Again, the RULER doesn't work. I don't think it ever will again. There's probably some permenant error now.
RULER
Wonderful…I had almost forgotten how I loved this part of the job…
Ragnar finished off another high caffeine soda. After that, he leaned on the table he was seated at and tried to stay awake. He let out a rather loud yawn while doing so. His gaze drooped, and rested on several objects in front of them. Most of them were his scrawled notes, although he had time to type of some of them. A few of them were more official papers he had to sign, as well as new orders that were the first in getting the people back into Midgar. It was going to be a real chore…but it had to be done as quickly and smoothly as possible. Already, things were getting bad in the overcrowded Kalm. He had a feeling a lot of the people wouldn't believe how the eruption had been stopped…not that he was intending on telling them how exactly. As a result, many people would be furious at them, wondering why they had them evacuate at all. But that would have to be dealt with in time.
The army was about twenty percent reinstalled in Midgar at the moment. That was enough for Ragnar to move back in to his old conference hall. He was alone in it for now, seated at the long meeting table and pouring over his notes. It was funny. He had been in here four days ago…and yet it seemed like years. Everything that had happened since they started this mission seemed crazy. Of course, remembering that made him remember one major player who hadn't been seen since the City of the Ancients. Exactly where was Bahamut…and what had frightened him so…?
The door creaked open, causing Ragnar to turn and see who it was. Over the edge of the table, he saw a small tongue of flame darting two and fro. Because of that, he immediately recognized who it had to be. The monstrous beast known best as Red XIII finished plodding his way up to Ragnar's side, and came to a halt.
"Yes, General?" He asked him.
Ragnar motioned down. "Please, Colonel. Sit."
"So long as you don't attempt to award me a treat for obeying." Red XIII dryly answered as he did so. Sitting at a chair was useless. He was too heavy for one. A cushion didn't help either, because then his head was barely clearing the edge of the table. About the best he could do was put his rear down like he normally did.
Ragnar smiled a bit at Red XIII's joke, and then leaned back slightly and faded back into a regular look.
"I wanted to say…thank you for everything." The youth began. "I know you've been pulling a lot of weight…namely weight that I've dropped behind for someone to pick up. Even though things worked out in the end, that doesn't mean that I could just up and leave and abandon the army to go on this quest. And after I came back, I could have had least contributed an hour or two before going off again. I dumped this army in your lap, and expected everything to be ok when I was finished. That wasn't fair to you. I just want you to know that you've been an excellent help, and I am very grateful for your patience and leadership over the past few days."
When Ragnar ended, Red XIII's mouth formed a small smile. He gave a single nod to the general, and on looking up sighed slowly.
"…What do you need, Ragnar?"
The youth blanched slightly. Saw right through him, it seemed. Well, at any rate, Red XIII was in a good mood, and he appeared to be taking his apology well even knowing that Ragnar already wanted something else. In the end, the youth licked his lips, and then turned back to his notes.
"I've been running around most of the night, going to the various prisoners and people who were involved in this huge mess, trying to get some rational story out of it all." The youth began. "I've written down and edited the story a dozen times at least. Everyone seemed to get everyone else's motives wrong."
Red XIII inched his way a bit closer, so that he could look over the edge and at the notes. "What did you find?"
"Here's the best that I can figure. Somehow…someone told the New Shinra about what we were doing…namely, me and Cloud going after Aerith. I don't know who tipped it off, or how much they said, but it indicated that Aerith was still alive. Because of that, the New Shinra and the Turks both came after us. Once we brought Aerith back to life and started to bring her home, the Turks ambushed us and tried to grab her.
"Here's the first real weird part. A lot of this story seems to center in on that one woman that calls herself Krystea Anne Valentine. At this point…I have no idea if that's her real name. She seems to think that Aerith is her sister. She's the new Turk, but she knew that New Shinra would experiment on Aerith if they brought her back, so she double-crossed her own team and took Aerith out on their stealth helicopter. As for the Turks…they were stuck on the Sierra now over PPA enemy lines. They had no choice but to use it to look for Krystea. For some reason…they decided not to kill me and Cloud but shove us in that closet instead.
"Krystea's helicopter only takes them as far as Midgar's outskirts, so she and Aerith hotfoot it from there. She tells Aerith that she thinks they're sisters. From what I've gathered, Aerith still believes her. While they're there…some sort of mutated group attacks them. I have no idea who these people are, but from what I've gained only twenty have shown their faces so far. There may only be twenty of them. They probably would have gotten busted by them if it wasn't for Vincent and Zola. Vincent came into the camp earlier trying to find me to sign up. When he heard the helicopter land, he followed its passengers, suspecting something was up. As for Zola, he says he saw these mutants crawl up out of the woodwork literally, and so he busted out to tail them. It was a good thing to. It turns out he saved Aerith and Krystea, but they used the opportunity to keep running and flee the city. He and Vincent killed two of them, bringing their number down to eighteen. Neither Zola nor Vincent know anything about each other, so neither of them really trusts the other one. When Vincent tails the girls to find out what this was about, Zola goes after him too to keep tabs on him.
"The Turks hear a message on the radio that I assume was meant for me, then they abandon the Sierra and join the chase. Cid finds me and Cloud stuck in the Sierra and lets us out, and then we enact our own plan. Meanwhile, the girls go to Junon the long way, but get ambushed by the Turks when they're coming out of the Mythril Mines. That's when more of the mutants show up and do a number on them. But then…that's when Aerith flexes some sort of new power… She teleports herself and Krystea away after incinerating five of the mutants. Vincent and Zola arrive too late and head for Junon to head them off. Once the Turks recover enough, they do the same.
"Aerith and Krystea stop over in Fort Condor, then head for Junon to get a boat. Aerith says that she senses something bad is going to happen in Midgar, and convinces Krystea to let her go back. When they get to a boat, that's when every other group that's been involved so far collides. The mutants got away, but we ended up being the big winners. At that point, the eruption is about to happen, and Aerith shows that her new powers are even stronger than we thought. She totally burns out her energy, but she somehow stops the eruption, and is unconscious until we find her. Once we do, we bring her back to Tifa and Cloud's place…and the rest is history."
