Chapter Five: Unexpected Ally

We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

-Maya Angelou 'Touched By An Angel'

Forgiveness.

It wasn't a concept he was familiar with.

He had never offered it to anyone himself and the idea that anyone would have given it to him after all of the pain and destruction he had wrought wasn't an option. Or at least it hadn't been before his days of traveling with and being saved by one of his former victims.

Almost singularly he had stolen so much from her life. He had killed her father, run him through without a hint of remorse, he could still remember the horrified expression on the man's face, his camera dropping from a lifeless hand. Burned her entire village to the ground and smiled while he set the fires, the smell of brimstone still fresh. Struck her down and left her for dead with a hole through her chest, the fact that she had survived that attack at all was extreme luck. He'd caused her to only know hate for years of her life.

"Yet she'd put that aside, reached her hand out and pulled me free of the pit of despair and agony, saved me from the torture she should have wanted inflicted upon me." The thought was one that he was trying to fully understand. "She continues to help me, to forgive me for what I've done."

It wasn't completely his fault, he knew that. It ate at him constantly that he'd been controlled by that monster and fell into it's trap so easily, but he couldn't help but also blame himself for allowing it to occur for so long. He'd been puppet-ted for certain, but it was still the blood staining his string tangled hands.

He'd only wanted to kill Jenova, it was his entire purpose the first day after Tifa had let him free of his bonds. It was still a major factor driving his steps as they walked toward the Canyon, but for the first time sense the events that lead up to his mind being lost he felt as if there was the chance he could perhaps have a normal life again someday, to have a life like any other human at all.

If Tifa could forgive him his many sins then perhaps he'd find a way to blend into society, have a purpose after he'd succeeded in his revenge. Others might allow him the chance to make up for the horrific things he had done, to be as miraculously gracious as his savior had been

Forgiveness was a concept he would have to remember and keep close to his heart, it had truly offered him salvation from torment.

ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo

Tense couldn't quite touch upon the emotions sitting in the air around the group when Tifa arrived to the Canyon with Sephiroth. Everyone had drawn weapons immediately and she'd had to interpose herself between her friends and their once sworn enemy just for a chance to explain. She had really been hoping Cloud and Yuffie would still be busy in Wutai...

"Wait wait!" She was herself a little surprised at how instantly they had all gone on the offensive.

"What the hell is happening here?" Cid was the least openly aggressive, his Spear was over a shoulder but he looked confused. "Is that really him Tifa?"

"You son of a bitch..." Cloud wasn't ready to pause, moving around Tifa a moment before sparks flew from his buster sword meeting the blade Sephiroth had swiftly retrieved from Tifa's hip.

"Cloud stop!" Tifa blinked in shock as Sephiroth continued to block swipes with an almost lazy grace, he wasn't seemingly pressed at all. His sword was still only in a single hand, a grand representation of just how great his strength actually was.

Cloud cursed as Barret grabbed him from behind. "Dammit wait a minute spikey. I don't like this neither but if Tifa is here there's gotta be a reason."

"Yah." Cid agreed thoughtfully. "If that isn't good then we can kill em."

Red Thirteen was standing on all fours but watching warily with his tail shifting from one side to the other as his only sign of agitation. Yuffie though was glaring hatefully at the silver haired ex-soldier and had her weapon in her hand, seeming almost as jumpy as Cloud. Vincent and Cait Sith had apparently been unable to make it.

"What the hell is going on Tifa?" Cid spoke up again as everyone else was busy shooting mental daggers.

"I found him in the old reactor at Nibelheim...when I was going to visit my father's grave." Tifa said trying to explain quickly. "There was someone doing some sort of experiments on him. I was just as surprised to see him but I couldn't leave him. They were trying to control him somehow."

"Should have killed him." Yuffie snapped in a way that was harsh for her but she hadn't stopped glaring at the man that had killed so many of her people in the war.

"Didn't help last time." Red Thirteen had always been one of the wiser members of the party. "It was safer to bring him in person."

