For a moment, Serah could swear she was awake. Only, she didn't see things like this in the real world.
It was Noel's old home, his time after the end of Cocoon. Crystal dust covered the land, drifted against rocks and mountains like fallen snow. Only, it was too warm for snow. When she walked, her boots crunched in it like it was broken glass and it billowed about her feet like dust in a storm.
Off in the distance, a lone woman's song drifted in the air, though Serah knew it to be a figment of the dream, augmented by her own memories and experience. From Noel's rare and precious lullabies that he said came from his mother, from when he sang her to sleep in their infrequent breaks between gate jumps.
She missed his voice.
Caught the smell of burnt flesh drifting in from the west.
"Serah."
She whipped around to see Noel, standing in a black uniform with fine trim like one might see in Academia. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I don't dream, not anymore."
"Serah," he repeated, voice weak. Blood stained his uniform a dark red in the chest, abdomen, neck… He stood there with unseeing eyes.
Serah marched up to him. "This," she hissed, "didn't happen."
He didn't look at her, though she could make out the details in his eyes, the red rims and veins that marked a lack of sleep.
She held her breath to steady herself. Perhaps it was a normal dream, but the vivid detail was outside what she was used to experiencing in a normal night. Not that she'd had one recently.
Noel breathed one last time and collapsed to his knees. Against her better judgement, Serah caught him before he could fall to the ground. At the weight in her arms, Serah looked away, face flushing with anger that faded to a cold ache in her stomach and heart. Her eyes stung with tears, but she fought them back.
Noel's body went still against hers.
When she woke again to her downy covers and early morning rays in Edge, she told herself it was just a dream. It didn't act like the others, and therefore it couldn't be real. She didn't remember it, so it didn't happen.
Her eyes stung, hot with emotion. She gritted her teeth against the confusion and lied to herself that it would fade with the day. She just had to get back to work and the feeling would fade. The pain would dull, and she would feel normal again.
She got up, dressed for the day, and reminded herself to focus on the trip she'd make to Midgar. Just because there wasn't a gate here in Edge didn't mean there wasn't one out there in the vast world of Gaia to take her to Snow and the others.
Serah took a breath, puffed out her chest, and checked herself in the mirror. Perfect ponytail and tough clothes ready for a trip up north. It wasn't her first, and it likely wouldn't be her last – she was an adventurer, after all.
She pulled on her travel sack and left the house to greet the morning and her chocobo, Snowflake, who cooed drowsily at her touch.
"I know it's early," she told him, "but I want to get this done sooner rather later, okay?"
"Kweh…"
"I'm sorry." Serah rested her cheek against his neck. "I'll keep it short today, okay?"
He reluctantly let her release and mount him.
She traveled light today and it would help them move faster, but getting outside the city still took at least half an hour and covering the expanse to Midgar would double that. But Serah savored the cool morning breeze that brushed at her skin and teased her air.
When she traveled, she felt a little like herself again. Like Serah Farron, sister of Lightning and traveling companion of Noel Kreiss, and fiancée to Snow Villiers. Serah Farron, schoolteacher and history nerd, now with her wanderlust satiated by the open plains and sky. Serah Farron, former seer and l'Cie. Thankfully.
After that incident with Tifa several months back, she didn't want to go anywhere near magic again. Not her time magic, at least.
When she finally reached the ruins, Serah took to the paths that led downward and guided her chocobo amongst rubble and fallen architecture.
The remains of Midgar were treated by some to be almost holy – not to be touched by the mortal hand again – while others feared it as a cursed site. The rocky terrain created by all the fallen debris and salvageable metal made it more of a cavernous underground tunnel than a once-proud city. She could see why Denzel still came here for regular resource-collecting for the garage.
The church said to belong to the White Mage of the Slums stood tall and proud amidst the ruin, illuminated by the light of the morning sun that bathed the vicinity in a fiery-orange hue. Serah parked her chocobo a short distance from it and tied the saddle to a large pole stuck in the ground.
Serah, much as she didn't believe in the sacred nature of burial places, felt a solemn reverence as she approached the church. Only the roof had been destroyed, with barely half the original beams still hanging in place. It smelled of honey and lemon, which originated from the flowers that prospered here. Water still trickled from inside, Serah found as she stepped up to where the front door used to be, tiny streams rushing past her feet from the pool inside.
