The date of the Project came.

And it was the shit storm of all time.

***

Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and Audrea Morgan raced down the deserted, rubble-laden street, fully conscious of the alien hybrids behind them. They turned into an alleyway and ducked behind a chunk of building.

"Now what?" Scully panted. "They’re right behind us!"

"Why are they chasing us?" Morgan asked.

"We know too much. We knew this was coming and they know that. We also have defeated these creatures before, in Antarctica. We know their weaknesses." Mulder explained. "How much ammo do you have left?"

"Not much." Morgan looked around. Damn. Wish I’d know that before I joined the X-Files. They were across the street from what had once been a gun store. Morgan peered inside. "But not for long," she said, grabbing a two-by-four and smashing the glass.

Scully gasped. "You can’t do that! In case you’ve forgotten, you’re still a Federal Official. That’s considered looting!"

Morgan rolled her eyes. "So arrest me later." She climbed through the broken glass.

Scully looked at her partner. "You aren't going to let her."

Scully, this is probably our only chance to get out of here alive. She’s right, we’re going to need more than our FBI Issue 9mm to get out of this city." He followed Morgan into the store. Scully crawled in reluctantly.

Morgan had already grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun and was evaluating rifles. Scully picked up a .22, remembering when her brother had taken her shooting as a child. Mulder found a backpack and gathered ammo for their weapons, as well as a heavier caliber SIG pistol.

Suddenly, a crash though the remaining glass made the agents turn around. The hybrids, not fooled by their prey, had finally caught up with them. Morgan grabbed a large knife off the counter and lunged at them yelling "Get the hell out of here!" Mulder grabbed a protesting Scully and dragged her toward the back of the store. Morgan’s scream was the last thing they heard as they burst through the back door.

Mulder plunged blindly down the alley, Scully trailing behind him, burdened by the rifle. They could hear the footsteps of the hybrids closing. As they ran the ground began to rumble, like the first beginning of an earthquake.

The ground erupted. Scully and Mulder were thrown in opposite directions, as the world seemed to come unglued. Even the alien hybrids had trouble keeping their footing as the ground heaved and buckled. Scully felt herself being grabbed from behind. "Thanks Mulder." She rolled over, to see the bland face on the hybrid thug holding some sort of hypodermic. The hybrid thug gripped her tighter and injected her with whatever was in the hypodermic. As Scully’s head lolled to the side, she saw Mulder and Morgan in the same predicament. The Earth’s roar grew louder, to a crescendo, and finally, mercifully, blackness.

Chapter 1

<Many Years Later>

Dana walked down the stark corridor of the Shinra research facility, headed to her cubicle. If she hurried, she could catch the early train back to Sector 3.

Once inside her small space, she gathered the papers and files she would need tonight. There were always reports to write. Her eyes fell on a picture on her desk. Dana and Lucrecia, one of her co-workers, on a rare day outside Midgar. Scully sighed. Lucrecia had always been the bright, cheerful member of their workgroup. Scully thought back…

"Dana you’ll never believe it!"

"What?"

"I’m going to have a baby!"

"Lu that’s wonderful! Who’s…"

"The lucky dad? You promise not to tell anyone?"

"Absolutely."

"Professor Hojo."

"Wow. It’ll be smart for sure!"

"Yeah!"

As her pregnancy progressed, though, Lucrecia had become more and more withdrawn, not wanting to talk to anyone, even Dana. Dana suspected that Lucrecia had done something to the child, especially after She was transferred to the Nibelheim research facility. Her e-mails had become shorter and shorter, finally not coming at all.

After her son was born, Dana had heard that Lucrecia had died in childbirth, and Hojo had the baby, Sephiroth here in the Shinra building.

Dana sighed, returning to the present. Sephiroth was now a promising young officer in the Shinra army, in charge of the upcoming assault on Wutai, Midgar’s competing city. She liked to think Lucrecia would have been proud of her son, but something didn’t sit right with Dana still about the whole business.

Her reverie was interrupted by footsteps outside the cubicle. Dana looked up to see Professor Gast, the head of the facility. "Dana… would you mind working a little late tonight? I’ve been given another specimen to take a look at."

Dana sighed. So much for the early train. "Of course." She ran a hand through bright red hair.

"Excellent. This shouldn’t take long I promise." The two scientists rode up the elevator to the research room in silence. Once there, Dana took her place at the control panel while Professor Gast touched the intercom control. "Send it up." He turned to Dana. "This was just sent to us from an ‘anonymous source’ and I don’t know much about it. It looks human but…"He trailed off as the specimen became visible in the glass cage. A young girl, about 11 or 12, with wide brown eyes and brown pigtails. She was dressed strangely.

Dana looked at the girl. Suddenly she was overcome by an incredible sense of déjà vu. She had seen this child somewhere before. She was still thinking about it as she turned the dials to adjust the mako spray into the chamber, and took recordings for Gast.

Chapter 2

The man crept silently through the reactor. Shinra HQ had reports of vagrants hiding in the reactor. His hand curled around the grip of his pistol. "Sanction with extreme prejudice" orders had read. He smiled to himself. Turks were always professional, but this was too much. He’d have to find a way to make this one fun.

He crept through the reactor, listening. He heard voices.

"I remember when…"

"It was like this … "

Old men, sharing memories. He looked around the corner to see the ancient men huddled around a mako pipe for warmth. "And everyone had a say in running the world. None of this corporate bullshit."

"Mmmhmm."

He raised the gun to fire.

Then, the voices came. It was the sound of the worst kind of agony, the sound of life being ripped away. He heard it more often now, whenever he was near one of these reactors. He sank to the ground, holstering his pistol. His knees snapped and the two men looked around, startled. The men gathered their things and fled the reactor.

The man in blue reached into his suit coat pocket and withdrew a bottle of pills. He took two and after a few minutes the sound started to fade. His PHS rang.

"Yeah."

"You done yet?"

The man looked around. The vagrants had fled the reactor upon hearing him. Not exactly a perfect job, but the reactor was secure. "Yes sir."

"Good. Get your butt back to HQ. You’re being sent to Wutai. We’ve had a request for some scientists and we need you and Tseng to go along as backup." He registered the voice as that of Colonial Heidigger, the man in charge of the Turks. "The airship leaves at dawn. Be ready Fox. Or else." Heidigger closed the connection.

Great, Just great.

