Activities

[01.23.01] » by Anna Holmgren

Chapter 1 - A little surprise for you

Pulling the shopping cart to a stop, Tifa inspected the shelf in front of her. 'Damn it, why does it always has to be me buying all the birthday presents?' She knew the answer. She was too nice, that had always been her problem. For the billionth time, Tifa considered telling her companions to do something themselves for a change. 'Yeah, as if that's gonna happen this millennium...I should be happy Midgar is rebuilt, though. This way I won't have to go all around the Planet to look for a present.'

Anyway, Cloud wanted a video game. He had read about some beat'em'up called 'Ehrgeiz' in a gaming magazine, and now he couldn't cease talking about it. Tifa suspected that her friend wanted to relive the glorious moment when Sephiroth finally fell by his sword. Or perhaps he just wanted to slap Yuffie around. She giggled, oddly inspired by the images forming in her mind. 'Who wouldn't. Ehrgeiz it is then.' After paying for the game, Tifa started walking towards the parking lot. Maybe she should try the game herself... err... Just to make sure it functioned properly. Yeah.

Tifa was brutally awakened from her daydreams when a pack of black-clad teen-aged girls chanting something incomprehensible bumped into her, almost causing her to drop her bag. The girls continued ahead without even glancing at her. Tifa frowned, her eyes narrowing. There was something unpleasantly familiar about the way they looked... almost like...

She didn't have time to finish the thought. A gloved hand suddenly clasped her mouth while the other locked her arms painfully behind her back. She tried to break loose, but her attacker was simply too strong. Accepting the inevitable, Tifa let herself be dragged into an alley. The assailant would have to release her arms eventually. He might be stronger then her, but she had a surprise for him. 'I wonder what he'll think about Final Heaven', she thought, smiling inwardly.

When she finally was set free, she turned around to kick his most sensitive spot. Her legs failed her though, when she recognized the person ahead of her. She sank down to the ground, fear and surprise obvious in her eyes. Fighting was the last thing on her mind right now. 'What the..?'

"B-b-but..." she stuttered, desperately attempting to make her paralyzed limbs work again. "I... I saw you... Cloud... Aren't you... dead?" 'That's really intelligent, Teef. '

Sephiroth smiled bitterly. "Obviously not." He helped the frightened woman up. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

By now, Tifa had regained some of her composure. She crossed her arms under her breasts and examined her former adversary. Aside from the obvious fact that he shouldn't even be alive, something certainly seemed to be bothering him. The grip on his Masamune was too tight, as if he wanted to be able to draw the sword quickly. His aquamarine eyes were darting back and forth, trying to inspect everything around the pair at once. 'Something is definitely bothering him.' She waited.

Clearly satisfied by Tifa's reaction, the silver-haired man gradually relaxed. "I know we haven't been the best of friends", he started. 'Really? That's a slight understatement.' Tifa opened her mouth, but Sephiroth held up his hand to prevent her from talking.

"I need your help. I need a place to hide for a while."

* * * * *

Sephiroth refused to explain why he needed Tifa's help. Clearly impatient he finally promised to tell more about his situation once he'd get to a safer place. Tifa didn't really trust him, but she agreed to go somewhere more private to discuss. 'Otherwise he'll drive that thing right through me, I guess.' Shifting slightly away from Sephiroth, she glanced at the enormous weapon. 'Gods, that sword is huge.' He didn't seem to notice. They sneaked through the darkness ever so slowly.

Abruptly grabbing her arm, he forced her to a halt. "Silence!" he hissed through clenched teeth. His pale face had turned even whiter, matching his silver hair. Tifa promptly obeyed, discreetly looking around. She couldn't see anything that would frighten the mighty soldier. On the other side of the road, the chanting girls just stepped out from a doorway. They seemed to pursuit something. 'Wait a minute... What is it they're singing? Something that sounds like... Sephiroth?'

She turned around to look at the man in question again. He was chewing his lower lip while his eyes followed the teenagers. 'He's afraid of them? I can't believe this!'

Finally the girls seemed satisfied that there wasn't anything interesting here. One of them still appeared to doubt. She started towards the alley where Tifa were standing, but the rest of the group stopped her. Whatever it was they were hunting, they would have to look for it someplace else. They turned towards the shopping center and rapidly marched away, their black cloaks flapping after them. Behind her, Sephiroth started breathing again, finally releasing the death-grip on her arm. She shook it a few seconds to help the blood start circulating again.

"Well, let's continue", Tifa told him, quickly following her own instruction. She heard Sephiroth's careful steps trailing her.

* * * * *

They had finally reached Tifa's car. Sephiroth collapsed in the backseat after carefully finding a place for the sword. Tifa raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She turned the key and drove out from the parking place, heading towards the highway leading out from Midgar. After a while the would-be-god sat up, his arrogant mien returning as if nothing had happened. Tifa didn't buy it. She had, after all, seen his strange behavior just minutes ago.

"We've gotten away from those girls now, " she said, outwardly disinterested. With a satisfied grin she noted that Sephiroth's smile faltered a microsecond. "Who are they? You promised you would explain, and this is a safe enough place. "

Reluctantly he started telling his story. "I don't remember anything of what happened after my death. One moment, I felt my heart being pierced by that half-witted SOLDIER reject." Irritation shone in his eyes, which made Tifa smirk. 'Cloud wouldn't be too happy to hear that.'

"The next thing I knew, I was lying on a seashore surrounded by those children. When I opened my eyes, they screamed. One of them, presumably the leader, held a huge, white sphere above my head. Some kind of Materia I believe, but I've never seen a white one before. She almost dropped it when I stirred. Apparently, they hadn't really believed that their 'magic' would achieve its purpose. When they realized that they had indeed accomplished to resurrect me, order was slowly restored. The leader introduced herself and her little assemblage. They call themselves 'Sephiroth's Priestesses'." He sighed deeply, shaking his head at their foolishness.

"They said that they would help me become a god. That it was my destiny to rule the universe. I can't understand why, since I acted pretty stupid when Jenova controlled me..." He frowned, a faint disgust surfacing in his eyes. "Anyway, each one of them is positively sure that she is the woman of my dreams, the one who would be my queen. They never let me be alone; there was always someone with me, trying to manipulate me into promising her a place by my side. "

With a faint smile on his lips, he continued, refusing to look at Tifa.

"You know, I feel utterly absurd saying things like this, but you should've heard them."

Tifa had a hard time remaining calm. "Please continue", she said, hiding her laughter with a cough. 'All those kids who admired him so long ago... Even though they've grown up, they still idolize him.'

He nodded. "They said that they completely understood why I had acted the way I did, and that it was alright. Since I am a descendent of Jenova, I have every right to rule the Planet. As long as they would be allowed to rule under me, I presume. Fortunately, Mother's influence over me is... gone. I have no wish becoming a god, or a ruler. And why do they think I'd be interested in teenagers half my age?"

'Jenova's influence is gone? So that's why his behavior has changed so dramatically...' "I still haven't learned why you're afraid of them. They're just children, what could they do? I mean, you can handle Materia better than anyone alive, and you've got that big sword of yours too. " She glanced at the Masamune and shivered.

"Well... Eh... One of those girls... Not the leader, but they were very close. I couldn't seem to think straight around her." Noting Tifa's big grin, he quickly continued with a faint blush on his face. "No, no, it's not like that. When she was near, I started having these bizarre ideas. And I can almost swear I heard Mother speaking to me. I think... I think that girl also, was one of Hojo's creations. I felt a strange connection to her, and it made me very... susceptible to her inclinations. Took me a while to find out, though. That's when I started planning my escape." He shifted uncomfortably. "You probably don't see me as the right person to judge, but those kids are totally insane. I don't know what they could have made me do, but I don't think they're harmless without me either."

She was beginning to feel sorry for the man. His mother was a dead alien who wanted to take over the world, and his father an insane scientist with the same plans. It was a wonder he had managed to stay lucid as long is he had. 'And those girls... If Sephiroth is telling the truth, they need to be stopped before they harm anyone.' The story had made her a trifle uncomfortable, to be honest. One maniac controlled by Jenova was quite enough, now there was a whole batch of them - with the power to command Sephiroth.

'Damn it, I've almost decided to help him. This is just crazy. I'm going to help the man that killed my father and burned my hometown hide from a bunch of girls. But... this isn't the same Sephiroth that did all those awful things. Jenova was controlling him. I mean, Cloud tried to kill Aeris when he was possessed, but no one is blaming him for that now. Well, no one except himself, but that's not the point. I... damn, what should I do?'

"Alright. I'll help you," she said hastily, crossing her fingers hoping this was the right decision. Sephiroth smiled gratefully.

'I wish he wouldn't smile like that. He's too pretty... hey, what am I thinking?' She closed her eyes, trying to project the image of Cloud on the inside of her eyelids. It didn't quite succeed. What she saw was Cloud and Aeris heading out from the Golden Saucer inn on their first date. 'Damn.' However, the unpleasant thought had made her realize something important.

"Oh. I think I'll postpone telling the others about you. Somehow I don't think Cloud'd appreciate seeing you. Especially since it's his birthday tomorrow. Luckily I have a place of my own where you can stay for a while. I'll try to prepare them for the... er... surprise."

At that, they entered Junon.

Chapter 2 - Break the Silence

Cloud sat slumped in an armchair beside the window, looking glumly into the glass without really seeing anything. 'Tomorrow's my birthday and I guess I should at least feel some enthusiasm, but everything feels so hollow. What reason do I have to celebrate? I've lived another meaningless year, while Aeris... beautiful Aeris... is gone... I wish we could switch places. She deserves to live but I am the one left alive. What's it all for, anyway?'

His mind was replaying her death scene over and over again, as it had ever since Aeris untimely demise. 'Why didn't I do anything?' Although, if he had been able to move, he'd probably pierced her himself. 'I was supposed to be her bodyguard, but instead I killed her.' A part of him tried to counter this, telling him it wasn't his fault, but he refused to listen. 'If she'd never met me, she'd be alive and happy now.'

It didn't matter if it was Cloud's birthday, New Year or whatever festivity, it always took Cloud this way. Seeing the others enjoying themselves like this awoke his grief again - as if it ever could be said to be resting. Indeed, he was thinking about his lost love most of the time, but the pain he felt differed. Sometimes, he even tried to move on. Not today, though. He'd been alone with his destructive thoughts for hours now. No one dared disturb him while he was caught in this mood. Not since the time Tifa'd tried.

* * * * *

"Hey Cloud, cheer up!" she suggested, friendly brown eyes showing her deep sympathy. She always took it upon herself to comfort anyone feeling down, blaming herself bitterly if her efforts failed.

"Wha...? Tifa, please. I don't feel like talking." He turned away from her again; eyes fixed on a dirty spot on the wall.

"Fine", she continued, refusing to yield to his depression. "You don't have to talk, just come and help us decorate the tree, ok?" She glanced at the tree, smiling at seeing Vincent trying to place an angel at the top. Red watched the spectacle, offering his personal views of where the decorations should be placed, all of which was ignored.

Cloud looked up, his blue eyes ice cold. "I don't expect you to understand, Teef, but I was thinking about Aeris. I don't think it's right for us to party so soon after her death."

´It's always Aeris.' Tifa flinched, desperately trying to hide the pain surfacing at her rival's name. "Please Cloud", she tried, "it's been almost a year since she died. Isn't it time for you to... snap out of it? She wouldn't have wanted you to mourn her the rest of your life."

If anything, the words seemed to have angered Cloud even more, to the point of finally letting his feelings show. "I loved Aeris, Tifa," he said, almost surprised by his own words. "I... I still do. And I never had the chance to tell her that. There was always something - or someone - in the way. I can't forget her as readily as you seem to want me too. As you have done." His eyes returned to the stain on the wall, trying to ignore her.

"Cloud, that's not..."

"Leave me alone." Under his breath he muttered something Tifa could only translate as "You didn't even like her, of course you want me to forget about her".

Tifa hurried away, an unshed tear glistening in her eye. As the door to her bedroom slammed, Vincent stared accusingly at Cloud as if had heard the whole conversation. 'I thought he, of all people, would understand. I guess I am alone in this.' For a moment Cloud felt uncomfortable having treated his friend like that. He did like Tifa, it was only... 'Why can't they just leave me alone?'

Tifa's sobbing was the only answer he got.

* * * * *

He sighed deeply, once again regretting that Aeris would never know what he felt for her. Making sure he was alone he finally permitted himself to cry.

He was beginning to feel all right again. For now.

Outside the window, a car stopped on the driveway. After carefully making sure she had locked it, Tifa hurried towards the front door of the house, laden with bags. He lips was formed into the strangest smile, secretive but at the same time wary and almost frightened. 'What has she been up to?' Cloud got up from the sofa to get a better view. However, when Tifa noticed her friend, her expression changed into her usual cheerfulness.

"Hi Cloud! You'll have to stay in there for a while, I'm afraid." She gestured towards her bags and smiled. Cloud nodded and sat down again, in a more comfortable position this time. 'I guess there's nothing wrong with having a bit of fun... I might as well enjoy this.' It seemed he'd endure this birthday, too.

* * * * *

Tifa slammed the door shut behind her, and dropped down on a kitchen chair. 'Damn Cloud! I don't know what I see in him! It's always that Aeris. I wish he'd remember that we're his friends, too. Well, happy birthday, Cloud.' The day hadn't exactly gone as planned.

Alarmed by a sudden movement in the corner of her eye, she tensed. "What's the matter, Tifa? Something wrong?" 'Oh, right. Sephiroth. He's the reason you came her, remember?' She opened her mouth, intending to tell him it was none of his business, but somehow found herself describing her day.

"I guess you know it's Cloud's birthday today", she started. "When we met, yesterday, I'd just finished shopping for the party. I bought this game for him." She gave the copy of Ehrgeiz to Sephiroth, who with a puzzled look on his face examined the gift, browsing the manual. When he heard the reasons behind Tifa's choice, he laughed heartily, flashing an understanding smile at her. She smiled back at him. 'I didn't think he'd have humor.'