Red couldn't resist throwing in a comment here. "…It was generous of Tifa to give up her bed."
Ragnar frowned a bit at that. "Yeah…only it set off a chain. Cloud, of course, gave up his bed to Tifa, and then me, feeling guilty as I am and already living in the man's house, give up the couch to him. That leaves me stuck on the floor. But it's not like I've slept since yesterday morning anyway…"
"Do you trust Zola?"
"Stupid as you may think it sounds…I do. Aside from that one time, I've got little reason to believe he isn't loyal to me. And he has Vincent backing him up."
"If so…then it seems the main items of question reside in what those creature were, who they were working for…and who is Krystea Anne Valentine."
Ragnar paused. Red XIII had pretty much hit the nail on the head. Those things were still what stood out in his mind. He leaned back a bit in his chair and crossed his arms in front of him.
"…There's little I can confirm." He stated. "I know she carries a rather large gun and she's good with it, and that she's a member of the Turks. She joined sometime in the past two years. They went recruiting after Tseng disappeared."
Red XIII raised an eyebrow. "Disappeared, you say?" He asked aloud. "I wasn't aware of that. But to tell the truth…until two years ago, I thought he was deceased, left for dead in the Temple of the Ancients. Somehow he must have survived and restored himself to health…but if he's gone again then I'm at a loss."
"Based on her last name, her ability to use a gun, and what she claims is true…she was adopted by Vincent Valentine's family when she was a little girl. She claims she was sexually and physically abused in that family, and that Vincent used to defend her. When she was old enough, she disowned her family and never came back, and followed in her brother's footsteps for marksmanship. However, she was essentially a free agent when the Turks picked her up."
"Well, that story is obviously a lie." Red XIII simply answered. "Vincent Valentine spent thirty years inside a coffin. At the bare minimum, that would mean that for her story to be true, Krystea has to be about thirty four years old. She can't be much older than twenty."
"That…plus the fact that Vincent came out and told me that he had no idea who she was." Ragnar threw in. "But the other story is unbelievable too. She and the Turks claim they have a transcript of a buggy file which shows that Krystea's real story was being kept from her. That names her parents as Ilfana of the Cetra and Shinra's old Professor Gast. That's why she thinks that Aerith is her sister. She thinks Ilfana was carrying her when she fled Icicle Inn."
Red XIII paused for a moment. He leaned back a little and let out an exhale.
"Well…out of the two, this story is at least plausible. It is perfectly possible that Ilfana was pregnant again at the time of leaving Icicle Inn. At least in this scenario, the ages match more closely. And the physical resemblance cannot be denied.
"But…this story too is full of holes. Krystea appears to be younger than Aerith. Aerith has been dead for four years, during which time she ceased aging. When I saw her in bed, she was the same twenty-two year old I knew four years ago. This would have given Krystea enough time to 'catch up' with her and surpass her. There's a logical element to it. The fact that a ruthless, vicious man such as Hojo would have let a detail like Krystea slip out and devote all of his energy to Aerith instead merits explanation. For years, he knew more about Aerith and her family than we did. Then there's the most confusing item of all. Aerith was only a child when she could hear the voices of the Lifestream. If Krystea truly is a Cetra, then she should have been expected to develop her abilities without any assistance, just as Aerith did."
"The truly crazy thing is that both of these stories have some elements of truth in them." Ragnar went on. "After I heard what Vincent said, I gave Krystea a slight interrogation. To both my surprise as well as Vincent's, she accurately recalled specific events that happened in his past, with the exception being she is part of them as well. Her birth certificate in old Midgar files records her as being adopted by the Valentines. At the same time, Aerith claims she managed to establish a link with the Planet back in Fort Condor. She also claims that there is a link between them."
Red XIII frowned slightly. "…I'm sorry to say that those latter events can be dismissed as mere mind tricks and coincidences, purely in the realm of being psychosomatic. I might do so outright…were it not for the fact that I know Aerith is not prone to such things."
"She believes that Krystea is her sister." Ragnar answered. "She has no doubts. But that only makes things worse. According to Krystea, both of these stories are true. But like you said…there's no way that's possible. At the time that Vincent Valentine was locked away, it was still another five years before Professor Gast and Ilfana would even meet. I'm not even sure Ilfana could have children before that. She was pretty young from what I heard…"
Ragnar stopped after this, and turned his head to Red XIII. "That brings me to this point, Nanaki. I need someone else's view on this. How can both of these stories be true? Or one of them for that matter? And who's telling the truth?"
Red XIII leaned back a bit more and straightened himself out. He had a bit of a pensive look on his face. However, he had been thinking of these facts as Ragnar had listed them. That was the advantage of being so intelligent…or at least one advantage. As such, he didn't have to think long after Ragnar had posed the question. He only adjusted his weight before speaking up again.
"Do you honestly believe that one of them is lying?"
Ragnar hesitated at that. He bowed his head for a moment and thought. He frowned in the end.
"…I don't know. The Turks could be…but they seemed genuine enough when I talked to them. And anything regarding Krystea got confirmed by her. Of course, she could be lying too…but Aerith trusts her. And I have no reason to doubt Vincent…" He paused a bit longer, but then gave a shrug.
"…Actually…I don't."
Red XIII made a "hmm" sound and leaned back a bit more. "So…none of them are lying."
"Well, one of them has to be." Ragnar answered. "This doesn't make sense."
"Not necessarily." Red XIII answered. "It's not the same as lying as to be saying something you don't know is false. I know that better than most people. I do not consider Cloud having lied to us when he told us his story, because he believed it was true and knew no other truth. And so, we might be able to conclude that everyone is telling the truth about her, at least in their own estimation."
