(Arianna's point of view)

None of the gasps that sounded from behind me at that question were as great as my own. I had been a little upset when Sephiroth didn't seem to register my importance, but I knew his strange ways, and thought that it was just his way of composing himself. But, ever since I left Midgar, my worst fear had been that my fiancé and the father of my child had forgotten me completely. And that's exactly what he had done.

So many emotions could have overwhelmed me then: sadness, doubt, regret. Instead, anger seemed to steal away my control, and before I knew it, another river of tears was coursing down my face, and I was screaming my lungs out like a madwoman.

"What the hell are you talking about!? Who am I!? Who am I!? You should know exactly who I am, you bastard!"

Mika tried to restrain me, but I wouldn't allow it. "Nibelheim, The Forgotten City, Midgar!? Me living with you and saving your life!? Our engagement!? You're telling me you remember none of that!?"

"Mom!" Riku shouted in shock. I pointed straight at him, my eyes never leaving Sephiroth's.

"That's your son, you son of a bitch! Or are you telling me you don't remember having sex with me either!?"

He seemed extremely frightened of me, as if I had grown another head that was screaming at him with just as much intensity. But I didn't care. He really pissed me off, and now he was going to face my wrath.

Mika grabbed me more forcefully this time, dragging me backwards as I kicked and clawed to find my way out. I was screaming blindly now, my words hardly making intelligible speech, and when they did, all I could manage was, "I hate you! I hate you", targeting the man who had made me so happy and so sad all within a short expansion of time.

I screamed all the way out of the tunnel, Mika behind me dragging me all the way. Kylene followed us, scared and concerned for my well-being. The moment we were out and back onto the sand, I calmed, falling into Kylene's embrace and sobbing my anger away.

(Sephiroth's point of view)

I watched the crazy woman shout at me with a sense of shame that I didn't know I had in me. I seemed to be a school boy being corporally punished for something I didn't do. Well, at the rate she was going, my ass would be seriously chafed by the time I stood on my feet again.

Then she was dragged away, still screaming out obscenities and hateful speech until her voice was no longer heard. Then all eyes were back upon me, the silver-haired boy's as loathing as ever. I returned the glare, because, although I did not know him, I already had the strange, daunting feeling that I didn't like him. And that son comment... Just imagine if she were right.

Me. As a father?! I'd get a vasectomy before I let that happen. I didn't want to think of it, but - I had already deducted that he wasn't a clone, and there was no way he could be a cocoon of me, as Kadaj had been. After all, I was sitting right here! But the boy... he was so intriguing. Even though I already didn't like him, I was under the distinct impression that I could learn from him.

But I didn't really have time to ponder that. My main concern now was either finding a way to get out of this hellhole of a situation, or to take it in stride and give myself some relaxation time. I didn't know when I last took a vacation. And what better place to do it than at a cluster of sandy islands?

(Riku's point of view)

Sephiroth began to stand on his feet, and everyone except me took a step back. I wanted him to know that he didn't frighten me, and that he never would.

He had made my mother look like a fool in front of everyone. Now he was automatically in reasonable range for my hatred. So what if he was my real birthing father or not? So what if he seemed to be suffering from a serious case of amnesia? He had just treated the most important adult in my life inexcusably, and it would take an extremely long time for me to forgive him for that.

Now there weren't any adults in the cave. Just us kids, the six of us, facing this possible homicidal maniac. But I knew better; Sora and I alone had defeated countless enemies before-hand, and with all of us here... If he did try to get violent, at least I had the comforting knowledge that we'd be able to take down the jack-ass.

When he stood completely upright for the first time, I tried not to act surprised at his size. He seemed huge to me, about an inch over six feet, and his hair swept down to his ankles, even when it was wet, matted and tangled. That wing of his outstretched to its full length, taking up quite a bit of space and making him look all the larger. He was in extreme shape, and, even though I already hated him as a human being, his physique and demeanor gave me the insane urge to look up to him. I'd make a note of that so I could use it against him later.

Then he looked straight into my eyes. I'd never seen such a piercing gaze so identical to my own. And yet, this gaze was older. More experienced. More cynical. And in that moment I knew that he could twist me into a living belt to wear about his waist if he so chose.

I felt a little more intimidated now. Shit.

He smiled, a sly grin with no good nature hidden anywhere within it. Then he held out his hand, palm open. "I believe you have something of mine."

Double shit. Well, at least he was quick to come to the point. Before I could respond, though, Sora took a step forward, drawing way too much attention to himself. "And what makes you think we'd give it to you, you old loon?"

Sephiroth smiled even wider. His eyes still hadn't left mine. Triple shit. "Because your friend here knows that I could snap you like a twig if I felt the need, my bouncy little nuisance."

