For the longest time, Katy couldn't get to sleep, even after Aerith and Tifa joined her. She stared up at the ceiling, chewing on her lower lip and trying her hardest not to burst into tears as she lay on the edge of her queen sized bed nearest the wall. Her room looked odd in the dark without her wall scrolls up. She'd left the Slayer's scroll up, but the two FF7 ones had been removed, rolled up, and put in her closet.

Carefully sliding out from beneath the covers, she got up, creeping along the small space of floor between her wall and bed where a locker shelf was set up as her night stand for her glasses and alarm clock. Taking her glasses with her, she crept across the squeaking floor, sweeping up a pair of pants while she was at it. They weren't hers, but it hardly mattered at the moment.

At the bottom of the stairs, she pulled the pants on and moved to the front door, carefully opening it and stepping out into the cool night air. Unfortunately there was no way to open any of her house's doors without making a lot of noise doing so. The front porch light came on from her movement and she continued out across the slug-slimed front walkway to the grass and around into the darkness of the side of the house.

The backyard was lit by the pale light of a half moon that had a halo from the wispy layer of clouds that covered the stars, it had yet to rain, but it had been overcast since their first day there. The air was damply chill though it had been pleasant during the day. Typical Alabama weather, never could tell what it would be like from one day to the next or if winter would really be cold or just a cooler version of summer up until January. The Chocobos didn't even stir as she made her way over to them and took a seat in the cold dewy grass next to her mount, leaning against his side and wrapping her arms around his feathery shoulders.

A moment more and her cat, Mauxi, who'd made herself rather scarce of late came padding over and Katy gathered her gray cat up, scratching under the feline's chin and in front of her ears until the cat settled down in Katy's lap and drooled happily. The silence of the night enveloped her- except for the cat's tree-frog-like purring, the chill of the air pulling shivers from her body, but she ignored the discomfort in favor of leaning against Beltoren and tucking her face against the bird's feathers. The first sob surprised her, but the ones that followed were let loose unmolested.

Abruptly, Mauxi got up and headed off, but Katy was used to the strange whims of her cat and didn't bother trying to keep her there. The reason for the cat's leaving became evident a moment later, though, when a heavy coat was settled over Katy's shoulders. Lifting her tear-streaked face from Beltoren's side, she looked back over her shoulder to find Sephiroth crouching in the grass nearby, glowing eyes gazing off to the side. "You should have at least put some shoes on," he admonished, still not meeting her eyes. He certainly hadn't followed his own advice, as his own feet were bare and loose hair fell like a cascade of moonlight down his bare back. If Katy hadn't had to untangle that mass several times already she'd have thought he never had a bad hair day.

Instead of answering, Katy put her face against Beltoren again, fingers smoothing his soft feathers. Silence stretched between them as Katy fought herself, the words she wanted to say locked behind her teeth, the fear of losing the one thing she'd wanted above everything else nearly being the thing to destroy it. The shift in the grass behind her forced at least one word from her lips- something- anything- to keep him from just leaving. "Seph..."

There was silence behind her and fearing she'd taken too long, she looked back over her shoulder. Relief uncoiled a portion of the knot in her throat as she found that he'd simply shifted to sit, his back towards her and hands on his Indian style knees. Letting go of Beltoren, Katy slid over to him instead; tucking herself against his chilled back, head against his shoulder, fingers caressing his hair.

"-I," Katy tried, having to force the words out. Why was it that she could usually speak without thinking, but when it came to what she really felt, she couldn't say anything. But if anyone had the right to know her heart, Sephiroth did. "I'm sorry," she tried, attempting to find some back way to get to what she really wanted to say. "I don't want to lose you," her voice dropped, choked by the fresh tears that streaked down her face. "You're everything to me, and, and I'm not perfect and I don't want to lose you."

He said nothing, breathing steady. "I was afraid that you would be upset... that you'd leave me... knowing that what I did was because I'm strange and... I am strange. A year ago, you were just something born from some guy in another country's imagination, made into data and projected onto a TV screen. But I still liked you. Even then. You weren't to blame for what happened- not fully anyway, at least I didn't think so."

Stopping herself before she could go off on a tangent, Katy fell silent, fingers still caressing Sephiroth's hair. He still hadn't moved or said anything. He was like a living rock. "So if...if you hate me..." she whispered softly, "it's alright... I'll still love you," her fingers curled around a lock of his hair, but she forced them to loosen and around the pain of a breaking heart, she moved to return to clinging to her Chocobo, body shaking with cold and her tears.

