Disclaimer: All the Final Fantasy 7 characters and stuff belong to its creators at Squaresoft. All original stuff and characters belong to me. The idea of Sephiroth having a love life before he went insane is also mine #points at couch# ALSO MINE! Clementia and Lucifer are deities from mythology. Sanctus and Spirita are mine They're making an appearance in this fanfic from my original story 'From Mercenaries to Guardians.' (The first two chapters are posted on fictionpress.com. Check my profile for the link to my fp.com profile)
A/N: I just want to say this. The whole purgatory / Medius thing is from my own belief system. Yes, I have an interesting set of beliefs o.O() This particular chapter may create a lot of questions because only some of the things are explained. Well, enjoy version 2.0 of chapter five of Fallen Angel! Just a warning, it's long X.X Also, FF.net has recently done something that prevents me from usuing my usual symbols to signify a note at the end or dividers, so now I have new ones. You'll know them when you see them.
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The room faded around two men, leaving only a sliver of light shone down to illuminate the area. One of the men was the ex-soldier known as Cloud Strife, and the other was unknown until he stepped into the light. Cloud glared at the man, his mako eyes blazing with pure rage as the man started to laugh. The unknown man's bright green eyes were poisoned with mako and glowed in the darkness. His flowing, silver hair fell a few inches past his hips, the bangs grown out to his shoulders.
The man was wearing black pants with black boots ending at his knees, and a black trench coat that was belted around the waist with silver shoulder guards resting on both his shoulders. Two leather straps crisscrossed over his bare chest and were attached to his belt. The man began to take off his trench coat, armor, and leather straps, which were now shredded by the recent battle, and threw them to the ground. He then pulled off the black gloves on his hands.
"Sephiroth," growled Cloud, unsheathing his broadsword, "This ends here and now."
"Wrong, puppet," chuckled the man, taking out a long, slightly curved sword, "I'll slice you up with the masamune and then follow my mother to become one with the planet." Sephiroth smirked as he shifted to a battle stance.
"Jenova is dead," said Cloud, glaring at Sephiroth, "We defeated her before you came and attacked all of us. She was destroyed and now you will join her."
Cloud and Sephiroth charged at each other and started to fight with their swords. Sparks flew as their blades collided, but Cloud began to gain the upper hand as the other man backed off. Using this to his advantage, the ex-soldier slashed Sephiroth several times, but the silver-haired man came to his senses and fought back. The two continued to exchange blows through out their fight until a strange sound made Sephiroth stop and gaze around at his surroundings. The melodic sound brought images to his head as he gazed blankly at the shadows and spoke words that made his foe stop in confusion.
"Is that her?" he whispered more to himself than to Cloud, "Can that be her?"
Sephiroth suddenly felt the bite of Cloud's blade in his back and turned to see his own blood flowing to the floor as Cloud took a step away from his opponent. The silver-haired man knew he was beaten when he saw his enemy raise his sword to strike the final blow, but he never felt it. Darkness had already taken him before the blade was plunged into his body and a strange floating feeling took hold of his senses.
The man woke up to find himself floating within a strange liquid and he was perplexed at the fact that he could breath. Upon looking around he saw the single person whom he had thought of gliding towards him, a gentle smile on her face and a loving look in her eyes. They embraced within the glowing liquid of the Lifestream and Sephiroth finally felt at peace. He let go of his thin connection to his body and allowed himself to be completely consumed by the Lifestream.
"Neona," he whispered, feeling a warmth surround him.
"Sephiroth," sighed the woman, "We're finally together again."
The peace that was felt didn't last long, for a few moments after their embrace, the liquid started to swirl around like an ocean during a raging storm. The woman clung tightly to Sephiroth, but he noticed that she was becoming less and less solid. She looked at him with terror in her eyes and he saw that her image was starting to fade. It was like a strange force was trying to pull them apart and the tighter their grip on each other was, the harder the force tugged.
"What's happening?" asked the woman, looking at him, "Sephiroth...."
Sephiroth stared in horror as the one person he wanted to stay with for eternity was fading out of the lifestream, but she still clung to him. He held her tightly, trying and wishing he could hang on, but the force broke the embrace and tore them apart. He watched as the woman started to vanish like strips of fabric being torn away from a cloth. She reached out her hand to him and he grasped it tightly as she continued to fade into nothing. A roaring rose in the Lifestream, but her soft voice seemed to pierce through the noise to reach his ears.
"Please, find peace," She said, tears flowing from her eyes, "Something is pulling my spirit away from this realm, but I don't know where it is going. Just remember that no matter where I end up. I will always love you, Sephiroth..."
Before the woman faded, she pulled herself to Sephiroth with their faces inches apart and she tilted her head a bit. Their lips touched, causing Sephiroth to feel warmth spread through his body again, but as she drew back, the rest of her form faded into nothingness. Sephiroth stared at the spot in shock, his lips were still tingling slightly from the kiss. He suddenly fell to his knees in the sea of glowing liquid and yelled with all his emotions of anguish, pain, rage, and torment. Darkness took his mind once more, but this time, he didn't even try to fight it.
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Sephiroth woke up yelling and bolted into a sitting position on a bed. He put one hand over part of his face and breath hard, feeling cold sweat trickle down his skin. Tears were flowing from his eyes, mingling with the sweat, and he looked around. He realized that he wasn't in the Lifestream anymore and his clothes were different. A room was around him and his leather clothes were now a black tunic and pants. He remembered blacking out after the event that had haunted his dreams, but he wasn't sure how he had gotten to such a place.
"Dammit," muttered Sephiroth, sighing heavily, "I couldn't find any peace in life and now peace evades me in death. I lost her in the living world and now even after death I lost her again, but do I even deserve to be with her?"
"Why do you ask questions?" asked a voice to his left, causing Sephiroth start so badly that he nearly fell out of the bed, "Calm down, child. I will not hurt you."
