Chapter 12: Stalemate

"What is the meaning of this??" Rufus demanded to know.

"I wouldn't suggest you try anything," Tseng warned the four men standing in front of him. He cocked his gun.

"Shit…!" Barrett muttered.

"What the hell?!" Zack exclaimed as he pointed ahead of him.

Tseng and Rufus looked up and saw the battle inside the reactor.

"What's going on?" Tifa called from the back.

I've had enough of this…Jenova sneered at the other woman. She looked up at the ceiling and raised a tentacle. A blast of energy radiated from the tip and shot up, crashing into the ceiling, creating a large hole. Closing her eyes, a flash of light enveloped her. Without warning, she rocketed through the air, out of the hole, and out of sight.

"This isn't good…" the woman muttered.

She then turned around, finally noticing what had happened. "Oh my…"

"Who are you?" Rufus glared in her direction.

"If you wouldn't mind putting the guns away…" the woman said calmly, "You'd be wise to listen to what I have to tell you,"

"Hell with this," Rufus shook his head as he pulled out his gun fired at the woman.

The woman barely flinched as her leg was severed below the knee. Everyone watched in shock as her leg instantly regenerated itself, just as Jenova had done with her arms a few minutes before.

"That was annoying, at worst," she remarked indifferently, "Sorry, but it'll take a lot more than guns and swords to kill me. I don't want to use force, but if you plan to back me into a corner, I'll have no choice but to defend myself,"

Rufus slowly lowered his pistol.

"Fine," he said. He turned to address the group behind him. "Everyone get inside now! Looks like we've got more to worry about than a faulty reactor,"

He and Tseng stepped inside, allowing Zack, Cloud, Curt, and Tifa to pass.

"Perhaps you can start by telling us your name," Vincent suggested.

"My name is Medea," the woman answered, "And yes, I am of the same race as the one you call Jenova,"

So much going on under the old man's nose…Rufus thought as he listened intently.

"So why should we trust you?" Vincent asked, "After all that Professor Gast said against Jenova, and after the effect she had on Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth stared silently, still visibly shaken from everything that had happened.

"The same reason you wouldn't attribute the actions of one mentally ill human to the rest of your race," Medea answered, "You're aware of the virus she gave to the Cetra, am I correct?"

"It's common history," Rufus nodded.

"What you don't know is that she herself was infected with that same virus," Medea went on, "The symptoms for our people are different than that of the Cetra, but devastating nonetheless. The Cetra either died or mutated, but with our people, it's the mind that degenerates. My people with the virus suffer from massive delusions, and are often dangerous,"

"And yet you went up against her when you could've caught what she had?" Barrett raised an eyebrow.

"Things have changed over the past two-thousand years," Medea told him, "We've since developed proper medicine to treat infected Cetra, and to prevent it altogether in my people,"

"Perfect!" Biggs said, "That means you can immunize Sephiroth and he won't act like he just did, right?"

"It's not that simple," Medea shook her head, "We were refused proper medical supplies until certain conditions were met, which I can't discuss right now. Also, another problem that may present itself is that Sephiroth is not a full-blooded Seraph,"

"Whoa- mind repeating that last word?" Zack scowled.

"Seraph is the name of mine and Jenova's people," Medea explained, "Seraphim is the plural term. Contrary to the history on your world, the Cetra and the Seraphim are on friendly terms. It has been this way for over a thousand years,"

"But the Cetra are gone," said Rufus, "The only two known Cetra disappeared ten years ago following the murder of Professor Hojo,"

"Driven away by your father's relentless pursuit of them," Medea responded coldly.

"If they can find what they refer to as the Promised Land…" Rufus shrugged, "Then it's worth the trouble. If they're not reasonable enough to come quietly…"

"Shut up!" Sephiroth pointed his sword at Rufus from the distance, having found his voice again.

Rufus peered at him. "Oh, it's you," he commented, "You must think you're pretty hot stuff to be strutting around Midgar the way you've been doing all these years…Sephiroth,"

Sephiroth's eyes widened. He knows…?

