Sephiroth's Redemption

written by Kat_Aclysm
Rated PG: Because I want it to be that way, and there's nothing you can do about it.

DISCLAIMER: Go read one of the disclaimers on the other chapters, cut it out, and then paste it over this text. I couldn't be bothered with writing one for this one.

NOTE: Read chapters 1-8 before this one. Well, you don't have to, but it is advised. Oh yes, as this story probably contains spoilers, you might wanna finish FFVII before reading this. But seeing as though FF7 is such a great game, wouldn't you wanna go and finish it anyway, even if you don't end up reading this fic??


As always, stuff in *'s is spoken in telepathy. Stuff in plain italics are just thoughts.
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Chapter 9 - Fraying Tempers

"....mmm..........."
*Bzzz zzzz...........*
"Hmmm.....grrr..........."
*BzzzZZZ.*
"Damned PHS...... Somebody get that, goddammit......."
*BZZZ ZZZ!!*
"Shut up you stupid phone!"
*BZZZ ZZZ ZZ RING RING RING!!*
"Alright, fine! I'll get it!"

Sephiroth forced his eyes open, a combination of fatigue and tranquilliser wanting to keep them closed, and him asleep. He sat up and got to his feet weakly, his head spinning. Staggering around in the dark, he tripped over a coffee table before finally finding the small phone. Grabbing it with much annoyance, he pressed the 'Pick Up' button and sighed angrily.

"Ow, my head........ Hello?"
"Who is this?!" the voice on the end demanded. "Where's Tifa?"
"I don't know." Sephiroth grunted. "Now go away and don't call again."
"Is that you, Sephiroth?!"
"Yeah, what do you want?" Sephiroth yawned. "Who is that?"
"It's Cloud, you idiot!" Cloud roared from the other end of the line. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"The room is spinning, it's dark and I want to chuck up somewhere." Sephiroth said bluntly. "So you'd better make this quick."
"I wanna know where you are." Cloud said coolly, trying hard to keep himself from screaming at the grey haired man.
"On this stupid plane you guys fly around in." Sephiroth replied flatly.
"No, I want to know where the plane is parked, you thick headed moron!" Cloud yelled.
"Oh, okay....." Sephiroth looked out the window for a brief moment. "I think that small town in the distance could be Mideel, but I'm not so sure."
"You're not sure?!" Cloud snorted. "Can't you even go outside and look properly?"
"You mean, walk out there and into the town?"
"YES!"
"Are you crazy? It's 4:26am in the morning." Sephiroth grunted. "Most sane people are asleep right now."
"Damn you, Sephiroth!" Cloud hollered. "Can't you at least find somebody who does know where the Highwind is?!"
"There doesn't appear to be anybody arou------ WHOA!!!"

Sephiroth stumbled over something in the dark. In the dim light, he could just barely make out that it was Aeris, sprawled across the floor and dead to the world. Sephiroth sat up quickly and began to rouse her.
"Hey........ wake up!" Sephiroth said, shaking her.
"....what?" Aeris said, half asleep. "Sephy....?"
"Don't call me that." Sephiroth said, suddenly scowling.
"What's wrong, Sephiroth?" Aeris said suddenly, sitting up. "You're awake! Are you alright?"

"Sephiroth?!" Cloud yelled into the phone. "Aeris is there?! Put her on, damn it!"
"Whatever, Strife. I'm gonna go hurl now. If you could f*ck the phone off, then that would be fine." Sephiroth said, before handing the PHS to Aeris and leaving the room.

"Hello?" Aeris said politely. "May I ask who's speaking?"
"It's Cloud...." the man said, suddenly very nervous. "I just called to ask where the Highwind is, so we can get over there."
"Oh, it's parked just outside of Mideel." Aeris answered. "How do you propose to get over here?"
"Reeve has a small plane." Cloud answered. "He'll fly all of us over there. We should be there in less than an hour. See you then....."
"Cloud, wait!" Aeris said quickly.
"Y....yes?"
"I.... I want to apologise for my actions."
"No Aeris......" Cloud said slowly. "It's alri----"
"I'm serious!" Aeris cut him off, almost in tears. "I never meant to hurt you! I'm sorry give you the wrong message about how I felt about you, and I'm especially sorry for being so blunt back at the Gold Saucer....."
"Hey, It's OK." Cloud said calmly.
"No, it's not." Aeris said apologetically. "I never wanted to hurt your feelings."
"You did, a little bit." Cloud told her. "But you also told me what you really thought. You didn't lie, you didn't avoid the subject and you didn't sugar-coat it either. I thank you for doing that."
"So..... you're not mad at me?" Aeris said slowly.
"Hell no, Aeris!" Cloud chuckled. "You're a sweet person. How could I be?"
"Thankyou Cloud." Aeris whispered gratefully. "I'm lucky to have you as a friend."
"Go on back to sleep, Aeris." Cloud said suddenly. "We'll see you later."
"Bye Cloud." Aeris said, before pressing the hang up button on the PHS.

"Sephiroth, you're awake?" Aeris called out suddenly. "How are you feeling?"
Aeris did not hear him make so much of a reply, just sounds of his retching from inside the bathroom.

"Well, at least you're awake." Aeris sighed. "And I know how you feel as well."

-------------------------------------------------------

"You have a plane out in the middle of the desert??"
"Oh shut up, you!" Cloud snorted at the younger blonde man in handcuffs. "You aren't in a position to criticise."
"Yeah I am." the man replied. "And I'm criticising you because leaving a plane parked out in the middle of a desert is a really bad thing."
"It's not parked out in the desert." Reeve shook his head. "Just follow me and I'll show you where it is....."

Cloud, Barret and their prisoner followed Reeve down through the Chocobo Square, and into the Chocobo Jockey Lounge.
"Hey Guys." Reeve said, as the group made their way out to the elevator out the back of the room.
"Hey Reeve, how are you?" one of the Chocobo Jockeys smiled.
One of the other Jockeys looked up and smiled. "Well well well.... if it isn't you, Cloud!"
"Huh? Cloud's here?" The voice of a small girl.
"Huh?!" Cloud turned around suddenly. He was met face to face by a man wearing a big brimmed black hat and a shocking red jacket, and a small girl wearing a bright pink dress, her blonde hair tied up in pigtails.
"What's the matter, Cloud?" the man smiled. "Don't you remember me?"
"No... I don't think....."
"Joe!" the man pointed to himself. "I'm the guy who owns Teioh, the Black 'A Class' Chocobo!"
"Hey!" Cloud cried suddenly. "What are you doing racing Chocobos at this hour??"
"Put it down to boredom, I guess." Joe shrugged.
"So, has anyone else beaten you apart from me?"
"Nope." Joe smiled. "And I still say you cheated on all those races!"
"Cheated....??" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Racing with Chocobos bred for crossing rivers and mountains??" Joe smirked. "And what about that Chocobo with the golden plumage, huh?"
"Oh knock it off, Joe." the young girl snapped. "Cloud won all those races fair and square and you know it. You're just a sore loser."
"Hey I know you." Cloud smiled as he faced her. "You were my manager, plus you lent me that Yellow Chocobo when we sent to the Corel Prison."
"Uh-huh. Glad you remembered." the girl grunted. "Now what's my name?"
"Uh..." Cloud scratched the back of his head. "Is it........ Ester?"
"Hmph, lucky guess." the small girl said, folding her arms.
"Whew, you were lucky that time." Joe whispered. "If you'd guessed wrong, then you would have been in big trouble."
"I heard that, Joe." Ester pouted.

