After the incident in Rocket Town and the adventure in Wutai some of the party members wanted a break, mainly Cid, Yuffie, and Snow. The others made no argument based solely on the fact that no one knew where Sephiroth was heading next. Serah was both upset and glad. Glad to have a break but upset that she was no closer to finding out what her adoptive father was planning.

It took several days to reach Corel for the cable car due to being on foot and avoiding major roads. After arriving they had to wait an hour for the cable car. With everyone packed in it was a quiet ride up to the immense amusement park. Just like the time before, when they reached the station they were greeted by an ensemble of girls in rather skimpy chocobo costumes. Most paid the girls no mind, Yuffie pranced around with them for a couple minutes, Gadot, Yuj, and Maqui were checking them out again.

Vincent said the best thing to do first would be to get rooms at the hotel which no one argued with. However when they entered the Entrance Square the bulletin board, a very large monitor, grabbed most of their attention. The biggest announcement on the board was: Zanarkand Abes VS Golden Chocobos! Free admission for lifetime Gold Saucer pass holders! Today only!

"No way! The Zanarkand Abes are playing here!" Snow shouted in a giddy voice.

"There is no way we are missing that!" Gadot joined in.

And off they went before anyone could stop them with Lebreau on their heels. Cid followed a moment later with a shrug. Yuffie noticed the announced prizes for the battle square, materia, and was gone the next moment. Yuj and Maqui went for the chocobo races, Tifa got Cloud to explore the Gold Saucer with her, leaving five stragglers in the Entrance Square. With nothing else to do Barret, Vincent, Nanaki, Aerith, and Serah volunteered to get rooms at the hotel which was no issue as the Gold Saucer Hotel was an entire square making it the largest hotel in the world. After securing three rooms Serah stayed behind to make a phone call.

"Serah." Tseng's deep voice greeted though he always sounded mad "Been a long time since your last call."

"Sorry, Director." She wasn't sure why she was apologizing "Couldn't get any time alone the last while. But I do have new information." She paused giving Tseng a moment to respond but he stayed silent waiting for the report "We're back at the Gold Saucer, having come from Wutai. We took down a trafficking operation out there." Serah paused again.

"Reno informed me." Tseng stated curtly.

"We found a stone orb during the event. When I touched it I had visions." it sounded ridiculous to her but she had to report it. Tseng would know if she left out details. "I'm not sure-"

"Serah." Tseng interrupted "Retrieve the stone. It's important."

"Uh, yes sir." Serah was more than confused and curious about Tseng's reaction "Can I ask why its important?"

"It's the keystone to the Temple of the Ancients. Shinra hired a group to steal it from Dio years ago but never received it after it had been stolen. You get that stone in our hands, Shinra will owe you a favor." Tseng did not have to explain just how unimaginably valuable a favor from Shinra would be.

"Send a helicopter to the entrance of the chocobo track ASAP." Serah commanded. Tseng did not mind taking orders when it meant completing a mission and/or saving the life of a fellow Turk.

"You will be contacted when we are five minutes out." Tseng hung up right after speaking.

Serah dropped her phone into her little pack and fell into a seat in the hotel lobby. With a deep sigh relief washed over her. Soon she would be extracted and back home in Midgar with her friends, away from these dangerous lunatics. But she could not help but think about all they said. All their stories. Sephiroth destroying Nibelheim, Shinra covering it up, Shinra stealing the dreams of a whole town and their best pilot, Shinra destroying Corel because of an accident, the proud nation of Wutai being subjugated and turned into a tourist attraction by Shinra. Sector Seven. But she refused to believe it was Shinra. Her and Claire were taken in by the company's hero, given a great life. It was her duty to honor her adoptive father's memory as much as she was beginning to doubt Shinra. Sephiroth would have told her, as he had told her and Claire many times, Shinra may do some morally questionable things but what they do is for the benefit of the entire world. Serah admitted to herself long ago that Claire had trouble seeing past her family and close friends but Serah understood the need for sacrifice for the greater good. If she had to be labeled a villain alongside Shinra she would do it without hesitation if it meant it would bring good.

Eventually Serah made her way down to the room she would be sharing with the other women in the group. The comedic haunted house theme of the hotel was rather relaxing as it wasn't trying to be scary or funny and Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer, needed a theme to allow the expanse of rooms below the entrance. Upon entering the room, Serah saw two large beds and a couch big enough to be a single bed, and Aerith wrapped up in a puffy white bath robe and a towel wrapped around some of her hair with the rest pulled over her shoulder; sitting upright with her legs stretched out abs crossed at the ankle watching something on the television. The pinkette didn't pay any mind to what was on, she just walked over to the other bed and fell onto it.

"These beds are amazing." Serah said to strike up a conversation.

