Final Fantasy VII

Down the Rabbit Hole

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! Well, lookie here. Another very strange story subject that normally I wouldn't write. I honestly try to ignore the fact that this problem is canonically possible in the game. But I got inspired by a hilariously adorable picture by Blorbel on Tumblr. The picture is actually Remake Sephiroth confused by polygon Cloud, but I originally mis-saw it as Seph bewildered over Cloud affected by Small and ... this happened. But because I can't seem to write silly humor for the sake of silly humor that often, I think it actually ended up rather cute and sweet. It takes place after Dirge of Cerberus, but prior to my Twilight and Dawn timeline (except for the last epilogue scene). Seph's personality in the first three Dissidia games is also very important to how I chose to write him here. I adore what those games did with him (minus Opera Omnia; I did not like at all what that game did after the character development of the others). And I know in the game going to inns is supposed to cure this problem, but while that's all well and fine for gameplay, it doesn't make a lot of narrative sense for a story, so I chose to do things differently here. I've now added three new scenes: one at night before they get to the inn, one at the inn before they leave, and one while they're on the move again. The reference to what happened to Barret actually happened when my friend Kaze Wan was playing the game and I decided to include it as a little tribute to her.

Whumpuary 2025, Prompt 11 - "I didn't ask for this!"

Cloud really wasn't sure how any of it happened. The whole day seemed like a nightmare.

First, Sephiroth had suddenly shown up while Cloud was wandering in the wilderness, just thinking. He claimed Cloud thinking about him had brought him back to life again and here he was, so of course they'd been fighting. And then some creature had got annoyed that they were fighting right on its turf and had walked right into the middle of their battle, cast some spell or another, and stalked off again. And now . . .

"Ugh. . . ." Cloud held a hand to his forehead as he tried to rise up out of the grass. Why . . . why did the blade of grass look more like a tree?

Oh no. . . .

Black gloved hands reached out, their owner curiously lifting Cloud into them. "Well, well. This is an unexpected situation."

Cloud stared, shaking his fist at the giant who was now Sephiroth. "Sephiroth! Put me down!" he yelled as he struggled to stand up on Sephiroth's palms.

"I could, of course, but considering your current state, do you honestly think that's wise?" Sephiroth looked a strange mix of bewildered and entertained all at once. "I can hardly leave you here."

Cloud scowled with a scowl that would have easily given Laser Eyes a run for its money. "Why aren't you small too?" he demanded.

Sephiroth shrugged. "Small and Frog are ailments I am thankfully immune to," he replied.

"Great. Of course they are." Cloud looked away, folding his arms. "So now what? I mean, I'm no threat to you now. All you'd have to do would be to treat me like a bug and . . ." He shuddered a bit.

"I don't want to kill you, Cloud," Sephiroth said. "Haven't you figured that out by now? It's because of you I still cling to life. It's because of you I want to live."

Cloud flushed. He did not want to address any of that right now. "Okay, so if you're not going to kill me, then fix me!" Horror filled his eyes and he quickly amended, "I mean, fix this!You know what I mean."

"I'd have to transform to my Safer form to do that," Sephiroth said, leaning back with a definitely amused smirk now. "I don't have the power in my normal form. Do you trust me to switch forms?"

Cloud considered that for all of two seconds. "No."

"Then your only other option is for me to find a Cornucopia or a Remedy or an appropriate materia," Sephiroth said, still smirking. "And you would have to travel with me, perhaps in my pocket."

Cloud hated that idea too. But he really didn't have a lot of options. He'd run out of Remedies a while back and hadn't found any place to replenish his supply. The next time he saw any, he was going to stock up double what he usually did. No, triple.

"It's better than you going Safer and probably casting Supernova everywhere," he said gruffly. "I'm not going in your pocket, though. I'll . . . I'll ride on your shoulder."

"Very well." Sephiroth calmly placed Cloud right between his collar and the shoulder armor and set off walking in what seemed to be a random direction.

". . . Do you even know where you're going?" Cloud demanded.

"Would you trust me even if I said Yes?" Sephiroth replied.

". . . No," Cloud grunted.

"Well. I know anyway," Sephiroth said, still amused, still smirking.

"You'd better," Cloud grumbled.

"And considering I'm your only hope, you'd better be nice to me, Cloud," Sephiroth grinned.

". . . Oh, now that's just too much!" Cloud fumed. "It's your fault I'm in this mess! If you hadn't come back to life again and showed up here, we wouldn't have been fighting and that thing wouldn't have got mad and cast Small!"

That actually seemed to sober Sephiroth. "I know," he said.

Cloud blinked in surprise. ". . . Really?"

"Yes," Sephiroth said. "I will find what's needed. I amgoing the right direction back to civilization."

Cloud sighed and slumped against Sephiroth's collar. "What a weird day. Why can't this whole thing be a bad dream?"

"I asked that about so many bad days in my life," Sephiroth remarked.

"Yeah, you probably had a lot of them," Cloud muttered. "Especially when we beat you."