"So Cloud," Joe smiled suddenly, trying to change the subject. "You up for another Chocobo race for old time's sakes? Teioh's been awfully bored since you split the racing scene."
"I'd love to, but I'm really busy right now." Cloud said apologetically. "Reeve and the rest of us are headed down to the Sandy Badlands. We're looking for some plane that belongs to Dio."
"Do you mean the Tornado?" Joe asked. "Is that where Dio parks that thing?"
"Apparently." Cloud shrugged.
"Yes he does." Reeve whispered. "But don't let word get around or everyone will be trying to steal it......"
"Oh Reeve, nobody is like that around the Gold Saucer!" Ester said suddenly. "And if anyone tried to steal that plane, I'd run down their and show them a thing or two!!" the small girl swung her fists in the air lightly.

"We'd best be going now." Reeve said suddenly, shoving Cloud and Barret along as he made his way across to the elevator.
"Okay then." Joe said loudly. "See you around, Cloud! Come back one day and challenge me, you got that??"
"Yeah I do!" Cloud yelled. "Bye then-mmmmmmph!!"
Reeve covered Cloud's mouth as they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed in front of them.
"In my whole time working here, I've never seen anybody that wanted to go down that elevator." Ester said wearily. "What strange people."
"Like you're one to talk." Joe smirked.

Ester pouted.

----------------------------------------------------

The elevator made it's slow way down to the lowest floor, and the small group stepped out into what looked like the inside of a truck. The sound of the elevator woke up the man who guarded it 24 hours a day.
"That's weird." he said suddenly as the group stepped out of the elevator. "No-one has ever wanted to come down before."
"That's because everybody down here happen to be prisoners." Reeve replied.
"Heh, you'd be right at home, wouldn't yer, Shinra bastard?" Barret smirked, poking the handcuffed man in the back.
"Stop doing that!!" the man yelled angrily.

"So you're not prisoners, eh?" the old man grunted. "Well I hate to tell you this, but even though you're not prisoners, there's only one way to get outta here, and that's to win the Chocobo Race that's help up there in the Gold Saucer."
"Been there, done that." Cloud yawned. "There's another way to get out of here, you know...."
"Another way.....?"
"Here you go." Reeve said to the man as he pulled a small note out of his pocket. "Give this to Dio if he asks what happened to his Tornado. It should clear everything up."
The old man unfolded the note and read through it quickly. "Hmmmhmmm....."
"Well....?" Cloud said, looking at Reeve. "What does it say?"
"It explains our situation, and what happened to the Speed Square." Reeve told Cloud. "And it also tells of why we need the Tornado."

"Alright, alright." the old man huffed, folding the paper up and putting it in his pocket. "I'll let you all go back up again without participating in the Chocobo Races if you promise not to speak a word about this to the other prisoners."
"Oh nuts." Cloud frowned suddenly. "That would have made a perfect opportunity to challenge Joe once more...."
"Thankyou, kind sir......" Reeve paused. "Now, what was your name?"
"Mr. Coates." the man replied.
"Heh, is there a 'Mr. Hats' too?" the man in the Shinra jacket chuckled lightly.
"I have a good mind to let you three go up, and make that one stay down here." Mr. Coates said, scowling at the young man. "Disgusting little fiend."
"It's alright, I need him to stay with our group anyway." Reeve smothered a laugh. "Come on, let's continue....."

The group walked out the 'front door' of the dead truck, and proceeded into the badlands. They passed through the shanty down as quickly as they could and began to stride off into the desert.
"The desert is supposed to be hot, isn't it?" Cloud asked. "If so, why am I freezing my butt off??"
"Shut up, mountain boy!" Barret grunted. "I'm su'prised somethin' like that would come outta you. Jus' cause you was raised in a mountain town......"
"Shouldn't make a difference." Reeve finished Barret's sentence for him. "It's night time in the desert. The desert is scorching hot during the day, and wintery cold at night, Barret. The fact that Cloud was raised in a mountain town shouldn't even enter the argument."

Silence reigned as the group continued to trek across the wide sandy desert. Finally, Reeve paused at a giant mound of garbage, looked upwards and smiled broadly.
"Here it is!" Reeve cried out happily.
"Here what is?" the man in the Shinra jacket spoke up.
"I don't see anythin'....." Barret said, looking all around them. "All I see is jus' a big hunk of rottin' garbage and miles an' miles of sand."
"Aha, but that's just it." Reeve smirked. "The Tornado is in its hangar. It's just been buried under this pile of rubbish."
"But that's so obvious!" Cloud yelped. "If anyone was to go looking for a plane, this would be the first place they'd look!"
"Don't you get it?" Reeve explained. "If you hide something in a very well thought out place, anyone will find it there, because they're expecting it to be well-hidden!! But, if you hide something in an obvious place, then it will not be found because anyone would think that place is way too obvious!"
"What happens if the person looking for it is three years old?" Cloud smirked. "They always look for things in the most obvious places."
"I didn't think of that......"

"C'mon!!" Barret said suddenly. "Let's get th' crap off this thing so we can get to th' plane and get the hell outta this hell-hole!!"
"Right." Reeve nodded. "Come on then, Cloud. Help us."
"Alright." Cloud nodded, and began to pull various pieces of twisted metal off the giant junk pile.
"What about me?" the man in the Shinra jacket spoke up suddenly. "I'd help you if I could but my hands are cuffed together."
"Then just sit there and watch!" Barret hollered. "I doubt you'd be much help anyways!"
"Fine by me!" the man smiled suddenly as he slumped to the ground and just looked on.
Barret, Cloud and Reeve all began to remove pieces of junk from the pile. After a short time, they had removed enough junk to slide the hangar door open.
"And now," Reeve smiled as he took a key out of his pocket. "You shall see Dio's pride and joy, a true 'state of the art' plane, the Tornado....."
"Sounds jus' like Cid an' his Highwind." Barret grunted in Cloud's ear.
"How true that is......." Cloud smiled.

Reeve unlocked the hangar door and pushed it up to reveal a shiny metallic blue and white light-plane. Two helicopter-like rotary blades graced the wings and a blue and white propeller decorated the nose of the plane. Reeve stepped inside the hangar, climbed up the side of the plane and unlocked the door.
"Well, are you coming for a ride, or not?" he chuckled as he made his way into the cockpit.
"We're comin', we're comin'!!" Barret yelped. "Give us a half a chance!!"
"Well come on then, idiot." Cloud grunted, as he turned around to face the man in the Shinra jacket. "Get up and get ins.........." He paused in mid-sentence as something caught his attention in the distance.
"Huh?" the man said suddenly, turning around quickly. "What do you see?"