Before she could get far, though, strong arms wrapped around her, dragging her back and into his lap, coat and all. Face pressed against her hair as she tucked her head in the curve of his shoulder and neck, Sephiroth broke his silence and said softly, "I understand."

Lifting one arm, she wrapped it around his other shoulder, clinging to him as she burst into a fresh set of tears. Shifting his embrace, Sephiroth slid an arm under her knees and got to his feet, easily lifting her, padding through the cold wet grass back to the front door they'd both left open and with a bit of cooperation, they got inside and the front door closed and locked without having to put her down. Instead of returning to their rooms, Sephiroth went into the living room and sat on the longer of the two light gray couches, Katy still in his arms and crying softly.

"I'd like you to know me, Seph," Katy whispered softly, "Michow doesn't even know me that well." Sephiroth settled back against the arm of the couch, stretching his legs out along it, Katy wiggling a bit to get comfortable. "I have trouble saying what I really feel- or at least the full extent of my feelings. Minor stuff I can complain about, but... I'm afraid of getting hurt after I've given someone such a large piece of myself."

Kissing her forehead, Sephiroth heaved a soft sigh, "Sleep," he whispered in return. "So we don't wake anyone." Instead of speaking, Katy nodded slightly and settled down on his chest. Despite her warmth and the relief of having her back, it took Sephiroth a bit to fall asleep, but as he got into their dreamscape he found he was there before her. At least he didn't have to wait long.


A smile touched Aerith's lips as she paused on her way to the kitchen. She had a tendency to wake at daybreak, or shortly afterwards, and thus was she up before even Katy's parents. Looking towards the couch, she found Katy and Sephiroth asleep, the young woman curled up on top of her lover's chest, an arm looped around his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around her in turn. Moving into the kitchen, she proceeded to make oatmeal, which had been what she'd had for breakfast the last few days after the near disaster of attempting to make pancakes for everyone.

When she'd first come to this world, it had been a strange feeling of ... not belonging that had put her on edge, but with Katy's work with the Lifestream of this world, it had come to accept her and began to react more quickly when she tried to use magic. That was, of course, a good thing in Aerith's opinion, considering that the time was coming that they would need to move on. There were more monsters in the area every day and they'd gotten a general idea of Vincent Valentine's current position. Every time he used magic, the planet had reported it to Katy, though this little bit of cooperation had taken more than a bit of work to achieve, and maybe it could have been better, but it was better than nothing.

As she sat down at the table with her oatmeal, Aerith looked towards the couch once again. Katy was still fast asleep, but Sephiroth had awoken and was staring at her with an expression that made him look wide awake, but close contact with him had taught her that he was his most dangerous in the mornings. Sure, his eyes were open, but he was definitely not awake. In fact, he didn't even remember anything he did first thing in the morning, be it defending himself from attack or eating breakfast- he did it on autopilot.

When his instincts finally informed him that Aerith was not an enemy, Sephiroth yawned and closed his eyes again, settling back. Katy sighed in her sleep, shifting a bit as she did so. Shaking her head, Aerith continued eating her breakfast while she gazed blankly at the hutch that contained Katy's fancy dishes- called 'China'- that stood on the wall opposite from the kitchen, the potted vine plants on top trailing their tendrils across the floor.

Once finished with her breakfast, she rinsed out her bowl and the left the pot with the remainder of the oatmeal warm on the stove. Zack would probably be out in a bit and eat it- like he had taken to doing lately. Heading out into the backyard through the sliding glass door, Aerith went to feed the Chocobos, though they seemed to like the native plants in Katy's backyard as well, which was good, since they'd only been able to take what they could carry.

As she finished feeding the birds, she had a seat on the swinging bench built beneath a lattice facing the back door. It was painted a light green, the lattice nearly completely painted a watery white, but left unfinished in places, a pair of rosebushes growing rampant and flowerless up the sides and over the top. The back door opened again and Zack stepped out, carrying his bowl of oatmeal with him as he padded barefoot across the remnants of the seeds Katy's mother put out for her birds.

Taking a seat on the bench beside her, Zack gazed blankly ahead a moment before speaking, "I'm glad they made up. I wasn't looking forward to spending any length of time with Sephiroth when he's in that sort of mood. It's worse than before she came."

Giving a soft laugh, Aerith nodded. "Then again, they have dreams together, so they can't ever really get away."

