CHAPTER 5:

REVELATIONS AT THE ICICLE INN

They had left him, bleeding and dying on the floor of his home. They had taken everything he had truly valued away from him. That bastard Hojo had taken Ifalna, and Aerith, away from him.

But there was one last thing he could do.

He knew he was dead. All the way up here in Icicle Inn, there wasn't medical facilities good enough for more than broken bones and sprained ankles sustained by skiiers and snowboarders. Hypothermia was also treatable.

Gunshot wounds weren't. And he'd need to be airlifted to the nearest hospital. He would probably die, even if Shinra didn't interfere.

Better, then, to resign himself to his fate, and make the most of his time. He couldn't do anything to stop Hojo, but he could do something else.

Hojo needed them alive. And that meant that, sooner or later, they might escape, they might come back. Aerith would know her mother, but may never know her real father.

He managed to find the camera, not the one Hojo had his minions shoot, but the one he had been taking home movies of baby Aerith with. A portable camera, and one which he could use with one hand, while he kept the other clapped over his bleeding side.

"Gast Faremis Recording…Final. Intended recipient: Aerith Faremis. To anyone other than Aerith who listens to this, know that this is meant for my daughter. If anyone at Shinra finds this, and has even a shred of conscience, they will give it to her, or else tell her where to find it."

Sighing, gathering himself, hoping that the drugs he injected himself with would help ease the pain long enough to do what he needed to, he began to speak.

"Hi, Aerith. I…I wonder what you look like now, when you're watching this, or even if you're watching this. Are you five? Ten? Twenty? I hope you know I'm your father, Gast Faremis. Mostly known as Professor Gast. The Wisest Fool of all the Planet."

He winced, feeling a sharp stab of pain through the fog of opiate painkillers. Rallying, he pressed on.

"I hope your mother is with you. As much as I'd love to see her again, I know the only way that will happen is if she returns to the Planet, and…" He let out a pained sob. "Aerith, I hope your mother told you the truth about how we met. It wasn't in some romantic moment. Rather, she was a prisoner, a specimen brought to me and Hojo. And I was assigned to study her, like some sort of animal. I was so caught up in the excitement of studying an actual Ancient, rather than some fossilized remains, that I forgot that she was a human being. But gradually, that changed. I began to have feelings for her. And then, she told me about Jenova. I had used the name from some Ancient inscriptions I had translated, thinking it was the name of a long-buried Ancient. But when I compared Ifalna's biology to that of Jenova…I knew she was right. I had used a monster to help create monsters, monsters like Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos. I know of at least two Shinra personnel who disappeared during the Jenova Project that I knew well: Vincent Valentine, a Turk, and Professor Lucrezia Crescent, a former paramour of Hojo and the mother of his child: Sephiroth."

He coughed up blood. Not much time now. Not much time before he returned to the Planet. But not before he said his piece.

"When we set up here, I originally intended to continue my research, only away from Shinra, and into finding a way of stopping Jenova. But your mother and I…we fell in love. And one day…Ifalna gave birth to you. That was the happiest day of my life, and I had hoped for many more, like when you learned to talk, or to walk. When you'd learn to read, or snow ski. When you have a boyfriend. But…thanks to Hojo, as you may have seen in an earlier video…that isn't to be. I'm dying, Aerith, I'm returning to the Planet. I fear death, I'd be lying if I said otherwise. But I'm afraid I will never see you become the beautiful young woman I know you'll become. But I also must place a terrible burden on you. Shinra needs to be stopped. And the results of their experiments with Jenova…they're threats to the Planet. I have left for you all your mother taught me, as well as what I have learned through my own researches. Use it well, and help save the Planet. Goodbye, Aerith. I hope you make me proud. And…I'm sorry for not protecting you better."

He then shut off the camera, and uploaded the video to his computer database. Within the hour, Professor Gast Faremis had returned to the Planet…

Aerith stared at the black screen, not knowing what to think. Of course, her mother hadn't really said much about exactly how they had met (though she mentioned Icicle Inn many times as Aerith's birthplace), but Aerith had been a child at the time, and had always wanted her father painted in the best light. It wasn't until she had been captured by Shinra recently that Hojo strove to put a pin in that particular balloon.

