Final Fantasy VII 1. Waiting

Musings of Emerald and Silver: a set of 30 drabbles about the One Winged Angel and his flower girl.

By Turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

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Drabble 1: Watching

He had been watching her for what seemed like forever. Her innocent aura was what first had attracted him. In this dark and polluted city filled with so much crime and corruption her innocence stood out to him among her fellow human beings. Her aura was so bright, like a pink flower among so many scraggly weeds. So he watched her from the shadows, a powerful hunter hidden in the midst of so many hapless sheep that followed the system blindly trying to get ahead in the rat race of life. Few if any ever bothered to raise their heads from their dreary paths of life, too beaten down by the city and having any hope sucked out of them years ago to try and reach for a better existence.

He was not like them.

He had been inquisitive as a child, always wanting to know how something worked, what made things the way they were, was it possible for things to change, and above all, the omnipresent and all encompassing _why?_ He had asked questions, lots of them. But some of those questions had been the wrong ones to ask.

His curiosity had gotten him into more close encounters than he could recall. The adults at the facility that he had grown up in were very good at evading his questions and giving vague and misleading answers. They never tried lying to him for they soon found out that he had an uncanny ability to detect falsehood. So if the adults would not give him his answers, he would go get them himself.

What he had discovered in the dusty archives of the facility opened his eyes to the world. The knowledge that he had gained, if ever discovered that he had it, could easily have lead him having to a "mysterious accident" after which he would never be heard from again. The most startling things he had found had been the files on himself that had described the adult's plan for his future. He was being trained to be an unthinking weapon, a monster.

He would have nothing to do with it.

So in the dead of night he had set fire to the archives and had slipped off into the shadows that came to serve him so well in the coming months. He had become just one predator among many in the bowels of the city, his enhanced abilities and sharp instincts swiftly making him one of the most powerful and feared.

His very name sent shivers down the spines of anyone who had even the slightest involvement in the city's underworld. He not only lived in the shadows, he thrived in them. No one knew where he had come from and they really didn't want to find out. The best tactic that came to dealing with him was to avoid him at all costs.

And then he had seen her.

He had just attained unspoken title of most feared, powerful and dangerous when a flash of color caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He had followed the glimpse of color silently and undetected. When he saw what had caught his attention he was both caught off guard and slightly disappointed. It was a wisp of a girl, just on the verge of womanhood in a cheery pink dress and small red jacket. Her luxurious golden brown hair went just past her shoulders. Despite being stick thin and looking slightly underfed, she was the picture of good health.

It was off that one of her class, judging by the slightly frayed hems of her dress and jacket and often worn look of her clothing, was in such good physical condition. The girl was as weak as a mouse and yet walked through the slums without the slightest feeling of being in danger. She radiated good cheer and her aura just reeked of innocence.

It was almost miraculous that this female had survived so long with her purity intact, unsoiled by this dark and dreary city. Such state of being surely couldn't survive in this place without becoming like the rest of the trudging and miserable masses. As the girl turned to continue on her way, he found himself shadowing her. His curiosity had been aroused by this girl in pink. He followed her home and watched her receive a worried welcome from a woman he assumed was the girl's mother.

The next day he found himself hidden in a nearby alley waiting for her to come out again. He observed her actions throughout the day as she came out of the house with a basket full of flowers and situated herself on a busy corner selling her flowers at a ridiculously cheap price. In the late afternoon as the shadows started growing longer she gathered her belongings and made her way to an abandoned and falling apart church. He didn't follow her into the place, just waited till she came out again as dusk was falling. He once again followed her home and watched her receive another worried welcome from her mother.

The next day he came back and followed her again through the day. He returned the day after and the one after that. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into years. He was no longer shadowing her from dawn to dusk, just observing her for about an hour a day at random intervals.

He soon discovered that her bright and innocent appearance was a bit deceptive. There were times when she thought that when no one was looking she leaned back or sat down and sighed, a deep and far away look coming into her eyes. He soon found himself looking more closely at her aura more and more often. Her aura was always as pure and untouched by the dreary city and its inhabitants as the day he first had glimpsed her. It was the soft undertones that told him that different things were lurking below the surface.

He soon discovered what one of those unexpected parts of her was. It seemed that people came to her for more than just flowers. On several occasions he observed the most random of people approach her with some problem or another. She was a surprising fountain of good advice. The sort of things she told such people came from knowledge and wisdom that most people had who were much older and more experienced than this teenaged girl.

Where was this worldly wisdom coming from that the girl had? For once in his life he was truly stumped. She was an enigma and a mystery wrapped up in a pink package of youth and innocence. His confusion became even greater as he discovered even more unexpected abilities that the girl-child had. For not only did she possess uncanny knowledge and wisdom, she also was good at predicting the outcomes of many different events. And no matter how bad the weather was nor the season she always came out with a basket of flowers each morning and always went home with an empty basket. It was when he saw that she had abilities that existed outside the normal limitations human ability was when interest turned into obsession.

It was right before his very eyes, not fifteen feet away from him that he saw the girl heal a bad wound on a stray dog without anything but her own willpower that he began to suspect that she was not entirely human. Indeed, the fact that the girl might not be of like the rest of the hopelessly human inhabitants of the city was a very good explanation for her so far lifelong aura of innocence and other abilities she had.

Now, once again, he was following her practically throughout the entire day. It was so obviously apparent to him now that the girl was anything but normal. She was something special and unexpected in this place of human filth and it surprised him that no one else seemed to see the things about her that he did now that his eyes had been opened.

As he discovered more and more uncanny things about her, obsession slowly turned into the need to possess. Now instead of just merely observing and following her, he began to slowly isolate her from the people around her. Even people that had hardly any sensitivity felt his claim on her and those with malicious intentions were steering clear of her for the first time in her life.

As a result of the cloak of dark warding that he had cast around the unknowing girl, for the first time in her life, her daily life became so much easier and by noon all of her flowers were sold, no matter how she had brought with her. Soon she had to make another trip to her garden in the middle of the day to get another load of flowers that would sell just as quickly as the first batch. Her single midday trips quickly turned into multiple trips, her flowers selling so fast that she hardly arrived on her corner before they were all snatched up.

It was apparent that the girl had no idea what to do about the situation. She was being overwhelmed by the amount of customers she was getting and the number of people that were seeking her advice was increasing as well. She was now stumbling home every day totally spent, her pockets bulging with the day's profits. As her business went up and the number of supplicants seeking her advice increased, dark circles started appearing under her eyes and signs of stress were becoming noticeable on her frame.

As her face became thinner and more haggard, and her movements slower and jerkier he started becoming more worried. He soon determined that she was stretching herself thin between her business and helping the people that came looking for her. So he also started warding off not only those with malicious intentions but also the weak willed as well. The change was immediate and drastic. The number of supplicants for her help as well as the number of customers dropped significantly, closer to the numbers she had before he had staked his claim on her.

Now the only people that came to her were those of strong character and good will. The type of people who easily made friends and attracted the attention of others. Suddenly the people that were coming up to her were becoming much more interested in her than a normal person would have. The number of close acquaintances she had as well as the number of new friends she made went up greatly. Boys in particular were taking a much greater interest in this blossoming woman and they were not interested in being friends.

After the first confidant boy had approached her asking her out on a date, he became insanely jealous. For the first time he started noticing her as a woman rather than a girl. The interest and attention she was attracting from both boys and men did not sit well with him. He frowned, he had never thought about the girl in such terms and now instead of only wanting to claim her for her innocence and otherworldly abilities he wanted to claim her as his woman as well.

His eyes burned with jealousy every time a male approached her and an odd pain clenched his heart at the thought of some other male gaining her attraction other than him. Soon he decided. Soon he would make his presence known to her after all these years and sweep her off into the shadows away from all others. He would hold this special and unique woman mind, heart, body and soul and she would have his. For one such as her deserved nothing but the best and he was it.

She would never see it coming.

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I know that I should be working on the next chapter of Pawns of Prophecy, but after reading some of the drabbles on the live journal group 100 situations, I just had to put this down. As the title implies, this will eventually be a set of thirty drabbles on varying topics and prompts. Some of them will be in a continuation of others and some will be distinct and on their own. All of my drabbles will be strictly AS but I may include other secondary shippings as well.

This is how it will work: I want my reviewers to either give me a prompt word to base the theme of the next story off of or a challenge that they would like me to answer. I will pick my favorite from all I receive in my reviews and post a ficlit on that prompt topic or challenge. If I get no challenges or prompts, I will pick a prompt from a random word generator website and will write one about that.

As a side note, I do intend to write a sequel/companion piece to this first one at some point. Just don't know when.

So review and give me some suggestions, I will update faster if I get some ideas from my readers.


	2. Eternity

Musings of Emerald and Silver: a set of 30 drabbles about the One Winged Angel and his flower girl

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

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Drabble 2: Eternity

The first thing she saw upon awakening was miles upon miles of desolate barren and grey landscape. Was this the Promised Land she had heard so much about from her birth mother? Where were the fields of ever-blooming flowers? The crystal clear lakes and rivers? The lush forests filled with birdsong? Where were all her ancestors who should have been waiting for her just beyond the gates of the Promised Land next to the Lifestream? Aeris could only conclude that this was not the Promised Land. So if she wasn't outside the paradise she was supposed to be after her martyrdom at the hands of her lover, where was she?

Why wasn't she with her birth mother and the rest of her ancestors? Had she not suffered enough for the planet while she was walking on its surface? Was all the abuse she had went through by Cloud all for nothing? Was giving up the chance to be with the man she came to love during her last days of life a worthless and unnecessary gesture? Had all she done and experienced during her brief life been for naught? Why had this happened to her?

_What do I do now?_ Aeris sadly thought, _will I wander this bleak landscape for eternity, nothing but a pale ghost of my former life? Do I have to wander forever or will I eventually fade away? Am I destined to be alone for the rest of my existence?_

That last thought struck her to the core. Being alone after everything was finished had been her greatest fear in life and now supposedly in her afterlife as well. Aeris shivered and tried to hug her arms to herself in a meager attempt to comfort herself. But then she suddenly realized that she was not in fact all alone. For the first time she felt the warm arms holding her close in a loving yet possessive manner. Confusion replaced sadness and depression. Who was holding her? How could she even feel after her supposed death?

It was in a startling flash that Aeris recalled her final moments. She had been lost in her prayers to summon Holy when she had felt a familiar presence enter the shrine. She had been so engrossed in her prayer that only a thin tendril of fear made its way into her mind, but she had dismissed the emotion as the fear of her imminent death. The fear had remained despite her decision to ignore it. What had seen like an eternity later she distantly felt the breeze of a falling figure and then a sharp pain in the back of her head followed by darkness.

Her consciousness had fallen asleep in the void that she had resided in and she had slept, gaining strength waiting for the planet's call to unleash Holy when the time was right. But the call had never come, Aeris realized. Holy had never been cast, she realized with growing horror. Then she had awoken from her death-like sleep in the void to be greeted with the sight of a lifeless and grey landscape. Now as she was being cradled in the stranger's arms, Aeris knew that things had gone horribly and terribly wrong.

This was not how things should have ended. She was supposed to have died right after she had completed the prayer for Holy, sending her spirit into the Lifestream where she would wait, sleeping, until Holy was needed. The good guys were supposed to have won and the planet saved. But it was apparent that was not how the events after her death had unfolded.

_Did I even really die back in the Lost City?_ Aeris thought, panicking, _all I remember was the sharp pain to the back of my head and then nothing. Was I merely knocked unconscious instead of killed? How did this happen?_

Aeris furiously tried to recall what had happened during the last few moments of her prayers. She was growing more and more panicked and worried as no new details presented themselves.

_By the love of the planet!_ Aeris realized. Her next thoughts were never voiced as her startled and disbelieving gaze swept up into the familiar face of Sephiroth, the one who had been holding her all this time. She opened her mouth to ask why when Sephiroth spoke the words that both confirmed her worst fears and fulfilled her hearts' deepest and most desperate wish.

"Welcome my angel, my queen, my goddess to eternity," Sephiroth whispered lovingly to her, the words seeming to echo across the no dead planet and escape into the universe beyond.

He watched her as she silently digested his words gazing up into his eyes, insanity, love, pride, escalation, and triumph creating an unholy fire that danced in his intense, blazing sea-green orbs. Aeris for the first time notice the sheer raw power that Sephiroth was radiating from every inch of his being. She was beyond horrified when she felt a twin to her lover's impossible power burning inside of her as well. At the same time, a feeling of unexpected and unsurpassable elation filled her heart at the fact that she was still alive.

No, she corrected herself, more than alive, she was beyond mortal existence now. And to top it off she was here, with the man she had come to love with her heart and soul.

This was the deepest and most desired wish Aeris had ever wanted, coming from the bottom of her soul where it had been forcibly buried. To selfishly shrug off her responsibilities and to spend eternity with this man, the man who had become her devoted lover and soulmate. This was the part of her that had vehemently wished for exactly this outcome. It was the darker, more selfish part of her that Aeris had shoved away early on in her life, content to ignore that part of her which resided in the deepest recesses of her mind.

Now it was free and she couldn't, didn't want to suppress it again.

The newly awakened goddess was filled with the warring emotions of dark elation, euphoria and satisfaction and her horror, disbelief and even slight hatred. Alongside of these emotions coming from the two warring parts of her soul were the strong, unquenchable emotions that her heart was sending out in waves. Love and lust for the man who had did this to her battled with the emotions of her warring soul, her heart nor either sides of her soul gaining control.

Aeris didn't even ask what had happened to her friends, she had a pretty good idea and did not want a retelling of their deaths from the man who had assuredly ended their lives. Again she opened her mouth to ask why he had done this, but the words died on her lips as she became lost once again in his endless blue-green eyes. All the answers she needed were shinning in his expressive gaze. His love and his desire to keep her forever by his side, along with what Aeris guessed was approval from Jenova, was what had caused him to break his vow to her to let her fulfill her self-appointed destiny.

After what seemed like an eternity Aeris was finally able to break her eyes away from his consuming gaze. Suddenly her horror, despair, sorrow, grief, and even her hatred, didn't seem to matter so much now as it had did just moments ago. For at long last the giddy rush of the power burning in her core finally overcame her. Throwing back her head Aeris let loose wild, triumphant laughter that had more than a hint of insanity in it. She was now a goddess, what did it matter? The wonders of the universe were hers for the taking.

She could do anything and everything she could even dream of. And the best part that no one would be able to stop her, the only two beings that could wouldn't. In fact Aeris knew that Sephiroth would gladly go along with whatever she wanted to do. He belonged with her, belonged to her now, for eternity. No escape, no other options or recourses. He was bound to her by unbreakable chains of love and power. They belonged together, all-powerful deities that could destroy stars and planets with only a thought.

Desire and lust filled Aeris as she violently pulled Sephiroth's head down for a commanding and crushing kiss. Sephiroth was more than happy to allow this of his goddess. He had finally brought out the hidden part of Aeris that he had know had been buried deep down. He had her, all of her. Mind, body, heart and eternal soul. Her dark half and light half, her love and loyalty. If she wanted to be in charge he was more than happy to let her rule him.

Aeris shoved Sephiroth to the ground, his back hitting the dead earth with a dull thud. He felt none of the pain that Aeris' actions had caused to his godly body. He loved every moment that she ruthlessly dominated him, ravishing him in every possible way. She completed her claim on him, making his soul, his heart and his body her property, her possession. It was glorious and magnificent, Sephiroth never wanted the feeling to end.

They finally came down from their reality-shattering climaxes that seemed to have lasted an eternity. Both of them lay back on the barren soil, gazing at the star-strewn heavens above that were silently beckoning them.

Sephiroth was totally spent. He lay motionless with Aeris on top of him, as the after-effects of their fist union as god and goddess rippled through them. Never before had he felt such intense blind pleasure! Their love making had been even more satisfying and fulfilling than the Ascension.

Even now he could Aeris continue to sink her lines of control and dominance into his very soul, wrapping him in unbreakable bonds that commanded him to obey her in every from. Sephiroth didn't fight her actions, he even welcomed them. By doing this Aeris was binding herself even more to him and by the time she was finished she would never be able to leave his side.

The silver-haired god was more than happy to let her command him. He loved her all the more for her fiery need to possess and dominate. These traits he valued in her above all others, except for the passionate love she had for him. He belonged to her in every way and she was his as well. She might be in control, but he owned her heart and soul. To him it was a more than fair deal.

Distantly Sephiroth could feel Jenova's approval of Aeris' actions. For it was only right that the females, the givers and destroyers of life be dominant and have all the power. For hers was a race that the females ruled all and the males had no choice but to submit being the weaker gender. It was because that Jenova had been such a strong dominant female of her race that she was able to produce such a strong and powerful son that would help fulfill her dreams of destruction and godhood.

Sephiroth raised his head to look at the gorgeous goddess resting on top of him. Now it was his turn to get ensnared in her bottomless, greener than green, eyes that burned with desire and love for him. She was quite insane in her own way, much like he was. She pulled herself up and once again crashed her lips against his in a consuming and brutal kiss. Aeris pulled away with a broad smirk.

The smirk was replaced with a wicked smile when a new thought flashed into her mind. Aeris once again bent down and started tracing the contours Sephiroth's smooth neck with her tongue lightly. He shuddered and groaned. She then pulled back smug, not allowing Sephiroth to pull her back down so she could continue her teasing ministrations. For he was hers to control, to command, to toy with.

"Welcome to eternity my love, my other half," she lustily whispered into his ear, her words full of promise and intent, "my slave."

The beginning…

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A dramatic sequel to the dark and haunting story, Shattered Perceptions. I hope that once again I was able to surprise and challenge my readers with this follow-up to Shattered Perceptions. There certainly was a huge spectrum of emotions that Aeris went through in this story. I think that I've created a monster. Oh boy. I am positive that no one has ever seen the flower girl like this.

Tell me what you think about this stereotype and traditional role breaking ficlit. I hunger for a new challenge from my readers. Give me a challenge and I will rise to the occasion to answer it. Please, I need to write more. Give me inspiration. I know you want to.

Just press that little blue button that says "go" and leave a review.


	3. Kudzu

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.

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Drabble 3: Kudzu

They had started out as such an insignificant, no-name group. It was purely by accident that they even got their big break in the first place. The trio had started as a garage band that played music not for the attention it would get them from others, but just for the pleasure of playing the music itself. In fact, before they were scouted, they never even wanted to hit it big.

During their high school years, they spent almost every afternoon practicing in their parent's garage, playing at a party thrown by one of their friends a few times a year. They were the middle three children out of five, they were called the silver trio for their hair color and how they were always found together. They were only about three years apart in age. Kadaj, the leader was only barely fifteen while his older brothers, Yazoo and Loz, were sixteen and seventeen respectively. Out of all five children of the family, not much was known about the oldest and youngest children. The middle three took up all the attention and left the other two in the dust.

It had been just another party full of high school students (with the obligatory spiked fruit punch) where they were playing at the request of one of their friends. A student who knew someone who knew someone who was a big honcho in the record business attended. Unbeknownst to the trio, that person had taken a cell phone recording of one of their songs. A few weeks later, a guy in an expensive designer suit with a fancy leather briefcase knocked on their door and asked for a demonstration from the middle three brothers.

At first they had been hesitant but with a bit of urging from their friends who were hanging out with them, the trio went out to the garage and got set up. Obviously the scout was impressed for after a few more demonstrations and an opening act for a popular band, they were signing a contract for their first record release. Ironically enough they had called themselves _Three in the Middle_. Their hit song had been playing on the local radio stations for a few weeks and people had begun to wonder who this mystery group was. When the news about their first live concert was announced on the local stations, tickets were sold out within the first week.

It was on the night of their first concert when it all began. The moment the dark stage lit up, red light reflecting off their silver hair, all the girls in the packed audience (and some of the boys) let out a collective love struck sigh. When the first notes come from their instruments and the first lines of their song were sung was the instant the craze began.

The next day, cell phone videos and pictures of their performance were posted all over the web and chat rooms buzzed with gossip and speculation of the newest teen heartthrobs. Within two days, all the stores in town were sold out of their first CD, _Metallic Images_, named after their eye-catching, trademark hair. By the end of the week their hit song, _Heart's Nightmare_, was the most popular song in the country and the rather bewildered trio was raking in millions on their first record. Apparently they had never dreamed that they would be this successful.

Their shyness and confusion didn't last.

For it seemed that their sudden fame went to their heads and they became quite the camera hogs and attention grabbers. Every night they could be found crashing a different party full of fans and groupies. Needless to say they lost their virginity fairly fast. Wave after wave of fans, particularly female fans, threw themselves at the trio and they loved every moment of it.

Surprisingly for all their popularity, they never disclosed who their song writer was. It was almost as they were afraid to tell who was the genius of words was that created the lyrics of their biggest hits. Most people just guessed that they wrote their songs themselves, but a few thought that they were receiving their lyrics from an unknown source. Idle speculation about the mystery song writer was a reliable topic to fall back on when people got tired about talking about the group itself (not that that happened too often).

Everywhere it seemed, posters depicting the silver trio were plastered on bedroom walls, in store windows, in movie theaters, and even on billboards. Take a walk out in town during practically any time of the day or night and one could hear someone humming or signing one of their songs. And not only were their songs and images being posted and played everywhere, but increasing numbers of teens were starting to dress and act like their favorite brother of the _Three in the Middle_. Everywhere one looked, they would most likely find at least one person sporting a silver dye job or wearing a form fitting black trench coat the silver trio was known to favor.

The phenomenon of the group's sudden popularity and increasing number of people who cosplayed as one of the three came to be known by some as the Kudzu craze. For like the plant, the numbers of followers of the craze grew daily. It was said that everyday fifty new converts were made. It was now a common sight to see one out of ten people with silvertops.

A few other groups tried to oust the Three in the Middle from their number one position. Such challengers temporarily were able to take away some of the popularity from the _Three in the Middle_, but they never lasted for more than two months at most. Every time another challenger fell, their cult of fans rebounded and grew even bigger. Just like the plant, unless the silver trio's popularity was totally obliterated, they kept on coming back.

The familiar lyrics of _Heart's Nightmare_ started playing from the overhead sound system in a small café near the city's university. One fed up brunette banged her head on her table in exasperation.

_Gods, not that blasted song again!_ the twenty something college student thought, _this must be the seventeenth time they have played that song in the last hour and a half. Why must I be constantly tortured by this stupid song? The first few times it was nice, but after a few hundred playings it gets old real fast._

Aeris could feel a headache coming on. She waved the waitress over and ordered another double shot mocha. The waitress raised her eyebrow, this had been her third order for that drink. She doubted that the slightly frazzled brunette would be getting much sleep that night.

_Caffeine is my friend_, Aeris thought as she sipped her third mocha, _it helps drive away the annoyances of the world._

As the song came to an end, a group of female high school students, started to chatter excitedly about the group's newest release. Soon one of them started singing another of the group's songs, a bit off key much to Aeris' annoyance.

Aeris wanted to bang her head on the table again but refrained. Her doctor said that if she kept it up she was likely to start loosing her short-term memory.

"I just don't see why everyone is infatuated with them," she moaned to herself, "I mean, sure, they have talent, but how could anyone like such arrogant snobs? The fans and groupies have blown this thing way out of proportion, nothing should be that popular. It's not normal."

Then the last thing that Aeris could have wanted happened, the group of girls had gotten up from their table and were approaching hers. At the same time another song by the _Three in the Middle_ came on and Aeris lost it.

"If I hear one more blasted song by or one more sentence about that group of silver haired brain-dead man whores, I'm going to shave every groupie I see with a silver hair job totally bald before setting their fake leather trench coats on fire!" Aeris hollered.

Everyone in the café stared at her. The group of high school girls shrank back in fear and one of them started bawling. More than a few hateful glares were sent in her direction as she threw some money down on the table, picked up her book bag and stormed her way out of the café.

"Am I the last person in this whole city that hasn't become part of this stupid Kudzu craze?" Aeris shouted to the sky a few blocks away from the café.

The chestnut haired college student once again gained the attention of everyone around her. She ignored all the gawking pedestrians and stomped on, shoving those out of her way that did not move away from her fast enough. Aeris continued to mumble to herself as she came closer to her apartment building.

"I swear, just give me a pair of scissors and a blow torch and then let's see what the fans will think of the silver trio after I am done with them," Aeris ranted, "I'd like to see how they would keep getting laid every night with their silver locks shorn and scorch marks on their bodies."

Aeris, lost in her ranting, was totally caught off guard when she plowed into someone, sending both of them sprawling to the ground. She spent a few moments trying to figure what had caused her to stop her war path before it dawned on her that she was on top of someone.

_Great, and things were going so well today to start off with,_ Aeris sarcastically thought.

The first thing she noticed about the poor sod she had rammed into was a, hard, nicely muscled, and very _male_ chest. Broad shoulders and strong arms next came into her view as she lifted her head higher, a blush crossing her face as she got an eyeful of the man's chest through a gap in his button down shirt.

Still madly blushing like a schoolgirl, Aeris gathered her courage and boldly looked up into the man's face. Emerald met sea green and time stopped. How long their eyes were locked on the other's, neither of them knew. But a few catcalls and a whistle from the small crowd that had gathered broke both of them out of their daze.

Aeris, finally realizing what a compromising position she was in, hastily scrambled off the man she had been sprawled all over. She heard an amused chuckle as the man dusted himself off and rose to his feet.

"Sorry about running you over like that," Aeris sheepishly apologized, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No problem," the still amused man answered in a rich baritone voice, "it happens to the best of us."

"Oh," was all Aeris was able to say.

Her speechlessness vanished the next moment.

"So where were you going in such a hurry that you were not paying attention to your surroundings?" he asked.

"I actually was not in much of a hurry," Aeris answered, "you see all day I have had songs and gossip about the _Three in the Middle_ rammed down my throat. I finally snapped in the little café near campus and informed the world what I would do to the next wannabe member of silver trio cosplayer I came across. It involved lots of sharp objects and a flame thrower."

"So I gather you are not a fan?" the man inquired.

"Not on my life!" Aeris vehemently replied, "I am one of the rare few sane people left in this town that is not one of the silver trio's followers. I have seen more bad bleach jobs around here than ever since their cult expanded into this city."

"Fascinating," the man drawled, clearly amused.

Aeris wasn't sure if he was merely agreeing with her or mocking her. It was only a second later why Aeris realized why he was so amused. She had finally looked away from his deep sea green eyes and noticed something very striking about him that she should have spotted right away. Coming out of his head and flowing down his back were the longest, silkiest locks of platinum silver hair she had ever seen.

"You…you…" Aeris stammered as the silver haired man smirked, "arrrgh!!! Not another one! They are everywhere! I can't get away from all you silver trio clones!"

The man just watched Aeris' outburst in amusement.

"Why does the world hate me so?!" she wailed.

"Scream just a bit higher, you haven't broken all the windows around us yet," the man teased.

Aeris went red in the face.

"Listen you bleach-headed creep," Aeris began, "I've had a really bad day and I don't need another fanatical fan of _Three in the Middle_ trying to convert me to the Kudzu craze cult."

"It's natural," the man corrected.

"Excuse me?" Aeris practically shrieked.

"My hair is naturally silver," the man explained, "now if you are done scaring the local wildlife, how about I treat you to a cup of coffee?"

"Huh?" Aeris asked, caught off guard.

"I'm asking you for a date," the man replied, still amused.

"Umm, no offense but why?" Aeris inquired suspicious, "I mean, I just outright insulted you and screamed in your face after mowing you down and you are asking me out to coffee?"

He simply smirked.

"Why?" Aeris demanded.

"Because you are really cute when you are mad," the man began as Aeris scowled, "and it's nice to find another person who isn't a rabid fan girl or fan boy of those silver trio idiots."

"You?" Aeris asked incredulously, "a hater of _Three in the Middle_? With that hair? There is something wrong with this picture or I'm a flying wombat."

"Well I don't see you sprouting wings yet," the man observed, "my name is Sephiroth by the way and I have a personal reason not to like that bunch of song stealers."

"Really?" Aeris asked.

"Oh yes," Sephiroth answered, "me and the silver trio go way back."

"My name's Aeris by the way," Aeris told him.

"Aeris is it?" Sephiroth stated, her name rolling off his tongue like fine silk, "how about we leave our little audience and go somewhere with less gawkers and more caffeine and sugar? "

"You read my mind," Aeris responded as she linked her arm with his and they both strode off towards the nearest coffee shop.

* * *

Well James Firecat, I hope that this is a satisfactory answer for your challenge. It was a bit hard to come up with a story for the prompt "Kudzu", I didn't even know what it was before you told me.

Personally I thought that I never would write a fic about a music band, usually I avoid those like the plague. I will admit that writing the first part was a bit difficult, but once I got to Aeris' piece, things became a lot easier and much more fun.

This ficlit can either be a stand alone one-shot or if the reviewers express enough interest, I can do a continuation for it later. And yes I do plan on doing a continuation of the first drabble, "Watching", but not for a few more chapters. I will post on my profile when that one will come up.

The call is still out there for challengers from my readers (except for James Firecat since I just did the one he offered, I might do another one from him in the future, but not for the next ficlit). I want a challenge and you reviewers are just the ones to provide me with one. If no one gives me a challenge or a prompt word, I will just pick one from a list of words from a random word generator.

Turtlerad17 out!


	4. Homeward

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17 I don't own Final Fantasy 7

* * *

Drabble 4: Homeward

He was tired, oh so tired. He had tried for godhood for what seemed countless times, bathing the planet in blood during each of his deadly crusades. How could one so powerful and mighty always be defeated by such a weak hearted puppet? It didn't make sense. He, Sephiroth, was faster, stronger, smarter, more agile and a better magic user than that pathetic puppet but somehow that scrawny SOLDIER reject always managed to get the best of him.

He was so sick of it. Even now he could still feel the aching wounds that covered his body as it floated helplessly in the Lifestream. His very presence there polluted and contaminated the life energies that swirled around him, turning them a sickly blackish purple. What use did the planet have for keeping him here when his presence only further corrupted the Lifestream? Why not just finally destroy his soul, scattering his essence to the winds? Gaia knows that he was weak enough for it to do just that.

A stray thought flickered across his mind. An image of a thin brunette in a pink dress covered in blood arouse before his eyes. Who was this girl? What did she mean to him? He knew that he should know who she is, as if they had known each other in their lives personally. Sephiroth tried to identify the feelings that arouse from his core that came along with the bloody image of this girl in pink.

A few he could easily identify, such feelings being constant companions for the majority of his existence. Emotions like hate, anger and scorn he recognized easily. But her image also brought up less experienced emotions such as sadness, wistfulness and regret as well. Who was this female that could inspire such soft emotions from the former demi-god?

Suddenly a name flashed in his mind to accompany the image of the girl; _Aeris_. And then he remembered who this female was and what she had been to him. At first when he saw her she was merely a nuisance, just another one of the puppet's tagalongs. Then his annoyance at her became intrigue when he learned that she was a Cetra. He had thought that he was the last one. Confusion had replaced curiosity at that. Why was one of the last rightful heirs to the planet traveling with this ragtag group, trying to stop _him_ nonetheless?

Anger replaced confusion. Who was she to try and defy him? If she really was a true Cetra, should she not be by his side helping him to rid the planet of the filth known as humanity? Had she not suffered at the hands of the stupid apes just like he and Mother had? He was so angry and confused and had no idea why this mere slip of a girl belonging to an ancient race was helping these roaches. So he decided to try and find out some answers.

One night he had crept into the girl's dreams. What he found was not what he had been expecting. The moment he entered her sleeping mind he was bombarded by a million different voices, voices that both caressed him with love and attacked him with anger and hate. What on earth was this? How was it possible for so many different voices to be in this girl's mind without her going insane? Gaia knows that he was nothing close to sane and he only had the voice of Mother in his mind. Then he had heard her voice ring out above the rest as she conversed with one of the entities that swirled around him.

"Yes I know mother," the girl's clear bell-like voice spoke again.

"Oh Aeris how I wish that I could be with you for your coming ordeal," an older female voice answered her.

"I know mother, I know," Aeris replied, "but since I am the only one left, the responsibility of protecting our planet falls to me. No matter what it costs I will do my duty to Gaia."

"Aeris, the love you hold for our dear planet warms my heart," Ilfania murmured, "but dear, I'm worried about you. I can hear your soul silently aching in loneliness. Isn't there someone special for you to share your feelings with?"

"Mom, I'm surrounded by friends," Aeris chastised her, "I'm not lonely in the least bit. In fact I'm having the time of my life with AVALANCHE."

"But what about love?" Ilfania inquired, "a woman naturally seeks a partner to share her heart and hearth with. It is only more urgent that you find yourself a partner since you are Cetra. We who are constantly immersed in the loving presence of the planet need to find a physical source of love all the more because of it."

"The love my friends have for me is plenty," Aeris protested.

"But what about that blond with the spiky hair you seem so fond of? Tell me that there is not something going on between the two of you?" Ilfania relentlessly pursed the topic.

"Cloud," Aeris sighed, "true I am very fond of him and am more than attracted to him, but he belongs with Tifa. I can see the deeply buried feelings for each other swirling around the two. I have no right to get in between those who have mutual feelings for each other."

"Is there no one else that holds your heart, daughter mine?" Ilfania asked.

"I had thought that I had something serious going on with Zack all those years ago," Aeris wistfully recalled, "but one day he left on a mission and never returned. I was deeply saddened when I had learned that he had returned to the planet. I think that Zack was my one shot at happiness and now he's gone, already reborn from what the planet told me."

Aeris took a moment to collect herself.

"There is no one else out there for me," Aeris continued, "I guess that's just my stock in life."

"Oh Aeris, the truth is right in front of you and you don't even see it," Ilfania sadly murmured, "there is someone out there who understands what you are going through better than even you could fathom. Things could be much different for you if you found this person and realized what the two of you could have together."

Sephiroth by now had had enough of this sappy sentimental conversation between the Cetra and her dead mother. With a low snarl of disgust he left Aeris' slumbering mind and retreated back to his own body.

_What a waste of time!_ he had thought, I_ now see that there is no reason for me to be worried about this girl. All she seems to be worried about is her love life. She acts too much like the humans around her to be worth my time._

After that he had mostly ignored her, his attention focused on the progress of the puppet. It was amusing really to watch the puppet try to figure everything out. The Cetra was of no consequence. For now all he had to do was watch the puppet and once in a while dangle a tantalizing hint to him about his past. He really did enjoy messing with the puppet's mind.

Sephiroth dearly came to regret his earlier discard of the Cetra's threat to his plans. He had thought that someone so weak and sentimental would never pose a challenge to his plans. Oh how wrong he had been.

He had belatedly realized what a true danger to everything he was working towards the Cetra was after she had entered the puppet's dream and told him that she had a way of fighting Meteor. Sephiroth had vastly underestimated the girl's strength of spirit and resourcefulness. It really was a shame that she was on the wrong side, she could have made Sephiroth's plans go much easier if she had helped him.

Now, with a very real threat to his plans in the form of the slender Cetra, Sephiroth had gone to great lengths to prevent her from interfering. His efforts had been in vain, for by releasing her from her mortal shell he had unlocked her true potential which had allowed her to call up the lifestream itself to fight against Meteor. What a fool he had been to believe that mere death would stop one of the heirs to the planet on their quest.

_She had been the one, not the puppet_, Sephiroth realized, _that had put a stop to my attempts at godhood. And I'm sure that if I made another try, she would come back and using the puppet and her powers would easily crush any attempt that I would make. _

_But I can never give up!_ Sephiroth rallied, _for as long as the humans walk on the surface of this planet, my vengeance will never be fulfilled and I will never be able to rest. Never will I give up on my mission, I will return to the surface as many times as it takes to get my revenge!_

Sephiroth's fury soon left him. He simply was too exhausted to be able to sustain strong emotions for very long. All he could do now was rest and recover his strength before making another try at resurrecting. He could feel his eyes drifting downward as his weariness got the best of him. He fought the darkness to no avail and soon he succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The silver haired ex-general could feel a strangely familiar and warm presence close by. Stubbornly he fought against the last vestiges of his death-like slumber and blearily opened his eyes. When he saw who was nearby he mentally groaned. The last thing he needed was her presence!

"I know that you are awake," the Cetra told him.

"What do you want?" he bluntly asked.

"I've come to take you home," Aeris informed him.

"Home? I have no home, Cetra," Sephiroth sneered, "speaking of which why haven't you gone to your precious Promised Land already. Did they kick you out for being a sorry half-breed?"

"Rudeness and being nasty will get you nowhere," Aeris scolded.

"Humph, like I give a damn," Sephiroth snorted.

"You should, seeing as I am the one who is going to determine what happens to you," Aeris tartly announced.

"Excuse me? You deciding my fate? Ridiculous," he declared.

"Well FYI Mr. Megalomaniac," Aeris began angrily, "while you were getting your much needed beauty sleep, the planet and the Cetran Council finally came to a decision on what to do with you."

"Do tell," Sephiroth mocked.

"While it is considered an unforgivable sin of the greatest magnitude to destroy a soul, no matter how rotten or corrupt, by both the Cetra and the planet" Aeris explained snidely, "several of the council members were actually arguing for such a punishment for you for your crimes against the planet."

Aeris paused for a moment to let the information sink in.

"They were overruled of course," she continued, "the essence of life, no matter how corrupt is sacred and should never be destroyed. So after much debate, a decision was settled on and they gave me the task of carrying it out."

"What can you do to me, little girl?" Sephiroth sneered.

"More than you think, oh fallen one," Aeris loftily replied.

"Well, get on with it already. I don't have all day," Sephiroth sarcastically told her.

"Very well," Aeris solemnly replied, "Sephiroth, I hereby deliver your punishment for your crimes against the planet and its children as decided upon by the Cetran Council."

He started at her emotionlessly.

"You are to be purified and denied the rights that all other humans are given at the end of their lives," Aeris announced, "never will you be reborn. Never will you be able to wash away or forget all your hardships and suffering that you experienced during your life. You will be cut off from the solace of being one with the lifestream and never feel the joy at being part of the planet's collective energy.

Aeris paused to catch her breath.

"I pass your sentence now!" she yelled.

Sephiroth never got the chance to let out the hurtful remark that was on the tip of his tongue. For the moment after Aeris' declaration rang out, a blinding mass of energy burst from her form and came hurdling towards him. The moment it made contact, soul-searing pain filled his being. The purifying energies wrapped around him, blocking his writhing form from sight but doing nothing to muffle the screams that were coming from within. Aeris dispassionately watched the whole thing, her face devoid of any emotions.

Finally after what seemed like days, the energy dissipated and the pain slowly left his twitching body. Sephiroth couldn't believe that that bitch had the gall to do that to him! He reached down into his core to gather up the necessary energy to send a rudimentary but powerful blast of raw magic at her, but he found nothing.

"What have you done to me witch?!" he roared, slightly panicked.

"You have been purified of all traces of Jenova's presence along with all traces of humanity that was left in you," Aeris explained, "as you are now, you are nothing more than a formless spirit. No powers, no body, no life, no hope of returning. You have been stripped of all things but your mind and soul, any connection you had with the planet wiped out allowing for no chance of being reborn."

"So now what happens to me Cetra?" he demanded, looking a bit lost, "do I stay here, unable to communicate to the souls around me? Or do I get ejected from the Lifestream and be forced to float over the planet's surface for eternity unable to interact with any living thing?"

"No," Aeris simply answered.

"Well what then?!" he yelled with helpless fury.

"There is a reason why I haven't passed into the Promised Land yet," Aeris stated, referring to Sephiroth's earlier question.

"And this concerns me how?" he despondedly asked.

"Once a Cetra passed into the Promised Land, they can never return," Aeris explained, "I have been waiting for all this time to before joining my mother and ancestors. While the Cetran Council were the ones to choose your punishment, they left it up to me to decide what happens next."

"So, what section of Hell will you be sending me to?" Sephiroth wearily asked, all emotion and fight gone from him.

"Don't look so down," Aeris softly consoled him, "I am not one to seek retribution. I will show you mercy."

"How? Any decision you make will only lead me to an empty and lonely existence," Sephiroth spoke.

"I told you from the start what I intended to do with you," Aeris explained, "you are going home, with me. To the Promised Land, together."

"What? Why?" Sephiroth croaked.

"When I look at you, I don't see a murderous monster like others do," Aeris admitted, "I see a lonely little boy looking for some attention and love. No matter what someone does, they don't deserve to be alone."

Sephiroth stared at her in astonishment.

"I wouldn't wish such a fate on my worst enemy," she wryly concluded.

Sephiroth snorted at that.

_Glad to know that he hasn't lost all of his spunk,_ Aeris thought, _Oh mother was right all this time. I was so blind. Cloud was never the person who needed my help, he had Tifa for that. Sephiroth was the one who I should have been guiding all along. _

"You really have gone through many of the same things I have," Aeris mused, "we are more alike than I'm sure than you would like to admit. You probably can understand me even better than I myself could, just like mother told me."

"What are you rambling about Cetra?" Sephiroth demanded, though his voice lacked any scorn.

"You should know," Aeris told him, "you were eavesdropping on that conversation. I'm not that unobservant to notice a foreign presence in my dreams."

Sephiroth had nothing to say in his defense against Aeris' accusation as he had been caught red-handed.

"So shall we get going?" she asked, offering him her hand.

Hesitantly he took her proffered invitation. The Lifestream started swirling around them as he curled his fingers around her tiny hand. Slowly everything faded away and Sephiroth knew no more.

* * *

Sephiroth woke up to warm sunshine and such a feeling of peace and tranquility that he never wanted to move. Distantly he could feel the cool softness against his back of the grass he was resting on. A soft hand brushed his bangs away from his face and he reached up to stall its movements. A soft giggle informed him of the owner of the hand he was holding and reluctantly he opened his eyes to glare at the amused female sitting next to him.