The man's long hair was as white as the new fallen snow and his eyes were a soft, pale blue that glimmered with kindness. He wore a white tunic with white pants, but there was a strange gold crest splashed on the front of the tunic. An odd white aura glowed about his person and Sephiroth stared as he saw the white dragon wings on the man's back. He looked young, yet he seemed to send out this vibe of great age and wisdom. There were strange white markings all over the man's body and even some on his face.
"Child?" asked Sephiroth, growling, "How dare you call me a child!"
"You are a child to me, Sephiroth," remarked the man, chuckling, "I'm thousands of years old."
"Where the hell am I?" demanded Sephiroth, still glaring at the man, "And who are you, old man? Explain yourself now!" He reached for his sword, but didn't find it. "Where's my sword?! What have you done with it?!" He growled at the man again.
"Sephiroth, calm down," said the man, smiling, "I'm a friend, you can trust me. You knew of one of my students, Neona. She should have been here, but she wanted to wait for you first." Sephiroth stared at him in shock when he heard the man speak of the woman he had cried over. "Unfortunately, something has happened in the living world that tore her spirit from this realm. I am her teacher, guardian, and godfather."
"Yes... I knew her," said Sephiroth, listening, "But what is your name?"
"My name is Sanctus#," replied the man, "One of the deities of this realm." He chortled. "Though, I'm usually not in this particular area, but since this is a special occasion, I made the trip."
"What's with the dragon wings, gramps?" asked Sephiroth, eyeing the wings with one of his eyebrows raised.
"My true form is a white dragon," replied Sanctus, chucking at Sephiroth's surprised expression, "I'm usually in a humanoid form, so I can walk around freely without any fear or worry of stepping on someone or knocking something over."
"Why am I here?" asked Sephiroth, "Shouldn't I be in the depths of Hell burning for all the crimes I've done? I don't even deserve to exist here."
"You were raised by a very evil man," explained Sanctus, "Lucifer, lord of Hell, can't take you because there was still some purity in your heart when you died."
"Am I in Heaven?" asked Sephiroth in disbelief, looking around.
"Not quite," replied Sanctus, gesturing around the room, "You're in Medius## or Limbo as some people call it. It's not Hell, but it's not quite Heaven. It's where souls wait for their second chance or their judgment. The council is meeting right now to decide about you."
"Who or what is the council?" inquired Sephiroth, looking confused.
"The council is made up of the gods, goddesses, archangels, and all the others who are up here," replied Sanctus, "I was sent here to answer all your questions. I know you have many questions about your past and the truth."
"I want to know..." said Sephiroth quietly, not looking at the man, "The truth about my past."
"Well, from what I was told," answered Sanctus, sitting down, "Your mother's name was Lucrecia and your father was Hojo-" Sephiroth cut him off instantly.
"Hojo?!" exclaimed Sephiroth, standing up, "That thing was my father?!"
"I'm afraid so," replied Sanctus, sighing, "Lucrecia thought he had good intentions, but all he wanted to do was experiment. She got weaker because of the Jenova cells injected into her and you while she was pregnant. After she gave birth to you, Hojo took you away and she died, calling out to hold you. You remember what Hojo did to you during your childhood, but you also met someone else."
"Neona..." murmured Sephiroth, hanging his head, "It's my fault she died."
"It was Jenova's fault," said Sanctus firmly, "Not yours. You are not the only one being sent back. Aeris is going back to the plane of the living because she has her own mission to accomplish. The Cetra have already agreed to let her go back." Sephiroth stared at the dragon as he said these words, remembering the girl.
"You mean that woman I killed in that ancient city?" asked Sephiroth, slightly afraid of the answer, "Because I think that may have been what Strife called her."
"Yes," answered Sanctus, sighing, "I'm afraid that was Aeris."
"I don't deserve to go back to living," said Sephiroth, leaning back against the wall and staring at the floor, "Can't I just stay dead?"
"No," said Sanctus sharply in reply, "Someone's life will depend on you being there. They will need you because they have no idea who they really are, but you might."
"Why should I care about some random person," muttered Sephiroth coldly, crossing his arms.
"You cared about this person," replied Sanctus, giving the man in front of him an intense look, "Once you meet her, you will want to stay there and help her. You might be the only person who can help her find out who she really is."
"Her?" said Sephiroth, his head snapping up to stare at Sanctus, "What do you mean?"
"You're the only one who will be able to help her," said Sanctus, keeping a steady gaze on Sephiroth, "I have reason to believe that somehow Neona's been revived, but she's someone else or so she thinks."
"You're lying!" yelled Sephiroth, refusing to belief such a thing had happened.
"I most certainly am not," said Sanctus firmly, standing up and looking the silver-haired man straight in the eyes, "She doesn't know what she's doing! Daigus is manipulating her like Jenova manipulated you!" A faint white glow had surrounded him as an angry fire burned in his eyes.
"W... What?" stammered Sephiroth, staring at Sanctus in surprise and feeling slightly intimidated by the aura the dragon was emitting, "Daigus?"
"You remember him, don't you?" asked Sanctus, narrowing his intense eyes.
"Yes..." answered Sephiroth, lowering his head, a dark look in his eyes, "He kept going after Neona many times, yet she eluded him."
"He's at his old tricks of genetic fusion again," said Sanctus, sitting down in his chair with a sigh, "I remember Neona had to split her form, so Daigus would go after the human version of her. Unfortunately, he caught not only her, but he retrieved Neona's body from the crater. He had genetically fused them, thus pulling her soul from this realm back to her body."
"What?!" burst out Sephiroth in complete astonishment, "So... She is alive?"
"She looks quite different and has no memory of her past," replied Sanctus, shaking his head, "She can't use most her original magic either, so she's really vulnerable. Sometimes she can use a bit of her magic, but it drains her fairly easily. I want you to go back and protect her."
