Chapter 3: Rebirth
Silver Countess
She didn't know how long she remained in the SILENCE. It could have been minutes, hours or even days she floated there; time didn't seem to have any meaning in that warm dark womb. Darkness swirled and danced, as the voices of the Cetra began to continuously sing in her mind, while she floated in this strange emptiness.
"Our daughter, she who will deliver us the world…"
"Avenge us, Last One! Avenge our memory!"
"Unworthy creatures that walk the light! They who have stolen everything that is ours! Avenge us!"
"Avenge us!"
Aeris wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn't move, couldn't do anything but listen.
"You have the power…Only you…"Why? Why me?
"Because it is written in the Book of Prophecy, thus it is your fate." One lone voice replied, calm and serene, drowning the voices of anger and vengeance. Aeris recognized this voice. This was the voice that helped her when Don Corneo nearly raped her.
Her fate?
"You are born only for the purpose of this single task. You who has seen a glimpse of what was before and what will become…" images began to fill Aeris' mind, visions of people living in a beautiful city, a great war, people dying, homes burning and finally a star that fell from the sky that left a searing wound on the Planet's surface and destroying the enemies of her people. "Your task is to finish what your forbearers had begun," the voice continued.
A great deal of dread filled her heart as she realized what the voice meant. "I can't!" she wailed, her heart breaking at the thought of what her task will be. "I can't…it's not right…"
Suddenly the voices of the Ancients filled her ears, despair, pain and untold suffering filled her mind. Anguish and anger so thick she could almost taste it, seemingly overwhelming her senses and making her nauseous.
A wrenching sensation seemed to pull her and she found herself standing in a street in a beautiful city. "Where…?" Aeris looked she suddenly saw an image of a woman, pale and sick, nursing a dying child. Then another image of a sickly young man holding the corpse of his beloved, then a wife holding her husband as he lay in bed coughing blood. The city she could see was infested by the sick and dying, as some sort of plague devastated its inhabitants. The scene shifted and she found herself staring at some sort of temple, several people, who looked like priests of some sort were chanting a spell around a woman kneeling in the center of an elevated altar. The priests began falling to the ground coughing blood and dying, until no one was left standing. The woman looked up, to the sky her eyes filled with pain and her face pale. Her eyes fluttered close and she took a sharp breath, released it and crumpled to the ground.
Another wail, loud and despairing filled her and she suddenly found herself filled with anger at the injustice done to these people.
"Do you see now, child, what has become of your people? Will you allow their suffering and their sacrifices to be in vain? You who are born, the last of your kind has been chosen to avenge them, to complete the task they had set out to do. Will you accept?"
"But what can I do?" Aeris looked at the emptiness. "I have neither the power nor the knowledge for the task you set upon me."
"Fear not, for you have the power. As for your instruction, I shall lead you to a special place; there you shall find the Book of Silver. It contains the instructions and the means that you will ever need to accomplish your task .But all of these mean nothing until you accept. Do you, Aeris Gainsborough, take this task set upon you?"
With cold hearted resolved, Aeris replied. "I accept."
The voices around her quieted and within that darkness there was great rejoicing as the voice within her mind shouted in exaltation.
"It is done!"
Sephiroth woke up suddenly, his bare chest drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He was clutching the sheets so hard his knuckles were white. He was shivering, the room was warm and he was sweating but he felt horribly cold.
He dreamt about a beautiful woman with long mahogany hair and eyes as green as emeralds. She was achingly beautiful, but her expression was distressed, in pain and then anger. He watched as those emotions played on her face until he noticed one tear streaked her cheek. Sephiroth ached to brush away it away but he couldn't move to touch her.
But it was not a dream as he had hoped, watching as she floated, seemingly not noticing his presence, her eyes looking right through him when suddenly, darkness began to swirl upward toward her body and slowly consume her. He screamed her name—but could no longer recall her name when he woke—but no words came. He reached out to take her hand but the darkness pushed him away as it began to engulf her until only her face remained untouched.
He watched in surprise and in horror as those magnificent eyes turned dull and a small wicked smile began to form on her lips. Then she turned to meet his gaze, the smile of hers widened, and then whispered something.
"She now belongs to me."
That was when he woke up, cold and sweating. Something told him that the Other has finally appeared and it has claimed that woman he saw in his nightmare. Because of that he felt a strange kind of rage and sadness. He could not allow the darkness to take her completely!
With that he stood from his bed, and looked at the watch. It was nearly time; he then picked up his clothes and his sword and prepared himself.
