Sorry for the long delay! Between writers block, homework, and weekend visit with my boyfriend (I'm in upstate NY, he's on the east coast of MA, four hours separate us :sniffle:) I was unable to finish this chapter. But never fear! I have plans for the next, and hope to have it up by Thursday. Thanks again to my reviews, especially my repeats, and my new reviewer: Excelion.

Disclaimer: The people and places are not mine, or else this wouldn't be a fanfiction. I make no profit off of this. Trust me.

Chapter 9: Following my Instincts

Aeris, Cloud, Vincent, Yuffie and Edenni were rummaging through Professor Gast's files in Icicle Inn. Though she knew, perhaps better than anyone, how important it was to uncover the truth of the Denizen, she found it hard to pay attention. These words were written by her father, about her mother and her people. There were photographs of them as a young, happy couple. A few included an infant wrapped in soft pink blankets. Aeris forced back tears.

"Hmm, this looks interesting." Yuffie said, indicating a line in the book she was reading. "'The creature landed on Gaia was a force to break the very earth. We thought it was a meteor collision, but when our people examined the crash site there was no rock, only a creature that had already begun her attack. We called it 'The Calamity from the Skies,' as our prophets once proclaimed. This was alien, unlike the Denizen of the Deep Earth, which will be earthborn.' Is this helpful?"

"Well, it's a lead." Vincent said, scratching his head. "But I really don't think it gives us any information we didn't already have."

"Well I think it tells us a lot. I mean, it says we're dealing with something from our own planet." Yuffie retorted. "What do you think Aeris? Aeris?" Yuffie looked around and noticed Aeris was missing.

"I didn't even hear her get up!" Edenni said, astonishment clear in her voice. She sniffed the air several times. "She hasn't been gone for that long. Just a few minutes tops."

Cloud rose quickly. "I'll find her. Keep looking you three, especially in that book Yuffie. Perhaps it goes into more detail about the Denizen." With that said he left the room and hurried to the front door. There was no evidence of her leaving, so he strained his ears and headed for the stairs.

Aeris was lying on the bed in what must have been her parents' room. She clutched the family photograph tightly as tears ran down her cheeks. They had so little time together, and they didn't even know… I don't even remember my father. Do I look like him in anyway? Do I have any of his mannerisms? Painful thoughts ran rampant through her head, and she shut her eyes tightly against the memories that threatened to overwhelm her; those horrible seven years, seven years, of abuse in the Shinra Tower. But what hurt the most, as she stared down at the photograph, was the pain of wondering if she would ever have family photographs like this, smiling for the camera while trying to not wake the baby while the father, hopefully Cloud, wrapped his arms around the both of them and grinned with unabashed pride. The planet never did say I could stay.

Cloud walked into the room and sat down on the bed next to Aeris. He was heartbroken by the scene in front of him. He had only seen Aeris cry once, when Sephiroth had brutally wounded Tseng at the entrance to the Temple of the Cetra. She was ever-happy, or at least she had been. Aeris in pain was a creature Cloud was unfamiliar with, and he didn't know how to make it better. Taking a deep breath he laid down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She tried to hide her face against his shoulder but he gently tilted her head up.

"It's hard for you, being here, isn't it? You're probably feeling overwhelmed by memories." Cloud said quietly. "Am I at least a little right?"

"H…how did you kn…know?" Aeris asked, half sobbing.

"That's how I felt when we got to Nibleheim." Cloud said, looking down at the photo Aeris clutched in her hand. He chuckled. "I always knew you had to have been a beautiful baby." Aeris looked at him in confusion. "You're so breathtakingly beautiful now." Cloud said by way of explanation. He took a slight amount of pride in the way her cheeks turned bright red. He leaned down, with the intent to kiss her cheek, and as she turned to try to avoid it he caught her lips instead. There was an instant of sweet surprise, then they both delved deeply into the kiss. Aeris wrapped her arms tightly around Cloud, pressing herself fully against him. The photograph fell to the floor, forgotten.

