Cloud walked through the doors of the abandoned church, sitting on the small bed that resided in it with a contented sigh. He'd been running deliveries since 7:00 am, so it felt good to be able to sit on something softer than Fenrir. But the blonde couldn't help but think something was…off. There was on odd…aura, almost…filling the church. His old SOLDIER instincts kicking in, he scanned the floor of the church, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. With a weary shrug, Cloud dismissed his suspicion as paranoia and laid back in the bed. After all, paranoia happened to everyone who was dealing with the after effects of saving the world. Twice. He heard his phone ring in his pocket. With a groan, he pulled it out, flipped it open, and held it to his ear.

"Cloud Strife speaking." He said in a rather bored tone.

Oh my Shiva, you actually answered your phone. What kind of apocalypse should I be expecting?Tifa teased. Cloud sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"Thank you, Tifa, for reminding me why I never pick this damn thing up." Cloud heard Tifa giggle.

Sorry, Cloud. Glad I caught you, though. Where are you?

"At the church."

Ooh, good! Would you mind bringing me some flowers?

"…You forgot to water the ones I brought you last week, didn't you." Cloud stated rather than asked.

Err…well…I didn't mean to, it just slipped my mind! Cloud sighed and covered his face with his hand.

"If I bring you more, will you take care of them this time?"

Of course!

"Fine then. What color?"

Any color is fine, just bring me about six of them, alright?

"Okay, I'll bring them by the Seventh Heaven later."

Thanks Cloud, see you then!The line went dead. Cloud stared at his phone for a few moments before slipping it back in his pocket. He stood and walked to the patch of flowers, scanning them for the blooms ready to be picked. Kneeling in the center of the small garden, he quickly found and plucked three yellow and two white flowers. One more good bloom and he could bring them to Tifa, and have the rest of the day to himself. Light filtered through the broken roof, and Cloud's attention was drawn by something glimmering in the sun's rays.

Upon closer examination, Cloud found that what had caught his eye was a flower that was pure silver in color, stem and all, in the very back of the flower bed. He treaded over to the bloom and picked it. It was beautiful, no doubt about that, with petals that felt more like silk against Cloud's ungloved fingers. He noticed that it also seemed to radiate energy of some sort that was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place from where. Sunlight filtered through the church again, a stray beam hitting the silver lily, making it shine once more. Cloud watched as the flower absorbed the light reflecting off it, glowing a shade of green that reminded the blonde of the Lifestream's swirling depths before falling to ashes in his fingers. An unseen wind blew the ashes out of Cloud's hand and out of the church through a missing pane of a stained glass window. Raising an eyebrow, Cloud searched the flower bed for any other silver lilies, but only found the remnants of what the flowers once were: three small piles of ash, and the ash from the fourth flower that had managed to cling to the blonde's fingers. Cloud sighed in agitation and continued looking for Tifa's last flower, annoyed by his peaking curiosity. If he ever saw another flower of silver silk, it would be far too soon.

"I never had taken you for a flower kind of man, Cloud," A voice said from above Cloud. Cloud, putting a face and name to the voice, unsheathed First Tsuguri and fell into a fighting stance, nearly snarling as his eyes fell on the voice's owner. The figure was sitting, legs outstretched and back against the wall, on the large ledge beneath one of the church's windows. He was staring off into space, not seeming to care about Cloud's intimidating display. When his gaze finally fell below him, it fell upon the flower bed instead of the hostile looking blonde. "Although, they are quite lovely." Finally locking eyes with Cloud, bluish green staring into sapphire and seeing nothing but bad intentions, the figure sighed and jumped graciously to the floor a few yards away from the swordsman, his hair cascading around him like waves of silver silk.

"I'm imagining. You aren't here. There's no way you could be here." Cloud growled, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. Although, somewhere in the back of Cloud's mind, he registered that he'd been able to see and feel Aerith and Zack after they had passed away, and that this could be a similar situation. The figure simply chuckled and smirked.

"I assure you, I'm very much here, alive and well."

"Lies!" Cloud ran at the figure, swinging at him as if the sword alone could dilute the ghosts of his past. The figure gave a sad smile and stood his ground, making no attempt to avoid the oncoming attack. Seeing that the figure wasn't going to dodge him and that the hit would be fatal if it landed, Cloud slowed his assault, putting the blade of First Tsuguri against the figure's neck. A few beads of blood leaked onto the sword's cold steel, and Cloud was shocked to see that the figure's blood was crimson, not black. "I could kill you, right now, and make sure that you never escape the Lifestream again." Cloud snarled, putting a bit more pressure on the sword. He was secretly pleased when the figure winced.

"I didn't come here for a fight, Cloud. Pat me down, I'm completely unarmed." The figure said, maintaining his calm voice even though internally he was in a panic. Locking eyes with Cloud again, the figure tried to silently show that he meant no harm to the blonde or anyone else. Cloud reluctantly pulled back First Tsuguri, his eyes never leaving that of the silver haired intruder.

"If you haven't come for a fight, then why are you here?"

"Why am I here, as in 'why am I out of the Lifestream' or 'why am I here with you'?"

