Tifa looked on from the view-port window with a muffled sigh as she watched Cloud slowly make his way towards the tiny village. They had landed just outside the forest, but it was still daylight. Besides, Cloud would be able to handle any monster than crossed paths with him.

Perhaps the thing that troubled her most was the painfully visible sight of his Buster Sword hanging in its sheath. It was the only time she could recall him having worn it since she'd come into contact with him again. Whatever he was going to do with it mattered very little; it was simply that he was planning to do use it somehow that unnerved her so.

"You think he'll be all right?" Cid murmured from his captain's chair some distance away.

Tifa pressed a hand against the glass and outlined Cloud's disappearing figure with her finer. "I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"You know that ain't what I meant."

Tifa could only smile at Cid's reply. "You mean where is he going, and when is he coming back?"

"Yeah."

"Who knows?" Tifa shrugged. "I'm positive he'll be back, though."

"What makes you think that?" Cid flashed a questioning glance in her direction before looking back at the control panel.

"Cause he made me a promise," Tifa said confidently. Her speaking those words had the twofold purpose of answering Cid's question, as well as quieting any of her own doubts. "And Cloud keeps his promises."

"You think so?"

"Cid!" Tifa barked. "We have to believe in him, just like we did two years ago! Everything turned out all right then, didn't it?"

Cid let out a slight chuckle. "Y'know, the more I think about it, I can't help but wonder..."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, Cid?"

Cid inhaled on his cigarette sharply before responding. "We put everything on the line, Tifa- you, me, n' everyone else who was on this ship. Guess it wasn't good enough, though, cause the fuckin' planet's started killing people off all on her own!"

"Don't let that get to you!" Tifa pleaded. "There's gotta be an answer! There's just gotta be!"

"Hmph," Cid snorted. "Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't done anything at all. If we're all gonna die, anyway, then what's the point?"

In an instant, Tifa closed the distance that was between her and the captain and, with a slight growl, backhanded him across the face hard enough to leave a print.

"How dare you say that!" she spat. "What about Aeris?! Huh? She thought that saving the planet was worth dying for! She sacrificed herself for us, and now you just wanna pass it off as nothing?!

I'm sick and tired of this!" she fumed as she took her place back at the window. Cid merely stared at her in shocked silence. "People all around me are beginning to lose hope...to give up, and I can't stand it! What if we hadn't done anything back then, Cid?" she asked with a shaking voice. "We would all be dead and Sephiroth would be this planet's ruler. But we didn't give up! We acted, and now we're alive! We're all still alive, Cid!" she shouted. "That's why I'm never going to give up! I didn't do it before, and I'm not about to start now! As long as we're alive, I believe we can find the answers we need..."

"Tifa, I, uh-..." Cid stammered as he scratched the back of his head, nervously. "I'm sorry, all right? I shouldn't have said that."

"It's not your fault," Tifa said without looking at him. "To tell you the truth...when I think of all the hopelessness right now, I can't help but feel despondent like you. The only thing...the only person that gives me the strength to keep fighting is Cloud. Without him," she looked up with tears in her eyes, "I wouldn't have this strength. Cid, I don't want him to die..."

"He won't!" Cid assured her. "Remember, he promised you, right? He'll come back for sure!"

Tifa glanced over at him and smiled. "Thanks," she sniffed as she rubbed her eyes with her hand. "Oh, and...sorry about hitting you..." she laughed nervously.

Cid waved her concerns away. "Don't worry about it," he joked, "Shera's given me a lot worse than this."

"Speaking of Shera," Tifa commented, "how long until we reach Rocket Town?"

"Bout an hour or so, I guess," Cid replied after having glanced at the timer on the screen. "Why?"

"No reason," came her reply. "I was just curious. But..."

"But what?"

"After we pick up Marlene...what then?"

"Dunno," Cid shrugged. "Barret didn't say where to take her, so I guess she can stay with us."

"I see. Then...after we pick her up, would you mind doing me a-"

"Where to?" Cid interrupted with an exasperated look on his face. "I swear to god, I'm not a damn taxi service, but I'll start chargin' you guys like one if you keep this up!"

"Just a little side trip to Wutai," Tifa pleaded. "Then I'll leave you alone, I promise!"

"Wutai?" Cid repeated with a puzzled look. "Why the hell you wanna go there? Not to visit that brat, Yuffie?"

