The warm morning sun woke the dark angel from his sleep as its rays passed through the window and onto his face. He winced, sitting up. Though many of his wounds had been dressed and tended to, they weren't completely healed, and he felt it as he sat up out of bed and glanced around the room. Sephiroth was alone, but he heard Alpha's voice and laughter downstairs accompanied by Tifa's and Yuffie's giggling. A slight smile played Sephiroth's lips as he shook his head. "The girls like him," he said to himself, a hand on his heart. "And I think even Vincent's smiling now...The real one that is."
An indoor breeze answered him, brushing his bangs from his face a bit. He felt a soft warmth of a glowing spirit in the room, and the dark angel knew exactly who it was. "Show yourself Aeris," he spoke softly. "I know you're here."
It was then a wispy mixture of light and mist appeared near the door, taking the form of Aeris. She crossed her arms at him, huffing silently. "Well fine then..." she muttered. "I guess its no biggy that I've been keeping an eye on little Alpha." The girl giggled. "You two make quite a cute couple."
Sephiroth blushed, which was a rare sight. "Listen, I need some help."
Again Aeris huffed. "It depends on what it is. As a spirit, I'm not supposed to meddle in the affairs of humans."
"Don't worry, its not meddling," he returned, watching her. "I need you to tell me everything you know about Alpha."
"I...I don't know anything!" she answered quickly.
The dark angel grinned. "Really? I thought you said you've been keeping an eye on Alpha."
"I...I...grrr!" Her aura glowed an embarrassed red as she blushed and waved her arms about wildly. "You're so mean! Picking on dead girls like me!"
"I'm not picking on you," shrugged Sephiroth. "You appeared first, remember?"
Aeris's arms suddenly stopped. "Not fair..."
He winked at her. "C'mon Aeris. Spill it. You know very well that I can summon you some other time if you don't give me what I want now."
A soft sigh passed through Aeris. "I'm serious Sephiroth. I've been ordered to not reveal information like this. Spirits like me are not allowed to meddle with the lives of humans."
"Then tell your boss you want to be a guardian angel," growled the man. "If you want to protect Alpha, then tell me two things." Aeris nodded her head, awaiting his questions. "What is the meaning of the medallion that Delta gave Alpha, and what's the big secret behind his left eye?"
Aeris hesitated before answering. "The medallion is a key to the Promised Lands, as you have already guessed. There's a message written on the back that tells how to get to the Promised Lands, but its all riddles. As for Alpha's left eye..." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot say. All I can tell you is that Alpha will reveal it to you when he realizes the sources of his power."
"His left eye..." Sephiroth thought out loud. His hand rested over his heart still. "I think I may have it figured out...but I'll need more time and more proof." He looked up at her. "Do you think you can do some spying for me?"
"Say what?" Aeris asked.
"Go to Shinra Headquarters and keep an eye on things for me," he explained. "Its hard to keep up with them almost...Shinra's moving too quickly for this to be some little thing. I need you to go there and warn me if they're about to make their next move or what their plans are. Think you can do that?"
With a sigh and a smile, Aeris smiled. "I'm sure I can pull some strings." She winked at him. "But don't think I'm doing this for you, Sephiroth. I'm risking my wings for Alpha."
The man smiled as well. "Now you see how I feel."
Blushing again with embarrassment, Aeris stuck her tongue out at him. With that, she vanished into thin air to go on her quest for information. But she hadn't been gone long before she reappeared. "Oh, and before I forget...The three androids Hojo created represent the cycle of life. One represents life, one represents death, and the third represents rebirth. Maybe this bit of information can help you." That said, she vanished once more.
Instead of reassuring Sephiroth, Aeris's words had struck him like a sword. For a moment, he sat dazed on the edge of the bed, thinking. Life, death, rebirth...Alpha is the embodiment of the spirit of life...Beta is death...then that means...A slight smiled played his lips. Maybe I should tell Alpha...No...That would only ruin the surprise. I'm sure Delta will want to reveal it in his own time. Standing, he went to his pack and began digging once more for his Restore Materia.
"Sephiroth?" Alpha's voice asked, the teen entering. He glanced around as Sephiroth turned to him. "Who's in here with you? I thought I heard voices..."
"Its nothing," the man replied, finally finding the Materia orb he was searching for. Closing his eyes, he cast the spell and felt his wounds heal. The spell completed, he tossed the orb back in his bag and faced Alpha. "Did you have a good breakfast?"
"Yeah!" exclaimed the android. "Tifa made a great batch of pancakes, and Yuffie taught me how to pick-pocket. She even gave me a Steal Materia!"
"Not mastered I hope," joked Sephiroth.
"Are you feeling better?" Alpha asked, apparently not hearing Sephiroth's comment.
The dark angel nodded his head. "Somewhat. I was able to actually sleep for once."
A look of worry crossed the android's face. "You have trouble sleeping?"
Again Sephiroth nodded his head. "Nightmares, memories I don't want, and things like that often haunt me in my dreams. Rarely do I have a good dream. I guess that's the curse of being a killer."
"Don't say that!" Alpha said suddenly. "You may have once been a 'killer', but you've changed. You said so yourself." He smiled innocently. "I'm sure your bad dreams will leave you after a while."
Sephiroth chuckled weakly and shook his head. "I hope you're right..."
Suddenly the door to the guestroom closed as a shining spirit appeared. Once more Aeris took form near the door. "Sephiroth, you guys are in serious trouble," she said, seemingly not seeing Alpha.
"Ghost!" Alpha shouted, diving behind Sephiroth.
Aeris laughed, seeing Alpha. "More of guardian angel actually," she giggled, blushing a bit with embarrassment as before. Shaking her head, she once more addressed the dark angel. "Shinra has just sent Reno and Rude to get Alpha. And this time, they've got reinforcements."
"If we hurry, we may be able to get ahead of them," Sephiroth nodded his head.
The spirit nodded her head. "Its not that simple Sephiroth," Aeris stopped him. "They've got some sort of tracking device with them. I overheard Hojo talking to Gast. It seems that Alpha's database is still sending information to Shinra HQ, and they've got some sort of tracking beacon in him, in case something like this happens."
"So that's how they knew where we were...Even before we made our move..." Sephiroth glanced at Alpha then looked at Aeris. "Do you know where it is?"
"Hojo said something about it being located somewhere in his chest," answered Aeris.
Nodding his head, Sephiroth turned to Alpha. "I need you to hold still," the man told Alpha. "And trust me."
Saying nothing, Alpha nodded his head as well and closed his eyes. After taking a deep sigh, Sephiroth focused his energy into his hand and closed his eyes. A glowing blue aura surrounded his hand as he carefully reached into Alpha, searching with his mind's eye for the device that gave their secrets. Finding it, he pulled back his hand slowly, taking the small, thumb-nail sized chip from Alpha's robotic body.
Alpha and Sephiroth opened their eyes at the same time and the teen let out a laugh of joy, hugging Sephiroth as Aeris took the chip and vanished. "Now those guys will leave us alone for a while," Alpha sighed, letting go of the dark angel.
Soon Aeris reappeared, laughing hysterically. "They'll be chasing chocobos for weeks on end now!" she told them. The spirit wiped a tear of light from her eye. "You guys better hurry before they realized what happened. There's a few spare rooms in the Gongaga inn you two may be able to rest in." She winked at Sephiroth. "I'll be wanting details when I return." The spirit let out a giggle as she vanished, the man blushing a deep shade of red.
"Details?" Alpha looked up at Sephiroth. "What did she mean?"
"Nothing...Nothing at all..."