Chapter 3

She looked up at the approaching airship, glowing eyes squinting against the noonday sun and muttered. "Great job, Assholes. Let’s just LET Godo know where we are. The rock’s not that important.&From: masamune@warbeast.com Subject: Fanfic Submission To: fanfics@thegia.com Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 22:50:36 -500 X-Mailer: IMHO for Roxen Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Length: 186 Content-Transfer-EncodiFrom: masamune@warbeast.com Subject: Fanfic Submission To: fanfics@thegia.com Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 22:50:36 -500 X-Mailer: IMHO for Roxen Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Length: 186 Content-Transfer-Encodild expression. The commander gasped.

Sephiroth looked her over. "Sir!" She said, snapping off a salute.

He regarded her. "Relax Commander Morgan. We have much to discuss."

My God, he’s gorgeous.

Insider Audrea’s makeshift office, she sat behind an equally makeshift desk cluttered with maps and other papers. Sephiroth occupied the other chair in the room, and the scientist and the suits stood around nervously.

"Commander." Sephiroth began. "You said that you had something important to show us?"

"Yes, Sir." She reached down and unlocked a safe hidden beneath her desk. She pulled out a red orb and set it on the desk. "It’s some kind of Materia I think. But it seems to be inert. You can’t feel anything when you pick it up. Not like other Materia."

Sephiroth nodded. "Interesting. Dr. Scully?"

The scientist picked up the orb. "I’ll have to analyze it. We have limited facilities aboard the airship but they may work."

"We have a medical lab here, just no one qualified to do this kind of research. I can have someone show you to the lab. Ask my clerk, he’ll show you." Audrea said curtly.

"All right." Dana picked up the orb, and left, flanked by her two Turk bodyguards. Audrea looked at Sephiroth.

"Don’t like scientists?"

"Frankly sir, not much."

Sephiroth looked her over. "They are not like us, true, but always remember, commander, it was science that made us what we are."

"Sir, I assume you’re here for more than looking at rocks." Audrea quickly changed the subject.

"Yes. We don’t have time to continue this petty conflict with this backward place. Shinra wants this resolved. Now."

"I agree. Do you have a plan, Sir?"

"Yes. We have, as you saw, two Turks at our disposal."

"Suits? What in hell for?" Audrea hated Turks. Slimy sneaky bastards.

"My plan is this," Sephiroth continued, ignoring her outburst. He himself was non-too fond of the Turks either. "We are going to offer to negotiate with Kisiragi once more. While we are doing this, the Turks will go in and assess Wutai's forces. We will then call for enough troops and crush Godo and his pathetic town."

"All right, sir."

Sephiroth reclined in his chair. "You, as the commander of this battalion, have the most contact with Wutai. Therefor you will tell me what you know, and I will dispatch a messenger to Wutai to convey our…respects…to Lord Kisaragi."

"Agreed." She reached for a map and began to diagram statistics.

Chapter 4

Inside the dingy lab, Dana looked at the orb in her hands. The two men flanking her had made her uncomfortable, and she had been glad when they had decided to stay outside.

She shuddered. Sephiroth made her very distinctly uncomfortable. He didn’t seem like Lucreicia’s son at all.

And Commander Morgan. There was something so familiar about her, as there was about one of the men that followed her. The one with short dark hair, Fox. Dana felt like she should have known them from somewhere. As if they’d been friends somewhere before.

She turned on the light and began to analyze the Materia orb, hoping she could figure it out here. Sephiroth had seemed very interested in the orb, and Dana was not sure how happy he’d be, if it needed to go back to Midgar.

Outside lab, the two Turks waited. "So we here just to play guard duty to a scientist and a rock?" Fox asked pulling at his tie.

His buddy Tseng sighed. "Don’t know. I think the great Sephiroth has something in store for us. Hope so."

"Great." Fox twitched slightly. He felt he beginnings of another one of his spells. The voices, cacophonous, screaming, filled his head and he reached for the suppressant.

"What’s that?" Tseng asked.

"I gotta headache. Must be from the flying." He took two of the pills and sighed as they took effect.

"You okay buddy? You look like the walking dead."

"Yeah Tseng. I’m fine.

Tseng shrugged and looked away from his buddy. Poor guy.

* * *

Scully…Scul-llyy

The voice…

She was in a gray fog. All around her she could hear that voice, tantalizingly familiar.

Trust… you’re the only one I trust.

Who are you?

Remember… and believe. You have to believe. Scully.

Why are you calling me by my last name?

I’m a friend. Please…remember. You can’t quit. I need you on this one, Scully.

* * *

She awoke with a start. That voice again. It had pervaded her dreams ever since that last experiment with Professor Gast. She looked over at the machine. The small screen was starting to spit out data. Scully keyed the machine to dump it to hard copy and went outside for a breath of air.

Chapter 5

The next morning, Audrea arose at dawn, as she always did. She picked up her katana, her favored weapon, and went outside to stretch and run through some exercises before she accompanied Sephiroth to Wutai proper. She sat on the ground, stretching, feeling the kinks work out of her back. This sleeping in the field shit did no one any good.

Audrea stood, picking up the sword she used, her Katana, much lighter and faster than the standard SOLDIER blade. She began a kata, silver and colored orbs glinting in the morning light.

Sephiroth noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, and looked on as Audrea went through her morning exercises. She was good, very good. He recalled what he had read in her personnel file. The first female SOLDIER First Class, she had created quite a stir when Hojo chose her to undergo Mako therapy. Audrea was the first female to survive. And Sephiroth could see why. He could also see why she had risen in ranks to the commander of this battalion. Quite a feat. Almost as good as rising to General in a short time.

Beyond that, everything about her was classified. Just like his file.

Audrea finished the exercise, and noticed her audience of one. She started. "Sir. Good Morning."

"Hmm. Very interesting. Perhaps you’ll show me that exercise some time."

"Well, no time like the present."

"Ahh. Very good. I like an officer who manages time well." He pulled out Masamune, the six-foot blade shining in the morning sun. "I’m ready."

"Uhmm…Okay…" Usually it took quite a while to teach someone one of theses katas, but oh well. When Sephiroth asks you something you don’t say no. Who could say no to you? Audrea cut that thought off, and began.

Sephiroth having watched her closely before and found it easy to follow her. When they were done, he looked into her eyes.

"That … was … very good Sir." Audrea looked up and realized she was staring into Sephiroth’s eyes. "If you’ll excuse me, sir."

"Of course. It was a privilege."

