AERITH....THE REINCARNATION OF AERIS?

PART XVIII
CONFERENCE WAR III

Just when Cloud stepped out from the mansion, he spotted two male figures coming his way.  The men were both wearing black outfits and have silver hair, though one of them had short hair while the other had slightly longer hair.  A grin spread from one the men's lips as he spots Cloud. "Long time no see....Brother." Said the man with the slightly longer hair.  The man with the short hair just stood beside the other man while remaining silent.  Cloud gives a slight smirk when he heard the man speak. "Indeed it has, Kadaj." He said.

"So what brings you out here?" Kadaj asked with a slight curious tone in his voice. "Did your red caped friend sent you here?"

Cloud just shakes his head slightly then speaks, "No, I came to see Vincent for advice in regards to my daughter's condition."

"Your daughter?" Kadaj said then he walks over to Cloud and nudges him slightly with a smirk on his face. "So you and that one chick had gotten busy, and you both got a child of your own?  I must say, don't you two have enough kids living at your place as it is?"

Cloud's face suddenly turned into a deep crimson color when Kadaj spoke then he raises his hands up in defense. "No, it's not like that at all!" He exclaimed. "She's adopted like the others."

Kadaj couldn't help but chuckle at Cloud's reaction to his question.  "Is someone in denial?" He asked before noticing Rylon walking over to the doorway of the mansion.  His gaze then shifts over to Cloud.  "I am sorry, but there is some business I need to take care of."

"I must be going anyways." Cloud said with a nod then he heads over to his motorcycle then soon drives off as Kadaj's expression turned serious as his gaze shifts back over to Rylon after Cloud was out of sight.  "You're late, Rylon.  That's not like you at all."  He said as he and Loz walk inside the mansion while Rylon kept a calm expression on his face.

"Please forgive me....Father." Rylon replied as he folds his arms over his chest.  "There were some things I had to take care of."  Last thing he wanted was Kadaj learning about the recent events that had occurred.  That and about that Hojo had figured out that he is the lycan he was looking for.

"Apparently he might be hiding the fact that he now has a girlfriend." Yazoo interrupted, having overheard the conversation as he walked downstairs to the main room of the mansion.  "I think he might be fancying Cloud's adopted daughter."

Kadaj raises an eyebrow when he heard Yazoo speak then his gaze shifts over to Rylon.  "Is this true?" He asked, though only receives a silent answer from Rylon, who would then shake his head a bit and walks upstairs past Yazoo.  Loz snickers as the trio watched Rylon leave.  "He shouldn't cry."  He said.  "He should've gotten used to this by now."

"You're the last person to talk about not crying," Kadaj said with a smirk. "especially when you couldn't get yourself a girlfriend."

As if he just felt something stab into his heart, Loz's eyes widen then soon gets an upset expression.  Apparently Kadaj's words had struck hard to the point where it was almost making Loz cry.  "I can't help if the ladies don't like me..."

"Don't cry, Loz.  Probably why the ladies don't like you is because of the fact you are such a crybaby."

"I'm not crying!  It's suprising you got a girl with those issues you have."

All of a sudden, Kadaj gives a glare at Loz. "I will have you refer to my wife like that!  She is the most beautiful creature that hit this planet!"

"Well, if you two are finished..." Yazoo said as he starts to wander into the kitchen. "I'm going to get some ice cream."

"ICE CREAM!?" Both Kadaj and Loz exclaimed in unison before they would quickly head over to the kitchen to fight over who gets ice cream first.

Meanwhile, Tifa was making her way upstairs to check on Aerith, but stops when she heard the sound of a motorcycle coming to the bar.  With a soft smile on her face, she walks back downstairs and makes her way to the doorway.  Cloud parks his motorcycle near the entrance of the 7th Heaven, then he heads over to the doorway where Tifa was waiting for him. "I'm back, Tifa." He said while giving her a soft smile.

Tifa smiles back at her childhood friend then gives him a hug. "Welcome back." She said. "So what did Vincent had to say?"

His smile faded upon hearing Tifa's question then looks away from her. "......" He was speechless for a moment, unsure on how he was tell her about Vincent's suggestion.  Not wanting to keep any secrets from his childhood friend, a sigh passes from his lips then looks at Tifa. "...She should go to Demon World."

