.6.

From where she was crouched behind a ledge atop Nibelheim mansion, Aeris stifled a sigh. The wind was fierce today, and at her current elevation it was bitterly cold; it whistled past her, tugging wildly at strands of her hair that had escaped her braid. Shifting the heavy black rifle she cradled to one arm, she reached back and drew up the large, heavy hood of her black duster in order to partially shield herself from the chill. She rocked back on her heels, attempting to ease the weight off her legs that were cramped from maintaining this position for hours. She had chosen this spot because she could see everything and not be seen; the path that led into the Nibelheim mountains was almost directly before her. She eased back down into her crouch and quickly glanced at her watch. Five hours had passed since Sephiroth and his contingent, led by a young local woman, had ventured into the mountains in order to ascertain and remedy the problem with the malfunctioning reactor. Moving the rifle so she held it with both hands once more, Aeris sighed again.

This was the hardest part of what she did—the long hours spent patiently in wait. She had not slept the night previous; after her confrontation with Sephiroth at the entrance to the inn she had gone to her room and had spent the remainder of the night cross legged upon the bed, lost deep in a state almost akin to meditation. She had allowed the Ancient ones to sing to her, to soothe her with their presence; it was something they did rarely, much to her regret. Upon the breaking of the dawn, she had rose and dressed again in her leathers, securing all her weapons to their appropriate locations and donning over it all her thick black duster, which fell to her ankles and was flared at the waist to allow for easier movement. Wanting heavier firepower should something go awry, she'd added her shotgun to her arsenal, sliding it into a custom holster that adorned her outer thigh. She'd then removed from her suitcase a dull grey rifle case that looked inconspicuous and housed within it the instrument of Sephiroth's imminent demise. Lastly she'd gathered the heavy mass of her hair and bound it into a braid before tucking it beneath the collar of her coat. Prepared for what was quite possibly the most important day of her life, Aeris had thus left the inn and made her way to ShinRa mansion.

She had entered cautiously; she had been there once before and therefore was acutely aware that it held monstrosities and perils of its own. She encountered none of these, however, as she made her way to the topmost floor, her footsteps echoing eerily in the almost tangible stillness that thoroughly encompassed the ancient building. Rotting tapestries and molding works of art adorned the peeling, fading walls; furniture in various states of decay still littered the rooms. The first time she had entered the mansion had been to find all records of research kept in the basement that pertained to Sephiroth and the Calamity. She had found then the mansion to be a place of memories and thoughts which still haunted the oppressive silence; it hadn't, she noticed absently, changed since then.

Slipping out onto a crumbling balcony from one of the upper bedrooms, it was a simple matter for her to gain access to the roof. And so she had settled herself behind a stone ledge which served as a perch for a crumbled gargoyle, and less than an hour later had watched as the Nibelheim woman led Sephiroth and his men away into the towering, daunting mountains. She would wait until they returned before striking; he would be in the lead then, and she could take aim without having to worry about someone impeding her shot. Not that she would hesitate should that happen. He had to be destroyed, and if someone else had to die in order for her to make it happen …

So be it.

Movement caught her eye from the path below; with bated breath she watched as members of the ShinRa party walked into view. They were still sheltered partially by the foliage of the surrounding trees. Aeris rose into a better position, bringing the rifle up and bracing it against her shoulder. She placed her eye before the scope and patiently followed the progress of the group through the leaves. She could recognize some of them—the SOLDIER that had approached her the evening previous, the dark haired villager that had volunteered to lead them all to the reactor, the blonde ShinRa officer who for some reason walked without his helmet. Everything faded from her awareness then, leaving only her, the trigger against her finger, and the pale haired man she found and followed through her crosshairs … the wind whipped past her again, making her eyes water and tearing at her hood, but she didn't move. She could hear their voices now, carried to her by the furious currents of air, and her body tensed.

There. There he was, breaking free of the tree-line and walking now in open sight. She didn't have a killing aim, though; slowly she let her breath out, willing silently the dark haired SOLDIER to move away from the General. An instant later he did.

