By Kristen Gupton-Williams

The sun had just dropped below the horizon when Cid brought the plane down in Costa del Sol. He thought momentarily about just kicking Tifa and Jaras out so that he could get home tonight, but he was tired enough after two straight days of travel that he decided to leave in the morning.

Tseng had gotten a page from the control tower above the base and made his way up to the airfield to await their landing. When the plane stopped in the same spot it had parked two days before Tseng walked over to it, eagerly awaiting the report Tifa would give.

The door to the plane opened and Tifa jumped out. Upon seeing Tseng she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh Tseng! Is Vincent alright?"

He backed out of her embrace and looked into her eyes. "He’s fine, how was your trip?"

"Fine, everything went well." Tifa said, wondering how Tseng would take the news of their discovery.

A shout from Cid drew their attention back toward the plane. Apparently there had been another mishap between he and Jaras and Cid was sprawled out on the ground with Jaras standing over him.

"You are the clumsiest stupid son of a bitch I have ever met!" Cid yelled as he picked himself up from the ground, again ignoring Jaras’s hand extended in help. "Fucking watch out with that mother fucking sword! You trip me one more time and I swear I’ll beat the living shit out of you!"

Tseng’s eyes went wide at the spectacle. Seeing Cid so ferociously yelling at Sephiroth was certain to be the beginning to a fight. "Tifa…?"

She turned back to see that all the color had drained from his face. "Tseng, are you okay?"

He reached into a pocket and pulled out his pills. Tseng quickly took one, fearing that another attack was imminent. "You brought him here?"

Tifa could sense Tseng’s weakening condition and let him put his arm around her shoulders to help support him. "It’s okay, Tseng. It is Sephiroth; at least, he was before falling into the life stream. He has no memory of anything that took place before Brandon found him in Mideel."

Tseng drew his breaths in short gasps. "I… I can’t believe it… Dr. Arlin was right…"

Tifa grew more concerned. She yelled to grab Cid’s attention. "Stop arguing and get over here! I think Tseng’s having a heart attack!"

Cid cut his verbal barrage short and spun running to help Tifa. Jaras soon followed him.

Tifa couldn’t hold Tseng up anymore and fell to the ground with him. Panic was setting in. He was the last person Tifa thought she could stand losing at this point. "Tseng? Come on! Tseng?"

His eyes fluttered as his blood pressure dropped causing him to black out. Tseng’s body went limp in Tifa’s arms.

Cid finally reached them and saw Tseng’s unconscious body before Tifa. "What the fuck is it with this family? Aren’t any of them ever awake?"

"Cid, we’ve got to get him inside to the infirmary!" Tifa’s eyes flashed with fear. "He’s dying!"

Cid, never one to panic rolled his eyes as he stooped to pick up the unconscious man. They hurried to the control tower and then down into the base. Tifa led Cid directly to the infirmary and threw open the doors.

Dr. Arlin was tending to a patient with a dislocated shoulder in the other end of the room. Upon hearing Tifa burst in shouting, she came over to the bed Cid was laying Tseng upon. "What happened?"

Tifa moved her arms frantically as she tried to explain. "We got off the plane and when Tseng saw Jaras he just collapsed!"

Dr. Arlin glanced over to the doorway where the person Tifa had waved at was standing. She didn’t have to look twice to realize who it was or what was happening to Tseng. "God Damn his heart!"

She hit the page button on the wall and three of her nurses ran into the room. They descended upon Tseng and started to work furiously. Cid took Tifa by the arm and led her away from the scene seeing that it was tearing her apart. For once he didn’t mind as she buried her face into his jacket and started crying.

Jaras just stood frozen in the doorway. He had never witnessed anything like what he was seeing now. Is the mere sight of me so upsetting it can kill someone? He thought helplessly from afar.

Tseng’s heart was beating erratically, but not with enough efficiency to support his body. Nurses injected drugs into his veins, but nothing was working. Dr. Arlin pulled over the cart that had the defibrillator on it. Tseng’s coat and shirt had already been cut away and she placed the electrodes against his chest.

A sickening pop was heard as the machine let a charge rip through his body. Tseng’s muscles spasmed and an involuntary gasp escaped him.

Hearing these things caused Tifa to try to turn and look, but Cid held her firmly to him knowing that this spectacle was not something she needed to see. He continued to restrain her from seeing as the doctor shocked Tseng a second and then a third time.

After the last shock everyone quit moving and stared up at the EKG monitor that was reading Tseng’s heart’s electrical output. The lighted display was erratic for a moment, then flat. Everyone held their breath and then finally, the graph displayed the sharp peaks and valleys of a normal heartbeat. The activity then started to bustle around Tseng again as the doctor and her staff did what they could to maintain his heart’s precious rhythm.

Tifa felt Cid’s hold on her let up a bit and she managed to look back over at Tseng. "What’s happening?"

