"What was that song?"
Minerva started and turned her attention towards the wall from where the voice had come. She chided herself for not having heard the opening and closing of the door that would have marked Sephiroth's return. Or perhaps he had been there all along, choosing to remain silent until now, but she had not sensed his presence.
"It was nothing," she answered, a bit more sharply than she had intended.
"...I liked it." The reply was so soft she almost did not hear it.
She faltered. "Really?"
"Yes," he replied, sounding earnest. "Where did you hear it? I wouldn't think you would have access to music here."
"I don't. I... thought it up myself." He did not reply to this, and Minerva shifted uncertainly, deciding to change the subject. "How are you doing? Has the Professor... called for you yet?"
"Yes, he has. Has he always been so harsh?"
She blinked in confusion. "You mean you do not remember?"
"Not everything. It comes back to me when I sleep."
This was another surprise. "You sleep?"
"Bringing Aeris back was... tiring. I scarcely need the rest anymore, but I find it a welcome respite from this place. You should try it; sleep often brings dreams."
"Nightmares as well, I expect."
Something made him pause. "Yes. Nightmares, too."
Minerva looked around uncertainly, as though something else might be in the room with her. Satisfied that she was alone, she laid her hand against the wall, and it turned transparent beneath her fingers. Sephiroth was sitting on a stool near her, and he started.
"This is better," Minerva said.
He nodded in agreement. "I was wondering," he began slowly, "how old are you?"
"Seventeen," she replied. "If you don't remember, why are you asking?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, looking perplexed.
"In the last months that you were in the lab, you would not have seen Talya. That was around the time that I was born, and I expect you would have been suspicious... But if you do not remember that, what do you care about my age?"
"I was merely curious," Sephiroth said. "So, do you know who your father is?"
"No," she lied. "I have access to my files, but his name is never mentioned."
"You don't even have the slightest suspicion?"
"No."
What harm is there in telling him? came the voice.
He does not need to know, Minerva stated.
There is little else that you can do to break his spirit; the Cetra has already crushed it.
What are you talking about? I was always weak.
Minerva blinked, looking sharply at Sephiroth. "Did you...?"
Oh, so you've both discovered that you do not require voices to speak to one another. I was wondering when you would.
Shut up, both Minerva and Sephiroth thought in unison.
You can't expect me not to watch this little family reunion.
Family? Sephiroth demanded.
Yes. My dear, sweet children, finally able to see each other.
He stiffened. You are...
So you remember me! I would not wish to be forgotten. Even by a failure.
Leave us! Minerva commanded. This could not be good for Sephiroth. If I ever lay eyes upon you, I swear I will kill you.
That's a foolish oath; you lack the power to destroy me. Both of you do. Besides, you'd be better off getting rid of the Cetra.
The Cetra have done us no harm, she said firmly. Aeris, least of all.
Sephiroth looked a bit startled, and Minerva wondered if she had used that argument with him, too.
Hmph, Jenova said. It was the Cetra whom I befriended so long ago, and it was they who beat me into submission and bound me in ice. They are an unforgiving, intolerant race. They hated and feared me because I was not of this planet, and no other reason.
Lies, Sephiroth spat, and Minerva regarded him questioningly. She had heard Jenova's story before, and though she knew it was a lie or at least a severely twisted half-truth, she had never heard the true story.
You were the one to strike first, he went on. Your virus nearly wiped them out. The ones who survived had every right to do what they did. They should have killed you then so we would not have to deal with you now.
But Jenova was not about to give up. That is the story the Cetra have passed on to the humans. It is little more than a lie. They attacked me without reason, and I gave them the virus to defend myself! And because of it, they made me suffer for two thousand years, alone and unable to move! But think, I could, and oh, how long I plotted my revenge, only to have that stupid Cetra girl steal it from me when she called Holy and the Lifestream to stop Meteor. And now she has you both defending her! My children, on her side!
