Author note: Hello my lovelies! Hope you all are having amazing days.
It had been equally embarrassing, as it had been cathartic. This was something I'd longed for, to see Aerith again. To reassure myself her existence was still there, that it wasn't a figment of a troubled mind.
Aerith had calmed quicker than I had, fingers stroking through my hair calmly. Sephiroth had eventually settled beside us both, when Aerith had insistently tugged along his pants to annoy him.
He handed me tissues when I'd pushed away, horrified at my moment of weakness. Aerith eventually pushed away, coming back with three clean, but chipped glasses from a back room.
"The water is clean," she assured after handing them off, resetting onto her knees.
It tasted somewhat metallic. My tongue pressed into the chipped edge, drawn by some off human urge.
"The taste of mako," Sephiroth mumbled. "The leak was meant to be handled ages ago."
"Oh, it was!" Aerith had already finished he'd glass, settling it beside her. "There were a lot of people about, for a while. And thanks to our "Guardian", there weren't nearly as many sick people."
She grinned at the way a twitch went through my body. I hated that nickname. It was true I'd diverted what many of the upper level thought "too much", to the slums. Medicine, food, clothing. I poured money into nonprofit clinics, so that they had access to basic medical care. None of that had been altruistic in function, more an after effect. Like throwing a stone in a calm pond, ripples would arc out.
I'd wanted to get below the plate to see her. And to stretch the perimeter of the gilded cage I'd been easily locked into. I'd been aware Aerith was below, and if she was similar to the game, fearful of coming above plate. In game she'd loved the slums, and why wouldn't she. Even in game with Turks dogging her footsteps, she'd been free in the slums, so long as she stayed safe.
With the Turks on her side, some of them, she might have even more freedom now.
Sephiroth snorted, and I glared back at him, seeing the faint amusement. He knew I hated that term. Aerith seemed to as well, her smile teasing, as she took my cup from listless fingers. Contrary to before, she merely took sips from it, before setting it between our bodies.
This small proof she was still the same, to a degree, nearly broke me again. So sure in her belief anything I had was hers as well. Be it food or drink, she had rights as one close to my heart.
"Well, how have you both been?" Aerith suddenly clapped her hands, glancing between us.
"Ah…" I opened my mouth, startled when nothing came out. What could I say? The truth sat heavy in my heart.
Sephiroth, with all his usual elegance and understanding of social cues, shrugged and sipped his water. Aerith wasn't one to be deterred. Her green eyes rolled, and she shuffled energetically, hands slapping both of our knees to gain attention.
"Come on! I want to know everything. And not what I've seen in the news, either." She wagged a finger in warning.
It was enough to make Sephiroth chuckle. "I doubt stories of the war would hold much interest for either of you."
Aerith grimaced. "Not… really. How about you, Soph? Last I heard you went off to Nibelheim. Rufus was apparently a huge jerk while you were gone."
I glanced to Sephiroth, who merely smirked. "I did hear that he fired a few secretaries. I don't know if that had anything to do with you."
Rufus rarely fired anyone himself. He developed and maintained a difference between himself and all the staff, Turks and some SOLDIERS the only exception. There was only one time I'd ever been witness to him losing his temper. When he'd ran across a secretary, coming from our father's office. Clothes disheveled, hair mused, the scent of sweat and musk obvious.
He'd terminated her contract on the spot, rejecting her desire to speak to the President, having her forcefully removed from the building. At the time, I'd still been young enough I needed to pretend not to understand what had happened behind the doors, that Rufus was smart and right to do as he did.
As I'd gotten older, able to shed that persona, I'd stopped him from terminating the women the President slept with. I pitied them. Whether they were coerced or thought they could gain something by letting themselves be used, they would never climb high enough to match President Shinra's dead wife.
Either he'd been that irritable for my mini escape, or he'd went after the secretaries warming the man's desk. It was a demented cycle, the president taking and using any who let him, whereas his son cleaned the aftermath with vicious efficiency. Still to this day, not willing to see any disrespect to his mother's memory. Everyone here seriously had Mom issues.
"Why am I not surprised." I grimaced, my tone far from the usual one I presented. I aimed usually for a little airheaded, a little adorable front. The natural high pitch of this bodies voice helped. Now, it sounded tired, weight of the world.
"Me neither. He always did have a bit of a complex," Aerith said with a giggle.
"He cared about you too," I promptly mentioned. It was true. I'd seen letters she'd sent to him during one of my snoops, kept in the same drawer as his valuables.
To my shock she slightly blushed. "I know. I was really happy when he came to visit me."
Maybe she'd developed a small crush on her friends rich and powerful brother? That wouldn't really be surprising, it was common. When Zach crashed through, I was certain that would evaporate. The two of them had been downright nauseating in the game, too sweet of a couple.
Then again, she had a higher chance of meeting Cloud first, didn't she? My brain paused on the issue, twirling it around. In the game, the player chose who Cloud developed a closeness to. He was coming to be a Turk, shadowing Reno, who occasionally shadowed Aerith.
