Faithless Memories

Unraveled

Hollander blinked at her owlishly for several moments, but he shut up. He suddenly realized that he was in a situation that he couldn't easily manipulate his way out of. Instead, he tried to focus on how to undo his bonds while the rest turned back to face the girl.

When Kris turned back around, she looked to Genesis with a sigh. "I think this is where you should tell them your reasons for leaving. Why don't you tell them all you know and I'll step in if needed."

He scowled slightly but nodded. He was still sneering when he faced the rest, but at the sight of Angeal's questioning face, his expression fell. "My friends, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. We are all part of a project that started before our births. The Jenova Project G gave birth to myself and Angeal, while Project S gave birth to Sephiroth. I found all of this out when I was injured and could not be healed. Hollander told me a few of the details and agreed to help me if I left with him."

"I will not get into all of the details, but under differing circumstances, we were all inundated with the cells from a being that was found in a 2000-year-old rock strata. Professor Gast believed her to be an Ancient, but-" He paused and looked at Kris with a frown before he continued. "That does not seem to be the case."

Kris shook her head. "No, the Cetra called her the Calamity From the Sky or Heaven's Dark Harbinger. She was the destroyer of their race."

Tseng frowned and finally spoke up for the first time. "How do you know any of this?"

Kris had to fight not to cringe. She knew the question would come up at some point, but she refused to tell them how exactly. She had no doubt that the truth would be too much to believe, even after they saw the Goddess in person. She managed to shrug. "Would you believe me if I told you the Goddess told me?"

Tseng frowned at her apparent flippancy and almost stood. She held out her hands and sighed. "Wait, if you don't want to take my word for it, it can be proven. Even if you can't get into Hojo's files right away, there is another way. At least for part of the information."

Tseng was still frowning, but he sat back and gave her a look that relayed his patience was not long in running out. She repressed another sigh. "Look, when Professor Gast escaped Shinra with Ifalna, they ended up in Icicle Inn, or I guess it's called Modeoheim. Whatever, the point is, they worked together for probably more than a year, and he recorded all of their sessions. As far as I know, she was the last living full-blooded Cetra. It wasn't long after Aerith was born that Hojo finally found them and had Gast shot before he took both Ifalna and Aerith back. All of that was recorded. The recordings should still be there."

Tseng had stood by that point, and everyone else was looking at her like she was an alien. She wanted to laugh at the thought since technically, she was. She refused to flinch back when Tseng stalked to stand in front of her. He was only stopped by Genesis' presence next to her. Though, he didn't seem to be focused on the Soldier.

The Turk didn't speak right away, and despite his mask, Kris could tell he was trying to calm himself. When he finally did speak, his voice was clipped. "You are claiming that Aerith is Gast's daughter?"

Kris nodded. Both of them shot Hollander a glare when he scoffed. Thankfully, he cringed under their combined ire, and they turned back to more important matters.

Tseng's eyes had narrowed. "You do realize this is something easily verifiable."

Kris snorted. "Of course. That's why I shared it."

Tseng took a sharp breath through his nose and stepped back. He had not expected that answer, and it had his mind racing with the possibilities. Between what they had all seen the day before and what Genesis had shared, as well as this information, the probability that the company was about to be blown wide open was imminent.

Kris managed to get his attention. "Look, we can't let these experiments keep going, and trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but that doesn't mean starting a revolution is the way to do this."

Tseng's brows furrowed, and Genesis scowled. It was her lover that spoke. "You would have us go back as if nothing has happened?"

Kris raised a brow at him. "Yes, that is exactly what I think you should do. Honestly, even if you had a handful of Soldiers, you cannot stand up against the entirety of the Shinra company. Not to mention, how many innocent lives do you think that would destroy?"

She paused and put her hand on his arm. Her voice was so low that only the enhanced heard her. "I agreed to become Minerva's conduit so that I could help you, but that doesn't mean I am alright with killing people unnecessarily. There is another way."

She hadn't realized the other's heard until she heard several gasps. Genesis grasped her by the arms and was giving her a hard look. "What do you mean, you agreed to become her conduit?"

Kris clenched her jaw. There was just too much to cover and not enough time. She looked up at him and pinned him with her swirling eyes. "I was given a choice. I was told that it was never her intention for me to become involved, but since I was there, I was given the option to help. She said that her influence on the surface of the planet is minimal, which is why she needed a vessel to act through. That was what you were witnessing yesterday. I volunteered, and she used me to cleanse Jenova's influence from Sephiroth."

The silence after her statement was absolute for more than a minute. No one knew quite what to say to that. As unbelievable as it sounded, her eyes were enough proof that something had happened.

Everyone was shocked when the silence was broken by Genesis' mother. She had stood at some point and taken a few steps toward Kris. She had to swallow a few times at the look her son was giving her, but she managed to speak to the girl that he still grasped. "Can you... can you do the same for Genesis?"

Kris' expression softened, and she could feel tears pricking behind her eyes as she extricated herself from Genesis and turned to his mother with a smile. "Yes. That was the whole point. Well, not just because of Genesis. It was so I could help them all. There is a lot more at stake here than a few lives if something isn't done."

She didn't get to say anything else before she was engulfed in a crushing hug by the older woman. Genesis' mother had started sobbing, but Kris could still make out her thanks. Genesis watched the whole thing with shock. Despite what he had said to Kristobel, and the fact that he had not barred his parents from the room, he was still uncertain what he believed. Watching now, he could not refute the fact that his mother loved him. It was both liberating and crushing. When he remembered what he had almost done, he felt self-loathing rage through him.

He wasn't given a chance to let it continue as Angeal had come up next to him. Somehow, his best friend always seemed to know precisely when to interfere. Angeal kept his voice low, and his focus was on the two women. "Well, at least I don't need to worry about you feeling unloved. This may be harsh right now, but something tells me once we get past the hard part, things will be better than ever."

Genesis scoffed, but his temper had already died down. By that time, his mother had let go of Kristobel as well. Kris stepped back with a sigh and looked at them all. "Look, there is a lot that we all need to be caught up on, and it would be best if we could do this without jumping around or continuous interruptions. Then we can make plans."

Genesis had come back to her side by that point and took her hand. He looked down at her with an unreadable expression but nodded. "Agreed. We all need to be on the same page first."

At that point, Tseng spoke up. It was clear that he had taken those few moments to get himself back under control. "If you would allow me a few minutes before we get back into the details, please. I will be right back." He didn't wait for any response before he stepped out. Kris wasn't surprised at all. She had no doubt that he was calling to have someone sent to Modeoheim. She was alright with that. The faster they could verify what she said, the faster they could move on.