Petals floated in the crisp water. Serah removed a glove to test it. Pooled it in her closed fingers and took a small sip. She could only make out the faint hint of husky wood in the taste, which she took to mark sufficient safeness. Serah couldn't remember the last time she'd had pure water without having to go to the store for a filter.
Taking that as a good sign, Serah tiptoed her way around the pool. It only took up the front section of the church, leaving the back and side wings mostly untouched. She moved her search efforts to one of those wings.
Living a new and different life here on Gaia, she thought she might find herself a little more desperate to get out when her memories returned. But honestly, after traveling through time as much as she did, rushing didn't tend to change much, and what were the odds that the way off world would turn out that much different from how she did it before, with Noel?
Serah heaved a broken bench out of the way and found nothing underneath. She moved old boxes, tattered cloth, and shattered beams.
People talked about this place like it was untouchable to human fingers. Most didn't like the idea of disturbing what was effectively a graveyard for the old citizens of Midgar that didn't make it after Meteor. She relied on that forbidden nature of it, hoping it would lend to the discovery of an artefact or gate.
She got down on her knees and peeked into the hidden crevices formed by warped wood around the corners and lodged pillar pieces against the walls. Splinters bit into her knees, but Serah would take time later to heal those out. It wasn't like she had any battles or ailing friends vying for use of her mana, though that Geostigma certainly took its toll a year ago.
She wondered if that disease was at all connected to some of that unrest going on in the poorer sections of Edge.
Serah sighed and fell into a sitting position. She couldn't find any telling distortions or shimmers that associated with a gate or artefact. If there was one around here, it certainly wasn't inside the church.
Holding a cure to her knees, Serah bit her cheek and looked about her. It was already past noon and she'd only scoured the church. The ruins of Midgar were so large, the thought of searching all of it made her head hurt. Maybe she could get help from someone…
No. Serah dismissed the cure and her skin itched for a moment before returning to normal. She made for her chocobo, but not without a regretful glance behind her. If she tried to tell anyone she remembered a life that didn't exist anymore, how quick would they be to throw her in a mad house? Not that they had a mad house in Edge, but they would probably find the resources the moment she opened her mouth.
She reached the chocobo and took a moment to pat him down in thanks for waiting. He chirped and tugged at the rope binding him to the rock, hopeful for release. Serah scratched behind hiss head. "I'm sorry, Snowflake. I'm afraid it's another false positive."
She pulled the reins free and Snowflake cooed – at least he didn't give her strange looks for her comments. She glanced to the ruins one more time and caught a brief glimpse of glowing eyes. There were whispers of strange noises coming from Midgar, and some speculated the place was haunted.
Serah instead suspected a connection to a gate, but she had yet to find one. Or even an artefact to grant her passage.
But then, that was what she was used to by now.
She mounted Snowflake and started back for Edge.
Denzel wiped his brow with the back of his glove whilst the burly man at the register rang up his items. Outside, rain pounded the window and provided a rhythmic sound to balance out the banging in the back of the shop.
"You better watch yourself," said the man, giving Denzel's items a cursory glance. "You'll spend your whole pay if you're not careful."
Denzel looked between him and the assorted collection of bolts and hinges that the man placed in a large bag. "I know."
The register chimed, marking the completion of payment. "Got any special plans this week?"
"No." Denzel gathered the pieces. "Just fixing a few things."
"Last week's storm, right?"
"Yes."
"Quite something, wasn't that?" He shook his head. "Take care, kid."
Denzel nodded his thanks and left, wiping a hand on his pants. Tifa would kill him if he dirtied the walls again with the grime he picked up from the auto shop.
At the end of the day, Edge was winding down and people with umbrellas and raincoats surrounded Denzel on their way home from their respective occupations. He rushed home, bag clinking with the new parts, and used only his hand to keep the rain off him. There wasn't much to help him with his bike, but the house took priority.
When he got home, Cloud was in the front room on the computer and looked up at his arrival. "That was fast."
"They let me go early." Denzel kicked his shoes off and Cloud nodded in understanding before turning back to his computer.
Denzel couldn't help his gaze lingering on that part of Cloud's forearm that showed wrinkled skin, like the water damage dried over on some of the walls. A remnant of the stigma – one that Denzel shared around where his scalp met his forehead.
