Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: I have finals coming up and I will try to get the next chapter done but I have had the same headache for the last week and it is very difficult to look at a computer screen right now. If I did not get back to you after PMing me or reviewing, I sincerely apologize.

Reviews, critiques and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I use good constructive criticism to help my writing improve and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination.

Thanks to my before posting beta Queen of Jokers and my after posting beta SubZeroChimera!

"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us." –Thomas Paine

Chapter 68

Tifa sat next to Zack and they still seemed to be sleeping. Aerith opened the door and Vincent, Barret and Red stood outside the door and they all waited for something to happen. Barret and Vincent moved into the room. Tifa felt compelled to move over to Cloud and she sat on the side of the bed and gently took his cold, flaccid hand in hers.

"Whatever it was that wouldn't let my prayers be heard before, seems to have stopped," Aerith closed her eyes.

Sephiroth opened his eyes, sat up and when he looked around the room, Tifa screamed. Barret got in front of Aerith to block her from Sephiroth.

Sephiroth looked over at Tifa and his eyes were ablaze in an emerald storm. A sinister smile crept across his face just before he jumped over Cloud, knocked Tifa over on to Zack's bed and went for Aerith. Barret pointed his gun arm at him, "Don't think so dickhead!" He fired a shot and it didn't hit its mark, but instead hit the wall above Cloud. The wood from the headboard splintered and showered down on Cloud's face and head.

As Sephiroth ducked under the shot and twirled in a crouch around behind him and grabbed Aerith's arm. He gracefully moved backward and with a swift fluid motion, he reached under the bed and grabbed Masamune. Holding Aerith's wrist with his right hand, he held Barret, Vincent and Red back at the tip of his sword. Vincent moved in front of Harding.

Sephiroth's eyes burned furiously and he pulled Aerith roughly to him and looked up at Barret, "You can't stop us, so just save yourself now before I kill you slowly and in an extremely painful way. Jade will want this ancient, so she belongs to us now." His empty smile stayed steady and Barret shivered but held his aim at Sephiroth's head. Vincent stood with Cerberus pointed at Sephiroth's heart, ready to defend the others in the room.

Tifa screamed again and tried to run behind Barret but Cloud held a hand full of her hair and yanked her back. Tifa fell back on her butt and reached up trying to pull Cloud's fingers from her hair. The jade fire that burned in his eyes scanned the room and then down at Tifa. He laughed at her struggles and then pulled up on her hair causing another scream from her. She tried to get to her feet and Cloud looked down at her, "Here, let me help you." He yanked up harder and she let go of the hands around her hair and pushed herself up with help from the side of the bed.

Letting go, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. A smile crossed his face and then he looked at Sephiroth, "I like this," He took a deep breath, "Freedom finally." Vincent moved his aim for Cloud's head and the blond boldly waved his finger at him and said, "No, no, no. You wouldn't want her to get hurt would you?" Indicating the struggling woman in his arm. Cloud looked over at Zack and asked Sephiroth, "Nothing yet?"

Sephiroth's smile disappeared, "No, we can just take him with us. I get the feeling that they are not going to let us go without us having to kill them." Sephiroth's smile returned, "Not that I wouldn't mind feeling their blood on my face, or running my fingers through their still warm entrails."

"Well as soon as Jade gets here, we can leave," Cloud loosened his grip of Tifa a small amount.

When the blond shifted, she seized the opportunity to squirm and elbow Cloud in the ribs, "Just give it up and let Cloud and Sephiroth go!"

Sephiroth and Cloud laughed and looked at each other with a tilted head then Cloud spoke, "Ohhh, sweetheart," He sniffed her hair again, "They are long gone now. We won't have to worry about them anymore." Cloud's free hand went back to her hair, petting her softly.

"You will not be leaving with Aerith, Tifa or Zack," Vincent stated calmly.

"The ancient is mine!" Aerith tried pulling away, but Sephiroth held her tighter. A snap in Aerith's wrist caused her to scream out. Sephiroth looked at Cloud and then at Aerith, he laughed, "Oops."

Cloud turned to Vincent, "We will leave with whoever we please and we want the ancient."

"I don't think so!" Zack stood behind Cloud with his Buster sword pointed at the back of Cloud's neck.

Sephiroth turned quick and released Aerith in his surprise. Red nudged her out the door to Yuffie and surprised by Zack's claim, Sephiroth yelled, "What? No!"

"That's right bitch, you just thought it was my time!" Zack reached out and grabbed Tifa's arm and yanked her out of Cloud's grasp. Getting pulled across the bed and landing at Zack's feet, she stood up and fought the tears.

Sephiroth pushed forward with Cloud close behind him, they inched their way to the door and Yuffie yelled from outside, "What is that?"

