Chapter Fifteen

Tifa gave a tired sigh as she leaned over the bed, gently gripping Cloud's hand. He was still apparently awake, staring up at the ceiling, but he gave no indication of being aware of her. This had been the way it had been for hours, ever since Zack had brought him there. It was exhausting and utterly draining on her, as she imagined it had been for Zack, but she was determined to stay, to keep trying. Cloud had been responsive every now and then to Zack, so maybe . . . hopefully . . . eventually he would respond to her too. She was determined to believe that.

"Oh Cloud," she said softly. "What happened to you? I didn't even know you were at Nibelheim! How could you have been there without me knowing? There was only Sephiroth, Zack, and those Shinra guards. . . ."

She trailed off. One of those guards had never said a word in addition to never taking off his helmet. She had found him so mysterious and had tried to get him to talk, but to no avail. Cloud had always said he had made it into SOLDIER, but . . . he couldn't have got into Nibelheim as a SOLDIER. The only SOLDIERs there had been Sephiroth and Zack. Could it be . . . ?

"Cloud?" She leaned into his face. "Was it you? Were you that guard Sephiroth left to watch over me?"

A blink. A very slow blink, but it was more movement than Cloud had made in hours.

Tifa slumped back. "It was, wasn't it?" It made so much sense. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Cloud gave a weak groan.

That definitely got Tifa's attention. "Cloud?!" She looked back at the open doorway. Should she get Zack? Should she wait a bit longer to see what else might happen, if anything?

Some of her memories had gradually been coming back the more Sephiroth remembered. That made sense too, she supposed, if it was because of whatever he had done that they had all ended up here and forgot the truth to varying extents. Perhaps their amnesia was tied to his. She remembered the reactor now, and some of what had happened when she had tried to guide them up Mt. Nibel to it.

She had thought Sephiroth was so cold. He had been aloof, but . . . going over her returning memories now, he hadn't been unkind. He hadn't wanted to have his picture taken, but he hadn't made a fuss about it and had finally agreed. And he hadn't wanted her to be the one to take them up that steep mountain. In her immature 16-year-old brain, that had probably equated coldness. But he had only been concerned for her safety.

He had been right to be concerned, really. That stupid rope bridge had broke when they had tried to cross it. She had nearly drowned . . . until Sephiroth had saved her.

Her eyes widened. How had she forgotten that? Now she remembered his strong hands on her, lifting her out of the water.

She also remembered him trying so hard to save one of the other Shinra guards. That look on his face when he had failed and the boy had been pulled downstream . . . ! Tifa, Cloud, and Zack had waited for two hours while Sephiroth had desperately searched, trying in vain to find him.

She looked down, blinking back tears. Sephiroth had been such a good person, a kind person. Then Genesis and Jenova had wreaked havoc on his mind, shattering it and leading to him burning down Nibelheim. Tifa had found her father stabbed. She had run into the reactor, determined to take Sephiroth on, only to fall down the stairs, impaled herself.

Had it been Sephiroth or had it been Genesis? She still wasn't even sure now. She had never been positive it was Sephiroth, and even with these returning memories, her attacker was only visible in the shadows.

She looked down. It didn't really matter anymore, she supposed. Sephiroth did not deserve her hate. Not as he was now. And Genesis . . . his sacrifice had helped save Cloud's life too. She couldn't hate him.

"Cloud?" she asked. "Do you remember going to the reactor?"

He tensed slightly. She could feel it in his hand. Encouraged, she kept going.

"Do you remember when the bridge broke? Sephiroth jumped down from it and we all landed in the water. I was so dazed, and then Sephiroth was there pulling me up when I could have drowned. . . ."

Cloud's eyes widened.

"I've hated him for so long because of what he did later," Tifa said sorrowfully. "But he was a kind man in his right mind. He still is again now." She gently brushed Cloud's bangs away from his eyes. "He saved you and Zack. I know nothing can ever take away what happened at Nibelheim, but I think Aerith is right that no one could feel more horrible about it than Sephiroth does himself. I don't want to hate him anymore, Cloud. I want to move forward in the future with hope and forgiveness."