"It's more lovely and wonderful than I had ever imagined," Aeris murmured in awe.

"Yes, it truly is paradise," Sephiroth commented.

"Can you feel it? The presence of the planet welcoming us and surrounding us in its loving eternal embrace?" Aeris asked.

Sephiroth slightly nodded.

He could feel the energies of this place twinning around him, weaving its threads into his mind and meshing with his soul. The Promised Land was creating an unbreakable bond with him, securely anchoring him to this place. Sephiroth was in effect a prisoner in paradise. The energies of the place that were sinking into him would prevent him or anyone else for that matter who came here from leaving.

_Not that they would want to leave_, Sephiroth mused, _for who would want to leave paradise?_

"I commend you on your smart planning Aeris," Sephiroth began, instantly catching her attention with the his first use of her real name, "not only have you delivered a fitting punishment for one of my ilk, but you have also insured that I can do no further mischief to the planet or its inhabitants."

Aeris gave him a brilliant smile for his disguised praise.

"And you did it all without any trace of ill will or malice," he continued, "all the while carrying out your plan in a method that your rigid sense of morals wouldn't object to."

"I didn't do this entirely out of the goodness of my heart, you know, "Aeris informed him with a slight chuckle, "my decision was guided by a bit of selfishness on my behalf."

"You? The saintly martyr?" Sephiroth asked in mock astonishment.

"Yes, me. I'm far from perfect," she teased, "Ilfania was right. We are alike. Though I hardly know you, I feel that there is something between us. A bond of kindred souls, if you may."

"Interesting," Sephiroth stated, "do continue."

"Well, I was sort of hoping that you would stay with me," Aeris admitted with a slight blush, "I wish that we could at least be friends."

"Perhaps in time we could," Sephiroth offered.

"Perhaps so," Aeris mused, "perhaps it could develop into something more."

"Perhaps," Sephiroth stated.

Aeris smiled gently and lay down, pillowing her head on his shoulders. She let out a content sigh. Finally she had found her personal paradise, a paradise in her heart. After all this time and all her searching, she finally had found her Promised Land in the form of a silver haired man who was no more and no less than himself.

* * *

I know, this has been done many times before, but I just had to try my hand at this type of one-shot. I really did enjoy writing this and unlike many others of its type, this ficlit is much longer than some of the other short one-shots.

Be warned, don't expect any updates real soon. I came down with a lovely cold courtesy of my mother just as I started writing this fic. My throat is sore and achy and I'm about to go to bed. Leave me your thoughts and like always I welcome a challenge for the next drabble from a reviewer.


	5. Blasphemy

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.

Note: In this fic, "magi" refers to multiple mages while "mage" refers to just one.

* * *

Drabble 5: Blasphemy

Aeris bit her lip in concentration. If her attention wavered just a tiny bit, the spell of protection that she was casting would blow up in her face and leave her with a massive magical hangover and a throbbing headache.

_Just a few more moments,_ Aeris thought as she struggled to draw the magic into its final form.

Sweat was pouring down her face as she struggled with her reluctant magic. It was being particularly stubborn this time and was putting up a hard fight against this casting and was doing an admiral job of it. But Aeris' will was stronger and finally after what seemed like hours, she forced her magic to complete the spell and it settled into the amber amulet at long last. The spell complete and securely anchored to the amulet, Aeris let the energy drain from her and she slumped onto the table she was seated in front of with a weary sigh.

"Good work," the voice of her master told her with approval, "that was the first time your magic had ever been used to perform a protection spell. The first time using one's magic in a new and unfamiliar way is always the hardest since the magic struggles against being used in ways that it hasn't been used before. The next time you cast a protection spell will be much easier."

Aeris let out a tired chuckle, "I must have done something right. It is rare that I receive any praise from you Master Elmyra."

"I give praise when it is due," Elmyra informed her, "up until now you have not earned any. You really have been doing much better lately and I have noticed. I think that it is time to start you on more advanced spells now."

Aeris groaned. She knew what that meant, more time studying and less sleep. When she was not studying, practicing her magic or sleeping she would be shoveling massive amounts of food into her mouth to replenish her magical energy. And when she finally was able to stop for the night she would crash into her bed, totally drained.

"Don't give me that," Elmyra lectured, "just because you finally are improving your spell castings doesn't mean that you get a break. If I let you slack off now you'll lose all that you have gained so far."

"Can I at least go to bed now?" Aeris plaintively asked.

"First I want you to get some food into you," Elmyra commanded, "you know that it is vital to replenish your magical reserves after performing a big spell like that. I know of magic users that made that mistake in the past and slipped into shock because of that. So shoo, off to the kitchen with you."

Aeris groaned again, pulled herself to her feet and stumbled off towards the kitchen. Tiredly she walked over to the stove with the slightly simmering pot of stew on one of the backburners and ladled several generous spoonfuls into a handy bowl that was left nearby. Her hunger hit Aeris full force after the first spoonful and in what seemed like a blink of an eye she had polished off all the beef stew in her bowl.

Aeris got up and refilled her bowl. She was in the process of clearing her dishes when Elmyra came into the kitchen. She nodded her head in approval when she saw how much stew was left in the pot after Aeris' double serving and poured herself a bowl full of the beef stew herself.

"Aeris, repeat the code of the white magi!" Elmyra barked suddenly as Aeris was about to leave the kitchen.

"Do I have to?" Aeris whined.

"Do it," Elmyra commanded, "you can go to bed afterwards."

Aeris sighed. She really was not in the mood for this. The apprentice witch had just finished a complicated and energy demanding spell and had a full tummy and all she really wanted to do was collapse into her bed.

"Well, I'm waiting," Elmyra said, her foot tapping against the wood floor in expectation.

"Alright already," Aeris grumbled.

"The first rule of the white magi is to give aid whenever needed," Aeris started reciting, "always do what you can to lessen the spiritual and emotional burdens of others but don't give more than what you have."

Elmyra nodded, urging Aeris to continue.

"Never reject help or good advice when it is freely given," Aeris continued, "and seek support from other white magi when you encounter a problem that is too big to solve by yourself. Listen to your magical instincts since they can tell you when something is amiss much faster than your physical senses. When you come across a true soul-bond of love between two people, never try to separate them and encourage such bonds to grow. It is an unforgivable sin to try to break the connection between soul mates."

"Good, good," Elmyra commented, "and the last, most important rule?"

"Never, no matter what are you to aid one that is of the black magi or of the shadow races," Aeris concluded, "doing so is punishable by death and possibly soul-destruction if the offence is bad enough."

"Excellent," Elmyra told her, "always keep the creed of the white magi close to your heart. Straying from those rules invites the shadow to take a white mage over. We have lost too many talented magi because they strayed from the creed."

Aeris looked at the table with haunted eyes. Her father had strayed from the creed and ended up getting himself killed by a shadow creature as a result, taking her mother along in the process. In one night she had lost not one, but both of her parents and had been orphaned. She had been so lucky that her mother's old acquaintance had been in town and had sensed their deaths.

The master mage had rushed off towards their small house and barely arrived there in time before Aeris would have been killed by a wolf demon. Elmyra had instantly called upon a powerful fire spell and incinerated the demon on the spot before taking Aeris back with her to her hotel. Soon thereafter Elmyra had taken Aeris on as her apprentice once she discovered that she had inherited a powerful magical talent from both of her parents. And the rest was history.

"Off to bed with you," Elmyra told Aeris in a soft voice, correctly guessing what was weighing on Aeris' mind.

With a grateful nod of acknowledgement, Aeris got up, let out jaw-cracking yawn and stumbled off towards her bedroom.

"Poor girl," Elmyra sighed, "so young but with all the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is powerful and I know that she has an important destiny, I just wish that I could protect her for as bit longer."

The middle-aged master mage sighed again.

"I've done what I could to prepare her," she told herself, "the rest is up to Aeris. Hers is not an easy path. She will be hunted by the forces of the black magi and the shadow races for what she is but in the end if all works out, she may finally bring about an end to the centuries long war between the light and the dark."

* * *

The next day at the crack of dawn Elmyra woke Aeris up with a well aimed bubble spell. Aeris groaned, turned over and pulled her pillow over her head.

"Up you lazy apprentice!" Elmyra commanded as she used a wind spell to rip the covers off of Aeris' bed.

"Go away you evil tyrant," Aeris mumbled, trying not to shiver in the cool morning air.

"Just for that comment, I'm doubling your work load today," Elmyra announced.

Aeris loudly grumbled but reluctantly got up.

"I expect to see you in the kitchen in less than five minutes young lady," Elmyra demanded.

Aeris threw a pillow at Elmyra who reversed its trajectory with a wave of her hand. It hit Aeris in the face with a solid _whump_ and caused the girl to crash back onto her mattress.

* * *

Aeris entered the kitchen just ten seconds shy of Elmyra's deadline. Elmyra raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Aeris scooped out a healthy portion of the sweetened oatmeal from the pot and grabbed a glass of orange juice and cup of yogurt. Aeris ate her meal in silence, and got up to go to the study when Elmyra told her to get a second helping since she would need the extra energy for today's practice. The mage-in-training let out a miserable moan but complied.

True to her word, Elmyra worked Aeris extra hard that day. Not only did she make Aeris repeat the spell from last night, but she made her cast every spell she had learned and was supposed to have mastered by now. To top it off Elmyra drilled the mechanics of warding and exorcism spells into Aeris' head before giving a small demonstration that left Aeris with her mouth hanging open.

Then Elmyra made Aeris repeat the demonstration and kept on making Aeris redo it till she did it perfectly. All in all it took Aeris seven times to master the elementary warding and exorcism spells that Elmyra had taught her. If Aeris had thought that last night's exercise was intense, it was nothing compared to what Elmyra put her through today.

Not only did Aeris deplete her own person magical stores, but she had to draw on the stores of magic she had infused into the various amulets that she kept on her person in case of emergencies. After a large dinner where Aeris had to eat four servings before she felt sated, she actually fell asleep at the dinner table before Elmyra shook her awake and told her to go to bed.

The next morning she was once again woken up at the crack of dawn and was put through another set of new lessons that left her completely drained. The next four weeks followed that pattern. By the time that Spring Equinox finally rolled around, Aeris felt like the walking dead.

Never before had she been so thoroughly worked over for such a long period of time. Each day she learned new spells and had to perform them till she could cast them flawlessly. Every night she collapsed onto her bed, out cold before her head hit her pillow. Each morning she woke up sore and tired, but with the feeling that her magic was getting stronger after every grueling day of magic practice and studying.

Why Elmyra had suddenly to cram as much learning and spells into Aeris' head everyday she couldn't fathom. Perhaps she was preparing her for a really big ritual or a high-level summoning. Aeris honestly didn't know and she never really had the energy to try and figure out why.

Aeris had never really looked forward towards the Spring Equinox before. This year was different. Usually Aeris thought of the week up to the Equinox as being dreadfully dull. All that she ever did was sit in her room in mediation from dawn to dusk, clearing her body and mind of negative energy at the orders of Elmyra.

The day of the Equinox itself they spent all the daylight hours preparing for a ridiculously complicated ritual marking the transition from childhood to adulthood as spring gave way to summer. The Spring Equinox ceremony itself lasted from the moment the last of the sun disappeared behind the western horizon till midnight when the Equinox ended.

Now, for the first time in her life, Aeris was looking forward to the Equinox, for now she actually had a real understanding of what was going on during the ceremony and why she needed to spend almost an entire week in meditation before hand. But the real reason why Aeris was really looking forward to the Spring Equinox was because she finally could get a break from her studies and would be able to get a real night's sleep.

During the time she would also be able to fully replenish her personal and emergency stores of magic within her body and in her amulets. For the last four and a half weeks not once had Aeris' magical reserves been full. Now she was eager to find just how much they had grown along with her magic's strength. The meditation this year would serve dual purposes. Not only would she clear her body of negative energy, but she would also be refilling her magic stores as well. Very quickly too, based on how fast her magical energy had been returning these past few days.

_After the Equinox though…,_ Aeris thought, _it will probably be back to back-breaking study again._

The young mage grimaced at that thought, so she pushed it from her mind. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure that she actually would be returning from her studies after the Equinox. Aeris had this strange feeling that something big would happen soon afterwards, an event that would change her life in ways she couldn't imagine.

"Thank god that this is the last day of practice before the week of the Equinox," Aeris moaned as she dragged herself back from a hearty lunch.

"If you are talking to yourself that must mean that you are done eating," Elmyra told Aeris, "go clear your dishes and get yourself back to the study pronto. Just because the week of the Equinox starts tomorrow doesn't excuse you from the rest of the day's lessons. Now get!"

Aeris scrambled to fulfill Elmyra's orders.

* * *

The week of the Spring Equinox rolled out exactly as Aeris had predicted it would. Every day she woke up with the sun and after a small breakfast she retired to her room and spent the day in silent mediation. By the end of the sixth day, all of her emergency stores of magic in her storage amulets were full and her body's personal reserve still hadn't topped off. Aeris was surprised by just how much her magic had grown.

_Looks like those harsh lessons have paid off in more ways than one,_ Aeris thought as she sat down at the kitchen table, a plate full of spaghetti and two slices of garlic bread before her.

They had had an early supper that night, in fact it was only 7pm when they had finished. Elmyra shoved her out of the kitchen with strict orders to go straight to bed, even though Aeris was wide awake and eager to spend some serious time reading the romance novel she was currently reading.

Elmyra never understood what Aeris saw in "those worthless wastes of good paper" as she called them. But Aeris was a hopeless romantic at heart, despite being an apprentice white mage that had a future of fighting against the dark magi and the shadow races. Somewhere deep in her soul Aeris knew that that special someone was out there, just waiting to find her and sweep her off her feet.

Little did Aeris know that the exact opposite was about to happen.

* * *

With a grand flourish Aeris let her aching arms drop to her sides. It had been a long day and an even longer night. Elmyra had sprung a surprise on Aeris that morning when she announced that _she_ would be the one to perform the Spring Equinox ceremony this year. Aeris had spent ten minutes just sitting motionless after Elmyra had dropped that bomb.

"Wha? How…? I'm not ready!!!" Aeris finally was able to cry out.

"You are perfectly ready, apprentice of mine," Elmyra retorted, "you know all the spells that need to go into the ceremony, all the parts that have to be performed and why each part and spell is needed. It's about time that you started taking on some of the more important duties that a white mage has to perform. With a few more months of training you will be ready to become a full mage yourself. You have learned all the spells you need to know, all you need to do now is refine your techniques and get quicker at casting your spells. The easy part is over, your work will truly begin when you set off on your own as a fully trained mage."

Aeris spent another five minutes staring blankly into space at Elmyra's revelation.

"As it is now, you technically are a full mage," Elmyra continued, "you have mastered all the necessary spells and theories. I just want to give you time to gradually get yourself used to the responsibilities of a full mage before releasing you into the world."

"A full mage," Aeris whispered, "I'm a full mage. I'm no longer an apprentice, but a full white mage."

"Yes Aeris, you are a full mage," Elmyra told her with a hint of annoyance, "now shake off your shock, we need to start preparing for the Equinox ceremony."

"I'm a full mage…," Aeris repeated silently as she got to her feet and followed Elmyra out of the room.

* * *

Much to Aeris' surprise the Equinox ceremony was performed without a hitch. When she told Elmyra this, she only snorted and told Aeris that she expected that she would perform the ceremony smoothly, she never would have taken Aeris on as her apprentice if she had ever thought ever wise.

"Despite your occasional penchant for laziness and your unexplainable need for those trashy romance novels," Elmyra stated, "you really have what it takes to be not only a competent white mage, but a dammed good one and you will be a force to be reckoned with to boot."

Aeris practically glowed from Elmyra's praise. Despite all her reservations she was really looking forward to being able to be a self-sufficient warrior of the light. Perhaps someday she would attain the title of master mage like Elmyra was and even take on her own apprentice in the distant future after she had become well established white mage herself.

A scream rent the air, snapping Aeris out of her plans for the future. Aeris and Elmyra looked at each other at the same time and nodded simultaneously. Someone out there was being attacked by a shadow creature or a black mage and the creed of the white magi demanded that they go help. They silently raced across the green grass of the meadow near their house towards the source of the scream.

Another scream from the same direction, only louder and filler with more terror spurred their footsteps, and they were running at top speed towards the person in danger. It was a few seconds after the second scream when Aeris felt her magic roar fully to life and urged her to run in a different direction.

Aeris was torn in two. There was a person in need of their aid and the creed demanded that they give it. On the other hand her magical instincts were screaming at her that she was needed elsewhere and the creed also dictated that she follow them as well. Somehow Elmyra sensed Aeris' turmoil. Her shouted words took the choice right out of her hands.

"Aeris I'll go after this one!" Elmyra yelled over to her, "you go where your magic is telling you to go."

Aeris hesitated.

"Aeris I can easily handle this one! Now get going to where you need to be!" Elmyra shouted, hurling a light compulsion at Aeris to reinforce her point.

Aeris, not having the concentration to fight the compulsion, took an abrupt, sharp left and raced off towards the more seedy part of town. A place known to all the local white magi as being prime hunting grounds used by the shadow creatures.

Her lungs were on fire as she continued her desperate race against time as she got closer to the seedy part of town. She didn't stop to catch her breath, Elmyra's compulsion as well as her own magical instincts would have prevented her.

As she finally crossed the invisible border between the warehouse district and the shady part of the city, Aeris' magic was actually whipping behind her as she continued her flat out run. Her heart was pounding in her ears and her ragged, painful breaths seemed to be too loud as she ran quickly down the empty street.

If her magic hadn't given her a sharp tug as she passed by a shadowed alley, she would have surely missed it in her head long dash. As it was, the sudden and unexpected tug almost swept Aeris off her feet as she came to a skidding halt.

The sounds of a desperate struggle reached her ears. A flash of silver caught her eye and a scream of pain followed it. The scene that flashed into her vision made her take instant action. Her already fully active magic reared up and blazed down her arms as she shouted out three words. A powerful lightning spell lashed out from her hands and fried the huge hairy shadow creature just as it was about to rip out the man's throat that was collapsed under it.

The thing let out a hateful shriek before it fell to the ground, hitting the pavement with a wet smack. It twitched a few times before going still, obviously dead. A low moan dragged Aeris' attention back to the man that almost had been killed by the shadow creature and instantly she was by his side.

The first thing that she noticed about the man was the long, bloodstained and matted, _silver_ hair. It had been the moonlight flashing off that hair which had caught her eye less than a minute ago.

A second later the large and nasty gash that went up from the man's navel to his collarbone caught her attention. Blood was gushing out of the wound and if he had been left there he would be dead from blood loss in a few minutes.

Aeris didn't even hesitate as she cast the most powerful healing spell she knew faster than she had ever done before. There was no time for finesse or caution, if she didn't do something right _now_ this man would die before her eyes. She couldn't let that happen, her own sense of responsibility and morals as well as the creed prohibited it.

The energy poured out of her as she concentrated on giving more fuel to the life-saving spell. She drew upon her emergency stores in her amulets and even that wasn't enough. Aeris was just about to run out of magical energy and would have to start using her life energy to power the spell when the wound finally closed up and the blood stopped flowing.

Aeris collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. That had been a close call. She almost lost him and had nearly burnt herself out with that healing spell just seconds after that powerful lightning spell. Darkness was creeping around the sides of her vision and Aeris knew that she was on the verge of collapse. But she couldn't afford to pass out now. She still had to get the man and herself to safety, there were still probably other shadow creatures out there on the lookout for easy prey.

Aeris gathered up the last dregs of magical energy around her and cast a weak notice-me-not spell on herself and the unconscious man. There was not much else she could do to defend the two of them and she had no strength left to fight off another shadow creature, let alone a black mage. Her body screamed in pain as she forced herself to her feet and stooped down to grasp the limp man's body under his arms.

Slowly, ever so slowly, with her arms and legs on fire, Aeris dragged the man out of the alley and down the street to a safe house that was nearby kept up by the local community of white magi in the shady district for just this purpose. What seemed like hours later but was in reality was only about twenty minutes later, Aeris dumped the man on the ground as she held her right hand up towards a door that had seen better days and muttered a few words under her breath.

A faint, barely perceptible glow emanated from the runes carved in the door and it soundlessly swung open, its appearance disguising how good of condition is really was in. With a low groan, Aeris wrapped her arms under the man's arms and around his shoulders and dragged him inside the small, cramped studio apartment. The man's boots scrapped across the stained concrete floor as she somehow managed to heave him onto the sheet-less lumpy queen mattress.

Black spots danced across her vision as she stumbled over to the door, shut it and reactivated the seal that kept it unopenable and unbreakable to anyone unless a white mage temporarily deactivated it. As a plus, the seal made the door invisible to all shadow creatures and black magi, making it the perfect safe house for white magi in desperate need of sanctuary when stranded in the shady district.

Aeris knew that sometime in the next few days after she left the place she would need to come back and restock any of the supplies that she used, as was the responsibility of any white mage that used a safe house such as this. Her body gave a powerful shudder and Aeris knew that unless she wanted to spend the night on the floor she better join her companion on the lumpy mattress. Her legs literally collapsed under her just as she reached the mattress, sending her upper body crashing into its stained surface.

Out of energy and on the verge of collapsing Aeris managed to drag herself fully upon the mattress next to the comatose man and let the darkness claim her.

* * *

Sephiroth groaned as he slowly crawled to full consciousness. It felt like he had been hit by a bus. His entire body ached with a vengeance and he had a splitting headache. By far the part of him that was the worst off was the long wound he had received last night that had split open again and was bleeding slightly.

Sephiroth painfully sat up and was immediately assaulted by a massive wave of dizziness. Apparently he had lost a lot of blood in that fight with the half-werewolf, half-minotaur creature last night.

The thing had somehow to sneak up behind him undetected and had jumped at him, claws slashing as he whipped around, just barely avoiding being disemboweled. The hybrid didn't give him a chance to strike back (which if he had been able to he surely would have killed the thing in one hit), as it charged him head first, its short sharp horns glinting in the moon light.

At such a short range Sephiroth had been unable to fully evade the creature's attack and the thing's horns ripped a long, nasty gash almost vertically up the length of his torso. This time however, he had been able to counterattack and he did, sending sharp blade of wind cutting deeply into the hybrid's chest. After that the battle had been going in his favor till his foot had slipped over a loose piece of trash as he was stepping backwards to avoid another swipe of the hybrid's claws.

That was the mistake that should have been his undoing, since his breath had been knocked out of him when he had fallen hard onto his back. He had dazedly watched the creature bring its left arm back to rip out his throat when a bolt of lightning shot out from the entrance of the alley and had fried the hybrid, killing it with one well-aimed spell. The darkness was creeping into his mind as he saw the shadowy form of his unknown rescuer turn around to look at him and then… Nothing. Whatever happened after that was a total blank.

As he scanned his surroundings, Sephiroth came to the conclusion that not only had the unknown mage killed the shadow creature, but had also treated his wounds and had dragged him to shelter. In fact, he could hear the person softly breathing behind him as they slept.

Slowly, every so slowly, he turned onto his side to get a better look at the person who he owed his life to. The first look he got of the person told him that it was a female, a young girl actually. Quite pretty as well. He also sensed a powerful magic residing in the girl that at the moment was as asleep as its owner.

Cautiously he let a tendril of his own magic out to brush against hers and he had the shock of his life. This was no mere hedge witch! This girl was a young but incredibly powerful master white mage! What on earth was this girl doing when she saved him from the werewolf/minotaur hybrid? But all rights, she should have left him to be killed by the beast, before disposing of it as well.

There was something seriously funny going on here. She went against everything the white magi stood for by aiding him last night and yet here she slept as if she was perfectly safe.

Sephiroth revised his opinion of the white mage. Obviously to make this big of a blunder she must be a wet-eared apprentice. She was indeed powerful but anything but a master mage. The silver haired man was getting frustrated and he wanted some answers now.

Already he could feel his body finish healing the wound on his torso that he had received last night. With growing strength he sat back up and roughly shook the girl. She whimpered and mumbled "go away Elmyra, just give me ten more minutes" before falling back asleep.

Elmyra. Now that was a name he knew. Anyone in the magical community of this city worth their beans knew of the legendary master white mage Elmyra. That woman, along with the Gasts were doing a spectacular job of clearing out every pocket of shadow creatures and dark magi in this city before the Gasts had mysteriously been killed. Personally he had nothing against the woman, but many of the remaining dark magi and shadow creatures were angry that Elmyra had not been killed as well.

There had been rumors that the master mage had saved the only child of the Gasts from a similar fate and that a few years later she had taken on an apprentice with a lot of potential. If what this girl had mumbled was the truth, she was this apprentice that many whispered of, the one that was destined to be a powerful and deadly white mage in the future. There also was a good chance that she was the missing daughter of the Gasts as well if Elmyra had taken on the orphan as her apprentice.

Many black magi and shadow creatures had conspired to get rid of the girl before she came into her full powers and remove the future threat she represented, but as long as the girl was under Elmyra's care, they were unable to touch her. The current plan was to kill the girl the moment Elmyra announced that the apprentice was a full mage and ambush her on the first night she was out on her own.

The members of the dark side had missed a golden opportunity last night, since not only was the girl all by herself last night, but she had foolishly used up all of her magic saving his life. This girl was the epitome of foolishness. How she had even managed to survive last night he had no idea. She must have the luck of the fools and the innocent to still be alive after her stupid, thoughtless actions.

Sephiroth was starting to get frustrated again. His earlier attempt to wake the girl up miserably failed and he still wanted answers to his questions. He reached over and shook her hard by the shoulders again. She may of have saved his life but he still had the right to know what the bloody hell was going on.

Just as he was about to give her another good shake, her eyes popped open and Sephiroth saw the most dazzling pair of green eyes he had ever seen in his life. He could feel himself inching closer to that emerald gaze and then he was falling, falling into a bottomless sea of green.

* * *

After all she did last night Aeris thought that she had fully earned a long, uninterrupted rest. Not only had she fried a nasty shadow creature with a lightning spell, but she had saved a man's life with the most powerful healing spell she knew and then, on the verge of collapsing had dragged his unconscious form over to the safe house two blocks away.

So it was entirely reasonable when she felt herself being shaken awake that she was incredibly grumpy. The first time, she rolled over and went back to sleep but the second time it happened she was fed up. She opened her eyes and was preparing to let loose a scathing torrent of words directed at the person who had roused her (against her will). Instead the words died on her lips as her eyes fixed upon the sea green eyes of the man she had rescued last night.

Aeris felt herself being drawn to that gaze and as his face inched closer to hers, the sea green of his eyes engulfed her vision and then… then she was awash in an ocean of sea green light, it surrounded her on all sides and was even seeping into her soul. This unexplainable phenomenon should have sacred her witless, but all she could feel was an overpowering tranquility and sense of safety. Whatever was going on was meant to happen and Aeris actually felt a sense of loss enter her as she started to fade away and return to her own body.

* * *

Simultaneously two pairs of green eyes snapped open as their minds abruptly returned to their rightful bodies. Both of them jerked back as a reaction of seeing the other right in front of their face.

The girl was panting as she struggled to regain her breath and the silver haired man was soaked in his own sweat as he tried to process what had just happened. His mind failed to comprehend what had happened while he was sinking down in that emerald sea, it had felt like he had lost all sense of self and was becoming one with the light that surrounded him.

Sephiroth shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts. What had happened just then could be pondered upon later. He had more pressing matters to discuss with this girl.

"Tell me girl, do you know what you have done?" Sephiroth demanded as she was trying to collect her thoughts.

Aeris gasped at being caught off guard by this man she had put her own life on the line to save last night. How dare he?!! He had some nerve using that condescending tone with her after she had stuck her own neck out to save his ungrateful ass.

"Listen you arrogant jerk," Aeris snapped, "I was only doing what I was taught to do. I followed my instincts and my magic to where you were being attacked, as the creed of the white magi commands, and then did all I could to keep you from dying and getting you to safety, also as the creed demands. So I don't know what you problem is buddy, but you had better lose that attitude of yours quickly or I will not be accountable for my actions."

"Big words from a little girl," Sephiroth shot back, "did the thought ever cross your mind that what you were seeing was not what it looked like when you killed that shadow creature last night? That not was all that it seemed?"

"What are you talking about?" Aeris growled, "I followed my instincts and my gut reaction was to kill that thing that was obviously of the dark and to save your life. From where I am standing there is no problem with what happened. I was only doing what I had been trained to do; protect the innocent."

"You really are a foolish apprentice," Sephiroth sneered, "to make such an elementary mistake like you did last night obviously shows your lack of experience."

"Is there something you know but aren't telling me?!" Aeris demanded.

"Take a closer look at my aura little girl and then you tell me what you did wrong," Sephiroth taunted.

Aeris just glared at him, but nonetheless, she sent out a feeler of magic that brushed against his own magic before it recoiled and Aeris let out a gasp.

"But how can this be?!!" Aeris asked bewildered, "you clearly are a creature of the dark and a black magic user as well, but last night my instincts were screaming at me to save you. Why would they do that?!!"

"Don't start panicking!" Sephiroth barked.

"But it just doesn't make any sense…" Aeris trailed off.

Suddenly Aeris realized something and all the blood drained out of her face.

"What is it girl?" Sephiroth demanded.

"It just occurred to me," Aeris whispered faintly, "that I have just broken the most important rule of the creed of the white magi. Never, no matter what are you to aid one that is of the black magi or of the shadow races. To do so is punishable by death and possibly soul-destruction if the offence is bad enough."

"And what I did most likely qualifies for soul destruction," Aeris whimpered as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fainted.

"Weakling," Sephiroth muttered, "it's not like you are the only one now with a death sentence on your head."

"I've been running from those who want my destruction for almost my entire life," Sephiroth whispered as he settled back and allowed himself to fall back asleep.

* * *

How long they slept, oblivious to the outer world, neither of them knew. Aeris was the first one to wake up this time around by her loudly complaining stomach. Aeris pulled herself over to the side of the bed and forced herself onto wobbly legs. A quick glance at the door confirmed that the seal was still activated and she relaxed a bit since at least one problem was solved.

If this black mage ever wanted to get out of here, he would have to keep her alive long enough to deactivate the seal, otherwise he was trapped here until another white mage, most likely Elmyra, came to check on her and would find the man and kill him on the spot, no questions asked. And he couldn't force him to deactivate the seals either, they only way that it could be done is if the incantation is performed out of the white mage's free will.

So until someone came to check on her or she figured out what to do with him, he would have to play nice. If he bared his fangs at her she would send out a distress call to her master who would be here within the hour and would be more than willing to get rid of a threat to her apprentice. Aeris just hoped that it never came to that and that the man would be reasonable enough to figure out a way for the both of them to get out of this mess with their hides intact.

* * *

Aeris was munching on a tasteless, specially prepared energy bar that was meant to help replenish a mage's magic stores quickly as she waited for the water in the kettle to boil. She had been almost jubilant when she had found the instant coffee and a battered plastic mug. There had been no surprise that the first thing she had found in the safe house's food supplies was the energy bars. All safe houses, no matter what type had a good stock of them.

The young mage had made a face when she saw the bars, but obediently grabbed one and had started munching on it as she filled the water kettle with water and turned on the gas stove to start the water boiling. Sure, the things tasted like newspaper, but she had to restore her magic reserves and these bars were the best things for the job. Within thirty minutes she should have enough energy to cast a handful of minor spells and if she ate a few more she should get enough energy back to be able get out the shady district without mishap.

The sounds of her silver-haired companion waking up caught Aeris' attention and she tossed him one of the energy bars as he sat up and stretched. He caught the piece of food out of reflex and looked at it in confusion.

"It's an energy bar idiot," Aeris chimed, "you should eat it if you want to regain your strength."

The man scowled at her but unwrapped the bar anyway. He took a bite out of it only to spit it out a second later. Aeris couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. Not warning him about the bland taste of the bar had been a bit childish, but Aeris felt very satisfied that she had got one up on the ungrateful jerk.

"Are you sure that this thing is safe to eat?" he suspiciously asked, "is it even food?"

"Whether it is food or is cardboard masquerading as food is debatable," Aeris answered merrily, "but yes it edible and is specifically made to quickly restore a mage's depleted magical stores. So unless you want to continue running on empty I suggest that you somehow force yourself to eat it."

"Why are you continuing to help me even after you discovered what I really am?" Sephiroth asked.

"Well while I was waiting for the water to boil for my coffee," Aeris recounted, her eyes not missing how the man's eyes lit up at the mention of coffee, "I decided that there must have been a reason why I was compelled to help you. I certainly don't think that it was a dark influence, since it was Elmyra's compulsion on me as well as my own magical instincts that urged me on as I raced across the city towards the shady district."

"How could the compulsion to help a dark mage or a shadow creature be anything other than black magic if felt by a white mage or a member of the light races?" Sephiroth queried.

"I don't know," Aeris admitted, "but somehow I just know that this was meant to happen. That we were destined to meet."

"Prove it," Sephiroth demanded.

"I can't, it's just a feeling that I can't get rid of," Aeris confessed.

"Well isn't that just convenient?" Sephiroth sneered.

"Look here, Mr. Sunshine," Aeris demanded, "you'd better lose that sarcastic attitude of yours quick or I will slap a nasty hex on you before you can say 'black magic'."

"How interesting," Sephiroth drawled unimpressed.

"That's it!" Aeris screeched.

True to her word, before Sephiroth could open his mouth to let out a retort Aeris slapped him with the first hex that came to mind. The results were hilarious to put it lightly. Aeris tried to contain her laughter, but she collapsed to the ground as she rolled around caught up in her laughter.

Sephiroth on his part was first totally bewildered, but soon became angry. He shot to his feet and was going to teach the girl a lesson. Or at least he tried to shoot to his feet, but he flopped to the floor since he couldn't support the weight of his body somehow. He looked over his shoulder and instead of the familiar pair of legs that he had all his life, he saw a scaly purple tail that ended in a pair of delicate transparent silver fins.

Sephiroth looked at the monstrosity that had replaced his legs and reached up to give himself a good hard pinch to make sure that this wasn't some bizarre nightmare. Instead, he let out an a startled gasp when he saw that his hands had grew some impressive silver webbing between his fingers which now sported short, dull claws.

_What the hell did she just do to me?_ Sephiroth furiously thought.

A stray lock of hair fell into his face. Angrily his pushed the pink hair away so he could concentrate better…

"Wait pink hair?!" Sephiroth practically roared.

Aeris who had barely gotten over her case of the giggles broke out into helpless laughter again.

"What the hell did you do to me girl?" he yelled.

"I told you that if you didn't drop that attitude of yours," Aeris explained between bouts of laughter, "that I would slap you with a hex. That was just the first one that came to mind and you will stay that way until you apologize and promise to be more civil towards me."

"Why the hell should I after you turned me into some sort of demented fish thing?!!!" Sephiroth demanded.

"Not fish thing, mermaid," Aeris corrected, "or in your case, merman."

"You mean to tell me that you turned me into some stupid Disney knock-off of the real thing?" he asked in disbelief.

"Aww, but it looks so good on you," Aeris teased, "pink is really your color."

"If you don't turn me back this instant I will personally make your life a living hell," Sephiroth threatened.

"You and what army?" Aeris mocked, "you are obviously very low on magical energy and if you had eaten that stupid energy bar instead of provoking me you wouldn't be in this mess."

"I swear that I will make your death long and painful," he promised.

"I'll look forward to it," Aeris replied, "but my imminent death can wait for now, since there is a cup of coffee on the counter with my name on it."

"Evil bitch," Sephiroth muttered under his breath.

Aeris sighed appreciatively as she inhaled the aroma of the fresh coffee. She then slowly drank the contents of the battered plastic mug with loud, letting out groans of pleasure between every sip.

_This was going too far_, Sephiroth thought, _first she turns me into a fish with a purple tail and pink hair and then she deliberately taunts me with coffee that she won't share. I really do want to kill her now._

"If you are done having your orgasm over there," Sephiroth sneered, "could you possibly behoove yourself to change me back?"

"Hmmm…?" was Aeris's reply.

"Would you please return me to my rightful form?" he asked again.

"Getting better, but still not enough," Aeris answered.

Sephiroth gritted his teeth. The cheek of this girl! How dare she think that she was better than him. But if that was what she wanted, he could act along for now. The opportunity to get his revenge would come soon enough.

"Fine," Sephiroth huffed, "I'm sorry for insulting you."

"And?" Aeris prompted.

"And I promise to be nicer to you," Sephiroth ground out.

"There, that wasn't so hard now was it?" Aeris sweetly asked.

She carefully set her now empty mug on the counter before doing something in the kitchen that Sephiroth couldn't see from his position on the floor. A few moments later she turned back towards him and with a few gestures, a low incantation and a symbol traced in the air, Sephiroth felt a wave of energy wash across his body.

He brought a hand up to his face. Good no webbing. He looked back down below his waist, good everything was in order there. Now for the most important part; Sephiroth brought a lock of hair to where he could see it. He let out a sigh of relief. It was sliver again, not pink, just the normal silver he was used to.

Something bounced off his head and landed on the floor right below him. He picked up the object and had to stifle a moan when he saw it was the half-eaten energy bar that he had discarded.

"Eat it," Aeris told him.

He rolled his eyes but did as she wished.

"Is there anything to wash down that awful taste?" Sephiroth asked when he finished eating it.

Aeris in response thrust the battered plastic mug in his face. A wonderful smell wafted up and teased his nose. He had to forcibly prevent himself from snatching the peace offering out from her hands and calmly take it instead. Though that didn't stop him from picturing in his mind throwing the cup of coffee back into her dumbfounded face. A smile curved the edges of his mouth at that thought.

"Glad that you are enjoying the coffee," Aeris commented.

Sephiroth didn't bother to correct her. He would let her believe what she wanted to.

"Truce?" Aeris offered as she held her hand out to him.

He looked at the outstretched appendage for a second, before shrugging.

"Truce," he agreed as he placed his hand in hers to seal the deal.

The moment their fingers touched and curled about each other, a bolt of electricity passed through both of their bodies. They stared at each other in surprise.

Sephiroth tired to get his hand to let go of hers, but it wasn't listening to his commands. He could feel his magic weakly reaching out toward her and felt hers return the gesture. He tried to pull his magic back into his body but it refused to listen to him.

Aeris' magic was singing in her head in pure joy as it twinned about Sephiroth's still recovering magic. She tried to pull it back, but her efforts gained her nothing but a slight headache. A slight tugging was felt at the back of her mind and Aeris resolutely ignored it as she continued to disentangle her magic from his. The tugging became stronger and more insistent. Her subconscious was trying to remind Aeris about something and she just was not being receptive to its efforts.

Finally with the equivalent of a mental shove, it finally gained Aeris' attention and the information of what was possibly going on flashed into Aeris' mind. Their current magic problem, combined with her experience after she first looked into the man's eyes, along with how she felt so compelled to save him back in that alley, could mean only one thing.

"Gods, why didn't I figure this out before?" Aeris groaned.

"What are you talking about?' Sephiroth asked, careful to keep the irritation out of his voice. He was less than thrilled himself with how his magic was acting right now.

"This explains everything," Aeris continued, not being helpful in the least bit, "my instinctive need to run halfway across the city to kill a shadow creature and save a man I have never met, the sea green ocean of light I fell into after waking up and seeing your eyes. And now this, it can only mean one thing."

Sephiroth barely contained his snarl. He was sure that she didn't mean to be that obtuse.

_Just get on with it,_ Sephiroth thought.

"All the evidence points to us somehow having a soul connection," Aeris concluded.

"And how does this explain all this?" Sephiroth asked.

"Not just any soul bond," Aeris clarified, "but the bond between soulmates."

"What? Soulmates? You have got to be kidding me?" Sephiroth laughed, "for one it just isn't possible. You are a white mage and I am a black mage. Our kinds just don't get along. In fact we merrily try to kill each other all the time."

"Says who?" Aeris insisted, "who says that such a soul bond can't exist?"

Sephiroth opened his mouth to answer when he realized that he had no real idea why it couldn't be possible. Stranger things have happened right? Just look at him, his very existence was said to have been impossible, but he still lives and breaths doesn't he? So why can't a black and a white mage be soul mates? He was willing to give the idea a try, but Aeris would have to give him some solid proof before he would believe that _they_ were soulmates.

"Care to prove it?" Sephiroth challenged.

Aeris' reaction was not what he had been expecting. He had expected to try and give him some theoretical explanation of why they were soulmates. He expected her to, but she didn't. Instead she suddenly leaned forward and locked her lips with his in a searing kiss.

The reaction was immediate.

Their magics once again rose up and started weaving together, this time much faster though. What was more he could hear some of her stray thoughts in his mind and he was pretty sure that she could hear some of his. Even more alarming was that he could feel something deep within his soul uncurl and blossom in joy as they kissed. Sephiroth had just started to wrap his arms around her shoulders to pull her closer when she pulled back, her face flushed.

A part of him mourned the sudden loss of contact while his more logical part reminded him that now was not an appropriate time to take a tumble in the covers.

_No matter how alluring she looks right now with her face so flushed._

Sephiroth squashed the thought. Just what he didn't need right now, his libido to get interested in her.

"So is that enough proof for you?" Aeris breathlessly asked.

"Plenty," Sephiroth wryly responded, "the question now is what do we do about it?"

"Well I certainly won't break it," Aeris declared, "it goes against the creed."

"So does aiding a black mage," Sephiroth reminded her.

"Oh," she realized, "I guess that we are going to have to leave town now."