"Hey, come on, she's not that bad! Besides," Tifa added, "she's a lot different, now."

"Yeah, but...why do you wanna see her?"

"Cause I've been hanging around men too long," came her swift reply.

"Is...that a bad thing?" Cid queried.

"It is if you're a woman."

FFVII

This place...this magical forest that danced through his memories and during his dreams- dreams that always became nightmares- it still held an unwavering command over his emotions. It was here that so many things had been set into motion; things that he would sacrifice anything for in order to forget.

This tree...was the one that he had stood beside when Aeris told him she was going far away. That bush was the place where He came out soon after Aeris had gone. It was the black shadow, a specter of the past that haunted him even to this day. Cloud would, now and forever, belong to Him.

With a determined but steady pace, Cloud slowly made his way through the forest. Ignore the trailing lights that tried to lure you off the path...stay focused on the end in order to make it through...what had happened to travelers unlucky enough to have followed their alluring colors?

The trees abruptly parted, revealing two, towering walls of rock on either side. It was an enormous valley that ran beneath the two peaks of this god-forsaken wasteland. An iridescent glow seemed to shimmer from within the rocks as he proceeded further into the canyon. Their pale blue light did little to divert his attention from his main goal, which was the Forgotten Capitol.

There, the place to where his mind continually wandered, was the city that started him on his journey. Had it been two years? Or four or ten? And did it really matter? This sacred, yet at the same time somehow evil place was where he would meet with Kether.

And now, even as he cleared the final ridge, he could see the outskirts of the city.

The overwhelming sense of nostalgia, grief, and anxiety cause him to stagger, and he reached out a hand to steady himself against a small boulder.

"Here I am," Cloud breathed into the silence of the area. The tranquil houses, though they were in ruins, had remained untouched by decay these past years. The water flowed through the small creeks and rivers, but no sound came from them. That, and the rustling of leaves in the wind was all absent from this place. It was almost as if time did not exist here.

After his dizziness had passed, Cloud began walking down the path towards the entrance of the city.

He had never been here alone before, and the silence began to affect his senses. With nothing or no one to tell him otherwise, Cloud could almost believe that he was the only being in existence- a god that walked among the ruins of a long forgotten race of peoples.

"Kether!" Cloud cried out in an attempt to silence the musings of his mind. "Where are you?"

"I am here," came the man's steady voice as he suddenly appeared next to a house as Cloud was passing by. "I must thank you for agreeing to meet me here. I'm sure you must agree that a noisy ship is hardly the place for a conversation."

"I suppose," Cloud replied half-heartedly as he made his way to where Kether was standing. "But why here? Why this place?"

Kether smiled and looked around at the scenery. "This place holds many powerful memories for you, does it not?"

"Yes."

"Then does it not please you to meet here?"

"No," Cloud replied firmly. "The memories I have of this place are both unwelcome and unsettling."

"I see," Kether rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "Shall we go for a walk, then?"

Cloud nodded as he blindly followed a half step behind Kether. The man began to amble around the deserted town with no particular destination in mind.

"You came with the intention of asking me a question, did you not?"

"Yes," Cloud spoke up. "You said something on the ship...something I don't understand. You told me that you and I both come from the same place."

"That is true," Kether admitted.

"But I never had a brother growing up, and I know that my mother never remarried before she was killed, so how can that be?"

Kether smiled, knowingly. "You will know in time, but that is not something you should know right now."

"Will you tell me before you kill me?"

Kether glanced over with a perturbed look on his face. "You don't mean to imply that it is your intent to die by my hand?"

"Fine, then," Cloud shrugged. "Will you tell me before I kill you?"

"Perhaps," Kether smiled. "But that is not the only question you have for me, is it?"

"No," Cloud answered. He looked up at the sky and thought back to the time when he had first met this man. It hadn't been too long ago, and yet he already seemed so...familiar. "When we first met, you said that you would do what I could not. That you would save this planet by ushering in the new evolution of mankind."

"Did I, now?" Kether laughed.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you did," Cloud replied, somewhat put off by Kether's behavior. "What did you mean by that? How exactly will you succeed where I supposedly failed?"

"In order to understand that," Kether began slowly, "it is first necessary for you to understand something else, first: namely, that for human beings, death is merely a transition that leads us into our next existence."

"You mean the lifestream?" Cloud posed.

