Chapter 2: A Phone Call and The Study of Planet Life
Everyone was extremely relieved when Naruto returned from the reactor and they could finally leave the village of Gongaga. The misery that enveloped the town was unreal, and everyone they had spoken to had a tale to tell about the tragedy that hit them and took so many lives and ruined others. Friends, family, every single person in Gongaga had lost somebody close to them.
By the time they emerged from the forest and climbed back into the buggy, they had all been affected by it as well. Gongaga, like Corel, was another town that had had sorrowful dealings with the Shinra, and it became clearer than ever that the Shinra was to blame for most of the pain in the world.
As they drove on away from the forest they began to head towards the west, beginning their route round to the other end of the continent. The buggy drove on across the countryside, passing close to the perimeter of another larger forest that grew alongside the tall, rocky mountains that rose all around the centre of the continent. On the other side of the buggy they could see the shoreline in the distance, as well as the distant see. If they were to head further south it would take them another hour to reach the ocean, but they had no time to waste right then. Enough time had been lost getting out of the Gold Saucer, and with no sign of Sephiroth anywhere, they had to use all their time trying to catch up with him before the Shinra did.
The end of the continent sharply turned north and ran close to the edge of the forest, forcing them north towards the river where the ocean water flowed in and was dispersed around the rest of the continent. Driving across the river and up into the next part of the continent was no problem at all, but the next problem was still to come.
Now they were on the next part of the continent they were right up close to the mountain range, and the only way they could continue on would be to drive right through the mountains. Although there was a path that they could use leading into the range, it was very rough and jagged, with many bumps and curves and sharp bits of rock sticking up out of the ground. Aeris slowed the buggy until it stopped at the entrance of the range, and they all got out.
"I don't think we can drive through that," Aeris said. "It looks a little rough."
"Does this mean we'll have to abandon the buggy?" asked Tifa.
Naruto scanned the mountains ahead. They could always summon the chocobos but he didn't think they should be using them all the time since they had lives to attend to themselves.
"That will not be necessary," Nanaki said suddenly, and everyone turned to him. He nodded his head and bounded forward towards the entrance of the mountain path, where he turned back to the others. "I know this area well. The mountains are rough to travel through, but there are sufficient places for the buggy to ride without being damaged severely."
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked him.
Nanaki nodded his head confidently. "I am positive," he replied, looking directly into Naruto's eyes. Then he turned to Aeris. "Do not worry. I will guide you through."
And guide them through he did. As they set off again through the mountain range and across the precarious mountain path, Nanaki showed them every safe twist and turn so the buggy avoided all the major ditches and rises in the ground that would damage the buggy and leave them stranded again. Running alongside of the buggy, Nanaki was glad to be out of the cramped buggy and stretching his legs.
He certainly did know the area well. As he led them on the path moved further up into the mountains, carrying them far away from the ocean and into the rocky mountains. Nanaki guided them on step by step throughout the jagged mountain path without faltering even once. Although the buggy did occasionally bounce up and down on the rocks, there was nothing so extreme that would damage the buggy, and leave them to climb the mountains on foot.
They soon came across their next destination, surprising Naruto and the others but not surprising Nanaki. In fact he even deliberately swerved around and motioned for Aeris to drive the buggy after him, heading towards the rather strange looking set of structures ahead of them.
The strange sight ahead of them was actually a village of sorts, and was built alongside one of the tall walls of the rising mountain. It spread across a fairly large area of flat space that must have been carved artificially, although there were no signs of machinery or anything mechanical.
There were a fair number of huts scattered around, built of strong wood that could withstand the rain and other extreme weather conditions, and roofs made of thick pliable green wood, smoothed down to perfection so the rain would slide off with no damage to the structure. The majority of huts were built against the mountain wall, while others were built up on wide ledges higher up the wall, accessible by long wooden ladders. Some houses were even built inside the mountain itself, carved into the mountain wall and only visible by small wooden doors leading inside the wall.