Tifa nodded, offering the dog a small glance of appreciation. "Sephiroth wants to stop whoever was trying to control him and help us kill the remaining pieces of Jenova."

"Gone from outright doing what you want to lying to try to get people to help you?" Cloud snapped, pulling away from Barret but not moving to attack, yet anyway.

"Much like you, I was being controlled." Sephiroth stated coldly, eyes flickering between the various members of Tifa's group before back to Cloud. "What remains of Jenova will burn for what she's done. That I can promise you."

"Why would you..." Cloud started but the question never got to an end. Gunfire opened up around them.

A loudspeaker erupted with the rest of the noise. "Get the subject, kill anyone that resists. Leave innocents if they aren't interrupting the mission."

Sephiroth's free hand shot out and dragged Tifa behind him a moment before a shot went clean through his right shoulder. Blood spraying her cheek and mixing with the dirt behind and in front of him. Her eyes widened as she blinked at the lack of reaction from Sephiroth, he'd taken the hit in her place. If that wasn't already shocking, he'd barely moved an inch and didn't do more than let out a slight hiss in reply to the nasty wound.

Battle broke out around them and the issues they had with the ex-soldier/world would-be destroyer would have to wait. Yuffie was never one that ignored a chance to take on the remaining Shinra forces and the rest of her friends weren't likely to just stand down either.

Cid was running toward where he'd parked the Highwind with curses on his lips when a stray shot took the cigarette from his mouth. His priority was to retrieve his creation.

Yuffie, Red Thirteen, and Cloud were already taking on people that had rushed the group speaking with Sephiroth. Barret was holed up between a couple posts that offered him cover, his arm gathering energy for a burst at enemy forces while he exchanged fire.

Tifa tried to grab Sephiroth before he moved but she only caught air, her fingers sliding through the ends of his long silver hair before more soldiers left her with a battle of her own. She grit her teeth when one of the guys sucker punched her in the side and moved to use her momentum of chasing after the guy that took a bullet for her to give a roundabout kick to the assaultee's jaw.

The sound of a helicopter was defintely clear and she spared a glance just to notice that the man that had attacked them at Nibelheim's inn had brought almost a platoon with him this time.

Sephiroth was cutting through the ranks though, moving smoothly across the field with a line of death to mark his path. He was ready to discover the truth behind what they were doing to him in the reactor. The people willing to stand against him, were choosing their own fate. It was just as well that none of the rest of Tifa's group had enough time in the battle to stand against him.

It was the blond guy that hopped down and attempted to get in a blow when he was finishing off one of the plethora of guards he'd brought along. He turned after and left a deep slash in the man's hip before he managed to withdraw after the cowardly attempt at a back stab.

"You continue to come off as quite the coward. This is the second time you've attempted to kill me unaware." He mocked, smirking as he straightened the blade quickly to toss off some of the man's blood. "Care to at least tell me your name?"

"Nathanial Creston." He spit on the ground and his eyes narrowed on his opponent. "You killed both of my parents in your mindless attack on Shinra Headquarters. I'm gonna see you dead."

The blond was allowing his vengeful desires to slow him, he leapt at Sephiroth carelessly. There were dozens of openings the soldier saw that he could have likely killed or at least maimed him with, instead he simply disarmed him, knocking the sword several feet away and leaving his sword at his neck with a sly smirk. "You'll have to get used to disappointment I'm afraid. I think perhaps you should start talking as to who was experimenting and why."

"As if I'd do a single thing to help you monster." He returned without flinching. "I'd rather die than let you walk free on this earth. But its fine, I'll die knowing you go with me...I've given orders that if we don't return with you to fill the entire valley with napalm. You'll burn just like the people in Nibelheim."

Sephiroth finished him, he didn't pause after slitting his throat, dashing to deal with another couple soldiers preparing to shoot Tifa and finding Cloud slaying the second even as he dealt with the first.

"I don't trust you at all." The blond hissed at him and turned to consider what else they needed to do.

"They're sending a group to drop bombs on the entire canyon." Sephiroth replied without giving the comment any thought. "You need to tell your airship holding friend before we're all dead and your feelings won't matter."

