DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters or the FF7-verse, they belong to Squaresoft. And don't care. Seriously. I don't care at all!! And stop looking at me like that! I'm not in denial. ^_~
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've been having a little creative break from writing, so sorry for the unusually long wait. After all, I had to get sunburnt at least once during my summer vacation! Now that that's done with I can finally focus on this story 100% again! I'm glad people have found 'Pieces of Us' interesting enough to bear with me for like 100 pages worth of A/S. Hopefully you'll continue reading this until the end!! ^_^
CHAPTER 25.
And like this stream our
passions flow,
Our love goes by;
The violence hope dare not show
Follows time's beat which now falls slow.
Night may come and clock may sound,
Within your shadow I am bound.
- Guillaume Apollinaire -
"Cloud, snap out of it!" Tifa screamed, as she backed up from Cloud and Zenobius. She glanced at her teammates frightfully, and noticed both Red and Cait Sith seemed to be just as baffled as she was. None of them liked the idea of attacking Cloud, least of all Tifa. But as Cloud just continued to walk towards them, cutting the air with his sword, Tifa felt he was not giving them much choise. "Please, don't do this!" She pleaded, but her words had little affect on Cloud.
"Well, I'll leave you kids to play.." Zenobius snickered. and walked away carefreely, a smug grin plastered on his face. The black-haired man had obviously gotten what he had come for, Tifa thought. Her eyes soon returned to Cloud, as she tried to decide what to do with him.
Behind Tifa, Red was taking cautious steps backwards to the edge of a huge crater in the ground, that had appeared to the place where the Temple had been located only moments ago.
"Tifa.." Red glanced at Tifa concearned, wanting her to do something about Cloud. "He can't hear you.." He told Tifa, and saw her nod back.
"I know Red.." She said.
Red realized Tifa was probably hoping she'd not have to hurt Cloud to stop him.
"Hey.. Are you two gonna do something about him?" Cait Sith asked cautiously, from behind a boulder of rock. Red glanced at him somewhat irritated.
"Exactly what do you suggest we do?!" He asked seriously.
"I don't know.. Knock him out or something." Cait Sith shrugged. Red glanced at Tifa quizzically, waiting for her to make a decision.
"OK Red, I'll try it.." Tifa nodded, a sad look in her eyes. She turned to face Cloud again, and braced herself. "Cloud.. I'm sorry but his is for your own good!" Tifa apologized with a frown, and then quickly ducked. With a swift movement, she kicked Cloud off of his feet. As he lost balance, Tifa aimed another precise punch at his head, knocking the blonde man unconsious. "He should be OK, now?" She glanced at Red for support, and then moved closer to Cloud. She felt very guilty for hitting him, and she hoped Cloud wouldn't hate her once he'd wake up.
"At least he's not attacking us.. I think Cloud would have wanted it this way." Red walked to Tifas side, and they both stared down at the blond-haired man lying on the ground.
"Listen Tifa, we should get out of here as fast as possible.." Red reminded Tifa of the SOLDIERs patrolling.
"I know. Come on you two, help me move him." Tifa glanced at both Red and Cait Sith, and grabbed Cloud's hands. Together they dragged him to a bit more shadowed corner of the heavy stone wall surrounding the temple courtyard. Red kept watch, while Tifa tried to wake up Cloud by poaring water on his face from a bottle she carried with her.
"Wake up, please.." She whispered, gently shaking Cloud's shoulders. She could only hope Cloud would be his normal self again.
"Urgh.. Tifa.. What happened?" Cloud opened his eyes with a groan, and glanced up at Tifa. She stared back at the blonde leader of AVALANCHE, thoughts racing through her mind. Cloud would feel horrible, after he'd find out about what he had nearly done. How would he react, when finding out he had tried to harm his childhood friend, the girl he had promised to protect?
"You were knocked out by Zenobius.. He left though, so don't worry." Tifa smiled awkwardly, sencing the looks Red and Cait Sith gave her even without turning to look at them.
