Switched

Bad, Yet Somehow Still Better

Chapter 18

Aerith turned her smile to Genesis. "This is the biggest building left standing in the city. We can all fit comfortably if you don't mind not having chairs." There were a few murmurs of assent before everyone followed her into the building they had just exited.

The building they entered was open with a staircase to an upper floor that had partially collapsed. Rufus and the Turks refused to sit on the floor, but everyone else made their way into a rough circle. Before everyone moved to sit, they were all surprised when Aerith approached Sephiroth. The fact that she was smiling at her was even more surprising. "It seems as if you are well on your way to fulfilling your goals. I am proud of you! I'm sure you can feel it already, but the planet is happy to have your help as well. Don't forget, you're not alone anymore."

As much as Sephiroth still felt that she didn't deserve the right to speak to this miraculous woman, she couldn't hold back her hope and a return smile. "You gave me an honor I still don't feel I am deserving of, but I will not waste this chance. Thank you."

Aerith's laugh rang out through the silence. Everyone else was still stunned by the interaction. "I wasn't expecting thanks for getting you into this, but I'm glad to hear it." She gave Sephiroth a quick hug, further shocking everyone, before she turned to the rest of the group. "I wish I could say this was only a wonderful reunion, but we have much to talk about. Why don't you all get comfortable. This may take a while." With that she moved to take a seat between Zack and Cloud. The latter of which still looked like he was uncertain if he was dreaming.

Once they were all seated Zack was the one that stood. He smiled and waved to a few people before Aerith tweaked the back of his leg. He didn't look affected, but it served as a reminder that he was there for more. He tried to sober up as he started to speak. "I know that having one person brought back was a shock for most of you, so seeing us is probably the last thing you ever expected. The thing is, an unfortunate discovery was made and the three of us were given the choice to join you. It took a lot to make it happen, but we are facing some bad odds, even with us here to help."

With a sigh Aerith stood. "Zack, I can take it from here."

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Eh, sorry. I guess I wasn't really getting anywhere, huh?"

She gave him a soft smile before turning to the rest of the group. "What Zack was trying to tell you all, is that we have been monitoring the situation and found that you are up against worse odds than we had previously thought. The worst part of the problem is that you don't even know yet."

She turned to Reeve before continuing. "The scout group you sent never made it to the Northern Crater. They were stopped before they made it this far even." She hesitated as a look of sadness passed over her features. "I don't know if any of them have survived, but they were captured. We didn't realize it until it was too late, but the being you fought against was joined by two other ships. It seems that they have a way to conceal their ships, so it wasn't until they were on land that they were noticed. They have all gone to the Northern Crater, but they have erected a barrier of some sort. We were not able to see passed it very well, so we have no idea how many there are. Given what we do know, we could be facing anywhere from three to more than a dozen aliens. With the fact that they are all the same race as the Calamity, we couldn't let you go into that situation blind; she was alone and still nearly destroyed the planet multiple times. Minerva approached us at this news and gave us the choice to help. That choice took a lot of effort to implement. It was a last push for survival. If we fail, there is no backup."

After she finished speaking there was silence around the room. Finally, Cloud stood. "Does that mean the other ship was a diversion? Are we looking at facing more?"