Cloud seemed to have taken up Vincent's position on the team, as he sat staring into the flames, not speaking. Everyone decided to leave Cloud be, the ex-SOLDIER undoubtedly had a lot of things on his mind. Truthfully, the whole group had a lot on their mind; none of them said much of anything. They were all worried about Aeris and not much was said around the campfire, but there was still some talk.

"So, Vince," Cid said as he lit up what probably was his fifth cigarette since they had started the fire. "Ya said you were here before… what's that all about?"

Vincent sighed, though figured he would have to say something about his past at some point. "I traveled here a long time ago…" Vincent explained slowly, as if carefully decided the words he would say. "We were searching for an ancient…"

"You were searching for an ancient?" Tifa asked, several glances shooting towards Vincent, including Cloud. "Do… do you mean there might be more ancients?!"

"Perhaps…" Vincent answered. "But I doubt it."

"Did you ever find the ancient?" Red XIII suddenly spoke up. "If we find the ancient you were searching for, then we might be able to help Aeris out even more."

"We found her," Vincent answered, sounding somewhat regretful. "Her name was Ifalna…"

"Ifalna?" Tifa asked then sighed. "We won't be able to find her then… that was Aeris's mother."

"I figured as much," Vincent responded, nodding slightly. "She looks a lot like Ifalna, as I recall."

"…" Cloud was silent but kept his glare at Vincent, seeming uncertain if he should be furious. "Did you capture her?"

"No," Vincent replied quickly. "I was to find her, not capture. I believe we were going to talk to her about the ancients in a non-aggressive manner, therefore, I wasn't necessary after I found her."

"Do you know, was she really the last ancient?" Red XIII asked with some hope in his eyes. The whole team knew that the ancients were the key to all of this, although none of them really knew much except that the ancients could speak with the planet, since everything was still so confusing.

"I'm certain," answered Vincent as calmly as usual.

Tifa sighed; Aeris was her best friend and now she was god-knows-where and could be battling Sephiroth. What was worse is that the weight of the world was all on her friend and there was nothing Tifa could do to help. For all she knew, it could be too late for the last ancient. Tifa shook her head, trying to get the thoughts out of her head; she had to have hope for her friend… that was all she could do for Aeris now.

"Any idea where we're goin' tomorrow, Cloud?" Cid asked as he stomped out his cigarette.

Cloud deeply sighed as he glared into the fire, then turned to the pilot, "No… I was so certain Aeris would be here…"

"Maybe she had to leave," said Tifa, trying to be as nice as possible. The ex-SOLDIER was probably suffering terribly for not finding Aeris. "Either way, Cloud, I think you should go get some sleep."

"Who'll take the night shift?" Cloud asked, although he sounded somewhat uncaring.

"I'll cover that," replied Vincent.

Cloud sighed, looking into the fire one last time, "Yeah, all right. Night, guys."

"I'm comin' with ya," Cid said, following their leader into the seashell house, and before long, Tifa and Red XIII followed them inside.

Tifa walked inside, being the last in. Red XIII had gone in roughly ten minutes before and she saw him lying down on a rug on the first floor, close to a chair. Tifa sat in the chair, figuring that all the beds were taken, and closed her eyes, trying to get some rest.

Not longer than thirty minutes later, just as Tifa was about to finally sleep, she heard creaking, then heard the door open. Tifa had opened her eyes just enough to see the person leave, and realized it was Cloud who had gone outside. She was worried about him, despite everything that had happened, she did still have feelings for the former SOLDIER, and now he needed to be cared for.

Tifa stood from the chair and followed Cloud outside and, as she opened the door, she heard Vincent say, "What about the others?"

"What's going on?" Tifa asked as she stepped outside, quietly closing the door to make sure she wouldn't be heard.

"Sephiroth is here," Cloud said, turning to his oldest friend. His face was stern and strict, obviously he was very serious. "So is Aeris."

"But we looked everywhere," Tifa told him, trying to calm him down. "There's no way-"

"They're here," Cloud repeated. "I know they are."

"Ok…" Tifa said, realizing that there was no arguing with him. Sometimes, Cloud can be pretty stubborn. "What are we going to do then?"