"Likewise," Audrea escaped into her quarters. Once inside, she looked in the mirror at her reflection. Damn. You like him. Admit it. He’s gorgeous, perfect, a great fighter…

Audrea shook her head and brushed her hair violently, angry at her own reaction. No, she shouldn’t be feeling this way. Not about her superior. Falling for him would do her career no good. Audrea glared at her own reflection.

Perfect…

Your Superior…

Handsome…

General…

Sephiroth…

Audrea realized that her hair was starting to fluff out from the static, and quickly braided it. Pushing her thoughts out of her head, she finished dressing and went to accompany Sephiroth to Wutai.

Chapter 6

Dana rifled through the assorted papers she’d assembled, a report on the rock. She sipped from a cup of bad coffee from the Airship, he third this morning. All night her sleep was pervaded by that same voice, speaking of remembering and of trust. After 8 hours of tossing, turning and almost sleeping she was still tired, and found it hard to concentrate on the data in front of her.

She sat up when she reached the first set of number. She checked the rest of the data in the series carefully. Apparently this was some sort of very powerful Materia, and there should have been no reason why anyone couldn't use it. In fact, she could feel it warm and watch it glow in her hand.

Dana looked up from her papers to see her two Turk bodyguards enter. Fox looked at her. "We’ve been asked to go do a little scouting. Will you be okay here?"

"I’ll be fine," Dana replied. Suddenly she stopped reading and looked at him. His voice … It was the one from her dream. She stared at him intently. There was something very familiar about him.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Damn why was she staring at him like that? But then again, there was something familiar about this scientist. As if it was all right for her to be staring at him.

"Fine. I’ll be Fine." The Turks left for Wutai.

Pushing the Materia data aside, Dana reached for her portable computer. She needed a link to the HQ mainframe, and unfortunately there was only one place out there to get that. She headed for the Airship. Once there, she entered the bridge and spoke to the communications officer.

"Can you get me a datalink to HQ? I need to …check… a few things.’"

"Sure thing. You can plug in down in the operations room."

Once in the operations room, Dana looked at the small screen.

]Dana Scully

The file came up

Other details: Classified. Alpha level clearance required.

What? Why would her file need Alpha level clearance. As far as she knew, Sephiroth’s file was the only one under that classification. Everyone at Shinra knew that. But why her too?

Professor Gast and Professor Hojo were the only ones that had Alpha Clearance. What was going on here?

] New search

Search ready

Other details: Classified. Alpha level clearance required.

What?

Other details: Classified. Alpha level clearance required.

Dana looked at the words on the screen as the realization sunk in. Why don’t I have access to my own life? Why is my past classified. I can remember it. Going to school in Midgar. Wanting to help Shinra make the world a better place.

Dana knew some of the passcodes for Alpha, from working with Gast. If she used them, and someone didn’t like what she found, she could easily be traced. She weighed the risks. Then, Dana remembered the voice in her dreams.

Fox’s voice,

Truth … remember the truth…

She typed in the first passcode.

Chapter 7

Dana typed in the code and waited.

The second specimen to successfully thaw, this specimen was frozen in the year 1999 by an unknown force, possibly linked to Jenova. Found with several other specimens, the first female to thaw.

Appended to the file was another file, another personnel file, with her picture in it.

X-Files Division

Dana gasped in shock, reading the rest of her life story…Graduated from medical school … FBI Academy … The X-Files … What were these places, these things. And as she read on, a strange thing happened.

Her memory’s gate opened. She remembered. Everything.

A lab in HQ. Memories being implanted.

What’s real?

She shook her head, feeling the headache coming on. She quickly typed in two more names, dumped all of the files to the minicomputer and went back to the lab. Luckily, neither the Turks nor the SOLDIERs were back. She had time to think.

An experiment. She was a woman from the past. A woman who had once fought for the truth, only to have that truth taken away. An experiment, one of Hojo’s pet projects. And her co-workers, also experiments. She looked closely at the data she’d found.

The cataclysm of the alien landing had destroyed the plate tectonics of the Earth, rearranging it. The result was the current world, but this world suddenly seemed so … alien.

Dana smiled to herself. Odd that she would choose that word. Aliens. She’d spent most of her FBI career chasing aliens, according to this. Mulder dream was that life was out there, and it was.

Jenova, Hojo’s ongoing Project. Jenova was one of them .. she remembered the black ooze and the people that fought it. The Cetra, those that Hojo wanted to do his experiments on. People like Gast’s pretty wife, Ifanlna. People that were here before humans.

Jenova was an alien, come to colonize the Earth. A group of men wanted to stop her kind from taking over. They tried to cheat death.

And lost.

She, Mulder, Morgan and that girl … Samantha. Mulder’s lost sister. The only 4 to successfully de-freeze.

No wonder…

Morgan, the eccentric computer whiz and gun freak extrodanaire. Mulder with his passion and rash impulses, always leading somehow to the answer. Scully, the rational one, the scientist. Mulder the dreamer. Morgan, the new idealist, only on the X-Files for a few days before the Project.

Colonization.

And suspended animation.

Mulder and Morgan had appended FBI files just like her, and now Scully remembered them. Mulder and Scully. Spooky Mulder. A team. Morgan, who wanted to be a part of it so much, and never got her chance.

She heard a commotion outside. She looked out to see Sephiroth and Audrea Morgan coming back from Wutai, looking not very happy.

Dana Scully … Special Agent Dana Scully … made a decision.

Chapter 8

Audrea blew into her office like a tornado and landed in the chair with a distinct thud. She pulled the sword off of her back and launched it across the room, blade first. It sank several inches into a wood panel.

"Calm yourself Commander," Sephiroth advised from the doorway.

Audrea turned to him, looking slightly calmer after her outburst. "Sure. Yeah, whatever. I suppose you have a plan for taking care of him" She pointed back in the general direction of Wutai.

Pulling the sword out of the wall, Sephiroth handed it to her, and she sheathed it. "Yes. Godo’s weakness is that he relies too much on his ideals of old. We need to find a way to exploit that."

"And how do we do that, sir?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock. "Enter!"

Dr. Scully came in, portable computer under her arm. "Commander, can I talk to you for a moment? In private?"

Audrea looked at her. "Do you have the report on the orb we found? I’m sure the general will want to hear it also."

"No, it’s not about that. I really would like to talk with you."

Audrea sighed. "Sir can you excuse us for a moment?"

