Rawr! It is done! Had to get this one right, it was quite nerve wracking D: I've probably still missed something, so my pre-apologies if later on i ask you to come back and re-read this after some editing XD;; (ah that sounds so lazy of me)

My usual thanks to my regular and new readers for continuing to follow the story :) And my big thanks to my reviewers, especially my beloved regulars. I less-than-three you (since i can't actually type it u_u) I hope you enjoy this chappie.

Music choice for Gismo (and anyone else who may be interested in a bit of BG music to read too) YouTube search - 'Ambient music - Other World by Alacazam' (the thumbnail is green and thar be fishies in the vid, just so you know it's the right one)

Disclaimer - Sephiroth and original place names and plot are property of Square Enix and this is a work of fandom, not for profit. All I own is Meia, the odd OC and original place names.

Chapter 25

.

Drifting. The cold void which surrounds me mirrors my once emptied soul

What was it that changed? What was…my call…?

Floating. Do I move effortlessly through time and space….?

Or is my gradually awakening existence pulled toward your embrace.

I oft find myself wondering, time…and time again…

Falling. Is this just coincidence, or were you born to claim…

…My fragile heart…

…

…

…

This one writes poetry in her dreams…

Yes, quite a talent I must say.

She fell in with another?

Yes, what I wished to show you…

But, why Professor?

Because…she entered with your son…

My…son…?

Yes. He is here somewhere.

I don't deserve to hold the title of Mother…

At least see Him. Aren't you curious?

Of course I am. I love him dearly…despite…my failing

Look, there he is…ah my, how he's grown since…my departure…

Sephiroth…my boy. How handsome he is, professor…

Yes, quite! You should be proud.

I can't…I feel nothing but shame…

They can hear us, you know…

…my boy, I love you…I'm so sorry…I truly am…sorry…

More disembodied voices…am I losing my mind?

Midgar, Shinra building – Director Lazard's office

The two First class SOLDIER's stood in front of their Director's desk, neither of which were willing to accept what they had just been told,

"Sir, we want to lead a mission to search for them" Angeal requested. Lazard removed his glasses and rubbed at the sore red welts on his nose,

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, gentlemen. I want to find them as much as you do, but we need to accept the facts. Meia and Sephiroth have been missing now for a long time. There is no trace of them in Clydia; their driver was the last to see them alive…"

"Alive? Does that mean the company has given up already…?" Genesis challenged. Lazard fixed him with a sad stare,

"It is very hard to believe that Sephiroth has perished, or allowed Miss LeSait to perish. But whatever happened out there, those two are officially M.I.A"

Angeal closed his eyes and sighed. M.I.A is better than K.I.A at least. . was used when the company knew full well what had happened to their members, but chose to cover it up by reporting they had been killed in the line of duty. M.I.A means that they genuinely are missing and the company knew nothing. It occurred to Angeal that it really was no better, now he thought about it.

"Please, Director…there must be something you can do. Let us go out and find them" Angeal pleaded. Lazard thought a moment, before leaning back,

"Well…if you two continue being uncooperative and insubordinate…I'll have to suspend you from duty…" He said slowly. Genesis and Angeal slowly perked up, twigging to their director's plan.

A small crash.

A soft thud…

Pale rose lips curled into a smile as their owner beheld the sight in front of him. A small boy, a mere four years old, was currently scrambling on his hands and knees, chasing a bouncing green orb as it got away from him.

Sephiroth couldn't recall how many times he'd seen this memory now, but each time it made him smile. He watched his then clumsy body trip and tumble down the hill. The same hill he'd tumbled down almost seventeen years ago. He looked up, searching in the fields, looking for what caused his happiness each time he re-lived this memory. Right on cue, a small girl skipped out from the orchard she was playing in and picked up the materia that had come to rest at her feet.

Meia…

Sephiroth sat on the soft, warm grass beneath him and drew his knees up, watching the two children as they played out their exchange before him. He lay his head down on his legs and breathed in the sweet, fragrant scent of the air around him. Summer grass and wild flowers. A scent he'd come too associated with Meia. The smell would remind him of her and this day. It was always pleasant to catch it away on a mission, where his mind and soul would be trapped in a moment of comfort. He was content. Nothing bothered him, not even his other, darker, memories. He'd even forced himself to remember them, but the memory he was living shooed them away from his mind, like an over protective nanny.

