Summary: Ariana speaks with Gaia, strikes an accord with Sephiroth, and Angeal pops by with some food.
Ariana could recognize the Lifestream when her consciousness settled in it, the souls of the dead wandering past her.
She could feel that her true form was visible in this plane of not quite existence, but pulled back her extra features, appearing instead as her preferred human form.
You've returned, young Calamity, Gaia whispered into her ear.
"Mother of All Life on this Planet," the woman greeted, "Hello again."
The merge was a necessary action, Gaia hummed, Their branch on the Yggdrasil was to be pruned, due to the actions of humans and the Silver Son of Calamity.
"But why here? Why now?" the green eyed woman asked, "Gaia…please, tell me."
I love all my children, Gaia said, Yet, they use my life blood to sustain themselves. The other parallel dimension had gone through so much death, so much suffering. It would've been a shame to let them wither and fade.
"I see," Ariana could see why the Merge came about, "You have always been selfless, All-Mother."
I am the mother of all life. Now, go, Calamity's Child. Learn the consequences of human greed, see your branch that grew and flourished from when you were only mine, and the twists your life could've faced.
Fate was broken in their world. Their broken Whispers of Arbitration created a wave of alternate splits of time and space.
As for the Silver Son of the Calamity who is not your Father...
The White Magic you have used has purified his body. His mind has returned to its equilibrium...
The humans of my counterpart have failed him terribly.
Please...show him the kindness of this world.
"I understand, All-mother," Ariana nodded, listening for the last words of Gaia before the being departed from her side.
My beloved WEAPON…live to the fullest…my child.
Finally, the woman could feel Gaia retreat for the time being, and the sounds from the voices of the Ancients murmured in her ears, before everything faded away.
Medical Bay
Ariana hated waking up in Medical.
She breathed out, reaching out mentally to check on her sibling's and parent's cells, finding five warm pings respond.
"I know you're awake."
Ariana sat up, finding Aridai sitting on a plastic chair, his arms crossed.
"Brother."
"Ariana."
"Sephiroth is under my protection."
"I know. I told Cloud as much," Aridai uncrossed his arms, standing up.
The man was wearing casual clothing, or at least, what passed for casual to Aridai.
He wore a black shirt and loose exercise pants, his weapons nowhere to be seen on his person, other than the necklace that held the materia for his Afallon.
"You're a fool, Ariana. Don't tell me you're going to try taming him?"
"Taming? No. No, I'm not taming anyone! I want him to be free to make his own choices, not, not be another extension of her!" Ariana shouted, before coughing roughly.
Aridai offered her a cup of water, which had been sitting on a nearby table.
"Boss and the others question your decision."
"Sephiroth from Alpha-1 is our Father as well, is he not? Whole...yet broken as well," Ariana said, "He is worthy of redemption. If...since Hojo wasn't killed early in their world...then it meant that he had even less choices than we did. He deserves another chance."
"Do you really believe that, sister?" Aridai skeptically raised an eyebrow, "Why him? Did the Planet speak to you in your coma?"
"She did. Gaia wants me to show him kindness. Hold on...Why am I in Medical?" Ariana demanded, expression shifting to fury.
"Cloud wants you to have a psych eval," Ari answered, "Nonnegotiable. He said you were only supposed to be under supervision when you use that modified Digital Mind Wave."
"Ah…I think I pushed my limits too hard," Ariana muttered, before sitting up from the bed.
"You did. You usually don't use a limit break and the DMW in one day, plus a massively draining spell like Fade, what did you expect?"
Ariana closed her eyes for a second, before reopening them.
"I'm guessing I've been out for a few days?"
"Today's Tuesday. Physically, you're fine, but all those attacks made your magic unstable. Sephiroth isn't awake yet. He's been under a strong Sleepel since Saturday. Oh, and by the way, your wing changed color again," Aridai revealed suddenly, his twin blinking with surprise.
"What? Really!?" she forced her original wing to manifest, curling it around her front.
White feathers replaced her once black ones, the pale primary, and fluffy coverts soft to the touch.