Not that Aerith fully believed Hojo. His cruel words when she was put into the specimen chamber made her doubt the pedestal that her father had been placed on. But she also knew what Hojo was like. He put on a cold-hearted façade, claiming to be a scientist, a creature of logic, but in truth, he was a sadist who liked inflicting pain and suffering. He was an intelligent man, but also an evil one. Even Sephiroth, his son, had, to all accounts, been a decent, if cold and ruthless, man before Nibelheim pushed him into insanity. True, now Sephiroth had become like his father, a sadist who took as much delight in causing physical torment as he did psychological. But he at least had reasons for causing pain, other than personal pleasure. Hojo was simply a sadist for its own ends.

Cloud was staring at the screen, horrified and saddened, as was everyone else present. They had made it to Icicle Inn without trouble, and had been directed to Gast's old house. Aerith would have thought it felt like home. It felt like A home, long abandoned, but not like her home. That was back in Midgar, with Elmyra.

To hear her father confess to her about these things…she felt her earlier doubts lift away. He confessed his sins, though to be honest, the worst of them were to do with Jenova rather than her mother. So she felt no hatred in her heart towards him, just a smidgen of disappointment.

She caught the eyes of Vincent Valentine, who quickly looked away. She remembered when they first met him, the tone of his voice when he mentioned Lucrezia. He had loved her, or at least been smitten with her. No wonder he hated Hojo, and not just because of Sephiroth being enhanced by Jenova cells thanks to Hojo.

"Aerith…" Cloud said, approaching her, "I'm sorry." He meant it, too.

"So am I," Aerith said. "There was a reason other than my father that we came here. Something we should have done long ago. Something everyone needs to hear. Especially you, Cloud."

Cloud blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Sit, please. Because what you're about to hear isn't going to be easy. But you need to hear it. I just didn't think that the City of the Ancients was the right place to do it." Aerith wondered how best she would begin, before Tifa spoke up.

"Cloud…I never saw you at Nibelheim, save for at the very end, after I was wounded by Sephiroth. And even then, I was nearly dead from my injuries. I only met two SOLDIER members: Sephiroth, and Zack Fair."

Cloud stared at Tifa, as if betrayed. To be fair to him, Aerith knew it felt like one. But before he could deny it, or act in anger, Cait Sith said, "It's true, you know."

"What?" Aerith asked. "What do you mean?"

"I've been pulling all sorts of files from Shinra's military. Heidegger has a lot of files, even those of Lazard Deusericus(1), the former director of SOLDIER. Cloud Strife did try out for SOLDIER. But he was rejected, and recruited into the regular army, albeit with the possibility that, if he improves, he be promoted to SOLDIER. Last known assignment was heavily redacted, but the dates coincide with those you claim for Nibelheim's destruction.(2)"

Cloud went as pale as a sheet, but when Tifa tried to comfort him, he pushed her away. "Why? Why didn't you tell me, Tifa?"

"I…I was scared. Uncertain. I…"

"Don't blame her, Cloud," Aerith said. "I had my own suspicions. You reminded me of my old boyfriend, Zack. The SOLDIER whose memories you share."

"The one from Gongaga!" Cloud exclaimed, remembering Aerith and Tifa's reactions when they met Zack's parents. "But…how do I have his memories?"

"Jenova cells," Vincent said. "You have had a Mako infusion, and Jenova cells. I would put money on Hojo having experimented on you after Nibelheim. You and Zack must have escaped, and he told you what had happened when you weren't around. You were probably in an impressionable state. Hojo probably put you through the same process as those who enter SOLDIER do, and heavy doses of Mako leaves many people in a catatonic state, and the Jenova cells affect memory and appearance. He may have talked to you to try and help break you out of your state, not knowing that he was filling in your memories with his own. It was neither your fault nor his own. Unfortunate circumstance led to it. But the Jenova cells within you mean that Sephiroth has a backdoor to your mind and body. That was how he took control at the Temple of the Ancients, and at the altar in the Forgotten City."

"So that's why Cloud smelled…odd," Nanaki spoke up. And then, he made one of the worst blunders in his life. "But why does Harry smell the same way?"

Harry froze, and saw that everyone's attention was now on him. Eventually, he said, "Well, that Jenova creature spewed all over me. Maybe that's why…"

"I saw what happened," Cloud said, his face darkening with suspicion. "It all rushed into that scar of yours. So I'm not the only cuckoo Sephiroth has in the nest."