"Oh I know," Aerith agreed with a cheerful tone "I was starting to forget what a proper bed felt like. I did forget how good a shower is though." She added a light laugh.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm gonna go do that." Serah stated as she climbed off the bed and went to the room's bathroom.

After the much needed and very relaxing shower Serah stood at the counter brushing out her hair and forming a strategy. Aerith was the last one to have the keystone, to her knowledge, so it must be in Aerith's pack. But she couldn't just go and start digging through it and if she waited for the Cetra to fall asleep she would have to deal with Tifa, Yuffie, and Lebreau. Her window of opportunity was now and she only had a few more minutes. There could be more time for her to act but she did not want to risk having less time than expected. Redressing quickly but taking a minute to fix her hair and tie it up in her usual side ponytail Serah fell back into the character that the fugitives knew. A thought hit her as she left the bathroom.

"Aerith? Where are your clothes?"

"I sent them to be washed. There's bags in the closet by the door, you write your room number on it then drop it in the laundry chute."

"Oh…" Serah trailed off "Hey, uh, can I see that weird rock we brought from Wutai?"

"The keystone?" Aerith asked back before leaving over the side of the bed to grab her pack "Sure. Why?"

"Keystone?" Serah was genuinely confused as to how Aerith knew what it was.

"Cetra thing." Aerith commented as she tossed the nearly unassuming stone over to the pinkette.

immediately upon touching it again, Serah was assaulted by the same images as before. Though this time they were scrambled differently. Serah held onto the stone refusing to let go until the images made sense to her. They went on and on, playing in different orders and starting to give the pinkette a headache. The headache quickly got much worse and the visions began getting blurry but Serah could swear they were falling into place. But then they were gone all of a sudden, replaced by a very worried looking Aerith.

"Serah!" Aerith lightly shook her.

"Huh? What?" Serah felt dazed. She could see and hear Aerith but her brain was taking longer than it should to process what was going on.

"Are you okay? Sit down. I'll get you some water." Aerith forced Serah to sit on the end of a bed then did add she said and got the pinkette a glass of water.

Serah only noticed she was no longer holding the keystone after taking the cold glad. She spotted the stone laying on the floor by the room's television stand. Then there was something wet in her face, just above her lip. A touch told her it came from her nose and an inspection of her finger said it was blood. When did her nose start bleeding?

"What happened?"

"I tossed you the keystone, you caught it, then kinda zoned out." Aerith answered, sitting beside Serah and gently rubbing her back "You're eyes got weird, then your nose started to bleed. I'm sorry, Serah."

Serah took a sip of water before responding "why are you sorry?"

"I shouldn't have been so stupid with a Cetra thing." Aerith scolded herself "I just didn't think anything would happen because nothing happened to the others."

"Aerith, I'm fine." Serah said to assure the worried Cetra girl "Want to explore when your clothes come back?" she was hoping to change the subject to stop Aerith's worrying. Aerith nodded in agreement and then continued quietly attending to Serah.

An hour later the two young women were in the Wonder Square. Aerith brought her backpack to carry souvenirs and keep the keystone safe, Serah brought her purse along. They both found the little robot cats and moogles adorable. The robots could be found all over the Gold Saucer being guides, entertainers, minding sales kiosks, and being the primary security. With the exception of being security, the robots did many of the same jobs as the chocobo girls. Dio would never make a girl be security, not because he was sexist, but because a robot is expendable and can have a taser built into it. Serah knew all that and also knew that the only time the robots turned aggressive is when the actual security personnel took remote control. She admired how well Dio ran the place.

"Kupo-po-po!" a moogle shouted cheerfully as it flew towards Serah and Aerith. They both noticed the cat holding onto its feet

"Hey there, lasses!" the cat cried out "Would either o' ya like ta have yer fortune told?" the cat had a strange accent. An odd design choice.

"We promise it will be a good fortune, kupo!"

Before Serah or Aerith could object the moogle and the cat landed on the ground then began a strange little dance with gibberish words to seem more mystical. After the brief performance the cat held its hands to its temples and spoke in a stereotypical mystical tone.

"Reuniting with an old friend will bring new happiness."

Aerith and Serah looked to each other then back to the two robots. The moogle and cat looked to each other then back to the young women. The young women were not impressed with the fortune cookie fortune and the robots did not seem too impressed either.

"That wasn't a good fortune!" the moogle cried out while flailing its arms.

"Let's give i' another go!"

Once again before they could say no the two robots started their routine. Serah and Aerith both wondered why they were sticking around for this. They could simply walk away. But the two robots finished their routine.

"Some secrets shouldn't be kept but others are best forgotten. Purple is not your lucky color."

"That was worse than the first one, kupo!"

"Do ya want to do this by yer self?" the cat threatened the moogle. At least the arguing was entertaining.

"We're gonna go now." Serah told them.

