Chapter 7 – A Brief Intermission

My heart had been,

In a moon-blurred mirror that flowed.

The stars that trembled and spilled

Cannot hide my tears.

Tsuki ga nijimu kagami wo,

Nagareta kokoro.

Hoshi ga yurete koboreta

Kakusenai namida.

"Suteki da ne"/ "Isn't it beautiful?" –Rikki, FF10

If Reno and Elena had continued on for an hour without the interruption of Feliyui, they would have found the city. It was a huge city over a large lake, and Aeris told them that it was identical to the City of the Ancients. When Reno asked why they didn't just go to the Cetra city instead of building a new one, she just smiled mysteriously and shook her head.

Aeris herself lived in a tall, elegant building that radiated a familiarity that she couldn't place. She had a theory that it had once been a place that her mother, Ifalna had occupied. Every Cetra saw the city, however briefly. She could tell that the two Turks saw the same mystical something about the place, but she was sure they didn't know it as well as her.

With a stab of regret, she wished she could see her mother now. But no, it was impossible. The woman had died on the steps of Midgar's railways, and by now had probably been reborn as a new person on Earth.

"This is my home." She said with a small smile, turning on them. They nodded wordlessly, entranced by the all that was the City of the Ancients, even if only a replica.

As she turned to enter the house, a voice from inside caught her attention.

"Hey guys! You're here?"

Reeve burst out of the picturesque building, ending the moment for the rose-garbed flower girl. Reno and Elena laughed in relief.

"Reeve, you're okay!"

He nodded. As he did, Red XIII sauntered slowly out, and growled in welcoming.

Aeris noticed in her peripheral vision that little Marlene was peeking out at them with fright from the house. Apparently, Reno and Elena were a frightening thing for a five year old.

Aeris silently agreed, though she made no notice of it. Elena's jacket had totally ripped off from the middle of her skinny ribs down, leaving just enough clothing to be "decent," and there was a nasty scar there that Great Gospel had not been able to avert. Her blond hair was messy and slightly dusty and her makeup was smeared lightly.

And Reno was no better. He had hit the dirt more than once, being mauled by the horned wolf and falling over onto Elena. He was bruised all over, and kept unconsciously rubbing his head where Feliyui had punched him. Plus, he was slightly "burnt" from Aeris' Ultima spell, which she felt guilty for.

Aeris walked over to Marlene and murmured in her ear, "It's okay. They're friends of Reeve's."

Marlene looked up at her, and Aeris smiled warmly. The girl nodded. "Okay."

She stumbled forward a little, and said to Reno and Elena nervously, "Hi."

Aeris was surprised at the reaction. Reno bent over to her and stuck his big blue-eyed face close to hers.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"Marlene."

Reno nodded with a grin, as if he were talking to a full adult. "I'm Reno. Pleased to meetcha."

Elena watched, unable to hold in a smile. Aeris looked at her, and she muttered, "Ceres," as if it answered all life's questions. Aeris assumed Ceres was someone Reno or Elena knew personally. That was good, this would be easier than she imagined.

"Please, come inside. Make yourself at home." Aeris said suddenly, realizing that they were waiting for her.

Reeve, Reno, Elena, Marlene and Red followed her in quietly. Aeris ushered them to sit down on the chairs and couch of her living room, then sat down herself.

"So, what happened that I missed?" Reeve asked. "I'm assuming you got here the same way as me."

"Yes." Elena sighed.

A sudden seemed to shoot from Reeve's mouth. "Where's Rude? Is he alright?"

"Whoa, calm down Reeve. Rude isn't with us, he escaped the green…thing."

"Oh, okay. Good. Alright, what happened then?" Reeve sat back a bit and smiled lightly.

Elena began to tell the story with constant help from Rude, and Aeris listened intently, to the point where she could have heard a raindrop outside. Especially at parts that included Cloud.