He shook himself free of the thought, grabbed a screwdriver and wrench, then moved upstairs.
Neither Marlene or Tifa were back yet, as no one appeared to greet him when he peeked into both their rooms to find them empty. That was all the better for him, since Marlene's room was one of the targets and she didn't take well to him hanging around it.
He tested the window first, ensuring it was closed before returning to the hinges. The storm left its mark on the frame, having ripped the door from it completely. The wood showed the expected damage, with splinters poking out the whole side of the frame. He needed sanders and paint to re-seal it. Thankfully, they had awnings above most of these to protect his work from the rain.
Chewing on his lip, Denzel made his way downstairs again. "Hey, Cloud?"
"Yeah?"
"Where do we keep the sanders?"
"Below the sink."
Denzel turned to leave, but Cloud asked, "Do you still see her?"
He hesitated, sweaty fingers gripping the railing. "Not really."
"How long?"
"A month, maybe."
Cloud nodded, satisfied, and Denzel took that as a sign that he was allowed to go again. The supplies were where Cloud said they were, so he took them and ran back upstairs to start sanding. He'd barely set the power tool to the wood when a gentle, ghostly hand set itself over his and Denzel looked up to see the flower lady standing beside him.
"It's okay for them to know," she said, chestnut hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and held with a red ribbon. "Why don't you trust them?"
He looked away again and said nothing. The lady vanished as abruptly as she came, leaving a faint tingle where her hand touched his shoulder.
When he finally got to painting the wood over, he heard the front door click open and Marlene's voice carried through the house, "I'm home!"
Cloud said something in return, but Denzel couldn't make out what the words. They conversed until Denzel finally got out the new hinges and got to screwing them in. Marlene acted strange after Barrett visited the other day and he felt weird about talking to her sometimes.
Marlene appeared in the hallway, a bounce in her step as she approached him.
"Guess what I found!" she said, pulling out a book. "This is the last remaining copy of the Materia Stories from Midgar! A salvage crew put on an auction and I had just enough to win it!"
She sounded happy and not tense. That was good. Denzel broke away from the door to look at the book. "Cool."
"Daddy read it to me a thousand times! It's about a girl who wanders outside the city and has to find a materia of each type in order to find her way back, and there's a talking bird that's actually a rich boy cursed into looking like a bird, but the materia changes him back into a human and he guides her back to Midgar where they fall in love and I think they get married!"
"Wow."
Marlene hugged the book to herself. "It's the whole collected works! We'll read it tonight!"
Denzel nailed the last hinge on and pulled the door up straight. Marlene dropped the book and helped him lift the door into position. "It taught me not to judge people based on their appearance," she said as Denzel slipped the hinge pins into place. "I think stories are really important for learning those kinds of things."
"Yeah."
"What about you?"
He shook his head, testing the door. It swung smoothly, and its clean hinges provided a certain lack of squeaking.
"Oh, well," Marlene said, placing her hands on her hips. "At least one works now. Are you going to do Tifa and Cloud's, too?"
Denzel nodded and gathered his supplies. Marlene followed him the two feet across the hall. He started pulling out the rusted, broken hinges.
"I had a dream last night." Marlene steadied the door for him. "It reminded me about a test in the morning, even though I never had one. Thank goodness."
Denzel frowned and finished. Picked up his supplies.
"Tifa's bringing dinner home," Marlene said. "She called me."
Denzel nodded and returned downstairs while Marlene followed him. The last door was in the kitchen, leading out the back. They'd used temporary wooden beams to keep out the elements, so Denzel had to break those off before removing the door itself.
"What about Aerith?" Marlene asked as she helped him. "What does she talk to you about?"
Denzel shook his head. "Not much. Strange things. Like Cloud talks about in his adventures, sometimes."
Marlene pouted. "That sounds like her. She talked about all sorts of cool stuff when I was with her. Flowers and growing them and all that. Like Tifa does now. She told me about her home and being raised by a human mother even though she was immortal and like an alien or something."
Alien.
"Oh, and Tifa also said to make you know to avoid that street downtown that we always pass. Said something bad happened there."
