Chapter 14: The Biggest Weed
Aerith could distinctly remember early mornings with Avalanche while out of Midgar, that crisp morning chill in the air. Dawn rising over the horizon. Nature waking up for the day...
That really didn't exist in the slums, where most of their light was artificial, there was hardly a plant in sight, and the air, while cold, smelt awful and was filled with pollutants no one should be breathing in. Still... she found herself slipping out of bedroom and out of the house, moving to the would-be gardens. She knelt down and started inspecting what work her younger self had done here, and then took over. Yanking weeds out-
-and then accidentally taking a flower root and the flower itself out as well.
She blinked a few times before scowling. What had Sephiroth said? She needed a 'Flower's Touch'? Pff... guess he was right.
She gently reburied the root and resumed at a slower pace. Slower, but enduring, without need to stop and rest. Mako had its advantages. She wondered briefly, if she had been enhanced the first time around, if she could have reacted in time on the alter and dodged Sephiroth's killing impalement. She had felt his presence as she had come out of her meditation, but had barely been able to register Cloud and give him a reassuring smile before she had been killed. Superhuman reflexes might have saved her, but who knows if her living would have helped or not. She helped to contain and fight Jenova in the Lifestream after she had died, she didn't know if her efforts had been critical to stalling the planet's death or not. She sure as hell wouldn't have been able to call the Lifestream to push back Meteor while she was alive, that was for certain. If it would have gotten to that point with her alive?
Who knows.
She lost track of time as she did her work. With her hands in the dirt she... noticed something. She had always felt nature, felt the Planet. Now though... with her hands actually touching the ground, in the dirt, on the plants, she could feel it so much more. It was the first time she had touched nature since she had come back in time. She felt so connected to it... felt the pulse of Lifestream within each plant-cell like it was her own blood pumping through her veins. She wondered what it would be like to be truly surrounded by nature? She regretted not entering the forest outside the Forgotten Capital when they had gone there, she had been to... distracted and emotional to think straight then. Not that she had considered nature itself would feel different at the time.
She studied a young flower her hand was gently brushing against, a thought striking her. She focused her energy, pushing it into the flower...
...and watched flabbergasted as the flower surged. Growing to it's full height and blooming, but not only that. Other flowers nearby rose as well, and weeds to. The patch around the flower she was touching had suddenly, in seconds, become green and colorful in a way it had taken her and Zack's hard work and dedication to bring about in her past. She brought her hand up and away, staring at it, and then the plantlife, in a childlike wonder. She had been able to help flowers along before, help them grow and flourish, but nothing like this.
"Oh," was all she could whisper.
Then delight played across her face. She moved from one spot to the next, whispering sweet-nothings to the flowers, threading lifestream with childlike ease through the garden. Joy, real joy, filled her for the first time in what felt like ages. She couldn't help but giggle as she went, feeling life grow and surge, the whispers of the lifestream giggling with her. She could feel the warmth of the planet as it's gaze briefly fell on her, drawn curiously to whatever had drawn it's failsafe's delight. There was no words, just warmth and approval.
Images played through her mind, gently laced through the lifestream she was threading. They weren't memories, but desires of the Planet. They were hazy, but their meanings were clear. It showed her, an older her, threading life through the lands dead around Midgar, restoring what had been lost. It showed her finally sealing the Northern Creator, healing the last physical wound on the planet the Calamity's arrival had left. She would go around the world, and heal the Planet's wounded flesh, and any other damage the upcoming struggle with the Calamity would cause. The Planet wanted so badly to be rid of the Calamity, to be healed and restored to the way it had been before all of this had began, without it's children leeching its lifeblood with their reactors.
Aerith thought the Planet was getting ahead of itself with it's desires, but it was nice to dream.
"...she already went back to Shinra! Can't you leave her alone for one damn weekend?" came her mother's loud and angry voice.