"At least I got to see you again on those occasions," Sephiroth said. "So I wouldn't consider them the worst days of my life by far."

Even weirder. ". . . Why would you even want to see me so much if you don't want to kill me?" Cloud frowned in bewilderment.

"Why indeed, Cloud," Sephiroth replied. "I only ever feel alive anymore when I'm with you."

Cloud wasn't at all sure how to take that. Sephiroth was a madman who had tried to destroy the world twice. Was he just bizarrely obsessed with Cloud as someone to fight, someone he considered worthy of his time and effort after seeing that Cloud was capable of beating him?

What else could it be?

"You know, it would be much faster if I fly," Sephiroth remarked.

Alarm bells went off in Cloud's mind. "No!" he snapped. "Do you know how easy I could fall off if you do that?!"

"You'd probably have to ride in my pocket," Sephiroth agreed. "Or in my hand. I'd take very good care of you."

"No," Cloud insisted again. Not that he really had any way of preventing Sephiroth from doing it if he decided he would.

But instead, Sephiroth kept walking. "Very well. This will allow us more time together anyway." Again with the smirk.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Ugh." Which was worse—this, or the thought of Sephiroth having his hand around Cloud while flying?

. . . They would keep walking.

Of course the peace couldn't last. It wasn't long and they were attacked by several beasts at once. Sephiroth made short work of them, but even in a fight that didn't last long, Cloud was being flung this way and that while struggling to keep hold of Sephiroth's collar flapping in the breeze. And that was doing nothing for his motion sickness.

"Sephiroth! Stop!" he screamed.

Sephiroth blasted the final monster and did, indeed, thankfully stop. "What's the problem?" he asked. "Besides the obvious."

Cloud gritted his teeth. "You know I get motion sick."

"Still? Oh." Sephiroth frowned. That was not something he wanted to contend with. "Well, what do you propose I do if we're attacked again?"

"Put me in a tree or something. I don't know." Cloud groaned. There was grassland everywhere. No trees.

"Perhaps a petunia?" Sephiroth smirked.

"I'm not that small," Cloud retorted.

"I'll seal you in a protective bubble. How's that?" Sephiroth demonstrated by creating one in the air that floated off almost immediately.

". . . Only if me being in it would weigh it down," Cloud shot back.

"It would," Sephiroth promised.

Cloud wasn't at all sure of that. "I'd get motion sick in the bubble too, if it floated off," he pointed out.

"Well, unless you have miniature motion sickness pills in your pocket, there's not much we can do about that," Sephiroth said.

"I took the last pill earlier today," Cloud said in frustration. "It's wore off by now."

"So I see," Sephiroth said. "But the longer we stand here arguing about it, the longer it will take to reach a town."

"I know, I know," Cloud grumbled.

"Will you tell Tifa of our little adventure when you finally get home?" Sephiroth smirked a bit as he started walking again.

"Of course not!" Cloud shot back. "I'm not telling anyone. And you'd better not either!"

"Whom would I even tell?" Sephiroth said with a shrug of the shoulder Cloud was not on. "You're the only person I care to talk to, Cloud."

"I'm honored," Cloud said, rolling his eyes.

They walked on again for a while, thankfully without encountering more beasts. By now night was coming on and Cloud was growing nervous. If they were attacked after dark, what would happen if he went flying off into space? Would Sephiroth find him again before anything else went wrong?

Ugh, he hated having to rely on Sephiroth for help. And now the temperature was dropping and he was getting cold. But he refused to crawl under Sephiroth's collar for warmth.

"Just how far into the sticks did you go, Cloud?" Sephiroth broke into his thoughts.

"A long way," Cloud mumbled. "I wasn't planning on fighting you or ending up five inches tall."

"More like six inches," Sephiroth quipped.

"Great. I miscalculated." Cloud scowled and looked away. "Did you ever have to deal with this before? Like, SOLDIERs or Shinra guards getting into stupid trouble?"

"Hm. Yes, I remember having that problem," Sephiroth mused.

"And did you torment them as much as you do me?" Cloud grumbled.

"Are you jealous, Cloud?" Sephiroth smirked.

". . . Can you be serious for once?!" Cloud burst out, probably red as a beet if he could see himself.

"Maybe someday you'll look back on this experience and laugh," Sephiroth remarked.

"It'll never be funny," Cloud snapped. "It's only funny to you because it can't happen to you!"

"I find it amusing because you have to rely on me for help," Sephiroth replied. "You can't stand that, can you?"

"What if it ever did happen to you?" Cloud grumbled. "Would you like relying on me for help?"

"Oh, I wouldn't mind at all," Sephiroth smirked. "You help me every day, Cloud, even if you don't know it."

Cloud snorted at that. "You're impossible," he muttered.

Of course, things couldn't be so simple forever and they were eventually attacked again, with it after dark as Cloud had feared. With the monsters coming from all sides, Sephiroth immediately held Cloud up, sealed him in a protective bubble, and let it float there while he set to work fighting the monsters.