"Of course." Sephiroth went outside.

"Now, Doctor, what is so all-fired important it can’t wait?"

Scully opened the computer to show Audrea Morgan’s personal file. "Did you know that your entire file is classified? Do you know why?"

Audrea sneered. "Of course it is. All high-ranking officers have that privilege."

"Look closer," Scully said and with that, began to explain. Who Morgan was. Her past. Her past life.

Audrea listened to Dr. Scully’s story with a growing sense of incredulity and impatience. It was a great work of fiction, but that was all it was. Fiction.

As Scully finished up, having shown Morgan her FBI file, all the data on her past life, she looked up. And realize that his may have been a mistake. Audrea’s Mako-touched eyes were cold, colder than Scully had seen them since arriving.

"Where did you get this information?" Audrea asked.

"That’s classified. A private source."

"Really. Now Dr. Scully, let me make one thing very clear. If you let this work of fiction go, I may forget I ever saw it. I may even neglect to tell anyone about it. Now, if you are through wasting my time, then I suggest you return to your assignment and get me that report about that orb."

Taking that as a dismissal, Scully raced back to the lab.

Chapter 9

Audrea watched the scientist skitter out the door. Damn, what a story. It must have taken her all day to make that up. No matter. She would answer to Sephiroth when the report wasn’t done.

But then again, there was a strange feeling in the back of her mind. There was a certain sense of familiarity about the story. Like a dream.

Audrea shook her head. She needed to get out of here. Between spending most of the day talking to Godo Kisaragi and then this, she needed to breathe. She grabbed her sword and headed out.

Sephiroth saw Dr. Scully shoot out of the lab like a scared chocobo. He saw Audrea Morgan take off towards the ocean about 5 minutes later.

Once on the beach, Audrea stripped off her armor and boots. Clad in her halter top and pants, she climbed onto a high rock and watched the surf pound the shore, relaxing. She started into some of the relaxing breathing exercises she’d been taught in martial arts.

Sephiroth looked up at the girl on the cliff. Such passion and drive. He reached up and began to ascend the rock.

Audrea cleared her mind of the past 24 hours. Dr. Scully’s annoyance. Kisaragi. Her growing feelings for Sephiroth. During the "bargaining session" she had become more and more impressed with his tactical acumen. If he fights as good as he looks – I mean thinks… I mean… Aw shit. Admit it. You’re crazy for him.

As she focused on her breathing, Audrea became aware of someone else nearby. There was only one other person who could have made it up here. "Sir. I see you’ve found my secret escape."

"Yes." Sephiroth looked out over the waves, listened to them crash against the base of the rock. "Meditation."

"I think I deserve it, don’t you?" Not a smart comment. Just a remark.

"Yes." He sat down on a rock. She turned to him, stretching her long legs on another jut of rock. "What did Dr. Scully have to offer?"

"Only that she’s behind in her research of the Materia. And an interesting work of fiction she came up with.

Apparently, she got worried that her personnel file was classified. And made up some interesting things to explain."

"Really. Any basis in fact?"

"Nope. None. I told her to get her ass back in the lab." Audrea sat down on another rock, facing him. Sephiroth looked at her. She was really pretty up here, away from the military camp. It must have been hard to be a woman in charge of all these men.

As if reading her mind she looked at him. "It’s not all bad. I like being in charge. Really. It’s just some days it doesn’t pay to get out of bed."

He’s talking to me like a human being. Not like an officer. What gives?

"I should be getting back. Uhmm…I’m going to take the express route down."

"And that would be?" He had a pretty good idea.

As an answer, Audrea stepped onto the edge of the cliff and poised to dive. "You can follow me if you want. But take your armor and sword off first or you’ll sink like a friggin’ rock!" With that advice, she dove gracefully off the cliff, falling and splashing into the cove below.

Sephiroth watched her in amazement. Then he quickly began striping of his own armor, sword, and boots. Dropping them the ten feet to where Audrea’s own lay, he stepped out to the edge where she’d just jumped off.

Audrea was shocked to see the silver haired form on the edge of the promontory.

I don’t believe it.

Sephiroth dove off the cliff, cleanly hitting the water near her. She waited for him to come up. "Sir?" She called tentatively, treading water.

Silence. Then something grabbed her ankle and pulled Oh, Shit I didn’t think there were monsters out here—

She was pulled under to see a pair of green glowing eyes. She struggled for a moment before recognition set in. Two bodies broke the surface. Audrea turned to Sephiroth. "Very cute, sir."

He looked at her. She hasn’t figured it out yet? "Why so formal? Please, call me Sephiroth. And I can call you…"

Anytime. "Audrea."

He reached out to her. "I think that they can do without us for a little while."

Audrea was speechless. In answer she swam over to him. "The great Sephiroth," she murmured. "After tomorrow, you’ll be a hero. Am I to be your next conquest?"

"Hmm. From what I’ve heard, I should ask the same of you." He caressed her face, lifting her out of the water enough to kiss her.

Audrea was shocked, but only for a moment. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy this. When they finally came up for air, she looked at him. "I think that they can do without us for a long while." She reached up to kiss Sephiroth

again. They sank below the water.

Audrea heard something. She pulled away from Sephiroth and broke the surface of the water. "Do you hear something?" Without waiting for an answer, she began swimming towards the shore. Sephiroth followed in her wake.

Once onshore, Audrea climbed the rocky cliff, stopping about halfway to look out over the plain. There was something on the horizon. She turned and called down to Sephiroth, "Something’s coming. Something big."

"What is it?" He called up, shrugging into his armor.

Audrea peered into the distance. When she figured it out, she almost fell backward off the cliff. "It’s Godo’s army! They’re on their way!" She jumped the ten feet or so of the cliff and grabbed her stuff. "We have to get back."

"Right. I will see you there."

What – Oh yeah. They were going to have to keep this quiet. Shinra would have a field day. So would the media. Any disgruntled trooper could make a mint selling this little tidbit of information to the news – General gets army girlfriend or something stupid like that. She headed towards the base.

Chapter 10

Scully waited for the Turks to get back. Her confrontation with Morgan had not gone well at all, and she could only hope that Mulder would be more receptive. She heard the two men outside. Mulder came into the lab. "Any progress?"

"Nope … Can I talk to you though?"

He looked at her. Great looking redhead... you can talk to me about anything. Where did that come from? "What’s on your mind?"