Minerva had not heard this before. Rather than trying to persuade them subtly, Jenova spoke with a fury uncommon to her. To hear it as her own thoughts was even more disconcerting. Jenova always spoke to her in her own voice, and she wondered if Sephiroth heard it as his own as well.
Leave us, Jenova, Minerva ordered coldly. We want no part of your plans. In fact, if you come for the Cetra on your own, we will protect her from you.
Foolish children! She will destroy you in the end. She wants you dead, do you understand?
You are wrong, Sephiroth stated angrily. Aeris is no enemy of ours. Now shut up, for I have nothing more to say to your filth.
Your confidence will fail you later on. She has sent her friends to kill you and your father.
He is not my father! he snapped. And she would never ask them to kill me!
See for yourself when the time comes. Perhaps she will even kill you herself. Or, better yet, make a pretend rescue attempt, just as you are dying, so that you will still remember her fon--
Shut up! Minerva interrupted fiercely, seeing that Sephiroth's eyes had reached a dangerous emerald. This argument will get you nowhere. Even you must know that.
Jenova scoffed, but she did fall silent.
Not relaxing, Minerva studied Sephiroth questioningly. "Are you all right?" she asked aloud, tired of speaking without voices. There was something more satisfying, even comforting, about saying things out loud, about hearing her own voice, and, more importantly, hearing Sephiroth's.
He frowned, but nodded slightly. His eyes were slowly returning to a neutral blue-green. "I am fine," he deadpanned.
"She can be... quite aggravating at times."
Sephiroth snorted. "Aggravating is hardly the word."
There was an awkward silence between them.
"Do you think her friends are really coming?" Minerva asked, not sure which answer she would prefer.
"To kill Hojo perhaps. And perhaps they'll try to kill me, too, even if she asked them not to."
"They hate you that much?"
"Who wouldn't, after what I did to them?"
"Aeris doesn't seem to."
He lowered his gaze. "Aeris is not like the others. We knew each other as children, and she has understood me ever since then."
Minerva blinked in surprise. "But... you are eight years older. She would have been too young, no? And the Professor would not have let you see each other."
"I... I could get out of my room if I wished to," he said quietly, not masking the emotion in his voice. "And I talked to her sometimes. But then Hojo must have caught us, and he forbade it, and... he started calling for her then. And then... I cannot remember."
Minerva frowned at her lap, her thoughts returning to Aeris's friends. "When they come," she said, "I will have to fight them. I don't think that they can beat me."
Sephiroth looked up. "You could help them instead. Would that be so hard?"
"Yes. I... If I disobey the Professor... I cannot."
"Why not?" he pressed. "What kind of hold can he possibly have on you?"
She shook her head slowly. "I have tried to disobey him before, and the pain was unbearable, even for me. I cannot."
He frowned, and neither spoke for several minutes.
"Could you... sing that song from before?" Sephiroth asked abruptly.
"W-what?" Minerva stammered.
"It was pretty."
She dropped her gaze. "I am sorry, but... I cannot. No one was supposed to hear that." Footsteps sounded in the hall, and she lifted her head. "I believe I am wanted now."
"I shall speak with you later, then," he said quietly.
She nodded and let the wall go opaque.
A moment later, Talya opened the door. "They're here," she said, smiling apologetically. "You know the drill."
Minerva got to her feet, walking silently to the door.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry for--"
"You were following orders," Minerva cut in harshly, not wanting to hear such lies. "There is no need to apologize."
Aeris awoke from a dreamless sleep and sat up, gaze wandering to the opposite bed where Lucrecia still slept, Katrina keeping watch. The girl looked up at her and saw the question in her eyes. "She woke up once for a few minutes, and I told her everyone had gone to rescue Seph." She grinned as she added, "She thought my nickname for him was cute."
The Cetra smiled, inclined to agree. "How long have I been asleep?" she wondered.
Katrina shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it's gotten pretty late now. I ate dinner a while ago."
Nodding, Aeris got to her feet and stretched unhurriedly.
"Did you sleep well?" the girl asked her. "Better than before, I mean?"
"Yes. Thankfully no nightmares... although I suppose some dreams might provide warning."
