I fear you, Aquarius
My destiny till the end

The blinking lights of the megalopolis were barely visible through the smoke that hovered above the city like a dark cloud. There were sounds of gunfire, glass shattering, and strangled screams as chaos spread in the city. There were rumors that SOLDIERS had gone rogue and defected to the rebel group that waged war for the planet. Strange things began to happen at the Shin-Ra tower. Those who came in never came out again.

"My old friend..." Amidst the smoke, Genesis' voice filtered like light through the darkness to the ears of the other SOLDIER who watched the city below. "It seems we find ourselves together on the field of battle once more."

"Why did you come?" Sephiroth spoke, his hair sailed through the air like strands of pure silver. "I asked you to take care of her."

"And this is the best way to do it." There was a fluttering of wings then Genesis came to stand beside him, hovering as if they both stood on solid ground.

"If anything happens to her..."

"She's not alone. She's with Tifa; the girl who you saved."

Green eyes flickered to meet his. "The mayor's daughter?" His head lowered slightly as he turned back to the sight below them again. "She was beautiful."

"Yes, she is." Genesis looked at this friend once more. "Did they hurt you?" The other man shook his head.

"Not more than I can handle."

"Sephiroth. Tell me what happened."

He sighed then turned to face Genesis fully. "Everything was set up by one man. From the very beginning. My birth, yours, Aerith's, Angeal's. And everything that happened afterward; our placement in SOLDIER, our meeting, the missions... Even the last one you were given, all of this was manipulated by him."

He frowned. "I don't understand."

"Hojo, my father..." He spit out the word as if it was bile. "...planned all this."

Genesis drew a sharp breath.

Sephiroth's gaze turned cold. "I followed the trails he left behind. Read about how he 'made' me in his research notes in Nibelheim. Where it all began." He lifted his eyes to meet Genesis. "We're not human, Genesis. There's something inside us. He called it 'Jenova', an alien parasite that makes us what we are. Stronger, faster, sturdier than the others. The injections..." a small frown appeared on his face "The experimentations, the war, all of this was done to reinforce the presence of this thing inside us. As long as it's active, we can never die."

Genesis shook his head, conflicting emotions flashing through his eyes. "Tell me... Tell me what happened to Angeal."

Sephiroth's look darkened. "Hojo found a way to suppress Jenova inside him, then he killed him to prove that it was possible."

Genesis clenched his fists. "That bastard..."

Sephiroth smiled bitterly. "I only wanted to find out why you were sent to be with Aerith. I never thought..." he stopped himself then shook his head. "I did find out. Your mission was part of an elaborate breeding program that was supposed to produce the next generation of Cetra with Jenova inside them. Hojo did all this so that the gods could once again walk on this earth. He suppressed Jenova inside you for a while because when it is active, the host can never reproduce. I was his first experiment. After the initial trials, I was deemed inadequate because Jenova had bonded with me so well, that to suppress it would kill me. You, on the other hand..."

Genesis listened quietly. He had a hard look in his features.

"You were more human than me. Aerith obviously finds you more attractive as well." A wry smile on Sephiroth's face appeared. "I trust you kept your hands to yourself?"

"You had her first..." He muttered.

Sephiroth smiled. "So she told you. It was a long time ago."

Genesis was silent for a while. "I wish she could have met Angeal."

"Me too, my friend. Me too."

There was a moment of silence between them as a cold night breeze blew past them. When Sephiroth opened his eyes, his gaze was clear and sharp. "Are you ready to put an end to all this?"

He nodded and unsheathed his rapier, his grip was tight.

Sephiroth drew his masamune and gave it an experimental swing. He turned back to Genesis one last time. "When it's over, I want to see the child."

"Of course." Their eyes met one last time. "Perhaps we can name him Angeal."

"Tifa..." Aerith's voice broke the heavy silence. There was a rustling sound and then her friend was beside her, rearranging the blanket wrapped around Aerith's body.

