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	Wings of Love

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	6/4/01
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	A Sephiroth X Aeris Fanfic

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	When Second Chances Matter

	==========================

	The empty wind howled about him.... a void... an emptiness like he had always felt 
before.... Of course he knew what that meant.... He was well pleased with it. It was something 
familiar.... Not pleasant, but rest didn't always have to be pleasant to be peaceful. At long 
last.... thirty years of antagonism, fear and hatred directed at him.... he was free now. 

	The fluttering presence about him disturbed him, though. It seemed to pass by every 
now and then, gently probing at the barrier he had bult about himself. The barrier had become 
nothing more than a thin film between him and the rest of souls that lay in the Lifestream. 
Unlike before.... It had been a wall of ice not so long ago. 

	There was something distinctly familiar about that offending presence. When he wished 
to investigate, the presence was taken away. He somehow knew it did not go by itself. It was 
shooed away by some other mind, or firmly told to leave as if it were a child entering a room
 where an important top secret meeting was held.

	The presence was back again.... Closer, so close. He *knew* it! It had been something
 he had cherished, even loved. It had been missing the last few years of his life, yet the 
memory of such a presence was indelibly marked upon his memory, like the memory of his best 
friend, Zack, and the strange woman he had released from Hojo's lab, Ifalna. Why had he not
 been able to access such wonderful memories when he could? 

	Flames appeared before his eyes. He knew those fires. He should, after all, since he 
was the one who started them. He had watched with anger and sheer glee at the people burning 
within them. Burning Nibelheim..... it was too bad of the people who lived there anyway. But 
these flames were different.... The people whom he had treasured most were burning, too....

	He closed his eyes. Now he could never go back. He could never make amends. 
He understood the levity of his actions..... he had failed his best friend, the kindest 
person in his life.... And his son. The boy's smile would be forever lost to him, or at least
 until they met once again in the Lifestream.... Even then, they might not meet, the gods 
seeking to punish him for all his sins. 

	He opened his eyes again, startled to find himself looking into a pair of green eyes...
green eyes that did not belong to his son.... he immediately knew that this could only be the 
other half that made the boy.... he knew that face.... why couldn't he recall who she was?? His 
memory was usually flawless. 

	Gradually, he let himself drift back into his memories, trying to find a face that 
matched hers. The strange woman held out a hand, as if wanting to break into the barrier. At
first, he drew away sharply, unused to unfamiliar human contact. But those eyes... He found 
himself longing for the sight of them when she turned away a little defeatedly. 

	\Wait.\ 

	She turned, her large green eyes meeting his. An uncertain smile appeared on her face
even as she reached out once more. He held his breath as slowly, she broke through the barrier
that had seperated him from the rest of humanity. It felt different now. He couldn't describe it,
but this feeling was definitely different from the loneliness he had suffered all his life.

	/You were his best friend.... yet he never spoke of you..../

	He watched her, unsure of whether to feel suspicious as she neared him. The image of Zack
shot through him. He had turned traitor on his friend. Yet another sin he had to atone for.

	/You saved her.... and though she didn't survive, I could..../

	He understood who she was now. He could recall fuzzy memories of an infant in a crib,
teary-eyed that looked up at him trustingly. There were more memories of her, but those became
of no moment at that very second.

	/He is made half of you.... and he loves you so, so much./

	\Angeles.\

	/Is that his name?/

	He nodded. Suddenly, he remembered her now : he fell into the crystal City of the
Ancients to coldly murder her. He backed away from her, but she wouldn't have any of it, coming
closer. She reached out with a hand, her fingers softly touching his face. 

	/You were so easily taken over because you were hollow with hatred and anger... if you 
had thought of them this would have had a less likely chance of happening..../

	\I have failed them.\

	/You tried to destroy the world that had hurt you so much, but you were stopped.../

	\You stopped me.\

	She shook her head sadly. /The one who stopped you was the man I thought I loved..../ 
Her eyes looked very large and teary. /You were under the influence of a monster, a creature 
that tried to destroy the Planet.../

	\Jenova. I suppose Strife managed to destroy her.\

	/It wasn't enough,/ she said mournfully. /I thought to summon Holy that peace may come 
to the Planet, but it wasn't enough, either. Even if YOU were to try, you still would not 
succeed in destroying Jenova. That needs more power than any of us have./

	\Then why come to me now, if I cannot help?\

	/There is someone who can. Someone who is not whole, not happy.... he mourns, in regret
and despair. While Cloud can help him, guide him and care for him, it will not be enough. He 
wants YOU to return to him first... he wants his family... like I did... like YOU did, as well./ 

	\I never knew them,\ his reply was full of resentment at the world, suddenly 
remembering why he had gone along with his 'mother' to destroy it.

	/Is that any reason to deprive your son of that chance?/ 

	Pride told him to stay himself, but deep within himself, he cried out for his son. He
*did* want Angeles. He had always wanted a place to belong. Zack had offered him friendship
and he had accepted it warily.... only now he felt its loss keenly. He had a place to go to now.
That place was where his son was, wherever the boy was now, and take him into his arms. 