"Why?" Sephiroth asked.

"If the knowledge that a white and black mage had joined forces, people from both sides would hunt them down," Aeris explained, "add in the fact that they were soul mates and you have a ticking time bomb on your hands. Many are either going to want us dead or to exploit our link for their own benefits."

"I'm assuming that you are referring to the black mages and the shadow creatures?" Sephiroth dryly asked.

"Mostly, but there are plenty of light beings that are too inquisitive for their own good," Aeris admitted, "such beings would love nothing more to poke and prod at us and conduct experiments until they figure out just how we are soul mates. White magi tend to try and avoid those beings.

"Just like many back magi avoid the creatures that could potentially overpower them and steal their magic or suck their souls dry," Sephiroth added.

"I could have done without that image," Aeris rebuked him, shuddering slightly.

"So we agree that we are going to have to avoid contact with both sides of the magical world?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes and most likely the members of the wild races as well," Aeris put in, "no one knows that much about them, but they are reported to be dangerous."

"I can assure you that some of them are best avoided at all costs," Sephiroth told her.

"And how would you know this?" Aeris asked.

"Simple, my mother was a wild earth nymph and my father was master black mage," he answered.

"That's-" Aeris began.

"Impossible? That's what they all say," Sephiroth interrupted her, "why do you think that hybrid shadow creature was attacking me last night? It sure wasn't because it wanted to be my friend."

"Oh dear heaven," Aeris murmured, as she sank to her knees, "that explains my magic's reaction to yours. If you had been totally of the dark it would have lashed out at you instead of embracing your magic. That is what I have trained it to do. It is instinctive by now."

"That's part of the problem," Sephiroth stated, "you and all the other magi out there have been trained or brought up to fight against the other side. I refused to be part of this war and it seemed that some black magi took offense to that. So in retaliation they have been attacking me for years and spreading the word about in the local populations of shadow creatures whenever I arrive in a new place."

"My father thought the same thing at one point," Aeris recalled, "that's what got him and my mother killed. Could he have possibly been right? Did they send that high level demon after him to silence him? Oh gods, everything is so out of whack now. Nothing makes sense. What have I gotten myself into?"

"Welcome to my world girl," Sephiroth chuckled, "it's not easy, I'll tell you that. But I won't let you experience it alone. For better or worse, we are stuck with each other now and I'll do my best to protect you."

"Just how you protected me back there in the alley?" Aeris asked, getting some of her good humor back, "or how the time you were able to defend yourself when I lobbed that hex at you? It seems like I'm not the only need of a re-education."

"Watch it girl," Sephiroth playfully snarled at her.

"I have a name you know," Aeris informed him, "it's Aeris and you best learn to use it or you will find out like life is like on four feet instead of two. I'm thinking that you would make an adorable kitten."

"Soulmate or not, I'll kill you if you ever try something like that on me again," he promised her.

"So what about you?" Aeris asked.

"So what about me?" he shot back.

Aeris rolled her eyes.

"What is your name stupid?" Aeris asked.

"My name is Sephiroth," he answered, "and you had better learn to use unless you want to learn what it is like to hang by your toes for a week."

Aeris just giggled.

"Now that that's clarified, I'm still going to have to do something about your serious lack of training of how to use you magic," Aeris told him.

"Why do I need any training?" Sephiroth asked, "I've done fine this far with what I've figured out on my own. Besides half of my magic is wild magic. It needs no training to use it. Just a firm will and a good idea of what you want it to do."

"Sounds a lot like many of the advanced uses of magic that master white magi use," Aeris mused, "but that still doesn't mean that you couldn't benefit from a good solid background in the techniques of magic that all magi use, black or white."

Sephiroth grumbled.

"Don't take it so hard," she soothed, "you already have that basics down I'd wager and that is half the battle. All you need to learn is the theory behind them and some more advanced spells. I'd be more than happy to teach you."

"Now I know that you have it out for me," Sephiroth complained.

Aeris just grinned at him.

"We still haven't decided where we are going to go after we slip out of the city," Sephiroth reminded Aeris.

"Oh that's an easy one," Aeris answered, "I think that we should go make a visit to your mother's people."

Sephiroth stared at her. Why had he not thought of that idea?

"From what little I've been able to find about them in Elmyra's books," Aeris recalled, "they are more neutral than anything, preferring not to get involved with either side."

"That's basically it," Sephiroth affirmed, "but many of them won't welcome our presence even with the fact that my mother was one of them."

"Well we'll just have to follow our instincts won't we?" Aeris suggested, "they haven't led me astray yet."

"Unless you count running away from your master and deserting from the forces of light not leading you astray," Sephiroth pointed out.

"Elmyra has basically told me that I'm technically a full mage already, and that all I need is to get experience now," Aeris explained, "as for deserting the forces of light, I have never really officially joined it, killing the shadow creature aside. Until an apprentice is declared a full mage in front of three other full magi by their master, they are considered to be a neutral party so they student can continue their studies in peace without the constant attacks that many full magi have to fend off."

"Doesn't killing that shadow creature count as declaring your support for the side of light?" Sephiroth asked.

"Nope," Aeris answered, "all I was doing was protecting my soulmate from danger. That is the instinctual reaction that any person has when their other half is threatened. So it doesn't count at all."

"Your fellow white magi won't consider it that way," Sephiroth cautioned.

Aeris sighed.

"I know, that's why I'm going to have to leave town," she admitted.

"The sooner we get going the better," he announced.

And with that Sephiroth stood up and walked over top the door to open it. Or at least tried to as his fingers just slipped across the knob as he tried to grip it to open the door. A frown formed on his lips and he rammed his shoulder into the door to try to force it open by brute force. All his efforts earned him was a bruised shoulder. Aeris' laughter didn't help his already bruised ego and he glared at her as she grew louder.

"Okay, Miss-know-it-all, why don't you tell me how we're supposed to get out of here?" he hissed at her.

"Silly, if you had had any magical training you would have sensed and most likely recognized the seal on the door," Aeris explained giggling, "it meant to keep any white mage safe while inside and any black mage or shadow creature out. Unless a white mage recites the deactivation incantation by their free will, the seal won't let anyone out or in. A very handy trick if I say so myself."

"It's stupid," Sephiroth complained, with a slight pout.

"Blasphemy!" Aeris dramatically shouted, "how dare you insult the power of the seal. It is like mixing oil with water or soy sauce and chocolate, it is a dire insult!"

"Just like our soul bond is," Sephiroth mused, "or so many would agree."

Instantly all the mirth left Aeris. She let out a long sigh.

"Yes, just like us," Aeris sadly agreed, "perhaps even like Elmyra would agree."

"Don't let this get you down," Sephiroth admonished, "you have me don't you? That has to count for something."

"I guess it does," Aeris responded.

"You guess? What am I, shark bait?" Sephiroth asked pretending to be offended.

"More like fish bait," Aeris replied with a slight giggle.

"If you ever tell that story to anyone else I will kill you," Sephiroth threatened, sounding serious but not really meaning it.

"Oh shut up already," Aeris told him as she pulled his head down to hers.

He was more than happy to comply.

* * *

End part one of the Forbidden Love series.

* * *

Okay, as of now, I have no idea where to go with this series. So it will sit here as is until I get some inspiration. The next drabble will be the companion piece to Watching but might not be up until March.

A big thanks to Tishannia, my BETA for PoP for proof-reading this drabble. It really is much too long to be called a drabble, but I'm sticking it in with this series anyway.

Leave a review and tell me what you think.

Turtleard17 out!


	6. Inevitable

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.

* * *

Drabble 6: Inevitable

He was back again, she could tell. Whenever he observed her while he was lurking in the shadows, a strange shiver went up her spine. He must really think her naive if he thought that she hadn't caught onto his game yet, that he was still watching her without her being aware of him. Especially since he had been doing this for almost three years now.

In fact she had felt his presence the first time he glimpsed her from his place in the shadows. The very same shiver was going up her spine now went up it back then for the first time as well. She had been thirteen then, young and full of optimism to all appearances, but experienced and old in unlikely ways.

Innocent they had called her, still did three years later. The thought of such innocence that they believed that she possessed shouldn't exist in this dirty city, yet in her it somehow did they thought. Aeris was of a different mind set. For how could one remain innocent, pure, untouched after all she had seen, all she had experienced? Somehow, she did in the eyes of others, even if she felt otherwise.

She knew things that no one, let alone a girl of her few years, should even be aware of. Every night she learned, saw, experienced things and events as she dreamed. For her dreams reached out and connected with the slumbering minds of random people, seeing, experiencing the events of that person's day as if she was the person who had carried out the person's actions that day.

Her dreams had started when first got her period at the age of twelve. Before the first dream, Aeris had always known that she was different, the dreams were only the first manifestation of her powers and her heritage. She had seen a day's worth of someone's life. And it happened the next night and the night after that. She had seen a day in a person's life from the viewpoint of people from all walks of life. She had been a newborn baby, a drunken man who had just been laid off, a woman giving birth, an old man on his deathbed, the major of the city, the crazy homeless lady that lived under a bridge, a school janitor, a thug employed by the mafia, a five-year old boy with a sick older sister, the list went on and on.

Most of the time, her dreams showed her normal things that most people do on a regular day. Get up, eat breakfast, go to work or school, go home, spend time alone or with family or friends, go to sleep. But sometimes she saw things that a person could get killed if word got out that one possessed such knowledge of. She knew some very dark and dangerous secrets that were better left unspoken by her.

Then one day a person who she had contacted in one of her dreams with came seeking her out without knowing why. What drove the desperate love-stricken teen Aeris had experienced first hand from the teen's own eyes, and because of that she was able to give the desperate girl some good advise from a neutral party. Soon, more people she had contacted in her dreams came seeking her out for her knowledge. Aeris accepted this change in her daily routine in stride, as it was doing wonders for her profits from selling her flowers.

A few days after her thirteenth birthday, after the mysterious figure started following her, Aeris contacted him in a dream. She had been beyond shocked to find out it was him that was watching her. The man was a mystery surrounded in darkness. He had never spoken once for the entirety of that day she relived from his perspective, he just followed her and watched her as she went about her daily business.

It had been disconcerting to see herself going about on her daily schedule from another's eyes. But one thing she had figured out from that night was that this person was different from the rest of the normal people. He was gifted, like her, just in a different fashion. He was not normal, just like she was. He was Changed, but someone had made him that way. Aeris had been born that way.

Aeris' mother had been one of the last remnants of an ancient, almost mystic race with strange abilities. Her father had been one of the first man-made Changed. Iflania had spotted him in a crowd one random day and was instantly attracted to him. She pursued him relentlessly and soon they were wed.

A year later she was born, and sixteen months after that her parents were killed by vigilantes on a mission to eradicate the Changed. The group of vigilantes had died in the battle that had left Aeris parentless and their knowledge of the Changed went with them. Elmyra, her adopted mother had been going for a walk that afternoon when she had heard Aeris' cries coming from the vacant house. The young woman had a touch of the gift that marked a Changed herself and knew that the baby's parents were gone. Elmyra had taken little Aeris home with her that afternoon and the rest was history.

Now, as she could feel his eyes on her back, Aeris knew that he was unaware that she knew of his existence. He had been observing her for years now, she was quite used to it, even comforted by his now familiar presence.

She should not feel so unconcerned about his behavior she knew. Some would call it stalking. And they would be right, but she didn't mind. Aeris knew that he was no danger to her, in fact he even warded away those with ill-intent from her person. She had found out that his Changed abilities fell along the lines of empathy and aura reading as well as being to project his feelings onto or around others. These abilities were what had most likely allowed him to survive and flourish in the shadows for so long. What other abilities he possessed, she could only guess.

One thing she did know was that he had staked a claim on her. In fact she became aware of his intentions towards her before he even realized it himself. That was another odd quirk about the Changed. They had the tendency to just out-of-the-blue see a person in passing and be filled with the drive to make that person their own, no matter what. It was what she called the Obsession, and her silent watcher had been hit with it in full force.

She knew that he planned on luring her into his world of darkness and never letting her go. His need to possess her could was a physical force. It did wonders for repelling all the young men (and many older ones too) who seemed to be taking a sudden interest in her. He obviously didn't want to share her affections with others.

Aeris should have been upset at this, but she felt quite the opposite in fact. Rather she welcomed his claim. For what her silent watcher in the shadows didn't know was that she too had been hit with the Obsession, even harder than he had been. And the object of her Obsession was none other than her unseen observer.

He thought that he would draw her into the shadows to him. She had a feeling that the eventual outcome of their mutual Obsession would be quite different from his plans. For one, she had a feeling that while he was aware of his abilities and used them to some extent, he didn't know what he was or the full range of his gifts. Another factor was that her abilities were stronger than his.

Those who were born Changed were usually three times as strong as those who had been Changed by something or someone later in their life. And unfortunately for her shadow-cloaked Obsessed, that was the situation for their case.

She had been feeling it for almost two weeks now, the sense of a confrontation, a meeting between two Changed for their first time. Their mutual Obsession was drawing them closer to each other and sooner or later either she would seek him out or he would step out of the shadows to go to her.

And he still had no idea that she was aware of his presence. He was ignorant to his nature, though he knew that she was different from the others. But what it was that made her different he had no clue about. He didn't even know that there was a connection between them, he was unaware of the Obsession. Their meeting was inevitable, she knew that.

His ignorance about her true nature, the Obsession and his own was to her advantage. Aeris had no intention of being swallowed by the shadows. She had other plans, plans that involved forcing him out of them, among others.

Yes, she defiantly had the upper hand here. And she had no intention of letting him become aware of that fact or that she aware of him watching her. Their meeting was inevitable from the first time he had saw her and the first time she had sensed him. Just like their mutual Obsession was inevitable as well. That they would confront each other and battle for dominance was also inevitable, but she was sure that they could work out something that both of them would agree on.

She could hardly wait, he would never see it coming.

* * *

Well here you have it, the continuation of Watching, the next installment in the Dark City series, over a month and five drabbles later. Eventually there will be a third and (hopefully) final installment, but that won't come for some time. I want to get much further along with PoP. I also wan to write more drabbles from reader challenges or requests. Anyone got one for me? 


	7. Haunted

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.

Note: this drabble contains sexual material and if you are under the age of 18, or don't like such content, please read something else. If you DO happen to like fics that are more on the lemony side, enjoy.

* * *

Drabble 7: Haunted

The others had been shocked senseless and then overjoyed when she had stumbled, covered in dust, hair hopelessly tangled and matted, wearing ripped and travel stained clothing, basically looking like something that the cat had just dragged in, into the orphanage/bar/delivery service headquarters that Cloud and Tifa owned. Everyone, Cloud especially, had bee stumped as to how she had returned to life almost four years after her violent and untimely death.

Of course she had spoiled her dramatic entrance by fainting only seconds after she had stumbled into the AVALANCHE reunion. Tifa immediately took charge, ordering the others to get some clean clothing and the first aid kit as well as prepare the guest room for Aeris. Tifa, with Vincent's help, dragged Aeris upstairs and dumped her in the bathtub.

Vincent was then banished from the bathroom by Tifa so she could undress the unconscious woman, with orders to send Yuffie up. The two women then spent the greater part of the next hour cleaning Aeris up and treating her minor cuts and scrapes. Finally, after dressing Aeris in a set of Yuffie's clothing, the women settled her down on the bed and let her recover her energy through sleep in peace.

* * *

That night, Cloud, Tifa, Marlene and Denzil were woken up by Aeris' yelling. The fist fighter and the blond sword-turned-deliveryman had rushed to the guest room where Aeris was sleeping. The duo busted in, ready to inflict some major bodily harm to anyone who dared to threaten their dear, newly returned friend.

"No! I-ah! Stop…" Aeris protested in her sleep, her words trailing off into a deep moan as she writhed on the bed, twisting the sheet around her body.

"Wha?" Cloud intelligently asked.

"Please…stop…don't stop… feels so good…" Aeris groaned as Tifa watched one of Aeris' hands drift lower down and vanish under the sheet.

"Tifa?" Marlene's sleepy voice came from behind the startled martial artist, "what is the flower lady doing?"

Aeris was now on her side and was panting loudly as her hand kept on moving between her legs underneath the sheet. Tifa blushed, finally realizing what was going on. She clapped a hand over the inquisitive girl's eyes.

"Aeris is just having a dream," Tifa embarrassedly mumbled as she turned Marlene around, "nothing to be worried about. Go back to be sweetie."

"Is she sick?" Marlene asked as Tifa took the girl back to her room.

"Umm…yes," Tifa answered as she tucked Marlene back into bed.

Cloud was staring at the sleeping Cetra in rapt fascination when Tifa returned from putting Marlene back in bed. She took one look at Cloud's expression and where it was directed and slapped him upside his blond head, snapping him out of his daze.

"Come on Chocobo-head," Tifa told him as she dragged Cloud of the room, "give the girl some privacy."

"Uhhhh…right," Cloud mumbled as he climbed back into their bed.

If either of them had stayed just a few seconds later in Aeris' room, they might have seen the tears trickling down her face or might have heard the words she spoke just a minute after the door had been closed. If either of them would have heard what Aeris had said in her sleep, alarm bells would have gone off in their heads.

"I just want to go back… leave me alone…get out…get out of my mind."

* * *

Aeris stumbled downstairs around ten o'clock the next day with a haunted look in her eyes and shadows underneath them. She kept on nervously glancing around even after Tifa had assured her everything was fine.

Cloud had already left, having received a well-paying delivery job over the phone hours ago. The kids were off at school and wouldn't return till the afternoon. Barret, Cid, Nanaki, and Cait Sith had departed to their respective hometowns just fifteen minutes ago, leaving Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent remaining.

"Heard what happened last night," Yuffie commented as she slid onto the bar stool next to Aeris, "that must have been some hot and steamy dream. Do you remember who was in it?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Aeris stiffly answered.

Yuffie opened her mouth to try and apologize but Tifa cut her off.

"Anything in particular that you want for breakfast?" the dark brunette cheerfully asked.

Aeris looked visibly relieved and flashed Tifa a grateful smile. The wine-eyed bartender figured that if Aeris didn't want to talk about what happened last night, then they had no right to pry into her business.

"Orange juice, a blueberry muffin and a cup of strawberry-banana yogurt," Aeris ordered.

Less than two minutes later Tifa plunked Aeris' food in front of her and she began to mechanically eat her breakfast. It was if the emerald-eyed woman was hiding something from them. Tifa cast a worried look at Vincent and Yuffie. The ex-TURK gave an almost indistinguishable nod in her direction, indicating that he would talk to the silent Cetra sometime later.

"I'm going out to see how the flowers at the church are doing," Aeris announced as she pushed her half-eaten plate of food away and stood up.

"Want some company?" Tifa asked.

Aeris shook her head (AN: it is shook, not nodded, I repeat shook peoples) her head no and walked out of the bar. About fifteen after the uncharacteristically silent Aeris left, Vincent got up and departed as well.

* * *

The church hadn't changed much in four years. Sure, it was a bit more broken down and Aeris had noticed that a few of the benches had been reduced to splinters, but as long as it was still standing (which was a miracle in and of itself) Aeris was happy.

_This place still hasn't lost its calming effect,_ Aeris thought, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips despite her morose mood.

Ghostly fingers brushed against the back of her neck. Aeris shuddered in both excitement and revulsion. The feel of these ghostly touches was not a new thing to Aeris. Ever since she had been dragged back, his presence was constantly beside her, behind her, with her, _inside_ of her.

He was the reason that she was back, he was the one who had forced her back to life and he never left her alone now.

Coming back had been a bittersweet experience for Aeris. While she was happy to be with her old friends again, the very real and painful fact was that they had finally moved past her violent death. She really had no place in their lives now, Cloud's especially since he and Tifa had finally gotten married two years ago.

Aeris just wanted this all to end, to be able to return to the Lifestream, to join her mother in the Promised Land, to be able to die. But she was unable to do any of those things, he prevented her from being able to escape.

_You can't fight me forever,_ his soundless voice whispered into her ear, into her mind, _I am a part of you now, it is impossible to get rid of me._

Yes, it was true. He was a part of her now. He had invaded her mind and her spirit. He had created a place for himself in her mind and had taken up residency there, firmly cementing his presence in her consciousness.

As he had invaded her, he had changed Aeris as well. He had corrupted her, altered her soul essence so much that she was unable to go to the Promised Land or even stay in the Lifestream. Because of him, Aeris had been forced to return to her body that rested at the bottom of the crystal clear lake within the inner sanctuary of the Lost City.

Aeris had returned to her body only to discover that it too had been altered, changed, corrupted. Now, not only was her spirit unable to return to the Lifestream, but she was also imprisoned in her own flesh, in a body she had been born in but was not strange to her.

Her hearing, vision and sense of smell had been magnified. She was faster, stronger, more agile and had incredible stamina. Aeris' body's ability to heal itself had increased tenfold. The wounds she had had on her body when she had stumbled into Tifa's bar in Edge, exhausted and filthy, were the remnants of much more serious wounds she had gotten when a monster had ambushed her right outside the city.

All these changes Aeris could have dealt with, her increased senses, strength, speed, agility, stamina, healing, all of it. Could have dealt with it except that along with all those enhancements that he had made to her body, her sense of touch, both physical and mental, had become unbearably sensitive, making his ghostly touches exquisite torture.

Aeris shivered again, this time more in excitement than in disgust as his fingers traced the contours of her throat before dipping lower, spreading fire just under her skin in the wake of his fingers' movements. Her nipples hardened as his hands caressed her breasts lightly and then lightly squeezed then tweaked her nipples.

"Stop," Aeris panted, "please stop, don't do this, I don't want it."

_Liar,_ he whispered into her mind, _your body betrays you. You burn and ache for my touch and for the release that I can bring you._

"Get out," Aeris growled between clenched teeth, "get out, you have no right. This isn't your body, get out."

_It is now,_ he stated, _your body, your mind, your spirit, your heart, all of you now belongs to me. You are my last and final vessel, I put the last of my strength into you, making your mind and body suitable to house me. I won't let you go, ever. You are all that I have now, I cannot afford to let you escape. Without you, I would fade away. I refuse to be more than a memory. _

"But why me?" Aeris cried, "why not choose someone stronger, more willing to share their mind and body with you. Why did you have to pick me? I am hardly of any use to you."

_It was after the puppet had prevented me from rising a second time when I realized it,_ he spoke, _while he may have been the one to slay my mortal vessel, it was you who ultimately prevented me from succeeding. It was you, not the puppet, all along who had the power, making you the best candidate out of all the souls in the Lifestream for me to possess. Your power was what I coveted, that and the fact that by possessing you, the puppet would never be able to have you. Not when I am next you all the time, no matter where you go. _

"I hate you," Aeris sobbed, "I hate you! I hate you, I hate you!"

_You lie again,_ he chuckled, _you do not hate me. You lust for me and soon you will come to love me. It is not in your nature to not be able to love yourself and I am now a permanent part of you._

"I will never love you!" Aeris growled.

_We'll see,_ he stated, _after the first hundred years we will see if you still do not love me._

"First hundred years?" Aeris echoed horrified, "what is that supposed to mean?"

_What is the point of a final vessel if it were to wither and die in a few decades?_ he asked, _you and the puppet prevented me from becoming a god, so I went after the next best thing; a vessel that will last till the end of time, unaging, unchanging, practically indestructible. _

_Plus what better revenge could I think of than placing you forever out of the puppet's reach?_ he continued,_ you are mine, no one will ever be able to possess you to the degree that I do. None shall ever love you, shall ever please you, shall ever satisfy you like I can, my precious mind mate. _

"I'll tell Cloud about what you did," Aeris threatened.

_And he will do what? He certainly wouldn't kill the woman he longs after just because a madman has taken up residence in her mind,_ he taunted, _you are hardly in any danger because I possessed you._

Aeris just stood there numbly.

_I can't control our actions or your body,_ he explained,_ I can't even control your mind. All I am is a bodiless specter that lives in your mind, unable to interact with the real world. I am no threat to anyone or anything anymore. I simply do not want to become nothing more than a fading memory. I want to exist forever, and that is where you come in my precious vessel._

Aeris' knees buckled as the implications of what he told her sunk in. She would have to watch Elmyra and her friends grow old and die while she stayed the same. He was right Cloud could never have her, the blond already had Tifa and had no room in his heart for another woman even if she wanted him to. He, she refused to even think his name, had not only gotten his revenge on Cloud but on her as well. Tears fell down her face as she felt her world crumble around her.

Aeris felt his warm arms embrace her from behind. For the first time, his touch did not cause her to shudder, shiver or flinch. She simply let out a loud sob and allowed him to continue to hold her. Her world was falling down around her because of him but he was there to catch her and prevent her from hitting rock bottom. How ironic it was that her worst nightmare could be so tender.

She had already felt his anger and his blood thirst, had already felt his hunger and his lust, his possessiveness, his smugness and even his jealously. But never before had she felt his warmth, his care, and (did she even dare think it?) his compassion. Aeris knew that ever since he had possessed her that she had been affected by his presence, his moods and thoughts. But was it possible that he was being affected by her as well?

_I see what you see, hear what you hear,_ he told her.

_Feel what you feel,_ he continued as his hands started roving over her motionless body.

"I'm not the only liar here," Aeris announced.

_Oh?_ he replied.

"You said that that you were not able to interact with the real world," Aeris explained, "but I am able to feel your touch so acutely, so you must be able to interact with the real world at some level."

_I can touch you, caress you because I am a part of you,_ he stated, _what would be the fun of having an almost immortal vessel if I couldn't interact with you? Though I may be no more substantial than a ghost, I was and still am, in a sense, a man. I did and still enjoy the pleasures of the flash and female company. _

"So that is why you are constantly sexually harassing me," Aeris grumbled, "just my luck to be possessed by a perverted ghost."

_You can't deny that you don't appreciate my attentions,_ he retaliated, _if I remember correctly I had you screaming your lungs out as I made you climax at least a dozen times already. _

"I won't let you rule me," Aeris told him, "you yourself said that you have no power over my actions."

_Of course, that was one of the prices I had to pay to make you into my final vessel,_ he responded, _though I did make sure that you could feel my touch and vice-versa._

"I can touch you?" Aeris bewilderedly asked.

_Part and parcel of being able to physically interact with you yet be unable to interact with anyone or anything else,_ he answered, _but right now, I want to see just how far my touch can extend._

Aeris could almost imagine the lecherous grin on his face.

In fact, she realized with a start, she could see the lecherous grin, more like a smirk really, on his face. She found that the more she concentrated on him, the more distinct and solid his features became. Of course that didn't mean that he was physically manifesting, as evidenced by the flowers she could see passing through his feet, but he was solid to her vision.

To her touch as well she found out just a few seconds later as he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her right up against her.

Aeris blushed as she realized she could feel his throbbing errection pressed up against her abdomen.

_Oh gods,_ Aeris thought, _he can't possibly want to do **that**?_

_I intend to do **that** and so much more, my little blossom,_ he informed her smugly.

"You filthy-minded jack-ass, don't you dare!" Aeris shrieked, "ghost or not, if you even touch me I'll make you hurt so badly in places that you never imagined that you will-"

He cut her tirade off with a searing, demanding kiss. All the thoughts fled from her head as he slid one finger, then two more, into her wet, throbbing core and started pumping them in and out, hitting all the right places and quickly bringing her to a sharp climax.

Of course, he didn't stop there and pretty soon both of them were doing **that**.

* * *

Aeris' screams rang out in the church as he brought her to one climax after another, each one stronger than the last. Vincent leaned against the outside of the church, trying in vain to block out the sounds that Aeris made every time she came. He really had no clue how she was doing it.

The gunman had peeked in at Aeris, lying in the middle of the patch of flowers as she writhed and squirmed on the ground, in apparent ecstasy. He had quickly pulled his head back from the crack in the wall when he realized that the Cetra was wearing none of her borrowed clothes, in her birthday suit in other words. But he had seen enough to know that she was alone in the church and he knew that she shouldn't be able to climax like that on her own.

But she was alone, that was the thing. How was she doing it?

Vincent got his answer the next second.

"SEPHIROTH!!!!!" Aeris screamed as she hit her final, and most violent organism.

It took exactly 57 seconds for it to click in Vincent's mind.

_Looks like I'm not the only one who has demons living inside of me,_ Vincent thought extremely worried.

He wasn't sure that she could stay sane, let alone survive with the spirit of Lucera's son living in her mind. If what he thought had happened, Aeris had about the same chance of getting rid of her ghost as he had of getting rid of Chaos- none in other words.

_Things are getting out of hand_, Vincent thought as he came to a decision.

He would give her a few more minutes to recover and get dressed and then he would go in and confront her. Aeris needed help, if there was any possible way to exorcise the ghost of Sephiroth that had possessed her, he would do it. She did not deserve that same fate that Vincent suffered. And if nothing could be done to get rid of him, Vincent vowed to be there for Aeris and support her the best he could as she got used to living with another person in her head.

Most of all he would make sure that she stayed sane through this.

* * *

_Well that certainly was fun,_ he commented to Aeris, his body starting to fade from her vision as her exhaustion crept up on her.

"When I wake up you are a dead man," Aeris sleepily threatened, "if you can touch me, I can touch you, and I can feel your touch, you should be able to feel mine. That means that you can feel pain."

_Aeris, I'm touched that you feel that way about me,_ he teased.

"I'll get rid of you one way or another," Aeris mumbled as she yawned and settled down on the flowers.

_You're stuck with me, forever,_ he reminded her as she started to drift off, _you are mine, never forget that. The only way to get rid of me would involve the destruction of your mind and most likely your soul._

That piece of news sent her sitting bolt upright, the sleepiness vanishing from her mind.

"What?!" Aeris croaked.

_I learned from my mistakes from the first two times I resurrected,_ he explained, _this time I made sure that there would be no way to thwart my plan without a very heavy price. I won't be destroyed. I refuse to remain a memory. I exist inside of you, in your mind, your body, even your soul, and soon enough your heart. Like this I will never become a mere memory._

"I'll just ignore you," Aeris decided, "without my attention, you will eventually just become a memory in my mind."

_You really amuse me, my precious flower,_ he chuckled, _do you really think that you can ignore me? _

He bit down on her shoulder.

Aeris let out a cry of pain, but his bite, hard as it was, was unable to make her bleed. It was just another limitation on how he was able to interact with her. He could touch her, and she him, both could feel the actions of the other, even make the other feel pain, but he was unable to actually harm her physical body.

_You never will be able to ignore me,_ he hissed as he dug his invisible fingers into her arm, _never. You can't make me into a memory. I will always exist, always live, within you. Never forget that._

* * *

Vincent heard Aeris' one-sided conversation. While he had to guess at some of the things that Sephiroth was telling her, he got the general picture about what the conversation had been about. At this point he could only hope that some higher power up there would have mercy on the cursed Cetra.

Perhaps even have some mercy on him and allow him to finally be able to die and end this his pitiful excuse for a life he was leading.

End part 1 of the Possession series.

* * *

Six days after I got back from Spring Break, the creative juices are finally starting to flow again. Those of you who might have been disappointed with the last post should be very happy with this one I'd imagine.

As always I am accepting reviewer requests and challenges for this series of drabbles.

Please leave a review on your way out.


	8. Heat

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, South Park, the Wizard of Oz.

* * *

Drabble 8- Heat (aka crackfic)

Not a sound echoed off the crystalline waters surrounding the alter of the inner sanctuary in the Lost City. The perfect stillness of the place matched the serenity of the figure kneeling in the middle of the platform that out in the middle of the partly sunken temple. Her eyes were closed, shielding the lovely emerald orbs from the world. A few strands of her long, silky golden-brown hair escaped the confines of the pink ribbon that held most of the mass in a long, thick braid. The strands of her hair caressed her porcelain skin, feeling like butterfly kisses on her heart shaped face. Her mouth with those full, oh-so-kissable, pink lips were relaxed, neither a smile nor a frown disturbing the image of perfect serenity that she embodied.

_Perfect, still, quiet, peaceful. Everything that I need to finish the ritual of summoning-_ Aeris thoughts were cut off as she heard Barret's cursing as he tripped and rolled down the stairs, finally stopping with his face down in the water at the shore of the lake inside the inner sanctuary.

_Perfect, still, quiet, peaceful. Everything that I need-_ Aeris tried again.

"Hey Barret are you alright?" Tifa bellowed, "I just don't know what got into Yuffie. I'll be sure to punish her later."

"Ohh, kinky," Yuffie taunted, "will my punishment involve whips and chains?"

"How about a gag?" Cloud snapped.

_Perfect, still, quiet, peaceful. Everything that-_ Aeris tried for the third time, the corner of her lips starting to turn downward in a frown, ruining the image of serenity that she was projecting.

"Oh my god! You killed Kenn-I mean Barret! You bastard!" Tifa yelled as she saw Barret's motionless form laying face down in the water.

"You need to stop watching so much South Park Tifa," Cloud told her, "besides, Barret isn't dead, just merely unconscious. It would take more than a fall down the stairs to finish off that meathead."

"Ohhh, can I poke him with a stick?" Yuffie eagerly asked, looking like a puppy that was about to wet itself out of excitement.

"There are no sticks around and no you can't," Cloud barked.

"Aw man," Yuffie whinned.

_Perfect, still, quiet, peaceful-_

"Arrrgh! Stop poking me in the face with that stick ya fool!" Barret yelled standing up and the throwing Yuffie halfway across the temple.

She landed in the middle of the indoor lake with a loud splash.

"So Cloud what was the purpose of coming here again? Cloud?" Tifa asked the blond swordsman, "Cloud stop picking your nose and pay attention. I'm trying to ask you a question!"

"Huh?" Cloud smartly replied, as his finger came out of his left nostril and wiped the big yellow bugger into his mass of yellow, spiky hair.

"Ewww! Gross!" Tifa exclaimed.

"I guess we now know the secret to how he keeps his hair like that," Yuffie quipped as she climbed out of the water.

"Huh?" Cloud spoke again.

"Oh forget the &$$#$(&$R$&&#$# chocobo head!" Cid growled as he stomped down the stairs to join the others with Nanaki at his heels.

"Good dog!" Yuffie squealed as she glomped Nanaki, "does the little puppy want a treat? Do ya, huh, huh, do ya, do ya?"

Nanaki bit Yuffie who squealed again in pain and jumped behind Cloud. Nanaki gagged and tried to spit out the "brat" taste that was left in his mouth.

"Cloud Nanaki bit me! He needs to be put down, he probably has rabies!" Yuffie shrieked into the blond's ear.

"I can't blame the &$-ing dog-cat thing for biting you!" Barret roared, "you are so annoying that I would bite you as well if I wasn't worried about catching whatever disease you have that makes you crazy."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Barret.

_Perfect, still, quiet,- ARRGH! I can't take it anymore! Please God kill me now so I won't have to put up with their stupidity any longer!_ Aeris thought, _things can't possibly get any worse._

Her plea was ignored, for the next second, the voice that she had been dreading above all others made itself known.

"Heeey boys and girls! Do you know what time it is?" Cait Sith yelled.

As one, Tifa, Cloud, Yuffie, Barret and Cid turned their heads toward the robotic pest and glared at it.

"So anyone want me to tell them their fortune? Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck," Cait Sith asked.

"NO!" everyone roared.

"Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck," Cait Sith continued to laugh.

"I've had about enough of that thing," Cid growled.

"I say we destroy it," Yuffie stated, a malicious gleam in her eyes.

"For once the brat has a good idea," Barret commented.

"Hey!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"So who's with me?" Barret asked, "how about we blow that blasted toy of Reeve's up?"

"Hear, hear," the others chanted.

"Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck, hyuck," Cait Sith continued.

"Hyuck, hyuck, hyuck- BOOM!" Cait Sith's maddening hyucking finally stopped as everyone cast a Bolt 3 spell at the thing.

"Ding dong, the annoying Caith Sith, the annoying Cait Sith, the annoying old Cait Sith, ding dong, the annoying Cait Sith is dead!" Tifa sang to the heavens.

_Must not maim, must not maim,_ Aeris chanted to herself.

"We really need to do something about Tifa's addiction to TV," Yuffie stage whispered.

"…"

"Hey Vinny!" Yuffie yelled, "when did you sneak up on us vampire?"

"…"

"Oh leave him alone!" Tifa scolded, "you know that he still has PTSD from Luceria's death. We have to be supportive of his disorder, not tease him about it."

"Tifa?" Vincent asked.

"Yes you poor, lonely, abused soul?" Tifa asked, fluttering her eyes at Vincent.

"Shove it," Vincent told her deadpan.

Suddenly a chill wind whipped through the inner sanctuary of the temple. A feeling of foreboding fell over the group as they their eyes turned to the almost serenely kneeling Cetra on the platform in the middle of the indoor lake. Their gazes swept upward at the shadow that hovered hundreds of feet above the motionless flower girl like the cloak of death.

_5_

All the members of AVALANCHE dramatically gasped.

_4_

The shadow started its descent.

_3_

"Aeris my love look out!" Cloud yelled.

Tifa clonked him on the head with her fist.

_2_

Aeris' eyes fluttered open and a serene smile spread over her face.

_1_

Sephiroth's long, massive blade was only inches away from impaling itself deep into Aeris' core.

_0.75_

As one the members of AVALANCHE rushed towards the platform that Aeris was resting on.

_0.5_

Cloud tripped and fell into the water. Tifa yelled at him form being such a stupid chocobo-head and why on earth she had ever fallen in love with him she had no idea.

_0.23_

_Please let this torture end soon!_ Aeris mentally prayed, _death would be preferable to spending anymore time with these buffoons._

_0_

THUNK

The Masamune was driven three inches into the floor from the force of Sephiroth's descent.

Aeris stared disbelievingly at the shinning blade three inches to the left of her face.

"You idiot!" Aeris screeched at the bewildered sliver-haired Adonis, "you absolute moron! You missed, how could you miss?! I was sitting in the exact center of the platform, motionlessgiving you the perfect target. And you missed! I ought to have just killed myself instead of letting you try it. I mean I was sitting right there with my back to you and you missed! Honestly, good help is hard to come by these days."

Everyone halted in their tracks at Aeris' outburst. In fact, Cloud who had somehow climbed out of the water and joined the others in less than 0.1 seconds was hanging in mid-air frozen in the act of jumping from one platform to another.

Sephiroth gave a mighty tug and freed Masamune from its confinement in the pavement next to the still ranting Aeris. The sea green eyed specimen of male perfection looked around and a sardonic smirk stretched across his face.

"Hey chocobo-head, look down," Sephiroth mocked.

"Huh?" Cloud replied, looking down.

"Oh, carp," Cloud swore as he saw his predicament.

"Don't you mean oh crap?" Yuffie asked.

"Uh right, thanks," Cloud answered.

He looked down again.

"Oh crap," he muttered as gravity finally came back from its vacation in Costa del Sol.

The blond swordsman hit the water with a loud splash.

"This is a perfect example of what I have to put up with day in and day out with these numbskulls. Was it really so hard of a thing to put me out of my misery? I mean, I gave you the perfect opportunity to impale me with you massive blade and you missed!" Aeris continued ranting, "My grandmother could have done a better job of killing me than you did. You missed, seriously, how the hell could you miss me there? I should have just hired Reno to do the job since he obviously is a better assassin than you are. And furthermore-mmmph!"

Sephiroth by now had grown tired of the Certa's screaming and so he shut her up using the first thing that came to mind. He kissed her, and it wasn't just an ordinary peck on the cheek or a tentative first kiss between lovers, or even a hot steamy lip lock that could make a girl swoon. No the kiss Sephiorth used to silence the ranting Aeris was a Weapon of Mass Seduction, otherwise known of as a WMS.

Yuffie whistled.

"Wow," Tifa breathed as she watched the spectacle.

Barret and Cid were munching on some popcorn that they had pulled out of the microwave in the hammerspace that they normally stored their weapons when they were not fighting.

One minute passed, then two, and three then four. Sephiroth had been using his WMS on Aeris for a full five minutes when she fainted in his arms from the lack of oxygen. He looked down at the fragile blossom that he held I his arms with a satisfied smirk.

_Never fails_, he thought, _but now what do I do with her?_

-_Kill her! Kill Her! Kill the Cetra! She is a hindrance to our plans!-_ Jenova's voice screeched into Sephiroth's mind, -_Kill the Cetra, she must not summon Holy or all is lost!-_

_-Stop being a drama queen Mother,-_ Sephiroth replied, -_as you can see the Cetra is not much of a threat at the moment. There is no need for unnecessary bloodshed.- _

-_But I want you to kill something, it has been a week almost since you have killed something. I'm bored, kill something,-_ Jenova whined.

-_Did you forget to take your medication today mother?-_ Sephiroth asked.

_-No,­-_ Jenova sulked.

-_You did didn't you?-_ Sephiroth replied, -_Mother you know that you have to take your medication to keep you from going banana-nut crazy.-_

_-I don't wanna!-_ Jenova wailed, -_won't you reconsider killing her, I really want you to kill something.-_

-_No Mother,-_ Sephiroth firmly restated as he gazed down at Aeris once more, -_she is just too lovely to kill. I have a better idea for this one. Don't worry Mother, she won't get in the way of our plans with what I have in mind for her.-_

"Umm, do you think we should go help Aeris?" Yuffie asked, "Sephiroth has been staring at her unblinking for the last fifteen minutes, it starting to get kinda creepy."

"I don't think that she is in any danger from him," Tifa replied.

At the incredulous looks from the others she continued, "yeah I know that he just tried to kill her half-an hour ago, but somehow I get the feeling that he won't do her any harm.

Tifa noticed Sephiroth's lecherous gaze that was directed at the unconscious Cetra

"Well any lasting harm that is," the buxom brunette amended.

