Chapter 26 - Careful Steps


A/N: Changed my mind after a break. Moar Shelke!


The rage at the wind blowing across Shelke's face took her by surprise.

She stands there, in the plains outside Midgar and the dead lands surrounding it, and takes a shaky breath, letting the sensation of wind wash over her. She had felt it before, from Mother's memories, and likely in her forgotten past before Deepground stole her memories away, but... She shakes her head, kneels down, takes a glove off, and feels the grass, digs her fingers into the ground. What a strange feeling. It angers her. Embitters her.

"This should have been ours," whispers Shelke.

Mother's touch ruffles through her hair, illusionary in physical, but there mentally and in spirit. "And it will be, my Chosen One."

Shelke smiles at the re-affirmation, that Mother has chosen her. That Shelke earned the right to become as such. Yet...

She glances back towards Midgar. "Will they be alright?"

"Shinra will not discover that anything is amiss in Deepground, your efforts assured that," advised Mother, "And I will maintain the peace between my children, you need not fret about them simply because you are not physically there."

Shelke ducks her head at the light chastisement. "Of course Mother. Its just... hard, not being there to watch over them. Do you ever feel that way about us?"

Mother hums in her mind. "I never need to, for we are there, my Chosen One, we are there. You are so young, so larval, in your understanding. You need merely reach out and feel them, my child, and you will be there."

Shelke considers it, and closes her eyes. She thinks of Nero, of Rosso, of Weiss, thinks of how it feels to be near them, how they feel, and reaches for them...

For a moment, she sees out Rossos's eyes, the woman sparring with Weiss, both of them preparing for the eventual confrontation with the Traitor Children and the Ancient. They pause briefly at her mental touch, flickers of acknowledgement sent her way, before they resume. Shelke pulls back and smiles; Mother was so wise. She wonders how long it will take her to become even a fraction of as wise as her.

"Not as long as you assume," mused Mother, "When we eventually Reunite, when we become One, you will inherit my knowledge and will as I will inherit your flesh."

Part of Shelke hungers for it, but part of her is... afraid.

"What troubles you my child?"

"I want to join with you, Mother," said Shelke, "I understand my purpose. That I will become part of you, another facet of your whole, a reward granted onto those who serve you well. Union instead of sustenance. I will help from within you, but I'm afraid of not being able to help from without."

"You fear the fading?" prodded Mother, not worried at her words, merely idly curious, "Of your consciousness becoming one with mine?"

Shelke struggles then. With herself. She knows she has been blessed, to be Mother's Chosen One, but, she will not lie to Mother, "Yes. Part of me is afraid of fading away, and no, for the other part is afraid of not being there myself to help you."

Mother hums in her mind, considering. Shelke feels fingers on her forehead, a phantom touch brushing her a cheek. "Fear is not the enemy, my child. It is an acknowledgement, a treasured friend. It is an instinctual guide that warns you of danger, or in this case, of important moments that will define you and your future. It is natural to be afraid in these moments."

It feels like Mother's hand slips into her flesh, running down her spine and electing a spasm that brings Shelke to her knees gasping. "You wish to be my sword? My shield? To be wielded eternally, but never become?"

"Y-yes," moans Shelke, "Yes Mother. I always want to protect you."

"Such a devoted daughter," mused Mother, "I will consider your request."

"T-thank you, Mother," whispered Shelke as the touch peeled out of her flesh, "And maybe one day, I'll stop being afraid."

"One day," agreed Mother, "I will need to think upon how best to go about it. Until then, it is time for your journey to begin. Yet, like myself when I first make planetfall, my child, you must begin with careful steps. Do not be sighted by anyone who can report you to Shinra. To that end, you have my gifts."

Shelke nods and closes her eyes and shifts. She tints her eyes and hair from blue and red both to brown and dulls the mako glow to a normal human's levels. She speeds up the growth of her hair a bit, down to below her neck, and then considers if she should try to change her body further...

"Do not forget your limitations however," warned Mother, "Until we are Reunited and I can mend you properly, you are still dependent on Mako to survive. I have altered you and given you the ability to consume mako, this will allow you to venture far from Deepground, but do not forget your needs. Take care in how much energy you burn to blend in."