It seemed impossible that such a natural-looking town could have no form of machinery. The houses and shops that were built inside the mountain wall could only have been made by machinery, but as Naruto and the others approached in their buggy they could see absolutely nothing. There was also no sign of a Mako Reactor, which was another good sign.
Nanaki picked up speed and ran on ahead of the others, stopping at the bottom of a long set of stairs that were carved perfectly into the rock leading up into the canyon. He turned back in time to see Aeris slow the buggy to a stop a few meters behind him, and the others all piled out. They looked up in awe at the mountain village, for it looked so beautiful from where they were. Secretly grinning at their reactions, Nanaki turned away and began to dart up the rocky stairs, barking at the others to follow him.
There was a man standing at the very top of the stairs, leaning against one of the two wooden poles that stood firm and guarded the entrance of the canyon. He was clearly a guard, although he certainly didn't dress like one. He also looked quite bored, staring at the floor with a single leaf stalk twirling in his hand, until he heard a voice calling out to him from the stairs and made him take notice.
"I am home! It is I, Nanaki!"
The man looked up and glanced over towards the stairs. Seconds later his eyes widened in total surprise and a look of recognition spread across his face, followed by a huge smile of happiness and relief as Nanaki bounded over and stopped right in front of him. The hound was almost bouncing on his paws, unable to keep still as he shifted about in front of the guard, completely unlike anything he'd acted like before.
"Hey, Nanaki!" he exclaimed, dropping the leaf stalk onto the ground as he walked over and gave the hound a soft pet on his furry head. "You're safe! Come on, and say hello to Bugenhagen!"
Nanaki nodded and complied quickly, running past the guard as he stepped aside to let him through. Naruto and the others had just reached the top of the stairs and stopped as they saw Nanaki run inside the village. They saw him bound up almost excitedly towards more rocky steps that were built alongside the mountain wall, leading to more inner houses.
"I guess he is finally home, and he's acting like the kid he should be," said Naruto, smiling.
Everyone except Aeris and Yuffie were nodding. Aeris spoke up, confused.
"What do you mean 'acting like the kid he should be'?"
"Well I had some information on his species. His kind has long lives, easily living up to 2000 years if they aren't killed. He is 48 years old physically but his mind is that of a 16 year old. It seems that he has been trying to act older than he really is." Naruto explained.
Aeris and Yuffie both formed an O shape with their mouths before nodding. They looked up at Nanaki. The hound was perched on the top of one of the steps with his head held high, looking up towards the top of the mountain. Naruto looked up, too, and saw what Nanaki was looking at.
At the very top of the mountain there was a fairly large tower that also combined as a house. It had a rounded roof and a balcony running around the outside – and was that the tip of a telescope he could see poking out of the top of the roof? There was a large slit in the roof paved over with thick glass, barely visible from the bottom of the mountain, but Naruto could just see the tip of a black oval on the inside. It had to have been a telescope. And here, in the middle of the mountains, far away from any major city, the view of the stars must surely have been incredible.
"How bout we stick around for a while. We could learn quite a bit from these guys," suggested Naruto. Everyone nodded and walked right up to the entrance guard who was waiting for them.
"Welcome to Cosmo Canyon," he said to them cheerfully, greeting them with a smile that was not as excited as it had been when he saw Nanaki. "Are you familiar with this land?"
Naruto glanced around at the others, who slowly shook their heads. "No," he answered, turning back to the guard.
The guard nodded, understanding. "Let me explain," he said. "People from all over the world gather here to seek the Study of Planet Life." When he spoke it was almost automatic, as though he had said it many times before. He turned away and looked inside the canyon, before he turned back and groaned loudly. "Ummgah! It's full capacity at the moment, so I'm afraid I can't let you enter."
As he finished speaking, Nanaki came running back down the rocky steps towards the entrance, overhearing what they were saying. "They helped me when I was on the road," he said to the guard. "Please let them in."
He then turned and ran off again, leaving the guard to consider his words. He turned back to Naruto and the others and looked them up and down, eyeing up their weapons and armour. "Oh, is that so?" he asked. "You helped our Nanaki?" He tapped his foot for a moment, before he finally made up his mind and stepped out of the way of the door. "Please, come in."
