Mother's Legacy

Chapter 9


Aerith's eyes watched the ground below, dirty brown and grey wasteland slowly fading into bright green grassland. In a sense, she had been on a helicopter hundreds of times, but they were all simulators. Rushing through the air suspended only by a metal cage with a propeller was exhilarating, the land rushing by below, the roar of the blades overhead. And of course, none of them had actually put her outside of the Shinra building. She felt like a child but she wanted to just ask the pilot to land and let her just roam the countryside for a while. Something about leaving that wasteland behind and being out in the open fields with visible grass, trees and flowers made her feel more alive, like she had just awoken from a long nap.

"Not the time to be sappy," she scolded herself. She could enjoy the sights later when she and Zack were on missions outside Midgar and she wasn't being supervised. For now, she had to focus on the objective and get it done, it was her first assignment and she wasn't about to screw it up and make a bad first impression. Aerith thought back to the train missions and similar insertions.

"We are doing an air drop, right?" she called over the noise of the vehicle.

"No, land and drop," Errol answered on the other side of the car. "I'm the commanding officer for this mission, I'll be accompanying you two to the cave entrance. Should anything go amiss, report to me and I'll radio it in. We have Turk operatives undercover in Kalm in case we need them, they can be at the cave to help in minutes if you give the word."

"Right," Aerith nodded. She was glad that the Turks would only be intervening if needed, she didn't want anyone stealing the spotlight from her and Zack. Zack was quiet beside her, looking around in disinterest. She figured he was used to this sort of outing. Her though, her mind was racing.


"You've been given your first assignment for the company," Lazard said, handing a file folder to Zack. He opened it and Aerith leaned over to look at it. A few sheets of paperwork and paperclipped photos showing troops moving around a cave entrance were inside. Aerith recognized the emblem on their uniforms, AVALANCHE troops. "You're being sent to the outskirts of Kalm. Errol of the Turks will supervise."

"What's the objective?" Aerith asked.

"First, let me make it clear that this mission is classified," Lazard said sternly. "We are quite reluctant to send you here for your first assignment, Aerith, but we need an operative skilled in hand-to-hand combat and at the moment any superior candidates are unavailable. We would normally send Angeal or Sephiroth for this sort of mission, but they have been deemed emotionally unfit given the circumstances." Aerith and Zack looked up. Sephiroth, emotionally unfit? "Genesis was not killed in action. He went missing. We don't know how or why, he and Sephiroth were alone in the field, and he did not return to the specified pick-up point on-time."

"So, the rumors were true," Aerith said, grimacing slightly.

"Yes, and for the rest of the company, you two will keep them as rumors, speaking of this to anyone will be considered an act of insubordination," Lazard warned. "Your objective is to find Genesis, or to find evidence of what happened to him. He and Sephiroth were to scout out a cave system believed to be housing an anti-Shinra resistance force. We didn't think anything of it at the time, but given our current intelligence, it is likely that if there was indeed such a force there, and all our evidence says there is, it is part of AVALANCHE."

"Any orders other than find Genesis?" Zack asked.

"Capture all possible AVALANCHE operatives and secure their equipment. We know little about them, our prisoners from Junon have been tight-lipped, and we need to learn more soon, before they strike again. And let me repeat so we are undoubtedly clear," Lazard leaned forward and looked between them, locking eyes, "Genesis's status does not leave the three of us. The public story will remain the official version of events to all, inside Shinra and out, until further notice. If he is confirmed dead then nothing else will be done, if we cannot determine his fate we will continue investigating. But if you find him alive, whatever his status otherwise, no one, not even Sephiroth and Angeal, are to be told. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Zack and Aerith replied in unison. Aerith understood now why the two of them were being sent over Shinra's poster children. She thought back to the rumors about Genesis. If he had gone missing, either he had been killed or captured by AVALANCHE, or he had betrayed Shinra and joined them. Angeal and Sephiroth were already torn up about him going missing, having to deal with how it happened first-hand would be too much for them to handle without their judgment being compromised.

"Good. The deployment level will ferry you to the airport, we have a helicopter waiting to take you to Kalm."


"Rescuing Genesis would be a nice headline," Aerith thought to herself. If they did find Genesis alive, how would Shinra handle it, she wondered. On the one hand if he was a traitor, they'd have to face up to the fact that AVALANCHE would be much more dangerous than they thought now. AVALANCHE's inside knowledge was clearly the work of a mole, it would make sense if it was Genesis. He knew Shinra inside and out, along with Angeal and Sephiroth the three of them practically had President Shinra as personal cellphone contacts. Anything he knew, AVALANCHE would know. And the company would have to crack down security and make drastic changes in anticipation of his knowledge being used.

