Fluffy clouds kissed Alpha's cheeks as he woke in Sephiroth's arms, the two having already begun their long flight from Junon to Wutai, dawn still hours away. A cool draft passed through Alpha's cloaks, making him shiver. In response, Sephiroth tightened the spare cloak he had around the teen, saying nothing. Neither said a word until they flew over Nibelheim, when light of the sun passed over the horizon in a cloudy, foreboding morning.
"Who is Delta?" Sephiroth asked, no emotion in his voice save for a tint of curiosity.
"Delta is the oldest of the three androids Hojo created," answered Alpha. "Before Beta, Delta was considered the best. He was trained to be a ghost, a shadow almost. Hojo had spy plans for Delta. The personalities of every member of AVALANCHE were programmed into his memory banks, plus an additional two, should he have to disguise as them as well. His own personality was formed out of a little of everything because of this. Delta wasn't programmed to kill like Beta or me. He was created solely for getting information and spying."
"He was basically practice for you and your sister," the man stated.
"Almost," Alpha shrugged. "His DNA came from many sources, giving him the ability to change his appearance and voice. Sometimes he used make-up and stuff like that to make the effect even more realistic, depending on who he was imitating. But..." His voice saddened. "Delta vanished a long time ago. Hojo said he was defective and sent someone to destroy him, neither returned."
"You were close to Delta, weren't you?" smiled Sephiroth.
Alpha nodded his head, happiness glowing his face. "Delta wasn't like Hojo or Beta. He was a lot like you...Delta cared about me and did his best to keep me happy. He protected me from the official bullies and SOLDIERs who picked on me. Delta taught me how to protect myself and how to fight. It was as if he knew he was going to vanish...But before he did, he promised me he'd always be with me...That no matter where I was, he'd be protecting me in whatever way possible." A tear formed in Alpha's eye, but Sephiroth's cloak instantly dried it. "He broke his promise Sephiroth! He broke his promise and poofed!"
"Don't cry, little one..." Sephiroth whispered, doing his best to calm the teen. "We'll find your brother, or he'll find us." He sighed, his mind still rolling with more questions. "What are the two other personalities programmed into him?"
"I don't know...The only ones who know are Delta, Hojo, and Gast...and that creepy lady that is always in the shadows," answered Alpha. "I have no idea who the woman is, so don't bother asking."
Sephiroth sighed a soft "oh" as they flew over the ocean, Wutai a still few hours away. "What about Beta? She was created to fill in the gaps Delta left?"
"Right. Beta was going to be the next Sephiroth almost, but Hojo wanted complete control over her. So he gave her only one emotion: the love of killing. He'd let her slay at least ten SOLDIERs each day in training! But she became almost too obsessed with killing, so he adjusted her programming and injected more Mako and Jenova cells in her," explained Alpha.
"Jenova cells?" A look of surprise broke Sephiroth's expressionless mask. "But Jenova is dead! Cloud and his gang killed her before the final battle against me."
"Strange...That woman keeps saying that she can control those with Jenova cells in them and she's been searching for someone who she calls her 'favorite puppet'. It doesn't make sense to me."
The dark angel's heart skipped a beat, hearing Alpha's words. No...he thought to himself. It can't be...She can't be back...Its not possible! But then...that would explain everything...Aeris no...Give me strength...I have to face her again...
"Sephiroth? Is something wrong?" Alpha asked, seeing the man's aquamarine eyes glow with fear.
"No..." he answered, shaking his head and feigning a smile. "I'm okay. Don't worry about it."
Alpha made a face at him. "You're a bad liar, you know that?"
"It doesn't help you have a lie detector in you either," the dark angel commented. "We're almost there."
Alpha chuckled lightly as the two drifted down to land outside the town. When they entered, silence welcomed them. Not a person could be seen or heard, the village having the feel of an abandoned ghost town. Alpha shivered and clung to Sephiroth, seeking warmth in his presence and cloaks. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." the dark angel muttered, placing a hand on his katana. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here..."