Aerith blinked a few times, giving a bewildered start, and stood up, wide eyed. The garden... looked even better than it had when she had last seen it in her previous life. Aside from the weeds having grown like crazy in addition to the flowers, but then again, to the Planet, there was no real difference between what she called a flower and a weed. It was all a part of it. She glanced down at her dirt covered hand in wonder. She had done in one morning what it had taken years to do before.
"I can thread lifestream so easily, even while alive," she murmured to herself, a bit stunned.
One of her first discoveries of her power as a Ancient SOLDIER.
She shook her head and turned to see her mother arguing with Tseng at the front door of her house, a helicopter set down a bit away. She was a bit embarrassed she had been so out of it she hadn't heard a helicopter's arrival. Oh well, best to see what the Turk wanted.
She moved out of the garden as Tseng replied to her mother. "...are fine with her visiting, its the manner of her visit that drew me here today."
"And what, exactly, is the problem?" asked Aerith, coming up to stand next to her mother.
Tseng gave her a brief look over, eyes flickering to the garden, then back to her, but didn't comment on what she had done. "You came down in public transportation."
"...and?" she answered.
Tseng pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your eyes are glowing."
"...annnnndddd?" she stretched out.
Tseng gave her a pointed look. "There are no female SOLDIERs so far as the public knows. Your presence was noted, and it spread from those who had seen you."
"Okay?" she said, scratching her head, "I don't really see the problem. I don't care if people know about me."
Tseng sighed. "Except for one person in particular Aerith. Word of this reached the President."
Oh.
Oh.
Crap.
"Ah...," said Aerith, "So...?"
"I'm to take you back to Shinra for a meeting with the President," said Tseng thinly, "He's not happy with the Turks, with SOLDIER, and with the Science Department at the moment. About the only thing he is happy about is that you were 'finally' located and brought into the company."
Aerith scoffed a bit. "Into the company so far as it relates to stopping Jenova."
"That, I will leave to you to argue with him about," said Tseng, motioning to the helicopter, "Shall we?"
Aerith sighed and gave her mother a hug, "I'll be fine mom, I just have to go argue with a moron."
Elmyra chocked a little with laughter. "A-aerith!"
Aerith grinned. "Wanna dare me to say it to his face?"
"I'd rather the President not be antagonized," said Tseng mildly, "Ideally, we want repercussions as limited as possible."
Aerith scoffed. "It's him that should fear repercussions. Rufus took over after he died originally easy enough. I really wouldn't care if that happened a few years sooner if he pushes his luck."
Her mother's laughter died out in seconds; both Elmyra and Tseng stared at her like she was a stranger.
Aerith frowned. "What? He's a greedy bastard who has caused so much harm to the Planet, you can arguably lay the entire Jenova Project at his feet, if not Hojo's."
Tseng pinched his nose (for the second time in under five minutes! She was on a roll) and motioned again to the helicopter. "Let's be on our way."
"Aerith," said Elmyra, grabbing her hand briefly before she could go, "It made me smile earlier, to see you happy and giggling in the garden, to see that innocence still there. I don't want to see you lose it all to this hard and cynical attitude you've developed to survive and cope."
Aerith scowled. "I am not cynical. And I told you before, I'm fine, I'm not trying to cope with anything."
That worry in her mother's eyes didn't abate.
Aerith merely shook her head and broke away. "I'll be back next weekend mom, I'll see you then."
She walked swiftly away, not wanting to give her mother a chance to respond, and climbed into the helicopter. The ride back was as silent as the one when she had been abducted back to Shinra in her last life. Though rather than her being scared of Tseng this time, it almost felt like the reverse. There was a wariness in his eyes whenever they landed on her. She wasn't quite sure what had suddenly turned on this wariness, and she needed the Turks firmly on her side...
"Is something wrong?" she asked, eyes kept firmly on him.
Tseng didn't immediately reply, and when he did, it was an odd one, "I remember, as a young child freshly escaped from the labs, you once found a small wounded monster in the slums, an infant. Despite what it was, you showed it care, tended to it, and set it on it's way after patching it up. Do you recall this?"
