Mirror Image

by T'Shael

Chapter Four

Sephiroth stood quietly watching the flowers sway back and forth in a gentle breeze.

"Sephiroth?" Lucrecia stood next to her son with concern in her eyes. "Are you all right?"

"As fine as a dead man can be." He didn't look at her.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" asked Professor Gast.

"I understand." Sephiroth kept watching the flowers.

"Well?" Aeris moved to block his view of the flowers he found so fascinating. "Don't you think that's good news?"

Sephiroth stepped back and looked at her. "What makes you think I want to go back?"

They looked stunned. Sephiroth sighed. He walked a few steps away and stopped turning his back on them. "I would be the most hated man on the planet."

"Naturally people will resent you at first," began his mother, "but-"

"I am NOT going back!" snapped Sephiroth. "The planet is a better place without me."

"The planet needs you," said Aeris quietly.

Sephiroth turned to see her standing behind him. "No one needs me," he said. "I am not going back."

"Sephiroth," Aeris tried to touch him but he backed away. "The planet is crying out for help. I hear it calling to me. It's not over yet. The planet is still in danger."

"Jenova is dead." Sephiroth turned his back again. "So am I. I will stay here with the dead."

"But you can't stay here," said Lucrecia quickly.

He turned to face her. "Why not? This is the place of the dead and I'm dead. I belong here."

"No said the Professor. This is a way-station, a holding area if you will. It will soon disappear. I'll be with the Cetra and my Ifalna. Lucrecia will go to her place in the Lifestream and Aeris will leave to save the planet."

Sephiroth turned around rubbing his head. "If I'm not insane now, you're all going drive me crazy. What are you talking about?"

"Give it up Aeris. You will have to do it on your own."

Sephiroth looked up and around, "And who is that?"

Professor Gast rubbed his temples. "A Cetra. We are here in this place for only a short time Sephiroth. The Cetra created this place from their new world so that we could meet this way. When this conversation is over, this will all disappear. I will go back to the Cetra, your mother will go back to the place the Cetra created for her and Aeris will live again. She will leave the Lifestream and go back to the help the planet. She will wait for the danger to begin and she will try to stop it. If she doesn't, people are going to start dying again."

"People die every day," said Sephiroth. "That's the way of things."

"That's the way of NATURAL things, Sephiroth," said Lucrecia. "Whatever the danger is, it won't be natural."

"Please say you will go with Aeris." The Professor touched his daughter's shoulder. "She needs your help."

"I will stay with my mother in her place in the Lifestream," said Sephiroth.

"You can't stay here with me," said Lucrecia. "Your body is regenerating because Holy brought your essence back together. Apparently Jenova's cells will make you regenerate as long as your essence isn't scattered. Your body is alive. Only living tissue can regenerate. All you have to do, as a psychic body is go back to your physical body and you will return to life in the real world. The Cetra are going to use their powers to give you two choices. Go with Aeris or your body will die again and your essence will be dissipated. You will be gone for good."

Sephiroth yelled to the sky. "Scatter me to the winds! I deserve to die!"

"No!" Lucrecia rushed to his side. "Don't say that!"

"Why not?" asked Sephiroth. "I'm just telling the truth. Aeris saved the planet once before and she can do it again. She didn't need me the last time and she won't need me this time either."

"Sephiroth!" Professor Gast was wringing his hands. "You have to help Aeris. She can't do it by herself. You are strong and powerful. The danger will be much worse this time. She needs you to be there. Choose to go with Aeris!"

"I will not go with Aeris." Sephiroth folded his arms across his chest. "I choose to die. I demand that my wish be honored!"

"No!" screamed Lucrecia, looking around wildly. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't mean it. He'll go with Aeris!"

"I won't go," said Sephiroth firmly.

Lucrecia threw her arms around Sephiroth. "Everyone on the planet will remember you as the great general Sephiroth who lost his mind, murdered people and tried to destroy the planet. You don't deserve to be remembered like that. You were as much a victim of circumstances as I was. I had a choice not to marry Hojo, but I made the wrong decision. You never had a chance to decide how you wanted to live. Shinra controlled your life from the moment you were conceived. How could you not react the way you did? They molded your personality every step of the way. Please baby, don't say no! Say you will help Aeris. I don't want to watch you die needlessly again. Please say you will help Aeris!"

Gently Sephiroth peeled her arms from around him. "Mother," he said. "I am not a baby. I am a man, and I can accept responsibility for my actions. I did something terrible and I have to pay for it. Let me die with honor mother. Let me die like a man."

"No!" Lucrecia cried in a weak voice. "No!"

"Do you choose death over life?" asked the voice. "Do you wish your body destroyed and your essence scattered to the winds?"

"Yes." Sephiroth looked at Lucrecia. "I'm sorry mother."

"NO!" shouted Aeris.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"You took my life!" she said accusingly to Sephiroth. "You KILLED me!"

"No matter how many times I say I'm sorry, it will never be enough Aeris," said Sephiroth.

Aeris walked right up to Sephiroth and raised herself on her toes to stare into his eyes.

"Saying that doesn't change anything. YOU OWE ME!"

Sephiroth blinked at her in surprise. "What?"

"I said you OWE me." Aeris dropped down, her eyes blazing. "You killed me the first time to keep me from stopping you. Now you are going kill me again by letting me go by myself after we asked you for help."

"What if my being there doesn't change a thing?" asked Sephiroth's eyes were blazing too. "Just because I come with you doesn't mean you won't die!"

