AN: Mind trippage here. Beware. And yes, I'm being vague for a purpose. I want you to make your own conclusions, although some will be obvious more than others. Thanks again for all who have been reading. If you've been reading along and haven't reviewed yet, that's fine. Just leave me a review at the end of the story, just to let me know you read it. I'm curious to know who's been following this story, that's all.

Chapter 21 – Segno

She never could handle seeing him fall. Even in the old days, when it was merely an infatuation for her. Cloud was never supposed to fall, in her mind, he was invincible; he was strong and so fucking beautiful...

Even now, when she knew that he was no more invincible than she was. She wanted to believe that nothing would ever harm him, because she couldn't deal with him being harmed. It hurt, worse than any injury or harm that had ever come to her. But she wouldn't give up because he had fallen in battle. She would kill that monstrous bitch.

And now, she wouldn't have to do it alone.

"What happened?!" Tifa's slightly hysterical voice broke faintly through the thickening darkness. The sound of metallic boots and as well as the smell of gun smoke alerted her to Vincent's presence.

Thank Leviathan. Vincent came to his senses.

"Watch out! It's Jenova!" Yuffie replied, flinging her weapon at the creature, which had been still while it messed with their minds, and was now animated with a new hatred.

Or was it hatred?

She shook off her thoughts with another shot of Vincent's rifle. They were getting closer, and her adrenaline was coursing violently through her veins. Another throw of the shuriken, this time hitting something that pained the monster. It screeched its displeasure.

Damn, I missed this shit. Fighting and all that. And now my friends have come to help. If only Cloud were alright, then this would be a good time...

"...Yuffie?"

She heard the voice again, and was convinced that it wasn't in her head. It was hard to tell sometimes, but hearing the same thing twice was usually an indication that it was real. Or at least it could be real. Her instincts told her to check on Cloud.

He was standing right next to her, his otherworldly eyes glowing in the darkness.

Gawd you're beautiful.

She felt his hand on her arm, which held the shuriken she had just caught. With a light pressure he lowered it from its aggressive stance, taking away some of her defense in the process.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, staring down that glow that made her want to hold onto him. But she had survival instincts that told her something bad would happen if she let her guard down.

"Just trust me," he whispered, his gaze winning over her defiant one, "Close your eyes."

"What?!" she screeched, trying to pull away from him.

"Close your eyes," he said, more insistently. And for once she complied.

That last thing she could feel from her senses was the desperate pressing of his lips against hers. Then there was no smell, no taste, no sound...

Not even the beating of her own heart.

Meanwhile...

It was she who had followed Vincent, with his skill in tracking and his strange eyes. One swift chocobo had carried them here, the place she had needed to be. What all her senses had been screaming for her to do. She wanted to help them; she wanted to... atone, maybe. And what a cruel thing atonement really was.

We're too late. They're gone.

She stared down at the bodies of her friends, the shock keeping her body from moving, where she knelt beside them. Someone had told her that people look peaceful in death. But from the determinedly frightened expression left on Yuffie's young face, and the pained one on Cloud's... that person was wrong.

A gunshot. So the monster was still alive. She had to avenge them, once she had proof of their passing. Some little part of her mind was begging her to check their pulses. Some part of her didn't want to let go just yet.

Another shot. She looked up, and caught the fierce glow in Vincent's eyes. If Tiveph hadn't fought them, he would be transforming about now. He looked angry enough. Frightening, if she didn't know him. But even in this state, she didn't fear him...

Focus, Tifa. Check them quickly and go help him.

Her shaky hand met Yuffie's neck. For a couple of seemingly long moments, she held it there, unable to feel anything beyond the trembling of her fingers. She had resigned to go and check on Cloud, but then she felt it.

A heartbeat. Seems Yuffie hadn't given up yet.

Almost giddy, she placed her fingers on Cloud's neck, her hand steadying itself with the extra adrenaline in her body. For a couple of agonizing moments, she thought he might be gone...

But he didn't give up either.

So they were alive. She could have been happy with just that thought. But so was...

Jenova. Right, that thing was Jenova. Or a piece of her, at least.

She tightened her gloves, and hoped that running after children and Yuffie was training enough for what she needed to do. And she needed to kill Jenova. That damn alien just wouldn't die, it seemed...