"Well, I thought he'd like it. He's been talking about that game since he first read about it, several months ago. Anyway... We got up early this morning, well, not Cloud of course, and baked a strawberry cake for him. I brought a piece of it for you, by the way. I'll get it for you. " The brunette gracefully got up from the chair and picked up a plastic shopping bag that had been standing under the table. It was filled to the brim with bread, fresh vegetables and other food that she thought he'd need.

"I thought he'd enjoy himself today. He's been really moody lately but we hoped he was feeling better now." She found what she was looking for - a small lidded box - and handed it to Sephiroth. "There are spoons in the drawer over there," she explained, nodding towards a corner of the kitchen. She sat down again, resting her chin in her hand, waiting for Sephiroth to taste the cake. He nodded his approval; clearly appreciating it's taste.

"After he'd finished opening his presents," Tifa continued, "he just went up to his room again. When we asked him to come down and have some cake with us, he yelled at us. I tried talking to him, but since I'm not Aeris he wouldn't let me in." Tifa's eyes darkened as she continued. "He's talking about Aeris constantly, telling us others how perfect she was in her beauty, how incredibly intelligent she must have been, and so faithful to her friends... I really liked Aeris while she lived, but I'm sick of hearing her name now."

"Aeris Gainsborough?" He raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly as if he thought of some private joke.

Tifa nodded. "He was in love with her, and now he's convinced himself that she was the love of his life. " 'Sephiroth knows her last name? '

"I see." Sephiroth thoughtfully drummed the fingers of his right hand against the table, making a hollow sound. "And you are in love with Strife?"

Tifa blushed. 'Am I that obvious? But since he already seems to know, I guess I can tell him the rest.' Actually, it'd feel good to finally let someone else know. "Since I was a young girl. We grew up together. But I don't know how I'm feeling about him anymore. I just hate the way he treats us. Sometimes we good enough for him, but at other times we're less than dirt. He just can't stand seeing us being happy, I think." She closed her eyes, trying to restrain her irritation, not quite succeeding.

The conversation receded into a thoughtful silence. After a few minutes, Sephiroth broke it, the faint smile returning to his lips.

"Maybe I have a birthday gift that would suit him", he said. "I think you would appreciate it too." Tifa's facial expression showed him that she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Why, we'll bring him his precious Aeris back, of course."

* * * * *

When the clock struck midnight and Tifa still hadn't returned home, Yuffie started to worry about her friend. It wasn't like her to disappear like this - even though she had had plenty of reasons too, living with Cloud. 'I wouldn't blame her for leaving. If it'd been me, I'd dumped him months ago.' Tapping her foot impatiently, Yuffie skimmed through all available channels, not finding anything that could keep her interest more than a few seconds. Weather forecast. Zap. A talkshow hosted by Scarlet 'Oh gawd, what is she wearing?' Zap. Part 3760 of "The Reactor", one of those eternal soap operas. Zap. Back to Scarlet. Zap. A black-and-white documentary from the war against Wutai. Zap. Zap. Zap.

Finally she turned the television off. After making sure no one was around to se what she was doing, she plucked four Materia orbs from behind the bookcase, where she'd hidden them yesterday after stealing them from Vincent, and started to juggle them. Green Shield followed a red Typhoon and yellow Deathblow, leaving glimmering traces in their tracks. She almost dropped the Final Attack but caught it before it had fallen too far. She'd never told anyone that what she liked most about Materia was the beautiful, sparkling colors. She could watch them swirling inside the spheres for hours. No two were exactly alike in their intricate patterns. But if anyone found out, they'd probably make fun of her. Yuffie, the World Famous Materia Hunter, gawking at the magic orbs just like a little baby who'd just gotten her first toy.

The exercise didn't keep Yuffie's interest for long, either. She caught the Materia, two in each hand, and put the globes away again, carefully making sure that their glow wasn't visible. It wouldn't do if Vincent could find them already. Hopefully he wouldn't even have noticed that they were missing, though with him you could never know. He did seem a bit suspicious at breakfast, but on the other hand, he had made it a habit to always suspect Yuffie of being up to something. Usually he was right, but she tried not letting him know that.

Well, enough thinking about him.

'Boring. Boring, boring, boring.' She had never liked waiting. Everything she wanted should preferably happen the moment she first thought about it - and now she'd waited for Tifa to come back for years. She wanted to show her friend her latest addition to her Materia collection. Tifa wasn't too pleased by Yuffie's little hobby, but she would like this one even if she didn't appreciate the way Yuffie'd gotten it.

Yuffie admiringly gazed into the huge, white orb. This one was truly unique; she'd never seen a white Materia before. Or had she? An insubstantial memory flickered just outside of her reach. 'Where have I seen this one before?' She tried remembering, but couldn't distill the memory fragments into anything useful. 'Whatever. It's probably nothing.'

* * * * *

"What?!?!" Tifa spluttered, straightening in her chair. "Yeah, I'm sure that he'd appreciate that, but why would you do such a thing? Is it even possible?" 'Do I want her back? If someone had offered this a little earlier, right after she'd died, then I'd gladly agreed. I would've done anything to get her back. But now? I guess it's not her fault that Cloud can't stop talking about her, nevertheless...'

"It worked for me," Sephiroth replied, interrupting her thoughts before she could decide what she felt. "As for the reason - would 'vengeance' be an acceptable explanation? I didn't appreciate getting run through by a sword. Apart from that, he's always been an annoying kid."

"But where's the revenge in giving Cloud exactly what he wants?" She still didn't understand. 'Well, at least he doesn't want to kill Cloud. I guess that's some consolation.'

Sephiroth chuckled. The sound was somewhat unexpected, coming from him. "You didn't know Aeris Gainsborough for a very long time." That was not a question, and he didn't wait for Tifa to acknowledge the fact before he continued. "I met the girl several years ago, when we both were test subjects of my father, the late professor Hojo. I had plenty of time to get to know her, between her escape attempts. Her personality has a few rather... interesting traits, to say the least."

"What do you mean?" Her mind was not totally into the question, though. 'By Alexander! Did Hojo even experiment on his own son?'

"You'll see." Once again, he refused telling Tifa more. It seemed he liked keeping secrets. "So, what do you say? Will you accompany me to her burial site?"

"Yeah... I guess."

* * * * *

Yuffie'd fallen asleep in the couch, when the sound of a car arriving woke her up. 'Tifa? Oh man... what's the time?' She scanned the room, fighting to stop her heavy eyelids from taking control over her body. '02:26. Where's she been?' She yawned loudly, stretching her arms towards the roof, when she lost the struggle and dozed off.

When Yuffie awakened the next morning, she noticed that someone had put a blanket over her. In the kitchen Tifa was singing to herself as she prepared the breakfast. Everything seemed to be in order. Yuffie got up, dropping the blanket in a less-than-neat pile, and entered the kitchen bubbling with questions.

"Good morning, Yuffie," Tifa greeted her good-naturedly and handed her a plate. "I made pancakes, is that all right with you?"

"Yeah, sure." In fact, she loved Tifa's pancakes. She always made them just crispy enough, without burning them as Yuffie herself always managed to do. She started eating, and then remember her questions.

"Umm... I was" chew "waiting up for you last night." chew "But you never" chew "came, so I" chew "fell asleep." She swallowed loudly, and emitted a deafening belch shortly after.

Tifa didn't answer.

"So, where were you?"

Still silence, except from the rattling sound when she put the frying pan down.

"I heard when you came home, at half past two."

"I was just taking a ride," Tifa finally confessed. "I needed some time alone."

'Driving around alone for eight hours? Yeah, right. That's not like you, Teef. I'm gonna find out your secret.' "All right," she answered and grabbed another pancake.

Chapter 3 - Enemy Sightings

Tifa closed the door silently behind her, grimacing at the soft click emitted in spite of her attempts to be stealthy. Carrying two enormous bags while tiptoeing wearing high heels proved to be quite an adventure, but she finally reached the car without making too much excessive noise. After putting the bags in the back seat, she sank down in the driver's seat, breathing slowly to calm down. She'd made it, so far. 'Yuffie is suspecting something. I wish I could tell her. But she'd think I'm crazy. And who's to say I'm not?' Well, after tonight she'd find out if all of her and Sephiroth's planning were for naught. Tonight they would revive Aeris. She hoped that Cloud's opinion of her would increase a few notches - but on the other hand, getting his precious Aeris back would probably cause him to forget about everything else.

It was peculiar, how previously so strong feelings could change so rapidly. The thought of Cloud together with Aeris didn't hurt her anymore, just the fact that Aeris was the only thing that mattered to him. What does a life-long friendship mean compared to a passionate, overwhelming love such as theirs? No matter that nothing ever had happened between him and Aeris, of course. It simply was their Destiny to be together. 'So I guess Destiny and Sephiroth knew nothing of each other then.'

Oh, yes, Sephiroth. What would she do about him after all this was over? Would they still be... friends? Tifa still felt a little uncomfortable spending time with him. Not so much for the fact that he was the cause of so much pain. That fact had simply disappeared into oblivion when she started to realize she enjoyed his company more than she maybe should. 'Yeah. Right. I sound like a lovesick teenager. But I... I love Cloud... Don't I?' As usual, there was no one to answer her questions.

After a moment lost in thoughts, she started driving towards Sephiroth's hiding place. 'We'll just get Aeris back, and afterwards I'll decide what to do next.'

* * * * *

The muffled sound of muted footsteps outside Yuffie's door caused the young ninja to smirk. 'So, Teef, you still believe nobody's noticed your small escapades? Trying to sneak away from the master thief, huh. You'd hafta practice a little longer for that, wouldn't ya?' After two weeks of Tifa's mystical disappearances, Yuffie knew what to expect. Tifa didn't disappoint her, but, as she'd done the previous days, climbed down the basement stair to pick up a few bags she'd hidden there earlier this day. Meanwhile, Yuffie sneaked out, far more silent than Tifa would ever manage - since after all, Yuffie'd done this all her life.

Timing her actions precisely, she secured herself in the trunk of the car. She carefully closed the lid above her, just as Tifa shut the front door. 'Ugh.. This place smells worse than Barret's used socks. I really hope Tifa's secret is worth all this trouble.' If it wasn't, she would.. Probably do something really evil. Like renting out a room in Tifa's house to an ex-Shinra employee - no wait, she'd already done that. Yuffie had never figured out who was the most surprised at finding out who else lived in the house, Tifa or Scarlet. Nevertheless, the first breakfast was quite an adventure, though. 'I didn't know orange juice could be a deadly weapon... heh. Ouch!' Laughing while folded double was not to be recommended. Something sharp was poking her shoulders.

Her attempts to shift to a more comfortable position failed miserably, and so Yuffie found out exactly how much her language had improved since getting to know Cid.

* * * * *

Since Sephiroth wasn't too eager to show himself to the world – and the 'sect', if it could be called that, he didn't allow the door to open more than necessary to let Tifa in. He seemed to be calm despite his worries, as usual, while her heart skipped and fluttered whenever she permitted herself to think about what they were about to do. 'What will it be like, to see her again after all this time? What will she think when she wakes up to see me with Sephiroth?'

Assuming, of course, that it wasn't simply impossible to resurrect her. Her body would be all bloated and swollen up after all that time immersed in water and.. 'Eww... don't think about that, now.' The thought made her shudder. Oh well. If magic could wake Aeris up, magic certainly would be able fix such details too.

They sat down in the living room, and discussed the details of their trip one final time. Just another hour until total darkness, and they would leave.

* * * * *

It was difficult for Yuffie to stay hidden even for a few minutes after the car had finally stopped. Her legs ached to be straightened out, but she would have to be absolutely sure that they had reached their destination before she could allow herself to get out. At last she was satisfied that the car weren't to leave again for a while, and so she pulled the lid open and stepped out, silently cursing every move her poor battered legs had to make.

'What the...? Ramuh!' Her eyes were almost popping out of their sockets at the sight awaiting her on the other side of the window. If anyone had seen Yuffie now they would've believed that meteor was back or something even worse. With a start she came to her senses again and instinctively reached for the Conformer. Which lay where she had left it - under her bed. 'Yeah, that's a great place to keep your weapons, idiot.' She smacked herself mentally for being so incredibly stupid, and tried finding another solution. Panicky thoughts kept filling her mind, though. 'He must be blackmailing Teef, or he's kidnapped someone close to her, or she's under his control, or.... Shut up.' As she saw it, she had two alternatives. She could bash through the door at take Sephiroth by surprise, or she could hang around a little longer and see if this place had any weaknesses that she could exploit. The second option did seem a bit safer.

* * * * *

The sleepless nights had taken their toll on Tifa. Closing her eyes, she tried to listen to Sephiroth's calm voice describing his latest additions to the plans, without falling asleep. She didn't quite succeed.

* * * * *

Yuffie had almost fallen asleep too. After checking all the possible entries to the house and finding none satisfactory, she settled underneath the window through which she first saw Sephiroth. She tried listening to what they were talking about, to be able to find exactly what Tifa was doing there. It didn't seem like she was held against her will, though. More like the two former enemies were planning something. After a while she noticed that Tifa was sounding more and more sleepy in her replies, and shortly thereafter she was not talking at all. 'I knew it! He cast Sleep on her, and now he's going to do something horrible with her!' She bounced up, knees squeakingly protesting against the maltreatment, and prepared to throw herself through the window in a cool (not to mention impressive) ninja-esque way to save her friend.

Once again peeping through the window showed something extraordinary. Instead of performing terrible, unnamable experiments on Tifa, Sephiroth pulled a sheet over her, with a gentle smile on his lips. After that, nothing even remotely interesting happened, and Yuffie found herself obedient to the signals from her brain. She drowsed off, content that no one was currently in danger.

* * * * *

Someone carefully shook her shoulder. Not being used to such a tender treatment, Tifa sleepily smiled, forming familiar words that slipped past her lips before she had time to wake up and consider them. 'I don't wanna go to school today, mum. I'm tired, and it's boring.' She yawned noisily, mouth wide open, only then noticing Sephiroth who were laughing quietly. Her eyes popped open, a blush rapidly spread over her face. 'Umm.. Sorry.. I.. umm.. Is it time to leave already?' 'And Tifa scores again. What's the matter with you, girl?' She jumped up from the couch, vaguely acknowledging the sheet she left behind. 'Did I really get that before I fell asleep? I must have. I don't think Sephiroth would do something like that.'