Cloud squinted as he looked into the distance. He thought he saw a small flicker like a candle flame in the scattered pile of junk, but he ignored it and just put it down to the moonlight catching on the twisted metal.
"It's nothing." Cloud said finally. "Come on inside then."

The man in the Shinra jacket struggled to his feet and walked into the hangar. With much effort he made his way up the plane's ladder and into the cockpit.
"Whew." he said. "Y'know, all of that would have been easier if you'd taken the handcuffs off for a little while."
"And how do we know you wouldn't have run away?" Cloud scowled.
"I would have promised not to run away." the man answered.
"Yeah, well even promises are broken." Cloud grunted. "So forget it."

"Now..... how do I start this thing up again?" Reeve wondered as he looked at the vast array of controls in front of him. "Hmmm......."
Reeve was so preoccupied with starting up the plane that he did not see the two small stowaways creep into the cockpit and hide amongst the garbage behind the back seats.

"hee hee hee...."

--------------------------------------------------------

"You still awake?"
".....barely.... but yes. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just curious."

Red XIII, Vincent, Tifa and Yuffie were still in the hospital's waiting room, still waiting for more news on Cid, while Shera was off somewhere talking with the doctors about numerous issues. Yuffie had fallen asleep hours ago. Tifa had tried to stay awake but was now off in dreamland herself. The only ones awake were Red XIII and Vincent.

"You're bored, aren't you?" Red XIII said quietly.
"No." Vincent said, shaking his head. "I just do not like to sit idle for lengthy amounts of time."
"Nobody does." Red XIII yawned, showing the impressive set of teeth in his mouth. "They also don't like to be kept in the dark or kept awake when they're supposed to be curled up and asleep."
"Are you hinting at something?" Vincent said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you annoyed because I woke you?"
"No no, you did not wake me, I will not be able to fall asleep in here anyway. And please do not think that I am annoyed with you." Red XIII shook his head slightly. "I am just irritated with the mismanagement of this hospital. Nobody has come out even once to inform us of how Cid is doing."
"Shera came out here and told us that they don't know what is wrong with him." Vincent told the red lion. "But that was hours ago."
"You would think they would inform us more frequently if anything has changed." Red XIII grumbled, slumping his head to the floor.
"What if nothing has changed?" Vincent said thoughtfully. "What if the situation remains the same?"
"Well the least they could do is come out here and acknowledge that we're still waiting....."
"This much is true." Vincent nodded. "I cannot argue with that........"
"This is my first time being in a hospital." Red XIII sighed deeply. "And already I can draw an opinion from my experiences. This place smells of death, but death here is unnatural........"
Vincent only nodded silently.
"It is a fraud." Red XIII continued. "Everything about this place is here to keep people alive, is it not? If this is so, dying here defeats that purpose. People are here to perform a function, dying here defeats that function. People come here to recover, this is a worthwhile pursuit."
"You're very macabre." Vincent said plainly.
"I'm not trying to be, I am merely reporting the truth." Red XIII sighed. "And I vehemently dislike hospitals......"
"Most people do." Vincent nodded in agreement. "Some people even come to that conclusion having never been in one."

----------------------------------------

"Where the hell did you say we were going again??"
"Mideel, you idiot." Cloud hissed.
"Tell me why I have to go along with you again....."
"Because you owe me Cait Sith." Reeve exclaimed. "Now shut up and let me fly the Tornado."
"Alright." the red-eyed man sighed. "But I don't understand why you're all acting so hostile towards me, carting me around like a common criminal."
"You nearly ran away with Cait Sith's boot up disks!! You're one of the people in charge of a Sephiroth-cult! What more do you need?! And after all that, you wonder why we're being hostile?!" Reeve growled. "There's the Shinra for you!"

"Do you even know what my position was at Shinra before I decided to take it over?!" "No?" Reeve said slowly. "In all my years working for them, I don't ever remember seeing you....."
"I was a janitor." The man said, lowering his eyes.
"A janitor....?" Cloud said, confused.
"Yes. That was all I was qualified to do at the time. But it didn't matter because I was just about a week away from finishing my degree in Bio-Science. I would have been a scientist after that." The red-eyed man sighed. "But then Shinra was practically disbanded after President Rufus was destroyed by that damn Weapon...."
"Well I'm sorry to hear that." Reeve said quietly.
"Don't be." The man smiled. "Shinra sucked ass."
"You're telling me...." Reeve smiled. "By the way, we never did find out what your name was......?"
"It's Ruben." the man answered. "But call me whatever you wish."
"I'm sure 'Ruben' will be just fine." Reeve said. "Now be quiet and let me fly the Tornado."

"Hey idiot...." Cloud growled. "Why the hell did you guys try to execute me?"
"I just told you my name....."
"Like hell I'm gonna call you by your name, jerk." Cloud snapped. "Now tell me why you tried to execute me!"
"Call yourself unlucky, I guess." Ruben said quietly. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Too bad for you, eh?"
Cloud grabbed the man roughly by the collar. "Too bad for me?!" he barked. "Being tied up and put on show for an execution is a little more than just 'bad luck' don't you think?!"
"Look, the only reason we were going to execute you is because you showed up at the right time." Ruben sighed. "We just would've executed any old idiot that came our way, so don't think we singled you out. You were just selected at random, nothing more."
"Well dat's some pretty bad luck 'dere." Barret grunted.

"I was wondering if you could shed some light on something for me...." Reeve said suddenly.
"Huh?" Ruben said quickly. "What's wrong?"
"What was the point of all those people dressing up in Black Capes?" Reeve asked. "And why did you organise that parade in the first place?"
"Yeah!" Cloud yelled. "What's the deal with that Sephiroth cult?! I saw one of your transmissions bar the airwaves a few nights ago. What are you trying to pull??"
"Nothing actually." Ruben answered. "The signal barring was my idea though. It was an attempt to rope more suckers into the whole 'OWARA' thing."
"Suckers?"
"Ever heard of a TV evangelist?" Ruben smiled weakly. "They sound like they want to help you and everything, but all they want you to do is send them money. That's all we were trying to do in the first place, just me, and two other guys were trying to earn some money for ourselves. That was the whole reason 'OWARA' was started up."
"OWARA??" Cloud wondered. "What does that mean?"
"It's an acronym." Ruben explained. "It stands for 'One Winged Angel Rise Again'. It was an organisation that suckered people into believing that Sephiroth would come again and claim the planet as his for once and for all. If his minions did as he said, then Sephiroth would lead them to the Promised Land. And the only way you could get Sephiroth to come was to congregate in a large crowd and throw your gil at the shrines and obelisks we set up. Hence the reason for all those idiots in Black Capes and the parade."
"But wouldn't the people catch on after a while??" Cloud wondered. "Wouldn't they think something was awry after their so-called 'saviour' didn't show up after a few meetings?"
"We talked about that." Ruben nodded. "And we decided that if the slightest doubt ever cropped up in the crowd, we'd disband the organisation and run off with the cash."
"But......." Reeve began. "Isn't that dishonest?"
"Did you think any of it was honest?" Ruben laughed. "People are like mindless sheep, Reeve. You worked for Shinra, you of all people should know that!"
"You're insane...."
"A flock of mindless sheep needs a strong shepherd to order them around." Ruben smirked. "And when Shinra was disbanded, the people just ran around like lost souls. They needed someone like OWARA to knock them back into line."
"Shut up!" Cloud yelled. "I'm sick to death of hearing about that stupid philosophy! President Shinra adopted it, Rufus abided by it, and now you?!"
"It's a system that works." Ruben shrugged. "You can despise it all you want, but every nation or empire that ever existed adopts this way in order to be successful. Without some sort of leader to society, anarchy rules supreme."
"Hmm...." Cloud said bitterly. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."