I hope they wake up alright.

"Vincent! Cover me!" she shouted as she ran straight for Jenova, at full speed.

Her boot made a sickening squish as it came into contact with the creature. She held back her revulsion with her anger. For this made her angrier than Sephiroth, after all the times she had come into contact with him. For he was at least human. This... was simply cruelty.

Her fists were flying wildly in front of her, without any real direction, her heart beating so fast. It felt so good, fighting evil, defending her friends. She didn't have to worry about have glances or guilt or anything as she fought, just the euphoric strain of her muscles as they came into contact with all that opposed them. For she would defend them until her death.

And he will wait for me, although I'd rather live after this. I hope Cloud and Yuffie appreciate what I may be giving up...

She didn't notice it right away, how the creature didn't attack her outright. Or that Vincent was shouting something at her. All she could hear was the pounding of her blood in her ears, the sounds of a well planted kick or a powerful punch...

"Miss Tifa!" a tiny voice made its way to her ears. She knew that voice, and a part of her panicked.

Audrey?!

"Audrey, don't!" Vincent's strained voice broke through the silence her mind had created. She had detached herself from everyone, to defend, to fight, and she may have just put someone's life at stake...

"Audrey! Don't come any closer!" she shouted, turning as she delivered a kick. She could see the girl now, as she was running straight towards her, with Vincent covering her from behind. She had a strange glow about her, like the darkness was lighting itself...

"I have to!" the girl shouted back, "You can't leave us! Miss Tifa, don't do this!"

Vincent had caught up to the girl now, and he grabbed her from behind, lifting her off the ground. She wriggled in his arms, muttering something incomprehensible. Then the girl's eyes grew wide, and Tifa turned around to see what she was gaping at...

Audrey's whisper flooded all of her senses.

"Wake up."

She felt the most agonizing pain sear through her head and her world turned black.

Meanwhile, back with Yuffie...

"Am I dead?" she asked, and was surprised to discover she still had a voice. That also meant she still had her sense of hearing. And when she opened her eyes...

Sight.

She was no longer outside, in the darkness. In fact, this place was overly bright, as it hurt her eyes. If she still did have eyes. It was empty, and so white. Clean and pure and it hurt so much to look at it. The real world wasn't so clean. She had to be dead. The real world was dirty but fresh, and she could smell it. She couldn't smell hear. She had to be dead...

"No, you're not dead," a woman's voice spoke. Not the harsh perversion of a woman's voice she had expected, but the fresh girlish one of someone familiar...

"Aeris?" she asked, turning fully around. It seemed she had a little control over her perceptions. But this couldn't be her body, as she was deprived of some of her senses.

What a fucking mind trip.

"So you haven't forgotten me," the voice continued, the pink assaulting Yuffie's vision. If this were the real world, she would have blinked.

"Where am I?" Yuffie asked, putting her hands on her hips, though she could not feel it. She had given up on trying to understand how it all worked. She just assumed that something allowed her mannerisms to show through. Maybe it was a mental projection of herself. Maybe she was a ghost. Things like that were hard to tell.

"Cloud has invited you into his mind," what appeared to be Aeris replied, smiling for a moment before continuing, "I am all that is good in him."

Figures.

"Why's his mind so damn bright?" she asked annoyed, shielding her eyes with her hand. Aeris giggled.

"No time to explain," she finally said, a sobering expression passing through her endlessly green eyes, "You need to help him. To help him fight." Aeris bit her lip, and let her eyes turn toward her feet. Even though she wasn't really her, Yuffie felt a pang of guilt. Just seeing her image... how could she have even thought that she hated her? For she held onto her so long, with those little orbs of materia as a reminder. In some ways, she was worse than Cloud in that respect.

She held unto Aeris like she held onto innocence. Both had slid away from her.

So if she's the good in him, what does that make me?

"You still don't know, do you?" Aeris replied, seemingly reading her thoughts. Yuffie frowned, but lightened as Aeris gave her a knowing smile.

"What do I need to do? What am I fighting?" she asked, impatient to kill whatever it was she needed to. Aeris shook her head.

