Chapter Six: Golden Compromise

What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this,
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?

-William Butler Yeats 'No Second Troy'

Weakness.

It was among the many concepts that, prior to his current regeneration, were foreign to him.

Many of those ideals he had embraced without regret, they had taken him from the pain that had threatened what remained of his sanity.

It was something he had never before possessed and always frowned upon in great extend when it came to others. Ironic how much he had never truly understood despite all of the knowledge that he had absorbed within the lifestream.

Where he had so recently prayed for the ability to enter the neutral colorless territory of unconsciousness now was only mocked by it stealing him away when he didn't desire for it to overtake him.

Though the pain wasn't nearly what it had been, he was now plagued with this deficiency of strength. He was aware that he had stopped the enemies as much as he was able, yet the thought that if the Highwind hadn't reached the air his defect would have killed them all wouldn't leave him.

Such a small exercise had left him so drained he couldn't even hold his eyes open!

A tiny show of power that had sucked his energy like the reactors that drew the mako from the earth. It was pathetic, beneath the once strong General of Midgar! A blow to his immense pride that stung with such fierceness it wasn't something he'd be able to simply ignore.

Whatever Hojo had done to him this time the effects were further reaching than he'd originally assessed. How could he possibly fight these people that followed him if he continued to show such lapses in stamina? Was it now his fate to be forced to rely on the kindness of people that, at least at some time if not still, wished to only see him dead?

Regardless, his priorities would be forced to shift if he still wanted to achieve them. Finding those that had turned him into a guinea pig and forcing them to resolve this issues would be needed before he could accomplish ridding the world of it's largest parasite.

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"We can't rely on him logically even if we did trust him Tifa." Cloud commented with a frown. They'd been arguing as to how to accomplish what they would need to do to find and exterminate the remaining pieces of Jenova. "Once we get the locations someone will need to stay with him someplace safe while the rest of us deal with it."

They were standing on the bridge of the Highwind. After the attack they'd chose to leave rather than cause the village further issues. Red Thirteen had stayed behind to watch for any counterattack the troops might muster.

Which left them Cloud, Barret, Yuffie, Tifa, Cait Sith and Cid all to discuss the matters of what to do with the still resting Sephiroth beneath the main deck.

"I'll stay with the jerk. Gimme a chance to pay him back for Wutai." Yuffie commented darkly, her usual cheery mood had been replaced, she had yet to take up Tifa's forgiving nature where the ex-Soldier was concerned.

"I think Tifa should stay with him." Barret commented, shrugging when people sent him looks. "Ah don't like it. But I trust ya Tifa. You know him the best so far...it'll suck to lose your fists but we can't just leave him."

"Seconded!" Cid commented, frowning at his pack of cigarette's as he pulled out the last one. "Fuckers wasting my gil, I can't just leave now, I gotta pay them back some more for that cigarette."

"What are the Turks saying about it?" Yuffie finally asked a more logical question, though she still wasn't smiling while facing the doll like cat creature controlled by the Turk Reeve.

"Nothing on this side of things." It answered with a shrug. "The President and Hojo broke off separate areas of the company without realizing it until recently. He and the others aren't on the side of things that were experimenting. I have asked the others to look into what they can with it."

"Then we'll need him with us too, so he can relay information as soon as possible." Yuffie commented with a sigh. "I guess Tifa is the best choice to look after the bastard. What do you say boss."

Cloud was generally unhappy, not that much else ever showed on his face in the first place. It was a difficult situation he'd been placed in, his own personal feelings he almost wanted to leave Yuffie to kill the man that had murdered Aeris. Still, if Tifa truly believed he had been being controlled by Jenova he had to hold his hand for now. The Sephiroth he remembered from then was definitely different than the one he had been when he'd seemingly gone mad and turned his back on the world. More like the man that had faced him during the short battle in the Canyon.

"Yeah. That will have to do. She's the only one that's less tempted to outright kill him." He commented with a shake of his head, blond bangs trailing his face when he moved it as such. "Where will you go with him Tifa? They'll check Cid's place soon as well as Barrets. Wutai probably won't be far on the list."

"...and is still under surveillance." Cait Sith added. "I'd recommend taking up one of the hotel rooms at the Gold Saucer. If you don't bring a lot of attention it's the last place they'd look to find Sephiroth."

"Uh...you do understand he had to agree to the plan right?" Tifa commented, she couldn't quite picture Sephiroth being too happy with the bee women hitting on him while they were there...or wanting to spend his days playing slots.

