As I went down in the river to pray

Studying about that good old way

And who shall wear the starry crown

Good Lord, show me the way!

-Alison Krauss

The trees rustled quietly and it would have made her feel peaceful and relaxed had she not been in one, with the ground some twenty feet below her. Aeris could feel the branch she was perched on sway slightly with the wind and it did nothing to help her waning sense of security. She gasped softly, clapping one hand over her mouth to silence the sound. The branch moved again and she bit her lip, quickly grasping the tree with both hands again. She clutched it just a bit tighter than she had before and soon her fingers began to feel the strain. It started as a mild ache in her fingertips as they grasped the rough bark and soon moved to her palms. She couldn't continue to hold on like this.

And suddenly every little discomfort became disturbingly apparent to her. She couldn't help but notice the gnarled branch underneath her, which was cutting into the backs of her legs and it made her bottom hurt. Her feet were getting all tingly and numb. She was pretty sure they were falling asleep. The wind that kicked up had made her bangs move and they tickled her nose, and one had gotten caught in the crease of her eyelid and it hurt. Quickly, she batted the stray tendril of hair out of her way and tried to squash her rising panic. No matter how she tried to reassure herself she was perfectly safe, she still felt perilously close to falling down. It didn't help that she kept imagining what that might be like. There'd be the initial elation of her descent, and then the stick cracking of her bones as her body hit every branch on the way down.

"Sweet Shiva, Aeris! Are you trying to scare the crap out of yourself!" she scolded herself, berating her overactive imagination all the while knowing it'd do little good.

It really didn't help that she kept looking down at her feet. Her eyes seemed to be drawn down, though she'd been told that was the worst thing to do if you weren't partial to heights. It wasn't that she was that afraid of heights but it was unnerving. She'd lived her life underneath Midgar's plate...not on top of it, so she just wasn't used to stuff like this. It was a shame that her first experience climbing a tree had to be so terrifying. The way her few friends had described it had sounded fun. She looked down at her feet again, like the foolish girl she sometimes was. They dangled limply over the branch, swaying back and forth with the rhythmic motion of wind and tree. It was disturbing and she tore her eyes away, resting her chin on her chest and closing her eyes briefly before opening them again very, very slowly.

No, she didn't like this experience one bit. There was NO way this kind of thing would be fun under any circumstance. Reno was a damn liar or a sadist. Aeris reminded herself to give him a swift kick in the shins if she EVER saw him again. Licking her lips, she decided to try a trick someone once told her. They said that if you focused on the horizon, your fear would melt away and as long as you didn't look down, you'd be okay. For a little while it worked, but not nearly long enough. The wind picked up again, this time with more ferocity and the branch visibly shifted beneath her. A storm was coming...and she was in a tree. Aeris whimpered. When and if Sephiroth came back...he was a dead man.

Another gust of wind hit the tree and she actually had to grab onto the trunk for dear life as it nearly shook her free. A few soft patters of water hit the back of her neck and she repressed a shiver. 'Damn him.' She was more scared than ever and she felt the sob in her chest urging her to release it, 'Where is he? Stupid jerk! Leaving me in this tree...What if he got killed?' That thought stopped her cold. What if he HAD gotten killed or captured? How would she get do-'Damn!' She'd have to find a way out of this tree on her own. Aeris paused to consider that thought. She'd have to find her way out of a twenty foot cedar tree, by herself, having no experience with tree climbing whatsoever. In fact, she had little experience with ANY kind of climbing. She didn't want to climb down by herself. She didn't want to climb at all. She didn't even think she could climb down. She didn't even want to be in this stupid, god forsaken tree in the first place. Aeris pressed her lips together and tried to keep herself from either crying or pounding the trunk of the tree with her fists. Frustrated, she let the tears gather at the edges of her eyes, not to be fully released. She was either going to starve to death in this tree or fall out of it and it was all his fault. Stupid...

"Jerk! Jerk! Jerk! JerkJerkJerkJerkJerkJerkJerk JERK!" she whispered, digging her fingernails into the bark and closing her eyes tightly.