Just then, the Tornado touched down.
"We're here." Reeve said suddenly. "I do believe this is Mideel, is it not?"
Cloud opened the passenger door and hopped out onto the grass.
"Yep." he answered. "I know this place pretty well."
"Hey look....." Ruben said quickly. "There's President Rufus's 'Highwind' plane again."
"Nuh-uh." Barret grunted. "That plane is Cid's, and don't yer forget it!"
"Come on....." Reeve said, opening the side door on the Tornado. "Quit your arguing."

"Alright." Cloud sighed. "I suppose we should go across to the Highwind and meet up with Aeris before doing anything else."
"Yeah, an' then we gotta find out what's happenin' with Cid." Barret said quickly.
"Uh huh. I wanna know how he's doing." Cloud nodded. "What about you, Reeve? Are you going to come along with us, or are you going to go back?"
"I'll tag along for a little while." Reeve smiled. "I made it this far, didn't I?"
"But who's gonna look after the Gold Saucer?"
"Nobody really needs to. The security's pretty tight, as you have already discovered." Reeve chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I'm sure Dio can keep the place running without me for a bit."
"Alright, dat's settled." Barret nodded.
"So what do we do about this bastard here?" Cloud said, motioning in the red-eyed man's direction.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd call me by name." Ruben said bitterly. "I have one, you know."
"Well I don't care what it is." Cloud hissed. "Until you earn my respect, I'm not calling you by it."
"You're not very forgiving, are you?" Ruben sighed. "With all I've done, you're probably not ever going to call me by name, are you?"
"Nope." Cloud said, arms folded. "Now shut up and follow us. We're dragging you along with us until you give Reeve his Cait Sith back."
"That makes me your prisoner then, doesn't it?"
"Yes it does." Cloud nodded.
"Hmmm.... So if I'm your prisoner, I have to follow you around, don't I? I can't go anywhere I choose...."
"What are you getting at?!" Cloud barked. "Get to the point!!"
"How the hell am I supposed to go get Cait Sith and give him back to Reeve?!" Ruben said angrily. "In order to be set free, I need to go to the place he's being kept and get him for you. And without my freedom, I can't go get him!"
"Hmmm." Reeve smiled faintly. "You have a bit of a predicament there."
"You bet I do." Ruben said, lowering his eyes.
"Just shut up." Cloud barked. "Let's just proceed to the Highwind and we'll work out what to do with you later."

"Well good, you do that." Ruben sighed. "In the meantime, can you take these handcuffs off? They're just about killing me!"
"How do I know you won't run away the second we take them off you?" Cloud snapped.
"I owe Reeve his Cait Sith, don't I?" Ruben smirked. "Running away would not be the upright thing to do."
"You're talking about the upright thing to do when your whole OWARA organisation was designed to suck money out of people??"
"Damn, you got me there." Ruben chuckled lightly.

Cloud, however, did not find it funny.

-----------------------------------------------------

Back on the Highwind, Aeris sat on the couch in front of the TV, just watching it with much boredom. There was nothing terribly exciting on, as is always the case with TV in the early hours of the morning.
"Gee..." Aeris yawned. "Three years without Shinra's TV programs and they're still playing reruns....." she picked up the remote and flipped through a few channels. The only thing slightly interesting on was a documentary about the life of butterflies. Aeris gave up and left it on as she began to drift off to sleep. Just then, Sephiroth made his way into the room and stood over her.

"Hey..... Aeris....?"
"Huh?" Aeris sat up suddenly. "What's wrong, Sephy?"
"That nickname...." Sephiroth scowled as he sat down on the couch beside her. "I would prefer it if you didn't call me that."
"But why not?" Aeris said huffily. "I like calling you 'Sephy', it's cute! A cute nickname for a cute guy....."
"But I am not 'cute'." Sephiroth grunted.
"Yes you are!" Aeris smiled. "You're adorable!"
"Look, just forget it...." Sephiroth said, beginning to leave the room. "Go back to sleep."
"No, wait Sephiroth." Aeris said apologetically. "You obviously came in here for a reason. Go on, tell me what you wanted to say."

"Oh, alright." Sephiroth cleared his throat. "Did you try talking to me a while ago?"
"What?"
"I was just thinking." Sephiroth said quietly. "And somebody disrupted my thoughts...."
"No, I didn't do that." Aeris said, confused. "As much as I would've liked to talk with you, I know you needed your sleep so I left you alone."
"Hmmm......" Sephiroth scowled slightly. "Somehow, I doubt that........"
"Did you ask them who they were?" Aeris said, ignoring him.
"Yes, but they wouldn't tell me." Sephiroth said angrily. "All they said was that I would not be told who it was, rather they would be asking the questions of me."
"Wait a minute...." Aeris said suddenly. "Do you think it was Jenova?"
"I don't think so." Sephiroth said, shaking his head. "She would have tried to torment me or feed me a bunch of lies to get me to follow her......"
Aeris nodded silently.
"So I guess there's really no way of knowing at this point in time."
"Well if you're patient enough, the answers will come." Aeris smiled.
"I hope so."
The two were silent for a few moments.

"I have another question to ask you....."
"Alright....."
"Why did you silence me?" Sephiroth asked, scowling slightly.
"Huh?" Aeris looked bewildered. "What are you talking about??"
"Before, when I was angry." Sephiroth told her. "I began venting out my frustration at the prospects of summoning Meteor, and you silenced me with a tranquilliser."
"You remember that?!" Aeris asked, eyebrows raised.
"Of course I do!" Sephiroth snapped. "And I didn't appreciate it either! May I ask why you did it??"
"I thought you had gone out of your head with rage....." Aeris said apologetically. "I'm sorry...."
"It's alright." Sephiroth grunted. "Just don't do it again."
"I won't." Aeris said quietly. "I promise."
"Alright." Sephiroth scowled. "Remember, seeing as though you promised, I have to hold you to it."
Aeris nodded.
"You said it yourself." he told her. "It's never a good thing to break a promise to....." Sephiroth stopped in mid sentence as he faced the window. "What the hell.....?"
"Sephiroth, what's wrong??"