"Rubbing in my father's face that you're right in front of him and yet, no one can do a damn thing," Rufus sighed, "Had Professor Hojo survived, he might have found a way to weaken you to the point of us recapturing you. But everyone's afraid to go after you,"

Vincent walked up to Rufus. "What are you trying to accomplish here?"

"Oh, I don't mean to try and get him back, if that's what you're thinking," Rufus smoothed his hair back, "I think my father is like a little kid in his whole fantasy of the 'super-SOLDIER'. Stealing the DNA from another more competent race to make up for the faults of our own?"

"You sound as if you have absolutely no faith in mankind!" Tifa protested angrily.

Rufus ignored her. "But if the Ancients don't want to help us, then whatever. Technology can lead us to more mako- it's that simple,"

"Do you even know what the hell yer saying?!" Barrett exploded, "Yer draining the lifeblood of the Planet without any way of replacing it!"

"And Jenova will drain it further," Medea shook her head sadly.

"So then somebody's gotta stop, her, right?" Tifa stepped forward and looked pointedly at Rufus.

"I'll call my father and let him know that an extremely dangerous monster is on the loose," Rufus took out his PHS.

With lightning speed, Vincent snatched the phone out of the vice president's hand. "I would rather not get involved with your father's company,"

"I'd watch it if I were you," Tseng held up his gun.

"No one is going to be doing any fighting," Medea stated firmly, "Sephiroth and his friends are my top priority for now. I'd think twice before starting anything. For now, I will accompany these people to their destination,"

"Say what?!" Biggs exclaimed.

"And you're going to come up with a plan to get rid of that crazy alien?" Rufus asked skeptically.

"If we don't," Medea said simply, "Who will?"

"Then I'll have to accompany you, won't I?" Rufus brushed his hair back, "This undoubtedly affects the Shinra empire. I'm certainly not about to leave it up to a few vigilantes,"

Biggs and Barrett began to snicker.

"As you wish," Vincent turned away, smirked slightly.

"Sir?" Tseng scowled at Rufus, "Can we even trust them? What were they even doing in the reactor in the first place? They're clearly up to no good,"

"Then come with me," Rufus shrugged, "In fact…"

He turned to face the soldiers and Tifa.

"All of you will be joining us!"

"What?!" Tifa exclaimed, "Why?"

"If this gets out, there will be a lot of needless panic," Rufus explained, "I'd rather you not work the town into a frenzy,"

"So we're just supposed to let everyone think things are okay?" Tifa put her hands on her hips and glared at the vice president.

"It's fine," Medea said, "Jenova has most likely gone off somewhere secluded to heal after being held in stasis for so long. It'll be a while before she regains her strength,"

"I'll send one person to let the town know what's happened," Rufus looked over at the small group, "You," he pointed at Curt.

"Sir, shouldn't Tifa be the one to go back?" Zack asked, "She's just an innocent bystander. There's no reason to make her father worry,"

"Teenage girls are always hysterical," Rufus shook his head, "She's better off here where she can lead us out of the mountains, rather than going back and blowing the whole story out of proportion,"

"I'm not hysterical!" Tifa continued to glare at Rufus.

"Shall we be going?" Medea asked patiently.

"Soon as I take care of this…" Zack went up to one of the pods and began to close the valve.

"All that trouble for one valve," Rufus remarked.

"There!" Zack stepped back from the valve.

"Lead the way," Medea smiled at Tifa.

"Er…sure," Tifa stepped forward and walked out the broken doorway. Everyone else followed.

"This…just tops it all…" Reno shook his head as everyone else went ahead of him.

Reluctantly, he hurried after the others.

"We were just supposed to kidnap the vice president," Biggs whispered to Vincent as they hiked through the mountains, "Not his Turks and soldiers as well!"

"We didn't have to kidnap him," Vincent couldn't help but smile, "He came of his own free will. This is even better than I could have hoped. If a rift is caused between the higher powers, then we won't have to lift a finger,"

"Do you think Jessie and Aeris got to the place all right?" Biggs asked.