"Like I did last time..." muttered Sephiroth, sighing, "How can I? It's my fault she died."
"She'll be pulled into a living hell if you don't go back to the realm of the living!" exclaimed Sanctus, standing up again, "Daigus has some sort of plot and she's involved! The plot he has is not only sick and twisted, but it might kill her again! Stop blaming yourself for something that you yourself didn't do."
"Do you know where her new body is now?" asked Sephiroth.
"She's in Nibelheim at the moment," replied Sanctus, watching Sephiroth's face, "She doesn't remember what happened there at all, but she feels it. I believe she's going to head towards the ancient city first, but she'll go to the crater after that."
"Why does she have to go to those two places?" asked Sephiroth, recalling a few painful memories of the crater and the ancient's city.
"Daigus gave her a mission," replied Sanctus, sitting back down in the chair, "She's supposed to find items at the different areas, but all she'll find are her old weapons. Most of her things are at the ancient city, but her sword is in the crater. I remember that she created a special item that she stored all her memories in and placed it in her family's temple."
"When do I find out if I get to go back or not?" asked the silver-haired man.
"Right now," said a voice behind him, causing Sephiroth to turn around.
Sephiroth's eyes fell on a woman with golden hair that fell to her ankles in waves with a circlet of silver and gold was around her head. Her soft, hazel eyes were fixed on him with a gentle gaze and her gold dragon wings rustled slightly. She was dressed in a Greek style white dress with gold trimming and symbols. There was a silver cape sewn to the back of her dress and then attached to straps around her wrists, the middle of her upper arms, and to her shoulders.
"Who are you?" asked Sephiroth, staring at the woman as she smiled.
"This is my wife, Spirita###," replied Sanctus, getting up to embrace the woman, "She's in charge of calling the meetings. She has more power than I do, but that's only because she's the assistant to the goddess of mercy and clemency, Clementia."
"She's the one who believes that you should get another chance," stated Spirita, sitting down in a nearby chair, "I just got out of the meeting that concerns you, Sephiroth."
"What did they say?" asked Sanctus, looking at his wife, "Is he allowed to go back?"
"They want to get Aeris on her way first," explained Spirita in reply, smiling, "But he's allowed to go back to the realm of the living. Though, Sephiroth," She looked at him. "There is a few side affects of this. Your body is going to revert to how it was when you were 24, I don't know why, but Clementia estimates that you were that age before Jenova took your mind. You'll have all your memories, but the hateful emotions towards all of mankind won't be there. You won't recognize Neona's new form and she won't recognize you, but she might have been given some information about you. The girl only remembers certain things, but nothing about who and what she used to be."
"Who am I going to encounter first?" asked Sephiroth, "Will I run into her or someone else? Where am I going to end up once I got back to the living world?"
"So many questions," chuckled Spirita, smiling, "I'm not sure who you're going to meet first, but you will end up where you were killed. Inside the crater which now has only one cave. Don't worry, no monsters are running around there, but there are several hybrids being produced by Daigus. You must stay in that area until the girl arrives."
"Lady Spirita," said a voice, as a woman appeared in the doorway, "Clementia requests your presence before I leave." She leaned against the door frame, looking worried.
The young woman had waist-length, chestnut hair that had been pulled back in a braid tied at the top with a pink ribbon. Her bright green eyes, which were currently gazing at Sephiroth, held a look of innocence and knowledge. She wore a sleeveless, pink dress with a red jacket over it, and brown boots. Sephiroth looked her over, faintly recognizing her appearance, and his eyes moved to the staff in the girl's hand before moving back to her face. He resisted the urge to flinch when he saw the girl's steady gaze lock with his.
"Aeris," said Spirita, smiling and standing up, "Don't look so worried. You'll be fine."
"Cetra?" inquired Sephiroth, staring at Aeris in bewilderment.
"Sephiroth?" said Aeris, staring at him for a few moments, but then smiled, "Clementia must have approved of you coming here rather than being lost in the Lifestream."
She's smiling at me? thought Sephiroth in confusion. Why is she smiling? I thought she would have screamed at the sight of me.
"Aeris," said Spirita, walking over to the girl, "It's time to go back. No doubt your body will rest next to the lake that you were put in, but rest assured that no monsters can touch you."
Aeris nodded and followed Spirita out the door, leaving Sephiroth to gaze after them with a look of utter disbelief on his face. He snapped out of his daze when Sanctus laid a hand on his shoulder and upon turning his head, saw Sanctus grinning at him. Sephiroth shrugged off Sanctus' hand and laid back down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. Everything Sanctus and Spirita had said tumbled through his thoughts mingling with the memories that were resurfacing.
"It will be your turn soon," said Sanctus, sitting back down in the chair, "It won't take that long to send her back."
After an hour and a half, Spirita returned to find Sephiroth and Sanctus playing a game of chess. She shook her head as she watched her husband lose the game when he left his king open to his opponent's queen. The white dragon was quite impressed with Sephiroth's tactics in the game of chess and was very surprised when the silver-haired man set down his queen diagonally from his king.
"Checkmate," declared Sephiroth, smiling slightly, "You left that side open for a finishing move."
"I can't believe it," murmured Sanctus, staring at the board, "Only two people have ever beaten me. My wife and Neona. You're quite the opponent and your tactics were impressive. Much like a battle strategy for the military."
"I was a general in SOLDIER," stated Sephiroth, glowering at the memory of that organization, "That's where I learned most of the strategical skills."
"Oh," said Spirita softly, gazing at him, "There is one thing you have to know; Shin-Ra isn't gone." She noticed the man's confounded expression and sighed. "I'm afraid there was a survivor that kept the organization going. Actually, many of them survived, but it took them a while to recover from the incident in Midgar. There are also rumors that Rufus also survived."
"How?!" exclaimed Sephiroth in pure astonishment, "The Diamond weapon blew up his office."