She was shaking again, holding back her tears and her fear and the hysteria that came with all of it. With a ragged breath, she again attempted to calm herself. This time she tried a surer method, calling upon the planet to help control her mounting panic. Being this upset wasn't helping much of anything. Concentrating on her breathing, she listened to it while she reached out for the planet's song. Its steady pulse rose to meet her, engulfing in a bright green circle of warmth. The planet's voice hummed softly in her ears and her fear faded. It hadn't occurred to her until this moment to call the planet. In fact, not much had occurred to her. She was too busy with the mind numbing panic at being stuck in a tree with hundreds of armed ShinRa soldiers beneath her. Though it had seemed they'd drawn back as she hadn't seen one for awhile before she called the planet.

Didn't matter. With the planet's help she focused her thoughts and sought to calm herself. Her mind was slowly eased by its song and soon the mist of panic that hung over it dissipated. Time became unimportant to her and she truly lost herself in the planet's comfort, so much so, that she didn't notice Sephiroth's return.

He floated in front of the girl, not sure whether he ought to be awed by her ridiculous stupidity or just disappointed. She was asleep. ASLEEP. At a time like this, she'd fallen asleep...in a twenty foot cedar tree...she'd fallen asleep. He had expected her to exhibit the outrageous idiocy of her kind, but this was the kind of idiocy that crossed the border between outrageously stupid and mildly retarded. With a sigh, Sephiroth reflected on his options. He could wake her up but no doubt she wouldn't take it well. And he certainly didn't want her to wake, find herself in such a precarious position and manage to do something even stupider. Like fall out of the tree and alert the ShinRa guards he'd taken such care to divert. And he had taken care to see that they were out of their way, at least for a little while.

ShinRa were a bigger bunch of morons than he figured they were and apparently, fooled with ridiculous ease. They'd been searching downriver for him, knowing that he'd use the water to cover his tracks. Though they assumed he'd take the easy route and follow the stream's current, which made some sense. Going downriver was easier, but predictable. Smirking, at their attempt to out wit him, he stalked the small group of soldiers like a silent jungle cat. Humans were so foolishly unaware of their surroundings.

He'd snuck up on a small garrison and thrown the rocks he'd prepared with the scraps of clothing at them. Hitting one soldier right in the head and the other in his shoulder, he wasn't a range fighter so his terrible aim was forgivable. Though he had been mildly satisfied that he hit the one guard so hard that he'd fallen unconscious and he secretly hoped that the boy would either find himself on the other end of a rather nasty concussion or if he was really lucky, dead. Sephiroth had stayed long enough for one of the foolish officers to see him and call the rest of the rabble in alarm. They didn't disappoint him.

Knowing they had dogs, he knew they'd use the fabric on the rocks he'd thrown at them. He cut his own hand as he ran through the forest, modulating his speed so that the ShinRa could follow but not so close that they'd be able to use their weapons. No doubt they had more of those poison laced bullets in them and he had no desire to have a repeat experience with the girl's cure. He'd led them a far distance away from the tree the girl was in and even farther from the path she'd indicated was their destination. As he'd traveled, he had dragged his open wound over the tops of the bushes and shrubs he ran past. In his other hand, he held the bloodied piece of fabric he'd taken from the girl, rubbing it over the foliage as well. This would give their dogs a nice, neat little trail to follow. A trail that lead to no-where.

He'd quickly flown back to the tree to retrieve the girl to find her asleep. There was nothing to be done about it. Heaving an incredible sigh, he moved in closer and gently pried her hands from the tree's trunk. He surprised himself, he'd never cared much how he treated anyone. Part of him wanted to haul her off that branch and throw her unceremoniously over his shoulder, but in an incredible bout of insanity, he suppressed that urge. Tenderly, he gathered her into his arms and held her close, basking with protective fascination at how her small form seemed to fit so neatly in his embrace. He had expected her to wake at some point but fate smiled on him for once. Waiting for a beat, he just hovered there, holding the girl with a blank look on his face. What the hell was he doing? He shook his head; thinking at this point was a luxury. Looking up into the sky, he willed himself to rise slightly before streaking off towards the river.

As he neared it he slowed, scanning the surface for a place to land. He'd need the girl awake before he could enter the river. A flat, jagged rock that just cut the surface of the water and he quirked an eyebrow up, it would suit his needs nicely. He descended gradually, adjusting it carefully as he landed. One foot hit the surface of the rock and then the other followed, until he stood on it firmly as the raging water swirled around the little stone island. Had anyone seen the spectacle they would have sworn they saw an angel fall to earth, drawn to the river and its blessed waters. An angel with hair the color of glowing moonlight and eyes that were bright with ethereal fire. And in the seraph's arms was a simple mortal, saved by the god's benefice or so it would seem to unknowing eyes.

