Wow, thank you reviewers! You guys are so nice! I really should learn to relax when I read the reviews because each time I do I feel like fainting due to lack of oxygen. Yeah I am in need of serious therapy.And I want to thank cookiekitten for reminding me that some characters could still be alive such as Red XIII. Hmm would Vincent be alive too? Well, in the meantime here is the new chapter. Oh and the characters might seem to be OOC but this is sort of how I picture Aeris and Seph. Oh and it's mostly dialogue, it felt like a good time to start explaining some things.

"I changed my mind," said a groveling Aeris as she attempted to hug the ground. "I am afraid of heights. Terrified in fact."

Sephiroth didn't doubt her because the feeling in his back had yet to return. She had practically cut off the blood circulation around his waist thanks to her death grip. Who would have thought that such thin arms could wield such strength? He had actually been worried she'd crush his bones in mid air.

Now that Sephiroth had the time to analyze the situation, he realized just how stuck he truly was with her. Aeris couldn't go back to Kalm because they thought she was a criminal and the very people he needed to protect her from had practically destroyed an entire town to find her. He glanced down at the kneeling Cetra who was currently poking a flower and cringed at the sight. This was going to be hell, he thought.

Sephiroth continued to look at Aeris, taking in every detail just like his strict training had taught him. Her clothes were ruined and stained, her hair was matted and he could even see several leafs and twigs stuck in the mass of brown curls. The General's eyes expertly roamed over the several cuts and bruises on her exposed skin finally deciding that they were but minor discomforts and not harmful to her health.

Sephiroth rested on her face and noted how her usually vibrant eyes looked dull and lifeless. Even her complexion was paler than usual. The stress of the situation seemed to be pulling her down rather quickly.

Aeris meanwhile was too busy appreciating the fact that she was on solid ground to notice Sephiroth's scrutiny. Her mind didn't even register the aches from her joints as she kept thinking about what she had witnessed.

"Who were they?" she suddenly asked out loud.

Sephiroth's lip corner curved upwards, whether in amusement or irritation Aeris couldn't guess but she didn't care. She just desperately wanted answers and if that meant making a deal this demon then she would do so. Living in ignorance was no longer an option if she wanted to survive.

Putting his hands behind his back, the dark man approached the much smaller woman and looked down on her. Aeris was beginning to feel that he liked doing that to make her feel inferior. Well she wasn't about to give him that satisfaction so she stared straight into his eyes, even though she had to tilt her neck at an uncomfortable angle.

"They," he answered smoothly. "Were the ones who are trying to kill you and who you must somehow eliminate."

He waited to see the impact of his words and was a little satisfied to see her eyes widen.

Aeris opened her mouth to ask a question but Sephiroth silenced her with one raised hand. Putting his arm behind his back once more, he continued his explanation.

"Now, you can understand my disbelief and cynicism. I hardly believe that you can take on and ultimately destroy such a powerful organization."

"Wait," Aeris interjected. She got herself up from the ground to make it easier to talk to the annoyingly tall man in front of her. "I thought Shinra had been destroyed, eliminated, eradicated and so on."

Sephiroth's right eyebrow arched upward rather elegantly as he replied calmly,

"Who said anything about Shinra?"

Aeris cocked her head sideways, her curiosity now fully alert.

"Well if it isn't Shinra, than who?"

"They call themselves the Cult of the Seraphim." (author moment: ok I couldn't resist using the title in the story. I know it's tacky but it had to be done. Throw tomatoes at me later!)

"The Cult of the Seraphim," echoed Aeris blankly. "They're a cult? But why are they such a danger to the Planet?"

"This is where it gets a little more complicated. They can steal people's souls. In fact they've gotten so greedy for power that they have decided to steal the Planet's very own spirit," came Sephiroth's composed reply as if it the Planet's demise barely concerned him.

Aeris on the other hand, was trying to keep herself from screaming her questions. Unconsciously she grabbed a corner of her ripped cloak and started twisting it in her hands trying to relieve some of the tension she felt. So this is why she had been brought back.

Well at least she now had a concrete enemy, she just had to figure out a way to stop them.

That was probably Sephiroth's role in all of this then. Her mind was racing, but she couldn't come to anything that would make her feel better.

