Cloud opened his eyes slowly, trying to not agitate the throbbing in his head.

"What…happened?"

Tifa crawled over to him.

"Hey…are you alright?"

"Yeah…but what happened?"

"We fought Loren and Sephiroth."

"Oh…I forgot…I couldn't believe she'd turn like that."

He grabbed his neck and rolled his head on his shoulders. Several cracking noises were heard.

"How is everyone?"

"Everyone has a headache."

He rose slowly.

"I'd better see how everyone is doing."

He knelt by Barret as the large man rubbed his head, a grimace on his face.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, ya foo', just get yourself over there and check on the others."

Smiling, Cloud patted the man's shoulder and looked at the little cat, Cait Sith.

"Hey Cait, are you okay?"

Cait stood and limped over to his mog.

"Yeah, just a little sore in the back."

He shook his head. Cloud walked over to Cid, who spit on the ground, cursing his mouth off.

"Cid?"

"That damn &#$!#$ " +-/$#&$&)$#(#(:" ? #()"  &$))!"

"Calm down, Cid. You'll be fine."

Cid sputtered as he glared at Cloud, holding his head and gut.

"You think I'm fine, you f#&$ idiot?"

"No, I said you'd be fine. I didn't say you are fine."

"Humph."

Cloud then strode to Red XIII who was lying calmly with his paws crossed under him.

"You look comfortable, Red."

"I am actually in quite a lot of pain, but relaxing is what lessens the pain for me."

"Good strategy."

"Why thank you."

"VINNIE!"

Cloud twisted around to Yuffie's scream. She was shaking Vincent and sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone's attention was on her as Cloud rushed to her.

"Yuffie, what's wrong?"

"He's dead, he's dead!"

Cloud looked at Vincent. The man had many small cuts and a rather large lump on his head. His clothes were disheveled, but he didn't seem to be dead. Despite her shaking, he could see Vincent's chest rising and falling slowly as it always did. He grabbed Yuffie's wrists. She fought against him wildly.

"Let go! He's dead!"

He held her wrists tightly and shook his head.

"He's not dead, Yuffie. He's alive. Stop shaking him and look at his chest."

Yuffie calmed a bit and looked at Vincent. She sighed.

"Oh…"

Cloud held out his hand after letting Yuffie go and muttered 'Full Cure'. The cuts healed instantly and the bump went down like a deflated balloon. Vincent slowly opened his eyes.

"She's gone…right?"

"Yes."

Vincent held his face in his hands.

"No…please…don't say anything, Loren…"

"What are you hoping she doesn't say?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

Cloud shrugged. He turned to the rest of the group.

"Alright, guys. Let's relax a little bit and then we'll be on the move."

Tifa spoke up.

"Those guys were insanely strong."

Cloud darkened.

"I know. Sephiroth was holding back for some reason."

Vincent nodded.

"They could have killed us, quite easily, but they didn't."

Cloud looked toward Vincent.

"I know. The question is…why?"

Cait Sith bounded up to Cloud. His eyes were pleading.

"Let's not fight them again. We aren't ready for them."

Cloud darkened even more.

"I know…"

Barret slapped his gun arm into his hand.

"I don't know 'bout that girl. She kept sayin' somethin' 'bout helping him see the truth and stoppin' him from destroyin' the planet. She said she wasn't betrayin' us and that he needs her and stuff. It sounds true, but I'm not sure on trustin' her."

"She said similar things to me," said Vincent.

Yuffie nodded.

"She told me she needed to protect him."

Red was consumed in thought. He then spoke.

"She could be the cause of his not killing us. If what she says is true, then she could still consider us her friends. If that were not the case, we would more than likely be dead."

Cloud thought about the statement. It made sense, but some things still confused him.

"Yeah, but what did she mean by 'helping him see the truth'?"

Vincent dropped his head.

"Lucrecia."

All eyes turned to him.

"Lucrecia?"

"Remember what I told you when we first met? That Lucrecia was Sephiroth's mother?"

All nodded and then realization dawned on them. Cloud reeled.

"She's going to tell him that? Is she suicidal? He'll kill her!"

Vincent shook his head.

"He loves her. He wouldn't kill her unless she tried to kill him."

Eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Jaws dropped open and others went rigid. Vincent smiles.

"Yes, that's right. He loves her."

Cid laughed.

"So ye're caught in a love triangle? Ha-ha-ha!"

Vincent shook his head again.

"No, she made a decision. She's staying with him."

Many nearly toppled over in disbelief. Vincent muttered low.

"She…loves my son…"

Red caught his little comment, but kept it to himself, as much in disbelief as he was. Yuffie perked up.

"What did ya say, Vinnie?"

He shook his head.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Cloud put his chin in his hand.