"Tifa!" Red muttered, and stared at the dark-haired girl, who was still leaning over Cloud. She was looking at him so concearned, Red began to think maybe it was the right thing to do at the moment, to not tell Cloud the whole truth. He seemed confused enough; the guilt of knowing he had tried to kill his friends might be too much for Clouds shoulders - especially now that things looked bad to begin with.
"Zenobius was here?" Red heard Cloud ask.
"Yes," he and Tifa answered in unison. "He stole the materia from you after you had passed out." Red explained, noticing the silent thankyou Tifa formed with her lips. Red only hoped Tifa knew what she was doing, because he had learned lies and half truths had the nasty habit of turning against the person who had spoken them. The very same thing had happened with Sephiroth, when Aeris had decided not to tell him about Cloud. Everything had worked out in the end, Red thought, but maybe the ride would have been a bit less bumpy had they been honest with Sephiroth from the beginning.
"So Zenobius has the Black Materia?" Cloud muttered as he stood up. All three of his teammates nodded at him. "I guess we should go find the others now, and tell them the bad news." He continued, unable to hide the dissappointment in his voice. He had hoped to have something to gloat about when encountering Sephiroth and Aeris again. His rivalry with Sephiroth was not the only thing in Clouds mind though. He couldn't help feeling a little ashamed and concearned, that it had been so easy for Zenobius to knock him unconsious. He doubted such a thing could have ever happened to Sephiroth, and it made Cloud even more angry at himself.
"Yeah.. I wonder if they've found Aeris and Sephiroth already.." Tifa commented from behind Cloud, as they began to walk away from the Temple. As Cloud glanced at Tifa over his shoulder, he couldn't help wondering why she looked so worried. "I'm fine.. I'm not gonna let Zenobius sneak up on me again." He assured her, and Tifa smiled back at him.
"I'm glad." She answered.
The four of them quickly crossed the bridge, and walked on the pebble road leading from the Temple towards what could only be a temporary base of Shin-Ra's. "I wonder how heavily guarded that place is.." Cloud thought, noticing the others share a strange look. "What?" He asked, wondering what secret the three were keeping from him.
"Nothing." Tifa frowned. "I'm just thinking.. They probably know we'll be coming to the base.." She explained.
"Yeah.. It worries me too. We're a rebel group, and I'm sure the Shin-Ra won't hesitate to kill us all.." Cloud admitted, and the others nodded at him in silence.
"There's another thing that worries me.." Red suddenly spoke up. "Even if we somehow manage to save Aeris and Sephiroth, how are we going to get out of this island without a vehicle of any kind? The plane we came here with has to be completely wrecked." He looked at the three other AVALANCHE members, who all blinked at the mention of their escape plan - or rather the lacking of one.
"I haven't had a chance to think about that yet. But I guess we don't have to worry about it yet." Cloud answered him.
"Hmm.. We could built a raft of some kind.." Red muttered, still deep in his thoughts. Without a sail and a rudder it would be useless though, Red realized, since they would only drift along the currents for days, maybe weeks..
"Maybe there's something at the base?" Cait Sith suggested.
"Maybe.. It might be our only chance.." Red nodded at him, silently doubting if they could steal themselves a boat or a plane from right under Shin-Ra's nose. It just might be a little too adventurous.
* * * * *
"What did you say?!" Rufus raised his voice at a SOLDIER unit leader, who had just returned from patrolling the Temple and the nearby woods.
"The Temple is.. gone Sir." The SOLDIER informed in a small voice. "There's absolutely nothing there, it's like the whole building vanished into thin air." He continued.
"The AVALANCHE better not have the Black Materia, for.." Rufus fell silent as a thought occurred to him. He still had the hald-blooded cetra and Sephiroth.. Maybe the AVALANCHEr's would be interested in making a little trade.
"Actually.. It's just perfect.." Rufus grinned widely, realizing how easy it would be for him to set up a trap. The AVALANCHEr's were probably stupid enough to think that he'd actually give up the prisoners in exchange for the Black Materia. Rufus thought it would be best to just shoot the lot of them, and take the materia from their dead fingers. It was much less riskier, and besides.. Rufus wasn't the kind to make deals with criminals. Except of course, if it served his best interest.