Ragnar frowned. "That doesn't help much. So who can we prove false?"
"I think only one person fits that criteria." Red XIII immediately answered. "I'm not sure how much detail you have been omitting…but much of Krystea's story is full of vague generalities. If I had to hazard a guess…for one reason or another, I'd say that she never truly considered the logicity of her story. If she did, she would have realized that the time frame was impossible."
Ragnar was still confused, and shrugged. "But…why wouldn't she do that? How could she not?"
"Quite simple." Red XIII continued. "The same reason Cloud could never think about it until it was staring him in the face. A part of her subconsciousness refuses to see it. Perhaps it was severely traumatic. I haven't talked with her personally, but the abuse she spoke of might have been real. That could cause memory problems. But I've seen this before. Cloud couldn't remember several months of his life because of his inability to cope with what he viewed as a failure to save Tifa and Zack. It was better to leave the story 'unended' and incomplete rather than be faced with what failures he had."
Ragnar thought about this, and realized that it did make sense. He leaned back a bit and crossed his arms in his chair. He supposed that interrogating Krystea again would go a long way…as well as pointing out the obvious flaws in her story. But was it wise? He wasn't sure… He had heard Cloud's story before. He realized the folly in his memory long before Tifa was finally able to get him to remember the truth. The result nearly killed him…and, frankly, the world as well. Maybe, for now, it would be best just to let the matter sit. It was more important to decide what would be done with the Turks rather than dissect this woman's past.
The youth sighed. "…These mutant creatures don't bode well with me either."
Realizing the change in subject, Red XIII turned his attention back to Ragnar again.
"Zola claims he saw them crawling right out from the sewers and coming out from piles of garbage." Ragnar went on. "They dress just like homeless people. I can see how easy it would be for them to run around this city without ever having to worry about alerting anyone. And they seemed to know their way around as well. This means we have some other faction of…things…crawling around us in Midgar, and none of us knows who they are."
"They obviously wanted Aerith." Red XIII suggested.
"Not just her." Ragnar went on. "According to what they said, they wanted Krystea too."
Hearing this, Red XIII's one good eye raised its eyebrow.
"…That's interesting."
"I don't know who they're working for or what's their angle, but it doesn't seem to coincide with New Shinra. All we could hear is that they're working with some doctor…"
Ragnar hesitated at that. He remembered the old stories…about one particular doctor. The thought made him pale. He turned a bit back to the beast. "You don't suppose…"
Red XIII shook his head. "Not only did we kill the lifeform he mutated himself into, we incinerated it. It was really the only way to survive it, as it continued to regenerate into a new body each time we killed it. Although…" He paused here, and leveled his gaze with a nod. "I will agree. This does sound like his handiwork."
"This would be just what we needed." Ragnar added with a sigh. "Some nut running around under our feet taking up that professor's old handiwork."
"For now, I think the only thing you can do is be more vigilant." Red XIII suggested. "Until we know more, there's little we can do other than try to search the city as best we can, and keep tight security on Aerith. Other than that, we should just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Of course, much of this can wait until after we've finished dealing with the Turks and our new POWs."
On hearing this, Ragnar's memory was suddenly sparked. "That reminds me…" He said aloud. "Yesterday, before you saw we had Aerith, you were going to tell me something. What was it?"
Red XIII paused. Ragnar continued to look at him, and saw that a wave of changed emotion suddenly went over him. His jaw slackened a moment, and for a few seconds he was caught off guard. It appeared he was just remembering it himself. Ragnar forgave him for that. After all, it had been a trying and busy couple of days. But now that he remembered it…his mouth shut and his expression became somewhat grimmer and firmer.
"…Thank you for reminding me." Red XIII answered. "But I think that all of us, not just you, should be present before we show what, or who, we found."
RULER
"…You failed."
Fen hissed slightly as he heard that scolding remark come from their unwilling "master". The rest of his comrades did much the same, slinking down, hiding, or making some sort of cringing remark. They were all gathered around on the wire grating that made up most of the floor of this circular chamber. In the center, where it became sheet metal again, Dr. Hoeng was seated at the console of the machine he was working on…what he worked on endlessly morning, noon, and night…the machine that the thirteen ones who were left hated more than anything else, and yet dared not destroy. This entire platform was suspended in a deep, open, cylindrical space, on a thinner column in the middle. It gave the impression that they were floating in some sort of futuristic tunnel. Of course…Hoeng was on the stable part, while they were on the metal mesh near the edge, accenting their "inferiority".
Hoeng's hand went for a nearby case. He kept this on him at all times. Fen took notice of it more than once. There was a chance that they could make Hoeng turn them back if they stole that from him… But to do so was nearly impossible. Hoeng had already given them all shocking implants. And even if they did, Hoeng had demonstrated before his ability of brinksmanship…and it was far superior to their own. And so, Fen just stood there with his friends and watched as Hoeng undid the clasps and opened the case. He emerged with a hypodermic gun, and a small bottle of liquid. He inserted this into the gun, and then set it to one side as he reached to his sleeve and began to roll it up.
"You should consider yourselves martyrs." He continued. "You are all such terrible failures, despite all I have given you, that I will make sure to never create any more of your kind again. You couldn't even keep my other specimen from escaping."
"It wasn't like we failed on purpose…" Fen finally managed to growl. Here, in this place, he was free to show his true face. It was uncovered and facing Dr. Hoeng now. His face was that of a horrible twisted man-wolf creature, not totally a werewolf but more like some face pounded and molded into a partial wolf face. At any rate, the one lupine eye glared at Hoeng, and his crooked jaw was clenched and snarling. "We lost seven of our friends trying to get your damn subjects…"
"If you meant what you said earlier, Fen…" Hoeng darkly answered as he took the gun up again. "That you would rather die than be forced to live like you are now…then I suggest you follow their lead and die before coming back next time. Because, whether I or you like it or not, you have a time limit on this."