Shelke bit lightly on her lip, thinking. "...I can eat materia?"

"That is a source, yes, though drinking from a mako spring would offer more sustenance," advised Mother, "However, take care never to gorge. The Planet's Avatar may be dead, but the Planet itself will still feel a bite. A sting however, easily blending in with the mako being wasted by Shinra, is negligible for it to notice."

Shelke nods before glancing back at Midgar in the distance. "I should have grabbed a coat or something to wear over my Mako Suite before we left..."

Then again, there were camera's everywhere in Midgar, getting out without getting seen was difficult. Even if she could erase evidence with her Synaptic Net Dive, there was still some risk, so getting out had taken priority. She looks up into the sky, noting the sun setting in the distance. She had thoroughly inspected a map of the world before leaving, and knew what Mother desired was on the other continent. But, necessary supplies and deception came first. She makes the decision to head for Kalm first, rather than heading straight for Junon. She stalks among the plains, experimentally fighting a few monsters to see how they compare in real life to the simulations.

Much easier, even ignoring Mother's gifts.

She ignores them after the first few sets of beasts. Most are wise enough to stay out of her way if she doesn't initiate combat with them. She arrives in Kalm well into the night. If she recalls correctly in the map of the town on Shinra's database, the shops should be on the raised upper level, connected together. She leaps onto a rooftop to avoid anyone walking about at night, and slinks along until she reaches her destination. She presses her hand to the roof and feels...

A distinct lack of technology compared to Midgar. She can feel lighting, wiring, various appliances, yes, but not an active network of...

Oh, there it is, a different kind of security system. Its tied to the door and the windows. Hardly anything comprehensive like in Deepground, primitive in design and reactionary. Not even a security camera. Its awkward to force herself to dive into something than a network, but she reaches through and flicks it off. She slides down the side of a shop and presses her hand against the lock of the door, forming a flesh-key, hardening it, and turning.

With a 'click', she is in. She withdraws and reforms her hand and appraises the store. She has no need of weaponry when she has her EM-Sabers... except they were linked to her Mako suite and would burn energy to use. She hadn't thought of that. She frowns in annoyance before finding a simple shortsword to use, and puts it on the counter. She fishes around, and is careful with her selection. Like Mother said about Mako, she does not gorge in the store.

She takes the sword and a coat a size too big that goes down a bit below her knees, but helps to cover most of her body. For items, a single hi-potion and a folded tent. She takes one single materia. Five different items, not a major heist, but something perhaps someone taking inventory may simply think had been miscounted prior, if its noticed at all. She adjusts where she took the stuff from, moving things closer to hide the gap her theft had left behind. Then...

Then she notices her boots have a bit of a glow to the front strap.

"Stupid Mako Suit," she mutters to herself.

She finds tape, and a few strands of cloth that it looks like were kept for knitting or something, and wraps them over the mako band at the front of her boots, taping them over. It adds to the unnoticeable urchin look she imagines she'll look like. She considers it for a moment, then takes another two strands and tapes them over the elbows of her jacket, as if its been used and repaired. She carefully scrapes and scratches at her coat with her enhanced strength, morphing her hands into tools, until it looks used. She finds a quarter filled coffee mug left behind on the counter from whoever last worked here, and spills it in selected spots over her jacket to stain it.

She stands back, satisfied, and puts the coat on. She straps the sword across her back, pockets the hi-potion, materia, and folded tent. She does one last pass to make sure nothing stands out, before she leaves, locking the store behind her and re-arming its security alarm. She leaves the town, satisfied, and heads west in silence. She briefly hopes Mother will comment, say she did a good job there taking what she needed and covering her tracks, but she feels Mother's attention is elsewhere. She squashes the disappointment and scolds herself.

She should be able to act without Mother holding her hand. She had already had this revelation back in Deepground before she took it over. Yet she still yearns for the words, burns for Mother's acknowledgement. She shakes her head and fishes out the materia she stole, considering the little bauble, before she pops it into her mouth and swallows, aiming to cover the loss of Mako traveling from Midgar to Kalm, using her EM-Sabers in combat, and changing a little of herself had cost...