Just then Sephiroth started rising into the air carrying the unconscious Aeris in his arms.

"Noooooooo! Aeris!" Cloud wailed.

"Give her back you &&# fool!" Barret yelled.

"Finders keepers," Sephiroth taunted, "losers weepers. And the lot of you most definitely are losers. And look, the puppet is crying, how pathetic."

"Noooooo! Aeris don't leave me!" Cloud cried, "my love, don't go. I need you!"

"Idiots," Sephiroth scoffed as he disappeared from sight.

"Is there anyway that we can get chocobo head to shut up? He's giving me a headache," Yuffie complained.

"Leave this to me," Tifa responded, "Sephiroth isn't only the only one with a WMS."

"Huh?" Yuffie asked.

"Watch and learn," Tifa smirked.

"Noooooooooo! Aeris-mmmph!" Cloud's wail was cut off half-way through.

Tifa had shoved Cloud's head between her triple D breasts. Yuffie let out a cat-call. Cloud, not being a total moron, stopped his wailing and nuzzled his head deeper into Tifa's chest, her massive boobs almost engulfing Cloud's head.

"That lucky bastard!" Cid spat as he lit up a cigarette.

Shera appeared out of no where and snatched the cigarette from Cid's mouth.

"Cid! How times have I told you to stop smoking! It's bad for the baby!" Shera scolded as she ground the cigarette under her shoe.

"Bwa? Huh? Baby?!" Cid sputtered.

Shera finally took a look at her surroundings and sweat dropped.

"Opps, wrong fan fic," she sheepishly muttered before vanishing into thin air.

"Shouldn't we go save Aeris or something?" Yuffie asked again, "who knows what that pervert will do to her now that he has her alone."

"I wouldn't worry about Aeris," Nanaki chuckled.

"&&$-ing cat!" Barret exclaimed, "where did you come from?!"

"If you had just been using your powers of observation, you would have known that I have been with you the whole time," Nanaki calmly explained.

"So why shouldn't we worry about Aeris?" Yuffie asked.

"Well I discovered a very interesting thing as Sephiroth was mashing his mouth against Aeris'," Nanaki informed them, "apparently yesterday Aeris went into heat."

"Heat? Like a dog goes into heat?" Yuffie asked puzzled.

"I would have used a better analogy, but yes," Nanaki answered.

"But there's more to this that you have told us," Vincent finally spoke up.

"Indeed there is," Nanaki told them with a gleam in his eye, "I learned many things from the archives at Cosmo canyon when growing up. For one thing did you know that when a female Cetra goes into heat, she homes onto the strongest, fittest male within twenty miles? Or that when she finds a mate, she basically keeps copulating with him until one of them drops?"

"Damn," Barret whistled, "looks like the megalomaniac will be getting some real action tonight."

"Did I mention that a female Cetra stays in heat for almost two months?" Nanaki added.

All the human males winced at that last fact that Nanaki told them. Sure, they all thought, having a woman like that for a night was great but for two months? Suddenly Barret, Cid, Cloud and Vincent pitied Sephiroth for biting off more than he could chew.

"Ah but I think that the last part is the best," Nanaki spoke up again, "the most important part about the Cetra heat cycle is even if a female Cetra gets pregnant, her sex drive doesn't die down until she finally goes out of heat after two months."

"Looks like we won't have to go track Sephiroth down and kill him," Yuffie remarked, "Aeris will do the job for us! By the time Aeris goes out of heat, Sephiroth will be begging us to put an end to his misery."

"Why do you think that the Cetra race was going extinct?" Nanaki asked.

"Death by sexual exhaustion, not a bad way to go," Cid mused.

* * *

_One month later_

Tifa, Cloud, Barret and Cid were climbing off the Highwind as the airship landed at the edge of the Northern Carter.

"So where are we supposed to meet this person who sent us the S.O.S.

call?" Barret asked.

"At the bottom of the crater," Cloud answered.

"Odd place to get an S.O.S. call from," Cid stated, "from what I know, this place is practically devoid of life."

"It probably was some glacier climber that got stranded," Tifa suggested.

A flash of sunlight off something on Tifa's left hand caught Barret's attention.

"Hey Tifa, what's that on your hand?" he asked.

"Oh this little thing?" Tifa coyly replied as she waved the two inch wide diamond mounted on a ring in Barret's face.

"Damn girl, who got you the &#$ huge rock?" Cid exclaimed.

Tifa jerked her thumb at Cloud who had a big, goofy grin on his face.

"That thing must have cost a fortune," Barret stated.

"It sure did," Cloud proudly announced, "I had to spend all of AVALANCHE's money to get it."

"Why you little thief!" Barret hollered as he moved to try and strangle the blond who still had the big goofy grin on his face.

"Hey hands off my fiancé!" Tifa yelled.

"So how did you get him to pop the big question?" Cid asked as he leaned on a rock, "and how long has he been wearing that stupid grin on his face?"

"He asked me to marry him a few days after we left the Lost City," Tifa happily answered, "and he has been wearing that goofy grin ever since I said yes."

"What do you think prompted him to ask the question?" Barret asked as he came back from pummeling Cloud.

Cid snorted and jerked his head towards Tifa's rather well endowed chest.

"Weapon of Mass Seduction," he answered with a smirk, "I would have proposed as well if that meant that I got to stick my head in between those knockers anytime I wanted."

"Uh, Cloud this really isn't an appropriate time to be doing that," Tifa spoke up.

"Ummmmm, soft," Cloud sighed as he pressed his head deeper into Tifa's chest.

"Cloud, knock it off!" Tifa yelled as she whacked him on the back of his head.

Cloud pulled his head out, the big goofy grin still covering his face.

"Enough flirting lovebirds," Cid scolded, "we came here on a rescue mission remember?"

"Yeah…" Cloud dreamily answered.

"Idiot," Barret snorted.

"Yeah, but he is _my_ idiot," Tifa stated.

"We should get going," Cid reminded them.

"So fearless leader, give the command," Tifa teased.

"Let's mosey," Cloud said.

"Let's mosey! Only a &$$# pansy would say lets mosey!" Barret yelled, "for once why can't you say move out you &&$ pansy!"

"Fine," Cloud sighed, "lets move out…of yo mamma's house!"

"Leave my mamma out of this!" Barret yelled as he chased after the rapidly retreating blond swordsman.

And so the four members of AVALANCHE mad their way down into the unknown, monster infested depths of the Northern Crater. They fought Dragon Zombies, Dark Dragons, Gargoyles, Magic Pots, Master Tonberrys, Scissors, Malbroros, Death Dealers, Parasites and those off little round, orange bouncing things that gives sht loads of AP.

Well actually, since Sephiroth hadn't actually summoned Meteor and had been so busy with Aeris for the past four weeks to summon any monsters, the four members of AVALANCHE made their way down to the bottom of the Northern Crater in about two hours. The only fight that they had was with an arthritic old Gargoyle who Tifa killed by throwing one of those orange bouncing balls at it.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Tifa called into the gloom at the bottom of the Northern Crater, "we got your distress call and am here to rescue you!"

They heard the sounds of rapidly approaching footfalls.

"Oh thank god that you are here! You have got to save me form her!" Sephiroth frantically begged as he ran towards them.

"Sephiroth? You were the one that sent out the distress call?" Cloud disbelievingly asked.

"Please! Get her away from me, she never stops! I haven't been able to sleep in two weeks, she is a mad woman!" Sephiroth pleaded.

The others took a moment to get a good look at him. His eyes were blood shot and had dark shadows under them. His once shinny silver hair was now hanging limply off of his head and he looked to have lost some weight. There were also small bruises dotted across his neck and collar bone and he sported many scratches, some fresh and others healing, around his hips and on his back.

"Who is this 'she' that you keep on referring to?" Cid demanded.

"Aeris!" the silver-haired man practically wailed.

As if the utterance of her name summoned her, Aeris came stomping out of the shadows towards the group.

"Aeris?" Cloud asked, almost not recognizing her.

Aeris whipped her head around and growled at him, before turning her gaze back towards the shaking silver-haired man. She looked positively feral as she stalked closer to Sephiroth who was trying to hide behind Barret. Her hair was in total disarray and her clothing reduced to rags that showed more skin that it covered. Aeris' eyes were shinning with lust and annoyance, and Cloud could almost smell the pheromones that she was pumping out.

Aeris stopped in front of Barret.

"Move," she growled.

Barret jumped almost ten feet away from the wild-looking Cetra.

Aeris licked her lips, a sharp canine poking out between her lips as she closed in on the whimpering Sephiroth. Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Barret backed away slowly. Sephiroth seeing that he would get no aid from them bolted.

Aeris snarled, pulled a heavy metal staff out of nowhere and threw it into the air like a javelin. The dull-colored staff connected with the back of Sephiroth's head with a crack and he fell to the floor like a rock. Stalking over to her prize, Aeris sent the staff back to into hammer space, grabbed one of Sephiroth's legs and started dragging him back into the gloom.

To Cloud, Aeris looked exactly like a cave woman dragging a piece of meat back to her cave at this point.

_More like an Amazon dragging off some hapless man she had captured for a secret mating ritual_, Cloud thought when he heard Aeris mutter something about chaining Sephiroth to the bed so he would stay put.

"Ok, that was interesting," Tifa commented as she watched Aeris and Sephiroth disappear into the gloom, "was it just me or did I hear Aeris say that she was going to chain Sephiroth's pretty ass down to a bed so he couldn't escape while she $&ed him senseless and did all other sorts of things that don't bear repeating?"

"Agh! I didn't need that &&&$$( mental image Tifa!" Cid hollered.

"Glad to be of service," Tifa smirked.

"Damn brat is rubbing off on her," Barret grumbled.

"I say that we all swear never to speak of this again" Cloud suggested.

"Good idea Spike," Barret told him.

"For once," he muttered under his breath.

And so the four members of AVALANCHE tried their best to put the disturbing encounter behind them as they trudged out of the Northern Crater and back onto the Highwind. As Tifa climbed up onto the outer deck of the airship, they all heard Sephiroth's scream echo out from the bottom of the Northern Crater.

"May he rest in peace," Cid murmured.

"Amen," Cloud and Barret chorused.

Tifa just rolled her eyes and wondered what Aeris would name the baby.

When they finally reached Tifa's new bar in Kalm, everyone there got thoroughly drunk.

* * *

_Another month later_

Aeris woke up with a splitting headache and a nauseous stomach. Blearily she stumbled over to a corner where she unloaded the contents of her stomach. A groan alerted Aeris to the fact that she wasn't alone. Aeris stumbled over to where she had heard the groan come from and practically stumbled over the person that the sound had originated from.

"Please…have mercy…put me out of my misery," Sephiroth weak voice croaked.

The events of the past two months rushed back over Aeris.

"No," Aeris told him.

"Evil bitch," he groaned.

"Just returning the favor," she mocked before she happily fainted.

"Why didn't I kill her when I got the chance?" Sephiroth asked himself as he too succumbed to thick, welcoming darkness.

A pale blue foot nudged the comatose form of Sephiroth.

-_Humph, weakling,-_ Jenova, who had remembered to take her medication, scoffed, -_I told you to kill her, but nooooo. You just had to listen to your libido. You brought this on yourself, my son, so you can live with the consequences.-_

Sephiroth turned his head to the side and started drooling.

-_Oh well, at least I will I got some grandchildren out of this,- _Jenova thought, _-from what I sensed, the Cetra is carrying triplets. Looks like our family of two has increased by four.-_

Jenova mentally chuckled, -_won't that come as a nasty shock to my son. I can't wait to see the look on his face when the Cetra tells him that she is pregnant.-_

The end (of what remains of Sephiroth's sanity that is).

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed my very first crackfic. It is a bit out there and is rife with sexual innuendoes and reverences, but then again, many crackfics tend to be that way (yes, I'm talking about your crackfic Tishannia). This thing has been nagging me from the back of my mind for months now, and I could no longer stand it, so I tunred on my laptop and wrote this all today.

I'm still looking for reader requests and challenges for my Musings of Emerald and Silver drabble series. I tend to write more drabbles when I am prompted by another reviewer.

So please press that little blue button that says "go" and tell me what you think about this one.


	9. Heritage part 1

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7

AN: This is my reply to Silvara's challenge, hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Drabble 9- Heritage part 1

She should have known that something was off about him all along. The signs had been right there for her to see. His unnatural, yet beautiful silver colored hair, his almost impossibly fast quick reflexes, and those glowing blue-green cat-slitted eyes. And those were just the physical characteristics that stood out about him.

Those very same sea green eyes that had captured her gaze and memorized her the first time she saw them held shadows of pain, sadness and desperation in their depths that the glow in his eyes were unable to hide. Something horrible had happened to him sometime in the past to give him that haunted look, but Aeris had merely assumed that the cause most likely had something to do with losing a loved one in a tragic event or something along those lines.

Oh if only the secrets of his past were so mundane, if they had been, she wouldn't be in this dire predicament that she was in right now. They had been running, trying to escape those who pursued him and had been caught in an ambush. They had barely escaped with their lives from the first one, but they had been not so lucky during the next one.

Things were looking dire indeed for the two of them. Sephiroth was collapsed next to a huge oak tree, an explosion flinging him over there, the impact surely breaking a few ribs along with the broken arm that he had received when the trap had been sprung right next to them.

Normally, if you call running for your life and freedom normal, this wouldn't have hindered them from escaping very much but for two very important details. The first one was that Sephiroth had been blinded after a gas bomb had exploded right in his face during the first ambush; that and the injuries he had received during their current plight making it impossible for him to function normally, let alone fight back or escape.

The second detail, and by far the more important one, was that she was dying, her lifeblood draining out of her at a rapid rate from the two bullet holes that went through her body.

_Sephiroth, I'm so sorry,_ Aeris thought as her body started to shut down, _I've failed you…_

* * *

_One month earlier…_

"Geeze, why did everyone have to pick today to go to the coffee shop," Aeris grumbled under her breath as she stood close to the end of the long line that snaked across the room in front of her.

"I'll have a vanilla latte with fat-free milk- no wait, I'll have the caramel-chocolate mocha with three shots of espresso," a thin, nervous college freshman ordered in a strained voice.

The girl behind the counter turned to give the freshman's order to the pimple-faced teenager next to the espresso machine. Just as the teenager was about to start, the freshman decided to change his mind.

"Miss, excuse me miss, I've decided that I want a green-tea sugar-free latte with no foam," the freshman piped up as the girl behind the register shot him an irritated glare, "no make that a white-chocolate mocha latté- I mean a double shot of espresso in milk- no wait, an almond iced coffee!"

"Is that your final order?" the girl sarcastically asked.

"Yes!" he rather exuberantly shouted.

"Good," she muttered under her breath, "I was about ready to murder him if he changed his mind again."

The teenager who filled out the customers' orders had just finished filling up a plastic cup with ice when the freshman spoke up once more.

"Ummm…., excuse me but I've decided that I really don't want the iced coffee instead I would like…" he trailed off as he caught the glares from everyone working at the coffee counter.

Aeris growled under her breath, while some of the people ahead of her muttered curses at the offending freshman.

"Would you like to change your order _sir_?" the girl behind the cash register asked, smiling sweetly, her voice dripping with venom.

"Uh…uh…no, the iced coffee will be fine!" he squeaked.

"Great," the girl answered, "that will be $2.50. Cash or credit sir?"

"Ca-ca-cash," he stuttered, fumbling with his wallet for a few silence filled seconds while his iced coffee was finished.

Finally, he managed to withdraw three wrinkled dollar bills from his wallet and handed them over to the girl.

"Thank you sir for coming to the Caffeine Joint," she merrily called after him as he hurried out of the crowed coffee shop, "Can I help who's next?"

As the freshman passed Aeris by she shot him her patented Evil Glare of Death #86. He took one look at her face and was out of the store in three seconds flat.

Aeris sighed, _stupid freshman…_, she let the thought trail off.

The caffeine deprived brunette waited fifteen more minutes during which the line moved a grand total of five feet before she gave up in disgust and stormed out of the Caffeine Joint. Deciding that she had a better chance of finding coffee at her friend's place, Aeris took a left around the building and went into the nearby quiet, secluded park to get to her friend Kailley's apartment roughly ten minutes away.

It was right after she had passed the empty swing-set that she first noticed him.

He was sitting under the ancient oak tree that the park had originally been built around. The stranger looked absolutely fascinated by the way the shadows of the leaves above him were in constant movement, creating an ever-changing mosaic of golden sunlight and shade on the brown leaves and twigs that lay under the oak tree.

Aeris stopped and took a moment to take in the scene and get a better look at the strange man. His strange hair, sliver when the sun touched upon it, grey when in the shadows, pooling on the ground around him, would have immediately have attracted anyone's attention, but Aeris was more interested in what the rest of him looked like.

It seemed like the fates were in a good mood that day since at that very moment that the thought crossed her mind, the stranger glanced up from his study of the canopy's shadow on the ground and looked straight at her. Instantly a blush sprung to her cheeks, embarrassed at being caught staring.

She took her time to take in the details of his face with the high cheekbones, thin but sensual lips, his aquiline nose and narrow sliver eyebrows that framed his eyes perfectly. Aeris took in his lithe, muscular frame, his slightly unbuttoned shirt under his jacket giving her a tantalizing glimpse of the firm, pale flesh that lay beneath, her blush growing stronger as her gaze swept southward.

"Ahem," the stranger cleared his throat, causing Aeris to quickly snap her gaze back to his face, "is there something that I can help you with Miss?"

"Uhhh," Aeris intelligently answered, her eyes focused on the way his lips moved as he shaped each word, like an artist using a paintbrush to caress a canvas.

"Miss?" he asked again, "are you alright?"

"Fine!" Aeris squeaked.

The silver haired man raised an eyebrow.

"I-I mean- I'm fine," Aeris stammered, her blush threatening to overpower her small red jacket that she had worn today over her pink sundress, "heh-heh… sorry about that- I mean the whole staring thing, I guess that my brain decided to not function for a few seconds there…I'm fine now."

"If you say so…" he replied unconvinced.

"Well either way, it was totally rude of me to stare at you like that," Aeris said, "I should have greeted you the proper way, starting with introducing myself."

"Hi, my name is Aeris," she greeted him, her hand outstretched.

"Sephiroth," he responded taking her offered hand, a sudden mischievous twinkle coming into his eyes.

"Nice to meet you Sephiroth," Aeris replied, a friendly smile on her face, "I know of a nice little café just a few minutes away from here that we can- gah!"

Sephiroth cut her off mid-offer as he abruptly pulled on her hand, jerking her towards him and causing her to fall face first onto the ground next to him.

"Hey! What the Hell was that for?!" Aeris yelled as she pushed herself up.

"I just thought that you might want to join me for a moment under this tree, it is rather tranquil here," Sephiroth smoothly explained, "well, at least it was before you came here."

Aeris glared at him.

"Not that I mind," he added, "it's would be nice if a friendly local like yourself would show me around. I'm new in town."

"That was rather obvious from the get-go," Aeris muttered.

Apparently Sephiroth heard her since he chuckled at her statement.

"You are a fresh breath of air, thank you" Sephiroth told her.

"You're welcome…" Aeris trailed off as she gazed into his eyes for the first time.

"Wow…" Aeris murmured.

"What?" Sephiroth asked, "is there something on my face?"

"Your eyes…they're beautiful. But there is something different about them…I just can't place it…" Aeris spoke in a breathless whisper.

Aeris was mesmerized, enchanted by those unique, captivating sea green eyes that hid so much from the world. She reached up and tenderly brushed his bangs away from his face to get a better look.

"Oh Holy… they're glowing… what on earth….?" Aeris murmured.

Alarm grew in Sephiroth's eyes, he jerked his hand up to bat Aeris' fingers away from his face but stopped mid-motion. For he saw something in her own eyes that caught his attention. Her eyes were bright and sparkled with good humor, but secrets and hidden pain lurked behind her cheery facade.

Sephiroth brought his hand up and gently tilted her chin up so he could get a better look at her eyes. To a normal bystander Aeris would have appeared to be a normal happy young woman, content to just be alive. But Sephiroth was far from normal. What even her friends would have missed, he spotted.

This woman who had stared at him for almost three minutes straight was hiding things about herself from everyone around her. Secrets, that if known, she feared would cause her to loose everything. He sensed that there was something that she felt that she was supposed to do, but was reluctant to carryout. She was running, running from an unseen enemy, from herself, from her duty. She was…

Abruptly Sephiroth snapped back to himself. He had come way to close to revealing her innermost secrets, a thing which he had no right to do, but more importantly to revealing himself for what he really was.

He heard Aeris sigh and involuntarily his gaze was drawn back to her emerald green eyes. Once again he was caught up in her gaze, but this time he felt something far different from her than the first. He sensed longing, for what he didn't know, growing attraction, that he could readily recognize, and the stirrings of something that he just couldn't place.

Their faces slowly grew closer to each other. Before either of them knew what had happened, their lips brushed softly against the other's, barely touching, but that slight contact sending shivers down both of their spines.

It was then everything clicked.

A bond had formed between the two though they could barely sense it at the time. That was the beginning of their relationship, the spark that ignited the mutual attraction between the two. It was also the beginning of the end, though neither of them knew it at the time. But what was going to end?- that was the important question.

* * *

Things between the two of them proceeded rather rapidly after their first meeting in the park. Though their relationship developed rather fast, its progress didn't seem forced but flowed smoothly as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Aeris came away from their first kiss rather infatuated, but that infatuation quickly turned into a full-blown, turn the world on its head, chaotic and wonderful case of I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-him love. Within two weeks they had proceeded past the getting to know each other phase as well as the fun, thrill-seeking, party-your-heart-out phase and had settled into a serious relationship.

By the end of the month, Sephiroth and Aeris had moved into a new apartment together and had proceeded to christen their new bedroom the first night with a lot of vigorous headboard banging against the wall, moaning, screaming and other such noises. The old lady next door had called the cops on them, worried about all the noise that was coming from the apartment next to hers.

The cops had started banging on the front door just as Aeris was screaming Sephiroth's name out at the top of her lungs as he was grunting and vigorously thrusting in and out of her. Immediately both of them froze as the cops burst into the apartment and quickly scrambled to get their clothing on that had been previously scattered around the room.

Sephiroth had barely managed to pull his pants on when the cops entered their bedroom, took one look at him and Aeris who was wearing only Sephiroth's discarded t-shirt before the profusely apologized and beat a hasty retreat from the apartment.

The moment they left, Aeris promptly burst out laughing and even Sephiroth could see the humor of the situation as he too started laughing a few seconds later. Pretty soon Aeris ran out of breath and collapsed onto Sephiroth as she inhaled deeply. Sephiroth pulled her closer and she happily leaned onto him.

"I love your laughter," Aeris commented, "just like I love your smile and all the odd quirks about you, including the fact that you were the one to put the potpourri baskets in the kitchen and bathroom and not me."

"I love your laughter, smile and odd quirks as well including the fact that you can make the world's best cup of coffee, but can't boil a pot of water correctly to save your life," Sephiroth retorted.

Aeris stuck her tongue out at him and then broke into giggles.

Sephiroth smiled indulgently down at her.

"I can't believe how fast we have been taking things," Aeris remarked, "I mean moving into an apartment together after one month of dating-"

"And earth-shattering sex," Sephiroth cut in which earned him a poke from Aeris.

"One month of dating and one night of earth-shattering sex," Aeris continued, "and yet it feels like I have known you forever."

"Hmm," Sephiroth agreed.

"Do you think it odd for me to want to marry you and eventually bear your children?" Aeris suddenly asked, looking up at him.

"Not at all," he responded without blinking, "would it seem odd to you that I am astounded to find the woman of my dreams in this little backwater town and want to settle down with her?"

"Oh Sephiroth!" Aeris squealed, "I love you!"

The silver haired man winced slightly at her high-pitched voice but smiled in satisfaction.

"That's good to know kitten," he murmured, "because now that I have you, I don't intend to let you go, ever."

Aeris gave him The Look.

"I love you too," he added chuckling.

"Good," she stated and pulled him down into a passionate kiss.

* * *

Outside, the two highly embarrassed police men just got into their car when the noises that they had been called in for resumed rather loudly in the young couple's apartment. They only shook their heads and muttered something about "young love".

* * *

The trouble started just a few days later. It all began one afternoon when Aeris and Sephiroth were eating a late lunch at a small sandwich shop close to their apartment.

"I still can't believe that Mr. Lawson came in today with his hair dyed bright, neon orange!" Aeris exclaimed, telling her boyfriend the latest escapade about her very "unique" boss at the small clothing boutique that she worked part-time at.

Suddenly the brunette stiffened almost unnoticeably as she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. If Sephiroth hadn't been looking at her that exact moment, he would have missed it entirely. Curious about what could have caused his girlfriend to show even the slightest sign of distress, Sephiroth glanced over at what had caught Aeris' attention.

The reaction that he had to the figures in the familiar blue uniforms holding standard-issue rifles over their shoulders was quite different from Aeris'. He didn't even bother freezing in place, instead he swore vehemently under his breath, got up and made a bee-line for the men's room to avoid being spotted by the Shin-Ra MPs that were on patrol.

_What are the Shin-Ra shock troops doing in this town all of a sudden?_ Sephiroth furiously thought, _have I been discovered already?_

All it would take was just once glimpse of his telltale sliver hair by one of the MPs to have the whole patrol of them come charging into the restaurant trying to capture him. That was the last thing he wanted, especially with his girlfriend sitting there in plain sight.

Sephiroth knew that he should have done something about his hair ages ago, due to all the attention that it attracted him, especially in a situation like this one. He had tried to dye it on several occasions, but any hair coloring product was never able to set in. His hair seemed to repel any and all types of hair dye, just like oil repels water, they can't mix.

He refused to wear a wig on the principal that they made him look ridiculous and that they itched horribly. Likewise Sephiroth refused to cut his hair for several reasons. For one, his long mane of hair was surprisingly easy to take care of and secondly he was illogically proud of his magnificent locks.

Of course now the main reason he had for not chopping the whole length off altogether was currently sitting alone at the table he had vacated just moments before to avoid the Shin-Ra patrol. It was his hair (naturally) that had first attracted Aeris' attention to him in the first place and she was rather fond of running her fingers through his silver locks. Sephiroth was rather fond of Aeris, he loved her in fact, so as long as Aeris liked his long hair, it would stay that way.

Sephiroth watched the Shin-Ra patrol go around a corner and disappear from sight from the small window in the bathroom. The moment they were gone, he made some noise that would indicate that he was washing his hands to anyone who was waiting outside.

"So what was that all about, you suddenly get the runs or something?" Aeris joked as Sephiroth sat down.

Sephiroth grimaced at the thought.

"No," he answered evenly.

"Then why did you so suddenly rush to the bathroom as if your hair was on fire?" Aeris asked.

"I'll tell you my reasons if you tell me why you were scared by those Shin-Ra MPs," Sephiroth countered.

Aeris looked startled and scared by Sephiroth's perception.

"Wha-what are you talking about?" Aeris stammered.

"I saw your reaction when you saw those MPs come into view," Sephiroth softly explained.

"Ha-ha, you saw that?" Aeris nervously asked.

"Why are you frightened by Shin-Ra?" Sephiroth demanded, "you haven't done anything to attract their attention have you?"

"Ummm…. not exactly…" Aeris replied, not giving Sephiroth a real answer.

"Care to enlighten me?" he suggested with a raised eyebrow.

Aeris let out a sigh of defeat. She knew that there was no deterring her boyfriend when he got into this mindset.

"I'll tell you, but not here," Aeris wearily answered, "too many people around."

"Then we'll make this meal to-go and return home," Sephiroth decided.

"Fine," Aeris acquiesced, "but I have to tell-all, so do you. I have the right to know why you didn't want your face to be recognized by someone from Shin-Ra, especially since you will be the first person that I have ever told about my secret."

Sephiroth stifled a groan, he should have known that Aeris would demand to know his side of the story. She was rather like him in that regard, when she set her mind to something, Aeris would stop at nothing to accomplish it.

Just look at their current relationship, Sephiroth never wanted to get attached or involved with anyone, but here he was, a little over a month later living with this bright cheerful girl, hopelessly in love with her.

Sephiroth never wanted Aeris to be caught up in his troubles, but she already was by just being associated with him. The least he could do before he skipped out of town was to make sure that Shin-Ra would never know of their brief, but passionate relationship. He knew that leaving would break Aeris' heart, but better that then being captured or killed by Shin-Ra while trying to haul him back to that hell-hole that he had barely escaped with his life from.

He was not looking forward to telling her the sordid details of his past. Sephiroth just hoped that Aeris would still talk to her after she knew everything.

* * *

"I'll go first," Aeris announced as she sat down with a cup of hot green tea at the kitchen table across form Sephiroth, "I'm really human, but a Cetra."

"Right," Sephiroth snorted, "the Ancients have been extinct for the past one thousand years."

"Not extinct," Aeris corrected, "a few of my ancestors survived the great plague that nearly wiped out my people. They have been living in secret, hiding from human society for all this time."

Sephiroth looked skeptical.

"Or at least they did until my father, who was a Shin-Ra scientist found my mother wandering around in the forest on the Northern Continent one day twenty-five years ago," Aeris continued, "it was one of those rare cases of love at first sight, a bit like you and me I suppose. They spent their first day together just sitting under the tree he had found her at talking about whatever came to mind."

"I can see the similarities," Sephiroth interjected.

"He returned a week later and found her in a different part of the forest," Aeris recounted, "they spent the whole day together, my mother Ilfana showing my father many of her favorite spots in the forest. Before parting they both agreed to meet at the same tree that he first found her at in three days. They spent their third day together making love on under that same tree. I was conceived from that union."

"They certainly were quick to get to third base," Sephiroth commented.

"So were we," Aeris countered.

"I hardly call one month a short time," Sephiroth retorted.

"To a man perhaps, but to a woman, a month can be a very short period when they getting into a serious relationship," Aeris shot back.

"You're getting off topic," Sephiroth stated, "continue with your story."

"Watch it or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight," Aeris growled.

"You're cute when you are annoyed," Sephiroth teased.

Aeris gave him The Look.

Sephiroth shut up.

"Ilfania, knew that she was pregnant almost right away, since being a Cetra meant that she was much more in tune with the nature than any human," Aeris continued from where she left off, "although she didn't tell my father that he was going to a daddy until three weeks later, when she was sure that he would stick around when she told him the good news."

"You're not pregnant are you?" Sephiroth interrupted.

"No, why?" Aeris snapped.

Sephiroth sighed in relief and slumped in his chair.

"You being pregnant would have tremendously complicated matters," Sephiroth explained.

"How so?" Aeris asked, her eyes narrowing.

"You'll understand later," Sephiroth told her, waving it off, "let's not fight, I still want you to finish your story."

"Fine," Aeris huffed then resumed the story of her past.

"My father's reaction was predictable," Aeris spoke with a fond smile, "he fainted dead away when my mother told him. She got a good laugh out of it. When he finally came to, the first thing he did was to blurt out a marriage proposal. Ilfania had been expecting something like this and was more than ready to say yes. When a Cetra finds someone that they are compatible with and can easily love and devote themselves to, they don't waste time with a long courtship, they usually get straight to business."

"I think that the longest courtship between two Cetra was a little over four months. Males, even Cetra males, have a hard time resisting a Cetran female when they are compatible. The courtship phase between my mother and father was rather typical, meet and greet then make love one to two weeks later and then get married a few weeks after that. The fastest courtship was completed in less than a week, by the fifth day, my great-great aunt and uncle eloped to the closest town and got hitched."

"So by your description, I should be popping the big question any day now?" Sephiroth asked good-humoredly.

"I don't think that I'm quite ready for marriage yet," Aeris replied with a smile, "I don't want to pressure you into wanting to rush things. I prefer to let our relationship proceed naturally."

"So what happened after your parents got married, how did you end up in this little town of all places?" Sephiroth prompted.

The smile faded from Aeris' face and was replaced by a sad expression with a sigh.

"The first few months of when my mother was carrying me were the best months of my parents' lives," Aeris spoke, "they lived in for the moment, taking joy in each other's presence and the growing life in my mother's womb. They were living in a dream, but it ultimately turned into a nightmare."

"What happened?" Sephiroth asked.

"Hojo," Aeris spat, "that bastard came up to check up on the progress of my father's research expedition and discovered my mother. They both were forced to flee and were constantly on the move up until my birth. Hojo pursued them wherever they went relentlessly, wanting my mother and her unborn child for research subjects."

"The only reason why I didn't grow up in Shin-Ra's labs was because my mother switched me with a still-born human child before fleeing into the night with the dead baby in my mother's arms," Aeris bitterly continued, "my foster mother Elymara discovered me when she came to say her last goodbyes to her stillborn daughter. She knew that I wasn't her real child, but she still took me in and nursed me claiming that I was a miracle from God, I was the soul of her stillborn daughter in a different mortal shell."

"Later that night, Hojo finally caught up with my parents, killed my dad and critically injured my mother while trying to capture them. He was furious when he discovered that the baby that he thought was my parents' was dead. He ordered the bodies of both my dad and the baby be thrown into the sea while he hauled my mother back to his labs in Midgar. She died a few days later of complications of her wounds."

"That's it, the end of my story," Aeris murmured, tears streaming down her face, "to this day, neither Hojo nor Shin-Ra knows that the child of Ilfania and Professor Gast still lives, nor do they know that I am the last Cetra. Now you know why I am scared by any Shin-Ra worker I see. If I was ever discovered, Hojo would send out the Turks to haul me to Midgar and I would never see the light of day again, spending the rest of my life locked in his labs."

Sephiroth who had been silent since she had uttered Hojo's name took her into his arms where she proceeded to cry into his shirt. He had no choice to believe her, the hatred he heard in her voice when she spoke of Hojo was all-too-real and was shared by anyone who had been the subject of one of Hojo's experiments or scientific curiosity. He could very well believe that Hojo would want to get his hands on Aeris if he learned about her existence.

Sephiroth remembered Hojo's fury when he came back with the seriously injured Ilfania, having his desire to study the woman's daughter thwarted by the fact that the child was dead and therefore useless to him. He had taken his anger out on him as well as the Cetran woman, practically beating her to death. He had beat Sephiroth again after Ilfania died two days later of her injuries. Despite being beat black and blue, he was vindictively satisfied that Hojo would never get the chance to make the lives of the Cetra and her child pure hell like the sadistic man had made his own.

Or so he thought until Aeris told him her story. He certainly had no wish to see her locked up in one of those cold glass cells that Hojo had stuck him in for the majority of his childhood. All the more reason for him to break things off with her as soon as possible and get out of town before his presence here was detected. Her safety was far more important to Sephiroth than his own personal happiness. He had to protect her from Shin-Ra and Hojo at all costs, for if he was found with her, it would not be long before her true nature was discovered and they both would be shipped back to Hojo's labs.

If he left her now, there was a chance of him escaping this town undetected and Aeris staying behind undiscovered by Shin-Ra or Hojo. He had no choice, he would leave after she fell asleep tonight but not before he told her his tale, she deserved at least that.

"Aeris-" Sephiroth began but she cut him off.

"You're planning to leave me now aren't you?" Aeris demanded.

"Yes," he truthfully answered without thinking, "wait- how did you know that?"

"I could read you intentions from your aura," Aeris sadly answered.

"Read my aura?- never mind, you'll under-"

"Shin-Ra doesn't know about me, there is no reason to run from what I am!" Aeris interrupted desperate, "we can still make this work, no one but you knows what I am and no one will ever find out!"

Sephiroth gently disentangled himself from Aeris.

"Yes they will if I continue to stay with you," Sephiroth stated.

"Why? Why does it have to be this way?!" Aeris pleaded.

"Because I am an escaped subject from Hojo's lab," he coldly told her, "even as we speak, Hojo has hundreds of people out looking for me. That bastard wants his most precious research specimen back at all costs. If I stay, then someone will find me and almost certainly find you as well!"

Aeris sat in stunned silence.

"Aeris this is the only way you can stay safe and undiscovered by Hojo, I grew up in Hojo's labs as a test subject, I wouldn't wish my life on anyone, most especially you!" he exclaimed, "no more discussion, I'm leaving and that's final!"

"No" Aeris firmly stated.

"What?!" Sephiroth sharply demanded.

"No," Aeris repeated, "you're not going anywhere without me."

"You have got to be kidding me," Sephiroth snorted.

"Not on your life," she retorted.

"I think you are mistaken," Sephiroth growled as he approached, forcing her to back up against the wall, "I'm not getting you anymore involved in this than you already am. I'm leaving and you are staying right here where you will be safe."

"It's a bit too late for that!" Aeris shot back, "people already know your name and know that we've been dating for a month and would easily be able to recognize you if someone described your profile. If you left, it wouldn't be too long until I had someone from Shin-Ra knocking at my door demanding to know where you went."

"But-" Sephiroth tried to protest.

"No buts!" Aeris shouted, "if you didn't want to involve me in your trouble then out should have never agreed to go out with me on our first date! My secret will be discovered by Shin-Ra eventually anyway whether I am here or on the run with you. I prefer to take my chances with you."

Sephiroth sighed.

"I can't convince you to stay can I?" he wearily asked.

"You already know the answer to that Seph," Aeris replied looking over her shoulder as she picked up her purse.

"Where are you going?" Sephiroth asked.

"I'm going out to tell the landlady and my boss that we're going to elope to Costa del Sol and we don't know when we will be back, if ever," Aeris replied as she pulled on her shoes.

"That won't throw the Turks off for long," Sephiroth stated.

"It should given us enough time to get a good head start," Aeris explained.

The Cetra shoved her cell phone and checkbook into her purse then turned around to face Sephiroth.

"Will you promise me that you will stay put in the apartment until I return and not leave without me or do I have to knock you out and tie you up to keep you here?" Aeris asked.

Sephiroth snorted. The idea of Aeris trying to knock him out was laughable, but he knew that if he didn't promise her to stay she would try and make good on her threat and there was a good chance that he would accidentally hurt her in the resulting scuffle.

"Well?" Aeris demanded.

"Fine," Sephiroth huffed and flung himself onto the couch.

"Promise me that you won't leave the apartment until I get back," Aeris insisted.

"Alright! I promise that I will be a good boy and not leave my room," Sephiroth shouted.

"Good, just making sure that that's clear," Aeris responded as she closed the apartment door behind her.

Sephiroth grumbled about Aeris' stubborn pigheadedness and turned on the TV.

* * *

Aeris was back five hours later holding a several large plastic shopping bags as well as a brown paper bag in her hands.

"What's that?" Sephiroth idly asked.

"You'll see in a minute," Aeris answered, "now plant your butt at the kitchen table."

"Yes Master," Sephiroth teased as he sat down on one of the wooden chairs humoring her.

Aeris dumped the contents of the brown paper bag out onto the table. Out spilled a comb, a brush, a packet of bobypins, a packet of hairclips and a black ski cap.

"What are you going to do with that stuff?" Sephiroth asked.

"Making you less noticeable," Aeris answered as she picked up the brush and the comb.

"How?" he replied.

"Just shut up and wait until I'm finished," Aeris told him as she started brushing his hair.

Aeris had done this before on occasion, and Sephiroth had never complained once when she freed his hair of all tangles. It felt good, and her ministrations put him into a pleasant daze.

"Ouch!" Sephiroth yelped as Aeris started pulling his hair into a weird braid, "what are you doing?!"

"Making you less noticeable," Aeris replied.

"By pulling all my hair out?" Sephiroth retorted.

"You'll see," Aeris stated as she continued to yank his hair into a strange hairstyle.

Half an hour later, Aeris announced that she was done and led Sephiroth to the bathroom mirror.

"What the hell is this?" he asked aghast.

All of his hair including his bangs had been braided into a crown that circled the middle of his head.

"I look like a girl!" he almost wailed.

Aeris snickered and pulled the black ski cap onto his head, covering up all of his silver hair.

"It does the trick doesn't it?" Aeris playfully asked, "you won't be easily recognized this way."

Sephiroth had to admit that Aeris was right. He could hardly recognize his own reflection with all of his hair hidden under the ski cap. Plus, due to the way Aeris had used to put his hair up, it was unlikely to come undone.

"Here," Aeris said as she shoved one of the plastic shopping bags at Sephiroth, go get changed into those clothes, "I'm going to change into my new outfit as well."

Sephiroth had to admit that he was impressed by Aeris' foresight, she certainly had planned this well. Ten minutes later he was finished and came out of the bathroom to watch Aeris put the finishing touches on her disguise.

Sephiroth's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Gone was his sweet small-town, country-girl girlfriend, and in her place was a wild biker chick. Aeris was wearing a black bandana that went under her hair which she had pulled into tight fish-bone braid and tied at the nape of her neck. Her legs were encased in skin-tight black, hip-hugging pants and knee-high black leather boots. She had fingerless black gloves on her hands that ended at her wrists and was wearing a small, dark purple tube top and over it a tight biker jacket with the words "Wild Child" sewn onto the back in silver thread. Black sunglasses were perched on top of her bandana. Grey, smoky eye shadow and dark blood-red colored lipstick finished the outfit as Aeris watched her boyfriend's reaction to her change in clothing.

"I can truthfully say that I would have never expected you to wear something like that," Sephiroth stated as he looked her over once more, deciding that it wasn't that bad of a look on her.

"That was what I was going for," Aeris replied taking in what he was wearing, "I must say that the gangster look suits you."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes, obviously he wasn't as pleased with his new clothes as Aeris was with hers.

He was still wearing the black ski cap that Aeris had shoved on his head, but along with the hat, he was also wearing black cargo pants, a black t-shirt with the word "Night-prowler" printed on it in crimson ink and a loose, dark-grey half-zipped up jacket over that. About the only thing that Sephiroth really approved about his clothing were the black, heavy-duty combat boots that he wore on his feet.