"Oh, this is just great," Cloud scowled. "I knew this was going to be trouble." Despite the bubble not lifting as high as the one filled with nothing, it was not holding in place either. Cloud was just too light to weigh it down and it floated away farther as the fight became more intense.

"Sephiroth!" he yelled, banging his fists on the bubble.

But Sephiroth was too occupied with the fight as more monsters joined the original set.

Finally Cloud just sank down in the bubble, covered his eyes, and willed in vain for it to stop moving. With no other recourse, he desperately began to sing to himself—a strange remedy for motion sickness, but one he had previously discovered could work.

By the time the bubble ever finally ceased its course and dropped lightly to the ground, he couldn't hear the fight at all. Tense, he stopped singing and knelt up, looking out the bubble at the dark grasslands stretching on for miles. It of course looked even bigger to him right now, and unlike he would feel normally, he was more than a little intimidated, even frightened, by the vastness around him. He was tiny, mostly helpless, and what would he do if Sephiroth didn't find him and if the bubble didn't hold up?

What did it protect against, anyway?

"Sephiroth!" he yelled, again in vain.

Finally he slumped back, running a hand into his hair. "Ugh. . . . Could this possibly get any worse?"

But he knew immediately that it could. All it would take would be the monster Hungry finding him and . . .

Groaning, he crossed his arms on his knees and slumped forward. That had happened to Barret once during a fight. He wouldn't be surprised if Barret was still traumatized about it.

"Sephiroth, where are you?" he finally snarled to the night air.

How bizarre, that he actually wanted Sephiroth to come.

"Cloud, calm down. I can hear you. I'm coming."

He froze at the voice in his head. Of course. Why hadn't he stopped to realize that Sephiroth could find him no matter what because of their bond?

When at last he saw the man coming and the bubble was scooped up in his gloved hands, it was a welcome relief. But instead of expressing that, Cloud glowered and said, "I knew the bubble wouldn't work out."

Sephiroth willed the bubble to vanish, leaving Cloud sitting on his hands. "It's better than if you hadn't been in a bubble and got flung off of me, isn't it?" he replied.

". . . Yeah, I guess," Cloud had to grudgingly admit. "But I don't want this happening again."

Sephiroth placed Cloud back on his shoulder and resumed walking. "Then we're back to the same question—what can be done instead?"

"Can't you just . . . hold still and blast them with magic or something?" Cloud suggested.

"Hm. It wouldn't work in all cases, but yes, I could do that," Sephiroth replied.

"Good," Cloud grumped. "Then do it."

"By the way, Cloud." Sephiroth was smirking now. "You never told me you could sing."

Cloud went completely red. "You heard that?"

"Of course," Sephiroth smoothly answered. "But how ungodly bored did you have to be to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider?"

Now Cloud wanted to crawl under Sephiroth's collar and never come out. "It helps the motion sickness," he shot back. "It was just the first song I could think of."

"Oh," Sephiroth said, still smirking.

Cloud covered his face with a hand. Sephiroth had heard him singing kids' nursery rhymes. Could he ever possibly live that down? That was even worse than being shrunk.

At last they approached a lonely inn and little else. Smirking again, Sephiroth asked, "Do you want to hide while I speak with the desk clerk?"

Cloud scowled but had to admit he really didn't want to be seen. He went under Sephiroth's collar. "Just know I'll be right here," he threatened, "so don't try any funny stuff."

"And just what do you think you could even do if I did?" Sephiroth said in further amusement. "Any attack you could use would be less than a tickle right now."

". . . Maybe I'll really tickle you," Cloud retorted. "Unless you're immune to that too." It sounded ridiculous, but Sephiroth was right—using attacks would be useless.

"To be honest, no one's ever tried that on me, so I haven't the faintest idea," Sephiroth remarked.

Cloud fell silent at that. Of course no one would have tried that on him. When sane, no one would have dared show that disrespect. When insane, who could ever have got that close?

He stayed quiet as Sephiroth went inside and arranged for a room for the night. The desk clerk didn't bat an eye, but then, why would he? There were still a lot of people who didn't know the full story about Meteor. A lot didn't even know Sephiroth was supposed to have died. And under the present circumstances, that was no doubt for the best. The last thing Cloud wanted was for Sephiroth to proclaim himself a god or some crazy thing and for Cloud to have to come out to stop him from . . . burning down the inn or something.

Sephiroth headed upstairs and into a room that thankfully had multiple beds. Calmly and still smirking, he reached up and took Cloud out from under his collar and laid him on the pillow of one of the beds. "There."

Cloud turned, watching him warily as he went to the next bed over. "Do you even sleep?"

"Hm. Do I? I slept at the Northern Crater, so the answer is probably yes." Sephiroth sat down on the bed.

"You must have slept in that other realm too," Cloud said.

"World B, you mean? Yes, I slept there." Sephiroth gave a wicked smirk. "Are you planning to watch me sleep, Cloud?"

