The Flip Side of the Mirror

by T'Shael

Chapter 1

The Whole Eater walked through the doors of the ruined Shinra building quivering in anticipation. It stopped in the lobby blinking under the bright lights. Light meant it should hunt here. Light meant food.

Once a bustling city, Midgar was now home to a variety of dangerous monsters. The large beasts preyed on the small. The small beasts ate rodents or scavenged meals from the kills of their larger kin. Unless one had very good fighting skills, and an extremely good reason to be there, Midgar was not a place to visit.

Unlike their human neighbors, the resident monsters didn't panic when when Meteor first appeared in the sky. They went on eating each other or anyone who blundered too far off the beaten path. As time passed, however, the small monsters began to feel uneasy. Unable to recognize the source of their anxiety, they came out of the shadows to roam the streets, barely acknowledging humans they would have attacked before. They wandered without direction until their instincts urged them to flee the city. An experienced sailor would have associated their flight with the analogy of rats deserting a doomed ship.

Losing their regular source of food, the large monsters began to focus on human prey. Despite all efforts to stay indoors whenever possible, people began to disappear at an alarming rate. With the threat of Meteor overhead and monsters lurking around every corner, more and more people chose to leave the city. Mass desertion placed additional strain on the efforts of the monsters to stay alive.

Nearing starvation, most of the monsters left the city to follow their food supply, but some, like the Whole Eater, were territorial creatures. Drawn to Midgar by birth, its only choice was to find food or die.

The day finally came when Meteor hung right above the city and the sky turned red. Gale force winds and killer tornados ravaged the ground below. Midgar began to crumble under the assault. Mortar and steel become razor-edged shrapnel. Humans and monsters were snatched from the earth and torn to pieces. The Whole Eater unwittingly saved its life by wrapping its tail around an arched metal pipe embedded deep in a bed of concrete. It hung on desperately as its body was pummeled by debris. Just as its strength gave out, Meteor was gone. Midgar lay in ruins. Exhausted, the monster lay where it was for a day. Humans passed by, giving it a wide berth as they abandoned what was left of the city.

While the Whole Eater too weak to hunt, some of the other monsters weren't. Maddened by fear and the scent of blood, the slaughter began as starving monsters fell on the dead or injured and ambushed as many people as they could. Cries of victims filled the air, prompting the rest of the survivors pick up their pace.

The luckiest people were those who left the city immediately after Meteors destruction, taking nothing but the clothes on their backs. Those who hung around to loot or save what was left of their belongings didn't fare as well. For unknown reasons, monsters never seen before in that region, knew the hunting was good in Midgar. Walking, swimming or flying, they came to join the feast.

On the second day of the evacuation, the Whole Eater recovered. It whipped out its long purple tongue and wrapped it around the arm of an unfortunate little girl who wandered too close. It yanked the youngster into its waiting jaws. Her mother cried out and threw herself at the creature in a desperate attempt to free her child, but a flick of its tail sent her crashing to the ground with a broken neck.

Until it moved, the crowd passing by thought the monster was dead. Witnessing the fate of the woman and girl, they took to their heels screaming in terror. The woman's frightened husband scooped up their son and fled with the others.

By the time the last group of people on foot left the city, the Whole Eater had developed a taste for human flesh. It scavenged through homes and buildings in search of those who were too sick, too frightened or too stubborn to leave with the other refugees. Even when the small monsters returned, it went on hunting for humans. It would have dined on them for the rest of its life, but there weren't enough people left to sustain the growing monster population. When the last of the humans were killed, the reluctant Whole Eater turned back to eating small monsters.

It was pure luck that the Whole Eater found the scent of humans near the Shinra building. It was tracking a small monster when it picked up the tantalizing scent of its favorite meal. It's sensitive nose told it more one human had passed this way. These were old scents, but the Whole Eater drooled as it remembered the sweet-salty flavor of human flesh on its tongue.

It knew from experience humans didn't see very well in the dark. They always fell over something and injured themselves, bringing the chase to a satisfactory end. One of the monsters favorite tricks, when it trapped humans inside a building, was to destroy the light whenever the opportunity arose. The Whole Eater squinted its eyes and studied the ceiling. These lights were too high to reach. If there were humans in this place, it would have to rely on stealth.

