The next morning Kris only felt nominally better. She had managed to sleep through the night for the first time in days. Not that she hadn't had nightmares, but they had morphed into strange things that she tried not to think about in the light of day. They were too disturbing and were closely linked to her worries.
At least she had also not been sick, though it had been a close call when she first woke. The nausea was terrible. She was more than grateful to find that a fresh pot of tea had been sent up that morning. She decided that drinking at least one cup before she tried to face the dining room was probably a good idea.
When they finally made their way downstairs, they ran into Angeal as he was coming back into the house. He gave Genesis a tired smile before he turned to Kris with a worried look. "How are you feeling?"
She still felt a twist of guilt at the fact that the man had already refused to let her purify him once, but that wasn't what had her frowning. She suddenly realized that he had probably been spending his nights with his mother and had as much to worry about here in Banora as any of them. She felt even more guilt heap on her at the fact that she hadn't considered it in more than passing.
She gave him a strained smile as she answered. "Better than last night, but I should be asking, how are you?"
Shock crossed his features for a moment before he finally gave her a genuine smile. "Tired, but better as well. Don't worry about me. I've had a few days to talk things out with mom. We're okay."
Kris eyed him for a moment, but Genesis didn't give her a chance to keep bugging Angeal. He steered her toward the dining room. "I am sure we have plenty to discuss, and you still need to eat. The soup last night does not begin to cover what you have not been able to eat for the last few days."
The only thing that kept Kris from getting upset at the tone he used with her was the fact that she knew he was only concerned. She let him lead her into the dining room and was more than thankful when the smell of eggs, pancakes, and bacon only made her mouth water.
Zack jumped up as soon as she came in. It looked like he wanted to grab her in a hug, but he stopped and gave her a wary look first. "How are you feeling?"
She chuckled and moved passed him to sit down. "Starving."
He grinned as he sat on the side away from Genesis. Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Tseng. "I am glad to see your appetite has returned. That bodes well for the news I have."
Genesis glared at the Turk, but he ignored it as he stood from where he had been leaning against the wall and continued. "There were a pair of operatives close to Modeoheim that were able to quickly verify your claims about Professor Gast. Given that fact, I felt it was prudent to go ahead and send a report to Veld. He has asked that we meet him as soon as we return to the Eastern continent. He will be waiting as soon as we land. I believe he would like to go over everything in person before we make the decision to return to Midgar."
The silence after his announcement was absolute, but it only lasted a moment before several voices erupted at once. Both Sephiroth and Genesis were the loudest, and neither were happy. Finally, Kris stood and yelled. When they all looked at her in shock, she shook her head and gave her lover an exasperated look. "We knew this was a possibility. We also knew that we would be heading back soon. Let's act like adults and talk this out instead of getting angry, please. I would like to finish my breakfast while I still can."
Genesis glared at her tone, but he sat anyway. She had a point that her sickness could return, and it would be best if she could eat while it was possible. Once everyone was seated again, Sephiroth spoke in a calmer voice, even though it was easy to see he was still not happy. "Given your tone, it would suggest that the Director is displeased. I do not object that we meet with him, as from what we have heard, he does have a stake in this. However, I do want to reiterate that no harm will come to Kris. No matter where the threat comes from."
It looked as though Tseng was barely able to keep from rolling his eyes when he answered. "I have made a note of that fact in my reports. Have no fear, the Director may not be happy currently, but even I will admit that there is more going on here that I cannot easily dismiss. We may need to continue to investigate, but I no longer believe that it is all a fabrication to undermine the company. Especially as we have continually heard that the company should stand."
Kris had not waited to eat while they were talking. So she swallowed before she spoke up. "You're right, the world can't afford for Shinra to fall, and we need Veld to work with us. I have no problem talking to him, as he has a stake in this too. Given what you just said, I suppose that means you want to leave as soon as possible?"
Tseng gave her an evaluating look before he looked at Genesis with a smirk. "At least one half of this future couple will have sense."
Genesis growled at the implied insult, and Kris frowned. She pinned her 'boss' with a glare. "Do you mind not being an ass. You have gotten what you wanted, and we will be headed back, so there is no point in it."
Tseng's look twisted slightly before his impassive mask came back. "As much as I would like to press the matter, it does not make sense to have you in the field for now. Motherhood and being in the line of fire are not often compatible."
For the first time that morning, Genesis did not look like he wanted to kill the Turk. Instead, he moved to change the subject. "If we are to leave right away, and not return to Midgar, what will we do with Hollander?"
Tseng sighed. "That is something that needs to be discussed. Is this a secure location? We cannot afford for him to get loose, nor can we afford for him to get in touch with any of his contacts back in Midgar."
They were all shocked when Genesis' father stepped forward. "We would be willing to keep him here. Given all we have heard, it would be one less thing for you all to worry about. At least for now. If he is to be tried, then he can be retrieved once things in Midgar are settled."