"I think you have something to tell us." Aerith tapped a finger against my knee again, and I froze.
"… I don't want to." Well, that was brilliant. Real world class distracting technique.
Of course, that was bullshit. Sephiroth became tense at the mention, the casual position evaporating as his eyes narrowed. Aerith in contrast seemed to simply be a patient parent, waiting for their child to cave under expectant eyes. Good cop, bad cop. Bad analogy, all things considered.
Still, I'd been cornered. Aerith had too much knowledge herself, reflected in her eyes at times. Like Sephiroth occasionally threw out an aura of being otherworldly. Aerith did so as well now, similarities glaring.
She hummed, head tilting to study the situation. "Well, I have things to share."
"What is it?" Sephiroth turned away from me, but I knew he wouldn't forget.
"Well, I was adopted. But I found out something, why Shinra had my mom and me."
What was with this? I'd always imagined a sweet meeting, maybe seeing Elmyra up close and thanking her for everything. Aerith seemed determined to draw out or drop secrets like falling rain.
"Have you guys ever heard about Ancients?"
I didn't respond, mouth dry. Sephiroth however nodded, supporting his arm along his raised knee. "Officially titled the Cetra. The masses call them Ancients."
"Ding, ding, that's right. You win a prize!" She happily cheered, while I couldn't help but laugh softly. Sephiroth arched a brow, flickers of amusement in his eyes.
"We… I'm part Cetra. Ever since I was little… I could hear voices. Voices that my Mom said were important."
"Do you hear them now," Sephiroth asked. He was always so indifferent to new information. His brain would absorb it, file it away for later dissection. But he was never dismissive with us.
I'd seen him cut through SOLDIERS or cadets, excuses not allowed, stories never shared. With the ones he trusted though, he showed an incredible faith.
"I do. I couldn't really hear them well, when I was with you guys. Unless she was screaming. Which… I will admit happened a lot back then."
"She?"
Of course, Sephiroth easily picked up on that. Aerith sighed. "It's what my mom always called the Planet. Of course, I don't think the planet really cares how it's addressed." She laughed with a little self-depreciation.
Something confirmed. I still remembered, years ago, Aerith telling me "she" understood. Even then, Aerith had been fed information about who, or what, I was. Or maybe had been. Back then I hadn't wanted to get involved. And the planet said it understood. How fucking odd was that?
I glanced at her, noting her eyes were already on me. Her smile gentled, hands clasped in her lap now. "I know… it sounds crazy. But, she's nervous right now. Scared. But… I wanted to tell you both… she's also hopeful."
Hopeful. It was disgusting how that caused a thread of relief through my body. I wasn't doing anything for the planet, self interest my main motivation. I cared about my friends surviving. And myself. Of course, if Sephiroth didn't go berserk that could only help the planet, of course.
I hummed slowly. Sephiroth received a call, one he had to take. Before he got up to excuse himself, I heard the loud tone of Genesis coming through. Angeal in the background, most likely telling the fire cracker to calm down.
I knew he would go far, not liking hearing two conversations at once. Sephiroth could deep focus to only hear one or the other, so in line with his senses he was incredible. But he didn't enjoy being that aware, and thus usually excused himself to quiet places while on the phone. Not like he couldn't cross miles in seconds.
Aerith watched him go, waving cheerfully. Then she turned to me. Her smile somehow gentled even further.
"You really didn't belong here, did you?" She mentioned it as a fact, posed as a question. "You do now though."
My own smile must have been a little rueful. "The planet has a big mouth."
"If you could only talk to one person for a decade, you'd be pretty talkative too!" She chirped energetically.
"I guess so." There wasn't anything to do but concede. After all, when I'd been in the womb, I'd used what I now knew were the presses of peoples palms on my mother's stomach, to Orient myself.
"If it makes you feel better, she didn't mean for you to come here. She isn't sure how, but she's grateful."
"I wasn't chosen?" I huffed, acting theatrically offended. "Well, then. Way to knock my ego down."
"Apparently Rufus was meant to be an only child."
"I know," I muttered. I knew more than her planet voice probably felt safe to tell her, or maybe knew itself… herself? Whatever.
My eyes took in the church again. I sighed, standing up in a fluid motion. The flowers called to me, so rarely seen even above plate. In game they were all yellow in the church. In reality, there was a riot of color bursting across the patch of light. Vivid reds, startling soft pinks, chocobo yellow, pale or deep blues. Charmed, I kneeled beside the flower bed, fingers ghosting the soft petals of a pale blue.
Aerith hummed, reaching past me to tenderly brush her fingers as well. She gripped my wrist, waiting for my eyes to turn to her.
"They just started growing one day. So many kinds. That one is an iris." She clicked her tongue. "You know, each color means something different. Blue Irises mean hope and faith."
Hope and faith… I wanted to challenge her, but I bit my tongue. She definitely knew more about it than I did, or ever would.
"Sephiroth… I found out a lot of things… and I don't know how to tell him. Or if I should."