On the other hand, if he was alive and just captured, should Aerith free him, what then? Would Shinra get rid of him and stick to the official story he had been killed, or correct themselves and bring him back into the fold? Aerith hoped the latter, if Genesis was captured and she saved him, the news coverage would be unprecedented. Her name had thus far gone unmentioned when she had seen and read coverage of the Junon incident, the reports just said SOLDIER had repelled AVALANCHE. She didn't fault them, it was a large scale battle. But this, this was a personal assignment, just her, Zack and Errol. She would get credit for this mission's success if they got Genesis back alive. She had to.

"We're nearing the landing area," Errol said, looking out the window. "We're landing some distance away from the city and the main cave we observed. We've looked at old mining maps and believe the cave near our point of landing connects to them, but it's not been active so that is where we'll make our entry. We're trying to play it quiet, don't alert them if you can avoid being detected."

"Bor-ring," Aerith thought, rolling her eyes. Her first mission in the field and it was expected to be a stealth operation. Zack must have had the same train of thought because he leaned across the helicopter as Errol turned his head to speak to the pilots.

"Relax, stealth is preferred, not mandatory, the worst they'll do if you make a ruckus is give you a lecture and maybe restricted movements for a day," he whispered. "Besides, if we get caught there's nothing we can do to fix it, right?" Aerith nodded, smiling slightly. Restricted movements was not an option, she had just gotten her movement rights freed up at last, she wasn't about to lose them on her first assignment and make a poor first impression. But Zack had said that was a maybe, he must have been used to such breach of orders with little lasting consequence.

"Two Shinra infantry troops and myself will take up positions at the entrance to the cave guards," Errol said, turning his attention back to them. "The helicopter will not be available for evacuation until we call it, so if you are in trouble run back to the entrance and tell us you're coming so we can call the copter. If you get stuck and cannot escape, we will attempt to rescue you only if we can do so safely. If you're a lost cause, then you're lost." Aerith tensed slightly. She had no intention of getting trapped and unable to help herself, but the warning was unnerving, that she and Zack would be deemed expendable if they got into too much trouble to be worth saving. She was a valuable specimen to Hojo she knew, surely Errol had orders to save her if she needed it. Or maybe out of spite for her earning her freedom Hojo would have the Turks leave her for dead.

"Doesn't matter, it ain't gonna happen one way or the other," she promised. Errol handed them each a small device with a cord running from it. Aerith looked it over. It was a curved piece of black plastic with a small button on a bud-like bulb on one end. A small protrusion twisted out from the other end.

"Earpieces," Errol explained at her curiosity. "Plug them into your cellphone and I'll dial your numbers, they'll take care of the rest. Constant contact, report anything you find immediately. If I give the word to withdraw, you obey it without question. Understood?"

"Yeah," Aerith nodded, slipping the device over her ear and twisting the microphone down to her cheek as she watched Zack do the same. She slipped the cord down the shirt of her uniform and pulled it out the bottom end, reaching into her pocket and plugging it into her cellphone.

The helicopter touched down, and Errol slip open the doors. Aerith, Zack, and two soldiers in Shinra infantry uniforms climbed out. Errol called something to the pilot and jumped out behind them. He slid the door shut and the helicopter lifted into the air and flew away. Aerith looked around. It was a cave by the seaside, the beach was visible not far away across a grassy field. The cave entrance was in the side of a dip in the ground, from above it would look like a normal hill unless you came at it from the front. A good choice for a covert entry, she realized.

"Aerith, Zack, roger me?" Aerith jumped slightly at a crackling in her ear. Errol's voice. She turned to see the Turk holding his cellphone to his ear, and he looked at her. She nodded. "Good. Press the button on the piece to respond, let's make sure they work." Aerith reached up to her ear and pressed the small black button on the other side of the speaker.

"Got me?" she asked.

"Zack here, check one-two," Zack's voice sounded in her ear and a few feet from her in unison.

"Good. Let's move," Errol ordered, heading to the cave. Aerith, Zack and the infantry troops followed. Errol reached into his pocket as they reached the entrance and held out his hand. Two small green orbs were in his palm.

"Fire Materia, use them as needed," he said. Aerith and Zack took them and slipped the Materia into their gauntlets.