Red and Tifa glanced outside and a woman with long hair and wings walking toward them. Cid ran for the group, "What the hell is she?" Cid slid to a stop. He held his lance out in front of him.

Gun fire rang out in the room as Cloud grabbed his sword. Vincent got Cloud in the shoulder and Sephiroth rushed to his aid.

Cloud looked at Zack, "Why?" Cloud's eyes almost looked like the real Cloud for a second, "You know, you don't have to be alone anymore," A glint of fire rose in his eyes and a smirk followed it up, "Your thoughts and feelings will rule you soon enough. When it does, we will reunite."

Zack held Tifa behind him, "Go find some other sucker!"

Sephiroth continued to hold Cloud's shoulder and they walked out of the room with small steps. Once they made it outside, Jade stood there with her arms open, "Do not worry," Her eyes found Zack and then she spoke to Sephiroth and Cloud, "He will be with us soon enough." She looked back toward Zack, "We will fill with sadness until you come to your senses." Then she looked at Sephiroth and Cloud and put her hands gently on their faces, "Fathers, come, we have much to do," Her wings spread out and she put her hands on their chests and she looked up to the sky. Sephiroth and Cloud screamed out and doubled over, "Now, you are ready. Let's go."

Sephiroth and Cloud had lumps form on their backs underneath their shirts. Sephiroth turned to Cloud and pulled the shirt, careful with his shoulder, off of him. Cloud stretched his arms and winced with a groan at the pain in his shoulder. The lumps on his back quickly became wings. Sephiroth pulled his own shirt off and the wings grew quickly; Sephiroth had beautiful midnight black wings that shimmered in the dimming sunlight. Cloud's wings were solid silver in color; they had a polished satiny appearance that gleamed brightly. Both sets of wings were impressive and stunning and frightening.

Cloud's elegant wings wrapped around him and he cried out as he fell to one knee. Sephiroth glanced at him, "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm fine."

Sephiroth took Cloud's hand, and together, the three of them flew off to the north.

Everyone stood there with their mouths agape. Tifa took Zack's hand and buried her face in his bare chest. She was unable to hold her tears back any longer. Yuffie cradled Aerith and helped her stand up and went back in the room. Vincent and Barret watched Zack closely as he guided Tifa back into the room. Red nudged Harding into the room, quickly followed by Cid, Barret stayed by the open door, keeping watch.

Yuffie sat Aerith on the bed and Tifa sat next to her with her arms around her. They both cried quietly and Zack could see the anguish in both women. There was an understanding of their pain, watching the men that they loved turn into what Hojo wanted from the beginning.

Zack propped his sword up against the wall and sat on the other bed and his hands went to his head and through his hair. He sighed, but said nothing.

Cid broke the silence, "Alright mister pizza painter, you wanna tell me what the hell just happened? That winged bitch just tore through my house."

Zack looked up and everyone was staring at him, "I really don't… I…"

Harding spoke quietly from the table in which he sat, "It was what Hojo had planned from the start."

Barret slammed his fist on the table startling Harding, "You mean to tell me that you let this happen?" Barret leaned down into his face, "Harding, you've reached a whole new level of stupid!"

Harding stood slowly, "I didn't know!"

Barret bowed up in his face, "The hell you did! You worked for that bastard scientist. You helped him with making her!"

Harding shook his head, "No! I was there because I was trying to help the resistance. To help you!" Tears of self-loathing welled up in his eyes.

Barret grit his teeth and spoke slowly to everyone in the room, but kept his eyes on Harding, "I say we give his dead body back to Hojo and let him run his little experiments!"

"Barret that's enough!" Tifa touched his arm.

Barret jerked away from her and continued berating Harding, "You helped make the bitch, helped inflict pain, tear up the planet and then gave Cloud and Sephiroth to the very person that they had to avoid!"

A booming voice roared over Barret's loud rant, "Barret! Enough! He didn't know and neither did I." Zack stood with his fists tight and his fingers dug into his palms, "You don't know," He lowered his voice to barely a whisper, his jaws clenched and he gnashed his teeth together, "You just don't know what we… The things we… I saw… I…" Zack tried to hide his urge to retch right there, getting to the bathroom, he shut the door.

When Zack eventually came out of the bathroom, everyone had left except for Aerith. Harding had wrapped her wrist thoroughly and she held it next to her stomach. Zack looked around nervously, feeling a little self-conscious from being in just his boxers, but he didn't know where his clothes were.

Aerith's deep green eyes were questioning everything. She looked at him, expecting, needing him to tell her what she should do. Zack stood there and waited for her to say something, anything would be better than the silence. He never was very good with silence.