"But can they do that? I mean steal the Planet's soul. I'm not even sure she has a soul, after all she's "the" Planet, the one who collects souls and brings them back to life," Aeris stated meekly, more to herself than to Sephiroth. He, however, decided to answer her musing.

"Aeris," he snapped at her. She was momentarily stunned that he said her name. Aeris found it unsettling and a little weird coming from him. "Every living being has a soul. Hell even I have a soul and I'm pretty much the closest thing to pure evil there is so why shouldn't the Planet have one? After all she is a living being and you do talk to her, well you used to anyway."

Sephiroth had wondered from the beginning if she could still contact the Planet in this era but judging from the way her head dropped, he had deduced right. Aeris could no longer feel the Planet and that wasn't a good sign. Could the Seraphim actually succeed in their mission to take the soul of such a powerful being? He was beginning to doubt he was on the winning side.

Aeris's lower lip trembled as she tried to control her sorrow. It annoyed her so much that she cried easily but she couldn't help it, she had always been this way. The Planet had usually consoled her but she wasn't here anymore and that thought made her even more depressed.

The dark General stared in horror at the sniffling girl in front of him and wondered what to do. This had not been in the contract he fiercely cursed the silent Planet.

Why him? All he wanted was a grave and even that seemed too much to ask for. But he wasn't exactly immortal either. Sure he couldn't die, but the Planet had made sure he could get hurt and stay wounded until time or materia healed him. There simply was no easy way out for him.

"So what does it mean?" Aeris asked keeping her head lowered. "Is the Planet dying?"

Sephiroth decided to look above her head at a point behind her to avoid watching the tears.

"Who knows really? I don't believe anyone in history has ever attempted to destroy the Planet this way."

"You mean like the way you tried to destroy it with a summon materia?" came Aeris's unexpected scathing reply.

Ah anger. Sephiroth could deal with that emotion.

"Exactly. The Meteor summon is like the traditional way to destroy the Planet."

Aeris jerked her head upward, surprised at his somewhat sarcastic remark. Sephiroth meanwhile continued talking still starring at a fixed spot behind Aeris, which at that point had become a very interesting tree.

"No, the Planet is just very weak from whatever the Seraphim have done so far. There is still time to do something," I think, added Sephiroth to himself.

"So YOU are going to help me?" asked a bewildered Aeris. That point had still not sunk in completely but it was beginning to.

His mako eyes finally turned to her face and he was relieved to see her back to normal.

"Well of course I am going to help you," he said irritably. "I can't die unless I do so. Besides do you actually think you could succeed without me?"

Before Aeris could reply, Sephiroth had turned around and grabbed his backpack. Without looking back to see if Aeris was following him, he began walking in the opposite direction. If things are going to be done, they were going to be done his way. Sephiroth was not going to take orders from anyone and he was going to make sure Aeris knew who was in charge.

Aeris noticed he was leaving without her and he wasn't even slowing his speed to wait for her. What an arrogant spawn of Jenova that man was! He thought she would just go after him blindly?

But she took a look around and suddenly the shadows in the trees all seemed to be deadly monsters. And once again she didn't have a weapon of any kind. When would she learn? Suddenly following Sephiroth didn't seem so bad.

'Hey wait up!" Aeris yelled as she picked up her pace to catch up.

If she could have seen the man's face, Aeris would have seen a ghost of a smile cross his lips. Once she was walking beside him, his face once again held it's usual impassive façade.

They only walked a few minutes before they reached the rich, grassy fields that led to Junon.

"This looks like a good spot," said the silver-haired man. "Come here."

He reached out to grab Aeris by the waist, but she was quicker.

"What do you think you are doing?" she screeched as she jumped back.

Sephiroth narrowed his fluorescent green eyes at her reaction.

"We need to get to Cosmo Canyon, which if you remember is on the other side of the ocean."

Finally it dawned on her and she almost fainted.

"You want to fly there? There is no way, absolutely no way that I am doing that again. I would rather die," Aeris exclaimed furiously, her hands moving energetically around.

"Don't tempt me little girl," Sephiroth growled under his breath. He was willing to get his ribs crushed by her grip in order to save time crossing the distance and here she was refusing. If only he could kill her.

As if reading his mind, Aeris suddenly smiled whole-heartedly. Tapping her chin with her index finger, she said,

"That's right, you can't kill me otherwise you, er... won't be able to die." That sounded so sad to her ears.

