"Cloud, are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Asked Tifa nervously as she chewed her lower lip. Her childhood friend was already straddling his motorcycle and was revving the engine impatiently. Normally, Cloud would consider his friend's protesting to be an annoyance, but this time he only smiled and gave a weak nod from behind the plexiglass visor of his helmet.

"Yeah, Tifa. I...I have a lot to say to him and I need to be alone. Sorry," he added briskly as he sped off from his small home in Nibelheim as fast as possible. "Why won't she stop throwing herself at?" He questioned himself as the wind whipped his jacket's collar away from his neck, exposing the flesh to the thrill of the rushing breeze.

Guiding the bike off towards Cosmo Canyon, Cloud gazed expectantly ahead of his front tire until the luminous power of the eternal Cosmo Candle shone brightly into his visor. There was no need for any electrical lights within the large canyon which Nanaki called home, for previous generations had imbued it with the purity of the perpetual flame. Never did the people of the region grow cold or live in the fear of darkness, for as long as the candle remained lit, the universe was in harmony.

Strife quickly dismounted his motorcycle and climbed up to Bugenhagen's mountain top laboratory, which not only overlooked most of the land, but also housed the most incredible invention Cloud had ever seen: "the marvelous machine", which linked all four pieces of Huge materia together in an astral bond with the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water. Bugen had recently modified the device to create a tunnel to his grandson's companion's destination: the final resting place of the man who wanted to destroy the world.

"Ahh! Hehe, hello Cloud!" The old man chuckled, floating down to the pokey-headed adventurer who waited for him patiently at the base of the "marvelous machine". "You sounded so urgent when you contacted me. Is there something you seek, my son?" Bugenhagen raised an eyebrow high above one of his goggled eyes.

"Yes, Bugen. Cid and Shera are repairing the Highwind, the buggy is being used by Yuffie and Nanaki, and Barret is supposed to take Tifa to Junon via submarine. As you can see I have no means of transportation, and there is somewhere I need to go," sighed Cloud in a heavy voice. Two small, but distinct transparent tears slid out of his eyes and dripped off of his youthful face, falling slowly to the ground and exploding onto the tiled floor.

"Say no more, my boy. Simply step into the center of the circle on my invention's platform and when I give the word, will yourself to your destination," replied the old man, placing a reassuring hand on the heroes' shoulder. To return, simply hold up this materia and cast the "return" spell. You will re-materialize back into this laboratory."

"Thank you, old friend."

"I'm not that old, you whippersnapper. Why, two hundred years is spry compared to how old your young friend, Aeris was."

"She was only nineteen."

"No. Aeris was a Cetra, immortal since time immemorial. She was older than the planet...all of them were. Aeris' physical body was nineteen years of age, but her spiritual existence had come about at the beginning of time itself," he mumbled as he rode his hovering, green orb to the second level of the machine's room. Bugen pulled a lever, and his divine creation roared to life; the four Huge materia swirling in perfect orbit before chiming their celestial tune. "Ahh, yes. Harmonious perfection that will carry you to wherever your spring chicken's heart desires. Make your wish now, Cloud!"

"Great cosmos, align and heed my command. Transport me to the resting place of the great Sephiroth!" He wished as could feel the small sparks of discharged energy the machine gave off. Suddenly, all was silent as the four elemental beams shot into his body before forcing it through the trans-dimensional rift his cry created. Cloud felt nauseous, on the verge of passing out as he was being teleported to Sephiroth's grave site.

A small vortex opened in Lucrecia's cave before discharging the spiky-haired man onto the shining floor, dumping him unceremoniously onto the cold ground. Cloud managed to pull himself onto all fours, still shaking with the after effects of the astral movements. Crawling outside the cave, he fell onto his stomach and violently retched into the small pond that shimmered in the remaining sunlight.

"Not...not something I'd want to try again anytime soon," he thought glumly as rose, slowly, carefully to prevent his stomach from purging its contents once more. Cloud wiped his mouth on his sleeve before reentering Lucrecia's cold cave. The woman had vacated since Vincent had brought her news of her son's death, and moved into Junon, where she worked on repairing the Junon cannon in the event any more weapons appeared. The twenty-one year old former SOLDIER saw it fitting that Sephiroth be buried with dignity in the place his mother had inhabited, though he was forced to entomb his former cohort by himself.