He watched as little Meia ran off into the distance, answering her Grandfathers call. If Sephiroth was dead, he didn't mind. The memory faded into white light, enveloping him, comforting him as he closed his eyes, a smile still lingering on his lips as he drifted into another peaceful sleep.

Silence once more. Darkness. Marred now only by the occasional wisp of ethereal green energy. She hugged her knees tight to her chest and tried in vain to see past it. But it was no use. Meia couldn't recall how she arrived in the position she was in, nor could she figure out exactly what she was seeing. A gentle sigh met her ears, a small moan…the sounds she heard on the cliff top that night. They were all around her now, gently talking…crying, pleading…

She leant back and her body tilted, drifting backwards as if she were sitting on air. She'd given up calling out quite a while ago, but what was a while? An hour? A day? It could have been longer. It could have been a mere five minutes. She closed her pale blue eyes and tried to remember what happened.

A small boy. Falling towards a vast green pool.

A leap of faith to save him. Only she had no idea what she would be saving him from. Meia sighed, so that was it. She'd fallen in the river. And been sucked into the depths of the planet.

Sephiroth…

He tried to save her. She could faintly recall his strong arms seize her, pulling her close. The leather of his coat slipping through her weak fingers and she tried to grasp him, hold onto him. She knew he was the only one capable of saving her but…she realised…he may have failed.

So this was the lifestream. A dark void where you were kept awake by whispers and phantoms. Meia extended her legs and stretched them. To her surprise, her toes touched solid ground and she looked down. Grass. Vibrant green, littered with tiny wild flowers. She looked around her; a scene was unfolding, melting outwards; a wild meadow on the edge of an orchard. A breeze tousled her hair and she instinctively tucked it behind her ear. Her arm was bare and she looked over herself. Her uniform was gone, replaced with a delicate yellow dress. A very distinct dress…

A familiar presence…Meia looked up, her hear sang with hope just in case…just in case it was him. She knew he was here somewhere, they had gone under together. As one. But to her dismay she didn't behold the tall confident figure of her friend. It was something else entirely…

This time he passed by the children, casting a fond look downwards at the glossy dark head beyond his fingertips. He carried on into the town, to the house he knew an elderly man would appear from. Sephiroth still couldn't understand how he was so calm, so peaceful. He only felt like this on odd occasions. The occasions when Meia was with him, when he could sleep at ease. Only now he was enveloped in it, cocooned. Protected.

Meia brought him peace, he knew that now. But why? What was so special about her? He found himself asking the same question he would ask almost on a daily basis by now. She was here, he could feel it. He knew it was the only explanation for the memory, the calm that he felt.

Sephiroth watched Meia's grandfather step from his house and look for his granddaughter. He looked happy but the signs of illness were plain to see. His body, where once he may have been healthy, was thin and wasting. His cheeks were sunken but his smile shone through, creasing his eyes into a loving expression ready to greet Meia. She ran to him, her face a picture of pure innocent happiness. She was too young to understand… Sephiroth knew that after this day, her whole life would be turned upside down and the first negative feeling worked its way into his skull.

The cocoon was breaking….

Sephiroth's eyes twisted into a look of sadness as the door of the house closed. He sighed and turned, waiting for the inevitable fade to white. But it didn't come. The breeze swept his long fringe in front of his eyes as he looked around. The memory was staying…but why? He couldn't recall anything after he was dragged up the stairs. Not of this day at least. He took a few steps forward and placed his hand on the grey stone wall of a well before him. It felt solid and real. He wandered around for a while, trying to understand what was happening. It felt like he'd woken up from a pleasant sleep and now he was confused, like it was any other day. Except he was still in the town in his memory's.