"And what would you suggest Cloud?" Aerith said, fixing him with a glare. The way his hand had moved, just a little, to his buster sword suggested that for a moment, he contemplated harming Harry. Unspoken, save for her glare, were the words, Anything you say about him, you say about yourself as well. And most of those present got that undercurrent. Even Barrett, who was somewhat obtuse at times, got it. And between a ten-year old, mistreated child and a grown man with issues, most of those present would protect the child, especially as he had not shown any signs of being influenced by Jenova. Not yet, anyway.

Cloud, realising this, relaxed slightly. "We keep an eye on him. We've enough trouble as it is with me and Cait Sith in the party. But answer me this, Aerith: how do you know it was the Planet telling you about him? The Sephiroth we have been chasing…it could very well be a phantom. Remember what your mother said on those tapes, that Jenova took on the form of deceased loved ones to deceive the Cetra. You may not have Jenova cells in your body, but is that any guarantee that you, or any of you are free from Jenova's influence?"

Vincent was the one who answered. "Jenova can exert some small influence over others. And those with the cells in their bodies can be influenced more. The main difference between you and Harry," he said, looking down at the child in question, who looked understandably shaken, "is that his exposure to Jenova cells has only been recent, a couple of days, and inflicted on him by a dying Jenova monster. At least we know, and can take precautions."

"Then it's true. I am a freak."

The small, plaintive voice surprised them all. Holding his head in his hands was the small form of Harry Potter. For a moment, silence fell. Then, the boy got up and fled before anyone could do anything.

It was true. He was a freak. Harry began weeping as he ran through the snowy grounds of Icicle Inn. He had thought since coming to this new world, he'd have a chance to be somewhere he would be loved, where he belonged, where he could sleep somewhere other than a cupboard under the stairs.

But no. It seemed he was destined to be a freak. Always a freak.

He didn't hear the shouting, didn't realise what was happening until he ran into someone, and ended up knocking them both over. "Oof! Hey, be careful, kid!"

Harry, blinking away tears, found himself looking at a pretty young woman with brown eyes and short blonde hair. She was wearing an elegant, dark-blue suit, now covered in snow. And on either side were soldiers, clad mostly in blue.

He had run, he realised, to the icy slope where skiers and snowboarders began their trip down to the Great Glacier. Had he hit her harder, they would both be sliding down that incline.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter, kid?" the young woman asked as she helped him up. "Where's your parents?"

"…Dead," Harry said.

The woman's face fell. "Oh, I am SO sorry," she said hastily, almost babbling. "But don't you have somewhere to stay?"

Harry shook his head. He wasn't sure he had anywhere to stay.

"Come on. Surely a kid like you has people looking after you?" It was then that the young woman noticed the bracelet with Materia on it. "Wow, a kid as young as you with Materia? Who gave you that?"

"I did."

The young woman looked up sharply, and then her eyes narrowed. The two soldiers flanking her raised their weapons. "You!" she yelped.

"Is that all I get?" Aerith asked, readying her staff, Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett following close behind. "One pronoun(3)?"

"Shut up! You lot have got some nerve messing up my boss like that!" The woman yelled.

"Your boss? Elena, Tseng got messed up by Sephiroth. We healed him, even helped him out of the Temple before it got destroyed."

"You're lying! He was in a coma when we found him! He may never wake up(4)!" Elena, if that was the woman's name, looked down at Harry. "Wait, is this the kid we were told about? Another Ancient?"

"Dammit, Cait Sith…" Tifa grumbled.

Elena looked down at Harry, who was looking into her face with confusion. "Sorry, kid. I'm with Shinra's Administrative Research Division. Better known as the Turks. Look, you're better off away from these guys."

"Oh yeah?!" Barrett shouted. "Leave Harry with the spies, kidnappers, and assassins of Shinra? I don't think so!"

"As if he'd be better off with terrorists!" Elena retorted. "Do you know how many people died when your bombs destroyed Reactor 1 and Reactor 5? Or don't you care?"

"They were just Shinra!" Barrett retorted, though the slight glint of uncertainty in his eye was more present in Tifa's. Cloud looked uncertain himself, but angry.

"And how many of them were a threat to you?"

"Sacrifices have gotta be made for the Planet!" Barrett said. But he was wavering.

"They didn't ask for it. Maybe the troopers, you could argue against, but the techies and the maintenance people? How does it feel to be a mass murderer?"

