Chapter 20: Kindred Spirits

Reno couldn't hide the smirk on his face as he walked back from the liquor store. In his hands was a bag containing a few forty-ounce bottles of malt liquor.

Just like back home…he thought with a grin, knocking back a few with a bunch of squatters.

Arriving at the house, Reno opted to head straight to the back porch, rather than hang out inside where it was so crowded. However, someone else was already sitting on the floor, his back against the wall.

"Hey, soldier-boy," Reno greeted Zack. "They watching more of those stupid home movies?"

"Nah," Zack answered dully, "Vincent came back while you were gone. He got mad and made us shut off the TV. Said it was none of our business...suppose he's right..."

"What's eating you?" Reno asked.

"Huh?" Zack looked up at the Turk. "Oh, nothing."

"Yeah well, Sephiroth and the Ancient were acting the same way and then they split. You gonna bail as well?"

Zack groaned and held his head in his hands at the mention of Aeris.

"Want some?" Reno took out a bottle and offered it to Zack.

Zack stared at the forty for a moment. Then, he sighed and accepted the drink.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Reno grinned, "Maybe you're not such a stiff after all. Even if your singing sounds like a dying bandersnatch."

"Is that always gonna come back to haunt me?" Zack growled.

"What?"

"Nothing," Zack opened the bottle and held it up toward Reno. "Cheers..."

"And I thought Nibelheim's winters were cold," Tifa commented as she shivered underneath her new black parka. She was thankful that they had all stopped at Bone Village first in order to buy warmer clothes.

"So why'd you wanna take a walk then?" Cloud asked her.

Tifa shrugged. "The house is too crowded, Vincent's in a mood, and even though it's cold out, it's really pretty too, don't you think?"

"Sure is quiet too," Cloud remarked.

"It's funny," Tifa giggled, "I thought escorting the vice president to the mako reactor was going to be the most exciting day of my life. That pales in comparison to all this. I've been to Mideel, I explored the ruins of an ancient temple, and now I'm all the way on another continent. Is this what being a trooper has been like for you?"

"We didn't get nearly as many chances to actually enjoy our surroundings," Cloud admitted, recalling his missions with Zack trying to track down the missing Genesis and Dr. Hollander. "Honestly, I was surprised that they let us wander around town the day before we went to the reactor."

"Why didn't you come and see me?" Tifa asked.

"No one was home," Cloud replied.

Tifa wasn't convinced. "Why did you hide from me on the mission?"

Cloud looked away.

"…Were you embarrassed because you didn't get into SOLDIER? I already told you that I don't care."

"Even though I told everyone I was gonna get in? Be a hero like Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley?"

"And when I was younger, I told everyone I was gonna be a ballerina. Do you see me hiding from everyone because I'm not wearing pink slippers?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You know that's different."

"Is it?"

"Yeah. You get a pass because everyone likes you. Me...you know what it was like for me. Even if I did get into SOLDIER, its reputation has taken a dive since it's top two members abandoned their posts. I only really came to see my mother, and all she did was nag me about finding a girlfriend. Someone older, she said. I think she would've loved Aeris, but looks like she's taken."

Tifa smiled. "Oh well."

They were getting close to the house. Cloud stopped and looked away. "It's funny…" he said shyly, "If someone had told me three years ago that we'd be talking a walk together, miles away, just the two of us, I'd have probably tried to punch their lights out…if it were a guy, anyway."

A pained look crossed Tifa's face.

"Yeah…" she whispered. "Hey, Cloud…I'm sorry."

Cloud looked at her, confused. "Sorry for what?"

"I wish I'd gotten to know you better when we were younger," Tifa told him. "I let my friends judge you for me, and I just stood there and let them give you a hard time at school. That's why I'm sorry."

Cloud lowered his eyes, slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled.

"Studying with Master Zangan has opened up my eyes," Tifa went on. "These past three years, I started to care less about what my friends thought. Plus…things between me and the guys kinda changed after I…well…"

"...After you what?"

