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	Wings of Love

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	4/4/01
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	A Sephiroth X Aeris Fanfic (though it may not seem so at first sight!)

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	When Peace Thinks She's Won

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	"WHAT?!?" Barret Wallace exclaimed, his jaw dropping. "What the hell do you mean, 
Sephiroth's got a son and you want me to help take care of him??"

	"You're good with kids, Barret," Cloud told him with a grin. "Look, it's an honour. 
He's a nice boy. And his mother's Aeris."

	"WHAAAAAAAT?!?!?" 

	"I had to see that reaction," Cloud apologized, seeing Vincent wince.

	"That's.... all right," Vincent said wearily. "I suppose."

	"His mom's AERIS?"

	Cloud explained how Angeles had been 'produced' and briefly outlined how the boy 
had been brought up, ending with, "you wouldn't want a repeat of Nibelheim, right? Besides, 
this is Aeris' son here."

	"How come *you*'re not hating his guts like you do his dad's?"

	"I see Aeris in him," Cloud replied. "Look at him. You see mostly Aeris, anyhow."

	Barret muttered something under his breath. Vincent winced again. "Yeah, sure, but 
that boy's gotta pull his weight about in the house!" the big man finally declared. All three 
men heard squeals of laughter coming from outside. "Now what?"

	Vincent walked over to the window. "Angeles is pulling Marlene about in a wagon."

	"No shit," Barret's mouth couldn't be closed. He took a look for himself. "Well... 
I'll be...."

	"You mean it?" Angeles's eyes lit up excitedly when he was told. "I'm going to stay 
here? He's allowing me to stay here?" He turned to Barret, who was flushing. "Thank you!" he 
cried happily, lauching himself into the big man's arms. 

	"Yeah, well....." Barret mumbled. "But you gotta help around the house," he said 
warningly. "And help take care of Marlene!!"

	"Yes, sir!" Angeles said, grinning, his smile reminding all of them of Aeris. 

	"And I better not get any bad reports from school, either!" 

	"You're sending me to SCHOOL?" Angeles shouted in astonishment. "I've never been to 
a school!"

	"You're sending him to a school?"  Dr. Dallas asked in astonishment later. "Why would 
anyone send a child genius to a school? That boy would probably finish the syllabus before
 anyone else."

	Cloud shrugged. "I think it's a good idea," Tifa said. "Sending him to school would 
help him make friends." Though it wasn't always true, she added to herself, recalling how her 
childhood friends had always made fun of Cloud. 

	"Next thing I know, he'll be telling me he wants to become a rock star when he grows 
up," Dr. Dallas grumbled. 

	Which was exactly what happened. "I'm glad I witnessed this," Vincent said, grinning 
and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

	==============================

	Vincent lay on his back on the side of a grassy knoll, watching the sky. Beside him 
lay Angeles, who persuaded him to take a walk with him. The two of them generally enjoyed a
 companiable silence as they walked together on sunny afternoon rambles. Marlene had given 
up her new favourite playmate, albeit a bit reluctantly, so Angeles could have some quiet 
time to talk to Vincent, whom Barret was convinced would tell Angeles everything the boy a
sked about himself. So far, Angeles had asked little, merely resigned to know that his father
 would never come back to him. 

	"Mr. Valentine?"

	"Hmm?"

	"Did you know my mother?" 

	It was the first question Angeles had ever asked about Aeris. 

	"Yes."

	"What was she like?"

	Vincent considered his answer carefully. What should he say? "She was a very beautiful
 person, Angeles. Outside and inside. She was kind to everyone, and some say she had a liking 
for Cloud."

	"Mr. Strife? He's a nice enough person, I suppose. Where is she?"

	Vincent belatedly recalled they had not told Angeles of Aeris' fate. "You know what 
happened to your father?"

	"Yes."

	"Your mother had run off to the City of the Ancients without us," Vincent went on 
quietly. "When we arrived there, she had been praying for Holy to come. Your father fell 
from above and killed her." Vincent turned his head to see the regretful look on Angeles' face.

	"So he killed my mother, and you killed him."

	"I'm sorry you never got the chance to know them."

	"Not more than I, Mr. Valentine," Angeles sighed. "Not more than I."

	With that, the two of them turned their attention back to the clouds that rolled by. 

	===========================

	Barret was reading a document quite calmly, a drink by his good arm as he balanced 
the paper on his gunarm. It was good day. Hell, everyday nowadays was a good day. Even after
 the little punk Angeles moved in. Angeles was a nice kid, he admitted. He listened, was 
attentive and thinking back Barret found himself thinking of Jesse, Biggs and Wedge.... But
 not of their deaths, rather of the good memories he shared with them. 

	"DADDY!!" Marlene ran in. "DADDY!!"

	"Marlene? What's wrong??"

	"Daddy, Angeles' been stolen!!" Marlene broke into tears as she ran into her 
baffled father's arms. 

	"He's been WHAT??"

	"They took him away!!"

	"Who did??"

	"The monsters! Daddy, you've got to save him! They're terrible!! They got wavy arms 
and ugly faces!!"

	| Oh, bloody hell....| passed into Barret's mind. "Don't worry, honey," he assured her. 
"Everything'll be all right."

	He hoped he was right as he ran over with her to Elmyra's place. He briefly explained 
what had happened, omitting the fact that Marlene's new playmate was practically the son of 
the kind woman's daughter and the lunatic they had been hunting down about a year ago. 
"I hope I'm not imposing, ma'am...."

	"No, no, no, Barret! Heavens! What is the world coming to now??" Elmyra cried. 
"Quickly go!"