It wasn't until he'd walked a small way into the meadow beyond the town square that he got his answer. He could see her, Meia. Only she wasn't a child. She was fully grown but still wearing the dress. She was looking at something, her gaze cast towards a line of trees but there was nothing there. As he got closer to her, he could see a familiar expression. Confusion, annoyance…defiance…

Meia had never seen this thing before. She couldn't call it a person because she was certain it wasn't human. But it took the form of a woman with blue grey skin. Her body wasn't quite natural, her waist was incredibly thin and she was unclothed. Anatomy wise, the resemblance to humans was there, but she wasn't quite accurate. Her eyes were red, cold and staring…glowing and she was leering with a confident smile. Meia could almost say she was beautiful, but her alien appearance turned her away. And on her back was the most startling thing of all; a pair of blood red wings, formed not of feather and bone but of something else entirely. The swirling, corded patterns spiralled outwards forming an impressive span. And the hair on her head…was as white as snow…

"What are you? Why are you in my memory…?" Meia asked. The life form laughed. Her voice was cold, almost metallic when she replied to Meia's question. And terrifyingly familiar,

"You know exactly who I am, Meia…"

"I'm tired of playing your games! I don't know you, now answer my question…" Meia challenged. The creature took a step forwards and Meia was horrified to discover her own body mirroring the step,

"I'm what grants you your power. Because of me, you were saved. Because of me, you're alive…" She uttered, her voice low. Meia swallowed; perhaps cryptic riddles were the only thing it could respond with…

"I'm alive because I was saved; I was given the SOLDIER treatment. Not because of you"

"My child, what do you think that treatment is?"

Meia's eyes went wide. What did it mean?

"I see realization dawns…" It took another step forwards, forcing Meia to do the same, "Your alive because of me. And now I want you to return the favour by serving me"

"I refuse" Meia stated defiantly, ever struggling to back away from this thing. But she could not; her limbs were tied to it like a puppet to a master…

"Meia…look at you, you can't refuse my influence even now. You step towards me like an obedient servant, you can't fight me. I can control anything that has my presence within them…except one"

Meia was painfully aware that by now, their bodies were close. Closer than she ever cared to be. The creature was tall, powerful. Her personal presence made the air tingle as if it were charged with static…

"I used to be able to influence him. When he was a boy…but as he grew, he became strong and I knew I had to break him down slowly. But then you came, just when I was starting to make progress…you showed up" It continued to speak to her in a low metallic voice, by now its body was almost touching Meia, "You made him remember this disgusting field, this pathetic town full of these pathetic people" These words were spat, like venom from a snakes mouth, "It seems this planet still hopes to stop me. Fate…guiding that insignificant little necklace to fall from your tiny human neck…no, not human…worse…just like them…"

Meia swallowed heavily as the creature bent down low and caressed her cheek with a cold, almost scaly hand. She looked into its eyes and her stomach lurched. The pupils…were slits…

Sephiroth continued to watch Meia as she took calculated steps forward. But her body was clearly trying to fight them. He had tried calling her, tried touching her…but despite feeling her warm skin beneath his fingertips she didn't stir to his touch. He heard her speaking, asking questions to thin air and visibly, she was repulsed by whatever was in front of her. Now her head was tilted up with a look of fright on her face. His eyebrows tightened in concern. What was happening to her? He stood behind her and tried to pull her back, his hands on her waist. But she wouldn't move. There was no give at all. Like he was trying to move a statue.

"Meia…what's happening to you?"

Meia felt the breeze around her waist, a soft caress over her head but still, she could not pull away from this entity. It bent even closer to her, its icy lips brushing hers as it spoke,

"He's here now…" It rasped, "Trying to help you…he can't. No one can. I will have you and once you are under my control…he will be too…"

"He…Sephiroth?" Meia choked, she was repulsed by the proximity of this thing, whose lips twisted into a wide smile as its reply, "What are you…" Meia repeated.

"I am Jenova, my child"

"Jenova…" Meia gasped, "No…you can't be, Sephiroth's…? But…you're not human, you can't be!"

"I may as well be. His mother died after she'd bore him. A pathetic, weak human being who couldn't bring herself to face life anymore. I've watched him, nurtured him from afar…I am the source of his power…"

"That doesn't qualify you; he isn't a puppet for you to play with"

"But he is. Science has made him so. Science even made you my puppet, Meia, and now I will take you to be mine and you will no longer shield him from my influence"

"Shield him? I protect him…?"