"What do you mean? They tell you the future?"
Aeris shook her head, frowning. "Not quite. Messages from the dead or... the subconscious thoughts of the living--but they get distorted, so I can't understand them very well."
Katrina leaned forward, intrigued. "Cetra can talk to the dead, right? Do your parents talk to you and all? I'm assuming they were Cetra, too."
"My mother was..."
"But your dad wasn't? Does that make you a half-Cetra?"
Aeris sat back down on the edge of her bed and studied her hands, frowning thoughtfully. "I guess so."
"Did you like your parents?" Katrina went on.
"I never knew my father. My mother died when I was seven, but I got to know her again during the past five years. Although, we haven't really spoken since Sephiroth brought me back." She looked up. "What about you, Katrina? How old are you anyway?"
"Eighteen. And, well... We never really got along that well. I'm sure they mean well and all, but we're obviously on different wave lengths. That's sort of why I left home, really. They were going to send me to live with my uncle in Junon, but I can't stand the city, not to mention my uncle."
Aeris nodded in understanding, sensing that Katrina wanted some sort of approval. "How long has it been since you left?"
"A week maybe? I'm not really sure. So much has happened, I don't even know what day it is."
"I know how you feel," the Cetra replied. "In any case, your parents must be worried. You should get word to them that you're all right."
Katrina looked surprised. "You don't think I should go back?"
"Why should you? You're old enough to be on your own, and they were going to send you away anyway. Besides, you seem to be doing fine here."
The girl smiled sheepishly. "I haven't been here for very long, though."
"I'm sure someone would be kind enough to take you in for a while, until you find your feet."
"I guess..."
Aeris smiled encouragingly, but she got to her feet again. "I'd... like to speak with my mother," she said. "Talking with you, I realize there are some things I want to ask her."
"Go ahead," Katrina told her. "I don't mind."
With a grateful nod, the Cetra turned out of the inn and headed outside. It was dark, and no evidence of the sun's light remained in the sky. The Candle was likewise unoccupied, and she made her way over to it, seating herself before the flame and focusing her thoughts inwards.
"Mom?" she called softly. "I need to talk to you."
What is it? came Ifalna's reply.
"I... Well, have you been watching at all?"
Constantly. I've been so worried about you. All of us have.
"How are they doing?" she wondered.
They've only just reached Midgar, her mother said, her tone implying that Aeris ought to have known this. It's really too soon to tell.
"I know," she sighed. "I just wish I could've gone with them. I want to help them so badly."
And you want to be near him.
"I do," Aeris admitted, realizing Ifalna was right. "I know I stayed behind for a reason, but... Isn't there anything I can do? I feel so useless here..."
I know this is hard for you, but it isn't safe for you to join them. You're in no condition to fight, and that could easily work to your enemies' advantage, like it did last time. Besides, Hojo will be after you specifically. It's in your best interest to stay.
"But, am I really any safer here? Maybe, with everyone away, Hojo will send Talya after me again."
You still have Nanaki and his friend to protect you, and... hopefully Cloud's attack on the lab will prevent them from attempting to capture you again.
"Hopefully," Aeris repeated. "There's still a chance, so maybe I would be safer with the others."
Aeris...
"If I decide to go, you won't be able to stop me, Mom. You know that."
Ifalna sighed. I know.
She hesitated, and then said, "I have a question, though. About Sephiroth."
There was a pause. Go on.
"Well, I... It wasn't you who taught me to heal, was it?"
I always thought you learned on your own, Ifalna said with mild confusion. One day you couldn't, and the next you were trying to help me.
"Sephiroth taught me," Aeris said. "Or, at least, I think he did. It's hard to remember."
You were only about four or five at the time.
"I know. But I've been thinking about what Nanaki said. I learned how to resurrect Lucrecia from watching him; how can we do spells the same way if we're so different?"
Aeris, just because you draw your power from different sources doesn't mean that the way you cast a spell changes.
"Are you sure?" she wondered, furrowing her brow.
