Disclaimer: Do I really have to repeat

myself? refer to chapter one.





Author's Note:

I'm not going to argue the point any

further about the stabbing. If you don't

like my idea about how it happened, just don't

read this fic. =P

Anyway, this is one of the more serious tales I've

wrote come to think of it... Skyship Highwind

was just a comedy with mild plotline. This one is

the opposite =) I read a fic the other day that

annoyed me a bit. It's an awesome fic, a Cloud/Yuffie

pairing, but 1.) Kisaragi was spelled wrong, and

2.) SOLDIER was spelt SOLIDER, netiher of which were

typos as they were misspelled every time. But who

cares, the story rocked ^_^ Too bad I can't find it

again, I never finished it...

OH, to those who asked questions, it's time for..





]Fan Mail![



Khan: "With me as your host, of coarse. Ok, let's

see here.. First off, to Sephiroth, it's rumored that

you would have had to swim to get to Aeris' body in

the lake. What do you have to say about that?"



Sephiroth: "... I would only have had to swim if her

body had not fallen to the bottom of the lake as it had.."



Khan: "It's also rumored that you didn't do it because

you can't swim."



Sephiroth: ".... bring me the fool who started that

rumor and I'll make him suffer."



Khan: "Someone had also said something about you hating

Aeris, let me find the review list.."



Sephiroth: "Hate her? If I hated her, I'd have locked

her in the spare basement room with nothing but a coffin

to sleep in and corpses to keep her company."

Khan: "So what you're saying is you like her?"



Sephiroth: "... I didn't say tha-"



Khan: "You heard it here first! Sephiroth likes Aeris!"



Sephiroth: "Hey! You're putting words in my mouth!"



Khan: "That's besides the point. Let's get on with the show!"







[Chapter Two: And So He Failed.]

[Place:Midgar City]

[Time: Meteor's Impact, Midnight]







Everyone stared in horror. The Planet

was covered in darkness, the only beacon

of light coming from the ominous Meteor,

which was slowly moving into Midgar. Spirals

of flames were spreading down like twisters,

wiping out each sector bit by bit, and the ShinRa

headquarters was the first to go, consumed by fire

in mere moments.







The only one who had the power to stop it was on

her knees in her 'prison' of sorts. Aeris had been

trying to reach the lifestream for hours now; having

Sephiroth gone helped her concentration, but it was

still difficult.





Yet, after many hours of pleading, finally eerie green

light began to pour from the Planet's surface, all moving

towards Midgar - and Meteor - like a stream of spirits.



It began to cluster over Midgar, enveloping the Meteor

slowly, adding a massive blueish green light to the Planet,

and bringing hope to those watching. Untill suddenly, the

light began to fade into red, and Meteor kept coming.





And right as it seemed Meteor was about to crash, there came

a blinding flash of light, and in mere moments, all that remained

of Meteor were thousands of tiny flaming pebbles, which hardly did damage

other than shattering a few windows or catching a tree or two

on fire.





Of coarse at this point all of Midgar was nothing but a smoldering

crator, but that's besides the point. Aeris lifted her head and

smiled. Her task had been completed. She had stopped Sephiroth once

and for all. She stood and began to gather her things. "I can't wait

to see the others, they'll be shocked to see me!"



As she stuffed the last of her things into a small napsack - which

wasn't a lot mind you - she heard footsteps.





Aeris froze stiff in terror. Whoever it was seemed to be dragging

along the ground as he/she walked, and a bit of grunting could be

heard with each step, accompanied by heavy breathing. She dreaded

the worst, that Sephiroth was still alive, that he was back, and she

began frantically trying to search for another way out... then she

began to think.. "Maybe it's Cloud, coming to save me!" she thought to

herself with a grin, and as she turned to get the door, all her

hopes were shattered. Along with the door.



Loud crackles of lightning were heard as the door was splintered open

by magical bolts; There, in the doorway, stood her worst nightmare.



Sephiroth stood there glaring at her; his calm, cool composure was lost

at the moment. Instead, he seemed to be staggering; his body had cuts

all over the place, his clothes torn in many places, his shirt completely

torn off, his hair matted with blood; his left leg seemed to be paralyzed

at the moment, and his right arm seemed paralyzed in pain, but his face

didn't reveal any of this pain despite the slashes on it.



Instead, he glared at her with a seething hatred in his eyes as he

staggared towards her. "You... it's all... you're... fault!" he growled,

dripping a trail of blood as he walked towards the Ancient. "I'd.. rule

this.. world... now... if not.. for you.."



He seemed to be gasping for air, and he was halfway to Aeris, moving

at a very slow pace.





Aeris wasn't quite as afraid anymore; in fact she found his appearance,

though quite bloody, was rather amusing.

"Looks like Cloud really kicked your butt. I knew it." Aeris laughed.

This obviously enraged Sephiroth even worse.



"You DARE mock me.. in my own mansion..!?" Sephiroth yelled weakly,

as he staggered closer. He stood up tall again as if the searing

pain of his injuries didn't even phase him, as his hands began

to burn brightly with huge balls of fire. "You'll pay.. for what

you've.. done..!!" he growled bitterly. Aeris realized her mistake

in mocking him and jumped back, but before she had time to cast

Reflect on herself..









Sephiroth groaned and fell to the ground, his hands now

smoking and a bit scorched. He just hadn't had the energy

to complete the magic, and the strain had completely drained

him.