With that, the man jabbed the gun into his arm and pulled the trigger. The fluid immediately went rushing into his body. He grunted once in response, held his breath for a moment…and then let out a large sigh at last as he relaxed. After doing so, he pulled the gun away and began to return it to the case.
"I meant what I said earlier. You can spend the rest of your days like this if you fail to bring me Aerith and Krystea. However…what I might have neglected to mention is something about my…condition. It turns out that the DNA more aggressively attacks me the more I suppress it. It is currently progressing on an exponential growth curve. I estimate by the end of this month, I'll have to give myself two injections a day. As you all might imagine…that puts a strain on my supply of serum. I estimate I have about two months left right now. That leaves you all two choices. Either you find me more serum, which you have all assured me on multiple occasions that you were unable to…or you bring those women to me by that time. Rest assured…if I don't restore you before then, I'll no longer have the mentality or physical capability of doing so."
The group stiffened at that. Even Nimrod, who had been foolish enough to try and attack Hoeng just last week, began to quiver and swallow. Fen himself broke out into a sweat. He couldn't bear the thought of that… He had purposely smudged up every reflective surface in the whole structure simply so that he couldn't see his horrible face, and consciously avoided touching it. To be stuck with that forever…it was too much.
"Now…don't take this as a pass to run about helter skelter killing yourselves to get them." Hoeng went on as he reached to his arm and began to roll it down. "You'll only end up exposing us and furthering along your own fates. You should take this time to try and improve your combat ability, so that you won't be so easily defeated next time."
Fen growled at that. It wasn't a lack of skill that stopped them…but a lack of foresight. They didn't know they'd be ambushed, or that the witch had powers like that. He felt like killing her next time he saw her…only he knew that Hoeng would call the deal off if she was permenantly damaged in any way. She had to be intact. That was why Arana and Erea had gone along on that party. But she must have escaped. And now, they had no way of tranquilizing or immobilizing their targets…
Hoeng finished restoring his sleeve, and turned to the large member of their group. "In the meantime…Nimrod, bring me Specimen NA. I'm going to try and add echinoderm DNA to it today."
RULER
Aerith was feeling much stronger the next morning when she heard the door to Tifa's room open. She had still be resting, and had her eyes closed. But she had been sleeping so much that she didn't feel much like lying still much longer. And so, she opened them and looked to see who was coming in. She immediately smiled when she saw a familiar face.
"It is you! You came back!"
Aerith kept smiling. "Hello, Marlene."
The girl didn't stay in the doorway long. Once seeing Aerith, she ran up to her bed side and threw her arms around her. Aerith returned the hug as best she could. It still took an effort to move her limbs. In many ways, it was worse than before. Before, she was just out of practice. Now she felt like she had…broken something… But she didn't worry about that right now. She just hugged the girl.
Marlene broke away from her at last, but kept holding her hands and smiling at her. "I remembered hearing you back at Kalm, and back with the Geostigma. I knew you were still alright. I knew you'd come back one day."
Aerith hesitated at that, but hid her feelings behind her smile. Marlene, at this point, had to be old enough to start getting a true concept of death. But when Aerith initially died, she was too young to realize it. Coupled with the fact that she had made several "appearances" even after she died, and Marlene might have reached the conclusion that she was, in fact, still alive in some way. She supposed that the group never came out and told her exactly what had happened… But she didn't press it now. After all, there was little need.
"My…" She remarked, looking over the girl. "How you've grown… I hardly recognize you." She looked up to her hair afterward, and noticed the style. She cracked a bit more of a smile at that. "…And what's that you've done with your hair?"
Marlene merely grinned in reply, and reached behind her head and brought the tail around for Aerith to see. "Do you like it, Aerith? It's the same way you used to tie your hair. I even got a ribbon just like yours."
It was indeed. It was just like it. But to wear ones hair like that took considerable time to grow it out. Marlene's hair was much shorter the last time she saw it. That meant that this wasn't a spur of the moment thing, but that Marlene had been doing this for a while. Aerith was surprised. She hadn't known Marlene long… She didn't realize she had left such an impression on her. And then there's what she just said… Marlene seemed to have some sort of insight into her at times. She knew, despite how hard it was for even adults to understand, that she had been behind major events in the world. That too struck Aerith as strange. Perhaps somewhere inside her, Marlene had some traces of Cetra blood…
The door creaked again. Both Aerith and Marlene turned and looked, and saw a boy about the girl's age. He was being shy at the moment, holding back slightly behind the door. His hair was a bit overgrown and messy, but it looked as if the boy was vainly trying to emulate a certain spiky-haired style that Aerith had seen on only one other person…
"Come in, Denzel!" Marlene encouraged. "This is Aerith! She's the one I told you about. She's the one who took away the Geostigma."
The boy looked a bit more nervous, but in the end went around the door and walked in. He came up to Aerith's bedside and came to a stop. "…Hello." He managed, although he was rather quiet about it.
"Hello there, Denzel." Aerith answered. Despite what Marlene had said, Aerith was ashamed to admit she didn't remember this boy. She vaguely remembered seeing close to a hundred children playing in the fountain that her church turned into…and Cloud specifically lowered one boy out of all of them into it, but she didn't remember what he looked like. However, she assumed this was the one. Obviously, he was much more at ease around kids his own age than adults. But it only figured. She was a stranger. Besides…if he truly lived with Cloud, and idolized him as it appeared, then it only made sense that he could take up some of his characteristics…
"So, you live with Cloud and Tifa?" She asked him.
Denzel nodded.
"So I guess you're friends with Marlene."
Denzel gave another nod at that.
Aerith paused a moment. She tried to think of a way to get the boy to open up more. She decided to try something.
"…I hear you're friends with Cloud."
Denzel looked up a bit at this, and then gave another nod. "Yeah."
"I guess he and his big sword can be kind of cool some times."