"Did you ever feel like… like you’ve know someone before but didn’t know why?"

Fox looked at the doctor. No way she could have known how I feel. "Sure. Sometimes. Why?"

Scully opened the computer, this time on Mulder’s file. "I think this will answer that."

Fox reached over, grabbed the computer, and began reading. He read the long file over several times, not believing it at first. Then, he looked at Dr. Scully…Scully…Scully…

The X-Files. His life’s work.

"Scully! What’s going on!" Memories... and his headache was gone.

"Keep you voice down."

"Why – What – How!"

"Mulder we’ve been experimented on. You were right, damn you. Jenova, Mako, Shinra – from my research it all leads back to the Syndicate."

Mulder looked at the files. So much made sense now … his headaches were his subconscious trying to reach him. His sparse memory of his own past.

"Now what, Scully? And do you have any sunflower seeds … damn I bet they don’t even exist anymore."

Scully laughed. Mulder was most definitely back. She reached out to hug him, and the ground trembled. "What was that?" The two restored agents simultaneously dashed for the lab window to see the Wutai army coming over the hill.

"Oh, Shit."

Chapter 11

Audrea raced back toward the base, arriving there in record time. Her second came dashing up to her. "Commander, the Wutai army in on the move. We estimate that they’ll be here in under an hour!" He handed her a radio headset and a black roll of fabric. Audrea put on the headset.

"I know. Where’s the general?"

"I am here." Sephiroth came up behind her. "And this is my plan." Sephiroth began to outline his strategy.

Inside the lab, Scully and Mulder raced to find somewhere to hide. Mulder looked at her. "We have to act like nothing’s happened. I’m going to try and stay here and pretend to be your bodyguard. When we get back to Midgar we’ll find somewhere to go and decide what to do about Morgan and whatever." Scully had told him the whole story about her confrontation with Morgan. As far as Mulder could figure, the Mako therapy she’d undergone was affecting her ability to remember. They just had to get her alone and talk to her. But right now, they had to survive the next few hours, as the Wutai army came down for one last strike against the Shinra forces.

Audrea nodded when the General was done. "All right." She turned to her second. "You heard the general. Get everyone in position. And get another radio."

As the second raced off to spread the word, Sephiroth looked at Audrea. "Are you ready for this?"

"Do I have a choice … Sir?" Audrea replied, puling on the black gloves. Sephiroth looked at what she was holding. Which looked to be two myrthril balls held together by elastic. He looked at her strangely, asking the question with his quizzical expression. In reply, Audrea pulled the end of her braid forward and attached it, wrapping the metal balls around the end of the braid.

He nodded, understanding. Their eyes met briefly. It was going to be a long rest of the day.

The Shinra forces were mobilized in record time, and readied to face the oncoming army. Audrea and Sephiroth, standing on a small rise, looked out over the troops. "You sure this is going to work?" Even after Sephiroth had explained his plan, she was still dubious about the while thing.

"Of course." They waited for the battle to begin.

Mulder and Scully watched the troops and vehicles go by, huddled in the lab. Tseng came in to join them. "Mind if I hide out here too?"

"Sure thing. Pull up a patch of floor." Mulder gestured to the floor around them. "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know. Supposedly our fearless General Sephiroth has some sort of plan that will ‘bring Wutai to its knees’ or some such BS. Frankly I don’t know what’s going to stop that army." Tseng looked at Mulder. "You feeling okay? You look … different."

"I’m okay ... maybe just a little keyed up about this?"

Tseng nodded. No kidding.

Audrea gave her troops the order to attack. The Shinra army met the Wutai forces head on. The much larger Wutai force almost immediately overran the Shinra army. Audrea looked at Sephiroth. "I hope you’re right."

"Of course it will work." Audrea nodded the nod of the unconvinced, and joined the battle. She was immediately set upon by no less than 5 Wutai troops. She drew her sword and began to slice at them.

Sephiroth was also immediately overrun. Apparently the Wutai forces were well trained as they seemed to know what targets to go for. He easily slashed the offending attackers, who were no match for his Masamune blade.

Audrea looked at the 5 approaching Wutai troops. She pulled out her Katana and readied herself for the charge. All five of them jumped on her at once. She sliced into one of them with her sword, kicked backward into another one, and groaned as a third slammed a fist into her chest. She gasped, dropping her sword, feeling the anger.

She reached toward the heavens and saw red. She felt the lighting channel into her body. "Nova!" She screamed, using her arms to push the lighting out around her. The lightening shot out in a circle around her body, effectively knocking out the 5 men around her, and a few more on the outskirts. She picked up her sword and went to find another target.

Sephiroth watched Audrea’s limit flash. She was an incredibly powerful fighter as well. He looked out over the battlefield. Audrea fought her way over to him. "If you have a plan, sir I respectfully suggest that you use it!" She fought off two more attackers.

Sephiroth nodded. "Cover me." He began speaking into the radio. Audrea managed to keep the Wuati forces away from him, with her sword, her fists, and amazingly, her hair. Sephiroth realized what the metal balls on the end were for. She turned her head hard, and the metal balls whacked the unsuspecting target wherever, usually the head. Sephiroth watched as he called the Airship to get patched through to Junon.

"Fire the cannon!" He looked at Audrea. "Tell everyone to get down." Audrea nodded, realizing. She’d heard about the construction of the Sister Ray at Junon, but she was surprised that it was done. She gave the order over the radio.

The canon’s round came flying across the landscape. Audrea could see it miles away, and so could the Wutai troops, who were effectively frozen with fear. Audrea dropped to the ground as the giant round impacted in the middle of the battlefield, sending dirt, rock, and bodies everywhere.

The Wutai troops broke and ran for town.

Audrea looked at Sephiroth. He nodded to her. The questions were already coming over the radio. Audrea pulled the earpiece out and left the headset hanging around her neck. "Very nice. When did we finish that?"

"A few days ago. Why do you think I was sent here?" He looked her over, realizing his own appearance must mirror hers. They were both a sight from the battle. "Get cleaned up. We’re going to go talk to Godo."

"Yes, sir!"

Inside the lab, Mulder, Scully, and Tseng heard the cannon impact. "Wow! That’s a beauty!" Tseng exclaimed, watching the carnage.

Scully remembered reading reports of the giant cannon at Junon, and how it was going to be the key to winning the war. Now she realized why Sephiroth was here.

Mulder looked at Tseng. "You think it’s over?"

