After beating them, Bella was panting a little bit staying near Cloud. Turning around, and seeing the Turk running to the computer where Tifa was, Bella yelps running after him.

"Where ya think you're goin'?" asks Barret shooting at him he dodges every shot, and the ghosts went in front of Bella stopping her in her tracks.

"Move!" shouted Cloud slicing away at them, Bella tries shooting them away from her. Tifa's yell echoes through the ghosts. "Tifa!"

Kirara growls, rushing over there, but before she could go any further, the ghosts leave making Bella stop what she was doing and looks over seeing the Turk press the button. Bella takes a step in shock.

"What... What have you done?" asks Bella in shock, the Turk rushes off, dodging Cloud's sword as Bella rushes to Tifa holding her up while Cloud stands by them with Kirara behind him. "We have to try to stop it."

"What do we do?" asks Tifa getting up slowly and walking to the computer.

The screen blips and a familiar face pops up making Bella gasp. "Nothing... There's nothing you can do now,"

Tseng... Then those two...

"Tifa! Tifa, I found Marlene!"

Kirara's and Bella's eyes widen at the maiden in front of them. Time had frozen still as flashbacks fill her mind. Bella opens her mouth a little but – instantly closes it.

"Aerith!"

"Marlene? My Marlene!?"

Tifa grabs his arm, shaking her head letting him know that she was alright. Cloud steps up and looks at Aerith in question. "Where are you?"

"I'm at..." She paused when Tseng put his hand up stopping her as a SOLDIER walked up nodding to him. Aerith reluctantly follows him. After she leaves, Bella stays frozen, not hearing anything else being said.

She's... She's alive!

Bella thought the worse after her brother's passing. Bella shakes her head when Kirara grabs her dress bringing Bella with her and knocks Bella out of her thoughts. Looking around as everyone began looking for a way out. Bella suddenly gets serious and jumps on Kirara as Kirara began running towards Cloud and Tifa, grabbing them and then rushing towards Barret making him go wide-eyed as Kirara grabs the back of his shirt with her mouth jumping off the edge flying off from the pillar.

Cloud held onto Bella's shoulders while Tifa gripped onto Cloud's waist the best she could considering his sword. Bella gripped onto Kirara's fur while she kept her eyes forward as Kirara dodged each and every piece of debris heading towards them.

"Can this cat go any faster!?" Barret shouts covering himself from the debris, Bella ignores him as more things explode around them.

Bella winces when something cuts her cheek and shoulder, ignoring the pain she puts her hand out casting a barrier spell around them so nothing else could hurt them. "Faster, Kirara!"

Kirara grunts flying faster than the buildings, finally getting out of the gate as it exploded behind them sending everyone flying.

~'*'~

Bella groans awake when Kirara nudged her face, Bella pushes herself off the ground shaking her head. She felt Kirara help her up as she stumbled a little bit, seeing herself covered in soot, dry blood, and dust. Kirara leads her to where the others are, after walking into Sector 7, she saw how everything was destroyed. Bella's breath left her body as her face widened.

"Marlene... Marlene..." She heard Barret mutter out; she turns her head to see her friends standing there. "Marlene!" Barret rushes up looking for his friends. "Marlene! Biggs! Wedge! Jessie!" Bella continued hearing Barret yell for his friends, punching the rubble in front of him. "Goddammit... Goddamn you! GODDAMN YOU ALL!!"

Bella walks up after Tifa leaves to go comfort Barret, Cloud looks over seeing Bella walking to him stopping in her tracks, her eyes brimming with tears. Cloud lets out a small sigh, motioning for her to come over. Bella sprints into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist and held on tight while choking back some sobs, Cloud has never in his life seen her so scared.

She always seemed so tough and was always a smartass when it came down to it, growing up in SOLDIER you would think she wouldn't be bothered. Bella never let things like this get to her – so why now? He thought. Cloud releases his hug as she looks up at him, taking her hand and wiping her face gently.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be... You have a right to feel what you feel," Cloud told her as she continues wiping her face while she nods slowly. "You gonna be alright?"

