4 years isn't too long to leave a story on a cliffhanger right? :P I imagine by this point most of the original readers have long forgotten about this story, but when I checked the stats pages recently, I was surprised at how many people still read it. It's been nagging me for a while now that I pretty much just abandoned this story, especially since it's one of my favorites. Thankfully, I still have all my notes and I remember exactly where I want to go with it. I can't promise lots of fast updates, but I do have a large amount of free time on my hands for a while and I really do hope that in the next few months I'll have this story finished. As an extra treat, this is the second longest chapter so far in the story. I hope it was worth the wait and that the opening sucks you right back in.

Once again, thanks to my fantastic beta, Ancielle, for helping with this chapter.

Chapter 7: Upside Down

Cloud looked up at Aerith, barely able to see her through the tears in his eyes. "I don't understand, what did I do?" he asked. The cold, cruel look in her eyes was breaking his heart.

"Die," she hissed as she released the Fira spell directly at him.

Two weeks earlier

Elena instantly paused the movie and everyone gathered around Tifa to find out what was going on.

Cloud looked at her in confusion, unwilling to believe what he'd just heard. "What do you mean she's 'gone'? Are you sure she isn't just in the bathroom or something?" Despite his words, Cloud could read it on Tifa's face that something was seriously wrong.

"Of course I checked the bathroom, she isn't there!" Tifa explained, the note of concern clear in her voice. "I went to our room to see what was taking her so long; when I got there I found her sweatshirt on the floor and the window wide open."

Cloud struggled to keep his rising panic under control, his brain furiously trying to figure out what could have possibly happened.

Rufus wrapped his arm around Tifa's shoulders as she collapsed onto the sofa sobbing, unable to take it any longer. "It's going to be okay," he tried to reassure her. "We're going to find out exactly what happened to her."

As Elena and Yuffie replaced him in comforting Tifa, Rufus quickly took control of the situation. "Reno, Rude, go and notify the teachers immediately. Vincent, Zack, and Tseng, stay here and keep an eye on the girls. Cloud and I are going to check out Aerith's room. Weapons ready everyone, we don't know what's going on yet."

After quickly grabbing their weapons from their rooms, Cloud and Rufus hurried to Tifa and Aerith's room. Just as Tifa had described it, Aerith's sweatshirt was lying on the floor and a cold breeze was blowing in through the open window.

"She was cold so she came for her sweatshirt, decided she didn't need it, and went for an evening stroll?" suggested Rufus skeptically.

"In the rain? Without her staff?" Cloud pointed out, as a light drizzle had just started falling and the weapon in question was leaning against the wall. "Obviously something weird is going on here. The window opens from the inside and clearly hasn't been forced. On top of that, there's no sign of a struggle so she apparently opened it."

"She opened it for someone she recognized and they took her?" Rufus questioned. "Except everyone was watching the movie and there's no way a teacher would do that."

"Everyone except Sephiroth," Cloud growled, his hand tightening on his sword.

"Wait a minute, now, Cloud, "Rufus cautioned, "We don't know what happened and I highly doubt Aerith would just go along with Sephiroth…" But Cloud wasn't listening as he headed out the door, his mind already made up as to what had happened.

Cloud didn't even think of knocking and simply took out the door with a single swing. "Where the hell is she, you bastard?" he demanded, only realizing now that Sephiroth had been sleeping when he burst through the door.

"What the…" Sephiroth muttered sleepily as he took in the situation. As soon as he registered the sight of Cloud brandishing his sword at him, Sephiroth leapt out of bed, swiftly drawing his own sword from its sheath. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Stop playing games," Cloud demanded. "What did you do to her, Sephiroth?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sephiroth angrily retorted. "All I know is that you've broken into my room in the middle of the night, while I was attempting to get some sleep, in the hopes of blaming me for something that's not my fault."

"Aerith's missing you bastard, and I know you're the one behind it," Cloud shouted, taking a step forward and readying his sword.

"What?" Sephiroth responded, a flicker of genuine surprise flashing across his face. "What do you mean she's missing?"

"Stop pretending you don't know what I'm talking about and…"

"ENOUGH," Cid yelled, furiously glaring at the two of them from the ruined doorway. "Go to your room, Cloud, and stay there until I come and get you."

"But…"

"No buts! You've clearly shown that your emotions are in full control and that you're not thinking. Sephiroth isn't responsible for this, which you'd know if you'd stayed with Rufus instead of storming off and acting like a child. We found her footprints, and only hers, leading off into the forest, so whatever's going on, she's doing it on her own."