"Aeris…Aeris!"
Aeris moaned, as she slowly opened her eyes. She found herself gazing at a familiar face of a spiky haired blonde. Rage filled her and she was about to give him the same treatment as Don Corneo had when the voice within her stopped her.
"You will not!" the voice within her sternly commanded her, her body seemingly frozen in place. "You need him…and his friends to bring you to the place where the book is hidden."
"What ever for? Can I not do it myself? I have the power. You will help me won't you?"
"Yes, but there is a limit on how much I can help you. It is part of the agreement," the voice replied calmly. "You will understand…in time, but for now, I shall teach you from time to time the proper use of your powers. But the rest is up to you."
"I…understand," she agreed reluctantly, as she withdrew her power.
"Good." The voice replied and disappeared.
"Aeris…Wake up…please," Cloud hovered over her, his expression concerned.
Aeris winced, as she tried to sit up, noting absently that she wore a coarse hospital gown that scraped her skin as she moved. "I'm alright, just a head ache…" she winced as she rubbed her temples.
"That's good," Cloud said relieved as she helped her stand. "We have to get out of here," he whispered, looking behind him checking for guards. He pulled a worn coat over her shoulders and gently led her to an entrance where the woman she saw earlier at Don Corneo was standing obviously waiting for them. Aeris noticed, she wasn't wearing the slutty dress and instead wore a short skirt, tight shirt and hiking boots. She was frowning and those chocolate eyes of hers were burning with some emotion she could not recognize. Her steps faltered and Cloud in his concern decided that carrying her would be a lot easier than simply leading her.
Aeris was about to protest at being carried. She did have her pride after all. "Let them take care of you," the voice within her said. "It'll make things easier in the long run." Aeris didn't bother to argue as she fell into sleepy darkness again.
Sephiroth cursed as the alarms went off. He was hiding behind a broom closet, ignoring the unpleasant smells as he peeked at the crack of the door watching as Shin-Ra guards and SOLDIERs ran past his closet. A red haired man in a Turks uniform appeared followed by a bald man wearing the same thing.
"This is bad, Reno," the bald man said quietly, as the red head snorted.
"Of course it's bad! The president's been assassinated by Avalanche right under our noses and on the night of his fifty something banquet no less. If that isn't bad I don't know what is," he retorted. The bald man looked at him carefully.
"You're not worried." He said. There wasn't a trace of accusation in his tone.
"No, I'm not," Reno admitted, shrugging. "He's not handling my paycheck, not anymore anyway," then peered at his companion and grinned. "It's President Rufus' now. He's a lot better than his old man in my opinion. Better him than that cantankerous old man Shin-Ra."
"Of course."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. So he's in charge now? And it seems his people aren't very sad about it. He'd better pay his respects. He might have a clue on the person he was looking for…He waited for them to leave but the red head spoke again.
"Is she alright?"
"You needn't have to worry."
Reno paused, lighting a cigarette and blowing a smoke ring. "Thanks, Rude. I owe you big time."
The huge bald man shrugged. "Let's just call it even for now. Now let's get going. We don't want to keep President Rufus waiting." The two men left and Sephiroth frowned. For some reason, the last part of the conversation puzzled him. It didn't sound much but something told him it was important somehow.
He stepped out of the closet. He made sure that everything was clear and made his way toward the elevators.
Ping.
Sephiroth immediately ducked and watched as the doors opened. To his surprise instead of guards he saw a strange group of people obviously not from Shin-Ra. Probably Avalanche, he thought, his eyes wandering to the huge bald man with a gun instead of an arm, a pretty girl in a short skirt, a red lion like beast and a familiar looking blonde young man holding someone in his arms.
The young man shifted and the cloak covering his burden fell off. He's eyes widened as he gazed on the countenance of the emerald eyed woman in his dream.
"Cloud, we have to hurry out of this place, the guards have surrounded the ground floor!" the young woman spoke to the spiky haired blonde.
The man nodded, shifting the bundle in his arms. The woman murmured and blinked her eyes open. "Where…?"
"It's ok, Aeris you're safe," Cloud smiled down at her reassuring, not noticing the look of jealousy Tifa sent his way. The woman stirred, frowned as she looked around.
There was a presence here…strong…powerful. Her senses screamed of danger. "Cloud…" Aeris whispered. "We have to leave. Now."
Cloud was surprised to hear the urgency of her voice. "Aeris? What's wrong?"
Aeris couldn't explain to him why the place was dangerous. She just felt that it was.