"Both. Just sit down, start explaining, and keep your hands where I can see them." Cloud answered, pointing to the bed. The figure sat down, and Cloud stood in front of him.

"First, I didn't escape the Lifestream." The figure put air quotes around the word escape. "I was released from it. Sent back to Gaia, given new life."

"But why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." The figure answered with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure it was explained to me before I left, but I can't remember much of my time in the Lifestream. I barely remember my time on Gaia before I entered the Lifestream." Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"What do you remember?" He asked, finally remembering that he was still holding First Tsuguri and resheathing it. The figure shrugged.

"You, mainly. I didn't come here to explain myself, either. There'll be plenty of time for that later."

"Then why did you come?" The figure looked away again, and spoke quietly and reluctantly.

"I...wasn't the only one who returned to Gaia. My brothers returned with me. But they're ill. Two of them have been fading in and out of conciousness, and the third collapsed and hasn't woken up since."

"Wait...three? Besides yourself?" The figure nodded, and Cloud's heart sank. "You don't mean..." The figure nodded again.

"Yes, Sephiroth has returned with us." Cloud's mind went blank as he took those words in. Sephiroth was back. Sephiroth was alive. But which Sephiroth? There was the psychotic madman who had killed Aerith, nearly killed him, and had almost succeeded in destroying the world through Meteor. But there was also the man who had been a SOLDIER general. The man who had been the perfect fighter on the battlefield, always on time to ShinRa events and with paperwork, and always calm and collected in his mannerisms. The man who had had a rough past without knowing what compassion was, how to give it or recognize when it was being received, and had been taught more life lessons by the few who had gotten around his defenses enough to be considered his friends than all his years in the lab or at war. The man Cloud respected, and even cared about. The blonde didn't know how to respond to the new information, instead staring blankly at the man sitting in front of him. Seeming to read Cloud's mind, the figure shook his head.

"Sephiroth has been unconcious for a week now, I'm not sure whether or not he's retained his sanity." Cloud nodded.

"So what you're asking me is-"

"To take pity on a man with a checkered past, who's concerned for his family's well being and has nowhere else to turn." The figure bowed his head pleadingly, hands tightening into fists in his leather clad lap. Cloud was silent, various things running through his head at once, and those things multiplying like bunnies. Somehow, the Remnants and Sephiroth himself had returned from the Lifestream, for reasons unknown. They were back on Gaia, alive, but what did that mean for the planet? Sephiroth had caused chaos with Meteor, as had the Remnants with Bahamut SIN. Now that they had returned, would that happen again? While Cloud took his time pondering the pros and cons of his different options, the figure was still sitting still, dead silent, teeth and fists clenched with anticipation and worry. If Cloud said no, his brothers would die, and he couldn't- no, wouldn't let that happen. After at least five minutes of silence, Cloud flipped out his phone and dialed a number, holding it to his ear.

Yuffie here.

"Yuffie." Cloud said, knowing that the hyperactive ninja would recognize the sound of his voice.

Oh...my...god...Cloud! You actually use your phone?

"Just for today. Listen Yuffie, what's the strongest cure materia you have?"

Umm...that would be a half mastered level five. Why?

"I need to borrow it." The blonde spared a glance at the intruder, who was lounging on the bed, waiting patiently for Cloud to finish his conversation.

Really? For what?

"It doesn't matter at the moment, Yuffie. Please, just trust me, and don't tell anyone. Understand?"

Yup. Yuffie give Cloud healing materia, Yuffie keep quiet. Got it. Yuffie answered with a giggle. Cloud internally groaned and wondered if he'd just made a huge mistake.

"Good. I'll pick it up in a few minutes."

Kay. Seeya, Cloud, and good luck on your secret mission! The line went dead. Cloud slipped the phone back into his pocket and gave his attention back to the figure.

"Where are you staying?" He asked, quickly putting his gloves on and picking up Tifa's flowers. The figure sat upright in the bed again.

"An apartment in Kalm. I'll take you there." The figure stood and walked towards the door. Cloud reluctantly followed, but stopped when he reached the center of the room. What was he doing? He was probably just imagining this, anyway! The figure walked back to him. "Something wrong?"

"You...really are Yazoo, aren't you." Cloud stated rather than asked. He lifted his hand and reluctantly rested it against the Remnant's chest, half expecting it to phase through Yazoo's body or make the image dissolve completely. Needless to say, he was surprised when he felt the solid torso beneath his hand and the thrum of the heartbeat that laid within it, something that, Cloud recalled, the Remnants hadn't had when they were "alive". Yazoo chuckled and rested his hand over Cloud's.

"Like I said, I'm very much here, alive and well."

.o.O.o.

A/N- I apologize for referring to Yazoo as "the figure" for most of the story. I wanted to see how many people could figure out who he was without me saying his name. ^^ I also apologize if I messed up the materia strengths and stuff. materia isn't my forte. If I got it wrong, just tell me and I'll fix it.

So how was it? Bad, good, odd? Gimme reviews. I think I'll go with...three. Yes, three reviews before I write a second chappie. So give em to me, kay? :D