"I will be, yeah," replies Bella, looking at him with her grin tears disappearing from her eyes. "I have you and Kirara with me, there's nothing I can't handle."

"Good, meet us at Sector 5 slums, okay?"

Kirara nods as Bella hops on her and they walk off. They knew exactly where that was, it was where Bella saw her all the time. She wondered how she got caught in this mix. Every time she would meet Aerith, the young maiden would take her to her place and teach her a bunch of things about flowers, bugs, and everything in between. She then would bring Bella back to the church and hang out there until her brother picked her up. Sometimes it would be days before he got her – but Aerith didn't mind. She loved her like a sister and Bella loved her like a big sister. Kirara even loved her. That would never change.

Sighing a little bit, Kirara knew where she was going and wasn't going to stop until they got there. Laying down on Kirara's back, Bella closed her eyes for a moment and the next thing she knew, she was out.

~'*'~

"Bella?"

A groan leaves her lips and Bella opens her green eyes gently and looks around seeing the familiar landscape around, pushing herself up from Kirara's back, Bella rubs her eyes gently and looks around again and a small smile graces her lips.

"Elmyra?"

"Bella, sweetie, you're awake!" Elmyra smiles at the young girl who hops off Kirara and rushes to Aerith's mom. Elmyra raises her hands quickly and Bella stops and frowns a bit. "No touching me until you've cleaned up. Aerith has some spare clothes in her room. Go shower."

"Yes ma'am," Bella nods while Kirara changes into her small form and walks up to Aerith's room quickly and goes to one of the drawers she labeled as Bella. Opening the drawer and smiles when she sees her outfit. Grabbing it and then walks to the bathroom and quickly takes a shower to get the soot and dust off her body. Kirara had joined her so she could feel clean a little bit.

When Bella was done, she quickly changed into her outfit with her mismatched socks and her boots, brushing her wet hair gently when she finally got all the tangles out, she put it in a low pony and walk out of the bathroom with Kirara in tow.

"How do you feel honey?"

"Much better. Thank you so much, Elmyra," Bella smiles to her and sits in the chair across from her. "Do you need anything done?"

Elmyra shakes her head while standing up getting some tea. "No, I got it," Elmyra sighs a little bit making Bella frown, she knew better though. Taking a deep breath, she was waiting for Cloud to come here. Putting her hands on her lap while Elmyra put the tea down in front of her. "I should ask," Bella looks up at Elmyra with a questionable look on her face. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm..." Bella paused quickly. "Doing alright, after everything I should be freaked out but I'm not..." Bella sighs again and looks down at her tea. "I'm holding up alright, I suppose. But I promise you Elmyra, I'm going to do what I can to bring Aerith back to you, she has done so much for me and I wanna repay her...!" Elmyra looks at her with a smile on her face.

"I know you will honey," Elmyra touches her hand gently. Bella smiles putting her other hand on hers when they hear someone open the door.

"Where's Marlene?" said a familiar voice making Bella look over seeing Barret stepping into the home. "Is she here!?"

Both ladies stand up and Elmyra crosses her arms tightly as Bella looks around seeing Cloud and Tifa trailing behind him.

"Barret!"

"Sorry," Barret bows to Elmyra and looks at Elmyra. "I'm Barret, and Marlene is my little girl." He now looks around again making Bella roll her eyes. "Marlene – she's got short hair. She's cute as a button with the heart of an angel. She was wearing... uh...pink! She was wearing a pink dress today!"

"Barret," Bella started before Elmyra started speaking. "She's sleeping upstairs." Before he could move past Bella, Elmyra stops in front of him.

"She said she's sleeping."

Barret thinks a minute and then quietly walks around her and begins walking upstairs making Bella watch him gently. Tifa looks at Bella and then back to Cloud. "I wanna see her too, let's go look in on her." Tifa walks ahead of Cloud and up the stairs as well.

Cloud looks at Bella who smiles at him when she glances back at him. Cloud sighs a little bit and stays in one spot.

"SHINRA has my daughter now."

"I'm sorry..."

