Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. All rights belong to Square-Enix.

A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers who wish for me to keep on with my story. It really means a lot to me that you like it that much already . To answer Foi's question, Aerith so far is 9 and Cloud is 8, which would make Tifa's age 7, Zack's about 10 (I don't know his real age so I made this up). And to Beeria, I may take up one of your Clorith challenges, though I don't know which one yet lol. To GiM, thank you for your compliment. I do enjoy liking both couples, because there isn't a thing not to like about either of them. They both make great stories . And I may take one of your challenges as well, I just don't know which one yet lol. If any of you would like to leave some constructive criticism, it would be greatly appreciated. Tell me if you would like to see a change in my writing style anywhere. Well anyways, enjoy!

We Belong Together

Chapter 2: As the Years Pass

Five days after the Queen's death…

A grieving sum of nearly fifty people accompanied the King and his lieutenants as they carried the casket holding the body of Queen Ifalna to the selected area that was to be her grave. It was a morbid day for the royal family. Faremisu had now lost his second wife, one that he loved more than any other in his lifetime; Aerith had lost her mother, the only person she felt so very close to, save for Elmyra. With the royal family were thousands of friends and close relatives of Ifalna, Faremisu, and little Aerith. They all wept for their queen, but only a select few wept for the Ifalna they had grown up with and loved. As the cold winds blew against the face of Aerith, it showed the young girl that even nature felt sorrow for its lost child.

As they lay the casket into the earth, the Cetran priest, garbed in his elaborate and decorative funeral clothes, gave his blessing upon Queen Ifalna. "We beseech thee, Great Soul of the Lifestream, to take this child's spirit, that it may forever be bound to you and all the souls we have lost. May she be guided to her brothers and sisters who wait to be reunited with their sibling of the Cetra. Our queen we have lost, but a child you have gained. In the infinite wisdom of the Planet, this we pray. Ashes to ashes… dust to dust. Amen." The people bowed their heads in silence, praying with the priest that Ifalna would find peace in the next life. People then started to leave, one by one, until only Aerith and Elmyra were left. Even the king didn't stay with his sorrowed daughter, for he had other matters to attend to. Elmyra stood behind her little flower girl, holding her tightly.

"It will be alright, Aerith. Her spirit will watch over you, for all of your life." Aerith didn't want her mother's spirit; she wanted her mother. However, she did find some comfort in Elmyra's words. Only some.

"But… why did she have to die?"

Elmyra had to think of the words to use so the child could understand. "It… it was a disease that took her. She had kept it hidden for some time. Perhaps if she told us… we could have helped her."

Then why didn't she say anything?

Aerith was so young, and couldn't comprehend the ways of adults. She felt her eyes swelling up with tears again, and turned swiftly into Elmyra's arms. She wanted to hold something, her mother specifically. Since Elmyra had helped to take care of Aerith since she was just a baby, she was the closest thing to a mother that the child had now. Elmyra wrapped her arms around Aerith, lowering herself to knee level to be within Aerith's height. Together, they both shed tears for the passing of their cherished one.

---

Sephiroth had returned two days before the funeral. He never spoke a word to his father or anyone else for that matter. He just went down to his basement and locked the door. After their attack on Nibelheim, they had taken everything Rufus had brought to the meeting. This gave him all the materials he'd ever need to undergo his… experiments.

All the children they had captured were restrained on a table. Most of them were asleep. Actually, all of them were asleep, until Sephiroth came to Zack and Cloud, slapping them in the face to wake them up. He lowered his head so he could look upon their eyes.

"I wouldn't want you two to miss out on the fun you're about to have."

The fear Cloud harbored inside exposed itself on his face. He was about to cry.

Zack however, would not show his fear. "What are you gonna do to us?" he demanded.

Sephiroth let a wicked smile form on his lips. "You'll see. I don't want to spoil it yet." He looked up to his fellow scientist. "Hojo, get me the needle." The boys looked in the same direction as Sephiroth to see a scrawny looking fellow, who was hunched over with his hair covering part of his face.