Cowed, Cloud lowered his sword realizing that Cid was completely right. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'll pay for the door."

"You're damn right you will," Cid muttered, clearly not as angry anymore now that Cloud had somewhat calmed down. "We're going to form a search party and go out looking for her, but given the weather and the fact that it's the middle of the night, I doubt we'll find her. We'll try again in the morning if she isn't back by then, and you'll be more than welcome to join us. For now, we just have to hope she knows what she's doing since there have been no signs of foul play."

Emotionally drained, Cloud returned to his room where, to his surprise, he found Red, waiting for him. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought you'd be helping with the search. I wish I could."

"It's wet out there," Red stated in disgust. "And as much as I'd like to help look for Aerith, someone has to watch over you to make sure you don't do anything else stupid."

Realizing that there was nothing else he could do, Cloud got ready for bed and climbed under the sheets. Knowing that Aerith was still somewhere out there, alone and possibly in danger, Cloud was positive he'd be unable to sleep. His instincts told him that Sephiroth was clearly involved, somehow, but he just couldn't figure out how it was possible. After all, Sephiroth was either a remarkable actor, or even he had been surprised to hear that Aerith had gone missing.

"Red, what do you know about Sephiroth?"

"Not much more than you," the cat responded. "He's obviously a loner. His parents are Hojo and Jenova; they're very well known Materia researchers. Bugenhagen worked with them on a project a few years ago, but stopped for some reason, you'd have to ask him why."

As Cloud pondered over this new information, sleep unexpectedly snuck up and engulfed him.

Cloud abruptly woke up as two paws landed on his chest.

"You were sleeping so deeply you didn't hear Cid yelling from the other side of the door and I figured you wouldn't want the search party to leave without you," Red explained as he dropped back onto the floor.

"Thanks Red," Cloud said as he jumped out of bed and scrambled to get dressed. "So, she's still missing?"

Red nodded in confirmation. "All the search party managed to accomplish last night was getting wet and muddy. By the time they set out, the rain had completely destroyed any trace of her tracks so all we know is that she's somewhere in the forest."

Once dressed, Cloud strapped his sword to his back and hurried outside to join everyone.

"Hey sleepy head, glad you could join us," Tifa teased. "I heard that the explosion last night was you and not a Comet Materia."

Cloud flushed slightly in embarrassment at the reminder of how out of control he'd been the previous night. He could tell that despite Tifa's attempt to come off as light hearted, she was deathly afraid for her best friend. "I swear to you I'll find her, Tifa."

Tifa smiled weakly, but didn't respond. Sensing it would be best to leave her alone for now, Cloud walked over to Vincent. "What's he doing here?" Cloud asked, nodding in the direction of Sephiroth.

"Not sure," Vincent responded. "He was here before any of us. Maybe he thinks that if he finds her she'll fall into his arms and cover him in kisses."

"Not likely," Cloud muttered angrily. Vincent nodded in agreement as Cid and Reeve joined the students.

"As all of you already know, Aerith Gainsborough mysteriously went missing last night," Cid announced. "We're going to divide into two parties and scour the forest for any signs of her. Keep in mind that while the beach is a safe vacation area, the forest is still wild and there will be monsters waiting for us in there. The deeper we get, the more dangerous it becomes. On top of that, we only have so much time to search - the last thing we want is to be stuck in the forest at night. We don't want to lose another student."

"She's not dead!" Tifa hissed angrily, clenching her fists.

Cid quickly separated the students into two groups: Sephiroth, Zack, Tseng, Elena, Reno, and Rude were with Reeve, and Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Rufus, Yuffie and Red were with Cid.

As his group reached the tree line, Cid explained the plan. "We're going to spread out to cover as much ground as possible. Make sure to keep the people on your left and right in sight at all times, Red and I will each take an end. If you run into a monster and have any doubts whatsoever make sure to call for help. Any questions?"

When no one raised their hand, the group entered the forest and began the search. What had started as a hopeful expedition grew more and more moody as the hours passed with no sign of Aerith. By mid-day, they had slowed to a crawl due to the increased rate of monster attacks, and Cloud had replaced Red on one of the ends since he was the only student still able to take monsters on alone. After the latest battle, in which it had taken everyone to survive, Cid called a meeting.

