Two updates to everyone who waited patiently this week! Intro the badass, four-star Gen! And intro my fear of losing readers. Quite a twist I just added, so we'll see. In a couple more chapters, Zack and Sephiroth will meet the "New and Improved" Cloud.

Ok here I will start adding a "Listening" part to the top of each chapter. These songs are good for understanding the mood of chapters. You can find them all by searching on YouTube.

Listening - Shadow Games from the Yu-Gi-Oh Movie Soundtrack

www (dot) youtube (dot) com (slash) watch?v (equals) 9A0 (underscore) 1xrSdT8

Note: I will not remove art right now from earlier chapters, but I am going to add new art. Since characters, even known people like Zack, look different in this fic I have pictures now so you can see them. But beware, the descriptions may have some spoilers.


Aeris -

1 crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Badass-Aeris-122123483

2 crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Lifestream-Aeris-122125630

3 crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Living-Aeris-122126382

Zack -

crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Zack-122127217

Ryuu - Warning is marked as explicit due to incest mentioned

crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Ryuu-Strife-122128535

Xene - Warning is marked as explicit due to incest mentioned

crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Xene-Strife-122129822

Zara -

crystilia (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Zara-Kisaragi-122130553

If you look at no one else, check out Aeris 1 and Zack. Xene would be good too.

Aces


3rd Viewpoint

I was right about needing some help to crack Azul. He may not be very smart, but he's loyal. He won't give anything up without proper… persuasion. "What are you doing in Nibelheim?" The question is firm and growled, but Azul doesn't even flinch. He smirks and shakes his head. "Nope. Not a word." I fight the urge to slam my head down on the table. Why did it have to be him? I have been sitting here for nearly five hours. I can't get a single confession out him despite using mild forms of torture. I refuse to use anything over the top, and so I have called in a favor. If only Reno was here. I know he could have made this oaf talk, dance, and do back-flips all at the same damn time. "Sir Gener…" I nod and stand up. "Fine, send her in."

I brace myself for some anger. She never was happy with being pulled off the field for anything. But seeing as she is very strange with her moods, I just as well be met with lust or joy. She strides into the tent with a confident smirk on her face. "Hey, babe." I smile softly and nod. "Hello Aeris." She is just as she was when she left for the front over four months ago. Clad in all leather, perfect hair, blazing green eyes, and a beautiful sword swung over her back. My eyes linger on the sword, clean as can be, but it has tasted the blood of thousands of Deepground soldiers. Ciel, the sword of the planet, an omni-materia sword. Aeris can turn it into any materia she wishes by simply channeling her energy. Interesting, especially when she turns it into a Cure Materia.

She kept her improved materia abilities despite not even being a Cetra anymore. I remember the day they came down. Aeris and Zack, ridden with mako and Jenova cells, on the brink of insanity. They were kicked out of the Lifestream for trying to keep my soul in my body. The Lifestream figured it would be a good investment to get rid of the part of me in love with Sephiroth and the part that could feel pain. Luckily, Aeris used her power to bind my soul, but it got her split into two people. She was separated from her Ancient half, Ifalna's daughter, and her human half, Gast's daughter. It was extremely painful and dangerous, but she survived. Half of her soul is missing now, she hates the Cetra, loves violence and blood, can we truly even call her Aeris?

"What was so important you called me over here all the way from Illiq? We had finally made some headway on them down there with the help of the Air Force." I shrug slightly and point towards Azul chained to chair bolted into a concrete slab on the ground. Her mako-blazing eyes turn to him and suddenly her smirk become a whole lot crueler. "Oh. Well isn't that kind of you to share in the fun! You know how I love interrogations…" She saunters over to Azul and fists his hair. His pained groan alerts me to his neck being extended so far back that several cracks are heard. "Hey there! My name is General Faremis, or you can call me Lucifer if you'd like. I have a strong feeling we'll be good friends before the day is out." Her sleeves slide up just enough that I can see her black tribal tattoos. The mark of Jenova.

Azul spits upward at Aeris, but she draws back just enough to allow gravity to carry the spit back onto Azul's own face. She snarls down at him, tightening her grip on his hair. "Try that again and lose your tongue." She is completely serious and we all know it. She huffs and lets go of the hair, stepping back and grabbing her boot-knife. "Let's play a game. I'll ask a question ,you answer correctly you get a prize. Answer wrong however and you'll be punished." She pulls a chair up and slides in next to me. "What is Deepground planning?" Azul sneers and doesn't respond. Aeris smirks and slams down the knife into his right hand, which is conveniently chained above the table. He howls and I notice the first blow was right above the knuckle of his trigger-finger. "Wrong!" Her sing-song voice doesn't fit the dark, shadowed look she wears.

Azul eventually shuts up again and Aeris fires off the next question. "I made a mistake with the last question. Oh course Deepground is too stupid to plan a damn thing. What is Hojo planning?" Azul doesn't say anything again and Aeris frowns. "You know the drill." She grasps the knife still sticking out of his hand and wrenches it to one side, cutting off all four fingers before going back to cut off the thumb. Azul screams and Aeris merely smiles, her eyes suddenly slitted at the pupil. "Come now, you may be an idiot, but you can do better than this!" I start to feel sick, I never was one for torture, so I stand and leave. I don't feel like watching the show Aeris will pull off. I have faith she will get our information, but I still feel no pleasure in witnessing her methods.