Silence fell again as Zack concentrated on eating his breakfast. After a moment more, he added to the conversation, "Her dad's kind of scary sometimes. What with his cleaning his guns and always giving Sephiroth that... look. Makes me glad I don't have to meet your father. Though, I'd brave him if it meant that I could have you." Leaning over, he gave Aerith a kiss on the cheek.

Blushing, Aerith smiled down at her knees where her hands were clasped together. "I think he'd like you," she said softly and scooted closer to lean against his shoulder.

"It would be a plus, but even if he didn't I'd still put up with his threats of murder," Zack replied with a grin and took another bite of his oatmeal as the day got warmer. "This would be a rather nice place if the sun were out more often," he stated, changing the topic. "I don't see why Katy hates it so much."

Pausing before answering, Aerith replied, "I think it has something to do with her allergies. She's seemed sick ever since she got here. Then again, the land isn't very good in this area, it seems sort of sick as well." Her eyes turned upwards, looking at the thorny branches that grew above them. "These roses should be blooming, but they're not. I've asked Katy's mother about it, and she said she doesn't know why they don't."

Using his other shoulder, Zack gave a shrug, "I don't know anything about plants," he admitted and gave an apologetic smile. "Or dirt for that matter."

Laughing softly, Aerith lifted a hand to tuck some of his unruly hair behind one ear, "But herding," she replied, "Or sword fighting- you know plenty about those. Everyone has their own special knowledge or skill they're good at."

Giving a slight grin, Zack looked down at his bowl, using his spoon to scrape the last of the oatmeal off the sides and spoon it into his mouth as Aerith pulled her feet up onto the bench and put her arm around behind Zack's shoulders, leaning against him. His feet still on the ground, he sent them into a slow swing and slid an arm around behind Aerith to rest his hand on her hip. Almost magically, Mauxi appeared and stared up at him- more specifically at his bowl as if she expected there to be something in it for her. After a moment more, she hopped up onto the bench beside Zack and climbed into his lap and tried to stick her head into his bowl, but after he let her sniff it, the feline seemed to decide the syrupy remnants weren't that interesting after all.


Sephiroth blinked slowly as he became aware that someone was standing near him. Opening his eyes fully, he peered out the corner of his eyes towards the blue jean-clad legs that belonged to the man standing beside him. Katy's father hitched his pants up slightly and knelt down, tucking his feet under him, hands on his knees. He was in his forties, but moved with an assurance that Sephiroth recognized.

The man knew how to carry himself to keep out of trouble- and Sephiroth could also tell that the man knew how to handle trouble if it was persistent. Swiftly, Sephiroth glanced around the backyard, finding that they were the only ones- other than the birds and they were unlikely to help in this situation. It had been the moment Sephiroth had been dreading- the Father-Boyfriend talk Katy had warned him about.

"Just be honest," Katy had said with a smile and spark in her eyes that Sephiroth had come to recognize as joy. Why she would find joy in his torment, he didn't know- maybe it was because it was some sort of ritual he had to pass before he'd really be allowed to have her? His stomach fluttered in nervousness.

Swallowing, Sephiroth took a breath and let it out, waiting for Katy's father to say something. Instead, they just sat in silence, backs towards the house, the birds making noises at each other as they fed on the weeds in the flowerbeds. Overhead, the sky was still cloudy, as it had been all week with a slightly chill bite to the wind, despite the fact that it was almost summer- or so Katy had said.

At last, Sephiroth couldn't stand it and took another breath, but the words failed him and for a moment, he just stat there, mouth open to speak. He could feel those brown eyes boring into him, though Katy's father hadn't turned his head, and neither had Sephiroth. Finally, he choose something to say, using Katy's language instead of the spell- as he'd been doing since they got to this world, increasing his fluency. "I'll watch her," he said softly, "keep her safe."

Giving a nod, the older man replied softly, "You'd better."

"She's... she means a lot to me," Sephiroth added, forcing the words out still, as it simply wasn't his way to tell someone how he really felt, but... fear that this man could take away the one thing Sephiroth loved above all other things kept him going. He took another breath, let it out, and sucked in another, hands clenching on his knees.

A smile pulled at the older man's lips and Bill replied, "She's my baby," he agreed, the love for a young lady the binding factor between two dissimilar men. "Even if I told her to stay away from you, she wouldn't."

At last, Sephiroth saw the man's dilemma. Tension eased in his gut and inwardly, the swordsman relaxed, but retained his posture, "She's a fighter too," Sephiroth replied, "but I will make sure she doesn't... get in over her head." He glanced towards Bill again, "She does that often, doesn't she?"

"Not too often," Bill replied. "But often enough."