"I wonder where they are now…"

Loren, holding Sephiroth, struggled to stay above water. With the added weight of water, his armor, and the fact that he was almost pure muscle, she struggled to keep him above water as well. She steeled herself and pushed herself forward to the side of the waterfall. With the waterfall churning the waters, she had a little trouble moving. Eventually, after sinking a few times, she reached the edge. She skirted the waterfall and made it inside the cave though she did receive a good deal of pressure from the falling water. She eased her way through the calm waters of the cave. When she reached land, she deposited Sephiroth and then climbed up herself. She looked around the cave; it was much bigger than she had imagined it to be. As she browsed around, she heard a slight groan. She knew it was Sephiroth and tore a piece of her long sleeve off to dab his head. He still had a fever and would take substantial rest to break it. When he drifted to unconsciousness again, Loren rose and took a step toward the light at the end of the cave. A voice permeated the silent cavern.

"Who are you? Leave me be."

"My name is Loren. I am…acquainted with Vincent Valentine."

A figure appeared from the light, a beautiful woman in a white lab coat: Lucrecia.

"You know Vincent?"

"Yes. I know him quite well, and I know you, too…Lucrecia."

She took a tentative step forward.

"If that is so…do you know Sephiroth?"

Loren smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I do. I am in love with him."

Loren surprised herself on how she could admit it so openly. The woman observed Loren with scrutiny.

"Really?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, he is ill right now. He has a fever. He is here if you want to see him."

The woman froze.

"My son…is here?"

Loren went to Sephiroth, hoisted him over her shoulder and carried him to Lucrecia. The woman was trembling. Loren carefully placed him on the floor. Lucrecia practically fell to the floor to see him.

"That's…my son…that's my son…"

She looked at Loren.

"You brought him here…why?"

"I told him the truth. I wanted him to see you. He had a fever and I did not want to fight while taking care of him. This was the ideal place to be."

Lucrecia nodded.

"This is the right place to be. I'll take good care of him."

Loren smiled and sat by Sephiroth.

"I know you will."

A day passed by slowly. And then another. Vincent was tired of being in this forest. He imagined Loren was chasing Sephiroth around the world if she had already told him. He had lost her forever. Lucrecia…Loren…he lost both. He suddenly felt a desire to see Lucrecia. He missed her. He stood and went over to Cloud.

"Cloud?"

"Yes, Vincent?"

"Can we go see Lucrecia?"

"Lucrecia?"

"Yes. I need to see her."

"Er…okay. Give us a few hours."

He went and spoke to Cid, probably about getting the Highwind and getting some gold chocobos.

"Okay."

He went back to his tree and remained tense. He had to see her. He just had to.

A day passed with no progress. On the next day near midnight, his fever broke. All three in the cave breathed easier. Lucrecia stroked her son's hair.

"How did he get a fever?"

"I imagine it was the cause of a mental clash with Jenova."

The woman's hand stopped.

"Jenova?"

"Yes…he was trying not to kill me because Jenova was ordering him to against his will."

"The poor boy…"

"I know. Do not sympathy him, though. I do not think he is the type that sits well with sympathy or compassion. He was not pleased when I asked him to spare my old companions."

"Spare them?"

"Yes, we fought my old comrades. He is a remarkable fighter, with much strength. He could have killed them without breaking a sweat."

The woman smiled grimly.

"I would figure as much."

The night passed and morning. Near morning's end, a soft groan reached their ears. Sephiroth slowly opened his eyes. A grimace crossed his features.

"Where am I?"

Loren smiled.

"You are in a safe place."

"What happened?"

"You caught a fever."

"Me?"

Loren almost burst out laughing.

"You are human. A fever is not above you."

He looked around and saw Lucrecia. He was instantly wary.

"Who are you?"

Pain flashed in Lucrecia's eyes.

"I'm a friend."

He looked to Loren.

"Who is she?"

"You had better get up."

She was glad his sword was still near where she had initially placed him. He began to sit up, but hissed in pain and began to fall back down when Loren grabbed his head and pushed him up. She had him lean on her shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably but did not refuse the help. His eyes shifted to her.

"Who is she?"

Loren looked to Lucrecia. The woman smiled.

"Sephiroth?"

He looked to Lucrecia.

"I…am Lucrecia. Do you know me?"

Sephiroth went rigid.

"You are Lucrecia? You look young."

"I am like Vincent. I stopped aging."

He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows.

"So…you are…my mother."

Knowing her limits, Lucrecia simply smiled.

"Yes…I am."

He darkened.

"I feel drawn to you…I always thought Jenova was my mother. I still find it hard to believe."

Lucrecia smiled.

"I'm sorry I was never there for you. Hojo placed me in here. For some reason, I can't leave. I regret that I never saw you grow up and become a man."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes even further, so much so that it seemed as if his eyes were closed. He rose and picked Lucrecia up. Lucrecia, surprised at his action, had no time to react. He led her to the end of the tunnel where the waterfall blocked its view. He looked at her expectantly. Loren was almost behind them now.

"Go on. Go through."

Unafraid, she placed her hand in front of her and set out to touch the water, but there was a slight shimmer and she was stunned, sending her a few steps backward. Sephiroth quickly caught her and gave in. He walked her back to the cave and sat on the floor.

"So I see that you tell the truth."

"Yes, I would not lie to you."

"How have you been able to survive this long without food and water?"

"Hojo put me here to suffer for whatever twisted reason he had and made it to where I no longer required food to survive. I was afraid at first, but when a month went by, I saw my curse."