"We'll go look for them," Cloud told her, then turned to Vincent. "Just the three of us."

"The others are at risk," Vincent told the leader. "If you are right and Sephiroth is here, who's to say that he won't come here the minute we leave?"

"I'll keep guard," said a voice from behind Tifa. The door opened and Red XIII's nose found its way through.

"What about the others?" Tifa asked. "Shouldn't we at least tell them? If it's Sephiroth, we'll need everyone."

"…" Cloud was silent for a moment, crossing his arms. He was getting impatient, he wanted, needed, to get to Sephiroth and protect Aeris. "We don't have enough time. If something happens, we'll call you, Red, all right?"

The creature nodded, and Vincent and Tifa allowed Cloud to lead them to where he, for whatever reason, thought Sephiroth and Aeris were. He led them down the path that he and Vincent had gone down earlier, into the seashell home next to the pond. Cloud ran inside, with his two teammates close behind.

Inside, they were amazed to see that, in the center of the spiral staircase, was another spiral staircase, nearly transparent, only glowing slight silver, which continued from the top. "Down there," Cloud told them as he dashed to the new stairwell. "That's where they are.

The two quickly followed Cloud down the steps, which revealed a large cavern, in the center of which was a large platform. They ran down all the steps, just before some stones they could leap to the center platform, where they saw Aeris on her knees, seeming to be praying. "Aeris!" Tifa yelled to her friend, but received no response. "What's she doing?"

"She seems to be praying…" Vincent answered, eying the ancient curiously.

"I'm going up there," Cloud told the group, stepping closer and turning to his two teammates. "You guys wait here, in case Sephiroth shows up."

Vincent nodded and Cloud turned, then leapt from stone to stone, until he reached the center platform. "Aeris?" Cloud asked as he stepped towards her praying figure and suddenly, he felt his hand reach to his back and take out his massive sword.

Suddenly, he couldn't speak, he wanted to yell to Vincent and Tifa for help, to stop him before he did something horrible again, but he couldn't. He slowly stepped forward towards Aeris, who continued to sit in her praying form, seeming not to notice him. He then raised the blade over his head, preparing to strike her loving figure, as she continued to sit there as if nothing was happening. He struggled with every effort of his body to stop himself, but to no avail, nothing could seem to stop him.

Vincent saw this and instantly tore out his revolver and aimed for Cloud. He was prepared to destroy the ex-SOLDIER if he would continue. Everything that was happening was still confusing to the whole team, however, Vincent did know that an ancient on their side would be extremely helpful, if not necessary. Vincent pulled back the hammer and began to squeeze down on the trigger of the revolver, moving slowly as to make sure he gave Cloud every chance to stop.

"Cloud!" Tifa suddenly yelled from behind him. Vincent was glad she had done this, however. It seemed, in his long years of being a Turk, he forgot the possibility of someone being stopped merely with words, not bullets. "What are you doing?!"

That, thankfully, seemed to snap the leader out of his trance. Cloud, in shock of himself, stumbled backwards, dropping his sword to the ground and falling next to it. He stared at Aeris in fear of what he was about to do to the woman he loved. Then, Cloud looked up and saw a long thin blade flying down, towards Aeris, and behind the blade was the feared former SOLDIER Sephiroth.

Sephiroth landed behind Aeris and his blade was going through the woman's chest. Aeris suddenly looked up at her stunned leader, but there was no fear or worry on her face, instead there was just her beautiful loving smile. And suddenly, that beautiful glow in her eyes died down and her hands separated, dropping a clear materia, which fell down into the water surrounding the platform.

"Aeris…" Tifa sobbed from her spot, tears instantly rolling down her cheeks as she fell to her knees. "Aeris!"

Vincent crouched down next to her and held the young woman, and instantly Tifa nearly tackled him with a hug. Tifa sobbed onto Vincent's shoulder as the gunslinger glared up at Sephiroth. Sephiroth… the son of his beloved Lucrecia was now standing behind his late ally. Vincent was prepared to help Cloud, but knew that Tifa might not be able to handle doing anything just yet.

"Aeris…" Cloud muttered, unable to believe what had just happened before his very eyes. "This… this can't be happening!"