"Yes," Kether nodded. "You certainly have good insight, Cloud. Anyway, you were there, weren't you? Do you remember what it felt like?"

Cloud struggled to remember anything from those days, for they had all seemed such a blur. He remembered...that he was in the Great Glacier...but after that, everything was dark. There was, however, a faint impression that sprouted from the time just before he felt Tifa's presence calling to him.

"I felt...warm," Cloud replied slowly.

"And do you know why?"

Cloud merely shook his head. "But I felt something else, as well...I can't...remember..."

"The planet gives birth to us all," Kether continued. "To return to the planet is to return to the mother's womb- that place of unimaginable warmth and love; the same love that everyone desperately tries to find while they are still yet living. You, yourself, have searched for that love. I can feel it. Yet the only one who can give it is the planet; therefore, all of our struggles to find love in this life are in vain."

"Surely you don't mean..."

"Yes," Kether nodded. "I will bring everyone back to the lifestream, where they will feel the love and joy of the planet."

"Then you intend to kill them," Cloud murmured.

"Kill?" Kether raised an eyebrow. "Tell me this, Cloud: you can destroy the flesh, but anything that is of the spirit remains. Am I truly killing if I am merely returning those longing soles to the one thing that can provide them with comfort? Besides, you make is sound as though I would travel the world slashing people with my sword."

"But shouldn't that be a person's choice that they make on their own?" Cloud countered.

"Would you go against the one who loves you?" Kether replied swiftly. "The planet has already given us her answer. To go against her is to go against the will of the one who is responsible for giving you life in the first place."

"You mean geo-stigma?"

"Exactly," Kether nodded. "The planet is calling for us to return to her. Within her, we will find all of the happiness and love we could ever want!"

"But there's something more...something that drives you to do what you do, Kether," Cloud said softly. "Someone must have told you all of this, and I want to know who."

"Would it make any difference?"

"For me, it would," Cloud answered.

"But you already have an idea?"

"I want to hear it from your own mouth," Cloud told him firmly.

At this, Kether let out a slight chuckle. "You really do want to know, don't you? It was he who helped me when I was lost. It was his guiding hand that brought me to where I am today. From now until the end of time, I serve and will continue to serve the one who loves me, and the one whom I love...the man named Sephiroth."

FFVII

"Miss Tifa!" Marlene shouted excitedly as she leapt up from her position on the floor and ran to embrace the woman.

"Hey there, sport!" Tifa smiled brightly. "Did you behave yourself?"

"Of course!" Marlene grinned.

"Hey, Shera!" Cid bellowed as he stormed in through the front door.

"Hello, Mr. Cid!"

"Oh, hey kid. Shera!" he shouted all the louder.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming!" came her muffled reply.

"Where the hell are you?"

A small panel on the floor shifted slightly and began moving on its hinges. Shera emerged from within with a disgruntled look on her face. Her hair was somewhat matted, and her face was covered with what appeared to be soot.

"What in the world were you doing down there?" Tifa cried as she covered her mouth with her hands in a vain attempt to hide her smile.

"Just fixin' stuff," Shera laughed. She turned her attention to the impatient captain and said, "You'll be happy to know that I fixed the rotary blade on the Tiny Bronco."

"Oh," Cid replied simply. "Uh...thanks? I guess..."

"And the left engine," Shera continued, "and I went ahead and replaced the left dorsal fin, too, cause it was lookin' kinda dilapidated."

"Oh, so we can use big words now, huh?" Cid teased before he wandered into the kitchen.

"Um, you may not wanna go in there!" Shera cautioned. "It's kind of a mess!"

"OH MY GOD! What the fuck happened to my FRIDGE!? Where's all the goddamned food?!" came a horrified cry.

"O-kay, time to go now, Marlene," Tifa said as she covered the girl's ears with her palms. "Why don't you go play outside?"

"Cid, I took the coolant out of the fridge and put it into the engine," Shera explained calmly. "It was the only way to get it to work."

"Why the hell didn't you just buy some coolant!?"

"...because you took all of our account cards," came her silly reply.

"W-What the hell kinda answer is that?" Cid cried obstinately. "You have cash! I know you do, because I gave you some before I left!"

"Well, no, y'see I had to use all of that to pay for the party."

By now, Cid's eyes were beginning to bulge, and yet he somehow managed to get his voice under control. "What...party?"

