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                                                Chapter 10- Are you someone's prayer?

know the lies they always told you,

was the love you never knew,

whats the things they never showed you?

that swallowed the light from the sun,

inside your room,

i'm coming down the world turned over,

and angels fall without you there,and i go on as you get colder

Goo Goo Dolls- Black Balloon

Longing. It was all he felt when he looked at her, her hands folded in her lap as she sat cross-legged on the ground, watching his approach with blatent indifference. He reached for her inspite of himself, stopping short when he remembered that he couldn't touch her. He wouldn't touch her ever again.

"Lucrecia.."

 She sighed, a barely audible sound as she got to her feet. He hardly spared a thought as to how one could stand when one was non-corporeal. He'd never had a head for physics, for science, that had always been her forte. He supposed he could ask her about it, but that would be recognising what he tried to avoid. Recognising what she was.

 A ghost.

 Destined to stay, trapped here for all eternity. And I? I'm just another kind of ghost, one who can touch, and feel to some extent. But fate has a cruel sense of humour, leaving us both here forever, together yet alone. So desperately alone.

"Why do you persist on coming here Vincent? I'm your past. Not your future." She paced restlessly around him.

"You know why I come." 

Idly she flicked an imaginary piece of lint from her clothing. "Ah yes, your Sin. Your love is trapped here, your only son you helped to kill and you... Not quite human, not quite demon, but something in between. Can't let you forget that, now can we? Though now really, I'd hardly call hanging around this place repenting, eh Vincent?" her mocking laugh rang hollowly through out the cave.

He furrowed his eyebrows at this last comment though it was nothing new to him. Ever since Sephiroth had been killed he'd noticed this change in her. She was becoming more bitter, twisted even. So unlike the Lucrecia he'd once loved.  He'd heard her muttering in her sleep, if ghosts even slept. Words of anguish, of hatred and pain. Arguments between herself and an unknown voice in her head. It worried him, this apparent descent into madness. She was transforming into someone he didn't know. Someone who delighted in tormenting him even more then he tormented himself.

His mind didn't register the fact that her once soundless footsteps now echoed around the cave. She stopped in front of him and he looked down at her, drowning in her dark, dark eyes.  Her eyes had made him fall in love with her, once upon a time. Looking into them he could almost pretend that she was his Lucrecia once more.

"My sweet valentine, if I could take away all the pain you were feeling... " She reached up and touched his face. His eyes widened in surprise, that touch was so very, very real.

His mouth was busy forming the word "how" when a delicate and very solid fist crashed into his jaw, throwing him against the wall with tremendous force. He slumped to the ground, unseeing as she bent over him,  a pale hand stroking his cheek tenderly.

"I wouldn't. I'd add more, my dear, sweet, bloody valentine." Once again she laughed, a sound like broken glass, before turning and stepping out of the cave.

                                                                                ~

Tifa snuggled more deeply into the crook of Sephiroth's arms, trying to ignore the growing daylight. Finally resigning herself to the fact that morning was here and there was nothing she could do about it she opened her eyes, squinting against a stray ray of the sun's light.

Seeing that she was awake Sephroth gently removed his arm from under her, wincing at the stiffness that came with keeping it in one position for the entire night.  She half protested before rolling onto her side and staring lazily up at him.

"Morning" She smiled languidly.

"Good morning." He stretched, easing out the kinks in his shoulders.

She yawned, propping herself up on her elbows. "You know, I'd kill for a cup of coffee."

"You don't strike me as the caffeine addicted type."

"Addict is such a ...harsh word. I prefer caffeine dependant."

He looked at her, his expression pure amusement.

"I'm afraid that until you collapse from caffeine withdrawal I won't be going out of my way to get you any. But take comfort in the fact that I have high hopes for your survival, highly traumatic as this time may be."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Since when have you been so sarcastic?"

"Since forever. It is one of my more becoming traits." He reached for her pack then stopped.

"You did bring food, right?"

"Of course,  you said there was no food at the mansion so I hit the shops."She smiled sweetly." What would you do without me?"

"Not get attacked by dragons." he said, not missing a beat. She scowled and jabbed her finger at him.

"Lets get one thing straight Mr. I am not helpless. I have never been helpless. You'd do well to remember that. Also, I seem to recall me finishing off said dragon while you on the other hand, lost your sword."

"You beat me to it."

"Uh huh." She snatched her pack away from him and started to rummage inside. She pulled out 2 bags of trail mix and tossed him one before ripping open the top of the other. 

He looked at the bag in his hand, an expression of distaste marring his features. "How... unappetising."

"Donbspik" She said, her mouth full of food.

He looked at her dead panning.

She swallowed and tried again." Don't be so picky. It's all you're getting."

He sighed, drawing it out. "Fine."

Helping herself to another of handful of food she sank into contemplation. This was nice, this friendly banter. It's such a contrast to last night. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. I have someone. She grinned.

                                                                ~

When they'd finished eating they set off again in comfortable silence. Tifa walked along the edge of the precipice, her footsteps sending a few stones skittering down into nothingness.  The ground started to slope upward, getting steeper and steeper until they were forced to start climbing.