Cloud felt his heart leap. This is what he had dreamt of for so long, feeling her, smelling and tasting her. She tasted fantastic, faintly sweet and fresh, like a summertime peach. She felt so soft and smooth, his senses were in overdrive. He was lost in the rush of it all, and loving every minute of it.

Aeris's mind was in turmoil. No, I'm leading him on… I can't… I will only hurt him when I have to go back… but it feels so good, so… perfect. Aeris tried to resist but she was falling more and more deeply in love with him. There was no going back; there was only forward and damn the future. The here and now was too beautiful to be wrong.

Vincent stood in the doorway, a true smile on his face for the first time in ages. Cloud and Aeris had found each other, there was no way they could fail the coming battle. A love like theirs, a love that had transcended death, could not be broken. And, even better, Cloud would not become a second Vincent. He wouldn't look that good with a red cloak and a claw, anyway. Vincent thought to himself.

Hours later the companions still hadn't found anything other than the one reference, and a gloom descended over them as they waited for the Highwind to collect them. Aeris fidgeted, twisting a lock of her hair over and over as her mind whirled. Too much had happened today, and too little progress had been made.

There aren't enough pieces, and those I have aren't adding up together. What am I missing? What are the pieces I need?

Cloud was quiet in a proud, fulfilled way. He kept his arm around Aeris's waist in a gently possessive gesture. He was content he couldn't see Aeris's discomfort. She watched the cloud's float away, her mind spinning wildly. She wished she could focus on the problems before her, but she was distracted by the feeling of Cloud's arm around her. She knew she should pull away and focus, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Later that night, after dinner, the three groups reunited in Tifa's living room to discuss what they uncovered during the day. Aeris could tell from the guilty looks and he way no one could meet anyone else's gaze that it was precious little. Inwardly she groaned, closing her eyes. There has to be a better way of doing this. This is just not going to work.

Cloud, always the leader, took the initiative. "Well, let's take turns discussing what we found out. Tseng, your group first."

"Well, we went to the wreckage of the Shinra Building and my password extracted all the data that hadn't been corrupted by the Meteor Crisis. Rufus was in Junon but we contacted him and requested he access his personal data backup. He'll have better access than us; there is nothing he and his father couldn't see. We searched for the word Denizen in all our files, but all we got was a rather cryptic message Prof. Gast sent to the President on the day he resigned. It said 'That man is the Denizen of all Evil, and his actions will have lasting, negative impacts on our future. I will no longer be a part of this travesty.' We couldn't find exactly who he was referring to, and Denizen never turned up again, even in our Monster Bestiary."

He was probably referring to Hojo. Aeris thought with uncharacteristic cynicism. There's a Denizen of all Evil if ever I saw one.

"Perhaps Rufus' level of entry will give us more information. At least you gave us a platform to work from. Good job." Cloud said. "Tifa how'd your group fair?"

"Not very well. We went to Cosmo Canyon and poured over all transcripts already translated. Nanaki and the Elders worked very hard to translate while we were there, but all references to the Denizen were cryptic at best. We brought copies of them, but they are all like the prophecy Marlene read. They give us no insight into what the Denizen actually is."

"Well, our group just found some old Scripture at Gast and Ifalna's house about The Calamity from the Skies, Jenova, being alien while the Denizen of the Deep Earth will be born of earth. That's only marginally helpful." Yuffie interjected.

While the groups began looking at the data they'd brought back with them, in hopes of uncovering something new, Aeris rose and went looking for Elmyra. Once again she was watching the children play. Aeris sat down next to her, again leaning on her mother for support.

"What's wrong Aeris? I've never seen you so down in your whole life, even after your mother died." Elmyra said. Aeris sniffled.

"It's a lot of things Mom. I just don't think I'll be able to figure this out before the Denizen strikes. I'm not right for this sort of thing."

"Aeris, if you weren't right the planet would not have sent you. I believe that in my soul. What did the planet tell you when it charged you with this task?"

