Day 17: Prompt - "I'm Glad You're Alive"

Sephiroth wanted to go home. More than that, he needed to get home. He knew Zack and Cloud were not handling things well; they couldn't be, no matter whether they thought him dead or believed he was alive.

The cast of characters looking after him definitely did all mean well, as Kanga had said, and he was grateful. Perhaps someday he would even come back with Zack and Cloud for a proper visit. Perhaps. If he felt he could abide the insanity of Tigger's song (which he had indeed sung for Sephiroth in full as soon as Sephiroth had been well enough to be awake longer) or the bouncing. Thankfully, Tigger recognized Sephiroth was not well enough for bouncing (and it was unlikely Tigger would be able to knock him over when he was well enough). But Sephiroth had watched him bounce others, as well as the entire room.

Talking with Eeyore had been curious. Sephiroth had always thought he was cynical, but when paired off with Eeyore he had discovered that he actually had hope by comparison. Eeyore couldn't even offer a reason why he was so negative; to him, it just seemed that as long as he could remember, things had always gone wrong. Sephiroth was newly grateful that in his life, much had gone right as well as wrong. For the most part, he had always had loved ones who cared about him. The stretch when that hadn't seemed the case was short overall, especially now that he had them again. When he had pointed out to Eeyore that he had always had loved ones, Eeyore had been surprised and then had cheered up quite a bit. That, at least, was certainly something that had gone right for him.

Overall, this place seemed bright and innocent, moreso even than the Disney Castle and its inhabitants. If Sephiroth were in a darker mood he might be annoyed by that. Right now he felt more as though he wanted to preserve it. Hopefully the dangers of the other worlds would not cross into this space more than they already had. He had been told of how the Heartless had wreaked havoc and caused Pooh to have amnesia. That was bad enough.

He probably decided he needed to leave sooner than he really should have. But when he was well enough to stand up and walk around for far longer than any prior day, he was determined to return home. He should be able to manage one good teleport.

"You're sure about this now?" Kanga said with a concerned frown. It did not seem a good idea to her at all.

"Yes," Sephiroth said. "I've imposed long enough, and I'm concerned about my friends. They may not even know I'm alive."

Tigger bounded over and enthusiastically shook his hand. "Then we'll miss you, Buddy Boy! You'll come back, won't ya?"

". . . Yes," Sephiroth said, taking a moment to recover from that jarring experience. "I will try to get back. Perhaps I will bring my friends."

"Yes, do," Kanga smiled. "We'd love to meet them."

"We most certainly would," Pooh said, smiling too. "More friends are always nice."

Sephiroth nodded. They were, really. It was almost strange to realize how many friends he had made by now across the worlds—although nothing seemed stranger than having grown so close to Cloud, after their rocky start.

"G-G-Goodbye, Mr. Sephiroth," Piglet said with a little wave.

"Goodbye, and thank you again," he said as he managed to form a portal near the ground that he could just walk into. He stepped into it and then he was swirling through it, emerging with a stumbling gasp into his living room, as he had originally planned to do who knew how long ago. Did time pass differently between those worlds? He wasn't sure.

"SEPH!"

Then Zack was running at him, enveloping him in a firm but not crushing hug. Sephiroth held him close, bringing his wings around Zack as well.

"I've missed you so much," Sephiroth said quietly.

"Where were you?!" Zack cried. "We've thought the worst, that you were dead and blown up and Cloud just couldn't take it! Well, I couldn't either, of course, and . . . oh Seph. . . ." Zack snuggled closer, shaking, still seeming to be trying to convince himself this was really real. "Merlin kept trying to find you out there somewhere, but it never worked. . . ."

"I was trying to come here, but I was too injured," Sephiroth said. "I sent myself to a much different world. They took care of me and would have kept looking after me, but I knew I needed to get back. I wanted to be with you and Cloud." He looked around in concern. "Where is he?"

"He's back at his old place," Zack said. "He goes there a lot these days. And . . . Seph, he just keeps grieving and holding your feathers . . . !" He shook his head. "It's awful."

Sephiroth looked at him in stunned surprise. "Are there even many for him to have?"

"He never threw away any of them," Zack said. "He made several batches of them and he just hugs them when he's sleeping." He blinked back tears.

Sephiroth hugged him again and drew back. "I'll go to him now."

Zack gave him a worried look. "Can you make it, Seph? I could go get him while you rest!"

"I can make it," Sephiroth assured him. "I don't think I can take you with me, but if I go alone I have enough strength for one more teleport."

"Okay," Zack said slowly. "Then I'll get the car and head over to bring you both home!" He ran over to the wall and grabbed the keys.

Smiling fondly, Sephiroth watched him a moment before opening a portal and stepping into it.

Prompts: Day 5 - "Do You Trust Me?" / Chills

It never seemed to get any better. Merlin continued to search for Sephiroth's aura, to no avail. Cloud and Zack continued to grieve and sometimes to attempt to search themselves, also to no avail. They were wearing out and wearing down and had no idea what to do next.

Cloud always kept at least one feather with him. He had gathered most of them together so as not to lose any and more often than not, he fell asleep holding them. Zack didn't know what to do but felt it was relatively harmless. If it helped Cloud cope, then fine.

Cloud was visiting his old house more and more. For some reason, sometimes he seemed to feel closer to Sephiroth there. It had been in that house where they had gradually gone from enemies to friends to family, even though it was in Sephiroth's house where they had actually been living together as such. Despite the drafts and the chill, he found himself dozing off on the old couch a lot.