"Any orders other than what's been said?" Zack asked.

"Try to stick together, but if you have no choice, split up. I know you two are friends, but if one of you is in trouble and I order the other back, take it. Better one of you be trapped then both," Errol said sternly.

"Bullshit," Aerith thought sourly. If Zack needed her she was going to be there, and a quick glance at him to find him looking at her confirmed he would do the same. Shinra should have known better than to try and make that an order.

"If there's nothing else, go. Try to be quick and quiet, remember," Errol ordered. The two SOLDIERs nodded, and Zack led the way into the cave. Aerith followed, looking behind her as Errol crouched behind a rocky outcropping in the wall of the hill outside. The two infantry moved into the cave and melted into the shadows.

"Practiced and clean. They're done this dozens of times," Aerith thought. The fears of her own inexperience crept up on her and she pushed them away just as quickly. She followed Zack into the cave, her partner sticking to the walls. Aerith did the same, noting that as Errol had said, it was an old mining system. Mine tracks ran down the center of the cave, piles of rock, dirt and digging tools around a larger area at the mouth of the cave.

"Nervous?" Zack whispered as they came to a turn to the left.

"Yes."

"Please. We've already kicked their asses at Junon, this will be a snap," Aerith said aloud. The two moved quickly down the twisting path, two more turns each going right. The path was also curving down, Aerith noted.

"Anything yet?" Errol's voice cracked in her ear. Zack pressed his hand to his ear.

"Nothing sir," he replied. After the next turn and a steeper drop down, they came to a fork.

"The path splits, sir," Zack said into his earpiece.

"Stick together."

"Which way then?" Aerith asked. Looking down either fork for signs of movement, Zack drew his sword over his head and sliced at the bottom of a support beam, making a small "X" in the wood, then a vertical line on the left side of it.

"Left first, we find nothing, the right," he said. Aerith nodded. The two moved on, the path straight for a time, then curving to the right again. Aerith fell behind slightly, watching behind them in case there was action behind them, perhaps someone from the other fork, but there was nothing. The cave was still silent, and there were no signs anyone was here. Zack stopped and held up a hand. Aerith halted behind him as she turned. She pressed a hand to her ear.

"What is it?" she asked into the microphone, too far to speak to him directly without risking being heard.

"Voices. Get up here," Zack responded.

"Do not engage, stay hidden, if they see you try to take them out quietly and hide the bodies. Do not kill unless you have no choice," Errol ordered. Aerith forgot he could hear them, she wasn't used to this system. She came up behind Zack as he slowly edged forward along the wall, peaking around the corner.

"Can't see them, can still hear them. Hard to tell where they are, it's echoing," he said, holding the button on his earpiece down.

"Move in, carefully." Errol replied. The two moved forward, keeping close to the wall. The cave turned again, and Zack ducked into a crouch and slowed down. He reached the corner and looked around it, then quickly drew his head back. Aerith raised her eyebrows, and Zack nodded. Aerith raised her hand to her ear, and Zack quickly shook his head and mouthed the words "too close". Aerith nodded and lowered her hand. Not for the first time she was grateful he knew more about protocol than she did and had field experience to back it up. Zack edged his head back to the beam and pressed the button for his earpiece. Aerith grew annoyed after his warning, but realized what he was doing when he didn't talk. Instead, the voices from the cave ahead came through on the microphone.

"Come on, pick up the pace, the ship is moving out in an hour."

"I'm trying, this shit is heavy. Stupid Shinra crap, why do we need so much of it?"

"The scientist kept paper records instead of electronic, paranoid about people stealing his data."

"Scientist? Shinra?" Aerith thought, her eyes widening. Then her suspicions were confirmed, there was a mole in the company, and not Genesis. Someone in the Science Department was a rat. She thought who, but the only member she interacted with regularly enough to know by name was Hojo, and he wouldn't be the traitor, it just didn't seem like him.

"If you can, get closer and see what they're doing," Errol's voice ordered. Zack slowly peeked his head around the corner. He kept his head out for a few seconds, then drew back and cupped a hand to his mouth.

"We can sneak behind a stack of old mine carts, but we gotta move quick, they're carrying stuff into the cave beyond the chamber so it's clear now. Stick to the left wall and keep low. I'll go first and call for you when it's clear again." Zack said in her ear. Aerith nodded and mouthed the words "good luck". Zack responded with a grin and a wink. Aerith rolled her eyes again but smiled. Zack looked around the corner, and, moving quicker than she'd have thought he could in a crouch, whipped around the corner. She waited with baited breath, lowering a hand to her staff clipped to her waist and listening for signs of a struggle. After several seconds, Zack's voiced crackled in her ears.