She gasps and staggers as the materia dissolves rapidly in her stomach and spreads within her, briefly drawing Mother's focus back from the startlement and pleasure from the sensation. Like pages being turned Mother rifles through her mind and recent memories before giving a flicker of amusement down their connection.

"Its been so long since I first feasted, first tasted Mako like this," mused Mother, "I had forgotten the sensation of it all."

"Does it no longer feel good?" asked Shelke after taking a moment to collect herself.

"It still does, but I'm not surprised by that fact," said Mother, "Yes, its probably for the best your first taste was small, and out here with no one else to notice your reaction."

"Oh."

She squirms a little when she feels Mother begin to refocus elsewhere, wanting her attention to stay. "Is there anything I can help you with Mother aside from heading to Junon? I feel... I feel that you're looking for something?"

"Someone," said Mother, distracted, "And no, nothing for now save your journey. Knowing his paranoia, it is wise to find him first before you come to me, as he may have left security measures and other surprises around my trapped host. I'd rather not risk its incineration considering my inability to control the corpse."

"Who are we looking for?"

"Hojo," said Mother with derision, "The one who claims my powers and gifts are acts of his genius rather than mine."

Anger flares in Shelke's gut on Mother's behalf. "He'll pay."

"For that and more," agrees Mother, "And yet... where is he? How has he hidden himself from me? I have cells in him, slid inside from the various times he handled them for his experiments, yet I cannot find him."

"Where should we look?" asked Shelke, "Should we continue to the Western Continent?"

"Yes," reaffirmed Mother, "We will head to Nibelheim. That is the most likely spot considering his hidden laboratory in the mansion there. If he is not there, then we will search elsewhere."

"As you will, Mother."

"Yes," purred Mother, "Always as I will..."


Aerith wakes up feeling disoriented and a little confused. She shakes her head, and makes to rise, before falling facefirst onto the floor of her apartment.

She hears a snicker from Kunsel. "So, how's the day-after-enhancement so far? Good start?"

She groans. Right, she got her 2nd Class Enhancements. "Not really... why am I so tired? I don't remember this last time. Heck, I barely even remember anything after the injection."

A hand grips her arm and tugs her up. Kunsel plops her back in her bad. "That Vincent guy dropped you off last night, said 'the powers that be learned from last time and knocked you out for your enhancement'."

She blinked and looked up at him. "They knocked me out?"

"That's what he said, what happened last time?"

"I... don't really remember that either?" she admits.

There were no visions this time, so that was nice. Though... it reinforced that Minerva was really gone, absorbed into herself...

She shakes her head and glances around. "Where's Zack? Mission?"

"Naw, he's getting food from the cafeteria to bring back for when you woke up."

She smiled a little before making a face. "Shinra grade mush in bed."

Kunsel's grin peeks out from under his helmet. "Yep."

He cocks his head. "So, 2nd class huh. Word on the SOLDIER Floor is you were involved in a Black Op considering the mission that got you approved for it is classified to hell and back."

Was it? "Word on the floor is probably right."

He pouts. "Not even a hint?"

She considers him for a moment. "As an Ancient, I am aware of certain things that most don't know. One of which is... was...," she considers how to tell the truth without actually doing so, "...a kind of Ancient Superweapon that needed to be neutralized incase it fell into the wrong hands."

"Neutralized and not used?"

"There was no way to use it that wouldn't have massive collateral damage," she said.

"How massive?"

"Blow away Midgar kind of massive."

Kunsel whistles. "Holy hell, I take it that the mission was successful then?"

"Yes."

He nods and makes a zipping motion across his lips. "I'll tease, but never tell."

She gives him a curious look. "People would ask you?"

"People ask me about everything," he said vaguely.

Zack enters the apartment before they can continue, carrying a tray of food. "Oi! Good morning miss 2nd Class! Special delivery!"

"Thank you Zack," she offered with a smile before 'digging in'.

Bleh.

"So, as a reminder," said Zack, wagging a finger at her, "You are on rest all day after enhancements."

"I have zero problem with that," she answered, nestling back under the covers after handing off the emptied tray.

"We'll check in occasionally through the day, gonna take a quick slum mission and be back in a few hours, see ya," he said before zooming out.