Approaching the crystalline marker which indicated the exact location of Sephiroth's body, Cloud thought back to the day that his teammates and himself defeated the man who wanted to become the planet.

"He's finally dead...we won!" Shouted Tifa as she flung her arms around Cloud's neck and passionately kissed him on the lips.

"It is such a shame," whispered Vincent as he bowed his head in respect. "A great man had to die simply because he succumbed to his madness."

"Aww fuck, Vincent! He wanted to blow up the fucking planet and kill us all! Better one dead than ten thousand!" Griped Cid as he flicked a cigarette butt onto Sephiroth's bloody hair, singeing it.

As Cloud moved to extinguish the small flames on the tips of the silvery strands of hair, Barret aimed his Missing Score and fired, his shots ricocheting off the floor.

"Don't you start touchin' him, Cloud! He can probably still reach into your mind an' control you like before!"

Cloud stood up, and glared at Barret and the rest of the team, Mako-infused eyes blazing with anger, shock, and intense sadness. Silently, he allowed two tears to penetrate his fury of emotions before grasping his sword and slicing off the small, burned portion of his dead friend's hair. He knelt and wound two of his strong arms under Sephiroth's limp, cold body; lifting it, he glared back at his friends.

"Even if he was your enemy...he was never mine. Sephiroth....Sephiroth deserves a proper burial." Some of the wet blood that was running down his former friend's face smeared on Cloud's cheek as he pressed it close to that of the tall, black-clad figure which was draped in his arms. "His whole life, everyone honored him....but no one really loved him. I loved him before he was consumed by insanity....and I owe him for the friendship he gave me. He made me feel like a first-class SOLDIER even though I was just a guard, so it's only fair that I bury him."

"Whoa! Ain't gonna be no funeral! I'm gonna pump his ass fulla plasma and burn his corpse," shouted the gun-armed man as he waved his weapon in Cloud's direction.

A loud, cocking sound reverberated around the cave when Vincent reloaded his Death Penalty and aimed it at the back of Barret's thick skull. "I've got the drop on you, Barret. Cloud is correct: even though Sephiroth tried to destroy us all, he is still a man. By virtue of his nature, he deserves a burial," came the emotionless threat. "If you so much as try to stop Cloud from giving last rites to someone he cared about, you will land on the floor, face down with a bullet in the back of your disrespectful brain."

"You damn vampire! Sephiroth should just be left here to rot."

"No, Cid. For as much as I love you, I still disagree with everyone." Turning to face Cloud, he smiled. "I will help you transport the body," he said. "But you must bury it on your own."

"Vincent....thank you," came the exhausted reply.

The remnants of the team left the cavern in the center of the planet and followed their friends to the Highwind, which waited patiently outside. Cid walked over to the console and pressed a few buttons to start the turbines roaring and soon, the aircraft was airborne. Turning to Cloud, he stared long and hard into the brokenhearted, electric azure eyes which reluctantly replied to the wizened pilot's gaze.

"Okay, fearless leader," said Cid, taking the steering mechanism into his hands. "Where to?"

"Lucrecia's cave. I think his mother deserves to know about her son's demise."

"All right."

"Cloud, if you don't mind," began Vincent nervously. "I would like to tell Lucrecia of Sephiroth's death."

"I was going to ask you to do just the same. I wasn't with you when you visited her before we...,"

"Go on and say it," snarled Barret. "'Cause it's damn true!"

"We killed her son. There, are you happy?" He screamed at the stockier, fire-armed man. "Dyne was right to hate your guts forever, Barret. You are an insensitive, overly-proud asshole!"

"He still is a proud asshole, Sephiroth," said Cloud as he knelt at his friend's quartz tombstone. "But not to me anymore. He's got his hands full with Marlene, now, but your probably know that. You probably know everything, now that you are part of the Lifestream." Choking on his words, the young man released a great, bereaved sob which thundered around the shining cave.

"Fucking hell, Sephiroth....why'd you do it? Why did you go bonkers and try to sublimate the planet....and myself from you? Dammit, I respected you all those years. Even after you killed Tifa's father, burned Nibelheim to the ground with that conflagration.....deep in my heart I still..."