Aeris wouldn't be sidetracked. "Maybe I"ll die even you do come with me, but I have a better chance of surviving with you than without you! If you are as sorry as you say you are, then don't die like a coward, yes a coward! You want to hide from the things you've done. Hiding is easy. Facing them is even harder. Come out from under the bed, Sephiroth, and stop hiding like the frightened child you still are!"

In a flash Sephiroth reached out and grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. He raised her to eye level. Lucrecia started forward, Professor Gast held her back.

"I . . . am . . . not . . . a . . . coward." Sephiroth spoke through clenched teeth, "And I am NOT a frightened child!"

Aeris didn't flinch. "Are you going to help me?"

They glared at each other. Neither was willing to be the first to look away. As angry as he was, Sephiroth was impressed by the fact that Aeris wasn't afraid of him. He'd killed her once, he almost strangled her a few minutes ago and here she was refusing to back down.

"What is the danger?" he asked finally.

"I don't know," Aeris admitted, "The planet isn't clear on that. It only knows the danger will spread if it isn't stopped when it appears."

"If I help you fight this danger," said Sephiroth, "I want the right to come back here and have my essence scattered to the winds. I want the right to die with dignity."

"If that is what you wish, It can be done," said the voice.

"I will help you," Sephiroth said to Aeris. He put her on her feet. "When this mission is over, you must send or bring me back here."

"Do you promise to see our mission through to the end?" asked Aeris.

"I told you I would help you," said Sephiroth with an edge in his voice, "Isn't that good enough for you?"

"PROMISE ME!" demanded Aeris.

"Only if you do the same," he countered.

"If you still want to die when our mission is over, I will respect your wishes," said Aeris.

"Then you have my word. I promise to help you," he said. "I will see this mission through to the end."

Lucrecia left Professor Gast and hugged her son. The Professor thumped Sephiroth on the back. Aeris stood back and smiled at him.

She baited me, Sephiroth thought and I fell for it. He couldn't decide if he was angry or not. A thought occurred to him.

"What about your body?" he asked her.

"My body, minus the sword wound, is right next to yours in the basement of a shell house in the City of the Ancients. The Cetra used their powers from the other world to place us where our bodies would not be disturbed while we have this talk. They also provided us with a few supplies to get us started." Aeris said. "All we have to do is allow the Lifestream to send our spiritual selves back to our bodies."

Sephiroth frowned at her. "If I didn't know any better, I would swear you were certain I was going to accompany you the whole time."

Aeris blushed. "No, but I was hoping!"

Sephiroth frowned at her again and turned to Lucrecia.

"The hardest part is leaving you . . . and Professor Gast," he said.

Lucrecia's eyes were wet with tears.

"You will have to face a lot of mistrust and anger," she said. "When you need to talk to someone, please talk to Aeris. Don't keep it inside. She'll help you through this. She will be the only friend you'll have for a long time. Don't worry about me Sephiroth. Even if you can't see me, I'll always be with you."

They gave each other a long hug. Lucrecia kissed his cheek and he kissed hers in return. She stepped back. Professor Gast took her place and hugged Sephiroth.

"I'm going to miss you my boy, but I'm glad you chose to go with Aeris," he said. "I feel so much better now. She will be safe with you."

"Why didn't the Cetra send for Cloud?" asked Sephiroth. "I would think he'd be their first choice."

"I haven't been with them long enough to figure out how their minds work," smiled Professor Gast. "Ifalna still surprises me. The Cetra decided you were the best man for the job."

Thinking of how Cloud and the others would react when they saw him, Sephiroth wasn't so sure but he said nothing. The Professor released him and went to his daughter. He drew Aeris into a tight embrace.

"He'll take good care of you Aeris," he whispered stroking her hair. "Listen to Sephiroth. He was a SOLDIER once and he'll have more experience than you in most situations. Goodbye my darling daughter. I'm going to miss you!"

"We'll meet again in the Promised Land father," she replied. "I love you, Dad."

Professor Gast released her and Lucrecia took his place. "He'll be hard to understand sometimes, but he'll watch over you," she whispered as she hugged Aeris. "He'll keep his promise."

She released Aeris and went to stand beside the Professor. Both of them were crying again. Sephiroth looked at Aeris. She was looking at her father. Her eyes looked damp but she was composed. He felt the sting of tears as he turned his eyes toward his mother but he was done with crying. He would be strong. He wondered what would happen next . . .

He woke up on his back in a sleeping bag. He raised his head to look around. They were in a small room. Stairs in a corner, led the way to an upper floor. This was the basement of the shell house Aeris had mentioned. It must have been used as an extra room at one time because there was a fireplace nearby. There was a low flame burning on a log behind the grate. He could see that it was dark outside through a small window set at ground level above their heads. A soft squawk drew his attention to the furthest corner where a gold chocobo slept on a bed of leaves. There was a stack of something that looked like clothing, nearby.

Aeris lay beside him in her sleeping bag. Sephiroth's eyes were drawn to the reflection of the fire on her hair and the innocence on her face. Looking at her like this, he couldn't imagine how he could have let Jenova convince him to kill her. He sensed no danger from Aeris. He didn't feel she was dangerous back then. Aeris had been killed simply because his "mother" said it had to be done. Sephiroth felt a brief rush of anger. He'd let a monster control his life. The thought sickened him. As he watched, Aeris opened her eyes.

"Hello Sephiroth," she said sleepily. "How does it feel to be alive again?"

"Ask me when we meet people for the first time," he said.

She smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Get some sleep," she said. "We have a long journey tomorrow."

She rolled over and closed her eyes. He gazed at her a moment longer then rolled over and tried to get comfortable. He wasn't looking forward to the journey but he would see it through. He had made a promise.