Well, no, but what other reason could there be?
Aeris shook her head. "I don't know, but... using materia feels so different from casting my own magic, but there was something familiar about... how it felt when Sephiroth healed me."
I really don't know what to tell you. But, really, does it matter so much?
"I just... Well, Sephiroth can do much more than heal, can't he? Or at least, he used to be able to. I want to learn other spells, too, so that I can help Cloud. Even if I'm no fighter, I'm so worried that he'll... that he'll get hurt if I'm not there to watch his back."
Is that the only reason you want to go?
"No," she admitted. "I feel so guilty about what happened to Sephiroth."
Even though he was your murderer?
"Mom! That doesn't matter anymore. He brought me back."
But that doesn't negate all the pain he caused you and your friends. I know your time here with us was tortuous for you, and if you had lived--
"Please, stop. There's no going back, so let's not talk about what-ifs."
She sensed that Ifalna had much more to say on this matter, but her mother voiced none of her concerns. All right.
"Thank you." Aeris took a deep breath and let it out. "Is Sephiroth all right? Can you tell?"
He's doing about as well as can be expected.
She nodded sadly. "I guess that's the best I can hope for. Well, it looks like I have a lot of things to figure out."
Your spells, you mean?
"That's right."
You don't owe Sephiroth anything, you know. What he did for us happened a long time ago.
Aeris chose not to reply.
Fine. Well, good luck. I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you.
"It's all right," she sighed. When her mother's presence had left her, Aeris closed her eyes and retreated to a different part of herself, searching for some obscure power that lay dormant within her. She had never wondered, until now, if she had the capacity for more than just healing.
With night reigning outside, no light came in through the entrance, and it was pitch black in the reactor. That mattered little to Vincent, however, and he crossed the few paces to where the walkway simply ended without hesitation. Yuffie stumbled into him from behind, but Elena came to stand beside him, squinting into the darkness ahead.
"I can't see a thing in here," Yuffie remarked in annoyance.
"Why are we stopped?" Elena asked.
"I dunno. Vincent?"
He glanced back at them, then gestured to the walkway's ragged edge. "The bridge is gone."
"What do you mean?" the ninja asked in confusion. "What bridge?"
"Must be the one leading into the reactor," Elena surmised.
"I thought we were already in the reactor."
The Turk sighed. "Sort of. Those were just the outer walls; the actual building is across the bridge. Or, at least, it would be, if there was a bridge." She paused, frowning. "I wish we could see better."
"Oh!" Yuffie exclaimed suddenly.
Vincent turned around to regard her in bemusement, watching as she dug around in a small pack and produced a tiny flashlight, which she promptly flicked on. Vincent flinched, the beam smarting in his eyes.
"Whoops," the ninja apologized, averting the light. "Sorry about that." She stepped to the edge of the bridge's remains and aimed the beam downwards. It failed before reaching anything. "Shouldn't there be a bottom we can climb down to, then cross over to the other side and climb back up?"
Elena shook her head. "It's not that simple. You'd have to go down fifty meters to get to a bottom, and that'd take you to the slums." She shook her head. "It seems like we can't go any further. Let's just tell Cloud and get out of here."
"No," Vincent said firmly. "They may very well be inside this reactor. We will find a way across."
Yuffie shook her head. "Easier said than done," she remarked, examining their surroundings with the flashlight.
"Elena?" Vincent queried meaningfully.
"W-what?" she asked, startled by his tone.
"You know this reactor better than I do."
She shifted uncertainly. "With how this place looked from the outside, I doubt any ways in through the underground are still serviceable. I mean, we could look, but it's more likely we'd end up flaying ourselves on all the metal debris."
He frowned, looking back across the abyss to the reactor's entrance. The gap was much too wide to jump across, and no beam that they might salvage from the rubble would span it. He nearly cursed. This seemed a very deliberate inconvenience, and he felt certain that Hojo was here.
"Hey, I know," Yuffie said suddenly. "Why don't you use Chaos to fly across? I mean, you'd sort of have to carry us, but you know..."