"Oh, it was the sweetest thing!" Shera said gleefully. "Marlene was getting lonely, so I invited all the kids over for a party! Oh, but don't worry! We cleaned up...most of it!"

"Then what have you been eating all this time?"

"Some people came last Monday wearing funny clothes. They said they were from some church, but I don't remember there ever being one in this town...anyway, they gave us some canned peas and corn!"

"Oh, god," Cid groaned.

Tifa burst out laughing at the duo's predicament. Despite a vicious stare from Cid and a sheepish glance from Shera, she was unable to keep it under control.

"Fine, then," Cid replied over Tifa's howling, "here's some gil- go out and buy us some real food. And you might as well get some coolant while you're out, too. I'll be damned if I'm gonna shit peas and corn tonight."

Tifa's guffawing grew impossibly louder and more uproarious.

"I'll do just that!" Shera said excitedly. Snatching the card from his hand, she swiftly exited the home.

"And what the hell is your problem?" Cid queried irritably as he pulled out a much-needed cigarette.

"I-It's just so funny the way you two act when you're together. Hoo-boy, that was a good laugh," she whimpered as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Feeling better?"

"Mmmaybe," she teased. "No, really, I am!" she said defensively when Cid glared at her. "I wouldn't be upset, though. After all, it looks like they had a lot of fun while we were gone."

"Yeah, I guess," Cid reluctantly agreed.

"What? You jealous?"

"Maybe. After all, I almost got killed...what? Three times since I left with you?"

"Just like old times."

"Ah, don't start," Cid complained. "I'm gonna go re-fuel the ship. It's probably better if we don't stay here too long, y'know. We'll let Marlene say her good-bye's, but then it's off to Wutai."

"I understand," Tifa nodded. "The sooner we get there, the better, in my opinion."

"Then it's settled," Cid nodded.

FFVII

"Sephiroth..." Cloud repeated slowly. It shouldn't have come as any big surprise, yet something in the pit of his stomach turned.

"Yes. When I first came to this world, I didn't know who or what I was. I did not even know where it was I had come from. Looking back, it's hard to say what would have killed me first: starvation or the bone chilling cold.

But he came to me and taught me how to live; how to eat and dress, and how to take care of myself. Without him, I would have died a long time ago."

Cloud could only shake his head in frustration. That didn't sound like anything the Sephiroth he knew would do! Surely, He must have some ulterior motive?

"You find it hard to believe, no?" Kether chuckled. "After I was filled with his knowledge, I was left with a very vivid impression of you. It was almost as if he was...afraid of you; however, he also respected you."

"That's impossible!" Cloud shouted through clenched teeth. "With his dying breath he swore revenge against me! The thought of my death was the only thing on his mind!"

"Are you so certain? His impressions are my impressions."

"Then you've been lied to!" Cloud snorted. "Sephiroth was an insane psychopath! He burned my village to the ground and slaughtered the people- my family! He was hell bent on destroying the planet for His own selfish gains!"

The words had barely escaped his lips when Kether was standing beside Cloud with Orchrist pressed dangerously against his throat. The cold fire that burned in Kether's eyes told Cloud that he was perilously close to losing his life.

"Don't," Kether spoke firmly, emphatically, "you ever talk about him that way again. I don't know what you have against him, but I will not have you tarnish his good name with such filth!"

Cloud closed his eyes and mentally shouted in agony. Once again, Sephiroth was bending someone to His will. So pitiful...like looking into a mirror, Cloud saw a reflection of himself- the part of him that wanted to believe in the good of everyone...the part that had died in him that night in the Shinra mansion as the first injections were made into his body.

But what of Sephiroth? What memories had He left inside of Kether? More importantly, what memories had been left out?

"I'll let it pass for now," Kether concluded as he reluctantly withdrew his sword and put it back into its sheath. "But only because you have no chance of defeating me in your current state."

Cloud didn't even hear the words being spoken to him. All he could think of was his renewed hatred of the man who had taken everything from him.

"What about...Aeris?" Cloud asked quietly.

"And who is that?"

Cloud let out a heavy inward sigh. So Sephiroth truly had selected certain memories to be omitted. "She was...a very dear friend," he whispered.

Eyeing a small patch of dry grass, Cloud weakly hobbled over to it and sat down.

"What happened to her?" Kether inquired politely.

"She was killed by...I mean she was killed trying to save the planet," Cloud corrected himself. He knew now that it wouldn't do him any good to point the accusing finger at the one responsible.