Aerith frowned. "Um... not really, and I hope me saving that monster didn't get someone killed down the road."
Tseng pursed his lips. "My point Aerith, is that you are not a Turk, and despite that glow in your eyes, you are not a SOLDIER, not like they are. You have always cherished life, so when exactly did you find it acceptable to so nonchalantly speak of murdering someone?"
She blinked a few times. "Is this about the President? He's scum, he's a monster in human form. He's caused so much suffering, done so much damage to the planet."
"And since when did you care about that?" he inquired, "Several Turks who were hurt in their assignments protecting you over the years were injured, and you tended to us all the same, despite knowing what we are and what we do."
"That was then," she said quietly before growing firm, "This is now. And anything the Turks have down can be pinned on the President."
She narrowed her eyes. "I cherish life, but not that life. Hojo and Jenova are more immediate threats that need to be neutralized and destroyed. The President is poison, bleeding the Planet dry, encouraging and growing the poverty divide, starting a war with Wutai for no good reason, and so much more. He upsets the balance of the world, so much of the suffering that bleeds into the lifestream from the departed originates from what he has enabled."
Tseng scoffed. "I've watched you since your vision. You speak of a 'balance' of the lifestream as if it's your job to maintain it, as if you were the goddess who must maintain and oversee both it and the world, as if its your role to pass judgement. Have you truly become so arrogant Aerith?"
Aerith bristled and was about to reply before something in his words gave her pause, resonating with her.
As if she were the goddess...
Who had faded, been absorbed, into Aerith's soul...
Uh...
She frowned uneasily, her face going blank. There was an unsettingly distinct possibility she might have picked up a few traits from Minerva if her suspicion was correct. But even so... she still agreed with the idea of the President being absolute scum. Heck, she was sure she had thought that way in her previous life, maybe never actually voiced it, but...
Regardless. "I am not the goddess, it is not my place to pass judgement. I am however a free thinking sentient creature, I am entitled to an opinion, even if its not one you think I should have."
She stared at him for a moment before speaking softly, "People change Tseng, I've live-witnessed my entire life, birth to death to afterlife, and now I'm living a second chance. I'm not who you remember, who I can't be anymore, not after that."
Tseng tilted his head slightly, whether in acknowledgement, or to study her, she didn't know. "Then the planet was cruel to show you that vision. A person only gets the chance to be young an innocent once, and more often than not, that chance is lost sooner rather than later."
Aerith smiled a little. "Didn't think you were a romantic Tseng."
"I'm not," he said flatly, "I'm simply stating a fact."
She slowly shook her head, bemused, she had already had her 'young and innocent' years already. "The Planet doesn't care about cruelty Tseng, it'll wipe out humanity if need be to preserve its own life."
She peered at him. "And why am I the only one who gets this talk, hmm?"
"Who said you were?" countered Tseng.
She blinked a few times. Now that's curious. Something tickled a memory from her time, of Veld's old Turks long thought dead coming out of the woodworks after Meteorfall to help. Ah... Turks didn't follow company policy, did they? At least not with their own, they had let the old guard retire and go into hiding at some point rather than kill them all.
She gave him a fond smile. "Reno is funny, but you always were my favorite Turk."
Even if he had been a pain in the ass, and abducted her that one time...
Tseng blinked at her in response.
She couldn't help but giggle a little and shake her head, turning it to stare out the helicopter window. Her amusement faded as they approached the tower, irritation rising. Not only did she not want to deal with the President, they had taken her from her weekend retreat (which she had been nagged into taken) when she had just started enjoying herself. Tseng was also like... the third or fourth person who kept pestering her about her 'changes' in lifestyle and personality, it was starting to get irksome. There was a small little voice in the back of her mind saying that if so many people started seeing a problem, maybe there was one, but she snuffed it out. She'd focus on her training, and spend her weekends at home, that would be the best compromise they were going to get.
