Summary: An uninvited guest arrives on Alpha-0.
Notes: Please suspend the disbelief.
Floor 49: Hallway
Ariana walked on autopilot through the hallway, her mind running through the spar.
The Digital Mind Wave was a technique almost every SOLDIER developed in fighting, and she only had the idea the other night.
The woman had started a train of thought, the main one as 'Is it possible to have more than one battle strategy in a single person?'
Apparently the answer was 'Yes.'
The circumstances of the technique she deployed was a tricky one.
When she challenged Cloud to a fight, even she didn't know how to beat him at his own game, until Ariana recalled her past spars with her father and uncle at the same time, how any gaps that their personal styles had were covered by the other. How both of their attack patterns played off each other.
The only option was to program her DMW to mimic both Sephiroth and Cloud.
But then that would give no chance to use her materia or her magic.
So then she added Genesis' and Aridai's materia mastery to the DMV, to bolster her own rather lackluster control of magic.
As for the Orion…it was as heavy as her Papa's Buster Sword when Sirius was fused with it, so a little bit of Angeal's skill with bulky weapons had to be added too.
Mixing in a little of her Dad's flair for dramatics was a fun idea too, which she added into the DMW.
However, this led to her now splitting headache.
"That was reckless, little dove," she heard Cloud when she arrived in the Floor 49's break room.
The coffee maker was running, beeping as it finished depositing the coffee in the carafe. The blond was sitting at a low table, an empty paper cup sitting on it.
Ariana focused on him, her head still pounding.
"Cloud."
"I figured it out when you started using your second Limit Break," the blonde continued from his seat, "The DMW is a very dangerous skill if you use it for too long. Lucky, it wasn't real life."
"My head's punishing me for it, I can figure it out," the woman rubbed at her temples, "I'm not sorry. You know me, I always have to—"
"Push your limits," Cloud sighed, aware of how seriously Ariana took sparring and fighting for her life, "But next time, at least let your father supervise you. I don't want a repeat of three years ago."
At least Ariana had the grace to look a little ashamed, "Yeah. Father's gonna run me into the ground."
"Yeah he will," Cloud nodded, "You wanna blow this popsicle stand?"
"Totally."
Ariana stretched her arms, noticing that even though there were no physical wounds, she felt like she really was hit with an Omnislash.
"I forgot that even VR sparring can hurt like a bitch," Cloud said, putting a hand against his chest, "Ugh, your Limit Breaks did a number on me."
"As if the Omnislash didn't?" Ariana chuckled, "Well played, Uncle."
"Heh. Your Windrider isn't a slouch either," the blonde shot a grin at her, "The fight took way longer than I thought it would. I'm hungry."
"The SOLDIER appetite hits hard," the woman agreed.
Ariana took stock of her body once more, noticing that in her wing was itchy from where it had sat in its pocket dimension.
The appendage materialized at the thought, the physical manifestation of her soul phasing through her clothes.
"You need help with that?" Cloud immediately noticed the fluffy black wing protruding from the left side his stepdaughter's back, pointing at it.
"I think some of the feathers are out of order. Can you help me preen?" Ariana wiggled the wing, hissing when the feathers settled in an uncomfortable position. She wiggled around in her seat before getting up and dragging her chair over to the wall so she was sitting at the table, her right shoulder brushing up against the wall.
"No prob. Your brother asks me, sometimes, when the other Turks aren't around to help."
Cloud came over to her side, his gloves pulled off so he could feel how to fix her feathers.
Ariana braced herself, half lying on the table with her arms crossed and cushioning her head.
"I'm glad we have you," Ariana muttered, letting her wing relax, and enjoying how the itchiness was soothed by the motion, "And that Father has you too. You can ask us for anything, you know."
The woman practically went boneless, sort of chirr coming out from the back of her throat, nearly making the table vibrate from the noise.
"I know," Cloud smiled, "Even…even if we find out what the other version of your dad and brothers did, it changes nothing." He tweaked a feather, smoothing it out. Some loose pinions were tugged out, disintegrating in his hand.
