The small party stood before a tiny bobbing image of the Temple of the Ancients, faced with a rather difficult problem: how could they possibly keep the Black Materia from Sephiroth? Taking it themselves would require the sacrifice of someone's life, and leaving it here was not an option. Aeris wondered if he had left them alone in the room of murals simply to frustrate them. Was he watching now, through Cloud, while they pondered in vain?
They could not guard the Temple from him--that fact was as clear to her as it must have been to Sephiroth. But surely there was something they could do.
Cloud cast her another anxious glance. She knew the most about their situation, so of course he would look to her. Nanaki, trying and failing to think of a solution, emanated frustration as he paced back and forth at their feet.
Aeris's gaze wandered to the murals on the walls. The Cetra stood, each depicted with long lines and faceless heads, the Temple rising above them in a pyramid. The next image showed one slim Cetra summoning Meteor. The next, everything dying in flame. Wounding the Planet...
Would Sephiroth really do it? Could he actually become a god by creating such a wound? With his current power, he did not seem far off from his goal, but she dared not tell the others that.
She looked back at the puzzle, eyes dropping a little lower to where she had seen Sephiroth slumped against the pedestal and oddly vulnerable. She wondered how much he really knew. Why did he want to become a god? Why was he willing to kill so many?
Why did his eyes seem like shattered glass?
"All right," she decided finally, not looking up. "You two head for the exit."
"W-what!?" Cloud sputtered while Nanaki froze and stared at her.
Aeris smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's not what you think."
"Then what do you plan to do, Aeris?" Nanaki asked worriedly. "Have the other Cetra... Have they told you what to do?"
"No. What I'm doing, I'm doing of my own accord. You wouldn't believe it could be done even if I told you, but I have a feeling that..." She trailed off, shaking her head. No, they would think her insane for believing it. "I have to try," she said. "And I have to do it alone."
The feline regarded her critically with his single eye, then nodded silently and turned to go.
Cloud started, looking after his red-furred companion. "H-hey..."
Aeris touched his shoulder. "Go on. Follow Nanaki. I'll be fine; you'll see."
He shook his head helplessly. "But... I don't understand..."
"You will, afterwards. Go on now."
He held her gaze for a moment, but quickly dropped his head. "Aeris... I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do," she assured him.
She watched as he, too, left the room of murals, wishing that she had half as much confidence as she had feigned to convince her friends, wishing that her ancestors had told her what she should do. But no, they were shouting warnings in the back of her mind while the Planet hummed anxiously, begging caution.
I've heard him falter before, Planet, she said. I just need some time. If I can still reason with him.
Aeris checked her materia, found an obliging pillar to lean against, and waited.
Soon enough, a stooping form, cloaked and hooded in shapeless black, hobbled awkwardly in. Just as Cloud had said--Sephiroth had enough 'selves' that spending one or two made no difference. Especially when their deaths could bring him the Black Materia. She watched the clone struggle a few steps, pity in her heart, before she whispered a few words, and the figure collapsed in an ungainly heap.
When the second clone shuffled through the doors, she sensed that a reflect spell surrounded it. She waited until it came close, then bit her lip and brought her staff down hard upon its head. It fell, and did not rise.
She swallowed, and lowered the metal rod.
And found a blade at her throat.
She did not even have time to scream. Gods, he moves fast, she thought.
"What are you doing?" Sephiroth demanded, voice low. He stood somewhere to her left and a little behind her, but she dared not risk turning her head to look.
"I think you know what I'm doing," she answered quietly, careful of the Masamune.
"But why risk it when I can simply kill you?" he asked, skillfully using the blade to turn her towards him. "You've always stayed with your companions for safety, but now you've sent them away. Why?"
"Something had to be done." Aeris was not certain how she managed to keep her voice level. Perhaps it was the duty that had long weighed heavy on her shoulders, and the prospect of fulfilling it.
His emerald eyes narrowed, and she struggled to hold his gaze. "You're up to something."
"I am. I'm solving this my way, rather than theirs. You've always known that the battle would be fought between the two of us, haven't you?"
And Sephiroth did what she had hoped for but had not dared to expect: he lowered the blade. "How do you mean to fight?"
"You didn't kill me," she breathed, watching the Masamune's point come to rest lightly on the floor and letting his question lie unanswered.
"You are a Cetra," he stated.
"And that's still relevant?" Aeris asked, turning back to look at him. "You're not a Cetra, and you know it. Why should it matter if I am?"
He scoffed, as if the reason were obvious. "You are not human; you do not deserve death as they do. However, I will kill you if you persist in standing in my way. Now tell me, what do you hope to accomplish?"
"I only wanted to talk to you without Cloud here shouting death threats."