Tseng and Genesis both gave him wary looks, but it was Sephiroth that spoke up. "Please forgive me if this sounds rude, but even with Kris' insistence that Genesis give you a chance, it is hard for any of us to trust your intentions. Why should we?"
Angeal started to step forward, but the man held up a hand and spoke. "We understand that our past affiliation with Shinra does lend itself to your distrust, but you have to understand that right now, all we care about is Genesis. His happiness has been our main objective for years. We had hoped that he would not be affected by the circumstances of his birth once Hollander left him with us, but we now realize that was a vain dream. Still, we are not willing to give up, especially when we see you fighting for your own futures."
"If that is not enough to grant your trust, then you need to look no further than his most recent actions in this village. He has kidnapped several villagers, and we assume they are dead, or worse." He paused at that point and looked at his son with heavy eyes before he looked back at the General. "We know Genesis did not have anything to do with those actions, but he was with Hollander at the time, and his presence was what allowed the man to get away with it. Now, there is no way the villagers would allow him to escape."
Once he finished speaking, Tseng gave him a nod with a wry twist of his lips. "Self-interest is one thing I do trust. Fine, we will leave him in your care for now." He then turned to the rest of the group. "If that is settled, I would like to leave by this afternoon. We have the helicopter ready."
Genesis started to object, but Kris cut him off. "Fine. Just know that given the way I've been feeling, it might take a little longer than the trip here did."
Tseng grimaced at the reminder, but he gave her a nod. "Make sure you have all you need before 14:00." He then pulled out his phone and turned to leave the room.
Once he was gone, Kris' attention was pulled by Genesis' mother. Despite her son's glare, she had Kris follow her to gather up a few things to take with her that would make the trip more comfortable, including a small supply of the tea she had been using to help with her nausea.
By the time they were ready to leave, Sephiroth had verified that Hollander was secured in a way that would be sustainable for the Rhapsodoses. Angeal had taken time to say goodbye to his mother as well. As for Genesis and Kris, they had taken time to say farewell to his parents. Despite the strain that was still in the relationship between son and parents, the goodbyes were sincere, and promises to return were made. All-in-all, their leaving of Banora was no less emotional than their arrival but far less angry.
The trip back to the Eastern Continent should have only taken a day and a half since they were not going all the way back to Midgar, but it ended up taking a little more than two days. Even with the tea to help, they had to stop several times due to Kris' sickness. The constant motion did not help. In the end, she tried to spend as much of the trip as possible asleep against Genesis. It was the only way she could stand it.
Kris had never been so happy to see solid ground when they finally landed. As soon as Genesis helped her from the helicopter, she stretched and almost wanted to dance. She was stopped when she caught sight of four men walking their way. Three of them were unexpected, and one of them was far too familiar. Thankfully the group had the foresight to make sure she was wearing shades before they landed as Reno called out to them.
"Hey, lookie who it is! The Fairs! How's it goin'?"
Both siblings froze. Even though the redhead was their friend, neither was sure what to say. Not only had so much changed in such a short time, but two of the men accompanying their friend didn't look so friendly. Thankfully, Reno didn't seem fazed by their silence as their group finally drew even with the helipad, and the young blonde in front addressed them.
"Tseng, Veld has made me aware of everything. What I would like to know is why I should allow any of you to leave this place alive?"
At his words, all four of the Soldiers suddenly shifted to push Kris behind them and had their weapons out. Tseng rolled his eyes at the actions, and Kris sighed. The Vice-President looked on with interest before he turned back to his subordinate. "I see you were not exaggerating. What is it about her that causes that reaction?"
Kris made a frustrated noise as she tried to push her way through the human barricade. She finally succeeded when she poked her brother in the spot she knew would make him jump. He gave her a betrayed look when she slipped through the space it created. She ignored it as she faced the group in front of them.
She gave the young man a respectful nod before she spoke. "Vice-President Rufus Shinra. I suppose it isn't really a surprise to see you here. As for their reactions, two of them are easy to explain as one is my brother, and the other is my fiancé. The other two are not that much of a stretch if you really did read the report."
He raised a brow at her. "Fiancé? Well, that is news, but not really that important. What I want to know is why I should put my plans at risk to follow your advice? What is the point?"
Kris felt herself frowning, and her eyes flicked back to a scowling Veld. She wasn't sure if he was scowling at her or his young Vice-President, but it didn't matter. She took a deep breath to steady herself but paused as Genesis stepped next to her. She shook her head at him when it looked like he might interrupt. He scowled at the motion but thankfully didn't say anything.
Kris turned back to Rufus with a blank face. "You want a valid reason, I can give you several. Let me lay them all out for you in terms you can understand. First, I know you had planned on allying with Avalanche to eliminate your father, but their goal is not just to take him out. Fuhito wants to eradicate all human life on Gaia so the planet can rejuvenate. He would have betrayed you."