Sephiroth held the girl with an uncommon gentleness, handling her with care that was so foreign to him. In his entire life, he'd never been treated with much care himself. There were exceptions. Gast. Gast and his wife had been kind to him, but they had left. Disappeared, escaped. Leaving him behind to endure Hojo's seemingly eternal punishment and there was a part of him that realized he'd never escape the scars that man wrought upon him. Why then, did it seem so natural to hold the girl like this? What was this calm feeling that overwhelmed him? Calm that was tinged with bittersweet and regret and fear. In the farthest corner of his soul, he knew he should push these feelings away. Nothing good would come of this. If he stopped it here, now...it wasn't too late. Sephiroth shook the strange and unwelcome thoughts from his mind. He was being ridiculous. This girl was a means to an end. She was his guide, nothing more and once they got themselves out of this situation, they'd be done with each other. He would likely never see her again. His heart clenched at this, though he didn't deign to acknowledge it. Instead, he focused on how he ought to wake her.

Idly, he tossed around the idea of just dumping her in the river. A small, cruel smirked formed on his face which faded just as abruptly as it had appeared. No, she'd probably start screaming if he did that and that wouldn't do, and he couldn't risk her possible injury should anything go wrong. He could shake her, but again, she'd probably not take it so well. Another, entirely inappropriate idea occurred to him and he wondered exactly where it came from. Looking down at her lips, a bright, potent emotion flared inside him and he found himself frozen with alarm by the feeling. His eyes softened and he took in the girl's features. She was unlike other humans. Her hands snaked up and curled around his neck. Unconsciously, he shivered. His eyes flickered to her right wrist pressed limply against his chest. He could barely see the tattoo on the delicate flesh, but it was there all the same. A research specimen. She was a research specimen. He knew what it meant. As much as he disliked to admit it, there was a part of him that was human. He was an experiment, an augmented human. Treated no better than an animal, but human none-the-less, this made his bitterness at his treatment all the more acute.

But this girl... Research specimen were treated no better than experimental specimen. The only difference being, research subjects were generally un-augmented and most assuredly not human. ShinRa had taken great care to gather as many rare, mystical specimen who had links to the planet as they could, hoping, quite vainly he thought, that they'd be able to glean knowledge from them. Many research specimen came and went and little true knowledge was gained. None had ever escaped ShinRa's grasp. None but her, apparently. So, this begged the question, what was she? The girl had power. How much, he couldn't guess. Her aura was damnedably hard to read, and he couldn't get a feel for the exact measure of her strength. Physically, she was quite weak, but in all other ways. She was a mystery. And for this reason, he was absorbed in watching her in her sleep.

The girl was no great beauty. She didn't have a face that would launch a thousand ships, but that sort of beauty had always struck him as incredibly false. Liars hid behind beauty. Evil could hide behind it. Because for all its glory, beauty was ever the best deceiver...after all, most would call him beautiful or handsome, but underneath...he was a monster. A killing machine. They had designed him as such. What better way to strike fear into your enemies than to send a demon in angel's clothing. No, great beauty was nothing more than burnished lies. It could cover the evil and sickness that hid in the heart but it paled in comparison with the true beauty of this girl's spirit. He could feel it in her. This girl's actions showed the purity of her motives, even if he were somewhat unwilling to admit it to her face. Hers was a simple, unfettered beauty. One that sang from the deepest reaches of her soul, it was untainted by lies.

She had risked much in aiding him. No doubt that helicopter she destroyed had made visual contact; he knew the ShinRa equipped all their little toys with the latest video surveillance equipment. They'd seen her. The helicopter's records were most likely already relayed to headquarters. Where she would be identified almost immediately, because if they'd caught her before, her photo was saved somewhere in their records. They'd be able to assign a name to a face, add to that the tattoo that branded her as an escaped research specimen. It meant they'd be looking for her as hard as they were looking for him. She had risked her freedom and her life to help him. Why, he couldn't guess. He had decided right then, that she was worthy of his limited and temporary trust and he was glad suddenly, that he got a chance to see real beauty in the flesh. As he regarded her with an imperceptible smile on his face, she chose that moment to wake up.