	 \Angeles....\ He looked at the strange young woman full in the face. \What is your 
name?\ he asked quietly. 

	/Aeris./ Her voice was open, artless and gentle. There was no hatred nor anger for what
he had done to her. He could feel the forgiveness radiating from her and he instantly knew what
had Zack seen in her. She was serenity itself. Zack, usually erratic, always calmed down whenever
he spoke fondly of his 'flower'. 

	\Why are you here, Aeris?\

	/Because the Planet drew me here.... it told me of Angeles and what he has to do... 
this is very important for the sake of the people living upon the face of the Planet. Your son
plays a large part, but he will not do it unless you are there with him.../

	\Have you ever met him?\

	She sighed softly and wistfully. /No, never./ 

	\You should, Aeris.\ There was a fondness in his voice, an expression he rarely felt.
\Angeles is precious.\

	===========================

	Someplace far away, Ifalna watched with a soft smile on her face. Everything was going
just as it was supposed to. She had to admit that Angeles was right. Her grandson's correctness
at just about everything astounded her. 

	She turned to her companion, looking at the same scene with a small measure of pride in
her own green eyes. Sorrow still bowed the other woman's shoulders, sorrow and regret. Ifalna
put an arm about Lucrecia's shoulders. "Let's go."

	Lucrecia nodded, and the two of them walked off. Yet Lucrecia could not help but glance 
back at her son, who was now coming out of the shell he had so tightly encased himself within.

	===========================

	Everyone was cramped in the small room that had small monitors on every wall. Some of 
the monitors were on, some snowy, others showed clear images of what was going on. Cloud looked 
at each and every one of them. "Sarah, look!" 

	They looked. 

	"The main lab," Dr. Dallas hissed from behind clenched teeth. "That jackdaw is profaning
the name of the family!" 

	Angeles was lying on an examination table, looking very unconscious. His eyes were 
closed and he looked almost peaceful. Hojo was fiddling around with a few test-tubes at another
table, a tentacle holding a notepad, another one holding a few test-tubes and one with a 
particularly evil-looking needle. 

	Finally, the madman turned around and advanced on the boy. Green eyes snapped open and 
widened at seeing the horrendous looking old man. Tifa gagged. Hojo's skin was now green, and
he had more helpers in the form of appendages. Tentacles weaved from his body. It was a ghastly
sight, all in all.

	"Professor Hojo," Angeles said without a trace of fear in his voice. 

	"He knows the nut-case??" Barret exclaimed. 

	"Years of having you in Shin-ra's lab," Hojo whispered. "And I was bored because 
Sephiroth was never around anymore... the empty-nest symdrome, heh heh. When under my nose there 
was a little project which was far more powerful than my MAKO and Jenova-infused son!"

	"Surprise, surprise," Angeles said dryly. 

	"Go for it, boy," Dr. Dallas muttered.

	"Not only does he have Jenova-infused cells, and Mako energy in his veins, he has a 
Cetra heritage as well! What a glorious thing! A hybrid!"

	"What are you talking about?" the boy demanded. 

	Hojo sniggered. "You mean you don't know, my boy? Don't you know who your father and 
mother is? At all?"
	
	"My father is Sephiroth."

	"And your mother?"

	There was a pause. "I don't know."

	The statement was awfully soft, full of pain and loneliness. Cloud understood how it 
felt not knowing a parent out of two. 

	"You don't?" Hojo said in mock symphathy. "Well, then, I'll tell you. She's an Ancient, 
and a rather lovely girl, too. Too bad your father never got to know her before he killed her,
poor thing."
	
	"What do you want?"

	"Your medallion."

	Angeles' green eyes went very wide. "No!" he shouted. "You can't have it!"

	"Oh, and why not?" Hojo's eyes narrowed. "It's just a medallion, boy. I want to study 
it. Now lift your head a little..."

	Angeles thrashed about, determined not to let the scientist's tentacles touch the 
silver chain hanging about his neck. "You can't have it!!"

	"Whatever is so special about it anyway?"

	"None of your business... that's why you can't have it!" 

	Hojo ignored him and finally held the medallion high in his green hand. "Well..." he
murmured. "It has the same feel as the masamune..."

	Dr. Dallas muttered a curse. "Oh, my gods."

	"Where da hell *did* he get that anyhow??" Barret wanted to know. 

	"I don't know. Sephiroth gave it to him, I believe."

	"I suppose that explains it," Cloud said. "What Sephiroth has, he would probably give 
his son something similar to it."

	Hojo cackled suddenly. "Yes! This is it! This is the key!!" 

	"What the hell are you talking about??" Angeles shouted in frustration.	

	The scientist didn't hear, since he was too busy capering about in joy. "The pinnacle of 
Science!! It is truly the greatest day of my life!! This is it!!"

	"That's not a very helpful answer, old man."

	"Don't you understand!!" Hojo roared in glee. "This is the answer! This medallion was
created the same way as Masamune! It is yet another sign! Sephiroth will return!!"

	"Well, of course he would. He has to. He's my father!" 

	The scientist looked at the boy scornfully. "You have no idea of the great task that 
your father bears, boy! JENOVA herself will return!!" 
	