"We should probably give you a minute to change," said Tseng as the helicopter landed.
Aerith huffed. "He interrupted my weekend by having me dragged here, he can deal with a bit of dirt on his oh-so shiny floor."
Tseng pinched his nose again with an exasperated sight (third time!). She wondered with a bit of childish deviousness how many times she could get that reaction out of him. Surely such thinking was just her now-teenage mind rebelling against authority, not petty-payback for the last life.
Surely not.
Tee hee.
Her lips twitched with masked amusement, though judging by the raised eyebrow he gave her, he was more than aware she was egging him on. Her amusement faded about five minutes later when the elevator dinged to the top floor of the Shinra building and they made for the president's 'office' (who seriously needed an office the size of an entire floor?). They passed the receptionist, and made up the stairs.
She paused briefly when she heard Sephiroth's voice, "...ith respect Mr. President, I should have been informed years ago."
They made their way up, and found a gathering of Sephiroth, Angeal, Genesis, Veld, Lucrecia, Vincent, a man she vaguely recognized through her Lifestream memories as Director Lazard, Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger and a number of Turks silently standing to the side of the President's desk as if for protection. Which was absurd, as any of the three SOLDIERs could carve a path through all of them no problem. She was a bit surprised to see Rufus there, she had thought he had been in Junon for quite a few years prior to the President's death. Perhaps that hadn't happened yet? Or he had been recalled? Still, with such a gathering, this was going to be oodles of fun. She wondered how much she had already missed.
President Shinra tapped a cigarette into a tray and stared at Sephiroth, hard and uncompromising, "You know company policy Sephiroth. It was above your clearance level."
"It was also done without my express permission," said Sephiroth.
The President motioned to Lucrecia, "We had hers, and since you weren't even born yet, it wasn't your call to make. Even if you were, she and Hojo would have had the right to agree to your... treatments, until you turned of age."
Tseng kept Aerith back a bit from the group, signaling for her to remain silent until called for. She had no intention of speaking anyway, not yet at least. If the President kept egging Sephiroth on, she might not have to. There was an old phrase or something she had heard, to not poke large and scary monsters unless you wanted to get bit. She thought that applied here. Sephiroth was not someone to be trifled with lightly.
"Perhaps," allowed Sephiroth, his hands flexing and tightening behind his back, "I did however reach Midgar's age of maturity several years ago. At that point, I should have been informed of the details of what had been done to me, and what was continuing to be done. As Doctor Crescent has discovered, these continual Mako Booster Checkups served no purpose other than to waste company money and time. I am not one to boast, but I am considered to be a very detail oriented and observational person, who knows what else could have been discovered about Hojo's treachery had I become informed earlier."
The President sighed and looked at the SOLDIER as if he was a petulant child. "I've never known you to be so stubborn my boy. Still..."
He frowned. "You are correct on Hojo's waste of resources. But as I understand it, the Science Department's issues are being dealt with. That's not why I called this meeting however, its that this was done, that all of this was done, without my knowledge or approval. That is a clear breach of company policy. I can understand acting within the moment as the situation dictates and then coming to report latter, but if not for Scarlet hearing a rumor and finding a picture of the Ancient, I would have been kept in the dark."
That blasted harpy lady, Scarlet should have kept her mouth shut.
Heidegger let out his awful horse laugh. "It's a good thing some of us are loyal then, and not potential renegades."
Sephiroth turned to glare at him. "Are you implying something? In case you noticed, I took no action against the company, and I'm still in Shinra when I had ever right and reason to leave."
President Shinra narrowed his eyes. "Leave? Shinra is in your blood Sephiroth, its your life, you are a SOLDIER, you think you can just leave?"
Sephiroth turned and drew himself up to his full height, his voice taking a warning edge. "You think you have the means to force me to stay here if I chose not to?"
There was a pause to the gathering, and a dangerous chill in the air that made Aerith just a bit nervous. Judging by the hesitancy on the President's face, and the slightest tint of fear in his eyes, this might be the first time the President realized he could not actually control Sephiroth unless the man let him.
