A/N: Tough chapter to write but I think it's okay as a stepping stone to what is going to come.

"As soon as he thinks of something to come after."

"Shut up Wayne. You said you wouldn't come back if I got reviewed."

"And you believed me. Duh. I am a demon you know, even if I all I do is sit around in a housecoat and whine all day.

Please review. As shallow as this sounds I need the feedback to motivate me.

Thanks:

Life and death are not so different.

Both are

Welcomed by some

Cursed by others

Feared by many

And wasted by most

Live as well as you can

Love with abandon

Cherish your family

Cultivate your friends

Do not leave regret as an epitaph

Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy VII or Square E. Thanks

Chapter 2: Through My Eyes

Tifa had Cloud lay Sarah down on the couch in her office as she brought the small first aid kit from behind the door. It was very basic with some gauze, bandages and materia based ointments. Looking deeper under the rolled bandages she uncovered the small bottle of pungent smelling salts. Approaching the prone and ominously still form on the couch she told Cloud. "Let me in there." He was hovering close and seemed reluctant to leave Sarah's side. "I need to get close and you don't want to get a dose of this stuff, it's potent." She knelt beside the couch and after removing the cap from the small vial gently waved it under Sarah's nose. No reaction whatsoever. Her assurance to herself that it was just a fainting spell was beginning to seem less likely and her concern for the young woman was evident on her face.

"We have to try something else." Cloud sounded more than a little worried and looked to Tifa for some sign he was overreacting. None came.

Tifa turned to the door and saw that Reno and Rude had squeezed into the small space as well and were trying to keep the press of concerned patrons outside. "Rude. Could you please get these people to return to their seats; or better still usher them out and anybody else still in the bar? I can't be running the bar and tending to Sarah at the same time."

"Consider it done." Rude moved to the door and with the quiet authority of experience, he had the crowd turned and out the doors in a couple of minutes with little or no complaining.

Reno stayed behind while Rude ushered out the Seventh Heaven patrons."Is there anything I can do to help Tifa?"

She regarded the handsome young man and thought "Why is it I begin to think I am going to do something normal, like go on a date, and all hell breaks loose. It would be wonderful if my problems consisted of ,what to wear when he picks me up, should I order steak or stick with salads and should I kiss him that first night? No I get my usual dose of life and death, world shattering struggles to contend with." "Thanks Reno there is something you can do for me. Lets make that two things. I need you to get your ass down to the infirmary and see if any doctors are on duty. If not, try to locate Dr. Watabe. He knows us from when Vincent was hurt." She met Reno's eyes and added. "I wouldn't ask just anybody to do this." She placed her hand firmly on his forearm and squeezed gently. The second thing is I want you to remember we have a date to go on."

Reno smiled and even blushed a little."Shinra and Sephiroth together couldn't keep me from that appointment." He turned and was out the doors at a fast run.

Cloud was again leaning over Sarah and in a very un-Cloudlike way, was holding her left hand in both of his. "Do you think I had something to do with this? I have wracked my brain and gone over the conversation we had but there's nothing." The usual emotionless delivery Cloud used was noticeable by its absence.

"It might help if you go over it out loud with me." Tifa was thinking less about finding out what caused this and more about giving Cloud something to focus on. "You told me you were talking about…?"

"Nothing really: Just about her name and the nickname she got when she was young." His eyes remained fixed on the serene face of Sarah the whole time he was talking.

"Yes you mentioned that, but was she upset or calm or what?" Tifa was grasping at anything to find an answer to why Sarah collapsed.

"She actually seemed happy reliving the story and maybe a little embarrassed about talking about herself." Cloud was mentally trying to replay all the conversation in his mind and it showed in his creased forehead.

"The last time I looked over toward your booth it seemed that you were done talking. What happened after she finished? Tifa was concentrating on sounding in control but she knew she was speaking louder than necessary.

Cloud seemed to hesitate for a split second to gather the mental image of the moments before Sarah's collapse. "I was about to order my drink when I touched Sarah's hand for a moment. I'm not even sure I gave it a thought at the time. Maybe it was to make her aware that I appreciated her telling me the story. I don't really know." He bowed his head in frustration. He could handle any and all demons, monsters and even Sephiroth but a woman in distress was another matter.

"You touched her hand. Like you grabbed it or held it. What?" Tifa's frustration had bubbled to the surface.

"I took her right hand in my left and that's when she seemed to freeze for a moment. go limp and just fold up on her self."

Tifa was silently processing Cloud's description of events, going over her own experiences and knowledge of spells, magic and potions. "There must be something I'm missing." Her anger was building as the frustration in her inability to figure this out grew. Like a slowly dawning sunrise the light seemed to rise on Tifa's face and she grabbed Cloud's shoulder. "I know what it is." Just as quickly the elation drained from the beautiful young woman as she realized there was nothing anyone could do to help Sarah Brightstar.

The smallest of sounds was trying to invade the sensory limbo Sarah Brightstar was in. It wasn't a shout, it wasn't even a whisper. It was as gentle as the wings of a butterfly as it lay in your palm. "Words? Something familiar about...my name, its my name. Its my Mom. I must have slept in. I'm so tired though, I can't open my eyes, but why isn't she throwing off my covers like she always does when I don't get up?" She also felt as if she were floating and not lying in her bed. She couldn't recall the exact moment that something prised her eyes open but the blinding white when she did almost forced her to shut them again. Everywhere white. "How can this be?" Sarah Brightstar didn't understand what had happened. She had been talking to Cloud Strife in the 'Seventh Heaven Bar'. "Just talking about my…name. He ….touched my hand….pain….pain so intense it was a crushing weight…on me. I...can't…bear it any longer." She began to sink back into her unaware state when...

"Sarah. Sarah Brightstar. Can you hear me?"

"Pain…I… can't...move…help me…please."

"Sarah! I can help you. Concentrate on my voice."

"I hear you but I don't see you. There is nothing around me. Where are you?"

"I am here: You need to open your mind to the sound of my voice. Not the conscience part but the deepest hidden essence of your soul."

"Why can't I see you?" Her inner voice began to sound calmer.

"You will. Release the thoughts of pain and rage. It is the only way I can help you." The strength and caring in this voice was cutting through the fog of Sarah's defensive shell.

"I am trying. It is very hard. I feel you within my mind." Summoning every ounce of her strength of will Sarah began to strip away the layers of pain and dread that shrouded her inner being.

"Yes. You are almost free of it Sarah. Focus only on my voice." There was a sense of relief mixed with satisfaction in the voice now.

"I think I can see something. Yes: I see a person." Sarah's joy at such a small accomplishment was immeasurable.

"What you are seeing is my image but it is only in your mind's eye." The voice was clearer and for the first time easily identified as female.

The clarity and definition improved. It was a woman, a young woman, a beautiful woman. Sarah, from pictures and descriptions, knew who it was at once. "I am truly dead then. And worse: I am in limbo? Does the Great Leviathan deem me unworthy?"

"First, you are not dead. Second you are worthy but it is not your time to move on to the afterlife."

"But you are Aeris Gainsborough and you are dead." Sarah's argument had merit.

"You are right. I am she and I am not of the flesh. My body ceased to exist in its earthly form in the Temple of the Ancients. I feel all the emotions as I did when 'alive' but I cannot take form among the living.

"Then I am dead for I can see you." Her logic was still a powerful influence even in this wildly illogical situation.

"I cannot take form or communicate except with other Cetras." Aeris paused for a moment. "Like you Sarah."

"But I am not a...Cetra. Am I?" Sarah was hardly in a position to make leaps of faith and draw conclusions.

"Look within your soul Sarah and you will find the truth."

She began to understand that being a Cetra would expalin why she was different from other people. Her ability to see what others experienced in the past and to sense impending danger. The one ability she would have gladly given up if she could was sensing the death of those close to her. She knew the moment her father had died five months ago. He worked in Reactor 4 and was on monitor station two when the rebels raided and destroyed it. She felt no hatred toward the rebels as Shinra's defeat was a just cause but the loss of her father still weighed heavy on her mind. "If what you say is true why am I without form or substance?" There was still a hint of desperation in the question.

"I'm afraid the part of your mind that relates to the physical world is still locked against me. I am only able to communicate with the Cetra empowered abilities within you." The surreal nature of this conversation of two within one wasn't lost on Sarah and an awkward silence followed.

"Why are you here with me?" Sarah felt as if she was sinking back into the panic of a few moments ago which was ironic because she didn't even know if time was passing at all.

The person or essence that appeared before Sarah seemed to gather her thoughts before responding. "I am bound to a living soul by love and regret. That person is Cloud Strife. I am responsible for this burden you are suffering under. It was my actions that caused the pain and hatred that Cloud carries within him. I cannot allow this to destroy two innocent souls."

"If you cannot release my conscious mind, than I am trapped in a living death. My mother will be all alone." Tears began to fall from eyes that were only a thought manifested into form.

Aeris approached Sarah and placing her arms at Sarah's shoulders gently gripped them. It was a touch as real as any in the world of flesh and blood. Sarah felt a surge of compassion flow through the contact and gained faith in what she was hearing.

"I can help to bring you through this but only if you believe in me and in yourself." Aeris' strength of will was as powerful in this chasm of nothingness as it was when she walked upon the earth.

Sarah's ninja training began to assert a semblance of control as she started calming breath exercises. The fact that there was no air or lungs for that matter was irrelevant. The tenuous connection to the physical Sarah was strengthened ever so slightly. "I will do whatever is neccessary to return to my world of the living." Sarah quickly realized she was addressing someone who was dead. "No offence."

Aeris seemed to smile at the apparent insult. "This is not an easy road we are going to travel and the results are not assured but I promise to do all within my power to make you whole again."

"Thank you Aeris. I believe in you. What is it we have to do?" Sarah seemed to gather herself for the ordeal to come.

"We will travel along the threads of time to view events that have shaped many lives. I am hopeful that when you see all that Cloud has endured the knowledge will negate the power that his emotions now hold over you."

Aeris' conviction gave added confidence to Sarah. "Well, the sooner we start the sooner I can return." It was then that she realized, as if she was a casual observer, that her mind had provided clothes to both Aeris and herself. The thought was almost laughable if it wasn't for the grave situation she was in.

"The images you are going to see are from the past. Some distant, some recent: All are through my eyes. It will be difficult at first, but try to suppress the shields that the mind erects when confronted with the unknown. Are you ready?" It seemed that Aeris took a deep cleansing breath after she spoke.

"I don't think I will ever be ready but the alternative is far less attractive. Okay." The conviction in her inner voice gave a lift to them both.

"Clear your mind of all doubts and fears. Concentrate on my voice."

Sarah's ninja training and the awakening Cetra powers made this daunting request easier than she expected.

Sarah began to see shapes forming in the mists around her. They had colour but in pale pastel shades. The distinctly ghostlike images slowly took on more realistic appearances with the first recognizable object a large terra cotta wall, and then a shake covered roof. Then a most wondrous site gradually came into focus. A large red flower and then more appeared until a whole fire bush was visible. Now the whole house was clearly seen as well as a dusty yard populated with young Chocobos skittering around and pecking at an unseen food stuff on the ground. A small stone walk meandered up to a rough hewn wooden door into the house. There was a small wire pen and a small out building. Maybe a storage shed, by the rough boards that made up its not quite square shape. There were small pots containing wild flowers around the house and a small fence about two feet high encircled the parts of the yard that she could see. The surrounding countryside was clearly visible now. Low dusty hills with mist covered mountains far off towards the horizon. By the sun's position it was early morning; shadows were long and made the low shrubs and rocky ground seem to be alive with shifting shapes.

"I told you not to let them birds loose until the pen was fixed young man." The voice was loud but controlled and definitely female.

"But mom: The yard is covered with linx beetles and the Chocobos love them, so they won't run away." It was a young boy's voice. Slightly high pitched so he had not yet attained the years that brought on puberty. It was then the lad appeared from around the far corner. He was carrying a pale of water toward the house entrance when a couple of the scrambling birds threaded their way between his legs. Trying to avoid stepping on them the young lad stumbled and fell flipping the bucket high over his head and spilling the contents over him and the now squawking chicks. His blond crop of hair was now matted down and he was sitting in a growing puddle of mud. The noise of the collision brought the woman, obviously the boy's mother out of the house in a rush.

"What in all of the wisdom of the Great Leviathan have you done now?" Her scolding tone was mixed with a hint of a laugh barely contained.

"It wasn't my fault. They tripped me."

"Wasn't it you who let the darn things run free in the first place. Sometimes I think we should have named you Clumsy instead of Cloud."

A/N: Yah I know. Not exactly an earth shattering surprise that Cloud is the little kid. I tried at least.

Don't forget to Review pleeeeease! All those e's make it a must. LOL