Sephiroth was still laughing, probably at Tifa's dazed expression this time, but she skillfully ignored him. Spending time with Cloud had its downsides, but she had had time to practice - and master - the art of ignoring. Um. That one would probably count as a downside too.

* * * * *

So it all started again. Giddily perceiving that Tifa and Sephiroth seemed to be on the move, Yuffie stumbled over to the car again. 'Please please please let this be a short ride...' As usual no one was listening to her prayers - or anyway no one cared to answer them. As the doors slammed shut, Yuffie once again tried doing the best of a situation that couldn't possibly be improved. When the engine started roaring, all other noises were cut off. Including the interesting discussion just started by the other travelers. The one thing she had managed to hear made her groan. Destination: Midgar. With this car, the trip would take most of the night. 'Can't even cast Mini on myself, 'cause I didn't bring any materia. What has happened to me? The old Yuffie wouldn't go anywhere without a full set of materia. I've gone soft! I'm a wimp!'

Well, she did bring one materia. Only by accident, since she had been fiddling with the white one while waiting for Tifa. That one didn't seem to do anything, though. Obviously, she had to be lying on it as well, just to make her day complete.

* * * * *

After the most boring six hours of Yuffie's young life, including the time spent listening to Cloud's demented rantings about Aeris And Their Undying Love, the car finally stopped again. She groaned at a sudden though. 'Is this to be my life? Cars starting and stopping and starting and stopping, me lying hidden in the trunk all the time? No way! If they start that car once more, I'm walking home, no matter if I've found out the secret or not. I'll never complain about plain old motion sickness again.' Fortunately, it seemed that if the pair were going to travel further, they'd at least leave the car. Tifa was talking to someone about long time parking, and then everybody left.

A few minutes later, Yuffie opened the lid, peeking out. The sun was slowly rising, coloring the sea red. In the far distance, a motor boat was speeding northward, and Yuffie could just make out the contours of Sephiroth's characteristic bangs. 'Where are they going now? Oh man.. Where would I find a motor boat out here?' Searching the nearest surroundings yielded nothing but an old rowing boat, which caused the now extremely annoyed and exhausted girl to initiate a cursing storm that would have impressed even the uncrowned expert Cid.

Ultimately accepting her inevitable doom, she pushed the boat down to the beach, never even considering leaving something as payment for it. Alternating between rowing and pouring out water, she slowly advanced towards the north continent, fervently hoping that Sephiroth wasn't heading for the crater.

* * * * *

Upon arriving to Forgotten Capitol, Tifa found that nothing major had changed since her last visit even though several years had passed. Perhaps a building had collapsed a little more since last, and she thought she'd spotted tracks of a Vlakorados near the entrance to the city. The air was thin and cold, yet Tifa felt as if it clamped her chest, bringing back so many forgotten emotions. Maybe life was more interesting back then, when she still had a purpose - even if it was such a melodramatic goal as saving the Planet. After such a feat, what was left?

Now, she'd finally found a worthy objective. No use thinking about what the next step would be - is there something bigger than resurrecting a deceased loved one? 'I hope Cloud will finally become happy.' The thought wasn't totally unselfish, considering Cloud's rough treatment of his friends the past years. Maybe he'd stop thinking about himself and his losses, if the one true loss would be nullified.

Deep in thoughts, Tifa didn't notice that they had reached their goal, and so bumped into Sephiroth. Once again she had to suffer his quiet laughter, and it struck her that the sound was so much different from the first time she'd heard him laugh. 'Yeah, this time he's sane,' she thought a bit sourly. 'At least... well, anyway he seem to be.'

'So this is where Cloud left Aeris?' the man in question innocently inquired, pretending not to notice Tifa's considering glances. When she nodded, he removed his boots and dove into the water, his silver hair spreading like a fan behind him. Though the water was very clear, it was so deep that Sephiroth faded from sight after a while. Tifa, left on the beach, was amazed by his extraordinary lung capacity.

* * * * *

Reaching the shore at last didn't improve Yuffie's temper a bit. Hands aching with blisters, arms ready to fall off from too extensive utilization - that wouldn't be anyone's idea of a good time. Add to that a night spent squeezed into the trunk of a very small car, and no one can blame Yuffie for being angry.

She found no traces of the others, which caused another outburst. Asking around in Bone Village pointed her further northwards, at which time Yuffie really started to worry. 'All right, Teef. I really hope you know what you're doing now.' The only places of interest north of Bone Village would be the crater - and the City of the Ancients.

There was no materia available in the whole village, so Yuffie settled for grabbing some freshly baked bread that someone had conveniently left on a windowsill. She gulped it down together with an old potion she found half buried in the ground. 'Yeeech!! That tasted like mould!' She threw away the now empty flask, which unfortunately crashed a window some idiot hadn't opened. It obviously couldn't be blamed on Yuffie - after all, she didn't tell anyone to close the windows - but to be on the safe side she accelerated to a jogging and kept the pace up until she was safely out of the village.

* * * * *

Just when Tifa was beginning to worry about Sephiroth, a tiny speckle of light came into view. It rapidly ascended towards the surface, and soon Tifa saw that Sephiroth indeed had accomplished finding Aeris' corpse. Tightly embracing her with one arm so he wouldn't drop her, he kicked his way upwards. He didn't seem to be in any danger of suffocating, though.

Breaking the surface in front of Tifa, Sephiroth ungraciously dropped the Cetra girl on the beach. He sauntered towards a tree, broke a branch off and returned to Tifa with it. Dropping it on the ground, a safe distance from Aeris, he cast Fire on it and tried to dry himself in the heat.

'This liquid is marvelous!' he exclaimed after a while, nodding towards the water he'd just emerged from.

Lifting her gaze from the dancing flames, she walked closer to the water. 'What do you mean? Isn't this just plain water?' Tifa scooped up some of it using her hands and tasted it. 'It sure tastes like ordinary water to me.'

'Don't you see? Look at Aeris. Her body is unblemished, exactly as when you left her here. And I was worried that... never mind. ' It seemed that Tifa wasn't the only one with bizarre thoughts, then. Switching to another subject, Sephiroth continued.

'I didn't even have to breathe during the time I spent searching for her. There must be something magical about this water. I should bring a sample of it to a laboratory and....' He appeared to be enthralled by the topic, and at the moment seemed so much like his father, a scientist with no concern for anything but his beloved research.

'Um.. Excuse me?' Tifa pointed at Aeris.

'What? Oh, right. The Cetra.' Snapping back to reality removed all parallels to the dead professor. Tifa didn't exactly grieve over that. Hojo hadn't been one of her favorite persons, and she didn't need to be reminded that his legacy lived on in his son. She sat down, silently watching Sephiroth prepare his magics.

* * * * *

Disappointment.

Nothing happened.

Not a muscle quivered, she didn't flutter her eyelids open and wake up from her long sleep.

No matter what Sephiroth tried, he couldn't seem to reanimate Aeris. Tifa had never felt so down in her entire life - including the day she realized that Cloud was never going to be hers. With every step of the plan that had succeeded, her hopes had increased. After getting Aeries' body back in that condition, she had been certain that the resurrection would work.

'I am exhausted,' Sephiroth announced, putting all materia back in their slots. 'We will get some sleep and I will try again tomorrow.' He lay down, closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.

It wasn't as easy for Tifa. 'Oh Cloud.. I'm so sorry. I really hoped that I would be the one to make you happy, even if it would be through Aeris. Will I ever be able to tell you about this?'

Chapter 4 - Setting a Trap

High Priestess Mayalin carefully sat down in front of the golden mirror, observing the mirror image doing the same thing but with her plain features replaced by something more magically divine by the tinted glass. Shining lush black hair resting at her back, she looked noble like a queen. Which was, incidentally, what she would become after Jenova was brought back. She would rule beside the mighty Sephiroth, gently guiding him in his decisions, always standing with him...

As she dreamily experienced her glorious future, a faint smile crossing her thin lips, she didn't hear the soft knocking on her door. The knockings persisted, and eventually the door swung open. Satisfied that the one she was seeking was in fact at her usual place, the visitor entered and shut the door behind her.

"Mary Sue, we've...." she breathed, anxious to tell her the good news.

Painfully awakened from her daydreams, High Priestess Mayalin briskly rose from her throne and strode towards the door and the unwelcome guest.

"Never ever call me that again, young girl!" A red mark showed the spot that received Mayalin's fury in the form of a slap. "My name is Mayalin. I am not who I was." Including that "young girl's" best friend.

"S..sorry.." The girl cowered, momentarily forgetting the reason of her going there in the fist place. "I will.. I will never forget it again, High Priestess."

"See to it then." You couldn't treat them sloppily, even if you had known them for years. If she did, they might think they were important to her. And then, when she finally became Sephiroth's bride, they would come with petty, earthly requests for her, as if she actually cared. They would probably whine, making horrible scenes when she would righteously deny them. That would simply not do. Better deal with that now, so they would know their places. It would be enough to be dependent on that awful woman who claimed to be Sephiroth's sister - and did indeed possess that coveted power over him that was rightfully Mayalin's.

"Report to Priestess Seraphin for your penance." Some things she could govern.

"Y..yes, High Priestess."

Mayalin sat down again, but did not get the pleasure of seeing the girl immediately obeying her orders.

"What?" she barked, at last losing her calm composure. What in the Lifestream was wrong with that silly girl?

"We.. I mean.. They have.. Seph.. I mean.. " She seemed to have trouble finding the correct phrasing. No wonder she was still a Novice.

"Out with it then! Do you wish to let me wait forever?"

With an insecure, wavering smile the young woman continued, ready to bolt and run at any time. "Sephiroth's hiding place has been found."

After that, High Priestess Mayalin didn't really have time to daydream. Before she left the room, however, a quick glance in the mirror showed that the roots of her hair once again had outgrown their coloring and was boringly rat-gray.

* * * * *

Waking up to another chilly day, the heat of the sun being shielded away by dark clouds, Tifa at first didn't know where she was. Trembling under the thin blanket, the pain of yesterday's failure hit her with full force as soon as she became aware of her surroundings.

"We failed." She hugged herself, waiting for comfort that she knew would never arrive, feeling as cold and empty inside as she did physically.

"I was so sure that if anyone could bring Aeris back, it would be Sephiroth. But now it'll never happen. I will never see her again." She had of course gotten used to that fact once before, but experiencing it again opened old wounds.

Sephiroth. Yes. Where was he? Tifa looked around, turning her head as much as she could without having to get up. He was nowhere in sight. His blanket had been precisely folded and put near the rest of their things, signaling that he at least hadn't been eaten by a monster in his sleep.

With a sigh, she rose from her resting-place, dropping the blanket in a crumpled heap on the ground, and walked to the bags to see if he'd left any breakfast for her.

* * * * *

Yuffie had continued her journey at dawn. She was too restless to be able to sleep much longer, and besides she didn't much appreciate lying on the rocky ground. Feeling totally miserable, she had decided that she would at least try to catch up with Sephiroth and Tifa. At least they would probably have brought a Restore Materia that she could.. borrow. But with the luck she'd had recently, she'd doubtlessly end up casting Poison on herself. She'd done it before, and the memory was not a happy one. At the time she had been drunk and.. no, it was not a thought worth pursuing. But she had won the bet though, and finding out how Reno reacted to having to cash out money had made it all worthwhile. His girlfriend Elena sure hadn't appreciated it, which had made it even more fun. A smirk slowly formed upon her lips at remembering the incident. The former Turks sure were fun to hang out with...

When she finally recognized the high-peaked, spiraling buildings of the Ancient City from afar, her stomach was growling with hunger. Apparently, Restore was not the only thing she'd have to "borrow". Now how would she be able to stay hidden with these monstrous sounds erupting from her?

"Shut up, betrayer," she whispered angrily to her rebellious stomach, boxing it with a clenched fist as if to emphasize her words. That didn't help much. Her abdomen seemed to have decided to shout out to the world that it wanted to be fed, and as soon as possible at that. She didn't really have a problem with that wish since it coincided with her own, she only wanted it to be a trifle quieter about it.

* * * * *

After some searching Tifa found fresh footprints in the sand. Following their even stride along the beach, she eventually found Sephiroth. He was sitting down by the water, hands cupped and filled to the brim with the magical liquid. He acknowledged her presence with a nod before lifting his hands to his mouth, swallowing the water with a loud gulp.

She sat down beside him and watched the clear water. Miniature fishes were swimming near the surface, plunging up and down and round each other, forming kaleidoscopical patterns with their luminous colors.

"Have you tried again today?" she asked after a while, not wanting to move her eyes away from the colorful display.

"Once."

"Nothing?"

"No." After a long silence when they both stared out over the water, he continued. "However, it feels like something is lacking. "

"What do you mean?"

"I need something... special. Something to focus the magic. I can't seem to think of what, though." Sephiroth shrugged, dismissing the thought as it obviously was leading them nowhere, and rose. Brushing sand off his clothes, he started back towards their camp with brisk steps.

"Wait! What are you going to do now?" She rose as well, not noticing until now that he had put his cloak around her bare shoulders. She thankfully grabbed it, clutching it to make sure it wouldn't fall down and jogged after him.

"I'll keep trying until I get it right." Sephiroth shrugged again, throwing a smug smile in Tifa's direction and slowed down until she could catch up with him again.

She couldn't help but to smile. "At least one of us is still confident in our mission - not to mention in himself of course. No surprises there I guess. He's always been sure of himself, and I'd be surprised if something as trivial as death could change him in that aspect."

* * * * *

At last the forest began to grow thinner. Having marched steadfastly for several hours, Yuffie was glad for a chance to rest. She sat down on a rock, pondering her next actions. "Ha! This will show that stupid Barret I'm not a lazy good-for-nothing."

Her goal was very close now – that is, if the ones she stalked was indeed in the Forgotten Capitol. If they had continued towards the Crater, Yuffie wasn't too sure she really wanted to follow. She half regretted even coming this far.

"What if Sephiroth's insanity has rubbed off on Tifa? Then they probably will kill me the moment they see me... and then they'll probably sacrifice me to their dark god, or devour my bloody remains, or..." Yeah. Those thoughts really made her feel better. And paranoia is good for your mental health. "They didn't act like crazy homicidals over at Tifa's place, but that could've been a ploy to lure me to follow them." Even better. "Shut up, Yuffie." She rose and continued before those thoughts could get the better of her.