Tifa gasped when she heard Cloud's response as she covers her mouth.  "Why there?" She asked in shock. "They'll make a monster out of her!"

"I'm not sure why he wanted her to go there of all places." Cloud responded. "Though all I know is that it would help her learn how to use her powers.  That and there might a good reason behind going there."

She looks down to the floor for a moment. "It's just...it's just that it's hard to see her go, you know?  She's so young.  I mean, it doesn't seem right that she has to leave all because she has a curse."  A soft smile then crosses her lips.  "However, she's counting on us to be strong for her.  She'll need the support she can get."  As she spoke, Tifa slowly lifts her head up to look at Cloud.

"There's the Tifa I know." He said with a smile before noticing a familiar cat walking into the bar. "Cait Sith...Any news?"

The black and white cat gives a smile as he glances over to Cloud, holding some papers. "Good to see you're feeling a bit better, lad." He said though his smile faded. "Yes, I do bring news.  Unfortunately it's not very good news."

"Better than being in the dark.  What did you find out?" Cloud asked.

"I'm sorry, lad, but I'm afraid your daughter must leave ASAP." As he spoke, he had a sadden look.

Cloud's eyes widen a bit when he heard Cait Sith.  "Why?  What's the rush?"

"You remember the incident 3 years ago involving that state alchemist?  I found some reports in Rufus's office on that subject." Cait Sith answered then he clears his throat as he looks at the report and starts to read it. "Outside the slums of Sector 5, State alchemist, Miyoko Mustang, was seen lying dead on the ground.  A few witnesses have claimed that the culprit was a man with a x-shaped scar on his face."

"We know about that incident, Cait." Cloud interrupted as he folds his arms over his chest.  "What does that have to do with Aerith?"  He did remember about the incident involving the young alchemist; however, he did seem to recall Aerith becoming greatly ill on the same day.  He had to take her to a hospital at a neighboring town that day.  His eyes widen a bit as he seem to have realized something. "On second thought, continue."

Cait Sith blinks for a moment then gives a nod. "Sure thing, lad." He said.  He turns to another page then clears his throat. "A young girl had arrived on the scene in tears when she saw the body.  She had claimed that the state alchemist and her partner would come over to the bar she works at.  That and the alchemist was like a sister to her...Blah blah blah." He skims through the report before spotting something that caught his eye.  "Here's the important stuff." He said then starts to read the report once more. "Hours had passed since the murder of the Twilight Alchemist.  The young girl had taken the body behind the church in the slums, though we're not sure what she was planning to do.  There seems to be sparks coming from where she is.  Not sure what's going on, but thankfully the Turks had arrived on the scene.  They went over to behind the church and soon as the sparks were gone, Turk member Tseng came out with the girl, who seems to be unconscious.  He claimed that they didn't know what had happened back there, but all they found was the girl, though no sign of the corpse.  It seems to be the work of forbidden alchemy."

As the two were listen to their feline friend read the report, Tifa taps her chin in wonder until Cait was finished.  "So could it be that Aerith's the one who attempted human transmutation on Miyoko?" She asked with a slight curious tone in her voice. "Although Miyoko taught her alchemy, Aerith barely ever uses it."

"Aye, maybe so, lass." Cait Sith said. "Though it's best that you two take her away from here as soon as possible.  Rufus was complaining about he can't afford having monsters around here.  That and I have some suspicions..."

"Suspicions?  Suspicions about what?" Cloud asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cait Sith gets a serious look on his face when he heard Cloud.  "It's about that new Turk, even Tseng's becoming suspicious.  I myself never liked him, but Rufus hired the lad, which was a mistake in my opinion.  Ever since he's been here, we've been getting strange reports about people disappearing."

Cloud raises an eyebrow for a moment.  "People disappearing?  If he's that horrible as you claim him to be, then why did Rufus even hired him?"

"That is a question I don't have the answer to, lad." Responded the cat. "All I'm telling you is keep your eye on him and don't leave your daughter alone with him."

Tifa became silent for a moment as she listened in on the conversation before she then raises her hand slightly.  "Though myself and Cloud owe him for saving Aerith's life, and it would be rude of us to repay our debt.  He couldn't really be that bad of person, could he?"