Sephiroth didn't give him a chance to respond. "If I walked out the door, Angeal and Genesis walk with me, and you can be certain we would disclose to SOLDIER the exact details of what was done to them without their knowledge. You had an unknown organism injected into us all..."
"Now wait a minute," said the President, on a defensive backtrack, "I acted with what knowledge I was given to me!. I was told Jenova was an Ancient, not an Alien."
"Perhaps, had you not had Professor Faremis killed, you would have known better," said Sephiroth thinly.
The President stood up from his desk, a dark scowl across his face. "You are out of line Sephiroth, and wrong. Gast Faremis was supposed to be taken in alive by any means, not killed, those were my orders at the time. He was a valuable resource to the company, I wanted him returned to the fold, not executed. Hojo acted on his own volition."
"And was he punished for this?" asked Sephiroth mildly, "Or did you let him get away with it since he held the 'keys' to SOLDIER?"
The President narrowed his eyes, and was about to respond before Rufus started laughing, drawing their attention.
The young Vice President held up a hand while he finished his chuckles before lowering it, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, there's no need to get viscous. We're here to... clear the air... not to set us up to throttle one another. Besides..."
His eyes flickered to Aerith. "It's unbecoming to show such manners before a lady."
Aerith rolled her eyes.
The President followed his gaze, landing on Aerith, a gleam of greed entering his eyes, before he refocused and huffed a little, sitting down, hands running down his suit as if to push away wrinkles. "Thank you Rufus."
His son flashed a smile that was all teeth.
The President cleared his throat. "Now, I suppose we will get to the heart of the matter. Verdot, why was I not informed she had been not only recovered, but incorporated into SOLDIER?"
Veld cleared his throat. "Miss Gainsborough was not 'recovered', she came to us willingly, with certain conditions for her continued stay. Secrecy among them."
The President did not seem amused judging by the look he gave the Turk.
Veld didn't react to it. "It's better she willingly work with us than try to force her, she escaped Shinra once and could do so again, I'd rather she choose to stay rather than lead us on a chase for years again."
She wondered if she should admire how smoothly he lied and spun a tail for the President to eat up.
The President took a puff of his cigarette, staring at his head Turk with eyebrows slightly narrowed. "I see."
He turned to look at Aerith, then with a bit of disdain at her dirt-covered clothes. "Still, she is here, so perhaps we can finally get the Neo-Midgar project underway."
Sephiroth cocked his head. "The Neo-Midgar Project?"
The President paused, and then pursed his lips. "While it is above your clearance grade, perhaps as a show of good faith you and the others can be brought into the fold. Your strength may be needed to secure the Promised Land once she leads us to it."
Aerith stared at him, disbelief and then irritation playing across her face. That's right, this buffoon was obsessed with the Promised Land, of all the stupid...
She stalked forward, ignoring Tseng's hissed 'Aerith!' and came up to his desk. "The Promised Land does not exist as you think it does."
The President narrowed his eyes at her. "I was under the assumption you were working with us, Ancient, it will do you no favors to lie."
"You think I'm lying?" she said, "Tell me, what do you think the Promised Land is?"
"A glorious place filled with infinite Mako," said Shinra, "Where we can create a new, glorious city and future."
Infinite Mako. Of course it was about Mako, greedy son of a...
"And where exactly did you get that idea from?" she asked.
"From what was translated from Cetra legends, based off of several philosophers and scientists, wrapped up and presented to me based off Professor Hojo's findings," said the President firmly.
"Translations can be incorrect, philosophers aren't all knowing, especially when they don't have all the information, and any scientist who fed you any hogwash about 'infinite' anything is either a fool or leading you on for their own benefit," said Aerith thinly, "Especially Hojo, who would take advantage of anything to get him more funding for his 'projects'."
At that, there was a slight hint of doubt in his eyes before he banished it. "And how do we know you are not lying and not Hojo?"