"Talk?" Sephiroth queried, seeming both amused and incredulous. "What, you think you can sway me?"
She managed a smile. "Actually, yes."
He laughed, a trace of bitterness and very scant humor in the sound. "I suppose this is what you had hoped for, intriguing me so that I would not kill you."
"Yes, I had hoped."
"Well? What do you have to say?"
"Why must you take out your pain on humanity?"
"My pain...?" he echoed, giving her a blank look.
"Your pain," she repeated, her confidence growing as the emerald fire faded from his eyes. "You can't claim to be avenging the Cetra anymore. As the last of my kind, I can tell you this mass murder is not what we want. So the only reasons I can think of are that Jenova has a strong influence on you or that you're doing this for personal revenge. Why you would want to kill the entire human race, however, is a bit beyond me."
"I have seen the cruelties inflicted by the worst of humans, the ignorance they flaunt, the absurd pride they take in being depraved. A race capable of producing such individuals does not deserve to exist."
"I thought so," Aeris sighed, and when she looked down she noticed the clones had both disappeared. Odd, that, but hardly worth her attention. "You've condemned thousands for the actions of a handful?" she asked.
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as he looked her over. "You grew up in the slums, yes? Surely you've seen humanity's corruption."
"Seen it, yes, but it's not their fault. Their choice is between survival and integrity, and humans have no instinct for martyrdom. How can you blame those poor souls for their downfalls when they did not cause them?"
"You survived without surrendering your integrity," he pointed out.
"But I'm not human," she reminded him. "I have more empathy than they do, for better or for worse."
He closed his eyes, and an expression of annoyance flashed briefly across his features. "Is that why you talk to me now, Cetra? You think me worthy of pity?"
She hesitated before answering honestly, confessing a truth she could not speak of to her friends. "I sympathize with you; I pity humanity. I've experienced their cruelties first-hand as well, but I can forgive them for it. They are misguided. They are disconnected. I can understand, to some degree, why you might hate them, but I can't ignore their pleas, or the Planet itself."
His eyes opened again. "They wish to keep their lives, no matter how miserable they may be? They will only grow worse. I am sure you'll admit that wretched humans will corrupt others, and that the corruption spreads and festers among them. They have no natural sense of balance, no idea of what their actions do to the world around them. It will not be long before they kill this planet of their own accord. They are already well on their way. It is dying now."
Aeris briefly lowered her head in deference to his point, then brushed her bangs from her eyes as she lifted her head again. "I'll admit, they do have a way of making each other's lives miserable, but I believe that can be remedied. They are corrupt, yes, but I think there are a select few conditions that caused it--ignorance, first and foremost. They're becoming aware, though, and with some help they'll be able to start over. Won't you give them a second chance?"
"A second chance?" he echoed contemptuously. "After all they've done?"
"You aren't perfect either, Sephiroth," she said, gaze darting to the Masamune in his hand. "You were just as ignorant once, so don't pretend you don't know what it's like. Now, you're even worse. You kill indiscriminately , your only justification a false claim that they are worse than yourself, because they are human. You think yourself the bringer of justice, do you? What right have you to determine their futures? What sanction do you have, save your own and that of Jenova, who is not even of this world? What right does she have to dole out retribution?
"Even the gods scarcely interfere." And you are no god yet, she reminded him silently, knowing he would catch her implication.
"Why should I need the sanction of anyone but myself?" Sephiroth asked, tone just as demanding as hers. "You think I must gain approval from those I would kill? Or those who are already dead, like your ancestors?" He watched her predatorily with his emerald eyes. "Or am I wrong simply because you think so? What justification do you have, Cetra, to intercede for them when they are killing your Planet?"
"I'm interceding for the Planet as well. It wants no part of this union you plan, and Meteor could very well finish it off if you summoned it. You're free to choose your own destiny, Sephiroth, but not at the expense of so many others, including a being such as the Planet. You can't simply shove them out of your way."
"The Planet?" he asked. "Certainly it is alive to some degree, but it can hardly want anything."
"How do you know that? Who told you?"
"It is common sense. How can a planet think or have emotions?"
"Scientifically maybe it doesn't make sense," Aeris said, frowning, "but the Planet can think. It has memories, it has emotions, and it is wiser than any mortal. Including you."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Really? Then you actually speak to it, in the literal sense?"
She shook her head. "It's not like that. The Planet doesn't have language. It has meanings. Speaking to it is like... Well, it's hard to describe."
Hey eyed her critically, no doubt weighing the validity of her words. Perhaps consulting Jenova, though if that was the case, they seemed to be disagreeing. "And you say it wants nothing to do with me," he said finally. "It does not want the guarantee of immortality, even with death so close."
