Epilogue
Sephiroth didn't know the road Zack took from the Sector 5 station. He was more familiar than most plate-dwellers with the Midgar undercity, but he hardly knew all of it, and it quickly became apparent that no one lived in the mess of scrap they passed now. For whatever reason, these buildings had been abandoned, left to rust and fall apart.
Zack had promised privacy, and Sephiroth was grateful for it. Even out of uniform, he couldn't help but stand out. It was his hair; he'd cut it shorter, after Nibelheim, but it was still silver. Zack had had to dissuade him from cutting all of it off in a fury over how Jenova had used even that supposed similarity to forge a connection with him. He still had moments like that, remembering the tricks she'd played on his mind.
Ahead, the spires of some more prominent building appeared above the trash, and Zack glanced back at him, looking nervous.
"Did we really have to complicate this by bringing Vincent along?" he asked, though he had to know the answer. Vincent had actually offered to stay behind, but Sephiroth rarely went anywhere without him; he didn't trust himself yet.
"I thought you liked Vincent," said Sephiroth, instead of voicing the obvious.
"Yeah, but... 'Hey, I'd like to introduce you to my friend and his dad, who look the same age.' It's weird."
"I can't make it not weird."
Vincent spoke up from behind them. "You needn't mention our relationship at the start."
"Yeah, but as soon as he calls you 'Dad,' the cat's gonna be outta the bag."
"I don't call him 'Dad.'"
"'Father,' whatever. Have you thought about not being so stiff about it?"
"Pardon me if I'm still getting used to having a father," said Sephiroth. "Did you write that letter to your parents yet?"
"Uh," Zack faltered, but lucky for him they'd reached their destination. "Anyway, this is it."
Before them rose a tall stone building with stained-glass windows. On the plate, it might not have been so remarkable, but here it was massive, a solid and steady presence.
"So since not being weird is out, can you at least try to be... polite?" Zack suggested.
"We'll try," Sephiroth told him dryly.
Zack pushed open the doors and led the way inside.
It became more apparent from its interior that the church had weathered its share of storms. Several of the stone pillars had broken, most of the pews stood in disarray, and whether from these stresses or some other intent, here and there the floor boards had pried loose and scattered.
But at the far end, in the false daylight that shone in through the high windows, a bed of flowers bloomed, and Sephiroth understood that something was not quite right here.
A girl in a pale blue dress crouched among the flowers, but she stood at the sound of the door and turned towards them.
"Zack!" she said, greeting his approach with a smile. She put her arms around his neck. "You're early."
Zack grinned stupidly in her presence, and for a moment he drew her close. He kissed her cheek. "Hope that's okay," he said. "These two are super into punctuality."
Sephiroth tried not to stare. He could see why Zack had been unsettled; the resemblance between her and the woman from his memories was so strong that a lack of connection was impossible. She was the right age to be that woman's child, even if she had another mother now. It happened.
And there was something else about her... Something that put him on edge, and he didn't think it was her resemblance to the disguise Jenova had chosen. Unassuming as she appeared, there was a power inside of her.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asked, pulling away from Zack.
"Sure, sure," said Zack. "Aeris, this is Sephiroth, and my friend Vincent. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Aeris."
"I've heard a lot about you from Zack," said Sephiroth, and he extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"You, too," Aeris said, and, not the least bit intimidated, she took his hand.
Oh, he thought, at the contact. This was what it really looked like, the thing he had thought himself to be. He wondered if Jenova had known the form she'd taken, if it had been a private joke shared with no one but herself.
Because here he stood, in his veins the blood of the monster that had killed Aeris's people, and he wondered if she knew. There was something knowing about her expression, but maybe he imagined it.
"You look a little different from your picture, though," she added, tilting her head.
Sephiroth ran a hand over his hair, tied back in a short ponytail, and before he could come up with a reply, Zack elbowed him in the ribs.
"The idiot was this close to shaving it all off," he said. "Can you imagine?"
Aeris screwed up her face. "I really can't!" she declared, and then her attention shifted. "And you're Vincent?" She shook his hand, too, as he murmured a greeting. "I've heard it was the two of you who convinced him to leave Shinra, after that last mission, but I was hoping I might finally get the story."
Sephiroth exchanged glances with Vincent, who shrugged, leaving it to him. It was his story to tell, if he chose, and of all people, he had the chance to tell it to one of the Cetra. It almost felt like a chance for confession.
He wondered how she would judge him, and if, when all was said and done, he might be able to learn something from her after all.
"Are you sure you want to hear it?" Sephiroth asked her. "It's... complicated, and I don't feature as the hero Zack has apparently made me out to be."
"Really, Seph?" said Zack, looking at him in surprise.
"I appreciate you protecting my privacy," he said, "but someone so important to you shouldn't be left in the dark."
"I didn't realize it would be such a big deal," said Aeris, looking between them with wide eyes. "But I'm up for it if you are."
"Very well then," said Sephiroth, and as he began, he watched her face for the realization of why he had chosen to share this with her.
He didn't think Zack knew about her, and Vincent couldn't have realized. If there was one tiny thing he had in common with a true member of the Cetra, it was knowing what it was like to live with the secret of Otherness.
There were worse things, Sephiroth could tell her. There were worse things to be, and still there would be some kind fools who would forgive it.