"I'm good. Wait for my signal."

"Gotcha," Aerith replied, letting out a breath. The radio stayed open and a minute or so later, again the two voices of the AVALANCHE troops came through.

"So when's the next target?" Aerith perked up.

"Still gotta finish making sure the others are ready for it. Dunno what those two freaks did to them but they're still asleep and they wanna wait until they wake up."

"Assuming they do. I don't trust those Shinra rats as far as I could throw 'em, who knows what they did."

"The boss says they're valuable allies for now. We can off 'em later if they make trouble. Elfé can take him, don't matter what the papers say, he's human like the rest of us."

"Genesis," Aerith realized. So, he was a turncoat after all. But their words confirmed there were two traitors, not one, Genesis and some scientist. And, making sure what others were ready? What had been done to them by Shinra's mystery traitor scientist?

"One more trip should do it, then we just gotta load up the capsules and we're outta here." The second voice, which seemed to be the superior of the two, was lower in volume than before, and Aerith waited.

"Okay, come on," Zack said. Aerith looked around the corner, spying two shadowed forms in the distance, and crept along wall. As Zack had said, there was a stack of old mining carts piled in the corner of a larger chamber. She ducked behind them to see Zack crouched inside one on its side. He nodded with a smile as she came into view.

"See anything else here?" she whispered.

"Peaked around through the cracks in the carts. A bunch of crates and boxes, they're moving them with a hand truck," Zack said. "Also a desk and some lighting stuff. Looked like a makeshift office."

"Sounded like they're moving paperwork for a Shinra scientist," Aerith said.

"Yeah…they're not gonna like that when we get back," Zack nodded. "Genesis is one thing, but a scientist, who knows what they've gotten their hands on."

"We could find out," Aerith suggested. She was itching for battle, and it was just the two of the AVALANCHE soldiers. They had a hiding place for them with the carts, they were obviously transporting data that they had to find out what it was, and they would be easy to take care of. Zack began to reply, then stopped as the two heard footsteps.

"About damn time it's done. When we get to the base, tell the Shinra rat to put this stuff on a disc or something, we ain't moving it all again next time."

"Tell me about it, let's just finish it." Aerith peaked through the cracks of the mine carts to see them moving boxes onto a wooden skid with a hand truck moved under it. She looked down and picked up a small rock. Zack saw her hand move and shook his head as Aerith tossed the rock once in her palm. She looked up at him and he shook his head harder. She shrugged and mouthed "Sorry", then tossed the rock over the pile. The sound of it hitting somewhere came a second later.

"What was that?" The authoritative one asked.

"Something hit a wall somewhere…ya don't think Shinra found us?" the second replied, sounding afraid. Aerith looked through the cracks in the carts to see them staring at the passage they had come from.

"If they did then we gotta move now, we can't take 'em just the two of us. I'll bring the stuff, run to the ship and get back-up," the first said. Aerith made a face and fell back into her crouch. Zack shook his head at her, and she made a fact back. It had been worth a shot, maybe they were stupid. The two looked out over the room to see the authoritative member pulling the hand truck down the passage, his friend gone. Aerith rose to her feet.

"We gotta make a move now, they know we're here," she whispered.

"Yup. Happy?" Zack asked.

"Very," Aerith smirked. She crept along the wall to the other passage and peaked around the corner. The AVALANCHE member had his back to them, pulling the hand truck behind him. Aerith took off at a run, and at the sound he turned and reached over his shoulder to the handle of a sword.

"Down with Shinra!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the cave. Aerith reached him before he could bring his weapon forward and dug a knee into his stomach, doubling him over, then brought her hands down in a club on his neck. He dropped to the ground heavily.

"Well, they definitely know we're here now," Zack said. Aerith ignored his lecturing and looked ahead. The path split again, left and right. There was an odd glow from the left, however, and a loud hum.

"Which way?" she asked.

"We shouldn't, we've gotta pull back," Zack said, pressing his hand to his ear. "Errol, they know we're here. Orders?" Aerith snorted.

"Wimp, we can take them!" she insisted.

"Go deeper, they'll not look for you in their areas of operation as long as you can stay hidden." Errol answered. "If you are spotted, flee immediately."

"So which way?" Aerith repeated.

