Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with FFVII or Squaresoft, the characters, storyline, feelings, plots, emotions, weapons, monsters, ages, swords, flowers, guns, hair, eyes, clothes, etc. Everything read here comes from the brain of a teenage girl.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

The world seemed to stop turning for Cloud Strife as he stood frozen, standing by the altar where Aeris Gainsborough kneeled, praying. He had just almost killed her, but she looked up at him, her entrancing green eyes paralyzing him as she smiled. It took a split second to see the shadow that enveloped Aeris suddenly. His eyes jerked upward, but the pain in his heart had already told him what it was.

Behind him, he heard Tifa let out a cry of alarm. Cloud had no time to react, Just to watch as Sephiroth's lean form slid through the air like ice, descending himself, sword drawn, on top of the praying Ancient. His sword cut through her midriff cleanly and the smirk on his face was malicious. Aeris took the pain and closed her twinkling green eyes, the eyes that would never open again to grace the world with her presence.

The last of the Ancients, the purest of humans, the best of friends, was dead. Yet a trace of her last smile still rested on her delicate face as her life force was pulled from her body, tugged by the Planet to return. Her lifeless body hit the ground with a soft thud and Sephiroth pulled his sword from her, smirking maliciously at his victory. Cloud dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her into his arms, fighting back tears.

As he began to speak, Aeris' body left the City, floating freely through walls. She desperately wanted to stay, and help Cloud any way she could, but something much stronger was tugging at her very being. She was pulled from the City, to the Temple of the Ancients, then straight up into the sky. Suddenly, she felt water. She jerked her arm around, splashing the water joyfully. Opening her eyes as if for the first time she looked around at her new world. She had been here before. She stood, walking from the water to the land, up onto the beach. As her body was relieved of the wet paradise, it immediately dried, as if she had never been wet at all. She continued to make her way down the beach, somehow knowing exactly where she was. She had been here many times in her dreams, when she was desperately alone, in need of comfort. This was the Promised Land, and her mother resided in a nearby cottage. Just a little farther, she thought.

The Promised Land. That was where all the dead Ancients resided. When they were deceased on Earth, they came to live here, everyone happy and in harmony. But something was different. Aeris looked around, studying the trees and the waves, the sand, the grass. Everything seemed the same as in her dreams, but something was missing. something was different. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach something was wrong.

"Aeris!" a voice cried out in joy. Aeris whirled around to see her mother, Ifalna, standing there. A smile grew on Aeris' face as she ran to her mother and hugged her.

"It is so good to see you again my daughter." Ifalna said, smiling with joy. Aeris let go of the embrace against her mother and smiled.

"It's good to be back she said, sighing out a deep sigh. She was finally here. Finally in the promised land. Here, she would be safe, here she would live out the rest of eternity being happy. But also, here...she would never see her friends again. Cloud, Tifa, Barret... None of them. Somehow she would have to deal. But she would have her mother. She glanced back to her mother, who was staring at her as if for the last time.

"Mother, what is wrong?" Aeris asked, her expression worried. Ifalna just smiled, but her expression decieved her.

"My beautiful daughter...the Elders wish to speak with you when you arrive. I must take you to them..." she said sorrowfully. Aeris felt that Ifalna was going to tell her more, but when she did not, Aeris let it drop.

"Then let's go..." Aeris said. She had to wonder what the Elders wanted with her, why they needed so urgently to speak with her. She wasn't even settled in yet? But they had to have a good reason. The Elders would never call her up there without a good reason. She followed her mother thru the small town in the Promised Land up to a temple. The temple was very large, but extremely beautiful. Aeris stood in awe of it, but quickly caught up with her mother, who had not stopped to take in the heritage of those walls. Ifalna walked up the stairs into the Temple.

Once inside, Aeris gasped at the beauty of the walls, the stone carvings exquisite. She caught up with her mother once again, who had opened two large doors. Behind those doors lay what looked like a human court, the three Elders, all male, sitting up higher. They studied her as she walked in. She tried to appear strong and fearless, but she knew they saw right through her, that they knew she was scared. The Elders were never wrong, and always knew what was best for their people, and the Planet.