"Yeah. We tried so hard to get to this point," Ariana closed her eyes, her head bowing slightly so her bangs slid towards the front of her face, "So many years of plans, so much preparation for the things that had to be done. My brother was my Sword for a long time, after we left the labs. After I killed Hojo, after we left the Manor. The gospel water that I was able to acquire after meeting Aerith for the first time. Fixing my parent's genetics. Getting Grandfather and Grandmother out of their cracks of the world. Falling into the Lifestream. Coming out as my Planet's WEAPON. Gaia…she saved me and Ari, and I'll never forget it."
"No one will ask you to," Cloud hummed, "I always give a second chance. After all, you did the same for me, didn't you?"
Ariana smiled, a sad touch at the edge of it.
"I did. The first time I ever saw you, I thought…he looks lonely. And at that point, even with my parents, my brother, and Zack…I still felt lonely too. Meeting you opened my eyes."
"Well, I'm glad our friendship started it all. Even though you told me a fake name, Alex Cinders."
Cloud patted her on the shoulder to let her know he was done, the woman stretching both her arms and the wing, letting it brush up against the ceiling.
"Well, I couldn't scare you off right out the gate. Thanks, Cloud," Ariana grinned at him, the wing disappearing into thin air, "I knew you were the one. Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus and take to the sky."
"Ripples form on the water's surface. The Wandering soul knows no rest. Loveless, Act I," Cloud duly recited back.
"Yep. We have had a lot of wandering souls since the Merge."
"Is that what we're calling yesterday? The Merge?"
"I just made it up right now. Bro's already calling the Alpha-1 population outlanders already," Ariana said, before she went rigid.
Cloud noticed immediately, giving a confused look. "Ariana?"
Ana startled, blinking, her eyes glowing slightly, opening her mouth, "…Hold on. I'm getting a tug from Aerith's Church. It's…calling for Reunion."
A sinking feeling formed at the bottom of Cloud's gut, "Are you going?"
"I'll have to. My brothers, they'll be drawn to the Reunion too."
Ariana bit her lip, glancing at Cloud again, twitching slightly.
"Tell Father and the others. I have to go."
The woman hurriedly stood up, the chair screeching on the floor, doing a last minute check over her equipment for a moment, before she fled.
Ariana reappeared at the Church, which was empty at this time. Aridai appeared at her shoulder, having flown directly from the Tower.
"Reunion," they said to the other at the same time, their eyes meeting.
"You're with me till the end, aren't you?" Ariana asked, her voice echoing in the church.
"Never one without the other, sister," Aridai replied, "I swear."
"Be cautious, Ghost."
The feeling of Reunion tugged at them, both twins waiting patiently.
Shinra tower, Turks Conference Room B
Yazoo was hit head on with a blinding headache, his face hitting the table he was sitting at.
The Turks in the room noticed immediately, all of them looking at the silver haired man.
They were in a meeting with the Turks from Alpha-1 that responded to the summons, Yazoo taking notes for Angeal.
"Yazoo?" Two Guns called out for the silver haired man, "You alright?"
Yazoo didn't answer, raising a hand to his temple.
"No…I'm not going," he muttered, squeezing his eyes closed, but not before the others in the room caught sight of his glowing eyes.
"Yazoo," Tseng stood up, concern reflecting in his voice, "You won't go where?"
Yazoo then shot up from his seat, alarming the others in the room.
The oldest of the Strife triplets opened his eyes, the green glow of Mako in his irises alight in the dim room.
"He is calling," Yazoo said clearly, still gripping at his temple with one hand, emphasizing the word 'he', "The Calamity's Silver Son is calling for Reunion."
Alpha-0's Cloud burst into the room, looking frantic.
"We're putting in effect Protocol R!" he almost shouted, the Turks from both worlds standing up in unison, "Ariana flew straight from the 49th Floor, said it was coming from Aerith's church. We gotta go."
Cloud tossed a mini water bottle at Yazoo, who caught it, uncapped it, then drank it down.
Yazoo breathed a sigh of relief when the Great Gospel water blocked out the headache, letting him focus on Cloud.
"Big Brother. Only one person can force the Reunion, and it isn't Father doing it."