Anger flashed in Sephiroth's eyes.

"Hojo is dead. I killed him."

Lucrecia didn't seem to take to much pleasure in that fact.

"I am glad Hojo can hurt no one else, but I don't like it that you killed him. He should have suffered for years as I have."

Loren raised her eyebrows.

"You do not seem the type to say such things. I am surprised."

Sephiroth was growing dark again. Lucrecia was filled with worry.

"What's wrong?"

"Why did you give me to experimentation?"

"I thought I would be able to see you after you were born, but Hojo took you away right after you had been born. I was so upset."

"I could have been a normal child…"

"I'm so sorry…you can kill me if it will get rid of your distress. I would willingly sacrifice myself for your happiness."

Sephiroth shook his head.

"No…I will not kill my mother."

Lucrecia lit up.

"You accept the fact that I am your mother?"

"…Yes."

Loren quipped.

"Reluctantly, and almost fearfully, but yes."

Sephiroth looked ready to pounce on her and rip her to shreds. She smiled innocently.

"I'm accurate, aren't I?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. She knew the reason for his apprehension.

"I feel like relaxing, letting everything go. I feel safe here, and I'm going to exploit that feeling to the fullest."

Indeed, Sephiroth felt that way too, but he wouldn't let his speech slip. He hesitated before speaking.

"Loren…?"

"Yes?"

"About what you said in the forest…the feeling is mutual."

Loren nearly choked on herself. She smiled.

"…Wow. I…don't know what to say."

"You do not have to say anything. Just accept it."

Loren lost the strength to speak. She couldn't even move to give him a hug. She wondered why she hadn't reacted so strongly as she did now with Sephiroth than when Vincent confessed his love for her back then. Lucrecia looked from Sephiroth to Loren and back.

"What's going on?"

Sephiroth mouthed it to her. Seemingly, saying that he loved her was a strange concept, so he put it in any other words or said nothing at all. Lucrecia clapped her hands in delight.

"How wonderful! I'm so happy for you, Sephiroth! And I'm so happy for you, too, Loren!"

Loren could only smile. Sephiroth mouthed something else to Lucrecia. She nodded happily and turned around. In one quick motion, he grabbed Loren, bringing her to him and drawing her in for a kiss. It wasn't gentle as it had been before, but rather demanding, and, ultimately, binding. She was his and vise versa. Just feeling his presence so near her made Loren dizzy. It must have had the same effect on him, for when he pulled away, his breathing was quicker and heavier, though still soft. There was a distinct sparkle in his eyes as he stared at her. She smiled softly, moving closer to rest on his shoulder. He gave no outward response, but she could feel him smiling inside. The hours passed.

Vincent drew near Lucrecia's cave, and for some reason, the need to be there continued to grow stronger. His legs itched to get moving to see her. As the chocobos got closer to the waterfall, he nudged his chocobo along faster. The group lined up after Vincent as he dismounted and walked to the opening to the cave. He waited at the edge for everyone else. He then began his walk to see Lucrecia. As he neared the mouth of the cave, he was stunned by the sounds of laughter. He hurried along and saw that not only was Lucrecia conversing with Loren, but also was on the floor telling stories to both her and Sephiroth. Lucrecia had a huge smile on her face, as did Loren, and he could see the amused serenity in Sephiroth's shoulders. Sensing his presence Lucrecia looked up, smiling wider, if that was possible. The group was directly behind him when she spoke. Her words nearly knocked the group to the floor.

"Vincent! Look, our son! He's here with me. We've been talking for a long time now. He's accepted the fact that I'm his mother! He understands! Come, Vincent! Join us!"

Even for Vincent, her words rocked him to the core. Sephiroth talking, understanding, accepting? It was all too much. Sephiroth turned to regard Vincent, his gaze flickering to Loren to gauge her reaction. He stood slowly and began walking toward Vincent. With nothing but his pants and his belt, he seemed far less dangerous than he normally was, but it was a risk Vincent was not willing to take by relaxing. Sephiroth had one hand in his pocket, his walk non-aggressive but quite casual. He stopped ten strides from Vincent. There was a gleam in his eye as he stared Vincent down. He finally spoke.

"Hello, father."

A/N: Hello! Yay, family crazy junkness! I dunno, just felt a need to do a whole reunites mama, dad, and son moment. Lol, I'm weird. And bored and weird and crazy fish lemon lime monkeys. Err, yeah. Psychotic Sprite Funkies, anyone? I'm thinking of writing a fanfic for Castlevania, but I'm not so sure; the first one I did was getting so flamed that I had to delete it for fear of frying my computer and for sheer despair of being so doggedly flamed. I just think my character had an attitude problem and I unwittingly named her after a LotR character. Argh, either I'll die of sleeping myself to death or insanity (you know how it is: you lose enough sleep, you start seeing weird stuff all over the place random wall on fire, I'm looking at you). Wow, I'm distracted. I'm drifting off into space, here. I'll be okay when I move, 'cause I'll be working out and without a computer. I'm going to need my rest for violin. Violin…violin…violin…okay. I'll be going now. Review please. TTFN. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………………………………………