Game Sephiroth flew off, Black Materia in hand. Cid kept running around as if that would do any good and Aeris approached Cloud, asking if he was alright.

"Of course he isn't!" Genesis said.

Cloud said he couldn't believe he gave the Black Mateira to Game Sephiroth. He asked Aeris what he'd done.

Kindly, she knelt down and told him to be strong.

He proceeded to utterly panic.

"I still can't really control him," Angeal said, his voice low and very displeased.

Aeris told Cloud it wasn't his fault.

Then… well, the sickening feeling in his gut intensified as Cloud leapt at Aeris and started swinging his fists.

"Is he punching the floor, or…?" Angeal ventured to start. At that point, Sephiroth noticed that younger Cloud was back and separate from his older self.

"Or her?" Genesis finished.

Apparently, the young Cloud could be controlled, but couldn't seem to do anything as Angeal made him run up to his older self (body?) and try to stop him.

Cid jumped down into the pit, yelling and asking what he was doing.

Oh, and apparently another Cait Sith (Cait Sith 2, according to the dialogue) showed up and asked if it was a bad time. Sephiroth thought that question was superfluous at best.

Cid did something and Cloud collapsed again. The screen went white, Cloud (or at least Sephiroth assumed it was Cloud) voiced that observation and then said he didn't remember anything, and, 'If everything's a dream, don't wake me.'

"A dream?" Angeal asked. "What kind of dream?"

"Not a good one," Genesis commented.

Sephiroth felt that was, rather, an understatement.

The screen faded from white into a forested scene with light shining in the background. A song Sephiroth remembered hearing when they'd first met Aeris began to play. She peeked out from behind a tree and asked Cloud if he could hear her.

He said he could (again with the text just appearing across the screen, but it had to be Cloud speaking), then apologized for what happened.

"He'd better apologize," Angeal said darkly.

"It wasn't entirely his fault," Sephiroth said, his voice quiet but steely.

Angeal looked over at him worriedly. "It isn't yours either."

Sephiroth took a silent, but deep breath, then let it out slowly. It helped. "I know. But somebody out there thinks it is."

Several seconds of quiet, and then his larger friend spoke again. "Maybe we should quit for the day, then."

"No," Sephiroth said, checking his PHS. 5:13 am. "We have less than four hours before breakfast ends and I'm sure I am not the only one who needs to prepare for the day. We have approximately three hours to get as far as we can in this game and figure out as much as we can."

He saw Angeal open his mouth, but then close it again and shake his head.

"Very well," he finally said with a sigh and continued on.

Aeris told Cloud not to worry about what had happened. That didn't seem like the best idea to Sephiroth, but this was likely a dream anyway. A dream within a dream? The dream Cloud didn't want to wake up from?

Cloud said he couldn't help it… Couldn't help worrying? Or couldn't help what he'd done?

Aeris walked off behind the tree and disappeared. Then she jumped out from behind another tree on the other side of the screen, much closer. Well, more support for the 'dream' theory. After a few more words of consolation and contemplation, she ran towards the screen and said to let her handle Game Sephiroth.

Genesis burst out laughing.

"Ancient or not, she's a slip of a girl at best! What can she possibly do against Sephiroth?"

On the screen, she started giggling and then faded away, only to walk out from behind yet another tree on the first side, except closer than before. She looked directly at the screen and said:

'And Cloud, you take care of yourself.'

Sephiroth felt his eyes widen. "She's leaving," he said.

"After what happened, I don't blame her," Angeal pointed out. "Even if he didn't mean it, it still happened and she can't trust him."

Just before she disappeared back behind the tree, she leaned backwards and looked back at the screen. 'So don't you have a breakdown, okay?'

'A little late for that, isn't it?" Genesis muttered. Sephiroth didn't agree. What Cloud had gone through… that was horrible. But it wasn't a breakdown. He had a very unpleasant premonition that things would get worse before they got better for Cloud… He had to address that Stress Shock* at some point, or it would just make everything worse when whatever else was wrong with their main character came to light.