Cloud went red again. "Just to make sure you don't try anything," he said.

"Such as?" Sephiroth was clearly enjoying this.

"I'm not going to say and give you ideas," Cloud grumbled.

"Then I am going to go to sleep and you may watch me all you like." Sephiroth took off his boots and laid down on the bed.

Cloud did indeed watch him, wary, until his breathing deepened and he clearly was actually asleep. Then Cloud sighed, slumping into the pillow.

Were they even going the right direction? Maybe this was one of those inns just stuck in the middle of nowhere. Sephiroth hadn't asked if any towns were nearby, only if the inn sold items and medicines (it didn't). Cloud would have to make sure he asked about towns before they left in the morning.

Ugh, why couldn't he go to sleep and find this whole day had been a nightmare?

He really didn't want to sleep at all with Sephiroth loose. But with a body of this size, the pull of sleep was just too strong. He burrowed deeper into the pillow and dozed.


It was the smell of food that awakened him the next morning. Sephiroth was sitting up on the other bed with a tray, rather ravenously eating the bagel, muffin, and other things he had set before himself. Another tray was on the nightstand between the beds.

"I brought some things for you," he said, "although I don't know how much you'll feel like eating right now."

Cloud climbed up on the nightstand and took off his gloves to tear off a piece of bread. It looked like an entire loaf to him in his current state and he started to eat.

"I'm planning on getting this fixed today," he retorted. "Then I'll want all of it. Did you find out if there's any towns around here?"

"I know where we are," Sephiroth insisted. "I don't need to ask."

Somehow that did not encourage Cloud much. "So where are we?" he retorted.

"We should come across the chocobo ranch today," Sephiroth said. "So there's an increasing chance we'll start encountering people you may know."

"This has to be fixed first," Cloud insisted. "I'm not having anybody know I got shrunk fighting you!"

"I didn't directly cause it," Sephiroth said in amusement. "And surely your friends are aware this is a problem that happens?"

"Of course they know," Cloud retorted. "It happened a lot when you kept using that Pale Horse attack."

"You're still just too prideful to admit it happened to you," Sephiroth deduced.

Cloud scowled and kept eating. ". . . How'd you explain taking so much food anyway?" he wondered.

"I said I had a large appetite and I was going to be doing a lot of traveling today," Sephiroth answered. "Some of it was being taken for a future meal."

Cloud watched him for a moment. He did indeed have a large appetite. But Cloud attributed that to him having his first meal in who knew how long.

". . . Well, thanks," he said at last, gruffly.

Thanking Sephiroth? What was this world coming to?

He really hadn't had to get food for Cloud, though. Cloud was surprised by that, and—as long as Sephiroth didn't end up eating it himself later—appreciative.

He also suddenly realized Sephiroth's hair looked damp. "You had a shower?" he said in surprise.

"Of course," Sephiroth said. "But I don't recommend you try it right now."

Cloud rolled his eyes. The only way he even could would be in the sink with the faucet water pouring down on him in a thin stream. But he wouldn't be able to reach the taps while standing in the basin and he wasn't going to ask Sephiroth to help him adjust them to the right temperature.

"I'll shower when this is fixed today," he said.

"Yes, that would be the most logical thing to do," Sephiroth remarked. "As long as we are able to correct it today."

"We'd better," Cloud retorted.

When at last they'd both had their fill to eat, the remaining food was packed for later and Sephiroth got up to was more than a little annoyed to miscalculate the distance and end up falling backwards off the nightstand into a potted plant as he stood up to go back to the bed. "What the . . . ?!"

Sephiroth started and looked over. "Cloud?"

Cloud climbed up to the rim of the pot, planting soil all through his hair. "Okay, that was a really stupid place for a plant," he scowled. "I'm complaining to management."

"And what else are you going to do?" Sephiroth wondered.

Cloud tried to brush the dirt out of his spikes and a lot of it fell back to the pot or on the floor. "I . . . great, now I really do need a shower," he groused.

"Then I hope you have a plan for how to safely accomplish that," Sephiroth replied, his eyes dancing with bemused mirth.

"Yeah, I do," Cloud said. "And I'll get it done without your help, I can promise you that."

"This I have to see," Sephiroth remarked. "At least how you're planning to do it. I promise I won't watch . . . unless I think you're in danger." A smirk.

Cloud rolled his eyes and jumped down to the floor. "Which way's the bathroom?"

Sephiroth wordlessly pointed. Cloud hurried in that direction while Sephiroth lazily got up to follow. Cloud wasn't covering distance very fast, so Sephiroth didn't have to do much to catch up with him.

At the bathroom, Cloud took in the sink and was relieved to find a cabinet under it. Taking a deep breath, he did his best jump and grabbed for the handle. Then he pulled himself up, reaching for the edge of the counter.

Sephiroth watched, leaning against the doorframe with folded arms. "I will admit, that is impressive for one of your current size. Tell me, do you still have access to all your abilities in that form?"