* * * * *

Leaning over Aeris' body Tifa wondered over her peaceful expression. Was it right to wake her up again, to this world's all miseries? Wouldn't it be for the better if they just let her rest in peace? Maybe the reason it was impossible for them to revive her was because her soul had returned to the planet. It should have done so.. However, she wasn't too sure that it had. She mentioned it to Sephiroth who was taking a break from his chanting.

"I don't think she has returned to the Planet," he theorized. "Knowing Aeris, I'd guess she has chosen to stay to watch over you."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Normally, no. But she did have special powers, you know that. No one knew the extent of them. Hojo didn't after all his experiments. I don't think even Aeris herself did."

Tifa pondered that for a while but came to the same conclusion. If Aeris could stay behind she probably would have done so. They had seen something appearing to be her "ghost" in her church so Sephiroth's hypothesis seemed more than likely. What remained to be seen was if they could return her wandering spirit to her body. So far, the answer seemed to be no, but she nevertheless felt her good mood returning. Still, one question remained.

"But then.. How come you could be returned?" She didn't believe that he would stay behind just to watch over someone, and she was right.

"I suppose I was too filled with hatred towards everybody that was still alive, when I couldn't be. I am not a Cetra, but my ancestry gave me special powers also. I refused to return to the planet, I wouldn't give it that much."

* * * * *

As Yuffie sneaked closer to the city, she started hearing voices. Feeling extremely relieved that Tifa and Sephiroth at least weren't heading to the crater to continue making him a god, she hastened her steps. The sounds were emerging from a pond near a huge building, and as she stealtily advanced she could pick out some of the words.

"....returned... Aeris.. watch."

"..possible?"

Aeris? So they were trying to resurrect her after all? That had been one of her theories of course, but by some reason her thoughts had focused on the more bizarre ones. Wanting to hear more, she stepped closer..

....and stumbled in the soft sand, cursing loudly as she fell.

Tifa turned around, fists ready in fighting position, preparing to launch a deadly Limit Break. At seeing Yuffie instead of the expected monster, her face fell. Before she had time to say anything, Sephiroth stepped forward, quickly advancing towards Yuffie.

"No! Don't kill me! Tifa heeeeelp!" Yuffie clawed in the sand, arms and legs flailing helplessly in all directions as she desperately tried to crawl away but got nowhere.

Sephiroth completely ignored her though, eyes fixed on something on the ground. Instead of attacking the terrified girl, he bent down, brushed away some sand and grabbed the White Materia that Yuffie by some reason had totally forgotten about.

"Yes! This is what was lacking!" he exclaimed, the Materia's brilliant light mirrored in his eyes.

"What?" Tifa and Yuffie looked at the orb, confusion obvious in their expressions. "That's mine!" Yuffie continued, blissfully forgetting that she'd "borrowed" it from a bunch of girls who didn't seem to have any use for it.

"Is it Holy?" Tifa breathed in wonderment, overwhelmed by its sudden appearance. Yuffie slapped herself for not recognizing it. That's where she'd seen it before. "Some Materia expert I am."

Sephiroth only nodded and quickly returned to the body, eager to finally have a chance to complete his task. Holding the sphere above Aeris' head, he started chanting something incomprehensible.

"I thought that thing was supposed to be useless..?" Yuffie started, turning her head to look at Tifa, but stopped herself when she noticed that the orb was shining brightly, emitting an eerie light that grew stronger with Sephiroth's incantations. After a while misty tentacles started reaching down from the corona, hovering over Aeris' head. A few moments later her body was completely covered by the glow that grew whiter by the seconds, the strands focusing over her heart and the wound slightly beneath it. They all had to look away from the body to keep its contours from being eternally inscribed into their eyes. Then, as suddenly as it had emerged, the light blinked out of existence.

A long silence followed. Something clearly had happened. The question was if it was what they had wanted to happen. Tifa looked at Aeris. Was there any difference? Perhaps the face had gained some color - but then again it was hard to tell after that explosion of light. She was probably imagining it since she so dearly wanted it to work.

Sephiroth slowly let his arms sink down, still clasping Holy as if to keep Yuffie from reclaiming it. He wasn't ready to give up yet, not after that impressive display. He sat down, legs crossed, and cast Cure on the body. When nothing happened he followed up with Cure 2.

"I need that better," Yuffie scowled, reaching for the Materia. However, before she had the chance to grab it, an energy surge encompassed her, leaving her revitalized, all wounds knitting together. At the same time, she heard Tifa gasp. When she turned to see what Tifa was fussing about, Aeris sat up, lending some strength from the brunette.

Smiling mildly amused at the small ninja, Aeris cast her Healing Wind again to completely fill up the party's energy. "Is that better?" Not waiting for an answer she got up on her feet and stretched her arms towards the sky as if bathing in the non-existent sunlight. "What a lovely day! I'm so glad to see you again."

Aeris turned to Sephiroth who was silently packing his things. "Hi there Sephy!" she grinned, ignoring his scowl at the nickname. "I can take that one." She reached for the White Materia that had been imperative in her reviving, despite Yuffie's whining.

"Sephy? Now that's interesting." Tifa couldn't quite see herself ever calling Sephiroth something like that - no matter how good friends they'd become - and smiled inwardly at his reaction. Yuffie was laughing openly and was rewarded with a murderous gaze, which caused her to yelp and jump backwards.

"Now be nice, Sephy," Aeris chided. "There's no need for you to behave like a baby." Sephiroth looked at Aeris, eyes narrowing, and opened his mouth. Then he shrugged, apparently deciding to simply ignore her jabs. Yuffie was trying very hard to stop giggling but didn't quite succeed.

* * * * *

Tifa couldn't believe their luck. She didn't know why Yuffie had suddenly appeared, but since it all had turned out so perfectly after her arrival, she wouldn't press the ninja about it. Still, it had been quite a shock to see her pop out as if from thin air. How could she know anything about their plans? Tifa decided to let the matter rest until later, and just enjoy the fact that their mission was accomplished.

"I wonder what you'll do now, Cloud. Now when your precious flower girl is back, and you can tell her about all the things you've thought of since her departure. And you'll have all the time in the world to apologize or whatever it is you want. Hah. You're gonna bore her to death, and then you'll have something more to whine about and blame yourself for. Just what we need."

It rather surprised her when thoughts like these popped up. She didn't believe she was the kind of person that would ever say something like that, but still her brain took certain liberties at times. Anyway, it would feel good to have Cloud finally stop mourning.

The only thing that possibly could get better would be if Aeris could calm down once in a while. The newly revived girl was chatting endlessly about whatever crossed her mind, and by now Tifa's head was beginning to ache. There were few things she had disliked about Aeris, but her inability to stay quiet was unfortunately one of them. How could she ever have forgotten something like this? She moaned and wished she had brought earplugs.

* * * * *

Yuffie wasn't impressed by the constant talking either. Following Aeris' death, she'd gotten used to always being the center of attention. Now nobody would ever listen to her again... Perhaps it was time to make use of her darker skills now. She hadn't had to chance to steal anything for almost a day now, she'd better do something or maybe she'd forget how to. "Not steal. Borrow," she corrected herself, knowing that the difference between the concepts didn't really matter to her. So what if she'd return the stuff or not? It wasn't as if the real owners couldn't buy new things. She never took things from people that couldn't afford it. Well. Not often anyway.

Extending her arm slightly backwards and to the right, she could just reach Sephiroth's sword. "Oh! Cool weapon! If I weren't such a good ninja, I'd get myself one of these." Groping about, she touched the closest Materia attached to it. "Hmm. Transform. Tempting as it is, I don't think a frog would be quieter. Aaah, here it is." She yanked the Seal Materia loose. "Tee hee, I'm still good at...."

A firm hand grabbed her wrist and forced her hand open despite her struggling to squirm it loose. "Damn." She turned around and prepared to explain herself. Sephiroth didn't seem angry though. In fact, he was grinning when he took it back, and miraculously followed up by casting Sleep on Aeris himself. She immediately fell asleep, snoring loudly. As he lifted her up, he explained "I thought my head would explode if she'd continue chattering. I thank you for reminding me of my options."

Tifa smiled, relieved that she weren't the only one feeling like that. "It's not that I don't like her. I do. She was a very dear friend to me. But I had forgotten this."

"Um. Well." Sephiroth seemed a little uncomfortable, as if he had been holding something important back. "It doubtlessly wasn't this bad before she died. The shock of being dragged back to her body like that probably changed her personality as much as it has changed me."

"What? You mean we'll see even worse sides of her?"

"No, not really. It's just that... Um. How should I put this... Lesser parts of her personality have grown stronger. But she won't be anything she haven't been before, only more of what she was." Sephiroth seemed to be at loss of words.

"I don't get it," Yuffie complained noisily.

"I really can't explain it better. I'm sorry Yuffie. You will have to see for yourself what I mean."

Yuffie wasn't really happy with that answer, but since Sephiroth refused to try to explain it again, she couldn't do much about it. Instead she spent the trip home in silence, plotting ways to extract revenge on Sephiroth by humiliating him in all ways she could think of, stealing his Materia, or making him fall hopelessly in love with Aeris. "That would serve him right." How she would accomplish that part of her plan remained to be seen.

Chapter 5 – Mostly Covering Up

They had almost reached Junon now. With their priceless treasure sleeping soundlessly in the back of the car, leaning on the exhausted Yuffie's shoulder, Tifa slowly relaxed, allowing her tensions to finally unwind. The future seemed brighter than it had done in a long while. She couldn't remember when she last had felt this happy.

The one - and admittedly not very small - worry she did have left, was how Cloud would react to Sephiroth's presence. Since she herself was a kind-hearted and forgiving person by nature, she had soon come to accept Sephiroth as a good friend. She preferred to see his atrocious deeds as something now in the past, something he had had no control over whatsoever. Knowing Cloud though, he wouldn't forgive his foe as easily. Cloud had been one of the countless teenagers blindly idolizing the mighty warrior, and the betrayal had scarred him deeply even if he refused to admit so.

Yuffie's thoughts must have been following similar tracks, since she cast a worried glance at Sephiroth. "Hey Teef? I just thought of something. How are we going to tell Cloud that Sephiroth isn't dead?" She turned towards Sephiroth and continued. "If he sees you, or even finds out you're alive, he's gonna come after you and kill you!" Then, after some thought, she added cautiously "..again." She peered at Sephiroth, hoping he wouldn't take offense. Shuffling her feet to a more comfortable position, she then closed her eyes, feeling the precious sunrays warming her eyelids.

"I don't know how I should solve that," Sephiroth replied, sighing deeply. "Truth to be told, I'm really not that fond of him either - even less so after what you've told me about his behavior now, Tifa. Nevertheless, I do not wish to be his enemy, especially not if I am going to spend time with you." He brushed away a strand of hair from his eyes, causing it to glimmer in the fading sun. Tifa's face flushed red at the suggestion that he did want to spend time again, and again received one of Sephiroth's understanding and somewhat impudent smiles. Which of course caused her face to redden even more. "Concentrate on driving, girl."

"So you are afraid of him then?" Yuffie decided to help Tifa out, forcing herself to become the center of attention, but when Sephiroth turned to face her she regretted that she had even opened her mouth. "Great, you're finally learning when to shut up. Next time, try doing it before you talk," an annoying small voice hissed in the back of her head, and Yuffie moaned. Sephiroth wasn't visibly disturbed by the question, though. Instead, he pondered the query for a while. "I suppose that he could kill me again, and probably much easier this time since Mother would not help me now," he finally admitted, shrugging. Obviously, death was not an easy subject, which was quite understandable.

'I wish he wouldn't talk about that freaky alien like that,' Yuffie thought and grimaced. She quickly rearranged her facial expression, hiding it behind yet another yawn, and hoped he hadn't noticed anything. "What a strange situation." She was at a total loss at how to react. She had heard Sephiroth's story, and while she still weren't completely ready to befriend him, he at least seemed more than deserving of another chance. "He's certainly more nice and friendly to be with than Cloud have ever been as long as I've known him. And cuter. Shut up."

"Sorry to interrupt you, Sephiroth, but we'll be back in Junon in five minutes," Tifa said. "Want me to drive you to my place, or do you want to risk it and come with us? I could really need your help in explaining how we got Aeris back..." Her pleading brown puppy-eyes met his through the rearview mirror, and Sephiroth smiled. "I guess I will have to encounter him sooner or later anyway," he replied, taking a deep breath. Tifa nodded. The rest of the journey passed in silence, as they all contemplated the extraordinary situation they would soon face.

* * * * *

Having fallen asleep in the living room couch, Cloud once more re-lived the events leading to his love's death. Tossing and turning in his bed, he was once more climbing down the arching crystalline stairs in the City of the Ancient. Seeing Aeris innocently praying for Holy, he screamed to his friends to grab her and run the hell out of there, but all in vain, as no sound ever crossed his lips. Once more, he watched a black-clad Sephiroth silently descend, sword raised, ready to pierce the Cetra who hadn't perceived the danger - or perhaps didn't care. Once more Cloud carried the dead woman's body to the water, letting her sink down into the dark depths, his eyes fixed on that sweet smile on her lips, hoping against hope that she would open her gorgeous eyes and return to him. Once more, he woke up with matted hair clinging to his sweaty face a mere instant before he would have screamed out loud.

He gradually stopped panting, slowly reverting to a more acceptable breathing rhythm for a person not currently fighting a WEAPON, and sat up. "Am I going to have this horrible dream the rest of my life? What kind of life is this anyway?" If he ever knew the answer to that question, perhaps he could become happy again.

For now, though, he had about two seconds to freshen up before the passengers of the car that just parked outside would enter the house. "What is it now?" He tried straightening his hair but only managed to get it to stand right up.

* * * * *

Tifa opened the front door, peering anxiously through the opening as if to clear the way. When she saw that Cloud was perching on the couch, scowling at her, her heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously pressed a hand to her throat as if someone had threatened her. She closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, and nodded to herself. "It's only Cloud after all. I guess this is it, Teef." She looked at Cloud, a faint but unmistakably eager smile crossing her lips, and glanced out towards the car where Yuffie and Sephiroth were waking the sleeping beauty up.