"Loved me? I find that very hard to believe, Cloud, I really do," whispered the wind as it caressed his spiky head. "I've done so much to you and your friends. I've even killed the last known Cetra on this planet..someone you loved. You can't forgive me...not after what I've done."

"Sephiroth? Is that...?"

"Me? In the flesh, so to speak." The wind picked up and swirled around the large, crystal marker before becoming thicker. The air soon became foggy before revealing a tall, black garbed figure whose hair gently swayed with the breeze. "I can only assume this form for so long, and at great cost, I might add. But it seems my exertion was worth it. Hello, Cloud."

Brushing away the tears from his inundated eyelids, Cloud rushed to embrace Sephiroth, but slammed into the headstone instead, gaining a nasty bump on his forehead in the process.

"Why can't I touch you?" He questioned the taller man, gingerly rubbing his head. "Everything is there, he has returned, yet he's not even solid," Cloud thought miserably. As he stood, he looked into the piercing, Mako-green eyes which sparkled with the fiery energy of the Lifestream. A whole aura of luminescence permeated Sephiroth's skin, causing it to glow brightly in spite of the mist that surrounded the two men. In the fog, Sephiroth was a supernova which shone with outstretched tendrils.

The overall effect not only scared the younger of the two, but intrigued him. The fact that the man he had loved and admired the most had finally returned overwhelmed Cloud greatly. His sadness and despair gone, replaced by a boundless joy, his body was left to do what would come naturally to anyone in such a situation. Cloud lurched forward, and fell right through the ghost of his friend in a dead faint.

"Damn it, Cloud! You picked the worst time to do that sort of thing! The exertion on my metaphysical form is too great...I must return to the Lifestream or risk never being able to return to you again," said Sephiroth, his tall, lanky frame dispersing into mists and floating steadily towards the four corners of the earth. "Though I'll try to come back as soon as I have enough energy to do so." His voice trailed off with the rest of his body which longed to mess up the pokey hairstyle his younger familiar sported.

Moments later, Sephiroth re-materialized in the Lifestream, or at least his essence did, for there was no need of a physical structure in such a place. In the silence of a countless infinitum of extinguished souls, the ex-SOLDIER became lost, relegated to eternal movement with the spirits of the greenish stream, which swirled and bubbled far beneath the thick soil of the planet.

"Aeris," he called out into the void which awaited him. "I need to speak with you."

"If this is about you atonement, we've discussed it before. You were sentenced to serve out eternity in the Lifestream without a physical body, so that the world may never feel your blight again," she replied with her serene voice. "Sephiroth, you were given limited spiritual energy so that you may manifest yourself for a limited time on the planet to see how it thrives in your absence, yet the limitation was that you are forever deprived of touch." Aeris' opal-like eyes appeared, the rest of her body soon following. Stretching out her hand, she closed her bright eyes and hummed for a moment, giving Sephiroth a temporary form to kneel in front of her own.

"It isn't that, Aeris. It is just that I would like to have my punishment....for lack of better word, 're-evaluated,'" he coaxed imploringly, his own Mako-green irises shimmering in response.

"You request for reevaluation has been denied before, Sephiroth. What makes you think you deserve it now?"

"Because the evil has been purged from my soul during my visits to the planet's surface. I cannot see why I desired to destroy the people, the trees, the animals to further my own, selfish ends."

"Very well," sighed Aeris. "But I am only going to the high council not to liberate Sephiroth, but to convince them to adjust your damnation according to the persona you have acquired. In the very likely event I fail to sway the feelings of the Ancients, do not ask me for such a favor again...for you may be summoned."

"Summoned." He trembled at the thought of the most dreadful ordeal any being in the Lifestream could be forced to experience. If one were to pile up enough demerits, caused by such deeds as asking for reprieve, that essence was brought before the high council and permanently erased from all planes of existence.

"Yes, summoned," she spoke, reading his thoughts. "And you, Sephiroth, have enough demerits to ensure your final destruction. I don't hold the evil you have committed in your prior life against you, but I pity you for your avaricious tendencies at that time."

He merely looked away and felt his body fall to nothingness before realizing he had been returned to the Lifestream's current. Sephiroth suddenly felt a strange exhaustion overtake him, and, without realizing it, felt his essence succumb to the dormant state.

