Part Five

As he sat there, his eyes fidgeting in pain with the antiseptic being put on the wound in his back, he truly did wonder why. Why, after all this torture she had been put through, would she help him in any way. It reminded him so much of the woman many years ago, who knew of her death put went ahead with it anyway. She had known that with her summoning help from the planet, certain evens would unfold; the arrival of her good acquaintances, the scene of one last, sorrowful moment until her back was punctured and sliced through, her slowing heartbeat echoing in shadows as the evil menace who had cause it stared up and grinned, finding it was just one more soul for him to conquer when he became ruler of the planet. He remembered, vaguely, that he had been that menace, to laugh at the man, who had been this Ancient's friend, now in angry tears. It was almost pitiful, but now that he thought about it...reasonable...

What was wrong with him?

He couldn't understand what had made him so soft, and it was so frustrating to be this way. Knowing he had not been this way before his heart had been stolen, something had to have been done by Ray, something that had to do with giving back his heart. She would not say anything, and in fact hadn't said anything for the past few days. His strength had yet to return fully, and with it was at her mercy to give him back the rest of his heart so his legs could move.

He squirmed again, the pain in his back excruciatingly overwhelming. She sighed, sitting back for about the tenth time and shaking her head.

"You know this would be so much easier if you'd stop complaining," she stated.

"Complaining?! Do you know how much this hurts?!"

"Yes, actually," she confessed, standing up and handing the bowl of sterile water to the maids who had been standing by just incase anything went wrong. Though they had no idea who Ray was or how she had gotten there, they took the word of their master in saying she was to be his medic. Why, they did not know either, but would not question him.

He remained on his side, seeing in the corner of his eye that she had sat down, waiting for the bowl to be returned to her.

"So now you speak?" he questioned, a moment of silence to follow.

"Yes...The truth must come eventually."

"That's surprising. Well, when did you have a wound that had to be treated by antibacterial medicine?"

"A long time ago...I'd rather not go into it," she said. "It's kind of like you don't want to get into your past, hmm?"

"I suppose that's fair enough." Fair enough? Since when did he ever say things could be fair?

"So tell me, Sephiroth, do you remember anything from your past? Just a yes or a no."

"Possibly...But what's it to you? It is of no importance."

"I guess not," she sighed, receiving the bowl and once more beginning to heal his back wound still there from where it had been stabbed by the Heartless.

In truth, he didn't really remember much. He remembered the death of the Ancient and coming so close to victory before he was defeated by his worst enemy. With a last ditch effort he summoned his worst attack, one that would wound the planet beyond repair, but as he faced his nemesis for one last time...He didn't know. He couldn't recall what the results were, (or if there were any). All he could remember was these black creature, standing over him with their glowing yellow eyes before his consciousness faded. Finding himself waking up here, with one black wing no less, he would discover that his life would continue here, if he had any left.

When she tapped his shoulder, he looked over, hearing her say that he should sit up now. Doing so, she wrapped his back and around his chest several times with bandages to make sure it was secure, telling him to sit back again. Staring up at the ceiling, he let another moment pass before he continued.

"How long will I be this way?"

"A few more weeks I suppose. Cultivating the Heart back to its original form will take some time.

"Wait, its original form?" he questioned. "I hope your not planning to restore it any further than the way it was when you arrived."

She blinked, shaking her head. "Wouldn't dream of it." She dipped the cloth in the antiseptic and dropped it on his hand, keeping it there for some time.

"Good," he said. In a second of thought he said, "So, how do you do it anyway?"

"Do what?"

"How do you cultivate the heart? Surely you must've learned it somewhere, for there is no medic I've known who could do that."

"Is there?" she asked, almost like a defensive question. But with a halfhearted smile she shrugged. "I don't know, I've just been able to since I was very small."

"What are you?" he said suddenly, catching her off guard.

"Well I'm....I'm not going to tell you. Not until you tell me where you come from."

He laugh. "I think you've been hanging around me too long."

Without even a smirk, she said, "Possibly. But whatever. So are you going to tell me or what?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think I will."

"Fine, then you won't get a word out of me," she nodded.

"At least we agree on something."

The room suddenly went silent, the maids beginning to stare in wonder. Sephiroth sat up, noticing this, and shook his head. A chuckle bellowed in his throat, and then emerged out of his mouth, as loud and open as it had ever been. The similarity was just hilarious, and in truth he didn't know why he was laughing because it made him seem more like a fool.

"What? What's so funny?"

"That was comical!"

"What was?"