"I wish," Cloud snorted. "I can't jump as high. I barely caught hold of that handle." Once arriving at the top, he walked around to the taps and turned them on, then carefully climbed along the faucet and reached down to feel the temperature of the water. Finding it too hot, he inched back down, adjusted the tap, and went back up to check again.

"Let's hope you get it right soon," Sephiroth remarked. "You'll wear yourself out before you even begin. And have you even considered how you'll handle the soap?"

Cloud froze. This inn used liquid soap, but it wasn't in those convenient travel sizes. He stared in horror at the large bottle at the side of the sink. It was bigger than he was. ". . . How's the shampoo?" he finally asked.

"That, at least, is in travel sizes." Sephiroth walked to the tub and got one from the shelf. He handed it to Cloud, who hugged it close. It was a little less than half his size. "You really shouldn't use shampoo on your skin, though. It's the wrong consistency."

"It's just one time. Who cares." Cloud set the bottle down. "I'll figure it out. Now, you said you wouldn't watch."

"I won't, but I don't think I should leave either. This little plan of yours could go wrong in so many ways." Sephiroth faced the main room and folded his arms. "I'll be right here in case you slip and fall and get pinned under the bottle. Or get your foot stuck in the drain."

Cloud flushed. As much as he hated to admit it, Sephiroth was right. It would just be stupid to try this in his state without someone on hand to help him if he flubbed. Taking a deep breath, he got out of his shoes and socks, left them at the edge, and carefully climbed into the basin pulling the shampoo bottle with him. When he was settled, he started undoing all the straps and buckles and taking off his shirt.

He scowled at all the soil caught in it. Naturally a sweater material would pick it up even more than other kinds would. ". . . My clothes are going to have to be washed too," he said. "My shirt at least."

"I assumed that," Sephiroth remarked. "And I'm sure you don't have a change of clothing on hand."

"No," Cloud grumbled.

"So, what shall you wear while your clothes are drying out?" Sephiroth asked in more than a little amusement.

"Shut up," Cloud muttered. Maybe there was a washcloth he could wrap around himself or something.

He undid the shampoo lid and tipped it enough to get some on the shirt. Then he quickly capped it again and started washing the item out under the running water. Finally he had it done and he set it up on the rim of the sink. To his relief, the soil hadn't clung to his pants or his cape, so those he just shook out and set aside.

"Can you get the shirt?" he finally asked, uncomfortable. "It was the only thing that really needed washing out."

"I'll have to turn around to see where it is," Sephiroth replied.

Cloud stood behind the shampoo bottle. "Go ahead."

Sephiroth turned, carefully picking up the shirt without really looking towards Cloud. "Sweater material takes a long time to dry out," he remarked. "Perhaps if it's held in front of the heat it will go faster."

"Do it then," Cloud said.

Sephiroth smirked in amusement. "You washed it in the shampoo? Well, you didn't really have much choice. Now you'll have a lovely lavender lilac scented top when it dries out."

Cloud scowled. "Who cares. Wait, is that what you used on your hair?" Weird to think of this insane megalomaniac calmly pouring lavender lilac on his hair.

"No, I used hibiscus blossom," Sephiroth said, completely deadpan.

". . . Sorry I asked," Cloud muttered. "Don't they have any scents for men?"

A smirk. "Those just aren't as interesting. Anyway, isn't the health benefit of the variety the most important thing?"

"I guess," Cloud grunted.

Sephiroth walked to the nearest heat vent and started calmly drying the doll-size shirt. With him occupied, Cloud sighed and came out from behind the bottle. Now for the most complicated part of this farce.

After getting out of his boxers too, Cloud tipped the shampoo bottle again until he had a good amount on his hands. He dunked his hair under the faucet, then soaped it up and started soaping his body too. Maybe this would work okay. He had to keep the bottle right by him, but if he was careful it shouldn't end up tipping over.

In this manner he was able to soap and rinse himself without too much difficulty. It was only when he was done that he realized in horror there was a new problem.

"Sephiroth . . ." His voice came out strained.

"Hm?"

Oh, he sounded so nonchalant about this whole thing. Of course, why wouldn't he?

"I can't jump out of the basin," Cloud said. "The surface is too slick. And I can't pull myself up either. My hands are wet and just slip."

"Really." From Sephiroth's amused voice, he had considered all of these problems.

Cloud scowled more. "Bring me a washcloth," he said. "I'll wrap it around myself and then . . ." Oh, he hated to say it. "Maybe you can lift me out?"

"Maybe I can." Sephiroth opened the cupboard and took out a washcloth without batting an eye. Still not really turning, he went over to the sink and calmly started to lower it.

Cloud grabbed it. "I've got it." Hurriedly he wrapped it around himself multiple times and clutched it tightly. "Okay." He braced himself. He really hated this, completely understandably. But he didn't want to risk a concussion or broken bones either. How much worse would that be?

