"So should we tell her?"
The others in the video call were silent. Tifa spun in Shalua's office chair, needing to move or she would go crazy. Yuffie and Lyra were left in charge of the kids at home while Cloud and Tifa were on a "date night." Lyra didn't seem to think this was out of the ordinary, but just before Cloud started Fenrir, Yuffie told Tifa that she didn't like being in the dark and that whatever was going to be said at the WRO, she wanted to hear.
Long story short, Shalua told Reeve of her and Shelke's findings and he planned a video call to inform the rest of their friends since all the Cetra were supposed to be dead and they had all knew the last one. They needed to keep Barret and Cid up to speed anyway.
Sadly, Nanaki was too busy where ever he was to answer.
Barret had answered and immediately wanted to know how Marlene was before anything else was said. Then Cid added his two cents, wondering why he was missing out on all the fun. Vincent was still hanging around the WRO, but he was silent for most of the call other than saying hello.
Tifa rose her hand and spun the chair back to the screens. "I would like to at least say something. Lyra deserves to know if we find anything important like this."
"She's had a rough week," Cloud said. "I vote that we wait."
"For how long?" Cid yelled offscreen. He was working on something in his airship, which was landed somewhere near Costa del Sol. He was currently helping Barret with finding a new energy source.
WRO scientists and environmentalists advised using oil and natural gas as a temporary solution, as these would cause pollution. When Barret called last week, he was happy to say that solar panels were being used in Junon and Costa del Sol and that these alternative resources could work elsewhere on the Planet.
"As of right now, there's a crazy-ass scientist sending crazy-ass people after this kid," Barret grumbled. Whatever Cid was working on, it made a deafening noise that grated everyone's ears. He swore, and hazy smoke filled the screen. Barret yelled at Cid and fumbled about. Tifa heard what sounded like a fan switch on.
"Everything all right?" Shalua asked, grimacing. The haze cleared, and Cid appeared, his face streaked with soot and his hair sticking all over.
"Yeah! We're good!" He grinned and gave them thumbs up. Tifa rolled her eyes, but she laughed. Barret joined Cid in the frame of the screen, and they continued the call as if nothing had happened.
"So, this kid," Cid started, scratching at his scruffy chin. "Are we sure she's a Cetra?"
"Yeah." Shalua leaned against a lab table. "We found some restricted files and DNA samples, and the samples match Lyra to a 'T'."
"You said she has a weird fire and ice thing goin' on."
Shalua shrugged. "She was a Shinra experiment. I blame all the weird on that. Hopefully, Shelke can crack through the files and figure out what exactly was going on to cause it."
"Whatcha got so far?" Barret asked.
"Not much," Reeve said. He sighed, sadly shaking his head. "She's a good kid. Completely clueless."
"She doesn't remember nothing? Like, absolutely nothing?" Barret was scowling. He obviously didn't like this. "And you left her with Marlene?"
"Like Reeve said, she's a good kid," Tifa insisted. "She wouldn't harm a fly."
Shelke sat straighter in her chair. "There are some things in her file that say otherwise."
Tifa's eye twitched as Barret's scowl deepened. Way to go Shelke.
"Continue." He spoke through clenched teeth. Cid rolled his eyes.
"She's with Yuffie. If the kid tries anything, Yuffie'll kick her ass," Cid sighed. "Yuffie may be annoying, but you know she won't let anything bad happen."
"Besides, we wouldn't leave Denzel with Lyra if we knew she was dangerous," Cloud added. "Shelke, what exactly do you mean?"
"I mean I found some pieces of information in the files that mentioned Scarlet, the Head of Shinra's Weapons Department." Shelke swiped on the touchpad that controlled most of the computers and dials and knobs in front of her.
The screens divided, Cid and Barret's faces shoved to the right side of the wall. Files filled with black stripes filled the left side, the writing not blacked out too small for Tifa to read. Some screens were just pages of the black stripes. There were blurred photos and videos that buffered, obviously stuck on whatever was keeping Lyra's files restricted.
"What did Scarlet want with her?"
They all turned to Vincent. He stared at the screens and continued, "She worked with weapons, not people- Oh no."
Just as he finished, it sunk in over the room like a wet blanket as they began to realize just what may have happened.