"Do not worry…" Sephiroth told his former comrade, still standing menacingly behind the last ancient. "Soon the girl will become part of the Planet's energy. All that is left is to go North. The Promised Land waits for me over the snowy fields. There I will become a new being by uniting with the planet. As will this girl…"

"…" Cloud kept looking at Aeris, then turned down to the ground. He balled his hands into fists and tears were streaming down his cheeks. "Shut up…"

"What?" Sephiroth asked, looking down at Cloud with amusement.

"Just shut up," Cloud snarled, glaring up at the feared warrior with fire in his eyes. "Your stupid cycle of nature and your stupid plan doesn't mean anything… Aeris is gone… Aeris won't ever talk… won't ever laugh… or cry… or get angry… what about us…? What are we supposed to do?" Cloud then jumped to his feet, glaring at Sephiroth. "What about my pain?! My fingers are tingling… my mouth is dry… my eyes are burning!"

"What are you saying?" Sephiroth asked, then smirked. "Are you trying to tell me that you have feelings?"

"Of course I do!" Cloud bellowed. "What do you think I am?!"

Sephiroth laughed, then calmly spoke, "Stop acting as if you were sad… there's no need to act angry either…" Sephiroth then took a step closer to the shorter man, glaring down at him. "Because, Cloud, you are… a puppet…"

Suddenly, Sephiroth leapt into the air, and in his place stood an enormous monster, which Cloud recognized as another piece of Jenova, this one without any head. Cloud quickly grabbed his blade and charged at the beast, stabbing his blade into the beast's stomach. He then leapt back, and rose his sword, allowing all his anger to flow through his muscles, and he slammed the blade down to the ground, and released a beam of energy which hit the mighty beast, causing it to stumble back.

While this was happening, Vincent quickly pulled Tifa away from him, holding her by the shoulders. "Tifa," Vincent told her, looking deep into her eyes. "Cloud needs our help now, we have to go."

Tifa turned and saw that Cloud was now battling a strange Jenova monster, similar to the one they fought on the cargo ship. Tifa quickly leapt from stone to stone to the center platform, cracking on her knuckles, and Vincent followed, replacing his revolver with his new shotgun. Tifa, as soon as she reached the platform, which was right after Cloud performed his limit break, leapt up and slammed her fist repeatedly into the beast's stomach, then flipped backwards, behind Vincent, who fired the double barrel shotgun directly at the beast.

The creature bellowed out in rage after the mighty blast, and then Cloud leapt high into the air and slashed the beast across its mighty chest. Vincent dashed up and blasted the beast once more with the double barrel shotgun at point blank range, then Tifa blasted a Fire 2 spell at the beast. Everyone was fighting with all their fury and sadness over the recent death of their dear friend. Vincent was surprised to see his teammates working so skillfully, they reminded him of his old Turk team, how well they had all fought together, each complimenting the others in one way or another. Finally, Cloud used a Bolt 2 spell, then followed up by finishing the monster by slashing it once more. The powerful Jenova beast stumbled backwards and fell into the water, which was its final resting place.

With the monster gone, Tifa began to break down again, tears falling down her cheeks once more as she walked up to her friend. She knelt down next to Aeris and felt for a pulse and wasn't surprised to discover that there was none, which caused another sob. She stood and started walking backwards, still sobbing. Vincent and Cloud exchanged a glance, "I'll take care of her," Vincent told the ex-SOLDIER as he wrapped a supportive arm around Tifa's shoulders and escorted her off the platform and up the staircase.

Cloud walked up to Aeris and knelt down in front of her, wrapping her in his arms, as he released a small sob himself. He took a deep breath then lifted the body up, and carried it up and out of the seashell home. Once he made it outside, which had been a short while as he was still in such disillusion about everything that was happening, Cloud was surprised to see that the entire group had gathered in front of the home.

Everyone watched wordlessly as Cloud glanced over the group, though everyone's eyes were on who was in his arms. Yuffie instantly fell to the ground sobbing and Tifa quickly wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and cried along with her. Cloud looked down at Aeris, feeling tears well up in his eyes, but decided to hold them back for now. Now was the time to prove his leadership, to do the right thing, and the right thing was to let Aeris go to rest.