"It's just a rumor," remarked Sanctus, shrugging, "But there is someone running a new Shin-Ra."
"They are a threat to the planet," growled Spirita, her eyes flashing dangerously, "I wish they had been destroyed, but unfortunately we can't touch them directly. So, that's also part of the mission."
"When do I get to go back?" asked Sephiroth, leaning back in his chair.
"Soon," replied the gold dragon, her scowling face changing to a gentle one, "Once Clementia has rested a bit, which will only take a half an hour. I suggest you get ready to depart and Sanctus will tell you the rest."
"Why me?" asked Sanctus, glancing at his wife, "You have the information."
"I've told him all I can, dear," replied Spirita, chuckling, "It's your turn now."
"Alright," sighed Sanctus, watching Spirita leave before turning to the young man to start explaining, "Well, you basically know what's going on down on the planet. Aeris is supposed to help restore order, but you are the one who is to stop Daigus from causing more destruction than Hojo could've caused. All Daigus needs is the girl we've been monitoring and she seems to play a major role in this whole system of events, but we don't know how." He sat down in the chair next to Sephiroth and continued.
"Most likely when you encounter her, Aeris will be with her because she's going to run into the girl first. I believe the girl's heading for the ancients' city right now, but be warned this girl is confused and doesn't understand a lot of things. From what we've seen, she isn't one to talk very openly to people and can easily escape from a group, so keep an eye on her when you two meet. She's very vulnerable and naive to the horrors that Daigus has planned for her, but she's a bit more cautious since she had a talk with Vincent." He noticed that an emotion flashed through Sephiroth's eyes when he mentioned Vincent. Nonetheless, the dragon continued.
"Without protection, this girl would be an easy capture for Daigus because of something he did to her. We think it might be her armlets that suppress the majority her powers and can help Daigus control her. At the moment, she's been experimenting with what little magic that's available to her, which is illusionary work. Spells are out of the question for her because something keeps interrupting them and creating a back shock. Though, she is becoming quite the trickster." He chuckled.
Sanctus continued the long lecture about the mission and the girl until it was almost time for Sephiroth to go back. Spirita walked in to find the young man asleep on the bed and her husband sulking in a corner, glowering at Sephiroth. Apparently, the silver-haired man had fallen asleep while Sanctus was babbling on and on about a boring topic that had nothing to do with the mission. Spirita chuckled and walked over to the sleeping Sephiroth.
"Sephiroth," whispered Spirita, shaking him gently by the shoulder, "It's time to go."
"Finally," muttered Sephiroth, yawning a bit before getting up, "So, I have to stay in the crater and the area around it, right?"
"Yes," replied Spirita, nodding, "I'm afraid so, but don't worry, you'll get some supplies to last you until the estimated time when the girl may arrive."
"Shall we go?" asked Sanctus, standing up, "Clementia cannot be kept waiting."
"Follow me," said Spirita, walking down the hallway with Sanctus and Sephiroth following after her, "Clementia is in the gardens near the Pool of Renovatio####."
Sephiroth followed the two dragon guardians outside into a large and beautiful garden. Ahead he saw a tall woman dressed in white and gold, standing next to a crystal blue pool with a staff in her hand. He saw a pair of large, white angel wings folded on her back and a silver circlet was placed on her head. Her white hair fell in waves to her feet and her violet eyes watched Sephiroth in a manner of scrutiny. He noticed that they glimmered with amusement and a few traces of pride.
"So," said the woman in a melodic, accented voice, "This is the great Sephiroth."
"Yes, Clementia," replied Spirita, bowing gracefully to the woman.
"He is here for your inspection," said Sanctus, sweeping his hand down while bowing.
"He looks ready to be sent back," said Clementia, smiling at Sephiroth, "To be sent back to your now restored body, you must stand in the middle of that pool." She pointed at the crystal blue water. "Then I will do the rest."
Sephiroth nodded and walked out to the pool, surprised to find that he didn't sink into the water, but could stand on top of it. He stood in the middle, gazing at Clementia as she started to chant in a strange language while twirling her staff. A white aura surrounded her as she continued the chant and movements, causing the water to swirl around Sephiroth. He heard a faint buzzing in his ears and as the deity reached the peak of her spell, the sound started to crescendo to a chorus of singing voices.
"Good luck, Sephiroth," said Spirita, smiling, "You'll be hearing from me fairly soon."
"Remember what I said about that girl," said Sanctus, chuckling, "She's becoming quite the trickster!" The white dragon smiled when he saw Sephiroth nod and whispered, "Good luck, child."
The water started to rise up in great arcs and tendrils around Sephiroth, who didn't flinch at all. He felt himself sinking a bit and a cold sensation started to crawl up his body, but he continued to watch Clementia's spell. The deity suddenly stopped and pointed her staff directly at him, causing the water to wrap around him like cords and pull him downwards into the pool. Sephiroth felt himself falling through the cold water and then everything became black.
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#Sanctus is latin for holy, sacred, or saint.
##Medius is latin for middle, the middle of, central, midst.
###Spirita is the feminine form of Spiritus which is latin for breath, breathing / spirit / life
#### Renovatio is latin for renewal, renovation, and restoration.
As you can see, I like the latin language. Yep, this is the sort of stuff that are part of my belief system. Anyway, as you can see, both Sephiroth and Aeris are coming back. Yes, I also know that bringing Aeris back can cause problems between the relationship of Tifa and Cloud, but I have plans. Me being the hopeless romantic, I won't leave anyone unpaired XD well some people will stay unpaired.
Readers I ask for your suggestions: Who do you think Aeris should be matched with? An original character? Or someone from the game?
You've probably already figured out who Neona has become, but you're probably wondering how Sanctus and Spirita became her teachers and godparents. It'll be explained.
Yes, Jenova is completely gone from Sephiroth's mind. She's dead, right? So his real feelings about events are coming out.
