Author's quickie: Hey everyone! So how have you guys been in the past...month or so? Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I was supposed to be on schedule, but it just didn't work out that way. But! Have no fear, the last chapters are here! I am estimating that there will be only two more chapters to this series [I think], which means less procrastination on my part. Thanks to the readers who have stuck by this fanfic for all its chapters; you guys are incredibly supportive!

Oh, and I think everyone's in for a shocker this time around.

Chapter Ten:

An Old Friend

A jolt ran through her spine as she heard someone call her name; where was she? What was she doing? Like a mist that had been blown away by the wind, everything took on a different atmosphere. She could see, and remember, the euphoria she had been experiencing momentarily gone. Griever. That's right...I've summoned Griever...

Aerith looked up at the monster, confusion knitting her brows together. Griever. Where had she gotten that name? Where did she remember it from? Somehow, an image of Leon always came up whenever she ran the name through her lips. Oh, that was right. Leon had a pendant of it hanging on a chain., she remembered. He would tell stories of his birthright, the "Lionheart", and even though she had no idea what he had been talking about, it saddened her to see the derisive scowl on his face whenever he mentioned anything to do with his past.

A hand flew to her mouth as she remembered more recent events. That was right. Leon. Leon and Cloud. Fighting...! She whirled around, her loose brown hair brushing past her elbows, the ribbon dropped somewhere and long forgotten. Squinting, she could see two shadowy figures behind the heavily-damaged veil, one leaning slightly on the other. They had stopped fighting, thank god. With a sigh of relief, she ran towards them, deciding to use the last of her magic to break through, when something made her stop.

Her eyes widened incredulously as she found herself, strangely, unable to move forward another inch. "What--?" she said, glancing down at her body. Threads?! Shimmering white strings were wrapped tightly around her neck, arms and legs, branching off out of sight. Frustrated, she started to flex her wrist, only to find that the threads were digging into her skin more painfully than before. Aerith winced as the blood dripped steadily down her pale skin, dying some of the strings crimson. Bit by bit she could feel her consciousness fading away; she was losing too much blood.

"Leon...Cloud...help...me," she whispered weakly, before sinking into the shadows.

* * *

I've been a fool, all this time. Trusting Hades when I should have known better...not trusting Leon when I should have known better... Stupid, stupid, stupid! But there was hardly any time for self-loathing, when there were much bigger problems to attend to.

He had caught up with the wounded Leon, helping him stand up a little straighter by offering him his shoulder. "What do we do?" he murmured anxiously, looking up at the veil and monster.

Leon coughed a few times before looking at him, smiling grimly. "Inside, we can't do crap. Outside, we might have a chance."

"So you mean..." Cloud stated bleakly, "we have to wait for Griever to break down the veil?" When Leon's answer was a self-contained smirk, he groaned. "Well, that sounds easy, and it probably won't take long anyway." Already the veil was starting to crumble, and after a few more good shots from Griever it would dissipate completely. "So," he said, straining to make light conversation, and to ask the question he had been wanting to ask all along, "how do you know Aerith?"

Leon grimaced. He was expecting something of that sort from Cloud. "Umm," he fumbled, shrugging as he talked, "I had lived in Hallow Bastion as well. After the...the first explosion...I was able to escape. I crash-landed at Traverse town, and I sort of stumbled into the others. We started to rid the Town of the Heartless, and we just banded together." In a nutshell, he thought to himself. Of course there was much more, but he didn't quite feel like indulging at the moment. He had questions for the guy, too. "Look, I think it's almost time." Leon pointed up at the ceiling, where severe cracks were forming in the gossamer fabric of the veil.
"Oh, goody," Cloud said, a frown crossing his face. "Let the fun begin."

"And," Leon couldn't help adding quietly, "whatever happens...we have to save Aerith." He turned away, ignoring Cloud's fixed stare, and held up his hand. Immediately they were surrounded by a bluish shield. "Aero," he said in explanation, bringing out his gunblade. I don't have nearly enough magic as Aerith does, but...let's hope it's enough. He doubted it.

Cloud pursed his lips together tightly, choosing instead to remind him of his condition. "Are you sure you can make it? You don't look too good." It was a massive understatement; besides the blood that dripping steadily down his clothes, Leon could feel himself growing dizzy and pale.

He gritted his teeth, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs out. "I'll live." Long enough, he added despondently. He looked up just in time to see a burst of flame and what looked like shattered glass fall from the sky. "Watch out!" he shouted, diving to the side. Luckily enough, Cloud had reflexes like a cat and dodged it in time, the debris of the veil kicking up a huge dust storm.