Then she and Cloud both floated down from the top of the screen, touching down gently. Cloud looked around, as if he'd never seen the area before.

'What is this place?' he asked.

Aeris responded that it was the Sleeping Forest outside the City of the Ancients. Both of those were in blue text.

"I've heard of that place," Angeal said. "It's up near the Icicle City and Modeoheim."

Sephiroth was a little impressed. He'd only heard of one of those before.

Aeris went on to explain that it was only a matter of time before Game Sephiroth used Meteor and only an Ancient could stop him.

"It looks like that's where we're going next," Angeal said with a frown.

"This girl needs to make up her mind," Genesis said, annoyed. "Does she want to go there herself, or does she want him to follow? Telling him this will allow him to follow, but then what's the point of going off on her own?"

And it seemed Sephiroth was back to agreeing with Genesis again.

It really was just strange. And how often had he thought that recently?

She went on to say she felt that she was being led by something as she turned around and walked towards the light at the back of the screen. She said she'd be going now and she'd come back when it was all over.

When what was all over? How was she going to defeat any version of Sephiroth? She may be an ancient, but she was also unenhanced and a healer, not a fighter.

She still turned and ran off. Cloud called after her and went to run, but seemed to only be able to do so in slow motion… and in place. She just got further and further away until she disappeared.

Then Game Sephiroth interjected, saying that if she was going to interfere, she'll be difficult. He spoke to Cloud as if they were old friends… and considering everything that had happened between them, Sephiroth found that reprehensible.

Then the silver-haired figure floated down and landed where Aeris had just stood.

'We must stop that girl, soon.'

Then the screen flashed white and black again.

The screen faded into a small, homey room with two beds. Cloud lay on one. Barrett and Tifa stood in the room looking at him, apparently waiting for him to wake up. They expressed worry, insinuated that Cloud had been out for a while, and then informed him that Aeris left. No one knew where she was. Cloud told them what Aeris told him. They wanted to go after her. For good reason, in Sephiroth's opinion.

Then Cloud said one of the most sensible things he'd said so far. He didn't want to go after her because he was afraid he might lose control of himself again. It was sensible, and yet…

"He's depressed," Angeal said quietly. "And well on the way to that breakdown Aeris asked him not to have."

So that was depression? Sephiroth wouldn't know. Interesting. Perhaps he'd have to look into it later.

It didn't help that Barrett seemed to blame Cloud for handing the Black Materia over. He went on to say that Cloud had problems, but the ex-SOLDIER didn't even understand himself, even if Cloud had dedicated himself to a course of action, insinuating the blond needed to stick with what he'd started.

Well, that was true, but he was still compromised. Sephiroth wouldn't let him go were he there.

Barrett went on to say that Cloud wasn't alone. Many people didn't know themselves, but they went on because they had to. Then Tifa said she believed in him and both of them left. Cloud still didn't seem to know what to do, but at least Barrett told Tifa to give him time. One of the more thoughtful things he'd said the entire game.

Meanwhile Cloud said he didn't want to find out the truth.

The trio playing the game then found out that Aeris had left all the materia that had been equipped to her. More than a little ridiculous seeing as she was a mage and distance fighter.

Then, seeing as they didn't have anything else to really do, they went outside the hut. Tifa and Barrett were waiting for him.

"Gongaga?" Angeal said, frown returning to his face.

Barrett asked if Cloud was alright, then pointed out that no matter what the blond chose, if he just stayed around the area, he'd only worry. He may as well do something useful. If he went nuts when Game Sephiroth came around, then he went nuts.

"That's a rather blasé attitude," Genesis said, unimpressed.

"He's not wrong, though," Angeal said.

Then Barrett said that if he did go nuts, Barrett would stop him. Slap him up his 'spiky head'. Well, it was a nice sentiment if nothing else.

Tifa supported Barrett and encouraged Cloud and eventually, he decided to go with the group to find Aeris.

"I still don't think that is a good idea," Sephiroth said.

