Sephiroth narrowed his emerald eyes and frowned when the woman before them gasped softly and put her hand to her mouth. Why did the girl have to introduce him to this woman? He didn't want to know her. Although, he felt as if he already did. He pushed that thought back into his head and turned his attention to Aeris.

                            "Who is this woman, and why have I been brought to meet her?"

                           Aeris simply rolled her eyes and giggled. "Sephiroth, c'mon, don't be so rude. Anyways. This is Lucrecia. And Lucrecia, you know this is Sephiroth."

                          Lucrecia looked to Aeris and then back to Sephiroth, then right back to Aeris. "A-Aeris..you brought him? My baby.." Sephiroth's eyes widened when he heard her say this. Her baby? This woman must be cynical.

                       "Aeris, answer me, why did you bring me here? This is just a waste of time."

                        Aeris looked to Lucrecia and then back to Sephiroth, biting her lower lip. "Sephiroth, perhaps you should come inside. Would that be okay, Lucrecia?" Lucrecia nodded slowly and stepped aside to let her guests in. Aeris was a common visitor, but Sephiroth? He'd only just woken up out of his 'coma'. He'd been there for a few years now, but she kept away from him.  She had a hard enough time watching Vincent, much less seeing her son that had been taken away from her so quickly so she couldn't even hold the beautiful child. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the two people. "Um, come this way..I'll show you where we will sit.." She walked towards a small room that was sparsely furnished, but still cozy. The two of them followed her, but while Aeris took a seat, Sephiroth just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.

             The younger woman inwardly sighed. She had expected it to be easier. He kind of reminded her of Cloud when they had first met, but Sephiroth was much colder and more detached that Cloud could have ever hoped to be.  She shrugged lightly and smiled a small smile.

           Lucrecia, thankfully, broke the silence.

       "So, Aeris, why bring the extra guest?"

       "Well, I wanted you two to meet, of course."

       Sephiroth snapped his eyes over to Aeris. "Have you a reason?"

      Aeris met his gaze with equal intensity, which surprised them both. Neither would allow it to show, though.

      Inside, Aeris thought she would break, if that were possible in the Lifestream. Under any normal circumstances, she's most likely be cowering under his hateful glare. This was anything but normal, though.

     "Indeed, I do, Sephiroth. Please sit." Sephiroth simply stood there, arms crossed over his chest and face as expressionless as ever. Aeris let this go and continued after a pause. "Sephiroth, you claim Jenova was your Mother?"

      "It does not matter."

       "Yes, Sephiroth, it does. Cooperate with me, please.

        Sephiroth glowered for a moment, but then he just nodded his head once, curiosity overtaking him. "I don't know what this has to do with anything, but she was and is, my Mother."

        "To your knowledge, she was." Aeris sighed and looked over to Lucrecia, who was white as a sheet. She then looked back to Sephiroth, who was looking at the two women, yet still remained expressionless. "And also to your knowledge, Hojo was your father. Truth of the matter is, the both of them lied to you. Jenova was never your mother or a Cetra. She killed most of the Cetra. You were born to two human beings."

         Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and glared at Aeris coldly as she said this.

        So what, you expect me to believe you? I can trust you no more than I can trust anyone else..you should know that, Cetra. This is interesting, though. Yes, I'll let them continue telling me their little tale and sees where it gets me. "And what proof do you have of this? And what does..this woman have to do with it?"

         The younger brunette looked over to Lucrecia who was wringing her hands. "Sephiroth, I..oh, where do I begin? Right. As you know, Jenova was found, frozen, deep within the Northern Continent. They brought the Alie-..they took her to Midgar where they could perform various tests and learn more about her. They assigned a team of scientists to the project. Among them were Professor Hojo, Professor Gist, and myself. I was just an assistant, though." She paused a moment as she thought back to all those years ago. "We found out a lot about her in Midgar. One, that she was an alien from thousands of years ago. Also, from a Cetra girl that the Professors has somehow obtained, that she was like a disease to the Cetra. She had wiped out most of the population of them. The woman's name was Ilfana. Any how, we also managed to discover that Jenova Cells had amazing abilities. They could enhance a fighter, or anyone, so much more than Mako could have ever hoped to do."

