Wait…what's this? …It expired last month?
THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! No! *gets dragged away by government officials*
Government official: ... ^_^ Hi.
*crickets chirp*
Government official: ...Thor doesn't own any of this except Darius, Amabel, and some other meaningless characters she throws in. She shouldn't be allowed to keep writing, but due to popular demand, that's all she'll be able to do. Write, all day long.
Really? ^_^ No school!?
Government official: ...She'll also have to go to school though.
...That's you isn't it Tomoe?
Government official: …No. *shifty eyes*
Oi!! You can't spy on my fanfic writing! Just because you're writing an AeriSeph doesn't mean you can get ideas from me!!! *shoves 'government official' out the door* There, now that that's all over with…enjoy.
Crystal Mountain
Chapter Two
Enter Sephiroth
By:
Thor (Saturn Angels)
Aeris had already spent a week or so in the Promised Land becoming acquainted with every person there. They were all very kind; however, she seemed to be spending the most time around Darius.
"It seems to me that the Cetra's very flower is the rose, correct?" Aeris asked passing by yet another rose garden.
Darius smiled softly, "Well, perhaps there may be somewhat of a reason for that. Come with me."
Aeris blinked, "Where are we going?"
"About five minutes out of city limits there's a huge clearing full of roses- I want to show you something there."
Aeris smiled in anticipation, it took them perhaps less then five minutes to get there and her smile broadened as she looked around, "It's beautiful…yet…how does it prove the Cetra's love for roses?"
Darius smiled, "Well each and every single rose here signifies a Cetra here." He looked around at the flowers, "Every time a Cetra is born-or comes to the Promised Land a new rose appears. The lighter the color- the purer the Cetra's heart is."
Aeris looked at all the roses in awe, "I never knew such a place could exist."
Darius chuckled, "Everyone could always find your rose, Aeris. It has always been the most beautiful out of them all." He waved his hand for her to follow; which she did eagerly, he pointed among some flowers, and "There it is. The only white one out of all of them. There always seemed to be an air of...innocence about it. Strange to say it about a flower-but it's true."
Needless to say Aeris was speechless, perhaps even slightly embarrassed by it.
"I remember when I was a child I would always come here with my friends to play tag. Aeris..." he paused before continuing, "I always wondered who that rose belonged to...I wanted to meet the owner so much. I dreamt of what they would look like- everything." He smiled and turned to look at Aeris, "I imagined you. And here I am…my wish granted."
Aeris blushed, "Um…Thank you, Darius." All right…this guy was starting to make her a bit uncomfortable, they were friends but here he was …sounding as if he was confessing his undying love for her or something.
"Aeris and Darius sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage." A childish voice rang out.
Aeris began laughing looking around for the source of the voice; which she was sure, belonged to a little mischievous girl by the name of Amabel, "Amabel I know you're there…"
"You do not!" Amabel cried pouting, "How'd you know it was me?"
Aeris chuckled as Amabel walked out from behind some bushes. "Oh, I had a feeling…"
"Ewwww, you were gonna make kissy faces!" Amabel showed what she meant by pushing her lips forwards and proceeding to make 'smooching' sounds.
Aeris laughed, "Not true, little one. Amabel, you jump to too many conclusions- are you sure you're only seven?"
"How many times to I gotta tell you? Call me Amy! Amabel sounds all grown-up." She stuck her tongue out childishly, "and grown-ups are stuuupid."
Aeris pretended to look hurt, "…Amy…you think I'm stupid?"
Amy blinked and jumped up and down waving her hands side to side, "No, no, no! I mean other grown-ups! Like Darey!" she giggled.
"Oh how sweet of you." Darius said sarcastically as he chuckled.
Amy grinned up at him, "Annnnyyyway. I wasn't spyin' on you, just to let ya know. The, um, the…hmm. Oh yeah! The Head Council wants to see Aeris! And they said…what did they say? Oh…um…it was something about…something important!" she giggled proudly, "See? I delivered the message!" She paused putting her finger up to her chin in a thoughtful position, "Oh yeah! Now I have to go to a secret meeting with Carey!" she smiled happily before running off waving, "Bye-bye Aeris!"
Aeris chuckled shaking her head, "Children these days. Well, I should just be on my way to the Council then; perhaps I'll see you later today? Or tomorrow?"
Darius smiled, "Of course."
