~Chapter 6~

Vincent woke up suddenly. That was a bizarre dream. What did I see in that room. More importantly, who was that girl? Her name was Aeris, but I did not recognize her. He looked at the clock. 4:30? I won't sleep again, anyway. He got out of the makeshift bed he put in the corner of the library and put on his robe. He felt weird feeling when he put it on, like he was refreshed. He didn't seem to care about it, it probably isn't anything.

It was obviously still dark when he got outside and a little cold. He hoped no one saw him come out of the mansion and risk being discovered as Sephiroth. But that wasn't his name anymore. And Cloud, his name was Clif now. Everything was changing too quickly, or maybe he was just too slow. It seemed over 30 years have passed since my death. Too long. Maybe everyone will forget about me like they did before 30 years ago, when I disappeared for many years. It was like I was living through it again, but now I can't be evil.

Without realizing it, he had walked far away from the mansion. I must be thinking too hard. I didn't even know where I was going. Might as well just see where my feet take me.

~

Where am I? Clif sat up and looked around. This place looked familiar. It is Cid's house. Why am I here? He realized his hand was on his necklace again, he quickly took it off. All I remember was being in my room and that was it. Who brought me here?

Aeris walked into the room. "Father! You are awake!" Clif stood up and rubbed his head. His head pounded.

"H…hello Aeris. What am I doing here?"

"You mean you don't remember? I found you passed out and covered in blood. But it wasn't your blood, it was somebody else's."

I don't remember any of this. Why not?

Cid entered the room. He looked out of breath.

"Hi…Cloud…had…me…worried…for…a moment there." He got his hands off his knees. "Excuse my lack of wind, I ran here. I had a bit of a run in with the mistress. She was yelling at me about not listening to her or something. I dunno what she said, really, I wasn't paying attention." He gave me one of those big smiles he has when he jokes around. I tried forcing a smile, but my head hurt too much. Aeris giggled. "If you need anything," Cid said, "Just holler." He turned on one heel and jogged out of the room.

Aeris turned to me and looked at me. She looked scared. "Dad, I had a dream last night. I think Sephiroth was in it again. But he was helping me. We came to this door and we pulled it open. He saw something and dropped his sword. I looked too, but as soon as I saw it, I woke up."

"What did you see?"

"It was a woman. Well, it had woman like features. It looked like a robot. It was in a big holding cell and hooked up to all these wires. There was a little graving on the cell that I think said Jene."

Again, questions come flooding in. Jene, it couldn't possibly be…

"Did it say, Jenova?"

"Yup. That was it. Why? Is she bad?"

"Aeris, Jenova was Sephiroth's mother. She is quite bad."

"But that is whats bothering me. When I saw her, I felt warm inside. Like she was trying to help me. But that can't happen, if she is evil."

This is strange. Why is Aeris starting to have dreams about Sephiroth? Is he trying to take over her body or something? Perhaps trying to manipulate her to kill me.

"Dad," Aeris interrupted, "You are holding your necklace again."

My hand came off of it. Why was I not realizing that I was holding it? Is the black materia becoming addictive?

"What is that pretty black stone in your necklace, anyway?"

The materia shimmered in the light. "This is the last remnant of materia. It was said to have been destroyed, but I still kept one piece. This is black materia. This was powerful enough to destroy the earth. I think it is just a stone now."

"You have something around your neck that can destroy the earth? Is that because you feel insecure about yourself and get something very powerful to make up for it? Or do you like knowing that you could destroy the earth?"

I was hurt by that comment. But it didn't bother me. "The materia is impotent now. It can't harm us."

"Well then, take it off so you don't keep playin with it."

My hand went for the clasp, but I put my hands down. I couldn't bring myself to take it off. I thought maybe it was that I was tired, but my brain was telling me not to take it off.

"Here, let me do it." She reached over and put her hands on the clasp. Right then, something came over me and I saw red.

"DoN't ToUcH iT!" I slung her off me and she landed on the floor. I had no idea of what I just did. She looked at me and her eyes welled up into tears. "Oh my god, Aeris, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me!"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" She ran out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

"Aeris? Damn it!" I punched the wall as hard as I could. I then remembered my headache and I fell to the ground. "What the hell is wrong with me! Damn it!" I felt hot tears of anger running down my face. Not anger at anyone, angry at myself.

Cid burst in through the door. "Shit, what the hell happened in here? You are certainly causing quite an uproar. Aeris ran out of here faster than I could catch up to her."