The Whole Eater followed the scents down the hall to the left. Two of the scents were a little peculiar, but that only served to increase its appetite. It came to a stop in front of a door marked "Stairs." A thick green substance had dried around the base of the door holding it partially open. A trail of the same material curved around the door and went down the hall to the left. The Whole Eater hesitated. It could follow the trail of dried slime on the left or go through the door. The monster chose the door. It didn't understand a door's function, but it knew humans liked to hide behind them. It compressed its large body and squeezed through.

There was a light above the platform, but the area below it was much brighter. If there were humans here, they would go to the light. The monster went down the stairs carefully. At the foot of the last staircase, it saw another partially opened door. It was mired with the same green material as the door above. The Whole Eater squeezed its way in and found itself in a hallway.

The scent trails here were scattered, but the strongest trail led to the door directly opposite the monster at the other end of the hall. It was in the same condition as the first two doors. As before, the Whole Eater pushed its way through. This room was full of scents. The monster followed one into a cell with a clear door and wall. This human had an interesting smell. It left the cell to investigate the rest of the room.

There was a puddle of dried blood on the floor. The monster rubbed its tongue against the brown stain for a taste. It was terribly rancid. The Whole Eater spat a few times and shook itself. Moving away from the blood, it raised its body to sniff the examining table. The scent from the cell was here too. The monster scanned the room with its eyes. There were no humans here. It would have to go back up and follow the other scent outside the door at the top of the stairs. Maybe the humans were hiding somewhere in the building. As it dropped to the floor, it caught a glimpse of something on the row of low cabinets behind it.

The monster turned its body toward the cabinets and raised itself again. It saw a wooden rack containing five test tubes. One of the vials was glowing. As the Whole Eater watched, the light began to change color. First it was blue, then it lightened and turned green. It changed into a beautiful shade of violet then darkened to a rich purple. It formed patterns of multicolored stars that swirled away into stripes. The colors went on and on in endless combinations. The monster moved closer.

It watched for a while. Dazzled by the ever-changing tints and designs, The Whole Eater used its tongue to pluck the vial from the rack. It tilted its prize from side to side as it admired the sights. Without warning, the test tube was suddenly scalding hot. Squealing in pain, the monster dropped it. It broke on the floor. The cork rolled under a cabinet. A bit of grey flesh, the size of a pea, lay pulsating in a pool of liquid.

The monster skittered away in alarm, but stopped its retreat when the flesh began to change colors. Playful patterns flashed across its surface. Despite its fear, the Whole Eater couldn't resist. It moved forward once again. The only sound the monster had ever heard from humans were blood curdling screams as it attacked, but somehow it understood the words that spoke to it now.

"Eat the glass. Eat the glass. Eat the glass."

Instinct urged the monster to flee but the call of the colors was too strong. The purple tongue dropped to the floor and rolled around in the broken glass. Jagged shards stuck to the moist appendage as the voice continued to chant.

"Eat the glass, eat the glass, eat the glass, eat the glass."

The monster drew its tongue into its mouth. It whimpered as it pushed the largest pieces of glass beneath its molars. Sharp edges turned the purple gums into a bloody mess as it started to chew. Gagging on its own blood, the monster tried to spit, but the flesh flashed like a strobe to get its attention again. When the monster turned to look, the flesh changed colors faster than ever. Caught in a hypnotic embrace, the monsters resistance failed. It continued to chew.

Following a silent command, the Whole Eater rubbed the glass all around the inside of its mouth with its tongue. Blood poured from numerous wounds. It moaned as it mutilated the soft tissue but it couldn't stop. It's jaws worked on their own. The monster never took its eyes off the pulsating flesh. The chanting voice issued a new request.

"Eat me, eat me, eat me, eat me."

The monster didn't want to eat that quivering object. More than anything else, it wanted to leave this place and hide. It wanted to get out of this room, but something in the swirling colors ordered it to stay. The voice was relentless.

"Eat me, eat me, eat me, eat me."

The Whole Eater moaned. Blood ran from its mouth and splashed onto the floor. The quivering flesh expanded like a sponge. It soaked up the blood growing to the size of a large chicken egg.