"Agreed," Genesis said, then frowned as if he'd just realized he'd agreed with Sephiroth again. The Silver General couldn't help but smirk a little at that. Well, it was amusing.

They left the city (town?) and found the Tiny Bronco waiting for them. So if Aeris hadn't taken it, how would she get there? By walking? It was also kind of amazing ShinRa or someone else hadn't come along and taken it by now.

Game Insanity.

At least they knew exactly where to go this time and were up in the Northern Crater in only minutes (it would have been shorter had they not been forced to go down south and around the continents to get up there).

(Insanity.)

They went towards what looked like a half-buried, giant skeleton and ended up entering 'Bone Village'.

Sephiroth frowned. He'd been to the bone-digging sight in the game before and in real life. They hadn't made a building out of an ancient skeleton. Not as far as he knew. Why would they do that?

"Do people actually and actively live or work inside of… that?" Genesis asked, gesturing to the screen with a hand.

The Silver General shook his head. "No. Not… yet," he said.

Genesis blinked at him. "You've been there?" Sephiroth nodded. The red-head looked back at the screen. "Does the world go utterly insane in the next five years?"

"It would seem so," Sephiroth said, deadpan.

It took them at least three digs and several minutes to find this Lunar Harp that would get them through the Sleeping Forest. Genesis suggested they just go into the Northern Forest. Angeal reminded him what happened the last time they went into something without preparing beforehand. Sephiroth thought he meant the swamp near the Chocobo farm, but apparently there had been problems with the Corel desert too.

Once they finally found the Lunar Harp (although why anyone would just give something like that to Cloud for a couple hundred gill, he didn't know), they ventured into the Sleeping Forest at the north of the village.

Once they got inside the forest, all three of them tensed because it was the same forest Cloud had seen earlier, when speaking to Aeris.

"It wasn't just a dream, then," Genesis murmured. Sephiroth and Angeal both nodded. The silver-haired man thought it was just likely the game designers reusing the scene to cut the costs of making a new screen, but it was still foreboding.

They had Cloud walk towards the light and into the next area of the forest. Almost as soon as they entered, the screen went dark and the words 'The Sleeping Forest awoke…' appeared. Then something red moved on the side of the screen. Angeal must have seen it too because he walked over to have Cloud examine the area, but just as he did, the red appeared on the other side of the screen.

They spent far too long running around and trying to get what appeared to be a summon materia, but eventually they caught it… and indeed, it turned out to be the Kujata matera.

"I will be heading for the Sleeping Forest as soon as I can get a mission in that direction," Genesis stated.

Angeal rolled his eyes and Sephiroth just sighed. His love of materia, honestly.

Once they got past that part of the forest, they entered what looked to be a rocky valley of some kind, with broken logs fallen over gaps and treasure chests and various new monsters to fight, many of which Sephiroth had personally encountered before. He'd never had problems, but some of his men… those monsters could be nasty.

They came to a ridge of what could be stone or bone steps leading down into an even deeper – and likely settled – valley. After a moment of looking over the scene, they headed down the steps and ended up back on the world map, definitely in a valley (or perhaps, a canyon?) with a strange inverted cone at the end.

Angeal saved the game and then headed to the cone, which was, apparently, the Forgotten City.

They found themselves on the same stone/bone steps as before, heading towards the top of the screen. They followed the path and, almost immediately, came to a fork in the road.

"Which way should I go?" Angeal asked.

No one said anything for a second. Then Genesis shrugged and said, "Left."

"Why?" Sephiroth asked.

"No reason," Genesis replied.

Angeal shrugged and went left. They found what looked like old (if still very intact) houses, holding treasures and a save point. Then they followed the path further into a cave. Inside were verandas, walkways and stairs around a pit. In the center of the pit, a pillar rose with a large bowl shape on top covered in old growth around what looked like a large gem that glowed a bright blue. On the lower walkway, they found an aurora armlet. Quite the find.

They found nothing else in the cave and so went back out onto the path.