In return for Bill's smile, Sephiroth's lips twitched at the corners, "Often enough," Sephiroth agreed, falling silent again, letting his mind idle for a moment, trying to recover from the stress of the situation. "You won't have to gut me if something happens to her," he added, "I would do it for you."

Bill, at last, looked towards Sephiroth, raising his brows slightly, "I'd still have to get my share in," he replied, and pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his pants afterwards. Turning, the middle aged man made his way back into the house, the sound of the sliding glass door shutting made Sephiroth wince slightly. Well... it appeared as if he had permission, but Sephiroth couldn't really tell!

The thought of asking Katy's father if that was a yes or no was out of the question, and asking Katy herself would be just too embarrassing. Taking a breath, the swordsman sighed, blinking as he stared off towards the fence on the back side of Katy's yard. He'll just assume that was a 'Yes you can have her'. It wasn't like Katy's father really could stop her from following Sephiroth should he leave. Closing his eyes again, Sephiroth pushed those thoughts out of his mind once more, returning to his meditations.


Dressing in black seemed rather appropriate for Katy's grim task today. Stomach so unsettled, she felt like throwing up, she took her time saddling Beltoren, but once she'd milked that task for all the time she could, she placed a hand on his shoulder and walked with him around to the front yard, taking the other side of the house as there were no evil Bradford Pears growing there to bash you in the head. Sure they were ornamental and 'everyone' loved them, but they smelled like rotten potatoes when they bloomed and Katy thought they were particularly ugly in the fall. They also made her head stuff up.

Once she'd reached the driveway her eyes fell on the place she'd usually parked, a spot marked by a large oil stain. How odd the driveway looked with only two cars parked in it, her dad's company truck still parked on the street in front of the house, the Explorer her dad had acquired from his father and her mother's Crown Victoria, but her Pontiac was missing and it seemed odd.

"You can always go back, but you can't go home," Katy murmured to herself, reminded of one of the things she'd talked to Sephiroth about in their dream. Mounting her bird, she started him off down the street, keeping to the sidewalk. It was a Saturday, and nearing midday so the usual children that lived on the street were out in full force to watch her as she started off on her journey.

Today, her mission was solo, though Sephiroth had offered to come, Katy somehow didn't think it was right to take her new lover to her old boyfriend's house. Especially when she was delivering a message as grim as this... "Mom, if I knew someone was dead but no one else did, would it be my responsibility to tell their family?" had been the question Katy had asked her mother the day before. The simple answer had been 'yes'. As much as Katy dreaded the reaction, her latest encounter with procrastinating imparting information had taught her that putting off telling someone such final news didn't make it any better.

So she rode silent and straight, eyes turned forward as she approached the end of her neighborhood street, children staring at her in awe, the teenagers that had gone to Katy's high school that lived on her street staring in shock. Another Chocobo stepped up beside her and Katy looked over. Sephiroth looked down at her, then reached across the distance to place a hand over Katy's where she gripped Beltoren's reigns with a white knuckled grip.

Sniffling, Katy smiled, "You didn't have to come..."

"Perhaps I did," Sephiroth replied enigmatically and started forward, letting go of Katy's hand.

Swallowing, Katy followed, giving a toss of her head to get the braid of her hair off her neck and back over the collar of her coat. "I have to talk to Michow's parents today too." He gave a silent nod. "Have you ever done this before?" she asked as they took a right turn and headed down the somewhat busier street Katy's neighborhood was built off of.

"No," Sephiroth admitted, "But I have more experience with death than you do."

Chewing on her lower lip, Katy fell silent again, then offered, "Or is this just an excuse to get to be alone with me for a while without my dad breathing down your neck?"

In return for that jab, Sephiroth gave her a long sideways look, but didn't dignify the comment with an answer. Snorting, Katy returned to silence as they rode. Without the distraction of conversation, Katy simply sat and gnawed her lip raw, then sucked on it. Silence dogged them as they reached the intersection of the street they'd been on and the one her old high school was on, but as they headed down the road and came to the first of ten churches built on that road, Katy's attention wandered to the large pack of people in the parking lot, there was a priest standing in the back of a pickup truck, shouting something about the wrath of God against sinners and shaking her head, Katy headed onwards, leading Sephiroth, though he rode beside her.