"Alright. See you then." Aeris smiled and waved before turning around and sprinting towards the city.
She liked Darius…but she was so uncomfortable when things became…what was the word? Serious? Romantic? All of the above?
She walked into the Head Council building after catching her breath and straightening her dress and hair.
How exactly was she supposed to act around them? Polite? Was it like being in court?
She looked around the room, feeling glad that she saw Ifalna there. She walked over to her and sat in the seat next to her. "What's going on mother?" she whispered.
Ifalna turned her head to and said in a hushed voice, "I'm not sure."
"Aeris Gainsborough…we commend you greatly for the deeds which you have done. However," Vathan, the leader of the council, paused and looked around at everyone before continuing, "we seem to have a problem."
Ifalna grabbed Aeris' hand and held onto it tightly.
Galen, the man sitting next to Vathan, seemingly noticed Ifalna's uneasiness, "The problem isn't with Aeris though."
Gale, Galen's twin sister, continued his sentence, "It is with another. The murderer of Aeris."
Sephiroth…?
"He seems to have entered the Promised Land. There is no explanation as to why he is here; by all means he should have been reborn after death. But instead he has come here and we currently have him in captivity."
Sephiroth…is here!? Aeris thought to herself, her eyes widening. How is this possible…?
"Because he has entered the Promised Land it means that he must have at least some Cetra blood in him." Galen continued, "We cannot kill anyone in the Promised Land. It is impossible…and if he does die he'll only be sent back here. We are not quite sure as what to do with him."
"Bring him forward." Vathan said waving his hand at some of the guards.
Three guards came back, one leading them and two holding each of his arms as he struggled.
Aeris brought her hand over her mouth suppressing a gasp of surprise. That was no way to treat anyone… he was bound and chained yet still guards were told to hold him still.
"His weapon was taken from him, yet, even now he tries to break free."
Sephiroth's struggle suddenly stopped as he saw Aeris. His eyes widened slightly in disbelief, "I thought I killed you." He muttered, "I'll have to right my mistake!" He began struggling again.
"Rave!" Vathan yelled, and not even seconds later an incredibly bulky man came out brandishing a long, thick, whip.
"Twenty lashes!" Vathan called out, Rave nodded and began his work.
Bam.
Bam.
Aeris winced, How can this be happening!? The Promised Land…is holy ground! No pain should be experienced here!!
Bam.
Sephiroth clenched his teeth against the pain; his wounds from his battle with Cloud hadn't completely healed and it felt as if some of them were reopening.
Bam.
Bam.
The one thing Aeris always detested was human suffering…whether it was deserved or not.
Bam.
Aeris stood from her seat and began walking quickly to where Sephiroth was. "Stop it!!" she cried out as she came closer.
Bam.
"I said stop!!" Aeris yelled again.
The room was silent, "What do you mean 'stop'?" Vathan asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Aeris expecting an explanation.
Aeris shook her head, "No one deserves this kind of treatment…especially not in the Promised Land! This is supposed to be some paradise where pain is completely erased from everyone's souls…but here you all are, ganging up on him! It's just not fair."
Gale and Galen both smiled slightly as if agreeing with her; Vathan's eyebrow rose in question, "Really? Is that so? You're too compassionate for your own good, Aeris. What do you suggest we do with him then, hm, Aeris? Let him live?"
"…Yes."
"And where do you think he'd live? There's no way anyone would agree to build him a house, and I don't think anyone's keen on having 'Aeris' murderer' move in with them."
Aeris put her hands on her hips defiantly looking up at Vathan and at the rest of the Council, "Then he can move in with me."
"That's absurd! He'd kill you while you slept."
"You can't die in the Promised Land! You're already dead!"
"That doesn't mean that having your head cut off, or your neck broken won't be painful!"
Aeris paused, "I'll keep my door locked."
"He could easily knock it down."
"You're making this difficult…"
"You're the one who is complicating things, Gainsborough."
Ifalna interrupted, "Well, what if we were to place a magic spell on Aeris' bedroom door making it so he couldn't enter at nighttime? Or without her consent?"
Vathan quieted as he looked at Ifalna thoughtfully, "You would allow your daughter's murderer to move in with her?"
"If that was her wish."