"As much as I know no one wants to turn around, we simply can't continue on. It's getting far too dangerous, and if the group of us is struggling this much, there's no way Aerith could have made it this far on her own. Let's shift over and take a different way back to continue looking for her."

Despite how upset everyone was about turning around, no one could disagree with what Cid had said. No one but Cloud, that is. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt sure that Aerith was just a bit deeper in the forest. As they turned around, Cloud glanced to his right and saw Yuffie stumbling along, struggling just to keep moving. As the only Junior in the group and the least experienced in combat, she'd been hit the hardest by the constant fighting. Cloud didn't want to endanger Yuffie by making her the end of the search line, but he knew he had to go deeper into the forest, even if it meant going alone. There was no way he was going to leave Aerith to spend another night lost and alone in the forest.

Knowing that they'd move Yuffie off the end as soon as they discovered him missing, and that they'd already wiped out the majority of the monsters on the way back to the beach, Cloud broke off from the group after he saw Yuffie confirm his position.

After another hour of continuing on deeper into the forest without any trace of Aerith, Cloud began to question if he'd made the right decision. It was already starting to get dark and at this rate he'd barely make it back to the beach before the sun would set. Just as he was about to give up and turn around, he caught a glimpse of pink in the corner of his vision. Rushing over, he found a torn tatter of what could only be a piece of Aerith's shirt.

Elated, Cloud looked around for more traces of where she could have gone. After finding another two pieces of torn clothing, he arrived at a clearing and found Aerith lying on her back in the middle of it. She was covered in mud, her clothes were a shredded mess and she didn't appear to be breathing.

Cloud ran over and quickly checked her pulse. She was still alive to his relief, but barely. He reached into his pack and pulled out a Cure Materia, hoping that it would be enough, and cursing his weak magic abilities. Concentrating furiously, he managed to cast the Cure spell on his first attempt. Cradling her head in his lap, Cloud prayed to the Ancients that she was okay. After a few moments, her eyelids flickered, and then opened, and he could see her beautiful green eyes looking up at him.

"Cloud," she said happily, "what are you doing in my room? Did Tifa let you in?"

Before he could respond, Aerith finished coming to and realized she wasn't in her bedroom.

"What are we doing in the forest, Cloud?" she asked, her voice full of panic.

"You don't remember what happened?" Cloud responded, deeply concerned.

Aerith shook her head. "The last thing I remember is going to my room and grabbing my sweatshirt… What's going on Cloud?"

"I don't know," Cloud said in frustration. "But I promise you we'll figure it out. We need to get back now, it's getting late and we have a long way to go. Can you walk?"

"I think so," Aerith replied, slowly getting to her feet while taking in the state of her clothes. As she put her full weight on her right foot, she cried out in pain and would have collapsed if Cloud hadn't caught her. "I think I sprained my ankle."

"I'll carry you back, it's not a problem," Cloud said, lifting her in his arms.

"Thanks for saving me, Cloud," Aerith said softly. "I wish you didn't have to see me this ugly."

"I'm just glad you're safe," Cloud responded in relief as he began walking back towards the beach. "I was terrified I'd lost you."

"You'll never… lose me," Aerith whispered, yawning loudly. "I…" But whatever she was going to say next was lost as exhaustion claimed her.

Digging deep into his dwindling reserves of strength, Cloud pressed on, praying that he had enough to get them both back safe.

'Run!'

The voice flashed into her mind out of nowhere and was gone just as fast.

She held her sweatshirt in her arms, wondering what had just happened.

A bedroom.

She recognized that voice. After all, she heard that voice every day. It was her own voice.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively, aware that generally talking with oneself inside your own head was a very bad sign.

There was no response.

Or was there? It was very faint, but she heard something.

The bedroom in Elena's house.

"Youuuuu…"

It was very faint. More alarmingly, that was not her voice.

"What's going on?" she asked in a panic.

"HE is coming!"

A closed window.

"Who? What?" She was so confused. What was going on?

"RUN!"

She dropped her sweatshirt on the floor, opened her window, and ran, ignoring her bare feet.

An open window.

"Youuuu aaareeee…"

It was still faint but getting louder and clearer.

"I am what?" she asked. Part of her didn't want to know.

She was at the forest now. She glanced behind her.

A shrouded figure.

There was no one there. She started to slow down.

"What am I doing? Everyone is going to be so worried."

"RUN!"

The moon, shining in each raindrop, lit her path through the trees.