Denzel slipped the last pin into place, securing the door in place, before he picked up the remaining debris and moved into the other room. Cloud barely glanced up at their emerging from the kitchen, carrying beams of wood and other things. Denzel had Marlene deposit the wood out front to be stored where Cloud would want it later while Denzel took his tools back to his room.
Aerith appeared again, her ghostly form walking with him up the stairs. "You're doing such an amazing job. I'm proud."
Denzel glanced up at her.
"You'll do great with white magic," she told him as they entered his room and Denzel set his things in one of his drawers. "Though I'm not sure who to find for your teacher. It's difficult to teach from the Lifestream. I have so many other things I'm doing at once, I don't think it would work to add a pupil on top of that, though Zack would love you."
"Zack," Denzel repeated. "Cloud's friend."
"Yes. It's a relief to know he's told you about all that. I worried for a long time that he would never let that pain go. I'm enough to handle, I think."
Denzel shook his head. "He doesn't do it often. Only when he's feeling sad, and he only talks to Tifa about it. I hear them in their room sometimes when I'm trying to sleep."
"Does that bother you?"
"No." Denzel took a seat on his bed. "They do it because they want to protect me. But that's a waste of time, because I'm already…"
She frowned and joined him, the presence of her strangely warm despite him knowing she wasn't real. "You're not damaged, you know. You've just gone through some hard things in your life and it's made you stronger."
"Maybe." Denzel touched his forehead. "But I only saw you after I got better. Did the sickness hurt my brain?"
"No." Aerith wrapped an arm around him, which Denzel refrained from squirming out of. "The Lifestream is a part of the planet, and it got hurt really bad. Because it was hurt, it couldn't take care of itself like it was supposed to and accidentally got people like you and Cloud sick. The Lifestream is everywhere, but you don't see it. It's not supposed to be in your life, but we messed up. We're now connected, even though we shouldn't be."
"That's why Cloud sees you? Tifa says he got really close to the Lifestream once."
Aerith gave him a smile that looked forced. "He did. But he's doing better now. … I need you to do something for me."
"Do what?"
"I don't want you to tell Marlene or anyone else. Understand?"
He reluctantly nodded.
"There's something very wrong with some of the other worlds out there. You know the other worlds, right?"
"The dog that visited the other day talked about a 'planetary system.'"
Aerith nodded. "That dog is a very smart boy, like you. There's a man in the village that knows a lot about that kind of stuff, and he did a good job of teaching Nanaki. But what they know doesn't even scratch the surface of the vast universe and its mysteries. Even I don't know much about it from my time being dead."
"You learn about it?"
"Yes," Aerith said, "but not in the way you might expect. Anyway, what I need you to do is go find Serah Farron, your tutor."
"But she's gone on another one of her trips to Midgar."
"Not for long." Aerith closed her eyes. "I feel her making her return trip now. But never mind all the cryptic nonsense, all right? Deliver this message for me."
"What message?"
The corner of Aerith's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "That she's gonna have a visitor very soon and she shouldn't freak out about it."
"A visitor." Denzel blinked and touched his forehead.
"Not like that, silly." Aerith wrapped her other arm around him and squeezed close. It felt like a flame burning into him, but without the pain. "It's nothing for you to worry about. Not yet. But I want you to keep everyone together, okay?"
Denzel slowly nodded. "I understand."
"That's a good boy."
"Hey, Aerith?"
"Hm?"
"Do Cloud and Tifa…" The words caught in his throat. Aerith released him enough to pull some distance away. He worked his mouth for a moment, the thought suddenly elusive to him. Too scary to put to words. Too scary to think he might be right.
"They love you." Aerith touched her forehead to his. "They may not be as good at showing it, but they do. Be patient with them, okay? They're not used to having kids, and it'll take them a while to know how to show you they care."
"… Okay."
"Be good, now." Aerith tapped him on the shoulder and stood before her figure vanished into light.
Denzel blinked at her sudden departure. It was a little disconcerting, but he wasn't surprised. He was starting to get used to her strange quirks, and he wondered if she was like that in real life. Marlene didn't seem to think so, but Marlene also seemed to see the world differently from him.
Sighing to himself, he picked up his white-materia-embedded pole from its position by his dresser and left the room to head outside. He still had the bar area to polish, cosmetics to touch up, and a second job to do.