Chapter 68
Kris had never been so happy to see solid ground when they finally landed. As soon as Genesis helped her from the helicopter, she stretched and almost wanted to dance. She was stopped when she caught sight of four men walking their way. Three of them were unexpected, and one of them was far too familiar. Thankfully the group had the foresight to make sure she was wearing shades before they landed as Reno called out to them.
"Hey, lookie who it is! The Fairs! How's it goin'?"
Both siblings froze. Even though the redhead was their friend, neither was sure what to say. Not only had so much changed in such a short time, but two of the men accompanying their friend didn't look so friendly. Thankfully, Reno didn't seem fazed by their silence as their group finally drew even with the helipad, and the young blonde in front addressed them.
"Tseng, Veld has made me aware of everything. What I would like to know is why I should allow any of you to leave this place alive?"
At his words, all four of the Soldiers suddenly shifted to push Kris behind them and had their weapons out. Tseng rolled his eyes at the actions, and Kris sighed. The Vice-President looked on with interest before he turned back to his subordinate. "I see you were not exaggerating. What is it about her that causes that reaction?"
Kris made a frustrated noise as she tried to push her way through the human barricade. She finally succeeded when she poked her brother in the spot she knew would make him jump. He gave her a betrayed look when she slipped through the space it created. She ignored it as she faced the group in front of them.
She gave the young man a respectful nod before she spoke. "Vice-President Rufus Shinra. I suppose it isn't really a surprise to see you here. As for their reactions, two of them are easy to explain as one is my brother, and the other is my fiancé. The other two are not that much of a stretch if you really did read the report."
He raised a brow at her. "Fiancé? Well, that is news, but not really that important. What I want to know is why I should put my plans at risk to follow your advice? What is the point?"
Kris felt herself frowning, and her eyes flicked back to a scowling Veld. She wasn't sure if he was scowling at her or his young Vice-President, but it didn't matter. She took a deep breath to steady herself but paused as Genesis stepped next to her. She shook her head at him when it looked like he might interrupt. He scowled at the motion but thankfully didn't say anything.
Kris turned back to Rufus with a blank face. "You want a valid reason, I can give you several. Let me lay them all out for you in terms you can understand. First, I know you had planned on allying with Avalanche to eliminate your father, but their goal is not just to take him out. Fuhito wants to eradicate all human life on Gaia so the planet can rejuvenate. He would have betrayed you."
There were several gasps, and Veld gave her a hard look. Rufus' only response was to raise a brow. "That would have been unfortunate, but it would not have stopped me. Your warning is noted, but hardly worth my time. What else?"
Kris' eyes flashed, and her jaw clenched, but this was what she had been raised for. She smirked at him as she continued. "Please, I was just getting started."
Despite her response, he only motioned for her to continue. "When you do take control of the company, there are a few things you should know. First-"
He cut her off at that point. "When? Not if?"
She lifted one brow and gave him a disdainful look. "If we are to keep the company from collapsing, it would make sense to ensure we have a stable hierarchy in place. Why would we seek to destabilize the world economy?"
He blinked a couple of times before he smirked. "True enough."
When she was sure he was done, she continued. "Like I was saying, first, you need to know the promised land does not exist. The rumors Hojo has based his knowledge from are a promise to the Cetra for rest. It is literally just their choice once they die to either retain their consciousness and continue to work from the lifestream or to let go and attain their 'promised land' to become part of the planet with everyone else. It is nothing more and nothing less. That leads me to the issue of mako and what it really is."
At that point, he held up his hand. "Spare me. I have heard this already, and I do not wish to hear it again."
Kris tilted her head to the side and pinned him with a hard look. "Fine, if you know, then I won't expound on it, but I will explain the consequences to you in terms even you can understand. There is a finite amount of energy on Gaia, and the more you use, the less the planet has to continue to create new life. It may not happen in the next fifty years, but it will happen. You may or may not live to see it, but at some point, the planet will have to compromise something, and most likely, it will be human lives. No more new humans will be born. Do you understand what that means? Fewer human lives means fewer humans to line your company's pocketbooks. It would be difficult to run a company successfully when you have no more clients, don't you think?"
She paused at that point and gave him a bitter chuckle. "Wouldn't it be ironic if it were your soul that was used to power your grandchildren's electronic cradle for an hour. There and gone again in such a short span of time. Fitting if you asked me."
Once she was done, there was absolute silence for several moments. Finally, it was Veld that stepped forward with a glare. "I cannot accept that this was all given to you by some supernatural deity. Why should we believe any of this?"
Kris looked up at Genesis with a sigh, and his eyes widened. "Do not!"
She gave him a wry smile before she completely ignored his order. He grabbed her wrist when she reached up but pulled her hand out of his grasp. "We have to. Trust me."
He growled at her. "It isn't you that I don't trust."
She shook her head at him. "I understand." She heard Zack and Sephiroth step forward as well, but she ignored them too as she reached up and pulled her glasses off.
When she looked up, Veld took a step back with a horrified expression. However, it was Reno that spoke first. "Damn Fair, what on Gaia happened to you!"
She smirked when she looked over and saw that he was shocked, but looked more fascinated than disgusted. She shook her head and turned to Rufus to explain. "I was not just given instructions from some deity, I agreed to become Minerva's conduit so she could act on Gaia's surface. You can choose to believe me or not, but these men have all seen first hand the truth of what is really going on."
The young Vice-President didn't speak right away. Nor did he back away from her strange eyes. His only response was to watch for several moments. Kris didn't look away either. Their standoff went on until Genesis huffed and stepped forward. Rufus looked to him with a smirk before he looked back at Kris. He held her gaze as he spoke to Veld. "Director, I believe you had a few questions, did you not?"
By that time, Veld had recovered and stepped forward with a frown. His gaze still flicked over her strange eyes before he spoke. "If we do choose to believe you and act on this information, where can we find Felicia and Vincent? What exactly were you planning to do next?"
Genesis didn't allow her to answer. "We are taking her to a doctor. The first thing she needs is to verify our child is not harmed. Afterward, I will be more than happy to take care of anything you would like."
Reno whistled and gave Zack a sympathetic look while both Rufus and Veld turned to Kris with shock. She tried not to look at her fiancé, so she wouldn't get mad at him. This was not the time to bring that up. Still, it was out and needed to be dealt with. "While I do need to see a doctor soon, that is only one of many plans. The most important thing that we need to handle is taking care of the alien that Hojo and Hollander have been using in their experiments. Her presence can still cause issues otherwise."
Veld ran a hand down his face and shook his head before he pinned her with another glare. "Where are they?"
Kris didn't need his question to be clarified. "I do not know where Avalanche is currently." She paused and looked at Rufus. "I do know that they planned on betraying you at the Corel reactor. That is information you might be able to use to your advantage."
Rufus gave her a curious look at that point. "You may have a point. I will consider it." He then gestured to Veld. "What about his partner?"
Kris sighed. "Everything else, Vincent, Jenova, everything, or at least most of it, it's all in Nibelheim."
Rufus raised a brow at that news. "Well then, I guess we will all be going to Nibelheim."