"Don't tell him…make him."
Aeris blinked at the voice. "And how do I do that?"
"Now would be as good a time as any to start, I suppose," the voice replied. "Now listen carefully and do as I tell you. But you must hurry. The danger is closer than you imagine him to be."
The impromptu lesson was quick…and rather simple to do. Her Cetra heritage had made her a natural empath. She can easily tell a man's mood, his emotions, and even the thoughts that are currently occupying in his mind. And since she has access to those emotions and thoughts that could mean she can actually manipulate them to suit her purpose.
Her suggestions were rather simple. She simply made Cloud go in the direction she wanted him to go. Simple words such as 'left', 'right' and 'ahead' was easy enough to insert into his consciousness and make him believe that it was the direction he wanted to go.
"What of this danger? Would he not be able to follow us as well?" Aeris asked the voice.
"Yes, that's why it'll be up to you to figure out a way to get him off your tracks."
Aeris cursed. The voice laughed. "Do not fear. He won't be able to find us. I sensed several guards on their way. Just tell the Puppet to go where he has to go. We'll deal with him when the time comes."
Sephiroth uttered an oath so vile, if the plants behind him had ears and understood him it would have wilted. A group of armed guards had spotted him when he was about to follow them. It would have been an easy fight if not for the fact; the guards had a pair of Hundred-Gunners with them. He negligently wiped his sword on the corpse as he wondered what his next course of action would be.
The area he knew led to several possible exit points. It'll be difficult to know which way the group had taken. Trying to follow them would be a complete waste of time, considering the chaos that was happening.
There was no other choice than to follow what he had intentionally planned on doing and that was to get information. At least now he had some idea on who she was. He could only hope that the person he was going to get them from will be willing to part with it. Considering that he was supposed to be a dead man.
Sephiroth knew inside and out of Shin-Ra's little building, in particular the secret escape elevator that led to the most important offices, that of the President and the Vice-President. He took out a small plastic key card he had filched earlier and swiped it on the control panel. There was a soft audible 'ping' when the doors slid open. He entered into the rather plush elevator, noting idly the red carpet and the mahogany paneling as he pressed the button that lead to the Vice-President's office.
The elevator door to the Vice-President's office opened and looked around carefully, as he quickly hid behind the foliage as he quickly shut the elevator closed, watching as the mahogany paneled doors slid shut, blending in with the surrounding walls.
He looked around. Unlike the president's office, this one was only half as large so it didn't take very long until he saw the person he came here to see.
Rufus Shin-Ra, the only son of the now late President Shin-Ra was at his desk, talking to someone on the phone. He had some papers lying around and he was busy signing some documents as he finally ended the call. He didn't seem to notice that anything was amiss…until he paused in his paperwork as if sensing another's presence besides his own, he looked up and around as he slowly reached for his shot gun that lay conveniently at the side of his desk.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sephiroth warned the young man as he stepped out of his hiding place.
Ice blue eyes widened slightly to meet Sephiroth's stern gaze. He didn't look frightened, surprised and a bit wary but far from frightened. The hand paused from reaching for the gun and then dropped slowly. "Sephiroth," was Rufus' cool greeting. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"It's nice to see you too."
There was a soft snort and a shuffle of papers.
"You don't look too surprised," Sephiroth commented as he watched Rufus resume his paperwork, acting as if it was natural for him to be there.
"I had time to recover," was Rufus' reply, not bothering to look up as he opened a drawer and took out some folders, completely missing Sephiroth's turn to look surprised. "You've probably forgotten but I did have cameras installed around the area," he briefly looked up and motioned to the small security monitor in his desk. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't know you were coming?" he sounded amused as he finished signing a few documents. "Dark Nation would have pounced on you the minute you stepped out of the elevator. And I would mind it horribly if you killed my cat so I sent him outside."
"Your body guard cat you mean. I haven't forgotten your tendency for paranoia."
"It's called being 'cautious,'" Rufus absently corrected him as he neatly piled the folders, stood up and waved at the seats. "Please do take a seat while I get something to drink. Anything you'd like?" he asked him as he went to the mini bar. "I have champagne, cognac, brandy, name your poison." Sephiroth held up his hand to decline as he sat down on a plush leather chair. Rufus shrugged as he deftly began to mix and prepare his drink.
He was in the middle of pouring his drink into a glass when there was a ring and a female voice spoke through the speaker phone.
"Sir, you have a call from Tseng."
"Put him through."
