Chapter 5: Heart of the Serpant

Aeris awoke rejouvenated. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon paling the sky around it with its radiance. Despite the beautiful weather she had nothing to be joyous about.

Yawning she rubbed her bleary eyes and gazed around the room. Faint rays of light poured in through the sheer curtains swaying gentle in the morning breeze. To no suprise, her sight settled on the former general checking his supplies and running a smooth hand over his gleaming masamune. He glanced at her briefly and continued his work.

"Prepare to leave," ordered Sephiroth sheathing the freshly polished sword then strapping it securely to his back.

"Good morning to you too," she mumbled quietly to herself while sliding out from under the sheets. She sat up leaning on the headboard as he finished. She shivered slightly in the morning chill.

"I'll be waiting downstairs when you finish, do not tarry?" he added tossing a black satchel over his shoulder. He glanced back at her one last time before exiting, closing the door silently behind him.

" I don't know what's colder, " she said to herself sliding herjacket over her arms, "the weather or his attitude." She stood infront of the mirror and brushed out the knots adornign her chestnut locks. Tying up her hair in its usual briad along with her materia. Putting down the brush on the counter top, she looked her self over.

Luckly her appearance showed only the minimum of the struggles she had endured for the past few days. Had it only been a couple days since her first in encounter with the silver-haired man, since she was whisked away by a cold blooded killer. She ran her fingers down her neck wincing slightly at her own touch. A large purplish bruise had formed where Sephiroth had nearly choked her to death. Perhaps, it would have been better if had finished the job.

She shook her head at such nonsense. No, she refused to give up so easily and prove to Sephiroth that she was as weak as he believed. No, she would never allow him that satisfaction. Too many lives depended on her decisions, it was her duty as a Cetra not to do anything irrational.

She was halfway down the staircase when she realized that she had forgotten her new weapon. Slapping herself mentally, she went back to the room retrieving the staff from its post by the wall.She twirled it around a few times experimentally, amazed at how light and well crafted it was. It must have been expensive. Examing the materia already equipped, she squinted trying to see what varieties were there, suprised to find them all mastered. She knew these were very hard to come by. Grasping her new weapon firmly she rushed down to join Sephiroth.

Down stairs the said swordsman grew more impatient and annoyed with each passing second. What's keeping her? He continued to ignore the inn keepers rants on how 'love was in the air'. Idiot.

Much to his relief Aeris finally decended down the staircase, staff in hand. She approached him warily as if he might strike her at anymoment for her delay. Taking note, Sephiroth merely smirked at the girl's skittishness.

"Let's go," he said before she had a chance to oppose. She sighed and obeyed, following him wordlessly out of the inn. The keeper looked out after them shaking his head,"An odd couple indeed," he chuckled to himself.

Wasting no further time they made their way out of the peaceful town of Kalm; their hasty pace rendering it as only a speck on the hoizon to their backs. Plains of rolling hills and seas of grass stretched out for miles. Large platues and mountains slowly rose in the distance.

Aeris drank in all the enjoyment of her surroundings. She loved how the wind played gently with her hair and the sun's comforting warmth on her back. It could almost make her forget about her hopeless situation, but the man striding infront of her remained as solid reminder. Everything here was lively and free, unlike inside the morbid, lifeless walls of Midgar. Closing her eyes, leaning her head back slightly she allowed herself to become absorbed...

Her comfort, however, was short lived as Sephiroth interrupted her thoughts.

"I can't carry you the entire way, you have to learn to keep up. Don't let yourself fall behind again," he said, seeing how she had managed to put a fair distance between them. She slowly opened her eyes feeling her solace fade as she looked upon her captor. He stood impatiently as she walked over beside him and continued their trek.

"I'm sorry," she whispered apologetically, "but I've never been outside Midgar before and this place is so lively and beautiful."

"You certainly need to get out more if you believe lifes meaning is found in a field of flowers," he replied icly.

"And exactly where do you find meaning?" she retorted.

His gaze remained unmoving" I do not need to search for my purpose," he said cooly," I create my own. Now unless you have made your last wishes I suggest your mouth remain sealed for the remainder of the journey...or else I will relieve you of it."

She fell silent needing no further warnings. Sephiroth was someone who's threats were not taken lightly.

As they continued into rougher terrain Aeris began to struggle to keep up with the generals lengthy strides. They had been traveling for most of the day, not even stopping to take a rest. Sephiroth's endurance was unbelievable and he showed no signs of slowing. Refusing to complain she gritted her teeth and ignored the stomach cramp she had gained from strenous walking. She didn't want to hear him lecture her on her own weakness. His pity was unwelcome, if he had any.