Sephiroth was now flexing his gloved hands as if getting ready to punch something. The little cracks of his knuckles made Aeris shiver. She lost some of her bravado at the realization that he may be able to hit her.

He could see her fear. Her pupils shrunk to mere pinpoint and her cheeks lost their rosy hue. He could even hear her quick breathing as she became nervous.

Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest and said, "I wont attack you unless you really anger me." Aeris let out an audible gulp but he continued. "So if you don't want to go there by flight, how do you suggest we get there?"

Aeris looked at him like he was dumb.

"By ship of course."

The General rolled his eyes at how clueless she was.

"That would take us at least a week to get there. Ships don't work on mako energy anymore, now they only work with wind."

Aeris mimicked Sephiroth's pose and crossed her arms over her chest.

'Well I am not flying again. So it's either the sailing ship at Junon port or we find a wild blue chocobo. Your choice."

So they stood there, each trying to stare down the other in a pure battle of wills. Sephiroth kept narrowing his eyes while Aeris kept lifting her chin in defiance. Finally a bloodcurdling scream pierced the tense silence causing the duo to break eye contact and look in its direction.

Looking sideways at the small woman, Sephiroth said, "Fine we'll take the damn ship but we have to be quick because they are close."

Aeris didn't have to be told twice who they were as she immediately began running towards Junon. But she suddenly stopped. Sephiroth stopped too and looked at the brunette quizzically.

"We can't go there, they will destroy the city just like they did Kalm if they think I am there."

She didn't want to be the reason for another attack on innocent civilians. Just thinking about the gruesome scenes she had witnessed in Kalm made her sick. Aeris wouldn't be able to handle it if the Seraphim butchered people because of her again.

Sephiroth had almost forgotten about her legendary goodness. Looking down at her tired but determined face, he realized that he would not be able to talk her into it.

Without a second thought he reached behind his back and pulled out Masamune. He then reached into his black trench coat and took a small bag from inside one of the pockets and threw it at Aeris's feet. Sephiroth at last turned and walked coolly towards where the sound had originated.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Aeris asked frantically.

Without turning around, he answered, "I am going to try to delay them as much as I can. You, get on the earliest ship destined for Costa Del Sol and I'll meet you there. Now stop wasting time and run."

Aeris stared for a while at Sephiroth's retreating form, his silver hair moving with each step he took. Once again she was reminded of how angelic he looked but the long sword in his hand minimized that effect. That and he was on his way to slaughter people. They might be the enemy but Aeris couldn't suppress the guilt that rose at the loss of life.

Shaking her head, she bent down to pick up the little bag and was stunned to find gil inside. Sephiroth had given her money? Things were just too weird.

Well no time like the present to run like hell she told herself. Clutching the small bag in her hand, she ran towards Junon only stopping a few times to catch her breath. Junon had seemed to be so close when she had Earl. She wondered what happened to her green chocobo. The optimistic part of her hoped he was free and grazing in a grassy valley safe and sound. Aeris decided to ignore the pessimistic voice.

At long last, she saw the large gates of Junon. The wary girl passed through them hoping no one would ask her for any papers. Only when she was inside and amongst the many citizens did she relax her stiff spine.

Now all she had to do was find a boat for Costa Del Sol. As she passed by, some people gave her weird looks, probably because she looked like she had slept in a forest. Aeris decided to put on her hood to hide her face just in case.

She reached the western part of the city where the ocean met the land and went to the booking office for information. There she learned that there were no ships leaving for Costa Del Sol for at least three days, much too long for her because she needed to be off of this continent by nightfall.

But there was a ship leaving in half an hour bound for Palon. Aeris had never heard of such a town but bought a ticket anyway. The further she was from Kalm and Junon, the better. Palon, she learned, was a small fishing community near the center of the continent, somewhere between Costa Del Sol and Gogaga village. The booking officer had said it was near the Gold Saucer. Aeris had leap for joy at the amusement park's name because she had always loved it. But then the memory of her date with Cloud came flooding back and suddenly the happiest place on the planet didn't look so joyful anymore.

To keep her mind busy she went in search of the ship she was supposed to take, all the while thinking what Sephiroth could be doing at the moment. Probably hacking people to pieces. Aeris shuddered at the thought.

Yeah not much of an ending again but I tried not to make this chapter too long. Reviews? Comments? OH DO BE GENTLE!