"You'd think I would have heard of someone so important," Kether replied thoughtfully. "What was her name again?"

"Aeris..."

Kether nodded slightly. "Aeris, hm? That name...somehow seems familiar."

"I've never met another woman like her," Cloud admitted. "And to think that I bumped into her when she was a flower girl in Midgar..."

"Flower...girl?" Kether faltered.

"Yeah," Cloud affirmed. "She sold flowers in Midgar." Kether's left eye seemed to twitch slightly, but Cloud paid it no mind and continued speaking. "Aeris was probably the only one in all of Midgar to sell them, because she raised them herself in an abandoned-"

"Church." Kether interrupted. A horrified look suddenly spread across his face.

"That's right," Cloud replied with a curious stare. "How do you know about that?"

Kether ignored Cloud's question. "W..What the..." he stammered as he gripped his head in his hands. Panting heavily, he fell to his knees and groaned as he pressed his forehead against the ground.

"Kether?" Cloud asked cautiously. It looked as though the man was in extreme pain.

"Why?" he gasped suddenly. "What is the meaning of this!? Her face! I can see her face in my mind! The flower girl from Midgar!"

A terrible cry escaped his lips that penetrated the silence of the Forgotten Capitol and reverberated off of the canyon walls. The sound was so intense that Cloud was obliged to cover his ears with his hands until it abruptly ceased.

Not a word was spoken for a long moment. Kether merely clutched his head in agony as Cloud looked on.

Soon, however, Kether's breathing became calm, and he slowly stood up and looked at Cloud.

"The time has come," he said at last. "It is time for the final battle."

"I understand," Cloud nodded. He reached for his sword, but Kether held up a hand for him to stop.

"You are not yet ready," Kether informed him. "I know you may not realize this, but you are...incomplete. Before the battle can begin, you must collect the pieces of yourself that you have lost. Find them in your heart and mind, and unite them into your being. Only then will you be able to face me."

Cloud's face became one of utter bewilderment. "I don't have a clue as to hat you just said."

"You are not all that you could become. The absence of your personas has caused you to become unstable, and that, in turn, limits your potential."

"My...personas?"

Kether motioned for Cloud to follow him.

Together they entered one of the homes and made their way to the central living area.

"This place," Cloud said quietly.

"This is the place where your memories are the strongest," Kether said as he pointed to the staircase leading down into the darkness. "It is here where we will collect all that you have lost."

Although hesitant at first, Cloud could only follow as Kether began walking down the flight of stairs.

The all too familiar sights and sounds of this underground cavern were extremely unpleasant, but he tried to push them aside. It wouldn't do to come this far, only to return with nothing.

Down, down the seemingly eternal flight of stairs that coalesced into a single, rocky island that jutted out from the water that rippled below. Here, their very footsteps echoed vociferously around the enormous antechamber.

"Come," Kether motioned to Cloud from his position on the middle island. "Let us, once again, ride the waves of your memories."

FFVII

"He is beginning to remember."

"Hmph. It is of no consequence. No matter what happens, there is absolutely no way Kether will disobey my orders."

"But what if Cloud convinces him otherwise? What will you do then?"

"I will merely find another human child. This world is full of their kind, and each one longs to be given a purpose in their life."

"As cold as ever, I see."

"I know you may already realize this, but Cloud has no chance of winning. No matter who wins, when their battle is over, he will be dead..."

"..."

"Now it's my turn to ask you: what then? What will you do if Cloud dies?"

"H-He won't die! I'm sure he'll be able to think of something."

"Heh...haha! I can see it in your eyes! You're truly afraid! Why spend so much time fawning over that pathetic excuse for a human being?"

"He's not pathetic! He is what he is because of you and your kind's meddling! And despite that, he's managed to overcome his misgivings about himself and move on towards the future, and that's more than you'll ever be able to do! In my mind, he's ten times the man you could ever be!"

"How quaint. I'm sure he'd love to hear those words from you in his afterlife."

"He won't die. I won't allow it."

"But you want to see him, don't you?"

"Of course, but I don't want him to die, either!"

"But wouldn't it be romantic? The hero dies a dog's death, but is reunited with his lover in the ever after?"

"He doesn't love me like that! We both share a bond that goes much deeper."

"Deeper than love? Does such a thing even exist?"