"Fine. Sephiroth will move in with Aeris until we have thought of somewhere else to put him, or something else to do with him. You are all dismissed, Gale go with Aeris and see to it that the spell is placed correctly." He stood and looked at Aeris before leaving saying, "I hope I know what you're getting yourself into."
"Don't I have a say in this?" Sephiroth asked anger evident in his voice as he stood up straight.
"Well hello to you too." Aeris said smiling jokingly at him, it seemed to not have any effect whatsoever so she averted her gaze to the approaching council member, "Well, Gale, should we go now?"
Gale nodded, "I suppose so. You're crazy Aeris, very crazy. Then again I suppose you'd have to be crazy to attempt something like this."
**After the spell was placed on the door**
"Now, don't get all freaked out if at nighttime you see the door glowing; it's just the barrier." Gale explained, "And…try to be careful around him, alright? You never know for sure when a person has truly changed."
Aeris nodded, "Don't worry…I learned a lot from Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cait Sith, and Red XIII."
Gale smiled warmly, "I'm sure you did…but you could've just said Cloud and company. Or my friends, you didn't have to go and list them."
Aeris giggled, "Have a good day, Gale."
"You too Aeris."
Aeris sighed softly and headed over to the guest room, where Sephiroth would be staying. Fortunately for him this was the one room that wasn't girlishly decorated. The carpet was actually black, the walls were dark blue, and the bedspread was navy blue. She took a deep breath before heading inside and sitting down on the edge of the bed.
He had fallen asleep a long time ago, and already his wounds were beginning to heal. He looked so innocent when he slept...not at all like the blood-thirsty Sephiroth she knew.
She closed her eyes and wondered briefly what he was like when he hadn't been under the influence of Jenova. When he hadn't been misled…when he hadn't gone insane.
After a few more seconds of watching over him; she got up, went downstairs, made a bowl of popcorn, and started to watch TV.
The TV in the Promised Land was more something that allowed you to watch over the humans on Gaia. (Misc. note: Gaia = Final Fantasy 7 world.) She usually always had the channel on #7777 (Cloud's channel), #8342 (Yuffie's channel), #1882 (Vincent's channel), #5988 (Tifa's channel), #45078 (Barret's channel), and sometimes just whatever caught her eyes at the time; though she felt that it was a bit wrong to be spying on people that way.
There was a knock at the door and Aeris turned away from her Cloud-viewing to set the popcorn down and go answer the door.
"I heard what happened." Darius said as soon as the door opened, "He's here isn't he? In your house."
Aeris blinked, "Who…?"
"You know who."
"Sephiroth?"
Darius nodded, "Why did you go and do something so stupid?" he held his hand to his head. "I knew you were naïve but this reaches a whole new level…"
Aeris furrowed her eyebrows, "People change, Darius."
"Not people like him. People like him can never change their ways. It was a mistake to let him live here. I just hope you don't have to find it out the hard way."
Aeris was silent as she bit the inside of her mouth not liking it when people spoke badly of others, "You are no better then him." She shook her head, "Could you please leave?"
"Aeris?" He asked taken aback.
"I'll see you tomorrow once you calm down and see how wrong you are." She said looking at him sadly.
"…Goodbye then, for now. I only hope you're right." Darius said before turning and walking away.
Aeris closed the door behind him, she made her way back to the couch and continued watching TV. She smiled slightly…Marlene was growing up nicely. Tifa and Cloud were becoming closer… shivers ran up and down her spine and she tried to compose her self. They deserved that bit of happiness…
~On T.V.~
"Cloud? Barret just told me something I thought you might like to hear."
Cloud turned to Tifa, his blue eyes gazing into hers, a slight smile playing at the edges of his lips, "And what would that be?" It had done a close-up on him; his eyes...
"Marlene got her first boyfriend."
Cloud's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened, "You're joking?"
Tifa shook her head.
"Come on! She's only…what? Six? Seven?"
"Nine, Cloud. Don't you keep track of the birthdays?" Tifa laughed.
Cloud smiled, "Even so…she's way too young to have a boyfriend!"
"Oh…if only Aeris were here…then I would have someone to share the joy with…" Tifa sighed sadly then abruptly looked up at Cloud, "Oh…I'm sorry Cloud! I forgot…"
"…It's … fine."
~Promised Land~
Aeris turned off the television, "…I should go check on Sephiroth now…" Cloud's life was becoming too much like a soap opera.