A red glow.

She had been running forever. Her clothes were torn. Muddy.

Exhausted, she stumbled.

She cried out at the sudden pain in her ankle.

A flash of pain in her head.

She lay there, the rain mixing with her tears.

She hadn't heard either voice in hours.

Had she run far enough? Fast enough? Was she safe?

"Cloud…" she whispered.

"You are MINE!"

Nothingness.

By the time Cloud made it back to the condos, it was pitch black outside. He managed to knock on the door and pass off Aerith to Tifa before collapsing on the floor, unconscious.

The rest of the trip was subdued.

Cloud was unconscious for two days with Aerith spending the entire time at his bedside. Once he woke up, she refused to go anywhere without him, which led to problems with Cid when she refused to sleep in a separate room.

"It's not like they haven't already slept together at Elena's house!" Reno joked, causing Cid to frown dissaprovingly.

Aerith's face flashed from deathly white to bright red. "We didn't sleep together!" she protested. "Nothing… happened that night. Cid, I'll sleep in my own bed, just, please, let me stay with Cloud."

Unable to refuse her knowing what she'd gone through, Cid agreed, but insisted that Red stay in the same room "for added protection." Everyone knew that what he really meant was "so that nothing inappropriate happens."

For the next two nights, Cloud would wake up to Aerith muttering something unintelligible in her sleep just before she would scream, "I am myself!" She would then shake uncontrollably until he crawled out of his bed and into hers to wrap his arms around her. Red noticed, but pretended he didn't and said nothing to Cid about it.

Each morning, when Cloud would ask her about her nightmares, Aerith refused to talk with him about it, saying that she was fine and it was nothing to worry about. On the third night, she slept soundly, and while Cloud missed the excuse to cuddle her, he hoped that it was a sign she was recovering from whatever had happened.

That day, as they packed their stuff and prepared to head back to school, Aerith was back to her usual cheerful and happy self. For the first time in the last few days, she spent the majority of her time outside of Cloud's company, and the moodiness that had settled over everyone lifted.

Monday morning, classes passed as usual, although, before lunch, Barret had the Senior class meet him in the auditorium for an important announcement.

"Welcome back everyone!" Barret boomed. "I hope you had as enjoyable a vacation as possible given the uh, unusual… circumstances." He trailed off. "Nevertheless, it's back to school and as an added treat, we have your first real test coming up in just a week!"

This announcement was met by a loud groan and several profanities from the class.

"Well you better fucking deal with it, 'cause you're back in school now whether you like it or not," he roared, getting back in the usual swing of things. "Besides, just think of how fun a real test will be now that you've gotten a taste of the new system." He finished with a smile so sinister it sent a shiver down Cloud's spine.

"We're all going to die," Vincent observed calmly as they entered the cafeteria, his tone causing Tifa to break out laughing.

As they joined Yuffie at her table, Tifa noticed that her friend looked somewhat down. "What's up, Yuffie?"

"I got detention for an entire week!" the younger girl moaned in despair.

"Oh, wow! How'd you manage to do that?" Cloud asked in horror.

"Apparently when they say 'Senior class trip' it means that only Seniors are allowed to go."

"Now that you mention it how did you get on our trip?" Vincent asked.

"I hid under a seat on the bus, of course," Yuffie explained, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "When Cid found me on the beach, he flipped out. Said he was going to throw me right back on the ferry, but when I pointed out that I had no money and he'd have to pay my fare, he decided to let me stay."

The entire table laughed at that and the conversation changed to the upcoming test.

The rest of the week passed in a flurry of activity, as the students were crammed full of information. The normal three days of classes a week was changed to five due to the test, meaning there were no days off. By the time the weekend arrived, all Cloud wanted to do was sleep for two days straight, but they hadn't been able to practice together much during the week, so, instead, he spent most of the time working together with Aerith in the park. Not that he was going to complain about that.

Monday morning, the day of the test, rolled around and Cloud couldn't decide if he was excited or worried as he parked his bike. On one hand, he and Aerith had done pretty well on the practice test, but on the other, this was an actual test and would likely be far more challenging. On top of that, some unshakable feeling of dread wouldn't leave him alone no matter how much he tried to shrug it off.

As the class filed into the gym for their test, they found Barret, their teachers, and the strange desks waiting for them.