There were several gasps, and Veld gave her a hard look. Rufus' only response was to raise a brow. "That would have been unfortunate, but it would not have stopped me. Your warning is noted, but hardly worth my time. What else?"
Kris' eyes flashed, and her jaw clenched, but this was what she had been raised for. She smirked at him as she continued. "Please, I was just getting started."
Despite her response, he only motioned for her to continue. "When you do take control of the company, there are a few things you should know. First-"
He cut her off at that point. "When? Not if?"
She lifted one brow and gave him a disdainful look. "If we are to keep the company from collapsing, it would make sense to ensure we have a stable hierarchy in place. Why would we seek to destabilize the world economy?"
He blinked a couple of times before he smirked. "True enough."
When she was sure he was done, she continued. "Like I was saying, first, you need to know the promised land does not exist. The rumors Hojo has based his knowledge from are a promise to the Cetra for rest. It is literally just their choice once they die to either retain their consciousness and continue to work from the lifestream or to let go and attain their 'promised land' to become part of the planet with everyone else. It is nothing more and nothing less. That leads me to the issue of mako and what it really is."
At that point, he held up his hand. "Spare me. I have heard this already, and I do not wish to hear it again."
Kris tilted her head to the side and pinned him with a hard look. "Fine, if you know, then I won't expound on it, but I will explain the consequences to you in terms even you can understand. There is a finite amount of energy on Gaia, and the more you use, the less the planet has to continue to create new life. It may not happen in the next fifty years, but it will happen. You may or may not live to see it, but at some point, the planet will have to compromise something, and most likely, it will be human lives. No more new humans will be born. Do you understand what that means? Fewer human lives mean fewer humans to line your company's pocketbooks. It would be difficult to run a company successfully when you have no more clients, don't you think?"
She paused at that point and gave him a bitter chuckle. "Wouldn't it be ironic if it were your soul that was used to power your grandchildren's electronic cradle for an hour. There and gone again in such a short span of time. Fitting if you asked me."
Once she was done, there was absolute silence for several moments. Finally, it was Veld that stepped forward with a glare. "I cannot accept that this was all given to you by some supernatural deity. Why should we believe any of this?"
Kris looked up at Genesis with a sigh, and his eyes widened. "Do not!"
She gave him a wry smile before she completely ignored his order. He grabbed her wrist when she reached up but pulled her hand out of his grasp. "We have to. Trust me."
He growled at her. "It isn't you that I don't trust."
She shook her head at him. "I understand." She heard Zack and Sephiroth step forward as well, but she ignored them too as she reached up and pulled her glasses off.
When she looked up, Veld took a step back with a horrified expression. However, it was Reno that spoke first. "Damn Fair, what on Gaia happened to you!"
She smirked when she looked over and saw that he was shocked, but looked more fascinated than disgusted. She shook her head and turned to Rufus to explain. "I was not just given instructions from some deity, I agreed to become Minerva's conduit so she could act on Gaia's surface. You can choose to believe me or not, but these men have all seen first hand the truth of what is really going on."
The young Vice-President didn't speak right away. Nor did he back away from her strange eyes. His only response was to watch for several moments. Kris didn't look away either. Their standoff went on until Genesis huffed and stepped forward. Rufus looked to him with a smirk before he looked back at Kris. He held her gaze as he spoke to Veld. "Director, I believe you had a few questions, did you not?"
By that time, Veld had recovered and stepped forward with a frown. His gaze still flicked over her strange eyes before he spoke. "If we do choose to believe you and act on this information, where can we find Felicia and Vincent? What exactly were you planning to do next?"
Genesis didn't allow her to answer. "We are taking her to a doctor. The first thing she needs is to verify our child is not harmed. Afterward, I will be more than happy to take care of anything you would like."
Reno whistled and gave Zack a sympathetic look while both Rufus and Veld gave Kris a shocked look. She tried not to look at her fiancé, so she wouldn't get mad at him. This was not the time to bring that up. Still, it was out and needed to be dealt with. "While I do need to see a doctor soon, that is only one of many plans. The most important thing that we need to handle is taking care of the alien that Hojo and Hollander have been using in their experiments. Her presence can still cause issues otherwise."
Veld ran a hand down his face and shook his head before he pinned her with another glare. "Where are they?"
Kris didn't need his question to be clarified. "I do not know where Avalanche is currently." She paused and looked at Rufus. "I do know that they planned on betraying you at the Corel reactor. That is information you might be able to use to your advantage."
Rufus gave her a curious look at that point. "You may have a point. I will consider it." He then gestured to Veld. "What about his partner?"
Kris sighed. "Everything else, Vincent, Jenova, everything, or at least most of it, it's all in Nibelheim."
Rufus raised a brow at that news. "Well then, I guess we will all be going to Nibelheim."
A/N: I hope the interactions with Rufus lived up the expectations lol. Anyway, things are coming to a head soon. Not quite to the end yet, but we are drawing closer. I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for reading!