Tifa overhears while walking down the stairs. "No." Tifa shakes her head and looks at everyone standing away from everyone. "I'm the one who asked her to go get Marlene." Bella looks back at Tifa with a small look of shock on her face. "We'd only just met but she was so kind and helpful. I... took advantage of her..."

Elmyra shakes her head and looks at Tifa with a small smile on her face. "It's not your fault. It was only a matter of time before she ended up back there."

"Because she's an Ancient?"

Taking a deep breath at Bella's statement, she nods lightly. "Yes. Aerith is an Ancient. Probably the last one living. She's not my daughter. Not by blood, I mean. If that's what you were wondering..." Everyone sat down watching Elmyra sighing a little bit. "About fifteen years ago... My husband, he'd been shipped off to fight on the front lines. But then I received a letter saying he'd be home for a bit. So, when the day came, I went to the station to meet him... But...he didn't come." Bella tears up a little bit, knowing about that kind of pain. She looked down at her hands and her lap seeing Kirara jump in it.

"I couldn't help fearing the worst, even then...but I told myself his leave must've been postponed, that he'd been delayed. Every day I went, to wait, and to pray... And that's how I met her. Her and her mother. I thought maybe they'd run away from Wall Market. Or that they were topsiders fallen on hard times. I'd seen that sort of thing a lot. "Take Aerith somewhere safe." Those were her mother's dying words. My husband had been away for so long, and I was lonely. So, I convinced myself the safest place for the girl was with me."

"..." Bella was intrigued by this story; Aerith never spoke of what happened back when she was a kid. She never asked because it was not her place and besides – why would a young girl like Bella ask a grown woman about her problems?

"It took no time at all for her to start feeling like family. She was a real chatterbox. She told me strange stories... Like how she and her mother had escaped from some sort of facility... And how she wasn't sad because her mother had just – "returned to their planet"."

Barret got to thinking a little bit. "Their planet, huh?" Bella looks at Barret as he slightly nods. "Sounds about right."

"I didn't understand any of it at the time." Elmyra continued her story. "When I ask if she meant the one in the sky... She said no, this one. Right here. I mean... what can you say to that...?" Elmyra pauses a little bit and lets out a breath. "That's when one day she said to me one day, out of the blue that a man I really, really loved just died and his heart came a long way to say goodbye – but he couldn't stay, 'cause he had to return to the planet..."

Bella then begins thinking, she wondered if she felt Zack leave the planet when he died... It must've hurt feeling the one you love just pass on like that... Letting out a breath and she stood up quietly and walked towards Cloud and stood by his side while he listened.

"They knew where she was, but they didn't just take her? Doesn't sound like the Turks I know." Cloud said knocking Bella out of her thoughts as she looks back at Elmyra who lets out a small breath.

"She had to come willingly, otherwise it wouldn't work, they said." Bella turns and watches her as Kirara jumps on her shoulder. "That's why... even if they did take her away, I'm sure she's still being treated like a guest – and that they'll send her straight back home once they get what they need."

"I doubt it," Cloud begins walking off with Bella in tow.

Elmyra stood up and took a step to stop the two from walking out. "You're not planning anything, are you?" Cloud pauses in his step and looks back at Elmyra who held a concerned look on her face. "If I lost her too, I don't know if I could... If I could ever... Just don't..."

Bella pinches her lips together and looks at Cloud. "Cloud, Bella," both of them look back at Tifa who held the same concerned look. "Maybe she's right about this. Maybe they'll let Aerith go when it's all over. Maybe..." Bella scoffs a little bit. "We'd be better off waiting a little while."

"Let's head back to Sector 7. Got things to take care of... Like – checking up on the bar." Barret suggested and Cloud paused a little bit and looked at Bella.

Bella stares at Cloud in wonderment, she shakes her head immediately knowing what he was going to ask. "Don't you dare, Cloud-Cloud," Bella puts her hand up and he raises a brow. "I know what you're going to ask, and I refuse to stay here. I'm going with you regardless of what you say. I'm ready to kick ass!"

Cloud gently pats her head and slightly nods.