"I dreamt of Genesis." Aerith spoke, her voice was low and hoarse. In the faint light of the crystals in the cave, her face looked drawn and beads of sweat littered her face.

Tifa clenched a hand stained with blood then hesitantly pressed her palm against Aerith's cold forehead. It won't be long now, they both knew it. It had been awhile since Genesis left them in the cave, and day by day Aerith grew weaker, wilting like a plant that had been away from the sun for too long.

And last night, she had gone into labor. The baby has still not come out, and there was no way to stop the bleeding that started.

Tifa wiped a stray tear that escaped her eyes. She prayed to the Goddess, if she was listening, for her friend's suffering to end. She was so weak now, so fragile... But she still hung on. And she knew why.

"Tell me about your dream."

He is in pain.

Aerith said that humans reincarnate after they die. This was not their first time in Gaia, nor was it their last. His eyes briefly registered the trail of bodies that littered his path, like grasses on the side of the road. The dead, though they have left their mortal shell here, is now in the lifestream where they await their chance to take part in life again.

He wondered if he would still take part of his cycle. Would he still be able to, now that he knows he carries something alien inside him, something that wouldn't let go, wouldn't allow him to die? And even if he did die, would he want to leave the lifestream, knowing that Aerith would never be able to be born again? After all, the Cetra are only born once, die once, and live on forever in the Promised Land.

He never stops dreaming.

He fought everything Hojo threw at him with movements that were almost automatic. Still, his mind was elsewhere. Thoughts of Aerith blunted the pain of all the blows that inevitably landed. Everything seemed easier while she was on his mind.

It's such a shame they could not grow old together. These past few weeks, he found himself thinking more and more on the matter. He did not mind the thought so much, in fact he looked forward to it. He thought it would be quite the experience to see her go through the seasons in life and be there for every single day of it. He even entertained the idea of living in seclusion with her for the rest of their days. After all, they had everything they needed.

But he knows that he would not be able to walk away from this alive. His thoughts turned to his son. He hoped that he would give his mother hard times, as much as good times, because life was never meant to be enjoyed in full, there had to be suffering too.

But he also knows that Aerith would follow him soon. She was loyal like that. And also because, deep down, he knew that theirs was the type of love where they would not want to be apart from the other. Even if that meant following him onto death.

His dreams cause him pain.

He bleeds and there is no stopping the red fountain within him. But that was okay, because that also meant that he was able to bring Hojo down with fatal swing of his sword against his neck. His headless body hovered and twitched with movement before it slumped to the floor, jerking.

He slumped down as well, his body suddenly too heavy.

He could hear Sephiroth still battling the other abomination that Hojo had thrown at them. It was his most effective experiment so far, seeing as how it was still alive and fighting even though its master was already dead. He briefly wondered how Sephiroth would feel now. Did he even knew that his father was dead?

Goddess, he wished he could at least have seen the face of his son!

His heart is so strong.

He coughed up blood knew that there would be no healing that could save him. He knew it from the way that the remaining blood in his body churned, as if it was molten lava instead of blood that pumped through is heart. He had felt this way before, the first time that Hojo had stuck a needle into his arm. He knew what it meant now. He was human again, and humans died from these types of wounds.

He did not want to die. But he also knew that this was the only way that they will ever have a future ahead of them.

With the last of his strength, he rasped a few words. It was the faintest of whispers, yet it was heard half way across the world by the very woman it was intended for.

"I love you... and I don't regret a thing."

Far away from civilization, Aerith gave birth to a boy with eyes the color of the sky, then she closed her own and never opened them again.

A woman walked along a wide expanse of grassland, her face mostly covered by a dark cowl that extended up to her feet. On one side was a great lake, surrounded by mountain ranges that stood over like guardians in the small valley. She kept a determined pace of one who walked with purpose and made good time across the field.