Aeris stood there, stunned for a moment, before realizing this

would be an excellent time to escape. And so she attempted to

to so, carefully walking out of the room.







But every step she took in what she now recognized as the

ShinRa mansion in Nibelheim, she felt more and more guilty

for something she shouldn't even feel guily about. Every

step she took remined her of Sephiroth, as she was forced to

see a trail of blood leading down the stairs, as well as smearings

of it along the walls where he'd had to lean for support.



Not to mention at the top of the stairs there had been a rather

large stain of it, obviously where he'd collapsed at the top

of the stairs.





And as she reached the bloodied doorknob of the entrance, she

couldn't take it anymore. Her good nature betrayed her as she

turned the other way back towards Sephiroth.





"I'm only going to heal him a bit.." she muttered to herself.

"Then I'm going to leave."





She reached her room again and kneeled below him, placing

her hands over his back as a bright green glow emitted from

them. "Why do I always have to be the good girl.." she sighed,

confused at her own actions as Sephiroth's wounds re-closed.



The flower girl walked out of the room, satisfied with what

she had done, and at the same time regretting it. She'd left

him injured enough to keep him out of commission for a long

while, but enough to keep him alive.





Thunder crashed outside the mansion, startling Aeris slightly

as she walked towards the stairs. She turned around, fearing

that Sephiroth was blasting lightning around again, but realized

how silly this was after she saw nothing.



Rain picked up outside as she walked down the stairs.

Then, she heard yet another unwelcome sound, one that

badly troubled her; footsteps. Her heart raced as she

stopped and turned, seeing nothing. ".. it's just

your imagination, Aeris.." she told herself, as she began

walking again. And again, footsteps sounded behind her,

as if someone was following.



As she got near the bottom of the stairs she turned quickly,

hearing a swishing sound as the footsteps stopped.

"... Alright, Aeris, you're going crazy now.." she said

to herself, her heart pounding. "I'm getting out of here-"





As she turned around, however, she let out a blood-curling

scream.



"Jeeze.. did you have to scream in my ear?" said the tall

man standing before her, rubbing his sore ears as Aeris

backed away in horror. The man let out a cruel grin as

he walked towards her, enjoying every moment of her

nervousness.



"S-Se-Sephiroth..! You- You're supposed to be--"



"You underestimate my endurance, brat..." Sephiroth said

with a light shuckle. Aeris lost her scared composure

at that. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead.." she

muttered, purposely loud enough for him to hear.



"If it wasn't for you, I'd rule the world now!" Sephiroth

yelled, turning from amused to angry so fast it was obvious

he was still mentally unsound. Then he stood up straight

again with a sigh. ".. although I suppose I owe

you some gratitude for getting me back on my feet.."





"So.. so you'll let me live..? I can leave?" Aeris asked,

prepared to fight for her life upon the obvious answer.

She may die here but she'd bring Sephiroth down with her...



At first, Sephiroth looked at her like she was crazy,

preparing to blast her pitiful form to bits. But then

the same sarcastic smirk he had when he 'stabbed' Aeris

crossed his lips and he kneeled down, face-to-face with

Aeris. "Yes.." he said. ".. I won't kill you.. you can

live.."



He helped Aeris up. The flower girl smiled, as Sephiroth

mocked her own expression, making it look as sincere as

possible however. "Thank you. You're not as heartless

as you seem... are you?" And with this, Aeris began to walk

towards the door. As she got there, however, the doors

to the mansion shot up and fixed themselves, slamming shut

with magical force and glowing an odd blue.



"Wha... What's going on!?" Aeris yelled, turning to face

Sephiroth. He laughed loudly this time. "You-You said

you'd let me go!"



"No, I said I'd let you live. You are still of use

to me.." Sephiroth said, greatly amused at the

young girl's expressions. "... however, you will

remain my prisoner."



"Grr, Cloud'll realize I'm missing!" Aeris yelled, "Cloud

will come rescue me--"





Sephiroth burst with laughter at these words.

"Cloud?" he laughed, "Cloud and the other fools

all believe you are dead."



Aeris growled, still glaring at the man. SHe knew

he was right, but there was still hope... oh,

who was she kidding? Everyone thought she was

dead, they even 'buried' her and witnessed

the so-called stabbing. These thoughts just angered

her more and she charged into Sephiroth, not caring

if she died or not at this point, pounding him with

her bare hands as hard as she could. Sephiroth

retained his amused smirk, which only served to anger

her worse as she went for the low-blow: Kicking

every man's weakness.







Sephiroth fell to his knees - even the almighty Seph

was only human after all. The blue barrier faded and

the doors fell to the ground once more, as Aeris dashed

out of the mansion and clar out of Nibelheim.





As Sephiroth slowly staggared up, twenty red eyes began to

appear in the darkness behind him. "... after her.." he

muttered, as the eyes vanished and ten shadowy figures

dashed out the door at blinding speed.











[[END CHAPTER]]





Sephiroth: "Just so you know, the next chapter will be...

delayed... since the author will be all tied up for a while."



Khan: *tied up with tight rope and dangling over a boiling

pot of molten metal* "Just you wait till I get out of this,

you'll pay by having to wear a tu-tu on the next chapter!!



Sephiroth: "Silence pitiful fool! You will suffer for

spreading rumors and threatening me!"



Khan: "Stay tuned for the next chapter, where I'll show

you why you don't mess with the author..."





-To Be Continued of coarse.