Enamored with her own thoughts she didn't notice that Sephiroth had stopped sharply infront of her causing her to walk straight into his back. She backed up quickly, stumbling backwards using her staff for balance.

She looked up at him for an explanation of why they had stopped, but he was oblivious. He stared at the distance infront of them. Following his gaze her sights rested upon the object obtaining his attention. A large creature was making its way toward the pair, powerful leaps bringing it closer by the second. He started to unsheathe his sword, but stepped infront of him causing him to pause.

"Out of my way, girl," he said sharply.

"I want to handle this myself," she said shly turning to face the oncoming foe.

"Be my guest," he laughed stepping aside to watch amusedly.

He stood on gaurd ready to rush in and save the girl the instant she faltered.

The beast was closing in almost 50 yards away. The animal was wolf-like, but nearly twice its size. It's greyish mane stood on end while darked hair covered the rest of its body. Scars and other blemish along its body told her this would not be an easy victory.

It came to halt once within range. Aeris peered nervously at the hot saliva gushing fluidly between its fangs. The creature sprang at her and she evaded, narrowly missing the it's sharp, enlongated claws. It's paws dug into the ground and turned sharply towards her bearing rows of its razor like teeth. Raising her staff in front of her, Aeris concentrated wholy on directing the materia's magic to her will. Fire erupted on the creature's flesh causing it to shriek and writhe on the ground in agony. It tried lunging at her one last time before collapsing feet away from her, its body smoldering to ash.

Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly disbelief and amusement. This girl had suprised him with both her bravery and skill of magic. Her accuracy with the magic's flow was amazingly percise. It seemed he had found something of value in the girl other than her heritage.

"It seems you're not entirely useless," he said at last walking towards her, arms folded across his chest.

"Huh?"

"It seems that your very good with controlling magic, Cetra. It would have taken any normal person of your level several casting to defeat that monster," he replied inspecting the charred remains.

Aeris's smile sheepishly surprised to hear anything remotely close to a compliment escape his lips. She stuttered trying to think of something nice to say in return, but her words failed her.

"Come girl, our destination is just beyond this valley."

Aeris growled in frustration. It was always 'girl' this or 'girl' that and it was begining to push her over the edge.

"I have a name you know," she spat at last, "It's Aeris, so stop calling me 'girl' or 'cetra' all the time."

Although his back was to her Sephiroth rolled his eys and continued forward.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Do you ever shut up?" he said exasperatly.

Aeris bite her tounge to keep from arguing. She had never met a man who could be inconsiderate as well as arrogant. She admired the passing scenery trying to push murderous thoughts from her head. She had to remember not to become discouraged, because doing so would indefinately insure that she would not survive this journey.

Their silence continued for what appeared to be hours on end, over which she had concluded that Sephiroth was not much of a conversastionist. He, however, welcomed the silence.

He had been trying to reach 'mother' onthe mental link that had been forged between them, but it seemed as if Jenova was preoccupied with other matters.The reunion, perhaps. He could worry about those matters later, right now he would have to concern himself with how he was going to get both the girl and himself safely across the marsh and into Junon.

He stopped once again realizing that Aeris had fallen behind. She was looking intently at indentations in the ground. Slowing his pace until he was beside her he quickly recongized what captured her attention.

"They're chocobo tracks, we must be getting close."

"Chocobo's?"

"You'll see soon enough," he ended shaking his head at the girl's innocent inquistiveness.

Coming over a small foot-hill, they approached a quaint farmhouse. A large holding pen was out front and was filled with what appeared to be over grown chickens. She stared gleefully at the large birds petting one of them lightly on the head. It offered her a cheerful wark in return.

"Are we going to buy one?" she asked removing her hand from the bird.

"No," he said drily removing a bridle from one of the nearby fencepost, "we are going to take one."

He jaw extended slighlty, "You can't be serious."

He grunted, rubbing his temples in a soothing circular motion. This girl wasreally more trouble than she was worth. "For a grown woman you certainly act just like a child. Tell me princess have you truly been babied that much all your life?" he snapped mockingly while releasing a single chocobo.

"You can't steal!" she protested.

He didn't reply but continued harnessing the bird, adjusting the straps securely.

"This is wrong!"

"Shut up!" he shouted fiercly his hand instinctivly sought for the hilt of his masamune.

She recoiled in fear, his outburst effectively silencing her once moe.

He lead the now startled bird over to where she was standing and she closed her eyes imagining that he would strike her down. But the blow never came, instead he wrappped his muscular arms around her waist and hoisted her up to rest on top of the chocobo. The sudden shift in weight caused the bird to go up a few steps, but Sephiroth coaxed the bird to a stand before settling behind her. He took the reins from her and nudge the bird with his heel.