"Hard to believe but yes, because of what you are woman, and because of what the Shinra has made you into. I can't touch him while you're around. And if you are not, he recalls this wretched memory as a barrier…"

Meia squirmed; she had no desire to be held here by this creature anymore. She ignored it, everything it said from now on she blocked out; focusing only on breaking the hold it had over her. If what it said were true, everything was in danger. Sephiroth on his own was powerful enough to cause chaos. He was a bridled weapon, restrained only by his own sense of sanity and intelligence. But if he chose too, or was forced to…he could destroy everything. She hated thinking of him like this, but it was true. All SOLDIER's were the same, even her…

She fought to push back, away from Jenova, away from its deadly influence. The parts of her begging to give in were caged deep within once more and Meia brought them under control. Then she felt it. Warmth, human contact on her waist. She focused on it, tuned into it. The sensation extended up her back, something was pressed there. Something she knew. Meia scowled at Jenova in triumphant defiance,

"You will never control me. You will never control him. I don't know what you want, but you will never achieve it" She growled at her captor, relishing the look of shock that spread over its face when it realised it could no longer restrain her. Gradually Meia stepped back, away from the alien, away from its cold clammy skin and stale dry breath. Away from its icy lips. The warmth she felt on her back never left her and it gave her strength.

And then, with a twisted scream that contorted Jenova's features into a hideous mask of fury, she was gone. The air was still and calm now. The wind no longer stirred and everything was quiet. Meia looked around; although the absence of Jenova was a relief, she couldn't help but feel she wasn't done here yet. Sure enough, where Jenova once stood appeared a brilliant white figure, and another and another. Meia was puzzled and simply stared…

"Meia, your safe now"

She continued staring. Safe wasn't exactly what she had in mind although she defiantly acknowledged the improvement, "Am I?"

"You must have questions…"

"You have no idea…" She replied, shaking her head, "Where am I? Would be a good place to start"

"You are in the lifestream"

"So I'm dead, then…"

"No, Meia. We are sustaining your life. Sephiroth's too"

Meia tilted her head and nodded, "Ok, who are you?"

"We are the voice of the planet. Once, we were a proud peace loving race, but that was what caused our downfall…we welcomed the alien, the calamity…Jenova, with open arms. But her only intent was to destroy us and claim this planet as hers" The voiced replied. Their collective tone changed into a sad lament,

"How did you stop her?" Meia asked, folding her arms about her waist and noticing the warmth beneath her hands…

"The few of us that remained true to the planet sacrificed ourselves to seal Jenova deep beneath the planet's surface, where she lay dormant"

"And now she's back, and she wants Sephiroth…why?"

"She seeks to control him, she desires his power…" The scene before Meia changed and an image of burning, raging flames appeared, "His mother…had this vision while she carried him in her womb and we knew that Jenova must not be allowed to influence him" Meia gasped as a figure walked towards her through the flames…Sephiroth. His expression was dark and terrifying. Betrayal, rage…hatred. She saw all of these distorting his beautiful face into that of a demon's. She swallowed down the hard lump in her throat as he passed through her and dissipated, along with the inferno,

"We confess, Meia, that it is no mere co-incidence you two met. No mere co-incidence that against all odds, you found one another again. You both have parts to play in what is to come…" The voice stated, fading slightly. Meia realised and called out,

"No, wait! You can't go…I still have questions, what am I? Jenova referred to me as 'one of them' what did it mean?"

But the voices didn't respond to her question, merely offering a final line before the white figures faded entirely,

Protect each other…

Sephiroth listened to Meia's one sided conversation, his arms gently wrapped around her waist, his body pressed close to hers. He didn't understand everything that she said, how could he when he couldn't hear the other side? But he knew that she was fighting hard against something, fighting for herself and for him. She was as confused as he was yet she still fought. No one had ever fought on his behalf before. He had no need for someone to do such a thing. Not physically, at least. And was convinced that at Shinra, where he was bred and trained to fight, emotions and feelings weren't important enough to protect. The only man that had ever treated him as a boy, a child, vanished and left him in the cold grey world of Midgar.