She missed him, more than he could know. She assumed and hoped with all her heart that him and Tifa had given in to the love they both knew existed, but a small, guilty part of her wished that there was some way that Cloud and her could be together. On that night at the Gold Saucer, on their date, Aeris had felt something. Though cloud pretended to be uninterested, there was this underlying feeling of something that Aeris wished so much was love. The love she tried to hide, not wanting at all to interfere with Tifa and Cloud. How different were the thoughts of her mind and the thoughts of her heart!

And she missed the others, of course. Tifa, and her loving laugh and graceful voice. The unique outwardness of Yuffie. Barett and Cid's bad tongues and strong courage. Aeris even wished that she could see the icy face of cold, enigmatic Vincent. She just wanted to hug them all again and again until she could no longer.

At least she now had Reeve and Red. They had certainly heard a lot of how much she had missed them over the day or so they'd been here.

She slowly returned to Earth as Reno and Elena finished their tale.

"Hmm…it seems that there's a reason only AVALANCHE…" Red XIII thought aloud. He looked at Marlene. "And connections of AVALANCHE were taken here. Wherever here is. I wonder why, and by who?"

Aeris sighed and said. "Um…I know one answer. Here is the lifestream."

Reno and Elena looked shocked, and Reeve and Marlene looked confused.

Reno saw Marlene's expression and said, "The lifestream is peoples souls go when they pass away, or so I'm told." He looked up at Aeris and their eyes met. "But how is that possible? I mean, none of us are dead, right?"

Red XIII looked at his paws and Reeve coughed uneasily.

"Um, that's not entirely true…during when Sephiroth was around, I became an obstacle for his ideals, so – I was removed…"

"What?" He and Elena demanded.

"So you are a ghost?" Marlene asked. She looked a little frightened again.

"No, of course not! I'm a friendly spirit." Aeris tried to sound convincing, but it was true. Her spirit had not settled into the lifestream, so she was a ghost, technically. "I think it's about bedtime, isn't it?"

Marlene nodded, seeming unsure whether she was happy or scared, and then Reeve smiled lightly. "I'll help you to your bed, okay?"

She smiled and nodded, and Reeve took her hand and led her up a set of stairs to the spare bedroom Aeris had put aside for her. Marlene had liked Reeve for some reason, perhaps since he always told her about her father, and Midgar, and things that interested her.

"That's better. It's best if we don't scare her." Red XIII muttered.

"Aeris? Can I see something?" Before she could answer, Reno leaned forward and reached for her arm. True to every melodramatic movie or myth spoken around a campfire, his pale, gloved hand fell through her skin, leaving a single tingle reverberated through her skin.

"Whoa." He said simply, and he shivered suddenly. "Weird."

"When a person dies, they immediately lose consciousness as they merge with the lifestream, or, if you believe it, they join a sort of mass mind. Is it possible that Cetra have some ability to deny the pull of the lifestream and live as 'ghosts,' if you will, trapped in a secret world inside the lifestream?" Red XIII asked Aeris.

"I don't think so. There were others like me, trapped here. The man with the spear, he was one. Dead, but not reborn." Aeris smiled. The prospect of being a ghost was slightly strange.

"So, you're basically an unphysical, conscious mass of spirit energy?" Reno shook his head. "That's too much for me."

Elena nodded. Aeris looked up at the blond haired Turk, and wondered at her reaction to some of the people trapped in the Lifestream. There were many, most unfamiliar. But some were all too memorable.

Feliyui grunted as he walked down the long, dark hallways of his masters' little hideout.

Fortress, castle, lair, whatever the Mistress called it.

His chest hurt like something was trying to rip it's way out, after the power of the Cetra. She was a strong willed one. Somehow she'd escaped The Mistresses control. With the blue-garbed ones. That would be a minor difficulty and Feliyui wondered what the Mistress would say.