"Aside from the fact that he's already been caught in several lies by now?" she asked, "I'm more than willing to tell you what the Promised Land actually is, and if you are really interested..."
She gave him a chilling look, "I'd even send you there."
The President's eyebrows rose, interest and greed shining there. "Would you now?"
Sephiroth however was not an idiot, and must have caught the undertone of her words, he cleared his throat. "Perhaps you should explain before offering to send anyone anywhere."
Aerith smiled an unpleasant smile. "Of course, because really, anyone here could send you the Promised Land."
That drew the man's confusion. "How?"
"The Cetra were born from the Planet, speak with the Planet, and unlock the Planet. At the end of their days, the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness," said Aerith, "Is this roughly what you know of the legend?"
The President nodded. "It is."
"The Promised Land," she said thinly, "Is the afterlife."
A blank looked crossed his face.
"The place of supreme happiness is the Lifestream" she said, eyes and head turning briefly to gaze around at the rooms occupants, "Where all earthly troubles fade away, where you become one with the Planet, experiencing all its hopes and joys and sorrows as if they were your own, where you are finally able to rest your weary soul after a long life. Where your soul slowly becomes renewed, sharing your experiences with the Planet until it is time for you to be reborn again with a clean slate in some form or another. That is what the Legend means."
She stared coldly at the President. "Hojo fed you exactly what you wanted to hear. Infinite Mako is a myth, it isn't real. While Mako, the Lifestream, can regenerate itself over time, it is by no means infinite. The more you drain from it, the weaker it will become, and the longer it will take to recover. Your Reactors are unsustainable, and ignoring the fact that the Planet will take action and destroy them far before it reached that point, they would drain the planet within the next hundred or so years and make this world uninhabitable."
The President said nothing, face contorted with... anger? Rage? Disbelief? It was hard to tell with how fast they flashed.
Sephiroth however did not remain silent. "What do you mean that the Planet would 'take action'?"
"Have any of you ever heard any legends about the Planet's WEAPONS?" she inquired, turning to look at Sephiroth.
There was a collective answer of silence, no, or headshakes, save for Lucrecia, who spoke quietly, "They are said to be immense monsters that the planet created in ages past to defend it."
"That Legend," said Aerith, "Is a very real one, and a very dangerous one. There are six primary WEAPONS, any one of them would require your top SOLDIERs to fight seriously to even stand a chance. Even Sephiroth would need to fight at near peak performance in order to win.
Well, not the One-Winged Angel who was vastly stronger with Jenova's powers, but this current Sephiroth would probably have to cut loose, or at least fight seriously (Maybe? She had never seen his power at this point in his life). She refrained from revealing Omega or Chaos, their existence and purposes were nothing Shinra needed to know about.
Heidegger scoffed. "You expect us to believe this hogwash? Even if these 'WEAPONs' are real, Shinra's military could take them on, even without SOLDIER!"
Aerith stared at him and said flatly, "I'd like to see you try. I'd personally be rooting for the Planet."
"Enough," barked out the President, mood finally turned sour.
He reached a hand out for a piece of paper on his desk and brought it to him, clicking a pen, and then signing his name on it before offering it to Veld, "I cannot fathom how much time and resources Hojo has cost the company. I am authorizing Hojo's termination. I'd prefer he be brought back in for interrogation, but if there is to much of a hassle, just kill him."
There was a dark scowl on the President's face. "Come Monday, there will be a board meeting to discuss how the funds going into the Neo-Midgar project can be reallocated. This meeting is adjourned for the time being. Get. Out. Of. My. Office. All of you. Now!"
Well, someone was angry someone pissed in his cereal. The general board scrambled to get away and not entice the President's wrath, while SOLDIER and the Turks simply filed out calmly. Aerith was sure this wouldn't be the end of this subject, especially the actions of the Turks, SOLDIER, and the Science Department, (and her own) but apparently that was enough for the President for one day.
"Aerith," came Veld's thin voice.