Vincent stared at her, then shook his head slowly. "No."
"Why n--?"
"What's Chaos?" Elena interrupted.
"A monster that has wings," Yuffie answered. "And wings, we could really use right now."
"A monster?" the Turk repeated, taking a wary step back. "And Vincent... turns into it?"
The ninja nodded, neither showing the slightest trace of fear at the prospect, nor seeming to find it very unusual. "Yeah. He's done it before; there's nothing to worry about."
Vincent shook his head again. "If I force a transformation, I may not be able to control it."
"Then how are we supposed to get to the other side?"
He frowned, having no answer to give her.
"That's what I thought!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Now figure out some way to transform controllably before I have to do something drastic."
He regarded her with some amusement. "Are you threatening me?"
The ninja put her hands on her hips and said flatly, "Yes, Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi is threatening you. So get a move on."
Vincent allowed himself a tiny smile before he closed his eyes and focused on Chaos. Perhaps, only perhaps, he did not have to complete the transformation.
"Yuffie," Elena whispered, "was it me, or did he just smile?"
"I think he smiled," Yuffie replied, awe in her voice.
Chaos, I need your wings. He visualized the transformation as he wanted it, the wings growing from his back, and nothing more. If he thought of the full transformation, it would--No. Only think of the wings. Biting back a groan, he felt them straining at his back, piercing through his skin and then his shirt, and pushing away his cape. He stretched the wings as far as they would go, wincing, and found that they had finished growing. If he continued to focus as he was, the rest of the transformation would follow.
Vincent opened his eyes and realized with some surprise that he was kneeling on the floor, gasping for breath. He twitched his wings experimentally, unused to the sensation of these appendages. He folded them carefully and reached for the railing to pull himself up.
"Dude," Yuffie breathed. "That's pretty damn cool."
"I wish I could do that," Elena remarked.
But the ninja's expression sobered as her eyes came back to Vincent's face, and she shook her head. "It probably hurt, though, didn't it?"
He nodded in answer, still catching his breath. This need for air must have come from Chaos; Vincent himself only drew breath to speak. At last he released his hold on the railing and straightened. "Are you two ready?"
Yuffie nodded immediately, a grin coming to her face. "Looks like you can control it after all, huh?" Her voice held a triumphant 'I-told-you-so' quality, but Vincent chose not to reply. She shrugged and took a step closer to him. "So... we just hang on for the ride? You think you can carry both of us at once?"
"It is probably best to take you across one at a time," he decided, not certain how much weight his wings could manage. He could feel Chaos stirring belligerently inside of him, and he could not help but sound a little anxious as he prompted Yuffie to hurry.
Catching his urgency, she handed the flashlight to Elena and hesitantly came forward to slip her arms around his waist. Vincent was grateful that Elena refrained from commenting, and he put his human arm firmly around Yuffie. Unfurling his wings, he beat them cautiously, and quickly found a more natural rhythm. A part of him was very used to this. He carried Yuffie to the opposite side, alighting there himself only long enough to make certain she had her balance. He pretended not to notice the blush staining her cheeks.
He flew back for Elena, who was even more hesitant than Yuffie to hold on to him--essentially, to embrace him, and who would want to put her arms around a man such as him, now half-monster in appearance as well? But hold on she did, and he took her across to where Yuffie waited outside the first security door.
Elena retrieved the flashlight and turned it on again to study the door, but Vincent drew away from them, as though shrinking from the light. He had to undo this transformation, he knew, and he knelt down to focus on retracting these wings, Chaos's wings.
"You're just gonna get rid of them?" Elena asked when she noticed his stance. "They might be useful ahead."
"He has to turn all the way back human," Yuffie said slowly, as though voicing something she had just discovered. "If he doesn't, then it'll be really easy for Chaos to take complete control. Am I right, Vince?"
He grunted his agreement as he felt the wings begin to draw back inside him. The pain returned, nearly overwhelming his senses, but he managed not to make a sound. He kept his eyes closed for the moments it took him to calm his mind after the transformation, and then he stood and turned to the doorway, trying to ignore the amplified presence of Chaos inside him.