"You'd better go fetch that Ancient.." Rufus told SOLDIER, who then nodded at him in affirmative.
"As you say Sir." He spoke, and quickly walked out of the room. Rufus grabbed the nearest radio-phone, and hoped that Hojo hadn't yet killed the General. Rufus needed him to stay alive.. at least for a little while longer.
* * * * *
"Hello..?" Aeris crawled through the hole she had finally managed to make large enough. She swallowed in the darkness of the small room, as she couldn't see anything. Images of standing in a nest of cockroaches filled Aeris' mind with fear, but she decided she had to continue. After getting fully to the other side, and after her eyes accustomed to the dark, Aeris notived a door at the end of the room she had entered. "What is this place.." Aeris thought aloud, and opened the door a little, to catch a glimpse of what was going on on the other side. She couldn't see anyone on the hallway, but heard shuffling of feet and talking in low voices. The guards probably, Aeris thought, and sneaked out of the room.
She walked on her toes to avoid anyone hearing her, and moved as quietly as a shadow further down the long hallway. Aeris could only hope she was going in the right direction, since she hadn't seen much of the building on her way to the cell. She passed rows of old, dusty chairs and an abandoned info-booth. Aeris figured this place had probably been a hospital, before Shin-Ra had turned it into a temporary jail. She remembered vaigly hearing someone once telling her something about the famous hospital of Mideel, that specialized in Mako-poisonings.
While thinking about hospitals, Aeris' thoughts were automatically drawn to her own health that seemed to deteriorate with every passing moment. During the last hours, Aeris had begun to feel really sick. She hoped she hadn't caught some tropical desease. Taking a break to recover was something Aeris couldn't do, especially with Sephiroth still locked up somewhere. Soon she reached the end of the hallway, finding a lobby there. Aeris noticed the couches lined up against the wall in the farmost corner of the room, and in front of them was a delicate wooden table. On the floor of the room was a blue carpet, whose colour had long ago faded into a dull grey. Aeris walked across the floor, biting her lip in worry. The furniture wasn't covered by dust, that suggested someone had been here recently. The relaxed look of the room reminded Aeris of a living room of some big mansion, she imagined it was probably the waiting room. On the right side of the room, stairs climbed up to the second floor. Very close to the point where the steps began, was a bulletin board with old, yellowish newsclippings attached to it. Aeris noticed they were all decades old, most of them had been published years before her birth.
Suddenly Aeris heard voices, talking casually as they came closer to the lobby. The fear of getting caught made Aeris' heart pound, and she rushed from the room through the nearest exit, which was a swing-door. Behind it, another long hallway was revealed. At the end of it, Aeris saw another set of stairs, this time leading to the basement floor. She took a cautious step forward, keeping her eyes at the row of neon lamps on the ceiling. Aeris noticed one of them was flickering, as though warning her of something. She suddenly felt small, almost childlike, as she walked further, keeping her eyes at the stairs. At the middle of the hallway, Aeris turned her gaze to the side, and felt her heart skip a beat. Out of nowhere, a door had appeared to the wall. It was open, and a small, silver-haired boy was sitting against it. He lifted his gaze from the floor, and a fraction of a second the two stared straight into each others eyes. Aeris was forced to blink, and as she opened her eyes, the vision was gone. "I'm.. delusional.." Aeris swallowed, forcing herself to move again. She held her hand against the wall for support, trying to calm herself by taking deep breaths. Something about the place made her skin crawl.
Aeris began the decend to the basement, and the feeling that she had stepped into another dimension only intensified. She grabbed the railing at the side of the stairway, holding onto it as her vision blurred momentarily. "What's.. wrong with me..?" Aeris said weakly, just as she felt cold sweat rise all over her body. She felt so weak and powerless, which was a new experience to Aeris. She had hardly ever been sick during her entire life. Even Elmyra had said she was a picture of health, so it seemed strange that all of a sudden Aeris had to struggle to stand on her own two feet. Very slowly Aeris managed to reach the end of the stairs, and she sat down on the last one of them. Aeris stared into a puddle of dirty water on the floor, and tried to hold herself together.