"That just then! Couldn't you tell? You sounded just like a child."

"Yes, but then again you just added to it!"

He stopped, turning his gaze to her with a deadly glace. "Are you calling me childish?"

"Yes, yes I am!"

"How dare you! I was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was TOO!"

All of the maids blinked, one of them leaning over to whisper to the others. "It seems like they've known each other for their whole lives, doesn't it."

"Oddly enough it does," the other agreed, listening as they continued to bicker.

"Grow up!" Sephiroth yelled.

"You!" she counted, standing up and crossing her arms.

"You know you were better when you were reluctant to talk!"

"And you were better when you were a twisted creature holding onto the thread of your heart! Not to mention that it wasn't the Heartless that caused it, but it was all because that's what you were!"

"Oh, I'm so hurt!" he shouted sarcastically. "At least I don't look dead, whereas your skin's probably crawling with dieses!"

"I'm very healthy, thank you, just..."

"Just what?!"

She stalled, but soon stood stern. "Nothing! But you should treat me with more respect if you ever want to walk again! I could just leave you here to rot you know!"

"Go ahead! I dare you to!"

"Fine, I will!" In this dare she turned, marching over to the balcony and jumping up onto the railing. Taking one last look back with a grudge, she jumped off, the maids running over to see what happened but finding nothing, Ray disappearing as she always could.

The maids looked back for a moment in shock, questioning why he had chased away the only person who knew how to restore his health. He narrowed his eyes at them when he noticed they were staring, the maids scampering away and shutting the door behind. Sephiroth sat back, shutting his eyes in feeling a headache coming on. He didn't care if she came back; for the better, he thought. If she could heal him, someone else out there could, and if the owners were ever going to make a living they'd find another person like her, or else their main challenge would be out of commission. He grinned, yawning as he felt of getting some shut eyes, and knowing that this would all be solved without the girl's help anymore.

In the dimness of the late moonlight, he thought he heard whispers, presumably in his head. If it was another one of those visions, he thought, he was going to lose it. He just couldn't take one more stupid, pointless visions that came in his dreams. But as he opened his eyes to a slit, feeling that he could, he felt like sitting up in surprise, but thought not to see what would happen. On his chest was a hands closing in, suddenly hitting and going through it, releasing the bright light that had been concealed in it within him and pulling a black essence back out. A warmth flowed through his blood, Sephiroth beginning to undergo a lightheadedness. But he continued to stare with his narrowed eyes as the hand returned to its owner and placed the black essence into the person's own chest, stumbling back. A quiet, chocked scream squeaked in the person's throat, holding out a hand as the figure walked forward, out into the open area. They collapsed onto their knees, wheezing for breath as they held their head. Sephiroth opened his eyes fully, knowing they would not notice, and stared up at the ceiling, seeing shadows crawl across and to the side wall where they scurried over. A bright light began to fill the room, but there was a hiss to follow.

"No! Give...it back...to the...being it belongs to!" a rasp came, the light being pulled away.

Sephiroth sat up finally, recognizing the voice. He stared down at the figure before, seeing a swarm of different kinds of Heartless circle around her. For some odd reason they did not attack, but only gazed on as she squirmed in pain. When they noticed he had arisen, their heads turned simultaneously towards him, standing still. Lastly Ray looked up from the hair covering her face. She was much different now, her veins and arteries sticking out of her pale skin with a blackened color, her mouth small and as pale as her complexion. Underneath her blindfold her eyes burned through with a yellow color, and stared at him continuously as she stood. In one second more, her mouth widened to reveal two rows of jagged teeth, the inside of her mouth completely black; not even a tongue to show. From within, a sound, presumably a mix between a roar and a screech, echoed off the walls and rumbled off into the distance. It shocked him, yes, thinking she was going to lunge forward and tear his head off, but instead she only sulked back to the floor, she Heartless disappearing into the ground once more. She shook her head, a voice of her own and a much higher-pitched one intertwined as she spoke.

"I thought you were asleep..." she stated, pausing.

"Well I was until I noticed that light," he answered. "So, this is you?"

She nodded. "Yes, my other half at least. You wanted to know what I was and I guess you found out. I am not Heartless, yet I am not human...I suppose I am nothing. Just another nothing in the universe." She sighed, shutting her eyes and sinking into the floor like it was water. Sephiroth was about to say something, but froze up once again, a thought lingering in his mind with the words she had spoken...

'I couldn't have said it better myself. You understand nothing, so you are nothing. And since you are nothing, you are but a mere puppet...

'Aren't you, Sephiroth?'