"T-Tifa," Cloud stammered. "I . . . can't. I can't . . . forgive him. I . . . hate him."

Tifa was torn between sorrowing at those words and rejoicing that Cloud had managed to speak. "Oh Cloud. . . ." She bent down, hugging him close. "I know. I understand."

"Sorry," Cloud whispered.

"Just focus on getting better, Cloud," Tifa whispered back. "It's okay. I'll be here for you no matter what."

Cloud smiled a bit. Now, getting better seemed ever so slightly more in reach.

xxxx

Aerith was still with Zack, happy with the conversation they'd been having and the plans they were making. But at the same time, other, worried thoughts were creeping into her mind.

"I wonder how many of us are really from this other world," she said. "When Sephiroth sends us back, will we all still be together?" She bit her lip. "Is Elmyra from this world or ours? My memories make it seem like she's from ours, but what if those memories are still false ones?"

Zack looked at her in surprise. "She's from our world," he said. "But you're not calling her your mom?"

Aerith looked surprised too. "I've only been with her since I came out here," she said. "She's a dear family friend, but I've never lived with her before."

Zack frowned, pondering that strangeness with a hand to his chin. "You have, though," he said. "Your birth mom died years ago and Elmyra took you in as a kid. You've thought of her as your adopted mom for a long time. You even took her last name."

Aerith gasped. "You're really sure of all of this?" she asked. "What if you're the one who still has fake memories about that time?"

Zack shook his head. "My memories never got altered," he said. "I never thought we belonged in this world."

Aerith slumped back. "This is . . . so strange to think about," she said softly. "Why didn't your memories change? Did Cloud's?"

"Unfortunately, I've been able to get Cloud to say so little that I'm really not sure what he remembers," Zack admitted. "Tifa and her friends don't seem to have had their memories altered either, except for Tifa not remembering Nibelheim too well. There's probably no real rhyme or reason to any of this, who remembers and who doesn't. It's probably just one of those things."

"It's really troubling, though," Aerith said. "Everything I thought I knew, I don't really know. It's frightening."

Zack drew her to him in a hug. "Hey, it'll be okay," he soothed. "I'm here. And I'll be here no matter what you remember or don't remember. I'm sure you'll get back all your memories before long, just like Seph is."

Aerith wrapped her arms around him. "I hope so."

After a moment she gave a weak chuckle. "You know something else I forgot?"

Zack tensed a bit. "What's that?"

She looked up at him. "There's a church social soon. I actually asked Sephiroth to go with me and he said he would. Now, after all this . . ." She shook her head.

"Hey, that sounds pretty fun, actually," Zack said. "We could really use it after everything we've been going through."

Aerith laughed. "That was what I told Sephiroth after I invited him. And look how much worse everything's got since then! There's no way Sephiroth would feel well enough to go, either."

Zack frowned a bit at that. "Yeah, probably not. When is it?"

"Thursday," Aerith said. "I'd feel bad to go without him when we were planning on it."

Zack gave her a kind smile. "I'm sure he'd tell you to go. He wouldn't want you to stay back on his account."

"I know, but . . ." Aerith sighed. "I suggested it partially for his sake. I wanted him to get out and have some fun and not be cooped up thinking about all the awful things Genesis was telling him."

Zack hugged her. "Tell you what. When it's Thursday, we'll see how Seph is feeling and maybe all three of us can go, if he feels up to it."

Aerith smiled at that. "Escorted by two handsome gentlemen? We'd be the talk of the town!" As though they weren't already.

Zack grinned. "Exactly!"

Footsteps made the both of them look up. To Aerith's surprise and concern, it was the doctor coming over to them. Her stomach knotted at his grim expression.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "About thirty minutes ago, he took a turn for the worst. We tried everything we could, but in the end it was no use. Genesis Rhapsodos is dead."

Zack stiffened. "You're really sure?" he pleaded. "Maybe it just looks that way because there's no modern equipment here or something. Maybe his heart's still beating and you just can't hear it. . . ."