"Is there a reason why you choose these specific outfits for us?" Sephiroth asked slightly annoyed.

"Catch!" Aeris called as she picked up a bulging dark purple backpack and tossed something small and shiny at him.

Sephiroth snagged the object in mid-air. It was hard and cool to the touch, suggesting that it was made out of metal, with a long, slightly jagged projection out of the slightly-rounded rectangular main body of the object.

* * *

Curious, Sephiroth opened his fist to see what he was holding.

Glittering in the light of the setting sun was a brand-new sliver key.

"So where are we really going?" Sephiroth asked as Aeris climbed onto the shiny, black motorcycle, settling herself down behind Sephiroth.

The engine roared to life as Sephiroth started the brand new motorcycle up.

"Corel," Aeris answered as she adjusted her backpack that was full of their supplies so it was comfortable on her shoulders.

"Good a place as any," Sephiroth grunted.

"They certainly wouldn't expect us to head that way," Aeris commented, "once we get there, we can go into hiding in the mountains and stay there for a few months before we head to Neilhelm."

"Ready?" Sephiroth asked.

Aeris tightened her arms around his waist and Sephiroth took that as his signal to head off. The wind caused her tight braid to continuously bump onto Aeris' backpack as Sephiroth drove down the highway, pushing the speed limit. They rode on in silence each absorbed in their own thoughts.

_You can't deny what's in your blood forever,_ a thousand different voices whispered into her mind.

_Not if I can help it_, Aeris grimly thought, _it's my life, I will not be a pawn to the whims of the Council of Elders._

_You can't deny the inevitable, sooner or later you will have no choice but to accept your birth duty and fully awaken,_ the voices responded.

_Never!_ Aeris vowed, _not now, not ever._

_Never is sooner than you think…_

The voices faded out, leaving Aeris alone with her troubled thoughts.

* * *

The ambush, as they are wont to do, came out of nowhere. One moment they were leaving their hotel room, the next a bunch of figures dressed all in black jumped at them.

Sephiroth didn't even blink. He sprang into action, having been expecting such an occurrence ever since he spotted the Shin-Ra patrol a week ago. For the past five and a half days Sephiroth and Aeris had been traveling down an old, dusty highway that connected with a little used dirt road which ended at Corel.

Not once did they ever look back, leaving the security and comfort of Aeris' hometown, trading it in for the lonely, dangerous and uncertain future of a drifter and fugitive on the run. Now with a dozen anonymous goons barreling at them from all sides, the pair didn't waste a moment in breaking through the trap that was closing in on them.

Sephiroth, each hand holding the opposite arm just above the wrist, ruthlessly drove his elbow into the throat of the nearest goon, crushing the man's windpipe and delivering a death sentence upon him. He then followed by delivering a swift roundhouse kick to the thug that was creeping up behind him. Sephiroth's foot caught his opponent square in the chest, the force of the blow sent the man crashing into the wall behind him, cracks appearing in the bricks due to the force of the man's impact.

Meanwhile, Aeris, knowing that this was not the time to play nice, pulled the classic female self-defense move that all men fear. The petite brunette jammed her right knee hard into the crotch of the nearest goon who had tried to punch her in the face but missed, the blow causing him to drop onto his stomach moaning in agony. She dodged another wildly aimed swing from a different thug and sprinted towards the motorcycle while Sephiroth punched a different thug in the face, crushing the man's nose.

The fugitive from Hojo's labs already had killed one man and had knocked out, if not killed, three more. Aeris had taken down another one of the bounty hunters that had been hired to capture Sephiroth, leaving eight left that still needed to be dealt with. Sephiroth was working on taking another man down when three of them tackled the silver haired man and pinned him down to the ground.

"Hurry up Carl and get me one of those tranks!" one of the men, most likely the leader of the group, shouted, "our employer wants this one returned to him as intact as possible!"

Another thug, most likely Carl, lobbed something into the air. The first man jumped and barely managed to snag the object. He quickly strode over to the wildly struggling Sephiroth, jabbed a thick needle into his neck and forcefully injected the content of the syringe into Sephiroth's bloodstream.

"Not so tough are you now freak!" the leader sneered, "our employer told us all about you, how some big-wig at Shin-Ra wants his pet monstrosity back."

"You think that the Turks will let you live after you have turned me in?" Sephiroth sardonically laughed, "you are nothing more than disposable pawns to them!"

The leader snarled and hit Sephiroth in the face.

"Hey boss, what about the chick?" one of the others spoke up.

"Leave her, she probably ran away, abandoning this loser," the leader yelled back, "I doubt that we will be seeing her anytime so- Holy Fuck!"

The leader was barely able to dodge out of the way of the roaring motorcycle that almost plowed him over. Not bothering to slow down, the driver of the motorcycle caused it to swerve into a sharp turn, tires squealing, scattering the bounty hunters like bowling pins. The three that were holding Sephiroth down took one look at the incoming motorcycle and decided that their lives were worth more than the reward for Sephiroth's capture and followed the example of their fellow bounty hunters.

"Get on!" Aeris yelled as she struggled to maintain of the still moving motorcycle.

Sephiroth half-climbed and was half-yanked by Aeris onto the seat behind her. He had barely managed to secure his arms around her slender waist when she gunned the throttle and the bike went screeching out of the parking lot, leaving a black streak on the pavement behind them.

"Are you alright?" Aeris asked, yelling over the wind as she turned the motorcycle onto the highway.

"One of those thugs hit me with a tranquilizer," Sephiroth told her.

"Shit!" Aeris swore, "try to fight it off at least until I can find a place where we can lay low until it wears off."

Back in the hotel parking lot a figure wearing an immaculate, crisp blue suit stepped out of a black, nondescript car. His long, black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and his face had a distinctive Wutanese cast to its features. He approached the leader of the group of bounty hunters as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Mr. Tseng, I can explain-" the man began.

"You failed Stockman," Tseng, leader of the Turks, coldly cut him off, "Shin-Ra has no room for failures."

"But Sir, I know where him and that chick that was with him are heading toward-" Stockman tried pleading.

"I already have the rest of my men and a squadron of Soldiers heading off to intercept them," Tseng calmly informed the quaking man.

"But Sir, surely there is something-"

BANG!

The bullet that Tseng unloaded into the man's forehead cut off his pleading. The body fell to the pavement with a thump.

"Find and dispose of the others," Tseng told the two forms wearing Soldier uniforms that approached him as he went back to the car.

* * *

"Damn!!! Hold on Sephiroth, those fuckers are catching up to us!" Aeris shouted.

"I'm trying," Sephiroth ground out between clenched teeth, tightening his arms around Aeris' middle, "but the damn tranquilizer that they shot me up with is making that task a bit difficult."

Aeris turned the handlebars hard to the left, causing the motorcycle to make a sharp turn onto a rough dirt road. She knew that chances were slim that the maneuver would work, but the Cetra was hoping that she could loose at least one of the vehicles that were chasing after them.

"Be more careful, are you trying to kill us?," Sephiroth yelled agitated, "do you even know how to drive this thing?"

"I'm learning as I go," Aeris stated.

"We're doomed," Sephiroth moaned.

They continued on in silence after that and after a while, Aeris turned onto an even smaller and bumpier dirt road that was more of a hiking trail than a real road. Five miles back, two Turks and a small squadron of second class Soldiers riding in three Jeeps turned onto the dusty dirty road just as Aeris turned the bike onto the footpath.

About ten minutes later, just as Aeris saw the first of the three vehicles that were chasing them turn onto the trail in her left rear-view mirror, the front tire suddenly caught on a large rock. The motorcycle lurched sideways, threw its riders twenty feet away into some bushes and finally crashed into a tree a hundred yards away after skidding and rolling a few times along the way.

As soon as they recovered their wits, Sephiroth and Aeris scrambled to their feet and continued their flight on foot. The sounds of their heavy breathing and crashing through the underbrush filled the silent forest around them.

The driver of the first Jeep spotted the abandoned motorcycle and radioed the others of his find. Less than a minute later, all three heavy duty, off-roading Jeeps were turned off and the occupants of the vehicles came pouring out and ran into the forest to search for their quarry.

By now the tranquilizer was really slowing Sephiroth's movements, sheer willpower was the only thing that keeping his heavy limbs moving. Aeris caught onto her companion's condition quickly and slung one of Sephiroth's arms over her shoulders and was practically dragging him onward.

"Sir I see them!" a voice somewhere behind them yelled, "but they are going to get away!"

"Well do something about it you moron!" a red-headed Turk in a disheveled uniform barked.

The Soldier that had spotted the writing on Aeris' jacket unhooked a metal canister from his belt, pulled the ring off of it and threw it at the fleeing pair.

Sephiroth barely saw the Soldier throw something at them out of the corner of his eye. Quickly he threw both of them to the ground. Somehow in his descent, Sephiroth slipped, causing him to roll out of control back down the hill Aeris had been dragging him up. He tumbled down the slope for a few yards before he came to a sudden stop, laying on his back.

The tranquilizer was really affecting him now. Sephiroth could only watch, his unresponsive body not listening to his commands, as the gas bomb went off just feet above him. The canister exploded before he had a chance to close his eyes, sending its contents straight into his face.

Sephiroth let out a strangled scream before passing out. Aeris, hearing his cry of pain was by his side in seconds. She hooked her arms under his shoulders and started dragging him away from the spreading cloud of gas.

The struggling Cetra only managed to get about ten feet before her right foot ankle collapsed under her and both of them went tumbling down the gentle slope. Their descent was halted when they rolled into a shallow ditch, a shower of leaves, branches and other debris falling on them, covering the two from sight. Distantly Aeris heard voices shouting as her mind grew foggy, before she fainted.

* * *

"Sir I've completely lost them!" the Soldier that threw the gas bomb cried.

"Of course you lost them you stupid idiot! You threw a fucking smoke bomb at them!" the frustrated red-head yelled.

The soldier looked at the furious Turk in incomprehension.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" he snapped, "go look for them!"

The Soldier scurried off, while Reno, second in command of the Turks, lit a cigarette and took a long drag from it.

"Never send a Soldier to do a Turk's work," Reno muttered as he threw down the cigarette and ground it under his heel, "better go after him to make sure that that idiot doesn't fall off a cliff or something."

He shook his head and muttered something as his partner, a bald black man came out from behind a nearby tree. The man was wearing sunglasses even though it was past midnight.

"Why did we have to be saddled with these idiots while the Bossman gets the First Class Soldiers?" Reno asked.

"Dunno," Rude replied.

"I don't even understand how that lunkhead even got as far as Second Class considering how inept he is out in the field," Reno continued, "even my granny could do better and she's been dead for fifteen years for Gaia's sake!"

"Hmm," Rude grunted.

"I mean, fuck! What was bossman thinking when he assigned us these pitiful excuses for Soldiers? We would have been better off ourselves!" Reno ranted.

"Target practice?" Rude offered with a slight grin.

"And that my bald friend, is why we get along so well," Reno chuckled as he slapped Rude on the back, "c'mon, let's go catch Shin-Ra's wayward child before Elena starts to miss my charming self."

Rude rolled his eyes behind his shades and followed after his partner as they walker deeper into the forest.


	10. Heritage part 2

Heritage part 2

* * *

_Aeris and Sephiroth were sitting in the middle of a small, grassy field, deep in the mountains, miles away from civilization. It was cool that day, a welcome change from the heat wave that had been hanging around for the past several weeks since the start of spring. _

_Other than a few wispy clouds, the sky overhead was clear, so blue that it almost made one eye's hurt. It was one of those rare late spring days where everything was so alive and the weather was perfect to go outside and enjoy nature. _

_Aeris, the previous day having felt that today was going to be an exceptionally fine day, had already planned to take the day off from work and enjoy herself. What she had not planned on was Sephiroth waking her up at 5am and dragging her off to who knows where. The only reason why she didn't kill him on the spot for waking her up at that ungodly hour was because he had came bearing a fresh cup of her favorite blend of coffee and two hot, steaming pop-tarts fresh from the toaster._

His good morning kiss didn't hurt either_, Aeris reflected as she snuggled closer to her boyfriend. _

_After a thirty minute car ride where Aeris took her time to savor her favorite sinful morning indulgence, Sephiroth pulled their small car that they had bought used (they weren't rich by any stretch of the imagination) up to a secluded, rarely visited pullout that showed a spectacular view of the eastern mountain range. _

_They had spent a silent, comfortable thirty minutes watching the sun rise and bathe the mountains and valley in soft pinks, yellows and oranges. As the last of the sunrise colors gave way to blue, Sephiroth brought her back to the car and whisked her off to another mystery location. _

He must have been planning this for quite sometime,_ Aeris had mused as the car slowly crawled further up the narrow, winding mountain road._

_An hour later, Sephiroth parked the car in a small clearing on the road's shoulder. Aeris stirred from the light nap she had drifted off into and stretched as Sephiroth was pulling something out of the car's small trunk. A delighted smile crossed Aeris' face as Sephiroth held the picnic basket up so she could see it. _

_Suddenly being pulled out of bed an hour before sunrise didn't seem to be such a horrible thing after all._

_The brunette all but leapt out of the car and eagerly followed Sephiroth up the narrow, almost overgrown path that looked like it hadn't seen any use for years. A comfortable silence settled between the two of them as they climbed ever upward. Finally, after about forty minutes of hiking, the trees suddenly parted, revealing a small mountain meadow. The wildflowers were so numerous that they formed a carpet over the entire clearing. _

_Aeris squealed in delight and hauled Sephiroth down for a rather exuberant kiss. When they finally came up for air, Sephiroth had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. With a chuckle, he threw his unsuspecting girlfriend over his shoulder and grabbed the picnic basket with his free hand as she let out an indignant shriek._

_Then with picnic basket and girlfriend safely in hand, Sephiroth waded his way through the wildflowers to a small bare patch of ground near the center of the clearing, Aeris tugging his hair and demanding to be let down the entire time. Once there, he set the picnic basket on the ground, slung Aeris off of his shoulder, stole her breath away with a long, lingering kiss and finally put her down._

_"You're lucky that you are such a good kisser or I would have sent you on a one-way trip to the hospital," Aeris groused._

_Sephiroth blew her a kiss as he pulled out a blue and red checkered blanket from the picnic basket. Aeris was tempted to hit him in the kisser._

_Aeris by nature was not petty, but as much as she loved him, there were times when she wanted to do nothing more than throttle her deliberately obnoxious boyfriend. And after throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, this certainly was one of those times where this Cetra was feeling quite vengeful. _

_Aeris saw her opportunity when her beloved boyfriend was leaning over to spread out the picnic blanket. She gracefully lifted one pale, shapely leg and planted her dainty foot right in the middle of her unsuspecting boyfriend's derriere. He let out a startled yelp and fell face-first to the ground, much to Aeris' immense satisfaction. She smiled sweetly as he pushed himself to all fours and glared at her. _

He really does look adorable glaring at me like that with a dirt smudge on his nose,_ Aeris wickedly thought._

_"You have dirt on your face," she sweetly pointed out._

_"I was well aware of that fact, darling," he wryly responded, "I suggest that we call a truce before the iced-tea gets warm."_

_Aeris crouched down and kissed Sephiroth on his dirt smudged nose, pulling a flower out of his hair as she got up._

_"You really are too adorable for your own good," Aeris stated as she finished spreading out the picnic basket._

_"You mean sexy," Sephiroth corrected with a grin._

_"That too," Aeris agreed, "but you're too dirty to pull off sexy right now."_

_"Ever the critic," Sephiroth teased as he sat down next to Aeris on the blanket._

_"Only with you honey buns," Aeris cooed batting her eyelashes at him._

_"Ugh, that's too mushy for me_,_" Sephiroth groaned, his nose wrinkling slightly in disgust._

_Aeris broke out into helpless giggles._

_"As I said, too adorable for your own good," Aeris gasped when she got over her giggle fit, "truce, if this keeps up, I'll die of laughter."_

_Sephiroth shook his head and started pulling food out of the wicker picnic basket. Aeris gasped in delight as she saw her boyfriend pull all of her favorite picnic foods. There were fresh cherries and watermelon along with iced-tea and lemonade. He had also packed several turkey and Swiss sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, red onions, pickles, avocado and honey mustard on twelve grain bread. For desert there were apple-kiwi tortes with French vanilla ice cream._

_When Aeris spotted the strawberries and peaches with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, she raised her eyebrows and asked whether they were for desert or playtime. Sephiroth replied that they were for both._

_The next hour was spent demolishing the food interspersed with friendly, idle conversation. _

_"So was there any particular reason for all this today?" Aeris idly asked as she leaned back onto the blanket. _

_"Do I have to have a reason for spoiling my girlfriend absolutely rotten?" he replied._

_"No you don't, but I know you all too well. There is most definitely a reason for this outing," Aeris answered._

_"Come with me," Sephiroth stated, getting up and holding out a hand to help Aeris up, "I want to show you something."_

_Wordlessly Aeris accepted his proffered hand and with a tug he pulled her to her feet. Sephiroth lead her back out of the meadow along the same route he carried her in and back into the woods up a small, but brush-free game trail. A few minutes later they emerged from under the trees and a breath-taking, expansive view of the mountains spread out before her. _

_"Wow," was all that Aeris could say._

_Sephiroth gently took her hand and lead her out to the edge of the cliff that the gorgeous view spread out from. He stuck a hand into one of his pants pockets. Aeris held her breath as he sunk to one knee and opened the little black velvet covered box and displayed a dazzling diamond ring to her._

_"Aeris, dearheart, love of my life and my best friend, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" Sephiroth asked, his eyes dark with a thousand different emotions swirling all about in those sea green depths. _

_"Oh Sephiroth," Aeris sighed, "Yes, a thousand times yes! I would love nothing better than to marry you!"_

_Sephiroth shot her a dazzling smile and lovingly slipped the diamond ring onto her ring finger on her left hand. The ring fit perfectly. Tears of joy ran down her face as Sephiroth hugged Aeris and kissed her senseless. _

_"I don't want to waste a moment, let's get off this mountain and run away to Costa del Sol to get married," Sephiroth announced. _

_"You want elope?" Aeris quizzically asked._

_Sephiroth nuzzled his nose in her neck and sighed "Uh-huh"._

_Aeris let out a delighted laugh and planted butterfly kisses all over her fiancée's face. _

_"Since when did you get so impulsive?" Aeris asked._

_"Ever since my darling but vexing girlfriend agreed to marry me," Sephiroth teased as he started lightly tickling her._

_"Sephiroth!" Aeris exclaimed, pushing lightly against his chest, "stop that!"_

_Her playful shove against his chest caused Sephiroth, still laughing, to take a step back. _

_And then it happened._

_Sephiroth took another step back and he placed his foot down on a weak part on the edge of the cliff. The rock crumbled under his feet and Sephiroth lost his balance. Aeris shot out a hand to grab him but she was too late, with arms spiraling, Sephiroth fell over the edge of the cliff, a look of astonishment on his face._

_Aeris screamed as she rushed to the edge of the cliff, but she slipped along the way and just as the world started tipping forward alarmingly, everything stopped._

_Sephiroth was frozen mid-air, a look of terror just starting to grow on his face, his feet above him he fell backward, his arms outstretched as if pleading for Aeris to rescue him. The rocks that his foot had dislodged hung in the air a few inches below him, the fingertips of Aeris' outstretched hand just inches from the ends of Sephiroth's silver billowing hair that flew above him. Sephiroth was only feet below the cliff's edge, but it was apparent that Aeris would not be able to grab him. By the way her body was leaning forward, she be following him within a matter of seconds once time resumed its normal course._

**Awaken the powers sleeping in your blood before it is too late, **_a thousand voices boomed overhead, _**stop denying your heritage, your birth-right, daughter of Ilfania or you will loose him and you will perish.**

**This is your only warning,**_ the voices continued, _**accept your true nature and your duty to the Council or you both shall loose everything.**

_And then with a flash, Aeris and Sephiroth reappeared on the top of the cliff and time resumed its normal flow. They watched the rocks that their clumsy actions had dislodged fall to the earth thousands of feet below in silence._

* * *

Aeris let out a scream and sat bolt upright, covered in brown leaves and twigs, the dream still fresh in her mind.

"Oh Holy, this can't be happening," Aeris spoke hyperventilating, "it doesn't mean anything, it was just a dream, it wasn't real."

"Seemed damn real to me," Sephiroth groaned as he sat up, leaves and other dead plant matter sticking out of his hair and clothing.

"What? You had that dream too?!" Aeris almost shrieked.

"Keep it down!" Sephiroth hissed rubbing his eyes, "do you want the Turks to find us?"

"Sorry," Aeris muttered.

_There was something wrong with Sephiroth's eyes_, Aeris noticed, _he keeps on rubbing them_.

"Are you alright?" Aeris asked concerned, "that gas bomb exploded right in front of you, I heard your scream before you passed out."

"Other than this massive headache that is cheerfully pounding away in my skull, the injuries I had have already healed," Sephiroth observed, still rubbing at his eyes.

"Sephiroth look at me," Aeris ordered.

His head instinctively swung around towards the source of her voice, but his glowing sea green eyes were curiously blank and unfocused as he faced her.

"Sephiroth, your eyes," Aeris gasped.

"They keep on itching and I am having a hard time seeing anything," Sephiroth commented with a frown.

"Sephiroth, can you even see me at all? The moon is not that bright, but with your mako-enhanced eyesight, you should be able to see me just fine," Aeris rambled nervously.

"I can't make out anything, everything is black," Sephiroth admitted.

"Oh Holy," Aeris faintly murmured, "Sephiroth, you're blind."

* * *

They had been traveling for hours, Aeris was carefully picking her way down as they followed the gulley downhill, leading Sephiroth by the hand to prevent him from falling or crashing into any rocks or vegetation. Dawn was a few hours off and the words that the voices thundered down upon them in his dream kept on coming back to Sephiroth.

_**Awaken the powers sleeping in your blood before it is too late. **_

The message the voices delivered had been heard by them both, but the words had been directed towards Aeris. Sephiroth remembered Aeris' scream as she was jerked awake, it was plainly evident that she had been terrified by what they had both had heard. It was rather obvious that the dream had meant to frighten her, but Sephiroth couldn't shake the feeling that the warning the voices had delivered was really a threat, one that would carry out if the voices didn't get their way.

_**This is your only warning, accept your true nature and your duty to the Council or you both shall loose everything.**_

The parting words of the voices also left Sephiroth suspicious that they weren't interested in Aeris alone, that threat had been directed at them both. Was the purpose of including him in their warning meant to induce him to start pressuring Aeris into giving into the voices' demands? Or did they have other plans for him whether or not Aeris awakened her sleeping powers?

All this speculation wasn't getting Sephiroth anywhere and was only aggravating his headache. He was cranky from having to be lead about as if he was a child or an invalid by Aeris. Sephiroth wanted something to distract him from the panic that was building up at the thought of his blindness rendering him practically helpless.

"Aeris, why did that dream freak you out so much?" Sephiroth asked.

"We don't have time to talk about it," Aeris answered avoiding the topic, "we have got to find a place to hole up before the sun rises."

"Aeris, this involves me as well," Sephiroth growled.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Aeris yelled.

"Well I do!" Sephiroth almost roared as forced Aeris to come to a halt.

"But-" Aeris tried.

"No buts, I want the truth!" Sephiroth insisted.

"Seph, this really isn't the time…" she trailed off taking a good look at the serious expression on his face.

"Just what the hell did those voices mean by accepting your heritage, your duty?" Sephiroth demanded, "I think that you have some explaining to do."

"I didn't think that you needed to know," she explained, "I didn't want to cause you unnecessary worry."

"I think that I have a right to know about something that could send both of us such a powerful, realistic dream," Sephiroth angrily stated, crossing his arms.

Aeris sighed miserably.

"I have already told you about how my parents hid me from Shin-Ra's knowledge and why they would come after me if they knew that I was a Cetra," Aeris began, "but being a Cetra isn't as much as its cracked up to be, especially with the bloodline that I descend from. As a Cetra, I can talk to the planet, the souls in the Lifestream and the spirits of the Cetra that have already gone to the Promised Land. I also have some minor healing and supportive magicks, but they are nothing like the materia that Shin-Ra is developing."

"Those are the normal abilities that all Cetra before me possessed, but there were certain bloodlines that produced individuals with extremely powerful, even uncontrollable at times, gifts in not only healing and supporting magicks, but also offensive and defensive magicks as well as physic and manipulative abilities. The Council of the Elders was created to be able to control such gifted individuals, to guide them and help keep them from causing destruction."

"At first, they did exactly what they were supposed to do, but as time wore on, some of the members of the Council grew power hungry and used the gifted Cetra from the special bloodlines to slowly expand their realm of influence. Eventually they gained control of the entire Cetra race. They would have continued to grow more powerful, but the Plague hit, reducing the population of Cetra across the planet to a few dozen individuals.

"Finally free of the Council's influence the remaining Cetra were content to settle down and live peacefully with the primitive humans that were starting to spread out of the forests near what is now Gonga. But only a few decades had passed before the Council came back and regained some of their influence over the remaining Cetra and their children."

"All of the members on the Council of Elders perished during the Plague, but somehow, they were able to take over the ruling body of the Cetra in the Promised Land and found a way to contact and regain control of the one or two individuals that had one of the special bloodlines in them. Only two of the twenty special bloodlines survived the Plague, but once the Council was able to contact the living Cetra, they ruthlessly took control of those individuals bearing the bloodlines."

"The Council was never able to regain the amount of influence they had over the planet before the Plague, but that didn't stop the members of the Council that made it to the Promised Land from hungering after the power that they had lost."

Aeris looked sounded miserable at this point, but Sephiroth refrained from comforting her until she was done explaining her special bloodline gifts and the Council of the Elders.

"Now, as the last Cetra living and as the last descendant of the bloodline that flowed through my mother, her mother, and her mother's mother, and so on, the Council is desperate to have me awaken my gifts," Aeris continued, "ever since I could talk, the Council has been demanding me to accept my bloodline, my heritage but I have no intention of ever giving in to them. I want to be able to live my life free of their influence."

Aeris took a moment to catch her breath.

"They must fear that I'm going to get myself killed since I am on the run with you. That is probably why they sent us that dream," Aeris concluded.

"That is a lot to take in," Sephiroth murmured, "but why did they, or even better, how were they able to send me the dream as well?"

"I remember that you told me that you don't know who your parents were," Aeris recalled, "perhaps one of them had a trace of Cetra blood in them and, as much as I hate to suggest it, Hojo's experiments on you may have enhanced what little Cetra blood you have."

"Or perhaps Hojo inserted as much Cetra DNA into my genetic make up as he could get his hands on," Sephiroth countered.

"That is possible as well," Aeris muttered, "but I don't like the implications of what the Council of Elders told us in the dream might mean for you."

"Such as?" Sephiroth prompted.

"Such as the fact that if I am forced to awaken the dormant powers in my blood, the Council would gain great influence over my actions," Aeris stated, "accepting my heritage would in effect make me a slave to the Council of Elders. I could be a danger to any around me if they gain any measure of control over my powers. They might also try to control you using my powers."

"Just what kind of powers are we talking about here?" Sephiroth cut in, "thanks to Hojo's treatments, I am ten times as strong, agile, and fast as a normal human male. My stamina and reflexes are also greatly enhanced as well as my other senses. I can also heal from near-fatal wounds in little under a week."

"Incredible healing powers for one, for both others and myself," Aeris started listing after Sephiroth had finished, "strong defensive and supporting magicks and a moderate ability for offensive magicks. No types of physic abilities or powers to subvert another's will that I know of, thank Gaia."

A silence stretched between the two of them as Sephiroth absorbed all the information that Aeris had just told him.

"If I possess any sort of magical abilities, I have yet to discover them," Sephiroth murmured, "I was created to be a weapon, a warrior, not a magician or a sorcerer."

"Then I guess we compliment each other nicely," Aeris weakly joked.

"In more ways than one," Sephiroth agreed.

Their stomachs took the opportunity to remind Sephiroth and Aeris that they hadn't eaten since they left the hotel. Aeris looked around for the backpack full of their supplies and sighed. It was no where to be seen.

"All I have is two smashed energy bars in my pocket," Aeris spoke up, taking them out and handing one to her boyfriend.

"It will have to do," Sephiroth replied as he took the energy bar that she gave to him, "we'll have to get going as soon as we finish eating."

"It was you who made us stop in the first place," Aeris tartly reminded him.

Sephiroth chose to ignore her.

* * *

Somehow, not only did they manage to find a good hiding place before dawn that first evening, but they successfully managed to avoid the Turks and any other people from Shin-Ra sent to find Sephiroth for several days afterwards. Halfway through the second night, they stumbled upon a weatherworn cabin that belonged to an old lady who rarely got any company this deep in the wilderness where she lived.

Living out there all alone for forty some years must have honed the woman's sixth sense for she met Aeris and Sephiroth in the woods and hustled them into her home just as Aeris spotted the distant light coming form the lantern in the old woman's cabin. Aeris' protests were quickly overruled by the old woman's no-nonsense air and welcoming attitude.

They both ate a hearty, replenishing meal of deer and wild vegetable stew and chilled apple cider before their hostess literally pushed the both of them into her bathroom ordering them to get a bath to remove the stink that clung to Aeris and Sephiroth. The water that filled the old-fashioned ceramic tub that rested on clawed brass feet was heated by the woman's cast-iron stove and the fire in her fireplace. After the relaxing bath, they both tumbled onto an ancient feather down mattress in the old lady's rarely used guestroom and promptly fell asleep.

They awoke the next day about an hour before dusk. They ate an early supper with the old woman before leaving with a sturdy, well-used leather backpack full of food, medical supplies, a thin but warm wool blanket and a small plastic tarp. The backpack was bulging by the time the old woman finished stuffing supplies into it. This unexpected gesture of generosity was met with strong protest from Aeris, but like the previous night when the old woman had taken them into her home, the Cetra's protests were quickly cut off.

"Look, it doesn't take an idiot to tell that you two are neck deep in trouble," the old woman snapped, "you and your man are good, decent folk and there ain't many of your kind in the younger generation nowadays. I've been in this cabin that my late husband built himself for forty-seven years. I've survived countless blizzards, two famines, three forest fires and raising five wild, trouble-making children, I won't perish from helping the two of you."

"But there is nothing that we can possibly offer in return," Aeris objected.

"Humor this old woman," she insisted.

Aeris sighed, she knew when she was beat.

"We can not thank you enough for your help," Sephiroth spoke as he shouldered the heavy backpack.

"Just make sure that you get yourselves out of this mess in one piece," the old woman groused, "that's all the thanks I need."

With those words, the old lady turned around and went back into her cabin, closing the heavy wood door behind her. Aeris and Sephiroth took that as their cue to head off and get as far away from the old woman's cabin so the Turks wouldn't find and question her about the fugitives' whereabouts.

* * *

The next two weeks was spent in a desperate race for survival and from the Turks and the reach of Shin-Ra. Aeris was able to make the food that the old lady gave them last eleven days, but eventually they had to resort to whatever Aeris could scrounge up as they continued to flee from their pursuers.

They lived in a constant state of stressful hyper-awareness and often lost their patience at the slightest mishap, but a bond of comradeship was growing between the two and they came to trust the what other's instincts and senses told them unwaveringly.

If they survived through this, their relationship would be able to survive anything. Neither of them was given the chance to be able to enjoy each other's company or be romantic in any sense of the word, their thoughts were focused solely on finding the next meal, water source or hiding spot.

The slight weight that Sephiroth had managed to put on when he was living with Aeris melted away and he now looked as lean as the first time she saw him. Aeris, never being a fitness freak, had quickly lost the slight rounded look that she had to her face and limbs, and was the most tan she had been in her life. Her hair once smooth and lustrous was now was now dirty and the ends were looking quite ratty. Of course Sephiroth never knew about the changes in Aeris' physique, since his vision had not recovered at all since the gas bomb had blinded him.

Their good luck had held up through now, but that was about to change, for Shin-Ra's forces lead by the Turks was closing in on them and they had no clue. At the rate that things were going, their desperate flight from Shin-Ra would end in tragedy.

* * *

The second ambush was planned more carefully than the first one that had ultimately ended in a gas bomb explosion that had blinded Sephiroth. By the time that the trap was sprung on them, Aeris and Sephiroth were in far too deep to get out. The only warning they got that they were surrounded by Shin-Ra's forces was the low hiss coming from something that had been thrown at them.

Aeris saw the metal canister hurtling at them, slipped on the wet leaf litter below her feet and fell hard on her back. She barely had time to close her eyes and cross her arms over her face before the flash bomb went off. Even with her eyes closed and her arms protecting her face, she could see the explosion of light behind her eyelids that the flash bomb let off. The light of the flash bomb didn't affect Sephiroth, but the loud bang that it let off caused him to jerk into a defensive fighting stance.

After about a minute, Aeris groaned and climbed to her feet, not able to make out her surroundings since the flash bomb had ruined her night vision. She was barely able to make out the blurry smudges of the Shin-Ra forces against the bright moonlight charging at them.

The Cetra didn't even think, she grabbed her companion's hand, jerked him out of his battle stance and took off running, dragging him behind her. Rocks and sticks caught at their feet as they ran away, barely dodging the dark pillars that were trees as they barreled on. Miraculously, after the first time, neither of them tripped or fell after the first time that had sent Aeris crashing to the forest floor.

More flash bombs as well as smoke bombs and regular grenades exploded behind them at a regular basis, the Shin-Ra forces throwing them to slow the fugitives' flight as they closed in on them. The noise was deafening, but Aeris gritted her teeth and plowed on, Sephiroth stumbling and cursing behind her.

By now Aeris had recovered her night vision sufficiently to avoid low hanging branches and trees with not much trouble. Unfortunately the next thing she saw was a half dozen Shin-Ra Soldiers jump out from behind the trees, cutting off their escape route. Whirling about, Aeris started running toward the first opening in the loose circle of MPs and Soldiers that was closing in on them, dragging Sephiroth behind her.

It never occurred to her that that was the Soldiers' intent all along. If Sephiroth had his sight, he would have seen that they were being chased towards a specific location and would have been able to evade the trap. But he had been blinded in their previous encounter with Shin-Ra and Aeris who knew nothing about battle or fighting tactics had no idea what she was leading them into.

Aeris, Sephiroth following her lead, scrambled up the gentle leaf strewn incline, climbed over the pile of moss-covered boulders at the top of the hill, plunged down the other side and followed the dry, rocky streambed after that. The Shin-Ra forces ran after them, the circle formation they had been in reforming into a half-oval to make sure that their quarry continued on in their present direction.

Their feet kept on banging into the rocks that lined the dry streambed as Sephiroth and Aeris kept running downstream. They made no pretense about reducing the noise of their footfalls, it just wasted time and energy that was better spent in trying to outrun the Shin-Ra hunting party.

Eventually the streambed joined a waterway, and they continued running down that, their feet splashing in the thin trickle of water that flowed down the middle of the waterway. The further downstream they ran, the more tributaries joined the stream and the water flowing faster and deeper as they went. The spruce and ponderosa pine trees gave way to white birch and maple as they steadily dropped in elevation.

Aeris was almost dead on her feet and even Sephiroth was starting to breathe harshly, but they dare not stop lest the Soldiers catch up with them. The grey light of false dawn was growing in the sky when the stray though that they were being lead into a trap sluggishly crossed Aeris' exhausted mind. By then it was too late to try and alter their course since the Soldiers were less than fifty feet on either side of them up ahead and any attempt to change direction would put them within reach of their pursuers.

When Aeris saw the line of Soldiers and Mps a half-mile in front of them, forming a barricade across the stream, Aeris knew that she had to do something fast. She started chanting softly and half a minute later a dim red glow surrounded both Aeris and Sephiroth and their speed doubled. To her perception, the world around them slowed, the movements of the MPs as they readied their guns moving at a snail's speed. To the Shin-Ra forces, it appeared as if Aeris and Sephiroth became a black, sliver and brown streak that moved faster than physically possible.

"What the fuck?!" one of the Soldiers exclaimed.

"Idiot, what the hell did they teach you in training? That's a high power Haste spell that one of them cast!" the group leader shouted at the other Soldier, "What the hell are you waiting for, the grass to grow? They're getting away! Open Fire!"

By now Aeris and Sephiroth had gotten a thirty yard lead on the Soldiers and MPs that had been flanking them fifty feet away. Aeris spotted an opening in the vegetation that lined the stream, veered off the left sharply and dashed through it, leaping over the upraised roots of a cottonwood as Aeris yelled "Jump" so that Sephiroth wouldn't tangle his feet in the roots.

Pain exploded in her shoulder as the MPs opened fire, splaying bullets everywhere from their machine guns. The pain caused her concentration on maintaining the Haste spell to falter, the world around them resumed its normal speed as the spell fell apart. Another bullet struck her, this time in her lower abdomen, her blood splattering on the damp leaves as the bullet ripped through her stomach.

Time seemed to slow as Aeris gasped, covered the hole in her stomach with her injured arm and collapsed to the ground.

"Aeris!" Sephiroth screamed, the scent of her blood hitting him as Aeris' fall wrenched her hand out of his.

An overzealous MP caught in the heat of the moment threw a grenade at the fleeing fugitives. It exploded thirty feet away from them. Sephiroth took the brunt of the blast, the explosion sending him flying though the air until he hit an ancient, huge and gnarled oak tree and crumpled to the ground. The force of the explosion caused Aeris to roll fifteen feet away. She finally came to a stop on her left side next to a thorny bush. One arm was pinned under her body, the other lay on her right side and was bent at an unnatural angle.

Aeris struggled to remain conscious as the blood continued to flow out of her wounds. Someone approached the fallen Cetra, the dead leaves crunching under the person's feet.

"Such a pity that we have to off the broad, she's quite a looker," a familiar voice to Sephiroth drawled.

"No! Damn you Reno, don't you dare kill Aeris you bastard! She poses no threat to Shin-Ra" Sephiroth yelled.

"She knows of your existence and of your connection to Shin-Ra, SV01," Reno said as he cocked his gun, "that fact is enough to make sure that she is silenced."

"Let her go and I'll go back peacefully!" Sephiroth pleaded.

"You are in no condition to bargain SV01, I'd wager that most of your ribs are broken along with your left leg, you aren't going anywhere until I silence the witness," Reno coolly replied as her pointed the gun at Aeris.

All this was distantly heard by Aeris as thoughts whirled around her fading mind.

_It doesn't matter if he shoots me or not, I'm already dying_, Aeris thought, _there is nothing that can save us now, the dream that the Council sent was right, I'm going to loose him and then I will die, all alone, left to rot where I lay. _

A jolt went through her body as she struggled to breathe. The numbness was spreading from the wounds in her shoulder and stomach. At this rate, she would be dead before the Turk shot her.

_Sephiroth, I'm so sorry,_ Aeris thought as her body started to shut down, _I've failed you… I can do nothing, my magic is useless. Looks like Shin-Ra will win after all…_

"Aeris! Get up, move do something!" Sephiroth cried out, "just don't sit there and let him murder you!"

The red-headed Turk slowly stepped next to Aeris and put the cold muzzle of his handgun against the back of her head.

"No hard feelings, hey? I'm just doing my job," Reno said as he started to pull the trigger.

"Aeris, accept your heritage!" Sephiroth screamed.

The next two events happen simultaneously.

Reno pulled the trigger, causing the bullet to explode from his gun with a supernaturally loud bang.

Sephiroth's desperate words triggered a sub-conscious reaction in her dim mind, the urgency of his command causing her to reach for the softly glowing line in her heart and connect it to her soul. The moment the line melded into her soul, power flooded her body, her blood almost boiling as the gifts of her bloodline awakened and consumed her mind in a white-hot light. Aeris' body jerked wildly and her mouth opened in a silent scream. The female Cetra's aura glowed around her brightly, signifying the completion of the awakening of the magic of her heritage.

The seizure that seized Aeris' body caused her head to jerk to the side, the bullet missing her head by millimeters.

"What the Holy fuck?!!!" Reno exclaimed as Aeris wounds closed up in a matter of seconds.

Aeris eyes snapped open, emerald sparks of light escaping from her brightly glowing eyes, a sign of the amount of magic coursing through her at the moment.

"Pitiful human, you dare to threaten the Heir to the bloodline of Izaka!" a low, powerful voice yelled, the earth shaking with every word that escaped the possessed Cetra's lips, "you shall perish for your imputence!"

"No!" Aeris cried in her own voice as she battled to regain control of her body, "I will not kill, not to satisfy the whims of the Council!"

Soft pale green wisps of energy rose up from the ground and embraced Aeris as she staggered about, giving her strength to fight off the power of the Council that was trying to control her. The planet itself was protecting its' last Heir from the ones that betrayed it a thousand years ago.

Slowly, bit by bit, Aeris and the Planet pushed the presence of the Council out of her body and her mind. The awakened Cetra visibly relaxed when she was fully in control of her body and her magic once again and the wisps of Lifestream that the planet had embraced Aeris with sunk back into the ground.

The magic was still singing in her veins, so sweet and enticing. The power whispered, begged to be used and Aeris was almost helpless to resist its call. Her glowing aura, if anything, grew brighter as the magic kept on building up in her body. Two miniature green fires burned in her eye sockets, the energy totally blocking her eyes from sight.

_I must use this magic before it totally consumes me,_ Aeris frantically thought, casting about for some outlet on which to spend the energy generated by awakening her special bloodline gifts that was running through her body like lightning.

Her eyes landed upon her blind and injured boyfriend and before the thought even crossed her mind, she had vanished from her spot and reappeared next to Sephiroth. She laid a single finger upon his brow and the energy poured out of her, her finger acting like a conduit for the healing magic being transferred from Aeris to Sephiroth.