"Cool?" Denzel answered back, suddenly getting excited. "He's awesome! He can lift those swords over his head and do all kinds of moves and tricks without getting tired! He can beat up a hundred bad guys with machine guns all by himself! He can ride a motorcycle better than anyone I've ever seen! No one can beat him! I bet he could take all the New Shinra guys on by himself! He's the best swordsman in the world!"
Aerith smiled in response to this. "…I bet if you learned how to use a sword, you'd be pretty tough too."
His ego stroked, Denzel broke into a grin. "Heh…yeah, I sure would. I'd love to. I want to go and swing around a sword like Cloud does. I want to do all those moves he shows me. I want to be just as strong as him. Then maybe we could kick butt together." He beamed in excitement for a moment after proclaiming this, but then sighed and went a bit downcast, forming a frown.
"…But he said I'm too young to play with swords." Denzel grumbled. "I could practice with a wooden one like some kids do, but he won't let me do that either."
Aerith paused. She could see where Cloud might feel that way. After all, perhaps he thought that if Denzel took the path of wanting to be a great warrior, he might end up like him. And he knew that learning to use a weapon well would only eventually mean he'd be good at ending lives… That was a scary thought. However…Denzel was not Cloud. He didn't have his upbringing or his crushing feelings of inferiority. He was loved and had friends. And violent as his claims had been a moment ago, Aerith felt that Denzel would also like to know how to use a weapon to be able to defend himself and those he loved. And considering the dangerous lives that Cloud and Tifa had, that might not be such a bad idea.
In the end, the Cetra leaned forward a bit, still smiling. "Well, I'll tell you what." She suggested. "I've known Cloud a long time. I'll see if I can't get him to let you at least practice swinging or on a dummy."
Denzel's eyebrows raised at this, his enthusiasm growing. "You will?"
Aerith nodded.
"Alright!" Denzel cried for joy. "Thanks a lot!"
One might argue that bribing was hardly a good way to win friends, and with very good reason. However, at the moment, Aerith considered it a good way to break the ice. Now, Denzel had a reason to like her and talk to her. As the boy tried to contain his excitement, Marlene leaned in and spoke up again.
"Hey Aerith…we brought someone else along we want you to meet." She began. "He's waiting outside. Tifa said he shouldn't have come, and that he should stay back in Kalm until she got back. But Denzel said he was lonely and he wanted to stay with him. So he snuck out and followed us. He's Denzel's new friend. He's nice, but he's really quiet and shy."
Denzel, on hearing Marlene mention his friend, turned and looked to the open doorway. "Come on in, Azure."
After a pause…a hand slowly and tentatively reached out from an oversized coat sleeve and pushed at the door, opening it just a little bit more. Aerith looked up to see the new arrival, as did Marlene and Denzel as they turned. Slowly, he rounded the corner and looked inside, revealing his full face to Aerith for her to examine completely.
RULER
The boy had that same shade silver hair…the same pale green eyes…and, frankly, many strong facial features that indicated a handsome and strong person. Despite how young he was, and despite how innocent and timid he looked, one needed only look at his eyes and see how steady and deep they were, to tell that he had great intelligence and wisdom already.
"Everyone…this is who Denzel met two days ago. He calls himself Azure."
The room was totally silent, all nine people present. Although the original group at last had all of its members back together, Aerith was still resting. As for everyone else on that original mission, plus Ragnar…for he was earning his place among their ranks…they stared open eyed and silent at the overhead projection. Red XIII had the foresight to take the picture which Tifa had snapped, blown it up, and then placed onto a transparency. Now, that young face was there for all of them to see…for all of them to be faced with the obviousness of who this boy had to be related to in some way…
Cid chomped on the end of his cigarette, glaring with his normal surly and rough look at the transparency. In the end, he plucked it from his mouth. "Why the hell didn't you tell us this two days ago?"
Tifa didn't care much for Cid's tone of voice, but she proceeded to explain. "Well…I'm sorry if the fact that a friend I thought has been dead for four years, and everything about her return, sort of swept this aside."
"Ya' ain't lettin' Marlene anywhere around him, are ya'?" Barret suddenly spoke up. His voice too was a bit too aggressive for Tifa's likes. However, she knew Barret well enough to know that it was more out of fear than anger. He was one of those men who didn't like to get sad or afraid…but chase away their fear with rage.
Needless to say…Tifa didn't bother to explain what had happened. She didn't tell Denzel her fears of this boy. For one, she hadn't been alone with him long enough. For another, she was a bit afraid…afraid that the boy might stop being friendly and turn hostile if Denzel suspected him… Because of this, she had stepped aside a moment too long and allowed Denzel to introduce Marlene…
"No. I'm not." Tifa lied. "The kids should be coming home about now. I left Azure in the care of the medical personnel at Kalm's medical clinics."
"And he just…did what you told him?" Cait Sith asked. "He didn't…I dunno…start slicing people up the moment you walked in there?"
"Cait Sith…" Red XIII answered with a bit of a sigh and rolling of his eyes. "Just because this boy shares a resemblance, and probably a lot more, with Sephiroth does not mean that he is Sephiroth. You can't expect him to behave in the same manner."
"His behavior is what gets me." Tifa went on. "He's been as timid as a lost puppy since I've met him. He's scared of almost everyone. It's only because Denzel caught him off guard that he managed to talk with him and bring him in. He was terrified of the medical clinic. He nearly degenerated right there. I still left him anyway. That was the only place I could put him to get the kids away from him. He had been shot before, and the wound was badly infected."
Barret snorted. "Serves 'im right. Somebody prob'ly got the right idea when he was pullin' somethin' he wasn't supposed ta' be doin'. We should finish the job."
Tifa stiffened a bit at that, feeling unease ripple through her. Sure…she didn't like this boy that much. She had given him a berth, but only a small one. She wished she could be rid of him, or that he would wander off and never come back. But…to actually kill a child was something else. That thought hadn't entered her mind…
"He's probably given you all this 'poor me' sh't so that we'll feel sorry for him, then he'll turn around and do God knows what." Cid agreed. "Probably best to just get rid of him."