"No, it doesn't," she confirmed, then shook her head slightly. "And anyway, Sephiroth, I don't know what's so wonderful about eternal life when you're still alone."
"Alone?" he queried.
"Yes. Both you and the Planet. Or whatever you'd call the joint entity you plan to become. You'll have no one to talk to, or just be with."
"I'll have Mother," Sephiroth said, though his tone seemed a little too harsh, as though he were angry at her for pointing out some flaw.
"And she'll keep you company?"
"She will."
Aeris held his gaze, watching the color of his eyes waver. "Somehow I doubt she can provide the kind of companionship you need."
The emerald flare grew brighter. "Need?" he asked. "I do not need companionship."
Gods, that shade of green was frightening. "But you're lonely," she insisted. "You've demonstrated this, voluntarily or not."
"Your eyes deceive you."
"No," she said. "I know loneliness well enough to see it in others."
Sephiroth shook his head, frowning. "Why would I want human company?"
She managed a smile in spite of the anxiety churning inside her. "Most of them may not be the brightest creatures in the world, but some are quite brilliant. They can be nice sometimes, too. And funny. And charming. And certainly quite surprising."
"Like yourself?"
Aeris blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You just described yourself."
She shook her head slowly, wondering when he had decided she was worthy of compliments. "Well. I guess... some of them are a bit like me, in different ways. But they're all unique. That's the truly wonderful thing about them."
"Indeed," he said sardonically. "All unique in how they hurt each other."
"That's not what I meant. They have different vices, but they have different virtues to compensate. Haven't you seen them help each other?"
"No." His answer was immediate, contemptuous.
"Then you've missed something beautiful."
"How is it beautiful?"
"It makes me think that there's hope for them yet. And I want you to see that, too."
He was silent for a long moment. "But you know," he began finally, slowly, "if I stop this now, no one will want anything to do with me. Besides throwing stones and various sharp objects whenever I show my face. How beautiful that would be," he scoffed. "And I suppose the Planet would reject me even after my death."
She brightened at his hesitation despite his tone. "But if you continue on, what then?"
Sephiroth sighed. "You have branded me guilty and outcast for life, and if I continue, I will bear an even harsher mark for eternity, rather than suffer this for a few decades."
"So will you stop?" Aeris asked hopefully. "Will you end this so-called retribution?"
He glared at her sharply, and she flinched. "This was your intent from the beginning? To make me feel as though I have done something wrong, and am about to make an even bigger mistake?"
She met his gaze as openly as she could. "I only wanted to show you how the rest of us see things. You should never judge without knowing the whole of all sides."
He broke eye contact and began pacing, muttering half to himself. "So I am twice damned, where a moment ago I was right.
"Either I continue on with this brand and face eternity with the knowledge that I bound the Planet to myself against its will...
"Or I let it end here and face hatred until the end of my days."
Aeris watched him empathetically. "If it's any consolation," she said softly, "I won't hate you."
Sephiroth paused, casting her a glance, then resumed pacing. "You might as well sit down," he told her flatly. "I may be some time in deciding."
She sat down as he bade her, continuing to watch him as she wondered. What would he decide? What would he do once he made his choice?
If he decided to keep his plan, he would probably kill her for her 'trickery,' or something of the like. Or perhaps he would keep Aeris as company, since he seemed to disdain humans so and somehow held her in considerably higher regard. At least, if he did not kill her, she could continue trying to persuade him. On the other hand, if he succeeded, she would have to witness the destruction of all she called dear, alone in her grief.
However, if he chose to abandon his path, what other road could he travel? He could not join either faction--Shinra or AVALANCHE--for neither would accept him, she was sure. Any town would reject him as soon as they discovered what he had done, and she had a feeling that he would not hide it.
And there was still the question of Jenova. Was she playing a part in his decision even now? Would she continue to try to influence him, or would she seek to harm him for abandoning her? Could she exercise complete control over him, as Sephiroth sometimes seemed to control Cloud?
Was Sephiroth even sane, as she had thought and risked dying for? Her friends all thought differently; they could not comprehend how a man could be driven to commit such crimes otherwise. Admittedly, she understood it with difficulty, but at least she could. If she was right, then Sephiroth could make a logical decision on his own. If she was wrong, she could end up dead.
Sometimes, one had to take risks.
No matter his choice, she found that she did not want to see him walk out alone. Had he been raised as a specimen? She knew what that was like. Had he been treated as an outcast? She knew about that, too. Did he feel misunderstood and deceived, especially now? Only her deep empathy prevented her from lashing out on those counts. She reserved her anger for the deaf, and she was nearly certain now that Sephiroth was not one of them. It was necessary for her sanity to believe that. Not long ago, he had expressed no qualms about killing her.
If only he would make the right choice...