Tifa searched for hand holes, using her legs to push herself up before beginning the process once more. Behind her Sephiroth followed suit. It seemed like they'd been climbing forever and sweat had started to trickle down her forehead, the result of the heat and the fact that the "slope" had turned into a near sheer cliff.  The good news is we're only a couple of feet from the top, bad news is we still have to go down the other side once we get to the top. Inwardly she groaned. This was beginning to look like a long day.

Sephiroth waited patiently for Tifa to move up, though in truth with his superior height and strength he could have out distanced her easily. He watched as she struggled to pull herself up onto a ledge, his hands resting a little below her feet. Her leather mini skirt strained as she climbed, giving him a very nice view. He grinned and reached up to give her a little push, causing her to let out a girlish "yip" before turning and looking at him in indignation.

"Do you mind?!"

"Not at all. I'm quite happy to stay here looking up at you all day."

She fumed and increased her pace. Men! She'd be lying if she said those comments didn't send a little thrill running through out her body but at the same time she wasn't an object to be ogled at, either.

She stopped at the ledge, moving to one side so Sephiroth could pull himself up. It was narrow and he pressed his torso against the cliff face as there was barely room for both of them to stand.

"Just want to take a little breather.." Tifa gasped. She looked down, solid ground seemed along way away. She felt dizzy just looking at it.

The ledge, unstable to begin with and not able to cope with such weight slowly started to crumble away beneath her feet. Tifa, shutting her eyes against the vertigo didn't notice until she found herself falling with the rock.

She screamed, piercing as she wildly searched for something to grasp onto but to no avail. Sephiroth on the other hand, reacted in an instant. One hand secured itself on a piece of jutting out stone while the other encircled her wrist. Tifa's body snapped to a stop as her descent was halted, jarringly. She swung helplessly, trying not to panic, not to look down. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt Sephiroth lift her up and pull her to his body. She wrapped her arms around him tightly as he supported their weight.

"It's ok Tifa." She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, memories of hurtling from Nibelheim bridge flooding her mind.

"Tifa, TIFA! I have you. It's ok. Tifa, look at me!" slowly she inched her eyes open, looking up at him.

"Alright now I am just going to pull myself up a little higher, all you have to do is hold on, ok?"

She nodded. He climbed the last few feet to the top, pulling them up with his hands. When he got there he encircled her waist with his arm and lifted her on to rocky ground, as far away from either edge as he could get.

"We're at the top now. We'll rest here awhile before starting down again." Tifa sank to the ground, slightly embarrassed by her moment of panic. Sephiroth sat down next to her, handing her a bottle of water he'd retrieved from his pack. She took a long swig from the bottle before handing it back to him.

"Thanks. Again."

"It is no problem." He was serious again, the teasing of minutes before forgotten.

"I..I don't know what got into me." she began, hesitantly. "For a minute there I thought I was on the bridge again. God, you must think I'm seriously pathetic, don't you? For all my protesting I seem to need rescueing every time you're around."

His arm loosely rested across her shoulders. "No. I definitely do not. No one could ever accuse you of being the "damsel in distress", as you put it. The female knight in shining armour, maybe,but no damsel."He grinned at her, a teasing edge to his smile once again. "Though I cannot help but think that maybe you get into trouble just so I can rescue you." She hit him in the chest, playfully.

"Oh yeah,you wish!"

He grabbed her hand in his. "You know about last night..." Tifa's smile faded.

"What about it?"

"If you are having second thoughts about what you said..." he tensed as Tifa stared at him. Where had that come from?

"I'm not."

"But-"

"I'm not, ok? I meant every word of it."

"Ok." He stayed silent for a moment longer.

"We better start down."

                                                                                ~

Tifa ran down the last couple of feet, losing control as the ground sloped steeply. She managed to stop just short of the lake, relieved to be back on horizontal ground once more. 

Sephiroth joined her at a more sedate pace. Inside, his thoughts raged and tumbled. I'm going to meet my mother. My real mother. He wiped the palms of his hands on his jacket. They were clammy and warm.

"Ready to meet her?" Tifa questioned. His pulse sped up in his throat.

"Show me the way."

He followed her around the edge of the lake, then behind a waterfall that thundered and crashed as he went by, cascading him with clinging spray. He shook his head impatiently, sending silvery drops of water in all directions. Tifa stopped, hesitant outside a gap in the rock.

"Do you want to go in alone?"

He thought for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. I'll wait out here then. Come out whenever you're ready."

Sephiroth stepped into the cave, his eyes adjusting to the dim gloom in record time. He scanned his surroundings, apparently empty. Except for... what was it? A bundle of clothes? He walked over to the wall. No not clothes.. He nudged "it" with his foot. It was solid. And warm. He reached down and pulled back a crimson cloak, letting ebony hair spill over in it's place. Recognition shot through him.

Vincent?

Author's note:

Cliffhanger. HAHAHA. Oh... teehee. They're just so much fun!

 Yes so I rewrote chapter 9 a bit. Nothing major has changed, just a few bits of dialogue. Be warned that I will be going back and re-doing the earlier chapters as well. I don't like how they're written and now that  I actually have some semblance of a plot going I want them to be better. Alot better. I might change the title too.

Review and I'll get the next one up faster. Promise.