"It happened after you used Fade. Your wing went through a ripple effect. You match me for now," Aridai let his own free, and essentially, the two looked like halves of a whole.
"Yeah…" Ariana let her wing settle around her shoulders, the six foot long appendage warm against her chilled fingers. After a moment, it disappeared, pulled back into its dimension, joining its' brethren.
Aridai tossed a set of clothing at his sister, the cloth landing limply on her lap, "Get dressed. You're off duty until Thursday."
The man left the room, the door closing softly behind him, while Ariana got busy changing out.
Aridai had given her a set of her regulation overalls, and a vest with the SOLDIER emblem stitched over her front. Her boots were left at the foot of her bed.
Concentrating, Ariana reached into her arm, fingers phasing through her flesh, and the small balls of condensed mako easily reconstituted in the palm of her hand.
Mentally going through the remnants of the DMW, Ariana sorted out her personality from the lingering thoughts and emotions of the DMW mix, her eyes closing as she focused.
She was just finishing up when the door opened again, except this time it was her Father on the other side.
"Father," Ariana greeted, dipping her head for a second, before looking up at him.
"Ariana," Sephiroth sighed, before he pinched the bridge of his nose, "You have the urge for chaos like Zack does."
"I do. That's why I'm a Disaster Twin," the woman agreed, "So…the Disaster Turk said that the other you is under a Sleepel. I want to see him."
"That would be unwise," her Father shook his head, "You need to be evaluated first."
Ariana groaned slightly, her weapons materia rolling in her hands before she stowed it in her pants pockets.
"Fine."
"Be good, Ariana," her Father advised, "The sooner it's completed, the sooner you can speak to my double." He reached out and patted her head, ruffling her hair.
"Yeah, yeah."
Room 23
Ariana had passed her evaluation, and was now sitting by the other Sephiroth's bedside, Loveless in her hands.
"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land, to spare the sands, the seas, the skies, I offer thee this silent sacrifice."
The woman read the penned in lines in her dad's handwriting, which had made a few dips to the otherwise clean page.
Ariana gave the man in the bed a once over when she arrived, noting that Sephiroth was exceedingly pale, which was kind of expected, since he'd reconstituted straight from the Lifestream.
She paused when Sephiroth's breathing patterns changed, glancing at the waking man. Her Father said that he changed his double's clothing out of the damaged old uniform.
"Why am I alive?"
"Because I want you to be, of course," Ariana said, a wiry grin coming to her face while she put Loveless away, "I meant what I said. I always keep my promises."
"No guards? You're either overconfident or a fool." Sephiroth's glowing green eyes stared straight at the SOLDIER, analyzing the strange variable.
"You're not the only one who can puppet others," the woman shrugged, "My Will is greater than any living being on this planet. However, I'm not fond of using it, because of past trauma regarding a certain abusive scientist. I killed him a long time ago, for hurting me and my brother."
"You killed Hojo?"
"That's always the first thing people ask from your world," Ariana erased the smile from her face, "But yes. I killed him when I was twelve years old."
"Explain. You…have my features, but also many others," Sephiroth sounded strange, speaking in a stilted manner.
"The beginning then, of Subject A1 and Subject A2."
Silver-red hair twirled between the twenty six year old's fingers as she gathered her thoughts.
"Alright then…Twenty three years ago, my brother and I were born. As subjects, we were subjected to mako exposure mere days before and after our birth. Hojo had wanted a backup plan in case Subject S—that's you, by the way, was deemed a failure, or was killed in action for the upcoming Wutai War. Somehow, through gene splicing, he used four data samples to create us. One from Ifalna, Aerith's mom. One from you, or at least this world's version of you, and the two children born of Subject G. Project ANGEL, he called us, because he was certain that he created a god. Through you."
Ariana held out a hand, creating a short visual illusion of herself and Aridai as small children.
As a child, Ariana's hair was predominantly red, with thick streaks of silver cutting through, while Aridai barely had any silver at all.
"I was called Subject A1. My brother, Subject A2. I was never meant to exist, since I was a girl, in the beginning, but since my body exhibited a high level of Mako and J-cell compatibility, he had no choice but to keep me. My body was much more resilient compared to my brother's when it came to enhancements, and we developed normally, other than rapidly aging into toddler hood. However, when I was perhaps 5 years old, I realized that Subject A2 was basically Blank."