	Barret hurried to his chocobo, but paused. Who to tell first? Definitely Cloud and
 Tifa needed to know... but they were farther off... The Science Buildings were closer. He found
 himself there in a relatively short time and burst through the doors. "Where the hell's 
Dallas??" he lambasted at the receptionist. 

	"Down.... in the labs....." the young woman gasped. Barret stomped past her. 

	"DALLAS! GET YOUR FREAKING ASS OUT HERE!!" he yelled. 

	"God dammit," Sarah Dallas' voice floated from the lab. "Wallace? That you?"

	"Angeles' been taken."

	She had been standing at the door, placidly holding an examination worksheet in her 
hands. The papers fell to the ground with a rustle. Her next word came out calm, almost 
incredulous. 
	
	"What." 

	"Heard it from Marlene. She says he's been stolen."

	"Stolen?" she asked blankly. 

	"Captureed, taken prisoner, kidnapped... that sort of bullshit. Well? What're you 
waiting for? Let's go get Spike and Tifa and Vince and go!" 

	==========================

	"No shit..." Cid was muttering to himself as he handled the controls of the Highwind. 
"So.... Aeris got a kid and she never knew..... That's something, ya know."

	Tifa was worried. Cloud watched her carefully, but there was no trace of uncertainty 
on her face. She was voluntarily worrying for the boy.... The son of the man that had killed 
her father.... And burnt their hometown.... destroyed so many lives....

	Despite the fact that half his DNA belonged to the man they hated, Angeles was also 
made from Aeris' DNA as well. And if he was kidnapped, there was a very good reason. One that 
possibly included a very dangerous enemy. 

	Sarah Dallas was pacing the deck. Cid had contacted Yuffie to ask if she'd like to 
come along, but the Wutain girl had refused as her father was sick. It was rather noble of her, 
and everyone liked to think she was growing up. Red had met them halfway as they headed towards
 a specific island Dr. Dallas told them about. 

	"We abandoned that old place so long ago," she said wistfully to Vincent, who was 
close by. "Me and Hojo.... That was long before we decided to go to Midgar and turn professional 
scientists...."

	"You had good times with your cousin?" Vincent asked. 

	Blue eyes took on a distant cast. "More than you can imagine, Valentine." She sighed.
 "But he became ambitious.... Therefore dangerous. I missed him.... I miss what he was...."

	"I find it hard to think of Hojo as a close relative," Red said a little wryly. 

	Dr. Dallas smiled and bent to scratch the back of the big cat's ear. "It's not so hard 
for me.... I lived it." She called to Cid, "There it is!"

	It wasn't a very big island. There was a small rocky coast, and hovering above they 
saw what appeared to be a little settlement. A few buildings set as if in a small pentagon 
with a square playing court in the center of it, it looked like a little school or some sort. 

	"This is Iraon Villa.... Where we grew up," Sarah said, looking a little happy at 
seeing her childhood home. "After Hojo and I left, everyone moved away too. It's been empty
 for at least forty years." She frowned darkly. 

	Vincent saw immediately what she was scowling at. Monsters appeared to be prowling
 about. "Why would Hojo bring Angeles here?"

	"There is a lab underneath.... Our family's full of science freaks," Dr Dallas said 
with a short bark of bitter laughter.

	"Freaky place," Cid muttered. 

	"You could say that again," Cloud said, looking down. 

	"Watch out!" Tifa shouted, pointing to a flying monster that was swooping down at 
the collected group of Vincent, Dr. Dallas and Red. Vincent fired a few shots from Death
 Penalty, staggering the creature. But he apparently hadn't needed to do anything. Dr. Dallas 
sent a powerful ice spell at the winged thing. 

	Red looked at the seemingly frail old woman with a certain sense of awe. She walked
 down into the lower decks and then emerged with a rifle in her hands. 

	"There's gotta be another way, Doc!" Barret shouted, shooting at another flying 
creature. "There're more coming!!"

	"I can see that, Wallace," Dr. Dallas replied placidly, loading her rifle. "Captain, 
move off southeast about twenty miles."

	"What?! That'll that us goddamn farther from the damned island!!" 

	"Well, we're not gonna get any goddamned nearer if we stay here!" she snapped at him.
She turned annoyedly to Cloud. "Is he always like this?!" she demanded.

	Cloud sighed. "Sometimes worse." He looked worriedly at the island they were flying 
away from. "What's northeast of here?"

	"Another island."

	He winced at the cryptic reply. "I could gather that. What's so important about this
 other island?"

	"You're a smart boy, Cloud. You figure it out."

	Cloud and Tifa stood at the railing, searching the horizon for the other island
 Dr. Dallas had told them about. Tifa glanced at Cloud. He looked calmly, though his eyes 
betrayed his worry and tension. "There's only one person who'd be interested in Angeles.... 
but it can't be him.... he's dead...." Cloud kept mumbling to himself. 

	"I'm afraid not, Cloud," Tifa said softly. "Hojo experiment on himself, remember?
 Anything could happen."

	"There it is," Vincent pointed. "Cait Sith?"

	"Right here." The little cat peered over the railing. "Empty, barren land. Perfect 
for landing."

	"And perfect for building and escape hatch," Dr. Dallas rubbed her hands in glee. 
"Built several years ago when the villa was created. This is our perfect entrace. Highwind, 
land this thing. It's big enough, I promise you." 

	Cloud smiled. Dr. Dallas had not lied, after all. Despite all she said about herself, 
there was something infinitely likeable about her.... She had saved his life once, after all. 
"Shall we?" he asked Tifa, eyes shining in excitement. 

	Tifa put on her gloves. "It's good to be back in battle mode," she said a little 
slowly, grinning. 
	
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	All characters (except for Dr. Sarah Dallas) are copyright of Squaresoft Inc. This is 
just a fanfic for heaven's sake! 

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