It was on one such occasion when his sleep was interrupted by a deep and familiar voice, a voice Cloud knew he would never hear again.

"Cloud?"

He started, his wing sweeping back and forth before settling in its usual place against the back of the couch. As his eyes opened, he focused on the spectre of Sephiroth standing in front of him.

"No," he rasped. "This is another dream! You're not really here. You can't be!"

"I am, though," Sephiroth told him. "Cloud, I am so sorry. I only had a split-second to get out of there and I made a portal. I fell through, but I was still badly injured. I was unconscious for days. When I finally woke up, I was too weak to leave right away. I had no way of contacting you or Zack or anyone. I came as soon as I was well enough to teleport again." He took a step forward and wavered slightly. He still wasn't well.

Cloud was up like a shot, pressing himself against the back of the couch. "You're not real!" he spat. "You're something I made up, saying everything I've wished you'd show up and say. My illusions are so good, they're even solid! I can't believe you. Even if you touch me, I can't believe you!"

Sephiroth stopped, just looking at him. "Then what can I do, Cloud? How can I prove to you that I am myself?"

"I . . ." Cloud looked down at the grouping of feathers cradled in his arms. "I don't know. . . ."

How could he possibly believe? How could he take that chance and set himself up to be let down by his own mind? Sephiroth couldn't be here. He couldn't be, because that was all Cloud wanted and he could never have that back.

He started when Sephiroth swayed more violently and went down on one knee, a hand to his heart. If Sephiroth had really been badly hurt and had come as soon as he could teleport, the act of teleporting would have taken everything out of him again. And Cloud would not have made an illusion of that.

Cloud's heart broke and he leaped up, setting the feathers aside as he ran to his friend. "Sephiroth! Sephiroth, you're hurt. Come on, get over to the couch and sit down."

Relief flickered in Sephiroth's eyes and he allowed Cloud to support him as he got back to his feet and stumbled over to the couch. As he sank down on it with a tired sigh, Cloud sat next to him.

"What about Zack, Sephiroth?" he asked. "Why isn't he here?"

"I went to our home first," Sephiroth explained. "Zack was there and I reunited with him. Then I came here to find you. It would have taken too much out of me to bring Zack with me, so he's bringing the car to take us back."

"You teleported twice?!" Cloud exclaimed. "That already took everything out of you!" He blinked back tears. "But . . . you did it anyway . . . to get to me faster. . . ."

"Yes." Sephiroth looked at Cloud, slowly reaching out an arm to him. "I needed to get back to you, Cloud. Zack told me how heartbroken you've been. I'm so sorry."

Finally, fully taking the chance, Cloud dove into Sephiroth's arms, holding the man close while trying to be careful of any injuries that might not be visible. The hair, the wings . . . everything was right. It wasn't an illusion he had made up. Sephiroth was home! He was home.

Sephiroth held him, bringing all three wings around him in a further embrace. Cloud snuggled into them. This was an intimate act Sephiroth reserved only for those he truly, deeply loved. It was an honor to be held in this manner.

"I was surprised when Zack told me you'd never thrown any of the feathers away," Sephiroth quietly remarked.

"I couldn't," Cloud said, shaking his head. "Sure, it was frustrating finding them everywhere, but they were part of you. I'd never throw that away. Then you were gone and they were all I had left. I mean, of course I had the memories and the pictures, but . . . you know what I mean."

"Yes," Sephiroth said.

"Where were you?" Cloud asked.

"Someplace very strange," Sephiroth said. "But I was with kind people who did all they could to help me recover enough to come home."

"And that's the most important thing," Cloud said. "I'm grateful to them."

Zack ran through the doorway then and was swiftly pulled into the wing embrace as he reached the couch. "You found him!" he exclaimed. "Seph . . . oh Seph. . . . We're all back together again, just like it's supposed to be!"

And Sephiroth smiled, holding his dearest loved ones close. "And this is all I've wanted since that day," he said quietly.

"This is really real?" Cloud whispered. "I really didn't make this up?"

"It's real, Cloud," Sephiroth insisted.

A cloud of smoke and suddenly Merlin appeared in their midst, looking bewildered. "Sephiroth! You're home safe!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," Sephiroth said.

"What's up, Merlin?" Zack asked.

"Well, I was just looking through my books when I discovered something very curious!" Merlin held up Winnie the Pooh. "A new chapter has been added, all about Sephiroth landing in the 100 Acre Wood! I was coming to tell you and see if we could get him out!"

Cloud just stared. ". . . That's where you were?"

"Yes," Sephiroth grunted.

Merlin shook his head. "Imagine that. I never thought to check there!"

"So what's the deal with that anyway?" Zack blinked. "Seph was in a book?!"

"More like a world usually entered through a book," Merlin said. "The book is a portal to an actual place, but what happens to the book affects that world."

"Weird," Zack said. "I don't really get it, but all I care about is that Seph's alive and safe with us."

Sephiroth hugged him and Cloud. "I'm lucky I landed somewhere kind. Things could have gone much differently."

Not wanting to think about the nightmarish thoughts he'd been having, Cloud just burrowed close.

After a moment he felt Sephiroth touching the folds of his cloak. "What is it?" he asked.

Sephiroth indicated a feather. "This just got caught in your clothes."

Cloud looked at it, blinking, and then shook his head. "Leave it," he said.

Sephiroth looked surprised. "You're sure?"

Cloud immediately nodded. "Yeah."

That brought a smile. "Alright then."

Cloud and Zack smiled too. Everything was as it should be.