SNEAK PEEK!:
Rhiannon figures out a way to get to the northern continent, but runs into some trouble.
The discovery of one of her abilities leads to an attempt at something that goes very wrong.
Rhiannon learns the meaning of 'winter clothing' and some more of her naiveté is shown.
A/N: I just want to say this. The whole purgatory / Medius thing is from my own belief system. Yes, I have an interesting set of beliefs o.O() This particular chapter may create a lot of questions because only some of the things are explained. Well, enjoy version 2.0 of chapter five of Fallen Angel! Just a warning, it's long X.X Also, FF.net has recently done something that prevents me from usuing my usual symbols to signify a note at the end or dividers, so now I have new ones. You'll know them when you see them.
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The room faded around two men, leaving only a sliver of light shone down to illuminate the area. One of the men was the ex-soldier known as Cloud Strife, and the other was unknown until he stepped into the light. Cloud glared at the man, his mako eyes blazing with pure rage as the man started to laugh. The unknown man's bright green eyes were poisoned with mako and glowed in the darkness. His flowing, silver hair fell a few inches past his hips, the bangs grown out to his shoulders.
The man was wearing black pants with black boots ending at his knees, and a black trench coat that was belted around the waist with silver shoulder guards resting on both his shoulders. Two leather straps crisscrossed over his bare chest and were attached to his belt. The man began to take off his trench coat, armor, and leather straps, which were now shredded by the recent battle, and threw them to the ground. He then pulled off the black gloves on his hands.
"Sephiroth," growled Cloud, unsheathing his broadsword, "This ends here and now."
"Wrong, puppet," chuckled the man, taking out a long, slightly curved sword, "I'll slice you up with the masamune and then follow my mother to become one with the planet." Sephiroth smirked as he shifted to a battle stance.
"Jenova is dead," said Cloud, glaring at Sephiroth, "We defeated her before you came and attacked all of us. She was destroyed and now you will join her."
Cloud and Sephiroth charged at each other and started to fight with their swords. Sparks flew as their blades collided, but Cloud began to gain the upper hand as the other man backed off. Using this to his advantage, the ex-soldier slashed Sephiroth several times, but the silver-haired man came to his senses and fought back. The two continued to exchange blows through out their fight until a strange sound made Sephiroth stop and gaze around at his surroundings. The melodic sound brought images to his head as he gazed blankly at the shadows and spoke words that made his foe stop in confusion.
"Is that her?" he whispered more to himself than to Cloud, "Can that be her?"
Sephiroth suddenly felt the bite of Cloud's blade in his back and turned to see his own blood flowing to the floor as Cloud took a step away from his opponent. The silver-haired man knew he was beaten when he saw his enemy raise his sword to strike the final blow, but he never felt it. Darkness had already taken him before the blade was plunged into his body and a strange floating feeling took hold of his senses.
The man woke up to find himself floating within a strange liquid and he was perplexed at the fact that he could breath. Upon looking around he saw the single person whom he had thought of gliding towards him, a gentle smile on her face and a loving look in her eyes. They embraced within the glowing liquid of the Lifestream and Sephiroth finally felt at peace. He let go of his thin connection to his body and allowed himself to be completely consumed by the Lifestream.
"Neona," he whispered, feeling a warmth surround him.
"Sephiroth," sighed the woman, "We're finally together again."
The peace that was felt didn't last long, for a few moments after their embrace, the liquid started to swirl around like an ocean during a raging storm. The woman clung tightly to Sephiroth, but he noticed that she was becoming less and less solid. She looked at him with terror in her eyes and he saw that her image was starting to fade. It was like a strange force was trying to pull them apart and the tighter their grip on each other was, the harder the force tugged.
"What's happening?" asked the woman, looking at him, "Sephiroth...."
Sephiroth stared in horror as the one person he wanted to stay with for eternity was fading out of the lifestream, but she still clung to him. He held her tightly, trying and wishing he could hang on, but the force broke the embrace and tore them apart. He watched as the woman started to vanish like strips of fabric being torn away from a cloth. She reached out her hand to him and he grasped it tightly as she continued to fade into nothing. A roaring rose in the Lifestream, but her soft voice seemed to pierce through the noise to reach his ears.
"Please, find peace," She said, tears flowing from her eyes, "Something is pulling my spirit away from this realm, but I don't know where it is going. Just remember that no matter where I end up. I will always love you, Sephiroth..."
Before the woman faded, she pulled herself to Sephiroth with their faces inches apart and she tilted her head a bit. Their lips touched, causing Sephiroth to feel warmth spread through his body again, but as she drew back, the rest of her form faded into nothingness. Sephiroth stared at the spot in shock, his lips were still tingling slightly from the kiss. He suddenly fell to his knees in the sea of glowing liquid and yelled with all his emotions of anguish, pain, rage, and torment. Darkness took his mind once more, but this time, he didn't even try to fight it.
--------------------------------------------
Sephiroth woke up yelling and bolted into a sitting position on a bed. He put one hand over part of his face and breath hard, feeling cold sweat trickle down his skin. Tears were flowing from his eyes, mingling with the sweat, and he looked around. He realized that he wasn't in the Lifestream anymore and his clothes were different. A room was around him and his leather clothes were now a black tunic and pants. He remembered blacking out after the event that had haunted his dreams, but he wasn't sure how he had gotten to such a place.
"Dammit," muttered Sephiroth, sighing heavily, "I couldn't find any peace in life and now peace evades me in death. I lost her in the living world and now even after death I lost her again, but do I even deserve to be with her?"
"Why do you ask questions?" asked a voice to his left, causing Sephiroth start so badly that he nearly fell out of the bed, "Calm down, child. I will not hurt you."
The man's long hair was as white as the new fallen snow and his eyes were a soft, pale blue that glimmered with kindness. He wore a white tunic with white pants, but there was a strange gold crest splashed on the front of the tunic. An odd white aura glowed about his person and Sephiroth stared as he saw the white dragon wings on the man's back. He looked young, yet he seemed to send out this vibe of great age and wisdom. There were strange white markings all over the man's body and even some on his face.