"Tifa's right, Cait." Cloud said. "We can't just not return a favor like that."

A displeased look crosses the feline's face, though he gives a nod. "Just be careful around that guy.  I'll do what I can." With that, Cait Sith turns around and head out of the bar.  Cloud shakes his head with sigh then takes a seat on a stool while Tifa took out two glasses.  She then pours some drink into both glasses.  "Don't worry, Cloud..." She said, trying to give a soft smile as she handed him a glass. "I know she'll be alright."

"I know," Cloud said with a nod. "but it's hard to see her go."

"Though we have to, even though we don't want to." Tifa said as she wipes down the bar counter while Cloud was going into deep thought about what to do for Aerith as well as about the conversation that was just held a moment ago.  Unknown to him and Tifa, Aerith was standing near the balcony, having heard the whole conversation.   Not wanting to disturb her adoptive father or Tifa, she would quietly head back to her room.

In the Conference Room of ShinRa HQ, Dark Nation returns with an anime DVD in his mouth.  Rufus gives a smile to his faithful pet as he gently takes the DVD then looks at everybody else with excitement.  "My faithful pet has chosen an anime!  Not just any anime, but an awesome anime!"

"It better be good.  He must've gotten some boring anime you want to watch." Elena said with a sigh, though gets a glare from Rufus as he points to her. "OBJECTION!  My pet never fails with picking good anime for Anime Night!  Now shut up and eat your snickers while I put this anime on or I'm gonna lower your salary."  As Rufus puts the DVD into the DVD player, Tseng just takes a sip of his coffee while seeming to be sending text messages while Reno wonders what kind of anime Dark Nation had picked out.  I hate it when he does that whenever we have anime night or whenever we have meetings. Elena thought to herself as she takes a seat on a chair and eats her Snickers bar.

Just as she was about to ask Tseng about who he was sending text messages to, she hears the opening theme of the anime playing.  She then looks at the TV screen, revealing that the anime picked out was none other than Naruto.  Her right eye twitches then she glances over at Rufus with a weird look on her face.  "Why that anime?  It's soooo boring!" She asked, pouting a bit.

"Objection!" Rufus yelled as he points at Elena with a glare.  "How dare you say Naruto is boring!  That's an awesome show!  It teaches us how we can do better as a team and learn cool jutsu.  Believe it!"

I think he's full of himself.  There's no way we can learn those things.  It's just a dumb anime about some kid wanting to be top dog that's all.  Elena thought to herself, shaking her head a bit.

"I do agree with Elena."  Scarlet scoffed. "That anime is stupid and boring."

When Rufus was about to speak to Scarlet, Reno quickly puts his finger at Scarlet.  "Objection!" He yelled then smacks Elena and Scarlet upside the head with his rod.  "Don't you two be bashing on a real cool anime!  You both sure don't have any taste for the good stuff!"  The red-haired Turk then shifts his gaze over to Rufus with a grin.  "Rufus, can I bring in a cool anime next time?"

Rufus glances over to the red-haired Turk with a curious look on his face. "Which one?  It better be a good one."

Reno makes a big grin, his teeth having a sparkle.  "The most awesome anime of all time!   Hellsing!"

"Oh yes!  You better bring that one next time, Reno!"

Later that night, Aerith was laying on her bed, though was having difficulty going to sleep.  She thought about the conversation Cloud and Tifa had with Cait Sith earlier.  She was feeling scared of the fact that she was going to a place where demons resides.  How could she handle herself on her own?  She was no fighter, only a flower girl who would help Tifa take care of the 7th Heaven bar.  However, she felt that she doesn't have much of a choice.  She didn't want to wake up with blood on her hands like before nor want to hear people consider her a monster.  She would slowly get up from her bed and head out of her room.  She was going to miss Midgar as well as the family who had done their best to take care of her.  She also couldn't help but wonder who is going to take care of Boco while she's gone.

Once she got into the main room of the bar, she looks around at the empty room since Cloud and Tifa had already went to bed.  She looks toward where the door is, now wondering what the night sky would look like.  She knew that Cloud wouldn't allow her to go outside after dark due to her lycan curse, but curiosity is getting the better of her.  She would then slowly walk towards the door.