"Eat me, eat me, eat me, eat me"

The monster had no control over itself as the purple tongue dropped to the floor and curled around the swollen mass. Carrying its terrible burden, the tongue retracted. No sooner had it done so, tiny barbs shot out and buried themselves in the Whole Eaters inner cheeks. The monster heard a sucking noise and felt its throat go dry. It moaned as the terrible parasite fed on the blood and moisture inside its mouth.

Pleased with its new food supply, cells in the mass began to grow and divide. One cell split into two, two became four and the cycle was repeated. When the grey mass tripled its size, it broke down into a jelly-like consistency. The jelly spread out, completely coating the monsters mouth. It began to drain into the numerous cuts and slashes provided by the sharp glass.

In agony, the monster shook its head and howled. It tried to curl its body into a tight "C" shape so it could use the tip of its tail to rub the invader out of its flesh but each time it touched the greyish jelly, it felt a pain far worst than the one it was suffering now. It lay where it was twitching in misery. The invader dug, stretched and burrowed until there were no traces of it left in the damaged mouth. The Whole Eaters eyes rolled over to white. It collapsed into a quivering heap.

Sephiroth opened his eyes. It was still dark outside but the sun would rise in less than an hour. He wasn't in a hurry to get up. Everything he needed was right here in this room. Aeris was asleep. Her head lay under his chin. Her golden brown hair fanned out over his body and draped across the blankets. He reached out to curl a golden brown strand around his finger. Aeris stirred a little and he pulled her closer. She relaxed. Five years ago, he would never have believed that one person could make such a difference in his life.

Aeris was special. He'd known that the first time he'd ever set eyes on her, but Jenova wouldn't have it. She sensed his attraction to the pretty brunette and hardened his heart against her. He remembered hesitating in the Temple of the Ancients when he saw Aeris below him kneeling in prayer. He was overcome with the desire to drop down beside her and gaze in her beautiful eyes, but Jenova twisted his thoughts and made him believe Aeris was his enemy. "I am your mother," she'd said. "Obey me. Kill the Cetra." He'd done as she wished and Aeris had died.

He stroked her cheek. Aeris was the reason he'd been given a second chance. His heart belonged to her. Sephiroth let his mind wander into the future. Someday they would have a family of their own. He wondered if their children would have silver hair like his or brown hair like hers. Maybe the boys would be silver and the girls would be brown, or the girls would be silver and the boys would be brown. Was it possible for them to have both colors? He smiled. It didn't matter. As long as they were his children with Aeris, it didn't matter.

For the hundredth time, Sephiroth thanked the forces that allowed him to find Hojo when he had. If the crazed scientist had been able to raise his army before anyone discovered he was alive, he would have sent it to Icicle Village to capture Aeris and himself. He would have turned their children into his next specimens. He allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Hojo was dead. Enjoying the warmth of Aeris' body, Sephiroth promised himself that his children would never feel unloved and alone.

Aeris sighed in her sleep and rolled away from him. Sephiroth waited to make sure she was still asleep then crept quietly out of bed. Today he would surprise her by making breakfast. He tiptoed around the room gathering his clothes and shoes. Balancing everything carefully, he eased across the hall to the bathroom and shut the door to shower.

When Aeris came downstairs thirty minutes later, lured by the scent of breakfast, she found the table set. Sephiroth was scooping the last of the pancakes out of a skillet.

Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at him. "Is this something you're going to do all the time, or is this just a trick to get me to marry you?"

Sephiroth set the pancakes on a plate. He took Aeris in his arms and kissed the tip of her nose. "It's a trick to get you to marry me of course. Once we're married, I'm not going to toast so much as a crust of bread. You'll be stuck with all the cooking and it will be too late for you to back out."

Aeris laughed and gave him a hug. "That's what I thought."

He released her and made a big production of bowing. "Breakfast is served madam."

He pulled out a chair and Aeris sat down. She picked up her fork and looked at him. "Have you given any more thought to when you want to make this official?"

"I've already given you my answer," he said sitting down.

"Sephiroth, be serious," she said. "I want to set a date out of the clear blue sky."

"I did," he said. He took a mouthful of pancakes and rolled his eyes. "Excellent if I do say so myself."

Aeris put her fork down and frowned at him. "Sephiroth. You told me to find out when Cloud and Tifa are getting married so we could get married one week before they do. That's not pulling a date out of the clear blue sky."