"It does. But you will never know what it is, because you don't know what it means to live for someone else. You've only lived for yourself, and because of that, you died a death even worse than the one you foresee for Cloud: one where no one mourns your passing; a death that brings jubilation to the entire world and its peoples."

"We'll just see whose death is more reprehensible! This play is far from over!"

FFVII

"Just close your eyes," Kether instructed calmly. "This place is tied to your memories. When you are ready, say the word and we'll begin."

Cloud did as he was told. He wasn't exactly sure what Kether meant by his words, but there was a conviction there that belied any sort of hostility. A moment of silence passed between them before Cloud slowly opened his eyes and nodded. "I'm ready," he said firmly.

Kether stepped in front of Cloud and covered his eyes a gloved hand and began chanting a strange mantra. Before Cloud had a chance to even begin to wonder what was being said, there was what seemed to be an enormous explosion in his brain, accompanied by a mind-numbing flash of white.

Letting out a startled gasp, he pushed Kether's hand away, only to find that he had disappeared. Impossibly, the scenery had changed, as well. Instead of being deep in the underground caverns of the Forgotten Capitol, Cloud found himself standing in the laboratory of the Shinra mansion.

"Kether!" Cloud shouted loudly as he whirled around to try and find where he may be hiding. "What the hell did you do?! Why am I back here again?"

"I didn't do anything," Kether's voice echoed in Cloud's mind. "I merely released your consciousness, and this is where you came to first."

"Where are you?"

Kether laughed softly under his breath. "These are your memories, Cloud. I have no form here- merely the voice you've given me in your mind."

"Then what the hell are we doing here?" Cloud demanded. Coming here never ceased to give him a gut wrenching anxiousness.

"This is where one of your personas resides. You should be able to find it if you look around long enough."

Cursing softly, Cloud began to examine the room a bit more thoroughly. For the most part, it seemed to be abandoned. Oddly enough, it seemed that someone had cleaned up, for the books had been meticulously returned to their places on the bookshelf. Beakers that had once lain in shattered ruins on the floor were sitting on a polished table- their colored contents bubbling softly inside.

"It can't be..." Cloud breathed as his heart began pounding in his chest.

Turning around slowly, he stumbled backwards when he saw that, on the table where there had previously been nothing, his motionless body now lay. Attendants were busying themselves by monitoring his condition, and one in particular was preparing a syringe with a pale green liquid inside.

"We have returned to the place where it all began," Kether commented evenly. "Now watch, and see what happens."

Horrified, Cloud looked on as the man, a much younger and more vibrant Hojo, injected his still form with the cells of Jenova. He watched as his own body flinched as the needle punctured his skin, and how he convulsed once the liquid had been injected.

Here, there was an almost imperceptibly loud scream, followed by agonizing groans. A translucent figure manifested itself out of Cloud's comatose body and seemed to hover nearby. However, once it saw Cloud's waking form, it let out a heavy sigh.

The image of the laboratory faded and was replaced with a deep, almost tangible darkness that stretched on into forever.

"You've finally come," it said quietly. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you."

Cloud looked on suspiciously. "You," he said softly. "I know you..."

"As well you should," the figure replied. "You stabbed me with your sword when you first saw me."

Immediately, Cloud thought back to that day when Tifa had mindlessly wandered into the mansion, alone. That sickeningly horrid creature that had been studying her- was the figure floating before him, now, the same thing? But it didn't look anything like it!

"I was born from your unwillingness to accept your solidarity," the figure spoke softly. "As you lay there, on that table, you called out, over and over, for Tifa or someone- even anyone, to come and save you. But no one came. Even now, I feel the grief that welled up within you at that moment."

"Stop it!" Cloud shouted. "You can't be a part of me! You're nothing but a sick, twisted monster!"

"The inability to accept me as a part of you is what caused me to become misshapen and deformed. Your twisted view of yourself in turn twisted the perception with which you witnessed me."

"That can't be!" Cloud shouted all the more loudly. "I've moved on! I'm not the same person I was back then!"

"You are not," the figure countered. "You are who you are because you had the combined strength of your friends to help you. A true man is someone who is willing to walk his path even without the aid of his friends. At least, that is what you keep trying to tell yourself."

"N-no!" Cloud stammered as he stumbled backwards. His footing became uneven, and he fell backwards so that he was now looking up and the shadow. "You! You're the part of me that I hate the most! The part of me that hates to be alone! I don't need anyone to help me through my life!"