"Did you sleep well?"

The rumbling sound of a deep, very masculine voice caused her eyes to instantly snap open. The first thing she became aware of was the long tendril of silver hair that tickled her cheek and pooled over her eyes, obscuring her vision ever so slightly. Next came the realization that she was resting against something firm and warm. Arms encircled her, one at her back, another cradling her legs. Her head was nestled into someone's neck and she was dimly aware that whoever it was smelled kind of nice. The time communing with the planet had left her disoriented and after a few minutes of mental calculation, she remembered the last few hours. She looked up suddenly, startled to realize who was holding her. And then she remembered him leaving her in that tree and stealing her ribbon and cutting her hand...and finally his most current cutting remark registered and her eyes widened with outrage. The NERVE of that man!

"You.." she stated with breathless rage, "YOU! YOU!" Aeris stopped, her anger overwhelming her ability to speak before she started anew, "You JERK!" She hissed, smacking his chest with one small hand. "You left me in that tree!"

"Hn. So I did. You didn't seem to mind so much when I found you." He replied with cool disdain, his deep voice empty of anything vaguely resembling emotion. "You're almost cute when you're asleep."

Aeris flushed, knowing very well it wasn't a compliment but a comment made to fluster her. Her cheeks blew out as she stammered to respond, "I-I...I wuh-w-wasn't asleep! And I wasn't enjoying myself at all!"

He smirked and she could tell what he was thinking. And she didn't like it one bit. His face and his voice were blank sheets of paper; even so, she could see the teasing arrogance behind them. He was making fun of her, the bastard. She was so confused. Was he? He was flirting with her, in his own, strangely cold way. He was flirting! Her cheeks burned bright red. She'd never done well underneath the scrutiny of a good looking man and she had been alright about things when she thought she hated her. But...his flirting brought her more tongue-tied nature to the fore front.

She wanted to give him a cutting remark, wanted to be all cool and unemotional as she had been back at camp earlier. But the words got tangled on the way from her brain to her mouth and instead, all she could do was just open and close her mouth like a fish. Gods, she was an idiot! Aeris then became quite aware of her position in his arms and the sudden need to be out of it became unbearably urgent. Immediately after that thought, she began to struggle and squirm, hitting at him when he didn't let go. He gave a light laugh or snort, she wasn't sure which...but whatever it was, it was clearly meant to be derisive.

"...You...y-you let m-me guh-go..." She stuttered, ineffectually battering his chest with her fist.

"Are you sure?" He drawled, loosening his grip ever so slightly, just to hear her squeal.

She didn't disappoint, as her attention was finally drawn to where they were. Her eyes widened at the churning river below. Would he drop her? His grip loosened some more and she could feel herself slipping from his arms. She squeaked, frantically scrambling upwards, her hands clinging to his shirt as she struggled to find purchase. With terrible slowness, she could feel her legs slipping, his fingers just brushing the backs of her knees. Aeris closed her eyes tightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself to him more closely. Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she hated herself for what she was about to do.

"Please...don't let me go..." She begged, her words lost as her mouth was pressed against the flesh of his neck.

She noticed him visibly flinch at the feel of her breath against his skin, which just caused her to blush more fiercely. Aeris waited, nearly feeling the gears in his head as they turned. It was horrible. His grip slackened again and she squealed; her heart pounding as she waited to feel her body plunge into the cold river.

"Please!" She pleaded, this one word sounding so desperately sad that even someone without a heart couldn't fail to be moved. "I can't...I cuh-can't..."

"Can't what?"

"I can't swim..." She admitted, her voice was so soft and it trembled with fear and shame.

Underneath his fingers, he could feel her shaking. She'd attached herself to the fabric of his shirt with a death grip. Her hold was so hard and so desperate, that he could feel her nails as they dug through the material. With a long sigh, he mentally chuckled, before tightening his hold on her. That negative side of himself chided him for being so emotional, for trying to act so human. Holding onto the strings of his mortal existence was foolish. He should let them go, and become the god the west wind wanted him to be. But this feeling was too much like heaven. The wind, it wanted to anchor him. To turn him to its will...but he was free and being free meant he could do as he pleased. What kind of god would take orders from the wind? And who wanted to be a god anyway...when heaven could be found and touched, if only for a moment.