Tifa rolled her eyes and glanced downwards. "Oh, stop acting like you don't know! They're huge!"

Cloud shut his eyes tightly and let out a nervous laugh.

Tifa smiled sheepishly. "Let's just say that I know what it's like to be teased now too."

"That's a pretty stupid reason for people to make fun of you," said Cloud.

"So is being shy," Tifa said pointedly. "And…I'm really glad I've been able to get to know you these past several days."

"…Me too."

They stared at each other for a moment. Swallowing hard, Cloud slowly leaned forward...

"DADADA DAH, DAH, DAH, DAH DADAAAAAA!"

The two jumped at the sound of Zack's loud singing/shrieking coming from behind the house.

"What the heck was that?" Tifa asked as she went to follow the sound.

Cloud growled softly as he followed her. Damn you, Zack…!

"Nope…" Reno said as Cloud and Tifa approached the back porch, "You still can't sing."

"Y'think that's why Aeris doesn't like me?" Zack slurred, "I mean…I'm a nice guy and-!"

"Stoppit right there, man..." Reno interrupted him, "Everyone I know who SAID they were a 'nice guy' always turned out to be as big of an asshole as ME. Don't be an asshole like me."

"Okay, but I'm good-looking, I got a badass sword, 'n I brush my teeth every morning! Whasshee see in a guy like Sephiroth?"

"Guess she's into those ultimate badass types…" Reno said before finishing off his forty.

"Zack, what the hell are you doing?" Cloud asked as he strode up to the drunken soldier.

"Making friends," Zack snickered, "Reno 'n I are sorry we said mean things to each other at the Behemoths show. Now we're cool."

"I don't believe this…" Cloud muttered.

"I'd offer you kids a drink too," Reno told the two teens, "But you came a little late. This is the last one I'm holding, and I'm not sharing it with anyone."

"Whatever," Cloud growled. He turned to Tifa. "I'm gonna hit the sack. Maybe we should hang out again sometime."

Tifa forced a smile, obviously disappointed at the ruined moment. "That'd be fun."

Cloud went inside.

"As for you two…" Tifa turned to glare at the two drunks. "I know Reno can hold his liquor, but Zack, if you wake up sick in the morning, then you deserve to trek across the Great Glacier with whatever you get!"

"Woo! Spunky!" Reno applauded.

"Oh, shut up!" Tifa snapped as she went inside.

"…I think she's mad," Zack said lamely.

The cold climate of the Northern Continent didn't seem to have much affect on the city known only by a few as the city of the Ancients. The crumbling city was comfortably warm, much to the relief of the two lone travelers walking down its empty streets.

Aeris looked around, trying to visualize what the city must have looked like during its glory days. She glanced at her watch. It was five 'o clock. Would the adults have been returning from work now? Would someone at home be preparing dinner? Were there little kids playing kickball in the streets? Did they ever make a habit of conversing with the Planet before going to bed like she always did?

"You're quiet," Sephiroth observed, "Is something wrong? I'd have expected you to be talking my ear off after arriving here."

Aeris shook her head. "It's…just too much for words."

"That's a first."

"Hey!"

Sephiroth stopped at one of the houses. "Do you think we should try to settle in one of these buildings? Or do you want to keep going?"

He then jerked his head at a sudden noise, only to realize a split second later that it was Aeris' stomach.

"Hmm…" Aeris giggled, "Maybe we should stop long enough to eat something."

"As you wish."

They made their way to the house, opening the door.

"It's not even creaking," Sephiroth observed.

They entered the house, closing the door behind them. No sooner did they get a chance to look around, when Sephiroth's reflexes kicked in as an unknown assailant swung a large, barbed staff at the two. The swordsman tackled Aeris to the ground, then sprang to his feet, drawing his sword.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he hissed at his attacker.

"Could ask you the same thing!" the man retorted, "Are you one of the Shinra?"