"You need to fight the evil inside them all," she whispered, a breathy feminine sound that made Yuffie almost want to cry, "For you have defeated the evil inside of you, even if you don't know it." Now it was Yuffie's turn to shake her head.

"What? If you're part of Cloud's mind..." she said thoughtfully, "how do you know all this?" Aeris smiled, a different one than Yuffie was used to. For it held a deep sadness, a sadness she saw in Cloud's face.

"Everyone has the answers to their own salvation," she replied, staring hard into Yuffie's eyes, "They just need a guide."

Alright... but what does that make me?

"You are his hope, Yuffie," she said, holding her chin up like a marbled statue, "You are his will to survive. Go now, for evil draws nearer, with a captive, no less." And with the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"...I'm sorry, Aeris," Yuffie whispered, after she was gone, "I don't think I ever forgave you for leaving us."

And she ran, she instinctively ran towards the evil she felt. For she could feel it now, a slimy foreign thing in this pure and sterile world.

You can't have him too, you alien freak.

Meanwhile, with Tifa...

Tifa woke in a world of darkness. She expected to feel hurt, but instead her senses were numb. The last time she had felt so cut off from reality...

No! I don't want to die yet!

She may have been in Limbo, but she knew that Limbo still held shadows of the real world. This was far too dark, she was far too alone. Maybe this was what Hell was supposed to be like, if it had ever existed. Dark, lonely, frightening place. Maybe this was what the Lifestream was like if you were dead.

And she wasn't ready to die yet. Oh, she wasn't ready to die.

You pathetic beings cling to life as if it were precious. Holding onto those bodies which only hinder you. Do you not see what the mind is capable of without its physical hindrances?

"W-what?" she replied, uncomfortable with the strange voice projected around her. It seemed to echo off of invisible walls and ceiling. There had to be a floor, she was standing on it... but she couldn't feel it. It was a strange world indeed.

A pinhole of violet light broke through the darkness, illuminating a figure both terrible and beautiful. A woman who resembled a person she'd only heard of from dreams.

"Lucrecia?" she whispered, the name leaving a bad taste in her mouth. The figure smiled.

So he's told you about me. Seems I haven't been forgotten after all.

"But all of this..." Tifa said quietly, staring at the woman disbelievingly, "...wasn't Jenova?" The woman shook her head, tousling the brown curls of her hair.

I am Jenova. Just as you are Jenova. And he is Jenova.

Tifa pursed her lips, and absently placed her hands on her hips.

I don't understand... isn't Jenova an alien? Something foreign? How can we be it?

Clearly you haven't been doing your reading. Your lack of intelligence makes me wonder for his sanity. Have you no sense for research? For discovery?

Tifa shook her head. She didn't understand how Vincent could have placed this woman on so high a pedestal, made her the object of perfection. But then again, she had done so with Cloud. And this woman was so magnetic, even as a spectre. She could see all her faults reflected in her green eyes, making her feel unworthy.

"Thou whilst refrain from taking the life of another
For that heinous crime of Eelsa to her brother
Brought the Messenger upon us, from the skies
And the hoard of other plagues, the lies

Trust not the woman, whose smile is sweet
Trust not your own hands, or feet
Your body betrays, your mind is unclear
Harden your heart and do not fear"

"What?" she whispered, after the words assaulted her mind. She didn't know if she had summoned them, or if Lucrecia had projected it into her mind. But it didn't matter; she never understood the words anyway. They were cold, inhuman projections of the world. Her wisdom was a warm and alive thing; nothing that science or magic could replicate. But something became very clear to her, like a child walking through the darkness.

It was Yuffie.

AN: Alright, before someone yells at me, I'd like to say this: No, I don't think Lucrecia is evil. Misguided maybe, but not evil. I needed something to represent a cold intelligence, and she fit the bill. Ok? And sorry if this seems a little short. I needed to get to the guys' perspective for the next bit. Hope I haven't confused you too much. Just remember... I'm a philosopher and a scientist. Messed up more than you would believe.

Oh, and Audrey is special. Very special. Not "save everybody and be cool" special, but special.

Theme Songs: Sora's Folktale Maaya Sakamoto (Escaflowne), Sweet Surrender Sarah McLachlan, and In the End Linkin Park