"Aeris Gainsborough. Daughter of Ifalna Gainsborough. Do you know why you have come before us?" The center Elder said. Aeris searched for anything her Mother may have hinted her towards, but quickly found nothing.

"No." she said simply. The Elder nodded.

"The human. Sephiroth. Do you know of him?" The right Elder asked. Aeris looked at him with new interest. What did this have to do with Sephiroth?

"Yes. I know of him. He is the one who has brought me before you." she said, no anger, no pain, no hate towards him at all. Aeris looked past the act that he had killed her, but saw that he had been her carrier to a better place. She had no remorse for him. The Elder watched her curiously, but said nothing more.

"You had fulfilled your wish. Holy has heard your prayers. If the time comes, Holy will be ready. Your sacrifice did not go in vain." the left Elder said. Aeris turned her head towards him.

"If? If the time comes?" she asked. The center Elder nodded.

"We think that the time may never come for that. We think you may be the key to preventing that." he said. Aeris turned to the center Elder now. Her eyes were trained on him, searching his expression for what they needed of her. But his expression was blank, and she could decipher nothing.

"How could I prevent that?" she asked, curious now. The right Elder spoke up then.

"You see things differently than the humans. We have sensed an aura in you that we did not sense before. You may be the key in all of this. We need you to do the Planet one last favor..." the Elder spoke in a quick manner, still careful to choose his words as if he were scared to let something slip that he should not.

Aeris raised one eyebrow and she watched all three Elders. "I will do whatever you ask me." she said. She did not need to know what they needed of her, she knew already that no matter what it was she would do it anyway. So she agreed.

"You agree to accept this task without any knowledge of what is needed of you. You are very brave. So be it." the left Elder said. Aeris' expression did not change whatsoever at the compliment from the Elder. The center Elder looked at Aeris then, and stood.

"Aeris, your task is not easy. It will be time consuming, and very difficult, but we believe you are the only one fit for the task. This will seem impossible at first, but you must understand. We believe you can do this. We are going to send you back to your body on earth. You will be given another life, another chance at this. As you know, Sephiroth is the not the only thing that is killing the Planet. Shin-Ra is doing this as well. But Shin-Ra is another story. To get rid of Shin-Ra, you need a key player. A man strong enough to do this job. A man stronger than four armies." the Elder trailed off, leaving Aeris' mind to wander.

Aeris froze when she realized who it was that the Elder was referring too. Sephiroth. "But sir, Sephiroth will never willingly help me defeat Shin-Ra." she said, staring at the Center Elder for a response. How exactly did they plan to make Sephiroth join her?

"You must persuade him." the left Elder said.

"He is more evil than anyone I have ever met! He had killed thousands! He has no emotions, he runs around, killing people like a robot. No remorse, no thoughts, just killing! How am I supposed to convince him to come to the good side and save the planet instead of destroying it?" Aeris' voice reverberated on the stone walls as the Elders listened quietly as she voiced her opinions. When she was done, the right Elder spoke.

"You of all people should know there is a good side to everyone." he said quietly. Aeris focused on him, sighing. He was right. She knew that Spehiroth had a good side, but to get him to bring it out was another thing.

"Sir...I know full well Sephiroth is good in some part of his heart. But he has kept that part subsided for so long he has forgotten it is there! He has put up walls around that part so high and so thick that no one can break through them. Not even me. I don't see how you think that I will be able to bring it out." Aeris said softly. The left Elder smiled at her.

"We sense something in you that you cannot sense in yourself. It is compassion. You have more compassion than all of us combined times four. It was your mother's compassion. It was your grandmother's compassion. Now it is yours..." he said. Aeris turned around to her mother, who was smiling at her.

"Do you think I can do it?" Aeris asked. Ifalna smiled even brighter. She walked over to her daughter and hugged her.

"Aeris, I believe you can do anything." she said. Aeris smiled and turned to the Elders.

"When do I start?"

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Note from the Author: Thank you all for at least giving my fic the time of light to read the first chapter. I appreciate any reviews you would wish to give me.
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