"I’d bet my next paycheck on it. Sephiroth’s probably on his way to Wutai now to hear Godo’s surrender."

Scully didn’t think Godo Kisaragi would surrender that easily. But this would be interesting. She did hope the war was over, if only so that she and Mulder could get back to Midgar and solve the Morgan problem.

And decide what to do with their new lives

Chapter 12

Audrea sat back in her chair, relaxing for the first time in days. She peeled her black gloves off and sat back in her chair, resting her feet on the desk. The war was over. Immediately after the battle, Audrea and Sephiroth had gone to Wutai. Godo was shocked, to say the least. Sephiroth dictated his terms of surrender – that Wutai be made into nothing more than a resort and that they not compete with the Shinra.

Godo agreed. What else could he do? Audrea was quick to point out, during Godo’s last stand, that the canon could hit Wutai as easily as it hit the battlefield. Faced with that possibility, Godo had no choice.

And now, Audrea could hear the troops celebrating outside. Looking over her desk, she noticed a piece of paper that hadn’t been there when she left. She picked it up. On it was written a note.

Let’s finish what we started. You know where to find me.

Audrea smiled. Yes, the celebration was off to a rousing start.

Scully looked around at the festivities. Most of troops were concerned with getting drunk. Some were chasing the few females around the camp. Two or three of them had already propositioned Scully. Mulder stepped up to her. "I just heard. We’re both going back tomorrow on the Airship. The good news is Morgan is going with us. The bad news is, so is Sephiroth."

"Why is that bad?"

"Haven you noticed how she looks at him? Morgan has a crush on him. You’re a woman, can’t you see that?" Mulder asked.

"I seem to remember her really never caring about men. All she ever seemed to care about was video games and the Bureau. Like an overgrown college student or something. She’s really changed Mulder. What if we can’t reach her? Should we even try?"

"What do you think, Scully? I like to think she would do the same for us, if she was in our position." Mulder looked at Scully. "We have to try. We’ll get her back, somehow."

Tseng came up and pounded Mulder on the back. "Hey, Fox, come on, let’s go get a drink before the good stuff’s gone. Come on, man!" Mulder shrugged to Scully and let Tseng lead him away.

Audrea and Sephiroth sat on the rock overlooking the ocean. "I hear Shinra’s already planning your party. I talked to President Shinra already."

Sephiroth sighed. "Yes, they want to hold a reception in my honor, or something. Did they invite you?"

Audrea nodded. "Of course." She looked out over the sea, and the moonlight reflecting off it. "Why?"

Sephiroth didn’t answer. He took her hand in his own and pulled her over to him, looking into her eyes. "Now, where were we before we were interrupted by the war?" Sephiroth asked, bending over to kiss Audrea.

"We were down there…"Audrea pointed toward the water.

"Why yes. So we were." Sephiroth picked her up and carried her over to the edge.

"Hey wait a minute!" He dropped her off the cliff. Audrea hit the water with a loud splash. Once under the water she grabbed a weed on the bottom and waited.

Sephiroth watched, worried because Audrea hadn’t come up right away. He followed her off the cliff, looking around for her.

Once she saw Sephiroth’s feet under the water, Audrea thought of the perfect revenge. Silently, she swam over, grabbed his ankle and pulled. He shot under the water, turning to look at her. They broke the surface.

"I suppose I deserved that," Sephiroth said. He reached over to Audrea and pulled her close.

Chapter 13

Mulder and Scully surveyed their new surroundings – the Midgar section 7 slums. "No place like home, eh Scully? Just like our hole in the basement!"

"At least your hole in the basement had heat." Scully shivered. "And power."

"Not a problem. I already arranged for us to get hooked up. People take care of each other in the slums. At least you’re not immediately recognizable." Mulder knew that when the Shinra decided they were worth it, there would be releases out. Mulder was known, having been a Turk. Since Scully was a lab rat, she was not as easily identifiable as a renegade Shinra employee.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Mulder? Shouldn’t we be outside the city?"

"What good would that do? We have to be here so that we can try and save Morgan … and my sister." Mulder hadn’t yet told Scully that he wanted to try and find out why his sister was taken. There had to be records on Samantha, Just like there were records on them. Scully wasn’t so sure. She just wanted to get away from the Shinra and start a new life … with or without Mulder.

Mulder pulled out a large bag. "Well, in my travels, I got us a few things." Mulder pulled out two pistols, pistols that almost resembled the auto pistols they were used to. "I got us weapons that couldn’t be traced back to the company. And I got this, for Morgan." Mulder pulled out a dart gun. "You think you can whip up some sort of tranquilizer that’ll knock her out?"

"Mulder what are you thinking?"

"The reception is tonight. After that, she’ll have a few days off. I thought maybe she could spend them with us."

Scully looked dubiously at Mulder. "Are you kidding? She’ll turn us in before she comes with us."

"That’s what the drugs are for. Tell me what you need and I’ll try and get it."

Scully sighed and got to work, thinking of all the drugs she could remember, and what might work on an enhanced human being.

Chapter 14

Oww..Ouch! Jenna that hurt!"

"You’re in SOLDIER. Suck it up. Remember, Audrea this was your idea." It was 8 PM, and the Shinra reception was to start at 9. Audrea looked in the mirror, prompting Jenna to throw a blanket over it. "No looking in the mirror till you’re done!"

Audrea groaned. True, this was her idea. After a day of military debriefing, and trying to keep all of her body parts to herself, she’d come home to discover she had nothing to wear to this reception. She’d called Jenna, who came over, and promptly hauled her out the door to go shopping. Jenna, had also decided to do Audrea’s hair and nails. The two women had spent the day eating pizza and watching the Midgar News Network, with Jenna making fun of Audrea every time she came on the screen.

"So who’re you trying to impress? President Shinra’s kid .. what’s his name .. Rufus? I bet he’d go for you" Jenna remarked, pulling more curlers out of Audrea’s hair.

"Eeew. I’m not trying to impress anyone…I just thought it would be good to look nice for this…" Audrea lied. Damn straight she was trying to impress someone. No way she was going to tell Jenna who though.

"Come on, tell me." Jenna was finished with her hair and had moved on the makeup. "I can’t do anything with your eyes … you firefly," she complained while putting Audrea’s makeup on. "There. Now put your dress on. I want to see how you look."

"Can I look in the mirror then?"

"Yes. Now go."