"Child?" asked Sephiroth, growling, "How dare you call me a child!"
"You are a child to me, Sephiroth," remarked the man, chuckling, "I'm thousands of years old."
"Where the hell am I?" demanded Sephiroth, still glaring at the man, "And who are you, old man? Explain yourself now!" He reached for his sword, but didn't find it. "Where's my sword?! What have you done with it?!" He growled at the man again.
"Sephiroth, calm down," said the man, smiling, "I'm a friend, you can trust me. You knew of one of my students, Neona. She should have been here, but she wanted to wait for you first." Sephiroth stared at him in shock when he heard the man speak of the woman he had cried over. "Unfortunately, something has happened in the living world that tore her spirit from this realm. I am her teacher, guardian, and godfather."
"Yes... I knew her," said Sephiroth, listening, "But what is your name?"
"My name is Sanctus#," replied the man, "One of the deities of this realm." He chortled. "Though, I'm usually not in this particular area, but since this is a special occasion, I made the trip."
"What's with the dragon wings, gramps?" asked Sephiroth, eyeing the wings with one of his eyebrows raised.
"My true form is a white dragon," replied Sanctus, chucking at Sephiroth's surprised expression, "I'm usually in a humanoid form, so I can walk around freely without any fear or worry of stepping on someone or knocking something over."
"Why am I here?" asked Sephiroth, "Shouldn't I be in the depths of Hell burning for all the crimes I've done? I don't even deserve to exist here."
"You were raised by a very evil man," explained Sanctus, "Lucifer, lord of Hell, can't take you because there was still some purity in your heart when you died."
"Am I in Heaven?" asked Sephiroth in disbelief, looking around.
"Not quite," replied Sanctus, gesturing around the room, "You're in Medius## or Limbo as some people call it. It's not Hell, but it's not quite Heaven. It's where souls wait for their second chance or their judgment. The council is meeting right now to decide about you."
"Who or what is the council?" inquired Sephiroth, looking confused.
"The council is made up of the gods, goddesses, archangels, and all the others who are up here," replied Sanctus, "I was sent here to answer all your questions. I know you have many questions about your past and the truth."
"I want to know..." said Sephiroth quietly, not looking at the man, "The truth about my past."
"Well, from what I was told," answered Sanctus, sitting down, "Your mother's name was Lucrecia and your father was Hojo-" Sephiroth cut him off instantly.
"Hojo?!" exclaimed Sephiroth, standing up, "That thing was my father?!"
"I'm afraid so," replied Sanctus, sighing, "Lucrecia thought he had good intentions, but all he wanted to do was experiment. She got weaker because of the Jenova cells injected into her and you while she was pregnant. After she gave birth to you, Hojo took you away and she died, calling out to hold you. You remember what Hojo did to you during your childhood, but you also met someone else."
"Neona..." murmured Sephiroth, hanging his head, "It's my fault she died."
"It was Jenova's fault," said Sanctus firmly, "Not yours. You are not the only one being sent back. Aeris is going back to the plane of the living because she has her own mission to accomplish. The Cetra have already agreed to let her go back." Sephiroth stared at the dragon as he said these words, remembering the girl.
"You mean that woman I killed in that ancient city?" asked Sephiroth, slightly afraid of the answer, "Because I think that may have been what Strife called her."
"Yes," answered Sanctus, sighing, "I'm afraid that was Aeris."
"I don't deserve to go back to living," said Sephiroth, leaning back against the wall and staring at the floor, "Can't I just stay dead?"
"No," said Sanctus sharply in reply, "Someone's life will depend on you being there. They will need you because they have no idea who they really are, but you might."
"Why should I care about some random person," muttered Sephiroth coldly, crossing his arms.
"You cared about this person," replied Sanctus, giving the man in front of him an intense look, "Once you meet her, you will want to stay there and help her. You might be the only person who can help her find out who she really is."
"Her?" said Sephiroth, his head snapping up to stare at Sanctus, "What do you mean?"
"You're the only one who will be able to help her," said Sanctus, keeping a steady gaze on Sephiroth, "I have reason to believe that somehow Neona's been revived, but she's someone else or so she thinks."
"You're lying!" yelled Sephiroth, refusing to belief such a thing had happened.
"I most certainly am not," said Sanctus firmly, standing up and looking the silver-haired man straight in the eyes, "She doesn't know what she's doing! Daigus is manipulating her like Jenova manipulated you!" A faint white glow had surrounded him as an angry fire burned in his eyes.
"W... What?" stammered Sephiroth, staring at Sanctus in surprise and feeling slightly intimidated by the aura the dragon was emitting, "Daigus?"
"You remember him, don't you?" asked Sanctus, narrowing his intense eyes.
"Yes..." answered Sephiroth, lowering his head, a dark look in his eyes, "He kept going after Neona many times, yet she eluded him."
"He's at his old tricks of genetic fusion again," said Sanctus, sitting down in his chair with a sigh, "I remember Neona had to split her form, so Daigus would go after the human version of her. Unfortunately, he caught not only her, but he retrieved Neona's body from the crater. He had genetically fused them, thus pulling her soul from this realm back to her body."
"What?!" burst out Sephiroth in complete astonishment, "So... She is alive?"
"She looks quite different and has no memory of her past," replied Sanctus, shaking his head, "She can't use most her original magic either, so she's really vulnerable. Sometimes she can use a bit of her magic, but it drains her fairly easily. I want you to go back and protect her."
"Like I did last time..." muttered Sephiroth, sighing, "How can I? It's my fault she died."
"She'll be pulled into a living hell if you don't go back to the realm of the living!" exclaimed Sanctus, standing up again, "Daigus has some sort of plot and she's involved! The plot he has is not only sick and twisted, but it might kill her again! Stop blaming yourself for something that you yourself didn't do."