"I'll tell you what's wrong...." The man said as he peered out the window. "The world outside has an eerie red hue to it."
Aeris looked completely hopeless. "Sephiroth......"
"Where did it all go wrong....?" he said, shaking his head angrily. His pounded his fist against the window in frustration. "Dammit....."
"It's not your fault." Aeris said, trying to assure him. "I can't tell you anything else because anything else is a lie. You would never do such a thing. I know you......"
"No you don't, and nobody does! I am a cold-hearted killer, and I cannot be trusted with anything of importance!"
"Oh come on, that is not true...."
"Yes is is!" The grey haired man unclipped his Masamune, snapped off the cover and fiddled with the handle furiously. "Dammit, now where is it!?"

"What are you looking for?" Aeris wondered.
Sephiroth growled, and began unscrewing the handle from the blade. There was a dull thump as the blade of the long sword fell to the floor, shortly followed by a musical clatter like wind chimes as the small coloured Materia that had been equipped into the sword fell to the ground and scattered in all directions. Sephiroth bent down quickly, picked up one of the spheres and thrust it into Aeris' hands.
"I cannot be trusted with this." he said angrily. "Take this Materia and hide it from my eyes forever."
"The Black Materia??" Aeris yelped in surprise, upon seeing the object Sephiroth had given her. "Why are you giving me this!?"
"Because I might lose my will to Jenova again..... if she comes near me, I might..." Sephiroth clutched at his hair and shook his head in frustration. "I might.... I might...... Rrrrrghhhh! Just get it away from me before I use it again!!!"
"Sephiroth......" Aeris sighed sadly. "You don't understand yourself, do you? You can't even differentiate between Jenova's will and your own soul......"
"............."
"You've got to find yourself." Aeris put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you, but the problem is, you don't know yourself. The Sephiroth I know is nothing more than an innocent kind-hearted man. That was the Sephiroth I resurrected, and that is the Sephiroth I know and love......"
".........."
"You have to find out who you are." Aeris whispered. "And until you do, you cannot move on........."
"I do not even know what I am." Sephiroth answered. "So how do I even start?!"
"Well I'll help you....." Aeris whispered. "I'll help you in any way I can."
"No....." Sephiroth said, turning his face away from her.
Aeris placed the small Black Materia in his hand once more. "And I can't keep this, I don't even want to. It's yours, Sephiroth."
"The only reason it's mine is because I made Cloud Strife give it to me!" Sephiroth scowled. "I don't want it any more!"
"But it still might serve a purpose." Aeris said, trying to persuade him. "Keep it with you and prove to yourself that you can be trusted with it."
"Oh..... alright." Sephiroth said reluctantly, taking back the small Materia once again. "I'll keep it for a while."
"That's the boy." Aeris smiled, patting him on the back.
"Please don't do that." Sephiroth said through his teeth.
Aeris giggled.

"Hang on there...." Sephiroth said thoughtfully. "Wait just a minute....."
"Huh?" Aeris said, confused.
"What exactly did you mean by 'that is the Sephiroth I know and love'??"
"Umm....." Aeris said quickly. "What do you think I meant by it?"
"I don't know." Sephiroth said, raising an eyebrow. "That's why I just asked you."
"Oh, um...." Aeris laughed nervously, as she unconsciously scratched the back of her head. "I meant that I love you.... I mean, I love all my friends.... and you're one of them, so.... I love you as a friend because you're one of my friends."
"That was redundant." Sephiroth said, shaking his head.
"But I got the message across, didn't I?" Aeris said quickly.
"Yes." Sephiroth nodded.
Aeris let out a relieved sigh.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!
"What was that?" Aeris said, standing up quickly.
"I thought that much would be rather obvious." Sephiroth chuckled lightly. "Somebody's at the door."
"Oh shut up you." Aeris said, folding her arms. "I knew that!"
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
"Then why don't you go answer it instead of talking to me?" Sephiroth smirked.

Aeris didn't have to - the door swung open and in came Cloud, Reeve and Barret dragging their blonde prisoner behind them.
"Hey, you are awake, Aeris!" Cloud said sounding slightly annoyed as the small group made their way into the loungeroom. "Howcome you didn't answer the door?"
"Umm...."
"She was too busy arguing with me." Sephiroth answered for her.
"That's a surprise....." Cloud said sarcastically.
Sephiroth just shrugged. "It is?"

"Hello there...?" Aeris said, looking at the group with interest. "Who is that?"
"Me?" Reeve said, pointing to himself.
"No, I know you." Aeris smiled. "You're that nice man who gave us free rooms at the Gold Saucer Hotel. You're also that man who controlled Cait Sith."
"Aaah. You remembered." Reeve smiled.
"Wait a minute Aeris, you mean this bastard, don't you?" Cloud growled, poking the blonde man with red eyes in the back sharply.
"Ow!" the man yelped. "Can you not do that!?"
"No."
"Yeah, he's the one." Aeris nodded. "So who is he, anyway?"
"This is the man who was going to execute me at the parade back in the Gold Saucer. We're just taking him with us in case he tries anything funny."
"Yes. They're keeping me shackled up like a prisoner until I return Cait Sith." the man grunted.
"So why don't you just do that?" Aeris wondered. "Why don't you just give them back Cait Sith and be on your way?"
"Because I'm stuck here." the man scowled. "I need to go to the place the damn robot's being kept and get him, and I can't get him if I'm bound up like this, can I?"
"Look just shut up!" Cloud grunted, poking the man in the back once more. "We'll deal with your problem later. Right now we have more important things to worry about!"
"You do?"
"Yes!" Cloud barked. "We have to get over to Mideel and see how Cid is doing!"
"Yeah, we woulda' gone over dere right away, but Cloud said we hadta come over here an get you, Aeris." Barret explained. "So now dat we've got yer, let's go!"
"Alright then, let's go." Aeris nodded, heading for the front door. "Come on then, Sephiroth."
"Why is that man coming along....?" Cloud growled, leering at the grey haired man as he walked past him silently and out the front door.
"Oh knock it off Cloud. He won't do anything, will you Sephiroth....." Aeris looked around quickly. "Sephiroth?"
"He's gone outside." Cloud stated flatly. "He went out to watch his creation."
"What?"

Aeris peered out the front door which led onto the Highwind's deck. Sephiroth was just standing there on the bow of the ship, looking upwards at the Meteor in the sky.
"Look at him, Cloud...." Aeris sighed.
"I'm looking." Cloud grunted. "And all I see is a bastard staring up at what he has created, waiting with much anticipation until it crashes down on us."
"You are just as stubborn as him." Aeris shook her head sadly. "Just look Cloud, he thinks that Meteor is entirely his fault, and he's absolutely distraught over it...."
"Whatever...." Cloud scowled. "Well we can't leave him standing there forever if he's coming with us. We have to get moving."
"That's correct." Aeris nodded.