However, before they got fully past the mob, a few screams went out and Katy looked back, fearing that the fanatics had spotted them and proclaimed them devils for riding on beasts other than horses or something silly like that. What she saw, however, made her wish that had been the case. A pack of monsters had burst out of the large shrubbery beside the parking lot and begun attacking the herd of slow and defenseless humans that simply stampeded away, leaving those too slow to follow behind- or trampling them. A few brawny men tried to show their prowess by turning to defend themselves, but they were still no match.

Wheeling Beltoren around, Katy flung a hand up into the air. "Fire!" she called out, flinging the spell at the dog-like creatures that she had anything but good happy memories of. The nightdog hit with the spell had been attacking a prone child and as she geared up for another spell, Sephiroth took off, pulling Masamune from its clips on his back.

The priest continued to stand atop his truck, shouting, "It's a sign from the devil! REPENT YOUR SINS! REPENT!" Drawing her guns, Katy kicked Beltoren into the fray, firing off spells as well as bullets, her Chocobo kicking and clawing at the nightdogs. Too caught up in the heat of battle, Katy didn't notice the return of many of those who had been fleeing, the priest's shouting becoming a background noise for her amidst the snarls and yelps of pain from the pack of nightdogs around her.

Chaos reigned supreme as Katy and Sephiroth drove the pack back from the fallen innocents and at last, the last creature's head was chopped off by Masamune, Katy pushed her bangs out of her face from where they'd gotten loose from her braid. "Well, that turned out better than the first time," she stated with a bit of amusement to Sephiroth as he clipped Masamune to his back once more and pulled his hair out from beneath the blade, "But you're just as messy. Can't you slaughter monsters a bit more neatly?"

Giving a snort, he turned his Chocobo back towards the road, "If you'd just watch your back a bit better I wouldn't have had to work so hard."

Pouting, Katy turned Beltoren towards the road as well, "You head on back and get a shower or something, I'll be fine on my own."

"Like hell," Sephiroth stated and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face and some of the muck from his hair. Why did monster blood have to be so sticky? He was saved the trouble of finding some way to rinse off his face at least when the sky opened and it began pouring down rain. Drenched in seconds, Sephiroth put the cloth away in favor of pushing his hair out of his face. "It seems life is trying to make our little task more difficult than it needs to be."

Katy heaved a sigh, "Yep. Good thing we made these coats waterproof, but that doesn't keep the water from leaking in around it," she shivered a bit. "I'm not giving up though!" she firmly stated, then shouted up at the sky, "You hear that?"

Pulling up beside Katy, Sephiroth eyed her, then looked back at the staring crowd that still stood in the church parking lot, "I think... that little dramatic moment was a bit too silly for these people. Lets get this mission finished and get back to the house."

Eyes sparkling behind her water-splattered glasses, Katy grinned, "Maybe we'll get lucky and my parents will be gone somewhere?"

"Why?" he asked as he started off.

Following, Katy continued to grin, "So we can have a hot shower together, of course."

Snorting, he didn't bother looking back, "Right..." Katy, however paused and looked back at the group of people, concentrated a moment, then cast a cure-all spell on them before turning to catch up with Sephiroth.


Despite the rain, they made it to Chris's house. The ride down the neighborhood had been conducted in silence even though Katy had been joking the entire way down 'Church' street as she dubbed it as it did have ten churches on it. He'd only seen seven, but there was a bit more of the road beyond the right turn they'd taken into Chris's neighborhood. Leaving their birds standing out in the front yard, Sephiroth followed Katy up to the front door of a two-story house that had more than a few rabbit statues peeking out from the bushes and set on the front porch.

After ringing the doorbell, Katy stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her. She'd gone rather pale, but the cold rain had had that effect on her even before reaching their first destination of the day. Finally, the door opened and a somewhat dumpy woman with red-brown hair, brown eyes and a faded smile stood silently a moment, "Katy-" she said, "We haven't seen you in forever! Were you kidnapped?"

Swallowing, Katy dropped her eyes, staring down at the bricks of the front steps. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "I- it's..."

"Come in, dear," the woman said, but Katy shook her head.

Still not looking up, Katy tried again, "It's Chris, I'm sorry..." Silence fell and it wasn't just rain running down Katy's cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she said again, starting to tremble. "I don't know what exactly happened, but, he was in a battle with something that was more than he could handle- and if I'd been there, maybe I could have saved him, or something but I wasn't and I'm sorry." Twin tears streaked down the woman's face as she stood silent, listening as she was told her baby was dead.

For a moment, Katy held her breath, then gasped, trying to contain her own tears. Lifting a hand, she wiped at her nose with her gloved hand and forced herself to continue, but the words wouldn't come and instead, she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around the other woman as she gave a soft sob.