"What?" the moogle said in a panicky voice.

"One more time, please lass?" the cat asked "Ya know what they say, third time's tha charm."

"One more time." Aerith said with a smile "You'll do great."

Once more the two robots did their dance routine. Serah was getting tired of this and growing impatient. She wanted the robots to leave her alone. Once again she wondered why she was sticking around for this. Briefly she wondered how and why this was annoying her to no end. She didn't get annoyed at the other robots, the ones minding stalls, cleaning up, or otherwise. Perhaps it was because the other robots didn't pester her. The two stopped dancing and the cat placed its hands on its temples.

"What you pursue will be yours but something dear will be lost."

Aerith and Serah shared a look. Not exactly the most pleasant of fortunes. And a touch foreboding.

"Well that was gloomy." the cat said in its accented voice.

"Kupo!" the moogle shouted before giving the cat's head a good whack.

"Ey! C'mere you!" the cat shouted. The moogle yelped and took off, the cat sprinting after it.

"Um." Serah said not knowing what else to say about what just happened.

"I agree." Aerith said with a smile "let's go get something to eat." Serah was then being pulled along to some cafe.

It is a nice little sandwich shop that had good deals. Serah and Aerith made some small talk as they ate and just as they were finishing up a chime sounded from Serah's purse. Her Turk phone. She already knew what the message was forcing her back into her reality. Aerith was the only obstacle for Serah now but there was no way she could hurt the gentle woman. The options were to steal Aerith's pack and run, find a harmless way to pacify the Cetra, or explain things and hope Aerith won't tell the others. Serah really did not want to rely on hoping for Aerith to remain quiet.

"Your phone made a noise." Aerith told the pinkette thinking she didn't hear it.

"Oh, didn't hear it." Serah played along going as far as taking the phone out of her purse to check the message.

Five minutes out. Meet at Chocobo Square.

"Hey Aerith," Serah began, she decided on telling the Cetra the truth "Can I tell you something in confidence?" the two were back out among the crowds and loud music.

"You're actually a Turk and you need the keystone?" Aerith's guess was far too specific to be a guess.

"How do you know that?" Serah was refusing to believe it.

"It's a Cetra thing." Aerith stated with a smile as if it explained everything. But she saw Serah's skepticism at that "Tseng has the same phone."

Serah face-palmed. How could Tseng make such a simple mistake? If literally anyone in Avalanche had seen the two phones Serah's cover would have immediately been blown. Then again, Aerith had noticed and had not told anyone. How long had she known?

"How long have you known?" the pinkette asked watching the Cetra start digging in her pack.

"Oh you know, a while." Aerith answered vaguely "At least since Kalm."

Instead of pursuing the topic Serah decided to leave it at its a Cetra thing. Aerith was always thinking in a completely different way from the rest of them. Besides that no one really knows what a Cetra is capable of with only having stories and legends to work off of. Maybe they could read minds. Maybe they were omniscient. Maybe Serah wasn't as good as she thought she was at keeping her true identity a secret. She quickly discarded that thought. If she had been found out by the others they most likely would have killed her then and there.

Aerith finished digging in her pack and held out something wrapped in a cloth "Here. I wrapped up the keystone so you won't be hurt by it again. I hope."

"Uh, thanks?" The pinkette was beyond confused.

"I know you have a good heart, Serah. All of you current Turks do." Aerith said with a smile as Serah took the keystone "I've spent enough time around Tseng and the other guys to know Tseng choose all of you carefully."

"Are you really sure?" Serah asked trying to get some insight into Aerith's mind.

"Tseng had Turks watching over me most of my life to protect me from bad people in the slums and to keep Shinra from getting too handsy. And he only captured me before sector seven fell because he knew there was nothing else he could do to keep Shinra away from me."

"Aerith…" Serah said not knowing what she was going to say next. Sorry for something? Thanking her for the huge amount of trust?

"Hurry up, you gotta go meet Tseng." without a second thought Serah turned and began walking away "And don't worry, I'll cover you!" Aerith called out, promising to give Serah a cover story.

The younger Farron spent her trip to the Chocobo Square in a daze. She was about to complete a mission thanks to someone she was tasked with spying on. Although she was growing increasingly curious about the nature of the relationship between Aerith and Tseng she would not ask her boss. Tseng was the kind of man that would only discuss what was relevant to the mission. Stepping off the tram Serah immediately heard the approaching rotors and sped up to a light jog to meet the helicopter. Once it was hovering just a couple feet off the ground the door slid open revealing Tseng. The man of Wutaian descent helped the pinkette into the VTOL and took the wrapped up stone. Reno was in the pilot seat and no one said a word to each other as the engine was too loud. The helicopter lifted off and Serah stared out the window watching the Gold Saucer and the rebels get left behind.

Please leave a Review.