Now—a clear shot …

—Sephiroth—

She pulled the trigger. The rifle rocked back against her with bruising force, the silenced gunshot pulled away by the wind. She remained only long enough to see the blood well up through his coat, to see him crumple to the ground before she was stealthily running, bent low to the roof with the rifle over her shoulder. She reached the edge where she had climbed up; with effortless grace she leapt to the balcony below, landing precariously near the crumbled edge and having to take a moment to balance. Already she could hear the ensuing commotion; shouts and yells heading closer to the mansion. For a second she hesitated, staring at the rifle case that lay where she had left it; forsaking it she turned and vaulted through the broken window into the bedroom, and ran headlong from there down the long hallway. The rifle slapped against her back with each step she took; she descended the stairs two at a time, rounded a corner and entered the parlor, where all staircases converged into a landing and looked out over the entrance of the mansion. On the west side of the mansion there was another bedroom with a window she could escape from, and from there she could leave, unseen, by stealing through the surrounding forest.

She had just reached the center of the landing when a shout rang out, halting her in her tracks and spinning her around to face the entrance.

Stunned, numb with disbelief, she found herself staring at Sephiroth.

.x.

For a moment Sephiroth's world had ceased moving and had become simply still; it had taken an instant for the pain to manifest itself. Abruptly he found himself unable to breathe for the constricting intensity of the agony which roared through him. He had fallen then, limbs giving way as he clutched his chest in stupefied desperation. The pieces fell into place as he felt the solid ground beneath him, as he heard the confused and alarmed voices of those he had travelled with.

He had been shot.

He tried to say something, but all that left him was a strangled gasp for air. Beneath his fingers he could feel his lifeblood seeping from him with frightening quickness. Hands were touching him, prying his hands away from the wound, probing it gently. Fury replaced his initial shock, fury that someone dare attempt this, and through sheer force of will he pushed the concerned hands away and raised himself into a sitting position. He could feel the bullet within him, a solid, obstructive present at his very core, and radiating out from its location were blistering waves of pain.

"Sephiroth!" Someone—Zack—said in a loud, panicked voice. "We need to get you—"

"Get in there!" Sephiroth hissed, face contorting as he clutched again at the wound. And then, with a harsh cry of pain, he propelled himself to his feet and staggered unsteadily towards the mansion. He could hear Zack shouting orders to the others, telling them to radioShinRa for a helicopter, commanding them to penetrate the mansion and find the would-be assassin. Nothing mattered to Sephiroth at this moment but finding the shooter and inflicting his unholy wrath … he fell heavily into the mansion door, and it opened with a horrendous screech. His eyes were drawn immediately to a fleeing figure upon a staircase landing, and steadying himself he shouted, "Halt!"

The figure did just that, whirling around to face him. Despite his agony, despite his rage, he was stricken immediately with shocked incredulity. His assassin was a woman, and not just any woman at that. His assassin was the impertinent slip of a girl who he had questioned the night before, the girl that Zack had attempted to seduce, the girl who had had the nerve to make him move that day in the inn …

"You?" He asked in a voice that shook, and even at that volume his words echoed clearly. She was staring at him in silent disbelief; a slow smile, distorted by his grimace of pain, crept across his face as he realized she had thought he was dead.

Zack and Cloud, followed by other ShinRa officers, poured through the door at that moment. Their eyes took in the scene before them: the girl on the landing, clad all in black with a rifle slung over her shoulder, and upon recognition Zack said with incredulous awe, "Well, bugger me sideways …"

So swiftly it was a blur, the girl began running again, bounding up the west staircase. "STOP HER!" Sephiroth shouted hoarsely, and without hesitation his troops swiftly moved to comply.

.x.

How is this possible?

It was the only thought that reverberated through her mind as she stared with utter disbelief at the General. One hand was fisted over his chest and covered in blood, the other clutched the side of the entrance for support. Traces of crimson had stained the pale strands of his hair as it fell in disarray all around him, and she could see clearly blood trickling down the length of his coat to pool beneath the polished ebony of his boots.

This can't be!

She knew her shot had been true; it had been directly through his heart. She knew it with a conviction deep within her soul, and the Ancient ones, wailing wildly within her, agreed. Therefore the only answer could be that he was immune to mortal wounds, wounds that would kill a normal man—

And with a sudden flare of bitter insight, she realized that was the true reason: he was no normal man. And though she'd been acutely aware of that, he was more modified and contaminated by the Calamity and Mako than either she or the dead ones had realized …

"You?" His voice wavered, but she was still able to hear the blatant disbelief. It was similar to what she was experiencing at the moment. As they regarded each other, an odd smile curved his lips, and she felt a rush of bitter fury at his audacity.

Others came flying through the door then, and she remained motionless for only a moment longer before turning and resuming her mad dash to the window exit. She heard him shout orders behind her, and she knew what those orders would be. She had just reached the bedroom door when the wood of the wall next to her exploded from gunfire; spinning about she was faced with the dark haired SOLDIER and his blonde friend.