         "After deeming Midgar too disturbing to continue our research, we were granted permission to go to Nibelhiem to use the Shinra Mansion as our Lab. He'd, Professor Hojo I mean, wanted to experiment on human specimens. Professor Gast eventually agreed to this. Now all they needed was a specimen they could..control." She stopped talking for a moment as she paused to look up. Sephiroth was staring at her now, his face showing open curiosity. She'd not noticed, because the whole time, she'd been staring down at her hands. The poor woman considered including the incident with Vincent, but decided against it. That could wait until later. "During this time, Hojo and I had become involved with each other. I became impregnated with his child. Being the heartless bastard that he is, he jumped at the chance to have a human being unaltered by anything to experiment on. He asked to use our unborn child. I agreed for the sake of the project, sadly. I had become nearly obsessed with it, due to recent events.

        I still cared..care for my child greatly, though. He told me no harm would come to either of us. He injected the child with Jenova cells while he was still within my womb. The baby was fine, which I was thankful for, but my health was rapidly going downhill. However, I couldn't die, because the Jenova Cells wouldn't allow it. But anyways…Sephiroth…" She took a deep breath before continuing and closed her eyes tightly "That child..was you."

              Nanaki woke from his slumber and squinted his eye. It was dawn, finally. Close enough, anyways. There was a reason he woke, though, and he was trying to decipher it. After he had taken command over Cosmo Canyon, he had become more in tune with the Planet, just as Bugenhagen had been. He would get faint hints of upcoming events. Was that what this was?

              The red animal stood up on his feet and walked towards a ledge that he enjoyed visiting in the mornings. It was a long way off, but that was okay. He enjoyed the morning walks. Eventually, he got to his destination. It had a beautiful view of the city, Midgar. It was now deserted; most of it's past occupants dead. The few that had managed to survive had fled to Kalm and other cities that were close by. In his friend's case, they went to Wutai. Pushing the thoughts of that day and his friends from his mind, he looked around at his surroundings and sighed.

             All of Cosmo Canyon, he controlled. The youth was still trying to get used to that idea. He missed his friends dearly, and hoped they'd decide to come by soon. They knew he couldn't leave his duties and responsibilities. At least he hoped they knew as much. 

             Well, Grandfather, I hope you are proud of us. We saved the planet, and I am now in control of Cosmo Canyon. I can only pray I shall do a good a job as you, yourself did. I miss them, Grandfather. I wish you were still here, and I know I shouldn't. You were ready. Sometimes, though, regardless of how I try to act so mature, I feel so young. I know I am. Often times, though, I begin to think it's too much for me to handle.

           After the rest of AVALANCHE and I defeated Sephiroth, my heart swelled with pride. To know I was Son of Seto, and Grandson of the most wonderful man, was almost better than defeating Sephiroth. I have the best friends one could ever hope for. How could my life be any better? It can't. With the exception of missing my freedom that went with Childhood, and you, I am content. Thank you, Grandfather.

          And Aeris. Everyone loved you, you know that. I wish you were still here with us, but I must thank you also, for your most noble sacrifice. Without you, none of us would be here.

          Nanaki sighed and got back up, heading back towards the settlement, flicking his flaming tail along the way. "Perhaps I should take a break. No one is going to attack Cosmo Canyon, and even if they did, I would know due to the Planet. But still, I feel as though I should wait here…"

         And so the Red Lion went to go talk with the older participants of Cosmo Canyon, pushing those thoughts out of his mind.

         Yuffie sat back in her chair and sighed. Sometimes, she hated being the Princess of Wutai. But it did make it easier for her to get homes for the friends of hers that had wanted to take up residence.