"I have to.." Aeris' voice trembled, as she rose back to her feet and walked towards the nearest door on the long dark tunnel, that seemed to go on and on as far as Aeris could see. The row of neon lamps on the ceiling curved a little to the left, suggesting the tunnel did too. "..Keep moving.." Aeris gritted her teeth, and moved close to wall because she was frightened her feet might not support her weight for much longer. She felt her entire body tremble with strange electricity, and she could tell even without a thermometer that she had a considerably high fever. Aeris considered momentarily returning to upstairs, but cast the thought aside as she looked in through a window on a set of swing-doors. "Sephy..?" Aeris whispered, and lifted her hand to her mouth in horror. She entered the empty laboratory, and saw Sephiroth lying on a metallic examination table at the far corner of the room. Black leather belts restrained him, they had been attached snuggly around his chest and legs. As Aeris walked closer to Sephiroth, she noticed his long black coat, discarded at the back of a chair.
"Sephiroth..?" Aeris tried to force some confidence into her voice, as she approached her boyfriend. His skin that was of fair ivory shade, was now stained in blood. She noticed a few bruises on his bare upper body, and realized her had probably gotten them already during the plane crash. "Sephiroth.." Aeris tilted her head gently, as she walked to his side. The fact that he couldn't answer, bothered Aeris. Sephiroth looked like he was only sleeping, even if Aeris noticed clearly the needle marks in his arms. His eyes were closed, and he had a peaceful expression on his face. She grabbed Sephiroth's hand, shocked to feel how different his hands felt like. Usually Aeris was comforted by his touch, and she could feel his strength, but now he felt so.. beaten, so.. dead. She lifted her other hand to stroke Sephiroth's hair. "You'll be fine.." Aeris murmured, an absent look in her eyes. "I'm going to get out out of here.." She continued, wiping a few tears from the corners of her eyes.
When Aeris began trying to open the leather belts that held Sephiroth tied to the table, she soon realized she was in a too weak and frail condition to succeed.
"Aeris?" She suddenly heard someone ask.
Aeris turned around, and saw Yuffie standing around by the door, Cid, Vincent and Barret right behind her. "Oh, am I so glad to see you!" Aeris smiled widely, feeling like laughing and crying at the same time. "But.. how are you here? Where are the others?" She asked, baffled by her friends' sudden appearance.
"Is he..?" Yuffie cleared her throat, and pointed at Sephiroth a little worried look in her brown eyes.
"He's alive.. For the time being." Aeris answered, her gaze sinking to the ground. "It was all my fault he got caught.. I can't believe I was so stupid.." She explained.
"Hey.. No time for dat.." Barret said while walking closer to Sephiroth. "We gotta get ourselves outta here!" He continued, and Aeris nodded at him thanfully.
"Thanks you guys.." Aeris smiled, noticed Yuffie and Vincent continue to stare at her.
"You don't look so hot." Yuffie blurted out her thoughts.
"I don't feel too good either.. I guess I'm a little bit sick." Aeris shrugged, and watched as Barret managed to open the belts. "Geez.. Da General is seriously drugged.." He snorted.
"If only that table had wheels.." Vincent said in a faraway voice, as the entire group fell silent. They had wanted to meet each other, but it had never occurred to anyone that they'd have to figure out an escape plan.
"Well I'm not gonna carry him!" Yuffie heaved a sigh, and turned to look at Barret, Vincent and Cid in turn. "Well? Aren't you going to do anything?" She asked.
"Yuffie.." Aeris spoke. "This is hopeless. I'm not even sure for how long I'll have strength to walk." She mumbled, sitting down in an office chair.
Suddenly Yuffie's eyes lit up. "That's it!" She almost shouted. "The chair! It's got wheels! We can just push them along the hallways!!" Yuffie turned to look at Cid and Vincent excited.
"Actually.. That just might work." Vincent nodded thoughtfully.
"OK people!" Yuffie ordered, and grabbed one of the black chairs. With minor difficulty, the AVALANCHEr's mananged to put Sephiroth into it. Aeris sat down in another chair, holding onto Sephiroth's belongings.