Kunsel huffed and tipped his helmet. "Have a nice nap."

She tried to.

But a newer level of enhancement made annoyingly difficult to doze away. Footsteps and conversations echoed louder and farther for her. Her own breathing sounded like wind in her ear. It had become easier over time to tune out her enhanced hearing to a level of background noise after her first enhancement. Its likely it would be another transition period until she managed to do it again. She ended up just casting sleep on herself...

She blinked awake later, rubbed her eyes and briefly saw an empty room, eyes flickering to take in a clock that read only a few hours later before she hit herself with another sleep...

The next time, Zack was back clicking away on his PHS laying down on his bed. "How'd the mission go?"

He looked up briefly and shrugged. "Was just a little monster extermination."

"It makes it safer down there."

"It does," he agreed, "By the way, Angeal told me to tell you to check your phone before you go anywhere tomorrow. That Crawford guy apparently wants to see you?"

Aerith groaned. "Ugh, why?"

"Dunno."

She grumbled and fished out her PHS, read the message, and whined, "Glass exercises tomorrow because of my new enhancement level. Oh come on!"

"Glass what?"

"Its a control exercise," she said, sighing, "I've got to move glass cups from a cart to a table without breaking them. Its frustrating. Satisfying when you actually do it, but insanely frustrating before."

He gave her a skeptical look. "It can't be that bad."

She raised a challenging eyebrow. "By all means, join me for it tomorrow."

He grinned. "That a challenge 'rith? Wanna make a bet on it?"

She smiles with just a hint of menace to it. "By all means, lets bet..."


When Aerith walks into a familiar training room with nothing but a table and a cart of glass cups, she smiles at the raised eyebrow Crawford gives her. "You brought friends I see. Is there a reason for this?"

"Well, Zack here said this exercise cant possibly be that hard, and Kunzel wants to watch," she said with cheer.

Crawford sighs. "Hewely's boy wouldn't know careful if it bit him in the ass."

"Hey!"

"By all means then," said Crawdford, motioning to the glasses, "Prove me wrong."

Aerith slowly smiled as Zack walked without a care, grabbed the topmost glass, and instantly shattered it. "OW! What the hell? These aren't reinforced at all!"

"That's the point," said Crawford dryly, "Congratulations Fair, you've broken a glass in a public party and spilled it all over a department head."

Zack rolled his eyes and started picking pieces of glass out of his hand, dumping them randomly into glasses on the cart with a 'tink'. "Pff, as if they have anything but reinforced stuff at those parties. Angeal said they learned that lesson years ago."

"Lets say Shinra isn't hosting the party then," said Crawford, "Lets take it up a notch and say were requested to accompany the President and a few of the directors to a negotiation with the Wutai, and you end up breaking their fine china and spilling it all over a foreign dignitary? Not to mention the force of you breaking the glass could easily send a fragment out at fast enough speeds with enough force to at least pierce skin. Perhaps nothing fatal, but certainly embarrassing for the company, and enough to cause offense."

"Oh come on, I'm just a third class, why would I..."

"You are Hewely's mentee, and with that position comes responsibility," said Crawford sharply, "If he is requested at such a thing, and the President surely would take his top SOLDIERs as a show of power, you would be expected to go with him and behave yourself accordingly. I had assumed Hewely would be covering this, but it would seem general training and the war took effort."

That got a scowl from Zack. "Angeal teaches me just fine. I know when to be careful with unenhanced people."

Crawford wags a finger at his bloody hand. "Not careful enough. All it takes Fair, is one slip up, one mistake. I've hammered this into Gainsborough's head enough times that all it takes is one moment of lapsed control, and you can break a hand, damage property, kill someone accidently. You've got parents, what if you in your excitement to see them you hugged them at your full strength? You would likely break them in half, either killing them or causing massive internal damage that will cripple them for the rest of their life."

Zack is quiet for a moment before huffing and trying for another glass.

Aerith's smile has since faded, feeling a little uncomfortable at how solemn and morose Zack suddenly seems at Crawford's warning. So, she merely steps to the other side of the cart and tries her hand at the exercise with her new strength...