Sephiroth's eyes met those of his mirror-image as he fell along beside him. The creature regarded him, took note of his presence, but was not deterred from his deadly course of action. The fire that consumed the clone's eyes was one Sephiroth knew quite well; it was an unspoken law in his own mind, one that said the mission was never over, and could never be abandoned, until every stage was completed, every objective met.

But not this time.

In a single act born out of desperation, Sephiroth hurriedly drove his heel into the opposition's chest. A distinct cracking noise resounded throughout the area, sounding uncomfortably to all of the witnesses like dry wood being split by an axe. Three of the imposter's ribs had been instantly splintered by a steel-lined boot. The creature grunted, thrown off course and completely befuddled as his fingers gradually uncurled and the blade of Masamune fell away from his grasp.

Both men landed on the altar. Sephiroth had rolled so as to soften his impact, but the clone had landed-to his original's bewilderment-without a sound. The creature seemed entirely weightless. It was a wonder he had fallen at all. But this seemingly inhuman trait was instantly negated as the man broke down into a horrible fit of coughing.

Sephiroth's attention lay elsewhere.

He had succeeded in preventing the death of the Ancient.

But, his conscience demanded, for how long?

The Cetra girl, her face a mask of immense fear and uncertainty, still knelt in her fixed position, directly between the two rivals. Her eyes darted from one version of the Shinra general to the other. Sephiroth seized his chance; he reached out and secured her forearm in a grip of iron. The girl released a startled cry as she was brusquely hauled to her feet and unceremoniously shoved behind him until she collided with the railing of the altar. "Stay there," he ordered. The icy tone of his voice seemed to dare her to do otherwise.

"N-no!" came the sputtering voice of the clone as he attempted to straighten his posture. "Leave the Cetra...leave her for me..." he was cut off as he collapsed onto his knees. Spasms wracked the imposter's body. His hands clutched his head, and his eyes were clenched shut as a wave of pure agony shivered through his form. It seemed as if a million voices were screaming inside his mind, as if there were an intense flame burning the man alive from the inside. Tears of agitation had managed to escape from his sealed eyes.

It was then that Sephiroth saw it.

Intense, liquefied Mako was flowing from this lifeform as freely as water. In place of what should have been blood, gathering at the corners of the imposter's mouth was the unmistakable gleaming substance of Mako. The sweat that lined his forehead, Mako. Even the tears that spilled down the slopes of his cheeks were purified droplets of raw Mako energy.

Sephiroth looked on in amazed horror.

"I cannot be destroyed," the imposter uttered, his words broken as he was repeatedly overtaken by waves of pain. "I am the chosen one. You are an inferior abomination, and, therefore, it is you who must be destroyed..."

At this statement, it became apparent to Sephiroth, at long last, that he could not let this creature survive. If he did, he risked his own life in the process. His own life, which had only just recently been given back to him.

He recognized the effects of the Mako on the humanoid right before his eyes. It was slowly, but steadily healing its keeper. He had seen it so many times before, on the battlefield. Injured SOLDIER's bodies were consumed by the Mako as they lay dying. Sometimes, they would rise to strike blades with their enemy once more. However, more often than not, their enemies would seal them completely to their fate by not giving the Mako a chance to complete its work...by not giving the victims a chance to stand back up...

The injection of Mako into members of SOLDIER, in order to immediately begin healing inflicted wounds...it had been the failure of the brainchild of the Shinra science department...the flaw of its head professor, a man named...Hojo...

But this imposter was entirely filled with Mako. It was not blood that ran in his veins, but Mako that was the creature's lifeblood, and the very reason for his existence.

It was clear. This creature was not human. It was a creation.

Its existence meant one thing to Sephiroth; the need for its destruction. It had no right to exist.

One instinct, and one instinct alone took the helm of Sephiroth's mind. The urge to kill. His eyes scoured his surroundings, pleading for the promising sight of his sword out of sheer desperation. He found it. It was fixed in an upright position, the blade lodged in a fissure in one of the pedestals rising from the water.

Not enough time...not enough time...

His enemy's recovery was nearly complete.

Sephiroth suddenly remembered the knife strapped inside his boot. He knelt, praising fate that he possessed it, and pulled it free. Just as his clone had risen to his feet, completely healed, Sephiroth hurled the knife into the fraud's chest. It struck the creature's heart. The imposter's eyes shot wide and his cry of surprise was abruptly cut off.

