He didn't know where he was or how he got there. When the blackness finally dissipated from his vision, he inspected his surroundings from his vantage point atop of what looked like a gazebo in the middle of a lake. After looking around a bit, he came t the conclusion that he was underground.

"Where am I?" he muttered to himself. He then noticed that his overly long katana Masamune was unsheathed and he was gripping it tightly.

((We are in the Forgotten City, Sephiroth.)) The cold voice that carried an obviously fake tone of caring echoed through his head.

"The Forgotten City…" he repeated, his eyes flicking downwards as if studying the floor of the gazebo. "Why are we here, Mother?"

((We are here, my dear son, to cease the workings of she who can destroy us. The only one capable of stopping our plans for the Reunion. The last Cetra.))

"Aerith…" Her name just seemed to roll out of Sephiroth's mouth without him realizing he had said it.

((She possesses the White Materia. She will come here to pray and call upon Holy to stop the destruction that the Black Materia causes. You much dispatch of her while she is praying.))

"But…" He didn't get a good feeling from the thought of killing the Flower Girl. Nothing good could come from killing something so innocent. He didn't know or understand why he felt like that but he couldn't stop those feelings from swelling so until he felt that the uneasiness was oozing out of every pore on his body.

((Do you not trust me? Do you not have faith in your Mother's words? You must do everything I tell you for my….I mean, our Reunion to be successful.))

"Yes, Mother." Sephiroth scowled slightly. He then glanced down and noticed the Flower Girl making her way to the gazebo. For a moment, his breath caught in his throat as her eyes flicked upwards to where he was perched but she did nothing after that that would be expected. She only smiled, which surprised Sephiroth even more. It seemed she knew what she was walking into, like she could sense her fate, and she was walking towards her destiny with her head held high.

((What is this weakness I am sensing in you? Almost a sort of tenderness towards that girl. She would destroy you if given the chance!))

He was beginning to doubt the intentions that Mother swore the Flower Girl possessed.

((My dearest son, you are doubting me. Why not rest and let me take care of everything.))

His Mother's cold imitation of a caring voice echoed in his head and as it did, the darkness was attempting to creep into his vision. He clenched a fist as he fought to keep control but it was incredibly taxing.

((Trust me. Just trust me and let go.))

He couldn't fight it anymore. The last thing he saw was the Flower Girl kneeling in prayer as his world slowly slipped into darkness.

-----

When he opened his eyes, Sephiroth felt like he had been sleeping for so long yet not long enough at the same time. The world around him seemed to be ablaze with a warm white light. He closed his eyes because the brilliance of the light was blinding but it didn't seem to burn. Somehow he knew that he was dead.

While he eyes were closed, he could sense the light slowly fading away. When it completely disappeared. Sephiroth opened his eyes but he couldn't see anything because his vision was so blurred. As his sight slowly returned, he saw that he was in a rather run-down church. At the other side of the church was a large flower bed.

Kneeling in the middle of the flowers with her eyes closed and head bent in prayer, was the pink-clad Flower Girl. Her eyes slowly opened and then when she saw Sephiroth, she did something that surprised him more than anything.

She smiled.