The process of his healing was very vivid. Aeris could hear each of Sephiroth's broken bones snap back into its proper place, could see them shifting beneath his skin. Through the connection that her light touch provided, she could feel the echoes of pain that the forced healing caused Sephiroth. But none of that mattered, Aeris had to dispel enough of the magic that her awakening of her heritage generated so that she won't burn out.

Sephiroth was gasping and covered in sweat by the time Aeris finally withdrew her light touch. Opening his eyes that had been tightly clenched closed when Aeris had been healing him, the forest around them was revealed in sharp clarity. Sephiroth was astounded, even his own impressive healing abilities had not been able to cure his blindness, but Aeris' impossibly powerful healing magic had.

Healing Sephiroth had been a good start, but the amount of magical energy in her body was still too high and unstable. She had already used up her only idea to dispel all the energy in her body, but it still wasn't enough. The sound of the red-headed Turk putting a new sleeve of bullets into his handgun not only caught the attention of her mind, but her magic as well. Both her mind and her magic instinctively reacted in unison as Reno pointed his gun at her and started firing rapidly.

A glowing yellow shield sprung up and enclosed Aeris and Sephiroth, the bullets from the Turk's gun bouncing off harmlessly. Seeing the effect the bullets had on Aeris' shield, Reno lowered his gun and scowled, opting to conserve his bullets.

"How the hell is the chick doing it? Even the Materia that the weapons department is developing can't produce spells of that strength," Reno grumbled irritated.

"More firepower," Rude suggested as he finally caught off with his partner.

"Oy, you heard the man, throw everything you got at the barrier!" Reno bellowed at the Soldiers and MPs around them.

Sounds of gunfire and exploding grenades filled the forest as the Turks, Soldiers and MPs unloaded all their weapons to try and overpower Aeris' Shield spell. The barrage lasted a good five minutes and the sight when the dust finally cleared left many with their mouth's hanging open and Reno cursing fluently. The red-headed Turk had expected to see the bullet ridden bodies of Aeris and Sephiroth or even to see barrier still standing. He had not expected to see bare ground where Hojo's escaped lab specimen and his obviously less then human girlfriend had been occupying.

"Fuck, they pulled a vanishing act," Reno muttered as he jerked a cigarette out of his jacket and lit it up, "Bossman won't be happy to hear about this."

Rude grunted noncommittally.

"What a big help you are," Reno griped as he took a long drag from his cigarette and pulled out his PHS to dial up Tseng, leader of the Turks.

* * *

Thousands of images swam by them. Sephiroth and Aeris floated sea of rainbow colored mist, a warm and welcoming feeling surrounded the two. Millions of whispering voices murmured around them, creating an oddly beautiful melody. It took a moment for Aeris to realize it, but they were in the heart of the planet's soul.

"Where are we?" Sephiroth asked, his voice echoing around them, eventually blending into the background melody of voices.

"In the place where everything begins and comes back to be reborn," Aeris mysteriously replied, "we are in the presence of the Gaia herself, the planet must have brought us here when I tried transporting us through the Lifestream to a safe place."

_Rest beloved children,_ a rich, vibrant and powerful voice spoke in a soothing tone, _rest and recover from your tiring ordeal. None shall harm you here, sleep and dream peacefully._

"Gaia?" Aeris sleepily asked, "I don't understand, why are we here?"

_You both have been through much,_ the planet replied, _the awakening of your heritage was just the start of your long journey. There is much to be done and so much you and your mate have to learn before you will finally find the place you can call home._

"Mate?" Sephiroth echoed.

_Wild Mountain Rose, has chosen you, One Winged Angel, as her mate, her lover and father of her children,_ the planet answered, _the bond between you two has already been completed. Two souls linked for eternity, never to desire or have romantic love for someone else other than their mate. Belonging only to each other, the soul bond even surpasses death. Such is the nature of Cetran mates. _

"So my suspicions were true," Aeris murmured as the palnet's lullaby started working its magic on her.

_Yes, Wild Mountain Rose, your mate does indeed have traces of Cetra blood in his veins from five generations back,_ the planet informed Aeris, _the one who plays god, tampering with what he has no right, found the One Winged Angel's recessive Cetran DNA and enhanced it while still in his mother's womb. Due to his treatments, your mate is roughly one third Cetra, enough to be able to complete the soul bond of Cetra mates._

"I have a mother?!" Sephiroth asked shocked, "I had always though that I had no parents, that Hojo had created me in a test tube."

_Of course you have parents silly child!_ the planet scolded Sephiroth,_ all living things must come from individuals of their same kind. The meddling one has not found a way to create life without using the natural processes of reproduction. _

Sephiroth was stunned by this revelation.

"Please, tell me who my parents are," he begged, "I feel so incomplete not knowing."

_That is something you must find out for yourself,_ the planet replied, _I have told you as much as I can. The rest of your past you have to find on your own. Even that is just a small part of what the two of you must learn to complete your destiny. I can do no more for you. Now sleep, sleep and dream to prepare for what lies ahead. _

"But-" Sephiroth tried.

"Let it go," Aeris interrupted him, "the planet is right, and I am so weary. Rest and recover beloved, surely we deserve at least that."

And then she was asleep, cradled by the planet's warm energies and soothing lullaby. Sephiroth too felt the bone-deep exhaustion of the past several weeks and drifted off not long after.

* * *

For how long they slept neither would ever really know. They woke up in the wildflower covered meadow from their dream refreshed and ready to face the world.

Their future would be filled with danger and deadly struggles. They would not only have to continue to evade the efforts of Shin-Ra to capture them but the manipulations of the Council of Elders as well. They would suffer and experience great losses, but in the end, Aeris and Sephiroth would help create a peaceful world along with others who saw the planet's plight and fought to protect it.

They would meet and fight by the side of dear friends and encounter bitter rivals and deadly enemies that would stop at nothing to either use Sephiroth and Aeris to their own ends or to see them totally destroyed. But from the ashes of the final battle shall emerge a new world where Aeris and Sephiroth can live in peace, without fear of being hunted or hated for what they are. A place that they can raise a family in love and safety, a place to call home.

* * *

Gah! I finally finished this monstrously long one-shot. Forty-four pages, I can hardly believe it. Heritage is by far the longest single installment of fan fiction I have ever written. The bloody thing was too big to be able to be uploaded so I had to split in into tow pieces.

This probably wasn't what you were expecting at all Silvara when you gave me the challenge to do a story with a blind Sephiroth and a dying Aeris that had a happy ending.

I meant to finish this piece a week ago, but I could not find the motivation to do so. Hope that this was worth the wait.

Reviews are the food of fan fiction authors, without them our stories will starve, so please leave a review and tell me your thoughts about Heritage.


	11. Twilight

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7

Note: Lemmony territory ahead, so if you are underage, change course and head into safer waters.

* * *

Drabble 10- Twilight

It was time. After watching her for years into blossom into a vibrant, lovely young woman from the skinny girl-child that she was when he first saw her, she finally was ready for him. Finally ready to be his, his mate, his bride, his love and his joy. He will come for her tonight as she walks home from the corner that she stands at everyday, selling her flowers, for as long as he can remember.

He will come at her from nowhere and catch her off guard. Sweeping her off her feet, he spirit her away into the shadows, never again to be seen by the wretched, filthy humans that surround her every day.

Now he will have this flower all to himself and she will forever stay by his side, inaccessible to the inhabitants of this faded, dreary city that they live in. Her sweet voice, her enchanting eyes, her strange powers, her goddess-like beauty, her slim, willowy body and most importantly her love will belong to him and only him. She will never want for anything. He will be at her back and call and in return, he will own everything that she is. Her heart and soul will be his. His will be hers.

Together they will create a glorious dynasty in the shadows that he inhabits, ruling the shadow world of this city and by extension the city itself. They shall be the King and Queen of the shadows and the night.

He already rules the shadows, all he needs now is his love, his bride, his Queen to be complete.

He impatiently waits for the burning, uncaring sun to sink in the sky and surrender to sweet night.

Then he will strike.

He will have her and nothing will stop him.

* * *

She can feel a quickening in the air, as if the city is holding its breath in anticipation of something great, terrible and powerful coming to a head. It's the calm before the storm. The events that have been building up between her and her Obsession in the shadows will cumulate as the sun sets, she can feel it in her bones.

Her power is rising inside of her, preparing her for the battle for dominance between her and her Obsession. Tonight he will finally come out of the shadows to confront her and she will step out of the light she lives in to meet him at the place where day and night blend, in the Land of Twilight.

There they meet and the earth and the heavens will shake as they confront each other after all these years of playing cat and mouse with each other. He thinks that he has the advantage, that he will take her into his realm of darkness and shadows. But he doesn't know that she has been aware of him watching her, following her, protecting her for all this time.

She knows that he was not born Changed like she was, but was artificially Changed by others as a child. And that will work to her advantage.

She knows not of the dark details of his past nor does she want to. His past doesn't matter to her, being able to claim her Obsession all that matters.

Tonight as day gives way to night, they shall meet and engage in a beautiful dance that has no beginning or end. It is the battle between light and dark, male and female, innocence and lust, raw talent and long experience. This dance has existed for millennia, since the dawn of creation and it will continue until the final dusk when all will sink back into the chaotic void of nothing and everything where creation will once again begin anew.

Their confrontation tonight will be just a part of the continuation of this endless, immortal dance. Their own personal part will end when one finally gives up in sweet surrender.

She can hardly wait until he comes put of the shadows to meet her in the place where both light and dark coexist, where nothing reigns supreme. His ignorance will be his downfall.

Nothing can stop her from claiming her Obsession, nothing.

* * *

The sun is low in the sky, the inhabitants of the city scurry to their homes, instinctively knowing that nothing good or decent is up after dark. Their excitement is growing by the minute. The people who pass her by on the sidewalk at her usual corner can feel it. The palatable energy growing between the two Changed caused passerbys to shudder and hurry on to their homes.

There will be no dreams of life through another's eyes tonight for her, for tonight she will not dream nor will she sleep.

She sighs and gathers her things.

He avidly watches her from the shadows of the nearby alley. Their confrontation is just minutes away but time suddenly slows to a crawl.

An anticipatory smirk crosses her face, but he can't see it since her back is to him, just like she wants. It would not do at all to give away the game before their dance starts, there would be no fun in that.

After what seems like an eternity to him, she finally starts heading for home. He has memorized her route by heart. He knows the perfect place to strike.

Her long, golden brown braid bumps against her back as she walks. Oh how he can't wait till he can actually run his fingers through that glorious mass.

_Right on schedule,_ she thinks as she feels him uncurl form his perch on a fire escape twenty feet overhead.

She walks the same path home that passes the downtown area, the upper-class housing district and the city park, finally venturing into the slums that lay on the outskirts of the city. It is the same route that she has followed for seven years.

He follows after her silently on the rooftops overhead.

Tonight she makes a detour as she passes next to the city dump. He knows where she is going, he has seen and followed her there dozens of times.

He frowns, he wasn't expecting her to visit the old run-down church today, this side-trip will tremendously change his plans for their meeting and he doesn't like that.

_He is still following me,_ she silently observed, _just like I predicted he would. Both of us have been waiting for this night for too long to postpone it till later._

Her footsteps are unhurried as she strolls down the well-worn path towards her destination. She can feel his frustration and revels in it, for years she played the game exactly how he wanted, acted the way he expected her to act, done the things he expected her to do. She is tired of doing things his way, it is time for her to take the lead in this dance. His frustration about her detour is just the beginning, he has no idea what she has in store for him.

Finally the old church comes into view. The sun just barely touches the western horizon as she enters. She takes her time as she walks past the broken benches and stops in the middle of the patch of flowers that grows under the big hole in the roof.

Then she waits. A minute passes followed by another. A quarter of the red-gold sun has sunk below the western horizon. Her words shatter the silence in the church, the sensation akin to glass breaking.

"I know you're there. You might as well come out of the shadows and show yourself."

Silently, like an owl swooping down on its prey, he drops down from the rafters where he had been perched, watching her. He lands on the bed of flowers, his glorious silver hair falling around him like a waterfall as his feet settle on the ground with barely a whisper.

He crosses the few feet between them, looking like a wolf silently stalking a deer.

His sea-green, cat-slitted eyes bore into her emerald orbs, burning with frustration and barely contained desire. Her eyes sparkle with amusement and anticipation as she stares boldly back.

"How did you know?" he asks straightforwardly.

"I was hardly as ignorant of your presence for all these years as you might have thought," she answers amused, "even the least sensitive human could feel your aura warding off any who would dare try and take away your Obsession."

"An interesting term you used," he remarks, "your Obsession."

"Hmmm, yes," she muses, "I am your Obsession. But you are my Obsession as well."

Silence stretches between the two of them. The contrast between the two Changed beings is dramatic. She is spring, fertile yet innocent, cloaked in wisdom and mystery. He is a hunter, deadly and beautiful, his thoughts and emotions hidden from the world behind a wall of shadow. There is something wholly alien about them, both burn with a fire that is wild and primal, with the desire to possess and consume the other.

She stretches out a hand towards him.

"Come my Obsession, come with me to a place where neither day nor night rules, a place where time has no meaning," her hypnotic words wash over him, "come, come dance with me where light and dark coexist, a primal place of power that has existed since the dawn of time."

Her voice is so enthralling, so seductive, like the song of the ocean. Before he knows it he places his hand in her outstretched one.

"Yes, my Obsession. Our arena lies not in the shadowed alleyways or in the open parks. We go to the Land of Twilight, where night and day bleed into each other, a place that neither the sun nor the moon dare show their faces."

The last bit of the molten red sun slowly disappears below the western horizon. The old, abandoned church they are in fades away, as does the grey, dreary city that surrounds it.

They reappear in an empty plain surrounded by mountains. To the east, the sky above the mountains glows with the soft pinks, yellows and oranges of sunrise. To the west, the vibrant reds, purples and oranges of sunset dominate the sky. Dawn rules the east, dusk the west. The middle of the sky is the deep, midnight purple-blue that exists just after sunset and before false-dawn. The stars, cold and distant, as eternal as time itself, are strewn overhead in a rich, mesmerizing mosaic.

This was a place where one can go beyond their earthly limitations. It allows a being's true power to shine without any barriers except the limits of one's mental, spiritual and magical capabilities. The Land of Twilight exists outside time, matter and space. Anything is possible here, if one's will and imagination are powerful enough. The Land of Twilight is the cradle of creation, the home of change, and the resting place of destruction.

It is an awesome, beautiful and terrifying place, yet they can't help but feel a sense of rightness and belonging.

He was shocked, not in even his wildest dreams could he ever imagine a place like this. His carefully laid plans were scattered to the winds and he had been thrust into a situation where the rules of the game, the movements of the dance, were alien and unknown to him.

This suited her just fine, she would use every advantage she had against him. There was so much he was ignorant about. It was she, wise and innocent, _too innocent in her opinion_, who knew had all the knowledge of the Changed and thus it would be she who would outlast him in the eternal dance.

"Let us engage in battle to claim our Obsession, to become part of the eternal dance that flows through everything."

Her words drifted across the endless plains surrounded by unreachable mountains. Then she struck, taking him totally by surprise. But his astonishment didn't last for long, for it was in his nature as a predator, a killer, to always fight back and accept any and all challenges to him.

Soon they were engaged in a glorious, earth-shaking battle. She had a counter for every move he made, whether physical, magical or mental. He attacked her ruthlessly and she fought back just as ferociously, neither letting the other land a hit on them.

They were evenly matched, for a time. She had powers and moves that he never knew even existed. His arsenal of techniques and powers impressed her, it was larger than she had given him credit for. But that fact only delighted her, increasing the enjoyment and satisfaction she got from dancing with and fighting against him.

He quickly learned not to reuse any attack against her that he had previously done. The first time he tried it, she sent a strong counter-attack at him that forced him to the defensive position. One time was all that he needed to learn that lesson, but the damage had already been done, it was quite sometime before he finally regained equal footing against her. But by then their fight was already halfway over, though he didn't know it.

Forces, both seen and unseen, whipped around in the air above them, flowed through the ground at their feet, and resonated in their bones, their hearts beating as one. Everything around them hummed with raw power, and still they battled, their dance continuing without pause.

Their physical forms blurred, their speed and the energy flaring out from their bodies making their movements hard to see. Her aura contained all the colors of the rainbow, both the visible ones and the ones that existed outside the range of human sight. It whipped around her yet also flowed, like air and water combined. The colors of her aura were tinted with silver, yet if one looked closely, they would see that the colors were translucent, were not solid in any sense of the word.

His aura was a dark counterpart to hers. His energies also contained all the colors of existence yet they had a dark, a black undertone to them, and were less see-through than hers. Instead of flowing, his aura rippled, and instead of whipping it flared. If she was air and water, then he was fire and shadow. Perfect counterbalances to each other, and when they finally came together the stars would shake in the heavens.

By the Eternal One, their dance was glorious. It was everything she had anticipated and more. He flowed like liquid silver across the plains that they danced on. She wished that their dance would never end and yet was impatient to be able to claim her prize, her Obsession at long last. Both were caught so up in the fight, that neither one noticed the stars start to whirl around in the twilight sky above them. Their dance was reaching its crescendo, the world-shaking climax drawing ever closer.

And then it happened. He was feeling the fatigue from their battle start to catch up with him. He knew that if he didn't put everything he had left into his next move, it would be over.

Sweat drenched his body, and his limbs were shaking with exhaustion. He could feel a strange, tingling energy rapidly build up in his core. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. He glanced over at her.

Oh heavens she was magnificent! The sweat on her body caused her to glow with a golden radiance. She looked like some pagan god of war, reveling in the pure exhilaration of battle. Despite the sweat soaking her form, her moves were as powerful and graceful as they had been from the start. She was still going strong while he was fading fast.

Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that she was this powerful. He had always sensed the power that lay dormant within her, but it never occurred to him that she could possibly be stronger than him. Now his cockiness, his arrogance had caused him to seriously underestimate her and he was paying for his folly now.

Finally, he could contain it no more. With a scream he released the blazing energy from his body, the feeling both reliving and painful at once. Two words escaped his lips, the ragged, horse voice that shouted them hardly recognizable as his own.

"Dark Star!"

An enormous ball of black and dark crimson energy flew from his body towards the golden goddess. It looked like nothing more than a meteor made up entirely of molten lava.

"So this is it," she murmured, "the last move in our dance that will determine everything."

She glanced at the dark flare energy flying at her and smirked. With a graceful flick of her arm, exactly like a lady tossing a handkerchief at her champion, she summoned her own attack. Blindingly white streamers of energy flew out from her, winding and spiraling around each other like ribbons caught up in a strong wind. With a sigh she pronounced the name of her attack.

"White Infinity."

The attacks of darkness and light raced towards each other, arcing up in the sky above them. They met in a silent explosion, the force of the collision too strong to be heard within the sound range any living creature. The shock caused their bones vibrate, shaking every level of existence.

Both were flung backwards as the opposing energies exploded, finally canceling each other out. And then stillness descended upon the Land of Twilight. No sound was made except for the dust slowly settling on the ground.

He was on his back, breathing raggedly. The Changed who had lived in the shadows was absolutely spent and could barely move. He could only hope that his opponent, his love, his Obsession was in a similar state. For now that the battle had ended, he was clueless to how things would proceed, he had never expected to be defeated by a mere slip of a woman, let alone be engaged in a battle, glorious as it was, with her in the first place.

Then, almost undetectable at first, footsteps approached him. He felt his heart sink and fear crawl up his spine. As if moved by an invisible wind, the lingering dust in the air parted and a familiar pair of slim legs encased in slightly oversized boots walked toward him. Gone was her golden radiance that she had glowed with during the battle.

Her face was still slightly flushed from her exertions, but it was fading, being replaced with lines of exhaustion. Her movements were sedate, as if she was conserving energy and she was placing more weight on her right leg than her left. Despite her hard breathing and very slight limp, her steps were confidant and still managed to convey grace and power.

She heard the sharp intake of breath that he took, could feel the apprehension rolling off him in waves.

"You should have no reason to fear me, my Obsession," she spoke in a soothing voice, "our part in the eternal dance is complete and now we both will reap the rewards of our dance."

Her voice, soft and kind, reflected the tender feelings of affection and, (dare he think it?) love that shone in her eyes. Without knowing he went limp, not having enough energy to keep his body rigid any longer.

"What are you going to do with me?" he uneasily whispered.

"Why claim my Obsession of course!" she gaily laughed, "that was the point of our dance all along."

She bent down and gently wiped the sweat-soaked hair away from his face.

"You were magnificent my love," she murmured, running a finger along his lips that slightly parted at her touch, "you gave me more of a challenge that I had predicted. But now the battle is over, our dance is ended and it is time to claim you, my Obsession."

Her words were like velvet rippling across his skin and unconsciously he sighed, moving closer to her. She was no threat to him he could sense, but that didn't mean that her intentions towards him were pure, far from it actually.

"Now to place my seal upon my Obsession," she playfully murmured as her lips captured his.

Her kiss was soft but unyielding, she was the victor and he would submit to her for he had no choice. Their nature as Changed and their mutual Obsession would make sure of that. Already she could feel the last of his resistance crumble away under her gentle yet possessive kiss. She would bind him to her, establish her power over him, not with chains of iron, but with gossamer threads of spider silk.

She was a protector, a nurturer and a healer, not a conqueror or a killer that revels in pain, violence and destruction. To use force to make her claim on her Obsession was against her nature. No, she would seduce him with the lightest of touches, torture him with gentleness, leave him panting and yearning to be consumed by her with love, tenderness, and trust.

He whimpered as she pulled away from him. The sudden loss of her warmth and light was so sudden that it hurt. With a flick of a finger, she caused their dirty and tattered clothing to vanish, a coy smile on her lips. Standing before him naked like a pagan goddess, his body shivered with desire, too drained to do anything but worship her with his eyes. Her smile turned into a self-satisfied smirk as she watched him drink in her form and she took the opportunity to return the favor.

_Oh yes,_ she thought, her eyes sliding over his lean, wiry body, _claiming my prize certainly will be a delight. Though it does send quite a pleasant tingle down my spine knowing that he is so helpless and vulnerable at the moment, unable to offer any resistance to what I shall do to him._

"Oh how I have looked forward to this," she crooned as she trailed butterfly kisses down his body while softly stroking his erection, "my Obsession spread out before me, weak as a newborn kitten, looking so sinfully beautiful. I'm going to ravish you baby and you will love every minute of it."

"Aeris please," he gasped.

"Please what?" she asked, starting to nibble on his chest.

"Please," he begged, "please love. Please take me, make me yours. Make love to me my Obsession, please, please."

"All in due time," she purred, "I'm no where near done having fun with you Sephiroth."

And so she continued her gentle torture on him. Her tenderness did nothing to mask her confidence or her power over him. She never gave him a moment's rest, using her powers as well as her hands and mouth to drive him to the edge over and over again before pulling him back only to continue driving him into a frenzy. The pleasure consumed everything, he couldn't think, couldn't move.

Finally she ceased her torture, leaving her Obsession shuddering on the ground, panting her name. She took a moment to survey her handiwork. Small hickies dotted his body, his member was red and swollen, precum trickling down his shaft in tiny rivulets. His entire body was flushed, his eyes fully dilated and darkened with desire. Drops from the juices that were flowing down her legs were randomly splattered all over his body.

"Aeris, oh heavens, don't stop, whatever you do just please don't stop," he whimpered, "I can't stand it, please ride me hard and rough. Swallow me whole, consume me. Please, Aeris, my goddess, please."

Then she took him totally by surprise. He had barely registered that he was floating gently in the air about two feet above the ground when she straddled him.

"Mmmm," she groaned, rubbing her sopping wet core against his abs, "isn't this nice? This way you won't have a sore back by the time I'm done with you."

The golden brunette giggled at the frustrated look that crossed her lover's face as she continued her new brand of torture on him.

"So hard it hurts doesn't it?" she taunted as she continued rubbing her body against his.

A strangled gasp was all the answer she got.

"You feel so good rubbing against me baby," she panted as she ground her pussy against his hard-on eliciting more gasps from her defeated Obsession, "I just want to eat you up."

"Uuugh!" he groaned.

She stood up, positioning herself above his erect penis.

"Tell you want me baby," she ordered.

"Gods! I want you, more than anything else!" he practically screamed.

She lowered herself so the tip of his engorged member was brushing against the outer folds of her labia. He let out a sound halfway between a groan and a whimper, frustrated that she had stopped once again.

"Who do you belong to?" she demanded.

"You Aeris! Only you, my love," he shouted, "I belong to you my golden goddess!"

That was all the answer she needed. With a groan of satisfaction, she finally sunk onto his erection, breaking her hymen and engulfing him to the hilt in one move. She sat there, panting slightly as the pain faded and was replaced with a sense of fullness, of pleasure that she had never experienced before. A wicked smirk crossed her face as she wiggled against him, causing him to thrash about in frustrated desire.

"Dammit woman, how long must you keep like this?!" he yelled getting agitated.

"As long as I wish!" she shot back, "remember you lost the battle and willing gave yourself to me. I can do with you what I want!"

"Bitch!" he cursed.

"No, you are the bitch! My bitch!" she announced as she lifted herself up and slammed back down onto him, "I am and always be in charge, never forget that Sephiroth!"

She proceeded to show him just that. She started off riding him fast and furious only to suddenly to switch to slow and languorous, getting all the pleasure out of him that she could. Her first climax came less than a minute she started pounding onto him, her body going rigid as she rode it out.

He could feel the strength start to creep back into his limbs. Without warning he sat up and tried to overpower her. They struggled mid-air for a few seconds before she got pissed and used her magic to hold him immobile. She then resumed her unpredictable method of switching between riding him fast and hard and grinding onto him tortuously slow.

Her displeasure at her Obsession's defiance quickly was consumed by the pleasurable friction that was generated by the movement of her body against his. Their passion built up to a feverish pitch before finally, finally, her second organism hit her, triggering his at the same time.

As her vaginal tightly clamped onto his shaft, milking every last drop of semen out of him, she roared to the skies.

"**Mine**!" she declared as her power wrapped around him, invading, consuming, possessing everything that he was.

"Yours!" the word was ripped out of him as they rode on waves of ecstasy, "heaven help me, yours."

"Mine, always mine," she moaned, exhaustion starting to creep upon her.

"Yours forever, my love," he whispered.

Spent, she collapsed on his chest as they both sank to the ground.

"Yours, only yours, Sephiroth. I love you," she whispered as she fell asleep.

The Land of Twilight dissolved around them.

* * *

They woke up the next morning in the old church with her still lying on top of him, both of them fully clothed. Aeris sat up, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned. Sephiroth watched her with wary eyes as she rolled the stiffness out of her shoulders.

A brilliant smile sent his way immediately caused him to relax, the curl of her lips and the shine in her emerald eyes conveying emotions that not even a million words could describe. A gentle warmth flushed throughout his body, removing all the aches and pains caused by the previous night's excursion in the Land of Twilight.

Her entire being radiating love and contentment, Aeris helped her Claimed to his feet. For the first time in his existence, Sephiroth no longer was constantly on edge, painfully aware and sensitive to everything around him. Somehow, his Claimed had changed him in the most fundamental of ways. He felt softer around the edges, less intense and more at peace, the need to shed blood and do violence gone.

He had regained some of his innocence and in return, Aeris took in some of his darkness. Their time in the Land of Twilight had dimmed Aeris' painfully brilliant innocence, had softened Sephiroth's impenetrable darkness. Both of them were ridiculously pleased and relieved by the change.

They had reached a turning point in their lives. At long last they were complete.

With the sun rising behind them, the mutually Claimed lovers walked out of the grey, dreary city and never looked back as they headed towards their future and freedom.

Fin

* * *

Yea, my first _real_ lemon. Hope that it wasn't too bad.

I know that this has been a long time coming, but I think that it was worth the wait. I already have an idea for my next Musing, a response to Snakefeather8's challenge to do "A retelling of one of the classic fairytales Aeriseph style". I'm going to do Sleeping Beauty, but I'm not telling any more than that, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. Don't know when I will be able to get it out though, probably sometime in the middle of January.

Reviews are like water to a fish, necessary for stories to survive.

So throw that fish back into the pond and please leave me a review!


	12. After

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don´t own FF7 in any way or form.

* * *

Musing 10- After (as in After Ever-after)

The tale had been told, the adventure was over, and the hand of the fair maiden had been won; happily ever-after had finally been reached.

But not for him.

Sephiroth -the Crown Prince of Norder, betrothed to the Fiery Garnet of Celab since birth, the Prince Charming of Her Royal Highness Princess Tifa Alexandria Serenity Garnet DeEstaban-had lost his "happily ever-after" to a stable boy.

The stable boy in question had been foisted off onto him by his parents (at the advice of his fairy godmother) to take with him on his journey despite Sephiroth's wishes and very vocal complaints.

Cloud (Sephiroth still though that it was a ridiculous name to call someone) had been nothing but a hindrance to Sephiroth from the start. The boy was arguably the worst possible servant and companion in existence that Sephiroth could have been saddled with. The boy was accident prone, afraid of the dark and was unable to keep from blurting out any vital secrets to the quest at the most inopportune moment.

Hell, even an eighty pound block of wood would have been more useful than Cloud.

While Sephiroth had been scaling the tower in which Princess Tifa had been sequestered in (he would have taken the stairs but his fairy godmother had demanded that he reach the princess the "traditional" way), the blundering stable boy had reached Sleeping Beauty a full five minutes before "Prince Charming" did.

Covered in sweat and dust with leaves and sticks on his hair, Sephiroth had finally managed to climb in through the window into the room at the top of the tower and had found his stable boy lip locked with Princess Tifa. Apparently Cloud had taken the same stairs that Sephiroth's fairy godmother had disdained Prince Charming to use ("using the stairs is just so common, anyone can do it. It takes a Champion to scale a tower or a cliff face to win the hand of his lady-love").

With a snort of disgust Sephiroth yanked his crown off and roughly deposited it on Cloud's unruly blond head, transferring just enough Price Charming magic to the boy to ensure that he and his princess would get their happily ever-after. Sephiroth had had it with this insipid adventure.

Cranky and disgusted with the turn of events the Crown Prince of Norder stomped down the stairs of the tower and out of the slowly awakening city. The walk out of the capital city of Celab was much easier than the walk in had been.

Having to hack and chop his way in through miles of thick, black, thorny brambles with an enchanted sword with a perpetually dull blade was not Sephiroth's idea of fun. The enchanted sword had been given to him by his fairy godmother ("it builds character. So stop bitching about it and start cutting through already"), but Sephiroth was pretty sure that the well-crafted but unadorned sword that was back at his campsite was far superior to the piece of pot metal that he had used to cut through the brambles.

While grumpily trudging back to his camp several miles away, Sephiroth reviewed the events leading up to the big, anticlimactic ending to the whole farce. And if he ever saw his fairy godmother again Sephiroth would skin her alive with the enchanted sword she had so graciously bestowed upon him.

But we're getting off topic here. Back to reviewing the events that lead up to the ending of the tale of this generation's Sleeping Beauty.

In order of occurrence, the following requirements for fulfilling the legend of Sleeping Beauty had been fulfilled.

On her 16th birthday, Princess Tifa returned from her exile in the woods where she had been raised by peasants to the castle. She been told that she actually was a princess and not the daughter of the people who had lovingly raised her.

On the stroke of midnight on her birthday Princess Tifa had somehow managed to wander away from the diligent watchfulness of over two hundred castle guards and found the last spinning wheel in the entire kingdom (it was an ancient thing that had been moldering in one of the forgotten storage rooms in the lower levels of the castle for over a century).

Being the inquisitive creature that she was, Princess Tifa reached out and pricked her finger on the wicked sharp point of the spinning wheel (never mind that the thing was falling apart from dry rot) and instantly fell asleep. Her fairy godmothers being the compassionate creatures that they were helpfully put the entire city to sleep along with their princess.

Cue the entrance of Prince Charming over two hundred miles away as he stepped into the old decrepit cottage that he had been ordered to visit by his parents and to charm the socks off of the young lass who lived there (his parents had been wanting grandchildren ever since he had turned thirteen).

Predictably the moment he entered the cottage, he had been clubbed over the head by a hidden crony of the Evil Sorceress and had been bundled back to her impenetrable fortress (the one time Cloud could have been useful during this entire quest, the stable boy was suspiciously absent).

Waking up chained to the wall in the Evil Sorceress's dungeon, he had been told by the Evil Sorceress herself (a slim, willowy creature with big green eyes, a heart-shaped face and the sweetest smile; in other words the exact opposite of what an Evil Sorceress ought to be) that barring divine intervention that he would be calling this room home for the next hundred years.

The moment the Evil Sorceress had stepped out of the room, Sephiroth's fairy godmother had appeared in a shower of pink glitter and had equipped him with an enchanted blade "guaranteed to cut through anything without ever losing its edge" (Sephiroth instantly wanted a refund on the piece of gaudily decorated piece of junk) and a shield that would protect him from all forms of magical attack (the thing was made out of card board and was promptly discarded) and as an afterthought had released him from his chains.

Battling the Evil Sorceress' henchmen, which had turned out to be golems of all things, Sephiroth had finally escaped from the fortress and was promptly found by the stable boy that had been clinging to him like a leech since the start of the whole sordid affair despite numerous attempts to lose him.

Traveling for only an hour Sephiroth arrived at the wall of thorns that the sorceress had conjured to bar his way from the sleeping princess within the castle (the Evil Sorceress' hideout had been within viewing distance of the castle the whole time).

The next ten hours were spent hacking through the wall of brambles accompanied by much cursing.

Finally after he cut down the last branch in his way with his boot knife (he had abandoned the enchanted sword within ten minutes after he discovered just how useless it was) he was met face-to-face with the lovely Evil Sorceress herself and immediately engaged in mortal combat with her.

The final battle lasted only thirty minutes and after realizing that they were actually almost evenly matched in physical combat (which was very surprising to Sephiroth) she disappeared in a cloud of purple-black smoke.

Without anything barring his way anymore, Sephiroth strolled up to the castle and after an hour long argument with his fairy godmother, climbed up the tallest tower in the entire structure only to find that the stable boy had beaten him to the punch.

_Well that pretty much covers it_, Sephiroth thought as his camp finally came into sight, _but for some reason I have a feeling that I keep forgetting something._

_Oh that's right,_ he realized as the giant claws closed around his body and with a sickening lurch he became airborne, _I forgot about the dragon._

Sephiroth passed out soon afterwards.

* * *

It was a lovely day, the sun was shinning, the birds were singing their hearts out and the smell of growing things and flowers was in the air. It was a perfect day for a happily ever-after. Distant wing beats brought Aeris out of her musings, her eyes automatically fastening on the great dark lavender bulk that was growing rapidly closer to the tower she was currently standing in.

Eagerly Aeris rushed down the stairs (it was a relatively short tower) and out into the courtyard to meet her returning friend. With a flurry of wind, dust, twigs and other miscellaneous debris the dragon landed, the sun glinting off her dark lavender scales like oil on water. Standing at over fifty feet tall and two hundred feet long from the end of her snout to the tip of her poison barbed tail, this dragon cast an imposing figure.

"Blossom!" Aeris called, "what have you brought me today old friend?"

With an amused snort, Blossom dropped the object that she had been carrying. It, or rather he, landed on the ground in a tangle of limbs, black leather and long hair the color of moonlight. Seeing that the man was having trouble untangling himself, Aeris summoned two of her small but incredibly strong sandstone colored golems and instructed them to take her guest to his "room".

Groaning, as he recovered his wits, the man groggily looked up at the golems that were picking him up, each holding one of his arms in a grip of steel with their huge hands. Immediately he started struggling to get free, but since these golems were roughly ten times stronger than the average hero, knight in shinning armor or Prince Charming, his efforts were in vain.

Watching in amusement as the golems dragged their struggling prisoner up to his new chambers in the highest room in her tallest tower (one coincidently that had no stairs leading up to the rooms in which he would be staying in, Aeris wasn't dumb, stupid evil villains tended to have short careers), Aeris walked over to Blossom, and listened to her as the dragon regaled the Evil Sorceress about the happily ever-after that her childhood friend Princess Tifa had finally scored.

Sephiroth meanwhile had given up trying to escape form his golem guards. As the one on his right opened the door leading to the tower that he was to be imprisoned in (the irony wasn't lost on him), the former Prince Charming gaped in disbelief.

"You seriously can't believe that you are going to be able to get me up there," Sephiroth scoffed, referring to the landing over seven stories above him that had no stairs or elevator leading up to it.

The golems of course didn't answer him.

Ignoring the prince's goading (they were golems after all) the Evil Sorceress' minions simply dragged him over to the closest wall and placed one hand on the rough-hewn surface. Then something very odd happened, the golems' hands sunk into the wall.

They then placed their feet on the wall and proceeded to climb up the wall, Sephiroth's feet uselessly dangling in the air between them. The hike up the inside wall of the tower was ridiculously smooth, the golems possessing an innate grace that their somewhat blocky appearance did not suggest. They reached the landing at the top of the tower rather quickly but Sephiroth's shoulders were already aching at having to support his whole weight for even that short amount of time.

A ladder led up to a trapdoor at one side of the rather small ledge that Sephiroth and the two golems were currently standing on. The golem on his right released his arm to reach up and threw the trapdoor open. Once that was accomplished, the other golem dragged Sephiroth over to the ladder and motioned for him to climb up it before releasing his other arm.

Sephiroth scowled and after rotating his shoulders several times to shake out the stiffness crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. They might have forced him up here, but there was no way in hell that he would enter what was obviously meant to be his prison of his own free will.

"I think that it would be a rather good idea to do what they wish," a voice from behind him spoke.

Whirling around, Sephiroth was met with the smirking face of the Evil Sorceress.

"Like you could make me," Sephiroth scoffed.

"I might not be able to," the Evil Sorceress admitted, "but they," she gestured to the golems, "certainly can and since they obey me, I don't think that it would be a good idea to make me angry."

Sephiroth didn't move an inch.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you," Aeris informed him as Sephiroth was suddenly seized and thrown over the shoulder of one her golems.

Cursing in at least five different languages while pounding his fists ineffectually on the golem's back, Sephiroth was hauled the ladder in a most undignified manner and shoved through the trapdoor above. As the golem climbed back down the ladder, it hauled the trapdoor shut behind it. Furious and humiliated Sephiroth sprang to his feet and tried to heave the trapdoor back open.

He failed miserably.

The blasted chunk of wood was so heavy that he couldn't even budge it. Sephiroth had a hunch that the Evil sorceress had enchanted it so that only her golems could open it. With a grunt, he finally gave up, releasing the heavy iron ring that had been bolted to the trapdoor. The ring vanished in the next moment and the sound of locks clicking into place could be heard.

He had effectively been trapped in the room.

Taking a look around the room Sephiroth was slightly disappointed to find that his room was not furnished with the sparse, crude and very uncomfortable furniture that he had come to associate with prison cells in fairy tales. Instead the furniture was sturdy, comfortable and moderately attractive; the kind of furnishings that could be found in the abode of a moderately wealthy artisan or merchant.

Wandering over to the window with the faint hope of finding anything useful in allowing him to escape Sephiroth was dismayed but not surprised to find that there were no vines protruding bricks or anything of a similar nature that would allow him to climb down the wall. This Evil Sorceress was thorough as well as smart, a dangerous combination. It was a wonder that he had even able to come to a draw with her given the resources at her disposal.

Sephiroth sighed, it looked like that he was going to be here for awhile.

* * *

The former Prince Charming- now prisoner of the Evil Sorceress- staged his first escape attempt that at false dawn the next day. Having created a rope out of all the bed linens and other various assorted large and long pieces of fabric, he was all set to get out of the tower he was locked up in. With a flourish he threw the cloth rope over the window ledge and immediately started scaling down it.

In hindsight he should have checked to make sure that the rope was long enough to reach the ground or get low enough so he cloud safely drop to the dirt. But of course in his rush to get out of the tower, he had overlooked that critical piece of information. So it came to quite a shock to Sephiroth to find that the rope of sheets and blankets he had been climbing down ended abruptly, leaving him hanging about halfway down the tower, way too far for him to safely drop to the ground.

A snort accompanied by a cloud of smoke alerted him to the fact that Sephiroth was not alone.

Craning his neck around so he could get a good look at his observer, Sephiroth groaned.

"Hello Blossom," Sephiroth sighed.

Blossom smiled in reply, displaying a mouth full of very big, sharp and pointy gleaming white teeth.

Sephiroth gulped loudly. He was at the total mercy of the Evil Sorceress' dragon, hanging at the end of his rope three hundred feet up in the air.

Blossom rumbled in amusement and daintily took the back of his breastplate (made out of 100 mythril according to his fairy godmother though Sephiroth suspected that it was really made out of tin) and a good chunk of his cape between her front teeth and with a slight tug plucked the prince off the side of the tower and went off to find the Evil Sorceress.

Back in her chambers Aeris was dreaming of chocolate, flowers, and snakes when she was abruptly roused by a large cloud of lilac scented smoke that Blossom had blew upon her (she was a dragon of many talents including being able to control how her smoke smelled). With a smile she stretched and enjoyed the quickly dissipating cloud of lilac scented smoke.

"Good morning Blossom," Aeris greeted the dragon.

Opening her eyes Aeris took in the other person that was hanging outside her window.

"Good morning Princeling," Aeris greeted Sephiroth with a smirk, "enjoying the view?"

The prince said something that was not appropriate for polite company.

"Tried climbing out the window with a rope of bedclothes?" Aeris guessed.