"I figured. It's Sephiroth, the other one." Cloud nodded, before his PHS rang in his pocket, "Strife speaking."
Cloud listened to whoever was calling, nodding along, "Understood. I'm with the Turks and Yaz right now. Make sure you get the boys to drink the water. I don't want the possibility of the kids getting drawn too…Yeah. Love you too, Seph. Bye."
The meeting room was in a tizzy, Alpha-0's Turks making calls to get Shinra's helicopters to mobilize.
"Brother…what do we do now?" Yazoo reached for the blonde's wrist, holding on tightly.
"I don't know. Come on, we'll get the others," Cloud said, communicating with Tseng through eye contact, "It's gonna be okay. And if it ain't, I'll deal with him personally."
Cloud led Yazoo out of the room, letting the door close behind them.
Sector Five, Aerith's Church
"The Calamity's Silver Son is approaching," Ghost muttered to Ariana, leaning on a pew.
"The man who isn't our father," she nodded, "Should we try killing him?"
"If he truly is the monster that the outlanders have spoken of, then maybe. But we always give one chance, don't we?" Ghost waved a hand.
"We didn't give JENOVA a chance. The Planet told us to kill her, so we did."
"The Calamity was given a chance long before we were born. No more chances."
"How strange. I would've assumed that Cloud would be here," a familiar, yet unfamiliar voice speaks. One that the twins knew intimately, yet different.
A man had materialized in the pool of Gospel Water, wading through, and the twins focused on him immediately.
"We're the welcoming committee," Ariana called for Orion, which was fused with Sirius, the hefty great sword appearing in her left hand, "The Calamity's Silver Son. Sephiroth. So, you're the one the reason why those Alpha-1 outlanders hate my Father."
"Sister, I retract my prior statement. I would very much like to kill him," Ghost said, summoning his bladed weapon for the first time. His weapon is a steel naginata named Afallon to go with his brace, Myrddin.
"Don't be hasty, Brother," Ariana let Orion dissolve from her hand, holding her palm up, "Let us speak to him first."
"There is nothing to talk about, but you are welcome to. I don't listen to the lackeys of the Calamity, considering we killed her here." Ghost almost crossed his arms, but that would mean putting back his Afallon, just scowling instead.
"Splendid. So, Sephiroth, I ask you this; are you planning to harm the inhabitants of this Gaia?" Ariana stepped towards the outlander, battle lust sparking in her eyes, "Lady Gaia says that she wouldn't have let you come if you planned to kill her or hers."
The Planet rumbled its agreement from under their feet, the feelings of do not harm and understanding permeating from the soil.
"I have no plan to destroy this world. And, what a strange world this is," the man who wasn't the twin's father observed, glancing at the self-proclaimed welcome party, "Shinra still stands."
"And I'd like to keep it that way," Ariana stopped in her tracks, "My little Ghost and I have been orchestrating the last decade and a half to get this world where I wanted it to be. I won't let you destroy it."
"Is that so? I'll see about that."
Sephiroth moved so fast he almost blurred, Ariana calling forth Orion to block the incoming blade.
Ariana flared a note of alarm through their twin bond, calling out 'Ari! Get back!'
"Ana!" Aridai flew back, white wing sprouting from his right shoulder.
Ariana jumped back, holding Orion a little tighter to her torso. She made her own wing come out, the black feathers flaring as she postured, the limb fluffing so it appeared bigger.
"Oh? Both of you have wings as well," A smirk played at Sephiroth's mouth, his pupils pining and narrowed back into slits, and intrigue is broadcasted on his face. His Masamune shone silver in the waning sunlight, the beam only making the blade seem even sharper.
"Let's make a wager, shall we?" Ariana shifted her stance as she held Orion with both hands, "We should make this a little more interesting."
"And what makes you so sure you're in a position to bargain with me?"
"Well, we have a Cloud too," Ariana answered, "And he's just as strong as yours, if not stronger, because he is older and actually made it into SOLDIER. You kill us, he'll kill you again. And that's just an endless, boring cycle, isn't it?! I'm not saying we can't fight, but killing us is a bad idea. And I want to fight you! I always wanted to know what it was like to fight a Sephiroth who doesn't hold back! No matter who wins, I'm going to help you be free!"