Sephiroth stood silent witness to the scene. Was this the other side of battle? Of war? Women being told their children and husbands are dead and that the war isn't even over yet? Seph closed his eyes, letting a soft breath out. Was this what he'd left in the wake of his victories in the war? The simple answer was 'yes'.

The rain kept pouring down on them from a low and dark sky, a cold wind slapping the fat drops against unprotected surfaces. The Chocobos shifted restlessly and softly warked of their discomfort to each other.


In the end, they'd spent two hours there, the Chocobos in the garage and their hostess trying her hardest to remain cheerful as they waited for her husband to return from the store. Katy didn't begrudge the woman the time. She wouldn't have wanted to be left alone after being told something like that either. At last, Chris's father returned, and Katy was not required to repeat her message and they simply let themselves out through the garage door.

It was still raining, but not quite as hard as it had been. "I don't think I could do that again," Katy said softly, riding slumped forward. "Ever," her voice broke as she tried to hold back a fresh set of tears. "But I still have to talk to Michelle's parents..."

Sephiroth could find nothing to say and simply rode beside her as the warmth he'd had before was sucked away by the wind and weather. Katy was more prone to get cold, and he could see her lips turning blue already as they rode back down 'Church' street.


No incidents marked their journey to Michelle's house, nor on the way back. At least the message was a bit better this time. She was alive at least, but on the other hand, Michelle was no longer human no matter how you looked at her and the fact was that she wouldn't be accepted back on Earth.

Arriving back at Katy's house, they led the Chocobos around back and found a makeshift tent set up to give the birds some shelter from the rain. They looked uncomfortable but accepted Beltoren and Eris into their group and began preening the soggy pair. Taking their wet gear onto the back porch, Katy and Sephiroth wiped the leather down before stowing it under the tarp with the other saddles and bags.

Aerith, seeing them opened the back door and they entered, removing coats and boots, taking them to the front hall to hang up. Sephiroth took hold of Katy's wrist and dragged her into the laundry room, grabbing their second set of clothes from the 'clean' pile and a pair of towels before pulling the soggy girl into the hall bathroom where he firmly shut and locked the door, aware that Katy's father had seen them enter. At this point, Sephiroth could care less.

"Whoever said 'breaking up is the hardest thing to do' should be punched," Katy said softly after the door was closed, letting Sephiroth remove her clothes and only giving a minimal amount of help. "Telling someone their child is dead..." she stopped, shivering a little, "How can those police actually keep a straight face when talking to families of victims and stuff?" she asked, Sephiroth wasn't sure she was really talking to him or to herself, so he remained silent and finished undressing himself and turned the water on, leaving their clothes in a pile in the middle of the floor. The room was small, and certainly would have been close quarters for three people. White linoleum tiles with a green line and square design covered the floor, a light green bathroom rug in the middle of the small walking space between the sink and toilet stuffed on one side of the room and the bathtub on the other. "I didn't even get to hold mine..."

Sephiroth stopped, looking back over his shoulder at her torn expression. Pulling the bath curtain closed, Seph turned the shower on and waited a moment more before tucking Katy into the hot water, letting her stand in the steaming spray while he put his arms around her. Stretching her arms up, she wrapped herself around his shoulders, face against his chest. "We'll have another," Sephiroth told her softly, "And our first isn't in Hojo's hands."

Sniffling, she replied, "And what of SCYTHE? We need to finish what we came here for."

"You can stay here, in fact, I'd rather you did..."

Lifting her head, Katy glared at him somewhat blindly, "No, I'm the one who can find Vincent. I... I don't want to leave you. My parents will be fine. I'm seventeen, no, eighteen now and the world has gone to hell. What I was expecting my life to turn out to be like is long gone and I would rather follow you than go back to that. Sure my talent for writing is completely wasted following you, but I'm saving people... Those people at the church parking lot... Their families don't have to be told they are dead today. I'd rather kill monsters than sit here with my thumbs up my ass doing nothing when I've got the ability to help. My life here is over. There's nothing for me to pick up and continue with. I'm too changed, the role of sheltered second daughter doesn't fit anymore and I don't want to go back to that. I didn't like it much in the first place, but I was too afraid to do anything dangerous, too afraid I'd get in trouble for it. I'd rather live on the wild side with you than to wait for Hell to come collect me."

Leaning down, he kissed her forehead, then moved to her cheek, and her lips. Finally releasing her lips, Sephiroth looked down at her and gave a slight smile, hands rubbing her back.