        Her now shoulder length hair was down today, and she twirled a lock around her finger. God, this sucks. Wonder how Cloud is doing. Maybe I should visit Tifa today. Haven't seen her or Terra in a while now..hm..

        She was interrupted from her thoughts as there was a soft knock on the door. The dark haired youth looked up and frowned, then simply said, "Come in"

      Tifa opened the door and poked her head in, grinning. "Is it all right if I come in? I mean, you sound kind of..off."

      Yuffie grinned right back and nodded.  She needed to see her best friend. "Of course you can, Tifa. Sheesh."

       The older woman came in and sat down and crossed her legs under her. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere today? Kind of get out of this place and just..have fun?"

       Yuffie's eyes brightened and she nodded, then frowned slightly. "Uh, yea, Tifa, but where..? There aren't many places around here to go. And what about Terra?"

       Tifa got a mischievous gleam in her eye and shrugged. "Oh, Terra's coming. She needs to get out too, you know."

       Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so where we going?"

       "Da Chao."

    Yuffie's eyes went wide as she heard her friend say this. "Da Chao!!"

    Tifa giggled, as she had been expecting this reaction from her newly serious friend. "Yea, Da Chao. Believe me, we'll be okay."

    "Tifa! What are you thinking!? We went up there before, and if I remember correctly, we almost got ourselves killed! And now, you're thinking of taking your child up there? To play!?"

     "Well, yea!  Look, we'll be fine. I promise. We can kick anything's ass by now. You know it."

       Yuffie's face took on a dark look, but that inner child that had been begging for a release had finally won. "Bet I can kill more than you!"

        Tifa grinned even more. "You're on."

         "Can we stop now? We've done enough today.." The little girl had strands of her hair sticking to her forehead, and her cheeks were a light shade of pink from the effort. She looked to her trainer and squinted her eyes, attempting to block out the sun that was beating down on them.

       Yuffie looked back at the small girl and had a considering look on her face, then looked over to the girl's mother. She shrugged her slender shoulders as she looked back to Terra. "Yea, sure. We're done for the day."

      Terra bounded towards her mother who was lying on what some would hesitate to call grass. "Hey, mom! Yuffie and I are done!"

      Tifa propped herself up on her elbows and smiled softly, looking to her daughter. "That's good, baby. How about we go get in some shade or something..it's hot as Hades out here." Terra nodded as Tifa stood up, dusting off her backside and making sure nothing was in her hair. "Hey, Yuffie! C'mon, we're going to head over to this tree over here."

        Yuffie looked over to Tifa and nodded, making her way towards the tree. She dearly wanted to be in the shade, and stomped her foot lightly, realizing she'd only killed 3 monsters while Tifa had killed 5. Pushing those thoughts into the back corner of her mind, she smiled brightly once she reached the wanted area.

        Tifa and Terra were sitting down already, leaning back against the tree. Yuffie plopped down next to Tifa and yawned as she proceeded to pull up her socks (?) back up to her upper calves, which had slid down quite a bit during the training session. "So, Tifa, what made you want to come up here, anyways?"

         Tifa shrugged as she pulled all of her hair over one shoulder. "Cloud and I used to come up here with Terra. He'd take care of everything for us." Tifa's face darkened as she remembered Cloud, but she quickly made herself forget about him. "But yea, he used to always take care of it."

         Yuffie nodded and frowned as she thought about Cloud, but tried to shrug it off as she reached in her bag  and grabbed an apple, throwing it to Tifa. "Eat up."

       The raven-haired man stared down at the far away land, his crimson eyes seemingly focused on nothing. He was locked in an internal battle. More than one, actually. He raked a gloved hand through his long hair and frowned, thinking back to his past. Much to his dismay, however, he heard light but sure footfalls coming towards him.

      "Hey, Vincent."

      "Hello."

        Cloud could sense that now was not a good time to be having casual conversation with the Crimson Clad man, but he decided he wouldn't back down this time.