"Ana, that's a bad idea," Aridai objected, before he was met with a glare, "Ah…"
"Don't tell me what to do, my mirror."
"When you die, I'm not explaining to Father or Cloud."
"Wow, fuck you. My friend, your desire, is the Bringer of Life, the Gift of the Goddess."
"Hmph. I'm not safe from Loveless, even now," Sephiroth grumbled, "Well then. If you want a fight, then fight."
Ariana grinned, her green eyes alight with anticipation.
"This is not a battle against mankind. This isn't a battle for the truth. This isn't a battle against evil. This is, however, an honorable battle. WEAPON status offline."
The SOLDIER leapt forward, clashing her Orion against the other's Masamune to begin the dance.
Falling into the Digital Mind Wave was like jumping into a pool in reverse, and it rewrote her attack patterns.
While Ariana told Cloud that she'd only use it with supervision not even an hour before, this was an extenuating circumstance.
Adrenaline filled her body, the sounds of strike after strike reverberating in the open space of the church.
She's never fought with her own Father like this.
She's never quite fought with Cloud like this either.
Ariana was aware that her Father held back when they sparred and fought, especially back in the days before Cloud developed the most recent VR sims.
In the Wutai wilderness, as her moniker as Shinra's Angel of Death, even then she's never had to unleash her full rage.
Goddess knows that Ariana hid the full extent of her power in her body, those formative years of her life. Her skill in taking down the lab's rampaging experiments had solidified her worth in the eyes of the Doctor, one of the only things that stayed his hand from decommissioning her.
And after that, she realized that the Doctor might've been a tiny bit sentimental, after learning that her Father had been raised in a similar way, under knives and needles on top of cold operating tables. Maybe it would've helped if the Doctor was a tiny bit kinder, or a little bit less result driven.
Maybe, after his previous works of inactive JENOVA cells, the subsequent failures of Project G, and the creation of his precious Subject S, he'd detached himself even further to avoid any hopes of success.
Since breaking out, and sparring with her Father for over a decade, Ariana was familiar with his thought processes. She knew when to evade and when to stand her ground. She knew exactly how he used the Masamune's reach and knew his sword stance to the millimeter.
But, since those were spars and never true fights to the death, and not until Cloud had created the VR space, she's never had reach the precipice of her limits.
Clanging between metal filled the air, magic and materia spells being cast and deflected haphazardly.
This Sephiroth is much like an unstoppable object, always in motion, his swordplay even sharper than the Masamune he wielded like an extension of himself.
Ariana, even though she's nervous that she'll slip and accidentally die, can feel her blood pumping with every injury that comes from the hands of this other Sephiroth.
Without permission, a smile grows on her face, and her eyes glow a bright, luminescent green.
Aridai watched them fight from the sidelines, taking note that this Sephiroth didn't seem to hold the same mindless holier-than-thou attitude that he'd heard the other Cloud mutter to his AVALANCHE friends, and other than the initial call for Reunion, there wasn't another pull to join him.
Even though this Sephiroth could easily kill his sister, the man…didn't. Perhaps he was merely toying with her.
Aridai wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
Ariana, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.
Other than sparring with Cloud, like she'd done only hours prior, she couldn't remember being at the edge of potential death.
Sure, any wrong move could kill her, but that was life in general.
The woman coughed up blood when the Masamune was rudely shoved into her stomach, the blade going at least five inches deep in her body, before she was flung into a far wall.
Still, Ariana grinned, her teeth stained with blood as she maneuvers her body so that she meets the wall feet first. When she landed, the woman summoned Muramasa, artificially elongating the blade with dark colored magic that pulsed with the mana borrowed from Gaia, cutting the flow of mana to the master materia that anchored her Orion to reality so she could hold the enhanced katana with two hands.
Pushing away from the wall, she let out a few swings of black energy, a perpendicular slash turning into a net of energy blades, which Sephiroth cut through parts of.