"Thanks," said Naruto cheerfully. With the entrance clear, Naruto and the others all walked slowly into the village known as Cosmo Canyon. They looked around with great interest, for Cosmo Canyon was one of the most spectacular places they had ever seen. There was even a small fire in the centre of the canyon, for where people would gather and talk about the things they had seen in the village.
In contrast, Cosmo Canyon was the total opposite of Midgar. Midgar was a city built entirely of metal, surrounded by dead land that was growing darker and more dead as the days went by. Cosmo Canyon was on the other end of the spectrum, built entirely from nature without damaging the surrounding land, and the land around it, although rocky, was still filled with life. The people they could see walking around looked happy, a change from the miserable faces they had seen in places like Corel and Gongaga.
Nanaki was waiting for them halfway up the first set of stairs. He certainly did seem different now that they were in Cosmo Canyon, although most of his almost childlike excitement had died down now. He was still finding it difficult to keep still, however, even when he sat back on his haunches and tried to keep his legs firmly still.
"Here is where I was… I mean, …this is my hometown," Nanaki said. He could barely even speak properly. "My tribe were protectors of those who appreciated this beautiful canyon and the Planet. My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her……" He raised his head and looked up the sky, which was growing dark rapidly. "I am the last of my race."
"Cowardly father?" asked Naruto, concerned.
Nanaki lowered his head and looked at the ground. He suddenly seemed almost ashamed, but at least his excited quivering had ended now. "Yes," he said finally, his voice quiet. "My father was a wastrel. And so the mission I inherited from my ancestors, is to protect this place. My journey ends here."
"Hey! Nanaki--! You're home!"
The hound's eyes lit up brightly at the sound of the voice calling out to him from somewhere above them. Nanaki jumped to his feet, his tail straight and firm behind him, and looked up to the top of the mountain. "Coming, Grandpa!" he called, before he turned away from the others and ran off up the steps, turning to run up another set until he disappeared through an open door leading inside the mountain wall.
He left the others feeling a little shocked, although really they should have been expected it. Nanaki had said when they escaped from Midgar that he would leave them once he returned to his hometown. And Cosmo Canyon was his home, so it was only natural that he would leave them at this point. It still came as a bit of a shock, especially after traveling with them for so long.
"Alright, lets rest a while," said Naruto.
"There are some things I want to find out," said Aeris.
Everyone sighed heavily. After the hours of driving and being cramped up in the back of the buggy, everyone was relieved to have a bit of a break. The night sky was falling in fast now, and surely within the hour it would be completely dark, and no one wanted to sleep in a cramped buggy, even if the night sky did look nice.
So as Nanaki went off to find his grandfather, the rest of the group parted ways and went off to explore the mountain village of Cosmo Canyon on their own. At this particular time the village was quiet and there were not many people walking around, although the campfire in the centre of the village still burned strongly.
Naruto gripped his sword and summoned Kyuubi. She looked around after she had appeared and said, "This is a very peaceful place,"
Naruto walked over to the fire and sat down, Kyuubi following suite. Naruto turned to Kyuubi and noticed that she was in her black with red trim kimono again. She always looked so beautiful but when she wore that kimono she looked radiant. The gentle curves of her body were almost hidden by the kimono, making her look elegant, not sluty. Her red hair framed her soft face as it cascaded down her back. She noticed him gazing at her and she smiled slyly, even though she was blushing.
"Like what you see?" she said in a slightly sexy voice.
Knowing that he was caught Naruto floundered, trying to find an excuse. He was saved by a ringing sound coming from his pocket. He realized that it was his phone. Thanking whatever god was watching over him, he pulled out his phone and answered it. The voice on the other end was one he did not expect.
"Hey Naruto, how's it been going?"
"Zack?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Sure is. How have you been?"
"I've been great but how did you get this number?"
