When they returned to the house, Sephiroth decided against going to bed. He left Aeris at the house and went to pick up his armor. Aeris went to her room to find something to wear. She chose another outfit from her mothers closet and took them into the bathroom and locked the door to shower.

She was dressed and in the kitchen by the time Sephiroth returned. She started preparing a meal for them. Sephiroth went up stairs to shower and change clothes. When he came back to the kitchen, he wasn't wearing his uniform as Aeris expected. He wore a new outfit similar to the one Aeris had purchased for him. Naturally they were black. She made no comment as she moved around the kitchen.

Sephiroth did not intend to let her ignore him completely. "Starting tomorrow morning, we will begin training together," he announced.

Aeris stopped and looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"If the planet is in danger as you say," he answered, "We need to be ready to defend it. I stopped by the weapons shop. Your staff will be ready later on today. I am going to set your materia and we'll go out on the glacier and see what you can do."

"I don't need to prove my skills to you!" she said hotly. "When I was with Cloud, I held my own just fine."

"Nevertheless, I want to see what you can do," Sephiroth said. "You did ask for my help. Are you telling me now you don't want it? If you don't need me, fine. My job is finished. I have the right to go back to the City of the Ancients and have my essence destroyed."

Aeris sighed. "I understand Sephiroth. We'll start training tomorrow whenever you want to."

She turned back to her cooking. Sephiroth went out on the front porch and stood in the cool air. This was going to be a lot more difficult then he'd thought. Aeris was obviously still angry with him. If she was one of his troops, he would have put her in line in short order, but Aeris was a civilian and a lovely one at that. They couldn't go on this way if they were going to work together. He would never get back to the Cetra if he couldn't help Aeris and get this over with. Someone had to make the first move. He hated being the one to do it but wasn't he part of the problem? He went back into the house.

Aeris was just about to set the table.

"May I help you with that?" he asked.

She jumped as if she'd been struck. "What?"

"I said," he repeated, "May I help you set the table?"

Aeris face was full of doubt. "Do you know how to set a table?"

"No," he said honestly, "Do you think you can teach me?"

She looked as if she expected him to start laughing at any time, but she began to explain the do's and don't of setting a table. He asked questions when he needed more information and listened intently as she spoke.

"If you will allow me to do so," he said solemnly, "I will set the table for you tonight."

Aeris still looked leery but she thanked him and gave him a hesitant smile. While they were eating she started talking to him again.

"My father said my history is recorded on tapes. Today I think I'll watch them. I'll get to see my mother for the first time." Aeris said.

"Finding out about what I thought was my own past didn't work out very well," said Sephiroth. "How do you feel about knowing your life is just inside the other room?"

"Nervous," she admitted. "I really want to know who I am, and yet I'm afraid to find out."

"Do you think you will want to become a god and re-create this planet?" Sephiroth arched an eyebrow at her.

"If I try that," she said, "I want you to stop me."

"We'll go to the Cetra together and we'll let them dissolve both of us," he said.

"I wish you would stop staying you want to go back and be destroyed," Aeris said sternly.

"I am saying what I feel," he retorted.

"Am I such bad company you can't wait to get this over with and get away from me?" Aeris was starting to look angry again. "Is that why you bite my head off sometimes?"

"No." He put down his fork. "You're not bad company at all. If I bite your head off sometimes, you have to understand Aeris that I am not used to dealing with people this close. I gave my men orders and they were followed without question. When my men weren't on active duty, their lives were their own. I had no further interaction with them until they were needed again. I've always been a loner and I liked it that way. I don't mean to mistreat you, but having to work this close to someone on a personal basis is . . . unsettling to me."

Aeris put down her fork and buried her face in her hands. Sephiroth was slightly alarmed. Was she crying again?

Aeris pushed her hair back with both hands and looked at him sadly. "You have a point, Sephiroth. I didn't think of it that way. I can't expect you to change a lifetime's behavior overnight. I will try not to take it personally when you are short with me. Truce?"

"Truce," he repeated.

She was silent for a moment. "Sephiroth?"

"What is it?" he asked, picking up his fork again.

"Will you watch my father's tapes with me?"

He looked into hopeful green eyes. "If you want me to," he said.

She smiled at him and picked up her fork.

After the dishes were put away, they went into Professor Gast's makeshift lab. Aeris found the right controls for the video recorder. Nervously she pressed the first button. She and Sephiroth watched the tapes her father made long ago. Happy tears ran down her face as she saw her mother for the first time. Sephiroth watched her and wondered if he would have done the same if he had seen Lucrecia that way.