Sephiroth turned to face him and carefully lifted him up to the counter where his dry clothes were. Cloud only relaxed when he let go. "Now let me dry off and get dressed."

Sephiroth turned around again. "Your shirt still isn't dry," he noted.

"At least it's just the shirt," Cloud retorted.

The washcloth made a pretty good towel under these circumstances and soon Cloud was dry and mostly dressed again. He sighed, worn-out, and sat down on the edge of the counter. "Now what?"

"Now, I recommend you don't fall into any more plants," Sephiroth said with a smirk.

"Ha ha." Cloud folded his arms with a scowl.

The shirt was thankfully soon dry and Sephiroth handed it back to Cloud, who hurriedly pulled it on. Then Sephiroth reached down, picking Cloud up to set back on his shoulder. Cloud sighed but accepted it, again hiding under Sephiroth's collar as he went downstairs to check out.

"Did you enjoy your stay, Sir?" the woman at the desk asked.

"Yes, very much," Sephiroth replied. "But I do have a suggestion for you in the future. Since there are no other establishments nearby, it would be highly beneficial for you to stock items such as Remedies and Cornucopias in case you receive travelers with status ailments."

"I've told my husband that very thing," the woman said. "I'll be sure to tell him again!"

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes, do."

Cloud waited to speak until they stepped outside. "Maybe she'll put the pieces together," he frowned.

"And?" Sephiroth smirked. "She'd hardly know you were the one traveling with me. She'd never suspect it. If you come back again later, all will be well."

"Yeah, I guess so. And it was a good idea to tell her that," Cloud admitted.

"I know," Sephiroth said, still smirking.

Soon they were on the road again, traveling over the wilderness. Cloud came out again, settling down on Sephiroth's shoulder to watch the scenery pass by.

". . . Isn't this an area where a lot of people probably know you too?" he finally asked.

"Yes, I would assume there are many who still remember me," Sephiroth said.

". . . But it's just me remembering you that matters?" Cloud frowned in confusion.

"Because you are the one who matters, Cloud," Sephiroth said.

Cloud looked away, still not knowing how to address that. It seemed even more awkward when he was . . . well, like this. If Sephiroth tried to do anything, Cloud would not be able to do a thing about it.

But . . . he'd actually been completely respectful this whole time. That was weird to really think about. He had been so insanely obsessed before, but it felt different now, somehow. Something seemed to have changed between them.

Maybe it was all those adventures in World B. They hadn't been supposed to remember, yet they did.

". . . Why do we remember what happened in that other realm?" he asked.

"You think I would know the whims of its gods?" Sephiroth smoothly replied.

"I thought maybe you cast a spell or something so any forgetting wouldn't work," Cloud said.

"An intriguing theory. Did I, or did I not?" Sephiroth mused.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Okay, don't tell me. Whatever."

"I would ask instead why you think I would want you to remember, Cloud," Sephiroth replied.

Cloud fell silent, pondering that query. Why would he? Sephiroth had been bound and determined to get his own memories back, but why Cloud's too?

"I give up," he said. "Why?"

"Because . . . I want you to remember every moment we've spent together," Sephiroth said quietly.

Again Cloud was struck speechless. What could he even say to that? Taken one way, it still sounded creepy and obsessed. But . . . Sephiroth didn't sound bent on Cloud's emotional destruction. If anything, he really just sounded . . . sad. Lonely.

Human.

Was that possible? Did that person still exist under the insanity and the god complex?

Had Cloud been wrong all along? Could Sephiroth still be saved?

Before he could even begin to figure out how to reply, they entered a small village. "Here's an item shop," Sephiroth announced. "Let's hope they have what we need."

Cloud hid again and Sephiroth went inside to inquire. But to their shared annoyance, the shop was out of Remedy and didn't carry anything else that could fix the problem. "The closer you get to Edge, the more you'll find in the shops," the clerk said.

Sephiroth was frowning deeply as they left. Cloud was growing worried. "You can't go to Edge," he said. "People know you there. They know . . . what you did."

"I know." Sephiroth frowned more. "And you still don't trust me to switch forms so I could fix the problem now?"

Cloud considered it again. Could he possibly trust Sephiroth to just undo the spell and not try for something disastrous while in Safer form?

How could he? It was true he was coming to see a different side to the man, a side he had thought long dead, but that didn't take away years of pain and distrust and heartache. It didn't take away Aerith's death.

"No, I don't," he said at last. "I can't risk the world's safety just to get me normal again."

"Then what do you propose we do, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud sighed heavily and finally reached for his miniaturized phone. "I'll call Tifa and see if she can get a Cornucopia or a Remedy or something. Then she could put it where I could get it."

"I would still have to go into Edge to get you there," Sephiroth pointed out.

"Yeah, but we could go at night, when less people might see you," Cloud said.

"And will you tell her what happened?" Sephiroth asked.

Cloud went red. "No," he retorted. "Not unless I have to. It's not even about pride so much with her. I just . . . don't want her to worry."