She ran up the stairs skipping a few at a time. Once she reached the top she turned left and walked inside not completely surprised to see him sitting up in bed.
He turned before she even set foot into the room, "Where's Masamune?"
Aeris blinked and leaned against the closet door tilting her head to the side acting innocently curious, "Masamune?" she smiled and clapped 'enthusiastically', "Oh! The sword you stabbed me with!"
No reaction. Not even a wince, no sign of remorse.
"I don't know where it is. The council took it away from you is what I'm guessing, unless it was destroyed by Cloud when you died."
There we go! A glare. At least I know he's paying attention to what I'm saying. Aeris sighed, "Look Sephiroth. I don't want to start off on the wrong foot just because you killed me…and then tried to kill me again. But, forget about that. The point is, I want you to know that I forgive you."
"You think by saying that me opinion of you will go up?" he asked.
Aeris rose an eyebrow, "Well…" okay, so she hadn't been expecting that answer, "You should be nicer! I'm letting you stay here."
"Not by my choice."
"Stop being such a meanie."
"I could kill you right now if I wanted to."
"Why haven't you then?"
Silence.
Hah! I won the psychological war! Aeris thought as she bit her lip to hide her triumphant smile.
"Why would you want your murderer living with you?" he asked suddenly.
Aeris blinked, "Well…because you were under Jenova's influence and-"
"Not the whole time." He muttered darkly.
Alright then. So once again that hadn't been the response she had hoped for or expected.
"…So if you had the chance you would kill me again?"
Alright, not the happiest of subjects but he was talking.
"After killing all the others here? Of course."
"Why are you such a … a… sadistic person, Sephiroth?" Aeris asked folding her arms across her chest and looking at Sephiroth a stubborn look crossing her features, "Why can't you just enjoy life? And warm up to the fact that you're not some killing machine anymore- you're more normal then you ever have been before. Why can't you just except it?"
"Because then I'd end up like you."
Ouch.
I've heard of the 'truth' hurting but this is just cruel… "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sephiroth only smirked, his cold sea green mako eyes slowly traveling up her face to meet her emerald-colored eyes. "Whatever you want it to mean, Princess Perfect."
Aeris blinked, unbelievingly, "Y-You…That's just cruel."
And he actually had the nerve to laugh. To laugh!
Aeris glared at him, much like a five year old would glare at her father before throwing a fit because he wouldn't buy her the newest Barbie, and pouted slightly, "I'll be downstairs! Call me if you need. Anything.!" She clenched her hands into fists as she stormed out of the room.
His mocking laughter echoed in her mind long after it had become silent.
She could only take so much!
~*~*~*~*~
END CHAPTER TWO
Okay…so they don't get along too well…heehee. Everything is going according to plans! So…here's the shout-out list I promised.
theyreallyloveme: *'enthusiastic cheer* No, he's not like Sephy. Guess you didn't read all of the chapter- or just didn't pay close attention. *clears throat and quotes* "because it wasn't Cloud who he reminded her so much of...It was Zack…" You see? How could someone nice remind her of Sephy? ^^ well, here's the update…though I'm sad to say it probably wasn't as consistent as my first chapter- second chapter never is, for me *sob* I hope you approve of my characterizations (big word, lol) of the characters…
Bluebomber: My second review! *Woo*, I'm on a roll, lol. Cool, have anything to bitch about in this chapter though?
Clownsareevil & Darkshadowheartless: First off, love your penname thing. Yes…clowns are evil…oh, and thanks for your encouraging review.
Lovely Lucrecia: Cool. My fic looks promising. *pause* Guess that means I can't slack off on updates then, huh?
Diana: Well…I hope this was soon enough. And if not…well, too bad.
Morbid Knight: Well here's chapter two ^_^ ehehe… yeah, I'm making Sephy evil but…they'll get together ^^ with a lot of obstacles in their way of course!
Anyway, thanks for all your reviews- if you couldn't figure it out bold is for signed reviews and underlined is for anonymous. So I'm copying Vale's layout for the shout-out list.
Go ahead, try and sue me.
You'll have to catch me first!
*long pause*
Wait! Time out! First I have to tell you what's in store for you in the next chapter… *suspenseful music* Are you ready? If not, you should be!
The mission (Chapter title: Enter the Objective). Yeah, I could have just said the chapter title was "Enter the Mission" … but I didn't so deal with it.