"Do you know where her new body is now?" asked Sephiroth.
"She's in Nibelheim at the moment," replied Sanctus, watching Sephiroth's face, "She doesn't remember what happened there at all, but she feels it. I believe she's going to head towards the ancient city first, but she'll go to the crater after that."
"Why does she have to go to those two places?" asked Sephiroth, recalling a few painful memories of the crater and the ancient's city.
"Daigus gave her a mission," replied Sanctus, sitting back down in the chair, "She's supposed to find items at the different areas, but all she'll find are her old weapons. Most of her things are at the ancient city, but her sword is in the crater. I remember that she created a special item that she stored all her memories in and placed it in her family's temple."
"When do I find out if I get to go back or not?" asked the silver-haired man.
"Right now," said a voice behind him, causing Sephiroth to turn around.
Sephiroth's eyes fell on a woman with golden hair that fell to her ankles in waves with a circlet of silver and gold was around her head. Her soft, hazel eyes were fixed on him with a gentle gaze and her gold dragon wings rustled slightly. She was dressed in a Greek style white dress with gold trimming and symbols. There was a silver cape sewn to the back of her dress and then attached to straps around her wrists, the middle of her upper arms, and to her shoulders.
"Who are you?" asked Sephiroth, staring at the woman as she smiled.
"This is my wife, Spirita###," replied Sanctus, getting up to embrace the woman, "She's in charge of calling the meetings. She has more power than I do, but that's only because she's the assistant to the goddess of mercy and clemency, Clementia."
"She's the one who believes that you should get another chance," stated Spirita, sitting down in a nearby chair, "I just got out of the meeting that concerns you, Sephiroth."
"What did they say?" asked Sanctus, looking at his wife, "Is he allowed to go back?"
"They want to get Aeris on her way first," explained Spirita in reply, smiling, "But he's allowed to go back to the realm of the living. Though, Sephiroth," She looked at him. "There is a few side affects of this. Your body is going to revert to how it was when you were 24, I don't know why, but Clementia estimates that you were that age before Jenova took your mind. You'll have all your memories, but the hateful emotions towards all of mankind won't be there. You won't recognize Neona's new form and she won't recognize you, but she might have been given some information about you. The girl only remembers certain things, but nothing about who and what she used to be."
"Who am I going to encounter first?" asked Sephiroth, "Will I run into her or someone else? Where am I going to end up once I got back to the living world?"
"So many questions," chuckled Spirita, smiling, "I'm not sure who you're going to meet first, but you will end up where you were killed. Inside the crater which now has only one cave. Don't worry, no monsters are running around there, but there are several hybrids being produced by Daigus. You must stay in that area until the girl arrives."
"Lady Spirita," said a voice, as a woman appeared in the doorway, "Clementia requests your presence before I leave." She leaned against the door frame, looking worried.
The young woman had waist-length, chestnut hair that had been pulled back in a braid tied at the top with a pink ribbon. Her bright green eyes, which were currently gazing at Sephiroth, held a look of innocence and knowledge. She wore a sleeveless, pink dress with a red jacket over it, and brown boots. Sephiroth looked her over, faintly recognizing her appearance, and his eyes moved to the staff in the girl's hand before moving back to her face. He resisted the urge to flinch when he saw the girl's steady gaze lock with his.
"Aeris," said Spirita, smiling and standing up, "Don't look so worried. You'll be fine."
"Cetra?" inquired Sephiroth, staring at Aeris in bewilderment.
"Sephiroth?" said Aeris, staring at him for a few moments, but then smiled, "Clementia must have approved of you coming here rather than being lost in the Lifestream."
She's smiling at me? thought Sephiroth in confusion. Why is she smiling? I thought she would have screamed at the sight of me.
"Aeris," said Spirita, walking over to the girl, "It's time to go back. No doubt your body will rest next to the lake that you were put in, but rest assured that no monsters can touch you."
Aeris nodded and followed Spirita out the door, leaving Sephiroth to gaze after them with a look of utter disbelief on his face. He snapped out of his daze when Sanctus laid a hand on his shoulder and upon turning his head, saw Sanctus grinning at him. Sephiroth shrugged off Sanctus' hand and laid back down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. Everything Sanctus and Spirita had said tumbled through his thoughts mingling with the memories that were resurfacing.
"It will be your turn soon," said Sanctus, sitting back down in the chair, "It won't take that long to send her back."
After an hour and a half, Spirita returned to find Sephiroth and Sanctus playing a game of chess. She shook her head as she watched her husband lose the game when he left his king open to his opponent's queen. The white dragon was quite impressed with Sephiroth's tactics in the game of chess and was very surprised when the silver-haired man set down his queen diagonally from his king.
"Checkmate," declared Sephiroth, smiling slightly, "You left that side open for a finishing move."
"I can't believe it," murmured Sanctus, staring at the board, "Only two people have ever beaten me. My wife and Neona. You're quite the opponent and your tactics were impressive. Much like a battle strategy for the military."
"I was a general in SOLDIER," stated Sephiroth, glowering at the memory of that organization, "That's where I learned most of the strategical skills."
"Oh," said Spirita softly, gazing at him, "There is one thing you have to know; Shin-Ra isn't gone." She noticed the man's confounded expression and sighed. "I'm afraid there was a survivor that kept the organization going. Actually, many of them survived, but it took them a while to recover from the incident in Midgar. There are also rumors that Rufus also survived."
"How?!" exclaimed Sephiroth in pure astonishment, "The Diamond weapon blew up his office."
"It's just a rumor," remarked Sanctus, shrugging, "But there is someone running a new Shin-Ra."
"They are a threat to the planet," growled Spirita, her eyes flashing dangerously, "I wish they had been destroyed, but unfortunately we can't touch them directly. So, that's also part of the mission."