"I'm sure she'll worry even more if you ask for a Remedy and don't say why," Sephiroth remarked.

Cloud scowled. "Yeah, probably." He paused. "You're not . . . worried about her, are you?"

"I think only about you, Cloud," Sephiroth replied.

Cloud grunted. "Yeah, I know." He quickly dialed.

As it turned out, Tifa was immediately worried when she answered the phone. "Cloud, what's going on?" she asked. "You never call."

"I'm okay, Tifa," Cloud quickly interjected. "Just . . . can you . . . get a Cornucopia or something? Maybe put it under a box out back? . . . Or on the roof?"

"Cloud, what happened?" Tifa demanded.

"Nevermind. It's fine! Can you do it?" Cloud asked.

A huff. "I can do it, but Cloud . . . ! I'm just worried about you. If you're in trouble, I could come get you. . . ."

"Just get the Cornucopia," Cloud interrupted. "I'll come get it. It's fine."

"If you've been hit by Small, it's not fine!" Tifa retorted. "How will you even get here safely?!"

Cloud sighed. "I've got someone helping me. It's hard to explain. I don't really want to talk about it on the phone and I don't want anybody to see me."

Tifa sighed too. "Okay. I'll leave it on the roof. It's less likely to get stolen up there. But Cloud . . . please be careful."

"I will." Cloud hung up.

"She has the patience of Job," Sephiroth remarked.

Cloud went red. "You're saying I'm that difficult to deal with?"

Sephiroth smirked. "Maybe she just doesn't know how to handle you as well as I do."

Cloud swatted at him, for all the good it did. "Let's just get moving. It'll probably take until dark to reach Edge."

"Not if we fly," Sephiroth said.

"No!" Cloud insisted. "I don't want to be in your pocket. Or in your fist. That's just too weird." And it crosses the line of what I'm willing to put up with from you.

But Sephiroth just nodded. "Very well then. We'll keep going on as we have been."

And Cloud couldn't help thinking once again how strangely respectful he was being.

Of course, maybe with the way Sephiroth had been talking, he just wanted to spend as much time with Cloud as possible before this mess was solved. But still.

". . . What are you going to do when this is fixed, anyway?" he wondered.

"I'll bide my time until we meet again," Sephiroth said. "I can't stay in Edge. But I will always be around, Cloud. You have only to think about me and call me to you. I will always come."

"That figures," Cloud grunted.

In the past he might have said more, a derogatory sarcastic crack. But right now he didn't feel like it.

It was strange how peaceful it seemed today. Even the fact that he was traveling with Sephiroth of all people wasn't as much of a horror as it had seemed yesterday. If he closed his eyes and tried to forget all the heartache of the past eight years, maybe he could pretend he was with the man he had idolized instead of the madman who had taken his place.

He couldn't forget, though. That was impossible.

But he sighed, resting against Sephiroth's collar as he finally spoke again. "You know how kids wish they could be invisible, or shrink or something, so they can hide from their problems?"

"No," Sephiroth replied. "That would only cause more problems."

"Yeah, I know," Cloud snorted. "But kids don't think about stuff like that."

"I would have."

"Okay, most kids," Cloud countered.

"Including you?"

Cloud sighed. "No. . . . If anything, I wanted to be big. I was always short. . . . I thought maybe if I was big, that would solve a lot of problems for me. I thought the other kids would look up to me. Figuratively, not just literally," he added with a roll of his eyes before Sephiroth could make a crack about that.

"I doubt it would have helped."

"Yeah, me too." Cloud closed his eyes, just relaxing with the feel of the gentle breeze against his face and Sephiroth's long hair shifting against the back of his neck as he walked.

"I also think you should be grateful there isn't another ailment that does the opposite of Small," Sephiroth smirked. "I highly doubt the world is ready for the attack of the 50 foot Cloud."

Cloud opened his eyes only to roll them. "I doubt I'm ready for that," he retorted.

The rest of the trip to Edge was peaceful and pleasant enough. The times when they were attacked by monsters, Sephiroth mostly tried blasting them with magic so he wouldn't need to move around as much and aggravate Cloud's motion sickness. It was indeed dark by the time they reached Edge, and Cloud sighed in relief both to see the town and to know they would be going in under the cover of darkness.

"Perhaps Tifa will wait on the roof," Sephiroth remarked as he stole through alleys.

"She's not like that," Cloud said. "She'll be inside. She knows I don't want her to see me like this."

"It might be the final straw," Sephiroth said. "And she's no doubt curious as to who is helping you."

"I'm sure she'll ask," Cloud said.

"And what will you tell her?" Sephiroth wondered.

"I don't know yet," Cloud retorted.

They arrived behind 7th Heaven and Sephiroth climbed the ladder to the roof. A quick examination of the space led him to some crates at one side. As he went over and rummaged around, he soon found the badly needed item. "Here it is." He straightened.

"Good," Cloud said in relief, hopping down to the crate.