"Oh." Shalua's voice was quiet. "She worked with weapons."
"Poor Lyra," Shelke said. Her voice was still mostly monotone, but Tifa could tell that she still felt sympathetic. She probably was thinking about her time in DeepGround, where she was a weapon herself.
"Mind blocks can't be lifted easily, can they?" Cloud asked Shalua, his eyes wide with anxiety. She tore her gaze away from the screens and shook her head.
"I don't know yet. Maybe?"
"Then we shouldn't mention any of this if we can help it." Cloud sat back in a chair. His knees bobbed up and down. "Just in case. Who knows what damage it could do."
Tifa imagined a scenario where just the mention of Scarlet or anything in Lyra's files could lift the mind block in her head. Would the information overwhelm her to the point of insanity? Would memories flood her mind, or would they come gradually?
Tifa sat silently in the office chair as the others came up with similar questions. They debated for a while, only Cid and Shalua wanting to tell Lyra, but they eventually agreed that Lyra knowing would be disastrous.
No, they had to break it to Lyra one day at a time, and until she was stable and ready they wouldn't bring up her days in Shinra labs. Unless, of course, if her memories came back on their own.
And as far as Tifa knew, Lyra still didn't remember a single thing.
Cloud and Tifa arrived at the 7th Heaven around eleven at night, the street mostly quiet aside from a few stray cats. Tifa went with Cloud to park in the back, helping him with locking the bike and backdoors.
The bar was quiet. Cloud mumbled to Tifa about checking the downstairs as Tifa climbed the stairs. Marlene and Denzel were asleep in their rooms. Tifa could hear giggling coming from the spare room. She knocked and opened the door.
Lyra and Yuffie had mad a fort from the sheets on Lyra's bed and they were watching funny videos on a tablet Yuffie had probably borrowed from the WRO.
"Hey," Tifa called. They jumped and stifled their screams, covering each other's mouths. They burst into snickers when they saw Tifa.
"Oh my gosh, you scared the shit out us," Yuffie managed to say between giggles. Lyra smiled and rolled over to sit on her knees.
"How was your date?" Her smile was mischievous.
"Yeah, did you guys make out?" Yuffie, on the other hand, wasn't smiling. Lyra hadn't noticed yet.
Tifa rolled her eyes.
"Ha ha Very funny." Tifa heard Cloud's office door open and close. "Just came to check in. See you guys in the morning."
"Night!" Lyra called. Tifa met Cloud in his office and they counted to thirty until Yuffie ran down the hall and swung the door open.
"I told Lyra that I was getting a snack and going to the bathroom, so I literally only have about three minutes until she gets suspicious."
Cloud and Tifa shared an incredulous look.
"What?" Yuffie crossed her arms. "I'm not being ridiculous."
"What are you doing, Yuffie?"
Yuffie made a face to match Cloud's annoyed tone.
"I told her that we would fill her in when we got back." Tifa yawned and waved her arm at Yuffie. "But can this wait 'till morning?"
Yuffie gasped like they had kicked her dog. "No! What if I say something and it goes against whatever went on at the meeting?"
"You'll be fine, Yuffie," Cloud groaned. Yuffie looked at her wrist as if reading a watch.
"Two minutes," she sang, giving Cloud a crooked smile. Tifa slung her arm over Yuffie's shoulders, sharply inhaling to prepare herself.
"Alright, I'll tell you," she promised. "But, you can't tell Lyra."
"Okay. Sounds reasonable." Yuffie grinned and she practically buzzed with excitement.
"Lyra's a Cetra and she was a lab rat."
Yuffie frowned and stepped away, glancing between Tifa and Cloud. Tifa tried to smile, but Yuffie just continued to stare, her eyes wide. Then she stammered.
"How the hell am I supposed to hide this?!"
Tifa leaped forward and covered Yuffie's mouth, listening for any noise coming from the kids' rooms. Nothing.
Thank goodness!
"Do you have to be so loud?" She whisper-shouted. Yuffie mumbled against her hand, clearly offended. Lyra's door opened down the hall and they froze. Lyra stopped in front of the open door, cocking her head to the side.
"You guys okay?" She whispered. "Why are you all standing in the dark?"