"Better get movin'.." Barret reminded, as he lead the way to the dimly lit corridor.
Their group was able to move considerably fast despite Aeris' sickness and the fact that Sephiroth was still unconsious.
"So Cloud's with Red and Tifa at the Temple of Ancients?" Aeris asked Yuffie.
"Yeah, that's right." She answered. "I'm glad everybody survived the crash.." Aeris mumbled, feeling weaker by the minute. She was eagerly waiting for a chance to sleep in a proper bed.
"You should have seen me when I knocked out the guard!" Yuffie sounded awfully proud as she described the whole journey of finding to Aeris and Sephiroth.
"Sure.." Aeris smiled, turning her eyes at Sephiroth. He wouldn't have wanted anyone to see him in such a condition, Aeris realized. He'd have probably died rather than accepted anyone's help..
Once they reached the end of the hallway, the group noticed there was a heavy, red-painted door. "What the hell are we standing around here for? Let's go!" Cid snorted, and opened the door. Sunlight streamed in, and before them, was the large air-ship the AVALANCHEr's had spotted earlier.
"Whoa." Barret muttered, glancing at Cid.
"I think we just got ourselves one hell of a ride, boys and girls.." Cid smirked, and reached for his cigarettes.
"You don't mean we should steal that?" Vincent shook his head.
"Man.. You've got guts." Barret nodded calmly, his eyes studying the large airship.
"They're not gonna expect it.." Cid thought, noticing rope ladders lead from ground level to the upper deck of the ship.
"Damn right.." Barret nodded, sounding enthusiastic of the thought of stealing something important to Shin-Ra.
"Oh, I'm not sure this is such a good idea.." Aeris bit her lip in worry. What if they'd get caught? There were bound to be some engineers and pilots on board.
* * * * *
"Mum?" Aeris asked from the entrance to the kitchen. Elmyra turned to face her, still drying a plate with a cloth.
"Yes dear?" She said, while placing the plate back into a cupboard.
"Has the mail arrived yet?" Aeris asked in a small voice.
"I'm sorry dear.. There wasn't a letter for you." Elmyra put down the cloth, and walked over to her daughter, who was standing still with a slightly sad look on her face. "Are you OK?" She asked, and pulled Aeris to a warm embrace.
"Yeah mum.. I just feel.. sad." She explained, wanting to cry yet for some reason she couldn't. "I just can't help thinking he's forgotten about me.. Maybe he has found someone new." Aeris shook her head gently, pressing her cheek against Elmyra's shoulder.
"Shh.. It'll be alright.." Elmyra hushed.
"Sometimes I wonder if I ever loved him.." Aeris voiced her thoughts, staring through their kitchen window, at the field of yellow flowers. They basked in the little sunlight reaching them, and she forced a smile on her face. "But if I didn't.. Why does it still hurt so much?"
* * * * *
"Hey Cloud, what's that?" Tifa pointed towards a large shadow, floating by them.
"It's that airship we saw in Rocket Town.. Are the Shin-Ra leaving?" Cloud glanced at Red, who merely shrugged.
"I don't think it's the Shin-Ra piloting it.." Cait Sith told the others, pointing towards a set of rope ladders, that were suddenly dropped to the ground nearby the AVALANCHEr's.
"Get on board!!" Yuffie shouted from the deck, waving her hands furiously.
"They stole the Shin-Ra's flagship!?" Cloud blinked, totally baffled.
"Better get on it.." Red glanced at him, running to the stairs. Quickly the four of them climbed up the stairs, relieved that they finally had some hope of getting off the island.
"What's up? We saw the Temple had sorta dissappeared." Yuffie turned to Cloud.
"Zenobius.. He stole the Black Materia." Cloud explained. "We've gotta go after him." He continued, and Yuffie nodded back.
"Hey, what's the cat doing here!" Yuffie glared at Cait Sith.
"Oh, he's good." Cloud calmed her down. "He helped us.. So he's with us again." He continued.
"Geez, some people never learn.." Yuffie rolled her eyes as she turned to the door leading to the inner parts of the ship.
