Life Finds a Way

Chapter 59

Clarissa was so caught up in the moment between the Soldiers that she hadn't noticed when Veld and Tseng had moved to the other side of the room. In fact, she had nearly forgotten that it wasn't just the four Soldiers in the room. Sephiroth had turned to her with a look that still held pain, but not accusation. Whatever he had been about to say to her was interrupted by Veld. "Ms. Williamson, I still am unsure what to make of everything you have shared today, but I am willing to investigate further. I have asked Tseng to take you to the slums as soon as it can be arranged. The rest will take some time. I will have further questions for you, so for now, I ask that you be confined to Midgar. If you must leave the building I insist that you have a Turk with you at all times."

Lazard visibly bristled at Veld's tone. "Veld, you do realize that for the time being, she is still a Soldier and under my command?"

Veld looked completely unruffled at Lazard's outburst. "From this moment, she will be considered a security risk and treated as such, until or unless she is proven not to be. It is only the fact that she is already a well-known member of Soldier that will allow her to not be confined to a cell."

Lazard didn't get the chance to respond again as Sephiroth stood forward. "She is under my direct command, and I refuse to see her as a security risk. Nothing she has said today was aimed at harming the company. As difficult as it might have been to hear some of the things she had to say, none of it was treasonous. The only thing she asked was for us to listen and then think about working together."

Veld narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't seem fazed by the Silver General's glare. "I am not asking for your opinion. If you feel that she is telling the truth, then you can help prove it. I will not allow her to leave the building without one of my Turks. I will leave her to your jurisdiction as long as she remains in the building." He didn't bother waiting after that before he left Lazard's office.

Once he was gone, Sephiroth turned to Clarissa. "I need to apologize. I can't say that I believe everything you have said, but I should not have allowed my shock to control my actions. I admired Professor Gast. I had hoped that he had merely left Shinra and hid. To hear that he was murdered was too much on top of everything else that had been said."

She gave him a sad look. "I understand. None of this was easy to say. I... I don't want any of you to have to deal with this, but you deserve to know."

He nodded at her words. Before he could add anything else, Genesis stepped back to her side and put his hand on her waist. Both the other Firsts gave him a questioning look that he completely ignored. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess, Hero of the dawn, healer of worlds. Sometimes to heal, you must first cleanse. It is not always pleasant." He leaned over and placed a kiss on her temple before whispering. "I must apologize as well. There is much we need to speak about, but the rest can wait."

She smiled up at him before turning back to the other two. She had to fight a blush at the look they were giving the two of them, and she was thankful that neither of them said anything about it.

Sephiroth still had a serious cast to his face when he spoke. "You said you can prove what happened to Professor Gast, how?"

Clarissa was thankful for the feel of Genesis' hand that still rested on her waist. She took a deep breath before continuing. "He did leave Shinra, for a time, and when he left he took the last living Cetra with him. She went with him willingly and worked with him to help him study the history of the planet. They ended up falling in love and having a daughter. It was right after she was born that Hojo found them and had him shot before he took both Ifalna and their daughter for experimentation."

She hadn't realized Tseng had not left with Veld, so she was surprised to hear him speak up at that point. "So, she is Professor Gast's daughter?"

Clarissa gave him a nod. "Yes, I don't know if you know of their escape, but Ifalna didn't survive. That was how she came to be where she is now." She hadn't needed to ask who he was talking about.