There was a pause and a click and Tseng's familiar voice spoke through the line. "Sir, how long do we keep the professor and the rest of the Shin-Ra VIPs in the security hold?"
"As long as it is necessary, I want this building is secure and that Avalanche is no longer within Shin-Ra premises."
"Our reports say that Avalanche has already left the building, sir."
"Verify those reports. I want you to be doubly sure that this building is free from any more terrorists," came Rufus' cool reply. "I'll give you two more hours."
There was a pause on Tseng's end and there some soft muffled snickering at the back ground when Tseng replied. "Yes, sir. We'll do what ever needs to be done and I'll inform of your decision to ask that the professor and the head of weapons department and the rest to remain in the detainment area."
Sephiroth's eyebrow went up just as Tseng went offline. "You've locked Hojo, Scarlet and Heidagger in the same room? For two more hours?" his voice sounded amused and slightly shocked. He knew for a fact, those three did not get along and that their hate for each other was so intense it was almost holy.
"And why not?" Rufus replied. "It is for their own safety…" then he smirked. "And for my own amusement."
"They won't be happy."
"Like I give a damn," was the reply as he pressed a button on the speaker phone.
"Yes, Mr. Vice-President?"
"Shelly, have my suit ready for tomorrow. Not to mention my farewell speech and my announcement. Call Junon and tell them that I'll be arriving for the inauguration in five…no make that four days from now."
Sephiroth was idly looking over the pile of folders while Rufus continued to give instructions. His face remained stoic but his eyes did not hide his surprise as he read the labels on the folders that Rufus was handling earlier.
Beatification Project of Midgar.
Solar, Wind, and Natural gas as Alternative Energy Resources.
Joint venture on Weapons and Medical Research with Orion Corporation.
Sephiroth was suffice to say was intrigued with all these. He did not expect Rufus to be involved with these types of projects. He had assumed the young man would be like his father. In a way, he was glad he wasn't and that made him feel proud of the young man. But something was bothering him though. Most if not all of the folders did not just have the seal of Shin-Ra but also of this mysterious corporation named Orion.
"So what brings you to my office?" he finally asked Sephiroth as he sat on his seat, taking a sip of his drink. "I don't think you're here to give me your condolences on my father's…untimely demise or express your concern on how I treat my employees."
Sephiroth gave a slight nod. "I need information."
Rufus raised an eyebrow at that. "Really now. What type of information?" he asked as he brought the glass to his lips.
"Avalanche and all the records on the last Cetra."
The glass paused midway as Rufus looked at Sephiroth, a slight frown marring his handsome features. "I'm not even going to wonder why you need that particular information or why you're even alive for that matter," he placed the glass on his desk and opened a drawer. He began flipping inside its contents and pulled out a folder. "Everything you need to know about Avalanche is in there. As for the Cetra, I don't think I can give you that information."
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed dangerously. Rufus chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, old friend, but you'll have to understand, what you're asking is already dabbling in on my business."
"This is not a request," was Sephiroth's quiet reply his green eyes bored on the unfazed young man in front of him. There were very few people in this world that could ever stand up against him and not be afraid. Rufus Shin-Ra was one of them.
"Oh? And what are you going to do if I don't cooperate, kill me?," Rufus replied, an amused smile on his lips as leaned back on his chair, the slight strains of Mozart could be heard in the background. "Just remember that if you do, you're killing your most valuable tie to Shin-Ra. If I go, neither Hojo, Scarlet or Heidagger will help you in your search and in fact even impede you. Not to mention that Hojo would be very pleased if he knew you were around…" he smirked as he glanced at the security monitor. "I could remember very vaguely how pissed off he was when he found out you were dead."
Sephiroth had to suppress a growl. He was right. He couldn't kill Rufus, not that he would in any rate. Shin-Ra would be after him soon enough and Rufus was the only person with enough power to keep Hojo and the rest in check. He simply wanted to scare the young man into cooperating. But now the tables are turned against him.
"Now I'm not an unreasonable man," Rufus began as he leaned on the table, "and I'm more than willing to help you, if you're willing to do me a favor."
"What do you want?"
"The same thing you want," he replied, smiling as Sephiroth looked at him suspiciously. "All pertinent information on the last Cetra and the Cetra race is kept by only two men. Professor Gast and Professor Hojo." Rufus took another folder, a very thin one and showed it to Sephiroth. "What's in there is the information Hojo has been feeding us about Ms. Gainsborough. There's nothing in there that's even remotely important or even accurate."