Vincent pulled out his PHS. "No reception out here…" he muttered, "I'm sure the girls are fine. We'll meet with them eventually,"

"Hey, see? She's finally coming around!"

Aeris stirred and opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed, in a strange room. Just then, she could see Jessie's face hovering above her.

"Hey- are you okay now?" Jessie asked.

"So tired…" Aeris yawned.

The old man who had been driving Aeris and Jessie smiled at her. "You've been out for the past few hours. The others already arrived,"

"Did they capture Rufus?" Aeris quickly sat up.

"Well…not exactly," said Jessie, "But he's with us nonetheless. It's a long story,"

An old woman smiled at Aeris. "Everyone has been worried about you. Are you up to stepping outside?"

"Sure," Aeris nodded as she got out of the bed.

"Hey, she's alive!" Biggs exclaimed jokingly.

Zack grinned. "We just keep running into each other, don't we?"

Cloud smiled and nodded at her, still wearing his troopers' helmet.

"I can't believe you're in on this too," Tifa shook her head.

Medea went up to Aeris. "Nice to finally meet you. My name is Medea,"

Aeris shook the woman's hand. "What's going on?"

"From what I know about the Cetra," Medea said, "You're probably somewhat aware that Jenova is loose, am I right?"

"C-Cetra?" Aeris stammered nervously, "What do I have to do with them?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Sephiroth spoke up, "Everyone knows what I am- it honestly doesn't matter if they know your secret as well,"

"Wait!" Zack stood up and went over to Medea and Aeris. "So you mean to say she's an Ancient?"

Vincent glared daggers at Zack. "And your problem with that is…?"

"Er…nothing!" Zack exclaimed, "I was just curious! Got no problem with it- I'm an open-minded guy!" he turned to Cloud, "You got a problem?"

"No, sir," Cloud shook his head.

"If it's him you're worried about," Medea indicated Rufus, "Don't be. He's powerless now,"

"Says you!" Rufus spat.

"She's right, actually," said Reno, "We're outnumbered, and-" he pointed at Medea, "they've got an invincible alien chick on their side. We try anything, we're screwed. Way to go, boss,"

"Shut up, Reno," Tseng said calmly.

"People, please," Medea waved her hand for attention, "We need to focus. Jenova is loose. Thankfully, humans are completely immune to the virus, but the fact is, she's still out of control. She could cause a number of disasters…however, I don't think she intends to do so directly,"

Her eyes briefly fell on Sephiroth before she continued to speak:

"I'm just a regular Seraph woman. I would hardly consider myself 'invincible'. Furthermore, I know next to nothing about this world. This is where all of you come in. Your knowledge of this world is crucial to stopping Jenova,"

"So what now?" Tifa asked.

"Until we find hints of Jenova's whereabouts," Medea said, "All we can do now is wait,"

"My…" the old woman smiled nervously, "Such a large amount of people in such a tiny house…I hope a lot of you like camping…"

"How the hell did that brat wind up getting to use the spare bedroom?!" Jessie exclaimed as she, Aeris, and Tifa sat in a large tent in the old couple's back yard later that evening.

"'Prince Rufus' gets what he wants," Tifa shrugged, "His loss. Bet he'd wet himself if he saw a Nibel wolf,"

"You know…" Jessie looked at Tifa, "We've got the upper hand. If you want to go back to Nibelheim, nobody would stop you. I'm sure your family must be worried about you,"

"Ah, I called my dad just before we got started on the tent," Tifa pulled a small PHS out of her pocket, "I might as well stick around. I've got my reasons,"

"Which are?" Jessie asked.

"That trooper that's here," Tifa smiled shyly, "He thinks he can hide from me under that helmet, but I finally recognize him,"

"You know Cloud?" Aeris scowled.

"Yeah," Tifa turned to look at Aeris, "I didn't know you knew him too,"

"I only met him once," Aeris proceeded to tell Tifa about the concert.