By the time Cloud had woken from his swoon, the sky was pitch black with several stars illuminating the tranquil pool surrounding Lucrecia's island. The tile beneath the skin of his arms and face felt cold to the touch as the thin air continued to percolate within the chamber. Offering a final blessing, he rubbed his arms to restore his body heat before pulling the "return" materia out of his vest and chanting the same spell he used to transport himself to the cave earlier that day.

Sensing a disturbance in the planet's continuum, Bugen awoke and peeled the newspaper he had been reading

"Ah! There you are, my boy! Were you able to get to your destination in one piece?" Cackled Bugenhagen as he shut off the "marvelous machine".

"Yes, thank you for the use of it and the materia," replied Cloud, handing back the item he had borrowed. "I must be going, now. It is fairly late and the others are probably wondering what's become of me.

"Oh my stars, I'm afraid I cannot allow that to happen. Have you any idea what time it is?"

"Errhhh...umm...I don't know."

"It is four hours until sunrise. I insist you spend the night here in Cosmo Canyon."

"That's very kind of you to offer," said Cloud. "But I already see the Highwind overhead. Thanks again for allowing me to use your machine, Bugen! I will tell Nanaki that you send your love!"

He sprinted out the door and grasped a rung of the rope ladder which hung in front of him. Cid, who was clearly pissed off at having to use the airship at so late a time, was furiously blinking the cabin lights to hurry his pokey-headed friend along.

"Come on, Cloud! It's way too late for this crap!" Several citizens of the canyon looked up in shock at the large piece of airborne metal, or more specifically, at the foul-mouthed pilot, who was screaming over the ship's megaphone.

"Coming!"

"Yeah, right. I wish I had a dollar every time I heard Vincent call that out!" The shock of the peaceful occupants of the canyon soon became utter mortification; mouths and eyes were glazed as they hung agog at the rude, belligerent man who was screaming at his quiet, mild-mannered friend.

"Damn rope burn," he thought as he ascended the ladder until he reached the deck. Hauling a leg over, Cloud was surprised to find two hands grasping onto his vest, hoisting him to his feet.

"It's about fucking time you got up here," growled Cid, the alcohol and cigarettes perfumed his breath with various acids. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Put me down, and let's go home, okay? I'm not in the best of moods right now," moaned Cloud as he practically slumped forward into the pilot's arms. "I just need some sleep and it will all go away."

"What the hell are you talking about? What will go away?"

"He will," the younger of the two replied before falling into an exhausted, much needed slumber.

"He looks very tired," Tifa's voice wavered as Cid carried her friend's limp body into his bedroom before laying the smaller frame on top of the bedcovers. "And pale...paler than Vincent."

At the mention of his name, Vincent looked up from the thick book that was perched in his lap. Rolling up one of his sleeves, he examined his skin with eyes between furrowed brows. "Am I really that pale?" He asked nervously, biting his lower lip. Vincent never enjoyed being put on the spot by one person, much less a whole group.

"Translucent, vampy," mumbled Cid as he impetuously kissed his lover on the cheek, causing all of his embarrassment synapses to fire off at once. The raven haired man turned as crimson as his cape. "Ah, there's the color I like to see." Leaning down, he whispered. "Especially when I fuck you."

"Cid! Did they need to know that!"

"Know what?" Nanaki trotted in, tail swishing merrily in anticipation. "Is it something good to hear about?"

"Not exactly," replied Tifa. "Look at Cloud."

The scarlet tiger leaped onto the bed and padding over to the unconscious leader, sniffed him. His hyperkeen sense of smell detected no odd scent upon the young man's body other than a faint, musky scent. Nanaki buried his head into Cloud's neck and licked gently, transferring the smell into an identifiable taste. "Tifa, is this his cologne?"

She leaned over and applied her nose to her friend's neck. "No...but it's vaguely familiar. I could've sworn I'd seen it before on someone I knew." Suddenly, the former barkeep's eyes went wide with shock as he mind identified the cologne's origin. "Oh God! It can't be...it just can't!"

"Whose is it?"

"Sephiroth's. He wore it when he came to Nibelheim three years back. But it's impossible that Cloud would be wearing it, because only Sephiroth knew how to create it, and now he's dead!"