She turned and let him yank her to the side, briefly waving the board of directors away before he spoke, irritation in his voice, "You are lucky the President was to absorbed to miss that you threatened to kill him. I was not. Don't do that again."
"Why not?" came Rufus's amused voice, "I found it entertaining to see a teenage girl go off on him like that. "
"With due respect Rufus," said Veld thinly, "You should remember it is the Turk's responsibility to safeguard the President. If the President took offense and handed down a punishment in response, that could have gotten messy."
"I'm not afraid of him," said Aerith calmly, meeting Veld's hard gaze with her own, "Nor am I afraid of any of you."
Veld's eyes furrowed, his voice taking a warning tone, "Aerith..."
"Let me make myself clear Veld," said Aerith, tilting her chin up in defiance, "I have no loyalty to Shinra and how they conduct things. I would mourn the loss of life, but if it came down to Shinra or the Planet, I would choose to aid the Planet in a heartbeat. And be warned, I am the last of the Planet's chosen children, the last Ancient," the failsafe, "There is little the Planet wouldn't do to protect me, up to and including allowing me to call upon the WEAPONs if I deem it necessary."
Veld stared at her in astonishment, and bafflement, giving her a look so reminiscent of the ones Tseng and mom had given her, as if she were a complete and utter stranger. She didn't particularly care at the moment. President Shinra had ticked her off far to much for her to, and that Veld would even think about taking his side?
"I have nothing positive to think or say about President Shinra and all the suffering he has caused," she said coldly, "Nor of anyone who would support him over doing what is right. I don't want any of you to die, but make no mistake on what I will do to see to the Planet's survival."
With that, she turned away and marched down the lobby isle, walking for the exit and the elevator to go to her room...
"Angeal," said Sephiroth slowly one the Ancient had left, "You said she told you her visions were as if she lived through them, correct?"
"Yeah," said Angeal quietly.
"Did anyone learn exactly how old she was by the end of these... 'visions'?" asked Sephiroth, looking at the gathered Turks and SOLDIERs, before pointing at the lobby exit, "Because that was anything but a thirteen year old flower girl."
Rufus was smiling, gazing approvingly at the exit, "That was someone who would walk through any of us to see her goals achieved."
He laughed. "I think I like her."
Sephiroth merely shook his head and made for the exit, was not sure he could say the same. He did not stay to listen to the chatter or anyone else's observations, he needed peace and quiet and isolation to think. It was occurring to him just how little he knew or understood about the Ancient despite what he had observed thus far. He had seen her seriousness on occasion, shown a strong will and determination that he had approved of, but this? What he had just seen, heard, and felt from her? This was new, and it took him offguard. Frankly, Rufus was right. She wanted to give them all a chance, but if push came to shove, she would walk through them all to see Jenova dead and the Planet safeguarded at all costs. Knowing this, he had to acknowledge she had probably considered the potential necessity of killing him if Jenova got a foothold in his mind. She had a kindness to her, but also a harshness brought on by her experiences, and it made him realize something.
Aerith was dangerous.
Not just potentially dangerous in the future when she was fully trained and had come into her power and abilities.
She was dangerous now, and was only going to become more dangerous at time went on. He also had to seriously consider her mental stability as he had to consider his own and that of his SOLDIERs. Just how much had her 'visions' warped what had once been a kind and gentle young woman? He wondered if she realized just how much she had changed, how unlike she had used to be according to her profile. Would the flower girl that existed before even considered unleashing these 'WEAPONs' on Shinra? Because he made no mistake in understanding that there would most likely be heavy civilian casualties in the crossfire.
That she would consider that?
He didn't know if he should respect the steel in her eyes or be wary of it.
Most likely both.