There was a keypad beside the door, its numbers glowing faintly. He studied this for a moment before turning to Elena. "The code has to have changed since I was last here," he stated.
She gave a start, then stepped forward as Vincent moved aside. She punched in a few numbers, but the keypad only made a noise, and red light flashed above the numbers. Elena frowned and tried again, met with the same result. "It's been changed again," she said. "I don't know who could've--"
"They're here," Yuffie said suddenly, interrupting her. "That's what it means, right?"
Vincent nodded. "Would you call Cloud and tell him what we've found?"
"Sure!" she said, as though he could not have asked a more simple task. Her eyes, however, belied her uneasiness as she pulled out her PHS and dialed their leader's number. "Hi, Cloud! Guess what?"
Listening with half an ear, Vincent turned back to the door, gently pushing Elena aside.
"No," Yuffie responded with a nervous giggle. "We think we found them. ... We're fine. We just... well, we got to the reactor, and the bridge was gone; it looked like somebody cut through the metal."
The ex-Turk glanced at her, surprised that she had noticed that. He went back to his work, pulling at the metal panel just below the keypad.
"Yeah, well," the ninja went on, "Vincent sprouted wings and flew us across. ... I am being serious. ... So anyway, we've made it to the other side, and to the first--whatchacallit--security door, right? But somebody's changed the codes since Meteor." She paused, listening, then turned to Elena. "He wants to know who's capable of changing the codes."
The blond thought for a moment. "The president, the department heads, the Turks... Yeah, that's about it."
Yuffie relayed that to Cloud, and there was a pause. "Yeah, looks like Vincent's trying to find another way to open it right now. But none of us are hackers here."
"Reno is," Elena put in.
"Elena says Reno is, though. Anyway, what do you want us to do?"
Having removed the panel to reveal a circuit board, Vincent paused to listen.
"Okay. How are you planning on getting across the gap? ... I don't think so. It was hard enough on him last time. Maybe, do you have some rope or something? ... Yeah, you figure that out. And call the others. ... All right, see ya." She turned off the PHS and turned to her companions.
"Unless we can get the door open somehow, we're supposed to wait here until they reach us." Yuffie put the PHS away and shifted her attention to the door. "So, Vinny, d'you think you can get it open?"
He raised an eyebrow. "'Vinny'?" he wondered as he turned back to the circuit board.
Vincent could imagine her grinning as she replied. "Don't like nicknames? Too bad. I think it's cute."
"You do realize he's in his sixties, don't you?" Elena asked.
"I know," the ninja answered, "but he's not like most old guys. He's cool."
Deciding to ignore them, Vincent continued with his work, and the two women soon fell silent. He wondered if anyone would be waiting for them on the other side of the door. Elena and Yuffie were only human. But then, so were all the others. This realization brought a vague pang of regret, but he quickly reminded himself that they had each come for their own reasons, knowing the danger full well. Vincent had asked nothing of them.
With a faint squeal, the metal door slid open to reveal the next chamber, which lay dark except for a pair of blue-green eyes. Vincent thought first of Lucrecia, then of Sephiroth, and then realized that those eyes had to belong to Minerva.
She stepped forward to let the flashlight beam catch the side of her face and glint off her silver hair. "Hardly very efficient," she remarked to Vincent. "You are out of practice."
He did not reply.
"So that's Minerva," Yuffie said.
"Another friend of yours?" the girl queried indifferently, her eyes flicking towards the ninja. Her gaze was appraising, and though he could see no weapons on her, Vincent was certain that she was armed.
"You look even younger than I am," Yuffie commented with some surprise.
"I probably am," she conceded. "So I know who I am killing, what is your name?"
The ninja scoffed and drew herself up proudly. "You mean so you know who's beaten you. Yuffie Kisaragi of Wutai."