"I don't…" I was so angry I could barely speak "I don't want to talk. Please leave." Cid could see my fear and anger.

"All right. I understand. You can go home anytime you want." He walked slowly out of the room.

I got up, head throbbing like mad. I grabbed the materia and pressed it against my head. It was eerily cool. My headache went away. That was odd. He looked at the stone on his necklace for a while. He could have sworn that he saw it flicker.

~Chapter 7~

Aeris ran, tears streaming down her face. She jumped on top of Cid's chocobo and rode away. She didn't care where she was going, as long as it was away from her father.

She rode for about 45 minutes when she came to a forest she didn't recognize. All of the trees were leafless, so it wasn't a very concealing place. She knew that forests were full of ferocious beasts but she went against her better judgment. The chocobo had a sword and sheath on it's side, anyway, so she was protected.

When she was well into the forest, she saw something skitter into a bush. She drew the short bladed sword and hopped off the bird. "Stay here," she whispered to the chocobo, even though she knew they can't speak. She heard little whimpers coming from the bush. Is that a human? She walked quietly up to the bush, and pulled it away. It was a small creature that reminded her of a penguin, wearing a red robe and big hat. It was definitely not a human.

"Aahh!" The creature screamed. "D-d-don't hurt me! We don't know the whereabouts of the girl!" It opened it's eyes. "Oh, sorry. Wrong person. Well, better late than never for introductions! Hello! My name is Piashingubagu but I call myself Pi! What is your name?"

This thing talked very fast for such a small body. "Aeris. Who did you think I was, Pi?"

"The wanderer. He has been walking through the forest for a while now, looking for someone. He wears a big, white robe with purple hair. Hey! Maybe he's looking for you!"

Sephiroth? Looking for me? I must get out of this forest. Who knows what he could do to me if he finds me. "Do you think you could lead me out of here? Just not the way I came, I don't want to go back." I don't think I ever will see my home again, thanks to Clif.

"Get you out? Yes, I suppose I could do that. But I hope you don't plan on using your chocobo."

"Why wouldn't I…" I stopped in mid-sentence. The chocobo's blood was all over the surrounding trees. I saw something else that made my heart skip a beat. Standing about five yards away from the chocobo, was a man in a white robe cleaning his tarnished sword. I couldn't move. It was Sephiroth without a doubt. He looked up at me. I couldn't see his eyes behind his long, purple hair. He couldn't have been much older than me, even though he should be well over one hundred. He was also very tall, his sword was as long as he was. He spoke to me in a calm soothing voice.

"You won't need a way out, Aeris." The way he said it he didn't seem menacing at all. He sounded rather peaceful. "Come with me."

I followed him. I don't know why I would ever do something like this, but there was something about him. Like I've known him for a long time. I didn't even look back at Pi. I'm sure he ran off in fear. "Where are you taking me, Sephiroth?"

He continued walking and turned his head. "That isn't my name anymore. It is Vincent. Sephiroth is too evil a name."

This isn't the Sephiroth, (or Vincent, rather), that I've heard so much about.

"I've been having dreams about you, Aeris. Strange dreams. And I'm pretty sure you have, too."

He has been having dreams, too? These dreams must be a connection of some sort. "Yes, I have been having dreams about you. But how did you know I would be here?"

"I didn't. I was coming to New Nibelhelm to talk to you. Apparently, we met halfway. It works out better for me, I guess. I know all about you, Aeris."

"Then I guess you might remember that my dad was the one that destroyed you." I didn't know why I even bothered to try and scare him. Or intimidate him. It wasn't going to work.

He smiled. "Yes, but he didn't do a very good job of that, did he? How is old Cloud doing, anyway? I ran into him the other day on his way back home. He's past his prime, now."

I flinched. So my dream was real after all. Vincent seems very laid back about this whole thing. "So, what did you want to tell me, Vincent?"

"Ah, yes. I need your help. This time around, I'm the good guy. There has been traces of evil coming from somewhere. I'm not sure where, but it is somewhere in this part of the earth. I need you to help me destroy it."

"Why me?"

"That is what I was getting to. You may not know this, but you have small amounts of materia running through your blood. Only a few people, me included, have this kind of blood. This gives us great powers beyond our imagination. I am going to have to teach you to use them. This is the only way to save the earth from destruction."

This sounds a bit too corny for me. Unlock powers. Save earth. Blah, blah, blah. Suddenly, a thought shot through her head. "Vincent, I think I might know where this evil is coming from."

"Hmm? Where?"

"My father's necklace, the black materia."