Finally, he ceased his pacing. "Well. I have enough guilt on me already, and someone will probably kill me in my sleep anyway--a short life." He paused. "If I can even sleep."
"I'm sorry," she said, her relief dimmed by his bitterness, "but it had to be done."
Sephiroth shook his head. "I already felt it, ever since I found out what I really was. But I could not trust that feeling so easily, and I wanted to believe that I still..." He shook his head again. "Nevermind." He started for the exit, and she got up to follow him.
The Temple shuddered violently.
Aeris stumbled, lost her balance as the quakes continued, and fell backward.
Sephiroth whirled, and his eyes darted to catch something beyond her, showing both shock and uncertainty as they widened. He strode to her, brusquely helped her to her feet, and faced the reason for his discord once more.
She quickly saw why he faltered; before the bobbing model of the Temple stood Jenova, deftly solving the puzzles that would create the Black Materia from the Temple, crushing those inside it.
"I should have known you'd continue on without me," Aeris's unlikely companion muttered. He cast her a glance, and she realized he was still supporting her.
Aeris started and shifted her weight so that he could let go. She murmured an apology that was likely lost on him as he started towards Jenova with Masamune lowered but ready.
The battle of words that commenced she could not here, but she watched Sephiroth's revolve waver as Jenova spoke to him, likely telling him again why they had to continue. Still bitter and just barely convinced that a mortal life would be better, it would not take much to drag him back over to the wrong side. He had been lied to so many times that his trust was hardly lasting.
Suddenly anxious, Aeris started forward, stopping when she stood beside him. His eyes flicked sideways to notice her.
"What is it?" he asked sharply.
"Sephiroth, please."
He scoffed. "You think my decisions so short lived?"
"Then...?"
The doubt had gone from his eyes, though they blazed emerald once more. "Yes. I am... I am siding with you. But do not expect it to last. I'll kill this piece of her, and then I am leaving."
"I'll wait for you," she said.
Sephiroth eyed her critically. "What for? You doubt me still?"
"Perhaps a bit, but that doubt isn't keeping me here. I'm staying because I want to be with you a little longer."
"You..." He faltered, then made a noise of frustration as the Temple shook again, sending dust and small chunks of rock showering down. "We will speak of this later." He wasted no more time, but lifted the Masamune and charged for Jenova.
She turned from the Temple model, hardly seeming to notice as the blade slid into her. Her tentacles lashed back at him, but he was quick. Aeris stood by in awe as he darted in and out of Jenova's range, wielding the long, heavy sword with ease. There was magic, too; Jenova's was subtler, tickling the mind and twisting the eye, while Sephiroth's was sharp and powerful and precise. The intricate dance of blade and tendril, bolt and illusion, seemed over all too soon. The remains of Jenova--the part of Jenova, rather--writhed mindlessly in a pool of warp-colored blood.
Aeris remained motionless, watching Sephiroth as he stood, shoulders heaving, that same queer blood dripping down the Masamune's edge. Had it only been an hour ago that he had been under Jenova's control? And now he had killed her. A part of her, Aeris reminded herself. What proved difficult for herself and her companions was simple for him.
He did not turn around to face her, and she found herself noting how long his hair was.
"So why are you really waiting for me?"
"Didn't I tell you?"
"I can't believe it. Your friends will be worried, yes? They will think you dead. So why stay?"
Aeris shook her head, though he could not see it. "I trust you, so let them think what they want. There are more important things for me to consider."
Here he turned to face her, expression guarded. "Such as?"
"Currently, you. Where will you go now?"
"Off on my own somewhere, I suppose, far from everyone else. Certainly they do not want me around."
"No, I suppose not... but you shouldn't be on your own."
"Oh?"
"You don't deserve it."
Sephiroth stared at her incredulously, then began laughing. "Surely you are joking. I've killed hundreds with these hands and this blade. I deserve my own personal hell."
"If you think that, then you don't need any punishment beyond whatever you inflict on yourself. But you don't deserve to be alone, because you've always been alone." She shook her head, a pained expression in her eyes. Solitude was a fate she would not wish on anyone, even a former enemy, even a killer. "It shouldn't always be that way."
He regarded her carefully, uncertainly, as if he were trying to read something beyond her words.
A tremor ran through the Temple.
"...we should go," he said, "before the exit collapses."
She faltered. "But... the Black Materia..." She paused, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "That monster was just a part of Jenova, wasn't it? She'll be coming back..."
"Then you would stay here forever and guard it from her? Because she has forever unless we kill her."
Aeris nodded slightly. "I guess you're right. Will you help us find her?"
"Your companions will not let me," he stated.
"We'll see."
"They won't. They will think me a liar, leading them into some trap."
She sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're probably right about that, too. Cloud and Tifa especially... They hate you too much."
"Indeed," Sephiroth agreed. "So let us not waste any more time, lest they think I've killed you and have further reason to hate me."
She sighed, unable to think of a reason strong enough to make him stay, and started for the doors leading out. He followed silently just a little behind her.
They walked through the doors, and traversed the stone path to the archway that led to the odd chamber of the Time Guardian. The being was an ancient among mortals, a child compared to the Planet, but it seemed barely sentient, created to maintain this passage and little else. It stroked her mind with anxious questions about the 'evil consciousness' and the 'shifted one.' She tried to answer reassuringly, but she had few answers.
Apparently it had known they would be leaving, for the minute and hour hand of the great, faceless clock were already positioned to lead from their archway--the six--to the twelve.
Aeris started across it, more confident of her step than she had been the first time through here, but still disconcerted by the drop into nothingness below her. She could not hear Sephiroth's footfalls behind her, though she wasn't sure he made any sound, and she looked over her shoulder to check.
He stood just inside the sixth archway, facing inside. What was he doing? she wondered.
"Hey, Sephi--"
Sharp stone knocked insistently against her ankles, putting her off balance. The second hand! she realized belatedly, trying in vain to keep her footing as it continued to move in short jerks. Aeris cried out as she slipped from the hour hand, but she did not see Sephiroth turn around.
He doesn't even care, does he? The bitter, irrelevant thought entered her mind and refused to leave. Not that she would have to live with it for very long.
How far down did the pit go, anyway?
It couldn't be bottomless... could it?
Twisting in the air, she could not see any bottom. But the faceless clock was fast disappearing.
Gods, isn't this a stupid way to die?
You're leaving with her? And you want to stay with her?
Foolish child. Don't you know that she cannot give you anything? She was your enemy. She still is, and she always will be.
Because the two of you are opposites. She is willing to give her life for pathetic humanity, while you would turn it into something wonderful--a part of you, a god!
So why have you turned against me?
Sephiroth leaned against the stone archway, frowning as he looked back towards the door to the room of murals. To where he had slaughtered that part of her.
He wished she would shut up. Her voice made too much sense. He dared not respond. She always managed to twist his words to suit her liking. She could make folly seem brilliant. He knew; she had done it before.
"Hey, Sephi--"
He blinked, almost turned from where he stood.
Won't you answer your mother? You were so willing to kill the humans an hour ago. You revelled in their deaths. You were overjoyed at the prospect of becoming one with the Planet. Why have her words affected you so?
He would not walk the simpler path. He would not return to that life where everything was black and white. He would not let her words sway him. Even if she was right. Even if... he had been happier doing what she wished.
But had it really been happiness?
How did one define happiness anyway? He had never known. Perhaps that was why he could not be certain now. But Aeris had said...
Lonely?
Was that how he felt? He had never quite known how to define that either.
Answer me!
Sephiroth grimaced at her sharp tone cutting through his mind, hearing a scream behind him but unable to register it. The Planet does not want it, she said, he answered finally, truthfully. I hardly care about humanity, but the Planet is a being I can respect.
And the last of the Cetra?
Yes.
And yet you're merely standing by now?
He started. What?
You didn't notice?
Notice what?
She did not reply.
Sephiroth turned around, finding Aeris gone. Had she already crossed over? No, she would have waited for him somewhere he could see. Thinking back, he finally registered the scream, stepped out onto the hour hand, and looked down.
She must have fallen far already, for he could not see her. But what could he do? Surely he was too late to help her. And what was down there anyway? Following without knowing that would be foolish. She was probably dead already, crushed against some faraway stone floor, and while he would not meet the same fate in following, there would be no point in doing so.
But what if the fall had not killed her?
After she had risked everything to convince him, was it right to simply leave when there was a chance she needed help? After she had taken a chance to try to save not only the Planet but him as well, did he have any right to deny her the same thoughtless aid?
"Damn," he muttered, stepping off the edge of the hour hand and letting himself drop.
He found after some long seconds of falling that the pit was not bottomless--a faint glow flickered below, and as he grew closer to it, he could make out torches and a stone floor.
And a small form casting a shadow across it.
Sephiroth landed almost noiselessly on the floor with the help of a light Aero spell. He faltered when he saw Aeris lying there. Dead... or barely alive? He saw her draw a shuddering breath, and he strode quickly to her as Jenova cursed.
I am surprised you were willing to impersonate a member of a race you seem to despise so much, he remarked wryly as he knelt. Even if you did it merely to betray them.
Sometimes I have to do things I don't like
Only sometimes? How lucky you must be.
He removed his gloves and reached out to touch Aeris, carefully rolling her onto her back. He blinked in surprise when he found her still conscious.