"Alright...." Cloud said, turning around to face the group. "Let's move out."
"Yessir!" Barret mused. "And yer didn't say it like a wuss for once. You're gettin' better Cloud."
"I don't understand." Reeve looked confused. "What is the point of saying 'move out'?"
"Ya' hafta say something like that before you go off of an adventure!" Barret explained. "It makes it more exciting!"
"How does saying something like that make the adventure more exciting??" Reeve said, scratching his head. "Can you please explain it to me?"
"Ahm..." Barret thought hard. "It jus' does, OK?"
"Hmmm......" Reeve said, raising an eyebrow. Cloud pulled him aside.
"Try not to worry about it." he explained quietly. "They always expect me to say something like that before we go off on an adventure. I still don't understand it myself, but if it keeps them happy, then why not, eh?"
Reeve nodded. "You sure have some weird friends."
"I thought you knew that." Cloud mused. "You happen to be one of them."
"Oh gee thanks a lot." Reeve smiled.
"Alright, I said 'Move Out'!" Cloud said loudly, addressing the whole group once more. "So let's mosey!"
"Aaaargh!!" Barret yelled.
Cloud slapped his forehead. "This is ridiculous."
"Cloud wants us to go." Aeris said plainly, stepping out of the way of the door. "So let's get of here!"

As the group walked across the deck of the Highwind, Aeris walked up behind Sephiroth and tapped him on the shoulder.
"What do you want?" he said quietly.
"Sephiroth, we're going now." Aeris said calmly. "Come on then."
"Oh alright." he sighed. Just then, he saw Cloud beginning to make his way down the stairs, not far behind Reeve and their prisoner. "Hey Strife, get over here!"

As Cloud made his way back up the stairs, his expression was one that could only be described as fuming.
"What the hell do you want, Sephiroth?!" Cloud snapped as he made his way across to the grey haired man. "This had better be good!"
"I have something I have to give you...." Sephiroth said calmly, ignoring his anger. "You and your group were the ones who uncovered it, so rightfully it's yours."
"What?" Cloud scowled, not quite hiding the look of confusion on his face.
Sephiroth dug his hand into his pocket and forced the small object into Cloud's fist.
"Wha??" Cloud said, opening his palm. "The Black Materia?!"
"It's your responsibility now." Sephiroth said.

"Oh Sephy, you didn't!" Aeris howled, turning around to face him. "You were the one who was supposed to hold onto that! Why did you give to Cloud?!"
"Because I cannot be trusted with it." Sephiroth answered as he slipped past her and began to make his way down the stairs. "You refused to take it from me, but that's alright because I had a feeling that Strife would take it."
"But you were supposed to prove to yourself that you could be trusted with it!" Aeris cried.
"But how can I when I know I can't be trusted with it?" Sephiroth shrugged. "And one more thing.... please don't call me 'Sephy'."

And with that, Sephiroth disappeared down the stairs with the rest of the group. Aeris could only watch him go.
"You really don't believe in yourself at all, do you Sephy?" she whispered.

"Aeris....?" Cloud said suddenly, facing the girl with a look of absolute bewilderment written on his face.
"What's wrong Cloud?" Aeris said suddenly.
"Is this an illusion? Or just a horrible nightmare??" Cloud said, shaking his head in disbelief. "It is, isn't it? I'll wake up in a few minutes and then none of this will have ever happened......."
"No, this is the reality. This is about as real as it gets." Aeris answered. "Why Cloud, whatever's the matter?"
"Sephiroth give me the Black Materia." Cloud said slowly. "But.... why?!"
"Because the silly idiot doesn't trust himself with it." Aeris chided. "And you don't trust him either. That's why he gave it to you, he knew you'd accept it."

Aeris grumbled incoherently to herself as she made her way down the stairs and out to join the others. Cloud just stood there on the deck, holding the small black Materia in his hands and scratching his head.

"Sephiroth.... gave me the Black Materia of his own free will??" Cloud looked dumbstruck. "But, that doesn't make sense....... does it?"

-----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, far away from Cloud, the Highwind, and the trivialities of life........

*"Yes, soon. It is only a matter of waiting now......."*
-
-
*"Patience....."*
-
-
*"You plan to attack, don't you?"*
-
-
*"Aaah you. I know you. You're one of them. You are the enemy, a barricade to stop me from fulfilling my destiny......"*
*"This is correct, calamity from the skies. But it is you who is the enemy. All you wish to do is to use the planet's energy for your own selfish purposes......."*
*"Aha haa haa! That may be correct, to you anyway. The way I see it, I am only doing what I was born to do...."*
*"Because you are a parasite. An unwanted creature that selfishly takes what it wants from it's host without giving one whit back in return."*
*"I don't want something from the planet. I want the whole planet, period. And it WILL be mine, once that Meteor hits....."*
*"Once that Meteor hits, this planet will be nothing more than charred pieces of rock. You made an appalling miscalculation when you used the child to summon the Meteor, calamity from the skies."*
*"Well I would've had more time to work out the intensity of the magic required for the Meteor if that damn boy hadn't tried opposing me!"*
*"'That damn boy' tried opposing you because you took control over him! 'That damn boy' tried opposing you because he knew what you were trying to do!"*
-
-
*"You have no place or worthwhile purpose on this planet, calamity from the skies. You must leave."*
*"And what if I don't??"*
*"Then the planet's defence system shall destroy you."*
*"You have tried this before, without success. I am too powerful for those pitiful creatures, no matter how many you try to send at me. Your kind have tried encapsulating me in ice as well, this was also a failure."*
*"Incorrect, it kept you lying in a dormant state for two millennia. The only reason you were freed is because a very sweet man made a terrible mistake by taking you back to his laboratory when he found you on one of his many expeditions."*
*"What a blundering fool..... he didn't know what he was dealing with, did he!?"*
*"He is not a fool, calamity from the skies, just another human who makes mistakes. As for your question, no, I do not think the man knew what he was dealing with."*
*"Heh, he thought I was another one of those damn Cetras......"*
*"If he knew what you really were, he would have never consented to the Jenova Project, thus the child would never have been born......"*
*"The child?"*
*"You know damn well who the child is, calamity from the skies."*
*"Aaah yes, the boy. He was a good puppet until that damn Cetra girl stepped in and started trying to corrupt his mind."*
*"No, you are the one trying to corrupt his mind. Now because of what you have done, sweet Aeris has taken it upon herself to rectify his fate."*
*"She can do that all she wants, I have no need for that little traitor any more. Once the time is right, I shall implement the masterplan!"*
*"Aaah, but you cannot do that without the child, can you? You needed him to summon the Meteor, and you will need him to fight back your enemies when you try to suck the life out of the planet."*
*"I do not think so. I think I can hold back my enemies quite easily, thankyou very much. As for the boy, he is an unreliable creature, very unstable and very weak on his own...."*
*"Do you really think that, calamity from the skies?"*
*"Of course. It is not worth wasting my time on such a pitiful creature....."*
*"Pitiful? Hmm......"*
-
-
*"What!? What are you going on about!?"*
-
-
*"Just you wait...... I think you'll see just how 'pitiful' the child can be."*


--------------------------------------

Cloud and the others were making their way across the field to Mideel, to find out what had happened to Cid.

"The sun's beginning to rise." Cloud exclaimed. "That means we've spent nearly the whole night awake...."
"Yer mean you have." Barret grunted. "I got some shuteye when Reeve told me to get in his office."
"Yes, and I got a little bit of sleep while I was on the Highwind while I was waiting for Sephiroth to come around to it." Aeris told him. "So you're the only one who hasn't slept, Cloud."

