Disclaimer: To Be Human is fanfiction written in the Compilation of FFVII in accordance with the permissions of Fair Use as a transformative work and no profit is being made. The author only claims original characters used within to help flesh out the story.

A/N: Man, it's been a while, huh? Health issues had me falling off the edge of the world for a while, but I'm coming back with a lot more content so if you haven't already, settle in for a long ride. :D

Wearing boots with her sun dress felt strange to Aerith, but they were slim and comfortable and wouldn't be too hard to get used to. Having her staff in hand was comforting in itself, a reassuring weight that reminded her that she wasn't defenseless. And she was about to learn a lot more, even if that wasn't Hojo's goal. For now, she had a few new materia to go with her Restore, and a multipurpose tool courtesy of the Turks tucked into a secret section of one of her boots 'just in case' something happened. It included a knife, of course, but the lockpick and little can opener caught her attention first.

At one side, she had Zack talking to Cloud, the blond seeming much more animated in a smaller group. On the other was Mina, though she was out of her suit for once. Well, somewhat; Aerith was certain that the nicely tailored white shirt was from her uniform. She suspected that the uniforms were a different kind of reassurance, a silent reminder of their position, skills and responsibility alike. The same would probably go with weapons, and it was so odd to think that she understood them on that same level now.

Then the elevator was bobbing to a stop at floor forty-nine, and Zack took a step ahead as a natural lead. "Ladies and gentleman, the hub of SOLDIER activities. Next stop, our premiere virtual reality room."

"Do you think Hojo's going to run some sims then?" Kunsel asked, having been silent as he brought up the back. "That could go badly."

"It could, but I think we'll be alright." Zack shrugged, a carelessness in the gesture that didn't match the seriousness in his eyes. "He has nothing to gain and everything to lose by screwing us over."

"Yeah, the General wouldn't take that too well," Kunsel agreed. "Still planning to keep an eye on him."

"Never said a thing otherwise," Zack said, waving to a pair of Seconds as they passed them and swiping his key card at the door to the training room. "In we go. This is the monitoring room, that one there is where you actually go in for training. Let's see what the Professor has in mind, shall we?"

"Sure, why not?"

Not that there was a choice at this point. Aerith had thought there would be more choices after the first one; clearly, she was very mistaken.

It helped a little that Hojo didn't seem to be enjoying the process at all, either. He was frowning at his phone when they came in, though he snapped it shut as the door was hissing open and stuck it in the pocket of his lab coat. His frown only deepened as he looked her over for a long moment. The silence stretched beyond awkward to painful. "Clearly obstinacy runs in the family."

"I'm used to moving in a dress. Would you rather I set us back trying to learn in clothes I'm not used to?" Aerith saw Zack startle a little at the bite in her tone, and felt some surprise herself. But she wasn't going to take it back, especially since all it seemed to do was amuse the Professor.

"It seems you do have a bit of fire in you, hmm?" Hojo chuckled, a thin smile on his lips. "You might just do after all. What equipment do you have? A staff isn't enough."

"A Restore in my staff, Esuna, Barrier, Earth and Ice in my bracer." And her mother's heirloom tucked into a special slot she'd added to the ribbon Zack had given her, but that was her secret.

Hojo made a thoughtful sound, amusement seeming to linger though he didn't bother to explain, looking to Zack instead. "I assume you have a much more complete arsenal, SOLDIER?"

Zack's smile was edged. "I'm ready to take on any enemy that comes my way."

"Of course you are." Hojo couldn't have been more patronizing without patting Zack on the head. Instead, he gestured to the training room. "Get a helmet on both of you and go in. We don't have time for any more posturing or arguments."

Hojo found it interesting, in a way, how the past seemed determined to come back around these days, the follies of their youth and the mistakes of those long laid to rest resurfacing in this twisted mess. And of course, regardless of the fact that he was to blame for the least of it, Hojo was tasked with fixing it all.

The Professor shook his head, pulling up a stool and watching the boy that had somehow become a First Class SOLDIER as he carefully set up the equipment for Gast's daughter. She reminded him a little of the former head of the department, idealist that she was, but it was increasingly clear that she was very much Ifalna's daughter as well. It was in those wide green eyes that saw so much more than they should, even if she didn't understand it all, and even more strongly in the spirit that she was starting to show. He'd been concerned at first that Gast's softness would have ruined her, but there was hope yet if he could get her to shake off the instinct to conform to human standards. That was only half her heritage, and a poor one at that.

The SOLDIER rested a hand on her shoulder a moment before glancing back his way. "We're ready, Professor. What are you sending first?"