He decided not to think about what Meia had said, how she had reacted, when she obviously heard the word 'Jenova' He would ask her about it when he could. If they ever woke up. He heard Meia ask someone if they were dead and he presumed from her quick acceptance at the answer that it wasn't the case. So where were they? Drifting through the planet, he could only assume…

"You're there…aren't you?"

Sephiroth looked down at the soft black hair against his collarbone in mild shock, she could sense him?

"I…can feel you" She continued, "Thank you for saving me, I promise…I'll stay away from pools of green liquid from now on"

He couldn't help but smile. Still she retained her sense of humor, faced with uncertainty…

"I don't know why I can't see you, perhaps…this isn't my memory and I'm trespassing. But…we'll wake up soon, I'm sure of it" She tilted her head up and watched the clouds drift by. Sephiroth felt her hands resting gently on his, her soft feathery hair tickling his chest and he looked up also. The cocoon was returning to normal, his peace was coming back, and with it, Meia began to fade. He sighed and watched her step away into the breeze, dissipating like spring petals before his eyes. He laid himself in the long sweet grass, closed his eyes and waited.

The orange sun sat low on the horizon, bathing the sky in a fiery red glow. Rising against it were the mountains that formed the southern extension of the range Mt Nibel was a part of. On the coast, a small village had settled, specializing in breeding and selling the finest shellfish from the shallow waters of the sea. For some reason, they grew big and tasty there and had put the town on the map. Just about…

A young couple walked their dog on the sands of the nearby bay. Its long hair was hopelessly knotted and tangled from the seawater it had been playing in. Its owners walked hand in hand some way behind its enthusiastic escapades, laughing and chatting about this and that. They looked up as the dogs bark sounded, alerting them to something it found on the sand. They couldn't quite make it out and they hurried closer. Two people, washed up on the beach. The woman gasped, holding her hands to her mouth. Two corpses probably. Perhaps trying to steal some shell fish?

The man ventured forward; a larger figure appeared to be clutching a smaller one close to its chest. Long silver hair cascaded and tumbled all around them in a mess of tangles and knots. Despite his partner's protests, the man placed a hand on a rather large pauldron and tugged. Like the sleeping limp form of a child, the figure yielded easily to his pull and tipped over to lie on its back, the small figure falling loose as a result. Shakily, the man brushed aside the sodden silver hair from the face of the person lying in the sand…

"Jeeze, this is…I don't believe it, Jane! Run and get help quickly!"

The woman nodded and began to run back to the town, her dog in loyal pursuit. As the man peered at Sephiroth's still face he was given a fright when he suddenly convulsed. A deep, retching cough expelled two lungs worth of green fluid and he rolled to his side to get rid of the rest. The man had fallen on his backside and stared in shock. Finally, Sephiroth sucked in an enormous breath of fresh air and fell onto his back once more. He brought his palm to rest on his forehead and stared up at the orange sky. He was alive. His head was thundering with a savage headache and he tried to push it aside, but he felt his body shutting down again, probably trying to induce a state of rest to begin healing…

Meia…where was Meia?

He sat up, too fast for his vision faltered and he almost blacked out. But he willed himself to stay awake, forced his body to do as he commanded and gradually it did, but with great protest… He found her, curled up and face down in the sand next to him. Gently he lifted her shoulder and shook it, until she too expelled the lifestream in her chest. She coughed and hacked, fighting for air, her hands clawed at the sand beneath her fingertips with the strain. Sephiroth rolled her onto her back and managed to see, before he gave in to rest, her unconscious smile.

Uwaaah! Creepy cow! *beats Jenova with a stick* And I don't envy Sephiroth when he realises whats happened to his precious head of hair...

Next chapter - As two old friends rush to find their fallen comerades, Sephiroth tries to make sense of what happened in the lifestream. And will his beloved student regain consciousness?

Please leave a reveiw if you have a spare moment, I enjoy receiving feedback :)