My eyes slowly cracked open. For a moment, I was unsure where I was, but then I was reliving the blast of flames from the necklace, Hojo's disintegration, and the explosion. Gradually becoming aware of my surroundings, I could tell that I was lying on my back near the stairs where Jenova used to be stored. I reached my hand behind my head and felt a bump forming by the base of my neck and cringed. That's going to hurt later on.

Slowly, I pushed myself up onto my elbows, wincing as my head started to throb painfully from the impact of being blasted backwards. I scanned the room and saw Vincent and Cloud near the exit of the reactor, slowing coming to. The necklace laid a short distance from the two men, the center stone completely shattered and strewn around the base of the necklace. There was a slight bit of smoke rising from the stone's pieces, but beyond that, the necklace remained dark and silent. I continued observing the room and realized that Sephiroth wasn't there.

As I slowly started to panic, a hand came down gently on my shoulder. A wisp of silver hair fell near my face. "Are you alright?" Sephiroth asked me from behind my ear.

I tried to turn by body to face him, but the explosion and the hours of fighting before arriving at the reactor prevented me from turning my head and respond. "..I will be." I said weakly. I continued to struggle to lift myself up, and suddenly found myself weightless as Sephiroth carefully but swiftly scooped me up into his arms. He walked towards the exit of the reactor, where both Cloud and Vincent were waiting. I was able to glimpse both men, and realized that Cloud's normally Mako blue eyes were now just a normal, sky blue. Looking at Vincent, his eyes also no longer glowed. I smiled feebly at both of them, and blacked out.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When I came to, I was lying on my bed inside the Highwind. My throbbing head, which was unbearable before I passed out, had thankfully dulled to a soft ache. Slowly, I propped myself up in the bed and looked out the window. The sun appeared to be low in the sky, ready to say goodbye to the Planet until a new day. I turned towards my nightstand and saw my necklace laying on the table next to a half-drank elixir. I reached over to the necklace and picked it up. The center stone, which had shattered in the reactor, was absent, and all that was left was the setting it was kept in, and the four stones around it. Looking more closely at the back of the setting, I realized there was something written on it. Promised Land.

I gazed at those words in wonder. I had the entrance to the Promised Land all along…all these years. That's why all of Jenova's cells were following me. That's why Hojo was after me. He needed me alive because I was pure of heart, and therefore able to open the entrance to the Promised Land.

I dropped the necklace into my lap and my thoughts drifted back to the reactor. Sephiroth, Vincent and Cloud were able to control the cells inside them…but how? I scratched my head and thought about it. Did it make sense that the closer Jenova cells were to Hojo's cells, Jenova's cells just knew what to do? My mind started spin as I thought back to my very first conversation with Sephiroth about the cells…

"Back in Hojo's lab, I was tested on for Jenova cells, and upon finding them, Hojo surgically removed some of them and stored them in a sealed jar in his lab."

"Apparently, Hojo discovered that the cells could travel, almost like they had a mind of their own. He assumed that the direction that they would travel would lead him to the Promised Land, considering Jenova herself supposedly wanted to reach the Promised Land…"

"Wait…this doesn't make sense…" I said to myself. "How do the Jenova cells in Sephiroth differ from the cells Hojo injected himself with…the cells he injected Cedric with?"

A playful voice interrupted me. "Well the answer to that is easy, isn't it?" I looked around to find where the voice came from, and looked down at my necklace. The four stones were shining brightly. Aeris' voice.

My eyes widened. "What is the answer?" I asked.

"Love, Tifa." Aeris said simply. "Though Jenova's cells were removed from Sephiroth's body and stored in a jar, they were still tied to him."

"So, were the cells originally bad?" I asked.

"The cells were of Jenova." Aeris said as a matter-of-factly. "But it was the power of the mind whose body the cells were in which caused them to be good or bad. You see, Sephiroth's mind became clear once the cells were removed. This in turn caused the cells "minds" to clear, and attempt to fulfill their true destiny…"

"..entering the Promised Land." I finished. "So does this mean the cells that Hojo extracted from Sephiroth were never deadly at all? If that's true, then why were there so many dead monsters around?"

"The cells that came from Sephiroth were not deadly, and did not affect the monsters. But the cells injected in Hojo, on the other hand…"

"…were tied to Hojo, and out to destroy anything in their way to the Promised Land." I finished once again. "The cells behaviors are based on their host!"

Aeris gave a sweet giggle. "That's right! And that's also why, when I was in the forest, I told you that Sephiroth's cells were following you…protecting you."

A smile started to form on my face. "Love." I whispered.

Aeris' sweet laugh rang out, and slowly faded away. A single tear slid down my face, knowing that my short conversation with her had come to an end.

Just then, a knock on the door caused me to sit up straighter and wipe my tear away. "Come in," I said.

The door cracked open and I saw Sephiroth enter the room. His eyes, which normally glowed brightly, were now just a brilliant green color without the glow. I like it, I thought with a small smile.

"How are you?" Sephiroth asked as he sat on my bed and brushed his hand up against my cheek.

I smiled bigger. "Much better than at the reactor."

"I'm glad to hear that." Sephiroth's face moved slowly towards mine. "I was worried."

"Worried about me? You know who I am, right?" I said, giving him a wink.

That got a smile out of him. "I do…Miss Lockheart." He said as he gently closed the gap between us and his lips melted onto mine. His lips were warm and delectably soft; I gave a soft sigh and pulled back slightly. His eyes opened and he gave a look of confusion. "What is it?"

I gave a shy smile. "Word has it that you have somewhat strong feelings for me," I said, putting my hand over his.

Sephiroth gave an inquisitive look. "I can concur that what you've heard is in fact true," he said with an eyebrow raised. "Where, might I ask, did you come across this information?"

I looked down at my necklace. "From a little pink bird," I said with a gentle smirk.

Sephiroth also gazed down at the necklace. "Tifa, Aeris was right. The cells were protecting you; the cells that came from me. Jenova cells don't have minds of their own, but follow whatever is in their host's heart." He took both my hands in his and looked directly into my eyes with his own and continued.

"I figured this out at the reactor, when Hojo walked in. I didn't need to control or tell the cells to do anything…they just went with what was in my heart." He squeezed my hands tighter.

"And what is in your heart, Sephiroth?" I asked playfully, though I already knew the answer to that.

Sephiroth gave me a big smile, leaned in and kissed me again, and the Highwind flew back towards Nibelheim…back towards home.

THE END

I just wanted to thank all of you who stuck with me throughout this story...it was over 10 years in the making, and for those of you who continued to read, I commend you. I hope everyone enjoyed this story- as always, R&R. -M