Muramasa and Masamune clashed, the pressurized air making a sonic boom that ripples through the building, Ariana and Sephiroth attempting to force the other to yield.
Neither is budging, before Ariana could feel a new rush of power enter her body through the support of her brother activating his ultimate ability and artificially filling his twin's Limit Break bar.
Added with all the injuries and damage inflicted on her for the last few dozen minutes, the bright silver aura of her natural Limit Break started to waft from her limbs. Ariana released a breath she didn't know she was holding.
With a strangled yell, Ariana used all her strength to bring the taller man into the air, her programmed DMW pulling out the familiar motions of her Father's Octaslash from her memory as she flew up, her wing materializing on her shoulder, black feathers trailing behind her.
Her natural Windrider Limit Break was activated, mingling with a copied Omnislash too. Her Limit Break clones, created with a mix of her Windrider and the magic that Gaia and the remnant power of JENOVA that mingled in her body, sprang into existence, more substantial than the ones she made during her spar with Cloud in a split second, Orion, Sirius, and Andromeda appearing in their hands.
The materia in each blade responds to Ariana's call to her magic, applying to the woman and her clones.
The clones with Orion and Sirius attack first, jumping up with their weapons in barely tangible hands, the clone with Andromeda appearing a few feet just above Sephiroth at Ariana's right.
The real Ariana flew even higher, and they attacked in sync.
Ariana was a speed fighter, used to traveling light to make her faster than the eye could see, almost literally riding the wind to move.
With her weapons split, she used her clones to make quick strikes, slashing with Orion and Sirius, and thrusting with Andromeda. With a speed materia also active, she could deliver eighteen individual strikes in a span of five seconds.
With every slice and stab, the expression on Sephiroth's face changed rapidly from smugness, to confusion, to alarm.
The last blow was accompanied by a battle cry from the woman, Ariana's sword piercing just to the right of the man's heart and into the underlying lung and muscle.
Slamming him down knocks the remaining breath out of the silver haired man, Muramasa still lodged in Sephiroth's body, and the Masamune clattered to the floor.
Ariana's half standing, half kneeling over the man, both of them coated in a layer of dust, blood and sweat. Her clones are standing at the side, weapons still in their barely tangible hands, before they disappear, swords clattering to the ground.
"Son of the Calamity…no. Sephiroth," Ariana breathed, her energy sapped from all the magic she used, "Aren't you tired…of being…controlled?"
"You…how…" Sephiroth stares back at the woman who had pinned him to the ground with wide green eyes that matched her own, a disbelieving huff escaping him, even as pain from being stabbed is slightly numbed by shock.
"You could…start over. The world…had failed you. Humans have failed you," Ariana's wing curled over the two like a weighted, feathery blanket, "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world…that abhors you and I? All that awaits you…is a somber morrow. No matter where the winds may blow."
Ariana's warm mako green eyes look into Sephiroth's, as she rested a hand on his head.
"It's okay, Sephiroth," she says, leaning in close. A bright, white glow wafted off her skin, her eyes glowing a silvery tinted green, "I'm here."
Her black wing was then washed with a white glow, and the feathers turned a pure white, the glow from her skin infusing into the open air, before rippling outwards in a wave.
"Just sleep," Ariana muttered, her eyes closing, "Everything will be alright."
She let go of her hold on Muramasa, the sword disappearing back into its materia, and she collapsed.
Meanwhile, both Clouds and the Turks had arrived to see Ariana just before she triggered her Limit Break, observing the damage that had swept in the building breaking the pews and knocking the destroyed wood scattered about.
Aridai is near the front door of the church, a low powered Barrier spell surrounding the rest of the building. He's leaning on the wall, arms crossed, and his eyes are fixed on the two warring SOLDIERs.
Cloud's ears could catch the question that she asked the man, can hear the disbelieving huff of Sephiroth, and the words Ariana says before she fainted. Cloud holds his arm out, stopping the Turks that accompanied him in their tracks.
"Aridai, what's going on?" Cloud asked, the brown haired Turk glancing over to him.
