Cloud faltered. The way Synthia was looking at him made him uneasy. If only she didn't have those eyes. Her eyes widened slightly and she looked away.
" What does everyone look at me like that?" she asked softly. " Whenever I look at someone, I see fear or hatred in their eyes." Before anyone could answer, Synthia ran out of the room.
" We're going to have to tell her eventually."
Vincent sighed and looked at the two men. " She doesn't have to know now. In fact, the longer we can keep it from her, the better. Unlike her father, she was not an experiment, though she has been exposed to mako."
" How do you think she will feel when she finds out that her father was the one who tried to destroy the planet?" asked Barret, " Not only will she be devastated but she may turn hostile."
" Her mother told her that her father was a brave man," Vincent said, " I do not want to take that from her."
Cloud stood up and crossed his arms, " Just like you told Lucretia that Sephiroth was dead when he wasn't?"
The room was silent as the grave as Vincent glared at Cloud. " That was different," whispered Vincent. Turning, he walked out of the room to get some fresh air. Sandra was leaning against a wall watching the horizon.
" Something's coming," she said, " and it's probably not a good thing."
Looking toward the horizon, Vincent could sense it too. He had to make sure that Synthia was somewhere safe. " Have you seen her?" asked Vincent.
Sandra looked at him. " Last I saw of her, she was going down to the cargo hold."
After running from the room and staring out at the sea for a bit, Synthia made her way to the cargo hold, hiding behind boxes and exploring. When she walked around a stack of crates she came upon a door. Frowning, Synthia put her hand on the metal then cried out in pain. So much had happened in that room. Against her better judgement, she pressed the button to open the door and walked in. Immediately, she felt sick to her stomach. Images of dead bodies flashed through her mind and she clutched her head and backed into a wall. Looking up, she saw a tall man in black with white hair. His back was to her and he had a long sword that was covered in blood. He started to turn around and her eyes widened as glowing green eyes stared at her. They were her eyes. Then he did the most frightening thing though it would seem something that was harmless. He smiled at her.