"When do I get to go back?" asked Sephiroth, leaning back in his chair.
"Soon," replied the gold dragon, her scowling face changing to a gentle one, "Once Clementia has rested a bit, which will only take a half an hour. I suggest you get ready to depart and Sanctus will tell you the rest."
"Why me?" asked Sanctus, glancing at his wife, "You have the information."
"I've told him all I can, dear," replied Spirita, chuckling, "It's your turn now."
"Alright," sighed Sanctus, watching Spirita leave before turning to the young man to start explaining, "Well, you basically know what's going on down on the planet. Aeris is supposed to help restore order, but you are the one who is to stop Daigus from causing more destruction than Hojo could've caused. All Daigus needs is the girl we've been monitoring and she seems to play a major role in this whole system of events, but we don't know how." He sat down in the chair next to Sephiroth and continued.
"Most likely when you encounter her, Aeris will be with her because she's going to run into the girl first. I believe the girl's heading for the ancients' city right now, but be warned this girl is confused and doesn't understand a lot of things. From what we've seen, she isn't one to talk very openly to people and can easily escape from a group, so keep an eye on her when you two meet. She's very vulnerable and naive to the horrors that Daigus has planned for her, but she's a bit more cautious since she had a talk with Vincent." He noticed that an emotion flashed through Sephiroth's eyes when he mentioned Vincent. Nonetheless, the dragon continued.
"Without protection, this girl would be an easy capture for Daigus because of something he did to her. We think it might be her armlets that suppress the majority her powers and can help Daigus control her. At the moment, she's been experimenting with what little magic that's available to her, which is illusionary work. Spells are out of the question for her because something keeps interrupting them and creating a back shock. Though, she is becoming quite the trickster." He chuckled.
Sanctus continued the long lecture about the mission and the girl until it was almost time for Sephiroth to go back. Spirita walked in to find the young man asleep on the bed and her husband sulking in a corner, glowering at Sephiroth. Apparently, the silver-haired man had fallen asleep while Sanctus was babbling on and on about a boring topic that had nothing to do with the mission. Spirita chuckled and walked over to the sleeping Sephiroth.
"Sephiroth," whispered Spirita, shaking him gently by the shoulder, "It's time to go."
"Finally," muttered Sephiroth, yawning a bit before getting up, "So, I have to stay in the crater and the area around it, right?"
"Yes," replied Spirita, nodding, "I'm afraid so, but don't worry, you'll get some supplies to last you until the estimated time when the girl may arrive."
"Shall we go?" asked Sanctus, standing up, "Clementia cannot be kept waiting."
"Follow me," said Spirita, walking down the hallway with Sanctus and Sephiroth following after her, "Clementia is in the gardens near the Pool of Renovatio####."
Sephiroth followed the two dragon guardians outside into a large and beautiful garden. Ahead he saw a tall woman dressed in white and gold, standing next to a crystal blue pool with a staff in her hand. He saw a pair of large, white angel wings folded on her back and a silver circlet was placed on her head. Her white hair fell in waves to her feet and her violet eyes watched Sephiroth in a manner of scrutiny. He noticed that they glimmered with amusement and a few traces of pride.
"So," said the woman in a melodic, accented voice, "This is the great Sephiroth."
"Yes, Clementia," replied Spirita, bowing gracefully to the woman.
"He is here for your inspection," said Sanctus, sweeping his hand down while bowing.
"He looks ready to be sent back," said Clementia, smiling at Sephiroth, "To be sent back to your now restored body, you must stand in the middle of that pool." She pointed at the crystal blue water. "Then I will do the rest."
Sephiroth nodded and walked out to the pool, surprised to find that he didn't sink into the water, but could stand on top of it. He stood in the middle, gazing at Clementia as she started to chant in a strange language while twirling her staff. A white aura surrounded her as she continued the chant and movements, causing the water to swirl around Sephiroth. He heard a faint buzzing in his ears and as the deity reached the peak of her spell, the sound started to crescendo to a chorus of singing voices.
"Good luck, Sephiroth," said Spirita, smiling, "You'll be hearing from me fairly soon."
"Remember what I said about that girl," said Sanctus, chuckling, "She's becoming quite the trickster!" The white dragon smiled when he saw Sephiroth nod and whispered, "Good luck, child."
The water started to rise up in great arcs and tendrils around Sephiroth, who didn't flinch at all. He felt himself sinking a bit and a cold sensation started to crawl up his body, but he continued to watch Clementia's spell. The deity suddenly stopped and pointed her staff directly at him, causing the water to wrap around him like cords and pull him downwards into the pool. Sephiroth felt himself falling through the cold water and then everything became black.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
#Sanctus is latin for holy, sacred, or saint.
##Medius is latin for middle, the middle of, central, midst.
###Spirita is the feminine form of Spiritus which is latin for breath, breathing / spirit / life
#### Renovatio is latin for renewal, renovation, and restoration.
As you can see, I like the latin language. Yep, this is the sort of stuff that are part of my belief system. Anyway, as you can see, both Sephiroth and Aeris are coming back. Yes, I also know that bringing Aeris back can cause problems between the relationship of Tifa and Cloud, but I have plans. Me being the hopeless romantic, I won't leave anyone unpaired XD well some people will stay unpaired.
Readers I ask for your suggestions: Who do you think Aeris should be matched with? An original character? Or someone from the game?
You've probably already figured out who Neona has become, but you're probably wondering how Sanctus and Spirita became her teachers and godparents. It'll be explained.
Yes, Jenova is completely gone from Sephiroth's mind. She's dead, right? So his real feelings about events are coming out.
SNEAK PEEK!:
Rhiannon figures out a way to get to the northern continent, but runs into some trouble.
The discovery of one of her abilities leads to an attempt at something that goes very wrong.
Rhiannon learns the meaning of 'winter clothing' and some more of her naiveté is shown.