"I wonder how Cid is...." Cloud said quietly.
"I'm sure he's fine." Aeris assured him. "I should really get him a get-well present."
"Well, what are you going to get him?" Cloud wondered.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Aeris smiled. "Do you think Cid would appreciate a nice bunch of flowers?"
"Hmm...." Cloud thought. "I'd be cautious about that one if I were you."
"Ah' think if you tried givin' the man flowers," Barret smiled. "He'd stuff them down your throat and try to set fire to you with his cigarette."
"Hmph, well you're no fun." Aeris scowled at Barret. "What do you think, Sephy?"
"Don't call me that." Sephiroth said, sounding removed.

"Still thinkin' about the Meteor, huh?" Barret grunted.
"Yes, dammit!!" Sephiroth fell to his knees and pounded the ground furiously. "I don't even know where it's going to crash down, let alone stop it!!"
"Barret....." Aeris said accusingly.
"Sorry." Barret shrugged. "Didn' know it was such a touchy subject."
"Come on Sephiroth, get up!" Aeris said, annoyed. "The Meteor's not gonna crash down for at least a few weeks, so try not to spend every waking moment worrying about it! It's not even your fault anyway!" She grabbed him by the right arm and pulled him to his feet roughly.
"Yeeeeow!!" Sephiroth yelped, jerking backwards from her.
"I'm sorry!" Aeris said suddenly, immediately apologetic. "Did I hurt you?"
"Yes you did!" Sephiroth snapped, clutching at his upper arm.
"Ohhhh.... that's where Ruby Weapon bit you, wasn't it?" Aeris said apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Sephiroth. I didn't know...."
"It's alright...." Sephiroth sighed angrily. "Just don't ever do that again."
"Believe me, I won't." Aeris smiled weakly. "How is that injury, anyway?"
"It was fine until you touched it." Sephiroth frowned.
"Maybe it's infected." the red-eyed man spoke up, smiling broadly. He was quickly rewarded with murderous look from Sephiroth. "Maybe it's gonna get gangrenous and your whole arm's gonna fall off. Wouldn't that be cool?"
Cloud, Sephiroth, Barret, Aeris and Reeve all gave the man a disgusted look.
"You guys are just no fun." he scowled.

"Chocobo tracks...." Aeris smiled suddenly as she looked down at the ground underneath her. "Hey Cloud, can we catch a Chocobo? I've never ridden one before."
"You haven't??" Cloud said, surprised. "I wish you'd said that when we were back at the Gold Saucer - the whole group and I raised a small flock of them! Every one of them were so good, they became 'A' class, and the Gold Chocobo went 'S' class....."
"You guys bred a Gold Chocobo??" Aeris choked.
"How do you think we got this?" Cloud said, holding up his Knights Of The Round Materia proudly. "Without Goldy, we would have never have gotten this."
"Where did you find that Materia, anyway??" Aeris wondered.
"On an uncharted island on the World Map called Round Island." Cloud explained. "We discovered it up north when Cid was just flying around for the hell of it. I wanted to go check the place out, but seeing as though the ground was too unstable for the Highwind to land there, we had to get a Gold Chocobo so we could go absolutely anywhere."
"Wow." Aeris smiled. "So what's your Gold Chocobo's name?"
"Goldy." Cloud smiled. "Yuffie chose it."
"How creative." Sephiroth mumbled.
Cloud scowled. "I heard that."

"Mideel should be just up ahead." Cloud informed the group, as they made their way into the undergrowth of the forest that surrounded the small town. "Just watch out for any stray Hippogriff that might be lurking around this area."
"Hippogriff??" Reeve said, sounding somewhat confused.
"It's a kind of bird." Cloud explained. "It's about the size of an adult Chocobo, and it looks like a cross between a peacock and a griffin."
"Sounds interesting." Reeve nodded.
"There's Mideel!" Aeris cried out happily. "I can see some buildings from here!"
"Thank goodness for that." Cloud nodded. "Come on everyone, let's go onward to Mideel."

Cloud and the group made their way into the small town.

-------------------------------------------------

"Alright, I admit it." Vincent sighed angrily. "Now I'm thoroughly bored."
"Somehow I think you were bored long ago." Red XIII said, barely awake. Just then, Yuffie stirred in her sleep and cuddled into Red XIII's fire red fur once more.

"What.... time is it....?" she mumbled incoherently.
"It's nearly 7:00am." Vincent exclaimed. "Thank goodness the sun's coming up. Now we might get to see something a little more exciting around here than the second hand of the wall clock moving at a snail's pace."
"Why don't you sit down?" Red XIII suggested. "It would probably be a bit more comfortable then standing up for so long."
"Maybe you're right." Vincent grunted, then took the nearest seat to Red XIII. "Hmm, you are right. This isn't that comfortable, but it is a lot better than standing up."
"Well I'm not going to sound conceited by saying 'I told you so'." Red XIII mused. "But I told you so."
"Stupid cat." Vincent grunted.

Just then, the front door of the hospital swung open, and in barged Cloud and the group. Red XIII jerked up in surprise. Vincent looked upwards and smiled faintly.
"Cloud!" he exclaimed. "You all finally made it!"
"Hey Red!!" Cloud cried out happily. "I'm glad I found you so quickly!"
"Keep the noise down." Vincent said suddenly. "This is a hospital - I don't particularly want to be kicked out after having waited nearly three hours."
"Oh, sorry." Cloud bit his lip.

"Have you guys seen the town outside?? I never knew Mideel could change so much in jus' 3 years!" Barret grunted. "When we left dis' place, it was nothin' more than a bubblin' pool of liquid Lifestream! Where'd it go, anyways??"
"Oh, the pool of Lifestream is still around." Red XIII explained. "I asked one of the hospital staff what happened to it a little while ago because I wondered just that same question. Apparently, the townsfolk just rebuilt the town a little way away. It had only just been completed a few months ago....."

"How's Cid doing, Red?" Aeris asked suddenly. "We've all been dying to know."
"We wish we knew." Red XIII sighed. "Shera came out here and told us a few hours ago that they don't know what is wrong with him. Other than that, we've practically been forgotten about."
"Oh." Cloud said, slumping into the nearest chair. "That's just bad."
"Yes it is, quite." Vincent scowled. "And very inconsiderate as well."
"Damn right it is." Barret complained as he took a seat. "Hmmph, I take it Yuffie and Tifa couldn't hack waitin' around."
"Don't be angry with them." Red XIII smiled suddenly. "I say good on them. These last few hours should have been used as an opportunity to get some rest. Tifa and Yuffie have taken advantage of that opportunity. I just wish I had as well....."