"This will be just like last time," Barret announced, "just much longer. Remember that you're scored on both accuracy and speed. Since the questions will be more challenging this time, if you're unable to answer either question at a fork, you do have an option to skip the question. Just keep in mind that it will result in a drastic reduction of your grade and should only be used as a last resort. And, of course, the same rules as before are still in effect."

Cloud thought he might be mistaken, but it felt like that last comment had been directed at Sephiroth.

As they sat at their desk, Cloud smiled confidently at Aerith. "We've got this." She nodded at him and they placed their hands on the Materia.

Just like last time, a wave of darkness engulfed them.

Cloud helped Aerith to her feet as they came to in the familiar torch-lit room. As they waited for the test to begin, each of them checked the weapons and Materia they had been provided with. To his surprise, Cloud found that he'd only been provided with his weapon.

"Did you get any Materia?" he asked.

"Quite a bit," Aerith responded, slightly confused. "Some of these we haven't even covered in class and they're pretty powerful…"

'I guess it's just part of their system to make sure we work together,' Cloud thought.

Once again a door appeared on the wall opposite the torch, and the two of them hurried down the corridor on the other side until they reached a fork.

"Right again? Just like last time?" asked Cloud cheerfully.

Aerith shrugged noncommittally, so Cloud led the way down the right fork. After a short jog, they reached one of the testing rooms and found a table with a piece of paper on it.

"What tragic event happened last year at Junon High resulting in the expulsion of a student?" it read.

Cloud's face paled as he read the question.

"That's an oddly specific History question," Aerith remarked. "And once again, one we haven't cover in class."

"How about we check out the other fork?" Cloud suggested, attempting to conceal his emotions.

"That would be such a waste of time!" Aerith protested. "Besides, wasn't that your old school? Don't you know what happened?"

"I… know what happened…" Cloud responded hesitantly. "I don't really want to talk about it though, can't we please just do the other question?"

"Why would we waste time if you know the answer? Just give it, Cloud!"

"Fine!" Cloud yelled back. "A student was murdered with a sword, chopped to pieces like a piece of meat!"

Aerith's face had gone as white as a sheet and she started trembling uncontrollably. Cloud saw her lips move and couldn't understand what she said, but it sounded like "I am myself" which didn't make any sense.

"Aerith, it wasn't me!" Cloud declared, but she continued to look at him in horror, her body still trembling and her lips still moving over and over. "I swear I didn't do it, I wasn't even accused! He was my friend! I wasn't expelled, my parent's took me out because they didn't want me at a school where something like that could happen!"

But now, looking back, Cloud realized how bad it really looked. The experience had already been traumatic enough, but had he really been blamed for it? Everything he'd said to Aerith had been the truth, but had his parents lied to him? Were they trying to protect him by telling him that they'd pulled him out of the school when in fact he'd been expelled?

Banishing these horrible thoughts to be dealt with later, Cloud realized that Aerith seemed to have calmed down. He reached over to attempt to comfort her, but she flinched away from him.

"What the fuck is up with this test?" he yelled at the ceiling in frustration.

Not surprisingly there was no response. Cloud didn't even know if the teachers could hear them. His response to the question had materialized the door, however, so Cloud opened it to reveal another hallway. Together, they walked down it in silence, once again taking the right fork when they reached it.

The next testing room was much larger and more open, with multiple pillars in the middle. As they entered, several powerful monsters appeared and Cloud sighed in relief. Letting off some steam was exactly what he needed.

Taking a firm grip on his sword, Cloud sliced through the monsters like a hot knife through butter, hardly breaking a sweat. "You know, just because I don't need help doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated," he joked, trying to lighten the mood as he turned around to face Aerith.

He froze when he saw Aerith standing there, her hair blowing gently in a non-existent wind, a Materia he didn't recognize glowing bright green in her hand. Her face was terrifying. The usual warmth in her eyes had been replaced by… nothingness. "Aerith?" Cloud asked hesitantly.

The shift in her eyes from nothingness to pure hatred was actually a relief as the blast of solid air smashed into Cloud's chest, sending him flying backwards to crash into one of the pillars. Cloud felt something break in his chest and would have screamed in pain, but the air had been knocked from his lungs.

"You sicken me. I can't believe I let your filthy hands touch me," Aerith snarled as she put the Materia away and took out a different one.

Cloud looked up at Aerith, barely able to see her through the tears in his eyes. "I don't understand, what did I do?" he asked, finally managing to draw a breath. The cold, cruel look in her eyes hurt far more than any physical pain ever could.