"I wish I could say that you will die with honor, but I doubt any battle with me is entirely fair." She shook her head, scanning the three of them. "Would you prefer to wait until your friends arrive? Although I doubt their aid will change this battle's outcome."
"You're right," Yuffie replied with a confident grin. "We can win without their help."
A smile came to Minerva's face, but it did not touch her eyes. "I suppose you think the odds are against me?"
"'course. We beat Sephiroth, and we've gotten stronger since then."
The silver-haired girl shook her head. "You could not have truly defeated him. He wanted to die."
The three received this with some surprise. "How do you know?" Vincent asked.
But she only shrugged. "Well? Are we on, or shall I wait until your friends get here?"
Vincent and Elena both shifted their stances in preparation for the coming fight, but Yuffie caught Vincent's arm.
"Vinny, wait," she said.
He glanced down at her, wondering if she had lost her nerve. "What is it?"
She frowned and lowered her voice. "I don't think she wants to fight us. Otherwise, why would she tell us we could wait? I think she's stalling."
He glanced at Minerva, knowing she had heard. "Probably," he agreed.
"Couldn't we try to reason with her?"
"The only way for you to avoid this fight is to turn and go," Minerva told them. "Should you choose to leave, I will not stop you."
"We're not running," Elena stated firmly.
The silver-haired girl seemed amused. "You are very brave to want to fight me. Either that, or very stupid."
Anger entered Elena's voice. "We're not about to lose either! I'm ready to fight you, but I have one question before that: Why fight us if you don't want to?"
"Why become a Turk if you have no wish to kill?"
"The answer is different and you know it!" Elena snapped, fuming. "You don't have any use for money. So what's your motive? Aren't you strong enough to kill Hojo on your own?"
Minerva offered no answers. "Why do you wish to come through here anyway?" she asked instead. "What could possibly be worth the risk?"
"We've gotta kill Hojo," said Yuffie. "Since you obviously couldn't."
"And Talya owes me a rematch," Elena put in. "This time, I'll beat her."
The girl looked at Vincent expectantly.
"Sephiroth must be freed," he said simply.
Minerva deliberated for a moment, weighing their answers against whatever secret kept her tied to Hojo. Finally, she nodded to herself. "What makes you think you will find them here?"
"Why else would you be guarding them?" Elena asked harshly.
"Unless she only wants us to believe that they're here," Vincent considered. The three exchanged glances.
"So where are they?" Yuffie demanded.
"Oh, they're here all right," Minerva said, appearing pained. "But you won't be able to find them on your own."
Elena seemed to notice this, and she eyed the girl uncertainly. "Do you think you could show us the way?" she asked.
"No," came the blunt reply.
"Not strong enough to fight whatever's keeping you tied to Hojo?" Yuffie asked archly. "It's easier for you to fight us instead?"
Emerald green eyes glared at her, but the ninja held her ground. "I am stronger than you think."
"Then prove it," Yuffie challenged her.
"I will."
The ninja grinned triumphantly and glanced back at her companions.
Minerva's gaze went past them out the doorway through which they had come. "Your friends will be here soon. Should we not wait for them?"
"Um, right," Yuffie said, glancing towards the reactor's entrance. "Oh, hey, do you know how to help them across? I don't think Vinny wants to carry them all."
The girl nodded and stepped forward to join them. "Certainly. I will do what I can."
Author's Notes
And Jenova is revealed. Admittedly I don't read much fanfiction nowadays, but I've never seen anyone else treat her as anything besides evil. It's even rare for her to be treated as a character, which I guess isn't surprising considering she has all of one line in the game, but I've always been very curious about her origins. At one point I considered writing something from her point of view about why she was forced to flee her home planet, but I'm not quite that curious, and I much prefer writing Aeris-centric stories.
Anyway, this time around, I chose to be a lot subtler about what Sephiroth did for Ifalna and Aeris here. I hope that makes it more intriguing for first-time readers.
Also, Vincent/Yuffie goodness! Man, I love sticking those two together, romantically or not. I didn't change much of anything about that scene, because it was pretty good the first time around. The style just needed some tweaking.