        "I've noticed some changes about you.."

         The other man remained silent, and this caused Cloud to grit his teeth.

       "You've become silent, walled up again. What happened?"

         Vincent inwardly sighed, shaking his head. Still staring down into the dark water, his reply was short. But hardly simple. "I have faced my past, Cloud. But facing myself is an entirely different matter." He turned on his heel and headed for his own cabin, not waiting for or wanting a response, leaving Cloud on his own.

       Cloud stood there, a bit bewildered for a moment. Sighing loudly, he turned and stared out to the horizon.

      Damnit, Vincent. What is wrong with you? You're fine for a few days, then it comes back.

       Things are going back to how they used to be; you're cold, I'm chasing after something that seems impossible to obtain, and Tifa is hiding her feelings for me once again.

       Damn.

      I jus-

      Cloud was interrupted as a young pilot came up behind him, his arms down by his side and chin up straight.

     "Sir Strife, we have almost reached our destination. We will land in a few moments and you may camp outside for the night. Good day, Sir." The young man then turned and walked away briskly, headed back to the Control Room.

     Right, I'll be camping outside tonight. And Vincent will come with me.

     He took a deep breath and headed back for Vincent's cabin.

      Vincent clutched his stomach, wanting the pain to go away. He hated it, but had to live with it. He thought he deserved, anyways.

    For not saving his beloved. The one thing he loved, the most precious thing in this world.

     He gritted his teeth and turned on his side, gaining the fetal position. He could not let Chaos win him over. The damned beast was trying, oh it was, feeding on his self-loathing, but he wouldn't let it win.

     His whole body was burning, but mainly it was his upper torso and brain.

         Oh, Lucrecia, who could ever make someone live through this? Well, we all know who, don't we. Indeed. That bastard, Professor Hojo.

       Dearest, do you remember that day that it all started..? Well, let me tell you of it. Yes.

       There was an errand that President Shinra had wanted to be sent to the Science Department, and he himself could not deliver it. Not to mention, the Scientists, Professor Gast and Professor Hojo, were too caught up in the Jenova Project to even consider taking the time off to send someone to receive the letter.

      And so, President Shinra called up his best Turk. He was a cold man, feeling, it seemed nothing. At the age of 26, President Shinra was very surprised with him. Reno had no problem making the plate collapse on Midgar. So long as he didn't have to see it. He was fine if he could do it from a distance, not seeing all the men, women and children he murdered. But this man, Vincent Valentine, could have shot all those innocent people looking them in the eye. Even smiling, a bit, taking pleasure in the blood he spilled.

      I speak of myself as if I'm dead. Truth be known, I'm not. Obviously. I'm in the Turks' manual. Known as the best Turk and Sharpshooter ever known. Wonderful reputation. So anyways, I'm getting off subject.

     President Shinra told me to run his errand to the Science Department, and to make haste of it. He had wanted these scientists to get this as soon as possible. And so, like his little servant, waiting on hand and foot, I made my way through the cold corridors to the Science Department.

   Finally, I reached my destination. I walked through the glass doors, after using my Key Card, and found a rather large woman sitting behind a desk. I shall tell you everything said beyond this point. The woman looked at me quite rudely, but after recognizing my identity, she would have done anything I asked of her.

    "May I help you, Mr. Valentine?"

   "I am here to deliver an errand to the Science Department, and his orders are that no-one but myself or a Scientist is to handle this"

   "Um, Professor Gast and Hojo are too busy at the moment."

   My eyes flashed dangerously then, having been annoyed by this woman. "I know this. Send for an assistant. This cannot wait."

    "Bu-"

    "Now"

     She hastily pressed a small button behind her desk and asked for someone to come to the desk: Emergency. The woman showed me through a door that led to a small room, it's walls an off white colour.