"Cloud?" she started, not really knowing how to continue. "Why does he look at me like that?" Getting no answer from him, Tifa's smile faded. "Oh, what did I expect from him anyway. A big hug and a kiss?" "There's something I haven't told you."

"It can wait," Cloud answered grumpily. "If you haven't told me yet, it probably isn't important anyway." He wanted to go back to sleep, hopefully meeting Aeris in a happier context this time.

"But.. Well. It is important.. but I guess you'll have to see for yourself... Yuffie, you can come in now." The last sentence was shouted through the open door, and was immediately followed by the sound of footsteps on the path outside.

Cloud was totally confused. What was the woman talking about? Obviously, she and Yuffie had some silly little secret, but why was she acting so strangely? When the talkative Wutaian girl entered the house, Cloud was prepared to ask her just that, but his words got stuck in his throat when he saw the sleepyheaded woman she was leading in behind her.

"Aeris?" he gasped, eyes wide open, not knowing if this was just a continuation of his usual dreams. If so, she would probably vanish again in a green puff of smoke when he tried to reach her.

"Aeris?" he tried again, once more failing to formulate a coherent string of words. He slowly walked towards her, all the while prepared for her sudden disappearance. "Is this... really you? Am I dreaming?"

"Of course you're not dreaming, you silly boy, " the Cetra answered impishly, letting one of her trademark smiles lighten up the room. "So, you've been dreaming about me?" Cloud blushed, but didn't answer, to Aeris' delight. Tifa had discretely withdrawn to a dark corner, wanting to experience the reunion but still not ready to participate. This was something Cloud needed to do alone. Besides, she had already heard everything she knew he was going to say, and she most certainly had no part in it.

"How is this possible? You are dead," he declared, once again showing his remarkable skill in stating the obvious.

Now Sephiroth felt it was his time to shine. "Happy birthday, Strife," he answered, with Aeris' soft laughing backing him up as he stepped into the room. Yuffie nervously joined Tifa in the corner, fidgeting with her headband. This could easily become very messy, if Cloud realized who the man who just entered was. Tifa unconsciously reached for her Materia, and at feeling the cold surface caressing her palm, wondered who she was going to use it against, if such an action would become necessary.

There seemed to be no reason to worry just yet. Cloud paid no attention whatsoever to the newcomer. It appeared he hadn't even heard the reply. He was to busy making sure that this was indeed the Aeris he had been dreaming about constantly since her death - and for a quite a while before it as well. He grabbed her hands, holding them tightly; feeling for her pulse to make sure she really was alive. Finally he had certified that he was indeed awake, and this was indeed his lost love.

Well, obviously not lost anymore. And as for love? Maybe now was the time to find out how close to reality his fondest dreams would be. He let his arms enfold her, holding her close to him, and felt her return the embrace. That was surely a good sign. Not willing to let her go just yet, he released his grip a little, cupping Aeris' chin with a hand just to be able to tilt her face upwards. Cloud couldn't stop himself when looking into those luminous green eyes. Trying to put all his passion and yearning for her in it, he covered her marvelously silken mouth with his own dry lips and pulled her into a kiss. She did not resist.

* * * * *

Tifa's heart ached with longing at seeing Cloud and Aeris merge. Just a year ago - or even closer to the now than that - the pain would have come from the realization that she would be totally out of the picture now that Cloud got the one he truly wanted. Now, however, she only felt how lonely she was, and wondered if she would ever experience similar feelings to anyone - and of course, getting love in return.

Feeling that the couple would need some privacy after their long parting, she blinked away a tear and headed towards the door outside. Sephiroth seemed to catch her drift, and, after gently putting an arm around her shoulders, led her outward. Yuffie stood gawking at the kissing couple until receiving an elbow nudge from the withdrawing Tifa. With an embarrassed grin she run out, almost tripping over her feet in her eagerness to show that she wasn't trying to peep.

* * * * *

Too soon the kiss came to an end. Aeris giggled and sat down on the sofa, looking expectantly at Cloud. "Aren't you going to say anything, Cloudie?" "Cloudie?" He didn't know if he really liked that nickname. It sounded a little.. Stupid. "Well, that's not important right now. Lots of time for that later. Okay Cloud, here we go..." He took a deep breath, mentally preparing for the words he was about to splutter out.

"Aeris, I.. " He closed his eyes, crossing his finger behind his back. "She did kiss me back. That has got to signify something.. Now you've started it, better continue. " "I've been thinking a lot about you. No, about us."

Aeris smiled encouragingly, tilting her head and still smiling. "Really? That sounds interesting." She patted the empty spot next to her, inviting Cloud to sit down next to her. Cloud didn't notice; he was too into what he was going to say.

"I.. uhh.. Sorry, I've never done this before.." He scratched his head and decided that he might as well carry on sounding stupid. It wasn't as if it was something totally new to him. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again." "Well, duh, that could be because she was dead." Finally he decided to stop wandering around the room, coming to a stop right ahead of Aeris. He looked her square in the eye and, taking her hand, blurted out the one thing he regretted most not having the chance to say.

"I love you, Aeris. And I don't ever want to lose you again." Her eyes widened, and she looked like she was going to say something, but Cloud cut her off and continued, feeling his heart racing. "Will you marry me?" "There, you've said it. Good boy. Time to start breathing again?"

* * * * *

Once outside, Tifa wiped away her tears. "Damn them. I hate crying." Yuffie looked at her with sympathy shining in her eyes. "I'm sorry he doesn't like you," she said. Tifa quickly looked up at her. "Does everybody know?" "Don't worry Yuff. I stopped caring for him a long time ago." "Well, not totally true, but she doesn't have to know that." "I'm just.. ah.. I'm just happy for them, that's all."

Yuffie shrugged, not at all convinced. "Whatever you say, Teef."

* * * * *

"What?" screamed Aeris, more than a little shocked. In a more normal tone - so as not to frighten the group waiting outside - she continued. "Marry you? I.. I am flattered, but.. Ramuh! We've only been on one date, and you talk about marriage?" She looked down at her hand and slowly withdrew it from Cloud's hold.

"B..but..." Cloud stuttered. Not being used to expressing his feelings, he'd almost expected everything to nice and easy go his way when he finally did. "I can understand if I surprised you. We don't have to talk about this right now. We can, I don't know.. Keep dating, and we'll see what happens." He sat down next to Aeris, and tried taking her hand, but she shook it loose again, then started shaking her head as well.

"No. I'm sorry Cloud, I'm really sorry. You're a really nice, kind and gentle guy, but I just don't care about you that way. "

"..just don't care about me that way?" That didn't compute. "Then what about the kiss? What about the way you were treating me before you.. I thought..." Tears were forming in his eyes now, but he fiercely wiped them away, not wanting to show his weakness. He had been dreaming about this girl and the perfect love they held for each other, and now she said she.. wasn't interested? Where did this dream turn into a nightmare? He pinched himself in vain, hoping that it was indeed one of them but unfortunately didn't wake up.

"Sorry." She was still shaking her head, but stopped as suddenly as she had began and rested it in her hands instead, looking down, feeling guilty. "I.. ugh. You overwhelmed me with that kiss. And it felt nice, you know, with a living person so near me after all this time, so I didn't want to stop you. I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression." She did seem genuinely regretful for playing along. "And I.. never mind." She jumped up from the couch, not wanting to encourage Cloud more.

"No, please. Bring it on." Head hanging low, he continued. "It can't get worse than this anyway. " "I hope. Oh Shiva, don't let it be worse than this."

Now it was Aeris turn to start wandering around the room. Hands fixed behind her back, she debated whether to break the bad news or not. "It's not like I have an obligation to be truthful, but I can't let him stay in his dreamworld forever."

"Alright." She didn't want to look at him, so she walked over to the window, looking out. She saw Yuffie juggling her Materia, watching out over the street. Tifa appeared to be crying, but Sephiroth was comforting her. Against her will, Aeris smiled. "That's so sweet."

"I.. You know, I used to date Zack."

"...." "I know. I hate him for that."

"He.. he just disappeared. I didn't know what to do. It wasn't that serious, but he was my first boyfriend."

"...." "What's that got to do with our situation?" Cloud unconsciously brought a hand up to his head, scratching his hair, as he always did when confused, thinking - or just had an itch. It didn't improve on his hair style but then again, nothing ever did.

"I just stuffed all my feelings for him away in some dark corner of my mind, locked, and threw away the key. " "Ugh.. I hate clichés.. " Then, when I met you.. The two of you were so alike - at least on the surface. I think I just unconsciously transferred my feelings for him onto you."

"But on our date, you told me..." Cloud had reverted into not showing his feelings again, behaving as if this scene was perfectly normal. The only thing showing his despondency was the glimmer in his eyes.

"I was wrong. I just told myself that I... that I loved you, because I so desperately needed something to keep my mind away from what my life was like back then. And I felt so sorry for Tifa for doing that..." Aeris voice broke. It was her time to start crying now. "Oh, I never wanted to hurt anyone."

".... Now, wait a minute. What about Tifa? You're not making any sense. "

"I.. I didn't really want to step in between you two."

"What? No, no, you got it all wrong. We've been friends since we were children, that's all there is to it."

A melancholic smile crossed Aeris' lips. "So she still haven't told you? No, I guess she wouldn't." "Not if you've been moping about me all the time. Oh, poor girl." At last she understood the desolate look she had seen in Tifa's face when she entered. "I'm so sorry, Teef. If you've had it like this, I couldn't blame you for hating me. And yet you don't."

"What? Can we please stick to our situation? This is hard enough to understand as it is."

"Cloud, Tifa loves you. She always have." Contemplating the scene she had just witnessed outside the window, she mentally added "Though I'm not so sure if she always will... Well, that's one thing he does not need to hear right now."

Cloud just stared at her, his brain trying to process the information. "Now wait a minute. Aeris doesn't love me? Tifa does?" "Oh, damn this! I can't think!" He grabbed his head with both hands, clutching it to stop it from exploding while rocking back and forth.

"I.. I'll just leave you here with your thoughts then." She paced towards the door, tugging her braid as if it could give her comfort.

"No!" Cloud pleaded.

Aeris turned around, eyebrow raised questioningly. "What?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"Please tell me that you didn't mean any of that you just said.." Grabbing his last straw, he looked at her with a melancholy, oh-so-sweet smile.

"Oh Cloud... " She spun around again and hurried out of the building before he could stop her. "I wish I did love him, or at least could pretend to. It would have been so much easier. Perhaps I would have been better off staying dead." Dull as it was. Pity she was such a bad liar.

Chapter 6 - Getting Closer

When the door suddenly opened, letting out an upset Aeris, Tifa almost immediately sensed that something had gone wrong. Aeris seemed to have been crying; though she desperately tried hiding it. Instead, she flashed them a wavering smile, clasping her hands behind her back. "Can we please get away from here? I.. um.. I really don't want to talk to Cloud right now."

"What?" Yuffie screeched, not understanding what this new course of events signified. Tifa, who were sitting down leaning against Sephiroth, looked up at Aeris with big, wondering - and a little puffy - eyes, as baffled as the Materia Hunter. He and Tifa both rose as the same time and Sephiroth put an arm around her. Tifa didn't seem to notice, too engrossed in what Aeris just had said. "What went wrong? A minute ago they were kissing and holding each other like nothing could ever tear them apart."

"I'm sorry Teef," Aeris said after a few moments of startled silence, satisfied that Cloud weren't coming out after her after all. "I'm sorry that I've caused you so much pain. I had no idea that Cloud.. That Cloud liked me that way." "I should've known."

"Huh?" Tifa rose, gently removing Sephiroth's comforting arms, and walked towards Aeris. "What? What just happened? I thought that you two...?"

"I.. uh, I thought the same about you." Cheeks flushing, Aeris looked down at her feet, shuffling them nervously, then started drawing intricate patterns in the gravel. "He said you were his girlfriend when we met the second time."

Tifa nodded slowly. "Right. And that's why you had to ask him for a date?" Tifa would probably never forget Cloud's happy expression that night at the Golden Saucer. The first time he really had relaxed in a very long time. "That's why you just kissed him like that?" "Aeris... " she began, the muscles around her eyes tightening.

"No, no, Tifa, listen. Please don't judge me for the one I used to be. I know now that.. The way I behaved must have caused him to believe..." She sniffled discretely, turning around to quietly blow her nose. "I just explained this to Cloud as well, and.. He didn't take it too well. Oh, Teef, he asked me to marry him! What was I supposed to do? I couldn't just pretend that I loved him just so I wouldn't hurt him."

At last, Tifa appeared to grasp the meaning of what Aeris just had said. "Marriage? Cloud?" "Aeris, he's been talking about you since the day you.. died." That word still didn't have the right ring, and probably never would. "He was convinced that you two were meant to be together, and... "" No, she does not need to know how he's been treating us for being alive when she wasn't." "..and he so much regretted not having had the chance to tell you."

Aeris' face crumpled as she once more started crying. "Uh oh, is she gonna do that the rest of the day?" Yuffie silently wondered, taking a step backwards.

"Aeris," Sephiroth interrupted, frowning. "Did you notice if Cloud saw me?" He was not too keen on standing outside his archenemy's house now that his plan to win Cloud's trust seemed to have failed. Cloud probably wasn't in the proper mood for meeting Sephiroth right know, and the SOLDIER wanted to know if he had to withdraw for now. No use taking unnecessary risks.

"Huh? No, I don't think he saw anything else than... me." Aeris blushed again.

"Then I had better remove myself from here. Tifa, can I stay in your house a little longer?" Tifa nodded, and Sephiroth hurried off, cape flapping violently behind him, after asking Tifa to break the news carefully at an appropriate moment.

* * * * *

"Tifa loves me? I.. Oh, how can I not have noticed?" Cloud was feeling more than a little stupid for having the obvious pointed out like that. But even more stupid for being rejected like that.

"Aeris... Of course she doesn't love me. I couldn't save her."

Another voice, maybe a little stronger, vehemently argued against that. "It's not because of that, you jerk. She said she never did feel anything for me, that it was all for Zack." He guessed he could believe that, hurtful as it was.