Barret and Yuffie bounded into the room at first sound of the mention of the deceased's name. "I knew this would be trouble if we let him bury that evil body!" Shouted the one-armed man as he cocked his appendage. "I'm goin' over there right now and I'm gonna set fire to his tomb! That freak's been foolin' with Cloud's head again!"

"Burn the heretic!" Cried Yuffie as she pulled a handful of sharp throwing stars out of her pocket. "C'mon Barret, let's go deep fry some dead ass!"

"N-no. That's not going to happen...not while I'm still among the living." Cloud's sharp, aqua-colored irises snapped open when he sat up. Glaring at the larger man with an intense fury while, at the same time, his opponent aimed his plasma rifle at his head, he lunged for Barret's neck. At the last second, something inside of the leader of AVALANCHE clicked, and instead of pumping the spiky-haired boy full of lead, he slammed the Missing Score right into Cloud's midsection, sending him flying backwards into the headboard and knocking him out for the night.

"Barret! What the hell?! You could've killed him!" Shouted Tifa, tearing part of her tank top off and applying the fabric to her affection's bleeding head.

"You weren't the one he was trying to kill!"
"I hardly think that's qualified as self-defense!"

"He lunged at me, I had no choice!"

"You had no choice?! YOU HAD NO CHOICE?!?! Bullshit, Barret! For once, you could've been the bigger man and just ducked out of the way! What would Marlene say if she saw you?!"

"You leave Marlene outta this!"

"I'll do no such thing! She's your daughter and you're giving her the wrong image! And you dare to call yourself a father?! How's she gonna solve her problems?! By having one of her arms hacked off, replaced by a gun, and smacking people every time she doesn't get her way?!"

"Enough! The both of you are acting like children!" Yelled Vincent. Rare was a time the eloquent, reticent man ever spoke unless spoken to. "Cloud is hurt and you're arguing about Marlene, who is in Midgar with Elmyra. I am going to take him down to the medsuite to have his injury looked at by Shera. She's good at patching things up."

Sephiroth was awakened by a dull, yet painful sensation on the back of his head. He felt as if he had been slammed against a wall repeatedly, not to mention the aching in his ribs. Despite the fact that he did not possess a physical shell within the confines of the Lifestream, he was still conscious of it, and the injury it had sustained.

"What you are feeling is your new punishment, Sephiroth," whispered Aeris as she appeared in front of the man. "The High Council agreed that your former sentence was cruel," she paused. "Even for someone like you, it was inhuman to have you atone in the manner you were before."

"So, tell me, what is this new punishment I must endure?" He questioned, eyes flickering in anticipation.

"You are to love Cloud Strife unconditionally."

"I can't. I have no form in the corporeal world."

"True, but your soul has now been granted the power of tangibility, as well as given enough power such that you won't feel exertion when you visit him. If the Council likes what it sees, you will be restored to life on the planet."

"Thank you, Aeris. For everything."

"Save your breath on me. Go to him now," she replied before fading entirely out of focus, but her voice remained. "If you screw up this chance, Sephiroth, they assured me that you would be summoned."

A flash of pure, hole light blinded him after Aeris vanished. When Sephiroth was able to open his eyes, he found himself gazing out at his future lover from the bedroom mirror. The room was pitched in darkness, and he could just barely make out the sleeping, injured form of Cloud in the bed across from his position. Reaching through his shining prison, he grasped the frame and pulled himself free.

Sephiroth crept over to Cloud and sat on the edge of the bed overlooking the boy. Feelings of warmth, tenderness, and the extreme desire to protect the blond adventurer from harm overcame him as he lowered his face right above Cloud's features.

"If only you knew, dearest," he breathed as he caressed the bridge of the sleeping man's nose. "If only you knew what we can have now that I've returned." Silently, he stood up and walked over towards the door and pressed the small button within the knob to lock it. Returning to the bed, he stretched out alongside his new responsibility before securing it within his embrace. As he drifted off to sleep, Sephiroth could feel one of Cloud's hands reaching up to twine about his lower back, as if accepting what was offered to him.

"Seph..ir...oth," he yawned in his sleep before falling even deeper into his own slumber.

"I am here, Cloud, and I'm not going to leave you ever again."