	"Oh, shit!" Cid shouted. "What're we waiting for?? Let's go get that wacko loon once and
for all!!" 

	"Shit, siddown, Highwind!!" Dr. Dallas gritted.

	"But he *has* a point, Sarah," Tifa pointed out. 

	"Jenova was never totally destroyed," Dr. Dallas said sourly. "You thought you did, but
I know better. Hojo's a little outdated, though. He's so fixated on science he doesn't see where
else to find answers."

	"Oh yeah? Like where?" Cid challenged. 

	"Cetra lore." 
	
	"Huh??" everyone asked. Dr. Dallas nodded, then continued.

	"When the Cetra entombed Jenova, as you know, many of them were inflicted with a deadly
virus that wiped them out gradually. Most of the monsters on the face of the Planet were 
actually Cetra that have gone beserk over the millenia. That's why there're so few of them 
left." She winced. "Or rather, that's why there's only ONE of them left. Or was."

	"That doesn't answer the question," Red said. "How would you know that Jenova is still
about? How would the Cetra know?"

	"The Cetra are seers... the Planet tells them whatever it wants to tell them and they
simply carry out its orders. They are closest to the Planet of all races of creatures. Deep
inside the Lifestream, Jenova actually found a hiding place. The Planet knows about it, and
decided to take steps. But because it can't destroy Jenova in the Lifestream, there's got to be
a way to lure her away from there."

	The woman sighed. "When Gast found Jenova in the North Continent, he took out a great 
part of her, but he missed out the part of her which was still in the Lifestream. He only 
realized his mistake of infusing a human fetus with Jenova cells until he met Ifalna."

	"How do you know all this, Dallas?" Vincent asked, his eyes narrowing.

	"I... have been in the Lifestream before, Valentine," she replied softly. "It was a 
really stupid thing to do, since there was a danger of killing myself there, but it was a risk 
I took. I found the heart of the Planet. And... it spoke to me."

	Red nodded. "Grandfather once said something about that. Did you ever find out why the
Planet didn't kill you?"

	"No. But that's not the point."

	"Man, we have to kill her again!" Cloud groaned. 

	"I doubt you have that kind of power, Cloud."

	Tifa narrowed her brown eyes. "Then who does? Sephiroth? Is that why you're so anxious
to have him resurrected??"

	"Sephiroth doesn't have to be resurrected. I'm just waiting for Angeles' power to be
manifested."

	"Angeles??"

	"Yes, yes, yes," Dr. Dallas said irritatedly. "Don't you get it, Tifa? Angeles has more
power than either Cloud or Sephiroth. Or even Aeris. He is part Cetra, too. Jenova cells and 
MAKO energy which enhance physical skills and Cetra genes which empower magical skills make
 for a deadly soldier. The perfect WEAPON."

	"WEAPON???"

	"You can't mean to make Angeles a WEAPON!!" Tifa hissed. "That's.... not right!!"

	"The Planet doesn't care about what's right or wrong," Dr. Dallas retorted. "All it's 
doing is protecting itself. What are organisms to it? The Cetra were supposed to keep the 
balance between the life on the Planet and the life within the Planet." 	

	"Where does Sephiroth come into this, then?" 

	"That's the part I haven't figured out yet," Dr. Dallas replied rather helplessly. 
	
	=============================

	"There," Hojo said tremblingly, lovingly putting the medallion into the incubator. "This
is it! You, boy, will see your father return to ascend to his rightful place as a god!!"

	Angeles did not reply. He looked expectant, however. "What good does the medallion do?"
he asked.

	"The medallion... don't you know?? With this and Masamune, I will be able to bring
back your father using the energy found around them... you wouldn't be able to understand the
theory, boy. But I tell you this : the energy which both medallion and masamune has gained from
close contact with Sephiroth will be instrumental in his return!!"

	Angeles gasped, his mind flying into his memories... to the time he received that 
precious gift from his father.
	
	("This is for you," the tall, silver-haired said gently to the boy on his knee. 

	Small hands reached for it, and dewy green eyes cast a soft glow on the silver medallion
with the carvings of a beautiful city on it. "For me?" 

	The man nodded, putting the chain about the boy's neck. The boy managed to fiddle with
the lock, opening it. 
	
	"Will you be back soon?" Angeles asked. "You're always going off."

	"It's my job, Angeles," Sephiroth told him. "But all right. When I get back, I'll
take you for a little holiday. I promise."

	"Really?" Angeles grinned. At his father's nod, he said, "No funny doctors? No tests? 
Just us? Can we go to the Gold Saucer? Costa Del Sol? I hear so much about them from the nurses
but they never tell me anything about those places."

	"Whereever you want to go."

	Angeles smiled happily and curled up on his father's lap, feeling very safe even when 
he felt himself carried to bed.)

	But he hadn't come back from his mission. Angeles realized it had something to do with
this Jenova person, or thing, or whatever. He knew he had to keep very still and his mouth shut.
Otherwise, Hojo might decide not to bring back his father at all. 

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	All characters (except for Dr. Sarah Dallas) are copyright of Squaresoft Inc. This is 
just a fanfic for heaven's sake! 

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