"Don't worry. I won't drop you. But..." He said, trailing off to let her know there were conditions to this agreement.

She lifted her head from its place at his neck, "...But?"

"But you will have to swim..."

"..But...But I can't! I never learned!" She cried, the edges of her voice were torn with unreleased tears.

"It's alright." He said, shocked that he felt the need to reassure her, "Hold on to me tightly...I won't let you drown, I promise."

Gently, he eased the girl down, repressing his feelings as her body slipped down the entire length of his own. As her feet touched the surface of the rock, she managed to remain plastered next to him, her small hands still fisting his shirt. He practically had to pull her hands, finger by finger, off the fabric.

"I'll be going in first..." He explained, trying to sound reassuring and failing entirely, his voice came out in the same flat, monotone without a hint of care, "...then I want you to jump in."

The girl just stood there mutely, her hands clutched together tightly. She nodded, looking at the water with the terror of one who expected to drown the minute she set foot in it. He sighed and slipped in the water, his head dunking underneath the surface for a moment before popping back up. Treading water, he grabbed onto the side of the rock before holding out his hand to her. She looked at it, then him, then it, then the water and then back to him again. He SO didn't deserve her trust. Not after leaving her in the tree...even if he did come back and get her. He snapped his fingers to get her attention. She met his eyes reluctantly and she could see the venom in them. If the look on his face could be given a voice, it'd be angry and commanding. It said 'Get in or else'. She didn't particularly want to find out the or else, but she didn't particularly want to get into that churning mass of watery death either. Aeris bit her lip and glanced at him, shaking her head. No, this was too much. They'd just have to find another way.

"Get in."

Aeris rolled those words over in her mind. They sounded much more menacing when spoken by him than when he said them in her head. She looked down at the water flowing around the rock. It curved and twirled around it, creating little whirlpools and trailing currents that were beautiful, in a completely menacing way. Nervously, she tore her lip to shreds and shook her head. There was no way she was jumping in this river.

"Get in or so help me, I'll throw you in myself."

Aeris stared at him as her face blanched. He wouldn't.

"I would." He said, answering her mental question as it had been clearly plastered on her face.

His hand had remained proffered and timidly, she took it, toeing one foot into the water. Before she could register anything else, he yanked her in and she screamed. He would have regretted doing that, if she hadn't been dunked underwater before her cry could be sounded. She came up a few seconds later, completely wet and terrified and very, very angry. In between vicious coughing fits, she hissed invectives at him while at the same time, she clung to him for dear life. He had to admit to himself, she was the most amusing person he'd ever met. Once she settled down, he managed to convince her to swivel around, so that she clung to his back. And cling she did. So tightly that he had to ask her on several occasions to loosen her grip, lest he choke to death and drown them both. The trip upriver wasn't easy, even for someone with his augmented strength. Hauling the girl as dead weight didn't help matters but he wasn't one to complain, unless of course it meant getting a rise of her, which was easy to do. Way too easy. He was musing on this when he just barely managed to spot a ShinRa guard before they spotted them.

"Take a deep breath. Now."

That was all the warning she got before he plunged suddenly underwater. She was going to ask why and opened her mouth to voice the question, when it was suddenly filled with gallon upon gallon of water. Her first response was to loosen her grip and try for the surface. But her waking mind realized the folly of that and quickly grabbed onto the fabric of her companion's shirt before it slid away from her. Using her hold on the material to pull her forward, she slipped her hands back around his neck. It was hard to hold on, not only because of how fast a swimmer he was but because she could feel her lungs screaming for air. It didn't help that she had a tickle in the back of her throat from swallowing so much water. And the constant, violent rhythm of his body as it pushed against the water was doing no good either.

She felt like she was either going to pass out for lack of air or vomit. Neither of which seemed like palatable plans for the near future. Getting out of this river, now there was a plan. And just when she thought she might die, they surfaced abruptly underneath the hanging boughs of a bush at the rivers edge. She took a breathless intake of air, sucking in as much as she could in one breath. Before she could expel it in a series of hacking coughs, a hand went over her mouth. She caught it with her own, trying to drag it away in desperate confusion. Aeris opened her mouth to bite the offending hand, thinking only of her own need to breathe. The hand jerked over her mouth and she was dragged closer to the firm body behind her.

"Don't." whispered a stern, warning voice.