"Did you find Aeris and.. you know.." Tifa asked, while they walked through the door and away from the deck.
"..Sure." The tone of Yuffie voice suddenly changed.
"What is it?" Cloud asked, wondering if Sephiroth had been acting difficult.
"Well.. Sephiroth's still unconsious.. And Aeris is really sick." Yuffie explained, a frown on her face.
"Sick?" Tifa asked.
"Yeah.. we don't know what's wrong with her.." Yuffie shook her head. "Anyways.. We've already picked the cabins too! This is a *huge* plane!" Yuffie sounded excited again, as she took the four others to a small tour around the ship. "Here are the cabins.. The two last rooms are already taken, we took the General and Aeris to those.. You should probably let Aeris rest a while, though I'm sure she'd love to see you.." Yuffie shrugged, and then turned to the cabin number one. "Oh and this is my cabin. Anyone entering it without my permission will suffer." Her expression was very serious.
"..Sure.." Cloud and Tifa shared a look.
"The bathroom's here.. And that's sorta the kitchen.." Yuffie continued the tour, leading the others down a set of metallic stairs. They saw a large room, that seemed like the nerve-centre of the entire ship.
"Cid's with Barret at the cockpit.. You should probably go there." Yuffie suddenly stopped, looking a little green.
"What about you?" Tifa asked.
"I think I'm gonna go somewhere.. And.. do something." Yuffie rushed up the stairs.
"She looked really sick.. I wonder if whatever it is that Aeris has is contagious?" Tifa asked, and Cloud smiled back at her. "Maybe." He only said.
* * * * *
"Huh?" Sephiroth quickly sat up, feeling a familiar pain burning in his veins. Where am I, Sephiroth thought, as he looked around him. It was quite a large room, with a double-sized bed. On one of the walls, were large windows from which a biculiar scenery spread. White fluffy clouds flowed by, blocking out the view.
"You're awake then." A male voice spoke calmly.
As Sephiroth turned his gaze, he noticed Vincent stand in the most shadowy corner of the room. Sephiroth hid his surprise well, and just continued to admire his room. Beside the bed there was a small table with a few drawers. The door was located left from the bed, and next to it was a large wooden closet for clothes and things. The floor was bare, and the planks were of light shaded wood. In the corner of the room, not far from where Vincent was standing, was a lamp and an armchair. The wallpaper was white, but in the middle of the wall, a thin violet stripe circled the room. The light, see-throughy curtains were also violet, but of a somewhat brighter shade. The room was lightly furnished, and it had a lot of empty space. Sephiroth also noticed his clothes and to his surprise, the Masamune lying on the floor by the closet.
"Where's Aeris?" Sephiroth asked, staring at Vincent suspiciously.
"She's.. across the hallway, in another room." Vincent said, in a strange voice. Sephiroth couldn't help feeling the man was not telling him everything.
"We found the two of you at Hojo's lab.. Apparently she had tried to rescue you.." Vincent explained. Sephiroth didn't say anything, instead he lowered his feet onto the floor and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Currently we're on an airship we stole, the Highwind. We brought you here.. to wake up." Vincent explained.
"Nobody asked you to 'rescue' me. I can take care of myself." Sephiroth glanced at Vincent spitefully.
"You wish we had left you behind?" Vincent asked, apparently not surprised of Sephiroth's reaction.
"Don't you?" Sephiroth smirked evilly.
"The reason for my presence.. I guess it's best I just tell you." Vincent cleared his throat.
"What is it? Don't tell me it's time for the: 'despite all your flaws we still love you' speach? 'Cos I'm not sure if I have the stomach for that ordeal.." Sephiroth snorted.
"Sephiroth.." Vincent heaved a sigh. "Aeris is sick." He blurted out.
Sephiroth fell silent. "Sick?" He asked, with his back still turned to Vincent.
"We don't know what's causing it.. But.. it looks like she's only getting worse.." Vincent spoke, watching as Sephiroth continued staring at the wall in front of him.
"I want to see her." He said then, his voice betraying no emotion.