"She said she didn't want to come between me and Tifa. But why haven't Tifa said anything if that is what she truly feels?"

It all was like a slap in the face, brutally waking him up, back to reality again. "Why did I propose to her? She's right, we've been on one date. One date! No wonder I scared her! What on Planet have I been thinking the last year? Haven't I had enough of conjuring up self-decepting illusions?" He was the uncrowned king in that specific area, it appeared.

"I've got to apologize to Tifa, to Aeris.. to everybody?" He couldn't believe why they had even bothered staying his friends after all that had happened. The most recent event he had messed up - his birthday - came back to haunt him. "I'm so sorry, Tifa. What have I done to you?"

Reality was far more painful than his worst nightmares had ever been.

Crap.

Now that his brain finally started working after more than a year wrapped in fuzz, he remembered asking about how Aeris possible could be there at all. Hadn't somebody answered? A man.. He vaguely recognized the voice but... Shaking his head, Cloud hated his worthless memory. "Though I did have other things on my mind so I shouldn't blame myself. Not for that at least." Enough things to blame oneself for already.

"I'll just go out and see if the girls are still out there, and I can ask them what really happened." If he really wanted to ever face them again after all he had done them.

* * * * *

Only moments after Sephiroth had disappeared around a corner, the front door opened again, revealing a very red-eyed, disheartened Cloud. They all turned to face him, silently thanking him for not coming out a few seconds earlier.

"Aeris," Cloud began, and winced at seeing the look of sorrow crossing the diminutive girl's face as she heard his broken voice. "I'm sorry. You're right. I don't know why I have been fooling myself again." He scratched his head.

"Tifa, I.. I would like to talk to you alone, in a moment." Tifa's eyebrow rose automatically. What could he possibly have to say to her that the others couldn't hear? Aeris blushed once more, knowing fully well what it was about. "Poor Cloud. I think you're going to have your heart broken again." This certainly wasn't Cloud Strife's day.

"I'm really, really sorry for the way I've been acting." Cloud was feeling oh-so uncomfortable, all to aware of the fact that he had quite a few other persons to apologize to later on. "I don't know what's been wrong with me. No, that's not true. I do know what's been wrong. I've been a complete idiot. I don't know how you've been standing it."

"We neither," Yuffie mouthed, getting elbowed by Tifa in return. "This is hard enough for him as it is," she whispered to Yuffie.

"Yeah, so what? He has been an idiot." Yuffie did not bother to stay as secretive, much to Tifa's dismay.

Cloud's posture dropped, his head hanging low. "Can you ever find it somewhere in your hearts to forgive me? I can understand if you don't, but..."

"Cloud, " Tifa interrupted, her dark brown eyes staring intently at him, leaving him with a feeling of his soul being pierced. " If we were going to leave you, we would have done so when you first started acting irrationally. We're your friends. While we haven't appreciated your behavior, we still care about you." Not as much, or even the same way, as I used to, but still.." "Apology accepted."

Yuffie nodded agreement, but not as determinedly as the older woman had done. "Yeah, " she answered, then decided to follow up with an explanation. "I mean, you guys have been putting up with me... Not that I'm saying I'm nearly as bad as you or anything," she hurriedly continued, reddening, causing everybody to start sniggering. Having succeeded in cheering the others up, Yuffie smiled serenely, leaning against a tree, arms crossed over her chest. "And once again you save the day, Yuffie."

They all stood silent, looking at each other for a few peaceful moment, feeling that maybe everything would turn out alright after all.

* * * * *

Sephiroth unlocked the front door of the unlit villa and crossed the threshold, fingers tracing the wall searching for the light switch. After turning on the light, he quickly closed the door, locking it behind him. On the way here, he had had the most peculiar feeling.. He couldn't quite put a finger on it but it did feel as if something awful was awaiting him. Not in the hallway though. Seeing nothing else than the usual, diversely colored coats and jackets hanging from their hooks, he warily entered the kitchen.

Nothing unusual there either.

Having scanned through the house, finding nothing, Sephiroth decided to call it a day, since the last thirty or so hours had been quite straining. Once in his bedroom, the feeling from earlier returned. This time, it was closer, more intimidating, more imminent. He frowned, eyes narrowing, and reached for his sword. It wasn't were he had left it, however. In fact, he soon discovered that it was not even in the room, which was bizarre since he had definite recollections of leaving it there before they drove over to Cloud. Of course he hadn't wanted to stand unarmed in case of danger, but he had weighed that against looking like too big a threat, and decided to leave the Masamune at home.

Funny that. This was the place most homely, most like a home to him, that he had ever been in, and he had found that he enjoyed it immensely. He smiled inwardly, remembering at the thought that he had something important to discuss with Tifa later. That subject, too, was something he had not experienced much in his life up to now.

More important right now, though, was to find his sword. Closing his eyes, he cleansed his mind from all distracting thoughts, browsing through his extraordinary memory to see where he had left his weapon.

Most peculiar. It should be in this room.

So where was it?

And was that footsteps he heard on the floor below?

* * * * *

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Tifa inquired, tilting her head a little to the side and looking at Cloud. Cloud smiled at her, unsure of how to act, but then quietly led Tifa into the house, closing the door behind them.

Yuffie looked wonderingly at the now tranquil and calm Aeris, who shrugged away the unasked question. This was really something between Cloud and Tifa, something that they should have talked about a long time ago. "If I hadn't been in the way, they probably would have, too."

Instead, she convinced Yuffie to give her a small tour of the city, so Aeris could get some air and see what had changed since her last visit. She needed to buy new clothes, too, since she had been wearing this particular dress for more than a year now. "Eww..." She wrinkled her nose, and quickly pushed away the unpleasant thought.

* * * * *

Sephiroth strode towards the bedroom door. He reached for the knob that served as a handle but before he had had time to turn it, the door flew open. In swarmed a mass of young girls, all dressed in attires similar to his. They encircled him, surrounding him completely before he had a chance to react.

He turned around, seeking a way to break to circle, but ending up facing the dark-haired, silver-eyed Hojo-spawn who triumphantly grinned at him. Next to her stood the leader, with a petulant look in her eyes.

"You don't need to be afraid, Master," she slowly pronounced, taking delight in letting every syllable roll off her lips. "We wish only what is best for you." "And if it happens that it is best for me, as well - then so be it."

"You have got to be kidding, " answered Sephiroth, annoyance making his voice harsh. "What is best for me is to never see you again for the rest of my life." After flicking a strand of hair away from his face, he crossed his arms over his almost bare chest, disturbed by the constant gazes from the affected younger girls.

"Now stop being so childish, and behave as who you are. The rightful ruler of this planet. " Mayalin's eyes glazed over as she once more started dreaming. The small, dark woman next to her looked annoyed, but kept staring at Sephiroth with that same smile - as if she knew his every thought, and even worse, knew that she was the one putting them in his mind.

Knowing that the girls probably wouldn't understand his arguments, Sephiroth still had to try. "Who is being childish here? You're the ones conjuring up immature dreams of taking over the world. I crave nothing of the sorts." "And if I did, I most certainly would not need a teen-aged co-ruler gawking over me all the time." Now how would he get out of this unpleasant situation?

Mayalin sighed, dejected that it seemed she once more had to depend on that stupid, power-mad sibling of Sephiroth's. She had hoped that she could sweet-talk him into returning to them, proving once and for all that she was worthy. On the other hand.. Perhaps she hadn't been clear enough? Better try again.

"Sephiroth, you know that we will fulfill your every dream. " She looked at him flirtatiously, hoping that he would catch her drift. Nevertheless, by some weird circumstance, he looked back at her with that same weary annoyance, as if she was being a nuisance!

"Alright then. "

Mayalin's heart skipped a beat. "I knew it would work! Now I've got him exactly where I want him."

"I wish that you would leave me alone." Having said that, he finally lost his temper and pushed her away so she fell onto the bed then marched towards the stairs leading down to the bottom floor.

* * * * *

Cloud appeared to be a trifle embarrassed about something. He sat down on the same sofa that had witnessed his not-so-glorious failure a few minutes ago, hoping it would behold something nicer this time, and pulled Tifa down beside him. He stared right ahead so he wouldn't need to look at her and feel stupid when he voiced his thoughts.

"Tifa, I.. Aeris said you've been in love with me for a long time." After saying this, his face turned completely pink. "Stupid. I am so stupid, for bringing Aeris into the conversation."

When Tifa didn't answer instantaneously, he dared glancing at her. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, face as flushed as his.

"Is it.. true?" he breathed, not knowing what to think. "I wanted to join SOLDIER because of her. I just wanted her to notice me. And look at me now. How have I treated her?"

"Yes," Tifa admitted finally, looking down into the floor as if she wanted to scrub it clean with just her glares.

Cloud stopped breathing. "Is it her I've loved all the time? Or am I only reacting like this because I'm finding out that at least someone cares about me?" He closed his eyes, trying to reason it out. After spending a year yearning for one woman, he wanted to be sure before getting involved with someone else.

"Yes, I did care for you. Deeply. " Tifa continued. "However, I.. don't have the same feelings for you anymore. I knew it would always be Aeris for you, and so my love eventually faded away." "And.. I met somebody else." Having finally admitted it - even if only to herself - made her stomach start curling together again. "Damn it Teef, do you have to be so dependent of others all the time?"

Cloud's shoulders sagged. "One more down the drain. And I'm not going for Yuffie." "I... see."

"..." "I wonder where we would've been if he had said this just a few months ago. Hell, if he said it two weeks ago. I'd probably thrown myself at him. Look at him! He doesn't even know what he's feeling anymore!"

"Tifa, I'm so sorry. It must have been very painful for you to hear me.."

"Yes, it was. Now, please, I don't really want to talk about that now." A lone tear was glistening in her eye but she didn't seem to notice.

* * * * *

"Not so fast, " a hissing, scraping voice grated, so much like her father, enforcing the command with a mental order to the fleeing Sephiroth.

"I will not falter."

His legs stopped moving.

"I can withstand Mother."

He turned around, dropping to his knees. Head bowed and looking down, he once more pledged his soul.

"I will obey."

Returning to the girls, his last conscious thoughts cursed him for not being more cautious. After that, his brain felt as if buried in soap bubbles, and the only thing he cared about was the beautiful smile of his beloved mistress. Somewhere deep inside someone was screaming, but that was of no importance.

* * * * *

When Aeris and Yuffie returned, they found Cloud outside. He was watching the sun set, looking completely devastated. When he saw the women arrive, he made an effort to perk up, grinning his usual self-confident smile at them and waving. To Yuffie's question of where he'd hidden Tifa, he pointed to the house. "She's baking something, and she won't let me taste. She won't even let me know what it's going to be. Smells like chocolate to me, though." Indeed, a sweet smell was worming its way out through the open kitchen window.

"Weird to see Cloud back to normal, or whatever it is." Yuffie contemplated. "It must've been a weird day for him as well. At least I noticed Tifa acting strange, even if I did not expect Sephiroth and Aeris to be the reason. I wonder how it'd be like, to first get the one you love back from death, and then hearing she was never interested in you at all."

"Hey Cloud, how are you feeling now?" she asked, feeling strangely empathic for some reason.

Finding the question a little unexpected coming from her of all people, Cloud stared at Yuffie, bewildered, before answering.

"Well... I felt like piss for a while."

Yuffie laughed. "That's honest anyway. What about now?"

"I don't really know. I guess I'm glad that Aeris is back." At that Aeris glared at him, making a face. Cloud looked baffled, then at thinking back what he'd just said, blushed.

"Of course I'm glad you're back, Aeris. But so much happened today, and I'm just so.. confused." Then he thought of something else. "Oh, and... how is this possible? No one has bothered explaining how you can be back. I mean.. you were really gone."

Aeris and Yuffie looked at each other, worried. They stood silent for a while, each hoping that the other would come up with a reasonable explanation.

"It's kinda weird... " Yuffie said, at the same time as Aeris opened her mouth saying "You'd better ask Tifa."

Yuffie nodded, happy to let someone else do the explaining. "Yeah, ask Tifa. She's the one doing it. I was just kinda.. trailing her. 'Cause she was acting so weird. 'Course you didn't notice, you were weird too."

"Yuffie, you promised.." Aeris said, looking dissatisfied.

"Yeah, yeah alright." She pouted, but continued "Sorry, Cloud, I'll try to stop bringing that up."

* * * * *

When Tifa finally let them in, she wasn't too eager to answer Cloud's questions.

"Can't we talk about all that tomorrow? I think you've had enough shocks today as it is." She motioned for them to follow her into the kitchen, where an enormous chocolate cake awaited them. Baking was the perfect activity to put Tifa in a contemplative mood, which was exactly why she'd starting making a cake at this time of the day. As they sat down, Tifa poured up the strong black tea that they all had grown to love. Well, they'd had to, since it was all Cid wanted to drink anyway.

"Shocks?" Cloud wondered, sipping from his cup. The circumstances leading to Aeris revival must have been peculiar indeed, if they would be shocking to him after this awful day. He wasn't quite happy with the answer, but he wouldn't lower himself to begging. Not after today. "Alright, if you promise you'll tell me then. I've gotten nothing out of these two, " he pointed at Aeris and Yuffie, "and I sure can't figure it out by myself."

"Alright, alright, I promise I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." Tifa didn't look too happy, but understood that Cloud weren't going to give up about something this important.

The cake tasted wonderful, but then again, nobody was surprised. Tifa was a master chef, and her skills were honed to perfection after her years at the Seventh Heaven and now her own restaurant. After eating, Cloud prepared a guest room for Aeris, while the girls stayed in the kitchen to discuss how to tell Cloud about Sephiroth.

* * * * *

The following morning Cloud woke up late. His dreams had been wondrously free of all references to death, catastrophes and Aeris. This was the first night since they had defeated Sephiroth he had been able to sleep through, undisturbed by nightmares. He felt like a new person. No, erase that. He felt like a human again, prepared to take on the world. Just as when he was fourteen and wanted to become a SOLDIER.

He hastily threw on his clothes and rushed down the stairs, almost bumping into Aeris who were arranging flowers in a small blue vase. She frowned, but when she saw his happy smile she couldn't resist grinning back, eyes sparkling. "I take it you're feeling better today," she said, handing one of her roses to him.