She moved her head back, trying to look back at the voice while air came in sucking gasps in between the fingers over her mouth. Aeris dimly decided to listen to the voice as her more basic instincts receded and reason was restored. Her hands slipped from the hand that covered her mouth and she nodded slowly. Sephiroth's hand left her mouth, tracing a trail down her chin and neck as it left. She turned in his hold and held onto him, not wanting to know anything else but the feeling of someone near her. Aeris was firmly out of her element and she didn't like the feeling one bit. They hid there for several very long, very tense minutes, clinging to each other. On one hand, it felt odd to be so near a stranger and yet there was a eerie familiarity to the feeling. She shook it away and held onto him just a bit tighter. Whatever had spooked him had apparently passed as he cautiously swam back out into the river, with her clinging tenaciously to his back.

For the remainder of the journey they stayed close to the edge and Aeris could say without reservation that she wasn't at all pleased by this. The low hanging branches from the bushes and trees near the water's edge constantly pulled at her hair and face. She had to bite her lip to keep from gasping every time it happened. If that wasn't bad enough, she'd beaned her head on a low hanging log a minute ago and she was sure to develop a nasty welt. She could blame Sephiroth for all of this, if only he weren't helping her evade the ShinRa. So being mad at him only made her feel guilty and having no release for her frustration, the emotion had no where to go. And she just wanted to cry. A nice, long uninterrupted sob session would do nicely right now. How in the world had she gotten herself into this? Oh yes, that was right. Her undying need to help everything, whether it be animal, mineral or vegetable, in need. Stupid, stupid Aeris.

They traveled for god knows how long. It was awhile, if she judged by the state of her fingers alone. They were all pruney. When Sephiroth finally stepped onto the shore, she'd never been more grateful for solid ground in her life. He let her down slowly, and she slipped off his back, reluctantly loosening her hold on his neck. Once her feet touched the ground, she was surprised to find her legs felt weak, like they were made of wet noodles. The sensation was alarming and she could feel them buckling beneath her but before she could fall, he caught her. His had was at her elbow, holding her up with his immense strength. She warranted that she must seem awfully weak to him and was sure that despite the look on his face, holding her up like this was a trifling matter for him.

"Lead the way."

His voice was soft but there was command laced within it. Again, she felt irked at being treated like a solider under command, but she complied to his order without question...this time. Aeris led him through a morass of bushes and undergrowth that had once resembled a path. They'd gone quite a distance up river. She hadn't noticed it until they got out, obviously, but they were miles from their location. It'd take quite a bit of backtracking to get to their destination. Not to mention the fact that though the ShinRa had been diverted, there were still quite a concentration of them in the woods. Now they were scattered, having no idea where they'd gone but they were there none-the-less. And the distant whirring of helicopter blades didn't soothe her nerves in the least.

Sooner or later, a direct confrontation was inevitable. Quietly pushing her way through a particularly bad tangle of brush, Aeris felt the first of many droplets of water hit her arm, and then her neck. She shivered and looked at the sky, almost begging it not to do what it was about to do. With a hopeful smile, she peered at the mass of roiling grey clouds above them. The sky answered, a rumbling of thunder was heard, followed by a flash of lightening that whitened the sky and after that came a torrential downpour. The large drops of water hit her disbelieving face, soaking every last of inch of her to the bone within seconds. Sighing heavily, she pushed back her water heavy hair and continued on. It wasn't like she could get any wetter, anyway.

The sun turned slowly and day dissolved into the milky film of night. Still they walked, and though Aeris was the only one who knew the way, she was also the only one that was weary. Internally, she kept asking herself if she was going to get there yet. She yearned for the dry warmth of the preserved shrine. There were dry clothes there and a nice dry place for a fire to be lit and dry food...and lots of other things that were dry. If Sephiroth was irritated by their current situation, she'd never know it. He hadn't said a word in hours. Bastard didn't even look tired. About two hours ago she asked if he was okay and he had answered curtly why he wouldn't be and that had effectively killed all conversation. Apparently, he trusted her enough now not to even ask where they were going. Which both pleased and annoyed her.

Finally, the small copse of bushes that hid the shrine could be seen and a heavy sigh of relief left her lips. Nearly running for it, she pushed them back, heedless of the noise she made. It didn't matter if the ShinRa found them now. Not when they were so close. Once they made it to the Sequoia, they were home free. The great tree had promised to protect them once they reached the grounds until then. Nothing could go wrong.