She settled herself quietly, listening to the things that poured from my mouth. She didn't interrupt, and she didn't express disbelief. Worry, yes. Her eyes reflected it, as I explained that Sephiroth was Hojo's son, and a woman named Lucrecia. That they'd chosen to experiment on him, and other children, all for power. To recreate the Cetra, and as warriors.
Shinra couldn't come back from this. At the end of the day, whether they'd known or not, they'd spread the calamity to regular humans, and let it infect the lifestream. My father was wrong for this.
And I was terrified. I'd thought things would be easier, that I could meddle enough to keep my loved ones safe. I hadn't intended to feel guilty. Somehow, I'd forgotten that I dealt with real people now, not a game.
My eyes ached from the tears already shed, swollen and probably still red. They ached worse, for I wanted to cry again.
"I can't tell you what would be best. But… I can be with you. If you decide to tell him."
"No need."
We both gasped. Aerith twisted around with much more grace, already on her feet. I stumbled, not used to kneeling for long stretches, stumbling slightly into the flower bed. Aerith tugged me up.
Sephiroth had returned when we were speaking, and rather than announce himself he'd stealthily hid his presence. Maybe not intentionally, at first. When he'd realized he was the topic of conversation, yes.
His eyes were narrowed, jaw slightly clenched. People who didn't know, wouldn't have noticed his irritation. He kept himself loose, open, arms lax at his side. His face was stoic as usual, nothing being betrayed at the surface.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
"Sephy…"
His head tilted, unnatural hair sliding as he did. With that tilt, he silently dismissed whatever I was going to say. The words strangled in my throat, and I couldn't hold his gaze.
"Do you have the reports you found?"
I cleared my throat. "Some. Some I…" I had given the bulk of Lucrecia's reports to Vincent, for him to read over. To keep near him, pieces of the woman he loved. The ones from Hojo, I'd stashed away inside a suitcase, to the knowledge and approval of Tseng. He hadn't wanted me to tell Sephiroth.
"You don't want me to read them." His tone held a chill I'd rarely heard from him, directed at me. He used it on people he didn't care for, who insisted on crowding him. Or cadets he'd been coerced into training. Less than him. I tried to ignore the sting.
"I don't have them all. I gave some of them to a… well, I think he's a friend. At least an uneasy ally. He is…"
"You trusted Shinra secrets to a stranger?"
Now he stepped forward, and chills rushed up my body. Without thought, I stumbled back, when I noticed his fists clenching. His steps paused, something flickering in his eyes before he turned away. Aerith read the room and sidled between us.
"It'll be okay. Sophie knows what she's doing. I know I trust her." Aerith smiled, stepping up to Sephiroth.
Her fingers settled along his bicep, squeezing.
"You do too."
The dangerous aura faded away from him. Really, I had to give Cloud and the old team props. He could be deadly just standing still.
"Explain yourself," he demanded.
"His name is Vincent. And… he's looking for your Mom. Your real one. Not Jenova. Jenova is just… an excuse. A tool they used, on you three. They use some of her cells in all the SOLDIERS.
He didn't say anything. I wondered briefly if he was imagining meeting her. Would Sephiroth be happier, knowing at the least his mom wasn't an alien?
"Well, then. What are we going to do?" Aerith chimed in.
"We?" I parroted.
"Do?" Sephiroth scoffed. "What is there to do? Any information we have will only end in our destruction. Not even Sophie being a Shinra would halt that outcome."
"Well, sure." Aerith conceded it lightly. "Not immediately. But we can't let Shinra keep using Jenova. The planet said she needs to be destroyed."
Sephiroth shook his head. "This involves more than just myself. Or either of you. From what I can gather, Genesis and Angeal are also altered more than a usual SOLDIER."
"Yes. They were part of project G. You're the only one involved with project S." As though to make him look at me, I added. "I can message Vincent. Ask him to meet us somewhere close, like Kalm maybe. I don't think he'd come into Midgar willingly. Not unless we told him he could kill Hojo."
He did glance at me, a warning in his gaze. "Casually mentioning killing my father. How cruel you can be."
"You… sound like that part didn't shock you."
"It does not. He is listed as my father in medical records I have access to. And it is hard not to imagine a familial tie exists, when one continually proclaims they made the other."
"Ah."
"I have no attachment to the man." He closed his eyes. "Nor for Hollander. I do believe though… I must think."
"Yeah, no worries! Sophie can stay with me tonight, and you can go do whatever you need." Aerith playfully patted at his arm, until he shifted slightly away.
"I'm meant to have taken her to her room."
"Well, my room is her room!" Aerith cooed, clapping her hands together. "We'll see you tomorrow, Sephy."
He glanced at me, perhaps to see how I was reacting. It would have been a lost cause. Aerith would do what Aerith wanted. After a moment, he nodded, leaving the church silently.
Aerith spun to face me, hands on hips. "That's settled then. Let's get going before it gets too dark."
She grasped my hand. "Give it time. It might not have been the best way to find out things, but it was important he knew. He'll come around."
But what would he come around to, was the real question.