She was not mentally healthy, not in terms of insanity, but in outlook. Her obsessive training, the lack of respect for her own life, treating herself like a tool of the Planet to destroy anything that would threaten it (or perhaps a shield to protect it). She reminded him faintly of some of the Eco-fanatics he had read about when researching the planet after her revelation that it was in fact 'sentient in its own way'. While he doubted she would appreciate the gesture for what it was, perhaps a psychiatrist was in order. It was well within his right to order sessions since she was a SOLDIER under his jurisdiction. The only issue would be elevating the clearance of whichever SOLDIER 'shrink' was chosen, and getting them to accept her 'visions' for what they were. He doubted Aerith would appreciate being tended to by a doctor who thought she was insane because of her 'visions'.
He snorted in derision as he reached the elevator and went in, thumbing the button down. "Visions. Pah."
They had actually placed a paycheck's worth of bets each on what the actual truth behind it was. It was a shame Angeal had selected 'from the future' as his bet, that was certainly what he would have put his money on. Angeal had taken time traveling into her younger body (and it still amused Sephiroth that Angeal had defaulted to that guess), Genesis had lost any doubt in her after getting cured by Holy and chose to accept her words as truth. Sephiroth hadn't honestly been left with any good options and just quietly assumed he was going to be down a paycheck and thrown his money on her being fed confidential information as a way for Shinra to cover it's backside and try to save face before Sephiroth discovered the truth on his own and throttling them all for it.
And hadn't Genesis looked so smug in realizing Sephiroth was going to lose that bet no contest. Hmph. Perhaps they should have bet on how long Aerith would keep up the charade of it all instead, the amount of times she kept slipping up were amusing after all. It would have to get tiresome for her at some point, but he wouldn't purposefully end the game of cat and mouse by calling her out on it.
Either way, whether she had come back from the future, or experienced visions from the future as if she had lived them, the result for the Ancient was the same. She had died, had everyone she cared about die, and had born witness to the end of the world. He had seen the scars left behind on SOLDIERs and army personnel who came back from Wutai traumatized and damaged, he did not have the exposure to calculate how many scars the woman bore herself from her experiences. It made him wonder, what part of her was the real Aerith, and what part of her was the one brought about by her trials? How much were they different, and how much were they one in the same?
He supposed he'd eventually find out. For now, he had to look into SOLDIER psychiatrists and pick out one he deemed appropriate...
Author's Notes: Were there any Shinra Shrinks ever named in any media for FF7? Or am I going to have to Crawford it and make an OC? (I dislike doing that unless OCs are the purpose of the story)
Review Responses:
UnLike Us: Yeah... it was NOT a good few weeks for Elmyra, not at all. Aerith (and me) ought to be ashamed!
Sakurablossomhime: Mmm, I don't really want to keep arguing the point, but wouldn't Cloud Strike be Strife Cloud them with that assumption?
Tamsen: ., ., maybe both? :D
Guest(1): lol.
NocturneX: All made up (I think), but I believe it fits, at least for this story. And Genesis will never know, or they'd get into a brawl over the sheer amount of teasing. :D
Greatazuredragon: thx.
Azure Shrine: Oh no, its fine, I'm not insulted, in fact, I'm rather delighted that you came to that conclusion. Aerith has changed, and not fully in a healthy/good way (and Minerva certainly doesn't help). I may not always express it the right way, but I enjoy cultivating stories like this, rather than just 'timeskipping several years to the main conflict of the story'. It adds more meat, more meaning, rather than just a quick/cheap action read. Aerith really needs a chance to vent/air her issues and come to terms with her past life rather than just ball it up under 'duty as the Last Ancient/Failsafe of the Planet', especially since she's kind of in denial about having issues to begin with. Aerith wont be the same, cant be the same, after all that happened, but she can at least learn to live her life again. And don't you worry, Elmyra will have her chance to have a proper mom/daughter relationship again, last chapter was but their first meeting, setting the stage (because mom knows best and sees everything Aerith denies).
Dark-KannaI: Ahhhh, I missed the perfect opportunity for this! Noooooo!
Guest(2): As I said to Azure, Aerith wont/cant be the same person she used to be, but she can adapt and heal and learn to live.