Making their way back to the Fork, Angeal stopped again.

"Which way now?" he asked.

"My guess is that the center path leads to our missing party member," Genesis said thoughtfully. "So I would go right. There could be more treasure down that way and it looks like there might be a fight soon."

There did tend to be more treasure and items found before a large fight, Sephiroth mused to himself.

"I agree," he said.

Angeal smiled, as if recognizing an inside joke of some kind, although Sephiroth wasn't sure what it could be. He also didn't really want to ask.

"Right it is," the brunet said, moving Cloud in that direction.

As the character on screen ran along another path, Genesis spoke up. "I must say, I am very impressed with the music in the game so far. It is obvious that the person writing it had little to work with – mainly midi sounds – but they have done a commendable job with what they have. Many of the songs could be truly amazing with some traditional instruments."

"It does set the scene well," Sephiroth agreed.

"Huh," Angeal said, "I didn't really notice, but now that you mention it…"

Genesis grinned. "I will make thespians out of you two yet."

Angeal snorted. Sephiroth just chuckled once and shook his head, although he had to concede that maybe – just maybe – Genesis had a point when it came to the work put into a production. He recalled the segment in the ShinRa building when there had been a distinct silence and how unsettling it had been. While the people who made this seemed to have… problems telling the story they wanted to tell, their presentation of the emotion behind each scene was not one of them.

Genesis was indeed correct that they found more dwellings (made of enormous shells?) and more treasure inside them. They even found a place they could sleep. Useful in replenishing their MP and HP, although Sephiroth did think it a little idiotic for them to take a nap when they had to try and find Aeris before Game Sephiroth did.

Instead of them waking up in their beds, the screen faded back in to Cloud standing away from the beds, saying something about how he can 'feel it'.

"Feel what?" Angeal asked.

"Aeris' presence, perhaps?" Genesis asked.

Sephiroth didn't think so, but he didn't want to speculate on his own suspicions.

Barrett asked what Cloud meant, coming up behind him. Cloud told them that both Game Sephiroth and Aeris were there. Barrett wanted to know where. Tifa wanted to know how he knew. Sephiroth was glad she asked.

Cloud said he could feel it in his soul. Normally, Sephiroth wouldn't give a ridiculous comment like that a second thought, but here…

To their credit, Barrett and Tifa didn't question him. Instead, they insisted they go on as soon as possible to help Aeris.

"So of course they sleep first," Genesis said with a dramatic roll of his eyes.

Sephiroth and Angeal nodded in agreement.

They continued down the path. The game wouldn't let them take one of the next forks they came to, saying something about needing to save Aeris. Apparently she wasn't down that direction. The other leg led back to the cave, except on a higher ledge with a smaller pedestal in the center of an outcropping. Since they couldn't find anything else, it seemed like they would have to go back to the fork in the road.

Before they did so, Genesis insisted everyone have materia and the best weapons and armor available. They didn't know what they'd be facing, but this seemed like it would be the best they could do for now.

"Go back the other way and save it," Genesis suggested.

Angeal nodded and headed back down the left trail and to the save point.

Then they came back and took the center path, ignoring the red-head's comments of how 'predictable' it was.

The path led them through another cave and into a cavern. Light shone through holes at the top and illuminated a large, very spiky shell – even larger than some of the shell dwellings they'd seen before.

Angeal moved Cloud inside and up… where they came to a dead end with a comet materia. Yet another nice find. He quickly equipped it on Tifa and then went back down, looking for something they'd missed.

In the center of the shell appeared to be a relatively small hole with a blue path. They took it down and found Cloud on what appeared to be a floating staircase… made of force-fields or lights?

"What is that made of?" Sephiroth asked.

"The magic of the ancients," Genesis replied intently, eyes fixed on the screen as if he couldn't miss a second.

They followed the staircase down and into what looked like a crystal growth with three towers of varying heights in the middle, Sephiroth also made out some other structures.

They came upon another save point. Somehow, that just made the atmosphere more ominous.