As he walked farther down the corridors, it became to dark for his slitted lavender eyes. With a slight magical force, he felt his face and body shifting and changing, like he was a piece of human clay, melded into a new form.

Feline eyes pierced through the darkness, and he purred in satisfaction. That was better.

Somewhere a raven cawed, and he was sure he knew which. In the darkness, and shape moved, and Feliyui froze. It came closer, and he mind-spoke the figure, as it slithered forward with a hiss.

[Hello Safiris.]

[That's a mouthful for you, Felly. You sure you have enough breathe for another one?] Feliyui studied her carefully. She was a sharp-eyed black viper with eyes of acute jade, and strange green scales around her eyes, creating a spiritualistic effect.

[Good to see you too. What is the Mistress being like right now?]

[Brooding over something,' don't know what. I think she's plannin' when were gonna capture the Cetra and her friends.]

[I don't know. Every second they're out there, they are a danger to us.]

She hissed in a snakish form of laughter. [Worried Felly? Don't be getting paranoid on us.]

[It's better than the alternative.]

[What is that supposed to mean?]

[Forget it. What's our mission?]

[Our mission, should you choose to accept Agent 007, is to sit around and watch the current captives. Soon we'll have to – er – meet Cloud and his buddies at the Cetra village, but until then we get a break. Don't let it getcha restless, okay?]

[I will care for my own self.]

[Suit yourself. At least we know you didn't get beaten in the head with any kindness.]

[Amen.]

With a slight nod to the snake, Feliyui stalked forward, his snowy white fir whisping on his back and paws and making no sound. Soon, he reached a large, dark room where the ten or so captives were stored. He passed, and continued to a small, closet-sized room with a large metal door. The Mistress, whose name Feliyui had not the privilege to name, seemed particularly worried over this one. With a shrug, he decided to check on him, carefully unlocking the door and slipping in.

The traditional shackles did not bind the prisoner, but glowing green cuffs of spirit energy, locking him to the wall. He gazed up at Feliyui, seeing only a cat, and snorted. His emerald eyes, brighter and fiercer even then Safiris,' were on the floor.

"I see past that disguise." His voice lashed out at Feliyui, wrapping around his heart buried deep inside him and pulling sharply with daggers of fear. Feliyui kept his face straight, but he was terrified. He remembered this man…

The sharp-eyed head jerked up at him, and silver hair fell around him, giving him the impression of some sort of silver demon. Those eyes, those overly bright, horrifically tortured but ever-blazing eyes, stared up at Feliyui. Though usually empty and brooding, those jade orbs made a special note of being fearsome in Feliyui's presence, which only added to his fright. It was easy to see why Sephiroth gained so much fear and respect from so many.

With a brief sigh of passing energy, Feliyui slipped back into human form, and said nothing as the face studied him over, like a god overlooking an ignorant child. There was no escape, no mercy, in the gaze.

"Are you scared?" The raspy, awe-inspiring voice asked.

Feliyui shrugged. "No."

"Let me do you a favour…" Sephiroth's every word was a knife in Feliyui's mind, and their eyes met again. "You watch your back. When I get out of here, even your half-done lies won't save you from the things that make nightmares…"

Feliyui was unsure of what to do. All hint of frailty or weakness was gone from the glaring optics. He growled slightly, and backed away.

Sephiroth watched. As always, Sephiroth watched.

Authors note: Another chapter down. Ooooh, Sephy. Yay! I actually really thought he was an awesome twist of the normal, stereotypical demented badguy, because they actually made him seem like deep down he was the kinda guy you could like, if not fear a little. Anyway, enough of my philosophical crap, how'd you like it? This was kinda a chapter for catching my grounds, but there you go.

Feedback please. Or even if you wanna email me, please feel free, I love email. Sapphire_midnight@msn.com, fire away xD

Hehehe, I finally added Red and Reeve. Yay! I don't know if I'm doing a great job on Reeve's personality, since they add him so little in the game, but I'll try my hardest.