Tifa let go of Yuffie, stepping away and giving Lyra a giant smile.
"Yeah, we're fine," Yuffie talked over the damage control Tifa started. "Teef was just telling me that Rosso's biggest secret is wanting to grow a garden."
Tifa slowly faced Cloud, who was just as surprised as she was. Lyra frowned. Tifa hoped that she would buy it.
"Really?" She didn't sound convinced. Tifa flipped the light switch to see her face better. Lyra blinked rapidly in the sudden light.
"You don't have to worry about it," Tifa added. "It's just a silly thing she mentioned during her interrogation."
Lyra turned her green eyes on Tifa, and Tifa's stomach dropped. She wasn't buying it. Just as Tifa was about to add to the lie, Lyra spoke again.
"Can I dig up one of the flowers for her from the church?"
This shocked Tifa more. "But your hand-"
Lyra shook her head and grinned. "My hands are fine. I've got that creepy healing thing going on. And Yuffie told me that Shelke and Rosso were part of the same creepy program thing. She'd probably feel better with a flower anyway."
With that, Lyra spun and went back to her room, leaving Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie standing in silent shock.
Yuffie let out a breath, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. Tifa took a deep breath and allowed herself to laugh, trying to calm herself. Cloud cleared his throat, joining her.
"That was easy," he said. Tifa shook her head, not happy.
"Too easy. I hate lying to her."
"You hate lying to her?" Yuffie hissed, standing straight. "I have to go back to our fort and act like I don't know that she's Aerith 2.0!"
Tifa couldn't ignore Cloud flinching. She reached over and squeezed his hand.
"She's not Aerith 2.0, Yuffie." Tifa scolded her. "Also, that's a bit insensitive."
Yuffie's ears and face turned red and she mumbled an apology. "I'm just gonna go pretend that this entire conversation didn't happen."
"You do that," Tifa muttered. "Good night Yuffie."
Tifa listened to Yuffie's footsteps and then Lyra's door opened and closed. She and Cloud were silent for a few minutes, listening to the building settle.
"What a day," Tifa muttered. Cloud didn't answer. She met his stare and smiled. They were left in comfortable silence.
But then Cloud blinked and they stepped away. Cloud's face was bright red, and so was Tifa's.
"I'm gonna go to bed!" Tifa stepped out of the office. Cloud rubbed the back of his head.
"So am I. Goodnight."
"Night. See you tomorrow."
Cloud muttered to himself as he backed away and tripped over a table leg. Tifa smiled as she closed her bedroom door behind her, still hearing him stumble around, muttering to himself.
Lyra dreamed of the wasteland, or the Negative Lifestream, whatever, again and Kadaj was in an even worse mood. He was moody and bored and no matter what he said, he couldn't make her remember anything. She wasn't shocked anymore, but she felt bad for him. She kept trying to ask about the voice from the pit and what nightmares she had given him, but he kept shutting down.
Honestly, the guy was interesting and kind of cute, but he was beginning to be a pain in the butt.
She woke up with two ideas. While she changed out of her pajamas and into the secondhand lilac sundress with the silver lilies, she decided to ask for advice about her dreams. And she felt restless and needed something other than babysitting and sitting around to fill her day.
Tifa was cleaning the bar, Yuffie and the kids helping her, when Lyra ran down the stairs.
"Good morning everyone," she chirped. They answered with the usual pleasantries, and Lyra found herself suddenly anxious. Tifa noticed.
"Something on your mind?"
Yuffie didn't even pretend not to overhear. She stopped sweeping and leaned on the broom handle. Lyra ignored her.
"Yeah, actually. I was wondering if I would be able to help at the WRO?" Lyra stumbled over her words. "Like, in Shalua's lab? And also I've been having weird dreams about a place called the Negative Lifestream and an extremely moody and/or depressed guy lives there and-"
Tifa furrowed her brows, her eyes slowly widening as Lyra prattled on. She stammered and jumped forward, instantly shutting Lyra up as she did so. Lyra took a step back as Tifa grabbed her arms and led her to a stool.
"First off, I'm pretty sure we can work something out with Shalua," she started, pacing before Lyra. "Second, about the dream thing, what the hell?!"