"Until you accept the fact that you are not alone, you cannot move on," came the even reply, "and I will be forced to wander in this place for eternity."

"Shut up!" Cloud screamed. Reaching for his sword, he leapt to his feet and swung wildly at the creature, but there was no physical contact to be made.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time?" the figure spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You cannot attack a part of yourself without suffering the consequences."

"Then we'll just die together!" Cloud spat.

"Cloud!" came a disapproving voice.

Spinning around, Cloud stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Aeris standing there shaking her head.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud demanded. "Kether!"

"He cannot hear you in this place," Aeris told him. "This area is the innermost part of your mind- the part that no one may intrude upon. Until you leave from here, he will not be able to communicate with you."

"Then why are you here?!"
"Because you called me!" Aeris smiled.

Cloud ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. "I did no such thing!"

"You're really cute, you know that?" she teased and she tapped his nose with her finger. "You called me here, and then you won't even admit it! Must be a guy thing."

"No, it's a go-away-and-leave-me-alone thing! I didn't call you here!"

"You did!" Aeris tapped her foot impatiently. "You subconsciously did, because you're feeling scared, and you needed someone to be with you!"

Cloud dropped his sword and sat down on the ground. "Why can't you all just leave me alone? I only came here so I could do this and then fight Kether."

Aeris took a sitting position next to him and pushed his shoulder, playfully. "You're such a whiner. Hey, do you remember what you said after I died?"

Cloud looked away with a scowl. "I don't remember much of anything from that time."

"That night, you asked everyone if they would come with you on your journey. You knew that you couldn't do it alone, and that you needed help. That, and you wanted their company."

"Well you had just died! Of course I would want someone to be around!" Cloud grumbled.

"So why can't you just admit it?"

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is!" Aeris smiled. Standing up, she pulled Cloud along with her and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Do you love Tifa?"

"W-What kind of stupid question is that?!" Cloud stammered as he blushed and looked away.

"Just a yes or no! You don't want to be without her, do you? You need her, don't you?"

Cloud didn't look at her, nor did he offer a reply.

"The two of you are the same," Aeris continued. "You both draw strength from each other, even if you don't realize it. That's why you need her. You can't imagine what life would be like without her."

"...no," Cloud murmured. "It's true, I...I want to be with her. But now..." he faltered and looked at his hands. "Aeris, I'm not sure...how much time I have left."

"That's not important," she told him. "Just make sure that you use what time is left to you wisely."

"I don't know if I can..."

"But you have your friends, don't you?" Aeris prodded.

Cloud opened his mouth, but didn't say anything at first. After a brief hesitation, though, he nodded and smiled slightly. "Yeah. I have my friends. And knowing that they're my friends will help me, I guess..."

Aeris nodded approvingly before the darkness faded, leaving him standing, once again, in the laboratory.

"So, you've finally come back," Kether remarked dryly. "Took you long enough."

Cloud didn't reply. Something was different...he felt more calm and at peace than he had in a long time.

"There is still another place to go to," Kether's voice told him. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "Take me there."

"Well, uh..." Kether chuckled slightly. "There's a problem with that."

Cloud raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. "And what might that be?"

"It seems," Kether replied slowly, "that this memory is not something I am able to travel to. Therefore, all I can do is point you in the right direction. When you are ready, return here."

"Okay," Cloud agreed. "Then show me the way."

Kether didn't even reply before Cloud felt himself being hurdled through the air at incredible speeds. Whether or not the movement was physical or mental mattered little, for any type of open air free falling was enough to turn his stomach.

Stopping suddenly, Cloud's first reaction was to rub his shoulders in an effort to warm them. Wherever he was, it was freezing cold!

When his eyes snapped back into focus, though, he recognized it immediately. Now he knew why Kether was unable to come here: there was no way Sephiroth would let him see this.

There, standing below him, was Hojo as he looked up at Sephiroth's body that was encased in a sarcophagus of ice.

Not a moment later, and seven familiar faces came running from the entrance towards where Hojo was standing. At first, Cloud couldn't tell what was being said, but soon his ears adjusted and he could make out everything perfectly.

"Hojo, please...give me a number..."

"Miserable failure!" came Hojo's instant rebuttal. "You're nothing but a failure! The biggest scientific mistake of my career!"