"So you do care after all," she murmured.
"How are you...?" he asked, perplexed.
"I know a... a healing spell that uses wind, so I used it right before I, ah, hit..." She seemed a bit shaken.
Sephiroth shook his head slightly; he supposed he could not blame her. "That is twice that you have cheated Death. But do you not know any other spells?"
"I have to teach myself... so I don't know any real wind spe--A-ah... don't do that..." She pushed feebly at his hands with one of her own, trying to keep him from touching her other arm, which looked badly broken. "It hurts."
"I apologize if I am not so adept a healer that I do not need to touch what I am healing," he said dryly.
"O-oh... I didn't think you could, with your... ah... I mean..."
"With my reputation as a killer," he finished. "I know what you mean." He reached out to touch her again, and she kept silent while he used his power to heal her many broken bones and scrapes and cuts. He had to admit that he struggled with it; he was not skilled in healing.
Not like her.
He helped her to sit up.
"Thanks," she said, smiling.
Sephiroth looked to the wall, uncomfortable with sincere gratitude. "Why could you not heal yourself?"
"It's hard for me to concentrate when I'm in pain like that..."
"Pain should not be a handicap, especially for you."
"I'm weak and inexperienced," Aeris answered, though she sounded a little offended and surely did not mean her words in full. "Not like you. I don't have a high tolerance for pain."
The beating of wings on air attracted his attention, and he looked up; a slender green dragon hovered to his right. Its twin approached on the left. Hardly a threat under normal circumstances, but healing drained a person, and he was unused to protecting anyone.
"Do you think you can fight?" he asked her.
"Y-yes, I think so." She looked around. "Where's my staff?"
He quickly spotted it lying a few feet away, and handed it to her before he stood. She scrambled to her feet a moment later, facing the other dragon with her back to him.
She trusted him.
Somehow, that meant a lot to him.
Sephiroth raised the Masamune and darted in to attack. The creature was nimble, but not very strong, so while it could avoid taking any of his blows full-force, it could not do him much harm. He bore the lashings from its sharp tail and its lower-level air spells in silent indifference.
He glanced over his shoulder at Aeris after a few minutes. The battle was harder for her. She was no fighter, and handled her staff clumsily at best, but she was a competent magic user. She seemed to be doing all right.
He shifted his attention back to the dragon he was fighting, dodging its tail and using a bolt spell to further weaken it. Its wings beat wearily and erratically. A few more well-placed blows from Masamune finished it off, and it dropped to the ground with a grating cry and a muted thud.
Whirling, Sephiroth quickly stepped in front of Aeris, repelling an attack from the remaining dragon. A harsh ice spell sent it plummeting to join its twin on the stone floor.
"Not bad," he remarked, noting how much she had weakened it before he intervened.
Aeris merely shrugged, looking down at the dead pair of dragons with something resembling regret. Did it pain her to see lives lost, no matter whose they were?
Would she have looked at him with that same expression had he died?
Doubtful.
Sephiroth looked around the room they were in, finally taking in the curved walls, the two mounted torches, and the carving of a dragon in the space between them. What had this place been intended for? Getting rid of anyone the Time Guardian might have seen fit to send tumbling down here? It made a decent death trap for those less skilled with magic.
"How do we get out?" Aeris asked.
He followed her voice to where she now stood--by a section of rubble where the exit must have been. It looked as though it had collapsed only recently, probably with the set of quakes Jenova had caused. He walked to join her, frowning.
"What do you think?" she queried with a glance up at him. "Can you blast through, or would that be too dangerous?"
"Too dangerous," he confirmed. "It could very well cause more of this place to collapse." He surveyed the rubble, gaze wandering upwards. No, no gaps towards the top. The exit had caved in completely. It seemed strange that there should have been one, but perhaps the Cetra had not wished to condemn anyone to such a slow death as starvation.
Aeris frowned and craned her neck to look back up the way they had come. "I don't suppose you know how to fly..."
"Not that high," he replied.
She looked to her staff, checking her materia and shaking her head. "If Cloud hadn't taken the Bahamut materia we found, I might have had a summon that would help, but as it is... I don't think Shiva's going to be of much use."
"I suppose we will have to climb back up then," he stated simply.
She stared at him in shock. "Climb!? Are you insane?"
"Not anymore, I should hope," he answered dryly.
Aeris flushed. "Sorry," she mumbled. "But... I can't climb that." She nodded to the wall stretching up into darkness. "I had enough trouble on Mount Nibel, and that was hardly vertical."
Sephiroth found no reply.
She sighed. "I'd call Cloud for help, but I don't think I could explain this to him... And the prospect of having to help you as well as me might cause him a mental breakdown."