It was Sephiroth who discovered the tape that turned Aeris' joy into sadness. Aeris put the tape in the player and let it run. After talking a while, Professor Gast and Ifalna were kissing when someone came to the door. Ifalna went to answer it and ran to her husband in a panic. Hojo and his men burst into the room. Ifalna hid behind the Professor. Professor Gast wanted his wife to flee but there was no place to go. The picture stopped when Hojo ordered one of his men to shoot the camera but Aeris and Sephiroth could still hear the dialogue.

A shot rang out and Ifalna screamed to her husband who did not reply. Aeris dropped to her knees covering her face in her hands. They heard Hojo's voice congratulating himself on finding more of Professor Gast's notes and videos.

"He killed my father!" Aeris wept. "He's the reason my mother is dead too!"

Sephiroth wasn't sure of the correct thing to do at a time like this, but he knelt next to Aeris. "He killed both our mothers," he said. "But they would want us both to be strong."

Aeris almost reached for him but stopped herself. She struggled to her feet. "I know my father is okay now, and I shouldn't cry, but it's so awful to witness it happening. I'm going to lay down for a while Sephiroth," she said.

Sephiroth rose and nodded. He watched her leave the room. He heard her sobbing until she closed her bedroom door. He went back to the tape player and ran the last tape again. He looked at the smug look on Hojo's face and clenched his fists in anger.

"It's a good thing you died before I found out who you were," he growled. "If I had known you were my father and what you did to my mother I would have sliced you up a piece at a time to pay you back for all the suffering you caused!"

He stalked out of the lab and went to his room for his masamune. He took it out the back door. Removing his shirt and laying it on an old tree stump, he began to work on sword drills. He slashed and parried with an invisible opponent. He was incredibly fast and graceful in his movements. He finished one set of drills and started another. This time he pictured his father grinning face before him and his slashes became more vicious. He thought of Aeris weeping upstairs and smiled as he pictured himself making the fatal slash that would spill Hojo entrails on the clean white snow. He repeated his drills until he was dripping with perspiration. One last thrust and he was finished. He picked up his shirt went back to the house.

Sephiroth put his sword away, toweled off his body and put on his shirt. He went to check on Aeris. He heard no movement inside. He tapped on the door. "Aeris, are you all right?"

There was no response. He tapped and tried again. "Aeris?"

Hearing nothing he tried the knob. The door wasn't locked. Slowly he turned it until the latch clicked. He pushed the door open cautiously and looked in. Aeris was sound asleep on her bed. Her face was still a little damp but most of the tears were drying on her face. Sephiroth gazed at her for a while, then quietly shut the door. He left the house to get Aeris' new weapon.

The sun was just setting when Aeris woke up. She looked at the faint light outside her window and hurried downstairs. Sephiroth was standing with his back to the room looking out the window. He turned when he heard her.

"I'm so sorry, I overslept," she apologized. "I'll start dinner right away."

"You are not under any obligation to prepare my meals," said Sephiroth.

"I know," she said, "but it gives me something to do. Would you set the table please?"

"No."

Aeris frowned at him, "But this morning you said . . . "

"I changed my mind," he said. "Why don't we have dinner at the Icicle Lodge?"

"You're taking me out?" asked Aeris in disbelief.

"It is not a matter of taking you anywhere," he said gruffly. "Do you want to eat or not?"

Aeris rushed back up the stairs, "I need to change! I'll be right back!"

Holding in his exasperation, Sephiroth had to wait until Aeris returned. When she did, she was wearing an outfit he was sure he hadn't brought on their travels. It was a pretty pink dress that accented her waist and fell to her feet in soft waves. She carried a short warm coat over one arm.

"Where did you get those?" he asked curiously.

"They were my mother's" she said. "How do I look?"

Sephiroth opened the door. "Let's go."

Aeris hid her disappointment at his reaction and smiled as she went out the door. Since Sephiroth didn't show any inclination to help her with her coat, she put it on when she stepped on the porch. They walked slowly to the Lodge. Aeris wished Sephiroth had left his masamune behind but she didn't say anything to him about it. The night was beautiful and clear.

The stars looked like jewels as they twinkled under a full moon. As Aeris walked along, she wondered what Cloud was doing right now. Was he alone looking up at the stars or was he with Tifa? She forced herself not to think about that. She was with Sephiroth and he was a very handsome man even if he did have moods that shifted from one moment to the next.

"Sephiroth?" she ventured.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Have you ever walked in the moonlight with a girl before?" Aeris was glad he couldn't see her blush.

"I had better things to do with my time than walk in the moonlight with anyone," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Aeris wasn't sure how to proceed. She decided it would be better not to take that topic any further. "What did they tell you about your father when you were little?"