Even after all this time, Hojo's words hadn't lost their edge, and Cloud felt their familiar sting in his chest. He watched sadly as his old self's shoulders sagged. With those words, any shred of dignity and self worth that remained had been stripped from him. Having lost what little will power had remained, Cloud then succumbed to Sephiroth's call and returned to Him.

Once more, the image faded into an inescapable darkness, and Cloud found himself staring face to face with another ghostly apparition.

"You," it spoke coldly, "are a miserable person! You were so afraid of being rejected by others that when someone you barely even knew confronted you, you immediately succumbed to your insecurities!"

Cloud winced as if he'd been dealt physical a blow. "It's true," he admitted sadly. "I shouldn't have let him get to me, but...still!"

"Still, nothing! Even afterwards, you continued to live in your own little lie, hoping that the others would never find out about you! That they would never find out how much of a failure at life you are!"

Cloud was at a complete loss for words. Everything that was being told to him was true, and there was very little he could do about it. He'd just arrived, and already things had taken a turn for the worse.

"It may be true what you say," Aeris spoke up suddenly from behind him. "But everyone found out, anyway. They accepted him, and everyone moved on. Cloud no longer lives in his dream. You should do the same."

"If it wasn't for him, I would never even have been born! It's all his fault!"

Suddenly, Cloud looked up at the apparition and said firmly: "I'm sorry."

"You're w-what?!" it laughed loudly.

"I said I'm sorry," he repeated. "I know that I should have been stronger. Please believe me when I say that I never meant for it to get so out of hand, but isn't it good enough that I at least tried?"

"No!"

"Well, now you're just being stubborn," Aeris put her hands on her hips. "Isn't this a quandary, though? I have two guys here who are so afraid of being rejected that they're rejecting each other!"

"I'm not rejecting him! He's rejecting me!" both Cloud and the ghost spoke at the same time, even as they pointed accusing fingers at one another.

Aeris burst out laughing, much to the chagrin of the two males. She soon quieted down, however, and returned to the conversation at hand. "It seems to me," she said merrily, "that there's only one way around this."

"Oh? And what might that be?" the ghost asked sarcastically.

"Okay, you two, are you ready?"

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "What is it?"

"Okay," Aeris held out her hands dramatically. "Are you two ready? Oh- oh, gosh, this is gonna be soo good!"

"Just tell us already!" the vision blurted out impatiently. "God damn, is this what you had to put up with?"

"Kinda..." Cloud admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"All right, here goes...one, two, three..."

Both Cloud and the ghost crowded around Aeris and waited for her to give her reply. When she did so, it wasn't quite what either of them expected to hear.

"I accept you both!" she said joyfully.

"...?"

"I accept you both, with all of your little quirks and habits, and all of your shortcomings- everything! I accept you two for who you are, and I thank my lucky stars that I got to meet you...while I was alive, anyway."

Cloud and his mirror image exchanged quick glances.

"Well?" Aeris prodded. "How was that? Was it good enough for you?"

"Good enough for me," Cloud shrugged. "What about you?"

"Well..."

"Aw, come on!" Aeris begged. "Please? I'll be your friend forever!"

"All right, all right! Jeez, get over yourself!" the ghost all but shouted.

Aeris' short laughter quickly faded as Cloud felt his mind returning to his body in the underground antechamber.

"Well?" Kether asked after he gave Cloud a few moments to collect himself. "How do you feel?"

Blinking once or twice, Cloud examined his hands and arms slowly. "I feel more...alive," he admitted after a moment. "It's almost as if the power within me has been magnified nearly fifty times..."

"A man who is at peace with himself is more powerful than the fates, themselves," Kether agreed.

So saying, he closed his eyes and whispered his teleportation spell. A swirling mass of energy surrounded Cloud and himself, lifting and carrying them on an invisible plane before it deposited them on a large, grassy field.

"There is no reason to wait any longer," Kether spoke calmly. Looking around slowly, he then nodded approvingly. "An ideal place for the final battle, is it not?"

"Kether," Cloud interjected quickly. "Do we really have to do this? Are you and I truly so different that the only way to settle things is by fighting each other?"

Kether merely shook his head. "I'm afraid it must be so. I feel that I am losing myself in your shadow, and I must complete my task before I am completely eclipsed by you."

"What the hell does that mean?" Cloud blurted out loudly.

"I will see his dreams become a reality, if only to honor his memory," Kether answered simply.