The Mako had already begun its mending work, and its recovery rate would steadily increase now that the substance was properly surging through the clone's bloodstream. But the act had successfully bought Sephiroth all the time he needed. While his target again struggled to cope with the painful healing process, Sephiroth leapt from the altar. At an inhuman speed, he retrieved the sword. In another flash of movement, he was behind his opponent, the great blade in his hand pressed firmly against the clone's throat. The entire scene, as bizarre as it was to observe, seemed to permanently suspend before the eyes of all of its viewers.

"Who are you?" Sephiroth's voice was calm and deadly as he whispered into his rival's ear.

The fraud refused to struggle, his body still plagued by the painful effects of the Mako's restoration process. "I am the Great...Sephiroth..."

Sephiroth shook his head mockingly, his eyes smiling wickedly. "Wrong answer."

The creation was shoved unceremoniously onto his knees. The true great general of Shinra, thought long lost from the world, rose his infamous blade and in a single deadly arc, cleaved the clone's head cleanly from his neck. The altar's flawless surface was instantly saturated in a shower of Mako, which quite simply, by all ethical standards, should have been blood.

- - - - - - - - - -

It was over.

Whatever it had been, it was over.

Aeris winced as she watched Sephiroth turn toward her, instantly expecting him to murder her as well. It was, of course, exactly what her ancestors had foretold. She bowed her head as he advanced on her, channeling all of her strength into her body to keep it from trembling. If she was going to die, she was going to do it as she had been prepared to do it: courageously and honorably.

She waited for the painful blow, eyes squeezed tightly shut, praying that Cloud and the others would remain where they were and, for once, not come to her rescue. She could hear the ex-SOLDIER shouting her name.

Ten seconds. Nothing happened. She begged and pleaded with her murderer in her head.

Slay me. Don't wait to do it...I hate waiting, please...

"What are you doing?"

It was his deep, melodic voice that broke the unnerving, anxious silence. He was speaking to her? As if he did not know? She opened her eyes and peered up at him. The question really was, what was he doing? Though Aeris had no justification for the sudden combat between the two men, (both of which fit the description of her would-be murderer) she had assumed it was all apart of the big picture. Something, undoubtedly strange, but a matter that did not affect-could not affect the eventual outcome.

"Why do you look so prepared to die?" he asked her after she had failed to answer his first question. His patience was drawing thin, and his naturally glowing eyes flared at her. "Answer me!"

"Don't play your games with me. You know exactly why," she finally said, her words like ice.

"No, actually, I do not know exactly why. Perhaps you could tell me?"

It had been more of a command than a request. She was spared having to answer, however, as Cloud suddenly appeared at her side. His sword was drawn, held out firmly in front of him. "Leave her alone, you crazy bastard," the man uttered through clenched teeth, his Mako-consumed, sapphire eyes narrowed suspiciously at Sephiroth. "I'm ready now. I wasn't back then, but I am now."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "What are you..."

"Don't pretend like you don't know! I remember everything you did. My family, my friends, my hometown...I lost everything, because of you! You were even going to take Aeris from me! You're going to pay for it. You're going to pay for it all..." He rose his sword-

"Wait! Stop!" Aeris threw herself before Cloud. "Cloud, you don't understand...I...I came here, knowing I was going to die. Knowing that Sephiroth was going to kill me. It was something I was prepared for. Its something that must be done. Before he summons Meteor."

Sephiroth interjected. "Meteor?"

"Yes!" Aeris said, her face desperate as she turned to face him.

"Then he must be killed! Before he summons it!" Cloud once again advanced on him, and Aeris's plea of reprisal was lost in Cloud's fury.

This time, the Buster sword was in full-swing. An instant later, however, its path was interrupted by Masamune. Sephiroth's hands braced either end of his beloved sword as he, assisted by his greater strength, easily held off Cloud's attack. "If your goal is to destroy me, then I shall have to destroy you first. But only after you answer my questions. Keep in mind that I am not that much different from him," he said, gesturing to the headless body of the clone. "I will kill you if necessary."

Cloud scowled at him. "Burn in hell," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Your flunkie failed his mission, so you want to do it yourself. You were always like that. It always had to be you who had to get the job done."