"He'll have to." Cloud shrugged. "Again, he can't be trusted in any sort of mission when he just passes out like this. It's been several hours and he's still out Tifa. He is an ex-general, even he has to understand that such a state is more of a detriment than a help."

"Yeah well, we better get there and get him to a room before he wakes up. He can't argue as much if we're already there." Tifa relented with a sigh of her own. She didn't like this plan at all, but at least they were doing something.

"That's the spirit." Cid laughed as she made her comment. "We'll be there in no time. You guys better get him covered up in something though, he's not exactly someone that will fail to be recognized."

"Sure he will." Cait Sith mentioned with a smile across the robots face. "The Saucer is currently having a history convention where people are dressing up as big figures from history."

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"He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me."

Tifa was having a hard time getting it out of her mind as she paced in the suite where the others had put them up for the trip. It had multiple rooms, even a full kitchen, and they could request their own entertainment if they wanted. All of them had enough gil left over from their days of fighting that it wasn't a big deal to pretty much do whatever they wanted. She'd never really been one for the finer things in life, but Cait Sith had reasoned her into it by mentioning that people with such good make-up and costumes would probably be rich.

"I'm starting to think my friends just want me to die. He'll wake up and throttle me unless he finds the sword I stashed under the bed." Tifa chewed on her lip as she continued to pace, glancing constantly back to where he was still sleeping on the huge bed. "Well, maybe if he's still too weak then he'll have to wait a day or two and then he'll murder me."

She knew she shouldn't be worried, that it was silly for her to be afraid of him at all, but it was like she couldn't help it. Even if he had been just a puppet when he'd killed everyone in Nibelheim, he had never been a weak man, he had single handedly taken out a large percentage of the troops during the war in Wutai. It wasn't as if the control of Jenova had made him stronger, it had just utilized what he'd already possessed.

She didn't want to wait, she didn't even know how long it would be before he would wake up again. His summon of Bahumut had been spectacular and likely what dropped him into the current stupor. Leaving wasn't an option. If he woke and had a fit that would completely blow their cover.

"I shouldn't be so nervous though." She reassured herself. "I was with them when he was defeated by us in the northern crater. I can take care of myself. I'm being ridiculous by being so jumpy. I gotta relax and just tell him he'll have to stay here and thats that."

She was unaware that he could hear her pacing, he'd just been wanting to relax a few moments to gather strength so he wouldn't look as pathetic as he felt. It was helpful to his pride that she jumped when he sat up and glanced over to her. "Care to update me on the surroundings?"

He didn't sound tired for a guy that had slept for almost twenty-four hours while they decided on a plan of action and then moved him here. His usual tone and expression was in place, mako eyes glowing softly in the thin lighting she'd left the room at while he was still sleeping.

"Uh, yeah." She blinked and then ran a hand through her hair as she faced him, pushing away the nervousness with annoyance. "We decided that we needed to separate into different teams to begin searching for the remains of Jenova. Once you let me know where they are, the team will begin to retrieve and destroy while I stay here with you."

"Quite comfortable bedding for a prison." He observed, glancing at the fact his armor was still on, it made his body a little sore in a couple places but it would have been worse on a worse bed. "Why should I give you the places of her remains if you don't intend to allow me to accomplish my mission myself?"

She put her hands on her hips, frowning at his attitude. "Look buddy. We're helping you all right. You are the one that just randomly passed out. That was yesterday by the way. How do you expect us to take you along on missions when you randomly lose consciousness for such long periods of time. What does it matter who destroys her as long as she gets destroyed."

Hopefully it wasn't too obvious that she'd practiced the speech. It, and the fact that he was still seated, helped to bolster her while she spoke.

"I see." He commented, he seemed bothered but it was hard to read him. "Then I will be forced to comply. Last I was aware there were only four other pieces of Jenova that hadn't been annihilated. Her arms were at the broken reactor at Gongola. Her hands a secret facility built into the mountain range north of Midgar. Her torso a underground research center on a island not far from the southeast of Wutai. Her hands were last in the possession of the labs in Midgar to the best of my knowledge, though it is very likely that they were relocated after the tower fell, they will likely be the most difficult part to find."

Tifa was already pulling out her phone and as soon as he finished speaking she dialed Cloud to relay the information. Not noticing that he'd gone to watching her as she still paced without realizing that either.

After repeating the information she nodded though there was no way he could see her over the device. "Yeah, he's cooperating right? Let me know how it goes once you have something else."