"Well after I died I came here to the Lifestream and I was able to get your number from one of the guys at the Bijuu Office in Heaven. Boy was I surprised that you two were sent here to help us."
"Wait a second, Lifestream? What's that?"
"Well I'm not very good at explaining stuff like that. Where are you guys?"
"Cosmo Canyon,"
"Oh you'll find the info you need from some of those guys there. Anyway, fill me in on what's been happening."
And so Naruto told Zack everything that had been going on. When he had finished Zack was silent for a couple of seconds.
"So, Aeris is there is she?"
"Yeah. What happened to you two anyway. She said she was your boyfriend when we were at Gongaga,"
"I'll tell you that story some other time. How is Cloud?"
"He's fine. The Jenova cells have copied almost everything about you and now Cloud is acting, without knowing, like you. It seems like Sephiroth is also under the brain washing influence of Jenova as well."
"I knew Sephiroth wasn't evil."
"Yeah well I'm working on a way to kill or suppress the influence of Jenova on Cloud and Sephiroth. They might do something in the future that will be catastrophic."
"I know you can do it. I gotta go now. I'll ring you again and see if I can talk to Aeris."
"I don't think that's a good idea since Aeris is getting attracted to Cloud,"
"Really?! Well if there was anyone I wanted to take care of and love her, Cloud would be my best choice. See ya!" and he hung up.
Naruto shook his head and got up, Kyuubi puffing back to the sword. As he was heading for the steps leading up the canyon, a faint sound hit his ears. It was the faint sound of music – drums and string guitars, and was that a flute? He couldn't see the musicians, but the music was clear and could be heard throughout the canyon. He couldn't see any of the others either, although he was positive that they could hear the music, too. He headed up the steps towards the inner part of the canyon, wanting to know for certain if Nanaki was planning to leave them.
There were more people inside the canyon than outside, but with night approaching it was much quieter than it would have been during the day. There were shops and houses all carved inside the mountain, although they all seemed homely enough. The majority of the people wandering around were coming from one of the back rooms on the first floor, which Naruto presumed from a quick peek in that it must have been a library of sorts.
As Naruto headed up to the second floor he thought he saw Yuffie checking out one of the shops. Even though she had stopped altogether her materia stealing she was still bright eyed about the small crystal spheres.
There was a young kid standing ahead of him, looking up at a metal door that was peculiarly built at the end of the hall, along with a strange machine that looked somewhat like a scanner. With the exception of the observatory on the top of the mountain, this was the first sign of anything artificial throughout the canyon. The kid seemed enthralled by it, standing up on his tiptoes to try and see the scanner. It seemed as though Nanaki wasn't on this floor either, and with the only exit leading out to small viewing balcony, there was only a ladder left for Naruto to climb.
The ladder led to the very top of the mountain, where a thin tunnel had been carved as the only way out. Naruto climbed out of the tunnel slowly, careful not to catch his sword on any loose bits of rock from the tunnel. When he climbed out he looked around, and was surprised by what he saw.
There was a house built on top of the mountain, with the tall, cylindrical observatory built alongside and joining onto it. He was also surprised by the amount of technological equipment there was lying around – it was almost hard to believe that he was in the same place.
As Naruto looked around, he saw that the lights were on in the main house and the door was ajar. He could just about hear voices talking inside, one of them he recognized as Nanaki. He walked toward the house and peeked inside.
It was a quaint little house, and there was more signs of electrical equipment inside as well. He saw Nanaki standing ahead of him, talking to an elderly man who was standing by the table.
He was a rather peculiar looking man, with a bald head and white beard, his body covered up by a long blue cloak that hung over his hands and his feet. His face was old but definitely kind, and many wrinkles appeared on his forehead and around his mouth as he smiled at Nanaki. Naruto heart wrenched as the old man reminded him of Oji-san. What was most peculiar was that the man's feet didn't seem to be touching the ground – the cloak that covered his feet just stopped a good few inches away from the ground. It was as though he was floating, but from what Naruto had seen so far he figured it was another electrical device of some kind. After all, the old guy couldn't really be floating by himself. Could he?