Cid still kept his arms around her, wanting to shield her from any pain Tseng’s condition might cause her. "He’s doing better now. Let’s just let the doctor work."

Jaras pulled his attention from the hospital staff and made his way to where Tifa and Cid were. The look on his face was one of despair.

Tifa saw him and was struck by his expression. "Jaras, are you okay?"

He looked back over toward Tseng’s bed. "I almost killed him just by being here, didn’t I?"

"No, Tseng has had a heart condition for a long time." Tifa moved from Cid over to him. "This isn’t your fault."

Jaras dropped his gaze down into Tifa’s tearing eyes. Her words were kind but he doubted their validity. Jaras gave a faltering smile back to her but was not able to produce any words.

The three of them remained motionless watching for a long time. Finally Dr. Arlin came over to them.

She inspected Jaras for a moment. "So, Brandon was right about you?"

Jaras nodded. "If you mean that I am Sephiroth, yes."

"Uh huh." She pulled off her glasses. "And he said you now go by Jaras, correct?"

"Yes." He smiled faintly.

She extended her hand. "I am Dr. Janice Arlin. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Jaras reciprocated the handshake. "I’m glad to see that someone is going to have a favorable reaction to meeting me."

The doctor immediately picked up on his meaning. "Although seeing you was probably a shock for Tseng, you didn’t do this."

"See, that’s what I said." Tifa puffed. "But doctor, what about Tseng?"

She shrugged. "His heart is worse. I think it might be time to take him to surgery. I’m going to have to run some tests once he’s a little more stable, but he may need a bypass. In fact, I can almost guarantee it."

"Oh." Tifa hung her head. She was genuinely afraid for his life. "Poor Tseng."

"I’ll do everything I can for him, Tifa." Dr. Arlin smiled. "I know you’ve gotten very close to him, but I don’t want you to worry. You’ve already got enough on your mind with Mr. Valentine. Just leave him to me, okay?"

Tifa knew that Dr. Arlin was asking her as politely as possible to leave the infirmary. "Thank you Dr. Arlin. Can I check back in later?"

She nodded. "Yes, and if anything changes, I’ll let you know."

Cid took Tifa’s hand and led her out of the infirmary. Jaras followed a few paces behind. They eventually walked to the detention cells.

Cid stopped by the entrance as Tifa went forward. He put his arm out to prevent Jaras from following her.

Jaras looked at Cid with some confusion.

"Her boyfriend Vincent is in that stasis box over there. I think she needs some private time now." Cid said, unusually quiet.

Jaras did nothing in response. He knew the man in the stasis box was his father according to Tifa and as anxious as he was to get a glimpse of him, he respected her privacy and remained with Cid.

Tifa went forward slowly, reaching the casket’s side and kneeling. She gazed down into the window seeing Vincent as she had left him. Tifa smiled to herself as she saw her lipstick mark on the glass and she reached out and wiped it away. "We’re back. Cid didn’t let anything bad happen just as promised. Sephiroth is alive. That’s what we were sent to find out. He has been living in Mideel all this time! After Meteor, the life stream welled up within the North Carter and pulled him down. The it erased his memory and he has become a new man. I think you’ll like him now. Oh, and all the Jenova within him was purged by the Mako. I hope you can come out and meet him soon. I brought him back here, would you like to see him?"

Jaras felt Tifa’s eyes upon him and he looked up to see her waving him over. He glanced at Cid before moving.

"Go on." Cid sighed.

Jaras went to where Tifa was. He bent over the box and looked inside. Jaras examined Vincent’s face finding familiarity in his features. He had the same sharp nose and narrow lips as Jaras. Tifa had been right; this must be his father. "He… he looks like me…"

Tifa looked up at Jaras and smiled. Before this she hadn’t given much thought to it, but his words struck her as true. She reached out a hand and touched the side of Jaras’s face. "Yeah, in a lot of ways he does."

The feel of her hand upon his cheek stirred something deep within Jaras. He grew slightly uncomfortable and took a step back. "I think… I think I’ll go back over by Cid, okay?"

Tifa cocked an eyebrow. "What’s wrong?"

"I just thought maybe you’d like some more private time." Jaras said with an awkward smile. There was no way he was going to let her know that her touch had almost aroused him. If his father was her boyfriend then there was no way he should allow himself to feel that way about her.

"Oh, all right. Tell Cid I’ll be done in a sec, okay?" She turned back to face the casket.

Jaras just gave a quick nod and headed back to the pilot’s side.

Tifa looked back at Vincent and smiled. "See? He’s very sweet. It’s funny how just losing all of his terrible memories could make such a big difference in who he is, huh?"

Maybe it was just her imagination, but Tifa could have sworn she saw just the slightest hint of a sarcastic smile on Vincent’s lips. She stood up and prepared to leave. "Okay, well, I’ll see you later. I love you."