"Die," she hissed as she released the Fira spell directly at him.

As he was engulfed in warm, white light, Cloud's final thought was that this was a surprisingly painless death.

Cloud woke up in a white room, on a white bed, surrounded by white curtains. The only color other than white in the entire room was Red, who was curled up on the floor beside him. He recognized the room as the school's hospital from a previous visit after an accident in training.

"I'm not dead?" Cloud asked, realizing how stupid the question sounded as he said it.

"Not yet," Red confirmed, uncurling and looking up at Cloud. "Bugenhagen, managed to pull you out of the test just before your loving girlfriend would have turned you into an ember."

"How's she doing?"

"Other than being remarkably unstable, she seems to be doing quite well," Red responded dryly. "Then again, what with you breaking that news on her like that and then proceeding to chop up several monsters into tiny little pieces, can you really blame her for freaking out?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Nanaki," Bugenhagen scolded. "While a shocked and alarmed reaction would indeed be perfectly natural, there's no question that Miss Gainsborough's reaction was far too extreme. Something is seriously wrong. I only wish I'd been allowed to examine her before her mother rushed her off."

"I guess we failed our first test then…" Cloud muttered.

"Nonsense," Bugenhagen responded. "The entire test was cancelled, we should have done it immediately when we realized your first question had been tampered with. Barret insisted that it didn't matter since only yours seemed to have been modified, but it was quite clear that something had gone seriously wrong. I designed each and every question and it should have been impossible for there to be any changes."

"I don't hurt anywhere, how long have I been out for?" Cloud asked.

"Your broken ribs and second degree burns have healed nicely, and it's Friday, so you still have the weekend to continue recovering before classes resume."

'I've been out for four days…' Cloud realized. 'Aerith really did quite a number on me. What the hell is going on?'

The rest of the day passed in a blur as several visitors stopped by to check on him once they heard that he'd woken up. Tifa was noticeably absent, but Vincent explained that she was with Aerith and couldn't make it.

Cloud's parents picked him up in the evening and drove him home, explaining that they'd already brought his bike back earlier. When he asked them about the expulsion, they admitted that they'd lied to him, but made it clear that they knew he hadn't killed the boy.

Over the weekend he tried to call Aerith several times, but she never answered her phone. Deciding it would be best not to force the issue and to give her some space, Cloud refrained from driving to her house. In the end, he spent the weekend thinking over the strange things that had been happening with Aerith. Whatever was going on, he was pretty sure that, somehow, Sephiroth was involved. Remembering his conversation with Red about Sephiroth's parents, Cloud realized he'd missed his chance to speak with Bugenhagen about the matter. In any case, nothing was going to happen until Monday.

As Cloud drove into the school's parking lot on Fenrir, he heard a loud commotion outside the front doors. Quickly parking, he rushed over to see what was going on. As he approached he saw Tifa, Vincent and the Turks yelling at Sephiroth. Surprisingly, Cloud noticed that there was a girl clutching Sephiroth's arm, looking up at him adoringly. Cloud didn't recognize her, but he wasn't surprised that Sephiroth's girlfriend would dress like such a slut - what she was wearing could hardly be described as clothes.

Cloud came to an abrupt halt in horror as he got close enough to see the girl's eyes. He would recognize those emerald green eyes anywhere.

It was Aerith.

Yes, yes, I know. ANOTHER cliffhanger. On top of that opening scene, I realize I'm being a little cruel to you, my poor readers. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it; I think you can see now why I felt so bad leaving the story just as the action was about to kick in. It was really so amazing to get back into writing. I enjoy it so much, and it's such an awesome experience to feel like you know where the story is going only to have a random idea pop into your head that you then have to include. The dream sequence Aerith has after Cloud finds her in the forest is a perfect example of this. It wasn't planned at all, but now it's a ridiculously important scene that ties plot points together as well as a taste of what's to come. And yes, poor Yuffie's detention is the result of me having no idea why I included her on that trip in the first place.

Side-note: Just to clarify, I detest the Sephiroth/Aerith pairing. Unfortunately it is obviously going to play a role in the remainder of the story. This is still a Clerith fic, and as painful as the... Sephierith is going to be to write, I hope it won't drive anyone away from the story.

I can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out, but I do have it all planned out and it's going to be fairly short, so hopefully it won't take another 4 years. :P As always, please leave a review letting me know what you think of the story, I really appreciate it.

Next Chapter: Cloudy Days