Cloud nodded, and gave the girl a quick hug before continuing to the kitchen, looking for Tifa. It was time for her to fulfil her promise, and whatever she would reveal he thought he could handle it today.

In the kitchen, however, the only thing relating to Tifa was a note addressed to him, in her handwriting. "Just checking on a friend, "it said. "I'll be right back." Cloud hummed, but since their was nothing to be done about it, he decided to get some breakfast and wait for Tifa's return in front of the television.

* * * * *

Tifa warily entered the house. All the lights were turned off, but yet the door was unlock. Something was amiss. She called Sephiroth's name a few times, but at receiving no answer, started looking for him. At last she found a note, fastened on the inside on the front door. "I need some time alone," it read in Sephiroth's characteristic bold handwriting. "I'll contact you if I need anything. Don't try to find me."

"Huh?" The was certainly news to Tifa. He hadn't suggested anything like this. In fact, she had gotten the impression that he wanted to clear the air with Cloud just so he could spend more time with her. Though she had probably misunderstood that part, with her heart going soft again and all. She sighed miserably, and pulled the note down. With her right hand, she crumpled it to a tight ball and threw it in the trash bin in the kitchen. "Well, this is safer for him if I don't know where he is, now that I'm going to tell Cloud."

The way back to Cloud's villa was a desolate one. Tifa was feeling the weight of all the world on her heart, and wondered if she had made the right decision in helping Sephiroth. "At least Cloud's back to normal now, I guess. And for me? Well, I'm still in love with someone who doesn't return my feelings, but Cloud and I have become friends again." On some scale, that had to be better.

* * * * *

When Tifa returned, Cloud and Yuffie were occupied by some sort of cartoon on TV. "...never running from a real fight... " a bunch of girls were singing, not quite in tune with the accompanying music. They were too absorbed to even acknowledge her presence, so she just went into the kitchen, grabbed the remains of the cake and returned to the living room to join the others in the couch. As she made herself comfortable, a newsflash interrupted the show.

An agitated reported was standing in front of a miles-wide pile of what looked like ruined buildings. Fires were ablaze all over the place, and the sky was blackened by soot.

"Reporting live from the ruins of Neo-Midgar," she shouted, trying to make herself heard over the chaos surrounding her.

"Just an hour ago, something large crashed down from the skies, totally destroying the city of Midgar that has been slowly recovering the meteor impact a year ago."

Eyes widening for each passing second, the four witnessed an unsteady, shaking video obviously taken by a nearby bystander during the incident. The scene was disturbingly familiar for all but Aeris, but it was Cloud that mouthed the suspicions first.

"That's... Supernova!" he shouted, jumping up from the sofa looking for his sword. "Sephiroth's back!"

"By Hades! The girls must've found him!" cried Tifa to Cloud's surprise.

"The girls must've found... who?" Eyes narrowing, he edged closer to Tifa. "You're not saying that.."

"Oh be quiet," Aeris told him. "This is not about you. Yes, Sephiroth is back, but he's the one who helped Tifa in reviving me."

"What? You've met Sephiroth and never told me? You.. you traitor!" He now looked like he wanted to strike Tifa down, but she grabbed him by the arms trying to calm him down.

"He's one of the nice guys now," she tried.

"Nice? You call it nice to demolish a city like that? Don't you remember what he did to your father? What he did to Nibelheim?" He squirmed and wriggled, trying to break loose from Tifa's hold, but got nowhere.

"We don't have time for this, " Tifa yelled back at him, momentarily stunning him into silence. "Get out to the car and I'll tell you everything on the way." She shooed him out through the door, ignoring his protests. After changing into her combat attire she followed him, finding Aeris and Yuffie ready for action in the back of the car as well.

Chapter 7 - Passing Judgement

As the dust and ash clouds began settling over the remains of Midgar, the authorities estimated the death count to over a hundred thousand persons - most of the persons who had moved back to Midgar. The catastrophe had been completely unforeseeable, and there had been no time for evacuation once disaster struck. Last time Midgar was destroyed, the slowly approaching meteor had visibly warned the city a long time before it actually struck, giving everybody plenty of time to move out. Naturally there were those who refused to realize what was going on, or simply wouldn't leave their Upper-Midgar all-expenses paid luxury apartment. This time, however, the something that had struck did so suddenly, giving the most alert victims at most a minute frozen in fear, watching as the doom approached them. This time, there was no spirit-guided Life Stream to lessen the destruction. This was the biggest calamity the world had seen in this age.

There would be no more reconstruction of the "Capital of the World". The site seemed smitten with ill fortune - and besides, with the surrounding environment completely destroyed by the years of too heavy Mako withdrawal no one really wanted to live there anyway. Maybe, with time, nature would reclaim its hold over what was now a scorched, blackened desert. As it looked now though, that wouldn't happen in the nearest century or two.

* * * * *

Speeding towards Midgar at the highest speed possible, Tifa let Yuffie and Aeris do the explaining so she'd be able to fully concentrate at the driving. The roads were wondrously empty, which made her task so much easier. However, since none of the other girls knew the full story, Tifa had to explain how she met Sephiroth in the first place and who the girls she had mentioned were.

Even though Cloud wasn't too sure that he wanted to help Sephiroth at all- or that Sephiroth wanted any help from him for that matter - he really did not want an insane god-wannabe trying to take over the world again. He agreed to help the girls out, but silently thought that he would have to see for himself if Sephiroth was the good guy Tifa claimed him to be. If not, well.. "I killed him once, and I can do it again." Especially if there - as Tifa had heard - was no Jenova to help him out this time.

He glanced at Aeris, who on the exterior seemed quite cold, but whose nervousness could be detected by her firm grip on Holy. She was gazing into the depths of the shining orb as if it would cleanse her from all sins. What sins she could possibly have had time to commit in the day or so that had passed since she regained her life. The former ones ought to have been purged by her death.

Yuffie, on the other hand, was jumping up and down in her seat. Who could sit still when there was a world to save? She was preparing her weapon, choosing Materia from an imposing heap in her lap. Glancing jealously at the luminous globe in Aeris' palm, she settled for the ones she had used and mastered. Knights of the Round, Ultima, Full Cure and Revive certainly. What else? Cloud had snatched the Master Materias before Yuffie had had the opportunity to do so herself, and she hadn't wanted to steal them 'back' considering his random mood swings. What she had left wasn't too bad though, even though some of it were bought.

"So you're saying that Sephiroth is totally free of the influence of Jenova?" Cloud was asking Tifa. "He was basically trying to atone for everything he'd done to us and to the planet by reviving Aeris?" The skepticism in his voice annoyed Tifa, who immediately retaliated. "You did some pretty stupid things as well, when you were possessed. No one has blamed you for that except yourself."

"Maybe so, but it was Sephiroth who made me do all those things. Do you expect me to just forgive and forget?" Cloud shouted angrily, remembering with a shudder exactly how close he had been to killing Aeris.

"Oh, do stop arguing!" Aeris screamed suddenly, with a shrill and nervous voice totally unlike her usual soft one. Her hands were covering her ears in an attempt to shut out the excessive noise, and she had closed her eyes as well. "Can't you settle this later? Sephiroth has been doing some things I'm sure he regrets deeply, but so have you. You can't blame everything on him."

Cloud and Tifa both opened their mouths to answer, but was cut off by Aeris. "Stop it, I said! Show some respect for the deceased!" At that Yuffie started giggling hysterically, almost falling out through the window. As did Aeris once she realized what she'd just said. Cloud looked at Aeris, eyes almost falling out of their sockets. Tifa was equally stunned, but after a moment joined Yuffie in laughing.

When Midgar became visible a few minutes later, nobody felt any urge to laugh any more. What had happened was simply too horrible.

* * * * *

The stench of death surrounded them, making it hard - if not impossible - to breathe. Nevertheless they had no choice. Somewhere there had to be a clue as to where the cultists had traveled - with their powerful, powerless prize in their leash. They all suspected that the destination was the old crater, but didn't dare venture there just yet. They couldn't afford going in the wrong direction, losing what precious time they still had.

Of course, one could argue, time would be lost by remaining here, searching for trails. Yuffie in particular was of that opinion, urging the others to hurry up and "move their fat asses".

At last they decided to do exactly that, even if the others preferred phrasing it a little more eloquently. Having found nothing at all to help them, the crater was their best alternative. The explosion that had nearly killed Avalanche a year earlier when they were trying to escape, had also caused the rift to deepen, reaching almost to the core of Planet. The Life Stream had surged up to mend the chasm, but with a wound as large as this, the healing procedure would take hundreds of years. The visible result? An abysmal lake of pure power, thousands of liters of liquid magic. The perfect starting point for one destined to become immortal.

* * * * *

Upon reaching Bone Village, it became obvious that their decision had been the right one. The place had been totally eradicated, with no traces left to show that civilization had had a small outpost here. Leading straight northward through the Sleeping Forest - who'd probably awakened by now - a blackened, scorched path told Cloud and the girls all they needed to know.

"Who are these people?" Yuffie whispered, shivering, receiving no answer from the others. "If they can do that to the Sleeping Forest, I'm not so sure I wanna go after them."

Cloud glared at her. "I suppose it'd be better if we just went home and waited for them to come and kill us instead?" He sighed. "Well, let's just keep moving." "If we don't have time to think about what we're doing, we won't have time to become afraid."

"Judging by this display, I'd say they probably know we're after them. We need to be very careful from now on, " Tifa suggested.

"Can't argue with that, " Yuffie shrugged and ran ahead to do her usual scouting.

"My idea of careful would be to stick together, but.. Oh well. " Tifa followed the girl, causing the others to start moving as well.

* * * * *

Removing the curtain for a while.

Power flowing, filling his veins to the point of bursting. The pain was a sweet one, holding a promise of might.

All for his mistress, to make her smile.

The silver eyes of his beloved sister, assuring happiness for them all. If he only..

If he only..

Ran away?

Silver eyes darkening, silver needles painfully piercing his mind.

No, that wasn't it. He would take this power offered and make it his. It was what he was meant to do. It was what he had been born to do.

And so the mist settled again and he relaxed, satisfied of his role.

* * * * *

Mayalin was holding Sephiroth in her arms, keeping him upright by the side of the crater. A hundred meters down, the surface of the Life Stream was glowing green, waves reaching upwards as if trying to reach them and pull them down.

Maybe Sephiroth hadn't reacted the way he was supposed to when they had found him, but none of that mattered anymore. She was holding him in his arms, and it was exactly as in her fondest dreams.

All around her, the other girls performed their tasks. A throne was being set up near the rim of the crater. There Sephiroth would be crowned by his first, highest Priestess. His simple, insipid sister had disapproved, of course, but she always did. At times it seemed - however unlikely - that glory was of no matter to her. Nevertheless, on this point Mayalin wouldn't budge. Sephiroth should have a throne, and she would crown him. "Then he will take me in his arms and we will be together.. I am the only one that fully understands him, and I know that he knows that, somewhere deep inside. He will thank me later, after realizing I gave him the chance for revenge."

She was so sure of her future that her heart was aching with happiness. This was what she had dreamt of since she'd first seen Sephiroth, her green-eyed angel. It was only on television, but what difference did it make? From that moment on, she knew that they were meant to be together. Once he met her, he was sure to feel the same.

And then those accursed Avalanche imbeciles killed him! Pure luck, she was certain, but she'd never cried as much, before nor after. It would be so sweet to watch her darling execute them with that glorious sword of his.

Mayalin was holding Sephiroth in her arms, and it was all thanks to that silver-eyed girl who called herself Sephiroth's sister. "Let her glare at me like she's the one in charge. I forgive her, for now," Mayalin decided generously. Plenty of time for punishment later - if necessary.

Was that a pimple worming its way through the skin on her chin? So typical. She was an adult now, really, and shouldn't have to worry about those anymore.

* * * * *

On the fire-cleared path they were following, nothing seemed to be alive. Although it was pleasant that they for once didn't have to fight weird mutations to get anywhere, the silence was very unsettling. Yuffie had soon re-joined the others, as sneaking alone in this dead forest left her with a feeling of disquiet. Besides, with all life extinguished in their vicinity, there really was no need for a scout.

At least, the insane girls had left the Ancient City undisturbed. Whether because of some late-found sense of respect for the now (almost) extinct people who had constructed it, or simply for not being able to overthrow the magic still residing within the city, neither of the pursuers were able to tell. Probably the latter, since the Ancients had had immense power during their existence, and would have wanted to protect their city from people like those.

With most of the way to the crater already traversed, the party decided to stay for a few minutes and catch their breath by the lake where Aeris had been left. Tifa quietly described how she and Sephiroth had attempted to resurrect the girl, but left unsaid the despair that had overcome her at the repeated failures. Remembering what Sephiroth had said about the magical properties of the water in the lake, she instead suggested that they all should take a drink from it. All right, so nothing had happened the last time she tried, but she had already been refreshed and fully cured at that time.

Having tasted the water earlier, Tifa herself was the first to do so. At least she knew it wasn't dangerous, or it would have shown by now. Her cupped hands broke the surface, causing the small fishes to scatter in all directions. The others watched her, hands unconsciously on Heal Materia, ready to cast Esuna if the water did not do what was expected. Perhaps the priestesses had done something to it, even if they had left the rest of the ruins alone?

Tifa sipped the water apprehensively, sensing it for danger. Not finding anything different from the last time, she shrugged and downed it all, afterwards wiping the hands on her shirt. "I don't know about this, " she said, discouraged. " It doesn't seem to work like that."

Yuffie shrugged. "I'm going to drink some anyway. I'm thirsty." She started towards the water, but stopped in alarm when Tifa suddenly gasped.

"What's wrong?" Aeris jumped up and run towards Tifa, ready to support the brunette if she'd fall.

"Nothing, I.. uh.. " Tifa coughed, her cheeks rapidly reddening. " I just feel so warm, and.. oh!" With wide eyes she stared at the water. "All my weariness just.. disappeared! It feels like I've had a nights rest and.. Try it yourselves!"