"How long do you expect me to stay here hiding like a coward?" He couldn't help but sound a little bitter, he loathed the fact that this was needed. She'd hung up right before he'd sprung the question. "I will need to seek out the people that were planning to use me sometime."

"I thought your goal was the destruction of Jenova." Tifa commented back, slipping her phone in a pocket. "Besides, what would you do if you went against them and feinted again?"

It was more a slap in his face than she could know. He did his best not to glare at the insult. "I will stay for a time."

"We shouldn't wander too much. I guess there is some sort of convention right now, but the less exposure the better." She nodded seriously, this orders stuff wasn't so bad, he was giving in much more than she'd figured he would. "Are you hungry? I can order up some food."

"Yes." The reply was curt but it was the truth, he was starving but that was more information than he cared to give. She had been exceptionally kind but it was difficult to be friendly to someone constantly reminding him of his recent shortcomings.

"Good, what would you like? I'm buying." She smiled, trying to make things less tense now that she'd picked up that she'd irritated him. Keeping him in a good mood seemed like the best plan to keep him here. She walked closer and picked up the menu for the food service. "Man, they've gotten a bigger kitchen sense we last came by here...I'll have to write it all down. Can you write down yours too?"

He nodded wordlessly as she passed him a second menu left in the room on the bedside table and a small pad of paper and pencil. It was a bit unorthodox but if it would get him food he was fine with it. Famished was a great word to describe his uncomfortable belly, it wasn't as if they'd eaten well even before they'd reached the canyon and if he'd really been asleep as long as she said, food was a must.

She had finished hers and was waiting when he finally passed her the notepad and pencil back. She stared for a long moment and looked back at him. "Is this a joke?"

"No." He let a eyebrow raise lightly at her questions.

"There are four meals here..." She shook her head. "You are lucky I already offered to pay. Yuffie would have a fit if she saw this."

"Because..." He prompted, vaguely curious as to her reaction.

"It's a hell of a lot of food." Tifa replied with a second shake of her head. "Okay I'm gonna call. There is main room through there, and the bathroom is huge but we share it. It's over there."

She walked out of the bedroom that was apparently his as she started talking to the room service people on the other side of the line. It left him the chance to consider a bath and ordering someone to launder his clothes soon. He and they both were in need of it. She had apparently already used the bath while he was still sleeping by the look of her when she was inside. Though his stomach was still protesting the lack of food he was aware it would take a while so he began undressing.

His boots were the first to go, followed by socks. Being barefoot on occasion had it's comfort after a day of walking through desert. He pulled off his heavy coat and armor next, settling them carefully next to each other on the bed in the order he would return them.

He nearly had to peel the shirt off, it was ruined thanks to the shot he took to the shoulder, but he himself had already healed nicely. Only a lair of blood remained, he'd already regenerated the damage that had been caused. Perhaps the reason for his long slumber, though faster regeneration wouldn't help if he was passed out where the enemy could cause whatever wounds they wished.

He had started to undo his belt when he heard a small gasp at the door, eyes shifting to take in the surprised expression on Tifa's face.

She'd seen him before with part of his chest exposed, though she hadn't remembered just how muscular he really was. Her memory didn't do it justice. She could see the lair of blood on his shoulder but also that there was no wound she could make out. He was that powerful, that a shot through his whole body would just go away? Sand was stuck to parts of his arms and neck, obvious only because he'd just undressed.

Her whole face turned red as she reached his face.

It was perfect, features with a elven grace while still retaining a handsome masculinity, illuminated emerald gaze obviously amused at the reaction that she'd offered his body.

"Dammit, couldn't you have warned me!" She found her voice the same moment she whirled herself around. "They'll be up in about half an hour. Be ready by then."

He offered a small smirk as she reached around trying to find the door handle and sent him another glance and look over before cursing at him more and slamming his door.

He'd always been called handsome and women often seemed flustered around him, but he'd not seen it coming in Tifa's case.

He finished undressed and headed in to start his bath with a vague smirk still lingering on his lips. "Perhaps staying here won't be too horribly un-entertaining."

End Chapter

So a little evil on my part. I like to torture characters a little. Tifa was all near nosebleed, how cute. I'm enjoying writing up a somewhat happier ending for poor Sephiroth - I always thought he seemed to get the short end of the stick in the games.

-Nera

Reviewers:

Toya Kei - I work on stuff generally when I get the time and how I feel when I have free time. I'm enjoying working on it.

Seph Owa13 - Cid is still irritated yes. Seph is also, he doesn't like the whole feeling weak thing. Not that anyone would really.