Sephiroth flipped through the pages, and one piece of information he found interesting was that Professor Gast was Aeris' father. He frowned…he couldn't remember the professor being married, much less having a child.
"As you know my father had given Hojo free reign on his project, and he didn't care much about information, only the results that would follow. If you want actual information you'll have to steal through Hojo's files. Now as President, I can get to that information but it'll take weeks or even months, and I don't have that much time and I think neither do you."
Sephiroth could see where this was going to. He knew that as of right now, most of the technology that Shin-Ra had leaned heavily on Hojo and Scarlet and though Rufus already expressed his dislike for either of them, he can't get rid of them. Yet. "So you want me to get you that information, am I correct?"
Rufus smirked. "Partially. But after you're done I want you to destroy every single information, project Hojo has, including the information held by the weapon's department," he was grinning now savoring the slightly shocked expression on Sephiroth's face as he reached over and gave Sephiroth another key card and two small disk like device. "You could download everything you need in the main database in Junon. I know for a fact that Hojo kept none of his important files here in Midgar."
"You're destroying your own company, you do realize that," Sephiroth picked up the objects.
"Not really. I already have the information I need from them. The only thing missing is that of the Cetra. I just really want to inconvenience Scarlet and Hojo…enough to give me sufficient reason to get rid of them."
"Who do I give the copy of the information?"
"Someone will contact you. Don't worry you'll know."
Then Sephiroth understood…The president's death, the supposed 'stolen' information, those projects, those links to Orion Corporation…it was all a huge set up to make everything look coincidental and innocuous enough that none of it would be linked back to him. Rufus was destroying the old Shin-Ra Corporation and replacing it with something else…but he was doing it in such a way that the process would seem natural considering that Shin-Ra had no reason to change.
Slick. Slick sonofabitch.
"You're as oily as I remember you to be." Sephiroth chuckled as he pocketed the items. Rufus only smiled in reply. Was it his imagination or did the shadows behind Rufus twitched? He gave a slight frown as he stood up. "You've changed a lot. This is hardly what I expect from you."
"Many things can change a man, Sephiroth."
"Including love?" Sephiroth smirked at him. Rufus simply smiled at him.
"Yes, including that."
Interesting. Then his eyes fell on Rufus' ungloved hands and noticed a gold band on his ring finger. "She must be some woman then."
"You assume too much," Rufus looked at him, but he didn't look anyway offended. Just amused. "Lets just say I finally found someone who I can truly say is worthy enough to be my equal. Don't worry. You'll find your own soon enough," he grinned as Sephiroth snorted. "And I guarantee you that she'd be the last person in the world you would expect to stand beside you."
"I'll remember that."
"I doubt it. Now get going, I'm a little busy right now."
"Of course. It has been a pleasure meeting you again," he smirked as he turned around and began to walk back to the elevator. Then he paused as he turned to look at Rufus. "Oh…and next time, please do introduce me to your wife. Considering the fact she's been just standing there listening to the both of us." He smirked at Rufus' stunned expression, laughing as he stepped into the elevator.
Rufus sat there, watching at the spot where Sephiroth was once was. The shadows behind him began to shift as a soft delicate hand settled itself on Rufus' shoulder.
"Should I…?" a woman's voice spoke softly, meaningfully as she finally stepped out of the shadows. Ebony hair flowed down her waist, accented by a snowy tress that danced on her cheek, as violet eyes looked down at the hand the suddenly held hers, watching as Rufus brought her hand to his lips
"No. You don't have to."
"But he knows too much," the woman sounded slightly worried.
"He won't do anything, trust me," Rufus murmured as he kissed the delicate flesh on her wrist, then to her palm, then on the gold band on her ring finger.
Violet eyes softened considerably. "You're very sure about this?" she asked softly.
"He hates this company as much as I do…besides we're not his immediate concerns," he replied murmuring as he kissed her palm again.
She gave a small smile. "I should really get going now, Rufus, Junon is a long way from here," she tried to pull away but Rufus held it tight.
"You have time," he whispered as he suddenly forced her into his lap and kissed her roughly, thoroughly. After a minute he disengaged himself from her kiss but not from her arms as he reached for the phone.
"Shelly, I'm going to be very busy and I don't want anyone and I mean ANYONE bothering me for the next few hours," he didn't wait for her to respond as he disconnected the call.
"Busy?" the woman sounded slightly amused.
"Yes, busy," Rufus growled softly, capturing her lips in another kiss. "Busy with you."
A Blue Summer~
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