Just then Tifa sat up.
"Awwww man....." she groaned. "I feel so sore......"
"I'm not surprised." Cloud said. "You fell asleep on those hard waiting room chairs."
"Cloud??" Tifa stood up, looking at him suddenly. "When did you get here??"
"Only a few minutes ago." Cloud answered.
"Only a few minutes ago?" Tifa snapped. "What on earth were you doing all this time!?"
"I went to get Barret, and then I got Aeris!" Cloud told her, flustered. "Don't be angry with me!"
"Don't be angry with you?!" Tifa cried angrily. She slapped him hard across the cheek, and took two steps back from him. "You JERK!! Running off like that!? You could have been killed!!"
"But Tifa.... I..." Cloud pleaded, holding a hand up to his cheek where Tifa had slapped him. "Please, listen to me!"
"No way, Cloud!" Tifa snapped. "You ran off without even so much as telling me where you were going!"
"But if you'd just let me explain...." Cloud whimpered.
"Oh, it's too late for explaining, Cloud Strife." Tifa scowled. "You are in deep trouble. Just you wait till we get back to the Highwind, Cloud. Just you wait...."
"But Tifa....!!" Cloud pleaded.
"No...." Tifa said, folding her arms and turning her back on him. "I'm going to go get some coffee. You stay here, young man."
Cloud slumped into his chair miserably as Tifa stormed off around the corner.

"Don't feel too bad, Cloud." Red XIII said, looking up. "Her bark much is worse than her bite. She just cares about you a lot, that's all."
"Beware the wrath of a lady." Sephiroth said aloud. "Now I think I know just what that means......"

Just then Shera popped her head out into the hallway. All eyes were on her as she made her way into the waiting room.
"I heard yelling...." Shera whispered. "It sounded like that Tifa girl."
"It was." Aeris smiled. "She just went off at Cloud."
"Oh dear... She was absolutely furious when you ran off." Shera bit her lip. Looking at Cloud's hopeless expression, she quickly added "But I'm sure she's not as angry as she may seem."
"I sure hope so." Cloud sighed.

"How's Cid?" Aeris asked suddenly. "Is he alright??"
"He's fine, he's just fine." Shera smiled warmly. "Actually, he just sent me out here to see if you guys were still around, an..."
"He's awake??" Cloud interrupted. "Well why didn't you say anything??"
"Actually, I just did then." Shera chuckled, straightening her glasses onto her face once more. "Go on in, but try to keep the noise down. The hospital staff will kick you out if you make too much of a racket...."
"Alright." Cloud whispered.
"Come on Yuffie....." Red XIII said, nudging the girl lightly with his nose. "Wake up, young cub....."
"Huuh?" Yuffie said wearily, trying to prise her eyes open. "Red...?"
"Yes." Red XIII said, nudging her lightly once again. "Wake up Yuffie, we're going in to see Cid...."
"Thank god for that..." Yuffie moaned as she got to her feet slowly. She began to rub her eyes. "How long was I asleep...?"
"A few hours." Red XIII told her. "But it doesn't matter."

"Oh, and if Cid tries to give you money for cigarettes," Shera added. "Refuse to get them. And make sure you do it nicely, otherwise you'll be bombarded with cuss words."
Aeris giggled.

"Yes, there's no denying it." Cloud mused. "Cid's gonna be OK after all."

----------------------------------------------

The group quietly slipped into the room. There was Cid was, just lying there, dozing lightly beneath a light blue hospital blanket, surrounded by fluffy toys. He lay propped up by pillows, his right arm behind his head, his left hooked to an intravenous line, a model aeroplane magazine open on his chest. The bottom half of his left leg was bound up in a plaster cast and strung up on a wire frame connected to the ceiling.
Shera sat down quietly beside his bed and looked up at Cid.

"Hey...." Shera smiled. "How are you doing?"
"F*cking hell..." Cid moaned. "Do you have to wake me up and ask me that every f*cking five minutes?!"

Shera lowered her eyes as she faced the group. "He's a little grumpy. Try to be careful what you say...."
"F*ck you woman, I heard that." Cid said weakly. "You should get outta here and go home. I said I was just fine...."
"But Cid honey......"
"F*cking do what I say and get out of here, woman!" Cid grunted angrily. "Haven't you heard of sleeping?! Just piss off and go home!"
"Alright Cid." Shera said finally, kissing him lightly on the forehead. "Talk to your friends for a while, then try and get some sleep." and with that, she slipped out of the room quietly.

"Hey Cid, how come you told her to go home??" Cloud asked, after Shera had gone.
"She's a pest, Cloud." Cid said, sitting up as best as he could. "She worries about me as if she has nothing else better to do."
"Well maybe she doesn't have anything else better to do." Sephiroth spoke up.
"Damn, you're right you know, kid." Cid nodded. "It's bloody annoying the way that woman carries on."
"Maybe she just cares about you too much." Aeris said.
"That's right as well." Cid grunted. "She's like a double edged sword - on one side you feel happy because you know she cares about you. While on the other side, you're pissed off because she's so damn annoying."
"Oh well." Cloud shrugged. "At least you know she does care."
"Oh yeah." Cid smiled. "That's the worthwhile part...."

"Hey Cid, how are you doing, anyway?" Aeris asked.
"F*ck, you have no idea just how times I've been asked that in the last half hour...."
"No really..." Cloud interrupted. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm....." Cid sighed, deeply annoyed. "I'm alright. My leg is okay, It hurts, of course, and being in traction is uncomfortable...."
"Okay..." Cloud nodded.
"But I tell you what's really buggin' me?" Cid said, fidgeting with his magazine. "I could just about f*ckin' tear someone's head off for a cigarette right now."
"Well if I could get you some, I would." Cloud began. "But S...."
"You could??" Cid said suddenly, reaching across the table next to his bed for his wallet. "Here's 1000 gil. There's a cigarette machine just around the corner, and...."
"No way Cid. Shera said 'no'." Yuffie said sternly, pushing the money away from Cloud. "I think smoking is banned in all closed public spaces, but I know for sure that smoking is banned in hospitals!"
"Well that's just f*cking brilliant. Some friends I have." Cid scowled. "Well you can all f*cking get out of here, I'm going to sleep."

"Better do what he says." Cloud sighed wearily. "Come on guys, let's go..."
"Alright." Aeris nodded. "Bye Cid."

As the group made their way out of the room, Tifa appeared at the door entrance.
"Heh heh..." she laughed nervously. "I got lost and...... where are you all going?!"
"Home." Cloud replied flatly. "Cid told us to go away."
"You wait just a minute, Cloud..." Tifa scowled.
"No, you wait just a minute." Cloud snapped. "Cid told us to go, so we do it. It's late, I'm tired, I want to go to sleep and I don't want to have to deal with this any more. Goodbye Tifa."
"But Cloud...." Tifa said, a little surprised.

"But nothing!" Cloud yelled. "Just go back to the Highwind and get some sleep! I'll deal with you tomorrow!" and with that he stormed off out the door, headed back out toward the Highwind.
"Gee." Tifa sighed wearily. "What's wrong with him?"
"I think he's mad." Aeris whispered.

"Oh shut up, Aeris!" Tifa snapped back. "I knew that!"

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To Be Continued.........
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Writer's Ramblings:

I know I know...... last chapter I said Tifa and Aeris were going to get into a big argument. But this chapter had already spanned itself out to 23 pages before I got that far! But don't worry dear readers, they will argue (they have to, it's part of the storyline!). Oh well, these things happen.

Well, until Chapter 10, Cya later dear readers.
- Kat_Aclysm =^-^=