Hojo looked back at the boys, smiling with his teeth as he held the syringe, filled with Mako, in his right hand. "As you wish, Lord Sephiroth." He walked to the side of his master, giving him the needle he had requested for. As with normal testing, Sephiroth pressed his thumb against the syringe. It pleased him to see a small amount of the green liquid eject from the end of the needle. He looked at both boys again, slowly lowering the needle to Zack's arm.

"I confess that I've never actually done this before." He swiftly injected the needle into Zack's arm, ignoring his cry of pain as he injected half of the liquid into him. He then took the needle out and did the same to Cloud. "So please, don't spare me any details as to how you are feeling."

At first, the boys felt nothing. In fact, they were feeling a bit stronger. That was until… the blood in their bodies started to boil, the sweat from their brows poured down their bright red faces, and every muscle in their bodies, even ones they didn't know they had, started to ache. The boys let out a scream. After that was over, they screamed again. And again. And again. This much screaming was a reflection to the pain they felt: never ending. They would scream until they no longer had the strength in their lungs to speak. During their screams, Sephiroth closed his eyes, smiling again as he just listened to sounds of their affliction.

"Beautiful."

"SEPHIROTH!"

The silver haired youth rolled his eyes at the screaming voice. It was Faremisu, and Sephiroth knew of what his father wished to see him about. "Keep an eye on them, Hojo. I'll be back shortly." Hojo gave a slight nod, going back over his notes to record all that they boys were doing, though recording screams couldn't be that hard. Sephiroth closed the door behind him, and then walked upstairs through the hallway and to the throne room where his father was waiting for him. "You called, father?"

Faremisu was, for lack of a better word, enraged. "You attacked the humans and massacred their village?"

Sephiroth smiled at the mention of his "accomplishment". "Not just one, father. All of them. Every human leader who came to that meeting went home to a pile of burning ash. We spared some of the people there. Who else would have been able to inform their leaders of what happened?"

The king was not pleased with this news. Sephiroth knew that he wouldn't be. He merely informed him of this so that he could gloat. "You killed three of the leaders. Bugenhagen, Godo Kisaragi, Jason Strife, they're all dead! What were you thinking! I told you to stop these senseless massacres! I want peace with these people, and you keep screwing it up!"

"Father, these humans discovered a way to harness the Lifestream. They were planning to use it to strengthen their sons and daughters so they could overthrow us. I merely put a stop to them."

Faremisu had not been told this. However, he didn't know whether Sephiroth was telling half truths or whole lies. His son had never had a great respect for others. In fact, he had always been a little… twisted. Faremisu had seen this since Jenova died, but had never really done anything to stop it. Now, he was one step closer to losing it and forsaking his son. As much horror as Sephiroth had wreaked, he had also been a great asset to the Cetra. Not to mention that he was next in line to the throne. However, Faremisu was starting to believe that he should trust Aerith more with the authority than his own son. "These killings will stop. If I hear of another massacre… you shall pay the price. And that, my dear son, is a promise." Faremisu stormed off to his room, attempting to calm himself down. With the funeral of his wife, he had enough to grieve over.

---

4 years later…

The testing had lasted for days. Each passing day, the pain Cloud and Zack were forced to endure minimized. They were growing used to their new bodies, though physically, nothing seemed different about them. When they stopped screaming from the injections, Sephiroth knew that they were ready. In fact, they were the only ones who were ready. All of the other test subjects had died from Mako poisoning. Boys, and girls, that Cloud and Zack knew since they were little. Sephiroth would always watch personally as they boys would spar with each other, seeing the strength, agility, and speed that had increased in them. On occasion, he would even step in with them to test their abilities firsthand. Every time he did so, he would clearly dominate them, though there were times that they were able to keep up with him and avoid some of his attacks. The only problem they had was that they couldn't work together. Both were so tired of being here, tired of being his lab experiments. They wanted to get out, but they didn't know how.