The prince glared at her sullenly.

"Climbing out windows by tying one's bedclothes into a rope is so predictable and clichéd," Aeris remarked with a yawn, "so of course I made sure that if done that they would only reach halfway down the tower."

"For a Prince Charming your really aren't very smart are you? From what I heard, your servant stole your happily ever-after from right under your nose. It's pathetic really," Aeris continued, "you have got to be the sorriest excuse of a Prince Charming that I have ever seen."

Sephiroth snarled in rage. She may not look to fit the part, but Aeris certainly acted like an Evil Sorceress at times.

"Or could it be that I used my magic to make sure that you were assigned the most incompetent fairy godmother in existence for your quest," Aeris mentioned.

Sephiroth's mouth dropped open in shock.

"A bit surprising that a _little girl_ like me has enough magic to be able to interfere with the assignment of a fairy godmother," Aeris smirked, "oh and by the way, the next time you try to escape, please do it in a more interesting manner, climbing out the window using sheets and blankets tied into a rope is so boring and predictable."

Summoning her magic, Aeris snapped her fingers and Sephiroth was transported back into his room in the tower.

* * *

After his third day of being incarcerated in the tower, the Evil Sorceress (he had learned that Aeris' name was not Evil Sorceress after being whacked with her staff for calling her that) started taking his meals to him personally instead of using her magic to make the food appear in his room.

Much to his surprise (he seemed to be doing that much of late) Sephiroth found Aeris to be a very amiable and pleasant person who was not only highly intelligent and quick of wit but a good conversationalist as well. It was such a shame that she was evil, for had she been a princess or even a normal peasant, he would have really enjoyed creating a happily ever-after with her.

When asked why she had even bothered to hold him prisoner, she bluntly replied that while he had lost quite a bit of his Prince Charming magic, he still had enough to mess up the happily ever-after of one of her other clients.

Unlike other evil villains, Aeris was aware of the fact that no matter what she did, every fairytale that she played the role of Evil Sorceress in would result in a happily ever-after. She was also of the opinion that the happily ever-afters had been catering to the male heroes of the fairy tales for far too long, resulting in some less-than-happily ever-afters for the damsels that she placed in distress.

Aeris by far was the most unorthodox villain that Sephiroth had ever heard of. Not only did have great fun playing the role of Evil Sorceress even in inevitable defeat but she actually worked with the girls that she cursed, locked up and so on to make sure that they reached the happily ever-after that _they_ desired.

The young mage even went so far as to interview each of her "clients" in secret about a year before she placed them in peril to determine what she needed to do to make sure that they got the ending that they wanted. Of course Aeris didn't do this for free, she was evil after all. Instead she demanded five percent of their dowry in exchange for her services, a fee that each heroine gladly paid to make sure that they didn't get stuck with Prince Not-charming.

Sephiroth wondered what the Guild of Fairy Godmothers would think if they ever got wind of what Aeris was actually up to. She was encroaching on their business after all and the GFG did not tolerate competition. Many of the magical creatures that had dared challenge the GFG had had mysterious accidents and were never heard from again.

After getting to know his captor so well and finding that, the whole Evil Sorceress thing aside, she actually was quite a passionate, caring and overall decent person, Sephiroth was starting to have mixed feelings about the escape plan he was creating. On the one hand, he had responsibilities to fulfill as the Crown Prince and it was his duty as a Prince Charming to defeat the Evil Sorceress that was holding him prisoner. But on the other, he really did not want to return to his parents and tell them about his losing his betrothed to the stable boy, and had actually becomes friends with Aeris and was genuinely fond of her.

Had she been a damsel in distress, he would have said that he was in love with her. All the symptoms were there: the increase of his heart rate whenever she was in the room, the warm fuzzy feelings he got when he thought about her smile or laugh, the desire to make her happy, not to mention the X-rated dreams of her that he was having (of course that last one could be attributed to him being a hot-blooded male).

But it was impossible for him to have such feelings for an Evil Sorceress, it went against every rule there was in the Fairytale Lawbook that had existed since the creation of their world. No, it was for the best that he get away from her, for the love between a villain and a hero was doomed from the start. That was just the way that their world worked.

* * *

The next day dawned clear and bright, and the scent of spring was everywhere. It had all the signs of being a perfectly lovely day. Too bad that Sephiroth wouldn't get the chance to enjoy it because he would be too busy making good his escape from the Evil Sorceress.

Being the shrewd person that Aeris was, there had been nothing in the room that Sephiroth could have used as a weapon against her. The few items that could have possibly have been used in such a manner were covered in so many enchantments that it would be impractical to try.

The idea had come to him while he had been watching Aeris play with Blossom. It was actually rather odd that Aeris had befriended her dragon instead of simply enslaving it like most other evil villains would have done, but that was Aeris for you, always doing exactly what you didn't expect an Evil Sorceress to do.

Sephiroth had noticed that there was a very strong bond between the girl and the dragon, it was quite apparent that they would lay their lives down for the other. What he was planning to do was actually quite detestable and went against his own personal set of ethics, but desperate times called for desperate measures and he really had to get out of his prison.

He had already (painfully) learned that despite her petite frame, Aeris was his match in physical combat, yet another oddity about her, when he had tried to overpower and force her to let him go a week into his incarceration. His attempt had failed spectacularly with Aeris ending up pinning Sephiroth to the floor instead of the other way around. As punishment, Aeris placed a hex on him that stuck his legs together, making it very difficult for him to move about the room at the top of the tower.

She had finally relented after Blossom had barely prevented him from becoming street pizza. He had been hopping about, trying to get from the desk to the chair near the fireplace to get warm in the chilly tower. But Sephiroth had misjudged his movements, resulting in him tripping over the wooden chair that he had just gotten out of, causing him to fall backwards towards the open window. The dragon had heard his scream as he fell out of the window and just managed to catch him about twenty feet above the ground.

For the second time in a week, Aeris found Blossom outside of her bedroom, holding a much disheveled Sephiroth in her jaws, only this time instead of being angry and frustrated, the Crown Prince was shaken from his near brush with death. Aeris immediately released the leg-lock hex she had placed on him and apologized profusely.

She spent the rest of the afternoon with Sephiroth in his room making sure that he was unharmed from what had happened. Once again she was proving to be not what he had expected.

After the experience, Sephiroth found himself questioning the traditional character roles in fairy tales. There was something about Aeris that the prince just couldn't put his finger on. It was as if she wasn't supposed to be a villain at all.

Aside from taking obvious enjoyment in stalling the progress of the heroes that she went up against, the girl didn't act like an Evil Sorceress at all. She acted more like a nobleman's daughter than a villain. But that couldn't be right, females nobles never became evil unless they had been deeply scorned and Aeris seemed to be anything but scorned. Wicked yes, scorned no. And most definitely not evil.

Sephiroth shook his head to dispel the confusing train of thoughts. He didn't have the luxury to try and figure out the puzzle that Aeris was, he had to get out of this tower and get back to his kingdom. It was his duty after all.

The word seemed suddenly distasteful.

But he had no choice in the matter, it had to be done. He would have to betray Aeris' trust and use her friendship with the dragon against her to win his freedom. He couldn't stay here as Aeris' "guest". No matter how decently she treated him, he was still her prisoner and he had to leave. He just had to.

* * *

Sephiroth seemed to be getting restless of late. Whenever she visited him, he always seemed distracted, distant. She knew that being cooped up in that tower for so long was getting to him, but she couldn't let him go. There was something about him, something that her instincts told her that if he not where she could keep an eye on him, something would go terribly wrong. It was starting to drive Aeris slightly mad.

His Prince Charming magic was barely a dim glow by now due to first losing his fairy tale ending to his attendant and then being forced into a position that was against the nature of a hero: the helpless prisoner (more commonly known as the damsel in distress, but of course that term couldn't apply to Sephiroth since he was very obviously not female). She felt sorry for him, really, but her magical instincts that she inherited from her predecessor were quite firm in telling her that he needed to be here to fulfill a very important role in a story that was unfolding.

Aeris just wished she knew what that story was.

She couldn't let go of him, but she could at least try to give him a way to dispel his restlessness. As long as he agreed under a magically binding oath not to try and run away, she could let him have some time outside in the courtyard under the watchful eye of Blossom and her golems.

Her mind made up, Aeris gathered her magic and transported to Sephiroth's tower.

"Hi there handsome."

Sephiroth practically fell out of his chair at Aeris words' from behind him.

"What do you want?" he scowled.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Aeris observed.

"I wonder whose fault that is?" the words were spoken with heavy sarcasm.

"Your own most likely," she shrugged.

Even though she had turned her back to him the death glare she was receiving was unmistakable.

"Well since you are in no mood to be civil, I guess that you really don't want a chance to be out in the courtyard for a few hours do you?" she asked.

"Is this some sort of joke?" he growled.

"If you're going to be nasty, I'll leave." Aeris stated.

"No wait!" he called as she started fading out.

"Why should I?" she asked.

"Look," he said, "I'm sorry about being rude, but given the circumstances, it is not entirely unbelievable that I am in this mood."

"Which is why I think you need some time outdoors," Aeris agreed, "under strict watch of course."

"Of course," he grumbled.

"I wouldn't be a very good Evil Sorceress if I didn't now would I?"

Sephiroth snorted, "you hardly fit the bill for being an Evil Sorceress."

"I'll take that as a compliment." she replied.

"So what do I have to do to get this privilege?" he asked warily.

"Don't miss much do you?" she noted.

"What sort of Prince Charming would I be if I wasn't?" Sephiroth returned.

"One that is not likely to get out of the dragon's den with his hide intact." Aeris smirked.

Sephiroth had to chuckle at that, imagining Cloud trying to rescue Princess Tifa from an angry dragon resulting in getting his eyebrows singed off.

"I'm sure that Blossom has had some experience with that," Sephiroth remarked.

"What can I say, she's a dragon after all," Aeris replied, "but back to business. There is something from me that you want-"

Sephiroth had to stomp on the lewd thoughts her words had conjured in his mind.

"-but to get it, I need something in return."

Aeris took in his glazed look and snapped her fingers in his face "get your mind out of the gutter loverboy. I didn't mean that sort of payment."

"Oh," Sephiroth almost seemed disappointed.

"I want you to give a magically binding blood oath not to try and run off in exchange for having a few hours a day to exercise, train or do whatever you Prince Charming types do in your off-time," Aeris explained.

"That doesn't seem unreasonable," Sephiroth admitted, "given the circumstances."

"Yes, 'given the circumstances', most men in your position would be locked up in the dungeon, chained to the wall with rats crawling all over you instead of being placed in this nicely furnished tower room," Aeris teased, "although the idea of you in chains in the dungeon, minus the rats (I can't stand the foul things) and most of your clothing does sound like an appealing idea."

"Perhaps we could try it after my 'free time' tomorrow," Sephiroth suggested, "you are an Evil Sorceress after all, it is your prerogative to torture your prisoners if you choose to."

"Hmmm, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Aeris murmured, taking in the nicely muscled arms and chest of her prisoner, "I wouldn't be a very good Evil Sorceress if I don't try to despoil my royal captive."

"You certainly wouldn't be," Sephiroth agreed, inching closer to Aeris.

The mage took in his predatory stance and smoldering gaze as he advanced on her.

"Hold it!" she demanded, taking her statement literally by using her magic to freeze Sephiroth's feet to the floor, "quit trying to distract me. I want that oath now buddy before we go any further."

Sephiroth cursed, he had been hoping to make her forget that. It would have made getting away so much easier.

He grumbled, "fine."

Aeris summoned a glowing blue stone from her workroom and handed a needle to Sephiroth, "now prick you finger, place it on the oath stone and repeat after me, 'I swear that I won't try to harm anyone in this fortress or try to escape while I am outside this room'."

Sephiroth pricked his thumb and placed it on the oath stone after he had squeezed a bead of blood out of the small injury, "I swear that I won't try to harm anyone in this fortress or try to escape while I am outside this room."

The oath stone glowed brightly and a shock of magic traveled up his arm to rest in his chest.

"Should you try to break your oath, the magic will shock you hard enough to render you unconscious and will keep you paralyzed for at least three days afterwards," Aeris told him, "keep that in mind when you go out tomorrow."

"What about the part afterwards?" Sephiroth asked with a leer.

"I'll consider it," and with that she was gone, leaving a very frustrated prince behind.

* * *

Things were going so smoothly between the Evil Sorceress and her captive Prince Charming. A love was growing between the odd pair that defied convention. A love that if fulfilled could rock the foundation of the Fairytale Tradition of this world. No one it seemed even knew that the Crown Prince of Norder was missing, all assumed that he was still off on his quest to find his destiny. Their love was growing in secret, unknown to the outside world and if a certain chain of events had not come to pass, neither the Sorceress nor the Prince would have ever discovered their destiny.

It all started a few weeks after Sephiroth gave his blood oath not to try and escape when Aeris allowed him outdoors a few hours every day. Now while some might consider Sephiroth's treatment to be a bit inhumane, consider what he would be going through had he been captured by a different villain. Compared to them, Aeris was positively benevolent. She had freely admitted it that she was in the Evil Sorceress business for the happiness of her clients, not for the sake of being evil.

No, Aeris wasn't evil at all, she just enjoyed playing the Evil Sorceress role to the fullest. But no one knew that except her clients, Blossom and now Sephiroth. The Crown Prince knew that there must be a good story behind how Aeris became what she is today, but she deftly avoided any discussion about her past, saying that it was unimportant and none of his business.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that she took on her current role as a means to hide her true identity from the world, but just what that identity was a complete mystery to the silver-haired prince. Something or someone had forced Aeris to become the strong, cunning, and meticulous person she was today. Those traits, sorely lacking in many evil villains, were what made her so good at what she does. Her grasp of strategy as well as both the magical and martial arts was quite impressive.

He admired all these things about her but at the same time he detected a vulnerability deep within the girl. It wasn't hard to deduce, she was lonely and starved for companionship.

Sephiroth reasoned that her loneliness was a big factor why she kept on interacting with him on a daily basis instead of letting him molder in the tower. And while she had taken up to flirting outrageously with him, she kept on shying away from any real physical intimacy with Sephiroth. It was driving him nuts, but there was nothing he could do about it.

For all her confidence, the girl was still an innocent.

Sephiroth couldn't help it, he was madly in love with his pretty captor. He had finally mustered up the courage to admit his feelings to her when the unexpected happened. Somehow, a group of unadorned soldiers was able to sneak past Aeris' magical wards and golems as well as Blossom and had kidnapped Aeris from the middle of her fortress.

* * *

Darkness, a bitter taste in her mouth, the feeling of being strangled and smothered. That was the feeling that Aeris awoke to.

"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty wakens," a smooth, cultured voice spoke as a calloused hand smoothed back her hair from her face.

"Get your fucking hands off of me you creep before I blow them off!" Aeris snarled, thrashing her bound form.

"Don't think that your little magic tricks will help you now Aeris," the male voice taunted.

Aeris had heard that voice before. Smooth, cultured, unbelievably arrogant with a streak of cruelty hiding underneath.

"You!" Aeris spat.

"It seems that the little spitfire finally remembers me," the man remarked.

"How could I forget a vile snake like you?" she gritted out.

"Tisk, tisk, Aeris," the man tutted, "is that anyway to speak to your betrothed."

"You won't be able to hold me for long," Aeris warned.

"I think not," he retorted, "that collar around your lovely neck blocks off your magic and we have a very lovely charm that hides our scent from your dragon. Besides, no one would ride to the aid of an 'Evil Sorceress'."

His men laughed crudely at his taunt.

_I can think of one person,_ Aeris thought, _I just hope that he and Blossom can work together and get to me in time before it's too late. _

The horse that she was slung across stumbled, sending an unpleasant jolt through her body. She wiggled a bit testing her bonds,

_I ran away from home and became Master Gillia's apprentice to avoid marrying this creep,_ Aeris thought, _and I'll kill myself before I let his hands touch me in any kind of sexual manner. _

"Aw look, it seems that my blushing bride to be is already looking forward to our wedding night, aren't you sweetling?" he mocked.

"Go fuck yourself Rufus!" Aeris growled.

"That's Prince Rufus to you bitch!" he slapped her.

Aeris spat out a globbulet of blood from her mouth from the split lip his strike had caused.

"Now be a good little princess and I won't have to hurt you anymore," Rufus sneered.

_I will not let myself become the victim of a twisted Happily Ever After._ Aeris silently vowed, _I won't. Even if it means my death._

* * *

Sephiroth was woken up by a loud roar. He leapt to his feet and dashed to the window just in time to see a group of men vanish over the horizon. The roar had come from Blossom who was using her fire breath and her razor-sharp claws to rend and burn away the giant net that somehow had been thrown over her.

Sephiroth had a bad feeling about what had happened while he slept.

"Blossom! Where's Aeris?" Sephiroth yelled.

A snarl was his only response as the dragon finished freeing herself from the net and prepared to take off after the group of raiders.

"Wait, take me with you, I can help!" Sephiroth desperately called.

The dragon turned her head to glare at Sephiroth and let out an unconvinced snort, as if saying _why should you care?_

"I know that you don't trust me, but you have to believe me, I love her!" Sephiroth pleaded, the enormity of his feelings for the brunette mage finally hitting him.

Blossom shook her head, small bursts of fire escaping her mouth.

"Please, I don't care if you put me back in this tower afterwards, just let me help. I know where they're going, I saw them just before they vanished from sight."

The dragon took a moment to contemplate her options. Her only friend was in danger and this male that she had really come to loath was offering to help. She didn't know where the group of soldiers was going, but the Crown Prince did. Taking him along would only slow her down, but without his help she might not find Aeris. There was no scent trail to follow. Blossom grumbled in frustration, she had no choice but to take the irritating human male along.

Sephiroth stumbled back when Blossom flew up to the window and hooked one sharp, curved claw into his clothing and yanked him out of the tower, the other front leg clutching the tower for balance as Blossom dragged the prince out of his prison.

A stomach churning flight later, Sephiroth was dropped to the ground unceremoniously by the dragon. He looked around and quickly realized that he was in Blossom's den. Off in the corner was a modest pile of glittering treasures that Blossom grudgingly kept in accordance to tradition.

It was unheard of for a dragon not to have a hoard of treasure.

Sephiroth spotted something unusual lying in the middle of the tiny hoard. Walking over he hefted the object up and a smile spread across his face.

"Now this is a sword!" he gleefully announced.

_Not like that piece of pot metal my fairy godmother "bestowed" upon me_, he thought sourly, heading back to Blossom who was impatiently waiting for him.

He strapped the harness to his back, adjusting it until it was comfortable and then vaulted up onto Blossom's back, settling right between the dragons' shoulders. Blossom tried halfheartedly to shake him off but Sephiroth's seat on the dragon was firm.

"This is first time I have ever ridden a dragon," he mused.

He should have expected for Blossom to make Sephiroth's ride as uncomfortable as possible.

* * *

Time seemed to have no meaning as Aeris drifted in and out of restless slumber. She had a terrible thirst, her stomach was cramping in hunger and her whole body was aching from being lashed over the back of the pack horse that was carrying her as if she were a piece of luggage.

After her first confrontation with Rufus, Aeris remained silent and seemingly docile. Between her bouts of unconsciousness, Aeris spent her time trying to loosen her bonds with body subtle movements when she knew the others weren't looking.

She was weary, hungry, thirsty, and absolutely furious. That vile man should have never been able to get past her wards, not to mention Blossom herself. Aeris knew that foul work was at play behind her kidnapping and once she got free, she would track down the culprits and flay them within an inch of their lives, that or let Blossom have at them. Either way, they were dead.

It was too much of a coincidence that this happened just a week before her twenty second birthday. In the fairy tales, there were three magical ages that young maidens found their happily-ever-afters: sixteen, eighteen and twenty-one. If one reached their twenty-second birthday without having a fairytale take hold of them, they became free of its influence for good, finally able to make their own destinies.

Aeris didn't know how Rufus had found her. She had run away from home on her sixteenth birthday, thereby avoiding their handfasting ceremony. She had taken over her former teacher's position in Bracken Hold on her eighteenth birthday once she found the crone cold in her bed. At that point, she had thought herself free of her accursed fairytale destiny. The next three, _almost four years_ Aeris reminded herself, were spent establishing her reputation as an Evil Sorceress by placing maidens in peril, sending Blossom to thwart the missions of Knights in Shinning Armor, and making merry hell of the quests of noble champions, wannabe heroes and the odd Prince Charming.

Then, six months ago, she saw him, the Prince Charming to Celab's Sleeping Beauty. Instantly she knew that he would be a formidable opponent if she didn't play her cards right. She also knew that he was absolutely not suited to Princess Tifa in any manner. So she had pulled off some fancy footwork, got the most incompetent Fairy Godmother assigned to Crown Prince Sephiroth Kennard Ceadmon Valentine and watched as Yuffie, his fairy godmother (on her first assignment), made his life a living nightmare.

She had enjoyed messing with his quest immensely, taking in particular pleasure when she faced him outside the sleeping capital. Blossom wasn't involved in his particular adventure, since Aeris had been too absorbed in the unfolding quest herself to notice.

Obviously her friend had been a bit miffed about not having the chance to fight the Crown Prince so when she saw the disgraced Prince Charming walk out of the city, she struck. Bringing Sephiroth to her had been the dragon's way of showing Aeris not to forget her. Aeris immediately knew that while his Prince Charming magic had been diminished, he was still a danger to upsetting the Happily-Ever-Afters of her other "clients". So into the tower room he was locked and there he stayed despite two failed escape attempts until she started letting him outside.

Aeris had always prided herself on being able to take care of herself, never needing the help of one from a male protagonist that she frequently worked against. Growing up in the castle it had always been:

"Playing with the servants was not befitting for someone of your station."

"It is unseemly for you to run around in trousers and climb trees, what would your betrothed think?"

"A Lady should always act composed, demure, courteous and never speak until spoken to."

"This is for your own good, we can't have you running about like some peasant or wild creature."

"I pity Prince Rufus, having to wed such an uncontrollable creature. It will be a relief when you become his responsibility and not ours."

And so on.

Was it any wonder that she rejected her fairytale destiny? It didn't help matters that her betrothed was an absolute lout who treated women, children, servants and animals like dirt, having no care for anything but the enjoyment of him and his band of underlings. So really, running away from home had been her only option really, unless she wanted to marry the little prick.

She had always been an independent child, something that caused her care takers no little amount of grief, so it seemed natural for her to become the very antithesis of what she had been born as. Aeris loved being an Evil Sorceress, it was wicked fun and gave her a sense of satisfaction when self-important males like Rufus fell flat on their faces and the objects of their greed got the happily ever after they wanted.

She had never needed or wanted to be coddled by some male, to play the role of damsel in distress, to have to be rescued by a hero or champion. It had been a personal motto of sorts for her.

That was until she fell in love. Suddenly, being cared for, comforted and protected at times by a man didn't seem like it was such a bad thing as long as it was Sephiroth. For the first time in her life, she wanted to make a man happy, make him feel needed and loved. But such things were hard for her, always having to rely on her own skills for the longest time. She found that she couldn't let Sephiroth, no matter how much she loved him, become her protector, her champion. She kept their roles clearly defined: Evil Sorceress and her captive Prince Charming that she was trying to corrupt.

She could really use a Champion right now. Her heart ached for her prince.

So instead of wailing in despair or docilely letting her captors treat her as they wished like a normal damsel in distress, Aeris was trying her damnedest to free herself so she could make good her escape. If it came it to it, Aeris would keep her self-made vow, until then she was going to try her hardest to get away.

* * *

Three days passed until they finally spotted a sign of the party that had abducted Aeris. The abandoned campfire that they had not even bothered to conceal was still smoldering slightly. These men were either stupid or foolishly arrogant that they could not be followed. Privately Sephiroth thought that they were both.

Judging by the fire, he was less than one day behind them if one was traveling by foot. Good thing that he was not traveling by foot, those idiots would have no idea what hit them when Blossom caught up with them in a few hours. Sephiroth grinned ferally, he could hardly wait to teach the lot of them a much needed lesson.

_Aeris must be rubbing off on me,_ Sephiroth thought as he mounted Blossom, _I find myself becoming downright evil these days. Why I can hear their screams of terror already._

* * *

Screams of terror was exactly what she had awakened to. The camp was in disarray, the whinnies of terrorized horses was everywhere, and the smell of burnt flesh and freshly shed blood was in the air. It could mean only one thing: Blossom had found her and was wrecking havoc on Rufus and his men.

_It certainly wouldn't be fair to let Blossom have all the fun_, Aeris thought as she jerked her arms and snapped the frayed cords that she had been sawing away at with a jagged rock after the men had fallen asleep.

After freeing her hands, Aeris made quick work of the rest of her restraints and disappeared into the chaos, looking for Rufus. She fully intended on pounding him into submission before retrieving the key to the collar. With her magic released, Aeris would take her time with him, before she turned his brains to oatmeal and sending him and his cronies back to his kingdom as toads, a fitting fate for such an odious group of humans.

Rufus shook a skinny, nervous little man wearing a ratty brown robe.

"You told me that the charm would keep the dragon from following us!" he growled.

'But-but, Your Highness, I told you that it would disguise the scent of your party," the little hedge wizard stuttered, "it is beyond my abilities to repel a dragon."

"I paid you to good money for your services and now you have failed to deliver," Rufus threw the man to the ground, "if you are unable to do as you promised, you are worthless to me."

"Your Highness, please! I-" he ended with a gurgle as Rufus plunged his sword into the cowering figure's chest.

"Can't believe that I wasted good money on that pile of rubbish," he flicked the thin blood off of his blade, "I'm surrounded by incompetents."

"Or maybe that's just you," an unfamiliar voice drawled.

"Who the fuck are you? How did you get here?" Rufus demanded.

"Me?" the man shrugged as he strode up to him, a long bloodstained katana in his hand, "I'm no one you need to know, as to how I got here, well… you can say that I came with the dragon."

Rufus barely had time to block the other man's strike with his own sword.

Straining against the other's strength, Rufus heard him say, "but you forgot the most important question: Why am I here?"

"That's easy," Rufus snorted as he abruptly stopped pushing his sword against the stranger's incredibly long blade, "you're obviously one of the Evil Sorceress' cronies come to rescue your master."

"I have no master!" Sephiroth snarled as he swung his sword upwards.

Rufus barely dodged the swing and had to scramble back to avoid being decapitated by the man's follow up strike. Overhead, Blossom was having the time of her life rending, tearing and roasting her opponents as they feebly tried to fight back.

"You're only so cocky because you have the dragon on your side," Rufus taunted, "I wonder how you would fare should the beast become disabled?"

"Touch one scale on her hide and Aeris will strangle you with your own guts," Sephiroth growled, his sea green eyes glowing.

His eyes weren't the only thing that was glowing. The prince's entire body was glowing faintly, as he fought with the rival prince, swords clanging, taunts being exchanged as they cut each other up.

"What the hell are you, you freak?!" Rufus demanded when he finally noticed Sephiroth's glow.

"A genuine Prince Charming at the height of his power!" the answer came from behind him.

"You! How did you get free?" Rufus whirled about to see Aeris smirking at him.

"It looks as if you didn't need my help after all," Sephiroth commented as he took in her raw wrists and bloodied knuckles, "knock out a few teeth on your way here?"

"That and more," she answered over the silently fuming Rufus.

Turning her attention back to Rufus she greeted him, "hello toad."

"Now Aeris, is that anyway to speak to me?" he asked.

"If the name fits" she pointed out, "besides, weren't you engaged in a fight to the death?"

"Wha?" was all he got out before Sephiroth's fist came crashing into the back of the other prince's head. Aeris shot Sephiroth a grin and strode over to Rufus.

"Now then, where is that key?" Aeris mumbled as she searched Rufus's body, finally she found it, "Ah-hah! Found the little bugger. That is so like him to keep it in his belt pouch where anyone would think to look. Arrogance thy name is Rufus."

There was a small click and the collar fell to the ground. Her magic flared around her with the sudden removal of the collar which had sealed it and Aeris let out a contented sigh.

She looked down at the fallen form of Rufus, "I think being a toad would be too good for this oaf. Some stupid girl with stars in her eyes could accidentally fall across him and mistake him for a frog and break the spell with a Kiss of True Love. No, I think being a slug is much more fitting to his nature."

"You truly are evil," Sephiroth chuckled.

Aeris sneered theatrically and gave the prince a quick once-over.

"Nice sword," Aeris noticed, "where did it come from?"

"Blossom's hoard," he replied.

"Blossom actually let you into her lair?" Aeris asked incredulous.

"Made a deal with her, I help rescue you and then I go back into the tower," Sephiroth admitted.

"How noble of you Prince Charming." She batted her eyes, "making deals with dragons. What next? Consorting with trolls and goblins?"

"Hardly, trolls are as dumb as rocks and goblins stink, neither make for good company really," he sidled closer to Aeris, "unlike a witty, self-confidant, and entirely too smart and charming Evil Sorceress I know."

"Have you been seeing Evilene behind my back?" she asked with mock anger, "I guess that I will have to make sure that everyone knows just who's prisoner you are."

"Of course not, I'm a one Evil Sorceress type of guy," he was less than two inches in front of her.

Anyone could have predicted what came next. The air around them took on a soft glow, time slowed, the world seemed to hold it breath as they gazed into each other's eyes…and they both took fistfuls of the other's hair and yanked the other's head to them to meet in a brutal, consuming kiss that looked more like they were waging war on the other than making love with their lips.

They growled at the same time, Sephiroth's arms pulling Aeris flush to his chest, Aeris' legs locking in place around Sephiroth's waist, neither willing to release the other. And then something strange happened.

The torn, dirty and bloodstained clothing (well only bloody in Sephiroth's case) that they were wearing faded away to be replaced with the glittering, color-coordinated, royal fairy tale finery that only comes into existence during True Love's First Kiss.

Aeris was wearing a shoulderless gown that clung to her curves with loose, gauzy flowing sleeves that gently brushed against the ground. Sephiroth was wearing tight, black leather pants, black leather boots that came up to his knees, and a regal silk shirt under a black leather vest (seeing a trend here?). His shirt and Aeris' dress were both sea-green at the top, gradually fading into a deep, dark purple at the bottom. A black cape with a dark purple interior hung from Sephiroth's shoulders and the ratnest that had been Aeris' hair was now transformed into a loose, elegant twist that let her chestnut locks fall in silky waves to her waist.

Of course neither of them noticed this transformation, being too caught up in trying to eat the other's face off. No, it was only when a smooth, cool circlet formed on her brow when Aeris noticed that something was different. Reluctantly she pulled away from Sephiroth and took a moment to take it all in.

The look of shock and awe on Sephiroth's face as he looked at her new attire would have been amusing at any other time, but right now, right when she felt that for once everything was as it should be in the world, all Aeris could feel was a surge of powerful, almost foreign emotions welling up from her heart, consuming her entirely.

"I never thought…I never knew that you were actually a princess," he spoke softly, reaching up to caress her face.

Aeris normally would have been offended by such a statement, but caught in the magic of her very own fairy tale ending, it made her heart melt. There was something about fairy tale magic that made such things, like them being a prince and princess, very important when it came to moments such as these.

"You are so beautiful," Sephiroth whispered, leaning in.

"And you are so handsome," she murmured in reply.

This time when they kissed, it was everything that a True Love's First Kiss was meant to be. Hearts fluttering in their throats, love overwhelming them making their knees weak and their toes curl, they closed their eyes as their lips met softly, pouring their feelings into the other from that lightest of contact. Aeris' long dormant Princess magic awoke and flared about her, mixing with Sephiroth's Prince Charming magic creating a scene that was lovely and enchanting beyond belief.

Then the kiss ended and the magic faded away along with their magical fairytale clothing, leaving only the gleaming circlet on Aeris' brow and a small gold crown on Sephiroth's head behind his arcing bangs.

It was over, no longer were they Prince Charming and the Fair Maiden. They were only Aeris and Sephiroth, Evil Sorceress and her silver-haired love.

"Now to unfinished business," Aeris smirked as she turned to the still unconscious Rufus.

Aeris walked back over to the fallen man, stopping a few feet away. She waved her hands and muttered darkly, a fell wind starting to swirl around her. Aeris traced a few dark grey runes into air as she continued to chant and then placed both of her hands on Rufus' shoulders. The corrupt prince let out a moan and then he was obscured by a sudden flare of smoke. When the smoke cleared Rufus was gone and a small banana yellow slug was in his place. Another wave of her hand transported the slug to the cold, moist northern forests where millions of the species lived, making it almost impossible to find the transformed prince should anyone search for him.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at her when she was done.

"Well, I am an Evil Sorceress after all," she explained.

"Yes, yes you are," a hungry gleam came into his eyes, "and I think that it is high time that this Evil Sorceress gets punished for her misdeeds."

"Mmmm, I'm thinking more along the lines of the Evil Sorceress ravishing her handsome prisoner," she purred.

"How about we do both?" he suggested.

Whatever Aeris would have said was cut off by Blossom swooping down scooping Sephiroth up in her claws and flying back in the direction of Bracken Fortress. His indignant yelling caused Aeris to cackle madly. The dragon made another ground-brushing dive and Aeris snagged Blossom's leg and shimmied her way up to her normal seat between the dragon's shoulders easily as Blossom beat her wings heavily to gain altitude.

While it was amusing to glance down and see Sephiroth cursing and ranting at Blossom, Aeris didn't really think that he deserved to make the trip back home being carried in claws. With a snap of her fingers Aeris transported Sephiroth behind her. Then they were on their way, Sephiroth whispering naughty things into her ear as they flew off into the sunset.

And they lived Happily Ever After.

* * *

Epilogue

The next few weeks had been filled with activity as Aeris and Sephiroth contacted their respective parents and told them of their impending union. Aeris's parents, the King and Queen of a small but prosperous rich country along the southern coast had not been happy to learn that their daughter had turned her betrothed into a slug but their attitude quickly improved when they learned that the recently unbetrothed Crown Prince of Norder was to be her husband.

Trade treaties were already being written up when the royal couple announced that neither of them were even remotely interested in ruling their respective countries, ceding their crowns to Aeris' cousin Jessie and Sephiroth's younger brother Zax. There was no way on earth that Aeris would ever stop being an Evil Sorceress and Sephiroth decided that being the Crown Prince was not what he was cut out to be.

Suffice it to say, neither set of parents were very happy. On the plus side when Jessie and Zax met during the Renouncment Ceremony, sparks seemed to fly between the two, literally. In fact their parents/guardians had barely prevented the pair of teens from burning down a tavern that they had snuck out of castle to go to.

For most of her childhood Aeris' parents had despaired about making a proper princess out of their daughter, with Jessie they never tried since it was obvious from the start it was a lost cause. With Jessie now being the heir, they worried about the future of their kingdom's reputation.

Since both Sephiroth's and Aeris' parents had been cheated out a Crown Heir each, they demanded that would be married in the proper royal fashion. The planning had been going smoothly for two weeks when Aeris became fed up and spirited Sephiroth away on dragonback to elope.

After that stunt, both parents cut off contact with their disreputable offspring. The Evil Sorceress and her Consort seemed fine with that.

And they lived Happily Ever After.

* * *

Epliogue 2.0

_The morning after their wedding night in Bracken Hold_

The birds were singing sweetly, greeting the lovely dawn. Sephiroth was standing next to the large picture window in Aeris' bedroom watching the pale colors of the rising sun chase away the lingering night.

Aeris was watching her new husband, having much more fun watching him than the sunrise.

Last night had been magical. Passion and shared love guided their every action, but a sense of wickedness gave their bouts of lovemaking an extra delicious and satisfactory edge. Aeris had also given her husband one last wedding gift while he was asleep and was eagerly waiting for him to discover it.

Sephiroth stretched his pleasantly sore muscles and let out a yawn. His hand went to the back of his neck to relieve an itch there and his fingers encountered a band of soft leather instead of skin. He traced it around his neck to find that it had no ties or clasps, it was a continuous piece.

It also had a little metal plate on the front that he was sure that said something like _Property of the Evil Sorceress Aeris_.

"Aeris, why am I wearing a collar?" he asked annoyed, tugging at it to try and get it off. The collar didn't budge, it was spelled to not be able to be removed by anyone but Aeris.

His wife giggled.

"This is about that comment about Evilene I made a few days ago isn't it?" he asked resigned.

The Evil Sorceress smirked and went back to sleep.

Sephiroth groaned.

And they lived Happily Ever After (in an evil sort of way).

The End.

For real this time.

The collar never did come off, much to Sephiroth's continual irritation.

* * *

After over three months since I started this fic, it is finally (at long last complete). I won't be posting another one for quite sometime, due to the lack of any sort of computer access over the summer. The next (and maybe the last) one to be posted is a reply to a reviewer challenge word prompt. It will be called "Distance".

Thank you for reading my latest fic, hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review on your way out.


	13. Distance

Musings of Emerald and Silver

by turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.

* * *

Musing 12– Distance

They had met in middle school and it had been hate at first sight. He was always teasing and picking on her, doing his best to make her rather dormant temper explode or make her cry. He pulled her hair, shot spit wads at her, tried to trip her and called her names.

Aeris, despite her sweet disposition and fresh, innocent face had a core of steel and didn't put up with Sephiroth's treatment of her for long. After the second week, she gave back as good as he dispensed. For three years they waged their war, driving their parents, teachers and friends to their wits end.

Finally, fed up with their children's antics, their parents made them visit the school counciler to try and work out their differences. The only thing that those sessions did was force the two into a small room for an hour while they sniped and yelled at each other. If anything their shared animosity got worse. After the fifth such session, the counciler gave up and told their parents to that they were on their own.

It was Sephiroth's little brother, ironically enough, that came up with the solution to making Aeris and Sephiroth finally get along. They had been partnered by having names chosen out of a hat by their science teacher and had (grudgingly) agreed to go over to his house to work on their project. But instead of getting anything productive done, they spent the whole time arguing (as usual). Cloud, Sephiroth's sweet but somewhat dense younger brother had been trying to work on his homework and had gotten tired of their yelling destroying his concentration.

So he snuck out to the storage shed and let out a piercing wail. Immediately both teens ran out of the house to see what was wrong with the seven year old, both of them having a soft spot for the adorable little blond.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Aeris asked concerned.

"S-s-s-spider" he stuttered, tears of fright leaking down his face.

Cloud's arachnophobia was well known by Aeris' and Sephiroth's family.

"Where is it?" Sephiroth, ever the protective older brother, softly asked.

Mutely he pointed to the back of the shed. Both teens went to try and find the little arachnid that set off Cloud's panic attack. The moment their backs were turned, Cloud was out of the shed like a shot. The sound of the door being slammed behind them and then locked brought both of them up short. Immediately they rushed to the door, pounding and yelling to be let out, but by then the seven year old was back in his room, working on his schoolwork in blessed science.

Whether it was by fate or random luck, Cloud and Sephiroth's parents didn't get back home until 3am, having left instructions on the fridge telling their oldest child about having to babysit his younger brother that evening. When they got back, the kitchen and living room was clean and all the lights were out in the house. The Valentines had assumed that both of their children were asleep and didn't bother checking on either of them before they collapsed into their own bed, totally exhausted.

Vincent and Luceria only discovered their youngest son's duplicity when their oldest failed to come down to breakfast the next morning. They had asked their son, panic evident in their voices if he had any clue where Sephiroth was. The little boy replied in a tiny voice that he had locked him and Aeris in the pool shed yesterday, having forgot that he had left the two fourteen year olds in the chlorine-scented structure overnight.

Vincent had rushed outside to let the two teens out of the pool shed while Luceria called Aeris' parents informing them about their missing daughter's whereabouts. Minutes later Vincent came in, followed by two very solemn and quiet adolescents and after setting a hearty plateful of food in front of each. The boy's father then took Cloud by the ear and dragged the child out of the room to receive a severe lecturing about the consequences of his actions the previous day.

Obviously something had happened to the two in the pool shed, but neither of them were willing to talk about it. Aeris ended up staying for the entire day as she and Sephiroth quietly finished their science project and the rest of their homework before Aeris' mother came by to pick her up after dinner.

Being locked in the pool shed overnight had been a turning point for the two rivals. forced to put aside their differences, they actually realized that they had a lot in common. During the course of the summer break that year, built a tentative friendship that would become rock solid once they hit high school and suddenly found themselves at the bottom of the pecking order after being the height of power in middle school. Their popularity in middle school meant nothing when they became freshman, having to start with a clean slate all over again.

With no one to support them but each other, their friends in middle school having been sent to anither high school, Aeris and Sephiorth became best friends as a matter of necessity. They went from being bitter enemies to best friends over the course of only six months. Six months after that they started dating. Even after they made new friends in high school, Aeris and Sephiroth stuck together like glue. Over the duration of their education at Midgar High, they came to be known as the Unseperable Couple.

It came to no surprise to anyone who knew them that Sephiroth asked Aeris to marry him during their graduation ceremony. She had given his a very hearty yes, before tackling the grinning man to the ground, raining kisses all over his face, much to the amusement of their classmates.

Both of them got jobs over the summer and moved into an apartment together. The money that they earned went towards going to college and for the next four years they lived happily together, getting married after they earned their degrees. The year following their marriage was like a fairytale. Everything was so magical between them, they were so blissfully happy and in love that they never really noticed the trouble that was brewing in the outside world.

It was on the very day that Aeris discovered that she was pregnant that Sephiroth got called to duty to fight in the war. It was sobering shock to them both, shattering their dream-like existence. Sephiroth did not want to go and leave his wife and their unborn child, but he had no choice. So three months later, Aeris whose pregnancy was barely starting to show stood in the crowd of people who were saying goodbye to their loved ones as they headed off to war.