     I waited there for a moment, then there was a clicking sound as a key was being inserted from the other side. The swung open a minute later, revealing a young woman. My eyes widened slightly, then I managed to regain my composure. But my word, was it difficult.

  She was a dainty, delicate woman, measuring in at only about 5'2, weighing perhaps 110lbs. Her wavy light brown hair was pulled up on the back of her head, yet a few strands still managed to come loose, framing her perfect little heart shaped face. Her hair, even though up, reached down below her waist. She had green eyes, which were almond shaped. A straight nose held the little wire-framed glasses she wore up. Her lips were full, and going on the lighter shades of pink. Let's not get into how her body looked, even though it was partially concealed by the white lab-coat she wore.

    Most noticeable, though, was the intelligence and kindness that shone behind those eyes of hers. Yes, it was quite amazing. He sighed deeply as he remembered that moment, forgetting the way Chaos was wreaking pain upon his body. Closing his eyes, he let the moments replay themselves in his head, as he had done many, many times.

       The girl extended her hand with an expectant look on her face. "I'm Professor Hojo's assistant, Lucrecia."

       Taking her by total surprise, and myself included, I took her hand and bent down slightly, bringing the back of her hand to my lips. I kissed it softly. After doing this, I let go and straightened up.

     "Vincent Valentine." By the way her eyes widened then, I suspected she too knew of me, but had not seen me. Unconsciously setting her chin a little higher, she looked me straight in the eyes and started talking business. "Well, Mr. Valentine, I believe you have something important for us?"

     I nodded, and handed over the envelope. She tucked her clipboard under her arm and opened, her eyes scanning the letter. As she read on, her eyes grew wider and a grin developed on her face.

    "By the Planet, Vincent, he's given us permission to go to Nibelhiem and use the old Mansion there for our research! Oh, how wonderful!" She then threw herself at me, locking me in a tight hug, forgetting who I was. As she suddenly remembered, she threw herself off of me and blushed. "I'm sorry, Sir, but I just got carried away."

  I was frozen there, not sure of what to do. That was the first friendly contact I'd had since I was a small boy. It scared me beyond words. At the sound of her voice, I just nodded, forgiving her.

    "So, I don't have anyone else to celebrate with but Professor Hojo, and he's always so busy, so would you care to come?"

   Not being able to turn her down, for reasons unknown to me at the time, I agreed.

   She took out her clipboard again, and a pen out of her pocket. Jotting something down on the paper, she ripped it off and gave the paper to me.

    "Remember that. And also, remember, this isn't a date. I'm with Professor Hojo."

   Even as hearing those words crushed something inside me, I looked at her with a stony face and said without the slightest bit of hesitation, "And I had no intentions of it being anything more, Miss Lucrecia. Good day." And with that, I walked out the door.

   We met the chosen day and ate together, having a rather decent time. We saw each other as our schedules would allow us.

   Our friendship grew, though, and, as fate would have it, President Shinra sent along his best Turk to go to Nibelhiem with the Scientists.

  Vincent was disturbed from his thoughts as he heard a soft knock, and in doing so, he was reminded of the agonizing pain in his body. Perhaps if he kept quiet, the person would go away.

   He'd have no such luck though. Another knock came, and this time, someone yelled through the door.

   "Hey, Vincent, we're about a day from Cosmo Canyon! We're going to land tonight and can camp outside if we want. I'm gonna take that up. How about you come with?"

    "Leave me be, Cloud."

   "C'mon, Vincent.."

    "I said leave me be."

    He heard Cloud sigh through the door and turn away. The tall man sighed in relief. He would go with Cloud, but he needed to get himself ready, though.

     Chaos knew that it hadn't a chance now, that Vincent had been disturbed. So he resided in the corner of Vincent's mind and waited for another opportunity.

    Vincent leapt up from the bed and grabbed his gun, making sure it was loaded and that he had extra ammo. Also, he grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself.

   Reaching the door, he turned the knob and stepped out, ready to go on with Cloud.