"Whoa…whoa…" Yuffie suddenly interjected, putting her hands up in a stopping gesture, and turning to Barret and Cid. "And you guys call me the one without a conscience… You just want to walk right up to that kid and whack him?"
"It ain't no kid. It's one of them damn Sephiroth larva." Barret retorted.
"Technically, we don't know that." Red XIII answered back. "We know very little about this boy or his background, and we won't until we can test him further."
"Well, based on what he's told me so far, I don't think he'll enjoy being a lab rat." Tifa threw back in. "He's scared of being imprisoned or tested."
"Well tough for him." Cid snorted. "Tell him to do it or die."
Yuffie snorted again. "Oh yeah…make Tifa do that. Big tough guy…don't you have enough courage to look some kid in the eye and tell him to either do something he's terrified of doing or you'll skewer him on a spear?"
"Why the hell you defendin' the lil' bastard?" Barret suddenly snorted at the ninja. "What? You like the idea of another Sephiroth?"
"The thing's already gotten himself shot for doing something wrong." Cid added. "That's dangerous enough for me."
Tifa sighed and began to interject. "He says he got shot because-"
"Don't call him a thing."
Everyone in the room froze at that. They turned to see who had spoken. At first, they looked to Cloud. They thought he would have said something by now…or that he would have been throwing hysterics and calling for the kid's blood. To their surprise…he was seeming calm and controlled, and was leaning in his seat with his head propped on one arm. His eyes were focused on the image. The next likely person seemed to be Vincent, who's bond with Sephiroth was much closer. In another life, he might have been the madman's father. But he too was perfectly silent, and seeming to be almost uninterested in the conversation. No…who had spoken was someone else.
It was Ragnar.
His own face was dark and firm, but his voice was normal enough as he shook his head. "I don't like that."
However, telling Cid to curb his behavior was inviting trouble. The captain turned a bit more in his chair and focused on the general. "Really? And why not, general?" He accented this last word, almost as if to tell the youth he was overstepping Cid's personal bounds.
"When you call him a thing…you start thinking of him as being subhuman, not a feeling, thinking organism like you and me." Ragnar answered. "I don't like that."
Well meaning as this was intended…it soon sparked anger.
Barret growled. "And what the hell would you know 'bout it, you damn kid! You weren't ever runnin' 'round with us! You never got in a fight with him!"
"As far as I'm concerned, that thing is a subhuman. It's a damn monster." Cid answered back. "And I don't think anything about killin' monsters."
Cait Sith swallowed, but was more subtle. "They got a point, general. Sephiroth never thought about anyone else. He only ever thought of his own power. The most innocent life was so much trash to him. If he takes up his old habits, then no one will be safe."
"That's just it." Ragnar answered back. "That's what you're all saying. You all keep telling me that this boy is Sephiroth. Not a failed clone, not an experiment, not even his own individual…but that he's Sephiroth himself. Now we don't know any of that. Sure, like you say, he could be lying. But what if he isn't? I'm guessing what Tifa was about to say was that someone went off and shot this kid as soon as he saw him because he looked like Sephiroth. Just because he's that in appearance doesn't mean he's really him. Cloud was considered to be a Sephiroth clone himself once."
He even went so far as to give Sephiroth the Black Materia. Ragnar felt like throwing in. However, out of respect for his friend, he didn't. He didn't want to drag up that old past. Everyone knew it anyway.
"But we all know Cloud and who he really is, the kind of great man he is despite what happened to him. Now what if you all hadn't been around him when he turned? Would you be acting like this now? Would you want him dead just like this kid?"
"The general has a point." Red XIII threw in. "Think about it logically. The Sephiroth we know would never allow himself to be shot or injured without terrible retribution. And I doubt that in his infinite egomania he would ever be able to demean himself enough to grovel and take pain as this one has done. Furthermore, if he was truly in the 'grip of Jenova', so to speak, then he would probably consider it a greater insult to his 'mother' to feign ignorance as opposed to speaking proudly of her. Kadaj and his 'brothers' certainly acted that way."
Cait Sith still looked unconvinced. Barret and Cid were still sour, Barret most of all. "Somehow did I wander into the Sephiroth fan club?" He snorted out loud. Afterward, he shook his head. "Sh't…" He turned around soon after and looked to Cloud. "Hey Spiky…you listenin' ta' this? What's your take? Don't you think we should get rid of him?"
Ragnar turned back to Cloud again. Once more…he was a bit surprised. Cloud still hadn't reacted that much. He was staying quiet and still, almost as much as Vincent. Even when everyone turned to him he wouldn't speak right away. In the end, he looked down a bit and slowly exhaled.
"…If what happened two years ago hadn't happened, then maybe I'd be for killing him." Cloud slowly spoke at last. "…But I watched Kadaj die in my arms. Until that point…I thought he was just some demented little psycho. Some pawn of Sephiroth's. Yet at the end…" Cloud hesitated again at that, and slowly inhaled and exhaled.
"…He seemed so…pitiable." He finally answered. "He was like some…lost, confused, lonely child…and he had done this because it was the only thing that gave him some measure of peace or sense of purpose. And I remembered the same thing…back when I thought I was just a clone of Sephiroth. Feeling so empty…so worthless…like nothing I felt or thought mattered…like I was a faceless nobody." The ex-mercenary paused at this. Then…abruptly, he gave a small snort.
"…I actually felt happy for him…when he found his peace at the end."
"Cloud…" Tifa began to say, her own face turning anxious at this.
Barret, on his part, rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath. "I don't believe this… Even Spiky-Ass is goin' soft on him…"
"I still think he's dangerous." Cloud threw in, with a bit more volume. "Don't get me wrong about that. Even if he's clean right now. What I really want to know is where he came from and how he got here. I never even figured out where the other Sephiroth larve came from. At the time…I thought it might not matter. I was more concerned about having the Geostigma cured and being finished with the Sephiroth larve that were still running around. Yet seeing as there's still at least one more out there…I think it's time to get this settled."