Sora laughed obnoxiously, but his resolve didn't seem as strong this time. After-all, it had been a year since we'd partaken in any sort of violence, and this guy was already making threats. "Yeah, right. I kicked your butt once before."

"Did my personality seem completely altered by your 'strength'?"

"Well, uh..." Sora closed his mouth. Sephiroth obviously wasn't at all interested in him, and he seemed so powerful compared to us kids. His whole being radiated a sense of heat. An intrusive heat.

I made myself known then. "If you're talking about the blade I picked up when I dragged you up here," I said with as much malice as I could muster, "then I'm afraid you won't be getting it back any time soon. I have to know you're trustworthy enough to wield it competently in a potentially dangerous situation."

He laughed, a hearty yet unkind, booming laughter that shook my bones a bit. He rotated his hand, now having it face sideways, expecting something from me. "A smart boy."

I looked at him for a moment, realizing that he expected insolence in this handshake more than anything else. And I'd give it to him. I took his hand, much to the unhidden surprise of my friends. Then I gave him the same smile that he'd given me, showing him that I wasn't as much of a chicken shit as he thought I was.

'Watch yourself, boy,' a firm squeeze of his hand said to me. 'If I were you, I'd learn to choose my fights a little more carefully from now on.'

I squeezed right back. 'If I were you, I'd practice what you preach.'

Then our contact ended as quickly as it began, and we all stepped aside to let him walk out of the cave with us at his heels. It might not have been the smartest of plans, but there wasn't much else we could do.

Silently to myself, I cursed the irony of my situation. I had been dying of boredom only hours before. And now, my life just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

(Sephiroth's point of view)

When we came upon daylight, I squinted my eyes against the bright sun. The scenery was beautiful: the water was crystalline, and the sand was pure.

The crazy woman and her adult friends seemed to have vanished, possibly going to one of the larger islands I saw to the west. That didn't really bother me. It was less awkward this way, and I despised awkward situations.

"So," the Keyblade-boy began apprehensively, "What do you plan to do here without your sword, Sephiroth? There aren't very many ways to entertain yourself in the way you usually do."

I turned around to face them all, and opened my arms wide in a gesture of carefree insult. My wing flapped once to emphasize the gesture. "I think you'll be surprised. I'm easy to please."

I did need a bath, though. I felt like shit, my hair was outrageous, and I smelled really bad. Then the freshwater waterfall caught my eye. Bingo.

"You'll be staying on this island until we can find more suitable conditions for you."

I turned my head to the silver-haired boy. His words were in no way hospitable, but they made me feel calmer. My arms fell back at my sides. "That will do, I suppose." I wasn't much in the habit of saying 'thank you'. Then I looked more intently at him. "I don't believe I caught your name."

His head cocked to the side a bit. I could see he was tired of making eye contact with me. "My name is Riku."

I looked at the brunette. "Sora."

Then at the two girls. Hesitation. "I'm Kairi. And I'm Selphie."

Lastly, the other two boys. "Tidus. Wakka."

Then I yawned. "I would introduce myself, but it seems that you all already know who I am. I suppose that's your doing, Sora?" He snorted in disgust. What an excellent response.

"We'll be leaving now," Riku said to no one in particular. They all turned to him and nodded their heads. It was obvious now who the leader was. I smiled at that.

Then he turned to me full-bodied, preparing some sort of well-thought speech. I saved him the trouble. "Don't worry. I'm much too exhausted to wreak any havoc tonight."

He narrowed his eyes at me. I didn't really mind that he didn't like me or my jokes. "Someone will check up on you later on in the night," he said abruptly.

I turned away from him and started to walk away, calling back, "You're taking all of the boats. Where would I go?"

(Riku's point of view)

I watched him walking away hesitantly. I wasn't quite sure what to do, and his obnoxiousness didn't help my concentration either. But I decided that there weren't very many other options, so I motioned for my friends and I to walk toward the rowboats.

"What're we gonna do, Riku?" Sora asked. He seemed upset. "I don't trust him a bit."

I rolled my eyes in exasperation, after we had all filed in and started rowing. "I don't either, Sora."

Kairi frowned. "I wonder what this means..."

Selphie shrugged in her normal happy-go-lucky fashion. "I dunno. Maybe fate's trying to tell us something."

"Well," Wakka replied, "If so, dis is one strange message. Doncha tink?"

"Seems pretty simple to me," Tidus chimed in. Then he puffed out his chest and made his best impression. "You all already know who I am."

We all laughed, my chuckle the most half-hearted. Trying to be apathetic was tough work. And Sephiroth's constant need to either ignore or add on to the severity of the situation didn't make anything easier.

I looked up to find that the main island was a lot closer than I expected. I sighed, wondering how Mom was doing.