Lyra wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt, trying her hardest not to fidget so much under Tifa's stare. "Well, I've had it since I got here. And it started with me standing in a wasteland, all alone and there were these pits of tar."
Lyra went over her dreams, making sure to include the pleasant voice and hands that helped her pull Kadaj from the pit. Lyra wasn't sure what scared Tifa more, the description of the voice that came from the tar in Kadaj's pit or Lyra mentioning Kadaj himself.
"Alright, how do I say this?" Tifa muttered to herself. Lyra blinked.
"Say what?" She looked back at Yuffie, raising an eyebrow and mouthing 'what the hell?' Yuffie looked concerned, but she didn't move from her spot. Marlene and Denzel had abandoned their buckets of soapy water and were watching Tifa's freak out.
"Well, about a year ago, this gang came around here and they kidnapped a bunch of kids." Tifa was pacing faster now, but she sounded calm. "They tricked them into thinking that they were going to be healed, there was this plague you see-"
"No, I don't see, but go on," Lyra muttered.
"And a lot of people got hurt, Marlene and Denzel were taken, and the guy that tried to destroy the Planet came back for about ten minutes to fight Cloud." Tifa finished and she almost scared Lyra off her stool when she leaned in. "Long story short, Kadaj isn't really a good person and this dream thing sounds bad."
Lyra slowly nodded, not saying anything. She thought of how he acted in the Negative. He seemed nice, albeit weird and moodier than an angsty teenager. Yuffie piped up.
"Did you have another dream last night?"
Lyra nodded. "He doesn't seem that bad."
"One of them was really big and another one had long hair," Marlene said. "And then there was the really scary one. He almost squished me with a tree."
Marlene went back to washing the tables. Denzel scowled at the bucket of soap. He plopped the washcloth inside and ran to the back. Lyra heard him run upstairs.
"Is he okay?" Lyra asked. Tifa stared back at the hallway leading to the stairs.
"Denzel had the plague. He was one of the kids Kadaj and his gang tricked."
Yuffie dropped the broom, scaring the crap out of Tifa and Lyra. Marlene yelped and threw a handful of bubbles at Yuffie.
"Well, that was fun," Yuffie stretched and marched around the bar tables. She pulled Lyra from the stool and pulled her to the door. "I'll take care of this, Teef. In the meantime, she has a flower to dig up."
Tifa didn't get a word out against the idea, but she didn't physically stop Yuffie either. Yuffie didn't stop jumping around until she was sitting on the bus, a cracked flower pot in her lap. She had pulled it out of an alleyway, which admittedly made Lyra a little nervous.
They didn't say a word about her dreams until the bus stopped at the ruins, abandoning the two of them alone.
"So you've been having this dream since you came?"
Lyra nodded. "Yeah. At first, I was confused, but now I think I'm just rolling with it."
Yuffie snorted, kicking a loose rock into a collapsed wall. "Why? If it were me, I'd be freaking out and telling everybody!"
Lyra didn't say anything for a few minutes, not really sure if she wanted to tell Yuffie how exactly she felt about the dreams.
"Hey, we're friends, right?"
Yuffie tripped over a metal pipe that was sticking out of a low wall. "Ow. Um, yeah. Why? Do you think we're friends?"
Lyra grinned at her, spinning around so that she was walking backward. She hoped she wouldn't trip. "Yeah. I think we're friends."
"Cool!" Yuffie jumped off the wall and landed in a somersault. "Why you wanna be sure?"
Lyra shrugged and spun back around to walk normally, adjusting the flower pot in her arms. "Cause I don't know if I want anyone else to know this. Tifa kinda freaked me out."
"Well, you're dreaming of the land of the dead and one of the dead guys there was a bad guy in when he was alive, so," Yuffie deadpanned. "But sure. I'll keep whatever a secret. I'm apparently everyone's secret keeper this week."
"What?"
"Nothing!" Yuffie laughed, but it was high-pitched and nervous. Lyra squinted at her in the bright sun.
That was weird.
"Anyway, I actually kinda like the dreams," Lyra admitted, ambling along as Yuffie jumped onto another low wall to balance herself. "It feels familiar, like the flowers and the labs. It's comforting to know that I've possibly done something like this before, even though I can't remember. I don't know. That's the best I can describe the feeling I get from them."