Sephiroth laughed bitterly.

"Wait!" Aeris scrambled to her feet. She took a good look at the man. He was tall, and looked to be in his mid-thirties. He had thick blond hair and bright silver eyes, with the same sheen as Aeris' own green irises. Another thing that stood out was his shirt. It was a similar style to Medea's own odd clothing. But there was something else that Aeris could sense about him…something that she'd once sensed whenever her mother was nearby.

The man had lowered his staff, taking a good look at Aeris as well.

"You…" he said finally, "You're Aeris, aren't you?"

"How do you know my name?" Aeris asked.

"Well, you look exactly like your mother," the man told her, "She told me all about you, though I suppose there's ten years unaccounted for." He then turned to look at Sephiroth, still holding his sword up. "That must be Sephiroth, then."

"You're Medea's husband!" Aeris realized.

"Nice to meet you," the man smiled brightly, "Name's Reidmar."

Sephiroth sheathed his sword. "I apologize for the mix-up, then. I'd forgotten that someone was living in this city. Perhaps we should have knocked."

"Yeah, I should have known too," Aeris said sheepishly, "Medea did say you were here, trying to fix the gateway. What she didn't say was that you were a Cetra! So that was what the Planet was trying to tell me! By 'one more', it meant one more Cetra!" She began to laugh.

Sephiroth scowled. "Cetra? Are you sure?"

"Sure she's sure!" Reidmar laughed as well, "We Cetra can sense each other's presence, or absence, as well. No wonder she caught me off-guard, though. Her being half-human and all. Can't really tell it's a demi-Cetra until they're two feet away from you-"

"Have you fixed the gateway?" Aeris interrupted.

"So close," Reidmar sighed, "I'm about 99 percent of the way there, but it's that one percent that worries me. Believe me, I wouldn't wish what happened to us on my worst enemy. So what brings you here? Is my wife with you?"

Aeris shook her head. "No. I'm here on a quest for my ancestors. They led me here. Wait- if you're a Cetra, maybe you can help!"

Reidmar looked thoughtful. "Hmm. Depends on what they want you to do. If they spoke to you and not me, there may be a reason. Most likely that you're tied to this planet. I may be a Cetra, but I'm still a stranger to this world. You, on the other hand, have already begun taking your first steps to unlocking the Planet."

"I see," Aeris looked disappointed.

"Still, I'll help out any other way I can," Reidmar told her, "But I'll have to hear the whole story first. Actually, if you'd like something to eat, you can tell me over dinner. I've got plenty of food."

Aeris beamed. "Perfect!"

Rufus and the others awoke the next morning to a loud noise outside of the house.

"Is that a helicopter?" Biggs yawned.

A sudden realization hit Rufus. "Shit…" he muttered as he scrambled for his boots.

As soon as he was fully dressed for the cold, he ran outside, where indeed, a helicopter had touched down near the house. Looking at the side of the aircraft, he could see a familiar logo. Just then, the door opened, and President Shinra stepped out, with Heidegger, Rude, and two other Turks following him.

Damn, Rufus thought, I was hoping this could wait until later…might as well get this over with…

The president looked around disdainfully, until his eyes came to rest on Rufus.

"Hello, Father," Rufus called out as he approached him.

President Shinra frowned. "I expected to find you bound and gagged in a closet somewhere, if not dead."

"Gya-ha-ha!" Heidegger chuckled.

"I must say, you've given me quite a run for my money," the president went on, "It wasn't easy to follow your trail. But I suppose I can thank you for leading me directly to Avalanche."

As if on cue, the others burst outside, ready to put up a fight. Tseng and Reno ran over to Rufus, stopping only a few feet behind him.

"Rude!" Reno waved at his old friend.

The bald Turk waved back.

"Looking sharp, Rude!" Reno yelled.

Rufus smoothed his hair back. "Go home, old man. I've realized something. These people I'm with are much more equipped to handle Jenova than you are."

The president stared blankly at his son. "You're not serious."

