As Consciousness crept back into Aeris' mind, the sound of rushing water filled her ears. She didn't quite remember where she was or why she was there, but it was nice to lay on the stone floor and listen to the water. She was so tired from the shift into reality that she didn't want to move.

'The shift into reality...'

All of the past events cascaded upon her at once, and she immediatly opened her eyes and tried to stand up. Tried, and was unsuccessful. Her head pulsing from the sudden movement, she let out a slight groan as she closed her eyes again. The cold, rocky floor of the impact crater was uncomfortable, and she wondered why they would send her here of all places.

"Need some help?"

Aeris opened her eyes and looked for the source of the sound. Sephiroth was standing before her, arms crossed. "I don't feel very good. I can't stand up."

"I'm not surprised; you've been dead for 5 years." As he said this, he reached down and pulled Aeris to her feet. He looked around, as if pathing their way out of the unnatural place. Unnatural as it is, however, it was one of the most beautiful places Aeris had ever seen.

Gazing at the various strange flora and fauna as they strode towards the top, all mutations caused by the large amounts of lifestream present within the caves, Aeris couldn't help but awe at what life had formed in these caves. An entire ecosystem not only surviving without sunlight, but thriving off of a substance known to be quite poisonous.

After hours of walking through one section after another, they finally began to reach the entrance. It was at this point that Aeris remembered that they were at the north pole. "Sephiroth, I'm freezing!" She said as her teeth began to chatter.

Sephiroth streched his right arm out in front of him, and fire began to come forth. It streched out and around, and began to encircle both of them. A dome wall of translucent flame now surrounded them in a ten foot radius, and what once was a barren, figid temperature now felt like a warm summer day.

"That's a neat trick. How'd you learn to do that?"

Sephiroth wiped his face. "I don't need materia to perform small magic. I've been able to do this fire barrier since I was about 5 years old, but it's only useful for warmth. You can walk go right through it; it's not even an inch thick."

The snow melted around them as they climbed the shifty ledges. Periodically, Sephiroth would have to toss Aeris to ledges she couldn't reach on her own, as she wasn't built for excursions such as these.

As they reached the top of the mountain's gaping mouth, they could see everything. The small town of icicle village twinkling in the distance, the storm clouds below them which would have ment a harsh journey were it not for Sephiroth's magic. Sephiroth. There were so many strange things about him. His hair, for instance. Why was it so long? Surly it would be a hazard to him in battle.

"Sephiroth," she asked, "Why is your hair so long?"

Sephiroth unsheithed his sword, and Aeris jumped back in fear. He looked surprised at this.

"What are doing? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just showing you why my hair is so long." Aeris' relief waas palpable. He took a fistfull of hair and sliced it as hard as he could. To Aeris' amazment, the hair didn't cut; it stopped the blade in its tracks. The same blade which could easily slice a head from its shoulders.

"Wow! That's amazing! How does it do that?"

"It isn't actually hair. All of the roots that are supposed to produce hair either don't work or make this. It's a flexable armor-byproduct that jenova could produce."

Aeris thought about this for a minute. She said the only thing she could relate to about hair. "DO you need to brush it?"

"No," he replied, "I don't need to take care of it at all. It ends up helping me, too. If someone were to attack me from behind, my hair will stop most blades swung horizontally. It can also support my entire weight without causing any pain, so people have unsuccessfully tried to hinder me in the past by pulling it."

Small talk was a useful way of passing time to Aeris. When she was travelling with Cloud, it kept her from going crazy on the long, mostly pointless treks through the wilderness. The pair walked towards icicle village with haste, for darkness would fall soon and these mountains were the last place one would want to be at night.

Read and review, friend!

I know the chapters are short, but I don't have much time for writing. 3 coming soon.