"Sure. I shall take you there." Vincent nodded as he spoke, and walked to the door. He couldn't help feeling sympathy towards the silver-haired General. He knew after all, what it was like to watch a loved one wither away.. Vincent blinked, a little bit shocked by his thoughts. Aeris wouldn't die, would she? Watching Sephiroth attach the Masamune's sheath back on to his belt, Vincent wondered what he was feeling. Sephiroth sure hid his emotions well. If anything, he looked angry and irritated.
The two men walked out of the room, and Vincent pointed at Aeris' room. "She's right in there." Vincent said, and opened the door. Sephiroth gave him a brief look, and then entered the cabin.
The first thing he noticed about Aeris' room was that it was smaller than his, and that it had more furniture in it. The wall next to the entrance was covered by shelves and a closet. In front of him, Sephiroth saw a table on top of which lay a few books, paper, pens and a reading lamp. As he turned is head, Sephiroth noticed Aeris, lying on a bed by the window. This room was decorated in pale green colours, even the curtains in front of the small, ovial shaped window were green.
"Sephiroth..?" Aeris asked, as she forced herself to sit up.
"It's me." Sephiroth nodded at her, from in front of the bed. She smiled widely, even if there was a tired look in her eyes.
"You look well." Aeris continued, and coughed a little.
"You.. too." Sephiroth said quietly, lowering his gaze.
"You're a terrible lier." Aeris chuckled, immediatly coughing again. For a while the two just stared at each other in silence, trying to think of something to say. "He didn't.. hurt you much, did he?" Aeris asked.
"..No." Sephiroth answered, studying her appearance. She looked weak, a few strands of hair were glued to her forehead. Her entire body seemed to tremble of cold, even if she had wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. "It wasn't.. worse than usually." He continued, tilting his head as Aeris' fingers brushed by his jaw.
"Well it's good to see that you're OK." Aeris smiled, coughing a little. Her entire body seemed to jerk of the force of each cough, and Sephiroth could only watch. He slowly reached for Aeris' hand, and held her fingers in his grasp.
"Yes.. I guess I am OK.. now." Sephiroth answered, and just sat still while Aeris layed down on the bed again.
"Do they know what's wrong with me yet?" Aeris asked, as she turned her head to look at Sephiroth.
"No.. not yet." Sephiroth answered calmly, watching at Aeris' fingers as he held them.
"It's just a flu, or something.. I'm going to be fine." Aeris smiled, and Sephiroth glanced at her eyes. He couldn't help noticing how exhausted she looked like.
"Yes.. I'm sure you will." Sephiroth said then, forcing a slight smile on his lips.
* * * * *
"Sephiroth's with Aeris.." Vincent explained to Tifa and Cloud, who were sitting on a couch in the cockpit of the newly named Highwind-airship.
"Are you sure that's such a good idea.." Tifa looked at Vincent quizzically. "We should let her rest, while we take her to a hospital." She continued, glancing at Cloud concearned. The blonde haired man had his eyes in the large windshield, and didn't notice the look Tifa gave him.
"Yes.. I discussed that with Red already.. We feel it would be best to take her to Cosmo Canyon, where she'd not be handed over to Shin-Ra." Vincent suggested.
"Yeah.. I agree." Tifa nodded. "When will we arrive?" She asked.
"Tomorrow.." Vincent answered, and then the threesome fell totally silent. Aeris' ilness was just the last drop, Tifa thought, after what had happened with Zenobius everyone was feeling a little depressed. The miraculous stealing of Highwind did little to lift Tifa's spirits.
"Hey man, could ya not smoke in here!" Barret raised his voice at Cid, who looked like he was about to light up a cigarette. Cid just glared back at Barret, but left the cockpit for the upper deck.
"Is it just me.. or does everyone seem to be on a bad mood?" Tifa turned to look at Cloud.
"I know.. Everything's not going too well.." He said, an obvious guilty undertone in his voice. Tifa realized he probably still felt bad for what had happened earlier.
"We're gonna get the materia back, trust me." She told him, and smiled reassuringly.
Finally this is finished! This chapter gave me serious headache, so I'm just glad this is done with! ^_^ I'll try to add more chapter REAL soon.