Cloud turned to the pool of water that was next to the seashell home and walked towards it. The pool looked as though it were the sky, the moon and countless stars reflecting on the calm water. It looked like the perfect place for Aeris to return to her precious planet and Cloud knew that it would be. He walked into the pool and continued going until he almost reached the center of the pond, where he noticed that it got drastically steeper. This was the perfect spot.

A tear slid out of Cloud's eye as he slowly lowered Aeris into the water, for a moment he held her there, at the top of the water, gazing at her. He felt so stupid, like he had wasted all that she and he could have been. They had loved each other and, if only it weren't for Sephiroth, who knows what could have happened? Cloud sighed and then moved his arms from underneath Aeris's body, allowing it to lower into the water.

Cloud watched as Aeris lowered into the water until he couldn't see her any longer and sighed once more, then wiped his eyes before he turned back to his team and slowly walked out of the water. Still wordless, Cloud walked back to the seashell home and rested on one of the beds, not caring about how wet his clothes were. He closed his eyes but knew he couldn't sleep, though he had no problem with having his group thinking he was asleep, all he wanted was some peace and quiet now.

That was exactly what Cloud got, as the rest of the team remained outside around the fire. Tifa and Yuffie were the only ones sobbing, though they had gone a little ways away from the group to be alone with their sobs echoing through the air, and the rest sat around the fire quietly watching the flames, all lost in their own thoughts. "So…" Barret finally spoke. "What happened?"

"It seemed…" Vincent answered, his eyes not leaving the flames. "That she was praying… Cloud decided to go up there alone and then Sephiroth leapt down and killed Aeris… Then Sephiroth released a Jenova beast that we took care of…"

"That's it?" Cid asked, enraged that they didn't know anything about what Aeris was doing here. "Do you have any idea why Aeris was praying? Or what she was doing up here in the first place?" Vincent sighed and shook his head. "Shit…" Cid murmured as he stomped out one cigarette and replaced it with another.

Vincent hated the idea that Aeris's death was in vain, but it seemed like that was exactly what had happened. They had no idea what she was doing here but whatever it was it certainly didn't stop Sephiroth. Without any idea of what she was planning there was no way that they could continue it and now, without the help of an ancient, Vincent wasn't even sure if they could stop Sephiroth.

"Did Sephiroth say anything?" Red XIII suddenly asked, breaking Vincent's pessimistic train of thought.

Vincent blinked and suddenly realized that he probably did. He knew that Cloud had been yelling at Sephiroth, though it was hard to hear them over Tifa crying, even with his superhuman hearing. "Possibly," Vincent answered after a moment of thinking. "I couldn't hear them though. You'll have to ask Cloud in the morning."

"If nothing more, at least we know we're close to Sephiroth," Red XIII sighed, lying on the ground looking into the flames.

"Ya, I guess…" Barret mumbled. "Damn Sephiroth…"

Cid took a deep drag of his cigarette then stomped it out with his foot. "I'm goin back to bed," said the pilot as he walked in.

"Ya, me too," Barret said, storming into the seashell home.

"I think I'm going to sleep as well," Red XIII said after a long yawn. "If you get tired, you can wake me up, Vincent."

Vincent nodded but kept his gaze on the fire. A few moments later, he realized that the sobbing had stopped, and before long, the two young women showed up around the fire. Vincent didn't say anything to them as they sat down around the fire, then Tifa spoke, "Did the others go to sleep?"

Vincent nodded in response. He was hoping that they would go to sleep soon as well, as he liked his alone time. And now he had a lot to think about, and, for a welcomed change, it didn't involve anything that happened thirty years ago. "Vincent?" Yuffie suddenly asked.

Vincent glanced over at the youngest team member and asked, "What is it?"

"Without Aeris… do you think we stand a chance?" Yuffie asked, sounding as if she didn't really want to know the answer. "Me and Tifa were thinking… but we don't know for sure… what do you think?"

Honestly, Vincent thought that they didn't stand a chance. He knew that, hundreds of years ago, it was the ancients who finally defeated Jenova. Now, Jenova was back, but the last ancient was just killed. Did humans really stand a chance against her now? No, Vincent thought, but he knew that he should try to encourage the girl without completely lying.

