What Is real and What Is Not

Aerith had returned to the Forgotten Capitol and had descended the stairs to the basement under the main building, instantly aware of the ice she'd created down there over a week ago. She could still see the ice crystal she'd frozen Cloud's body in on the alter where she'd left it. She descended the rest of the steps and walked up to the alter. The water below was still frozen but she didn't know how thick it was so she jumped from pillar to pillar and landed on the alter, in front of Cloud's frozen body. She stared at it a moment, noticing the ice hadn't melted at all since she'd left. In fact; it looked like it had become more solid. She raised her hand and rested it on the area where she could see Cloud's face.

I have sinned, she thought, staring at his face. I have angered the Planet. I should not have done this to you. I should have let you go. Let you return to the Planet. You know I'm a liar. You've always known, Cloud. I should have told you about Zack... I should have. She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Forgive me. I just wanted to do what you would have done," she cried. "I tried to deal with him for you but... It's not... it won't.. I can't. I'm not strong enough." she hit the ice wth her fists and rested her face on it. "Cloud... help me..." She slid down the ice and knelt before it, crying as if her heart had broken. Help me.

"Aerith..."

The Ancient gasped and moved her head away from the ice. She looked up at it but Cloud's face hadn't changed. He was still dead and frozen. Just as she's left him. He wasn't going to give her any kind of answer. "Cloud..." she said, standing up to get a better look at his face.

"Ancient."

She frozen. That voice wasn't what she'd been hoping to hear. That voice didn't belong to Cloud. It was too deep. Slowly she turned around, her body trembling as she did. A whimper escaped her throat when she saw the person who owned the voice. Sephiroth. He stood on the landing across the small pool surrounding the alter, smiling at her, his deep green Mako eyes boring into her own.

"Se...seph," she stammered, leaning against Cloud's ice coffin. "What.. what are..."

He said nothing. He took a step forward then jumped from pillar to pillar until he was standing right in front of her on the alter. His extra inches making him tower over her like a giant tree.

"Aerith," he said raising a hand. "So that's where you've been hiding him."

"You stay away from him!" she screamed, standing defensively between him and Cloud. "He doesn't belong to you!"

Sephiroth smiled down at her. He knew she wasn't lying about that statement. They both knew he did in a way. "That shows what little you know," he said. "But." he looked at Cloud then back at Aerith. "He wasn't who I came here for."

"Then who?" she began then realized who he ment. Her. He'd come after her. She stopped, her mind instantly formulating a plan of escape. There was no way she was going to let him have her or Cloud.

He reached out a hand and grabbed her by the chin. "So why don't you just hold still while I-" she saw him reach for his sword.

No way! She lifted her staff and cracked him over the head. "No!" she heard her staff strike his skull and he grunted as he let her go and fell over. She stepped over him and started running.

Sephiroth growled and got up. He started after her. "Get back here, wench!" he yelled, starting after her.

She reached the end of the alter and looked down at the frozen water. It looked like it had thinned and she had to look back at Cloud to see if his was thinning too. His ice coffin looked as solid as ever but she couldn't just stand there staring. Seiphiroth was coming after her. She turned away from him, took a deep breath and jumped off the alter.

SPLASH!

The ice broke under her feet and she went under. She opened her eyes to blue water below and before her and white ice and light above. She quickly swam to the surface and spotted Sephiroth jumping back to the shore when her head broke the surface. She took a deep breath and went under again. The cold water cut into her skin like a knife. She knew she couldn't stay under for very long unless she wanted to risk hypothermia. She started swimming toward another hole in the ice near the stairs. How did he get back here? she asked herself. I thought he was in the Meteor Crater. I thought he was going to stay there. Is this all in my mind? Is he even really here? Her head broke the surface again this time coming through that hole near the stairs. She looked around for Sephiroth but she didn't see him. It was like he had just vanished. As if he hadn't even been there.

She climbed out of the water, her clothes weighing her down like bricks, and sat on the stairs for a moment, trying to decide if what she'd seen was real or just in her mind. Did I just imagine him being here? she wondered, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. Either way, she had to get out of there. She looked back at the alter as she rushed by the steps and was relieved to see that Cloud's body was still there in its frozen state. She sighed with relief and dashed up the rest of the stone steps. When she was back in the upper area of the capitol's center building she stood at the entrance of the giant shell in the building and looked over the tiny pond between her and the hall that led back outside. I had better be going, she thought her eyes partway closed. This didn't help me figure out what to do. I wish Cloud was here. He'd know what to tell me.

She started out of the building knowing that going outside would give the PHS a better signal. It was time to call Cid and tell him to come pick her up. She hadn't gotten very far when she felt a presence behind her. She stopped in her tracks and listened. She thought she heard the sound of boots crunching gravel behind her. For a moment she almost thought it was Cloud coming back from the dead to help her, but she knew better. He was gone and was never coming back.

That left only one person. Just as she was about to turn around when a hand slapped onto her shoulder. Her green eyes wandered to her right shoulder and she saw a black gloved hand resting on it.

"Aerith," Sephiroth's voice said so close to her ear she could feel the sword's mans breath blowing into it. "Did you think you could get away that easily?"

She felt him grab her around the waist. When he started to drag her backward she screamed and struggled against his grip. But he was too strong for her. He drug her backward a few more steps and she looked at her feet when she heard water splashing around her ankles. She screamed again and tried to step on his foot, knowing what he was going to do. He was going to drown her. Sephiroth lifted her body upward and all of a sudden both were falling backward into the water. The rest of Aerith's scream was muted by water entering her mouth.

A/N

Well I finally updated. You people are so nice. You begged me to continue and here it is. Chapter 11. Like I said. It's an alternate universe so things are a bit different. Thanks for all the support and I'll try to update again soon. Okay? Oh and as you can see I added a lot more detail since my last update.