"Wait- so then it was Cloud who sent me that autographed Behemoths album?" Tifa asked surprised, "I'd wondered who that was!"

"Oooh!!" Aeris grinned and Jessie nudged Tifa with a wink.

"But why would he hide from me?" Tifa sighed, "He's always been shy…but I thought that after what he'd said…"

"What'd he say?" Aeris pressed.

"Er- nothing important," Tifa shook her head.

"Aeris?" Medea's voice could be heard outside, "May I see you for a moment?"

"Oh sure," Aeris unzipped the tent and climbed outside, closing it up after her. "Be back later,"

"How ya doin', Seph?" Barrett asked as he, Sephiroth, and Biggs set up their tent.

"The same as the last six times you've asked me today," Sephiroth grumbled, "I'm fine,"

"No fever?"

"I'm not sick," Sephiroth responded.

"You sure about that?" Barrett asked.

"If you're worried I'll go berserk and kill you in your sleep, you're free to sleep outside," Sephiroth offered dryly, "The weather is perfect tonight,"

"Why the hell should I be the one to sleep outside?" Barrett protested, "You're the one who might catch Jenova's cold,"

"Not if Jenova isn't around, which I'm certain she isn't," Medea went up to Barrett, with Aeris following behind her, "I'd like to speak further about this with Sephiroth, if you don't mind,"

Sephiroth stood up and nodded.

"Come with me," Medea began to walk to a more secluded spot.

"I wanted to speak with the two of you privately," Medea said as she, Aeris, and Sephiroth sat under a tree a good ways away from the campsite. "I'm sure the two of you have a lot of questions for me. And I'm sure you'd like them answered without an audience,"

Aeris sighed in relief. "Thank you," she said.

"Who exactly is Jenova?" Sephiroth asked.

"We can't really know," Medea shrugged, "This is an unusual case. Jenova came to this world before the Cetra and the Seraphim became allies. So much time has passed. She should have been dead centuries ago. It was a mistake on the part of the Cetra here to seal her. They only were delaying the inevitable. But they didn't know any better, so here we are,"

"So other Cetra still exist?" Aeris asked hopefully.

Medea smiled. "Yes. There are still millions of Cetra traveling around the galaxy. You've never been alone. Nor has Sephiroth,"

"Where are you from?" Sephiroth asked.

"The home world of the Seraphim is called Beud A'evori," Medea answered, "Located approximately ten light-years from your world, but can be accessed through certain gateways. There is one such gateway located in a deserted city up north,"

Aeris turned to look at Sephiroth, "She must be talking about the city of the Ancients,"

"Go on," Sephiroth said.

"I'm a member of a group of Cetra and their allies who watch over the planets that our respective people have settled on," Medea said, "Sort of an advanced police force, if you will. We monitored the situations from a space station we have floating near the Cetran galactic capital. We'd use those gateways to monitor other worlds. However, the gateway on this planet was inactive. We didn't even know about it. But one day, ten years ago, a group of people from that company called Shinra were investigating the ruins of that city. One of them triggered the gateway, causing a huge commotion at headquarters,"

"Shinra always stirs up trouble," Sephiroth muttered, "So what happened then?"

"My superiors panicked that these people would enter the gateway and cause all sorts of trouble for us," Medea leaned back against the tree, "We could tell right away that they were not Cetra or Seraph, and were completely ignorant of the gateway's purpose. My husband and I were immediately sent over to stop that from happening,"

"But you said that was ten years ago," Aeris pointed out, "What does that have to do with now?"

"That is part of my story, and also ties into the reason why these gateways aren't used casually. They are a rather archaic feature of Cetra culture.

"You see, when my husband and I arrived, the soldiers of the group immediately attacked us. Using this…" she pulled out of her traveling pack what looked to be a manipulate materia, only it was twice as large, and brighter in color. "…we were able to subdue the entire group without shedding a single drop of blood. Upon questioning members, we had found out about a Cetra woman who had recently been imprisoned, along with her husband, and a being that resembled an Seraph woman. So we set off to rescue them,"

"Those are my parents!!" Aeris cried suddenly, "You mean you were the ones who rescued my parents? And you waited ten years to tell me that?!"