Angeal saved the game, and then they continued down the stairs in front of them. They came to a ledge over water and several pillars sticking out of it, all leading towards what looked like a gazebo of some kind. Definitely a shielded platform. Cloud leapt onto the first one, and the camera panned over to the gazebo and they saw a figure, Aeris, inside and kneeling down. Was she praying?

Barrett walked up to the ledge, but Cloud waved him back.

"Oh, yes. Listen to the one who can be influenced by the crazed madman," Genesis scoffed. "Such a great idea." Then he looked over at Sephiroth. "No offense."

Sephiroth shot him a dry look. "That isn't me," he reminded his friend.

Instead of waving it off nonchalantly again, he looked Sephiroth in the eyes and nodded. "I know."

Sephiroth felt a little weight lift off his chest at that. He nodded once, firmly, and they turned back just in time to see Cloud reach the platform.

"One is captured, one flies away, the one that remains becomes a hero," Genesis said. It was a common line in the Loveless plays, even if it wasn't in the original text itself. "Of course, the hero has to go on alone to prove himself to be the hero," he went on dramatically, raising one hand in front of him, palm up, and placing the fingertips of the other on his chest. Then he snorted and let his hands fall onto his lap. "At least he's acting somewhat like a hero."

"Going off on his own, when he's obviously been compromised, does not seem heroic to me," Sephiroth said, eyes on the screen.

Genesis just hummed in response as Cloud approached Aeris.

The view switched to above and behind the kneeling woman as Cloud approached. Before he even stepped inside the area, though, the blond shook his head and the screen gained a red tint. The music changed to something more ominous.

"It would seem he is already there," the red-head said softly. He didn't need to clarify as to who 'he' was.

Angeal had Cloud walk forward slowly. When the blond reached the center of the circular area, he turned around, bent down and… a sword appeared in his hand.

"Move him away," Sephiroth said, urgently.

Angeal nodded and moved him towards the exit. Then Cloud stopped and turned back towards Aeris.

"Angeal?" Genesis asked.

"It won't move! Forward, backward… it's not moving!" he said, sounding frustrated. On the screen, Cloud seemed to be twitching, and slowly inching forward. He lifted his sword into a ready position.

"Angeal!" Sephiroth said. He didn't know why, but the idea of Cloud killing Aeris – even if they were only polygons on the screen – almost frightened him.

Almost.

"He's still not responding!"

Cloud raised the sword over his head.

"Someone will come in and save her," Genesis said. "They have two other people there, after all."

And indeed, Barrett and Tifa yelled out for him to stop.

Thankfully, he did, backing away quickly and dropping the sword to one side.

'Ugh...What are you making me do?' he asked.

Just then, Aeris looked up from her hands, folded in front of her. It seemed she had been praying after all. Cloud blinked at her. She smiled at him.

The camera panned up.

A figure came crashing down.

Game Sephiroth, his coat flapping in the air as he shot downward, sword held out.

No! Sephiroth thought, and heard Angeal yell the same thing aloud.

To no avail.

The on-screen Masamune thrust down…

Right through Aeris' chest.

xXx

AN: Oh, come on, you knew it was going to end there. *hides away in her bunker anyway*

*Stress Shock – PTSD, aka Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, was, in modern terms, seen from soldiers who had come home from the war and still had serious problems because if it. It was one of many issues soldiers saw, but it was one of the more obvious. In the 1900's, especially after WWII, it was called 'Shell Shock' and no where near as defined as it is today. That being said, my beta and I both agree that it isn't unlikely for them to have a different term for it, and 'Stress Shock' was my favorite term. I doubt ShinRa is doing much about it, seeing as it's ShinRa and wouldn't know a healthy mental state if it came up to them and slapped them up the side of the head, so think of it as the less-defined definition of PTSD, if that makes any sense.

Thank you to Imagination7413 for the beta read!

You can come yell at me on discord: discord dot gg /GPfDYy5ZPa (no spaces, dot =. )