"I don't know," Tifa said with a low growl. "Why don't you ask Reno? Or Tseng? They were the ones who brought the Sector 7 plate down…on President Shinra's orders. How many people died there? More than both reactors combined, I reckon. The reactors were mostly automated, but what of the people in the Sector 7 slums?(5)"

Elena was taken aback briefly, before she gestured. A fairly large squad of Shinra troopers surrounded them both. The others, reluctantly, lowered their weapons. "You're surrounded," Elena said, rather redundantly. "And I'm going to get my revenge on you for what you did to Tseng."

"It was Sephiroth, damn it!" Cloud snarled.

"Liar!" Elena yelled, striding up to him, leaving Harry with the two troopers. "I have orders to bring you in alive, but I'm not going to let you go without making a mark. Talking alone isn't going to cut it, so I'm going to make you feel some pain." With that, she lashed out with her fist. Harry was impressed. Elena's fist was practically a blur, on a par with Tifa's blows.

But Cloud, moving with unnatural speed, dodged to the side, and Elena toppled over…and began sliding down the slope. The troopers moved out of the way, but Harry was hit by the sliding Turk.

"Harry!" Aerith screamed, and ran after them, trying to help, only to slip and slide on the ice herself. Soon, the three of them were sliding at incredible speed down the mountain, screaming all the while. The slope seemed to go on forever, until finally, they were flying through the air.

Harry screamed in unison with the two women with him, before the white ground rushed up at him, and everything went dark…

CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS

Wow! There's a turn-up for the books. Cloud has been told the truth, though he is, understandably, finding it hard to accept. And he has just alienated Harry. Indeed, Harry is going to find it hard to trust the rest of the team for a little while.

Now, the next chapter, in the second episode, will bring us back to the Potterverse. This is a crossover, and not just a Final Fantasy VII AU with Harry in it. There will be Dumbledore, but Dumbledore-bashers will probably be disappointed, despite the (original) chapter name of An Old Man's Folly. You'll have to wait until later to find out what happened to Harry, Aerith, and Elena.

Speaking of Elena, I never intended for this to happen initially, but when I was thinking about this chapter, having Elena and Harry not only meet, but team up so to speak, appealed. Elena is the most human of the Turks, though Reno and Rude do get some redemption in Advent Children. People seem to forget that, while President Shinra ordered the destruction of the Sector 7 slums, it was Reno and Tseng who carried it out. I'd assume that Reno and Tseng did make up with AVALANCHE between the events of the game and Advent Children. Who knows?

1. The director of SOLDIER in Crisis Core. He ends up becoming a clone of Genesis Rhapsodos. Funnily enough, Lazard is actually Rufus Shinra's bastard half-brother.

2. Cait Sith, from what I heard, is sceptical about Nibelheim's destruction, especially when he arrives in the reconstructed town. But he is controlled by Reeve, and Reeve is mostly blind (sometimes wilfully so) to Shinra's more illicit activities. This marks, in this story, the turning point where he sort of believes. I have a problem thinking that Reeve would not have looked up Cloud's personnel files to see whether he was in SOLDIER or not.

3. I couldn't resist a reference to The Last Days of FoxHOUND. Big Boss (in Liquid Snake's body: it's complicated) says, upon meeting the Sorrow again, "You?!" The Sorrow, via a placard, replies in much the same manner as Aerith does.

4. My personal explanation why you never encounter Tseng again in the game. In the original translation, Elena all but states that Tseng is dead, whereas the PC version states that he is badly injured.

5. This bit is partly derived from Cait Sith's berating of Barrett later in the game. Elena is somewhat naïve, but her argument is very valid, as is Tifa's rebuttal. I imagine the reactors were mostly automated, and most of the personnel were guards and a few technicians. Even so, enough people other than those must have died for Cait Sith to be as angry with Barrett as he was.

CHAPTER 5 SOUNDTRACK:

Gast's Testament: Aerith's Theme (FTG). This is a sad moment for Aerith, watching her father die on tape, so I thought this is where it should be finally used.

Painful Truths: Who…Am I? (FTG). This is involved with many of Cloud's mental problems, and so works here. It also works with Nanaki's revelation.

Sliding Down The Slope: Crazy Motorcycle Chase (FTG).

AUTHOR'S UPDATE: I'm still getting used to the Doc Manager of , so I've had to edit the chapters both to deal with how the footnotes come up in the story (they don't support superscript font alteration :( ) and doing those lines to suggest scene breaks. In future, this will be checked more carefully.