"It's broken!" Cloud yelled, dashing forward, his buster sword extended wide for an assault on Griever. Cursing, Leon scrambled to his feet and ran after him, shouting at him to be careful. Obviously Cloud hadn't dealt with Griever before; he wouldn't know that offensive attacks were worthless, and at most a physical attack would graze the skin, not the heart.

When the dust finally settled down, Cloud slowed to a halt, his eyes wide with incomprehension. His sword clattered to the ground, creating a metallic ring as it fell useless from his hand. Slowly he shuffled forward, like an old man. "Aerith?" he whispered fearfully, shaking his head in disbelief. It had to be a dream. Or a nightmare. "Aerith, what have they done to you?"

She was standing right before him, her head lolling about unconsciously, her eyes closed tightly as if in death. Her arms were stretched out, bound in the air by glimmering white threads, which bit into her skin, blood seeping out everywhere. Blood, blood on her arms, blood on her legs, blood everywhere. A nightmare. She looked dead.

"AERITH!" Cloud screamed, trying to run to her, only to find himself held back by Leon. Furiously he kicked out at him, straining to break free from his grasp. "Let me go! Damn you, Leon, let go!" While the both of them were distracted, Griever smashed a fist the size of a dining table into the ground. Instinctively Leon pushed themselves out of the way, the blow missing them by half a foot.

"Idiot! Don't you see?" Leon hissed in his ear, although Cloud could pick up the worry radiating in his voice as well. "She's dying from the threads! But if you cut them, they'll just grow back! Aerith's been caught in a net. She won't be freed so easily."

Quickly Cloud shoved him away, seething with barely contained anger. He was right. Leon would know more about Griever than him, and his anger didn't help. Cloud forced himself to take deep breaths, and reached over for his sword, the handle of the blade warm. He could handle this. Levelly he gave Leon a placid stare. "So now what?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral.

Leon glanced at Griever in the background, who looked like it was awaiting orders. From whom? Surely it couldn't be Aerith, who seemed lifeless, nor Yuffie or Cid, who was slumped unconscious against the benches a few feet away. He had to hurry; if Aerith wasn't already dead, she soon would be, from loss of blood. Focus, Leon, focus. Just like before. Griever. Griever, remember? Aerith had summoned it; did it mean they would have to...kill...her? No, he swore fiercely, that was impossible. Look. The threads looked as if they were branching off somewhere. Someone was controlling her. Someone was controlling the both of them. Who?

A chill ran down his spine as he wondered who would have this much power. He turned to Cloud, a bit hesitant as whether to ask him the question. "Cloud, do you know anyone...particularly powerful?"

All of the blood drained out of Cloud's already pale face, but he forced himself to say, "Yes. But why? You don't think...there's somebody behind this?"

"That's exactly what I think," Leon stated grimly. "And I don't think I'm too far off, either. But who is the person you think it is?" Mindfully he glanced up Griever, who was, for the moment, pacing back and forth in the back. As if whoever it was wanted the both of the them to have this conversation.

"It can't be," Cloud said flatly, refusing to believe it. After all, he was...dead. It couldn't be. "There's only one person I know...and he's dead." It made sense, though, it really did. The bastard would have laughed to see this happen. Cloud pressed a trembling hand to his face, steadying his raw nerves. "...Sephiroth," he whispered finally.

As if on cue, an unsettling laugh echoed throughout the abandoned wreck of a coliseum. Cloud and Leon both jumped, Cloud searching frantically for the owner of the voice. "Sephiroth, you bastard!" he yelled, swinging out his sword. "I should have known it was you!"

A single, solitary dark purple orb bounced off the top of the stands, ringing with a loud, jarring screech. When it reached the bottom of the platform, it writhed and stretched grotesquely, taking the shape of a silver-haired human crouching down on the ground, dressed completely in black. It unfolded itself, its feral grin the first thing Leon noticed. I'm getting really bad vibes from this guy, he thought worriedly, his grip on the gunblade tightening.

"Long time...no see, Cloud," Sephiroth said smoothly, shaking his bangs out from his forehead. He straightened, teeth bared in a vicious leer. "And this will be the last."

* * *

Ending notes: AHHH!! Where did he come from??? I wasn't expecting to throw the S bomb your way, but the opportunity was too good to miss. So...questions? Comments? Anyone want a Seperith? No, no, just joking!! [Not an avid fan of Sephiroth/Aerith, you see.]