And then...it did.

The unlikely couple set foot in the shrine grounds Aeris had found days earlier. She felt the comfortable silence and the swirling emotions of the past as the ruins came to life for her once more. Even Sephiroth seemed sort of impressed by the grounds. Looking around curiously as the rain pounded his silent form. Despite the general gloominess of night and the fact that it was raining, Aeris felt, for the first time in three days, very, very happy. She smiled and for a moment, she stopped to enjoy the moment. To hear the whispering song of the rain as it hit the ancient pavement. To feel the water as it caressed her skin on its way from the sky to the ground. To just feel, period. She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she looked over at him and gave him a genuine smile.

"We're here." She whispered to him.

He stared at her for a moment, a strange look passing over his face as he held her with his eyes. Her heart felt like it might stop for a moment. She wanted to look away but her gaze was rooted and would not move. Her smile softened and unconsciously, she moved forward. It was and was not a surprise that he did the same. And when they were a hair's breath away from each other, the dry sound of a hammer clicking into place stopped them both cold. Even through the soft pattering of rain, that sound could be heard. It was as loud as thunder and right behind Sephiroth's head.

"You may have fooled Heidegger's idiots...but you can't fool us..." said the voice behind the gun as it paused for a beat before beginning again, edged with pure icy, derision,"...General."

The expression on her companion's face up to that point had almost been soft. As if he shared her joy in getting away clean, securing their freedom for even a short time was something to be celebrated. Instinctively, she knew he'd cherish a moment like that just like she would. They were different sides of the same coin, after all. Now it darkened imperceptibly with unbridled hate. His hand reached for his sword, ready to strike out at the voice in the darkness. That voice that wanted to deny them both freedom. A voice that was so familiar, and Aeris peered into the dark to see if she could put a face and a name to it. But her night vision was just terrible and all she could see was a dark form standing just behind Sephiroth. His fingers curled around the hilt of the sword and he tensed a moment before he was about to draw it out.

"Ahnt-ah-uh...General. Wouldn't do that if I were you." taunted the voice.

And from the bushes stepped about a dozen armed Turks, their guns all trained on them. Aeris could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Her throat went dry and it took every bit of energy she had left not to cry. This situation had gone from bad to worse in a blink of an eye. Sephiroth was clearly just as unhappy as she, though she felt that he was perhaps a skosh angrier than she was. His hands left the sword and he held them up, his face twisting with unmistakable hate. Sephiroth turned his head slightly to view the owner of the voice as he stepped from behind him. The gun was still leveled at his head. He wasn't frightened of the pathetic weapon or the man who held it. No, he wasn't frightened at all. It would be far too easy to relieve him of it, but the lackeys that surrounded him would no doubt pump him full of more of those poison laced bullets. And the girl would get caught in the crossfire. For all the annoyance she caused, he owed her a debt of gratitude.

"You can put the guns down. I'll go quietly. Just leave the girl out of this." He stated calmly, lacing his fingers behind his head to show that he was no threat.

The dark haired menace that started this whole mess merely smirked. Wondering at the General's response and how quickly he agreed to be taken peacefully, and all for the safety of one traitorous little chippie. So, the rumors about him were apparently quite false. For the first time, the Turk regarded the dear General's female companion. 'What kind of girl would capture Ol' Stoneface's fancy?' He thought, with faint amusement which abruptly faded once he laid eyes on her.

"Aeris?"

There was a moment of silence. A long tense moment before the girl responded haltingly.

"Ts..T-Tseng?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

A-HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! CLIFFHANGER! I am evil.

You are allowed to show your displeasure now. But I kid.

Okay. Sorry this took so long. But as I've said before...I DO have five other stories I'm juggling here. I'm doing the best I can, considering I'm the one who caused the mess in the first place. Don't worry, I will continue to bring you quality product at below the market prices!

Also. I wanted to point to my profile page, because I have news! For all y'all out there without fan fiction dot net accounts, I have created a convienent service! I now have a mailing list. Currently I've only been announcing when the latest chapter of La Vie En Rose updates, but if I get a few more users, I'll start announcing my other chapters as well. So everyone will know when I'm doing stuff. So give me a holler in your review or just follow the link to join and all will be well.

Until next update!

Ciao

Noa