"It is for me." He reached for his orange juice.

"Why does our wedding have to be one week before Tifa's?" Aeris asked.

"Our wedding doesn't have to be one week before Tifa's wedding," corrected Sephiroth. "It has to be one week before Cloud's wedding."

"That's the same thing!" said Aeris. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

Sephiroth put down his fork and leaned toward her. "Didn't you say I could choose the date?"

"Of course I did," she said. "But-"

"No buts," he interrupted. "That's my choice. I want my wedding to be one week ahead of Cloud Strife's wedding and that's that."

"What am I going to do with you?" she said exasperated.

"Marry me?" he said helpfully.

Aeris threw a slice of toast at him.

The Whole Eater roused itself and stood up. Raising its body once more, the monster wrapped its tongue around the rack and settled to the floor with it. Using its front teeth, it pulled the cork out of each test tube and sucked up the contents inside. When they were empty, it moved around the examining table and stood over the puddle of dried blood. There were memories in the blood. The Whole Eater began to lap at the crusted material. It would continue until it licked up every smudge.

"That's not fair Cloud," said Tifa. "I should be able to set my wedding date whenever I want to."

"You can," said Cloud, biting into a slice of jellied toast. "Just make our wedding a week before Sephiroth's wedding."

"Let me get this straight," said Tifa putting down her fork. "You want me to call Aeris and ask her when she plans to have her wedding, then schedule ours a week before hers? Be serious Cloud!"

"I AM serious!" He reached for a fork full of eggs. "I want to get married one week before that silver haired mutant does."

"Stop that Cloud," scolded Tifa. "His name is Sephiroth."

Cloud put down his fork. "You sound just like Aeris."

"If you don't treat Sephiroth like a human," said Tifa, "How do you expect him to act like one?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes at her. "He killed your father. Have you forgotten that?"

"No Cloud. I haven't forgotten." Tifa dropped her head for a moment. When she looked at Cloud again, her eyes were clear. "I wanted to hate him forever, but I'm not sure that's possible now."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I've had time to think Cloud," replied Tifa. "Sephiroth was just as much a victim as the rest of us. It's not fair to judge him from the past. Shinra made him into what he became. I'm going to wait and see how he handles his second chance at life before I decide how I feel."

"So he's brainwashed you too?"

It was Tifa's turn to narrow her eyes. "You think Aeris has been brainwashed?"

Cloud tried to hold her gaze and failed. He sighed. "I just don't trust him."

"You saw them together Cloud," said Tifa. "Did he look like he was faking his feelings for Aeris? Did Aeris look like she was in a trance?"

"No." Cloud shook his head. "As much as I hate to admit it, they looked very happy together."

Tifa watched him a moment, then turned her head away. "And that bothers you. Its Aeris isn't it? You're still not sure about us."

Cloud was on his feet and at her side in seconds. "That's not what I meant Tifa. Aeris is free to marry Sephiroth if that's what she wants. What I'm trying to say is I'm not sure Sephiroth has changed as much as you and Aeris think he has."

"Give him a chance Cloud," said Tifa. "You know his history."

Cloud was silent.

"He shouldn't have destroyed Nibelheim," said Tifa. "He shouldn't have called Meteor either, but given the circumstances that twisted his mind in the first place, are you surprised?"

He still didn't answer.

"Cloud?" Tifa took his hands in hers.

Cloud closed his eyes.

"All right," he said slowly. He opened his eyes. "I'll try to give him the benefit of a doubt."

Tifa smiled. She stood up and put her arms around him. Cloud held her and their lips met in a kiss.

Tifa pulled away first. "Now when are we going to get married?"

"A week before Sephiroth," he said.

Tifa shoved him into the chair.

The Whole Eater searched for another patch of blood. Not finding one, it lay gasping on the floor. Inside its body, the jellied grey mass had traveled to the creatures brain and formed a tumor. The tumor was consuming the monster's brain cell by cell.

Some of the new cells waited on the surface of the monsters tongue to retrieve the cells in Hojo's blood. As the Whole Eater lapped at the blood, the new cells picked up Hojo's cells and carried them through the monsters blood stream to the tumor. Once there, the tumor secreted a special liquid to simulate life in each one. Now it could analyze the information they held. It found what it was looking for. It sent a thought impulse to the Whole Eaters brain. It was time to move. This place wasn't safe but now the tumor knew of a place that was.

