Chapter Twelve

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or the characters from it. They're owned by the amazing Squaresoft, now known as Square-Enix. However, I do happen to own three characters that I've thrown into the story; blue eyed woman, amber eyed man, and the mysterious Master. On with the story!

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Aeris awoke with a moan, and attempted to hide her face beneath the safety of her covers in order to escape from the rays of sun light pouring through a window. However, that did not aide her at all, for someone suddenly yanked the covers off of her and exposed her. Grumbling in frustration, she cracked an eye open in order to see who it was. Both eyes opened as she glared at the rather smug looking Sephiroth.

"Rise and shine, sunshine, it's time to wake up."

He smirked at her, his jade green eyes glinting with devious intentions as he stared down at her. Aeris glared at him, before forcing herself out of bed.

"What is your problem? You never wake me up. And it's what time… 4 A.M.? I could be sleeping right---"

"Actually, it's 6 A.M."

Aeris sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance at him. Why, on Planet's name, did she have to be stuck with him? So what if she had assumed it was four when it was six, but, it was still quite early in the morning. At least, for her it was, after all, she hardly went out and did things.

"Well, whatever time it is, it's way too early."

Aeris complained, grabbing some clean clothes from her bag and paused in front of him. She stared sleepily up at him, knowing very well that he wasn't going to respond to her complaint.

"Well, could you at least go get some breakfast while I shower and attempt to wake up? Then, I won't have to cook anything, and I know that you're not too fond of my cooking."

Aeris pouted a little bit at that fact, for she prided herself in being a decent cook. However, according to Sephiroth, she cooked horribly. That kind of hurt her feelings and wounded her small ego. Everyone had always said her stuff tasted good, were they lying or was he just lying in order to piss her off? Who knew, in fact, she knew that she didn't.

Not waiting for a response from him, she trudged past him to the bathroom, rubbing at her eyes with her free hand. She then entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her, moving her hand to cover her mouth as she felt a yawn escape from her lips.

Aeris turned, placing her clothes on the counter and went to lock the bathroom door since she had forgotten to do it upon entering. Yawning again, she began to undress and stepped into the shower. Leaning foreword, she turned the shower water on and adjusted the temperature to her liking.

Once the water was to her liking, she began to clean herself up, secretly hoping that the water would indeed help wake her up. She also hoped that Sephiroth heard her and would indeed go down and get some breakfast for them.

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Blue eyes closed in prayer, hands clasped before her, the woman prayed. Long, flowing blonde hair fell past her waist, held back in a long ponytail tied back with a scarlet ribbon. Her lips moved, speaking silent prayers as she continued to pray. That went on for a few moments longer, before she ceased in her silent chanting.

Her blue eyes opening, revealing them to be a stunning, ocean blue. She unclasped her hands from in front of her, rising up to stand gracefully upon her features. She wore a snug fitting red dress, quite similar to the one a certain flower girl wore, but it was red instead of pink.

"I can only hope that my prayers were heard, I do not wish for the world to turn to dust. If he succeeds, all is doomed. I must seek the Chosen Ones, and aid them in their quest the best I am able to."

Her voice was soft, like that of a sweet angel's, but behind her sweet melodic voice lay a grave tone. The two could not fail for Gaia was counting on them, no, not just Gaia, but Gaia and the people living oblivious on its surface.

She turned upon her heels, letting her hands fall limply to her side as she started walking away from the spot she was currently at. She would seek them out, and lend them her strength.

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After about thirty minutes had passed, Aeris finally turned the water off in the shower. She stepped out of the shower, feeling more awake than she had been thirty minutes ago. A smile bloomed upon her face as she began to towel herself dry, humming a sweet, soft melody to her self as she dressed.

As soon as she was done dressing, she turned and exited the bathroom, still toweling her hair dry. She blinked innocently, looking around for any sight of Sephiroth. Instantly, she beamed, spotting breakfast on the table while Sephiroth stood staring out of the window. However, when she entered the room, he turned and looked at her in boredom.

"Oh, I see you're still alive. I figured you had drowned or something."

He said smugly, taunting her as he stared impassively at her face. Aeris narrowed her eyes, but bit her lip to restrain herself from lashing out at him. She was not going to let him ruin her good mood. Instead, she smiled sweetly at him.

"Thank you for getting breakfast, Sephiroth. You're so sweet."

She said, making her tone even sweeter even it did drip with sarcasm. Sephiroth blinked slowly, staring at her in mild surprise. He then rolled his eyes and turned to stare out the window again, not even bothering in replying to her comment as she began to eat the breakfast he had brought back from his little forced trip into town.

They needed to get going soon, for lingering in this town for too long was not a wise choice. In fact, any moment now, they could be attacked without warning. Sephiroth was forced to be constantly on guard, not like he wasn't, but it made he even more wary. He had not only him self to protect, but Aeris as well. He could not screw this up.

He made up his mind; today they would be leaving this town to go somewhere, whether Aeris liked it or not.

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Author's Note: I'm going to end it here. Yes, you people were not imagining things, a new character has entered the plot. Who is she really and what is her true purpose? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Oh, before I forget, I would like to say a big 'thank you' to Foi and Ruff Collie for reviewing. I'm glad to know at least two people are reading and enjoying my story. Anyways, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!