"How are we going to do that?" Red XIII asked.
Cloud leaned back a bit more in his chair…and formed his first truly dark look since the meeting began.
"…I think it's time Rufus Shinra joined us here."
RULER
Tifa usually was more thoughtful than this. It must have been because she had so much on her mind that she acted in what was normally considered a rude matter. And she wanted to see the kids. After coming home after the meeting, before she went to the kitchen to make lunch for Aerith, she instead first went upstairs and walked right into her room without knocking.
"Aerith? Are Marlene and Denzel in there?"
The woman finished pushing the door open and ducked her head inside. When she looked in…her eyes widened again. She saw something she never would have expected, despite the kind of person who Aerith was.
A green light was radiating from Aerith's hand as she held it over the dressing that had been put on Azure's leg by the doctors. Marlene and Denzel were clustered around them both. Aerith was still in bed, and Azure was sitting on the side with his leg propped up and in front of her. She let it radiate for a bit longer…but as she did so her face began to turn a shade white, and she moaned. At last, she dipped her head a bit forward and let out a deep exhale, dropping her hand as she did so.
"I'm…sorry, Azure…" She sighed. "I'm still…so tired from yesterday… I shouldn't have even tried that… I feel like I've already burned out my abilities…"
Azure looked down to his leg, and flexed it a bit. He smiled at the result. "It feels a lot better." He turned and looked up to the Cetra with a smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Aerith."
Here, the four turned and looked up to the doorway. They soon saw Tifa frozen in it, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging loose. A look of fear was back in her eyes, and she was shocked that Aerith, unprotected, allowed Azure to get so close to her. She was moments from advancing and doing something…
"Aerith…what are you-"
Aerith immediately leaned up a bit and spoke, seeming to read Tifa's mind, and frame an appropriate response.
"I know…I know, it was foolish of me to try and use my powers again so soon." She began, locking eyes with Tifa as she did so, so that she could convey a different message. "But Azure was hurting…and I thought I'd see if I could help him out. The poor boy limped most of the way here. He was telling me how he was getting lonely at the clinic, and he wanted to hang out with his friends. And so Denzel and Marlene thought they'd bring him to meet me. Truly, Tifa…I'm glad for the company, and I'm glad I could help out somewhat."
Of course, while Aerith calmly and rationally said all of this…her eyes remained locked with Tifa's, and gave a different message.
Don't say anything about it while they're in here.
That worked to silence the woman. After all…she didn't want the truth to come out while Azure was around to hear, and even then only if she could be sure that Denzel and Marlene wouldn't repeat it to him. And so, she stiffened a moment, and then forced herself to become calmer. She loosened up slightly, and began to form a more regular expression.
Once she did, Aerith turned her head back down to the three children. They all turned to her in response, and she smiled at them. "Denzel, Marlene…I'm sure Tifa wouldn't mind if you took Azure downstairs to eat lunch."
Tifa tightened up at that, and opened her mouth to speak.
"He hasn't eaten today." Aerith immediately cut off, half looking to Tifa and half to the kids. "And I'm sure he likes the sandwiches Denzel makes. Right?"
Azure smiled at that and happily nodded. "Yeah!"
"Then you three run along. I'd like to talk to Tifa alone for a moment."
"Alright." Denzel answered, and turned and began to walk back toward the doorway. The other two kids backed off a bit from Aerith's bedside, and began to turn to move again.
"Bye, Aerith. I hope I can come along next time you pick flowers." Marlene said with a smile.
Aerith smiled a bit at that and let out a chuckle. "…I'm not sure I'm going to go back to being a flower girl, Marlene…but we can always get some for the house."
"Ok!" The girl brightly answered.
"Bye, Mrs. Aerith. Thanks again for making my leg feel better." Azure threw in. After that, he and Marlene turned and followed after Denzel. On reaching the doorway, they nearly had to push their way around a stunned and motionless Tifa. However, they did without questioning anything. They were soon gone and headed down the stairs. Tifa followed them with her eyes. She hesitated again. A part of her wanted to go down with them. She didn't want to leave them alone with that boy. She didn't want to close to door either, possibly blocking out the sound of any trouble. At last, she turned around and looked back to the Cetra.
Aerith was still sitting up in bed, with her head slightly bowed. Her smile had faded, and her arms were crossed in front of her. She was silent for a moment, as the kids finished reaching the bottom of the stairs and ran into the kitchen. Once that was done, however, she finally spoke up.
"…You're probably wondering why I wasn't shrinking back in fear from Azure." She paused again after saying this. "Tifa…I never even knew who Sephiroth was, aside from what Cloud told me. Other than that, I never even saw him. The closest thing was running into those clones of him. But from what I did know of him, I knew this. He always wore his heart on his sleeve. He never made his mind or his feelings a secret about anything. And at least insofar as that is concerned…this boy shares that same trait."
Tifa frowned and stepped forward a bit, backing away from the door so she could talk without risk of overhearing. "Aerith…what you did wasn't smart. This kid could be in link with Jenova. Sure, he's seemed ok so far, but what if it's all an act?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Tifa." Aerith answered. "If this boy was like Sephiroth, he wouldn't bother hiding his feelings. He'd let them out anyway."
"What if you're wrong, Aerith?" Tifa responded. "What if that is just a coincidence? What if he's changed behaviors? How can you tell?"
Aerith slowly inhaled and exhaled, and bowed her head once again. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, letting Tifa's question linger on the air.
"…Like I said before, I don't remember much from when I was dead." Aerith began. "But I remember images of Kadaj and Cloud alike. When he was about to die…I sensed him. I sensed what was left of his soul writhing in despondency and abandonment. It was full of hate…loneliness…inferiority… In the end, his attempt to become Sephiroth had failed. And yet he felt the full blame for that. He felt it was he who was the true problem…his body the inferior one. And before that…his only desire was to bring the pieces of Jenova together to unite with him to remake Sephiroth. He knew that Sephiroth was the one that Jenova wanted…not him. He was just playing a part in getting Sephiroth back. I think Cloud said something to him about that…because I think he was finally starting to realize he had nothing.