He had been gone for two months when her sonogram showed that Aeris was carrying triplets. Her heart grew heavy as time went on and her belly grew, but her spirits were raised on Christmas when a video letter came to her from her husband on the front lines. He said that he loved and missed her and hoped that she was healthy and happy. That she was his motivation for fighting. In the video she noticed an ugly scar that ran down the side of his throat and her heart ached anew for Sephiroth.

_Please, please,_ she prayed every night after that, _please let him come home safely_.

All she could do was pray and hope to god that the fates would be kind to her family. Everyday at work Aeris listened to the list of fallen soldiers that had died over the radio, thanking god when she failed to hear her husband's name every time.

Then on March 2nd, Aeris received a letter stating that Sephiroth was missing in action. She started hyperventilating and dots dances in her vision. Her friend and co-worker Tifa came just in time to catch Aeris before she fainted. Tifa, worried out of her mind called 911 and an ambulance came to take the heavily pregnant woman to the hospital. During the ambulance ride Aeris went into labor.

She was a month before her due date, but the doctors were not worried, it was common that women carrying more than one child went into labor early. Tifa sat in the hospital waiting room all night, nerves and fear keeping her awake the whole time. The doctor and nurses that were assisting Aeris felt sorry for the poor woman as she cried for her missing husband all throughout the delivery.

Finally at 4:13am on March 3rd, Aeris delivered three perfectly formed, beautiful baby boys. She named them Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. Loz, the first born looked so much like her father who had died only a year ago that she wanted to weep. Yazoo, the second was a dead ringer for his missing papa. And Kadaj, the last born, had her nose and facial structure.

For the first time in four months, Aeris felt the grief at her separation from Sephiroth dissipate. Looking at the three silver-haired angels that she and Sephiroth had created warmed her heart in a way she never thought imaginable. She positively glowed.

Life was not easy for a single mother raising triplets. Even with the help of welfare and support form her mother, her in-laws and her friends, Aeris struggled to keep her family in house and home. It was a hard time for everyone. Sephiroth was still missing and had been declared legally dead. The costs of raising three children on her own finally got too much for Aeris and she was forced to move in with Vincent and Luceria.

As the triplets grew, news from the war was grim. The troops were losing ground and people were starting to whisper about the enemy invading the country. Amidst this tense and frightened background, Aeris, her mother and Sephiroth's parents tried their best to provide a stable environment for the kids to grow up in. One year passed since her husband had been reported MIA, then another. Time went on and Aeris' grief lessened as her sons grew and explored their sheltered world.

People were urging Aeris to start dating again, that it was time to move on after her husband's death, that her sons needed a father in their life. But no matter how practical their advise was Aeris could not force herself to let Sephiroth go. She had even been set up on a few blind dates, but after each one, Aeris told them that she couldn't be anything more than friends with them. She never heard from most of them again.

The triplet's second Christmas rolled by and thought gifts were overflowing under the gaily decorated tree, the only thing Aeris wanted was for Sephiroth to walk through the door. She had given up hope for him ever returning, but she knew that there would never be another man in her life. She was done with her mourning and was finally moving on with her life, just without a man to support her. Even after two and a half years she still wore her wedding ring.

On December 31st, the war ended. The battle scarred and weary troops started returning a week later. Aeris, the triplets and the Valentines went out with the rest of the city to greet the returning soldiers.

"Look Mama!" two-year old Loz cried, pointing at the stream of soilders disembarking form the huge transport ship.

"Unca Cloud! Unca Cloud!" Yazoo happily yelled.

"Spike! Spike!" Kadaj called, adding his own contribution to the greeting.

Kadaj's first word had been "spike!", referring to Cloud's hair and the name stuck.

On his twenty-first birthday Cloud had been called to serve his country just like his older brother. Vincent and Luceria were heartbroken that their second son was leaving them and had been deathly afraid that they would lose both of their children to the war. Cloud had only been gone for five months when the war ended and from the last they heard, their youngest son would be returning to them healthy and intact.

They counted it as a miracle, but the specter of their oldest son hung them like a shroud. Cloud's return was bittersweet but welcomed all the same.

"I miss him," Aeris whispered as the celebration was winding down that night.

"I know," Cloud replied, "I miss him too."

Not long after that she went up into her room and cried herself to sleep.

More time passed.

The triplets blossomed under the care of the entire Valentine Family.

A year and a half after the war ended and Cloud came back, Aeris' mother was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She died just three months later. At her funeral Aeris yelled to the heavens.

"Give her back! Haven't you taken enough people away from me already! How can you be so cruel! Give me back my Mommy!"

Grief from losing so many had aged Aeris. She had too many worry lines for someone so young. You could see it in the slump of her shoulders, the missing sparkle in her eyes. The world had broken Aeris' spirit, she was a shadow of her former self that she was in college.

Then on the triplet's fifth birthday, the impossible occurred.

On the front page of the Midgar Star, the headline read: _Soldiers Gone Missing During The War Found In The Jungle Near Gonga_.

Aeris' heart leapt in her chest. The chances were a million to none that Sephiroth was one of the recently recovered survivors, but she eagerly read the article, finishing it within a matter of minutes. At the end of the article they listed the names of the survivors that had been found. When her eyes landed on Valentine, Sephiroth at the end, she fainted.

Kadaj found his mother an hour later on the kitchen floor, the newspaper held in a deathgrip in her hands and screamed, "Mommy's dead!"

His scream caused the members of the household to come spilling into the kitchen and while Luceria reassured Kadaj and his brothers that his Mommy wasn't dead, she was just sleeping, Vincent gingerly pried the newspaper out of Aeris' grip.

He paled as he read the article and then let out a whoop of joy and relief.

"He's alive, my son is alive!" the normal stoic man yelled to the heavens.

Her father-in-law's yelling roused Aeris and before she could even regain her wits, she was knocked to the floor by three sobbing, white-haired little boys.

"Mama! Mama! You're alright!" they kept on repeating.

Tears were running down everyone's faces as Vincent briefly recounted the contents of the front page article.

"Do you hear that boys? Daddy's coming home, he's really coming home," Aeris whispered to her sons.

It was decided that Vincent and Luceria would baby sit the kids while Aeris and Cloud went to the airport to pick up Sephiroth when he came back in three days. The household became a flurry of activity as they cleaned everything and bought new clothes and other such necessities for their returning son and prepared a feast fit for a king to celebrate Sephiroth's return.

The ride to the airport was tense, a crowd of reporters and curious civilians gathering outside to see the spectacle of the Missing Soldiers return. After viewing their IDs, the security guards keeping the crowd at bay let Cloud and Aeris by and then entered a room with about a hundred other nervous people waiting for their loved ones to return.

Aeris and her brother-in-law watched as soldier after soldier was enthusiastically greeted by happy family members and taken home for the first time in five years. Finally near the end Sephiroth stepped through the door. He was stick thin, his hair was ragged and uneven and there was a haunted look in his weary sea green eyes. The moment he laid eyes on Aeris the haunted look vanished and he was right there, hugging his wife and raining kisses all over her face rather sloppily. Both of them were crying and Cloud was hard pressed to prevent his own tears from falling during this emotionally laden event.

The car ride home was filled with Aeris' happy babbling, filling her husband in on all he had missed. Sephiroth was both proud of his wife and his sons and saddened as well that he had missed so much in their lives.

The return party was greeted at the door with more enthusiastic hugs and three energetic silver-haired boys climbing all over Sephiroth, using him as their own personal jungle gym in their excitement at finally seeing their fathers who they had never seen before.

"My boys, oh my boys, I have mised you and your mother so!" Sephiroth thickly said, "you four were the only guiding light during those dark, hopeless years. I am so happy that you are safe. I love you and your mother so much, I am glad to finally be home!"

The celebration lasted all night, the boys being too wound up by waiting for their father to go to sleep until well past midnight. Sephiroth stayed with his brother and parents until around 4 am when went up to his wife's room to retire with Aeris.

The moment they were alone, the story came spilling out: all the horrors he had seen and experienced, all the terrible things that had been inflicted on him after he was captured by the enemy troops, everything.

Just five days before Aeris had delivered the triplets, Sephiroth and his entire unit had been captured by a radical segment of the enemy's army. They had been specifically targeted and The half of unit that had survived the enemy raid were carted off to an underground facility where a madman carried out horrific experiments on them. Over half of the remaining men died the first year and every year after that about the another half of the remaining died as well. Near the end, only he and about thirty men were left and almost all of them had given up hope of getting out of there alive.

Hojo, as he was known by, did not care if his experimental subjects lived or died. His inhumane experiments had caused so many of Sephiroth's unit to go insane before they died. The ones that were left were the hardiest, the strongest, the ones with the most to loose if they died. They did not know what the purpose of the experiments were, but then again, they really didn't want to know.

It had been, ironically enough, the very same enemy that they had been fighting against during the war that finally found Hojo and shut down the entire illegal operation, freeing the thirty survivors and ensuring their safe passage back to their country and families waiting there.

The madman and the last members of radical segment of the enemy's army that Hojo had commanded were not given any trial and were executed on live television the moment they were caught. It was their message while they had opposed them in the war, they absolutely did not condone the actives of Hojo and his cohorts.

Aeris was horrified by Sephiroth's story and could do naught but listen and cradle him as they wept, providing the comfort he desperately needed from the woman who loved him. His recovery from what had happened to him would be neither easy nor quick, but the worst was already over.

Both Sephiroth and his family had survived hell to be finally reunited. The distance that the war had created between them was closed. Sephiroth was home, Aerishad her husband back and they boys finally had a father, their family was once again complete. The healing could finally begin and they could finally move on with their lives and raise a family together.

The End.

* * *

A bit of a tearjerker, but with a mostly happy ending.

When I received the challenge to do a fic with the prompt "Distance" this was the first thing that sprang to mind. I have never written something so angsty before, but I feel satisfied with how this one came out.

I have also decided that I'm not quite ready to give up writing Aeriseph FF7 fan fics. I still welcome challenges and requests, but unless I get another one soon, I'm out of ideas right now, so don't expect anything anytime soon.

Please tell me what you thought of the story and leave a review on your way out.


	14. Moogle

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7

* * *

Musing 13- Moogle

Sephiroth was in hell.

The noise of the place alone was enough to drive a man insane: the screaming kids, the constant blasts and zaps from the arcade machines, the inane announcements, the cheesy, obnoxious music that was constantly playing, the list went on.

Another screaming child ran past him, clutching a huge stuffed chocobo in one hand, a bright blue ball of cotton candy in the other which he was devouring as he went, staining his teeth, tongue and lips blue. Sephiroth deftly stepped out of the way not wanting to get the sugary, sticky confection all over his leather biker's coat. The dry cleaning bill alone would take up half of their remaining money and he had just gotten it cleaned.

The headache that had been threatening since the moment he got off the tram decided that now was the appropriate time to hit him and Sephiroth stifled a moan, not wanting to make his girl friend worried.

Since meeting Aeris, Sephiroth had been shot at, drugged, chased by Shin-ra's goons, blinded by a flash grenade, threatened with death by the Council of Elders to make Aeris awaken her powers and had fallen into the Lifestream. For the moment they had dropped off of Shin-ra's and the Council's radar and Aeris desperately wanted to take the opportunity to enjoy the rare break in their fugitive lifestyle.

There were dozens of different places they could have gone: the beach at Costa del Sol, the hot springs at Mideel, the winter resort at Icicle Village, mountain climbing in Nibelheim. All would have been excellent places to take some time off. But did they go to any of those different getaways? No. Aeris was adamant that she wanted to visit the newly reopened Golden Saucer.

Sephiroth was dead set against the idea. There was no way in hell, come fire or ice, that he was going to set foot in the overpriced, tacky theme park. He had let Aeris have her way on almost everything they did, but this was the time he put his foot down. They were not going to spend their vacation at the Golden Saucer.

It took Sephiroth two seconds to crumble under Aeris' puppy-dog eyes.

So now here they were, in the Golden saucer, the last place on the planet that Sephiroth wanted to be (okay, that was an exaggeration, he would rather be in the Golden Saucer than back in Hojo's labs, but it was a close call). Aeris was zipping everywhere, trying to take in all the sights and amusements all at once, dragging Sephiroth behind her.

So far they had gone on the roller-coaster, bet on over a dozen chocobo races, visited the battle arena (Aeris had to drag Sephiroth away otherwise he would have spent their entire visit in the place), and were now in the arcade.

Aeris was busy wasting all their hard earned gil trying out all the different arcade games: the motorcycle game, the basketball game, the snowboarding game, the VR table, the submarine game, the fortune telling machine, and so on. Aeris hadn't won much from trying all the different games, but it was obvious that she was having the time of her life.

Sephiroth on the other hand was not. The source of his current frustration? The Lifestream-be-dammed Mog House game. The silver haired man was on his tenth try and still had not managed to reach the end of the story. Here he was, a super soldier raised by Shin-ra's most demented scientist with enhanced speed, stamina, strength, healing abilities and superkeen hearing and sight, who had yet to be defeated in single combat and he was unable to beat this. Stupid. Game.

Sephiroth was really starting to hate Moogles.

The screen flashed the now familiar Game Over, Try Again?

He reached up and massaged his temples, trying to will his migraine away.

"Hey Seph, what's up?" Aeris asked from behind.

Sephiroth barely managed not to jump at his girlfriend's unexpected presence.

"Nothing," he ground out.

Aeris looked over his shoulder.

"You still haven't beaten that game?" she asked in disbelief.

"No. I. Haven't." Sephiroth practically growled.

"Why not? It's really easy," Aeris pushed him over, "move out of the way, I'll show you how simple it is to beat this game."

And so he watched the familiar story unfold. The young male Moogle came out of his house in the forest to take his first flight. Aeris fed the Moogle until he no longer rubbed his belly after eating a Kupo nut.

Sephiroth stared in disbelief as the Moogle successfully made his first flight for Aeris when he had only failed when Sephiroth had tried. The story then continued on as the Moogle got up again and was visited by a female Moogle. Aeris went through the same ritual of feeding the Moogle Kupo nuts until he no longer rubbed his belly. The Moogle then successfully flew again and the female Moogle was suitably impressed as she followed him back into his house.

The next scene came on and the now married pair of moogles exited their house to have a picnic out in the forest, followed by a hoard of baby moogles of all different colors. The screen faded to black and read The End, play again?

Sephiroth was seeing red.

"You see, the trick is feeding the moogle until he no longer rubs his belly after being fed a Kupo nut," Aeris was saying, unaware of her fuming boyfriend, "that means that he is full but not stuffed and is ready to fly. It's child's play, really. Do you want to give it a try now Seph? Seph?"

Sephiroth had turned around and was storming out of the arcade.

"Hey Sephiroth, are you all right? Where are you going?" Aeris hurried to catch up with him.

"To the Battle Arena," he bit out, "don't come to get me unless you are ready to go back to the hotel." And with that he left the arcade, his trench coat swirling dramatically behind him.

Aeris started after her boyfriend slack-jawed, then she burst out laughing.

* * *

It wasn't until after 10pm that Aeris came to retrieve her boyfriend from the Battle Arena. She had to push her way through the crowd to see him and watched with the rest as Sephiroth finished off his current battle. The sound of his girlfriend's cheering caught his attention and without even glancing at the crowd of people that had gathered to watch him fight, he left the arena, much to the disappointment of all those watching.

Many of the women were even more disappointed when Aeris ran up and hugged him, catching his lips in a kiss that he eagerly returned. The crowd quickly melted away when they realized that the free entertainment was over and that the mysterious silver haired man was very much taken.

Aeris was happily babbling about all she had done during the afternoon and evening and Sephiroth relaxed, letting the sound of her happy voice wash over him, not really listening to what she was saying. His day had been trying to say the least and he was looking forward to falling asleep in their room that they had gotten in the overpriced Ghost Hotel, the only hotel in the entire theme park.

The moment they entered their room, Aeris immediately claimed the shower and Sephiroth headed toward the bed, barely even bothering to take off his coat and boots before he fell onto the soft mattress. He was even too tried to go and join Aeris in the shower, an activity that always proved to be enjoyable to them both.

The sound of Aeris' singing and the falling water quickly lulled Sephiroth into a sleepy, relaxed state and before he knew it he was asleep.

A few minutes later Aeris came out, wrapped in the towel that the hotel had provided. She saw that Sephiroth was down for the count and smiled fondly. She shook her head at the picture he presented. Still dressed, he was curled up on his side, one of the pillows clutched to his chest as he snored softly. There were times that her boyfriend was just too adorable for his own good.

_Poor Seph. He's totally exhausted,_ Aeris thought as she headed out to get a bite to eat, _I'll let him sleep while I get some dinner for us._

* * *

An hour later Aeris came back, two takeout bags clutched in her hand, the tantalizing smell of Wutainese food wafting into the room. It took Sephiroth all of fifteen seconds to go from zonked out to fully awake, his stomach making its displeasure very clear as to it current empty state.

"Hungry?" Aeris grinned and held up the bags.

Sephiroth's stomach let out another gurgle and he grabbed one of them, planting a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek before greedily tearing into the contents of the takeout bag. Aeris smothered a giggle and joined Sephiroth in devouring their late night meal.

"You're an angel, you know that?" Sephiroth said after he finished.

"Well I certainly have the patience of a saint to be able to put up with you at times," Aeris teased.

Sephiroth half-heartedly glared at her and then flopped back onto the bed.

"Nuh-uh, you're not going back to sleep lazy bones," Aeris reached down, grabbed Sephiroth by the collar of his shirt and dragged him back up, "get up, we're going out."

"Do we have to?" Sephiroth whined.

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it," Aeris promised.

"If this has anything to do with that play that they were advertising, I'm not going anywhere," Sephiroth retorted.

Aeris grinned, "darn, and I really wanted to go to that. Too bad it is scheduled at the same time that the fireworks show is. I want to go watch it from the gondolas that go around the Golden Saucer."

"We can watch the fireworks perfectly well from our room," Sephiroth grumped, "there is no reason to go on the silly gondolas."

"Are you sure about that?" Aeris asked, "we'll be a thousand feet up with the fireworks going off all around us. It'll be just you and me, in a dark gondola with no one around, all alone for an entire hour…"

"Let's get going," Sephiroth already had his coat on and was pulling on his boots, "hurry up, we don't want to be late."

Aeris smirked as she followed Sephiroth out of the room, throwing the remains of their meal in the trash can as she walked out of the room.

* * *

It was just a few minutes after midnight when Aeris and Sephiroth stumbled out of the gondola, clothing dishelved and hair looking like it just went through a hurricane. Aeris' steps were wobbly and she had to lean on a very self-satisfied Sephiroth to keep from stumbling. Sephiroth smirked at knowing expression on the face of the teenage girl who was operating the gondolas and placed his arm around Aeris' waist in a very possessive manner.

"See? I told you that it was worth it," Aeris told him.

"Yes dear, you were quite right about the gondolas," Sephiroth replied pulling her closer, "I think that we ought to go on them again."

"Can't," Aeris yawned, "not until tomorrow night unless you want to share the gondolas with a bunch of hyperactive kids. They won't be running it again tonight, the ride during the fireworks show is the last one of the day. Besides, I'm bushed, I want to go back to our room and go to sleep."

Sephiroth grumbled good-naturedly and obligingly headed off towards the tube that would take them back to the ghost hotel. On their way to the exit, they were stopped by the oddest machine that Sephiroth had ever seen in his life.

'Hey-ya there!" yelled the cat riding ontop of the white mechanical beast that was rapidly heading towards them, "you folks want your fortune told?"

Sephiroth studied the creature the black and white robitic cat that riding for a moment before his eyes narrowed. He knew what that thing was.

"No. Thank. You." He stiffly replied, steering Aeris away from the menance.

"Aww, come on Seph, it can't be that bad," Aeris begged, "what's the worst that could happen?"

"I said no," Sephiroth refused to look at Aeris or else he knew that he would cave under those puppy-dog eyes of hers.

"Please?" the note in her voice was so plaintive and pitiful that he had no choice to look down at her, right into those big, green, innocent eyes of hers. Sephiroth groaned internally, he was beat and he knew it.

"That's cheating and you know it," Sephiroth grumbled.

Aeris cheered and headed over to the cat riding on top of the stretched out of proportion moogle that it was riding, Sephiroth following behind her, shoulders slumped.

"All right!" the cat cheered when it saw the pretty brunette heading towards it, her reluctant boyfriend in tow, "so you lovebirds want your fortunes told right?"

Aeris eagerly nodded and Sephiroth sighed.

"Okay, coming right up."

The cat and moogle did a funny little dance and then produced a slip of paper that the cat handed to Aeris. She read the slip and started giggling.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked.

Aeris was still helplessly giggling and handed the paper to Sephiroth. He read it and scowled before tearing the little paper up into tiny bits.

It had read, _be kind to moogles, they are your friends_.

"Come on, we're leaving," Sephiroth grabbed Aeris' arm.

"Aww, can't we get another one?" Aeris pleaded.

Sephiroth knew when to pick his battles, "fine, one more and then we're leaving, end of discussion."

"Can I get another one?" Aeris asked turning back to the cat and moogle robots.

"Sure thing little missy," the cat nodded.

They did their funny little dance once more and Aeris was handed a second piece of paper. This time when Aeris read the fortune she wasn't laughing, quite the opposite really.

A stony look came onto her face as she handed the paper to Sephiroth and approached the robot.

"Just what do you think that you're getting at?" she suspiciously demanded.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy Miss. I just print the fortunes, I don't make them," the cat backed up.

"Well who does?" she demanded.

"Hey I got nothing to do with who writes them. I just get a roll of fortune slips to randomly hand out to people," the robot nervously explained.

Sephiroth was getting a funny feeling and looked down and read the slip of paper.

_The sins of the parents must be absolved by their children. Those that would wish you ill are closer than you think._ _Beware of the Cheshire cat. _

"Somehow I get the feeling that this fortune was no accident," Sephiroth darkly spoke as he stepped up next to Aeris, "just who is your operator anyway?"

"Operator? What operator?" the cat was definitely avoiding Sephiroth's questioning, "I'm fully automated by my programming, I need no remote control. Nope, there is no one pulling this cat's strings. No one at all."

"I see," Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, "I think that it's time we left this amusement park, don't you Aeris?"

She nodded and took Sephiroth's hand, "yes, somehow this place is starting to become stale."

"But it's almost one in the morning, surely you want to go back to your hotel room and get some sleep before you head out?" the cat asked.

'Why should we?" Sephiroth retorted, "the rail system that runs from here to Corel operates round the clock. Besides, I don't feel very tired right now, do you dear?"

Aeris mutely shook her head and started tugging at Sephiroth's hand, anxious to leave.

"See, there is no reason why we should stay here any longer," Sephiroth said in a voice that dared the robot to contradict him, "my girlfriend wants to leave too and what my girl wants she gets."

He turned around and started heading off. Some sense of courtesy prompted Aeris to look back and say, "thanks for the fortunes. It was nice meeting you."

The cat waved merrily after her.

"I think," Aeris quietly added as she jumped into the tube that would take them back to the entrance of the Golden Saucer, Sephiroth going in right after her.

"Shit," Cait Sith cursed, "they were supposed to go back to their hotel room. The President won't be very happy about this."

The robotic cat continued to mutter as he headed off to a place where he couldn't be seen to contact the team back at the Ghost Hotel that was waiting to ambush the escaped lab specimen and the magically gifted female with him that Hojo couldn't wait to get his hands on, "there is no way that the SOLDIERS can get to them before they board the tram that will take them back to Corel. I just hope that Tseng had the foresight to station his men at the gondola station in the coal mining town."

* * *

As Sephiroth kick-started the motorcycle that they had left in the open field just outside of Corel he muttered to himself, "If I ever see another moogle again, its life is forfeit."

Aeris curled her arms tighter around her lover as the motorcycle came to life under her.

_It's not fair,_ she thought as tears started to gather in her eyes, _all I wanted was just a single day to be able to be able to pretend that we are not on the run. Just one day that I me and Sephiroth could be a normal couple. Stupid Shin-Ra, I just wish that Hojo would drop dead._

Sephiroth could feel Aeris' tears start to soak into his leather coat, but he didn't care. He knew how much this vacation had meant to Aeris and was furious that Shin-Ra had spoiled it for her. But there was nothing that they could do about either Shin-Ra or the Council of the Elders, not by themselves anyway. All that they could do was continue to run and hope that neither of their sets of enemies ever got a hold of them. For there was much more at state than their freedom or their lives. The very fate of the world rested on their shoulders, even if they didn't know it yet.

The end, for now…

* * *

There Silvara, I have written a story using your request to use the prompt "Moogle" that you sent me in your email so long ago. Sorry that it took so long. Hope that you and everyone else who reads this enjoyed this latest Musing.

Like always, comments and constructive criticism is appreciated, flames are not. They will be thrown right back at the senders.


	15. Loss

Musings of Emerald and Silver

By turtlerad17

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.

* * *

Musing 14- Loss

He started at the inferno that was his town. He just stood there mutely, watching as the flames devoured everything he knew and loved.

_This must be a nightmare, it can't be real,_ Seth dazedly thought.

Even from so far away he could feel the heat of the blaze on his skin.

He and his friends had gone out that afternoon to go looking for the natural mako fountain that was rumored to exist deep in the caves that riddled the mountains that surrounded the town on three sides. They were returning late in the afternoon when they had caught sight of the smoke rising in the direction of Nibelheim just as they were crossing the old wooden bridge just outside of town.

He had been in the back of the group and was the last one to cross the bridge. Seth was only half-way across when the bridge gave a sickening lurch. Zax had just gotten off of the bridge when he noticed his best friend's plight and had yelled out a warning. But the black-haired teen had been too late. The ropes connecting the bridge to the other side of the gorge snapped and Seth had clung onto the falling bridge for his life as it swung back the way he had come.

The impact of the bridge hitting the other side of the gorge rattled his entire body and had caused him to almost loose his deathgrip on the boards that he was hanging onto. Minutes passed before Seth was able to muster up the strength to start climbing up the bridge to the other side. His friends had watched in silence as he slowly, painfully reached the top of the cliff, battered and bruised but in one piece.

The coloum of smoke was getting thicker as he yelled across to his friends, "I'll be fine, hurry back!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Zax had yelled back.

"Don't waste any more time, I'll take the other way home that goes through the bottom of the gorge," Seth replied, his lungs straining to produce enough volume to get over the shrieking wind.

Zax had taken one last look back at him before he and the others had left, hurrying back to town to make sure that everyone was safe.

That was the last time he ever saw his best friend.

* * *

The path that went down to the bottom of the gorge and back up the other side took him almost six hours to finish traversing. He had never taken this way before, having heard about its existence from his parents only.

When he finally reached the top where the ropes of the bridge had broken Seth was exhausted, thirsty, hungry and deathly afraid for his family and friends. The trail that led back to town from the now broken wooden bridge was less than a mile long but he was so tired that it took him almost another hour to walk it. Finally the trail rounded the last corner that had hid his hometown from sight and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Everything was burning.

He tired legs suddenly found the strength to run towards the burning town.

"Mom! Dad! Zax!" Seth yelled, "where are you? Answer me, please let me know that you are alright!"

He received no reply but the roar of the fire.

He collapsed to his knees in disbelief. This couldn't be happening, it must be some kind of horrible hallucination!

But the roar of the fire, the heat of the blaze suggested otherwise.

Seth tried to get into some of the buildings, but the fire was too intense for him to even get within a hundred feet. The wind picked up bringing smoke as well as the stench of burning flesh into his face.

His eyes teared up and a ragged, agonized howl ripped out of his throat.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everything, everyone was gone, consumed by the hungry, terrible fire.

His arms beat against the ground futilely as he wept for all that he had lost. His parents, his friends, his home, all destroyed. He was suddenly an orphan with nothing left. No home, no hope, no future.

What caused this? Why had this happened? His head was spinning with frantic, unanswered questions as the wind continued to blow into his face.

_Oh God, please let this nightmare stop_, Seth thought as the world started to spin around him.

Off in the distance, through the flames and the haze of smoke Seth thought that he could make out a group of heavily-laden men on horses galloping rapidly away into the grasslands south of the town. He reached out a hand as if to stop them but it fell uselessly to his side, all of his strength gone.

"No," Seth croaked and passed out.

* * *

"Hey!"

He felt something poke him.

"Hey! Are you alive? Answer me!"

Seth groaned and rolled over.

"G'away," he sluggishly muttered.

"Come one, wake up already! The bandits that did this will be coming back soon and if you don't get your ass moving they will find you," the person who had woken him up hissed.

'What?!" he was fully awake now.

"Get up! I'm not hauling your lazy ass along with me," the person, or rather the girl impatiently replied, "I'm not about to get caught by those bandits just because you are slowing me down."

"Stop nagging, I'm up! Sheesh!" Seth climbed to his feet, "just who the hell are you anyway? How do I know that you aren't one of these bandits?!"

"Do I look like some filthy bandit to you?" she snarled, "stop asking pointless questions and start moving!"

For the first time he took the time to look at the girl that had so rudely woken him up. No she definitely didn't look like a bandit. Her long, full skirt made out of red and pink panels, the loose, billowy cotton shirt with lace at the collar and cuffs, the black felt vest tightly laced over the shirt, preventing the gaping collar from showing far too much flesh than was decent, the pink scarf tied over her tightly braided golden brown hair and the red ones tied around her neck and wrists suggested something else entirely.

She looked like a gypsy and in fact she was one.

The gypsy girl let out an exasperated huff and grabbed him by the collar of his brown homespun wool shirt and started dragging him along.

"Hey watch it!" Seth complained.

"Shut up already! Do you want the bandits to find us?" she snapped.

He didn't bother to reply and jerked his shirt out of her grasp.

She rolled her eyes and started walking faster. He glared at her back and hurried his pace to keep up with her. She led him away from the mountains and out towards the plains that lay to the south of Neilhelm. During the entire time she remained silent despite any questions he asked her. They walked all day and into the night, never stopping except for twice when she shared some water out of her flask with him and gave him a dry, tasteless meal cake.

The stars were out in their full glory when Seth caught the glow of a distant campfire. Seeing as the gypsy girl was heading in that direction, he assumed that that was where the rest of her troupe had made camp.

When they were about half a mile away she let out the shrill scream of a ghost owl that was known to live in the plains outside his town. He saw faint shapes rise up from the grass surrounding them, sentries from that camp that he had had no idea where even around.

One of the sentries, a tall male with dark hair that fell to his shoulders approached them.

"So what have you brought back this time Fire Rose?" he snidely asked.

The girl bristled but managed to keep hold of her obviously volatile temper, "a survivor from the village that had been raided by Thorn's group of outlaws."

"A survivor?" the man asked disbelievingly, "the Black Thorn raiders never leave any survivors. How do you know that he isn't one of them?"

"Funny," she shot back, "he accused me of the very same thing. I can tell you that this stripling is no raider. He has the gracefulness of a cow and is as loud as a frightened chicken. I had to practically drag him the entire way here."

It was his turn to bristle at the unflattering words she used to describe him.

"Well you didn't just have your entire town burned down in front of your eyes," he snarled to cover his turbulent emotions, "excuse me if I'm not as graceful or as quiet as I normally am!"

The arrogant man looked him over and sniffed, dismissing his presence, "you better hurry back to the Elder, he's about ready to strangle you for being gone for so long. And bring the stripling with you, the Elder doubtlessly would want to see the stray that you hauled back."

He had had about enough of the dismissive, arrogant attitude of this man. A growl was building in the back of his throat but Fire Rose's hand on the back of his shirt prevented him from lunging at the jackass. The man laughed at him and made a gesture at his companions. They melted back into the grass as soundlessly as they had appeared.

"Come on," Fire Rose muttered, once more dragging Seth along, "there is no use letting Dusk Hawk upset you, he only enjoys irritating others. Don't give him the pleasure of letting him know that he got to you."

"I do have a name you know," he sniped, "It's Seth. Not hey you, boy or stripling."

"Aeris," she replied.

"Huh?"

"My name featherhead, it's Aeris," she explained as if he was mentally challenged.

Seth rolled his eyes at Aeris' abrasive attitude.

"So why did Dusk Hawk call you Fire Rose?" Seth curiously asked.

"That's the name the gypsy Elder gave to me. Outsiders only know us by our use names, they do not have the privilege of knowing our birth names," she explained.

"Then why did you tell me your birth name?" he asked.

"Do you never stop asking stupid questions?" she retorted.

"Questions aren't stupid if I don't know the answer to them," he shot back.

"Would you two stop your bickering?" a sharp voice demanded, "I could hear you from half a mile away."

Aeris blushed but the darkness hid it, "I beg your forgiveness Elder."

The Elder, a man in his early sixties with steel grey hair with eyes to match coolly looked down at them. He was a tall man, even taller than Dusk Hawk and even through lines were deeply etched into his face, his back was as straight as when he was a young man.

"Well quit standing around, you've been gone long enough, get back to the fire and get some stew into you. You can give me your report later," he told her, "and take the youngling with you."

Aeris sullenly walked over to the fire where a group of three girls made a spot between them for Aeris to sit down in. Seth unsure about where he should sit remained standing up, feeling extremely awkward. Aeris sighed, grabbed his hand and yanked him down to sit next to her.

"So who's the cutie?" the youngest of the girls, one with short chocolate brown hair held back by a green headband and big brown eyes asked.

Seth opened his mouth to answer but Aeris shoved a roll into it before he could speak.

"None of your business Ferret until after he meets with the Elder," she replied.

The young girl, she couldn't have been more than thirteen, pouted and went back to eating her stew.

'Oh I see," the dark brown hair and eyes the color of red wine remarked, "you want to keep him for yourself."

Aeris sputtered, "that's not true! Take that back Spice!"

"Oh give it up, we see right through you Fire Rose!" the third girl who could have been the twin of the once called Spice except her eyes were honey-colored, teased, "you fancy the boy, admit it already!"

"Fancy him?!" Aeris exploded, "why would I fancy a clumsy lout like him?!"

The three girls exploded into laughter and Aeris' face got red with anger.

Seth during this entire exchange had been watching them with interest as he munched on the roll that Aeris had shoved into his mouth. But when Aeris called him a clumsy lout, it was his turn to get angry.

"What is wrong with you?" he almost yelled, "since the time I met you all you have done is insult me! I have done nothing do deserve this rudeness that you have shown me so far. Why don't you take that stick out of your ass? You certainly would be more pleasant."

He had barely ended his tirade when Aeris slapped him hard and stormed off.

"Great going Romeo," honey-eyed girl dryly spoke, "you sure know how to win a girl's heart."

Seth ignored her and sullenly started eating the bowl of stew that had been handed to him. He had just finished when Aeris came back, her back stiff, two bright red spots high in her cheeks indicating her repressed anger.

"The Elder wants to see you," she told him before whirling around and stalking off.

"Oh boy, you have got her riled up good," Ferret commented, "better hurry unless you want to feel more of her wrath."

Seth didn't need to be told twice. He put his empty bowl on the ground and hurried after Aeris. Her footsteps were fast but silent like the sentries outside the gypsy camp had been. Within no time at all she lead him to a big wagon in the center of the camp. She knocked three times, paused for two seconds then knocked once more. The door opened and the Elder gestured them inside.

He offered both of them some tea and soon all three were seated on the cushions that surrounded the low table that was in the middle of the wagon's floor.

"I've already heard Aeris' report and now I want to hear your side of the story," the Elder's words weren't an order but they certainly weren't a request either.

Haltingly at first he told the events of the previous day in an emotionless voice, not letting himself feel the grief that he was barely at bay. The Elder and even Aeris stayed respectively silent during the entire retelling.

"Boy, it is okay to let the grief out, no one in this camp will judge you for feeling this way. You have just experienced a great loss, it is only natural to grieve for the loss of those you loved and cared for," the Elder's voice was soft and compassionate.

The Elder's words were the straw that broke the camel's back. Before he could even stop himself, Seth was drawing great, shuttering breaths as tears poured down his face as all his grief came pouring out in one massive torrent. The minutes passed by and Aeris fidgeted uncomfortably, not wanting to be witness this obviously personal moment as Seth let out all of his pent-up sorrow and grief in one massive flood.

When Seth showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, Aeris whispered to the Elder, "Elder may I be excused, I feel that this is something that is too personal for me to be present for."

"Stay seated Fire Rose, there is still more that I have to discuss with the young man that you need to be present for," he quietly replied.

Finally Seth's sobs started dying down and slowly he regained his composure.

"It is a miracle indeed that you survived the Black Thorn Raiders' attack youngling," the Elder gravely told Seth, laying a hand on his shoulder, "but I warn you, do not entertain any thoughts of revenge. They are too strong and have too many numbers for one man, let alone this entire camp to be able to fight them and win. This world is far from prefect and has it share of monsters like the Black Thorn Raiders. The only thing we can do is try to avoid such black men and live decent, honest lives. There is nothing you can do for your lost loved ones but grieve for them and let time heal your heart."

"But what about Zax and the rest of my friends? I need to go back and find them," he was grasping at anything that could give him even a glimmer of hope.

The Elder Sadly shook his head, "you were the only survivor Fire Rose found. Your friends were most likely killed by Thorn's men. I'm sorry but they are beyond your help now."

"No, oh God no," Seth moaned as he started crying again.

Aeris couldn't stand his obvious distress any more. She reached over and hugged him, offering the distraught young man any comfort she could.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she whispered again and again.

Seth crumbled into her embrace, glad that someone in this harsh, ugly world seemed to care, was willing to offer a shoulder to cry on. Aeris may have had a temper and beauty to match her use name, Fire Rose, but under her prickly exterior she was a very compassionate person.

"Will you tell me your birth name young man?" the Elder asked when Seth's tears dried up once more.

Seth looked up at the Elder and blinked in confusion.

Aeris let out a small gasp, "Elder, do you really intend to go through with this?"

"Hush Fire Rose," he softly commanded, "now I ask again, will you tell me your birth name child? Think carefully, for knowing a person's true name can give them great power over them. By telling me your true name, you are placing your trust in an absolute stranger."

"I have already given Aeris my birth name," he slowly spoke as he gathered his thoughts, "and she seems to trust you and I trust Aeris, so I don't see why I shouldn't do the same."

The Elder's face remained impassive but his eyes were sparkling with pleasure.

"My name is Seth Valentine," Seth held out his hand, "nice to meet you."

"It is nice to meet you as well Seth Valentine," the Elder shook Seth's hand, "my name is Jerrin, but everyone calls me Elder. From now on you shall be known to us as Sephiroth. The name has great meaning for our people, don't misuse it. You are now one of us and any disgrace you bring to your use name brings dishonor to our Family."

"What?" Seth faintly asked, "what do you mean 'one of us'?"

"Just what he said dummy," Aeris grumbled, "you have been adopted into our Family, you are now a gypsy, just like me, Ferret and the Elder."

"But why would you do such a thing?" Seth was at a loss.

The Elder sighed, "I lost my blood family to a group of men like the Black Thorn Raiders. A gypsy cannot live without a Family to call his own and so I created a new one. I cannot stand to see children left alone to fend for themselves because of violence or misfortune. This Family has been formed out of orphans such as yourself and Fire Rose. Children who have nothing, no land, no home, no people. Those are the ones who I adopt into my Family, because every child needs a hearth and someone who cares for them."

"I…I don't know what to say…" Seth's voice was raw with emotion.

"You don't need to say anything, I am offering you a home and a new family, all you need to do is accept," the Elder replied.

"Thank you. Thank you so much Elder, I…I….," Seth trailed off.

"Shhh, there is no need for more words," he soothed, "Aeris, I can see that you already care for Seth." Aeris wanted to protest the Elder's claim but she wisely held her words back. "Look out for him the others will not be very quick to accept him into our Family. You were the one who found him and you will be responsible for him until he finds his place in the Family."

He stilled Aeris' unspoken objections with a wave of his hand and continued, "be patient with him. He has just lost his friends, family and home. I know if you manage to keep that temper of yours in check the two of you can even manage to become good friends."

"Yes Elder," Aeris bowed her head accepting his orders, "come along Sephiroth, I'll show you the wagon you will be sleeping in with Grey Fox and Bean."

"A moment Sephiroth," the Elder called as Seth was standing up, "be careful who, even in this Family, who you entrust your true name to. Aeris can be trusted with it but there are others who would misuse such trust as you have placed in me and Fire Rose. No go to bed you two, this has been a long day and you need your rest."

Aeris bowed to the Elder as she left his wagon Seth trailing behind her.

"Yes, despite your differences, or perhaps because of them, I can easily see those two becoming loyal friends," Jerrin mused to himself, "that and maybe more."

* * *

_Loss is something that is felt in many forms. Whether it be the loss of something beloved or a burden, each loss we feel has an impact on us and those around us. But with every loss, one gains something as well. For there is a balance to everything. Seth lost everything in the course of a few hours but gained a new home and family quickly thereafter. In time his heart will heal and he will forge new bonds in the family of gypsies that adopted him._

_And as for Fire Rose and Sephiroth… well that is a different story that is just starting to unfold…_

The End.

* * *

Dominisk gave me a challenge to write a story involving "True Loss". Now as my regular readers know, I have a very hard time writing stories with tragic endings. In fact I don't like writing them very much, so I thought that I would have Seth's/Sephiroth's "true loss" occur at the beginning of the story and then describe what happened to him from there.

It was quite fun for me to write Aeris as Fire Rose, agitating, brash and with quite a temper. Who knows, if I get a challenge or prompt that I feel is appropriate for Fire Rose and Seth, I might write a story of their further adventures.

I appreciate comments, constructive criticism and thoughts on the story, but flames are not appreciated. They will be thrown right back at the senders.


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