He chuckled quietly. "Indeed. So what do you propose we do?"
"I don't know," she said, "but there's no way I can climb back up."
He knew what he could do, but he was hesitant to suggest it. She was, after all, a near stranger, formerly his enemy... But she trusted him, did she not? Perhaps... Looking her over, he faltered again. When on his quest, he had scarcely paid her any mind, as long as she stayed out of his way. She had been nothing more than a Cetra girl, dangerous but subdued. Her recent bravery had intrigued him.
But why hadn't he noticed how beautiful she was? Perhaps it really was easier to simply destroy everything in sight. Less complicated. Killing machines needed no emotions. It had been easy to look at humans as animals, easy to look at the Cetra as misguided, easy to look at the Planet as inert.
Yet she had shown him otherwise, and he could no longer be a simple killing machine. He had to listen to his human emotions, and treat humans as equals, as sentient beings, as individuals worthy of living.
The emotions were the most aggravating things. They were the whole reason he was down here, because he felt he owed her something. And he actually found himself liking her, of all the absurd notions. It only made this situation even more awkward.
He wished he could present the solution dispassionately, effortlessly, matter-of-factly. But he could not. Damn that part of him that was human.
"You know... I could... ah..."
Aeris looked at him expectantly. "You thought of something?"
Sephiroth nodded and looked away uncomfortably. "I could... carry you up."
He waited for her to call the idea ridiculous (as it was), and waited for her to accuse him of wanting to touch her (which, unfortunately, he did). She did neither.
"You think you could?" she asked, weighing the option in her mind.
"I am not certain," he replied, unable to keep his surprise from his eyes. "I can try, and the worst that can happen is that we will end up down here again."
"All right," she said.
Sephiroth blinked. "'All right'?"
Aeris tilted her head. "Why are you so surprised?"
"I did not think you would be comfortable with it..."
She shrugged. "No, I'm not, but I'll take that discomfort over slow starvation any day."
"But you would rather I be someone else," he added.
"Well... yes. You're not exactly my idea of a savior."
"More like your would-be destroyer. Well, no matter. I am here, not Cloud, and I suppose we will have to make what we can of it."
"R-right," she agreed.
Leaving the Masamune behind--he could call for it later if he needed it--Sephiroth strode to the wall, motioning her over. "You will have to leave that staff behind," he told her, "but take your materia."
Aeris nodded, doing as he bade her.
There followed an awkward pause.
He turned his back to her, stooping some; she was so small! "Climb up on my back. I will need my hands."
She hesitated, but soon she had looped her arms about his neck and hooked her legs awkwardly around his waist. It felt almost pleasant to have her so close, in a strange sort of way.
"All set?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so..."
"Just hold on." Sephiroth straightened and swiftly started up the stone wall, using the crevices between the roughly-cut rectangles as hand- and foot-holds. Her added weight upset his normal sense of balance, and he made his way up with muscles tensed, feeling as though he could fall any moment. Aeris seemed to notice, and she leaned in closer to him.
The rock was crumbling in a few places, and he had to move even more carefully there, moving sideways to find more reliable crevices. Once he could only continue up, practically scrambling as stone broke away under his fingers. Aeris's grip tightened the higher he climbed.
"We're almost there!" she exclaimed delightedly after many agonizingly-long minutes.
He dared not look up to see, nor did he quicken his pace. This was no time for making mistakes.
Finally, his fingers grasped the floor of one of the archways, and he felt relief at finding a more solid purchase. He pulled the both of them up over the edge and into the safety of the arch. She slid carefully off his back and sat down nearby while he leaned against the wall and caught his breath.
"Well," she said at length. "That's something I never want to do again."
Sephiroth only grunted softly, more in acknowledgment than in agreement.
Aeris got to her feet, straightened her dress, and looked out at the clock face. Her eyes showed concentration, and soon enough the hands of the clock moved to allow them passage from this new arch to the exit.
"Will you come across with me this time?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered. "It would not do for you to fall again."
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I have terrible balance?"
"It would seem so."
She placed her hands on her hips. "You weren't even watching, so you've no idea how I fell."
"Perhaps not, but you are only stalling now."
Aeris seemed about to make some retort, but she stopped herself, shook her head, and turned for the clock hand. "Never mind all that... It's long past time we got out of here."
She started across the hand, and he followed only a pace behind, ready, this time, to catch her if she lost her balance. But they made it to the other side without mishap, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
The exit door lay ahead of them, and Aeris strode for it without hesitation. Sephiroth hung back, decidedly less thrilled about meeting up with her companions.
She looked back over her shoulder, offering a smile. "Come on. I can keep them at bay so they won't slaughter you."
He scoffed, but followed a little closer behind her as they exited the Temple of the Ancients.