The doctor shook his head. "The woman Shera Highwind had rigged up something to monitor that. His heart has stopped. We've been trying to revive him, but . . . his body has just given out."

Zack exhaled, sharply. "I'll have to tell Seph," he said. "But I'd like to see him first, so I can tell Seph I really saw him firsthand."

"Of course," the doctor said. "Come with me."

Zack released Aerith. "I won't be long," he said to her.

She nodded. She had to admit, she didn't feel like going with him for this. She stepped back. "I'll see you soon," she said softly.

Zack gave her a sad smile and headed down the hall.

It felt like an eternity, walking through the hotel and down the street and over to the doctor's office. The town was too small to have an actual hospital, so this was all there was. Soon Zack was led into the operating room. Genesis was laying on the table, silent and stripped to his waist. The gruesome wounds, still in the process of having been treated, were very visible in his upper body. The heart monitor Shera had set up was indeed flatlining, and she quietly switched it off now that Zack was there and had heard it firsthand.

Zack came closer, staying on the right side so as not to possibly step on the wing. It was hanging over the edge of the table and down and across the floor. Unlike when Barret and Cid had found him, it was completely still.

Zack drew a shaking breath. "So . . . this is it then, huh?" he said. "You just couldn't hold on, no matter how hard you tried." He gripped the edge of the table. "I don't get what happened to you or why you kept doing all those messed-up things to Seph, but . . . you saved me and Cloud. We'll always be grateful for that. Just . . ." His shoulders started to shake with his silent, unshed tears. "What am I supposed to tell Seph?! Huh?! He still loves you! Even after everything, he still . . ." He turned, punching the wall hard.

Shera started. "Mr. Fair . . ."

Zack slumped forward, shaking his head. "Shinra did this," he said darkly. "Shinra was at the heart of everything that went wrong for us! They tortured Seph. They put alien DNA in his body. He was a lab experiment all through his life! They did the same thing to Genesis, and Angeal. But they made themselves look like the good guys, and for years people bought it! Cloud and me, we joined up because we thought we were doing good things for the world! And sure, I still think we managed to do things to help people. But we were part of an organization that's nothing but evil!" He pushed away from the wall and turned back, eyes flashing. "We've got to stop them. We've got to make sure they can't do things like this to any more Sephs and Genesises and Angeals! We've got to make sure nobody else gets tortured like me and Cloud were, and that nobody else gets gunned down like they tried to do to us and like they did to Genesis when he protected us!"

"They'll be stopped," the doctor said. "I don't know how, but somehow they have to be. If we can just get the public to understand what this Shinra has been doing, there's no way they would stand for this!"

Zack nodded. "Somehow, someway, this is going to end." He drew a deep breath. "Thanks for trying so hard to save him. I know you guys did your best." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I . . . I'd better go tell Seph. . . ."

Shera sadly nodded as well and reached for the limp wing, trying to lift it up and across Genesis's body. The doctor hastened to assist her; it was heavy.

"Tell him how sorry we are," Shera said at last.

"I will," Zack said.

xxxx

Sephiroth was still slumped forward hopelessly on his bed when Zack appeared in the doorway, his eyes sad. Sephiroth looked up, his own eyes filled with years of pain and sorrow. Zack didn't have to say anything for Sephiroth to know what had just happened.

"Seph . . . I'm really sorry," Zack said at last. "He's gone."

Sephiroth just nodded despondently. "I know," he said. Zack went over to sit on the bed and Sephiroth clutched him close, shuddering from the sobs and the grief. "I know. . . ."

"How?" Zack quietly asked as he held his friend close.

"He came to me," Sephiroth said. "He said he was sorry for everything he did and . . . he said Goodbye. I think . . . he knew too." He shut his eyes tightly. "Don't leave, Zack. Please . . . don't leave. . . ."

"I'm staying right here, Seph," Zack promised. "For always."

And Sephiroth smiled through the tears.

Thank you, Genesis, for bringing him back to me. I only wish . . . you could have survived as well.

