The two brothers turned their back to the others as they watched Shadow flew off. Zack too watched in concern. Only those three had seen the dragon's rage take over before. But they all knew how dangerous it could be. In her present state, there was no telling what Shadow could, or would, do.
But that was not the only issue which scared the brothers. They had no way of knowing how the others from their world would react to the news Bahamut ZERO had broken. The news that the only summoning materia left was the set, which Shadow carried…
Cloud was still watching the sky into which Bahamut had vanished. No one had said anything yet, for the realization had yet to sink in. Sefiroth and his brother just stood there. They knew that it was for the best that they wait for Cloud and the others to ask them about what had just happened. If the others had to search for them, the whole situation would get out of hand.
Finally, Cloud turned to them. "Can you explain this?"
Sefiroth nodded. "A little. From what Bahamut told us, Shadow holds the only remaining summoning materia on her back. If she dies, then so dose the realm of the summoned monsters."
"And what dose that mean for our world?"
"I don't know. Bahamut couldn't see anything besides the summoning materia without being summoned."
"Cloud! Don't you get it? Our world is gone! Meteo destroyed it! All because of HIM!!!"
Both brothers backed up. Although either of them could have taken Tifa, neither of them wanted a fight. It was Red who helped to avoid one. "Tifa, there is a slight error in your calculations. When Grandfather studied materia he discovered that the summoning materia was the strongest. However it was also highly unstable. As a result, it was the easiest to return to the planet. It is possible that the summoning materia was re-absorbed by the planet in order to gain the power needed to support Holy…"
"You don't know that for sure!"
Everyone was quiet. Chrono and his companions because they weren't sure about what was going on, Sephiroth and his brother because they didn't know what to say, and Cloud and his group because they weren't sure how to react.
It looked like they may stand there for hours, when Sephiroth stepped out from behind him brother, and planted his sword in the earth. He then walked towards Tifa. "If you're so sure that this is my fault, kill me." There were gasps of amazement, then silence. Tifa stood in front of Sephiroth, the hatred burning in her eyes. "The only thing I ask is for you not to hate my brother. None of this was he fault. Everything was done by me and me alone…"
No one said anything. All eyes were on Tifa, as she stood in front of Sephiroth. She stood there for at least ten minutes, just starring, her hand posed to strike the fatal blow. During that time, not one word was spoken. Sefiroth watched his brother in concern. But he understood. In order for Sephiroth to redeem himself, he had to do this.
Finally Tifa slowly lowered her hand, and turned away. "I cannot. I cannot bring myself to murder a man in cold blood for any reason. Father, forgive me…"
Tifa began to cry. Sephiroth and his brother left, knowing this was not their place. Cloud walked over to her, and placed her arm about her shoulder. "Your father would be proud. It took a lot of courage to do what you did. If you had killed him…"
The others began to disperse as the two spoke. Finally, only Cloud and Tifa remained, as the sun began to set…