"I don't know," Vincent answered after a moment.

Yuffie looked down and sighed, "That means no… doesn't it?"

Vincent glanced over at the youngest member of their team. She was merely sixteen and she was all ready battling against what could be the greatest enemy the world has ever known. Not to mention the fact that she just lost one of her best friends. Without any hope, what did the young ninja have?

"No, it doesn't mean that," Vincent replied somewhat sternly. "We may find a way to defeat Sephiroth yet. We can't give up now. To give up now would mean that Aeris's death would be in vain. We have to keep fighting, Yuffie, and I have little doubt that we won't figure something out."

Yuffie looked over at the gunslinger. Despite the fact that she didn't believe that Vincent was saying what he truly thought, it was encouraging, especially for it to come from someone who rarely ever talks. Fact of the matter was, Yuffie was forming a small crush on the mysterious gunman, and any words from him were enlightening for the young ninja.

"Ok," Yuffie nodded, still sad and doubting him, but knew very few words would comfort her right now. "I'm going to bed, night guys."

"Goodnight, Yuffie," Tifa replied and Vincent simply nodded as the ninja went into the home. Once she was gone, Tifa glanced over at Vincent and asked, "Do you really believe that?"

"…" Vincent was silent for a moment. Tifa was a grown woman while Yuffie was still young and he trusted that Tifa could handle the truth. "I believe that there's still a chance…"

"But not much of one…" Tifa finished, resting her head in her hands and sighing. "Aeris was pretty much our last hope, wasn't she?"

"I don't know…" Vincent murmured.

Tifa looked into the flames and sighed, "I miss her all ready… Why did this have to happen to her…?"

"She knew the risks," Vincent told the bartender. "It was her decision to come here alone… I'm certain that she must have known that Sephiroth would follow her…"

"Then why would she come alone?" Tifa said and uttered a very silent sob, which she instantly tried to hide. "Why would she do something like this if she knew that Sephiroth was coming?"

Vincent wasn't planning to respond, but then he realized something. "Perhaps…" the gunman muttered. "Perhaps she did accomplish whatever it was she came for… perhaps that's why she allowed Sephiroth to kill her… because she was ready."

Tifa looked through the flames towards Vincent, who was sitting on the opposite side, with water in her eyes. "Do you think that?" Tifa asked, knowing that she might start crying again if they stayed on the subject but truly did want Vincent's insight.

"It's possible…" Vincent shrugged, not sounding very confident about his theory. "Now I suppose we'll never know."

Tifa sighed again, she felt sobs emerging but struggled to suppress them. She was so saddened over the loss of her dearest friend despite the fact that they were in competition over Cloud. Worst of it all was that she knew that Aeris had beaten her, all for nothing. It hurt her to think how much Cloud was lost because of her death, because of the death of his loved one.

"Is everything all right, Tifa?" Vincent asked, noticing the look of despair on her face.

"Yeah," Tifa answered and fake smiled. "It's just that…" Tifa stopped, thinking that the gunman wouldn't care. Vincent hardly seemed to really care about anyone in the group and what would make her any different? She already knew that he didn't care for her… "Nothing… never mind…" Tifa murmured, quickly looking towards the fire to avoid his gaze.

She felt tears welling up in the back of her eyes and stood up, refusing to show any weakness. Showing weakness wouldn't help anyone and would only make people more worried about her, while she knew that she should help the group now in their time of need, not wallow in self-pity. "I'm going to bed," Tifa told Vincent as she stood and walked past him, towards the door. "Good night, Vincent."

As Tifa walked by Vincent, the gunslinger saw a tear slide down her cheek for the countless time today. Vincent felt bad for Tifa, she was easily the closest thing he had for a friend on the team. Vincent's natural coldness told him not to say a word as the martial artist walked by, however, some part of him wanted to say something. "Are you all right, Tifa?"