"Blank? ...He had no soul."
Ariana looked a little impressed that Sephiroth had connected the dots so quickly.
"Nope. Nothing. Just a body that could breathe and blink. He wasn't anything more than a puppet. I suppose, as a child, I pitied him. And I was lonely. So, I forced a connection when we were physically five years old and started controlling his body. I created a base personality, slightly modeled after my own, and built a foundation upon it. And eventually, he learned how to act on his own decisions. He did so well, behaving like a person, not even a Turk could tell."
The woman looked proud of herself, a smile coming back to her face.
"At some point, he became his own person, and I didn't have to keep living a double life. But he still kept the pretense that he wasn't more than a body that moved on its own, and it was their downfall."
Ariana tweaked the illusion, and now the forms of their twelve year old selves are standing there.
"The last straw was when Hojo destroyed my copy of Loveless. 'Subjects do not have any need for proclivities," Ariana mimicked the man's words, grin turning into a sneer, "And after that, I knew he had to go. Permanently."
A bloodthirsty smirk then crossed her face, replaying the memory of her snapping Hojo's neck as a short twelve year old.
"I enjoyed it so much. It was the first time I killed because I wanted to, and a human I despised at that. And the rest of the day went into a whirlwind of slaughtering scientists and SOLDIERs, plus a Turk or two. They were in my way."
The memories kept playing, before it was Aridai and Ariana standing in front of a burning JENOVA, the girl touching the bleeding body, and a silver green glow encompassing the children. Their eyes glowed brightly in the dark room with Mako.
"The Planet started communicating to me when I was six. It spoke to me through emotions, and eventually, I could decipher them as if they were words. Even though we had the blood of the Calamity running through our veins, Gaia shielded my brother and I from her reach. We went back to the Manor, burned it down, and waited for Shinra to arrive. We gave each other names in the meantime, I am Ariana Selah, and my twin is Aridai Sepia. Our surname of Crescent came later."
An image of Ariana and Aridai in a hospital bed, Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal speaking to them.
"Your DNA results came back, whilst you were still unresponsive."
"Really? And? What'd you find?"
"…We're your fathers."
"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. How delightful! Where does that leave us then, hm?"
"Most likely, we would be your legal guardians. Which means you'll both be coming back with us to Midgar."
"It was the turning point. Aridai and I were taken in by the SOLDIER Firsts, and history changed. Later, I became a SOLDIER Third at 14, a Second at 15, and a First when I was 18. My brother, on the other hand, became a Turk, and eventually assassinated Hollander, Scarlett, Heidegger, and the old President. We rebuilt this world, one death at a time. I set in motion the plans to destroy the old Shinra and replace the old with the new. Not even Father suspected a thing until I fell into the Lifestream after I tripped off a ledge, of all things, and Aridai followed after."
A sour note resonated in her words, her expression pinching.
"How are you not dead, after submerging in the Lifestream?" Sephiroth asked, a little amused at the readiness of Ariana's confessions.
"Gaia spoke to us. Either die in the Stream and be reborn or become her WEAPONs and protect her from those who wished to harm her. You can imagine the choice we made. I wasn't going to leave my parents, nor my brothers, nor Cloud alone. I swore an oath, when I was a child, that I would protect my family. And, if you truly are not attempting to harm me or mine, you'll be under my protection too."
Ariana dispelled the illusions with a wave of her hand, standing up from her seat.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Sephiroth."
The woman manifested her full true form, two wings layered on her left side, and a singular one on her right. Her hair lengthened to her knees, the red fading away, leaving her with just silver hair. The green slits of her eyes faded into a mercurial silver, and she cocked her head.
"I am the Calamity of Alpha-0."
Sephiroth stared, his irises widening and narrowing at the transformation.
"This world is mine. These humans are mine. Mine to protect, mine to love, mine to hate, mine to consume. Mine to destroy when everything ends. So, I'll ask you again, Sephiroth. Are you planning to harm the inhabitants of this Gaia?"