A cry broke through the silence and the woman stopped. Gently, she kneeled and her arms slowly parted the fabric cloth on her chest to reveal a small infant bundled close to her. "There, there," she whispered softly. She takes out her canteen and gently wet the lips of the infant with water. "I know you're hungry. But I have nothing to give. Try to hold on longer little one, we'll be there soon."

There was a rustling of wings and something heavy landed a few feet away. The woman instantly recoiled, arms extended in a defensive position. Her canteen lay upturned in the ground.

Red blood fell into the leaves of grass as the creature; black, steel, white and something else struggled to right itself up after its painful landing. The woman held her breath and watched as one long wing with tattered feathers barely clinging on folded back to reveal the silver hair of the famed General who saved her not so long ago.

"Sephiroth!" she immediately stood and started to run towards him, only to stop when he extended a hand out to halt her. He struggled to his feet and precariously remained upright. At his full height she could see the many wounds that he's suffered; long diagonal lines across his torso, jagged burns on his arms, and blood, so much blood all over his body. His hair was uneven and frayed, matted in blood and soot. He wiped the dirt and blood from his mouth as he tried to steady his breath. He glanced at her, his eyes were still that frightening shade of brilliant green.

"Tifa..." he breathed hoarsely as if the very act itself hurt his lungs. Her eyes widened and she looked at him amazed, she never told him her name. "Wh-where is she?"

A sad look crossed her features and she shook her head. "Aerith... has returned to the planet." Her dry eyes, red from crying, was exhausted and shed no more tears. "I'm sorry, she lost too much blood..."

He exhaled a shaky breath and his form visibly crumpled as he fell down to his knees. Tifa breached the last few distance between them and carefully touched his shoulders. "Was it all for nothing?" he whispered to himself as he scoffed, the last of his energies draining away.

"No!" She kneeled in front of him and opened her cloak as if in offering. "She died giving birth. The child lives." Clear blue eyes between heavy lidded eyelids opened and focused sleepily at Sephiroth.

The proud SOLDIER could only stare. A smile opened in his dry, cracked lips and for the first time, Tifa saw tears come to his eyes. "She's always wanted her child to have blue eyes." He looked at Tifa. "A girl or...?"

"It's a boy."

"What's his name?"

Tifa shook her head. "I was thinking of naming him after his father." She looked at him with resigned eyes. "Tell me, is he...?"

"The fool. He made too many sacrifices. Including his life." He clenched his teeth as a massive headache flared through his temples. Blood started to flow out of his nose and he bowed his head.

"What... what is happening to you?"

He reeled and waited for the burning sensation to pass. He turned and laid down sprawled on his back, for the first time, seeing how the rays of the afternoon sun painted the sky. "The Jenova... inside me is dying. It was Hojo's parting gift... Nnngh!" he doubled over again, coughing up more blood and black substance.

"You are in pain, we can go to—" Tifa could only keep her hands uselessly at her side, afraid to touch him, afraid to cause more pain.

"No! We... killed all of Shin-Ra's leaders. They are finished. And perhaps... so are we. You should leave now, take him somewhere safe. Where no one will know."

Tifa got up to her feet, not needing to be told twice about the importance of keeping the child safe. "I am headed towards..."

"No. Don't... tell me. Just go. If I survive this, then... I'll find you."

A conflicted expression appeared on her face. "I owe you my life. I don't want to leave you here to die." She clenched her firsts. "But... if this is what you wish, then so be it," she wrapped the cloth around her charge carefully then prepared to leave.

"Wait." Sephiroth called. He turned to her. In the dying rays of the sun his green eyes looked different in colour. Less intense, more human. "Call him Angeal. He would like that."

Tifa nodded and, before she could think the better of it, she leaned down and kissed him on the corner of his lips.

"Thank you for everything you've done. I'll see you again, in this life or the next."

With one final brush of her hand against his cheek, she walked towards the setting sun and never looked back.

A / N: Things could actually end here already but... there's an epilogue. It's slightly lighter in tone, and as with the game, dead characters stay dead.