Breakfast was over when Tifa placed a call to Aeris.

"Hi Tifa," said Aeris cheerfully. "It's nice to hear from you."

"Same here," said Tifa. "How are you and Sephiroth getting along?"

"Just fine," said Aeris. "My Mother is coming to visit today. Cid will be here in an hour. I'm going to meet him at the edge of the glacier."

"You're not going out there by yourself, are you?" asked Tifa.

"I'll be all right," laughed Aeris. "Goldie can outrun anything."

"I hate to say this Aeris," said Tifa, "But Goldie didn't do such a good job outrunning Hojo and Zephiroth. I'm surprised Sephiroth would let you go after what happened the last time."

"Sephiroth doesn't know yet," said Aeris. "He rarely lets me out of his sight these days. This is just a short trip. He shouldn't mind too much."

"I hope you're right," said Tifa. "By the way Aeris, I was wondering . . . "

"About what?" asked Aeris.

"Well . . . " Tifa hesitated. "I don't want to accidentally plan my wedding on the same day as yours. Do you know what day you plan to tie the knot?"

Aeris felt her face turn red. "Uh-no. I haven't decided yet. Did you have a particular date in mind?"

"Not really." Tifa cleared her throat. "I can't seem to make up my mind."

"I know what you mean." Aeris thought about her talk with Sephiroth during breakfast. "I'm having a hard time trying to pick a date too."

"If you come up with something, could you let me know?" asked Tifa. " I think we should coordinate our plans."

"Sure," said Aeris. "I'll do that. If push comes to shove, we could always get married on the same day."

"Now that's an excellent idea!" Tifa smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Really?" Aeris smiled. "It might solve the problem of accidently planning two wedding on one day. Do you think we could?"

"All we have to do is ask," said Tifa. "I'll talk to Cloud about it when we get back."

"Oh. Are you going shopping for wedding supplies?" asked Aeris.

"Not this time." Tifa sighed. "We're going back to Midgar to get rid of those Jenova samples."

Aeris shivered involuntarily. She didn't like to remember Hojo or his lab. "Has it only been six weeks since I was there?"

"It seems longer doesn't it?" answered Tifa. "We should have gone back sooner, I know, but Shera was having a hard time with her pregnancy and Cid wanted to stay close to home. Monsters were eating up the guests near the Gold Saucer, so Vincent was offered an emergency job. Godo came across a new supply of materia and Yuffie went home to help out. Marlene developed a delayed respiratory inflection from the dust Meteor threw around. She was sick for three weeks. Barret wanted to stay home and keep an eye on her. Red XIII found new information on the Gi. He's been buried in his grandfather's library for days now. Only Cloud and I were available. We should have gone on our own, but we'd been through such a hard time with him trying to find out where he belonged, we just wanted to spend some time alone together. We went to his villa in Costa Del Sol. It was wonderful Aeris. We found each other again."

"I'm really happy for you Tifa," said Aeris. "You and Cloud belong together. Please be careful when you go to Midgar."

"We will." Tifa sighed. "I just hope we don't run into any more Mega-Monsters!"

"Sephiroth and I should offer to help," said Aeris, "But every time I think of what Hojo was going to do to me . . . it makes my blood run cold. I started having nightmares the day after we came home. I had them every night for two weeks. I'm glad Sephiroth was here to help me through it."

"I'm sorry Aeris," said Tifa. "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned our trip. I don't want you to start having nightmares again."

"Don't worry about it Tifa. Aeris shivered again. "I think I've put most of it behind me, but it still gives me chills to think of Zephiroth. "If Sephiroth hadn't got there in time . . . "

"Don't think about Zephiroth," interrupted Tifa. "You're not saying Sephiroth reminds you of Zephiroth are you?"

"Oh no!" Aeris shook herself. "Sephiroth could NEVER remind me of HIM."

"I'm glad to hear that." Tifa was sincere. "I hope you and Sephiroth have a long and happy life."

"Thank you." Aeris smiled. "I want the same for you and Cloud."

"Since Cid is due here in about two hours, I guess he's going to drop your mom off before he picks us up," said Tifa. "You probably have last minute details to attend to, so I'll talk to you later. Bye Aeris!"