The woman kept her posture open, but also expectant.
"…" the silver haired man had a considering look on his face, studying the woman now that she'd stopped talking, taking in her true form.
"You said that you'd help me be free. Why would you offer such a thing? How can you be so sure I won't stab you in the back?" he questioned, after a minute of silence.
"Because I value the freedom to choose above all else," Ariana answered readily, before letting her wings disappear and her features turned back into her regular human form, "I grew up in the labs, as you did. I had a puppet for a brother that I had to teach on my own. I had to pretend that it was okay, that it was normal to control him, that he was a person because we were one that became two. And when I realized after destroying the lab that I could live as a human, a person with their own wants and needs, it came with a freedom that I'd never had, with more time than I knew what to do with. I learned what humanity had to offer that was never given freely to me. And I loved it. I loved them. I would make this world burn to keep them happy."
"My Father…my other parents…they gave me a chance, even after I killed Hojo. After I killed people who were just doing their jobs…I was able to live. So, I will extend to you the same courtesy. Swear not to harm me or mine, and I will do my utmost to show you a life worth living for. Harm them outside of self-defense, and I will fulfill my duty as Gaia's WEAPON to strike you down."
Ariana then went silent once more, waiting for Sephiroth to say something.
"I have no intentions to harm your Gaia," the man said finally, "And as long as you and yours do not treat me as a weapon, I have no argument against being under your protection."
The woman's mouth opened slightly, before she smiled.
"Then, we have an accord. Ghost, come here."
Aridai appeared in the room, his hands digging into his pockets, and a scowl on his face. He swatted some feathers out of the air, dispersing them immediately.
"Tch. You ruined my entrance, sister."
"Infinite in myste—"
"Don't you fucking dare quote Loveless at me. It was bad enough you threw the book at my head, asshole. I'm surprised Dad didn't try to kill you."
"How else would I beat it into your thick skull, my dear brother?" a whimsical smile pulled at Ariana's lips.
"Ana, you used it as an Odin damned bedtime story when I was still a mindless puppet. I can repeat the whole thing in five languages, including Old Nibel. I curse Cloud forever for teaching you that."
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten. Well, not really, you know, eidetic memory and all," Ariana waved a hand, as if pushing away the thought, "Let the Boss know that this guy here agreed to the terms. Oh, and tell Father and Uncle the good news, hm? Sephiroth's going to need a change of clothes, and since he's Father's double and all…"
"Right…and Ariana, I'm a Turk, not a courier. I have better things to do than wait on you hand and foot."
"Is that so? You mean your lackluster attempts to woo Rufus? We both know he has a thing for Tseng…Unless you'd want to leave to a brighter pasture? You'd have better luck with some other blonde," a pleased smirk played at Ariana's lips, only widening when she noticed her brother's hand twitching.
The dark haired Turk sputtered.
"You! Incorrigible sadist! Farewell, I don't wish to see you for the rest of the day!"
Aridai was gone again, not bothering to use the door.
"Ah, little brothers. Can't live with them, can't live without them. If only the Triplets were this fun to tease…but it'd be like kicking a toddler down a flight of stairs and off a bridge. Easy to do, but I'd feel bad about it." Ariana smirked, "Well, I'm hungry. Are you up to get something to eat? I'm not sure if you're a vegetarian like Father is."
Sephiroth was staring into space, something the woman noticed immediately, his mako-green eyes snapping to hers at the question.
"I am a vegetarian, yes," he nodded, before getting up, and noticing that his clothing was different compared to how he manifested in the church.
"Father changed your clothes," Ariana said, as a way of explanation, "Since I doubt you have a set hiding somewhere on you. As for your Masamune, I'm not sure if it went poof back into the Lifestream or it was spat out like a furball."
"Hm…" Sephiroth thought, before he held a hand out, but nothing happened.
"Huh. Father probably has it stashed somewhere, since not a lot of people know how to take care of an ōdachi properly. You might want to ask my Cloud to see if he can set up a Materia link for your Masamune. I know Father's already is," Ariana offered, "You might want the sub-dermal one. I use the normal ones, which makes it a pain to fish them out of my arm. Cloud tried to make me use a materia brace with them, but I don't like how artificial it feels."