"...Mom, Tifa, the townspeople...my hometown...give it back..." the young, blonde-haired SOLDIER held the blade menacingly before him and drove it into Sephiroth's chest. Pain erupted, as his flesh was pierced by his own sword.

"Ughh...who are...you?" he moaned in a dying voice before being hurled off the edge, falling...forever...

Memories had filled his mind once again. And then he knew. Sephiroth knew who the man was. "You killed me," Sephiroth said plainly. He seemed to draw his strength from the air, it came to him so freely. "You. It was you who threw me into the Mako..." he shoved Cloud backwards, so that the shorter man was against the railing. "It was you. You are responsible for everything."

"Cloud..." Aeris was regarding him with a look of puzzlement. "What is he talking about?"

"Aeris, I'm kinda busy right now..." Cloud said, desperately trying to release himself from his pinned down position. "Run...hide...get away from him..."

"Oh, do not worry for her, Cloud Strife," Sephiroth said, smirking at him. "Worry more about yourself. No need to be so honorable. By all means, show your fear. It is no surprise to me. The man you thought you killed has come back to haunt you, that's all."

"Aeris!" Cloud shouted again. "Run! Now!"

Aeris stood, rooted to the ground in fear. "No, Cloud...I can't let him hurt you...this was my problem, all along. Let me handle it."

- - - - - - - - - -

Sephiroth sighed. In a single quick movement, he took the hilt of his sword and brought it down on Cloud's head. The man slumped to the ground like a broken doll. "I tire of speaking, it seems to always lead to nowhere." Sephiroth looked toward Cloud's comrades. They both were preparing to attack. "I suppose I will have to go on an alternate route, after all."

Aeris shivered as his eyes locked with hers. He made as if to advance on Barret and Tifa. Aeris held her hand up to her friends, telling them not to attack. "Wait," she said quietly, looking to Sephiroth. "You...mentioned questions..."

Sephiroth smirked to himself. All he had to do was play along with these people. They had cast him as the villain, and if that was the role he had to play in order to get what he wanted, then so be it. The Cetra knew that he knew she was useful...it was best to appeal to her.

"I did mention questions, but what of it?"

"I'll...I'll answer them, for you." Her reply came hesitantly.

He tipped his head sideways. "You will? But you couldn't possibly be requesting something in return, am I right?" His words were cold and sarcastic.

"Let them go, please. Let my friends go."

He shook his head., pretending to consider it. "But how shall I know if you are qualified to answer my questions to my satisfaction?"

"I-must be of some use to you." Aeris said, pleading with him. He could tell she regretted the words as soon as she had spoken them. She added, "I don't understand why you didn't kill me, it goes against everything I have believed."

He heard her last statement, but chose not to respond. He made a mental note to bring it up later.

I'm the villain. No harm in taking the part seriously. Let her think what she wants about me. I can cast her aside in the end.

"Very well." he took her arm and began to lead her away from the altar.

She stared at him, wholly confused. "But-I thought you wanted me to-"

"A deal is a deal," he said icily as they crossed the pedestals, one by one.

Barret had overheard the bargain. "No...Aeris, what the hell do ya think you're doin'?! He was gonna kill you just a few minutes ago! Get the hell outta the way so I can blast his head off!" He barred Sephiroth's passage.

Aeris shook her head. "No, Barret...I'll be fine. Really. Just remember...to take care of Cloud."

But Barret would not move.

"I tire of this," Sephiroth said. He held up Aeris's arm, eyes falling to her materia bracelets. He had been correct, the Cetra did possess a Sleepel orb. He plucked it free and waved his hand over it.

Immediately, a mist rose from the tiny sphere. It flowed over to Barret and Tifa. Aeris watched as their eyelids drew closed. They both collapsed in a heap as their legs gave out from under them and they fell instantly into a deep sleep. She had seen it so many times before, during battles.

"By the way," Sephiroth said, whispering into her ear, "I never intended any harm to you or your companions. I am, however, eternally grateful that you've volunteered so readily. I have much that I need to know."

Aeris doubted the man was telling the truth. But she felt that she could not suffer any worse of a fate than death at her enemy's hands, and she had already been prepared for such an event long before any of this had happened.

So be it, she thought.