"Bye Tifa." Aeris hung up the phone, wondering, if Sephiroth would agree to a double wedding.

She got her answer a few minutes later when Sephiroth came in from the cleaners. He put his clothes on the living room table and held out his arms to her.

Aeris went to him and gave him a hug.

"I've got an idea for our wedding," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Why don't we have a double wedding with Cloud and Tifa?"

Sephiroth looked at her as if she'd suddenly grown horns. "What did you say?"

"I said, why don't we have a double wedding with Cloud and Tifa?"

"That's what I thought you said. Wait." Sephiroth let go of Aeris and walked out the front door.

Puzzled, Aeris followed him. Sephiroth walked out to the middle of the yard and looked around. A lone tree stood thirty feet away. He raised his hand and cast a fire spell. The tree burst into flame. Sephiroth turned around and went back into the house.

Aeris looked at the tree then followed him inside and closed the door. He picked up his clothes and started up the stairs. He stopped halfway and turned back to look at her.

"The answer is NO." He continued on his way.

Aeris sat on the sofa in defeat. She laid her hands in her lap and studied them. She looked up when she heard Sephiroth coming downstairs again.

"Why are you making this so hard?" she asked.

"I'm not sharing my special day with Cloud Strife," he said.

"Cloud isn't the issue here," said Aeris. "It's my special day too. Are you using Cloud for an excuse because you changed your mind about marrying me?"

Sephiroth sat beside her and took her hands in his. "Never."

Aeris sighed. "Tifa called to ask when we were planning our wedding. I'll bet Cloud is being just as stubborn as you are."

Sephiroth laughed. "That sounds like something he'd do."

"He's just like you," said Aeris. "You're acting like brothers."

"That's not funny." Sephiroth frowned at her.

"I'll bet he wants to have his wedding a week before ours, just like you," said Aeris.

Sephiroth laughed again.

"That's not funny," she said. "What am I going to tell my mother? I was hoping to give her a date."

Sephiroth turned serious. "She's coming today, right?"

Aeris nodded.

"When will she get here?" he asked.

"In about an hour," replied Aeris. "Cid is bringing her in the Highwind. I'm leaving in about fifteen minutes so I can meet them at the right time."

Sephiroth's face lost all expression. "You're going to do what?"

"I'm going to pick up Mom," repeated Aeris.

His eyes flashed. "And you were planning to go by yourself?"

"It's not that far away," said Aeris. "You taught me how to fight the monsters on the glacier."

"I'm still teaching you to how to fight monsters on the glacier," he corrected. "You're a better fighter than you were, but you're not so good that I'd let you go out by yourself!"

Aeris was insulted. "I'm better than I was six months ago!"

Sephiroth's voice was firm. "You're not going by yourself."

"You don't have to come with me Sephiroth," said Aeris. "I'm perfectly capable of meeting Mom and Cid alone. She can ride back on Goldie with me."

Sephiroth scowled. "You seem to have a short memory Aeris. I distinctly remember you saying you wouldn't make the mistake of riding alone again."

"I know what I said," she argued. "Hojo and Zephiroth are dead. I'll be back in a little while."

"No." Sephiroth folded his arms.

"Sephiroth-" Aeris began.

"No."

"It's only to the end of the glacier," Aeris said stubbornly. "Cid will be there. I'll be okay."

"Over my dead body."

Aeris opened her mouth to speak.

"If you try to leave here by yourself," warned Sephiroth, "I'll lock you in the basement and go after your mother myself."

"You wouldn't dare!" Aeris glared at him.

"Wouldn't I?" Sephiroth stood up pulling her to her feet.

To her surprise, he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" She struggled to free herself. "Put me down this instant!"

Sephiroth ignored her. He walked across the kitchen to the basement door and opened it.

Aeris twisted her head around. "You're just trying to scare me."

"No I'm not." Sephiroth turned on the basement light. "This is your last chance. We're going together, right?"

Aeris tried to push herself off his shoulder and failed.

"I know how to get across the glacier by myself," she said. "You don't have to babysit me."

"Then I guess I'll have to tie you up," he said "I can't have you trying to beat me back to the door."