Ariana dug into her pocket, tossing the pale blue materia that housed Muramasa up and down.
"Materia linked?"
"Mhm! Cloud, my Cloud that is, started developing them as his first big project as Shinra's Director of Weapons Development. Unfortunately, only my brothers and I use them, because of the strain on normal SOLDIERs, making it unique to us. My brother and I's bodies accept Mako almost too easily, probably because we're experiments."
She began trading the materia between her hands, tapping the glassy surface with her fingernails.
"They use a sort of master-slave system. Say, you're holding the master materia, and the other is embedded in a weapon. A lot like a Summon, the weapon is usually stored inside the master materia, so your weapon can be summoned whenever you want by activating the main materia, or you can choose to leave it out."
The woman then pressed the materia against the leather of her coat, equipping it into her upper arm, before summoning Muramasa.
The blade shone with a silver gleam, reflecting off the ceiling lights, before it dispersed back into mist.
Sephiroth watched the whole process, his pupils widening with interest.
Ariana opened the door, poking her head out to see if anyone was in the hallway. The woman's face lit up when she saw a familiar face.
"Papa!" she briefly left the room, since the man was only a handful of meters away.
"Well if it isn't my favorite Disaster SOLDIER," Angeal held a few Styrofoam containers of food in his arms, unsurprised to see his daughter's smiling face.
"Oooo, leftovers! Is that the lasagna from the other day?!"
"You bet. How's Sephiroth? I also brought some of the baked ziti too in case he's hungry. I saw the Disaster Turk skulking about a little while ago on the Executive floor. He didn't look happy; did you tease him again?"
"Psh, oh yeah. For someone so flirtatious on a daily basis, he's so cute when the shoe is on the other foot. Like the opposite of Reno," Ariana grinned playfully, "Ah, did he and Rude recover from our spar on Saturday? I know I broke a few of their ribs."
"A few Cures and they were good as new."
By this point, Ariana had already claimed the warm food containers, glancing back to see if Sephiroth had followed after her.
"Oh! Papa Angeal, Sephiroth, Sephiroth, Papa Angeal. I know we all know who everyone else is, but a formal introduction is always nice."
She then shoved the ziti box into Sephiroth's hands.
"Here—this is Papa's specialty, and it's Father's favorite."
Sephiroth was too busy looking at Angeal to realize the offering had been swiftly delivered.
"Ah, thank you," the silver haired man said to the dark haired SOLDIER Director.
"Not a problem. Anyway, Ana, my dear husband has been so kind to take over your Materia Mastery Class until your leave is over," Angeal told the younger SOLDIER.
"Dad? Genesis? So kind!?"
Silver eyebrows raised on the woman's face in disbelief, "Are we talking about the same Genesis Rhapsodos, the man who thinks my Seconds are idiots to the highest order, is helping them with magic? Infinite in mystery indeed! I swear to Minerva if he traumatizes them again, we'll be having words."
"Ahem, I'm sure it's not that bad. He hasn't Firaga'd anyone in days." Angeal didn't look like he believed his own words either.
"Uh huh, sure. I'm gonna go eat before I lose my appetite. Come on, Sephiroth, if we wait any longer, our food will get cold. Oh, and thanks for the food, Papa."
"Behave, little Disaster. Between you and your twin, I'm surprised this building is still standing." Angeal ruffled Ariana's hair, making her give him the stink eye.
"…I disagree with what you're implying," she huffed, "And I have the sudden urge to bother Lazard. Oh, and I didn't miss the monthly Coffee Committee meeting, did I?"
"No, it was postponed since you are one of the Committee's shareholders to next week. Yazoo was a little miffed that you were in a short healing coma, so don't be surprised if he accosts you later," Angeal advised.
"Yeah, yeah. I can take him on. I can take all three of them on," Ariana dismissively stated, "Anyway, come on already! I might use a Fira if this gets cold."
"Don't," Angeal warned, before leaving them be.
Notes: Angeal's delicious leftovers will never not be there. Also, a bunch of title references.