"I don't want to talk about my father," he said shortly.

Aeris changed the subject. "Then tell me what it was like for you as a child."

"I don't want to think about that right now," he said.

Aeris stopped. She put her hands on her hips and stamped her foot. "Well, what do you want to talk about? I'm fresh out of ideas!"

Her eyes were shining in the moonlight. Her hair looked like spun silk. Sephiroth didn't respond to her question.

"Well," said Aeris, "Say something. Don't just stare at me like that!"

"I was just thinking how much you look like your mother," he said. "She was a very attractive woman."

Aeris blinked in surprise and knew that she was blushing again. She was saved from responding to his remark by a chocobo drawn wagon coming down the street. The man and woman tried not to stare at Aeris and Sephiroth as they passed.

"We should get to the Inn," said Sephiroth. "You should go to bed early. I want to start training early in the morning."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. At the Icicle Lodge, a waiter showed them to a table. They ordered from the menu.

"If you won't tell me about your father and you won't tell me about your childhood, will you tell me about your life in SOLDIER?" Aeris watched Sephiroth hopefully.

He hesitated "Why don't you tell me about your life instead?"

Aeris wondered what had happened to Sephiroth that he didn't want to talk about his past. Her father hadn't filled in all the details, but she obliged Sephiroth by telling him about her life with Elmyra from life as a little girl to the present. Sephiroth asked questions and seemed genuinely interested in her answers. As they walked home, they heard they heard the howl of a Bandersnatch close by.

It was unusual for Hojo's creatures to venture so close to a village. Aeris moved closer to Sephiroth. He took his masamune from its sheath and carried it ready for use. The Bandersnatch howled again from a different location. Sephiroth signaled Aeris to wait. They stood in the middle of the moonlit road quietly. When the Bandersnatch howled the third time, it was further away. Sephiroth put his sword away. They made it home without hearing it again.

Before Aeris could thank him, Sephiroth nodded once and moved past up her up the stairs. She heard his bedroom door close. She sighed and shook her head. She never knew what to expect from him. She removed her jacket as she went up the stairs to bed.

Sephiroth woke Aeris up by tapping on her door. She dressed in warm clothes and met him downstairs. He wouldn't let her make breakfast. He took her outside. The first thing he wanted to do was jog inside the perimeter of the village. Aeris didn't mind the first few yards but Sephiroth had other ideas. Whenever she stopped in exhaustion, he let her get her breath back then made her jog again. He promised her that one mile would soon turn into at least five.

Back at the house, he gave Aeris her new staff, Gold Armlet and ring. They rode Goldie out to the glacier. The first creature they met was an Ice Golem. Sephiroth slashed it once and it died. They went on looking for more game. A Jumping blocked the chocobo's path.

"Take care of that," Sephiroth said to her.

Aeris approached the Jumping and readied her staff. Before she could make a move the Jumping leaped at her and hit her on the side of her head with its weapon. Aeris staggered and recovered. She dashed toward the Jumping and swung her staff. She missed. The Jumping darted in to hit her on the other side of the head. She rushed it again. This time she managed to strike the little monster. It reeled under her blow then counterattacked with a blow to her left shoulder. Aeris cast a lightening spell and missed. She rushed at the Jumping and swung her staff again. It stumbled and she hit it once more. The Jumping stumbled and did not get up again. Aeris turned to see Sephiroth covering part of his face with one hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing." He climbed on the chocobo and pulled her up behind him. They rode until they came across another Ice Golem. Sephiroth pointed at the creature. "Get him."

The Golem attacked before she was ready. It fired an ice spell at Aeris. She fell and quickly jumped to her feet. She cast a fire spell. It helped a little but the monster wasn't finished yet. It shot ice crystals her way. Aeris ducked the barrage and hit the Golem with her staff. The blow hurt her arm. It fired ice crystals at her again. Aeris tried another fire spell. She missed. The Ice Golem hit her with a body blow and she fell into the snow. Before it could attack again, Sephiroth slashed it out of existence with his masamune.

He stood over her frowning, his arms folded. "Is that the best you can do?"

Angry now, Aeris stood up and brushed herself off. "I damaged it a little!"

"Very little," he scoffed. "Is healing the only thing you can do?"

"You want me to hit you with my staff and find out?" Aeris glared at him.

His green eyes flashed with amusement. Before he reply, a Snow came dancing across the icy ground toward them. A Snow looked like a beautiful woman in a skimpy outfit, except her body was blue all over. A Snow could freeze her victims to death or use a spell called Fascination to take control of their minds. Fascination worked best on men. Fascination spells made a man go mad with desire for the Snow. Under her spell, he would kill anyone, even his own friends to be alone with her. When he murdered them all, the Snow froze him to death.