"He learns quickly," a cruel girl's laugh echoed over the silence.
"Beta!" Alpha shouted, coming out of hiding as he glared up at the girl-android standing on one of the many buildings. "Leave us alone!"
"Sorry little brother," she shrugged, smirking still. "But Mother wants us back home. And she misses her puppet."
"Puppet?" Alpha looked at Sephiroth with confusion in his single eye. "Sephiroth what's going on?"
"Tell him Sephiroth!" Beta called. "Tell him who you really are! Tell him why Cloud wanted you dead and why Mother wants you back!"
Tears built in Alpha's eye. "Sephiroth..."
The man hesitated, then called to Beta. "First, tell me the name of your 'Mother'."
Again Beta shrugged. "I see no problem with that." Her blood red eyes pierced the dark angel. "She is called Jenova."
"Sephiroth what's going on?" Alpha's voice asked, the teen tugging on the man's cloaks.
A deep sigh passed through the man, and Alpha could sense and hear the depths of regret and pain in the sigh. Finally Sephiroth knelt down to Alpha's eye-level. "I'm no angel..." he said, the sadness and hurt shaking his voice a bit. "Alpha, I haven't been truthful to you. It's true that I was once the minion of Jenova, her puppet as everyone puts it so nicely. I wasn't always a good-guy like you see me as."
"I...I don't understand," whispered Alpha, a tear streaming down his face.
He wiped away the tear with gentle brush of his hand. "The reason I'm always so cold and emotionless...the real reason I'm this way...is because I was once evil. Yes, I was a hero to many. If I had a gil for every little boy that dreamed of being a First Class SOLDIER like the great Sephiroth, I'd be rich! But...something corrupted me. I became a killer and hated by all. Alpha...I tried to destroy this miserable planet." The words hit Alpha like a slap, and Sephiroth only paused long enough for his words to sink in. "Cloud hates me because of this, and because I've killed so many he loves. I shattered so many lives and would have done more damage if he hadn't have stopped me."
"No!" The android pushed away from Sephiroth, tears streaming down his face in rivers. "You're lying! This isn't true..."
"Oh its true alright little brother!" Beta laughed above them. "Can't you tell or has your lie detector broken? He speaks the truth!"
"No..." Alpha shook his head, falling to his knees in anguish. "This...can't be true...Tell me you're lying Sephiroth...tell me you're lying..."
"If I did...then I would be lying..." His voice was near Alpha's ear as he sat in a kneel in front of Alpha, trying to comfort him. He whispered to Alpha, "I may have once been dark, but time has changed me...You have changed me, little one. There was once a time I would have killed you as soon as I saw you, but I didn't because I changed...People change...I changed...Alpha please...Forgive me..."
Alpha looked up at him, the android's nose and eyes red from crying. He saw the regret in Sephiroth's eyes and embraced the man. "I forgive you Sephy-chan!" Alpha exclaimed, digging his face in the man's cloak.
A soft smile crossed the man's face, but before he could reply, a gunshot echoed in the air. Suddenly Sephiroth winced and fell over on top of Alpha, his eyes closed. The android sat up the angel, looking him over. Embedded in Sephiroth's left shoulder was a syringe-like dart, having injected its contents into the man. "What have you done?!" Alpha shouted at Beta. "I...I can't feel his pulse!"
"You poor little robot!" Beta laughed. "As you're precious angel sleeps, you'll be left unprotected. SOLDIERs! Seize them both!"
Alpha's tears went unheard as blue-uniformed SOLDIERs swarmed in from all around, pulling Sephiroth's body from Alpha, binding them both in tough ropes. A large aircraft landed outside the village, and in a matter of minutes, the SOLDIERs carried off the android and the angel into the craft to be taken back to Midgar. All hope was lost to Alpha, whose tears continued to burn his face. Only one could sense the last hope following them, but he was too unconscious to warn Alpha.