"Please," Medea held up a hand, "I am trying to explain this situation as best as I can. Please bear with me.

"We'd reached the ghost city in a couple of days. Upon relaying the situation to my superiors, our orders were to flee back to headquarters, with Professor and Mrs. Gast. It was not easy, I'll tell you. Your mother absolutely refused to leave without you or Sephiroth. It was our boss who promised her that once she and her husband were safely on the other side of the gateway, that my husband and I would come back and fetch the children and search for Jenova.

"Yet, something went horribly wrong during the transportation process. While the machine leading from headquarters to this world was in prime working order, the one here had suffered a flaw from centuries of neglect…"

Aeris went deathly pale. She's going to tell me that my parents were killed in some kind of accident, isn't she…?

"…Traveling through gateways involves achieving a speed that goes beyond that of light. Done alone, it can cause severe complications with time. And unfortunately, the space-time mechanism had malfunctioned. While the trip through the gateway only lasted ten seconds…when we had returned and gotten our bearings straight, it was discovered that ten years had passed during the journey. My superiors had believed we'd all perished during the trip back,"

"WHAT?!" Aeris stood up.

"As far as I'm concerned," Medea went on, "Only six weeks have passed since my husband and I rescued your parents from Professor Hojo's laboratory,"

"You mean to tell me that in your carelessness…" Aeris stood, displaying an unusual expression of rage, "You forgot about something so important as the physics of space travel, and cost me my childhood with my parents?! It sounds so ludicrous I could almost laugh!"

"I apologize on behalf of my superiors," Medea bowed her head, "This was a situation that had never happened before- a neglected Cetra colony, that is. There was no particular organization to the Cetra way of life until centuries after your kin had settled here, so we had no way of knowing about this. We acted in haste to an unexpected scenario, and are aware of what that has cost you. Believe me, you're taking this better than your mother did. She actually punched out my chief supervisor when he told her the bad news,"

"She would do that," Sephiroth mused.

"Professor Gast also informed about the story of Jenova," Medea continued, "And so my husband and I were sent back out here to deal with her threat, and to retrieve the two of you. My husband has remained in the city to fix the defunct mechanism on the gateway so that this does not happen again,"

"Wait- why should I go with you?" Aeris glared at Medea, "If you were so powerful that you could use one lousy materia to stop Shinra's army, then why didn't you leave my parents with your hubby, and go find us?! You're acquainted with my people- I'm sure they had big fancy machinery to track down two kids! Instead, you acted recklessly, and took my parents away from me when I needed them the most!! How am I supposed to even TRUST you?!

"I should have been taking piano lessons against my will, and having slumber parties with my friends! Instead, I had to take up the sword to protect myself! I've always hated fighting! And I couldn't afford to make many friends! Jessie's the first new one I've made in years!

"I didn't have anyone to tell me about boys, or about growing up! When I had my first period, it was my neighbor who had to convince me that I wasn't going to bleed to death! And that feeling every night, of always wondering, and never really knowing if my parents were even alive…!"

She broke off and fell to her knees sobbing.

Medea sighed and rested her forehead in her hand. "…There is nothing I can say to make things any better. All we can do is look to the future and try to remedy the situation as it is now,"

How? Aeris thought miserably…how can I make up for ten years lost because some stupid bureaucrats lost their heads in a commotion?

A hand gently touched her shoulder, which she instantly grabbed and held onto. She didn't need to look up to know whose it was. After all, it was always Sephiroth's hand that had comforted her all those years when things became too much.

Medea sighed as she watched the two. Being a subordinate always meant she would often find herself blamed for the sins of her superiors. She'd learned to detach herself in such situations. However, seeing the pain that the girl in front of her was in, was a different situation, considering that she and her husband had also experienced the same pain.