"They said there's a ship, so one path has to lead out. The other way, who knows?" Zack said. Aerith looked down the left path, the odd glow and humming intriguing her. There was something about it that unnerved her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She just had a sense of discomfort as she watched the light. Did Zack sense it too, or was it just her?

"We're splitting up," she announced. "We've gotta to scout out as much as we can before they come back, right? And it'll be easier for us to hide alone."

"…right, I guess. Be careful," Zack said. Aerith nodded and began down the left path, Zack heading down the right. Aerith moved quietly but swiftly along the walls, the humming getting louder and the glow brighter. There was a turn, and Aerith nodded a crate against the wall. She knelt and lifted the lid to find several pickaxes and shovels. She stood and looked around the corner. And her eyes widened.

Several feet down the cave, the cave opened into another chamber, this one longer but smaller than the last. And through the glow was coming from there. Aerith carefully stepped forward, heading no voices or sounds of activity aside from the hum.

Electric lighting had been hung from the ceiling support beams, illuminating the chamber. Desks with several computers, stacks of paperwork and vials and other medical equipment lay near the entrance to the room. Along the walls, three on each side, were six large steel capsules. The glow was coming from round windows set into them, glowing green brightly with green lights pulsing around them. Pipes and wires connected each capsule and ran down the chamber to a roughly doorway-sized hole. Aerith cautiously peaked into one capsule's window. A human was inside, a mask over their face with several small tubes running from it and down into the capsule. They were immersed in a gelatinous blue-green liquid, bubbles of air rising through it. Their hair floated in it, their eyes closed. Aerith stepped down and looked in the window of another capsule. Another human in the same state, and the same liquid.

"What the hell…" she whispered. She looked around the lab and fished out her cellphone, calling up the camera function and quickly snapping pictures of the area. She moved to the other end of the chamber where it narrowed into the smaller opening. Judging from the pickaxes, shovels and a jackhammer nearby, they had dug through the wall. On the other side of the opening, metal plating had been bent back, leading to a catwalk. Aerith took a step through and looked up. A network of ladders, catwalks and piping stretched above. She looked down and saw a large pool below, full of the same blue-green liquid in the capsules. On the sides of the wall, the pipes and wires of the capsules had been crudely welded to attach to the pipes and wires of whatever place this was.

"Errol, Zack,"Aerith said, pressing the button on her earpiece. "Something's wrong here. There's some sort of lab here, and they've dug through the wall to hook up pipes and electricity to some sort of factory. There's a pool of greenish liquid beneath it, dunno what it is."

"They must have dug into and tapped into the Mako Reactor for Kalm…clever bastards," Errol said. "Aerith, retreat now, Zack you too. I fear this is a larger problem than we expected. Shinra will return with a larger force to investigate, you two have done well for now."

"Yes sir," Aerith nodded. She turned and ran back through the lab. She skidded around the corner of the cave and stopped, her eyes wide.

"I would imagine this is your first mission?" Genesis asked, slowly walking towards her. Aerith stood her ground. "Congratulations on finally taking the field," the ex-SOLDIER smiled, stopping.

"Genesis, what is this place?" Aerith demanded.

"The breeding ground for AVALANCHE's new troops. I hear their scientist has dubbed them 'Ravens'. Not the choice I'd have made, but it works as well as any name," Genesis said, waving his hand through the air. "Fitting, is it not? To destroy Shinra with the same type of forces they would use to subjugate the world. I do hope you didn't hurt them. That would be a most grievous loss, and would demand retribution."

"Destroy Shinra? Don't be ridiculous. You're a lot of things Genesis, a blowhard and an egomaniac to start. But I never figured you a traitor," Aerith accused. She reached her hand to her belt for her staff. She wasn't sure if she could take Genesis in a fight, but it seemed she was going to have to find out.

"You have no place to speak to me of loyalty," Genesis chuckled softly. "What was it you said to me in the simulator? Shinra is trying to take over the world, their soldiers are no heroes, or words to that effect. But now that they give you what you want, suddenly you are entirely loyal?"

"And that justifies you going rogue?" Aerith replied. "What is it you want that you'll betray Shinra to get it?" Genesis looked at her strangely, and spread his arms out to the sides.

"Infinite in mystery, is the Gift of the Goddess," he recited. "We seek it thus, and take to the sky."

"LOVELESS?" Aerith sneered.