Cloud hastily equipped his Sense Materia and checked Tifa for potential abnormalities. Everything seemed to be in order, though, and if she said she felt better it probably was all right. Yuffie had already started drinking the revitalizing water, and reported that she, as well, felt much better. That convinced Aeris to try, and she was soon followed by the more skeptic Cloud. In this way being spared from having to rest and thereby lose an invaluable hour, the party happily continued their journey.

* * * * *

"I wish we would remain like this forever." Mayalin was in heaven, with her Sephiroth so close. "But of course it will become even better, after the coronation."

She knew that the ceremony had no actual meaning, except for showing the other girls the true order of things. What really would make the difference was the moment when Sephiroth's sister would open the final barriers to his mind, causing him to surrender completely to the magic.

That would wait until those Avalanche creeps arrived. Ah, the tension! How long would it take them to cross the forests? Once they got here, they would witness the birth of a god - and then, if they were lucky, they would die. Not that.. Tifa, though. Mayalin's mouth dried up at thinking about that girl. She had been the one who had stolen Sephiroth from her, and her punishment would be so much worse than just death.

Now, was that the sound of sneaking footsteps she heard closing in? She looked at the Hojo-spawn - funny that, that girl had never given her name, but everybody just thought of her as 'that creep' anyway - and Sephiroth's sister tensed momentarily, concentrating. Then she looked back at Mayalin and nodded, with a satisfied smile that almost reached her eyes.

"Finally! I thought they'd never get here! How hard could it be, when we have rolled out the red carpet for them?" Or burned down the forest for them, as it were. Taking a few moments to straighten her hair and put on some more make-up, she then grabbed Sephiroth again. She led him over to his throne and sat him down, getting an ecstatic smile as reward.

"It's time to begin now, Master."

Sephiroth nodded, something dark gleaming in his eyes, and he set to work.

* * * * *

"Finally!" Yuffie whispered fiercely. "I thought we'd never get here!" She grabbed her shuriken that had hung unused by her side for the last hour and waved for the others to hurry up. "No use stopping now, they probably know we're coming anyway, as you said, Teef." She hurried onwards, the others following her a little slower, not too fond the thought of rushing right into danger like that.

Then, suddenly, Yuffie slipped on a loose rock and fell backwards, twisting her ankle. Tifa was the first to reach her, but Yuffie told them to continue. "I'll be right after you, just go on. I have my Full-Cure, see?" She held the sparkling orb in her hands and started concentrating.

Cloud looked down at the ninja, unsure of how to proceed.

"Go on, I tell you!" She motioned for him to continue. "Hurry up! You don't have time to wait for me."

So they moved on. Cloud was taking the lead, with Tifa moving slowly behind him. Next to her went Aeris who seemed to have some problems with her long shirt. It got stuck in all kinds of debris on the mountain, slowing her down.

* * * * *

When Mayalin saw three humans approaching, she gestured for Sephiroth to act. He immediately obeyed, which made Mayalin very proud. His sister also started moving, casting something similar to a Stop spell on the party. Unable to act, Cloud and the two girls stared helplessly at the advancing silver-haired devil lusting for their blood.

"Sephiroth, don't!" How hard she tried, Tifa couldn't seem to scream. "Not that I think it would've made any difference, " she thought sadly. In the corner of her right eye, she saw a hideous creature that must've been the daughter of Hojo that Sephiroth was talking about. As she walked closer to the frozen party, Tifa could start to make out her appearance, but soon wished she could close her eyes.

The girl was offensively alike her dead father, from the greasy dark hair to the small hunch on her back. What was most repulsive, though, was her pupil-less silver eyes which seemed to focus on Tifa.

* * * * *

Sephiroth was exalted. Finally a chance for revenge! These were the worthless creeps that had killed him - and even worse, Mother.

He looked at the pink-clad Aeris, and frowned at the ugly red jacket she was wearing over the dress. "Haven't I killed you once already? No matter, I can do it again if you appreciated it that much."

Walking towards Cloud, he poked at the Ultima weapon hanging uselessly at the man's side. "Oh, you've brought a toy. I think I'll keep it to remember you by." Then, getting an interesting idea, he smiled evilly at the boy. "Oh, why don't we start with you killing that Ancient, as you failed to do the last time?"

Sephiroth fondly patted Cloud on his head, but withdrew his hand when the sharp spikes almost pierced his skin. He sauntered towards Tifa with his head tilted.

* * * * *

Cloud would've peed in his pants, had he been able to. He felt completely useless, and not to mention stupid. Tifa had been right. Their enemies had been more than prepared for his arrival.

What was that Sephiroth had just said? It was so hard concentrating.. "What? No way am I killing Aeris! Just you release me, and you'll see who I'm going to kill."

* * * * *

Tifa stared in fright as Sephiroth homed in on Cloud. He patted the younger man on the head as he walked away, after saying something about.. "killing Aeris? Ramuh, is he going to possess Cloud again?"

No time to ponder that now. More important to get free. She struggled, trying convincing her brain to move those lame limbs of hers, but nothing happened. Had this been an ordinary Stop spell, it surely would have worn off by now.

She didn't see Yuffie anywhere though. Maybe she hadn't been caught by the spell since she came after them?

Suddenly, Sephiroth was standing in front of her with his fists on his hips. "I think my dear Mayalin has special plans for you, Tifa. I'm afraid I won't kill you quite yet." He smiled at her and gently touched her chin. "I'm going to enjoy this, sweetie."

Sephiroth walked back towards the priestess in question, and put an arm around her waist. The girl seemed ecstatic, not paying any attention to reality at all.

* * * * *

Yuffie was surprised that there were no sounds of battle taking place. Had their enemies already been defeated, just like that? Not likely, they seemed to be quite powerful. Then.. maybe something had happened to Cloud, Tifa and Aeris?

"I'd never thought I'd be happy that I got hurt, but.. Thank you, Leviathan, for protecting me! Thank you Bahamut!" Moving ever so slowly now, she carefully edged closer towards her goal.

* * * * *

Unexpectedly, Cloud started to move again. For Tifa, this could only mean that something horrible was going to happen. She was right.

Cloud walked towards Aeris, slowly drawing his sword with a panicky look in his eyes. Obviously trying to fight it, Cloud once again was stuck within his reoccurring nightmare. This time, however, he knew he wouldn't wake up.

* * * * *

With all eyes - enemies' and allies' - on the scene taking place, Yuffie could scurry up the mountainside completely undetected. When noticing what Cloud was about to do, she immediately decided on a course of action.

She quickly bent down and grabbed a rock - smooth, round and not too large - and then carefully aimed. As she threw the stone, she shouted "Take this, you sucker!" "Now why didn't I use my Shuriken?" she wondered, scratching her head in confusion. Oh well, this seemed to work.

The rock hit its target with a loud thud, and the silver-eyed girl fell to the ground without a sound. As her head hit the rock beneath her, a cracking noise echoed through the crater.

Yuffie, who'd always wanted to be the center of attention, certainly got her wish granted that day. It was almost embarrassing to see the grateful smile on Cloud, as he realized he wouldn't have to kill Aeris after all. He run towards Yuffie and hugged her, to Yuffie's annoyance. "Get off me, stupid," she whimpered, pushing him away.

* * * * *

Mayalin didn't understand what just had happened. Cloud dropped his sword before he even got close to killing Aeris? And Sephiroth ignoring Mayalin's shrill commands to kill him? She looked around to get his sister to enforce the command, but she was...

...lying on the ground in a pool of blood?

This didn't make sense.

Neither did the reactions of the other girls. Instead of hindering Sephiroth's escape, as they knew they should, they seemed.. embarrassed? She even heard someone say that "I don't know what I'm doing here with that Mary Sue, she's freaky." And the others were.. agreeing?

What had happened to the grip she'd had on them?

"Noooooo!" she shouted, infuriated and bewildered. "This cannot happen!" What about her dreams?

"Shut up, Mary Sue, " one of the girls were telling her. "I don't know what you've done to us, but we'll make sure you'll end up in the nuthouse for this."

Eyes widening, Mayalin walked towards the girl and slapped her. That always worked. Not today, though. The rudeness! She was slapped back! This simply could not be!

* * * * *

And so everything was peaceful again. Rejoined with his friends, Sephiroth handed the Ultima weapon to Cloud and smiled faintly. Cloud looked back at him, but didn't say anything, which impressed Tifa immensely. As Yuffie joined them, proud grin on her lip, Cloud even offered her his Knights of the Round materia. "You're worth it, after today," he said.

Of course Yuffie didn't turn the gift down. She held it up to the sun, watching the shimmering sparks in it, and generously promised Cloud that he could borrow it now and then, if he felt like it.

So the five started towards civilization again, world saved once more.

* * * * *

Mayalin sat alone by the body of her one subordinate that hadn't failed her. Gently wiping the blood away from the girl's face, she silently cried for her crushed dreams.

"All is not lost yet, " somebody whispered to Mayalin's shock. She looked around, but saw that the nearest person was already vanishing from her sight. It was her darling Sephiroth, she could see. His hair flayed wildly in the wind, but he couldn't have been the one talking to her. So who...?

Being pushed away from underneath, Mayalin fell backwards and watched in awe as Hojo's daughter once more stood up. "How can she have survived that?"

"A child of Jenova does not suffer death so easily, " the being answered with a sardonic smile. She touched the back of her head, closing the wound as simple as that.

"Sephiroth!" she shouted commandingly. "Come back and face your destiny!"

* * * * *

Sephiroth stopped abruptly, causing Tifa who was walking right behind him to walk right into his back. Blushing wildly, she started apologizing but got rudely cut off when Sephiroth pushed her aside. "What's the matter now?" she asked.

"Silence, girl." He started running in the wrong direction, back up the mountain.

Yuffie moaned. "Man, what does it take to kill that freak?"

They followed in Sephiroth tracks, desperately hoping that he wouldn't suddenly turn on them as he had done before. His concentration seemed to be focused on his sister, so for now they appeared to be safe.

"How are we going to get rid of that girl?" Cloud asked no one in particular. "It seems that just killing her doesn't work." He scratched his head in confusion, hoping that someone else had an idea.

"Well, yes, we noticed that, we too, " Tifa answered sarcastically. " I wonder if he'll ever stop telling us things we already know? Probably not, but it's so annoying it makes me want to scream out loud at times."

"I know a way, " Aeris interrupted sadly.

"What? What are we going to do then?" Cloud asked hopefully, grabbing his sword again.

"Not we. I. And I'm not telling you any details, because then you'd try to stop me."

Cloud grabbed her arms, hampering her movements. "Aeris, you're not.. you're not going to sacrifice yourself again? I won't allow it."

Aeris shook his hand off her. "Cloud, this is my decision." Her eyes pleaded him to understand, and accept.

"Aeris.." He wouldn't understand nor accept, it seemed.

"You know I'm already dead. In a way, I had it better when I was. I didn't have to think about all the people I've disappointed and hurt. I.. Cloud, I'd like to go back there. And if I can help the Planet by doing it, then so be it."

"I won't let you!" "Not again. This time I'll save you."

"You can't do anything about it. Don't blame yourself for this death, at least. Know that I chose it myself. " She hugged him quickly. "Goodbye, Cloud."

The girls got the same treatment. "Goodbye Tifa and Yuffie. Please remember me fondly. I love you all." She took a deep breath, and then recalled something. "Oh, Yuffie, I believe you wished to have this." She handed Holy to the young girl, who accepted it with a perplexed look on her face. "But, Aeris.." Yuffie started, not knowing what to say about this sudden gift. "Don't you need it yourself?" "Damn, now I sound like I want her to leave."

"Not for this, no. " Aeris gave them a quick smile, then rushed away after dropping her equipped weapon since it would only slow her down. Cloud tried catching up with her, but it seemed Aeris had cast Haste on herself.

When they arrived at the summit again, Aeris had reached Sephiroth and his sister. She was panting, completely exhausted by having run that far that fast, but was determined to terminate these awful events before it was too late.

Making a final effort, she pushed herself over the edge, taking the silver-eyed girl with her. Sephiroth tried grabbing them, in vain. A few seconds later, they heard a loud splash as the pair hit the surface.

It was over.

* * * * *

Epilogue - Making sense

It took them all quite a while to get over the events. Especially for Cloud, for whom these two days had been the worst in his life. So much had transpired, and it felt like someone had been playing with him and his feelings. He slowly came to accept Sephiroth's existence, but by obvious reasons did not quite appreciate his presence.

At least the awful nightmares had stopped, and after a while he even could resume living again. Not a day went by without him thinking about Aeris, but not in the way he had before. No, this was fondly in a friendly way, as she had wanted him to. Maybe one day, he'd meet her again. He'd like to think that she was still in the Life Stream, looking out for them and protecting them.

Maybe one day he and Tifa would end up together, after all? He didn't know if he wanted that to happen or not, but who could tell what the future would bring them?

* * * * *

Yuffie didn't feel comfortable with Materia that she hadn't stolen. She absolutely wanted to keep Holy, though... Of course she found a way out of the dilemma. She sold the rare Materia to some corrupt ex-Shinra-researchers who were attempting to find another way to extract Mako power, then the following night stole it back. The immense amount of power she'd gotten as a payment for the orb, she sent anonymously to some hospital or another. She sure didn't need the money herself.

* * * * *

Sephiroth knew Cloud didn't want him around. He wasn't too eager to have the blonde as company either, so he stayed in Tifa's villa until he had recovered completely.

After a while, he felt a craving to move on. He would perhaps explore the world, find a place where nobody knew anything about him, and live an ordinary life. Sephiroth had never been ordinary, so it would be quite a challenge to find out what it was like. Said and done, one day he packed the few things he owned and went over to Cloud's house to find Tifa. He explained about his plans, and shyly asked her if she perhaps wanted to come with him.

Surely she missed her adventuring days?

Tifa seemed more than a little tempted, but after weighing the pro's and con's she decided to stay in Junon.

At least until everything went back to normal again. Besides, someone had to explain for the others (meaning Cid, Vincent, Reeve, Barret and Red) what had taken place. Not to mention telling them Sephiroth was alive again.

But she'd very much like to come visit him, and she'd be disappointed if he didn't visit her now and then.

And so Sephiroth went away, not knowing what to think about anything anymore. At least he could look forward to visits from Tifa. What would happen between them in the future would be very interesting to find out, indeed.

THE END