The Snow wiggled her hips at Sephiroth and smiled. She rolled her eyes at Aeris. Aeris looked at Sephiroth. As strong as Sephiroth was, could he fall victim to a Snow? Sephiroth did not return Aeris' look. He was watching the Snow, a faint smile on his lips. Aeris turned her attention back to the Snow. It was running its blue tongue over darker blue lips and running its hands down the length of its body. It wiggled its hips at Sephiroth again. When the Snow saw Aeris frowning at her, she blew a Cold Breath spell at her.

The Cold Breath struck Aeris and a deep chill ran through her blood like as if she'd been dunked in freezing water. Aeris cast a fire spell at the creature. It didn't affect the Snow that much. She winked at Sephiroth, closed her eyes, dropped her head back and ran her fingers sensuously through long blue strands of hair. She raised her head and blew a kiss at Sephiroth. He never took his eyes off her.

Aeris darted forward, struck the Snow with her staff and leaped back. The Snow turned on her in anger. It cast an ice spell on Aeris. This chill was worse than the last. Quickly Aeris cast a healing spell on herself. Warmth spread through her body. The Snow hit her with another ice spell and followed it up with Cold Breath. Aeris had to use another healing spell to counter them. She cast a lightening spell and missed. The Snow turned to Sephiroth and wiggled her hips at him again. She darted forward and ran an icy hand over his cheek before dancing away. He took one step forward.

With a cry of anger, Aeris cast a Seal Evil spell. The Snow found itself unable to move. Sephiroth took another step toward it. Aeris jumped past him and struck the creature across the head with her staff. She cast a fire spell and struck the Snow with her staff again. She managed to get in a third fire spell before the Snow could recover. Its cold blue eyes were blazing. This time it cast a Fascination spell on Aeris. It missed. Aeris dashed forward again.

"That doesn't work on me!" she cried accenting every word with a blow of her staff. The deadly creature screamed and dropped to the snow bleeding blue blood that crystallized as it came in contact with the chilly air. Aeris hit her one more time to make sure she was dead and moved away brushing strands of hair out of her face. She turned on Sephiroth in a rage. "You were a lot of help!"

"I'm not testing me. I'm testing you." He folded his arms.

"You didn't see me going ga-ga over some blue lady!" snapped Aeris. "You were falling under her spell!"

"I'm immune to the antics of a Snow," he told her. "I just want to see what you would do."

"I'll just bet you are," said Aeris. "I saw the way you were looking at her."

Sephiroth gave her a strange look and she felt her face go red. She turned her back on him and squashed her anger as best she could. She pretended to dust snowflakes off her clothes. "So what's next?"

He didn't answer right away. She could feel his eyes on her. Composing her face, she turned around. "Well?"

Sephiroth broke eye contact and went to retrieve Goldie's reins. "We are going back to the house to work on your fighting skills. I can see my work is cut out for me."

Aeris walked up to him indignantly. "You're saying I'm a bad fighter?"

"No," he looked at her calmly. "I am saying you are a weak fighter. I can take care of all that, but you have to be willing to work hard. I am used to training soldiers and I will work you just as hard. Don't expect me to baby you. Can you handle that?"

"I can take it," she responded. "Let's go."

Sephiroth gave her one of his rare smiles and leaped astride the chocobo. Aeris took his hand and jumped up behind him. They set out for home.

* * * * *

It had been more than six months since Meteor had caused the destruction of Midgar. People were trying to put their lives back together. Everyone had their own tale to tell of what had happened during the dark days under the rule of Shinra. Some of the tales were true and some were fabrications. Stories ranged from simple tales of valor or events that had never happened. Some were actual events that were embellished as much as the imagination would allow. It got to the point that no one knew what to believe any more so most people began disbelieve most anything they heard.

Everyone knew the story of Aeris and Sephiroth. There were songs and ballads about both of them. Neither was spared being the center of fantastic rumors. Both Aeris and Sephiroth were legends. Some people could appreciate a legend and leave it as it was, but others couldn't let it go. Along with Aeris and Sephiroth merchandise, (some still thought of Sephiroth as a legendary SOLDIER), came tales of sightings. The strangest tale of all was that of a man in black with a long sword and a beautiful girl with green eyes who lived together in a house in Icicle Village. Most people dismissed that story as another case of Aeris and Sephiroth imitators, people who dressed as one or the other for reasons of their own.