Aeris found her senses being filled with the stench of decay as they headed away from the farm. Sephiroth stopped the bird where the green fields ended, contemplating the quickest route across the swamp. A foggy haze hung just above the bogs surface like a curtain of white, shifting as swirling vortexes chruned gracefully giving off a feeling of calm.

Gulping Aeris decided that she did not like the look of the swamp. The fact that she didn't know what lie beyond or beneath its thick muck. She had also discovered that the closer they drew to the marshland the less animals were scurrying across the plains. There was no life beyond the stale swamp.

Without warning Sephiroth kicked the chocobo forcefully, the bird warked in suprise and set off into the marsh. The violent, fast paced motion of the animal would have dismounted her if Sephiroth had not wrapped his arm around her waist, securing her tightly against him. Aeris found herself blushing unconsiously at the unexpected intimacy of their position, regardless of the circumstances they were in. The swamp was filled with an unnatural silence which was only interrupted by the splashing water beneath the chocobo.

Somethings not right here, why are we in such a hurry?

They continued through the marsh the chocobo slowly increasing in speed as it raced on. Aeris would occasionally hear a splash further away but disregarded is as nothing. But as they continued along the sounds became more frequent and she could distinctively hear something moving swiftly around them.

She looked ahead seeing the swamp's end only yards away. Maybe if they went a little faster they could have made it...

Aeris was abruptly thrown foward and yanked back as Sephiroth pulled back on the reins forcefully causing the bird to slide to a stop. Her head dizzy from the sudden wiplash, she gazed up to see why he had stopped. Her eyes largened in horror as a large creature slithered in front of them.

A monsterous snake towered before them, coiled loosely blocking their entrance to the cave. The scales that covered the zollom were a glistening tanned brown except for the two unique green diamond patterns under its flared hood.(scatter: not sure what the damn thing looked like but its our fic so nah) It's head swayed hypnotically, golden eyes glowing with a frenzied fire. Its forked tounge sensed the air about it searching for its newest victims.

Sephiroth cursed under his breath then pulled Aeris off the chocobo causing her to land on her knees in one of the small spongy pieces of land. He followed after her sending the chocobo away with a large smack. It took off racing back to the farm in the opposite direction.

Unsheathing his masamun, Sephiroth feet firmly planted in the soft soil faced the creature, his blade poised above his head, eyes flashing with anticipation for the on coming battle.

He turned his head back at Aeris who sat wide eyed and trembling upon the patch of earth which she had been thrown. She couldn't believe the sheer size of the serpant before her and even more so that Sephiroth intended to fight it. This is crazy! How does he expect to kill a creature like this!

"Stay back, I don't need you getting in my way."

Turning back toward the snake he concentrated on summoning a bolt of lightening onto the reptile. The creature pause and hissed in menace at the sudden shock. This was all he needed, charging at the snake with his blade forward, Sephiroth made his attack. The serpant turned to face its foe, it's body sensing the vibrations of Sephiroth's footfalls on the water. Striking out with its fangs bared it narrowly missed the pale haired warrior who had jumped onto its coiled body. With weapon in hand he tried plunging the masamune into the reptile, but the snake's wip-like tail caught him in the stomache sending him flying towards the shore.

He timed his landing and landed on his feet with all the grace of a feline. Smiling malevolently at the beast he ran along the bank towards a dead pine tree

The zollom slithered smoothly through the marsh hissing loudly in frustration at its prey. Sephiroth scaled the tree with unmatchable speed, balancing on one of he top most branches. The limb was strong but would not hold his weight for much longer, this fight would have to end quickly. Without much wait the snake was already making its way up to him, its body coiled around the dying tree like ivy, enclosing it in a choking embrace. Sephiroth stood still patiently waiting as the snake's head slithered just past him and was barely above the tree's peak. Having lost sight of it's meal the snake scanned the area left and right, unable to pin point the swordsman. Sephiroth took advantage of this opprotunity, unsheathing his long sword once again, he sprang on top of the monster's head and before the creature could throw him off he thrust the sword into the snake's skull. The creature screamed in pain thrashing its head widely with the swordstill impaled through its bottom jaw. Grasping his masamune's hilt Sephiroth twisted the head upside down and slammed the zollom's head onto the tree's top, the branches tip harpooning it in the neck sending blood spewing from every angle. Sliding the sword out of the serpant's cranium, Sephiroth jumped down landing on knee to the spongy earth below.