Hearing the door creak open, Nanaki turned and saw Naruto standing in the doorway. There was definitely an almost childlike smile on his face, which looked very odd on the hound.
"Naruto," the hound said, motioning to Naruto to come in further. "This is my grandfather, Bugenhagen. He is incredible. He knows everything."
Naruto walked further into the room, shutting the door behind him and looking around. There were many strange things inside the strange house, with a ladder going up towards the observatory, and another metal door at the side, although it looked to be locked. He looked at the old man and bowed respectfully.
"Ho Ho Hoooo," Bugenhagen laughed cheerfully. He had a rather jolly voice, although it carried a faint hint of seriousness as well. "I hear that you looked after Nanaki a bit. Nanaki's still a child you see."
"Please stop, grandfather," Nanaki said, looking down. "I'm 48."
"Ho Ho Hoooo," Bugenhagen said again, laughing in his weird but surprisingly jolly way. He saw that Naruto didn't look confused at all. In fact he was smiling as if…
"You already know?" he asked. Naruto nodded.
"He's quiet and very deep," said Bugenhagen.
Nanaki lowered his head and looked at the ground sheepishly, seeming rather embarrassed to have his true age revealed. "……Grandfather. I want to be an adult," he said. "I want to grow up to be able to protect you and the village."
"Ho Ho Hoooo. No Nanaki," said the old man, suddenly sounding a little bit more serious despite his laugh. "You can't stand on your own yet. To do that now would destroy you in the long run." He looked upwards and raised his arms towards the ceiling. "Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars from the city of Midgar. You've seen it, haven't you? Well, that's a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective."
He suddenly floated upwards, making Naruto stare in even more surprise as he moved without walking and stopped above the table. He very nearly leant over to see if there was a device making him float, but he was too entranced to move. Bugenhagen was definitely a very peculiar man indeed. "When it's time for this planet to die, you'll understand that you knew absolutely nothing," Bugenhagen added as Naruto stood there.
"……When the planet dies?" asked Naruto. He found himself tilting his head slightly, completely baffled by the old man's ability to float. He couldn't hear any machinery beneath his long cloak, so how could he be floating? This was as bad as trying to find out what was behind Kakashi's mask and it was frustrating.
"Ho Ho Hoooo. It may be tomorrow, or 100 years from now… But it's not long off," he replied, stroking his beard softly.
"How do you know this?" Naruto said.
"I hear the cries of the Planet," Bugenhagen told him.
Naruto was about to ask what he meant when a strange sound suddenly echoed throughout the house. It was similar to the sound of a gushing winds blowing all around them, although there was no wind blowing inside the house at all. Naruto looked up and around to see what was making the sound, but he couldn't find the source. He was sure the sound came from somewhere upstairs, but it was as clear here as it would be up there.
"What's that?" he asked.
"The sounds of the stars in the heavens," Bugenhagen replied. He was also looking up, his eyes closed as he listened to the whirlwind sound blowing around him. He almost looked entranced. "While this goes on, planets are born, and die."
At that moment another sound joined in the echoes of the wind – a less pleasant sound that made Naruto step back and sent a cold chill straight down his spine and made him shiver. It sounded almost like a scream – a painful, anguished scream of a thousand peculiar voices wailing madly. The scream seemed to vibrate all around them – off every wall and through every nook and cranny, clutching at the hearts of Naruto, Nanaki and Bugenhagen as they stood and listened to its cry.
"What was that?" Naruto asked. He was surprised to find his voice shaking a little. Something about the strange cry had shaken his soul hard, and he could almost feel his soul wanting to cry along with it.
"Ho Ho Hoooo. That was a scream from this planet," replied Bugenhagen. "Didn't you hear it? As if to say… I hurt, I suffer…"
"So sad…" said Kyuubi in a soft voice.