It was Zack who noticed the pulsating aura first. "Seph . . . you're doing it again," he gasped.

"What?" Sephiroth looked down at himself. Indeed, the mysterious green light was passing up and down his body. Zack was still holding him and the light was not hurting him in the least, but it was clearly there.

"It happens whenever you get really upset, doesn't it?" Zack realized. "All the times it's come out—Nibelheim, when you realized Genesis lied to you and didn't care, when you protected me and Cloud, and now when you know Genesis is gone—it's been whenever something upsetting happens involving someone you love."

". . . Yes," Sephiroth realized. "Yes, it has. It quieted down when I was able to protect you and Cloud, but the other times it just grew worse and worse until something happened, either me sending us all here or my body overtaxing." He clutched Zack closer. "I can feel it getting worse now."

"Seph . . ." Gently Zack laid a hand on Sephiroth's head and stroked his hair. "Come on, fight it! You're still not well, Buddy. We can't have you overtax your body again!"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I can't get it under control!" He could feel his heart racing, faster and faster with his inner turmoil. Genesis was dead. He was dead. And even in spite of everything that he had done that was so hurtful, Sephiroth still cared about him. This was the last thing Sephiroth could handle happening right now, on top of everything else.

Zack shut his eyes tightly, honestly afraid for Sephiroth now. He clutched the man close to him, desperate, willing the aura to stop pulsating. Sephiroth clutched at him in turn, his fingers starting to dig into Zack's back as he fought against the mysterious power. His wing unfurled, beautiful and terrible against the light.

Said light grew brighter and brighter, enveloping them and the room and the entire building within it.

Then . . . it faded.

Zack let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Seph?!" he cried. "Seph, are you with me?!"

Sephiroth shuddered and looked up. "Yes," he said. "It stopped. What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Zack said. He released Sephiroth from the death grip and went to the window to look out. "The town's still out there. . . . Everything looks normal. . . . Maybe it was a dud?"

Sephiroth sighed and retracted the wing into his body. "How . . . how could nothing have happened?" he objected. "It was like at Nibelheim, when we were all caught up in the light and then sent here." He got up and came over to the window as well. ". . . Doesn't it look darker than before?"

"I guess it's cloudy or something?" Zack said. "It's been overcast today. . . ."

"It looks far darker than that," Sephiroth said.

"Yeah. . . . But what else could it be?" Zack frowned.

Sephiroth frowned too. Right now, he really couldn't imagine.

"Zack! Sephiroth!"

They both started and turned, surprised, as Aerith ran into the room in alarm. When she saw them both safe, she gripped the doorframe and relaxed.

"Aerith!" Zack smiled and went over to her. "Everything's okay. Well, no, it's not . . . but I mean, we're not physically hurt."

"What was that light?" Aerith exclaimed. "It washed over the entire hotel and then spread out everywhere! I saw it out the window! Everyone's talking about it!"

"I did it," Sephiroth said grimly, regretfully. "When Zack told me about Genesis, I lost control and it happened again, just like at Nibelheim. Only . . . I don't understand exactly what happened. It doesn't look like anything has changed. We're all still here. The town is here. . . ."

"Sephiroth!"

Again everyone looked up. Tifa was running into the room, her phone clutched in her hand. "What did you do?!" she demanded.

"I . . ." Sephiroth looked at her helplessly. "I don't know what I did. . . . Has something happened other than the light?"

"Oh, something's happened!" Tifa declared. "Barret and Cid just sent me these pictures from outside! Look!" She went over to him and held up her phone, scrolling through the images.

Sephiroth stared in disbelief. "Is that . . . ?"

"Yes!" Tifa exclaimed. "That's the Midgar plate just over there! We're in Midgar's shadow now!"

Zack's jaw dropped. "You mean . . . ?!"

Tifa nodded. "Sephiroth sent us home, alright. But he's brought the entire town of Edge with us!"

Notes: It's been really interesting writing for a Sephiroth who is as powerful as canon Seph but ... really doesn't know how to handle so much power. This is the last straw for him and he will start figuring it out. I promise!