"Act One," Genesis nodded. "The stage is set. The final days are beginning. Your presence here and the rise of AVALANCHE are proof of this," he looked to the side and lowered his arms. "Yet, still, I am uncertain how it may play out. 'Infinite in mystery', indeed. There is Sephiroth, Angeal and myself, but what of you and Zack? Hero, Wanderer, Prisoner, who is who? Would you care to wager a guess for me to ponder over?"

"Nope, wouldn't care at all. LOVELESS is a bunch of nonsense," Aerith muttered.

"It would make sense, of course. Three branches, three friends, any one of us could be eligible for any role…though if one of them were you, 'friend' would be a bit of a misnomer with the current state of affairs," Genesis mused aloud, ignoring her.

"Yup, friend definitely ain't my word for you," Aerith said. Genesis turned his eyes back to her and smiled slightly.

"And, what word to use for you…Aerith, for all the talk you hear of it, tell me. What do you consider to be the meaning of the word 'hero'?"

"Someone who does the right thing. Dumb question."

"Ah, the right thing. But in what manner? Do you do the right thing in being loyal to Shinra? Or, do I do the right thing in trying to save the planet? Does that make us both heroes? Such riddles. Riddles that need solving, urgently."

"Regardless of side you're still a low-winded nutjob," Aerith snorted. "Congratulations. So," Aerith brought her staff out to the side and pressed the button to extend it. "We gonna do this or what?"

"So violent," Genesis should his head sadly. "There is so much you don't know, so much you can't, won't, understand…but you will learn the answers for yourself. In time, when you are ready to look for them. I did not understand myself for so long, but you will come to see as I have," Genesis looked over his shoulder. Aerith heard movement, and wondered if Zack was in trouble. "I'm afraid I must decline your invitation. I've no desire to kill you, not when your role is unclear thus far. I would be loath to find myself regretting the deed later."

"You're more likely to regret not killing me now," Aerith smirked, assuming a fighting stance.

"Perhaps I will. But if it is a mistake, there will be time to correct it later. For now, I have to go make sure Zack is safe. He too may have a role to yet play, and his life cannot be cut short any more than yours can, and my allies are not as merciful or insightful as me." Genesis turned and began to walk away. Aerith looked at him in disbelief, then narrowed her eyes and charged him, swinging her staff. Genesis turned swiftly, caught her weapon, and raised a leg to plant a kick on Aerith's chest, sending her flying back through the cave.

"I would indulge you if I had the time," he said lowly. Aerith grunted and slowly climbed to her feet. Down the cavern, Genesis reached into the pocket of his coat. "But I do not. So, consider this a worthy foe in lieu of me." He withdrew his hand as Aerith climbed to her feet.

"You're not running!" she screamed, running at him. Genesis smiled and threw whatever was in his hand into the air. Aerith saw what it was and stopped.

"Red Materia." She thought as the orb hit the ground and bounced. "A Summon!" the orb stopped in the air and lit up the cave walls in a flash of red light. Aerith shielded her eyes, the light blinding. The light grew from red to white, then subsided. Aerith lowered her arm and gasped.

Genesis was gone. The path into the lab to the side, and the cave where Genesis had been, were blocked off. The path both ways, and the walls of the cave, were covered in a crystal coating of light blue ice. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and even the floor beneath was iced over. Aerith tested her footing and moved forward. An icy wind came from behind her, and she stopped to clutch her bare arms in the blast of cold. Before her, a larger icicle grew from the ceiling as the wind whipped around it, encircling it. The icicle shattered, particles of ice raining through the air.

Aerith watched as long, willowy blue arms emerged from the wind, long pink ribbons winding around them and through the fingers. Long legs covered in growths of ice extended down to hover above the ground. Blue hair in a multitude of shades blew out behind the figure's hair as the wind dispersed, revealing a tall female form with light blue skin, purple ribbons along her arms winding over her torso and hips and the ends trailing behind her. Light blue eyes opened, thin blue lips curling into a smile.

"Shiva," Aerith breathed, taking a step back. She had read books about the summons associated with Materia, ancient beings said to have once been servants to the Cetra. The Empress of Ice was one of dozens of summons.

"Consider this a worthy foe in lieu of me," Genesis's voice echoed in her head. Aerith took a step back.

"The law of the summon," she quoted from the book. "A summon yields only to those who prove their might superior to the summon's…" she looked up at Shiva, who was holding still. "So, gotta kick your ass to get you to go away?" she asked. Shiva drew a hand over her shoulder, a blue light forming in her palm. "I'll take that as a yes." Aerith twirled her staff and assumed a fighting stance.

"Bring it on!"