"I'm always serious," Rufus said smugly.

"These are the same people who have been trying to bring us down for years!" President Shinra protested, "Whether they destroy Jenova or not, the fact remains, they intend to destroy everything our family has achieved."

Rufus shook his head. "You and I have different definitions of achievement, don't we?"

The president fumed.

"At first, I just wanted to piss you off by using Avalanche," Rufus confessed, "To show that I could do a better job with some rebels than you could with the entire army on your side. But who would have thought that these people I've fallen in with turned out to be so capable? I've even found myself trying to catch up at times. I can't say I ever had that experience running Shinra Inc, with you. Besides…they're right. Mako is a threat to the Planet. I don't plan on dying anytime soon just because you chose to ignore the facts."

President Shinra regarded his son coldly. "So in the end, you will ultimately betray your own father. Is that it?"

"If you can listen to all that I've said and still call it betrayal, then I suppose," Rufus told him.

"TSENG!" the president roared.

The raven-haired Turk shrugged. "I take my orders from Mr. Veld, whom I don't see with you. His last order was to obey the vice-president. You know I always do as I'm told, sir."

"Yeah, same here," Reno said, "Hey- Rude! Tell Cissnei I said 'hey'!"

Rude nodded.

The vice president turned to go back inside the house, leaving the others still standing outside, armed and maintaining defensive positions.

"I could blow that house away in seconds, sir..." Heidegger offered, holding up his grenade launcher.

Chaos began to stir in Vincent.

The president shook his head. "Too many witnesses."

Indeed, the town's population had increased since Hojo had attempted to kidnap the Gast family seventeen years ago. The village now housed many professional skiers and snowboarders, along with other winter weather thrill-seekers. In fact, a crowd was beginning to gather in front of the inn, watching the spectacle with quiet apprehension.

The president continued: "I have more important things to tend to. Get Scarlet on the phone. We're proceeding with our next move, regardless."

He went back toward the helicopter, the others following him.

Vincent collapsed to his knees, willing the demon to rest once more. Biggs and Barret went over to help him up as everyone else turned to go back inside.

"What?" Rufus asked as everyone entered the house, glaring at him. "I meant what I said. I'm fighting against Jenova and the old man. I'll tear down those reactors as soon as we're done with the alien, and as soon as I'm in charge. Are you happy? You got a lot more out of me than you thought."

Vincent held his hands up, indicating he no longer needed Biggs and Barret's assistance. He then eyed Rufus warily. "So be it, then. I guess we'll be moving up our plans after Jenova is disposed of."

"So that's that, huh?" Reno looked at Rufus. "We're really in deep shit now, boss." He tried to keep his tone light, but his eyes showed slight doubt.

"I'll give you all bonuses once this is over," the VP told him.

"Everyone listen up," Vincent addressed the group. "Now that this encounter is over, we just need to make one more stop before we wait for Sephiroth to track Aeris down..."

"God, I can hardly believe this!" the man behind the counter exclaimed, "I was practically going out of business, and then you show up asking for six snowmobiles!"

"You do have that amount, right?" Vincent asked.

"Sure!" the man said, "Boy…you might have saved my business from bankruptcy…at least for a while anyway! Another few months and you might have had to ride through the Great Glacier on snowboards."

Rufus handed the man a stack of gill.

"Right this way, people," the man gestured toward the back door of his shop.

Sephiroth sat outside the house he and Aeris had decided to settle in. The teenager was still at the house Reidmar occupied, talking with the older Cetra.

Dinner had consisted of canned soup from their rations, roast quail that Reidmar had hunted down himself, and water from a lake that he had insisted was perfectly safe to drink. For desert, the older Cetra had managed to scrounge up a few apples.

Sephiroth had to admit, he felt a little better knowing that he and Aeris were in friendly company. Normally, he wouldn't have cared one way or the other if he was alone, but Jenova's meddling had him constantly on edge. He was thankful that there would be someone else who could watch over Aeris if Jenova managed to ensnare his mind again.