On this particular day, Sephiroth decided to look in on the boys again. He opened the door to the basement and walked in, finding them in the same place he usually had left them. The boys were in twin glass tubes. While they weren't exactly spacey, for the past four years, the boys had learned to call them "home". Sephiroth tapped his fingers against there tubes to grasp their attention. "How are my little rats doing today?"

Cloud didn't bother answering back, merely staring at the wall. Zack decided that he would respond. "What the hell do you want? Haven't you put us through enough already?"

The silver haired villain just chuckled at Zack's verbal assault. "I'm in a good mood today. I think I'm up for a sparring match. You both have certainly gotten better by now, right?" He turned away from them, but not before letting them see the smile they had grown to hate. "Hojo, let them out. It's time to do some more 'testing'."

Hojo smiled as he pressed the "Release lock" button (though it was written in Cetran language), opening the door to the boys' tube prison and releasing them. The two didn't try to resist, merely walking side-by-side to prepare to fight Sephiroth.

"Remember what we talked about yesterday." Zack whispered to Cloud. Neither Sephiroth nor Hojo had noticed them. "I know." responded Cloud.

They stood directly across from Sephiroth in an open area of the room that was their "arena" of sorts. Sephiroth had left his sword, Masamune, in his room, so there was no need to worry about him cheating. "Well?" he said as he waited for them. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'll go first." Zack said. He stepped forward, then leaping into the air, preparing to crush Sephiroth with his fist. He easily dodged this move, watching the child bury his fist in the ground. He was amazed that it cracked from Zack's power. Zack then made an attempt to punch Sephiroth again. After he missed for the second time, Zack rotated his body to try a spin kick. Once Sephiroth had dodged both attacks, the raven haired boy went for another kick. However, Sephiroth decided to grab the boy's leg. He then attacked Zack's face with the back of his hand. The boy was down from this attack, though he had suffered worse. He merely grabbed his cheek, saying "ow" as he got up. "Again." Sephiroth demanded.

Zack looked back at Cloud, who nodded his head, signaling he was ready to do his part. Zack smiled, but wiped his face clean of it as he looked upon the adult. The raven haired youth prepared again, breathing in and out. He then jumped up to Sephiroth's eye level, throwing punch after punch in an attempt to knock his head clean off. Sephiroth did nothing but dodge the entire time, managing to say, "Haven't you learned yet that this kind of attack won't work?"

Zack smiled as he kept punching. "We may be slow learners, but…" He then stopped suddenly, narrowing his body by raising his arms in the air and straightening his legs. By doing this, he dropped the ground quickly. Sephiroth, however, lost the smile he had on his face as he saw the other boy, Cloud, coming straight at him. He had no time to react as Cloud collided his foot with Sephiroth's face. This caused the Cetran prince to lose balance, and Zack capitalized by using his leg to sweep kick Sephiroth. With his body in midair, the boys finished him with one last kick to his head, which drove his cranium straight to the hard floor and knocked him out cold.

The boys landed gracefully, each with a devilish smile on their faces. "… eventually we catch on." Cloud finished.

Hojo had no time to react as he was met with a powerful kick to the stomach by Zack, sending the scientist's body crashing against his large control center. After he was left unconscious on the ground, Zack turned to face Cloud, screaming, "RUN!" With that, the boys took their golden opportunity and ran upstairs as fast as they could.

Five seconds after they left, Sephiroth was beginning to awaken. He put a hand on his forehead, having trouble remembering how he had gotten this monstrous headache. When he finally remembered, he swiftly got to his feet, kicking Hojo in the stomach to wake him up. "Hojo, wake up!"

The scientist coughed from the kick he received, but nonetheless he was awake. "What happened?" he asked.

"They tricked us! The little bastards planned this! Sound the alarm, and don't let them escape!" Sephiroth ran as fast as his legs could carry him up the stairs.

Hojo managed to get to his feet and hit the button, activating a very loud alarm.