The item was swiftly used and in a moment there was a flash of light and Cloud was stumbling into Sephiroth, finally at his proper size. Sephiroth caught him, steadying him, and then rested his hands on Cloud's arms a bit longer than he would have needed to.

Cloud looked up at him, holding onto his upper arms for balance until he realized what he was doing and pulled back. ". . . Thanks," he said awkwardly but sincerely.

Sephiroth nodded. "I must admit, even though none of that experience was bad for me, I prefer you at this size," he smirked.

Cloud was red again. Just how many times had Sephiroth said something awkward to him in the last 36 hours?

"Of course you do," he said as he turned away. "This is how I'm supposed to be."

A bag suddenly came down against Cloud's chest. "Here is the rest of your food," Sephiroth said. "I will be taking my leave now, before Tifa hears us and decides to come up."

Cloud grabbed onto the bag. ". . . What will you do?" he asked, still suspicious, still not sure what to think.

"I shall manage," Sephiroth said. "But I won't be far away. I never am, Cloud." Smirking, he unfurled his wing and rose into the sky. "Just don't forget to always carry Remedy from now on."

"You can bet I won't forget," Cloud retorted.

He watched until Sephiroth was out of sight and footsteps were coming from the alley. "Cloud?"

He looked over the edge of the roof. "I'm here. I'm fine, Tifa. Thanks."

Tifa stood there, hands on her hips. "So are you going to tell me what happened?"

"It was . . . a really weird couple of days," Cloud said. He started down from the roof.

Tifa suddenly gasped. When Cloud looked, she was holding out her hand to catch a stray black feather floating down from the roof's edge. She turned it over and over in her hands, unable to believe what she was seeing, and then looked to Cloud in further disbelief.

"Like I said," Cloud said, "it was weird." Heaving a sigh, he added, "Come on inside. I'll tell you all about it."

And Tifa listened to the whole story in utter befuddlement but increasing understanding. By the end, she was looking down at the feather, turning it around in her hands with a faraway look.

"And that's it," Cloud said uncomfortably. "Tifa? What do you think?"

"I think . . ." Tifa looked up at him. "You kind of liked being with him."

Again Cloud was a tomato red. "Of course I didn't!" he exclaimed. "I would've rather been with anyone else! I didn't want you to come get me because I thought he might hurt you or something! He was being good and I didn't want to do anything to upset that."

Tifa nodded but didn't look convinced at all. "Maybe you liked seeing him be good because that was a trace of the man he used to be," she said.

Cloud looked away. "That person's gone," he said. "He's never coming back."

"Are you sure?" Tifa stood.

"Of course I'm sure," Cloud retorted.

"Okay then. I'd better check on the kids." But Tifa left the feather on the windowsill next to Cloud as she headed off.

When he was sure he was alone, Cloud picked it up and turned it around himself. "Sephiroth . . ." he whispered.

And Tifa, lingering in the doorway, nodded to herself.

Two Years Later

Cloud stirred, blinking sleepy eyes from where he had snuggled up against Sephiroth at some time during the night. The long silver hair was warm and comforting, and it took Cloud a moment to remember that they were no longer on Gaia, but on Earth, Sephiroth was sane and safe, and they were happy together. Their latest disaster had almost ended horribly but had turned around. Sephiroth was alive, not laying dead, and he was breathing peacefully.

He wasn't asleep, though. Cloud could tell.

"You know what?" Cloud mumbled.

"Hm?" Sephiroth asked, sleepy but definitely awake.

"I'm glad this planet doesn't have Small and Frog and other weird stuff like that," Cloud said.

"Heh." Sephiroth smirked a bit. "Technically it does as long as I'm here; my Pale Horse attack can still do that."

"You wouldn't, though," Cloud said.

The smirk melted into a smile and Sephiroth laid his hand on Cloud's. "No," he agreed. "I wouldn't."

Cloud hugged him closer. "Thanks," he whispered. "For, you know, how you helped me back then."

"You thanked me for that before," Sephiroth smiled more.

"Yeah, but not since we really got things straightened out," Cloud said. "Not since you're really you again."

"Out of curiosity, did you ever tell anyone else what happened?" Sephiroth asked.

"No," Cloud said emphatically. "And I'm sure Tifa didn't either. Zack and Aerith probably know, though; they must have been watching from the Lifestream."

"Likely true, although Zack has never said anything about it to me," Sephiroth said.

"I'm sure he knew I didn't want to talk about it," Cloud said. "There wasn't any reason to."

"And you probably wish you could forget it ever happened," Sephiroth said.

Cloud paused, thinking. "You know . . . I can't exactly say I wish it had never happened or that I want to pretend it didn't. You were . . . not what I expected you'd be. That was a good thing. And even though I had a lot of doubts later, it was still the first time I thought maybe there was still hope for you."

Sephiroth considered that. "I think . . . I wondered that about myself as well," he admitted.

"I'm glad we were right," Cloud said.

Sephiroth smiled. "So am I."