"Aeris!!" her friend Tifa exclaimed, the first to catch sight of her.
But though all who waited there across the bridge looked up expectantly and with relief, no one else spoke for a long moment as they took in the sight of both Aeris and Sephiroth together. Obviously, they were having some difficulty comprehending how she could be alive with him so close by.
Cloud stepped forward to meet them as they reached the end of the bridge, relief that Aeris still lived and anger at Sephiroth's presence battling for dominance on his face. He finally settled for a confused frown. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I persuaded him to give up his quest," Aeris answered simply.
"You... what?"
"He's giving it up," she repeated. "Which means he's no longer a threat, and there's no need to kill him."
"But what if he's--"
"Lying?" Sephiroth cut in. "What for? I could have killed her and taken the Black Materia as I had planned."
"Then why didn't you? It doesn't make any sense."
"I changed my mind. Now if you will excuse me." He made his way around Aeris and Cloud, determined to leave before they all gathered their wits and decided to punish him in some way. Or before--
"You're going already?" Aeris called after him.
--that. He slowly came to a halt, not looking back. "I told you that I could not stay, and you know perfectly well why I cannot."
"Aeris, what are you--?"
"It's all right, Cloud. Just wait a moment, will you?" And then she was at his side. "Won't you please reconsider? We could use your help."
"I know you could use it," he said sharply, "but your companions will not accept it, so what good am I anyway?"
"We'll figure out a way to make it work."
"No, we won't. We can't. There is too much enmity between us." He glanced at her teammates, briefly catching Cloud's glare. "Perhaps you do not understand it, Aeris. If you do not hate me, you must not be capable of hatred."
"No, that's not true," she protested, shaking her head and making her braid swing back and forth. "Please, stay. I want--"
Sephiroth cut off her words with a kiss. Perhaps not the brightest idea he had ever had, but he did not need to hear those words.
Nor did the taste of her lips really help him to think clearly.
He pulled away hastily, finding her eyes filled with wonder. He looked away, coughed uncomfortably. "Perhaps, if you still care, you may find me after this is all over, but I will have nothing to do with them. I trust you are competent enough to resolve the situation without my help."
He turned away from her, striding away as fast as his legs could carry him without running.
He was a fool, he really was. His life was made up of nothing but idiotic decisions strung together. The only vaguely intelligent thing he could recall doing was making certain Aeris made it out of that temple alive. And possibly killing President Shinra, but that was beside the point.
Well. At least she had persuaded him to stop that foolish quest. Him, a god? Laughable, at best.
You are only a fool to give it up, Jenova put in.
"Shut up," Sephiroth muttered under his breath. "The last thing I want to hear is your voice right now."
And the first thing would be hers, yes? Amazing. I had not thought you so susceptible to your human emotions.
"Well, it looks like we were both wrong."
Aeris stared after him, stunned speechless.
The Great Sephiroth had... kissed her?
That was certainly the last thing she had ever expected of him. But then, he had never been very predictable, had he? Still... why?
...she had been thinking, for quite some time now, of leaving this little band, and going off on her own. Despite being her friends, they were a burden to her, painful to watch because she would never be like them. She could never be blissfully ignorant, never be deaf, never be able to see things in clean blacks and whites. Never be understood. Never feel complete in their company.
Sephiroth mystified her, but nevertheless there was something about him that spoke to her. He, at least, understood all too well the dangers of a black-and-white viewpoint.
"...Aeris?" Tifa queried anxiously. "What... happened?"
She turned around with a half-smile. "Something beautiful, I think. But never mind that; he's gone, and we've got more pressing problems."
"Like what?" Cloud asked, looking as though his brain was barely functioning. That kiss must have stunned him beyond anger.
"Jenova," she replied simply.
"It is late," Vincent stated, clearly having a better grasp of the situation than the others. "And it has been a long day. We should get some rest."
Aeris glanced at the sky, noting the oranges and reds and violets. "I was gone for a long while, wasn't I?" she asked absently. "I'm sorry to have made you all worried."
"As long as you're back," Cloud said hesitantly. "Though I have no idea what just happened."
She smiled.
They set up camp not far from the bridge to the Temple. Aeris answered the questions they asked of her, eased their worries, and kept up the cheerful visage they were used to. She even stayed up nearly an hour longer talking to Tifa and Yuffie before retreating to her tent.
But she had made up her mind. She was leaving them behind. Perhaps it was selfish, but she thought she had found someone who could help her more than these people, however dear to her they might be. And it seemed that he needed her, too. Aeris had always loved helping people.
Maybe by sharing her burden of duty, Sephiroth could prove himself... to himself. And maybe they could both find out what it was like to be part of something beautiful.