All of the Cetran soldiers ready were looking around the area for anything strange. Finally, two Cetra's saw the boys running outside the palace, trying to make it to the ocean. "Humans! There are humans in the palace!" Each soldier got the word and traveled to the palace in order to stop the two youths.

However, the Cetra's were at a disadvantage as the boys were much faster than they knew. They managed to make it to the port, but were now faced with the problem of escaping.

"Cloud, it's time to use that gift!"

"But Zack, I haven't perfected it yet!"

"Just do it! It's now or never!"

Cloud wasn't confident that he could pull it off. They looked back once more, and their eyes were in shock as they saw Sephiroth in front of the other soldiers chasing them.

I can do it! I CAN DO IT!

Cloud was trying his best to build up his focus. "Zack, take my hand!" Zack did as he was told. Cloud then prepared himself as they neared the edge of the port.

Before he got too close, Cloud noticed out of the corner of his eye that a little girl was walking by. She was obviously not paying attention, just carrying her little basket of flowers in her arm. Her brunette braid was held together by a pretty red ribbon. Cloud shook his head so he could get his focus back.

"Comin' through!" he screamed at the girl. She snapped back to reality in time to see the blonde, spiky haired boy jump right over her. She stumbled onto her bottom after she lost balance. He had surprised her quite suddenly.

Just beyond them now lay nothing but water. As they closed in, Cloud took one final breathe before summoning all the power he had in his legs and jumping off the pier with Zack. He closed his eyes, putting all the faith he had in his new powers. Cloud was just waiting for the moment when he would feel the water crash on his face. However, he felt nothing but air brushing on his brow. He opened one eye, and happily opened the other when he saw himself soaring over the ocean. He looked up to his left shoulder. Never before had he been so happy to see that familiar black wing sticking out of his shoulder. Though it had a demonic form, and was frightening to look at, Cloud couldn't have been more overjoyed.

"Zack, it worked! It really worked!" The boys gave shouts of joy as they soared off into the horizon, finally breathing in the free air; an air that did not have Sephiroth hovering over it.

The Cetran prince was not at all pleased with this situation. He had been so arrogant, thinking he could keep the boys in his grasp forever. Now, he stood among his men, defeated, broken, and utterly humiliated… all because of two, little humans.

The little girl who Cloud had jumped over looked at the two boys as they flew away. Her emerald green eyes had never beheld such a sight, and she considered herself lucky. She folded her hands together, wishing she could someday fly as he did. "That would be great." she said. "I wonder who those boys were."

Just then, the little girl's maid called for her. "Aerith! Aerith, come inside!"

She didn't want to leave, but she knew she would be in trouble if she didn't go. "Coming." Catching one last glimpse of the boys, Aerith walked back to join her maid.

---

Faremisu laughed hysterically after Sephiroth told him the complete story. Rather than be angry, the king believed that his son had gotten what was coming to him. "Well, this is certainly an interesting event today." Faremisu managed to speak between laughs.

Sephiroth's anger peaked as he watched his father mock him. "Just give me my punishment and I'll be on my way." Sephiroth tightened his fist as he awaited his father's reply.

The king looked at his son with shock. "Punishment?" Faremisu let out another laugh. "Why son, I would never think of punishing you." Sephiroth was confused for the first time in his life. He showed his confusion by asking his father why he wasn't going to chastise him. "Because, my son…" Faremisu rose from his seat and stood closer to his son. "… you have already punished yourself with your arrogance. You thought you could control humans. But it has become apparent that they are not so easily conquered. You have humiliated yourself, and that is a far crueler act than I could ever commit."

Sephiroth's confusion instantly disappeared as his uncontrollable rage returned. Faremisu, however, was smiling in the face of his son. "You may go now."

Though it was hard, Sephiroth bowed before the king. He then left his father's presence to return to his chambers, where Hojo was waiting. "Hojo." The scientist acknowledged his lord's call. "Do we have anymore of the Mako left?"

"Yes, my lord. We have enough left for one more test subject."