"Halt!" Said the SOLDIER. He held with both hands a blade large enough to seem both incongruous and suggestively deadly. The other was aiming a black, vicious looking assault rifle her way. She did as he ordered, dropping the sniper rifle, turning to face them both and reaching beneath her duster at the same time to withdraw her shotgun. She had it in hand before either could react; for one tense moment they all regarded each other over the double barrels in her grasp.

"There's too many of us," the SOLDIER said quietly, calmly, in a negotiating voice. "You'll never make it out alive."

"No," she corrected steadily. "I will. But some of you won't."

She fired even before the words were out of her mouth, too quickly for them to react; the shot took the dark haired one in the shoulder and the force with which it hit knocked him back down the stairs. The blonde hesitated, expression torn; she shucked another shell into place one handed and fired again. He dove back, disappearing from sight, and Aeris allowed herself a feral smile before turning back to the closed door. With one savage, well placed kick she removed the barrier, and choosing to leave the sniper rifle behind, leapt through. The window was open, the glass long since shattered, and she hoisted herself through with relative ease, shotgun still in one hand. She dropped the small distance to the ground, landing in a crouch; she could hear from within the house the sounds of footsteps up the stairs.

"Aeris."

She was on her feet and aiming at the voice before she'd even recognized it. Tseng stood only a few paces away, hands raised in a gesture of peace. Forcing her heartbeat to slow, Aeris lowered the shotgun and asked tersely, "What are you doing here?"

"I saw what happened. I know the General still lives."

"Here to arrest me to save face for Rufus?"

"No." He cast a glance upwards, to the window she had just come through. Voices could be heard from within. Speaking swiftly and softly he said, "Get out of here. Go through the forest."

She eyed him warily, "And what will you say to them?"

"That I shot at you, and that you escaped. That I'm here on Rufus' orders to oversee the reactor project."

Aeris relaxed visibly. "Tseng—I hit him head on. Straight through the heart."

The Turk nodded. "I know. It seems he's more advanced than Hojo let on. Now go, quickly. I will be in touch with you soon."

She nodded wordlessly; leaning the shotgun against her shoulder she darted past him and into the dense mass of trees.

Tseng watched for a few seconds until Aeris was out of sight; at that moment a head appeared in the broken window and a voice called out.

"What the—Tseng?"

He recognized the speaker; it was a ShinRa officer named Cloud. Another face appeared beside Cloud's, the first class SOLDIER Zack. Blood stained the right shoulder of Zack's uniform, and his face was drawn into tight lines.

"Why are you here, Tseng?" Zack yelled, voice tense.

"Rufus asked me to come and oversee your progress."

"Did you see a girl? A girl with a gun?"

"Yes." Tseng raised one arm; in his hand he held his own firearm. "I shot at her and missed. She fired back, and I dove for cover. I don't know which way she went."

"Shit." He heard Cloud say with feeling. Zack called, "Tseng, Sephiroth's been shot. He's around front."

Tseng nodded, turning without further word holstering his pistol. He skirted the edge of the mansion quickly, and as he reached the front he saw the General crumpled on the ground surrounded by a dozen of harried looking ShinRa soldiers. Tseng approached swiftly, pushing an officer aside and kneeling at Sephiroth's shoulder. The General was unconscious, features pale and haggard, breathing fast and irregular. Tseng pulled Sephiroth's coat away from the wound so the blood wouldn't dry to the fabric; catching sight of the wound he hissed. Directly above the General's heart was a bloody crater. If he had been any other man, he would be dead.

Any other man …

"We've called for a helicopter, sir." One officer said, quite obviously relieved to see Tseng, an authority figure, on site. The Turk nodded. Cloud appeared then, supporting a limping Zack. The SOLDIER collapsed to his knees beside Tseng and with his uninjured arm ripped the fabric away from his wounded shoulder. The shotgun blast had gone straight through, and blood was dripping in steady rivulets down both his chest and back.

"I'll be alright." Zack said through clenched teeth as Cloud knelt and probed the wound with a gentle finger. As his friend fell back on his heels, he added, "Y'know, I'm kind of glad she turned me down now."

Cloud snorted, and averting his face, Tseng smiled. He had been in the inn that night, incognito, to witness Zack's rejection. His smile died as his eyes fell again upon Sephiroth. After taking a bullet directly through the heart, he was still alive. Such resilience was astounding, but it gave rise to serious, grim questions that required an answer.

Just what would it take to kill him?