Aerismet him, his coat shining with fresh blood and his blade slick with it. She had watched from afar his masacre of the animal. The sight brought her stomache to her throat. He stood up and looked at her, his cat like slits observing the fear she incurred. Seeing the bloodlust still radianting from his eyes and his enjoyment for ending life only further sickened her. The man could slay monsters and men alike without remorse. A cold hearted killer at best; a monster himself.

Turning away towards the mine she watched him clean his blade on his coat, the silver blade sliding into the black sheath with a sharp "click".

She entered in the mine cautiously, shying away from dark corners and stepping lightly over small creatures that would often scurry across her path. Sephiroth kept close behind her guiding her through the winding tunnels and pathways intwining beneath the mountain. She quickly glanced back at him, shuddering despite herself, she wished she could have left him back there, but she was paralyzed by fear.

Her knees suddenly buckled beneath her and she leaned breathlessly against the wall. Her gaze followed him as he scanned the surrounding area for further threat, looking at her once finished.

"Afraid?" he chuckled cleaning the traces of crimson that streaked his hair.

She didn't reply but instead peered wordlessly at the ground. She knew he knew the answer.

"Why?" he asked approaching her slowly, the sounds of his steps magnified by the hollow cave."I did save you, you should be grateful. I didn't just decide to feed you to that overgrown serpant."

"You and that snake are no different!" she cried eyes brimmed with tears," You too enjoy the slaughter of innocent people!"

He raised an eyebrow quizically, "The president?" He laughed humorously,"I assure he was far from innocent, he deserved no less then what I delivered him."

"It doesn't matter," she repeated now in a whisper. "Who are you to decide who lives and who dies?"

His humor faded as he stepped closer to her putting a mere inch between them. He propped and arm against the stone wall and leaned in futher. She turned her head away for him her eyes fixated on resolutely nothing,but she could still feel his breath hot agianst her face.

"Such a naive girl," he hissed."I will be god soon enough."

He hatred began to further boil for the heartless man in front of her. He longed for nothing, but the power to control everyone and everything. Any thought of sympathy for the man she had previously harbored vanished. She reached out to slap the smirk of his face when he seized her wrist...

"You monster..."

"You have no ide," he whispered codly. Backing away slowly he narrowed his eyes at her sending a feeling of utter vunerability up her spine. He released her arm.

"I will reveal to you a true monster soon enough," he said turning away continuing through one of the various tunnels that surrounded them. She followed speechlessly through the dimly lit cavern. It all seemed so gloomy at first, the air was terribly stifling, dead almost. As they ventured further throughthe mineshe noticed something that felt like small breeze passing through the tunnel as they began to travel uphill. She also took note that the rocks that made up some of the walls and such had little flecks of mythril embedded in them making them shine as they passed through.

Feeling a familiar craving in the pit of her stomach she decided to break the silence that had descended upon them with a long awaited complaint.

"I'm hungry," she said at last.

He paused," I had forgotten you need to eat."

He began searching through a satchel and tossed her some bread he had purchased while they were in Kalm.

"It will have to do until we reach Junon. There we can restock supplies."

She knodded and quickly devoured the bread. It was nothing spectacular to the senses but it was enough to sooth the ache of her stomach.

Sephiroth had gone ahead searching for a place that was suitable for rest. As she finished her meal she saw him retreat through one of the nearby passage ways.

"Follow me," he said leading down a path to the right. She gasped lightly as he led her into a wide cave. The ceiling had a small opening that acted as a skylight allowing her to view the night sky. The moonlight flowed in through the vacant space making the mythril glisten like the stars above them. This was definately better than sleeping in the wilderness.

Using one of his fire materia, Sephiroth swiftly lit a fire in the middle of the cave setting it aglow with firelight.

"Get some rest," he commanded tossing her a blanket.

She took it and sprawled out on the cave floor curling up to the fire for warmth.

"Goodnight, Sephiroth," she yawned tiredsomely closing her eyes and soon giving way to sleep.

He gave a 'hmp' in reply and watched her breathing slow as she fell into a deep slumber. Slumping up against the far wall he watched the firelight dance rythmically across her features. Her face relaxed and ungaurded. Was this the only time she didn't fear him? Folding his arms across his chest he watched over the flower girl the rest of the night.

Scatter's Note: God, that's a long chapter. You guys have no idea how excruating it is to type all that. My left hand( the weak one) is pulsing in pain. But, shucks, u guys are worth it! Sorry for the belated update but send all ur flames and hate mail to elebreth its all her fault...im a chapter a head of her ne ways. love u guys

Scatter Plot aka Neon Blue