(Author's Note: Hello! Now let's see here…I think maybe one more chapter after this one and it'll be the end…BUT…there is one thing that I never took care of in this story…if you can figure it out and want me to…I might just write a sequel or continue with more chapters! How does that sound? Please let me know! Thanks! ^_~)

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Dete and Cassandra are. Rueh belongs to Rueh.

Chapter 25

He awoke…but his eyes would barely open.

He was barely aware of her in his arms and her arms around him.

He heard voices coming closer.

He felt the ebb and swell of the glowing substance in which they lay halfway in and halfway on solid ground.

His consciousness faded again as he felt the people begin to lift him from the ground.

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"Has anyone seen Rueh or Dete at all?" Yuffie asked.

"Now that you mention it…no. I haven't seen them at all this past week," Tifa said looking around to see if they could be seen somewhere in Cosmo Canyon.

"Hmm…maybe they got lost in the Gi cave?" Cait Sith said.

"No. Vincent and I just came out of there. We found a new tunnel but we didn't see them," Red said walking up to the fire and sitting down.

"Maybe in the observatory?" Cloud asked.

"They're not up there. I just was," Cid said.

"They seemed to understand Cassandra before we knew it was her…do you think that they went looking for her and Sephiroth?" Barret asked.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as they sat around the fire.

"I think they did," Cloud finally said.

"But they have no clue as to what might have happened to those 2 and they're just 6 years old!" Tifa said.

"Don't underestimate Rueh and Dete. They're stronger than they seem. I also have a feeling that Hojo had something to do with them if you found them in his lab," Vincent said.

"…but they're nothing alike!" Cid said.

"Knowing what Hojo was like…that wouldn't matter. He could have altered them in anyway," Cloud said quietly.

"That's true…so in some way…they must be related to either Sephiroth or Cassandra," Tifa said.

"If not both," Cait Sith said.

Silence followed his words.

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"You 2 don't need my help so why are you here?"

Rueh and Dete looked up from where they sat on the alter.

A vision of Aeris hovered in the same place she had knelt in prayer.

"This place is the quietest on the planet," Rueh said.

"To find out where they are we need to be here. We can sense their presence but ever since they were engulfed by the life stream we haven't be able to follow their movements," Dete said.

"So that's why you're here. To find them. All I can tell you is that they have left the life stream," Aeris said.

"That helps us a bit. But can you tell us where?" Rueh asked.

"I'm afraid not," Aeris said with a sad look.

"That's okay. If they wake up we'll be able to feel it. Then we'll know where they are," Dete said.

Aeris smiled.    

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He groaned softly and opened his eyes.

He was looking up at a ceiling.

It was white.

After a minute he tried to sit up but found his efforts to be useless.

He fell back down onto the bed he was on.

Everything was spinning and blurring.

He felt like getting sick.

After sometime had passed…he didn't keep track of it…he tried to get up again.

This time he was successful.

He looked around.

He was the only one in the room.

Glancing out the window revealed a pond of the glowing green substance and a town that was a mess.

Houses and shops were broken and pieces of them were everywhere.

For a moment he wondered what had happened then a thought struck his mind.

He got to his feet and staggered to the door to the room.

He opened it while trying to clear his head of the swirling darkness.

"Cassandra?" he asked taking a step into the room.

He eyes scanned it then stopped on the bed in this room.

She was laying on it with the white blankets pulled up to her shoulders.

He made his way over to her and knelt next to the bed.

"Cassandra?" he asked softly putting his hand on the side of her face.

It was a minute before she stirred and opened her eyes to see him.

"Sephiroth," she said a smile forming on her face.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Sore and tired…what about you?" she asked.

"The same as you," he said.

She had a pained expression as she moved over so he could sit on the edge of the bed instead of the floor.

He did and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Try not to move. You…you were hit by his attack," Sephiroth said a slightly confused expression on his face.

"We'll have to get your thoughts straight before we leave this place," she said.

"Will you help me with that?"

"Of course. And there are 2 others that we need to find as well," she said.

"Who?" he asked tilting his head to the side a bit.

"Their names are Rueh and Dete. After I left Shinra Hojo…well…they're…"

"Ours?" he finished.

"Yes. Hojo's experiments altered their appearances a bit but they are ours. They joined up with Cloud and his group before I did. They were there when the last battles took place," she said.

"We'll have to find them. How old are they?" he asked.

"Six years old," she said.

"They must be a handful," he said with a slight smile.

"Oh they can cause their share of destruction," she said.

"…I'm sorry if I ever hurt you," he said suddenly.

"You never did. But it was not you who caused all that destruction. It was Jenova acting through you," she said.

"But…" she shook her head to stop him from going on.

"Let's not talk about that now," she said.

He slowly nodded and laid down next to her carefully wrapping an arm around her waist.

She moved closer to him and let out a sigh.

Within moments she was sleep.

He stroked her hair and let his thoughts wander.

After another few minutes he too was asleep.

                                    ****

"There they are."

"How are we going to get THERE?"

"Oh Rueh! Use your brain!"

"…what's that?"

Dete groaned and put a hand to her forehead.

"In that case why don't you just follow me?" she said.

Rueh shrugged

"Fine with me. Now where are we going and how are we going to get there?"

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