"My stupid sister challenged that guy to a duel," Aridai spat, now that Ariana was more or less out of danger, his relief was overshadowed by anger, "Tsk, fighting a Sephiroth that is willing to kill her was a foolish mistake. She said this battle wasn't against mankind, not a battle against evil, and not a battle for the truth."
Aridai didn't bother approaching, since he knew that neither his sister nor Sephiroth would like him going over.
"Anyway. Before she went into fighting him, she said she'll 'Help him be free'. Probably meant the bastard was a goddess-damned puppet himself. The Calamity…what a bitch," the man huffed, crossing his arms, "Ariana always had a bleeding heart for puppets like me."
"She did it to protect you, Aridai. Who knows what Hojo would've done to you," Cloud rebutted, "Granted, I didn't know the man, but whoever thinks that it's a good idea to inject unknown alien substances into a fucking baby is not to be trusted. Any idiot could see that."
The mildly funny statement sends Aridai into hysterical laughter, the normally stoic dark haired man bending over to contain himself.
"Tch…heh…hahahaha, I think I might break a rib laughing too much! But, you are correct, Uncle. Those with morals loose as his aren't to be trusted." Aridai sneered openly, "Ariana always leaves me to clean up her messes. Some things never change. He's under her protection now." He rapped the Barrier with two fingers, the magical wall shattering.
The man was taken aback when he realized that Ariana was calling upon the White Magic that was gifted to her by Gaia, the telltale light of the Ancient's magic shining on her black wing.
The feathers rapidly turned the white like snow. The white glow transferred from the woman to the man in her embrace, her now dove white wing then fading away.
"Wait, that's," Aridai breathed, when Cloud finished his sentence.
"Fade. She's using her White Magic to burn away the influence of the Calamity. Is that what she meant, that he is under her protection?" Cloud repeated what Aridai had reported earlier, his eyebrows raising, "The little dove thinks he can be saved."
"Like I said earlier. Bleeding heart. There's nothing more that Ana hates than other people being controlled," Aridai shrugged, regaining his composure, "And she hates the taste of despair. Says it's bitter and unpalatable and puts her off her pasta."
"Saved? Him?" Strife pointed a finger, "That guy killed so many people! He burnt down Nibel and killed my mom!"
"I've killed a lot of people too," Aridai countered, raising an eyebrow, "So did she. So did our Cloud," He gestured to Ariana, "We were willing participants to the slaughter in the Shinra-Wutai War when we were teenagers. We killed a number of people to escape Shinra Manor as literal children. Who knows how many mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters we've killed, hm? Our kill count went into the thousands. How does that make us different from him? All of us have blood on our hands that'll stain us for the rest of our lives."
Cloud approached Ariana and Sephiroth cautiously, before reaching out to cast a Sense over them.
"Huh. They're physically fine. I suppose the spell took care of them both," the blonde muttered before unwinding Ariana's ever-present Ribbon off, using a backup materia to cast a Sleepel on the two unconscious bodies so they didn't wake up in transit.
"She's better at true magic than I am. Anyway, guys, it looks like we just need to clean up," Aridai ordered the other Turks, "My sister is a good judge of character. She can judge another's soul in battle, and I trust her judgment."
"Ariana knows what she's doing. If Gaia allowed your Sephiroth to manifest, in gospel water at that, there's a reason," Cloud moved closer, before yanking the unconscious Sephiroth up in a fireman's carry.
"I'll bring Ariana back to our apartment," Aridai picked up his sister in a bridal carry, making a few hand signals to Katana to move out.
"No, bring her into Medical," Cloud interjected, "I told her that she could only use that DMW under Seph's supervision. She's gonna need a psych eval. We can't risk her disassociating as me or your Father."
"Ariana's Will is stronger than any other. I'm the one more likely to lose myself, not her," Aridai denied sharply.
"Just to be safe, Ari. You guys scared the shit outta me three years ago, I'm not risking it."
"Fine. But you're the one who has to deal with her when she eventually drives the therapist up the wall," the Turk shot Cloud the stink eye.
...at the sort of Mary Sueness.
It's just that Ariana really looks up to all her parents.
And yes, I know that's not how white magic works, but suspend your disbelief regardless.