"Zack?" She motioned for him to sit next to her on the bed, "Please tell me…"

Zack sat down and she moved closer to him. Resting her head on his shoulder he cut his eyes at her and curtly asked, "Tell you what?"

She raised her face to him, "What happened? Something terrible happened," Zack couldn't hold back his tears; he turned his face away from her. She reached up and grabbed his face and forced him to face her, "Zack, what is it?" She wiped the tears from his face softly with her fingers.

His voice sounded far away, "I… saw them… I can't do this Aerith."

"Zack, what did you see?" She continued to hold his face from moving away from her.

Zack closed his eyes and said in a whisper, "I saw them die, after Jenova... did..." The tears stung and dripped to his chest in a wet reminder of his lost friends and his last thoughts of them. Why could he never keep anything from her? All she ever had to do was ask and he would do whatever she wanted.

Aerith began to cry and threw herself into his arms, "I am so sorry Zack. Please, I'm sorry but I had to know."

Zack's arms wrapped around her and he furrowed his eyebrows, "Had to know what?"

Aerith took a deep breath and sighed, "I was hoping that they, you, didn't suffer too much, but I guess that was too much to ask for." Aerith looked up into his face. Zack could see her eyes, pained and suffering in a way that only he could understand. The deep-seated anger and pain of the loss, rooted down deep and it wouldn't come out easily. Aerith's uninjured hand went to his face and she touched his face with her fingertips. The softness of it made a shudder of longing ripple down his body.

Her hand went to his hair and running her fingers through his hair he closed his eyes again. He whispered, "Aerith, we can't let this happen again, it was a mistake before," When he felt her lips on his, he inhaled sharply and pressed into her lips more. He relaxed and supposed that Sephiroth hadn't gotten the memory or it got jumbled with a lot of other things.

Pulling away, her face fell into sadness, "I don't think any of it was a mistake and I-I am sorry for everything," She lay next to him, "I am happy that you're here now, but... but I want Seph back."

His arm wrapped around her shoulders and her head rested on his still bare chest, "I do too, just go to sleep, I'll figure something out." Even though he was holding her and knowing that she longed for Sephiroth, it broke his heart. Wanting to grab her, shake her and yell until she wanted him and only him, he instead listened to the pattern of her breathing.

Aerith finally fell asleep as the sun was rising and Zack got up and sank in the chair at the table as he watched her sleep. Aerith always seemed to know what he needed. Always having a calming effect on him, she sensed that he needed the kiss to reassure him, he needed to think clear and make a plan of attack. The kiss brought a clearing wind that blew away the devastating fog that covered him. Now, he had to concentrate on keeping his sanity and trying to get his friends back.

The door opened quietly and Zack turned to see Tifa. Her eyes were also in a painful whirlpool of dread and mourning. He stood up and she wrapped herself around him. Waiting for the question that he knew she wanted to ask, he braced himself.

"Zack? What happened?"

Zack inhaled and sighed quietly, "Tifa, what do you want to hear?"

Tifa stood back and looked questioningly at him, "The truth."

Zack shook his head, "I don't think it would help you."

Tifa stood her ground and asked defiantly, "All three of you went through hell didn't you?" Zack couldn't bring himself to say it again, so his sad gaze answered her question. She sniffed her tears back, "Did he suffer?" Zack's ability to hold on to his emotions at that moment betrayed him. The last picture of his friend was cut open, bloody and dead. When his tears surged and fell, Tifa shook her head and fell to the floor and she lost all control of herself. Getting down on the floor, he held her while she let loose of her pain.

Once she was able to pull herself together, he stood up with her and rubbed her arm, "His last thoughts were of you."

She stepped back from him and her chest heaved with a sob, her eyes flinched and then a she burst forward and hit him in his chest, "Why? Why him?" Tifa pushed him backward, "He's not gone! He can't be gone!" Aerith woke up at Tifa's anguished tirade. Zack stood solid and took the beating in stride.

Zack wanted to know why not him too. His heart hurt, he didn't think that anything could hurt worse. Aerith got up and pulled Tifa from him, "Tifa! Stop! This won't bring him back!"

Tifa turned on her and screamed, "What are you saying? He's not dead, he'll be back! He promised me!"

Aerith grabbed Zack's arm, "Zack, say something to her!"

Zack dropped his shoulders, "What do you want me to say Aerith?" Raising his face to her, he suddenly felt angry, "You want me to tell her that everything is fine? That I didn't see them both suffer horribly. That we all didn't suffer horribly before they died!" Changing his tone from anger, the sadness dripped from his words, "I saw how Jenova took them! How she tried to take me!" His back turned and he leaned on the table for support, "It's not over though. I will end this."

Tifa asked in a quiet shrinking voice, "I just want Cloud back, please."

A/N 2: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."

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