My thoughts wander to Zack, the Zack alive now. He is just like her. Dark and corrupted. Neither are bad people, just unfortunate to have been on the receiving end of Jenova cells. He isn't quite as bad as Aeris, but he never did accept the cells well. She absorbed them just as well as Sephiroth and I. Aeris is almost as strong as I am, probably able to kick anyone else's ass from here to the damned Lifestream. Zack is not as strong as Aeris. He is close but not close enough. That's why Zack took the Lieutenant General position, claiming less paperwork. Zack has his whole soul still, and if his wings are anything to go by, there is still purity in him. He has one black feathered wing and one white one, Aeris' are both black and I have only one black wing. Still, Zack is not the man I loved, he is merely a friend.

I can, even years after finding out, barely wrap my mind around the idea of the planet cycling. My memories are still so very scattered, so I can't remember every thing about my last life. I remember Zack dying, I remember the labs, and I even remember fighting Sephiroth. All terrible things, that never happened in this life. Never happened because Aeris prevented them. She sent herself down to Gaia, in a projected body, to warn Zack. It wasn't really her so the body died after she stopped "feeding" it with her energy. It stopped Nibelheim, it stopped Meteor, it even helped bring down ShinRa before the planet was too wounded. All because I failed in the last life. Because Geostigma killed "the Hero".

I don't understand it, but I gave up long ago. I have Reno and Rufus now, I have two sons. Children! It is such a magical feeling to have a family, a real family now. Tifa, from what I can remember, never felt like family. Aeris, Zack, Reno and Rufus, Xene and Ryuu, Vincent and Yuffie and Zara. When I am surrounded by so many people who care about me, how can I miss a life where I let no one come too close? Yuffie, Vincent, Reno, and Rufus all remember the last life too, they assure me we have always been connected. I may not have Sephiroth and Zack, my lover, but I am not alone. I never have been.

4th Viewpoint

I can't help but think of Cloud as I stroke the small ball of fur sitting and mewling on my lap. It's hair is slightly spiky on the head and it's tiny sounds remind me of Cloud when we would make love. Zackary is glaring at it with fierce hatred burning in his eyes and I can't help but find it comical. I smirk and lift the small cat up and into Zackary's face. "Mew!" Zackary scowls as it licks his nose. "It's only a cat, Zackary." He shrugs and turns away with a frustrated huff. "Evil little bastard." The animal goes limp in my hands with disappointment. "You're upsetting it." Zackary smirks and shakes his head. "Good." I pull the creature back onto my lap and hold it to my chest gently. Its big yellow eyes are sad and pleading. "Mewl?" I smile down at it and allow Lynx to lick my nose.

"Don't worry, I like you." The two tails fluff up and the small thing purrs with delight. I can see that they are very smart indeed, as the cat responds to human words and emotions with its own. Our captors left some times ago, to improve their mood, or so they said. I can't deny it though; mako libido can cause some problems. The little thing here stayed to snuggle. It apparently likes leather. "Meep!" I scratch the cat's head and turn back to Zackary. "We should sleep. We have no idea what tomorrow will hold." Zackary nods and we make our way to the bedroom. The little animal follows diligently. "Get out of here!" The cat doesn't even flinch as Zackary yells at it. "Meow." I chuckle as I get ready to sleep, stripping off my clothes. I crawl into bed, followed by Zackary. With everything that happened today, I am exhausted and almost drop off immediately. I probably would have if the cat hadn't leapt onto the bed, crawled under the covers, and wound up snuggled up to my crotch. My eyes widened and I sat up sharply.

Zackary raised an eyebrow at me and I lifted the sheets cautiously, peering down. "Mew." I stare at the fuzzy creature curled up with my more private areas. "What the hell are you doing?" The small thing only nuzzled its head closer and made a small noise. At the prospect of almost being castrated by it, I chose to leave Lynx where he was. I lowered the covers and settled back down. It felt like someone throwing a fur coat over my nether regions. "Told you it was evil." I frowned at Zackary and closed my eyes. I'll deal with it in the morning.

3rd Viewpoint

It took Aeris all of an hour to get Azul to talk. Not much mind you, but enough. Hojo is planning to build "Mother" a body. How, we don't know. Why, so she can kill us all and rule the planet. When, now. With what, human bodies and pieces of Jenova cell ridden people. This won't be good for us. But all that's left of Azul is a heart, some veins, and a head. If people thought we were hard to kill before, when they see him being carried out (still talking) in a jar, they will be eating any words they said before. He will be killed publically, tomorrow, by an execution squad. How odd it will be to see them shoot a talking head... in the back of the head.

4th Viewpoint

When I woke up, luckily, the cat was no where to be found. Lynx couldn't have gone far though, I could still feel then warmth from his tiny body. I sat up with a yawn. "Seph…" I turn to Zackary with a tired stare. "Yes?" He snickers and points at my head. "It's in your hair." My eyes widen and I reach a hand back to feel something furry clinging to my hair. "Meep." I pull my hair over my shoulder and find Lynx staring at me. "Mew." I frown and remove the small cat. Its two tails twitch from side to side in joy. I will have to start considering the "evil" comment Zackary applied to Lynx more seriously.