The sound of his PHS ringing jolted him out of his thoughts. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small device and pressed the "talk" button.

"Sephiroth here," he said.

"How goes your search?" Vincent asked, "We've been waiting to hear from you."

"I've found Aeris," Sephiroth answered, "We're in the City of the Ancients. Aeris is busy talking with Medea's husband. Where are you?"

"We're about to ride into the Great Glacier. Jenova has made it impossible for us to reach the crater by air, so we're going to try to get there by snowmobile."

"I see," Sephiroth muttered, "Well, I think we'll be able to catch up to you in a couple days. Aeris says there's something she can do from here, though she hasn't really elaborated on what it might be. I'll call you when we're ready to leave."

"You're both well?"

"Yes," Sephiroth answered, "Good luck on your journey."

"Same to you, Sephiroth."

As he stuck the PHS back in his pocket, he spotted Aeris walking toward the house. He stood up to meet her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long," she said as she approached him. "I just had so much stuff I had to ask him."

"I understand," Sephiroth said. "Vincent called. He and the others are trying to get to the crater by snowmobile."

Aeris pouted. "Snowmobile? Those guys get to have all the fun!"

"You'd rather ride a snowmobile than visit the home of your ancestors?"

"I…well…" The teen looked indecisive for a moment. "Okay, I guess this is better," she admitted.

"I thought so."

"You know, this is kind of like old times," Aeris said, "Back when it was just you and me. I like this."

Sephiroth didn't respond.

"I can't wait till this is over and I can see Mama and Papa again," Aeris continued, "Not to mention we'll actually be traveling to another world. Doesn't that excite you? Oh wait, that's right- you're too cool to be excited."

"I'm looking forward to meeting more of the Seraphim," Sephiroth admitted, "And of course, to seeing Mom and the professor."

"It would mean we get to rest finally," Aeris said wistfully, "No more running. No more looking over our shoulders. I haven't remembered living like that for a long time."

Sephiroth nodded. "It's a nice thought."

"To see you actually relaxed," Aeris mused, "I vaguely remember a time when you were always at ease. I'd really like to see that person again."

"I'd like to see you able to enjoy yourself as well," Sephiroth told her, "Too much has been taken from you as it is."

Aeris waved her hand dismissively. "It's all right. We've both survived."

Sephiroth shook his head. "It should never have happened in the first place."

"There's no point in dwelling on what we can't change now," Aeris reminded him.

The swordsman looked at her briefly, and then heaved a sigh as he nodded in agreement. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly:

"I hate that you had to endure it alone. I hate that they made you suffer, and I hated the idea of someone like Hojo shattering your innocence like he did mine. That was why I promised myself the minute I first saw you, that I'd never let anything like that happen to you. But all the same, you had to go through so much anyway…"

Aeris smiled at him. "But I didn't endure it alone," she said softly, "You were always there for me. Always waiting for me, always teaching me something new. You were the one thing I could count on for as long as I can remember…"

She threw her arms around him. "And that is the one thing I wouldn't change for anything…" she whispered, "You…my protector…my best friend…I'm so lucky that you ended up being part of my life. My parents would probably be long dead if it wasn't for you, and I probably wouldn't be long for this world either. I know it sounds corny, but you really are my hero..."

Sephiroth stiffened for a moment. What if you lose control?

He then pushed the thought out of his head as he concentrated on the wall in his mind. Jenova's thoughts hadn't disturbed him since the temple, and he had no plans to let her in tonight.

Tentatively, he returned the embrace. Her hair smells nice…she must have washed it this morning…

"Now was that so bad?" Aeris teased him.

They stayed like that for a few moments. Then Aeris pulled away.

"Tomorrow's going to be a big day, I think," she said as she reached for the door handle. "I should get to sleep early."

Sephiroth nodded.

Aeris smiled. "Goodnight, Sephiroth," she said before going inside.