Yuffie didn't say anything, but she stopped goofing around. Instead of dancing around and jumping and climbing, she walked beside Lyra silently.
"I'll keep that a secret, but you should probably tell Tifa that," Yuffie said. "Just to make her feel better about this. Maybe she'll let it slide. Who knows?"
They walked silently until they got to the Church. Lyra entered and looked around at each flower, trying to find the best one to dig for Rosso. Since the healing thing happened, she sort of had forgiven Rosso. And when Yuffie explained who Rosso was and how Rosso and Shelke lived before Shelke became their friend, she felt even sorrier for her.
Lyra was beginning to see a trend with these people. She lost count of how many had something to do with that evil utility company.
She was so focused on her thoughts, she didn't see the woman until she bumped into her.
"Oh! I am so sorry!" Lyra gasped and covered her face. "I didn't see you, I swear!"
The woman laughed. "It's alright. I'm fine."
The woman stood and dusted her hands on her skirt. She wasn't very tall, just a few inches taller than Lyra. Her light brown hair was hung in a twist braid down her back, and her bright, friendly eyes were green. The woman wore a pink button-up dress with a red cover and not one part of her had a speck of dirt. She pointed at the flower pot in Lyra's hands.
"Are you planting a flower for a friend?" The woman asked. Lyra smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. I am. She's not feeling good, and I thought the flowers might cheer her up." Lyra looked at her feet and found the perfect flower.
"Well, I think that that's a lovely idea!" The woman exclaimed. "It's sure to cheer anyone up."
The woman held out her hand. Lyra eyed it and stood up straight, shaking it gingerly.
"I'm Aerith." Her smile was genuine and contagious. Lyra felt more comfortable by the second. She giggled.
"I'm Lyra. I haven't seen anyone else here." Honestly, Lyra had only been around the Church once, but that was beside the point. Aerith looked around and shrugged.
"I come from time to time to see if anyone shows up," she chirped. Lyra followed her eyes around the Church, seeing nothing but the clear, cloudless sky through the hole in the roof and the high rafters that were still intact.
"Yeah. It's pretty. I'll try to come around more often to help with the flowers," she said. "Last time I was here, I acted weird."
Aerith didn't seem as alarmed by that as Lyra thought she would be. It had just slipped out, Lyra didn't mean to say that she had acted so weird before. Aerith knelt down and continued to take care of the flowers, pulling weeds and carefully pruning any dead leaves.
Lyra knelt down and dug around the cluster of flowers that she had spotted before. Yuffie must have snagged a small shovel at some point while they were walking. Lyra used it to fill the pot with soil and carefully planted the flowers in the pot, keeping them nice and snug. When she was happy with the pot, she stood to get a handful of water. She froze when she realized the woman was staring at her.
"Um, can I help you?" Lyra timidly asked. Aerith shook her head, still smiling. Any anxiety Lyra had from this promptly left.
"I need to go," Aerith said. Lyra's shoulder's drooped.
"Really? That's too bad." She brushed her hands and held out her hand. "It was nice to meet you, Aerith."
Instead of shaking her hand, Aerith pulled Lyra into a tight hug. Lyra froze, not hugging back. Her arms felt glued to her side. It wasn't that she didn't like Aerith. She just didn't know her, and hugging her felt weird.
"Good luck Lyra," Aerith whispered. "You're going to need it."
This didn't make Lyra feel any better. "Um, thanks? I guess?"
Aerith let go and walked down the aisle. Lyra watched her open one of the doors and blinked. Aerith was gone.
"Well, that was weird."
Lyra rubbed her arms and turned to the flower pot. She gasped and almost tripped. It was sitting in front of her feet, already watered and spruced up nice and pretty. The hole that she had dug was filled and a small patch of wildflowers grew.
A hand grabbed her shoulder and she screamed, whipping around and almost falling onto a man with red hair.
"Whoa there," he said. "We didn't want to scare you that bad."
Lyra caught her balance and stared at the men. Two were wearing suits, one was bald and the other was the man with red hair. The third was wearing a blond man in a fancy white suit. All three were staring back at her and Yuffie was nowhere to be seen.