Cloud blinked and glanced back to him, staring for a long moment.

"You better be right." Cloud snapped before dashing off after Cid.

Sephiroth snickered, knowing the boy couldn't hear him over the din of battle. "Here I never expected to fight alongside you."

"What's going on!?" Tifa had finally freed herself and tracked down Sephiroth in the group of throng. "Where is Cloud going?"

"Shinra...they're going to bomb the canyon if we don't get that ship in the air and stop them." Sephiroth answered honestly, eyes glancing along the paths, evacuation seemed like a futile effort. Bringing people outside would only get them caught by stray bullets.

"But...all the people here..." Tifa looked horrified, glancing back the many buildings and then following Sephiroth's train of thought. "How the hell does that make him any better than you? I've gotta try to help them. Can you continue to help the people here?"

Sephiroth nodded slightly, he tried to ignore the slight in those words, or how much they managed to sting when they shouldn't. He watched Tifa disappear after Cloud but didn't have time to dwell before he was forced to react to another group of people shooting in his direction.

Yuffie and Red Thirteen were holding the attackers off from the main groups of buildings where most probably lived in the desert community. He finished his group and then ran along some construction that allowed him to reach the upper ledge where he could get a better gauge of just how much backup the insane dead Creston had drug along.

"Hojo..." Sephiroth narrowed his eyes as he saw the researcher's last assistant on one of the helicopters circling the canyon. "I should have known."

Most of the remaining caravan of warriors were actually driving away. The death of their leader had apparently gotten the back up forces to think twice before jumping into the fray. That and the approach of three planes on the horizon was a sign they didn't plan to fail. Some of the guards in the canyon were attempting to run as well. It was very unlikely that Nathanial had been a liar when it came to bombing everything.

The Highwind was still not in the air though and the ships were moving quickly, it was looking exceptionally bad as to any form of defense. Fingers tightened on his hilt and he scanned the horizon as best he could. He leapt back down and ran for the Wutai girl, she had to have some sort of Materia he could use to try to stop the planes before they could rain death on the whole place.

"Yuffie." He blocked the strange weapon as she came around to strike at him. "Whatever irritation you feel, I need Materia now, before the whole canyon is blown up by the planes approaching."

She blinked at the comments, unsure of how to react. Red Thirteen poked his snout around a corner and shook his head. "He's not lying, something is heading this way. Help him if you can, we'll sort it later."

"Dammit." She whined, tossing Sephiroth a pouch and ducking from the remaining group shooting at her. "I want that back you jerk!"

Sephiroth didn't answer, he was back out the door and dashing up the same construction as last time. Time was of the essence and the Highwind was just starting up it's engines. He opened the pouch and stared at the several circular crystals that dropped out before snatching up one of the red ones and holding it up toward the planes and narrowing his eyes on them.

"Bahamut." He intoned, it wasn't needed but it helped him focus. Lines of energy erupting around him before the skies darkened, a dragon descending from the clouds. He watched as it sent a line of energy through one ship and leapt onto a second. The third plane though was almost there and he couldn't summon a second one while the first was still taking out one of the enemies.

He bent to reach for another Materia, but fell to his knees, coughing up blood and gritting his teeth. He'd overextended himself somehow, he wasn't fully recovered after all...

The sound of missiles gave him the strength to look up, he'd been expecting pain but was surprised to see the projectiles had come from the Highwind, it'd barely got off the ground but was still shooting off what was likely every weapon it had at the last plane.

The final bomber lost a engine and veered away, eventually seeming to crash.

Sephiroth sighed and passed back into the black of unconsciousness.

End Chapter

This chapter was a pain to write too, I don't think I do action very well. I keep picturing Cid cursing up a storm on the Highwind while pressing every button and laughing manically...

-Nera

To reviewers:

Toya - Glad you keep liking it. Hope you continue to!

Seph Owa13 - Yes, you are correct. Bad habit. I tried to fix it this chapter and will continue to try to get it right.