Audrea slipped into the black dress. It had a very low neckline, accentuated by a jeweled accent that functioned as a necklace, straps and belt. Jenna had found earrings to match, and Audrea put those on as well. When she came out,

Jenna looked her over critically. "You…look really good." Audrea sat on the bed to put her shoes on. She wobbled in the heels before regaining her balance. Jenna pulled the blanket of the mirror. "Welcome to the ball, Cinderella."

Audrea looked at herself in the mirror, and almost didn’t recognize herself. She looked like a completely different

person. Jenna had pulled her bangs and some hair back into a delicate knot, leaving the rest to flow down her back. The dress showed off her muscled figure, as well as her tanned shoulders. "Are you sure?"

"You look great. Now if you don’t leave pretty quick you’re gonna be late." Audrea grabbed her car keys and headed for the door. "Need a ride?"

"Not with you. Don’t go getting in a wreck and messing up all my hard work." Audrea climbed into her little black car. "And good luck!" Jenna called as Audrea sped away.

Mulder and Scully crawled through the ventilation ducts of Audrea’s building. Mulder found a vent, and watched her leave. Now they just had to wait.

Chapter 15

Military receptions, Sephiroth decided, were boring. He’d seen Audrea come in, and said hello to her, taken aback by her appearance. Heidigger had insisted on talking to her then, and President Shinra wanted to talk to his new war hero. Sephiroth looked around, and saw Audrea escape to one of the balconies. He slipped out the door.

Audrea breathed a sigh of relief. Having already spoken to most of the Shinra top brass, including the president’s rotten son Rufus, who stared at her chest most of the conversation, she was tired. She downed her champagne in one gulp. Someone put a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to see Sephiroth, moonlight reflecting off his silver hair. "Hey…"

"That’s a … different look for you. I like it." He held her hand and kissed her lightly. "Are you bored?"

"Massively. I’ve only been here for like an hour and a half and I already can’t wait to get out of here."

Sephiroth nodded. "Agreed. And how do you propose we slip away?"

"You serious?"

"Always. You know that."

"Well. I drove here, so I guess we could take my car … you want to come over to my place for a while?" Audrea mused.

"That sounds like a good plan. Shall we give the brass a start and leave together?"

"Sure, why not?" He took her arm, and escorted her out the door, to the gapes of most of the Shinra heads.

Mulder head voices approaching, coming down the hallway. He raised the tranquilizer gun. They had 4 shots. And he was sure it was going to take all of them to bring Audrea down. Mulder aimed for the door, knowing she was going to have to stop and unlock it. He lowered the gun, though, when he saw who Audrea was with, Scully jabbed him in the ribs. "Mulder, shoot her!"

"I can’t. Look at who she’s with." Scully looked down and almost gasped aloud. When the hallway was clear again she looked at Mulder. "I think we should wait till she has less powerful company, don’t you?"

Scully nodded, too shocked to speak.

Inside her apartment, Audrea was going through the kitchen, looking for the wineglasses she knew she had somewhere. Sephiroth looked around, listening to her bang around the kitchen. He went in. "Need some help?" His eyes fell on the stack of pizza boxes in the corner. "Is this another of your secrets?"

"Okay…I admit it. I can’t cook." She found the glasses and opened the refrigerator, looking for the wine. Sephiroth came up behind her.

"You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen your hair down." He found the pins and pulled them out, letting the knotted hair flow free. Audrea set the bottle and the glasses on the counter. She rested her head against Sephiroth’s chest, letting him nuzzle her neck. He picked her up in one arm, and took the glasses and wine in his other hand, carrying Audrea to the bedroom. He set her gently on the bed, and the wine on her nightstand. He sat down next to, and kissed her, pushing her back onto the bed.

Mulder looked at Scully. "How long do you think they’ll be? All night?"

"I hope not. Do you have a backup plan, Mulder?"

Mulder looked slightly uncomfortable. "Uhh… would you believe, no?"

"Yes, Mulder actually I would believe no. You better come up with something before someone finds us."

Mulder racked his brain, trying to figure a way out of this.

"And it was like he wouldn’t look at anything but my chest the whole time he was talking to me. It was really freaky." Audrea was sitting in the bathtub with Sephiroth, telling him about her night. She sipped from her glass. "I mean sheesh, really…" Audrea trailed off.

Sephiroth wrapped his legs around her, kissing her neck. "Poor baby."

Audrea yawned. "Mmm, that feels good. God, it’s like 3 am or something."

"I know." He carried her back into the bedroom, crawling into the bed with her.

In the air duct, Mulder and Scully sweated, waiting. Scully shot Mulder another dirty look. Mulder looked at Scully. "I have a plan. We use the oldest trick in the book. You ever go on a ring-and-run mission when you were a kid,

Scully?"

"A what?"

Chapter 16

The doorbell rang. Audrea rolled over. 9 AM. She was still wrapped in Sephiroth’s arms. She rolled over, deciding to ignore it. It was probably Jenna, anyway.

The buzzer rang again, and Sephiroth stirred. "You going to get that?"

"I guess." Audrea slipped out of bed, pulling on a halter and obnoxious plaid boxers. She padded out to the door, and opened it.

No one was there. "What the –" She was cut off as 4 tranquilizer darts planted themselves in her chest. "Huh…" She fell over as the drugs took effect, and Scully caught her. "Come on Mulder, let’s get out of here." The two agents, dragging their third, crawled out of the building.

Sephiroth became aware that Audrea wasn’t back yet. He got out of bed and walked into the front room. "Audrea? This isn’t funny." He looked at the door, and saw something on the floor. He picked up the ends of several tranquilizer darts, and his eyes narrowed. He picked up the phone.

In the Sector 7 slums, Mulder laid Audrea’s limp body on a bed, and pulled out a set of cuffs. Scully looked at him strangely. "What are those for."

Mulder cuffed Audrea. "So she doesn’t beat the shit out of us when she wakes up." As if he’d requested it, Audrea stirred.

Audrea became aware that she was still in her pajamas. She opened her eyes to find herself in a strange bed. Alone. In handcuffs. She looked around and focused on Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Her eyes narrowed. She knew that there were reports of employees going rogue after the war. This didn’t surprise her.

"What do you want with me?" Audrea snarled. She knew that Sephiroth would find her. Shinra would insist on it. If they found Mulder and Scully, so much the better.

Mulder looked at her. "You have no idea what you are?" At Audrea’s stoic expression he continued. "You’re an experiment. Just like us. Is that how you want to live your life?"

