Summary: Seph meets Sephiroth face to face for the first time.


General Sephiroth Crescent could feel his son approaching, plus the almost overwhelming presence of his other self.

A knock sounded at the door, and he looked up from where he was leaning on his desk, an empty mug of coffee behind him, even though it was already 15:54.

"Father."

"Ghost."

A smile formed on Seph's face, which was returned by the younger man.

"Ariana has retreated to your apartment?"

"Yes. She said she was going to reach out to the Lifestream and see where to go from here. I hope she gets some answers, Cousin Aerith has a tendency to be mysterious," Ghost answered, "Thankfully, my older sister does not find riddles humorous."

Seph let his gaze turn to rest on his alternate, finding him staring back. In the back of his mind, the older silver haired man gulped.

Looking at yourself in the mirror was one thing.

Looking at your mirror image who went insane is another.

Looking at someone who could've easily killed your daughter is a hard pill to swallow, even though he knew that Ariana could handle herself.

Seph had to force his legs to move, to approach the man who wore his face.

"Ne, Father, way to be awkward," Ghost complained when nothing happened for a minute, "Gosh, sometimes we need Ariana here. At least she has no sense for formalities."

"Ghost—"

"Fa-th-eeeerrrrr," Aridai made an annoyed noise, letting go of his Turk persona and heaving a sigh, "I'll get Ariana here, the Goddess knows we're not going anywhere at this rate."

With a vicious tug on their twin bond, Ghost forced a reverse summon.

In a flash of light, Ariana popped out of thin air, stumbling at the abrupt change in position.

"Waagh!" she had appeared five feet in the air, her body automatically readjusting to land on her feet.

"Nice of you to drop in, sister," Ghost smirked.

"My friend, the fates are cruel!" Ariana leapt to her feet in a rage, a fire spell dancing on her fingertips before she brandished her arm.

Ghost sent a few handfuls of aqua in response, making the flames sputter and die.

"I could've been naked for all you knew!" Ariana retorted, crossing her arms with a huff, " And I had just decided to visit Andrea to get his opinions on the dresses I want Uncle to wear!"

Her younger brother could only say, "Sister, what the fuck," with his mouth slightly ajar.

"That is it, Aridai Sepia Crescent! We're going to the Honey Bee Inn this Friday night, and you're not wiggling out of it this time, brother!"

All the color drained out of Ghost's face. "Shit."

"Shit is right! I just got outta talking to ghosts!" Ariana snapped, "Now, what's so important you had to pull me through the Lifestream, huh?!"

"Father's being awkward again. Rectify this," Ghost ordered, "…Please."

The woman seemed to finally realize that both Sephiroths were watching with identical bemused expressions.

"Oh, Father, Sephiroth," the SOLDIER seemed to recollect herself, "I didn't see you there."

Ariana resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, instead sighing.

"What am I, the real welcoming committee? Father, this is Sephiroth, Sephiroth, this is my Father. Usually we just call him General Crescent when he's working. And Father, don't tell Cloud about my little plan, you hear? He might think he's off the hook, but he's not."

"You really shouldn't be too brutal on Cloud," Seph started, but his daughter made a zipping motion over her lips.

"It also just so happens that Uncle told me you wiggled out of speaking to the other world's AVALANCHE by jumping out the window. You should really get that under control, Father," the woman narrowed her eyes at him, "The Goddess would descend from the sky before you get comfortable with people in general. Your friend group is small enough as is."

Ghost's head turned to stare at his Father with surprise, almost giving himself whiplash, "Wait, when did that happen?! Why wasn't I informed?"

"It was after Cloud hit you with a Sleeple when you started to insult his pre-SOLDIER height," the man responded dryly, "At one point you also proclaimed that you had surpassed Lazard's 'Part-time Alcoholic' status after drinking two SOLDIER specials and a bottle of bourbon. Kadaj carried you out of Seventh Heaven over his shoulder."

Ariana gave a scandalized gasp when she realized something.

"You got yourself hammered when I was unconscious?! Ghost! For shame! Is that what you do when your dear sister is in a small coma?! Oh my Goddess, there are no dreams, no honor remains!"

"Shut up Ariana! What I do when you're not there is my business!" sputtered Ghost, "You're not my boss!"

"Oho, but your Love at First Sight is. Should we call up Rufus and tell him what a naughty boy you are?" Ariana teased with a vengeance.

"Children…" Seph uttered sternly, a warning clear in the single word, "Both of you are independent adults."

"He/She started it!" the twins pointed at the other with an accusing finger, and Seph crossed his arms, looking nonplussed.

"You do realize such infantile behavior looked better when you were actual children?"

"Technically, we were 9 when I killed the idiot scientist," Ariana pointed out.

"I don't think he was talking about that," Ghost elbowed his sister, "You absolute menace to human society."

"Why you little snob!" Ariana grappled her brother into a tight headlock in a split second, the Turk floundering for a minute before he got her octopus grip off him.

"Hey! I'm still working, you nincompoop!" Ghost readjusted his tie while shooting a dirty glare at the older woman, "Unlike a certain red headed Turk, I dislike appearing disheveled."

The man flicked a few Turk hand signs to insult her, making the woman do the same.

It became a nonverbal war of hand motions, some signs flashing faster than what they were meant for.

"You take that back!" Ghost nearly shrieked after a particularly scathing insult that more or less translated to 'You couldn't even make a good Christmas turkey for your First Sight if your life depended on it'.

Seph cleared his throat loudly to get both of his children's attention again, making them both hide their hands behind their backs.

"Sorry Father," they said in tandem with a practiced manner.

"Anyway, if that's all, then I'm going to see Rhodea at the Honey Bee," Ariana glanced over at Sephiroth, who looked like he was very amused at the circus occurring not even five meters away from him.

"Additionally, Director Valentine scheduled you for a physical assessment tomorrow morning," Ghost interjected, "For Cetran White Magic exposure and channeling. Lab 6. And don't use too much true magic, it'll mess with the readings."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Noted. Remember, Ghost, Father, not a word to Uncle, or I'm going after both of your vices. Legends shall speak of sacrifice at world's end," she warned, before flying off in a shimmer of silver.

"That girl will be the death of me, I'm sure," Seph remarked.

"You and me both, Father," Ghost didn't look away from where the woman teleported from, "But I stand by what I said, she's an absolute menace to society. And our hearts. May the Goddess Minerva have mercy on our souls."

"Let's not go that far."

The dark haired Turk then jerked to look over at both Sephiroths.

"So…do you need me around or do you want some alone time?"

"You may go."

"You got it, General," Ghost made a casual salute, "Do you want another cup of coffee? I still have to see how my coworkers are making out with the agreements with Alpha-1's population."

"No thank you. Overtime?" Seph asked.

"Yep. I'm saving up for Sis and I's birthdays. She keeps spending gil on watching Loveless productions with Director Rhapsodos, so it's a surprise," Ghost informed him, "Kindly avoid asking about it when Ariana is around, lest I get hounded for answers. I'll see you around, Father."

The Turk left in a flash of black, leaving the two Sephiroths alone.