"In so many ways…he was like a child. But in other ways, he was a man. In both cases, he was looking for what both ages want more than anything. He wanted to feel loved, and he wanted to know what his place was in the world. He wanted to know what his purpose was. Subconsciously…I always think he hated just being a stepping stone in some other order. He didn't defy it…perhaps he couldn't…but that was what he feared."
Aerith hesitated again. She closed her eyes, and slowly inhaled and exhaled once more. She tightened her hands and relaxed them. She spoke more softly and slowly.
"When I saw that tormented soul…stripped of all its maliciousness and violence…reduced to that pitiful raw state of what was beneath…I couldn't help but feel pity…even love for this poor person. He was so afraid…so afraid that he was going to die with nothing. That he wouldn't be anything…and wouldn't be loved or a part of anything else. And so…I reached out to him. I offered him love unconditionally. Really…I wasn't pretending. I couldn't hate such an innocent soul…only try to give it the affection it craved. To me, he wasn't a killer or a monster…just a sad, lonely child. He accepted it. I think that was the first time anyone had ever loved him.
"When he received it…he finally felt accepted…a part of something… Other voices I've heard in the Lifestream…some rue their existence. Some want out. Some refuse to leave the Lifestream and go on to the next life. But Kadaj…once he felt that he would receive love and peace, he surrendered it willingly. He went on content, without any regrets. He was filled with happiness.
"After that…I couldn't help but think how sad the true tragedy was. If only he had felt that sort of acceptance and affection in life…perhaps he would have rebelled against Jenova. Maybe…he even could have been another Cloud."
Aerith looked up at this, facing the other woman.
"Tifa…you never gave up on Cloud, didn't you? No matter what happened…no matter how much faith everyone else lost…even when he lost all faith in himself…you still believed in him. You always loved him, totally and unconditionally. You always stayed at his side, waiting to call him back. Right?"
Tifa held. Her own face had turned down somewhat. Her eyes had grown more somber. She lowered her head slightly, and rubbed one of her arms with her opposite hand. She swallowed once, and then sighed.
"…I nearly gave up on him once." Tifa responded. "But no…in the end, I stayed with him."
"Whether you fully realized it or not, Cloud owes you everything for that." Aerith answered. "He would have cast off the part of him that was the boy from Nibelheim all together to be an emotionless clone…or would have let his agony kill him. You brought him back together. You made him unite with the boy he once was and accept his past. You doubted him…but you never stopped loving him, did you? Even if he was one of Hojo's experiments and not the boy from Nibelheim, you still loved him, right?"
Tifa hesitated again, but in the end nodded. She had a feeling she knew what the conclusion was already.
"…Yes."
"That's why I had to let him in, Tifa. I don't know where that boy came from…but there's humanity in him. If his human part becomes too terrible to bear, he'll sacrifice it for whatever else he is. I can't let that happen. From what I've heard, everyone else expects the worst from him. Every time he screws up…makes a hostile move…a careless mistake…everyone is going to say it's the part of him that's Jenova coming out, and that this is his true nature. Everyone in the world expects him to fail and are waiting to jump him for it. Someone needs to be in his corner. Someone has to believe in him.
"Tifa…outside this house, the people of this city shot him. They'll do it again and worse. If he goes out there…he'll live in a world full of people who hate him and want him destroyed. They'll hurt him, drive him off, beat him, and try to kill him. And if they do…will you honestly be able to blame him if he grows up and hates humanity? Will you be able to say that it's entirely his fault?"
Tifa closed her own eyes and sighed.
"…This is easy for you to say, Aerith…but I'm not just defending myself. I'm defending two children…children who I think of as my own. I already hate myself for letting what happened to Denzel happen… If I let them get hurt again, I'd never forgive myself."
Aerith looked at Tifa with some concern, and saw how frightened she was getting, and how anxiously she stood there. The Cetra swallowed, and then leaned in a bit more.
"…Tifa…there is a risk involved. I can't deny that. But you've dealt with this before…the day you took Denzel in. I think you believed that day what I want you to believe now…that some risks are worth the chance of what you'll get if you succeed."
The woman didn't answer. She rubbed her arm again, and continued to look nervous. She understood what Aerith was saying. There was something to it. But Aerith…she was such a trusting, loving person. She accepted everyone… But then again, was that always such a bad thing? Wasn't that what she herself was always working against? To not see some other people as just objects or enemies or trash that clutters up a neighborhood? She liked to think so… This was different though. But at the same time…was it? Any different from what Tifa had done before? Even when Cloud had turned traitor…turned violent…she didn't abandon him. And this boy…he was so much more innocent and small… Aerith did have one point…something that Tifa hated to admit. She was pulling for Azure to fail and "show his true colors". She was expecting that at every turn, and constantly scrutinizing him for it. If he was innocent…she wasn't even giving him a chance. She wasn't letting the possibility of him proving himself to her into her mind.
Maybe Aerith was right. What if this was the same situation with Cloud revisited? In truth…there was only ever one real Sephiroth. The others were controlled by him…but Cloud proved the control could be broken. Maybe the boy did deserve a chance…
"Tifa!"
The woman was snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the doorway. Aerith looked up and did the same. There was an echoing coming from downstairs.
"Yes, Denzel?"
"Azure says he's hungry again. Can I make him a sandwich before he goes back?"
Tifa sighed a bit. One thing is for sure…that boy can eat. After that, however, she held on a moment. She turned back to Aerith, and then back down to the stairs. She stayed still a few moments longer.
But in the end, she managed a smile, and called down.
"…That's alright. I'll be down in a minute, and I'll make lunch for all five of us."
RULER
To be continued...