"What are you talking about? Lots of people get Mako therapy. It’s what makes a SOLDIER."

"No, Audrea. You’re one of Hojo’s… side experiments. You were frozen in 1999 by a colonizing race. Hojo thawed you out… like he thawed us out. You were a good person once. Look." Mulder put the computer in front of her face.

Audrea looked at the file. "How long did it take you to make this up, Dr. Scully. I’ve seen this before."

Mulder was fed up. He punched Morgan as hard as he could in the chest. "Wake up, Audrea. The Mako won’t let you remember! Or don’t you want to remember! This isn’t you!"

Audrea wheezed as the wind flew out of her. She lashed out, kicking, aiming for Mulder’s crotch. He jumped back. "How – how dare you – I’m going to…"

Look at the file again.

Audrea looked at the file. She saw her FBI bio, her short career. Audrea groaned and shook her head. "Noooo." She could feel the memories trying to break free. "I’m…I’m…SOLDIER…First Class…Commander…Agent

Morgan…FBI…"

Audrea huddled on the ground, shaking. Mulder and Scully looked on sympathetically. Audrea was in for a rough time. As he watched Mulder became aware of sounds outside. Gunfire. Shinra troops. He looked around.

There was no way out.

Chapter 17

Scully heard the gunfire too. She wondered how Shinra managed to find them so fast. Audrea lay on the ground in a heap, shuddering as her old memories started to surface. "Mulder, we’ve got to get out of here!"

"I know … we need to find a back door!" He shoved the computer into Scully’s hands and tried to pick Morgan up. She was limp, her body dead weight.

Shinra troops finally broke through the door, swarming into the room, grabbing Mulder and Scully and throwing them to the floor. Sephiroth came in, took in the scene, and saw Audrea, shuddering in a heap in the floor. His Masamune sliced throught the handcuffs, freeing her arms. He looked at her to see her crying. Sephiroth turned toward the troopers. "Take them back the headquarters. I’m sure they’ll enjoy what we have in store for them." The troopers led Mulder and Scully away, Mulder shouting over his shoulder, "Remember, Morgan – Remember who you are –" he was cut off when the guard smacked him in the back with the butt of a rifle.

Sephiroth knelt down next to Audrea. "What did they do to you?"

Audrea shook her head, not trusting herself to answer. She shook violently, finally managing to gasp out "It’s … all true."

"What is?" Sephiroth saw the computer lying open on the floor. He picked it up and read the file. "What is this? How do you know it’s true?"

"Because." Audrea reached for him. "I … remember … everything. I have those memories. I remember. being .. that ..person." Her expression grew stronger. "I’m an experiment! One of Hojo’s pets."

Sephiroth held her, letting her clutch him, as he read over the file. College-Educated, trained in various martial arts, a whiz with computers … it sounded like Audrea and not like her. Audrea sat up, climbing out of his lap. "I don’t want to live like this … I don’t want to be one of Hojo’s toys."

Sephiroth looked at her, realization dawning. "You can’t … "

"I can do whatever I damn well please." Audrea picked up Masamune, holding it by the wicked-looking blade. Sephiroth could see the blood running out of her hands.

Audrea looked at him for a long moment. "I love you." She plunged Masamune into her chest. As the sword went in, the sheer weight helped it pierce her body. She fell over. Sephiroth caught her and lowered her to the floor. She looked up at him. "Help me … be free … " He nodded, wrapping his hand around the blade and pulling the sword out of her chest. Audrea looked up at him.

And died. Sephiroth held her close, feeling her blood run out over his legs. "I loved you .… too." He whispered.

He laid her body on the ground. "Take her back. Tell Hojo I want to see him." Sephiroth stormed out of the small building.

Chapter 18

Sephiroth looked at the body lying on the stretcher. He was supposed to put Audrea’s body in the Mako furnace, but somehow he just couldn’t. She was dressed in her full SOLDIER outfit, but she looked peaceful. Almost happy.

He picked up her body, considering the reactor. If he threw her in the Mako pit, no one would be the wiser, and Sephiroth wouldn’t have to think of her burning in the furnace.

"I’ll miss you," he told her, as he watched her body fall into the Mako, and sink out of sight. Sephiroth wiped the tears from his eyes, and left her, finally at peace.

"So .. now what Scully?" Mulder and Scully were locked in the detention area of the HQ building, in separate cells. Word of Morgan’s suicide had traveled through the building fast. "Think they’ll blame us?"

"I think you can answer that question yourself, Mulder." Scully stopped talking as footsteps approached the cell bay.

Her cell door opened to reveal Professor Gast. He made a motion for Scully to stay quiet. "Come on." He whispered, unlocking Mulder’s cell. The scientist led them to a back corridor and a door marked "Stairs" They went out onto the stairwell. Gast looked at them. "We have to go. Ifalana is … pregnant. Hojo’s going to want the baby, so we’re getting out of here. You’re welcome to come with us. Sephiroth wants to make it look like you killed Audrea, so you might not want to stay."

Mulder nodded. "We weren’t keen on staying anyway. Thank you, Professor."

Scully gave Gast a hug. "Give my best to Ifalna."

"I will. And good luck. Get out of this city. They might not be able to find you."

"We will. Thank you." The two agents descended the stairs and found themselves in the Midgar streets. "Where do we go from here?" Scully wondered.

"Wherever we want, Scully. We’re free."

Epilogue

The two combatants faced off, sword against sword, the failure against the success.

Cloud felt the burning rage consume him, staring at this man who had caused him so much pain … Nibelheim… His Family … Aerith …

"Omnishlash!"

Sephiroth could only watch and be horrified as Cloud Strife, SOLDIER failure, Hojo’s failed experiment, the failure, cut him to shreds with a crystal sword. He felt himself begin to disassemble … and felt peace as Jenova’s influence on his body weakened. He felt himself floating away … leaving the crater.

"Sephiroth? Is that you?" He knew that voice. He opened his eyes to see a female figure watching him. Muscular, long braid, she was perfect. Whole. He looked closer.

"Audrea?"

"S’me. Do you know where you are?" She knelt down next to him, supporting him as he stood, looking around. He was in a sea of green. "The lifestream?"

Audrea nodded. "And what’s this I hear about you wanting to become a God?"

"It’s a long story." He pulled her close and kissed her. "But, I would have made you a goddess."