He carried her down the stairs and reached for a short piece of rope that was lying on a workbench. He kicked an old kitchen chair into the middle of the room. He pulled Aeris off his shoulder and dumped her on the dusty seat. She tried to get up but he pushed her back down and pulled her arms behind the backrest. Aeris felt him wrapping the rope around her wrists. Her mouth dropped open. He was really going to do it. She struggled against her bonds but she couldn't free herself. Sephiroth backed away.

"Do you want the light on or off?" he asked.

Aeris glared at him. "Untie me right now!"

"On or off?" he repeated. "I can't argue with you all day. I have to leave in a few minutes."

Aeris refused to answer. Her eyes were bright with anger.

"Have it your way." Sephiroth turned toward the stairs. "By the way, I think there may be rats down here. Just stamp your feet and they should leave you alone until I get back."

The anger drained out of Aeris' face. She looked around anxiously. "Rats?"

Sephiroth stopped with one foot on the bottom step. "Uh-huh. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"There aren't any rats down here," she said. "It's too cold in this region."

Sephiroth pointed to a table in the corner. "See that table?"

"I see it." Aeris frowned at him. "So?"

"Look at the legs. Don't those look like bite marks to you?"

Aeris leaned forward as far as she could to see the table in question. There were bite marks on the legs. One of them was nearly chewed through. Some of those bites looked new. As long as they'd been in the house, Aeris had never seen signs of rats before. She thought about the puppy sized monsters she'd seen in Midgar when she was being held prisoner by Zephiroth and Hojo. What if whatever made those marks wasn't a rat? Was it chewing the table before Sephiroth turned on the light? Was it hiding somewhere, watching them now? Aeris had never heard of a monster living in an occupied house before, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. What would it do when she was all alone? Would the light keep it away, or would it approach her, once it saw she couldn't do anything about it? Aeris looked at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth smiled, turned his back on her and walked up the stairs.

Aeris looked at the table again. She didn't want to find out what was chewing that table. Not like this.

"Sephiroth!" she called after him. "Don't leave me here!"

"Just stamp your feet," he said, not turning around. "That ought to keep them away."

"Sephiroth!"

He reached the top of the stairs and walked through the door.

"All right!" cried Aeris. "You win. I won't go by myself. Don't leave me down here!"

Sephiroth caught the door before it closed all the way. He stuck his head through the opening.

"Did you say something?"

Aeris sighed. "I've been thinking Sephiroth. Maybe it's not such a good idea for me to cross the glacier alone after all. Would you please come with me to get my mother?"

"That's what I thought you said."

Humming to himself, Sephiroth came down the stairs a lot slower than he went up. Aeris stood up rubbing her wrists when he removed the rope. She glared at him as he tossed it back on the workbench. Ignoring her, he pushed the chair back in place and walked up the stairs again. At the top, he turned and looked down at her with his hand on the light switch. He raised an inquisitive brow.

"Coming?"

Aeris started to say something short, but stopped when she realized his position in relation to hers. She hurried up the stairs. Sephiroth moved aside to let her into the kitchen. He turned off the basement light, shut the door then turned around and bowed to her.

"I'd be happy to accompany on your journey to get your mother," he said. His eyes were sparkling with undisguised mirth.

Aeris gave him a frosty glare. "I can't believe you were actually going to leave me tied up down there!"

Sephiroth leaned close. "Have I ever told you how pretty you look when your eyes flash like that?"

"Don't change the subject," she said angrily. "How could you do that to me?"

Sephiroth's expression became serious. He took her in his arms.

"I'll do whatever I have to do, to protect you," he said. "It took a long time to met someone like you Aeris. I couldn't bear it, if I let you go and something happened to you."

The tension drained out of her body. She sighed and put her arms around him.

"You won't always be able to go with me everywhere," she said.

"I know." His eyes glowed with emotion. "Just don't ask me to let you go alone now. I'm not ready for that yet. Not after what almost happened."

Aeris read the concern in his eyes and relented. "All right. I understand."

"Do you?" he asked.

"Of course I do." She smiled. "You're just afraid I might go off and fall in love with someone else."

"Is that a possibility?" Sephiroth looked at her in mock horror.

"You know it isn't!" Aeris "You condemned yourself to a life sentence the day you proposed!"

Sephiroth smiled and gave her a quick squeeze. "I'm going in the living room and get my coat, then I'll bring Goldie around in front in ten minutes."