Back at home and beginning new lives of their own were a group of people who had participated in the events that lead to the death of Aeris and Sephiroth.

Cloud had grown closer to Tifa. They were seeing a lot of each other these days and their relationship looked serious.

Until Cid lost his rocket to Meteor, he had never allowed himself to think of Shera as anyone but the person who had ruined his chances to go into outer space. Having almost lost her twice, he realized he loved her. He married her soon after he returned to Rocket Town.

Yuffie was honing her ninja skills. Cloud and his friends had given her their materia, as they had no further use for it. Wutai was once again prosperous. Yuffie and her father had turned the failing village around.

Barret and Marlene lived in North Corel.

Red XIII, also known as Nanaki, returned to Cosmo Canyon. With the help of his grandfathers notes and books, he was on his way to becoming a great scholar.

Vincent didn't know where he belonged. He couldn't go back to the Shinra mansion and sleep in a coffin anymore. He moved to a house in Kalm. He made a living going out to kill the monsters that still roamed the area. The grateful townspeople paid him well for his work. He figured he would go on killing monsters until they were gone in that area, then move on to the next town. He spent most of his time alone. He heard the Aeris and Sephiroth rumors too and ignored them. He still carried the pain of failing Lucrecia. To add to that pain, he felt guilty for not trying to tell Sephiroth the truth before they'd had to kill him. Vincent preferred to live alone with his pain.

* * * * *

Sephiroth was pleased with Aeris' progress. They woke up early in the morning and trained most of the day, taking time out only to eat and take brief rest periods. Aeris fell into bed exhausted each night too tired sometimes to wash the dinner dishes. Sephiroth was used to hard training. It wasn't a job he enjoyed, but knowing how fussy Aeris was about the dishes, he washed them for her when she couldn't.

Her skills were improving so much, he even dared to take her to the Northern Crater to fight some of the creatures there. He helped her sometimes by tiring the monsters with weak spells so that Aeris could learn how to attack.

One day she did so well, he took her back to the Icicle Lodge for dinner. There, they were approached by a traveler wanting to sell materia The traveler turned out to be an ex-SOLDIER who had stolen a helicopter and deserted the Shinra army the moment he saw Diamond weapon rise out of the sea. The ex-SOLDIER knew who Sephiroth was. He was more than happy to sell the materia for less than it was worth. He was on the run from survivors of the Diamond Weapon's attack. He had left them behind when he escaped. He promised to keep their secret if they kept his. Sephiroth bought a level two Earth, a level two Comet, an Enemy-Skill, and a MP plus materia for Aeris.

"Where will you go from here?" asked Sephiroth.

"I'm not sure," the ex-SOLDIER replied. "I need to go some place where they won't think to look at me."

Sephiroth nudged Aeris under the table. "We went to Midgar a short while ago. Some of the buildings are still standing. You could hide out there. There are plenty of weapons and materia shops with merchandise there and plenty of food and supplies. You could hide a long time. We walked around freely. There are no people in the city."

The ex-SOLDIER rubbed his chin thinking, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Aeris started to speak, but Sephiroth put one of his feet on hers under the table. "You will have to find transportation across the sea. How did you get here?"

"I stole a gold chocobo from a chocobo farm," the man said. "I almost lost my life for the effort, but that chocobo can get over or across anything."

"You can make it to Midgar then," said Sephiroth. He shook the traveler's hand. "Good luck to you and a long life."

"Thanks," the ex-SOLDIER started to turn away, then turned back. "I heard about what happened in Nibelheim. I don't know why things turned out for you as it did, but I'm happy to see you've found a life here with such a pretty lady."

He nodded to them both and hurried away.

"Sephiroth, how could you?" cried Aeris, sliding her foot from under his. "He sold us his materia! You know he could be killed by a monster! He didn't even have a weapon."

Sephiroth was nonchalant. "That's his problem."

Aeris gasped.

Sephiroth frowned at her and went on. "What do you think he'll do when he needs more money?"

"He'll probably sell something or steal something to sell," she replied.

"He'll come back here and blackmail us for money," said Sephiroth. "He deserted his comrades while he saved his own life. When he needs more money, he'll threaten to reveal our presence, if we don't pay up. You did want to keep our presence quiet didn't you? Your friends haven't found us so far."

Aeris nodded, a troubled look in her eyes.

"I have two choices," said Sephiroth. "Go out there and kill him now, or let the monsters do it for me."

"I understand," said Aeris looking down at her hands. "I didn't think of it that way."

As Sephiroth predicted, the ex-SOLDIER and his gold chocobo were killed by a pair of hungry Behemoths an hour after he set foot in Midgar.

Chapter 8