What indeed? Ideally he'd have tested her outside, but there was no security there, and they didn't have time to rig proper equipment. "You will fight a Replicon. You are not permitted to heal yourself in any fashion - that is up to her."

And there it was, a quick look of nervousness from the girl, lips parting in what would no doubt be protest.

He had no time for that. "Is that beyond your ability?"

She straightened, lifting her chin in a gesture that mirrored her mother's defiance down to the narrowing of her eyes. "I can do it."

"Begin combat," Hojo said, typing in the commands to start the simulation and bringing up the monitor where he could watch the feed and their statistics in real time.

It had been a while since he'd had opportunity to test the SOLDIER's statistics, but it was enough to know that he had been promoted to First Class and Sephiroth had been confident in sending him after Hollander's failures. The Replicon he sent out should be well within his ability, but also very likely to get several good hits in as well. The question, of course, was how well the girl would manage.

She startled badly when the Replicon appeared, taking a half step back even as Fair stepped in front of her. It seemed nearly reflexive, which would bode well in a real situation. He pulled his sword and took to battle immediately, surprisingly light on his feet with much less wasted movement than the last time Hojo had been able to observe him. It certainly seemed that Sephiroth's confidence in the boy had not been misplaced. In fact, it looked like a greater challenge was going to be needed.

Hojo raised the parameters for the simulation and settled to watch.

"Mission level 22 initiated."

Aerith's eyes widened at the automated announcement. "Zack…?"

"Looks like that wasn't enough of a challenge." He spun his sword, stretching and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Don't worry too much, just breathe and be ready. Prevention and defense trump trying to fix things after they happen, though."

"Oh." She touched her bracer, reaching for the materia and feeling it warm under her fingers. A protective bubble rippled over them both, and Zack gave her a quick grin before three more Replicons appeared. "Be careful!"

"That's what I've got you for."

Aerith bit her lip, watching him charge at the monsters. She'd seen more fighting than she'd wanted in the Slums, but this was different. This was Zack. And she knew Hojo was going to push him until she had to do something. It would be pointless not to, she knew that, but she didn't want to see him hurt.

He was so fast, cutting through them with the ease of long practice, not even breathing hard. In a way, it was as scary as she once thought. But it was Zack, even if she'd never seen him like this, and there was something breathtaking about the grace he moved with.

Then he staggered with a pained sound that he couldn't quite keep back, a thin line cutting along his arm, blossoming with blood. All she could do was stare, everything else becoming distant and slow as she really looked at him. Small marks were there, welts where she was sure other people would have been wounded, and it had to hurt, didn't it?

Her heart pounded until it was all she could hear, watching more monsters spawn - different ones now, ones she didn't recognize but they moved so fast, converging on Zack. There were too many of them to evade every attack, and she felt it when her barrier shattered.

Zack's eyes widened a little, but he didn't stop.

She wanted him to stop. Wanted all of it to stop, but she couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but stare.

"Aerith?"

His voice sounded so far away, pain written across his face in an attempt at a smile that came out as a grimace.

Her hands tingled with power, instincts she hadn't known she had kicking in, and she reached for it. Healing magic flowed through her, responding to the plea, and wisps of green raced to Zack's aid. When they hit him, she saw his eyes flare brighter before he lashed out with a series of blade strikes.

As the monsters fell, air came rushing back into her lungs and she darted across the room. "Zack! I'm so sorry I just…"

"Froze, I know." He hugged her tight, seeming to understand what she needed. "I'm okay. You got me."

"You're okay," she breathed, listening to his heartbeat and feeling herself calm. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, you're new to this," Zack said. "We're okay. Let's see what the Professor found out."

"Not nearly enough." Hojo's voice cut in, presumably over some sort of speaker system. "Clearly she needs more motivation to get off more than one spell. Try this."

There was no chance to protest as a massive beast took form, a sleek violet pelt over pure muscle, wicked horns and a spiked tail ready to gut the unwary. "What is that?"

Zack let out a long breath and took his battle stance. "That is a behemoth. I've fought them before, but I'd really, really appreciate that Wall staying up. I'm going to go after it, and when I have it distracted, you get back out of the way again; I don't want you hurt."

Aerith nodded shakily, watching him go after it. This time, she was ready. Her heart was pounding, but her world narrowed down to Zack and she gripped her staff tight. The first spells were small, taking care of little wounds as they came up. It helped, to see she was able to make a difference. This was doable. Scary, but absolutely doable.

And then it turned, and saw her.