Sephiroth smiled for the first time in many hours. It seemed that all was not lost. "Good." he replied.

---

Aerith was humming a beautiful song to herself as she watered her mother's flowers. The entire bed had fully grown, and remained beautiful each day as Aerith took care of them. She saw these flowers as the remaining connection she still had with her mother. She treated these flowers as if they were her own children. The area her mother had planted these was inside the castle, but in a courtyard Faremisu had built just for her. The flowers received plenty of sunlight each day. They were truly a work of art. Ifalna would be proud of her young daughter.

Elmyra entered the courtyard, smiling as she saw Aerith with the water pale. The tiny shower of water falling onto the plants sparkled in the sunlight, creating miniature lights on Aerith's face. "They have grown to be very lovely." Elmyra spoke. This startled Aerith, for she had not heard anyone enter. She was relieved when she saw that it was Elmyra.

"Yeah. They have. I wish mother could see them."

"She does, Aerith. Her spirit watches you every day. I know that she is proud to see her flowers bloom as they have."

This thought gave so much comfort to Aerith. She closed her eyes as the warmth of the sun stayed on her skin. Her imagination took over, pretending that it was her mother's warm hands on her face. If she concentrated enough, she could hear her mother's voice. Was this the voice of the Planet? Was it really her mother? She didn't care which it was, all she knew was that it gave her comfort.

Aerith snapped back to reality suddenly when Elmyra called to her. "Aerith, you're spilling the water." Aerith immediately pulled up the water pale, laughing at herself for her carelessness.

Elmyra smiled at her foster daughter and asked, "What were you thinking about?"

Aerith looked into the sky. The warm feeling made her smile again. "My mother. I think… I think you're right. She would be proud. It feels like… she's telling me now. I can hear her, if I concentrate hard enough. It sounds silly, I know."

Elmyra looked at Aerith in sheer amazement. Perhaps she was finally starting to hear the voice of the Planet. She was at the average age for children to be hearing the Planet's call. The middle-aged woman came near Aerith and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't sound silly at all. I believe your mother is speaking to you. And she is very proud of you."

Aerith smiled again. "Thank you, Elmyra."

"So, do you know what happened today that caused such a fuss?"

Aerith had not forgotten what happened. Her heart started to beat fast again when she thought about that boy with the dark wing. Elmyra noticed Aerith holding her hand over her chest, trying to slow her beating heart. Her face was flushed as well.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" she asked.

"Oh… yes, I'm fine. There was, uh… two boys. They were humans, I think." Aerith responded.

Elmyra was shocked. "Humans? How did humans get here without anyone knowing?"

"I'm not sure. But…" Aerith started to think about the blonde haired boy again. She made sure that her heart did not burst out of her chest as it was about to do last time. "… one of the boys was flying. He jumped over me and then he flew."

"He… flew? How did he do that?"

"He had a wing coming out of his left shoulder." She decided to change the subject before she would start blushing again. "Anyway, it's not really important. Let's collect some more flowers and take them to town. I'm sure the people would love to see them."

Elmyra frowned that Aerith would not continue with the explanation. She could almost sense a slight infatuation Aerith might have felt, but did not give it a second thought. "Ok then. I'll get another basket."

---

Midgar had flourished in four years. After the attack on Nibelheim, the surviving leaders went back home to find their respective villages in ruins. Broken and unsheltered, the leaders did not know where to go. Rufus opened his arms and his city to them. He had built Midgar with eight sectors, though that was simply too much space for him to have. He let each leader take a sector and call it their new home. Though it could never really replace their villages, the leaders thanked Rufus for his kindness. He merely said that it was the least he could do, and that he felt that it was his fault this fate was brought upon them. Though some were ready to agree, they kept their mouths shut. In this giant city, they had all lived in peace, never suffering another attack by the Cetra. The city walls were thick, and not easy to break. Everyone felt safe inside them, though in their hearts, they felt like they were in a prison; and the Cetra had placed them in their.