Tifa stopped for a moment just as she was grabbing the door handle and turned back to Vincent. She was surprised that Vincent would have said anything as she left, she wasn't even expecting a wish good night, but then this. "I…" Tifa murmured. Instantly the tears began to fall and Tifa felt like breaking down crying again. She had known Aeris longer than most people in the group and, for a long time, they were the only girls, so naturally they quickly became best friends.

Tifa lowered her head and the tears began to fall and she tried to stifle her sobs but didn't manage. Vincent stood and wrapped his arms around her shoulders for comfort, however, as soon as his arms were around her shoulder she turned and cried into his chest. Tifa embraced Vincent in a tight hug and he, slightly grudgingly, lightly wrapped his arms around her in kind. Tifa didn't cry then as much as she had when Aeris first died, which Vincent was thankful for, not because of Tifa but because he isn't used to such embrace nor does he deserve it.

Shortly after Tifa separated from Vincent, slightly embarrassed. She had never been so accepting to someone who she just barely knew. All she knew about him was that he was a turk, he had something to do with the Jenova project, and was good with a gun. And, of course, he was a pretty good kisser, but that was just about the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. One other thing she knew about him was that he didn't like to be touched, much less being hugged. "Sorry Vincent…" Tifa mumbled as she stepped back, wiping off her eyes.

"That's ok…" Vincent mumbled, looking at her carefully, his eyes seeming to see right through her.

"It's just that she was… she was my best friend…" Tifa told him as she finished drying her eyes. She then looked up at Vincent and flashed a wide fake smile, hoping it would trick the gunslinger. "Thanks Vincent. I'm alright now."

Vincent knew that the woman was lying however he completely understood her situation. Talking about the past doesn't help anything, everyone just needs their own way to get over the events so that they could move on to find a new solution. "It's alright Tifa," Vincent told her. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Tifa was surprised what Vincent was saying, something telling her that he has faith in her. Vincent didn't seem like one to trust anyone and he always tried to take most things into his own hands, as though he didn't have confidence that the others would do it. For him to say this was a major surprise for her, he seems like he's starting to warm up more to her, which is something she's wanted for a long time now.

"Thanks," Tifa smiled then turned and stepped inside, allowing Vincent to be left alone once more.

Dawn had come after a long night for every member of the team, all of them had been up for a long time before they finally managed to sleep. Cloud, however, hadn't got a second of real sleep, his mind kept replaying everything that had happened since he had meet Aeris. He thought of all the loving smiles, her laughs, her anger… her soft and passionate kisses. Cloud wished he hadn't been so foolish; he was so late to finally truly realize how he felt about Aeris. Among the happy moments, his mind focused about half the night on how he had given the black materia to Sephiroth and how he had nearly killed Aeris himself.

I… I don't know if I can keep doing this… Cloud questioned himself.

No… Sephiroth killed Aeris… Sephiroth destroyed Nibelheim… my mother… I have to destroy Sephiroth! I don't care what happens to me! I have to destroy Sephiroth no matter what!

By dawn Cloud was re-resolved to continue his hunt for Sephiroth, all of this was Sephiroth's fault. He would follow Sephiroth to the end of the world if he had to, he would do anything it takes to get his revenge for Aeris. Cloud was up the minute the sun crept its way through the single window upstairs, and headed outside. He wanted to make sure that the group wouldn't leg behind, which most of them didn't.

None of them really got much sleep and were all up relatively early, which Cloud was very thankful for, as he wanted to head out as soon as possible. As soon as the last member woke up, in this case it had been Yuffie, Cloud announced, "All right, let's head out."

"Where to, Cloud?" Cid asked.

"Also, what did Sephiroth say to you?" Red XIII asked, taking Vincent's advice of asking him in the morning.

Cloud looked down, remembering what the villain had told him, "Sephiroth didn't say much… except that he's heading north."

"Do you know what Aeris was doing?" questioned Yuffie.

Cloud shook his head, "No… and I guess now we might never know… but, the way I see it, we still stand a chance. If we manage to get the black materia away from Sephiroth, we'll still be able to stop his plans. So, we'll head north…"

"Then let's not waste any time," Vincent said, speaking Cloud's mind. "Lead the way…"

Cloud nodded to gunman, thankful for his advice. "Let's go."

There's another chapter down.

Thanks for the reviews.