"Don't blame Medea for what's happened," Sephiroth told Aeris gently, "She's a victim too. She's also lost ten years with the people she loves. But if she hadn't done what she did, your parents probably wouldn't have survived. Vincent's attempt to rescue them was quite reckless, in hindsight,"

Aeris had calmed down slightly. "I guess…" she managed to say, "…Sephy's right. You were just following orders…like Zack with the Shinra,"
Sephiroth nodded. The SOLDIER whom Aeris and Jessie had met, therefore, disrupting their original mission. He might have inadvertently saved Aeris from something horrible. She likely would have followed me to the reactor much quicker than the others. Would I have lost my self-control after all Jenova had said to me with her right there…? God, can I even protect her anymore?

Yes you can…

Sephiroth looked up at Medea, glaring at her for reading his thoughts again.

Tomorrow, we'll work on learning to conceal your thoughts…Medea spoke to him telepathically. Your weakness isn't just about your feelings for Aeris, but the fact that your mind is specially linked to Jenova. If she were healthy, it would not be a problem. But she is clearly obsessed with you, and intends to use you to fulfill her needs.

Medea stood up. "Perhaps we should continue this discussion tomorrow morning. But before I go…Aeris…"

The woman reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small white orb. She took Aeris' hand, and placed the shiny object in it.

The half-Cetra looked up and her eyes widened. Mama's special materia!

"Ifalna asked me to give this to you," Medea told her, "And from what I've gathered from the overall situation, it may very well come in handy. Hold onto this,"

Aeris closed her eyes as she clenched the materia in her hand.

"Try and get some sleep," Medea smiled, "Just remember- your parents are alive, and you'll see them again soon- I promise you,"

Aeris nodded and hastily wiped her eyes. She then watched as the woman retreated to a spare tent that Zack had offered her, having chosen to bunk with Cloud instead.

"Are you all right?" Sephiroth asked quietly. He proceeded to sit down right next to her, never breaking contact with her shoulder.

Aeris let out a long, shuddery sigh as she finally released Sephiroth's hand. "I guess I'll be okay…just…was a lot of info to digest…"

"I understand,"

Aeris giggled slightly. "My mother really decked a guy…wow…"

Sephiroth chuckled softly. "I can believe it,"

They sat for a moment, before he spoke again:

"I remember when you were about a year old, we all went out to dinner. They'd put peanuts in the professor's desert, even though he'd requested otherwise,"

"But Papa's allergic to peanuts!" Aeris looked alarmed.

Sephiroth nodded. "And even though he could see the peanuts right away, Mom threw a fit and went on that the waitress was trying to kill him because he'd complained about his dinner not being hot enough…or something crazy like that. I didn't know whether to be amused or scared,"

Aeris smiled and shook her head. "Mama always did have a temper, didn't she?"

They sat there together for a minute, smiling as they remembered happier times. Finally, Sephiroth stood up. "It's getting late," he stated as he looked at the tents scattered about in the distance, "Maybe we should get some sleep-"

His words were cut off as he felt Aeris wrap her arms around his waist from behind, holding on tightly.

"…I don't know what I'd have done without you…" she whispered.

Sephiroth closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't let her get close like that, but something about Medea's reassuring words allowed him to relax for once.

Tentatively, he placed one hand on hers.

"Go get some sleep," he told her, "It's been a long day,"

"Right…" Aeris backed away, feeling slightly sheepish for being so emotional with him.

"Goodnight, Aeris,"

"Goodnight, big brother," Aeris walked away.

Big brother…see? Just forget about it. You have more important things to worry about.

Taking a deep breath, Sephiroth began to walk back toward his tent.

A/N: Congrats go to Blackstar, who guessed the identity of the mystery woman!

Will Sephiroth ever resolve his feelings for Aeris? Or will a certain raven-haired SOLDIER move in on her? How will President Shinra react to all this when he finally finds out? What will Jessie think about having to work with the Turks she so despises?

Stay tuned and find out!