Rufus sat in his office, his feet on his desk. They were having another meeting with the leaders, each man discussing their feelings about certain mishaps. They spoke of trash, clean air and water, things of that matter. After that was done, they moved on to more pressing issues.

"I'm telling ya, we should get whatever forces we have together and kick some ass!" Cid burst out. Though his statement was informal, everyone was thinking the same thing. "I lost nearly half my inventions and my people! I'm gonna make these bastards pay out the ass for the shit they've caused!"

"Cid, settle down, please!"

"He's right, Rufus! I told you guys that we need ta open up a can o' whoop ass on these fools! They've crossed us for the last time!" As usual, Barret was on Cid's side, which usually involved yelling.

"King Faremisu is not responsible for these attacks. Sephiroth has been at the head of ever massacre."

"Then why hasn't he done anything to stop his son?" Vincent interrupted. "If he really cared, he would put a stop to it."

"I can't control what Faremisu does. He's only trying to ensure that he has an heir for when he passes on."

"The man's got a freakin' daughter, doesn't he? She could take over when he kicks the bucket!" Barret was tired of excuses. "I lost my wife to that psycho! My best friend, Dyne, too! All I got left is my little girl! And I ain't about to risk her life by not doin somethin about this son of a bitch!"

"I am not about to lead our men to their deaths because you want to go off on some half ass campaign!" Rufus would not deal with these outbursts any longer. His feet were on the floor while his fists rested in his desk. "You want to die, Barret? Leave Marlene all alone?"

Barret had nothing to say. That truth was sinking into his soul. He was mentally slapping himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"I took you all in. I want us to live in peace. But as this city's leader, I will not allow any of you to attack the Cetra. I don't want a war."

They all really saw Rufus as their supreme leader. He had the brains and the biggest city of all. He was a good candidate anyway.

"So, what do you think we should do, boss?" Cid asked him.

Rufus was silent, taking in a deep breath as he tried to think this through. However, he was cut from his thought when there was a call on his intercom. "Mr. Rufus!"

Rufus pressed the answer button. "I'm busy. Call back later."

"But sir, we've just seen two boys walk into town! They look like Cloud Strife and Zack Lockhart!"

Rufus looked back at his intercom with a shocked face. The other leaders left the office in a hurry to go into town. "Get Tifa and bring her to me!"

The entire city gathered in a large circle around the front gates. Most of the people did not know who these boys were. Some slightly recognized them, but couldn't put their finger on who these two boys could possibly be. Zack carried Cloud with one arm over his shoulder. The spiky haired boy was extremely tired from their flight to this place. They could see it from the sky, but had a crashed landing because Cloud was so tired. Barret, Cid, and Vincent made it to the crowd. The boys could hear the various shouts and threats from Barret and Cid. This brought smiles to their faces, relieved that no one had seemed to change in the span of four years.

"Well I'll be damned! It really is them!" Barret grabbed the two boys and hugged them as tight as he could. They almost couldn't breathe. "I'm so, so, so happy to see you kids!" One would think that Barret was about to cry. He didn't care what anyone thought though. He was just glad to see these kids.

"Haha!" Cid gave a hearty laugh, his own little way of saying he was glad. "I thought you little sprouts were goners! Damn it's good to see ya!" Barret set the kids down, ruffling their hair as he smiled. Just then, Rufus had his Turks separate the crowd so the boys could see someone. When they saw her, their hearts were filled with a joy they had long forgotten.

Tifa slowly walked up to the boys, her chocolate brown eyes filled with tears that had not streamed down her cheeks yet. Her white dress looked absolutely beautiful on her, as did her dark brown hair. She rested her hands on the boy's cheeks, letting her tears fall down her cheeks as she brought them closer. She embraced her two little men, giving them all the love for them she had in their embrace. They all sank to their knees as Tifa's cry of joy, and sadness, echoed throughout the streets. With what strength they had, the boys wrapped their arms around her, comforting her as best they could. They had a lot of time to make up after all.