"Nothing! Just to follow my instincts and I would know when I knew!" Aeris sighed and stomped her foot.

"Well, is all this fact-finding what you instinctively feel you should be doing?"

"Well, it's logically the best way to proceed."

"Logic is good in its place, but what is your instinct telling you?" Elmyra said, pressuring Aeris in that gentle, maternal way.

"… Not to trust Denzel." Aeris whispered. Though she knew he couldn't have heard her, Denzel turned to look at her again. His expression was perfectly innocent curiosity about this woman his friend so admired, but Aeris felt chills go down her spine.

"What?!" Elmyra asked, but Aeris ignored her and walked over to him.

"It's Denzel, isn't it?" Aeris asked gently, though she knew perfectly well it was. Denzel nodded. "Marlene has told me a lot about you." she continued.

"She told me a lot about you. You're her hero you know. Everybody talks about you like that. I wish I could have known you like they all do." Denzel said quietly. Aeris, though she distrusted his eyes, was taken in by the kindness of his voice.

"Well, why don't we start now? I'll tell you all about me if you tell me all about you. That sounds fair, doesn't it?" Aeris asked, smiling at him. He nodded, and started telling Aeris all about his likes and dislikes, what he was good at, and what he wanted for his future, but he said nothing about his past. After she told Denzel about her part in the Meteor Crisis she returned to the living room.

The living room was a scene of chaos. Papers were strewn everywhere, and everyone was arguing over what the papers said. Aeris cleared her voice quietly, but it managed to bring silence in the room.

"Listen, I know you are all trying to be helpful, and I really appreciate it, but this is getting us nowhere fast. Tomorrow I would like it if the Turks would use Rufus' access code and data base to search for more clues, since it seems the most likely avenue for further investigation. The rest of us will start physical training. Until we know what we are up against, we need to expect the worst. So let's stop arguing. We should order some pizza's so poor Tifa doesn't have to cook, get some paper plates and beer and have a quiet night among friends." Aeris looked down. "I don't want to have everyone arguing like this. It's not helping. Tifa, I'd like to speak with you a little bit, please." Tifa nodded, and they headed for her room, while the others began cleaning up and preparing for dinner.

"Wow, Aeris said 'let's get beer.' I'm in shock, in a good way." Reno was sang as Tifa closed the door.

"What's up?" Tifa asked. Aeris sighed quietly.

"What do you know about Denzel? Where he came from, and who his family is?" Aeris asked.

"Very little. He was living with his grandmother when the Meteor Crisis occurred. Her name was Ruthie Daringer. He told Marlene, after a long while, that his mother dropped him off at his grandmother's house three days after he was born, never gave his father's name, and then left. She never contacted them again and his grandmother couldn't find her." Tifa said. She was perplexed why Aeris would care, but kept her thoughts to herself.

"Thanks Tifa. We were talking earlier, Denzel and me, and I noticed he avoided mentioning his past, so I got curious. Now, let's go see about that pizza. If we let Reno order there's no telling what we'll get." Aeris said. Tifa laughed and they left the room, but it was to Tseng, not Reno that Aeris hurried.

"Listen, tomorrow when you're looking up data look for the name Deringer, please." Aeris whispered.

"Why?" Tseng asked, as Aeris was walking over to Cloud. She turned and spoke over her shoulder.

"I'm following my instincts."

I am repeating myself here: 2 reviews please. Also, I added back in a previous chapter that Aeris was able to swtich job class like in the classic FFs. (It's no conicidence that I'm playing FF3 on my d.s lite and that Tactics is actually, push come to shover, my favorite game to PLAY.) So, please tell me if you'd like me to add Job Classes to the story, with the characters able to switch between them, and including many of the classic job classes and a few of my own. I need three + or - to sway me in that direction. They wouldn't become an overridding factor in the game, just a mode for me to make combat more interesting.

Love, your devoted Author,

Catie-Cat. :meow: