The Grey Ancient

by Ancient2

This is the Kingdom Hearts storyline through Riku's point of view. It's a take on who he is, where did he come from, and 'what' he is. Neither of the Light, nor the Darkness. So then where does he belong?

14. Chapter 14

The Revelation in the Reprieve (Part 2)

... Flashback Continued ...

"Aeris. Aeris."

"Hmm-ehh what?" Aeris groggily woke up, a little confused on where she was as Sephiroth shook her awake.

"It's almost dawn. You can see the sunrise now."

"Really?" Aeris said, more awake with excitement. She leaned up her upper body. Sephiroth's hair sliding down to her waist like a waterfall. "Is it just as pretty as a sunset?"

"In its own ways. I find that it has more power than a sunset."

"(Gasp) That sounds so lovely. I can't wait to see it."

"You won't have to wait long now. Look."

"!" Aeris watched in wonder as a glorious purple started to break out through the night blue, making it shine a lighter blue as a softer pink began to rise and make way for a golden glow along with the sun. "It's beautiful... I can't believe how many sunrises and sunsets I have missed so far in my life. I could stay out here and watch them forever..."

"That would be lovely. But sadly we must leave." Sephiroth sighed out, getting up on his feet again and reaching down a hand to help Aeris up. "It's dangerous to stay out in the open for long. And we must keep going."

"Okay..." Aeris nodded in agreement to him, taking his hand as she rose. "Where will we go then?"

"I've been thinking about it last night. I think we should try building our lives in the royal town of Radiant Garden. The place will be too crowded and the king's control would be too powerful for Shinra to do anything rash in his city."

"Hmm, you're right. We should be safe there. But how long will it take us to reach?"

"At your speed, hmm, a whole day's walk." Sephiroth teased with a smirk.

"Oh you!" Aeris playfully shoved as they laughed, feeling lighter and carefree than she ever did before.

"(Chuckle) Come on, we should get started. Here's a little something to hold you off for a while." Sephiroth said, handing her an Energy Bar from his bag. He didn't carry much but it should be enough to hold them off until they reach their destination. If worse comes to worse, they could always scavenge. The desolate earth had already started to grow life around them as they slept, Ancients naturally had the blessing of the worlds.

"Couldn't we wash off first? We smell of trash and sewage."

"Sorry Aeris. The only water around here is ocean water. And the salt from there isn't good for the skin for long dosages of time."

"The ocean... I never imagined that I would ever get the chance to see it, or a beach. This is finally a dream come true..."

"..." Sephiroth took a small detour so Aeris could get to see the ocean. She was so fascinated with everything, down to the waves that gently crashed onto the shore all the way to the seashells that she started to collect. He once asked her during her excitement if she ever wanted to live on a beach. If she ever said yes he could always purchase a home in Costa del Sol with his Soldier savings, he actually had a bank piled up in his service over the years with no frolicking spending that ate at it. But she said no, there was too much sand pushing back the plant life and she would miss the flowers. Something told Sephiroth that they wouldn't tan either anyway due to their Cetra blood, so they would just stand out.

The travel was long, but not unpleasant. Aeris made for wonderful company and hardly ever complained, even as her feet were getting sore. Years in a lab made her stamina nearly nonexistent, but Sephiroth was hoping to fix that soon once they found a place to settle. They had passed a few small towns but could not go through them, much to Aeris's disappointment. It would draw too much attention to them, so they kept to the forests and plains. Which worked out for them since the place was steaming with wild berries, nuts, and fruit trees. Aeris was happy with the turn of events anyway, she got to see more of how truly beautiful their World really was.

And she fell in love with it more. And if Sephiroth was being honest, it would seem that the World loved Aeris too. The plants seemed to get more lively and vibrant whenever they passed by. A herd of wild Chocobos even stopped by them to say hello. The World would do the same for Sephiroth but not as enthusiastically as it did for Aeris.

"Aww, Sephiroth, they're so cute." Aeris cooed while petting around the head and neck of one of the Chocobos while it and a few of the others rubbed their heads against her for attention. "And they're so fluffy. It's like rubbing against a refine pillow."

"Hm... Come on, Aeris. We're half way there."

"Ohh alright. Bye Cuties!" Aeris gave them one last pet while they chirped and clicked as they walked away. "I think I rather like Chocobos."

"Hm, then maybe I'll take you to a Chocobo farm or the Gold Saucer some time to see them."

"Really? Oh that sounds lovely. There's so much of this World that I still have yet to know. I can't wait to see more of it..."

They had reached Radiant Garden by nightfall when the gates were just about to close and most of its people had turned in for the night. They were cold and exhausted and wanted to find a place to stay for the night. But Sephiroth was still contemplating if staying at an Inn was an option while they wondered the walk path through the residential area.

"Sephiroth, can we stop soon? My feet are getting sore." Aeris whined out in exhaustion.

"The Marketplace did have an Inn. But I don't want them to recognize my Soldier ID when I pay for the room."

"Then we can just camp out again. I don't mind if we have to sleep under one of these bridges, as long as we can rest."

"Heh, the water's pure enough, maybe we can even take a bath while we're at it." Sephiroth teased her with a small smirk.

"Don't even joke about that." Aeris pouted. "My body already feels icky and it smells terrible."

"I've smelled worse."

"You're a guy, of course you would say that." Aeris huffed, resting her knuckles on her hips as she turned to look at him. "But still, we gotta think of something quick before my battery tuckers out."

SLAM

"!" "!" They both turned to their right in alarm as one of the residential doors burst wide open. An old man in a blue robe and shoes with a long, pointy hat and a ridiculously long beard had burst open the door. His home lights shining the world outside his home alongside the lamplights while he adjusted his round glasses to observe them.

"Do my Senses deceive me? Ancients, two of them."

"!" "!" Aeris and Sephiroth were even more startled that he knew what they were.

"My word, you are Cetra! I was afraid that your kind had died out." He sighed out with relieved excitement, his cheekbones raised in a smile and his eyes twinkled with joy.

"W-who are you...?" Aeris nervously asked him.

"Oh, I do apologize, where are my manners." The old man said with a wiggle of his mustache before he pulled out a wand from his robe's sleeve and used Magic to write his name in the air like starlight. "I am Merlin the Wizard."

"You're a wizard?" Aeris asked with curiosity and wonder at the possibility of meeting someone with years of experience and knowledge of Magic under their belt. "Are you Radiant Garden's local wizard?"

"Well no, not really. This is just one of my private abodes I use when I visit this World to pay Bugenhagen a visit. Wizards usually like to travel around the Worlds a lot. But Bugen seems to be a stubborn old soul that doesn't want to leave his homeworld, and spends most of his time in Cosmo Canyon." Merlin began to rattle on.

"(Gasp)! So there are other Worlds out there..."

"Of course there are. Didn't you know as a Cetra?" Merlin asked in startle for her lack of knowledge that her own people practically inherited.

"I always had a feeling, but... never had it confirmed..."

"My word, you two seemed to be deprived of your own culture, and look a little worse for wear." Merlin sadly commented as he looked over there condition before moving to the side to open up his home to them. "Please come inside, I would like to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Sephiroth politely rejected the offer of the wizard they had just met. He was a kind old man with a lot of light in his heart, but still a stranger. "We'd like to look out for ourselves for a while. The people of this World have not been so kind to us."

"I understand... The Ancients use to be so numerous. But I can't even find Ancients on other worlds anymore. I am sorry that your people had dwindled down so much..." Merlin sadly signed out. "But I can't let you Blessing of the Worlds and Kingdom Hearts fend for yourselves. At least allow me to offer you a place to stay for the night."

"We appreciate your kindness. But we would like to find a place to call our own home." Sephiroth declined again, Aeris nodded in agreement with him in support.

"I see... Then, if I may suggest, there's an old abandoned house further down the road that's for sale. It's rundown and needs some work but the price is good at 25,000 Munny. The land is vibrant and the house needs fixing up, but I believe that it's your best chance to call a place home here."

"..." Sephiroth ran through Merlin's advice in his head, and he couldn't really find anything to say no about it. "Thanks for the tip. We'll see to the Realtor in the morning."

But for now, they'll check it out.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll be here on this world for a while, if you want, I can teach you what I can about your people and help you hone your Magic. Just stop by anytime." Merlin offered to them, hoping that they would take him up on that. It has been centuries since he last seen an Ancient, it would break his heart to see the remainders of their kind dwindle away. Aeris could see it in his heart too. It was rare for her to see such kindness in others hearts towards them, especially from strangers. It made her hopeful inside and start to believe in others again.

"Thank you, Merlin." Aeris sincerely said with a heart filled smile. She waved at him as Sephiroth and her walked off towards the direction that he had suggested. Once they were alone again she wrapped her arms around one of Sephiroth's as they walked. "I've never felt such light before... It was nice."

"It's been rare since we bumped into such genuine kindness like that."

"He felt so familiar..."

"We've never met him before."

"I know. But... I could feel a connection in my heart. You felt it too, didn't you?"

"... Yes." Sephiroth was reluctant to admit it but he did feel a similarity or a connection with the old wizard that he hadn't felt with any of his other previous encounters. Other than Nanaki, Aeris, and Ifalna.

"And me. (Chuckle) Don't forget about me."

"I wonder if there's a reason behind that," Aeris commented before they reached their destination. "(Gasp), Sephiroth, look. This is the place."

"..." It was a single house standing alone in the far corner away from the others. The grass had overrun the place and even choked out the weeds. The wooden fence along the place's borders was in tatters and wild vines tore away at the house's roof tiles and brickwork. Other than the cracked windows and the possible compromise of the building's structure, the place was pretty nice. There was plenty of open space on the backside, once they took control of the grass, for Sephiroth to train if he wanted to or for Aeris to start up gardening like she wanted to. The place even had a natural border in the back, an uplift in the earth with a moat to protect them from rear attacks, or nosy neighbors.

"I think I'm in love with the place..."

"Me too... Let's buy it."

"Really?! Are you sure we can afford it? Selling the Materia might afford it but that might take some time."

"I've got Munny stored up. We should be fine for a while. Although, we're going to have our work cut out for us fixing this place up."

"We can work on that together! There's nothing the two of us can't do once we put our minds to it." Aeris said with excitement and cheer.

"Hm," Sephiroth nodded with her in agreement. Planning ahead, he thought it would be better to just take a bite out of his Savings and just pay the full price, but he doubted that the bank would allow him to withdraw that much Munny out at once. Regrettably, he'll have to write a check and inform his bank of the purchase. Tomorrow would be somewhat of an annoyance. But for now... "We're going to have to camp out back for the night. If we're lucky we'll get to sleep inside for tomorrow."

"Okay. But I think I might take you up on that offer about cleaning up in the waterway."

"..."

"What? I stink. And I refuse to spend another night coated in this grime. I believe you should also do the same later."

"You'll catch a cold in those night waters." Sephiroth pointed out in concern.

"A small Fire will dry us up real quick. We'll be fine, Mr. Stinky."

"(Chuckle) Is it really that bad?"

"Let's just say that I think it was our smell that kept the Heartless away while we were out there."

...

The morning sun was what woke them up and the morning dew made sure they got up. At least they got to have a warm breakfast at a local cafe in the Marketplace. Aeris had been fluttered and excited by the new taste and crowds of people passing by and going about their lives, fascinated by the gift it was to be free like them. Even so, she was still rather nervous about being left alone with the crowds. Much to Sephiroth's notice as she waited for him in one of the Waiting Chairs at the bank while he discussed his purchase with the Bank Clerk in their office. They had advised him against buying the house since it would need to have much work done, with his account he could easily just buy a fully furnished up-to-keep house in installments if he wanted to. But Sephiroth wouldn't budge, and his natural intimidation made the Clerk easily give in to his demand.

By Noon the Realtor was already at the place, removing the lock to give them a tour of the place. The floor was rickety and creaked with each step; the furniture was covered with sun-bleached cloths which in turn was covered in dust; the whole place was covered in decades of dust.

"Well as you can see the place is well furnished. It's a three bedroom, two full bathroom house. The floors will need some reboarding, but the structure is a sturdy build." The Realtor assured, knocking on the wall as proof to hear the hardwood behind the fine plaster.

"Yes, it'll need some hardwood cleaning too... What about the water and electricity?" Sephiroth asked after giving the first floor a look over.

"Well the piping is still structurally lined along with the circuitries, but the wires and pipes may need to be replaced from aging. And you'll have to supply your own Ice and Lightning Materia for water and electricity, along with a Fire Materia in your Boiler for heating."

"We can take care of that ourselves later."

"Excellent, Sir. Now if I can get the two of you to sign some papers then the house can be all yours." The Realtor said, excited to finally get this lost cause of a place out of his hands. It was bringing down the neighborhood value and no one seemed to what to buy this place until these young suckers of a couple came along. They'd probably give up on this place in a week or two but he'd still make a profit from half the sell-back rate, not to mention the interest they would be paying over the time period of the mortgage. He led them to stand around the still covered table in the Dinning room to sign the papers. "If you both would just sign here, here, and here, we can begin to discuss your mortgage payment."

"We're paying everything in one go," Sephiroth informed, pulling out his checkbook to write the check.

"Sir, I would advise paying installments so as to not put so much financial pressure on the two of you."

"I said, we're paying in full," Sephiroth told the man, already writing out the check. Ripping it out of the checkbook and handing out to the man with eyes that said he was in no mood for games. The Realtor could feel something about Sephiroth that made him terrified to get on his bad side. "The bank has already been notified about the large purchase."

"Uhh, okay Sir. Let's just-!" The Realtor looked at the name on the check with surprise. "Sephiroth, the General Sephiroth?!"

"I didn't know there were others with my name."

"T-T-this is an honor, Sir! But I thought you were dead. We all heard what happened to the Shinra building."

"?!" Sephiroth kept his cool but inside he was freaking out about Aeris finding out so soon.

"What happened to Shinra Corp?" Aeris asked.

"Didn't you hear, Miss? It was all over the papers yesterday. The whole Shinra building burnt down with everyone in the Nightshift in it, including President Shinra."

"(Gasp)! Oh my goodness." Aeris gasped, covering her open mouth in shock.

"There is no way something that big could be arson. They believe it was a boiler explosion or something that went wrong in the Science Department. The poor people never had a chance, at least most of the workers were on the Day shift and safe at home. Now the new President, Rufus Shinra, will have to start from scratch."

"That is... really unfortunate..."

"..." Sephiroth did not know how to take her reaction, he could clearly see the sadness in her eyes and heart. But if he looked deeply, down enough he could hear the smallest little speck of dust of darkness in her heart for Shinra Corp that said 'I'm glad it's dead'. He knew she was aiming that bitter hatred not toward the people but more towards the thing that Shinra stood for itself, but it showed Sephiroth of the darker side of her that she barely had and he wanted to feel more of it.

"I apologize. Here you are about to start your new lives here and all I do is bring up dark topics. Let's sign these papers and be on our way." The Realtor said, sliding the documents over to them.

Aeris and Sephiroth both looked them over, making sure they didn't miss anything in the fine print. When everything seemed to be in order, they both signed their names in the signature space and dated the document. Taking their Copy of the Deed and the one for the bank while the Realtor took his.

"Well, I believe that's everything in order. Welcome to your new home- !" The Realtor started to say in congratulation for their purchase before a loud crashing boom sounded out in the back. They all ran outside the back door to see what it was. Only to find out that a Spring inside the uplifted ground above had burst out, creating a waterfall that filled and drained through the moat. "... You know that is going to cost you extra."

"Too late. We already signed the papers and paid in full. The contract is legit." Sephiroth countered back.

"Sephy, we have a pool."

"Yup." Both of the Ancients fist-bumped each other without even looking away from the running water. The land was fertile indeed.

...

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up and getting rid of some of the old furniture. Aeris rather like some of the old Georgian style and Country touched furniture. The wood furniture was sturdy enough and sound. But Sephiroth insisted that all the mats, cushions, rugs, clothes, and mattresses in the upstair's rooms had to go. They could always start fresh there, and Aeris was reclined to agree. The dusting was rather hard, it had taken them nearly the rest of the day to clean the place out. There was a lot of coughing and open windows through it all. A nice wind that would come by helped to clear the air. By the time they were done, all of the dust had gathered from the house onto them. But the place was already starting to look nice. They had no power or running water but they could fix that tomorrow; they could clean up in the running pool in the back until then.

For now, all the dirty mats to the mattresses were outside, and they were sleeping on the floor again.

"I'm sorry. This will be the last time. We'll get some mattresses tomorrow along with other things to fix this place up." Sephiroth apologized to Aeris from his spot on the Living room floor beside her as they both looked up at the ceiling.

"You know... I think I'd rather sleep on this hard floor with you than on a comfy cot alone back in Shinra Corp." Aeris commented with a smile, her fingers entwined together over her stomach.

"Yeah... Me too."

...

The next day had come bright and early for them since they had no means to cook in their homes and had to go out to eat for their breakfast again. As they were leaving they had noticed buds slowly starting to grow in their yard, as if they had popped out during the night. Leaving that info alone for a while, they decided to go by the local Hardware and Carpeting store in the Marketplace. Getting the replacement wood for the floor was easy enough, along with more tiles for the roof. The brickwork was a little hard since Sephiroth and Aeris couldn't decide on a color, he wanted a deep red while she wanted a pink. Eventually, they had decided to meet in the middle and decided to go for flat grey stones instead. It was only acting as a lower border for the house anyway, not the whole thing. They even got some gardening supplies to try and get that untamed yard under control.

The job took more than one trip and there was still so much more to get. And shopping for new pipes, circuit wires, and boiler did not make it easy. Luckily the place did home delivery and would drop off the heavier orders out in the front of their house. Aeris had insisted that they have a cute little fence like the poor one that had fallen apart on the property, and Sephiroth couldn't find it in him to refuse her. While their stuff was being delivered, they decided to do some furniture and house supplies shopping while they waited. They had gotten replacement cushions and mattresses easy enough. But when they got to the more refined detail things, past the utensils and the dishes, was when things got rough. Sephiroth had a thing for bachelor's plain black, white, and grey style going with him and Aeris said no to that. Making him sit back, she told him to let her take care of the house essentials.

She was new at this but she was full of wonder and bright ideas. She saw covers that would look great on the Living room furniture; a coffee table that would complete the room; carpets that would bring out the color in the room and protect the floors. Curtains that would bring great lighting in the room and protect their privacy; towels and bathroom supplies that would make the restrooms pop out. She even found a dinningroom tablecloth that she fell in love with. When they got to the bedroom stuff was when things got hard. They knew that it was a three-bedroom house and that they could have rooms of their own, but... It was hard thinking about them being separated again, even if it was only a knock on the door away. A little somberly Aeris left him to pick out his room supplies while she picked hers, together they just got a simple bedspread and countertop cover and curtains for a guest room. But they highly doubted they would have guest around.

With that done, they headed home with a ridiculous amount of shopping bags that turned heads as they headed home in the early afternoon. Their supplies were waiting for them by their front door, along with the delivers who were about to head out after the two had signed out for their stuff saying that it reached its destination. With the sun still high in the sky, the two of them got to work. Starting with moving the furniture outside to re-wood the floor.

Sephiroth was patient with Aeris as she tried to lend a helping hand, especially with the couch and the table, but he had worked much faster with himself when it came to the manageable gripping furniture. Immediately, he wasted no time tearing out the old wood and started putting in the new wood. Aeris just watched him in awe as he moved in flash-like speed.

"Wow. You are... really fast." Aeris commented as he already had the new wood already on the First Floor and started to put on the Stain and Finishes not even an hour later.

"I have to make good time if I want to start working on the floor upstairs for this to dry so we can get the furniture in before sundown," Sephiroth explained, only looking away from his work to ask her. "Shouldn't you be putting up the fence right now?"

"I was but I got distracted." Seeing Sephiroth without his coat gave for a lovely distraction since he wore no shirt under it. "I was thinking of painting it white."

"We can worry about painting later. We're going to have to paint the house all over again anyway." Sephiroth commented while continuing to work. He had just finished putting on the stain which now gave the floor a nice dark brown color. Now all he had to do was wait 10 to 15 minutes for it to dry then wipe off the excess and apply the Finishes. And that part was going to take a while, like hours between the four recommended coats. The brush he was using would dry up between then, but the guys at the store gave him a nice tip of storing it in a jar of mineral spirits to keep it soft until it was time to use it again. It was lucky all the windows were open, this part of the job smelled terrible. He would definitely have to wash up after this.

"We're going to repaint the house?! Ooo, I knew we were on the same page!" Aeris gushed with excitement.

"After I tear down the wall plaster we'll have to," Sephiroth explained before thinking aloud. "(Sigh) Right, I'm gonna have to buy more supplies for that too."

"Tear down the plaster, but why?"

"We have to replace the piping and wiring if we want this place functioning correctly. It'll cost us extra but it'll keep this place standing in the long run. At least we have a lot of Materia, that actually saved us a bunch more than what we currently spent on supplies believe it or not."

"Is Materia 'that' expensive?"

"It is. Depending on the ability, one Materia can range between 1200 to 5000 Munny, and that's for Materia that's not even matured."

"Good Lifestream, I'm glad we can naturally produce Magic."

"Me too, but the house can't, so we dodged a bullet there."

"Right, well... I'll just head outside and start working on the fence and cleaning the yard. When I'm done I'll start taking down the old brickwork and start cementing in the new one."

"Need some help?"

"I'm a big girl, Sephiroth. I can read the instructions." Aeris huffed to Sephiroth in tease as she headed out the door again. "Oh and put on some gloves and cover your mouth and eyes with some protection. That Finishes stuff is dangerous to inhale."

"Heh, yes ma'am."

Time was always a constant value for them. They needed to get their tasks done so that they can get the furniture back in before dark, but Aeris was starting to see that as highly unlikely while Sephiroth had just started putting on the first coat of Finishes and was about to take care of the floorboard replacement on the second floor. His tasks was an overnight job. They wouldn't be able to start putting the furniture in until tomorrow morning. It looks like they were camping out again, though Sephiroth disagreed on that notion. Maybe they shouldn't have bought all that home warming stuff on the first day, but they were new at this and excited at their first start on their own.

While the daylight was still on their side, Aeris decided to pull out the old fence first and started to cut the grass before putting in the new fence. She had already started mixing up the cement and used some as a base in the old fence holes to make sure the new fence wasn't uplifted by nature as she hammered it down into the ground. Keeping the cement mix from solidifying in the bucket was straining on her arms as she kept stirring but she pulled on through. And made great time, it only took her two hours to fix up the yard and put up the fence. She almost wanted to take a break, she deserved it with all her hard work. But there was still too much to do, and if Sephiroth wasn't taking any breaks than neither was she.

They were already smart about putting the furniture in the backyard so as not to draw attention to them while they worked. But she had taken a little extra time to move their extra supplies in the back too. There was an outside storage cell attached to the back of the house that she happily put the tools she wasn't using anymore in while keeping the sledgehammer out. This would be the best part. Tearing down the old brick lining. It was a struggle at first, but after five minutes she was starting to get into it. She even started giggling to herself.

"You look like you're having fun." Sephiroth commented with a smirk as he leaned against the back door with a bandana wrapped around his neck and goggles resting on top of his head.

"I thought you were working on the Finishes?"

"I was. But the coats are drying: 2nd coat for the first floor, 1st coat for the second." Sephiroth shrugged. "Mind if I join you? I could use some fresh air."

"Well grab a hammer and join me. This is the best part."

"You already sold me on that one." Sephiroth grinned, grabbing an extra sledgehammer and started tearing down the already crumbling brick lining.

With the two of them it went down in no time before they were already clearing out the debris and putting up a wood border to place down their ground row of cement. The flat rocks stacked up a lot easier than they expected, giving the place a nicer natural look than the bricks did. Now all they had to do was wait for it to dry.

"Well that should do it. We should probably wash the excess cement off of us before it hardens under our fingernails." Aeris advised.

"Probably. I should wash the splashed stain off my skin anyway." Sephiroth agreed, already jumping in the moat as he was. It was already filled with spring water. Aeris just splash the water onto herself on the grass, making sure to give her skin a good rub down.

"Sephiroth, how did you get downstairs without ruining the first floor's coating?" Aeris asked as the thought popped in her head while she was thinking it was nice for them to work on a project together like this.

"I levitated down."

"What?! Since when could you do that?!"

"I don't really remember. Five years ago, I guess." Sephiroth just shrugged as he floated on back in the water.

"Why are you being so cool about this? You literally just told me you can levitate off the ground! You can fly!"

"Don't be so surprised. You can do it too if you give it a try."

"I... I don't think my feet are ready to leave the ground like that..."

"Then we'll just start small." Sephiroth suggested supportingly as he swam back to her. "Why don't you help me re-tile the roof as your first small step?"

"..." Working together with Sephiroth on a small project again? "Yes. I'd like that."

The re-roofing was tiring, and Sephiroth had to leave halfway through to apply the next coating on the floors for a bit. And Aeris didn't have the heart to just pull out the vines and leave them to roast in the sun. She ended up taking more time climbing down with them to replant them over the edge of the moat. They seemed to be doing just fine there if not better as Morning Glories started to bud from them. Other than that it was nice seeing the house coming together. It was already starting to look so vibrant, the red roof tiles actually helped a lot. And if she convinced Sephiroth, she would like to paint the house a pale yellow, giving some of the rooms on the inside a warmer yellow or blue.

They had completed most of the outside work for the house and had already stacked up a junk pile to be disposed of later. But for now the sun was already setting and the coat in the house was still drying, along with the final Finishes coat that still needed to be applied on the second floor later. So there they were sleeping on their beds outside under the stars. Hopefully, it wouldn't rain, but at least their sleeping arrangements were much softer. Both of them were snuggled in their own blankets and bed as they looked up to the night sky.

"I'm going to stay up a little later to apply the last Finishes coat upstairs before I call it a night. When it dries in the morning, I'll start tearing down the plaster to replace the pipework and the wiring." Sephiroth said, going over the game plan with her. "I'm thinking of also replacing the tile floors in the bathrooms along with the tubes. The showerheads probably need to go too, along with replacing the wood behind the shower since it's probably eroded."

"Sounds like you have a real busy day ahead of you tomorrow."

"We both do. I'm going to need your help replastering the walls when I'm done."

"You got it."

"And if things goes as plan we can start painting the house."

"Yes!"

"Got any ideas for the color?"

"Hmm, (Chuckle), a few."

"A few? You mean there'll be more than one?"

"Oh Sephiroth, you can't really call it a home if it's all one color." Aeris giggled over at him.

"..." He didn't know what to say to argue with that. "I'll take your word for it."

"Goodnight Sephiroth. I can't believe we got so much done in one day."

"Are you hungry? I know we didn't stop to eat much."

"No. I'm just excited. I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me too."

...

SLAM! BANG, BANG

"!" Aeris was woken up to the sound of loud hammering coming from inside the house. She had curled out of bed, happy to learn that there wasn't as much dew this morning from the fresh cut lawn; however, there were more buds than there were before and they were starting to bloom. Whether it was the earth just happy to have them there or just a miraculous coincident she would have to find out later. Right now she had to find out what was going on inside their house.

Their stuff was still nice and safe in their backyard, so no one tried to pay them a visit in the middle of the night. She knew she should have been more alarmed being in a new place with strangers surrounded by valuables in the open, but she always felt safe with Sephiroth close by. Speaking of Sephiroth, he was currently tearing down the plaster, exposing the home's structure.

"Sephiroth what are you doing? The sun's not even up." Aeris tiredly said still shocked to see all the plaster dusting the floor. At least the Finishes had dried nicely.

"I thought I'd get an early start before the stores started to open. We can finish rewiring and piping the house by the time we head out to restock for supplies." Sephiroth explain with what Aeris would like to call Early Morning Madness or Builders Fever. "This place will be running with power and water in no time."

"Seph, did you even sleep last night?"

"About three hours, but that's all I need." Besides, he had to keep watch while they were out in the open like that. The circumstances were much different than when it was just them and one bag.

"(Yawn) All right, let me help you." Aeris said, lighting a few small Fire spells that she let float around the room to light up the place. "You'll never get done by the time the stores open by yourself. With me, we at least have a chance at getting done around sunup."

"Very well, I could use the company. Perhaps by tomorrow, we can start making our own meals."

"I like the sound of that. Now hand me a sledgehammer. Let's get started."

Tearing down the plaster was the fun part. Changing out the piping was easy, it was just like replacing the old pipes with the new ones, part at a time. Luckily Sephiroth had already replaced the piping under the floorboards while he was taking out the old ones. The wires were a little of an annoyance, un-stapling the old to staple in the new was a hassle. But they eventually lead to the basement where the Materia and Boiler would go. The Boiler that was already down there had Tuckered out ages ago and the people who had last lived here had wisely taken the Materia with them as they left to save on funding. But that was no trouble, they could easily make up for the inconvenience.

Now that was the fun part, bringing the Boiler from outside through the back door down the stairs to the basement. Poor Aeris was huffing and puffing as she insisted on helping Sephiroth carry it in. He could have handled it alone but couldn't find it in him to deny such a sincere request from her. With a loud thud, they placed it down where it needed to go. Connecting everything where it needed to be. Placing a 2 tiered Ice Materia in the container that was designated for it on the wall that connected to the pipelines; and a 3 tiered Lightning Materia in its container compartment attached to the wall that all the wires connected to. The Ice Materia's compartment was stationed at the middle close to the boiler where one pipeline was connected. In the slot of the Boiler, they placed a 2 tiered Fire Materia to put everything together.

"There, that should do it. Turn on the lights Aeris. Let's get some power up in here."

Aeris nodded and ran up the stairs to flick on the lights, while Sephiroth stayed behind. He had found an old empty chest in the basement, most likely left behind by the previous owners because it was too heavy to get up the stairs. It was perfect for his needs. He decided to store their extra Materia in there for safe keeping and emergency use if ever need be. With that done and out of the way he carried out the old Boiler while Aeris was gone. The last thing he wanted was her trying to help get it up the stairs and hurting herself. While she wasn't looking he tossed it out the backdoor, letting it fall half hazardously on the junk pile. He saw as the lights come on in achievement, only for them to flicker out soon after.

"What happened?"

"It's okay," Aeris assured to him, coming into the kitchen with him. "The lightbulbs are just really old. We'll have to get new ones."

"Alright, we'll just put that on our task list too." Sephiroth sighed in relief at the knowledge that there was nothing wrong with their wiring work. He was starting to feel the heat warm up the place so it all was most likely good.

"But look. We've got running water now." Aeris cheered, turning on the kitchen sink. The water ran dirty at first, cleaning out the pipe, before running clean.

"Hmm, I think I want to change out the sink nozzles too."

"Really? Don't you think that's enough?"

"It's our home, Aeris. And I want it running right for us."

"(Sigh) All right. I can't argue with you there."

"Heh."

"What?"

"We beat the sun," Sephiroth commented on his own inner joke that they had gotten the whole thing done before the sunrise.

"!" Aeris looked out the window to her surprise to find out he was right. "So we did. But that gives us enough time to clean up the mess of plaster we made on the floor."

"Gugh."

...

The sweep up of the plaster was tedious, Sephiroth was contemplating just sweeping it out the door and be done with. But that was not Aeris's way. She saw a proper disposal and place for everything no matter how dragging it was. It actually made Sephiroth happy to have all that dirt off of him when they were done and put on his long coat again to head out. Unannounced to Aeris he had left a shadow copy of himself to watch over the house while they were gone. They were heading for the long stretch, so they just needed to finish things up so they could start living their lives.

After a light and fast breakfast, they headed to the Hardware store again, who were happy to see them. Most of the hard work was done, now all they had to do was replaster; change the sinks, showerheads, and tubs; repaint the house and put in the furniture. Aeris had also pointed out that they would need heavy appliances, but Sephiroth convinced her that they could come back for them while the plaster was drying. Which was more convenient for them since they had returned back to their homes before Noon and had already had the new plaster up by the early afternoon. Aeris had started working on that while Sephiroth re-tiled the bathrooms and replaced the wood structure around the tubs while also changing out the shower-heads and tubs. He let them set and dry into place before joining Aeris on the first floor to plaster. She had gotten far, almost to the stairs. But with the both of them working it made it easier to reset the whole house. Aeris even had time to change out the light-bulbs before they headed out again.

While they left everything to set and dry, they would go get the other things. Hopefully, this would be the last big trip. As they returned to the Hardware store they had helped themselves with checking out their paint color options before grabbing someone to help them with their Fridge, Freezer, Washer, and Dryer choices. Sephiroth decided to sit back and let Aeris pick the colors that she wanted. She went with an offset white for the fence, a faded yellow for the outside of the house, a soft tan for the Living room, a warm yellow for the Kitchen and Dinning room and Hallways, a baby blue for the bathrooms, and a warm blue for the bedrooms. Sephiroth rather liked the idea of the warm blue in his room so he wouldn't mind. It would probably look better for him than just grey or black. Aeris would probably have a heart attack if she saw his room in all black like he was brooding in the darkness.

"My, you guys are back again? I must say, you two are the best customers we've had this week. Are you building a new home?"

"Yup. More like fixing up an old one. We just moved here into the old house in the corner." Aeris said starting up small talk with the store clerk, bringing Sephiroth out of his thoughts.

"That old thing? I thought no one was ever going to buy that place. It was too reclusive and needed too much work. Still, I'm glad somebody is giving that home all the love it needs."

"We're doing our best. Which is why we're here again. We need to purchase the heavier applications so we can start calling it a home."

"No problem, may I offer this fine one-piece Fridge and Freezer set. It fits very nicely in Kitchens and has more storage space with its height."

"Will it be able to fit in our front door okay?"

"Just fine, Miss. It was made to fit through on its side."

"What about the Dryer and Washer?"

"We only have one model for those. But they were made to function in all forms of homes."

"We'll take them," Sephiroth added in. "When can you have them delivered?"

"Well, it's gonna take us mid-afternoon to load them up, so...they should be around your house by nightfall."

"Nope. That's not going to work. I'm tired of eating out." Sephiroth said lifting up the Refrigerator set with his bare hand.

"Whoa!"

"You can deliver the other appliances at your own pace," Sephiroth said, carrying it over to be ringed up with the rest of his purchases and carried out with him. Aeris ended up having to carry all the paints. Along with the slight nervous embarrassment again at having Sephiroth showoff his strength to rest of the people here by carrying the Fridge out with one hand, just like he did for both tubs earlier.

"Geez, Ma'am. Your husband is ridiculously strong. Is he apart of Soldier?"

"!" Aeris was about to comment or make an excuse as she got fluttered when she just registered what the clerk had just said. "H-he's not my husband."

"Your fiancé then?" The clerk corrected noticing the flush of red blooming on the young lady's face. "(Chuckle) I must say, young love is always nice to see. You two take care of each other."

Aeris couldn't even say anything, too embarrassed and flustered to say anything other than giving a nod and walking out with Sephiroth. Sephiroth noticed the flush on her face but didn't comment. She was just probably starting to get exhausted from the day's work. But they still have much more to do.

"Get ready, Aeris. Just a little more then we're done."

"I-I know that!"

"?"

Sadly the trip back was a little strenuous on Aeris but not too much. Their work for the past few days seemed to be making her stronger. Once they got home, Sephiroth set the Fridge in the back with the other things and started putting down the cover on the floor for painting. They both decided to each do one room individually to make the job go by faster, take a break to get an early dinner, then put on the second coat. They were messy but the house looked nice. Aeris had decided to use the off-white to paint the bathrooms, which Sephiroth had agreed with and they worked on them together.

The sun was already setting by the time the paint dried. Rushing to beat the time, they started to bring the furniture back in. Starting with the rugs and carpets after taking the floor covers off. Then the upstairs furniture next, having an awkward time getting the bed-frames back up the stairs and into their rooms again, just as bad as it was getting the mattresses and dressers back up there. Then they worried about the downstairs furniture, starting from the front and making their way to the back where the kitchen was. Once all the hard work was done, Aeris just asked him to help dump the small homestead supplies on the Living room floor and she would setup from there. That was easy enough, at least they were no longer just hanging outside anymore.

Aeris had worked wonders setting up the curtains, the furniture covers, the dishes and utensils, the knickknacks, all the things that made the place pop out more as a home. Aeris was already working her way upstairs when the delivery crew finally came with the Washer and Dryer. Sephiroth just told them thanks and to just place it down in the front door, he'd take care of it. Much to their disbelief and confusion, they just had him sign the confirmation of delivery, accepted his tip, and went on their way. While Aeris was busy upstairs, he quickly brought in the Wash and Dryer, placing them in their previously designated area in the entrance space between the kitchen and the backdoor way. Connecting them to the water and electricity was easy enough. He even had time to bring in the Fridge and kick the empty paint cans over to the junk pile. He already had it set up by the time Aeris came running down.

"It's finished! This place is officially- hey, when the Fridge get in here?"

"The Delivery Crew came and helped me carry it in along with the Wash and Dryer." Sephiroth lied to keep her from fretting but still felt bad about doing it to her.

"Oh that was nice of them. I wished I was there to thank them."

"They did their job and I thanked them. So, are we officially done?"

"Hmm, not quite. We still need to get a few more things like groceries and we still have to paint the outside of the house and the fence."

"Why not do that now?"

"(Groan) I'm too tired to go out and it's too dark." Aeris said, dragging in the remaining paint to rest by the backdoor for tomorrow. "What do you say we just call it a night?"

"Heh, fine. I'm actually getting tired anyway. It'll be great to try out the new baths."

"A bath. (Sigh) That sounds nice right now..."

The both of them had retired to separate bathrooms to freshen up for the night and retired to their rooms. The setup was nice, and Aeris had done a great job setting up Sephiroth's things in a way that didn't make him feel cluttered just how he liked it. Aeris knew him so well. But... All the same... He was starting to feel rather cold without her around... In the other bedroom, she felt the same.

...

The next day was an easier morning. They had woken up with the sun with plans on finishing the paintwork before they left for the Marketplace to buy some groceries. Aeris had thought it would be a great idea to use the old floor wood to make walkways in the backyard or to make a bench. Sephiroth rather liked that notion as a fun pet project to do later on and decided to keep the best pieces of wood to be stored for later. It would cut back on their trip to the city's dump anyway.

Aeris started happily painting the fence while Sephiroth climbed a ladder to get started on the designated color for the home. Some of the windows were still broken so they were going to have to replace them later today. As he brushed on the paint he continued to think to himself.

They finally did it, they were finally free of Shinra to live on their own as they always wanted. But what were they going to do now? After they completed fixing the house, what then? Sephiroth's Savings would only hold them off for a few months longer after the bite it took from their heavy purchases. But what would he do without Soldier? Aeris was fine and had the potential to be whatever she wanted to be. But Soldier was all Sephiroth ever knew. He didn't know what he would do without it. It was one of the things that he was really good at, a work that he truly enjoyed.

While he mindlessly painted on, two members of the Royal Guard had marched their way to Aeris and Sephiroth's front yard.

"I can't believe it, he's here. Just like the report said he was." One of the guards said, shocked to see the great General Sephiroth doing mundane housework like repainting. Their presence had startled Aeris with fright that they had been caught again, flustered with fear she called over to Sephiroth who was in his own little world.

"S-Sephiroth."

"!" Sephiroth was brought back by her tiny whimper of fear and his head shot back to see who would dare to scare his Aeris like this.

"General Sephiroth, we're glad you're alive." One of the guards said in professional relief.

"We had feared that you had perished along with Shinra."

"I had merely setup to move which has had my attention at the time. I was under the impression that it wouldn't be an inconvenience for the Kingdom if I got it done during my given week leave." Sephiroth merely explained, coming down from the ladder to place a comforting hand on Aeris to silently let her know that everything was alright.

"Yes, that may be the case. However, his Majesty the King wishes to see you. You must report to the castle immediately."

"Very well. Just let me put on my coat and I'll be ready." Sephiroth nodded to the guards before turning to Aeris with a more softer look. "I'll try not to be too long. Think you can handle things while I'm gone?"

"Yup," Aeris nodded to ease his worries. "I'll finish up the paintwork while you're gone."

"Alright, but be careful on that ladder."

"Right," Aeris nodded in confirming and waved Sephiroth off as he left with the guards after grabbing his coat from the front porch. "Hurry back Sephy."

"Sephy?" One of the Guards snickered as he tried to hold in a laugh.

"Not a word," Sephiroth said with a tone that he would tolerate no backtalk on his nickname, or let the word breed out. He had so much power in his presence, even as he put on his black coat, that commanded obedience.

"Yes, Sir." They both said in unison as the rest of the trip to Hallow Bastion Castle went by in silence.

Most of the residence in the capital were startled to see the newcomer being accompanied by guards to the palace. Seeing as he must have been important, most did not connect him to the General of Soldier since the fall of Shinra Corp. But even the Castle Guards manning the front entrance to the castle saluted him as he made his way in. All in the palace were shocked and relieved that he was still alive. The Guards had led him to the king's office where he would have a summoned meeting with Ansem the Wise.

"I see that the reports of you being in the city were true." King Ansem said as Sephiroth made his way in and respectfully approached his desk. Sephiroth did not take a seat but neither did the king. He had his arms crossed behind his back with his side facing Sephiroth as if he had just been looking out the window. "I am pleased to see that you are alive, Sephiroth."

"As am I, your Majesty," Sephiroth responded getting a shoulder-shaking laugh and chuckle from the king.

"I see the events of Shinra has put no damper on your sense of humor."

"..."

"We have no idea or solid proof on what had caused that fire. But our reports had said that you were heading back to Shinra before its collapse. I was concerned that you might have perished with it."

"I apologize for worrying you, your Grace," Sephiroth said putting a side fist on his chest and gave his king a small bow.

"Fret not over it, the kingdom and I are just glad for your safety. Can you tell us anything about what occurred during that night of the fire?"

"I only returned to Shinra to retrieve my friend-and-companion and headed for Radiant Garden. I was gone before the fire burned Shinra Corp down." That... wasn't exactly a lie...

"I see... And what were you doing heading to Radiant Garden? It's not usually common to head to your area of work for a Vacation."

"Moving, Sir. We were sick of living in Midgar. Radiant Garden was the best change of pace for us, and more convenient for me in regards to Soldier." Sephiroth answered.

"Well, that was until Shinra collapsed."

"..."

"But that is why I'm glad you're here. I have a proposition for you Sephiroth."

"?"

"With Shinra starting from the ground again under new leadership, President Rufus Shinra has offered to sell the rights to Soldier over to me." King Ansem explained. "A foolish choice on his part but not one I will let slip past me. I would like you and the rest of Soldier to work directly under me with the Royal Guard."

"!"

"You will have your own faction branch, of course, and your ranks still standing along with your pay. Honestly, your pay will be better this way since it will no longer be cut to Shinra's portion of percentage." King Ansem had to persuade with bargains, but honestly, Sephiroth would have said yes anyway. "So what say you, Sephiroth? Will you join back with Soldier and work directly under the kingdom?"

"It would be an honor, your Majesty," Sephiroth said, giving his king a small bow again.

"Ha ha, excellent!" King Ansem said with a pleased laughter. "By the way, how are you liking Radiant Garden so far? Has your move been going well?"

"We had purchased an old home a little far out from the rest that needed some work," Sephiroth answered as a report. "We're almost done, we just need to repaint, replace some of the windows, and take our piled up junk to the dump and then the place will be ready for living in."

"(Chuckle) It seems that you have been rather busy since the last time I've seen you. There is still one more day of your designated leave time. Would you like to extend it to one more week?"

"No, I get restless when I sit still for long. I'm excited to return to Soldier. And I'm certain that my fellow Soldiers feel the same."

"Ha haha. I am pleased to hear that. But still, please try to take one day to relax."

"Yes, Sir. Tomorrow I shall rest."

"Very good. I shouldn't hold you for long. Please return to your new home until Soldier is summoned again." The king dismissed him, letting Sephiroth bow and head for the door before he called to him again. "Oh, and Sephiroth."

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Welcome to Radiant Garden."

"Thank you, Sir." Sephiroth had made his way home with more of a skip in his step, or at least as much of a skip for his standards. The day was still young and he had so much to look forward to in the future. He couldn't wait to tell Aeris. When he had returned home, he could see that Aeris was done painting the fence and the house and was lying in the grass. Some of the buds from before had started to bloom around her. "You did a good job."

"Sephiroth!" Her eyes shot open and she sat up in relief that he was back and okay.

"Were you careful on the ladder?"

"Yes. What about you? Is everything alright?"

"It would seem that I will be returning to Soldier soon, in about two days time."

"But-"

"For the kingdom," Sephiroth explained, trying to erase Aeris's growing worries. "Rufus Shinra has sold the Soldier Project over to the king."

"I see... Well, that's good. This is a good thing, right?"

"It is."

"Oh!" Aeris was startled as Sephiroth had instantly picked her up by the waists and twirled her around in the air in his arms. It made her feel light and giddy.

"It means we can get a little bit more to settle in. What do you say we get a TV while we're out getting replacement windows and groceries?"

"A TV? Uh, I don't know... as long as it's not too big and stays in the Living room. I don't want us to be too dependent on it."

"Fair enough. What do you say we get you some new clothes too? You must be tired of wearing that plain Shinra issued dress. Let's get you something that 'you' want to wear."

"Out with the old and in with the new me... You know I like that idea. Very much..."

...

It was the next day and Aeris was sporting her new blue and white sundress. It went a little below her knees and looked so vibrant, it was just like Aeris. Sephiroth had also gotten her some iron braces for her wrists that had caught her eye, along with a new pair of brown boots. She had already liked wearing boots, regardless of Shinra, slipper shoes just didn't seem practical to her. While they were out they had also gotten some books to fill up their shelves. Most of them were Magic oriented, some were about plants and wildlife, while Aeris had gotten one cookbook for the both of them so they could try cooking at home. And it seemed to have paid off. After they had put in the new windows they had thought to celebrate with their first home-cooked meal. Which had ended with the first batch getting burnt, but the second time was the charm. Sephiroth had insisted on getting a new Oven and Stove Top, but Aeris seemed to love the old rustic charm of the current one, and so it stayed. However, he did replace the sink covers so they didn't look so dull and rusted.

And here they were now, having breakfast at the table and enjoying their new, finished home.

"More flowers are starting to bloom. They're beginning to take over the yard." Aeris commented as she had observed how their home had become more vibrant and colorful with their presence. It was starting to get hard to see the grass anymore.

"It must be because of us. Ancients do tend to bring out the Blessing of the Land. But I think it's mostly you. You tend to brighten up any room with your Light without even trying."

"!" Aeris was fluttered by his comment and started to blush at the compliment. "T-thank you. But I think you're being too kind. They just look so lovely. I wish there was a way to share them with everyone..."

"Why not sell them?"

"?"

"You've got a great knack for plants. And I'm sure your charm will attract a lot of people that you'll be selling them by the bundle." Sephiroth tried to reason to her. "I'm sure you'll be great at it."

"I don't know about that... I don't think I'm ready to be around so many people..." Aeris shied away, unable to make eye contact with Sephiroth in her shame.

"What are you talking about? Aeris you're a natural with people. Even better than I am." Sephiroth insisted, reaching over the table to put his hand over hers. "You've got too big of a heart to shut yourself away like this. The World loves you, I'm sure if you give the people on it a chance they'll love you too. But you've gotta give it a try before giving up like this."

"... Do you really think I could do this?"

"I know you can."

"Well I better try then... Sometimes I can be my worst enemy and let myself down. But you're the only person I can never let down, Sephiroth. If you say I can sell flowers, then I'm going to sell flowers."

"That's my girl." Sephiroth gave her a small smile that was filled with his warmth while giving her hand a supportive squeeze.

"But, I want to visit Merlin again."

"..."

"He knows so much more about the Ancients than we do, a-and I can sense powerful Magic within him. And he was willing to help us, I bet he would be more than happy to teach us. There are so many things we could learn from him, if only we give him the chance to teach us."

"... Alright."

"Really?!"

"Yes. But we go together. I don't trust that wizard just yet."

"Thank you Sephiroth..." Aeris said, rushing over to the other side of the table to hug him. "We can learn Magic together. I'm sure it'll be amazing."

'With you, anything is amazing...'

...

A few weeks had passed. The two of them had more than settled in just fine and Soldier had gotten back together as if they had never been torn apart. The members of First Class were more than happy that Sephiroth was alright. Genesis had nearly lost his mind with worry when he first heard the news that the building Sephiroth was heading to had burned to the ground, Angeal not too far off the same boat. But the team was back again and was working with a direct contract under the kingdom and king. They were doing just fine, if not happier.

Aeris had started selling her flowers in the Marketplace, causing quite a crowd as everyone wanted a pot of her vibrant flowers to garnish their window or table. They even said her flowers lasted longer than anyone else's. She felt terrible cutting the flowers from their stem but they were apparently resilient, coming back in the following days as if nothing had happened. She was making quite a coin for herself and was starting up her own savings. As her first purchase, she bought herself a new pink, button-up sundress that went to her ankles. She was doing rather good for herself and was growing up a rather good relationship with the community. They had grown rather fond of the 'Flowergirl of Radiant Garden' or so they would call her. She had a healing power that they said could Cure any weary soul, and that picked up a crowd as well. Thanks to her, they had warmed up to the two of them to see past Sephiroth's stoic nature and welcome them to the neighborhood. The housewarming gifts were mostly baskets of fruits, but one kind neighbor was nice enough to give them a young tree. Aeris planted it instantly on the side yard, hoping that they would put a bench there soon so that the tree would provide shade under as it grew.

It was a project that the two of them slowly worked on during the weekends that was still a working progress. With Soldier now station in Radiant Garden, it was easier for Sephiroth to come home every day when he was not far out on a mission. At times Aeris would get lonely when he was gone away for long, she spent most of those days in her garden, or with Merlin training on her Magic. By this time Aeris and Sephiroth had built enough of a relationship with Merlin that Sephiroth had trusted him to keep Aeris safe while he was away. But she didn't need much protecting anymore. She had learned so much Magic from Merlin, and she was easily soaking up more as his best student. Sephiroth was a worthy rival for the title as he learned just as quickly as Aeris but didn't match her strength wise when it came to Magic. Soon they were learning Magic that most of the book records on their world thought were lost. It became very awkward one time when Sephiroth accidentally cast Comet too close to the city and had to veer it off, making the people think it was a shooting star. From that point on Merlin thought it would be best for the two of them to learn Magic from outside the city.

But it was fun. Merlin was very patient with them and kind. He had even become like a father figure for Aeris and someone that Sephiroth deeply respected. Together they grew to be better people. Much to the confusion of the residence of Radiant Garden. They could never understand how such complete opposites could come together so well, or even have met. But they could not deny that the odd couple complimented each. Even though the two of them weren't really together like that, much to the unknown knowledge of the rest of the World. But the two of them could never seem to correct the people when they made that mistake. They even acted like a married couple at times.

"Don't forget your lunch, Seph. Do you have everything you need?" Aeris asked while nibbling on some toast as she did the breakfast dishes.

"Yes. I've got to rush, Aeris. There's a drill scheduled today that I can't be late for."

"You're the General. Can't you show up anytime you want?"

"That is a horrible example to set."

"(Chuckle) Okay. Have fun. Kick butt and whatnot."

"I'll see what I can do," Sephiroth smirked as he headed out the front door. "I'll be back later."

"Take care, Seph." She waved him off, turning back to the dishes as she heard the door close. It was going to be a rather slow day. This was around the time of the week when she took the day off selling flowers. Merlin was a little busy with an independent research so she couldn't learn any new Magic today. She could just practice on her own or read up on it but she just wasn't feeling it today. She could work on the bench in the basement, but it just didn't feel right doing it without Sephiroth. Maybe she could work on those walking ramps, that seemed like an easy enough project. It was just nailing boards together into a large rectangle and sticking them into the ground at an angle. She didn't want anything fancy, and the wood was already Stain and Finishes from previous use so she was good on that department. The way it was now gave it a good aging look.

Just as she was about to get to that she noticed that Sephiroth's lunch was still sitting on the counter.

"Oh! That silly man, in so much of a rush I bet he forgot his own shirt." But he doesn't even wear one... "I best drop this off at the Soldier Station for him real quick. Wouldn't want him to go hungry for lunch."

And with that in mind. she grabbed his temperature sealed lunch bag and headed out the door. But she didn't really know where the Soldier Station was, she had never accompanied Sephiroth on his way there and he had never cared to tell her its location. So just following her Ancient Senses she followed the direction of his heart. It wasn't too much of a walk, passed the Marketplace and further off from Hallow Bastion Castle. Soldier Station was far off on the corner of the kingdom's border, mostly for training use of the forest just outside the kingdom's gate and a swift reaction if the kingdom borders were under attack.

The building was nice, not as godly as Shinra Corp was but still the same style and a sensible amount of five Floors. A little nervous, Aeris took a deep breath, held up her head, and took the steps up to the glass main entrance door. The twirling doors threw her off a little along with the weird metal detector gate that she passed along away. She knew that she could not just simply waltz up the stairs to any Floor she wanted as a nonmember of Soldier, she most likely needed a Pass. So with unsure steps in a new place, she headed toward the Receptionist Desk at the end of the room.

"Welcome to Soldier. Do you have an Appointment, Ma'am?" The Receptionist asked with a fake sweetness that usually coated one who wanted to be anywhere else but where they were.

"No. I'm here to make a Delivery for Sephiroth." Aeris still slightly said nervously to the new face.

"General Sephiroth. (Sigh) Oh god, one of his fans..." The Receptionist corrected with slight rudeness and mumble off to herself the last part pinching her nose before she looked back at Aeris. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, we are not permitted to allow unauthorized people to come in for simple meet-and-greets."

"I'm not here to make trouble. I'm just here to drop this off and then be on my way." Aeris said, the nervousness was gone and her sass was making a comeback from this lady's attitude-filled reception.

"That is not permitted either."

"Fine. Then you give it to him." Aeris said more commandingly, holding out the bag to her. "As long as he gets it, I don't care how it's brought."

"(Sigh) Fine. I'll put it with the rest of the fan sent things for to the Soldiers to be filtered through for hazards. If he cares to retrieve it, it'll get to him within a months time." The Receptionist said, holding a hand out for Aeris to place the bag in. But Aeris instantly pulled it back.

"I did not waste my time on this and come all the way here just for him to get it in a months time." Aeris huffed at the lady in irritants. The room was starting to get cold in her irk, much to the Receptionist's unnotice.

"That is the proper procedure, Ma'am, and the only way your package is getting to him."

"I'm not leaving until this bag gets into Sephiroth's hands in time for Lunch."

"Then prepare for a long wait."

"I've got all the time in the world."

"I bet you do."

"!" Ice condensation was starting to form on the glass around them and Aeris was about to give this woman a lesson in manners when two new faces started to make their appearance.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is that how you greet a new guest?" Genesis said, making his way over with Angeal as the commotion had drawn their attention while they were about to make their way up the stairs from the back cafeteria room. "You're making Soldier look bad, Sweetheart."

"What you had said was very disrespectful and dishonored all of Soldier which you are representing," Angeal added in as well in disappointment in the Receptionist behavior. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I'm sorry, Sir." She lowered her head in apology and nervousness. If those two reported her in she might lose her job.

"I think it is the young lady you should be apologizing to."

"I-"

"Don't bother, apologies mean nothing to me if they're forced out with no meaning behind them."

"!" The three of them were startled by the young lady's sass. But she seemed chipper, and the room felt a lot warmer.

"I'm sure she's just tired from all the phone calls and people passing through." Aeris smiled, a small snide in her words as the room had been empty and quiet before she had gotten there. But she sincerely smiled at the two of them with the kindness in her heart. "But thank you for coming to my rescue. That was really kind of you."

"It was no trouble, Miss." Angeal gave her a small bow in greeting.

"And what brings you to our humble building?" Genesis asked in curiosity.

"I came here to drop off something for Sephiroth. He forgot it on his way here." Aeris explained.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. But we don't deliver packages from fans." Angeal sighed out apologetically and started to head for the stairs again. "We should go. The hand-to-hand combat drill will be starting soon. We must show an example for the younger members."

"Don't be like that. This is the first time one of Sephiroth's fans actually had enough nerve to stick around and fight with the Receptionist." Genesis called over to Angeal as he walked into the other hallway.

"But I'm not a fan." Aeris huffed in insistence before shying away a little. "Well not really. Not in the way you guys mean..."

"Oh?" Genesis quirked an eyebrow and looked back in attention to her. "And what would your name be Miss Not-Really-A-Fan?"

"Aeris."

"!" That answer got Genesis's eyes to open wide along with Angeal's as he slowly leaned half his body back out the hallway door to look at her. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please."

"Aeris?" She gave her name again only to startle in concern as Genesis hunched over and began to shake. Only for her to realize later that he was laughing. "?!"

"Heh heh, hehe. Bwah Ha Hahaha! So this is the mysterious Aeris he's been secretly hiding!" Genesis continued to laugh although it died down with small shakes as he looked Aeris over. "And why wouldn't he?! You are quite the lovely little thing!"

"Uhh thank you?"

"(Wheeze) I'm sorry, I'm sorry. (Exhale) It's just, we've been hearing so much about you but never really quite been given a face." Genesis tried to explain while pulling himself together so as not to startle the poor thing away.

"You're kind of the talk around Sephiroth but at the same time his little secret," Angeal said in explanation, coming back into the room again.

"You two know Sephiroth?"

"Why wouldn't we? We are in First Class Soldier with him." Genesis shrugged off with a hint of pride.

"Oh! Then you must be his friends Genesis and Angeal." Aeris said with excitement. "He's told me so much about you."

"And we're quite flattered to hear that and would like to discuss it more. But right now we have a Combat Drill to get to."

"Oh, then I won't hold you up. Can you just give this to him on your way?" Aeris asked offering the bag over to Genesis, but he had another idea.

"Nonsense, you can give him the bag yourself." Genesis insisted, placing an arm around her to lead her up the stairs towards where they were going. "I'm sure he'll be surprised to see you."

"Oh but I couldn't impose. I don't want to cause you two any trouble."

"Nonsense, this is no trouble. In fact, this is going to be great."

"Oh...?"

"G," Angeal called over to him.

"What?" Genesis asked back, wondering if Angeal was going to stop his little prank or tell him it was against the rules to bring her up there. But it looked like Angeal's sense of humor was kicking in.

"I wish we had a camera."

"Me too, my friend, me too." Genesis grinned before storming into the Dojo room area of the 3rd Floor that nearly all of the Soldier members were gathered in. All of them turning towards Genesis as he made his loud entrance. "Hey fellas, look who decided to make a surprise visit!"

"?!" They all looked in a surprised confusion that Angeal and Genesis had come in with a rather strange but beautiful young lady. Sephiroth was shocked by her appearance and could barely hide it from his fellow members as his eyes widen. They all mumbled to themselves while Lazard was furious.

"Genesis, Angeal what is the meaning of this? You know this building is dangerous for regular civilians. As Soldiers, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Both of you, escort the young lady safely off the premises and report back for reparation later."

"Come on, Lazard, Sir. It's not every day the secret little wifey of Sephiroth, that he tries to hide so much, pays us a visit. We are finally in the presence of 'the' Aeris herself! Isn't this great?!"

"Wh-what?" Aeris began to blush in an embarrassed startle as everyone in the room began to look at her in wonderment and surprise. But she could see the mortification on Sephiroth as he put on his stoic mask of stone over his expression as the others, even Lazard, looked her over in curiosity. As if she was a Lost Wonder.

"Aeris, what are you doing here?" Sephiroth flatly asked to her. He was angry, he didn't want the others in Soldier to finally meet Aeris because she was his little treasure. One that he did not want to share.

"Um..." She was nervous and apologetic for putting Sephiroth in this embarrassing spot at his work. With shy hands, she lifted up his bag towards him. "You... You forgot your lunch."

"..." The whole room went quiet for half a minute. And then suddenly burst with laughter. A whole room of Soldiers holding their sides and slapping their knees to Sephiroth's embarrassment.

"What a cute wife you have, Sephiroth." Angeal teased at him with closed eyes and a smirk as he crossed his arms to hold in the laugh. Genesis was openly laughing his head off at Sephiroth predicament bending over as he held on to his knees.

"She makes homemade lunches for you and brings them to work for you?! Where did your Stoic Hide find the chance to bag someone like her?!" Genesis said through fits of laughter.

"(Groan)," all Sephiroth could do was run his hand along his face in annoyance and take his humiliation like a man.

...

Some more time had passed and Sephiroth had learned to remember to bring his lunch... and hide it from the others. Aeris, on the other hand, had grown into herself more. She had more confidence in herself, more pride in what she was. The others could feel it in the air around her and it drew more people to her. She was kind and listened to what the people had to say, and gave some pretty good advice with the help of the world's heart. Soon her flower business was expanding, and she needed more than just the basket of flowers she carried or just her garden. She needed more space and a means of transportation.

During one of her walks of exploring the town and everywhere around her, she had stumbled upon a crack in the kingdom's wall and followed it out to an abandoned church just a little outside of Radiant Garden in the forest that was further right from their house. It was an old building with faded white paint and holes in its roof and floor, but the structure was still good. The pews were pushed back and out of line, away from the open floorboards. But it was perfect. The ground was fertile and the sunlight shined brightly through the holes in the roof and the stain glass windows. This place would be perfect to expand her flower growth. It didn't take long for her to move some of her flowers from her home to the church and for them to spread and thrive in their new home. This was a sacred place filled with Light and Aeris started to come there when Sephiroth was away.

She even met a young boy named Zack who had come to Radiant Garden with his parents for 2 weeks for vacation and naughtily snuck out the crack in the kingdom's border to play out in the forest. But Aeris was doing the same thing so she couldn't judge. And that was how they met. He was a boy of twelve with eyes full of wonder and a thirst for adventure. He saw the beauty in the flowers that bloomed in this abandoned church left to rot away and wanted to help. He had snuck out nearly every day he was there to help her out. Even coming up with the idea that she should build a wagon to help her sell her flowers in. Which she had thought was a great idea. This way she could sell potted plants as well which would last much longer than the cut ones. They had worked together for the next two days gathering all the supplies they needed to make it and then putting it together.

It was almost time for Zack to return home with his parents so he wanted to make his last days there really count. He put so much effort and energy into making that wagon with Aeris that she couldn't find it anything other than lovely. It was a cute wagon on yellow trike-wheels, the front ones being bigger than the back one. They had even made it pretty by painting the wood white with yellow structure/baselining and garnishing it with pink bow and ribbon top rimming and a blue fold-back cover top.

"It's lovely, Zack." Aeris praised to Zack at their finished work, holding back her giggle at the dried pant she noticed around his face and arms. "You did a splendid job."

"Nothing to it once I set my mind to it." Zack bragged with pride holding his chin up and chest out at her praise.

"(Giggle) But still, thank you. It was lovely having you help me and the flowers with this and spending time together. Although, I am sorry that this is how you spent your vacation. You should have been spending it playing and hanging out with more kids than spending it on little old me and my flowers."

"Nah, don't be. I always wanted to come to Radiant Gardens and asked my parents if we could come here for vacation. And I rather like your company." Not to mention she was really pretty and had an air about her that drew life to her, it was so warm.

"Oh? Well the Capital is such a radiant city, I'm not surprised you wanted to come here. Most people do, at least once. Any particular reason or attraction you wanted to see?"

"Yeah, the Soldier Station," Zack said with excitement and determination in his eyes. "I always wanted to meet the great General Sephiroth. He's my hero. One day I'm going to join Soldier and become First Class and be a hero just like him."

"That might take a while for you, little man. You're a little young for the enlistment requirements."

"!" "!" Both of them were startled by the sudden appearance of Sephiroth himself, leaning against the entrance door-frame of the church with his arms crossed.

"Sephiroth," Aeris said in startled happiness to see him after a long time of being away on a mission, but also nervousness on how angry he would be with her for endangering herself by sneaking out of the protection of the kingdom like this.

"..." But he seemed so calm, so stoic like he always seemed. But inside she knew he was calculating, his heart always gave him away for her. But she was happy to feel the warmth that was present there too telling her that he was glad to see her as well. "So this is where you have been slipping off to."

"Please don't be mad."

"No. This place is well bordered by forest and protected by trees. How could I be angry with you, you're still safe here." Sephiroth said as he approached them from the aisle between the pew columns.

"So you're not going to report the crack in the wall to the castle?"

"It's no threat to the kingdom, so there is no need."

"I can't believe it, you're really here General Sephiroth..." Zack gasped out in awe as the tall First Class Soldier finally made his way up to them. His height and build were intimidating to the young twelve-year-old but at the same time awe-inspiring. He couldn't believe it. He was actually standing in front of his hero. This was the best day of his life!

"..." Sephiroth looked down at the spiky, black-haired boy with blue eyes and a sleeveless blue shirt and pants. Inside he was confused on how to react, he didn't have much experience dealing with children. "Whom might you be, young man?"

"Uh-I um..." Zack nervously spat out unable to make a sentence in front of his hero. Aeris was the one that came to his rescue as she placed a reassuring hand on top of his head.

"This is Zack Fair. The nice young man who helped me take care of the flowers out here and made this lovely wagon for them. He's very reliable and has been a great protector." Aeris said to help boost up Zack's confidence and courage.

"Is that so. Hmm... Those are some good qualities for Soldier." Sephiroth responded back bringing the sparkle back into Zack's eyes again tenfold. "It seems that you already have the makings to be a First Class Soldier. I look forward to the future results."

"Thank you, Sir!"

"(Giggle) Well, Zack, you finally got to meet Sephiroth. What are you going to do next?" Aeris asked down at him with a smile as she removed her hand from his head and rested it on one of her bent knees just like the other. She was just so happy for him.

"I was thinking of asking you out on one date, Miss Aeris," Zack said proudly as he turned back to face Aeris.

"?!" Aeris was slightly caught off guard by the kids sly, smooth swag. He would indeed be quite the lady killer when he grew up and his charm started to kick in more.

"Sorry, Zack," Sephiroth said coming over to Aeris and wrapping an arm around her middle to bring her closer to him. "But I'm the one who's going to ask Aeris on a date. I've waited much longer for it than you."

"!" Aeris was flustered and happy at the same time as her cheeks started to turn red.

"Aww what?" Zack whined. "Not even one date?"

"Sorry, but I'm asking for more than just one," Sephiroth said, giving Aeris a little extra squeeze.

"It's about time you asked me," Aeris said with a happy smile that nearly bordered into a grin. "I was beginning to think that I should be the one to ask first."

"Beat you to it then." Sephiroth grinned in slight tease and triumph, doing flips inside his heart that she had said yes.

"Aww man," Zack pouted, realizing that he lost this one. But, there was always more.

...

About two months had passed since Sephiroth and Aeris started dating. To the people they honestly didn't see a difference, they had already thought the two of them were already seeing each other. But to them it was like being on cloud nine. Aeris was so much brighter and Sephiroth was in a better mood around other people, much to his nonchalant nature would allow them to see. They had even moved into the same room together. It was a little bit of a transition for Sephiroth to get use to Aeris's things in his space but he wouldn't change it back to the way things were if it meant giving up cuddling with Aeris at night. It had felt so right to have her there again at night and it felt like a hole had been filled since their time together escaping Shinra. Everything was going wonderfully for them.

Until the opening of a Private Club called The Honey Bee Inn in Midgar...

It called itself a Private Club, but everyone knew that it was a Gentlemen's Club. It was on the sleazy part of the Sectors in Midgar, and the ladies who applied to work there were taken to the owner's mansion, Don Corneo for the 'interview'. Don Corneo was the dirt face who ran that Sector of Midgar, a famous dilettante among other things. It was disgusting and slimy but the girls went to work there willing so there was nothing they could do about it. But it was when girls started to go missing around the world around the same time Don Corneo was looking for a bride that it became their problem.

At first the king wanted Soldier to investigate to make sure that it wasn't a string of Heartless attacks. But he refused to turn a blind eye on the Don and wanted First Class Soldier to investigate him as their top priority.

It became personal when Aeris was one of the girls that had gone missing. She was running late returning home and when Sephiroth went to go look for her he found her wagon hazardously turned over with the flowers pitifully sagging on the ground by their broken pots. Signs of a struggle taking place was seen in some of the crushed flowers and the larger than Aeris's size boot print. The World's Heart screamed out to him whom had done it, and he could feel her frightened heart heading back to Midgar. Somebody was going to pay for this. And if they laid a single dirty hand on her there would be blood.

"You need to calm down on the bloodlust, Sephiroth." Genesis commanded in annoyance while he put makeup on Sephiroth. "It's hard making you look feminine when your face is scrunched up with rage."

"..." Sephiroth tried to calm down but it was near impossible when his Aeris was in the hands of someone like Don Corneo. "I don't see why we have to do this. Can't we just storm the place?"

The road trip back to Midgar was hell for Sephiroth. He felt like the train ride was going too slow and that every second put Aeris in more and more danger. He had a lock-on on Aeris's heart the whole time, and it led him to the place they were going to for investigation and the one place he had hoped she had not been taken to. Wall Market of Midgar, Don Corneo practically ran that part of the sector. This place was scary in a lot of ways, especially for a girl. He needed to find Aeris and get her out here fast.

To his horror, the light of Aeris's heart was inside Don Corneo's mansion. When he was about to rush in the Bouncer at the door stopped him, saying that only girls were allowed inside the Don's mansion and he was too busy with 'bride interviews' at the moment for house calls. Sephiroth was going to bust on through the place at that, but Angeal and stopped him and held him back saying that it would endanger the girls and give Don Corneo a chance to escape with the evidence. Angeal had a point there, he couldn't just rampage through with so many innocent bystanders at risk. But they can't just do nothing.

Then Genesis came up with this half-baked idea that they should dress up as girls and simple waltz like there was nothing up. It'd be easier going undercover as potential brides if they knew the other possible 'girls' to be chosen. One of them was bound to find the girls or catch some incriminating evidence there. Sephiroth thought that was a horrible idea, and couldn't believe that Genesis had come up with it. But Genesis had persuaded them that it was the only way to get in without causing a commotion, playing with Sephiroth's heart strings. 'You Are worried about Aeris, aren't you?' he'd say using Aeris as leverage over Sephiroth. 'Then there's not a moment to lose. We have to hurry!' Pressuring Sephiroth with time to nail in the deal. With reluctance, Sephiroth gave in to Genesis's plan. The only consolation in all this being that Aeris would be saved and that he wouldn't be going in as a girl alone. But it didn't help much when Genesis would boast about how with three gorgeous guys like them they would make cute girls. That earned him a punch in the back from both Sephiroth and Angeal.

So here they were now, inside the clothes store in Wall Market. Genesis and Sephiroth in a dress that they had to convince the old, drunk tailor at the bar to come back to the Clothes Store and make for them. He didn't like making men's clothes but he found it a reviving challenge to make women's clothes for men. On the bright side of getting the old man out of his rut, they now had to gather feminine supplies and stomach putting it all together. Angeal was currently in the changing area, swallowing his pride and putting his dress on. This was beyond mortifying for them, if anyone in Soldier saw them like this they would never be able to show their faces at the Station again.

"I told you, this is the only way to slip in without causing a commotion until the time is right." Genesis said, repeating the reason for the plan again in annoyance. Sephiroth's grouchiness wasn't making this easier for any of them, and it was not like he was enjoying this plan much either. "Look, you're not the only one worried about Aeris or the others girls. We all are. And we're all making sacrifices on our dignity for this. Angeal had to beat those muscle heads in the gym at squats to just get a wig; I had to stomach that Diner food that tasted worst than dog food just to get a coupon for overpriced makeup and perfume at the drug store; and we all had to get ladies underwear from the Honey Bee Inn just because the guy at the drug store insisted that the Honey Bee Inn had the best undergarments to hide our stuff. Much to the confusion and awkward moment for us all that it was buff men in spandex one-pieces working there that used them! We're all taking a blow for this and none of us are enjoying this! So suck it up and start being a team player!"

"..." Sephiroth was surprised. He had expected Angeal to be giving him a lecture like this, not Genesis. Oh how the tables have turned. "(Sigh) I'll try to be better..."

"You'd better be. Now hold still. I'm almost done."

"You're surprisingly good at this."

"I use to help my mother with her makeup all the time before the fancy parties my family threw."

"..." Sephiroth couldn't help quirking an eye at him. "Why?"

"It helped with my artistic tendencies. And besides, my mother is pretty and she deserves to look the best."

"... I'm going to leave that one alone."

The curtains rattled as they were slid back, revealing Angeal in a soft, shiny purple dress in a long curly black wig.

"This is for the girls," Angeal said, insisting to himself. "There is no greater honor than helping young ladies in distress and ridding the world of villainy."

"You look good, Angeal. Just let me finish up with Sephiroth and I'll help you with your makeup in a second." Genesis called over to him from his spot in front of Sephiroth.

"..." Angeal just looked over at his companions who were once the proud strong example of Soldier, now he didn't know what they were anymore. Sephiroth was in a long clean, shiny black dress with his hair tied in a long low, braided ponytail over his shoulder; sitting in a waiting chair while Genesis put the finishing touches on his makeup. Genesis horrifically looked rather nice as a girl. His naturally shorter spikier hair gave him an air of perk as the makeup on him highlighted and made him glow. Unlike the others, he wore a bold soft, shimmering red dress that just went below his knees and showed off his high heels. If Angeal was being horribly honest, he looked the cutest out of all three of them. " Let's (Sigh) just get this over with, G."

...

"Hey, ladies. Welcome to the Don's mansion." Greeted the man at the reception desk as they walked in passed the Bouncer who gave them a leering look over as they passed. The makeup helped keep their cover but it felt heavy and uncomfortable on their face. The heels were killing them, the perfume was killer on their Mako sensitive noses, and the melons under their padded bras felt weird. If this is what females put themselves through for beauty than this was terrible. If they even found the twisted soul who invented high heels they'd kill 'em. "The Don has just gotten done with an earlier interview. I'll go and let the Don know you're here. Wait here. Don't wander around..."

"Easy, Sephiroth, easy." Angeal tried to calm down Sephiroth as he clinched his fists to the point of almost bleeding after the man had walked away. "There's no guarantee that Aeris was apart of that interview."

"What if she was apart of an earlier one?" Sephiroth said his mind already jumping to the worst possible conclusions and making his blood boil and his heart darken.

"We're going to find her, Sephiroth. We're going to take this guy down and bring these girls home. Do you trust me?"

"..." His words did seem to calm Sephiroth down a little. "Yes. Thanks, Angeal."

"And me." Genesis insisted, refusing to be left out. "He's not the only one in a dress here."

"He-y!" The man from reception called up to them from the railings on the second Floor. The place was overbearing with red and gold that made the place look tacky. Sephiroth was beginning to appreciate Aeris's sense of style, after seeing this place he'd never take her decorating for granted. "It's time, ladies. The Don is waiting. Hurry up, will ya!"

All three of them nodded to each other and headed up the stairs, careful not to step on their dress. They walked into the room in the center of the stairways, the Don waiting at his desk with two bodyguards at his side. He was a round man, sporting a satin purple suit that looked more like a robe and his blonde hair was in a weird style. Sephiroth began to smile to himself as he began to imagine how big of a human pancake this guy would make when he stomped him to the ground.

"All right, ladies! Line up in front of the Don!" The bodyguard with name tag Kotch barked out the command. Playing along they lined up. Sephiroth taking center, while Angeal took the left and Genesis took the right side.

"Hmmm! Good, splendid!" The Don praised as he literally jumped over his desk to look them over up close. Starting with Angeal... "Now, let's see... Which girl should I choose? Hmm... hmmm...!"

But then he moved over to Sephiroth.

"This one?"

"..." Sephiroth said nothing as he turned his head to the side using his bangs to cover some of his face. Don Corneo saw this as a shy gesture, Sephiroth saw it as the best way to keep them from figuring out who he was since not a lot of people were known to have platinum hair.

Then he walked over to Genesis.

"Or this one?" But then he circled back to the center of the room, giving Sephiroth one more look over whom dodged eye contact with every turn. Something or another had made up his mind as he pointed his finger to the sky in eureka. "Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is..."

"..." The three of them nervously sweat, hoping inside that he didn't choose them. But he was bound to pick one of them and somebody had to take the bullet for the team.

"This little beauty!"

"!" Apparently, Genesis was the one going to take the bullet.

"Fu-fu-fuc-Phooey..." Genesis said quickly correcting himself and taking a more feminine voice, luckily his voice was naturally alluring so he didn't have much to work over. "Be nice, Don."

"You can have the rest!" The Don said over to his men who saluted him with vigor gratitude.

"Yes, sir! Thank you sir!"

"Shall we go, my pretty?" The Don said, taking Genesis's hand as he led him to the back where his bedchamber was. Genesis looked over his shoulder back at the two of his friends who had nodded in confirming that they had his back. Before smirking at his predicament and Angeal giving him a sly thumb's up in his humorous. It actually made a vein pop out on Genesis's forehead pass the makeup.

Genesis was taken to the back while Angeal and Sephiroth were led out of the room down to the right hallway to another room. Sephiroth was furious about the choice of direction because he could feel Aeris's present coming from the left. The same direction the bodyguard Kotch went.

"Hey guys! We've got guests." The bodyguard with the name tag Scotch announces to the room, which happened to be the Lounge area for the Don's lackeys. They were all sitting around, excited to see them. "We'll take REAL good care of you."

They all started hooting and catcalling as Scotch continued into the room, the receptionist from before blocking their exit.

"This is all thanks to the big boss, Don Corneo!"

'Heeey! Three cheers for Don Corneo!' One of the guys called out raising his drink.

"Heh, heh... Well, ladies, are we all, uh, ready?" Scotch said suggestively to the other men began to snicker and leer as they approached Sephiroth and Angeal. Angeal just closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down his frustration as they started feeling up his arms and tried to lead him around.

"Hey... you're in pretty good shape. Lookit your tight little bod. It's more like... muscles..."

Another one grabbed Sephiroth by the waist.

"You're a pretty tall little lady aren't you. Come on, dance with me, beautiful. They say if two people dance together, their hearts will become one..."

"..." Sephiroth remained cool as he thought to himself. 'Hm. I'll have to try that later. But not with this guy.'

With little to no effort, he removed the guy's hand from off of him, much to the man's surprise since he was applying strength to the hold. Sephiroth pulled back, only to have to smoothly dodge another guy.

"Oh your eyes. They seem to... glow. I'm all yours, baby!"

"..." Sephiroth had just about enough of this nonsense and these thirsty dogs.

"Come on, baby! Woo-hoo! I gots ants in my pants wanna do a dance, gotta take a chance, and mebbe find romance!"

"..." Apparently, Angeal was feeling the same as a drunkard was practically trying to melt into his side.

"Hey... what's wrong? You want me to keep you company?" Scotch asked as Sephiroth made his way to the back of the room.

"I'm flattered, but no thanks." Sephiroth said, not even caring to change his voice. "Because..."

"Because?" Scotch asked confused, thinking that he had drunk too much since the lady in the room was starting to sound like a guy.

"Because I'm not INTERESTED in scrubs like you." Sephiroth said blatantly, jumping back to the front of the room again to take off his ridiculous disguise and reveal his regular look. Swapping clothes was most likely his most retro Magic ability. Angeal taking the hint jumped back to join him and reequip his regular clothes as well.

"What... they're MEN!?"

"Wait, that's Sephiroth and Angeal of Soldier!"

"Darn you! Don't think you two are going to get outta this alive! Tear them apart boys! Get them!"

"Hmph, finally." Sephiroth smirked as he summoned Masamune to him.

"I've been waiting to do this since the moment I got here." Angeal added in agreement, summoning his standard Soldier issued sword.

They took out the first three guys easy enough, like children playing around with block toys. It was the most embarrassing thing for a room full of armed lackeys to lose to two guys, but at the same time terrifying seeing how truly strong guys from Soldier were first hand. The two of them were even holding back.

"Grr! C'mon, what's the matter with you good-for-nothings!?" Scotch barked at the remaining standing lackeys in the room. Joining in the fight as well. "All right now, COME ON! I'll show you how it's done!"

He only lasted a little longer than the first bunch.

"I've been in bar fights that lasted longer than this..." Angeal said in slight complaint and disappointment that all those men didn't even put up much of a fight.

"I'm going to find Aeris first." Sephiroth said not wasting time as he ran out of the room towards where he felt her heart was. It had led him to a dungeon on the far left of the floor, most likely used as a pleasure dungeon.

"Nooo!" He heard Aeris cry out in alarm.

"!" He ran down nearly half the stairs to find Aeris running from the guard Kotch around a confinement table. Her red heels clicking on the stone floor as she ran. They had put her in a red dress that went down to her ankles but revealed more cleavage than she was usually comfortable with and her plaited hair flowed out freely in a ponytail. Sephiroth would have found the way she was quite alluring if she wasn't in such a frightening compromising situation.

"Ha ha ha... Wait, you..." Kotch called out to her, continuing to give chase.

Making a break for it, Aeris ran up the stairs for the exit to the dungeon. She only saw a silhouette blocking her path. Thinking that she was trapped and cornered, she assumed that her best chance was to take care of the threat behind her first then deal with the one in front of her after. Turning around, she had caught Kotch by surprise and pushed him down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry!" Feeling bad about hurting another soul even as they were about to cause harm to her.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Kotch said, swinging his arms around to try and catch himself but still ended up rolling down the stairs. "Heh, heh, heh!"

"Aeris!" Sephiroth called out to her. She was startled to find him there in this place but was ecstatic to see him as she ran into his middle for a security hug.

"Sephiroth."

"You all right?" She nodded into his chest.

"I told you. I'm use to danger. To tell you the truth, my heart was pounding!"

"I'm so sorry you got dragged into this mess." He apologized, holding her tighter.

"It's not your fault. Sometimes bad things just happen. I'm just so glad you came for me. That's all that ever mattered to me."

"..." At last, he got his Light back. His heart felt so at peace right now...

"Though I must say, are you copying my hairdo? A braid looks really good on you."

"Don't worry about it." Sephiroth dismissed, taking the chance to make sure all the makeup was off while Aeris wasn't looking since the Magic didn't seem to put his hair back to normal.

"Sephiroth. We still have to save Genesis and the other girls." Angeal called down to them from the top of the stairs, his wig and makeup in plain light for Aeris to see.

"Angeal you're here too. Why are you wearing makeup?"

"!" Angeal immediately discovered that the stuff didn't come off with the dress. Using his wig to hastily wipe the makeup off of himself and tossed it to the ground.

"Don't worry about it." Sephiroth steered her away again. "We need to get to Genesis before Corneo finds out about his cover."

"Of course, let's hurry!"

All three of them had ran back to Don Corneo's office, making their way to the backroom. Hearing the tail end of a conversation.

'Hm? Oh, you mean about THAT? Don't worry, I'm single. There, feel better now?'

'No... I wasn't asking about that... Wait a minute! No, not yet!'

'Come! Come! Aoooooooh! I can't wait any longer! Here comes Papa!'

"Oh thank goddess!" Genesis sighed out in relief as they stormed in. Jumping off the bed and away from Corneo to join them and take off the dress. Magically reequipping his regular clothes and wiping off the makeup on his face. Sephiroth had to give him props for acting so nonchalant about it as if nothing had happened. "Hey Aeris. Glad to see you again. That dress is lovely on you."

"...What the hell? How did Soldier get in pass...?"

"You still don't get it do you, Don Corneo?" Genesis mocked at him.

"You are under arrest for the kidnapping, trafficking, and soliciting of the kingdom's young women," Angeal informed Don Corneo of his crimes with the silent pleasure that they were putting away this fiend for good. "We have enough eye witnesses and victim's testimony to leak you to the crime."

"But before we put you away..." Sephiroth said, taking a dark tone as he moved over to the side of the bed to stand over Corneo, his shadow engulfing the man. "You're going to tell us where the missing girls are."

"What?"

"Shut up, we're asking the questions now... We know you've been gathering girls. Talk! If you don't tell us..." Sephiroth said, placing a foot on the bed and showing off Masamune hanging on his side in its sheath to show he meant business. "... I'll chop it off."

"!" Don Corneo began to nervously sweat. "No! Not that! Look, maybe I got a little over excited about finding a bride. I mean, what man doesn't get carried away through the pursuit?"

"Not enough to go around kidnapping over a dozen girls from all over the kingdom! Families are thrown in distraught because of you!" Sephiroth growled down at the man. "Families are in pain, and those girls are probably scared out of their minds while calling out for their homes that YOU had took them from. And we won't stop until all of them are returned to where they belong. Now. YOU are going to tell us WHERE you took those girls."

"No-! I can't do that. I have no idea what you're talking about!" Corneo still tried to deny.

"Talk! If you don't tell us...-!" Sephiroth was thrown off guard when Aeris had silently marched her way beside him, placed a foot on the bed as well. Showing off some leg while grabbing Corneo by the collar of his shirt in a choking grip, pulling him close to her face to show the intimidating shadow over her. The room had dropped in temperature as her natural Magic began to stir with her emotions. She meant business.

"... I'll rip it off."

"!"

"Sweet Lifestream! I want you so bad right now!" Sephiroth practically shivered out the words in his arouse.

"Oh get a room you two!" Genesis barked out in annoyance at the flirtatious air those two were choking the room with, mostly Sephiroth.

"I would but Aeris is not ready yet."

"Sephiroth!" Aeris blushed pink in embarrassment. She couldn't believe he just said that.

...

Almost a year had passed since the incident with Don Corneo. The girls had been found hidden away in Don Corneo's hot springs getaway in Wutai and returned safely to their homes. Sephiroth and Aeris had spent a lovely time together as a couple with no further incidents since then. They would go on small dates together from time to time, nothing fancy. Sephiroth wasn't much of a romantic type and Aeris was okay with that. Sephiroth had always expressed his love for her in his own way.

Their time together learning with Merlin had paid off. They had learned so much about their Cetra culture and Magic that some time back Merlin said that he had nothing left to teach them. But they could always come back to his place to train or just have a chat. Now they had an extensive range of Magic abilities along with their tiers. They could even use Summons, most of which were only regional to the natives. Sephiroth could even pull out his wings on control, but he tended not to use them going instead with just levitating when he needed to.

But more importantly to them, they had learned so much about what they are and where their people had come from. They had even learned that their people had more of a potential to become Keyblade wielders due to their close connection to the Lifestream and Kingdom Hearts. Through this connection, they had the means to travel to all the worlds, even the ones with the Keyhole locked. It was like a birthright to them to travel among the worlds, and their people had once been present on many more worlds than theirs. But suddenly they had just died off for reasons unknown to them or Merlin; and, Aeris and Sephiroth were starting to get curious as to why. Merlin wanted to help them but he didn't have much to go on. He had pointed them into the direction of Cosmo Canyon to the Wizard Bugenhagen in the hopes that he would have some answers. They had gone on one of Sephiroth's off-time, in what he considered a date, to find answers. It was a pilgrimage village that most travelers across their World had come to pay homage to. They had gotten to meet Nanaki once again and even got to find out about the Lost Temple and City of the Ancients that was present on their world. Unfortunately, the Ancient's City entrance had been sealed away in the Lost Forest lifetimes ago and the Temple had been locked away with the key lost to history. It was somewhat disheartening; however, they still had a great time learning about the world's Lifestream heart cycle and how if the World's Heart was somehow taken away the World would be lost to darkness through a holographic diagram. Even if they had left with questions still unanswered they had a great time.

Sephiroth was going to let it go until one incident on his last mission. He had been out of the Radiant Garden for a Heartless extermination mission when he had stumbled upon what was a hermit store literally along the coastal shore borders of one of the continents. He had only stumbled upon it during his patrol sweeps around the area, but apparently, he wasn't the only one who stumbled upon the place. The owner had said that if he was looking for the 'Keystone' that supposedly unlocks the gate to a very old temple somewhere then he was too late. He didn't really want to sell it but... The guy he sold it to had a way about him that made you feel like it may not be a good idea NOT to sell it to him... But then again Sephiroth had a way about him that made the owner feel like it was not a good idea NOT to tell him everything he wanted to know. Apparently, he sold it to the manager of the Gold Saucer, Dio, who said he was going to put it in his museum. Said it was supposedly the Keystone to the Temple of the Ancients, or so the legend told.

But Sephiroth wasn't going to take blown off legends about the Ancients for granted. Taking some time off after returning to Radiant Garden, he decided to investigate it. And since he was going to the Gold Saucer why not take Aeris with him. It was supposed to be a 'fun-filled attraction' and Aeris would just love to see the Chocobos at the Chocobo Racetrack. And it turned out to be a good idea, Aeris had enjoyed the lift ride up to the Gold Saucer and the Town below it was charming. It was an Oil and Materia Mining based town that also functioned as a tourist attraction for the people heading up to the Gold Saucer. Sephiroth had remembered how Shinra had their eye on this place when they had been planning or launching their Mako Energy project. He had to thank the World's Heart that Aeris and him had foiled that project; he didn't want to think about what would have happened to this place if Shinra 'did' go through with their plans.

Although, with Tourist Attractions comes a hefty price range. He found it ridiculous that he would need to spend 3000 Munny for couple's single pass into Gold Saucer, let alone they were asking for 30000 Munny for a lifetime pass. He could literally buy their house all over again and an Ultima Materia with that. Aeris had insisted to split the bill with him since they were staying together and if they were only going to spend one night there they should make it count. So they were given their ticket and 10000 GP currency amount for the Gold Saucer's rides and games. Aeris wanted to go see everything, but Sephiroth assured her that they would get a chance later. The Gold Saucer was a big place with lots of people and he didn't want the chance of her getting lost if they separated.

With a little reluctance, Aeris had followed him to Battle Square, unannounced to the reason why he wanted to go there. He had led her to Dio's Show Room to look around. She was a safe distance away while Sephiroth himself had looked around for the Keystone. He had found it at the centerpiece in the far back of the showroom. Apparently, it said on the display that Dio was giving it away as a 1st Prize option to the Solos Competition in the Battle Arena. That seemed easy enough. So he competed in the Arena with Aeris watching on with the audience in the upper stands. The Battle Arena practically looked like a dungeon with a poison moat around it and the circle in the middle of the stone arena that said 'the brave do not fear the grave'. Aeris cheered on for him and worried at times while he started to grow a fan base with the audience, especially with the ladies. Unfortunately for them, the General Sephiroth was not single and not looking just like the tabloids had rumored about.

In the end, he had come out victorious and left with his prize, much to the impress of the audience and Dio himself. To make it up to Aeris for time spent there, which was nearly half the day, they went to the Chocobo Square next. Where they got to see a race, place a bet, and much to Aeris's happy surprise got to go to the back to pet the Chocobos. Sephiroth had an air about him that awe-inspired and intimidated people to give him what he wants to keep him happy, even if he wasn't trying. Luckily Aeris's sweet and kind nature seemed to balance it out to happily neutralize the roller coaster experience for all parties. She had fun and they had spent most of the rest of the day there. By the time nightfall had come, they had to check in to their room at the park's Ghost Inn, their haunted themed inn. They were given a three bed one room Room that continued to look the theme. It had been an eventful day and Sephiroth was honestly ready to call it a day. But Aeris was not...

"Hee, Hee." Aeris started to giggle to herself.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked with a knowing look as he braced himself. He knew that look, she only got like that when she was up to something. Usually when she was bringing to life one of her crazy dreams, he had come to understand and love this about her. It was something about her, something inside, that he believed could make her do anything. It was always a fun ride, but he still braced himself for them.

"Let's go on a date!" She chimed happily, leaning over to him with her hands together behind her back.

"What?"

"A D-A-T-E! Or haven't you the energy to handle one?" She teased at the last part, but Sephiroth rose to the challenge.

"Don't take me lightly." Sephiroth huffed, turning his head away and his arms crossed at the insult. But Aeris was use to this and just smiled and giggled more. Running behind him she began to start pushing him out of their room.

"Oh, well, come on then. Let's go!" She cheered.

"Hey." Sephiroth said as the dainty young lady nearly a head shorter than him was pushing the great Soldier General out the door.

She had led him to the center square, where one of the Staff members was advertising about all the attractions being free for 'Tonight's Enchantment Night!' and even won Aeris over about going to see the entertaining show in Event Square. To Sephiroth's dreaded luck, they were the 100th couple to enter the theater area that day so they won the leads in the play showing that night. Sephiroth could hardly stomach plays, especially the sappy romantic ones. They weren't even given scripts or time to prepare and were just suppose to play along with however they wanted it to go, the rest of the cast would just go along and cover. And they were expected to be ready by curtain time... in five minutes. Sephiroth was immediately about to say a hard no, but when he turned to his side and saw that look in Aeris's eyes the words died in his throat. She found the idea fun and asked him to do it with her, and like the invisible chain she had around his heart, he couldn't say no to her. So there he was playing the corny part of being the knight, Alfred, who went on a quest to rescue Princess Rosa, Aeris, from the evil Dragon King Valvados. So here he was in a play with overacting and everybody danced or twirled where they wanted to go instead of walk and a background that was just a big advertising board. He couldn't wait for the whole thing to end and prayed to whoever could hear him that no one was recording this for the rest of Soldier to find out. But in the end at least Aeris had fun and it was a fun perk for him when he got her to accidentally say his real name when he kissed her hand. Apparently 'The Power of Love' had defeated the Dragon King; he was pretty sure that his Masamune could have done the same thing. But Aeris had enjoyed herself and that was the important thing.

After that, they had found their way to Wonder Square, the Arcade area, where they played a few of the games. Sephiroth happened to like the motorcycle chase one and was thinking of whether or not to buy one on a later day. Aeris had more of a fondness for the Moogle game, it was cute and cuddly with a hint of romance that just screamed her. In the end he had gotten the high score on the motorcycle ride and had won enough points to get her a Chocobo and Moogle Plushies. He had his fun and she was enjoying herself, but she didn't want to spend the rest of their night there. They went to Speed Square next and got on the Gold Saucer's famous roller coaster ride, but Aeris was looking for something more romantic.

"Oh, that was fun." Aeris said with happiness then came up with a great idea. "Hey, let's go on the Gondola."

"Very well, as you wish." Sephiroth consented, following her to the Round Square. There was no line waiting for the ride as they went up to get their ticket for the ride.

"Two please." Aeris asked the female conductor who handed her the tickets.

"Here you are, two tickets." Aeris had taken Sephiroth's hand as they went into the Gondola almost as if Sephiroth might try to make a run for it. Which he would never. Even if he wasn't much for romantic gestures, he would never pass alone time with Aeris. The ride conductor politely bowed to them as they went in. "Enjoy the sights of Gold Saucer."

So there they sat across from each other, Sephiroth looking over at Aeris as the lights made her glow like starlight while Aeris admired the beautiful view from outside.

"Wow, how nice." Aeris gasped in awe causing Sephiroth to look out to see the view, which was lovely but not as lovely as her in his point of view. "Oh! Look, Sephiroth."

"Hmm."

"It's so pretty..." Aeris said as the colorful nightly fireworks began to shoot out over the Gold Saucer. "... Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful..." Sephiroth said, not really paying attention to the fireworks. Aeris had turned away from the window as she noticed him staring at her, looking down at her hands entwined on her lap as she hid her blush.

"I had fun tonight. Let's do it again." Aeris said looking up to him in nervousness as her heart was flustered by their time together there while his was unreadable to her. "Don't you like being with me?"

"That's not it." Sephiroth instantly replied, assuring her. Making her blush burn bright as she smiled and looked down at her hands again to hide it.

"I'm glad. Next time we come, let's take our time and go on more rides."

"I suppose it's a date then." Sephiroth smirked using her own term back at her to get her to flush lovely some more.

"... first off, thank you for bringing me. It was a lovely thing for you to do. Although it's not like you to request some time off from Soldier."

"..." Sephiroth felt bad that his main reasons for this weren't exactly for her to have a fun time. "I have my reasons..."

"Oh?" She looked up at him again, tilting her head in curiosity as she felt the guilt that entered his heart. He had reached into his pants' pocket and pulled out the Keystone to show it to her. "(Gasp) That energy... is that...?"

"It's a Keystone... to the Ancient Temple... I found some info about it on my last mission which led it to here." Sephiroth explained to her.

"Is that why you fought in the Battle Arena?" Aeris concluded for herself but his nod confirmed it.

"It was one of the 1st Place Prizes. I had to get it. For us..." Sephiroth tried to insist to Aeris, silently pleading in his heart for her not to be mad about the intentions he had brought them here for. But she never felt anything of the sort. And that unnerved him more... "With this, we can find clues on what had happened to our people... We can find more about us... We can go there at any time we want now."

"..." Aeris remained silent as she started to get a faraway look in her Lifestream eyes. "The Cetra will return to the Promise Land. A land that promises boundless happiness. And lead the chosen few to Kingdom Hearts..."

"Aeris?" She was reciting Ancient's proverb. The one the world's heart and her mother use to say to them.

"... You don't 'know' where Kingdom Hearts or the Promise Land of the Ancients is." She continued on with her thought. "You search and travel, until you feel it. Then you just know that you've found it."

"I know." Sephiroth said in agreement, knowing what she meant and the feeling she was going through. "Aeris... can you feel it too?"

"I think so." She nodded. "But the Temple... I feel in my heart that is was meant to protect something else..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know..." She said, looking away apologetically. "We could go there... We could spend our whole lives finding answers. But Sephiroth... I don't 'want' us to spend our whole lives on answers. I want for us to live. Not just as Ancients, but as how we 'want' to be..."

"..." There was power in her words. And a truth that had triggered something in his heart that he had locked away. "You're right... Answers aren't the only thing I want in this world. They can wait for when the time is right. For now, there's something else I want more."

"Hm? And what's that, Sephiroth?" She tilted her head at him again with peaked curiosity.

"Aeris... Let's get married."

"?!" Her eyes widened and she blushed at his bold move. "What?"

"You're the only one I want to spend my life with. I could think of no better way to live my life the way I want to live it."

"But a-are you sure? This is all so sudden. We've only been dating for about a year."

"We've known each other for nearly our whole lives. Frankly, I believe that we were made for each other. I feel like I've waited much longer than our lifetime for the chance to be together with you."

"!" She flushed some more, covering her mouth with her hands as she gasped.

"So what say you? Will you live the life you want to live with me? Together as so much more?"

"..." Her eyes were driven to tears of joy as she pressed her hands to her heart. "Such a sudden spur of the moment thing that I did not expect from you, Sephiroth, but more than delighted to receive."

He didn't even get down on one knee as he dropped such a proposal on her, just like him.

"Your answer...?"

"Yes... I accept your unorthodox-proposal with an ecstatic heart." And she truly meant that as she held out a hand for him to accept. "May our two hearts truly become one."

"They already have." Sephiroth said, taking her hand in his and pulling her closer as he leaned into her. "They had done that a long time ago."

Unplanned and not traditionally romantic, they had sealed the deal to their engagement, kissing under the fireworks.

...

Everything about Aeris and Sephiroth was not the traditional married couple, from their spontaneous engagement down to their wedding ceremony. It was a small ceremony with only a small gathering of friends to witness their step into matrimony, some of which had come all the way from Cosmo Canyon to witness. Most would not expect such a simple and humbling wedding ceremony for someone of the great Soldier's General's status, but it was still so magical. Their World seemed so vibrant as the two of them married and exchanged rings. Both wearing nontraditional bands of iron instead of gold or silver. Iron was strong and its shine would not dull away to time, just like their love. They had honeymooned in Wutai where they had taken their relationship to the next level as husband and wife.

A year of bliss filled marriage had passed between of love and exploration of each other. Then around Aeris's 19th year, she became pregnant with their child. Sephiroth was jaw struck with shock and overflowing with unfamiliar emotions of joys that had nearly brought him to tears. He didn't believe he would be able to have children due to all those Mako experiments done to him by Hojo. The idea of children was a lost cause. The fact that Aeris was now carrying their child, a life that they had created together, was short of a miracle to him. He had almost become just as emotional with happiness as she was, simply expressing his excitement about the news by taking her in his arms and twirling her when she told him.

But with the happy news of a child coming on the way brought many worries soon after. They weren't worried about supplies, they had already started childproofing the house and purchasing a crib and baby supplies to put in Aeris's old room. Along with purchasing baby books to help them get through the first hard years of parenthood. It was the future of their child that concerned them. What would they do if people started noticing that their child was different than normal children? Should they allow him to play with other kids and make friends? What would they do about school? Would it be safer having them home-schooled? People would already be paying attention to them since they would be the child of General Sephiroth. Combat and Royal Academies would be watching them with great interest. Aeris did not want their child to be put under so much pressure before they even had a childhood, and Sephiroth didn't want the public digging into their child's background too deep and find out that they were different.

With a hard decision after many many discussions, they had decided to have their child home-schooled. They would be taught this way until they were old enough to choose for themselves what they wanted to do with their lives. It was probably better this way, their child could learn much easier about their heritage and Magic at their own individual pace while remaining safe under their direct supervision. Both had agreed to the certification to teach at home before the child was born. But also agreed not to lock their child away like they were. They should have a chance to go out and make some friends their age and have the childhood that the two of them never got to have. It was important so that they could build a healthy social interaction in the world for future necessity.

But there was also other cobwebs of fears Sephiroth harbored for the future of their child. The darkness inside him... would their child inherit his corrosive genetic affinities?

"Corrosive? Don't insult a gift, Sephiroth. (Chuckle) No. Call it what it is. Power..."

Would they struggle the way he struggles? What would it do to the mother? What would the Darkness in Sephiroth's seed do to her Light? Would it damage her? Possibly destroy her? No! He would not allow that. He would never allow that fate to happen to her, or their child. But how was he suppose to handle her now? She felt so fragile to him, like the tiny life inside her would wither away along with her if he even touched her too hard. Everything was like eggshells to Sephiroth as she was going through the stages of pregnancy. The first few weeks were hell for him, but not so much as they were for her. She would get morning sickness very easily and could hardly stomach to hold down anything. Sephiroth was worried that if she didn't eat more soon she would wither away. It made him feel so powerless as he could do nothing to take away her pain, not even Cure could help her.

But then hope began to rise within him again as things seemed to finally turn around. She was eating more and could stomach down the craziest things. She started to get cravings for the weirdest combinations of food. He was glad that she was eating and would go get her whatever she wanted to keep it that way. However, with the appetite, came the mood swings...

"Sephiroth, can you get me some soda with milk in it, along with chicken and pickles?"

"Whatever you want, Aeris." Sephiroth said, sighing a little since this was the fifth time he would have to go out to gather her request. She had already asked for tomato stuffed pancakes that morning, only for her to change her mind after he made it to cereal with apple juice instead of milk. And then later asked for watermelons with bacon bits. And then again for vanilla ice cream with ketchup and cucumbers.

"Soda?! You know soda is bad for me and the baby! Why don't you just make me a tuna sandwich with a side of orange juice and beer while you're at it!" Aeris started crying to Sephiroth in appall as if she hadn't even asked for soda not even a second ago. Holding a protective hand over her stomach and the baby.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Can I get you something else instead?" Sephiroth said, already accepting the blame so as not to stress his pregnant wife over a petty argument.

"A milkshake with some Kung Poa Chicken in it." Aeris suddenly chirped happily in a 180.

"Aeris that sounds vile."

"You never think I'm pretty anymore. All I am is vile and fat to you!" She instantly began to cry again more in sadness and self-shame than in angered appall like before. "You're trying to starve me. I must be an embarrassment to you, you never let me go out anymore. It must be hard being seen in public with your vile and fat wife!"

"?!" Sephiroth had no idea where this was coming from, nor how to react to it. "I never said that. Don't even think that. Look, just hold on for a bit, I'll get your food."

"Thank you, Seph. You're so good to me." Aeris said with so much love and affection as he was heading out the door that it warmed his heart a little. Until she made him trip at the porch at the last part. "Even if you don't give me the booty anymore."

"!" He had closed the door a little harder than usual in embarrassment. Rushing down the walkway to the Marketplace to make her order. Customers look on in disgust as he made out his order request to the Wutai Cuisine restaurant. Knowing him and the condition of his wife, the Chiefs asked no questions a gave the man what he wants. Much to Sephiroth's appreciation and blatant disgust for the smell of the smoothie as he made his way home with. The stench was torture on his sensitive nose but he stomached through the whole way home. Happy and feeling achieved at not emptying out his whole stomach along the walkway as he finally entered his home. "Aeris? Aeris."

"Hm?" Aeris looked up from her spot on the couch as Sephiroth called out for her. Lying down with a baby book in her hands that she had just been reading. She looked much calmer than the hot mess she was before.

"I got you your order." He announced, holding out the takeout bag for her. "Happy now?"

"Oh THAT? I'm not hungry."

"What...?"

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"..." Sephiroth just zoned out for a second as her words began to echo in his mind. Something inside began to snap. Tossing the bag on the floor he began immediately to aggressively stomp on it with his boot. Not caring as the smell began to burn his nose and stick to his boot, he was beyond caring at this point. In fact, it actually fueled his anger more as his face began to twist and clench at its smell and his frustration. "Gugharrahh!"

Breathing heavily once the stomping had stopped to push some wild strands back with a tensed hand.

"..." She just stared at him in his outburst. The look on his face was priceless. He had never lost his cool before like that. The sight alone had her bawling in laughter. However, due to her unstable hormones, she had ended up just bawling her eyes out instead with quivering lips.

"!" Sephiroth was startled by the sudden turn of events. Worried that he had frightened his wife as she covered her soaking face with her hands and her shoulders shake. He was immediately on his knee at her sides. Holding his hands out to her in dilemma on whether to touch her or not when she was frightened like this. "No, no, no, don't- Aeris, don't cry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to snap like that. I'm not angry at you, honest."

"(Whimper)!" But that only made her cry in her laughter more. Adding to Sephiroth's concern and dilemma on what to do about the situation, and the misunderstanding.

...

The months had passed by and soon Aeris's water broke while she was watering her flowers along the house. Sephiroth had immediately rushed her to the nearest medical center like a madman. Nervously sweating with worry and self-loathing of himself for putting her through this as she screamed in labor. The nurses pushing him out of the room when he became more of a depressed block in the room than a help. Silently he waited outside as the screams in the room seemed to last for days instead of hours. Until they suddenly silenced.

"!" Soon the only sound he heard was the sound of a crying baby. He immediately got up to rush for the door when a nurse came out, covered in droplets of blood to his horror. "I-Is she...?"

"The mother is fine. And the baby is healthy." The nurse assured him, stepping out of his way to the door as she moved passed him to clean up. "You should go see them now. She did a great job."

"..." With a fluttered heart filled with excitement and parental nervousness, he pushed the door open to meet his now growing family. There she laid in her hospital bed. Breathless and exhausted, covered in sweat as she took on a glow that made her more radiant and beautiful than ever in Sephiroth's eyes as her hair stuck to her skin. In her arms was a sticky pink bundle that curled to her chest and whimpered, much more quieter than its cries from before. "Aeris..."

"Hello Sephiroth..." She said over to him with a smile that's warmth reached to her eyes. "Come say hi to your son..."

"..." Sephiroth was scared to approach them at first. As if his presence alone could shatter them in their fragile condition. With cautious steps in his boots, he slowly made his way over to them. Standing on the side of her bed as he looked over the tiny bundle that was his son. He had a short patch of platinum hair on his small head and broad shoulders that he most certainly inherited from his father.

"(Chuckle) Oh that poor thing. No wonder why she was screaming. He's got your broad shoulders." Jenova chuckled in twisted sympathy for Aeris.

"..."

"Don't you want to hold him?" Aeris said, offering their child to him.

"I..." Sephiroth began to panic.

"He won't bite you..." Aeris teased at him for his nervousness, her voice no more than a whisper in her exhaustion. Slowly she handed their baby over to him with caution of her tired state. "Make sure to hold his head."

"... He's so tiny..." The baby began to wiggle a bit in his arms, turning to look at the new presence that was holding him. Crying a little at the loss of his mother's warm light, giving Sephiroth a chance to see his slitted pupil Lifestream eyes.

"That's my boy. My genes burn strong in your veins." Jenova boasted in pride at her grandson's appearance.

"Beautiful eyes, just like his Papa's..." Aeris praised.

"..." Sephiroth was lost for words. "You are amazing, Aeris..."

In many ways...

"It was a team effort. We did it together..."

"..." Sephiroth stared at his crying baby some more before he handed him back to his mother. The return of his mother had quite down his tears. "What do you want to call him?"

"I was thinking about... Loz."

"Loz? Why that name...?"

"I... I don't know... In my heart, it just... feels right."

"I guess I could get use to it." Sephiroth said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Their baby seemed to have quieted his tears. "Apparently so can Loz."

...

Loz was a lot of bundled up energy for a one-year-old. He had learned faster than normal for infants but that was normal for Ancients, according to Merlin. Aeris was happy when his first word at an early age turned out to be 'Mama' overjoyed by her little bundle of happiness. He was a playful child that liked to stick close to his mother. But once he learned how to crawl he was all over the place. Let alone when he learned how to walk. He was curious about everything and wanted to play with anything. Much to Aeris's concern as he would find his way into the kitchen. He was her little adventurer that loved to play, but beyond that...

BUMP

"!" Loz had bumped into the kitchen table's leg and plopped down off his feet to his butt on the wooden floor. His eyes began to water and his sniffles began to start. "(Whimper)."

... He was a crybaby.

"Ehhhh." Loz began, not as loud as most kids but still noticeable compared to his father's standard. His tears dripped down his eyes as his mother had come over to pick him up.

"Aww don't cry, Loz." She gently rocked him in her arms in comfort, softly running a hand along his short spiky hair. They had vaguely grown in length since he was born but had naturally pulled back a little as the locks began to spike. This seemed to soothe his crying as he stubbornly tried to hold back his tears with a scrunched up face as if to show his mother what a big boy he was.

"Cuddling him like that all the time will only drive him to cry more." Sephiroth lectured over to her, even as he approached to check his son's shins to make sure he was okay.

"I'm not cuddling much, really. Just the normal amount." Aeris said, not really insisting but stating a fact. "I think he's just a little more emotional than most."

"So he takes after you then?" Sephiroth teased with a small smirk.

"Oh ha ha. More like he takes after you but isn't scared to show it."

"I find that very unlikely." Sephiroth said, running a hand through his son's hair to make him giggle a little. "He seems to calm down around you more."

"He does seem to like following me around lately."

"I guess he must be fond of you." Sephiroth said with a small smile with a warmth that came from the heart.

"Hmm, so he does take more after you then." Aeris shot back with a playful grin which got Sephiroth to chuckle a little.

"(Chuckle) Looks like you got me there. I guess I have my own mini-copy."

"I think he honestly is when it comes to your strength. I caught him pushing the couch around yesterday seemingly tired of knocking around his blocks."

"Hm, that's my boy." Sephiroth grinned at his son earning a grin back as the toddler tried to copy after his father. Running a hand along his son's head again in behavioral-rewarding he then looked back up at Aeris again. "You know, it's been too long since we've gone out. Why don't we go to Wutai again? It'll be a great experience for Loz, he'll love having a new place to explore. We could also use the break."

"Wutai mountains and hot springs..." Aeris sighed in happy remembrance. "It'll be like our honeymoon all over again."

"That's what I was hoping for if I can help it." Sephiroth slyly smirked as he pulled his now blushing wife closer to him.

...

"..." Their little adventures in Wutai had produced another child for them. This one coming along much easier than the first as Aeris seemed to mellow down during her time carrying them and only seemed to crave toast. Sephiroth and Aeris were ready for the labor this time, Sephiroth holding her hand all along the way through it. Their second child had come out a little easier than the first, their shoulders were not as broad as Loz's. But it frightened them to death when all the ordeal was over and they were greeted with silence. The Doctor had given the baby's bottom a smack, but he didn't make a sound. He just scrunched up his face in annoyance. His slitted pupil eyes taking a slant that reminded Aeris too much of his father's. Yes, they had brought into their World a second boy. One that both parents agreed on the name Yazoo.

He was a cool and quiet boy, even as a baby. His platinum hair was much longer than Loz's was as a baby and his face was eerily expressionless, more so than his father was at times. His Lifestream eyes would just stare at you as he didn't make a sound. This had worried Aeris out of her mind. He didn't make a sound: not to be fed, not to be changed, or even to be put asleep. It had come to the point where Aeris would simply watch him to make sure he was alright, let alone still breathing.

"..." So here she was now. In his room, in the third bedroom where they moved his crib; looking over at him in his crib, in the middle of the night. While he simply stared back at her, having woken up a while back, his eyes hardly ever blinking.

"..."

"No one will believe me if I told them you have staring contests with our baby." Sephiroth teased at her from his spot leaning against the door-frame. He had missed having her around at nights since she no longer slept in their bed anymore for this, and couldn't sleep anymore without her.

"He just stares at me..." Aeris stated in tired confounding at her own son. "He doesn't even cry or try to get my attention. He just simply... stares."

"..." As if proving her point, Yazoo continued to stare at her.

"He's simply just the quiet type." Sephiroth shrugged, walking into the room and taking the seat that Aeris usually occupies at night. Behind her but a little to the side. "A rather polar contrast from our first child but still a refreshing change of pace. I don't see what the problem is."

"There is a HUGE problem here, Sephiroth. Yazoo is a baby. He can't feed himself, he can't change himself, and he needs someone to burp him. That's kind of why babies cry for attention since they don't know how to talk yet. But how am I suppose to know if something's wrong is he doesn't make a sound?"

"Well..."

"He could be starving himself without me even knowing, or depriving himself of sleep. See, look, he's doing 'that' right now." She said gesturing a hand to the baby in the crib staring at her to prove her point while looking back between him and Sephiroth.

"..."

"Hmm..." Was all Sephiroth could get out before Aeris's panicked rant continued.

"He doesn't even make a sound or change his expression to show whether he's happy or not," Aeris said as her worries began to derail off the tracks. "What if there was something wrong with him and he never gave us a warning? He could stop breathing one moment and we wouldn't even know."

"Aeris." Sephiroth sighed out as her worries started to get the best of her.

"SIDS is real, Sephiroth. It could happen at any moment." Aeris insisted before looking back at Yazoo in the crib. "That's why I keep watch, to make sure he's okay."

"You can't watch him forever; you need your sleep. And you can't protect him from everything." Sephiroth tried to reason with her. "Besides, I don't think you have to."

"What?" She turned her head to look at him from the side.

"You're an Ancient, and so is he. You both have a connection to one another, stronger by your blood relations. In your heart you already know what he needs, you're just too clouded with worry right now to see it. But I also think that's why you're here."

"Hm?"

"Perhaps you're here at night because he calls to your heart. Maybe he just wants your attention. He does seem rather fond of it." Sephiroth observed as Yazoo took on a barely noticeable grumpier face once Aeris's attention was directed elsewhere. It made Sephiroth smirk a little.

"You think so?" Aeris reach in a hand to rub Yazoo's hair and cheek only to get the surprise of a lifetime when his tiny little hand snapped out like a shark and gripped around her index finger. "!"

"..." Yazoo's grip was strong for an infant and his speed was startling. But his eyes... His eyes held more expression than his face had ever shown. It told her things that Yazoo could not, about how happy he was that she was there and didn't want to let her go.

"See." Sephiroth grinned in triumph, while Aeris simply watered in the eyes.

"He's rather quick." Aeris commented as she tried to hold back the happy tears. "Maybe he'll give me a run for my munny when he's a little older."

"But he won't run far from you."

"I hope... Oh!" Aeris gasp as she felt a pang of discomfort pulling at her heart from its grip. She had felt him... "You're hungry. Don't worry, Sweetie. Mommy's got you."

"..." Sephiroth watched from his seat from behind as Aeris picked up their son from the crib. Rolling down one of her nightgown's spaghetti straps off her shoulder as she began to nurse Yazoo. He felt a stirring of pride as a husband and a father, along with other things...

"What a lovely thing you have found for yourself. She has given you such strong children."

'...'

"But two isn't enough for me, as I am sure it's not for you. I demand more grandchildren."

'Now is not the time for this conversation, Mother.' Sephiroth deadpanned as the sight of Aeris's backside before him was doing things to him.

"The Jenova legacy must live on! And the Cetra race needs to be repopulated. You need to make MORE Ancient children with this Cetra woman."

'Do not speak of Aeris as if she is a simple Chocobo breeding mare.'

"Did I miss-word that correctly? Fine. Woo her. Throw that charm on your wife like you always do. Give in to your desires and reap its fruit. I do not care how you do it, nor do I want to know. Just make me more grandkids!"

'...' Sephiroth couldn't even argue with her there. The idea alone was just so tempting. And the challenge of getting Aeris back in their bed again was rather exciting. Smoothly rising from his seat he walks over to his wife. "..."

"?" Aeris was slightly confused when she heard Sephiroth getting up and walking over to them. She had thought he was getting up to leave for bed but was slightly surprised to feel him standing behind her. He had pulled her backside to curve into his toned front, smoothly wrapping his arms around her waists while she still nursed Yazoo.

After running his nose along the curve of her neck and shoulder he made his way up to her ear.

"I want another."

"!"

...

Her days were exhausting now. Just barely going into her 22s and already her life was hectic. She never got a moments' rest anymore with her sons never leaving her alone in the day and Sephiroth at night. Sure her boys were mostly well behaved, and tended to play rather nicely at the park when she would go out to sell her flowers, and even when she would tend to the flowers in her church. But the problem was that when they got home they would still have so much energy. Running around the house and playing when she was ready to take a break.

Sephiroth would help, but he still had Soldier and orders that would take him away, leaving her to look after the kids most of the time. And for some reason he wanted more. Aeris was pleasantly appreciative of the process but did not think three running around/crying babies sounded good right now for them. Especially when Sephiroth would run off to Soldier and leave her with the kids most of the day. Days like today, when Loz and Yazoo were running around the house like jackrabbits in opposite directions. Trying to avoid being caught by their mother like a game. Loz laughing and screaming, while Yazoo would simply look back and keep running. For a one-year-old, Yazoo could move pretty fast, whether on two feet or crawling.

"Yazoo, come here. It's nap time." Aeris chased after her son around in the kitchen while the other one ran into the Living room. "Loz, get down from there. The couch is not a trampoline."

"But mother this is fun!" Loz whined while happily laughing and jumping on the couch.

"It doesn't matter if it's fun, that's dangerous." Aeris lectured. She had just finished giving her boys a light snack after coming back from the park and selling flowers, which only served to hype up their already energetic bodies. So here she was chasing her youngest son around the kitchen table, noticing that her eldest one didn't finish his plate. "Loz, you didn't finish your carrots."

"Nooo." Loz began to whine with tears starting to form in his eyes, the pounce in his jump becoming mellow.

"Loz get in here and eat your carrots." Aeris ordered him from the kitchen.

"But mother carrots are gross." Loz began to cry now, not only for the fact that his mother was trying to make him eat those nasty things but she was also displeased with him.

"It's not fair! I want to play." Loz pouted and stomped on the couch. "Yazoo gets to play."

"No he doesn't." Aeris huffed back, still chasing her slippery younger son. "Yazoo get back here."

"..." Yazoo looked back at her for a second before continuing to crawl away.

"This is not a game, Yazoo." Aeris had almost grabbed him, but the little guy had gotten up on his legs and surprisingly ran faster, slipping out of her reach again. Aeris huffed in annoyance and exhausted frustration. "Yazoo!"

"See! You are playing. I want to play too!" Loz huffed, getting off the couch to run alongside Yazoo as he ran out of the Kitchen. "Catch me too mother, catch me!"

Loz laughed and scream while Yazoo remained silent as they ran around the couch with their mother at their tail.

"Sweetheart, we're not playing tag. Now come here, it's nap time and mommy's getting tired- Eayghh!" The boys had circled around the couch for a while before suddenly making a run for the kitchen again to try and escape into the backyard. Aeris tried to keep after them but had lost track of the coffee table in the room as she ran into it, falling to the ground at her speed and sudden stop on impact. She had fallen with no grace or brace in her exhaustion. She had just laid on the floor as the pain vibrated from her shin. She wasn't really hurt, she was just... tired. "Ehh... (Eyes Watering)"

With a whimper, she began to cry.

"!" The boys heard the fall soon followed by their mother's crying.

"Mother are you okay?!" Loz rushed back into the room, Yazoo beating him to their mother just by a few seconds.

"(Quiet Crying)" Aeris couldn't respond to her son as she couldn't seem to stop herself from crying.

"..." Yazoo moved over to silently sit by his mother's side, gently placing his small hand on her head.

"Please don't cry, mother. Look!" Loz pleaded, going back into the kitchen to grab his hands' full of carrots from his plate. Joining alongside Yazoo by their mother, he began stuffing his mouth with carrots though he despised them. "(Mumble, Chew) I'm eating the carrots. I'm eating them. Does that please you, mother?"

"(Whimpers, Silent Whimpers)" Her crying had stopped but her tears had barely slowed down.

"We'll be good, I promise! I'll do whatever you tell me to! Just say whatever it is you want me to do and I'll do it! Just please... don't cry, mother. Don't cry." Loz pleaded as he started to cry too. His tears making Aeris's finally stop.

"Don't cry, mother..." Yazoo finally spoke.

"!" She was surprised and happily startled to hear the rare voice of Yazoo as he gently ran his small hand along the hair of his mother's head. The gestures from her boys were so kind and so sweet she couldn't stay melancholy even if she wanted to. So gently reaching out her hands to pull her closest son to her, she grabbed Yazoo and pulled him into a hug as they cuddled on the floor. "It's okay, boys. Mommy's just tired, that's all. Let's just... stay like this for a while, okay?"

"..." Yazoo said nothing more, looking up to his mother for a second and her closed eyes as she started to relax again. Giving in to her request for her sake, Yazoo curled up closer to her and closed his eyes to go to sleep as well.

"Okay, mother." Loz obeyed as well, his tears stopping as his mother took on a more happy and peaceful expression. Draping himself along his mother's waist he tried to act as a makeshift blanket for her while falling asleep as well. "We'll go to sleep too, if it makes you happy."

"Thank you, boys... Mommy needs... this..." Aeris was already asleep. Her boys soon followed after her. They had stayed like this for nearly 20 minutes. And that's how Sephiroth found them.

"... Aeris?" Sephiroth had come home to a quiet house with no wife or sons to greet him. Scouting the house to make sure nothing was afoot, he had found them lying on the Living room floor with drying tear stains on the mother of his children's face. "Aeris!"

"Shh." Aeris whispered to him, without moving and without opening her eyes. "Shut up. It's nap time."

"..." He didn't know what to say as he looked down at his wife. He was debating on moving them to somewhere more comfortable, but it looked like Aeris wasn't going to budge. "You look exhausted."

"I said shut up." Aeris gently commanded. Her voice soft but her orders firm without quarter. "If you wake up any of our boys, you will be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"!" Sephiroth was shocked, Aeris never got bossy like this before. It was actually a turn on for him. But also a concern that his wife was reaching a breaking point in her character from exhaustion like this. Maybe he could spend more time at home, for her sake. Plus he needed to spend more time with the kids before the gap between favorite parent for them becomes more vast. "Do you want me to watch the kids tomorrow?"

"That would be great. Thanks..."

...

Nine months later Kadaj came into the World, making the Cetra family even bigger. And yet again Sephiroth's genes had pulled out the dominant one in their children. Kadaj looked more like the larva form of Sephiroth than any of their other sons, down to slitted pupil Lifestream eyes. Kadaj wasn't as quiet as Yazoo, nor as loud as Loz. He seemed to have a new volume of his own where he would laugh and cry on his own accord.

Of course he would cry for food and from discomforts of full diapers and restlessness. But other times he just wanted attention. When he got it he would laugh in a way that was cute for a baby but oddly smug too. Aeris and Sephiroth didn't know how to describe it, but their baby had a cocky competitive streak where he would most of the time fight for their attention with his brothers. As if trying to prove that he was the best. This was hard to believe when coming from a baby. But he made it hard to ignore when he would angry cry in frustration when they would turn their attention away or seemingly spend too much favor on another child for his taste.

Kadaj wanted his father's attention, but just like their other sons, he was mostly a mama's boy. As they could see while Aeris nursed him under a warm baby blanket in their backyard while their older children played. Aeris and Sephiroth stayed under the shade of the tree while they watched after their boys.

"..."

"Are you still pouting, Aeris?" It's been over a week since Kadaj had been born and Aeris still tended to get a grumpy pout on her face from time to time. Sephiroth found it hilarious but also missed seeing the smile on her face. Her pregnancy with their third child took a rather strange turn than the others. She was oddly more dominating and commanding than her usual kind request. It was attractive but not really her. Sephiroth thought she was still running in the afterburner from pregnancy's hormones and that it would pass. He just didn't know when.

"I just wish that at least one of our children took more after me." Aeris groaned out to Sephiroth while gently rocking Kadaj in her arms. She looked down at him while he looked back up at her with a soft laugh. "Why did they all have to turn out like little copies of you?"

"Is there something wrong with the way I look?" Sephiroth quirked an eyebrow.

"You're drop dead gorgeous and you know it." Aeris huffed at him before taking a long tired breath. "It's just... I want my own little copy. I want to see a piece of me live on in the next generation."

"Aeris..."

"But I have three beautiful, healthy boys. I guess that's more than enough..." Aeris smile in content, holding Kadaj closer to her.

"We can always make more." Sephiroth suggested. "Who knows, maybe our next child will take more after you."

"(Giggle) In your dreams, Seph. I'm not giving you any more kids for while. Besides, Yazoo and Loz already have to room in together to make room for Kadaj. Planning to have our possible fourth child move in with Kadaj after they're old enough to move out of their crib which will have to be moved to our room?" Aeris looked over to Sephiroth trying to be snarky. Only to get a surprise pull on one of her side bangs as Kadaj let out a frustrated cry at losing her attention. "?!"

"What?"

"I think Kadaj got jealous." Aeris didn't know any other way to put it. He had stopped when she looked back down at him again but still kept hold of her bang.

"Of what, me, or our figurative fourth child?"

"Maybe both..."

...

Another year had passed, Aeris had greeted her 23rd year while Sephiroth his 26th. Both had stopped aging a while ago. Not really stopping but drastically slowing down, Aeris at 19 and Sephiroth at 21. They had hoped that no one would come to notice this. But when that time comes they would sadly be forced to move their family to Cosmo Canyon. The place was a pilgrimage village that was more in tune with the ways of this World so they would be safe there. It's not that they didn't like Cosmo Canyon. It was a beautiful place where they had lasting friendships there. But Radiant Garden was where they had made their home. They built their family there, their kids were born there, they made friendships in that place. It would be heart breaking when they would have to let it go for the greater good of their family.

But until then they would stall the inevitable. They would act like any normal family would around other people and would keep their Cetra background a secret for as long as they possibly could. And it was for that reason they were spending the time putting Sunscreen on their sons while they vacationed on the beach of Costa del Sol. They had rented out the little Villa there for a week so that they could take the kids somewhere new. The boys liked the change of scenery as they sat in the sand in their swim trunks and arm floating devices. However, they didn't appreciate their parents holding them back and putting this weird lotion on them.

"Why are we even doing this Aeris? You know we can't get sunburned." Sephiroth tiredly sighed out to her in a whisper while still applying sunscreen on both Loz and Yazoo like she asked while she worked on Kadaj. Kadaj was more obedient with Aeris, and Yazoo was naturally calm but expressed his annoyance in his aura, but Loz was the one that would kick and whine giving Sephiroth a hard time.

"I know that, you know that, but 'they' don't know that." Aeris whispered, gesturing with the turning of her eyes and the bob of her head towards the other people occupying the beach. "And I'd like to keep it that way."

"..." She had a fair point.

"Father I want to go play." Loz whined, trying to wiggle out of Sephiroth's hold.

"..." Yazoo did not voice his complaint but wanted to be released as well.

"Mother I want to build a castle." Kadaj requested while still showing no resistance of wanting to leave her arms as he looked at the golden sands and the many sand castles the other kids on the beach were making. "One that is bigger and grander than the others."

"Well you better get to it, Sweetie." Aeris encouraged, releasing him as her job was done. "The tide waits for no one."

"!" Kadaj made a run to collect sea shells for his grand master piece while also watching the shell crabs roam the beach by the gentle tide waves.

"Father?" Loz whine while he and Yazoo looked up to Sephiroth in silent question.

"(Sigh)," Sephiroth tried to keep himself from groaning in slight exhaustion as he finally released his sons. "Go on."

"!" "Yayy! (Laughter) Wee!" Yazoo and Loz rushed after Kadaj to play. Not going too far from their parents but still closer to the other children.

"Don't go too far into the water! Only knee deep, boys!" Aeris instructed their boys as they ran off. Once that was said and done she turned to Sephiroth with the sunscreen. "Now it's your turn."

"(Sigh)."

"Don't be that way, it'll be over soon." Aeris assured to him while rubbing the lotion to coat her hand. "Now lie down."

"..." Sephiroth silently obeyed, lying on his towel to expose his back to Aeris. "On the bright side at least I'll have to get your back next."

"Yes, I'll have to suffer through the lotion too. But make sure you get your front, arms, and legs after this." Aeris insisted while she sat beside him applying the lotion on her hands to his back.

"Wouldn't it be easier for you just to sit on my back than stretching over me?" Sephiroth suggested over to her from his spot resting his cheek on his arms.

"Nice try, Seph." Aeris said, giving him a playful slap on the back. "But not when there are so many people around."

"Then perhaps later tonight then?" Sephiroth counter offered up to her, looking at her in the eyes. "We can go out for a late night swim while the children are asleep. Go for a moonlight walk on the beach, watch the stars together, possibly more..."

"..." Sephiroth honestly wasn't expecting her to take him up on his offer. Aeris would never leave their sons alone by themselves at such a young age and especially in a new environment. He just wanted to see her reaction to his proposal. Her vibrant blush would be enough for him. "Okay."

"!" His eyes widened. 'Wait what?'

"Let's do it. Let's go out tonight."

Sephiroth was not expecting that answer. This was not like her.

"And the kids?" He asked, getting back up to sit again as Aeris was done.

"Oh don't worry about that." Aeris assured to him with a smile before gathering Magic in her hand to make a ball of light.

"!" Sephiroth instantly got in front of her to block her light show from the rest of the occupants on the beach. Fortunately, it was already so bright outside that no one seemed to notice the extra light coming from them. Once the light had died down, there was a Light Aeris standing beside her. "..."

"What do you think? I learned how to do it when Kadaj came along, to help keep track of all three kids. She'll be able to look after the kids and warn me if anything comes up. Isn't this great?"

"Yes. It's great." She truly was the Light to his Darkness.

...

"I hear you're expecting another child on the way. Congratulations." Angeal offered to Sephiroth as they and Genesis entered the Training Simulation Room. Sephiroth and his family had returned from their trip from Costa del Sol with one more family member on the way than when they left. The news had spread fast that Aeris was feeling rather queasy and had this glow around her, and so two-and-two were put together.

"You two keep pulling out mini-yous all over the place. I swear you're trying to build an army of Sephiroths." Genesis teased at Sephiroth while joining over with Angeal and pulling out his copy of LOVELESS from his pocket.

"What my wife and I do in our home is none of your concern Genesis." Sephiroth said over to him. It would seem that for this training exercise it would be 2-on-1. Him being the 1. That was fine, he rather liked the challenge.

"I didn't hear you deny it." Genesis retorted while looking into his novel instead of at Sephiroth, leaning up against the wall as he read. "But regardless, did you and Aeris get a chance to see the meteor shower while you two were frolicking along the beach of Costa del Sol?"

"Yes. We Sensed the Door has opened..." Sephiroth said looking off into the distance.

"What?"

"Nothing. We just felt something strange about that celestial storm." Sephiroth corrected, covering his blunder about revealing the existence of the World's Door and Keyhole.

"!"

"We thought it was just us." Angeal said, agreeing with Sephiroth. "G and I sensed something off about that Meteor Shower too. That was no ordinary celestial storm. I fear that this is a sign of something more to come, whether it's good or bad tidings."

"Even so, that Shower had dropped strange material into our atmosphere that king Ansem is sending his best to collect," Genesis informed. "I suppose we'll find out more about it in the near future. Our Sage King has always been fascinated by the Heartless and things from outside our World, I suppose he'll be handling the research first hand."

"That sounds more likely. But enough of that. Let's begin." Sephiroth said, starting the simulation which took them on one of old Shinra's Fortress where they rested on the cannon.

"Infinite in mystery is the Gift of the Goddess." Genesis began to read aloud. "We seek it thus and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest."

"Loveless Act 1," Sephiroth finished for Genesis as he approached them a little closer.

"Hm," this put a small smile on Genesis as he put his novel away. "You remembered."

"How can I not when you've beaten it into my head." Sephiroth teased with the tape of his finger on his skull. He then pulled Masamune to his side, ready for action.

Genesis and Angeal got ready too. Genesis pulling out his Rapier and Angeal unsheathing his Standard Soldier Sword.

"Don't take Sephiroth lightly." Angeal warned over to Genesis. Knowing that Genesis usually tended to get carried away when dealing with Sephiroth which usually left him wide open.

"Hmph, noted." Was all Genesis responded as they charged at Sephiroth.

Both of them came at Sephiroth which he parried with ease. Genesis stayed a little longer before backing off, leaving Angeal a shot to come back at Sephiroth for a while. But then they came together to go at Sephiroth from his sides, which he parried both of their blades with Masamune. He pushed them back to continue the deadly dance again. Genesis would go after him first, then Angeal, then Genesis again until Angeal jumped back in.

"Heh, is that the best you can do?" Sephiroth taunted over to Angeal as they were caught in a blade lock. But then he pushed him back over to Genesis.

"All hail Sephiroth, huh?" Angeal taunted over to Sephiroth in small admiration as he wasn't breaking a sweat from facing the two of them.

"Angeal, stay back." Genesis ordered, holding an arm out to block Angeal's path. "I'll take Sephiroth alone."

"Genesis." Angeal practical huff at Genesis in disapproval. He was starting to go overboard again.

"The World needs a new hero." Genesis taunted over to Sephiroth as he infused some of his Magic into Rapier.

"Hmph. Come and try." Sephiroth countered back, coasting Genesis to come at him.

"So smug. But for how long?" Genesis came at him with little holding back. It was quite invigorating for Sephiroth, they were starting to destroy the room with their craters. Angeal knew the Simulator wouldn't be able to take much more of this but for the sake of his friend's pride, he let the fight continue.

Things got crazy when Genesis took the fight airborne and Sephiroth followed. Genesis shot out small bombardments of Fire at Sephiroth as gravity pulled him back to the ground. Sephiroth stopped the first few with his blade, but the rest had consumed him in their flames. Genesis was going to shot another one at him for good measures, a bigger than average Fire. A Fire 3. But Angeal had intervened, grabbing his charging arm.

"Stop. You'll destroy us all." Angeal ordered Genesis.

"That's no way to talk to a hero." Genesis barked back, lowering the power of the Fire back to a tier 1 and firing it directly at Angeal's face. Sending Angeal falling down and out of the fight. But in that time Sephiroth had Slashed through the flames and started bombarding Genesis with their power. "Ah!"

Genesis cut through them, but the Cannon they were standing on had taken some damage. As they landed back in their original spots. Genesis watched as the part of the Cannon Sephiroth had landed on was cut off and started to descend to the sea below, along with Sephiroth. They looked into each other's eyes as Sephiroth was going down. Only for Sephiroth to cut through more of the Cannon as if it were butter as he leaped at Genesis. The fight continued on until there was barely any Cannon left. Sephiroth kept pushing him back to Genesis's frustration. He charged his Rapier with more Magic once more as Sephiroth leaped at him, meeting Sephiroth in the middle. Things were getting out of hand. They were going to destroy the room.

"Enough!" Angeal ordered getting in between the two of them, blocking Sephiroth with his strapped Buster Sword on his back and Genesis with his Standard Soldier Sword.

"Angeal." Sephiroth had calmed down but Genesis was still too into the fight as if he had something to prove.

"Ggh, out of my way!" Genesis growled, charging up his Magic into his hands. His strength causing his Rapier to shatter Angeal's Standard Soldier Sword. The top of the blade slicing into Genesis's left arm. "Ggah!"

"Genesis!" Angeal called out to him in alarm as he fell to his knee gripping his wound. The Simulation turning off and Angeal and Sephiroth looked to him in concern as he caught his breath. The room was practically destroyed as the warning lights flashed in the red and sparks shot from the walls' circuits.

"Just a scrape." Genesis assured them getting back up on his feet again. But he was still holding his hand over the wound. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

He bent down to grab his Rapier again, finally letting go of his wound. But he still struggled to catch his breath as there was a wobble in his walk. Sephiroth looked down in shame as he moved to the side a little to let Genesis pass to the exit. He couldn't believe in his over excitement for battle and a challenge he could have nearly destroyed his friend, causing Genesis to get hurt in the long run. Something that he never wanted to happen to begin with. These two were one of the few people in this World that he wanted to protect, especially from himself.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." Genesis assured to Sephiroth as he passed Sephiroth, making him look up and over at him as Genesis made it to the exit. "You two still have young pups making their way here. You should be concerning yourselves with that, I'll take care of this."

...

Meanwhile elsewhere, Aeris was selling her flowers along the area where her sons tended to play. Many people passed along their way. Some saying hello, others silently going about their business. But that's when Aeris felt him before she saw him. His light was so warm, but so small, it fluttered like a shy bird. She felt her analogy to be right in more ways than one when she got a look at the guy's hair. His golden Chocobo spiky hair literally knocked her off her feet, she fell on her bottom in surprise.

He looked over at her in concern, given her a good view of his bright blue eyes. They were so shy and yet hollow, but they still burned brighter with something inside that he himself didn't even realize was there. This young man must have had a rough childhood, as most tended to do with eyes like his. But he was a fighter with a strong heart. Realizing she was still on the ground, she first subconscious checked to make sure the baby inside her was alright with a small Healing Wind before getting back up on her feet again. Brushing her arms off along with her dress.

She looked back at the young man again. He most certainly was new here if the large baggage strapped over his shoulder was anything to go by. Also, he seemed a little lost as if he was new to these with little to no knowledge as to where he needed to go. Feeling inclined to give the young man the first friendly gesture in a new place she decided to approach him. He looked to be seventeen, still a little young to be away from home. The World must feel so big and consuming to him.

"Excuse me." Aeris called over to him. She approached but still at a respectable distance for a stranger, she didn't want to make the young man nervous as her maternal instincts were starting to kick in. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah...hey..." The young man shyly answered, looking down more than looking back at her. He was trying to start a conversation but he was nervous. Dealing with new people and a new area was all too many new things for him. But this was his dream, to make it to Radiant Garden and become big in Soldier. So he would have to be brave and take the first steps.

"..." Aeris stayed quiet, patient for him.

"...Don't see many flowers like those around." He commented on the flowers in her basket that she had strapped on her arm.

"Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only one munny."

"I'll buy one."

"Oh, thank you!" She reached into her basket and grabbed the best one she had, handing it to him. Maybe he had a mother, or a sister, or a girl at home waiting for him that would love to have it. Her flowers most certainly would last the trip if he sent it home. Or maybe it was just a little something to brighten up his day in a strange new place. "Here you are!"

"..." He nodded to her, heading off. Most likely to the destination that he came all this way to reach...

...

A few weeks have passed and Genesis did not seem to get any better. In fact, he was much worse for wear, almost as if he was deteriorating. Two weeks had passed since the incident in the Training Ground, and Sephiroth and Angeal didn't know what to do.

"He needs another blood transfusion?" Angeal asked over to Sephiroth as he explained the situation to him around the Soldier Building's front desk, away from the recruits and while the Receptionist was away.

"Yes. It seems that the regular donor blood is not compatible with the enhancement of First Class Soldiers' body." Sephiroth explained, saddened by the news but not outwardly showing it. "I offered up blood. However...it doesn't seem to be a match."

"Then they can use my blood." Angeal instantly offered. "I'll give them as much as they need to make Genesis better."

"That may work. But only for a time. Genesis's deteriorating condition seems to be stemming from a fault in his First Class Soldier injection. We would need to look into the basis of what is used to make a Soldier to find a means of reversing his condition."

"But the original Soldier Project blueprints were lost with Shinra Corp during the fire." Angeal hissed in frustration at the loss of the only hope to cure Genesis.

"Yes. But there is a copy of it. One of the many tactics that Shinra used to encourage the king's sponsorship of the Soldier Project. I've had a word with the king Ansem, he's granting Genesis all access to all Soldier Project related files in the castle to help him find a cure. Hopefully, Genesis can find the answer to his affliction on his own."

"I hope so." Angeal started to get a small smile in hope. "Heh, he'd probably like things better this way anyway. A hero that finds the answer to his own affliction by his own hands. That practically has Genesis written all over it."

"Hm, so it does." Sephiroth grinned in agreement. But then his grin had faded. "But sadly he won't be doing this completely alone. Don't forget the king had summoned Professor Hollander, a retired Research from the former Shinra Science Department, to assistant Genesis in his treatments."

"A researcher of Shinra? I thought they were all lost in the fire?"

"This one hasn't been in the building for years, so he survived the fire." Sephiroth's fingers dug into his crossed arms passed Angeal's view in his frustration. So he had missed one. His mother would never let him live this down.

"You're right I won't. I told you to destroy them all, and I meant destroy them ALL. Now go finish what you should have finished years ago."

'I can't. Genesis needs him right now.'

"And your mother NEEDS him dead. Your family NEEDS him DEAD!"

'Later, when Genesis is healed. He serves a purpose for now.'

"(Hiss) You will come to regret this decision, boy."

'...' Sephiroth took her words in as his mother faded away again.

Suddenly the alarms went off.

"!" "!"

Lazard came rushing out from the stairs in the side hallway.

"What's happening?" Angeal asked.

"Heartless, and a large one too." Lazard explained. "It's flying its way to the city. You two are to engage it in combat and handle this conflict."

"But what about the recruits?"

"Bring three that you deem to be the best with you and take care of the situation. That is your mission for today." Lazard instructed them.

"Yes sir!" Angeal nodded to Lazard before turning to Sephiroth. "I've got Zack. He's still a young Soldier puppy but he shows much promise."

"Very well," Sephiroth nodded in acceptance of his choice. "I'll just take Cloud. He has a lot of potential. You can choose whomever you want for the third."

...

He came from right out of the sky, crashing down from her Church's roof, startling her children. It was fortunate for him that he landed on something soft and she had healing powers or he would be in a world of pain. It took her a second to calm her children from their hiding spot behind one of the pews while she tended to the young man. It was the young man with the golden Chocobo hair from before. He seemed to be mumbling to himself in his sleep.

"...Yeah... I'll try." The young man mumbled to himself.

"Oh! It moved!" Aeris gasped in relief as the young man gave signs of still being alive. "Hello, hello?"

"...I know." He continued to mumble in his sleep. "Hey...who are you?"

"Hello, hello!"

"..." Finally, he started to come to. Struggling to sit back up on his sore muscles. Aeris decided to give him space to right himself on his own, only standing by to spot him if need be.

"You okay?" She asked, looking down at him as he finally sat up. "This is a church outside of Radiant Garden's walls. You just fell from above. You really gave us a scare."

"Us?" The young man turned to look at her, noticing the little ankle biters hanging onto her pink dress from behind her as they looked at him with mistrust. "Oh. Sorry... ...I came crashing down?"

"The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall. You're lucky."

"That's right... I was...fighting a flying Heartless and latched on to it to finish it off when it tried to fly away from my team. We both went down together..." The young man recalled before looking around at his surroundings. "Flower bed...is this yours?"

Realizing he was most likely crushing the flowers under his weight he immediately jumped up on his feet again.

"Sorry about that." He apologized to her.

"That's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." Aeris assured to him. But then she smiled and looked up to the church. "I love it here."

The young man just shrugged it off as her just being a little strange. But he did genuinely approached her in curiosity when she started tending to her flowers again. Her boys held on to her dress a little tighter and got protective of their mother as the stranger approached them. But they could sense no darkness or ill intent in his heart so they didn't become aggressive.

"So, we meet again." Aeris gave the young man a smile as she continued on with her work. The man didn't seem to recall as he cupped his elbow and curled his other hand on his forehead in thought. Aeris got up at that and wipe some of the dirt off her dress. "Don't you remember me?"

"Yeah, I remember..." The young man suddenly recalled. "You were selling flowers."

"Oh! I'm so happy!" Aeris clapped her hands together in praise. "Thanks for buying my flowers."

"..." The young man seemed to be having trouble starting up a conversation. He was different than the last time she saw him weeks ago, he was now sporting a Soldier uniform, whether he was First Class or not was unknown to her. Even so, he was still rather shy. So she decided to throw him a bone.

"Say, do you have any Materia?" It was customary for Soldier to hand out both a Fire and Lightning Materia to each new recruit that passed the initiation test, but she was just trying to start up small-talk.

"Yes, some." The young man replied. "Nowadays you can find Materia anywhere."

"(Giggle) But mine is special. It's good for absolutely nothing." Aeris teased about the White Materia she had safely bundled in her hair ribbon.

"...good for nothing? You just don't know how to use it."

"No, I do... it just doesn't do anything." At least not until the time comes when it is needed. "I feel safe just having it. It was my mother's."

"..." Surprisingly, the young man could relate. He watched as Aeris looked up to the sky in a sad melancholy in memory of her mother before looking back down to him with a warm smile.

"Say, I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it?" Aeris asked. "After all, here we are meeting again."

"I don't mind. But..."

"Wait here, I've got to check my flowers. It'll just be a minute." Aeris said as she started circling around her flower bed to check on their condition. They all seem happy and bright, their little hearts singing out to her. Cloud was being so patient for her even if his heart was a little bit anxious to go. "Just a little longer. Oh!"

"?!"

"Now that you mention it... We don't know each other's names, do we?" Aeris pointed out before greeting him. "My name is Aeris. I'm Aeris, the flower girl. Nice to meet you."

"The name's Cloud." The young man named Cloud introduced himself back. "Me? I do a little bit of everything."

"Oh...a jack of all trades." Aeris began to giggle. He was already in Soldier there was no need to try and impress, but the young man still took her laughter to heart a little.

"Yeah, I do whatever's needed." Cloud said with a little less bravado. "What's so funny? What are you laughing at?"

"Sorry, I just..." She shook her head, trying to say that she wasn't laughing at him but at the nervous flutter of his heart that gave away that he was still a young boy. He began to walk away, in pout by what his heart was giving away. "Cloud! Don't let it get to you!"

"(Sigh)" Cloud shrugged and simply turned himself back around to her.

"Say, it's getting pretty late soon. Why don't I take you back to my place to give you something to eat and get your strength back up before sending you on your way?" Aeris offered. "It's the lease I could do to make sure you're okay after 'your' fall."

"What? But I-"

"Come on." Aeris gestured with her head for him to follow as she headed out of the front of the church. Her sons grabbing hold of either of her hands or hanging close to her in Yazoo's case. "My house isn't that far from here."

"But... (Sigh)." Cloud gave up resisting and just followed the persistent young woman, something told him that she wasn't going to stop once she set her mind to it.

It was a nice sheltered walk back to Radiant Garden under the cover of the dense trees. The crack in the kingdom's wall was well hidden and barely noticeable. Aeris seemed to come and go through it with just a Mythril Rod and a flower basket, along with her young boys, so the path must have been relatively safe. But even so, Cloud kept his guard up keeping a hand close to his sheathed Standard Soldier Sword. It wasn't long until they reach Aeris's home. The radiance of the place put the rest of Radiant Garden to shame.

"(Gasp)! Is this the place...?"

"Yes. This is home sweet home for the four of us." Aeris nodded while opening the front door for all of them. "Well five if you include the little one growing inside my belly at the moment."

"?!" The news alarmed Cloud. "You're pregnant? You shouldn't be roaming about the outside walls with Heartless around in your condition. It's dangerous."

"Thank you but I can take care of myself." Aeris huffed at Cloud before calling out into the house. "We're home, Sephiroth."

"!"

"You're a little late than usual. Welcome back." Sephiroth greeted her, coming out of the kitchen when he noticed Cloud standing next to her. "Oh, so you're still alive. Glad to see you again, Cloud."

His words may have come off as harsh but he was genuinely relieved that Cloud was okay.

"So you two know each other then." Aeris concluded, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"This crazy recruit tried taking out a Heartless while riding on its back." Sephiroth explained crossing his arms in disapproval of Cloud's reckless actions.

"But I did take it out, Sir." Cloud shot back before realizing that he was talking to his General and hero. "I mean, Conflict Resolved, Sir."

"And how was your fall then, Soldier?" Sephiroth countered back at Cloud's retort in smug.

"Very painful," Cloud honestly admitted.

"Don't be mean to Cloud, Sephiroth. He has been very nice buying one of my flowers and acting as our Bodyguard on our way home from the church."

"I see... So that's where you fell." Sephiroth said aloud before directly addressing Cloud. "Thank you for looking after my wife."

"I didn't know you were married, Sir."

"I tend not to go public to protect my family from the paparazzi." Sephiroth shrugged off before turning to Aeris and their boys in concern. "You went out to the church again? Aeris, you know how the number of Heartless have picked up recently. It's dangerous to go out like that. Are you alright? You four are not hurt, are you?"

"Five." Aeris corrected, gently rubbing a hand along her soon to be growing stomach. "I'm all right, Seph. I had my boys with me. And Cloud looked after us on the way back."

Her little boys took pride in how their mother said they were such good protectors, especially Kadaj, until she started praising Cloud. Cloud could practically feel the daggers in their eyes hitting the side of his head.

"Still..."

"I wanted to go out there while I still can. Pretty soon I'll be too big to move around as much. I want to look after my flowers while I still can to make sure they're taken care of."

"..." Sephiroth couldn't stay upset with her when her eyes would get like that. Realizing that he had lost this fight, a feat which he was not use to, he returned back to the kitchen to continue making dinner for the night. "(Sigh). So what are you going to do now, Cloud?"

"He's going to stay for dinner to recover his strength."

"Actually...Is the Soldier Building far from here? I'd like to return to get some rest." Cloud countered Aeris's last statement, not wanting to intrude on General Sephiroth's time with his family. Besides, he felt like that Kadaj kid would keep giving him the evil eyes if he had accepted her offer.

"What? So you're not going to stay for dinner?" Aeris pouted.

"Sorry. It's getting late and I'm really tired. And I would like to write home before the end of the day." Cloud explained trying to cheer Aeris up. Which worked.

"Oh, home! Is that where you sent my flower? To your mother perhaps?"

"No, I sent it to Tifa."

"Is Tifa a girl?" Aeris teased at him with her hands behind her back.

"Yeah."

"A girlfriend?" Aeris asked with a goofy smile.

"Girlfriend?" Cloud's face began to explode in red with a blush, shaking his head violently in denial. "No way!"

Aeris could practically hear his heart stuttering. They may not be boyfriend and girlfriend for now, but Cloud's heart had hope for that to change in the future. She could practically hear it screaming that.

"(Hee hee hee)... You don't have to get THAT upset..." Aeris teased at him to his embarrassment. "Well, let's see, Soldier Building? I'll show you the way."

"You gotta be kidding. Why do you want to put yourself in danger again? It's too late for a woman in your condition to be going out at night." Cloud said in concern, which in turn only got Aeris more upset than touched.

"I'm use to this place."

"Use to it? Well, I don't know... getting help from a girl..."

"A girl! What do you mean by that?! You expect me to just sit by quietly after hearing you say something like that?!" Aeris huffed at Cloud before turning to call Sephiroth in the kitchen. "Sephiroth! I'm taking Cloud to the Soldier Building. I'll be back in a while."

"But Aeris...(Sigh) I give up. You never listen once you've made up your mind." Sephiroth said, coming out of the kitchen again. "But if you must go, I'll look after the boys."

"Right, thank you, Seph." She nodded to her husband in gratitude before turning to Cloud. "You have to go through the Marketplace to get to the Soldier Building. I'll take you there. Come on!"

"Uh-" Cloud tried to stop her but she was already running out the door. There was really no stopping Aeris once she set her mind to something. "(Sigh)."

"Cloud."

"?!" Cloud turned his head to look back at General Sephiroth. "Yes sir?"

"My wife better return to me in the same condition she left in, or you'll be feeling the burn tomorrow." His eyes started to glow and his pupils' slitted more, assuring Cloud that 'that' was a promise.

"!" He had a sweat drop at that.

...

About a month had passed and the king had discovered that the material that fell down from the meteor shower was called Gummi Blocks. Used to make ships that traveled between the Worlds. He had gathered the best Engineers throughout the World's kingdom to help assemble the Gummi Ships for production to initiate their Worlds first voyage out to see other Worlds. Of course, that would mean none other than Cid Highwind from Rocket Town. He was uncouth, short-tempered, and had a thing for chewing on toothpicks. But despite those things, he has a good heart and is a brilliant engineer.

So valuable was his mind that king Ansem had temporarily assigned Sephiroth to be his Bodyguard until he got settled in the Royal Academy where he and his assigned team would begin work on the Gummi Project. Of course, with how brooding things have gotten in the Soldier Building with Genesis locking himself away with his research document copies, Sephiroth thought the best place for Cid's unease mind in a new environment was to take him home. To his house of three energetic toddlers...

Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea as a place for Cid to relax. But Aeris had beyond his expectation made Cid feel at home. Her kindness and natural charisma had instantly sparked an unlikely friendship between the two of them. He talked about his research, she would listen and ask questions, and they even started to bounce ideas off each other. Pretty soon he was making replicas of his projects and airships for her boys to play with, which they loved very much.

"Weee!" Loz laughed as he made propeller sounds while he flew his airship in his hand around in the area. Kadaj and Yazoo busied themselves sliding their Gummi Ship replicas on the rug, sometimes playing chicken with each other.

"Heh, I gotta say Aeris, you've got the most mellow ankle-biters I've ever seen." Cid smirked while chewing on his toothpick as they watched the kids play from the Living room couch. "I was expecting when I heard that you folks had three of them that I would be leaving with my ears bleeding."

"(Laughter) I'm sorry we couldn't live up to your expectations."

"Pfft, nah, I could live without that one ever being fulfilled." Cid waved her off with a grin. He was working on the cup of Joe she had made for him before gesturing towards the noticeable bump starting to show on her stomach. "How long until the next little bugger makes their appearance?"

"That's many months away." Aeris answered, lovingly rubbing a hand over her growing bump. "This little one won't be showing up for some time."

"Well give me a holler when your bubble pops. I can't wait to see how the little guy turns out. Or gal, I'm not gonna judge. I wonder if they're gonna turn out like their old man."

"(Sigh) Probably. They all turn out like Sephiroth so far."

"Just think when they grow up. They'll have to beat the girls off of them with a stick."

"(Laughter) You're probably right. But I don't know if I approve of the stick thing. Perhaps they could climb trees instead?"

"Or better yet take Gummi ships." Cid added in an alternative. "By the time they're older my Gummi Ship Project will be complete and we'll all be able to travel along the stars to other Worlds. That'll keep the girls off."

"I'd love to see that. I can't wait for your work to be complete."

"Looks like you won't have to wait for long." Sephiroth said, coming back to the house from his errand. "The Academy has finally set up your work area Mr. Highwind. Your team will be ready to get to work tomorrow morning. For now, I'll take you back to your living arrangements."

"Aww leaving already? You will come back for visits won't you?" Aeris said in slight disappointment that he was leaving.

"Heck yeah I'll be back for a visit. I'd miss seeing ya and these little boogers anyway." Cid said, rubbing the top of Loz's head. Messing up his already wild spiky hair, but Loz loved the attention. Earning Cid some laughter from the small guy.

...

Things had become chaotic at Soldier, there has been a mass desertion, and just when Genesis comes out of his seclusion again he goes missing during a mission in Wutai for a month. Angeal and his protege Zack were sent to investigate. The news was not good. Sephiroth had left with Unit B to the investigation area when he felt a strange fluctuation in the hearts in the area as if they were altering. When he got there they were all attacked by a couple of the rouge Soldiers. When they were taken care of and removed of their helmets to discover their identity...

"Holy..." Zack was star struck to see Sephiroth again. But now wasn't the time for this. As Sephiroth removed the first Soldiers' helmet he discovered something that he was not hoping for.

"Genesis..."

"The missing Soldier from 1st Class?" But Sephiroth kept removing the helmets to reveal that the second rogue Soldier was Genesis as well. "They're identical!"

"A Genesis copy..." Sephiroth vaguely explained, seeing that inside what remained of the Soldiers' hearts Genesis had somehow placed a piece of his heart that germinated and gave them a piece of his powers too along with his appearance. Either way, Genesis had gotten himself into an abominable practice. Messing with other people's hearts was a major taboo to the Cetra culture.

"Copy? A human copy?" Zack began to freak.

"Where is Angeal?" Sephiroth demanded, his voice commanding Zack to pull himself together.

"I thought he was fighting around here..."

"Humph, so he's gone, too."

"What?" Zack flipped. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"It means Angeal has betrayed us as well." Sephiroth hissed in his voice, unable to display how truly heart broken he was that his friends had turned against him like this.

"No way! I know what kind of guy Angeal is." Zack insisted to Sephiroth as he walked away. "And he'd never do that!"

"..." Sephiroth turned around to look back at Zack feeling the distraught and hopeful denial in his heart.

"Angeal would never betray us! Never!"

"..." Sephiroth said nothing. 'I know how you feel. I thought the same thing too... But the pain will hurt more when you find out you're wrong.'

...

By this time the Gummi Ship Project was a complete success. Zack was one of the first lucky few to be allowed access off world. He had decided to go out to other worlds to train after accepting his promotion to 1st Class Soldier. He wanted to get stronger, not only to be a hero but to save his friends. Last Sephiroth had felt his heart he was on a World called Olympus Coliseum, where almost everything was a battle tournament and training. Sounds like the perfect place, Sephiroth definitely wanted to make plans to go there. But for now he needed to find out what was happening to his friends.

Zack refused to believe that Angeal would ever betray them, and Sephiroth was inclined to believe that too. Angeal had too much honor to turn his back on his duty. Something was up. And Director Lazard had sent him out to investigate it. He was sent to Genesis hometown of Banora to see if he had turned up. His parents had reported they have had no contact with Genesis whatsoever in a while, but Lazard could not trust their word. The mission had already had started to turn gloomy on Sephiroth, not only was he visiting the hometown of his missing best friend Genesis but Angeal's as well. Since they grew up together this is how Sephiroth believed Genesis got Angeal to desert as well. Sephiroth had almost wanted to refuse the mission. Genesis and Angeal were his only friends, he didn't want to have to fight them. But he did want to help bring them back from their darkness. And so, he continued on...

There was fresh gravestone on Genesis's family's estate. Turns out it was Genesis's parents grave. Genesis must have finished them himself... But... Before looking into that he decided to get some information from Angeal's mother, Gillian Hewley. She had told him that Genesis had came back to town a month ago with an army of cohorts and they proceeded to steal the hearts of many townspeople. Angeal had only returned to leave his sword and went off somewhere.

And that's when he found Genesis. Inside the apple juice factory outside of town, reading his LOVELESS novel.

"Hmuph..." He stopped his reading as Sephiroth approached. "Settle down, Sephiroth the Hero."

"..." Sephiroth looked around to see that he was infusing one of the rogue Soldiers with Mako and...a piece of himself? "The grave at the house..."

"It didn't take much to have them send false reports." Genesis shrugged off. "Just some mild threats..."

"They would have lied for you anyway. At least your parents would have."

"!" Genesis looked over at Sephiroth with a pang of hatred and hurt in his eyes, getting up on his feet again. "My 'parents' betrayed me. They had always betrayed me, from the very beginning. What do you know?! Kingdom's lapdog!"

"!" Sephiroth had blocked the Fire blast with Masamune. But Angeal had stepped in between to the two to keep the fight from escalating.

"Welcome, partner." Genesis greeted Angeal.

"..." But Angeal said nothing, holding up his Standard Soldier Sword to Genesis telling him to stand down.

"I see...you've finally made your decision. I'll respect your wishes, old friend." Genesis did stand down, but he still walked passed them leaving Angeal one final message. "However... Can you really live on that side?"

"..."

"Genesis." Sephiroth was about to go after Genesis but Angeal blocked his path. "Angeal."

"Tst," he just walked away with no answers.

Sephiroth chased after them when he suddenly felt the shattering of Angeal's mother's heart back in the town. He had rushed back to come to her aid, his healing powers were not as good as Aeris's but they were still there. But it was too late... She was already gone...

He found her body lying on the floor by the table in her home. He was distraught. He couldn't believe Angeal would do this. The Angeal he knew would never do such a thing. He was going into a panic, which came out as more of a rage. A rage that he let out once he sensed Angeal behind him by the wall where his Bustard Sword once rested.

"What have you done?!" Sephiroth didn't even wait for an answer he just punched Angeal hard right on the face, knocking Angeal out of the house. Sephiroth marched after him in his hurt rampage. "Is this your idea of honor?!"

"My mother...could not continue to live. And neither can the son." Angeal vaguely explained as he got back on his feet again.

"What are you talking about?"

"I told you." Genesis came out from the side, taunting at Angeal as he looked into his house. "You can't live on that side anymore."

"!" His words made Angeal flinch for a moment as agony cut through his heart like a knife. Before he steeled himself, strapping his Buster sword to his back he walked away.

"?!" Sephiroth had no idea what was going on anymore. He was losing his friends and the bonds that they had were falling apart.

"My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I?" Genesis quoted LOVELESS to Angeal as he walked away. "All that awaits you is a somber morrow. No matter where the winds may blow."

"Be silent!" Sephiroth commanded. This was all happening too fast. It was too much too soon for him to handle.

"Tell me Sephiroth...are you game?"

"!" Sephiroth grew even more furious as Genesis had summoned Bahamut to fight him. Much to Sephiroth and the Summons sorrow, the Ancient had to defeat it and return it to the World's Heart to recover. Enraged at what he had to do he hissed at Genesis. "Summons aren't meant to be used like that! What happened to your dreams and honor?"

"We are...monsters." Was all Genesis said as he turned his back on Sephiroth and unfolded his large black wing on his right side.

"(Gasp)!" This was impossible! Genesis shouldn't be able to pull out wings, let alone one. Only Ancients...could... "!"

Things were starting to make sense. Why Sephiroth was so drawn to them, why he felt something so special and familiar deep down in their hearts. There was a piece of his mother inside them too.

"We have neither dreams nor honor." Genesis hissed back at him before taking flight, leaving behind nothing but a few black feathers.

"Soldier...doesn't mean monster." Sephiroth insisted to the sky, clinching a few of the feathers in his hand. But whether Genesis heard him or not has yet to be said.

...

"Sephiroth what's going on? I just read in the newspaper that Angeal and Genesis are KIA. But I can clearly feel their hearts still beating vigorously in the Realm of Light. In fact, I feel multiple fractures of their hearts all over the place. What is happening?"

"..." It has been four days since the incident in Banora and the kingdom had officially announced Angeal and Genesis as deceased to cover up their betrayal from the public. It was now the remaining Soldiers main priority to sweep the remaining evidence under the bridge and exterminate the two of them. This would be hard, not only because of the many Genesis copies running around but because they were his friends. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Aeris. "I don't know..."

"Are you going to be okay...?" She asked with concern, coming up to him and placing a gentle hand on his cheek. He leaned into its warmth.

"I don't know. However... I'm going to try to fix this." He insisted, walking out of her warmth to head to the Soldier Building. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"Good luck." She called out to him as he headed out the door.

"Thanks." Once the door shut he marched over to Soldier Headquarters with a more steeled determination. Pulling out his PHS he made a call to someone he hasn't spoken to for quite some time.

"Cloud here."

"It's been a while, Cloud." Sephiroth smirked into his PHS.

"Sephiroth?"

"Come to Lazard's room. I'll be there shortly."

"Alright." Was all Cloud said before hanging up. That's what Sephiroth liked about the young recruit, he kept things short and straight to the point.

...

"Congratulations, Cloud. You'll be the first Infantryman to ever be assigned a 1st Class mission." Lazard praised Cloud before getting to the point as Sephiroth had finally made his way there.

"Hm, I'd thought I'd be happier about this." Cloud somberly said, looking down at his hands, still in denial that all this was real. The Soldier he had worked so hard to get in to was falling apart before his very eyes.

"Understandable. Too much happened too fast." Lazard said in sympathy for him and the rest of the room. They were all hurting from this, but bleeding wounds needed to be stitched up. "Cloud, I'm afraid I'll need your assistance in this?"

"Isn't this situation too delicate and prioritize for an Infantryman to be handling?" Cloud asked, looking over his shoulder at Sephiroth who made himself comfortable in the room though he was anything but calm and relaxed in his heart.

"I believe you're the best option here on handling this matter." Sephiroth honestly admitted. With his friends gone, Cloud was the only one left close enough to him that he could trust to help him in this situation. He had high hopes for this almost barely 2nd Class Soldier that couldn't make the cut so he remained a Soldier Infantryman. Cloud had empathy and a kind heart that could feel others pain, though his nature tended to have him close it all away behind his inner walls. Sephiroth could see a younger version of himself in Cloud. A personality and character at heart that he could relate to.

Lazard was inclined to agree with Cloud on this matter. But Sephiroth had recommended him himself. And he had over the years come to trust Sephiroth's judgment.

"The kingdom has decided to eliminate Genesis and his cohorts." Lazard began to explain the mission details. "This includes Angeal as well."

"And you want me to do it?" Cloud found the news unbelievable, after all the things Angeal and Genesis have done for this kingdom and World.

"No. The two of them are too much for an Infantry Soldier to handle. The kingdom's army will handle it."

"Then what am I for?"

"To keep watch."

"?!"

"They believe my emotional ties to this will hamper my judgment." Sephiroth explained, silently implying that Cloud was to be his watchdog.

"Well of course! They are your friends! The kingdom can't expect you to remain emotionless about this nor should you have to!" Cloud hissed in frustration that they were putting Sephiroth in this position, banging a fist on Lazard's desk.

"..." Sephiroth could feel the genuine emotions in Cloud's heart. He had chosen wisely. "This doesn't mean that I'm not going too."

"To kill them?"

"..." Cloud had so much sadness in his eyes, and it was all directed to him. Sephiroth hadn't felt anyone feel pure sympathy for him since Aeris and Ifalna. Suddenly the alarms went off. "!"

"Heartless in Radiant Garden!" Lazard announced as he checked the codes in the alarm.

"Where?" Cloud asked, ready for combat.

"Close." Lazard responded before giving out the orders. "Sephiroth, the king! Cloud, residential."

"Right, I'm on it." "..." Cloud and Sephiroth both responded with a nod and headed out to their designated areas. Sephiroth would have killed to get residential to make sure Aeris and their sons were okay. But he was a Soldier, and as a Soldier his top priority was to secure the safety of the king.

It had turned out that a couple of the Genesis copies had made it in with the Heartless as well. The king wasn't their priority, their main objective seemed to be terrorizing the residential areas. Sephiroth and the Castle Guards had to quickly take care of them while the people were taking cover behind lock doors. Cloud was a little far off in a different residential section struggling with one Genesis copy. He held up on his own, but Sephiroth could tell from the exhaustion and relief that he Sense from Cloud's heart from all the way from where he was that Cloud still had a long way to go. Suddenly he sensed the heart of Angeal close to the Soldier Building. After disposing of the copies he immediately started heading toward its location. With that in mind, he decided to give Cloud a call. He instantly picked up with no greeting but silently waited for instructions.

"Once your area is done, come back to Soldier Headquarters."

"Find something?"

"Angeal has been sighted in the area."

"So...is this search and destroy?"

"..." He almost flinched in his step at that. "The Royal Guard is mobilizing, but there is still time. You and I will find them before they do, and..."

"And what?" Cloud interrupting, not really wanting to hear what he thought how that sentence was going to end. Sephiroth stopped walking where he was. Cloud flinched a little on his side, realizing that he had been disrespectful to his superior officer.

"...fail to eliminate them." Sephiroth finished his sentence.

"You're serious?!"

"Humph, yes, I'm serious."

"All right, I'll back you up."

Sephiroth hung up and continued on his way. But when he had got there, Angeal was gone and what was left behind was a copy. What was disturbing about the copy was that it was a Heartless. Cloud had shown up halfway to give him and hand. Before the Heartless could disappear with its devoured hearts returning to the World's Heart, they investigated the creature. And lo and behold its head...

"Is that Angeal's face...?" Cloud asked in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"It appears Genesis isn't the only one who can be copied." What was disturbing was that it was a Heartless, which means that Angeal would have to tap into the powers of darkness to control such a creature. He watched as the creature faded away. How could his friends have fallen so far? How could their friendship have split away so much since such a short amount of time? Nothing was like before. Could they not go back to the good old days they shared together? "The Soldier Training room..."

"Hm?"

"We use to sneak in there for fun when the 2nds were out... Genesis, Angeal, and I." Sephiroth began to reminisce.

"You guys were pretty close."

"Humph, I wonder..." Sephiroth oddly felt like indulging, which he never truly done around others before that didn't know him for years. But he felt a sense of trust with Cloud. An unexplained bond, if you will. He told him everything about that day in the Training room; when Genesis began to change...

"So, what happened? Was he okay?"

"Yes, as far as Genesis was concerned. But, (Sigh) as for Angeal..."

"Angeal? What happened?"

"Heh," Sephiroth couldn't help but smirk at the memory. "Later, I received one of his famous lectures."

"About what?"

"Always the same. Discipline, dreams, honor, et cetera..." His grin faded as he looked back to the dissolving Heartless. "So it's true...they're in league with Hollander."

"I don't understand." Cloud was getting so confused by all these changes that were going on inside the inner circle of Soldier. He was not prepared for anything like this when he joined. Brave as his heart was, he was not ready for this. "How could this have happened?"

"The wound was superficial. But for some reason, Genesis wasn't healing." Sephiroth continued to explain what happened. "The man that had been called to treat him was Hollander... The problem was the mako energy that seeped in through the wound, it was treatable but first he would need a transfusion. But I wasn't viable... Why couldn't I be the donor...?"

"..."

...

They had made their way to Professor Hollanders temporary research facility inside Soldier Headquarter's Basement to see if they could dig up some things. They had found a lot...

"A Soldier Type G..." Sephiroth said aloud as he discovered Hollander's research notes, explaining it to Cloud as he looked around for more clues. "It was Hollander's experiment. The result was a normal child. Which meant he failed. However... Project G gave birth to the man we know as Genesis."

"Project G..."

"Project Genesis." Sephiroth clarified to the best of his understanding. "Contrary to this report, Genesis showed clear signs of change."

"Degrading?"

"Not only that." Sephiroth turned around to face Cloud, looking away from the notes.

"Copies...?"

"Hm," he nodded before going to look at the tube-pod the copies were made from, venom in his voice. "Abominations."

"S-Sephiroth?!" Hollander said in startled alarm as he came down into his lab to see Sephiroth and Cloud there.

"Hollander." Sephiroth said with the hate burning inside him, his darkness began to stir. "I thought I'd find you here."

"The degradation process..." Hollander said smugly as Sephiroth seemed to approach for blood, knowing that using Genesis as leverage would leave Sephiroth no choice but to stand down. "Only I can stop it."

Sephiroth halted his bloodlust either way, but Genesis got in between them as a precaution to his only cure.

"Genesis." Sephiroth called out to his friend in the hopes that he could come back to the way things were before. Even doing nothing as he pointed the tip of Rapier at his throat.

"You won't take Hollander." Genesis said, blocking Hollander from them with his wing. Hollander took this chance to make a run for it.

"Tst. Cloud! Go after Hollander!"

"Right." Cloud nodded as he ran up the stairs after Hollander.

"There is no hate, only joy. For you are beloved by the goddess." Genesis began to quote LOVELESS again, pointing his blade away from Sephiroth as he passes. "Hero of the dawn, Healer of Worlds."

"'LOVELESS' again? You never change."

"Three friends go into battle." Genesis began to break down LOVELESS for him. "One is captured, one flies away, the one that is left becomes a hero."

"A common story." Sephiroth sighed out, already use to hearing Genesis repeated interpretation and break down of his poem of obsession.

"If we were to enact it, would I be the one to play the hero, or would you?"

"It's all yours." Sephiroth instantly said, turning back to look at Genesis, he never wanted such a title anyway. He was far from a hero...

"Indeed." Genesis said with a hint of smug as he started to walk around the room. "After all, your glory should have been mine."

"How petty..." Sephiroth always knew that Genesis held a pinch of envy towards him in his heart, but he never wanted to see it come out.

"In hindsight, perhaps." Genesis admitted before he stopped walking to look back at Sephiroth. "Now, what I want most...is the 'gift of the goddess.'"

"..."

...

Apparently, Angeal had intervened and allowed Hollander to get away from Cloud. He had reported to Sephiroth that when he asked Angeal why he was siding with Hollander he first joked about 'World Domination' before answering 'revenge'. He had revealed two white wings on his right side, claiming that he had become a monster and those were the objectives that a monster tended to do. Cloud had commented that they were more like angel wings, which Angeal had retorted that angels fight and dream of one thing...to be human. Cloud tried to defend himself but he didn't stand a chance. Angeal had gotten away, along with Hollander.

Judging by all the chaos that was going on at once, Lazard had insisted that Sephiroth take a few days off. The last thing Soldier needed was for its best 1st Class to break under stress during a heated battle. So here he was at home; his sons taking a nap on a blanket under a tree in their backyard; while he rested his head on Aeris's lap while she brushed her fingers along his hair under the same tree and the cool breeze. His eyes were closed as Aeris looked down at him. Her baby bump was getting much bigger now, Sephiroth could feel the tip of it brushing against the top of his head as he just relaxed in her presence.

"It's so rare to see you home so earlier. I'm actually glad to get to spend some time with you like this."

"This is just what I needed." Sephiroth admitted, looking up at his wife and raising a hand to cup her cheek. "You are an Angel."

"Not quite. I'm an Ancient." Aeris gave a small laugh as she playfully corrected him.

"Humph, you are the Light my heart needs when things get dark, Aeris."

"(Giggle) I'm glad when you're around too, Sephiroth." Aeris laughed like a chime as she got what her husband was trying to relate. "I know your days have been hectic recently. It's nice to see you relax like this."

"What about you, Aeris? How have your days been going?"

"(Laughter) I was thinking it would be a normal day, but then suddenly...some guy took a nap on my lap."

"(Chuckle) My apologies. This guy doesn't intend on moving from this spot anytime soon."

"..." She smiled down at him, placing her own hand over his. "So, any new developments with Soldier?"

"Maybe." He said while lowering his hand back to his lower torso and closing his eyes again. Sephiroth knew Aeris Senses were just as good as his, he knew that she knew Angeal and Genesis were still out there. Along with their copies... He just...didn't know how to address the topic with her. "I'll admit, things haven't been normal at all lately."

"Do you think they're happy?"

"?" That question made him open his eyes to look up at her. "What do you mean?"

"Soldier: heroes to children, protectors of the peace. But, they're not normal." Aeris sadly stated as she looked off into the distance, before looking back down at Sephiroth. "I'm not just talking about Angeal and Genesis. The rest of Soldier...they get some kind of special surgery. It make's them...different."

"I suppose."

"Normal is best. I don't think people should have to change their being, at least." Aeris admitted before placing a hand on her heart and looking away for a second before looking back at Sephiroth. "What they've had done to themselves is kind of...weird. It feels strangely familiar, but at the same time scary. It changes them, in the heart. They fight, and they love it."

"... I'm a member of Soldier too, Aeris."

"I know. I'm sorry... It's just..." Aeris apologetically looked down in shame for her callous words to her husband's line of work, but then she looked down at him pleadingly. "Promise me you won't give in to the darkness like the others rouge Soldiers have. Promise me you'll keep fighting but not revel in it."

"..." He looked into her beautiful Lifestream eyes seeing the reflection of his own eyes in hers. Noting how much his Lifestream eyes looked more like that of a monster's compared to hers. "All right, Aeris. I promise I won't become a monster, at least...no more than I already am."

"(Gasp) Seph, you're not a monster."

"You know I am."

"What makes you believe that?"

"Look at me."

"..." She seriously looked at him, reaching a hand down to caress his cheek as she looked his face over. "So pretty..."

"The face?" He smirked smugly as she began to giggle.

"More than that. The eyes."

"You like them?"

"Yes. They're beautiful. Not scary at all. They're more than just the Lifestream infused blessing, they're the eyes of my beloved. The same eyes that you have given to our sons." Aeris explained with an endearing smile. She started brushing her fingers along his hair again. "Hair like starlight and wings I have yet to see. They say that wings are a symbol of freedom to those who have none. You have given us both freedom from the people of this World who sought to take it away from us. You made me feel strong; you made me feel safe; you made me believe in myself. You're not a monster, Sephiroth, you're my angel. I hope that one day I'll find my wings like you have too..."

"..." Sephiroth looked up to her, cupping her cheek again before sliding his hand back to the side of her head to gently pull her down to him as he leaned up. "How could I have been so lucky to find someone in this World like you? You...are my angel, Aeris..."

They were just about to kiss when Sephiroth's PHS went off. Both startled and pulled from each other, much to Sephiroth's irritants. He had answered the call with a little more frustration, which was hard to tell since he didn't say anything.

"Sephiroth, return to the Soldier Building now." Director Lazard ordered on the other line. "Genesis has attacked us."

"I'm on my way." He responded before hanging up, reluctantly getting up from Aeris's lap. "I'm sorry, but duty calls."

"..." She sadly nodded in understanding before giving him a supportive smile as she had to look up at him now. "Well, I guess you should get going then. We'll be here when you get back."

"Right, I'll try not to be long."

"... I hope that your friends are okay, Sephiroth..."

"... I hope so too."

...

Angeal had joined forces with Sephiroth during the attack Genesis launched against Radiant Garden, taking flight alongside Sephiroth. He had a change of heart against Genesis actions towards the innocent people of Radiant Garden. He wasn't really sure what he was thinking anymore, and his mind felt like it was mired in fog at times. But no matter what happens, in his heart he knew he had to protect his honor. So long as he held his Buster Sword. But he needed Sephiroth's help to do that. Which Sephiroth was happy to oblige his assistance.

Sephiroth had joined Angeal's battle, their enemy was all that creates suffering as Angeal eloquently put it. Sephiroth was more than pleased to join his friend alongside battle again. He was even in a good mood enough to let his years of guard down to reveal his black wings to Angeal, which took Angeal off guard at first but he had speedily come to accept them. Smirking as they took flight, saying that 'flying feels pretty good.' Which Sephiroth had silently admitted in agreement with too.

Apparently, Genesis was sent by Hollander to take out Sephiroth as some form of revenge since his Project G was considered inferior to Shinra compared to Hojo's Project S which had destroyed his career. Genesis had to obey Hollander because he believed that Hollander will stop his body from degrading. The signs were already showing, the roots of his hair were starting to turn gray, and his skin was paling. Even the tip of his black wing's feathers was starting to grey.

But Genesis was inner struggling, as if he didn't want to do it. He still couldn't really raise his Rapier in the attempt to destroy his friend. It became even more apparent as Angeal intervened. He had lowered his blade saying the quote of LOVELESS, Act IV on how 'the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess.' The Act where the two friends challenge each other to a duel, the ending unknown since the last Act of the ancient epic is missing, and yet to be discovered. There are various theories, but Genesis believed the answer lied in the gift of the goddess.

At least that's what he said before leaving them with a Bahamut Fury Summon to fight while he took flight. Angeal pulling the same move too as he left Sephiroth do deal with the Summon while he perused Genesis. The fight was terrible for him in another way, but also an annoyance since his friend had bailed on him to leave him with the cleanup. But he had more of a lock-on to their hearts now, leading him to peruse Genesis all the way to the cold mountainside of Modeoheim. It was an abandoned town that hasn't been used for quite some time. It was a small town that had sprung up when many Shinra scientists and engineers gathered to the Modeo ravine site to study its natural Mako Spring, slightly south of the Icicle Inn.

Sephiroth had gone with three Infantry Soldier members, Cloud being included in the number. He had learned a little more about Cloud since he could travel the mountain terrain so well. Apparently, Cloud was a backwater country boy from mountainsides like this called Nibelheim. Sephiroth was just happy that there was someone in their group that could at least keep up with him. He didn't have that much time, Genesis heart signal could move again at any given notice. But he found Genesis there, in the incomplete structure of the Mako Reactor that would have been out there. But now it was just a vacant building with no purpose.

He had fought with Genesis yet again, but it wasn't much of a fight. The derogation had taken a turn for the worse on his physical strength and his appearance. Genesis's graying was much more noticeable now as one right black wing was more dark gray, and his once red hair had now dulled to grey.

"..." Sephiroth made no move to finish or capture him as he waited for Genesis to catch his breath at his spot knelling on the ground.

"Pride is lost. Wings stripped away, the end is nigh." He quoted LOVELESS in a haggard breath as he struggled to lift his wing. He tried to get up but his weak state made him fall to the floor immediately. He looked up to Sephiroth with a clinched fist. "Such is...the fate of a monster."

"We're not monsters. We're Soldier!" Sephiroth insisted to Genesis, as Aeris had insisted to him. But it wasn't enough... "Where's your honor?"

"..." Genesis got up on his feet again, but with a heavy breath. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return."

"!" Sephiroth grew alarmed as Genesis backed away towards the open shaft to the Mako ravine. "Genesis stop!"

"If this World seeks my destruction..." Genesis said with spite and halting rage to the lot he was given in this World. "It goes with me."

"!" Sephiroth rushed after him as Genesis willingly fell into the ravine. The Darkness to the Mako consumed him before Sephiroth could reach the edge. Genesis's heart had disappeared... "Genesis."

...

When he had gotten back to where he left the group, he had found the presence of Angeal's heart close by, along with other shards of it. The team had been battered and warred down. According to Cloud, Angeal had attacked them. Concerned with this news, Sephiroth had left them to recover and followed after Angeal's heart. Whether Angeal had a change of heart or took an aggressive course to get Sephiroth's attention, his actions were concerning.

Angeal had not been far from the area. Angeal was waiting for him in the Modeoheim Public Bathhouse. He was looking out of the boarded window before Sephiroth approached.

"It should have been me... I should have dealt with Genesis." Angeal sadly admitted.

"Yeah...then why did you leave it to me?"

"To prepare you...for your next fight." Angeal said forebodingly as he swiftly turned all the way to point his blade at Sephiroth. Sephiroth knew he was serious as he pointed his Buster Sword at him instead of his Standard Soldier Sword.

"!" Angeal knew something that Sephiroth did not, he could feel it in Angeal's heart. But the situation was too much for him. He had just lost one friend today, he did not want to have to put down another. "Have you lost it?"

But Angeal was serious as he swung his sword at Sephiroth.

"Stop this!" Sephiroth insisted, refusing to pull out Masamune.

"Someone's waiting for you, no?" Angeal said, reminding Sephiroth what he had to lose if he lost this fight. He wanted Sephiroth to take this seriously or else Sephiroth would die in the process, whether by his blade or the truth once he finds out in the future.

"Angeal...don't do this..." Sephiroth had no choice but to pull out Masamune as he had to counter Angeal.

"Very good, Angeal." Professor Hollander said, making his unwanted appearance. Well, that was only half truth, Sephiroth wanted him to show his face again to get him back for what he had done at leading Genesis astray. "It is time to exact vengeance for our family's suffering!"

"Family?!" Sephiroth didn't believe Hollander was Angeal's father. The World's Heart was screaming too many things for him to get a clear answer. So he was going to assume Hollander meant himself to be the father of Project G and its Soldier G products.

"No! My father is dead!" Angeal insisted with rage as he pushed Sephiroth's blade away to face Hollander, referring to his step-father and his possible biological father.

"Heh. Fine, then do it for your mother." Hollander counter reasoned.

"My mother's shame made her take her own life." Angeal pointed out, clarifying things that Sephiroth did not know before.

"!" So...he didn't kill her. He was wrong about Angeal all along...

"Shame? How terribly misguided! She should have been proud..." Hollander said with no remorse to the dead woman who had participated in his project. "Proud that she was the namesake of our experiment. 'Project G,' or should I say, 'Project Gillian.'"

"!" Sephiroth was way off...

"!" Angeal was enraged at the use of his mother's name on this vile man's tongue. He rushed over to him and grabbed him by his lab coat. "Don't say her name!"

"Gillian, the woman implanted with Jenova cells." Hollander continued explaining the Project as if smugly pushing aside Angeal's command while he removed Angeal's hand from him. "Genesis, who had her genes mapped onto him during the fetal stage. Yes, Genesis was a failure, I'll admit it. But you, Angeal... You were actually bred inside Gillian's body. You...you are perfection."

"!" Angeal pushed Hollander away from him at that, the force knocking Hollander off his feet. Angeal walk a few steps away and turned his back on the two of them. "Sephiroth, I am perfect. A perfect...monster."

"!" Sephiroth couldn't believe that Angeal would say that after being implanted with Jenova cells, his mother, that he was the perfect monster. They were practically brothers...

"Not quite. You can't compare my egg to a dilution of my cells. You're watered-down-cousins at best."

No wonder why he felt such a strong connection in his heart between Angeal and Genesis. But even so, he called that-what-made-the-connection a monster. So then...what does that make Sephiroth?

"True perfection, love. And don't you forget it."

"My cells can absorb genetic traits, and pass them along to others." Angeal began to state his reason for his monstrous excuse of an existence as he turned to face him.

"A two-way-conduit." Hollander explained what the process was as he got back on his feet again. "Jenova's power has passed on to you completely."

"Grgh." Angeal gritted as he turned his face away.

"Yes...his control of my abilities are quite impressive. But not complete."

'Does this mean...I can do those things too...?'

"... One would think." And more, but she would allow him to discover for himself.

"Sephiroth, do you remember what I said?" Angeal asked him as he walked passed Sephiroth, drawing Sephiroth back to the situation at hand. "About our enemy being all that creates suffering?"

"Yes...but you're not one of them."

"But I created my own suffering." Angeal countered with unfair reasoning. "Sephiroth, let me show you."

"?" Sephiroth turned to face him in confusion as he felt shards of Angeal's heart hastily coming towards them.

"Stop it! You don't know what you're doing!" Hollander insisted. Angeal ignored him as he raised his hand to draw his Heartless copies to him. Four beasts had come at his silent call, two of sky and two of earth. All under his full command, waiting for his order. Sephiroth prepared for a four-on-one fight, possibly five. "Damn! At least one sample!"

Hollander charged at Angeal to try and get a hair sample, but Angeal had easily pushed him off.

Sephiroth was ready to strike first as they charged, only to be startled as they charged passed him, with no concern of him, to Angeal.

"Angeal!" He called in alarm as the Heartless copies with only a small fraction of his heart fused with him and the real deal, corrupting his body with their darkness. Angeal grunted in agony in the process as their fusion started to form a new dark entity. Hollander tried to make a run for it, but Sephiroth had swiftly impaled Hollander in the back as if it wasn't even a second thought. His hissed through his teeth. "Pay for your actions against all the people you have caused to suffer, as you rot in the World's Heart's Judgement!"

He pulled Masamune none-the-gently out of Hollander as he side slashed it out in his rage for the man. Truly regretting not following his mother's command and letting him live to cause the damage Hollander has done in his life. On all the lives of the people he cared about.

But he had no time to take satisfaction at putting an end to the last scientist of the cursed Shinra Corp and the bane in his friends' lives. Angeal's transformation had finally come to completion as it formed a new Heartless chimera that called itself Angeal Penance. At lease, that's what the voice in the darkness where Angeal's heart was once sensed said to him.

It charged at him with no-holds-bar. Sephiroth had no choice but to destroy it.

Once the Heartless had dissolved away with the hearts that its former forms previously devoured returned to the sky where it made its way back to the World's Heart, what was left to remain was Angeal's body. His fusion with his degrading copies had caused him to start degrading as well. Though his copies degrading process was much slower than Genesis's copies, and he himself didn't suffer from degrading cells, his fusion with his Heartless copies had torn his body down.

"..." Sephiroth looked down at his degrading friend as Angeal's heart was starting the process of returning to the World.

"Sephiroth, you have my thanks." Angeal said over to him in gratitude as Sephiroth knelled beside him. He held up his Buster Sword for Sephiroth to take. "I leave this...to you."

"!" Sephiroth could not accept it, he could not accept this to be goodbye. But somehow he had found it in his hands and Angeal pushing Sephiroth's hand away with it.

"Protect your honor, always..." Then Angeal closed his eyes with a serene smile as he finally made his peace before his heart returned to the World's Heart.

"!" Sephiroth watched as his friend's body faded away and his heart flew to the sky. It rained that day on those cold mountains as the World cried for Sephiroth since he no longer could.

...

Sephiroth had found his way home a few lays later from Modeoheim more silent and somber than usual. He stayed close to Aeris for quite some time once he had gotten back, but he had put up a protective wall around his heart. Aeris would try to talk to him to try and break him out, still gently persistent even as she was met with silence.

She was in their backyard tending to her flowers while their kids napped inside on the Living room's couch. Sephiroth sat by the mot and its vine border with his back turned to her.

"Hey, Sephiroth?" Aeris called over to him trying to start small talk as she stopped what she was doing to look up to the sky. "The sky seems to be shining above more than usual, right? It feels like a Heart, as if someone is trying to shine down on us. But the flowers seem to like it...maybe..."

"..." She turned to look back at him to see that he was hunched over and practically curled up into himself by the mot's side, at least as much curled up for his standard. He wasn't crying or making a sound, but she could feel his heart crying, even as the sky shined down on him.

She walked over to him, knelling down behind him as she held him in an embrace from behind, trying to chase the sadness away. He leaned back into her and she rested her head on his shoulder and the side of his face. It didn't take the sadness away, but it did help him not to feel alone with her at his side. She held him close to keep him from shattering as she continued to let his heart cry into her arms. Today was a beautiful, sad day...

...

Four months have passed since the loss of Genesis and Angeal. What was left of Soldier was cleaning up the remainder of Genesis copies. This made it much harder since Director Lazard had gone missing for a while now. Reports say that he was funding Hollander's research. But Sephiroth wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Right now he had a cleanup to commission and see to completion by himself. Genesis had apparently made a whole army of copies which have been reeking havoc all around their World. Luckily for the kingdom, all of the copies wore a mask so the people would not go into a panic at the sudden appearance of the officially declared deceased Genesis.

But now that's what led him to his current job, protecting the Chief of Wutai and his daughter Yuffie as he made his way to the capital for the World's United Council addressing this Genesis copies problem. Many of the leaders from their World's towns and cities made their way to the capital of Radiant Garden for this meeting. All summoned to Hollow Bastion Castle with the best protection the kingdom could offer in light of the Heartless uprising. Sephiroth had been assigned to the Chief of Wutai, Godo Kisaragi, by the king himself.

Although with the ill state of his wife, and his daughter's energetic tendencies to see new places and adventure, he had to bring her along too. But the kingdom's council was no place for a one-year-old child. So Sephiroth had suggested leaving Yuffie on a play-date with his sons under his wife's care. Aeris had happily agreed to look after the energetic little toddler while Yuffie's father was a little more reluctant about it.

"Are you sure it was alright to leave so many kids alone with your wife in her condition?" The Chief of Wutai asked in concern as Sephiroth escorted him back from the Council Meeting to his house to pick up Yuffie before returning the two of them to their Inn. Aeris was greatly swollen in the belly, most likely in her six months of pregnancy. Possibly close to her seventh month by the Chief's guess. She was in no condition to be running after four kids, especially not his little princess's bundle of energy. He worried about what the stress of four kids would do to her and her baby's health.

"She is more than capable of looking after the children. More capable than you would think, really. Children tend to be quite fond of her."

"I'm not surprised. Your wife was one of the nicest people I have ever come across in Radiant Garden from my experience over the years."

"Yes, she has a kindness and a maternal nature that I've not seen before." Sephiroth admitted in praise of his wife. "It draws me in every time."

"(Chuckle) I know that feeling." Chief Godo said to Sephiroth with a smirk as they finally made it to the house. "My wife does the same thing to me.

"Humph," Sephiroth couldn't help but grin at that before the sound kids playing in the back drew their attention. "I guess they're all in the back."

Sephiroth and the Chief had strangely found the kids playing in pairs with their toys. Kadaj oddly playing with Loz instead of with Yuffie who was the same age as him. While Sephiroth's 2nd eldest son, Yazoo, was playing with the Wutai princess. The groups were just a little off from each other, not too far as they played on the ground with their toys.

"No fair, you cheating!" Yuffie huffed in a pout as she lost in a game of ring toss to Yazoo, falling to the ground on her bum with her arms crossed as her cheeks puffed with air.

"How? We both threw at the same spot with the same rings." Yazoo pointed out with surprising logic understanding for a two-year-old. They had both thrown at the same distance from their respective poles with the same exact rings. Yuffie just couldn't come to the acceptance that she had lost to him.

"No way you won. I'm a ninja, my daddy told me so," Yuffie huffed with insistence. "No way I could lose."

"That is nice. But you did lose."

"No way! Ninjas really good at throwing, you cheat!"

"I did not cheat."

"Your lying! I'm telling your mommy!" Yuffie stomped in anger as she got on her feet again. "Your mommy raised a liar. Bad mommy."

"I will not have you refer to mother that way." Yazoo said taking a darker tone as some of his darkness seeped out of him at his rare display of anger. Yuffie's young born-given ninja sense was pretty good at her age, she could sense the change and feel a little inkling of the darkness anxiously. And she had no idea what the feeling anxiety was and it made her uncomfortable, which made her cry.

"WahHH!" She began to wail into the back of her hands.

"Whatever is the matter now?" Aeris asked in concern as she made her way out of the backdoor with a tray of cookies. Looking to see Yuffie crying with Yazoo close by while her other boys were frozen in place looking at her from their spot playing their toy replicas from Cid. She approached Yuffie whom instantly wrapped her tiny arms around Aeris leg in comfort as she cried into her dress. "Oh you poor thing. Yazoo, you should be more careful with a delicate, young flower. That is not the gentlemanly thing to do to make her cry like that."

"..." Yazoo had instantly recoiled his darkness away at the chiding of his mother. Normal people wouldn't be able to sense it, let alone see it, but Sephiroth could. But at this moment he didn't know whether to be proud or concerned over his son's control over his darkness. "I'm sorry, mother."

"Now, now, what's wrong, Sweetie?" Aeris asked down to Yuffie in comfort as her sniffling started to slow down.

"Yazoo cheated." She whimpered out through her tears.

"Did you cheat?" Aeris asked over to her son in gentle seriousness.

"I did not."

"Yazoo says he didn't cheat. And Yazoo isn't known to be a liar." Aeris said down to Yuffie in comfort. Knelling down she looked over at Yuffie and the ring polls, which was hard to do for someone in her condition. "I'm sure you did your best. And you did a great job. So there's no need to be upset about it. This just means you have someone to strive to beat and to better yourself."

"But I'm a ninja. I can't lose. My duty demands it." Yuffie sadly huffed, wiping away her remaining tears.

"Ninjas aren't just born, Yuffie. They're made from hard work and training." Aeris explained to her in encouragement. "You have so much time to make your way into the ninja that you're destined to be, but also to find out so much of what you are in the process. Just take your time. There's no rush. You're still a child after all, so just enjoy your time by good friends side."

"O-okay." Yuffie nodded, her tears dried away.

"Good." She happily smiled at the young lady before slowly standing up again. "Now who wants cookies?"

"Me!" "!" "Me, me, me! I do!" "!" All the kids responded as she suddenly found herself surrounded by Loz, Kadaj, Yuffie, and Yazoo.

"(Giggle) Easy, little ones, easy. The tray isn't going anywhere." Aeris laughed in happy warmth as she smiled at the bouncing children around her.

"..." "..." Sephiroth and Chief Godo watched on at the scene as happy bystanders not wanting to interrupt the moment.

"You were right." The Chief of Wutai admitted with no reluctance. "Your wife has an amazing connection to children."

"That's my Aeris." Sephiroth grinned with pride.

...

Sephiroth had come home after a long day at Soldier. Director Lazard was still missing and Sephiroth had to make up for his absence while still looking after the recruits. At least the Genesis copies attacks were slowing down. Pretty soon their numbers will be no more.

"..."

No more...

Just like his friends... The pain was gone but the wound on his heart was still there. He missed them dearly. And would have given almost anything to have the chance to change their fate over from what it was. Or at least the chance to change things back to the way they were before.

But he couldn't go back. The Worlds didn't work like that. Nothing could be like it was before, everything changes even if its ever so slightly in little ways, nothing stays the same or last for ever. You can wish for more time, but all you can do is enjoy the time you are given before things change.

That's why he was so grateful that Aeris was there to hold him when things got dark and tough. With her warmth and gentle yet strong hold around him, Sephiroth could face the rising of the future morning without fear. Without her there, he didn't know what he would do. Even his boys had become little stars in the darkness for him. He would keep them safe. He would keep fighting the darkness to keep their light safe.

Which is why he grew slightly alarmed when he came home to a quite house. No laughing Loz or Kadaj; no Yazoo running around; no Aeris to welcome him back. His heart would have begun to panic if he hadn't sensed their hearts still in the house. They were in the Living room and yet they were not. He investigated the room to find them nowhere. Nothing was out of place except for a book that was sitting on the Coffee table that wasn't there before.

Sephiroth could recognize the Magic coming from the book, along with recalling where he'd seen this book before. It was the Children's Book from Merlin's house that he would use at times to help train people in Magic. It was a small World of many lovable characters without a hint of darkness, not even one trace of Heartless could find their way in pass the little World's innocent Light. He could feel the innocent hearts of the characters that lived inside the living story, along with his wife's and sons'. With a sigh Sephiroth opened the book, letting the pages turn as he fell into the Hundred Acre Wood.

He didn't have to go far. Sephiroth never had to fear getting lost or finding his way in this place. The World was practically a living nursery where you would always find your way to a friendly face. Nothing could really hurt you in this World, not even the weather. Nature seems to be more maternal in the World of Hundred Acre Wood. But that was not how Sephiroth would find his way. He was following the light of his family's hearts.

He had found them by a stout tree on a hill with a swing on its branch. Yazoo was chasing butterflies with Pooh and Eeyore. Loz was bouncing around with Tigger, both of them laughing in their own way. Kadaj was swinging on the swing with Piglet, placing the little guy safely on his lap as they tried to swing to the sky. While Aeris, his Aeris, happily rested by the tree trunk. Surrounded by fresh blooming spring flowers as she looked upon her children having fun. She had felt when Sephiroth entered this World and was keeping track of his approach. She had looked over at him with a smile as he made his way over to her.

"Sephiroth. Welcome home." She said, a loving hand resting gently on her swollen belly.

"I should have known you would take the Hundred Acre Wood from Merlin's house again." He sighed with endearment until he knelled down to her side in concern. "You shouldn't be moving around too much in your condition. I don't want you straining yourself."

"Sephiroth, I'm fine. And the kids love coming here."

"And so do you apparently," Sephiroth smirked.

"(Giggle) You caught me there." She didn't bother to deny it. She looked out over the hill towards the beautiful World full of Light, it made her smile. "This World is filled with so much happiness and warmth. It's so small and yet flutters with a Light that even the Darkness can not break through. I can't wait for this little one to see it..."

"They'll be joining us soon." Sephiroth said, placing a loving hand over Aeris's hand and the baby bump as well. "Our family will be bigger and the boys will have another sibling to play with."

"Another Ancient will be among us."

"We'll teach them all they need to know. Standing beside them through it all and show them what it means to be a family."

"Sephiroth...I'm so proud of how far we've come. We've given our children the childhood we never got the chance to have. It's so beautiful and yet feels so natural. I can't wait for this little one to join us..."

"Yes. I'm looking forward to it as well."

...

The day had finally come when their fourth child had arrived in the World. There was pain but to Aeris, for some reason, the moment was just too beautiful. As if a hope for the future had come with this child's arrival. That perhaps things were finally going to turn around for them. Sephiroth most of all had had a rough year. Perhaps this child was a sign of change. He already did break out of the norm.

"He has...your eyes..." Sephiroth commented in happy acknowledge as he looked over his newborn son. He had his platinum hair and both of his parent's fair skin. But his eyes lacked the pupil slits like his brothers had inherited from Sephiroth. His were warm, yet not as soft as his mother's Lifestream eyes, but Sephiroth could still see her eyes through the child as he looked up at them.

"Yes...finally..." Aeris tiredly cheered in joy. Happy that at last at least one of her children inherited a physical trait from her.

"We've been waiting for this child for what feels like some time now. Is he everything that you expected?"

"He's more than that."

"I'm sorry he only takes such a small piece after you. My cells must be more powerful than we expected."

"He's enough. The way he is is more than enough..." Aeris said tiredly, embracing her wrapped up child closer to her with all the love and happiness her body could muster.

"Have you thought of a name for him?"

"... Riku. His name is Riku..."

*** Author's Notes ***

Time-line for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and this story... continued: This chapter is only day 118. On this day everyone in the Organization gets the day off, or a Vacation to be precise. Axel takes a nearly full-day nape; Xion decides to train; and, Roxas goes to Twilight Town for ice cream. This is where Roxas properly meets Olette and Hayner for the first time- he already met Pence when he was looking for Xion- and is introduced and taught how to play Grandstander. And to Roxas's pleasant surprise, Axel and Xion had come on their own to their meeting place for ice cream like they always do. This is where Axel tells the two of them that he was going to be gone for a recon mission for a couple of days (Castle Oblivion). And that is where this chapter has ended. The rest of the storyline will continue onto the next chapter.

Author Side-Notes: Okay, fine. I'm going to have to split this flashback into 3 parts, please don't bite. But since when have I ever wrote a flash back chapter in a story that was 'just' 1 chapter, honestly? Just be patience. The memory lane will come to an end soon and then we can get back to Kingdom Hearts and Riku. Build-ups just take time and holes need to be filled along the road.

It's a good thing Zack Fair in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep had his Standard Soldier Sword instead of Angeal's Buster Sword or else this story-lining would be much harder to do. And instead of doing the 4 months between the incident in Banora to Genesis's Copy raid like in the game, I shortened it to 4 days because I'm trying to fit most of the first half of the Crisis Core story into the time of Aeris's pregnancy with Riku. Oddly it flows really well together.