Summary: Aridai shares his true perspective in his and Ariana's breakout.

Aridai and Veld sat across from each other, the boy sitting with his hands clasped in front of him, and Veld was writing on a pad of paper in Turk shorthand. In the meantime, Ariana was following Genesis around like a silver haired duckling into the redhead's apartment, talking to the older man about Loveless.

Sephiroth had left the meeting with President Shinra in a frosty attitude, looking more serious than the twins had ever seen.

The trio of SOLDIER Firsts asked for a half an hour to talk between them, and Aridai and Veld were waiting for the silver haired teen to come by as a witness.

Eventually with a knock at the door, the teen ducked in, meeting Veld's gaze for a moment before directing his attention to his son.

"Aridai."

"Father," the boy looked a little relieved, "I see you're well."

Sephiroth's gaze fell to Veld, observing how Aridai and the department head seemed to be fairly close.

"Aridai. Yes, I am fine," the teen approached, the younger boy standing up.

"Did Papa say why you're here?" Aridai asked, and Sephiroth nodded.

"He did."

"Okay."

Aridai looked at Veld, before sitting back down.

"You can ask me now," the green eyed boy said, clasping his hands on the table.

Veld pushed aside the notepad, the pen rolling slightly as he did.

"Aridai, I'd like to review the notes Commander Hewley had written during your initial interrogation," the dark haired man started, "Are you willing to go into more detail with me?"

The green eyed boy tilted his head to the side, coming to a quick decision, "I have no issues in doing so. What would you like to know?"

"Two days before the both of your…escapes, the Turk roster was altered," the man began, Aridai meeting his gaze without hesitation.

"Correct," the boy nodded simply, "I knew I was forgetting something." Aridai sighed; his arms splayed on the desk.

"My older sister is the Twin That Plans," he said, the young preteen shifting from a shy personality to a more assertive one, "And I am the Twin That Acts. Ana had me do the heavy lifting, in comparison."

"I see," Veld said, "In your opinion, would you say that Ariana is the mastermind of your actions?"

"I wouldn't say she was the main mastermind of our plans," the boy disagreed, shaking his head, "She made most of them. I just…tweaked it a little. A lot, actually. The alterations, that was mine. I had learned how to hack into the guard rotations of both infantrymen and Turks that covered Hojo's guard detail, moved away those we were fond of, who didn't treat us like we were nothing, for that final day. It was my idea."

"How did you escape scrutiny? I am sure you were monitored heavily," Veld asked, watching the slight hints of emotion cross Aridai's face.

"That's an incorrect assumption," the boy tapped the table with his fingertips, "I pretended for years on end to be nothing more than a body that carried out tasks since I was born. And eventually, some forgot I was a human being, and not a puppet. Maybe the so called medical professionals and their security deluded themselves into thinking that since I didn't act like a person, that they didn't need to treat me like one. Of course, there were some outliers, but not many."

"Would you call it a foolhardy decision?"

Aridai's eyes narrowed, "Of course. After a while, when I was put through training, they assumed that I only moved when ordered to, and they didn't question when I started doing things out of the ordinary. Even Hojo thought that I was a perfect doll, compared to Ariana, who always had a bold personality and let her feelings show. I am the twin who acts because it was presumed that I never did anything of my own volition, allowing me to do nearly anything I wanted as long as I was quiet and never spoke out of turn. And their assumptions made them sloppy."

He grinned at Veld, like the coeurl that caught a chikabo, Aridai's personality completely different with the absence of his twin.

Even the cadence of his words were carefully picked, his body language as a whole hiding how Aridai's bright green eyes carried all of his emotions. Not for a second did his eyes leave Veld's, green meeting dark brown.

"I admire the Turk's resolve. As a whole, from what I understand, your department is treated like merely tools for Shinra. And from what I remember, from that man's protection detail, they all spoke highly of you, Mr. Veld. It's a surprise, what people will say when they think no one's listening."

A wiry smirk made its way to Aridai's face, "Personally, I don't have anything against Shinra at all. They are why Ariana, and I are alive at all. Even with our upbringing, most, if not all of our suffering was at a certain scientist's hand."

Disdain dripped off the last few words.

The 'Head Turk' seemed to be considering something before he asked, "Would you say you have any regrets from what you've done?"

Aridai paused, thinking about the question, before nodding.

"Yes. While I don't regret my hand in the death of Hojo, I do regret that so many lives were lost. At that time, all I could think about was that it was either killing them, or me and Ana. There are many things I wish that could've been avoided entirely. But it would've been difficult to carry out just taking down Hojo, without any other casualties."

The boy sighed, rearranging himself so he was propped up by one arm on his left side, palm nestling under his chin.

"I am not a fan of meaningless deaths. That is neither honorable, nor just. However, Ariana was willing to forsake her morals to be free, or as she'd recite, "There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the Goddess, my soul, corrupted by vengeance. We're not beasts, after all."

"The notes also say you were concerned for your future," the Turk changed directions, bringing attention to what Sephiroth had noted Ariana say, "Your sister sounded sure that you were both going to be deployed in Shinra's war with Wutai."

"Is that wrong?" Aridai asked delicately, his words spoken in a strange cadence, "Since we were five, we were taught to fight. Ariana's always been the stronger one, physically, so she was the one who…decommissioned…failed experiments. I was always the backup, the one who casted spells to make her job easier. I have very little reason to think that we were not meant to be weapons, wouldn't you say?"

"And now? Would you still see yourselves as weapons if you're given a choice?"

At this, Aridai's fingers stuttered to a halt, before starting again.

"Choice? After what we've done, after what Ariana's done, do you think we'd ever be free?" the green eyed boy asked, "Killing the Science Department Head, several infantrymen, destroying Shinra property, destroying a Reactor? I'm almost surprised we weren't killed the moment we were found."

Aridai laughed bitterly as he shook his head, "Are you telling a joke, Mr. Veld? Because it's not very funny. My sister and I were made to be weapons. We might be young, but we're not idiots. It would've been wiser to kill us in the beginning."

The mako green glow of his eyes would have made the twelve year old's countenance appear more menacing, if only he didn't pout slightly.

"Don't give us false hopes. We don't like liars," the boy crossed his arms, "That is all I am willing to say. This conversation is over."

Veld looked at the preteen in front of him, hearing the finality in his words.

"Very well," the man agreed, his pen halting as he wrote the last word.

Aridai nodded, before standing up.

The older male stood up, picking his notepad up before inclining his head at Sephiroth.

"Please excuse me," he said, before leaving.

"Aridai," the silver haired teen addressed his son after the door closed.

"Yes?" the child looked up at him, picking at a loose thread on his pants.

"Do you truly want to help Shinra?" Sephiroth asked, "After everything you've been through?"

Two pairs of slit green eyes met, and Aridai hummed thoughtfully.

"I go wherever Ariana goes," he said after a moment, "It doesn't matter to me what happens to me. I just want her to be happy."

"I see."

Unhappy with the response, but aware that the child wasn't going to say much else, Sephiroth let him be.