An Angel Without Wings His crimson life force flows down his face as he stares wide-eyed in disbelief that a weakling like Cloud could ever kill him. Cloud glares back at Sephiroth, no emotion etched on his face. As far as Cloud was concerned, Sephiroth could burn in hell for what he did to Aeris. Because of him, Aeris was laying at the bottom of the crystal blue waters of a lake within the Ancient City, her beauty hidden from the world for all eternity.

But suddenly, to Cloud's surprise, the LifeStream starts to form around them. His sapphire like eyes follows the strange glow. He looks up to see Sephiroth disintegrating into a sickly red light; Jenova tainted LifeStream. Aeris' LifeStream intertwines with his immediately, confusing Cloud.

Why would she do this? Doesn't she remember what he did to her? He thought to himself as he stood a lone to witness this.

Suddenly, the two LifeStreams enter him. He staggers back slightly at the sensation. He closes his eyes trying to make sense of all the voice that echoed through him. Under the statements of hate Sephiroth's voice whispered, he could hear the muffled sound of weeping. What was this noise? Was it…? It was Sephiroth. He strained his senses to follow the noise and slowly an image appeared before him. A young Sephiroth curled into the corner of a dark dank room, shivering. He cries quietly, obviously in pain. Around his wrists, are broken restraining straps and an identification bracelet. His pants tattered, and topless, he shakes uncontrollably hiding from something or someone. His then shorter silver hair falling into his lifeless tear filled eyes casting a shadow over his dirtied and sullen face. Cloud watches this scene speechless, not knowing if it was only Sephiroth trying to deceive him, or not. The room starts to lighten from behind Cloud; he turns to see a doorway with the outline of black figures fill the area. They start to come closer and Cloud grasps the hilt of his Ultimate Weapon ready to strike, but the figures go through him as if he wasn't there. Amazed, he stares blankly for a minute then turns to see what they are going to do.
Before the young Sephiroth can take to his feet and run away, two of the lab coated men grab him throwing him back down. He screams out to them to leave him a lone, he didn't want any more injections. Unable to do, anything, Cloud watches the scene before him unfold. They forcefully turn his arm so the underside is exposed. Another doctor reveals the needle full of a glowing purple liquid. Sephiroth stares to it fearfully, with tears rolling down his face and begs them not to do anymore. As if his cries fall upon deaf ears, the doctor rams the needle into his vein. Cloud watches as Sephiroth's eyes grow wide and his face freezes. He was in a catatonic state due to the shock of the situation and the unbearable pain that now surged through his blood. One of the professors pulled at his eyelid to examine his eye and wrote something on his clipboard. Another measured his heart rate and wrote that down as well. In low voices, inaudible for Cloud, they discuss what to do next with the boy for a few more minutes and then leave, Sephiroth still frozen from the ordeal. Cloud knew Sephiroth was injected with Jenova cells, but to his knowledge it was only at birth. But here was an older Sephiroth, looking about ten years old, maybe a bit older, in a dark wet room in fear of another injection.

Sephiroth breaks from his traumatic coma in a fit of coughing. Cloud stared intensively to see what would happen next. Sephiroth snaps his head in Cloud direction by stares right through him as if something were behind him. There they were, the cold menacing Mako eyes he possessed. They had an eerie glow about them as Sephiroth scanned the room. A twisted smile crossed his lips as he scoffed quietly lurching forward to rest his arms upon his bent knees. This was the Sephiroth Cloud knew all too well. Could it be that all this time, Sephiroth was acting upon the impulses of the Jenova cells and not his own? Could this mean that the insanity that he endured at Nibelhiem wasn't just because of learning about the experiment? Did he forget this happened and then after seeing the records, it all came back too fast for him to handle? Cloud mused to himself.
The scene before him dimmed and Cloud was back now staring at the LifeStream once more. A hand emerges reaching for him. Aeris…? He reaches for the hand slightly but suddenly world came into focus, as Tifa's yelling for him to snap out of it and grab her hand. Shaking his head and realizing that the rock cliff he's standing on is about to break away, he reaches for her hand, when suddenly, the cliff Tifa's perched on smashes, and it is Cloud who saves her. As he looks back to see if she's alright, he catches a sight of the Mako. His mind goes to Aeris now understanding why she saved Sephiroth's soul and pulled Tifa and himself to safety. His body hits the ground hard, but he makes not a sound. As he lay there, his head stops spinning enough to lift it and gaze about. He pushed himself up to a kneeling position and further investigated. It was then that he noticed that his body was free of pain. He looked down at his chest, placing one black, gloved hand over it perplexed. No longer did the screams of Jenova course through his veins. He was confused and lost. A soft light began to form a ways from him and a figure appeared. Two delicate smooth feet step gracefully toward him. As Sephiroth's eyes elevated, he noticed that the figure was definitely female, and a beautiful one at that. Around the waist, he notices long elegant chestnut colored hair. This hair; it triggered something in his mind and he can see himself standing over an Ancient, her lifeless body at the end of his mighty Masamune.
Could this be…?

She lowers herself to one knee, her sheer white dress billowing about her as she moves; then settles upon the ground. She stares into his eyes a small smile across her pale pink lips.
"You made it safely…"
Sephiroth quickly grasps the hilt of the Masamune that lay faithfully at his side and places the blade against her silky neck.
"What are you doing here? Didn't I kill you?" She smiles a bit more "Yes, you did."
Fearlessly, she gently takes his empty hand and brings it to her chest directly beneath her breasts letting him feel the scar he left behind. He jumps back after feeling it staring to the Ancient in dismay, clutching the Masamune's hilt tightly.
"If you're dead, then what are you doing here?"
"To bring you to the Promised Land. Isn't that what you've been searching for?"
"The Promised Land? I have to be dead to…" his eyes widen as he trails off now comprehending that he was dead.