Aeris nodded and he left the room. She sighed as she opened the hall closet to get her coat. Sephiroth absolutely refused to let her go anywhere by herself. As much as he hated shopping, he waited patiently while she picked out things to buy. Sometimes she wondered if things would have turned out differently if she'd taken Sephiroth with her, the day she left Nibelheim to see her mother. Maybe Hojo wouldn't have captured her. Maybe Sephiroth wouldn't be so paranoid about losing her. Aeris remembered Zephiroth and shuddered.

Ten minutes later, she was locking the front door behind her. Sephiroth was waiting in the yard. Aeris felt a shiver of anticipation. She hadn't seen her foster mother since she left home to follow Cloud and his friends on their quest. She wondered how Elmyra would react to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth helped her up on the large bird. "Are you nervous?"

Aeris shook her head. "Not really. Mom might be nervous with you at first, but I think she'll accept you once she gets to know you."

"We'll see." He turned Goldie's head toward the Glacier and kicked him into a trot.

Aeris held on tight as they flew across the Glacier. Her thoughts were on Elmyra. They'd talked on the phone several times, since she and Sephiroth had returned from the Lifestream. Elmyra wanted to see her daughter the moment she heard her voice, but a week long blizzard made travel impossible. Avalanche conditions delayed a visit the second week. Just as it looked as though the weather was going to cooperate, another blizzard set in. Elmyra's trip was delayed yet a third time. During the fourth week Elmyra came down with the flu. Worried that Aeris might have a weaker immune system since her first death, she forbade her daughter to visit and stayed home. Shera took ill during the fifth week and Elmyra stayed in Rocket town to tend to her. She and Aeris decided to wait a week, "just-in-case," before Elmyra came to the glacier. Now that day was here. Mother and daughter would be reunited.

To Aeris' relief, they didn't pass any monsters along the way. They reached the edge of the glacier just as the Highwind touched down. Aeris held Sephiroth's hand as they watched Cid lead Elmyra down the ramp.

Cid pointed them out to Elmyra.

"They're right on time," he said.

Elmyra's heart skipped a beat. "There's my baby!"

"I see Sephiroth isn't letting her out of his sight these days," remarked Cid. "He takes very good care of her."

"What about all those awful things he did?" A frown creased Elmyra's forehead. "Is my little girl really safe with him?"

Cid blew a smoke ring before he answered. "I think Aeris is safer with Sephiroth than anyone else on this planet."

Elmyra didn't look convinced.

"Come on," said Cid, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "They're waiting. Let's get up there."

Aeris threw herself into her mother's arms the moment she was able to do so. "Mom!"

Tears streamed down Elmyra's cheeks.

Sephiroth nodded to Cid and he nodded back. They stood by awkwardly as the women hugged, kissed and cried. It was Aeris who turned Elmyra's attention to Sephiroth.

"Mom," she said shyly, "I'd like to introduce you to Sephiroth, my fiancee."

Elmyra looked at Sephiroth uncertainly.

Sephiroth reached out and she offered her hand to him. He squeezed it gently and released it.

"Hello Mrs. Gainsborough," he said formally. "I'm happy to meet you at last."

Elmyra relaxed. She managed to give him a trace of a smile. For some crazy reason, she'd expected him to pull out his sword and wave it in her face.

"Hello Sephiroth."

Sephiroth turned to Cid. "Thank you for bringing Mrs. Gainsborough."

Cid waved his hand. "It was nothing. Please care of her."

"We will." Aeris beamed at her mother.

"I'll pick you up in a week Elmyra," said Cid. "We'll meet right here."

Elmyra smiled. "Thank you Mr. Highwind."

Cid grimaced. "Call me Cid. Just Cid."

He gave Elmyra's luggage to Sephiroth. He waved at them and turned back to the Highwind.

"Bye Cid!" called Aeris.

Cid waved again and kept going.

Elmyra turned back to Aeris and Sephiroth. She looked at the chocobo doubtfully.

"Are we all going to ride on that?" she asked.

Aeris laughed. "No Mom. You and I are going to ride. Sephiroth will walk beside us."

Sephiroth helped both women mount the chocobo. He strapped the luggage on behind Elmyra and they begin the journey home.