Naruto slowly put his palm flat against his chest, feeling the mad beat of his heart as it pounded away inside of him. He could hear the cry, and even as it died down around them he could still hear its echoes in his mind. If that was a scream from the planet then it truly was in pain. He looked up at Bugenhagen, who was looking down with a look of sudden sympathy on his face. Sympathy and sorrow for the planet.
"They have come here on a journey to save the planet," said Nanaki. "Why don't you show them your apparatus?"
"Ho Ho Hoooo," Bugenhagen laughed as he floated slowly off the table to rejoin them on the ground. "To save the planet? Ho Ho Hoooo! But, then again, I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him."
Again Naruto was about to ask a question about what Nanaki and Bugenhagen were talking about, when the door behind them suddenly flew open and a man ran hurriedly into the room. He looked very anxious and nervous, Naruto noticed, panting hard as though he had run all the way up to Bugenhagen's house.
"Bugenhagen!" the man exclaimed. "Several odd looking people have come."
"The whole place has gotten busy all of a sudden," said Bugenhagen.
"He brought friends too," Nanaki said, looking up at the old man. "I'll go get them." He began to walk off slowly across the floor, past the panting guard, when he suddenly stopped and turned back to Naruto. "Naruto, please call one of them. Only three people can fit into grandfather's machine."
Naruto crossed his arms and thought for a moment. If he could only take one person into the machine… it would probably be best if it were Aeris. As an Ancient she was connected to the Planet anyway, although she hadn't said much about the planet talking to her since they left Midgar. She would probably be most interested in whatever it was Bugenhagen planned on showing them.
Whatever it was.
Upon leaving Bugenhagen's house, Naruto and Nanaki split and head back into town. Nanaki ran off to search through the main part of the canyon for the others, while Naruto headed out to the lower parts of the canyon in search of Aeris.
He found her eventually, sitting in the village inn with Tifa as they sat and talked about all the things they had seen in the canyon. They greeted Naruto warmly, and Naruto immediately told Aeris about the 'apparatus' that Bugenhagen wanted to show them. After telling her it might have something to do with the Planet she had jumped up instantly, excited at the prospect of learning something new about the Planet.
Bugenhagen was not in the main room of his house when they returned, although the front door had been left open. There was no sign of Nanaki either, but that was no surprise since he was probably still out looking for the others as they wandered through the village. Aeris looked at Naruto, who shrugged. Where could Bugenhagen have gone?
"Here, over here. The door's unlocked, come on in."
Naruto and Aeris both jumped, startled, and turned sharply towards the metal door that Naruto had observed earlier. Although locked before, the door was open now, the metal latch hanging loosely at the side and slightly ajar to reveal a faint line of light coming from the inside. This was where Bugenhagen's voice was coming from, so Naruto and Aeris both pushed open the door and went inside.
The hidden room beyond was a fairly large room, and filled with even more technological stuff that neither Naruto nor Aeris could identify. Machines of all kinds lay on all sides of the circular room, disused for many years although clearly still in good condition. It told them a little more about Bugenhagen at least, and that his interests' lay in both nature and in science.
Bugenhagen was standing – or rather, floating still – at the far end of the room beside a strange machine with a huge lever rising up out of it. Many wires were sticking out at the bottom of this machine, all of them attached to a peculiar-looking platform in the middle of the room. Also rounded, the platform was glowing very faintly as power from the wires slowly flooded into it.
"Ho Ho Hoooo," Bugenhagen said, his beard quivering as he laughed and looked at Naruto and Aeris. "It looks like you have them all together. Then let's begin. Go and stand over there."
Naruto nodded and began to head over towards the platform, before he realised that Aeris wasn't following. Turning back to her he saw that she was staring open-mouthed at Bugenhagen, in particular at the way he was floating many inches off the ground with one hand on the handle. Naruto smirked as he leaned over and gave her a nudge on the arm. This seemed to break her from her stare and she looked at Naruto, and then back at Bugenhagen. Evidently she had not believed Naruto when he told her about Bugenhagen's strange ability to float in the air. Naruto mouthed 'I told you so,'
Once Aeris had recovered from the initial shock, she followed Naruto and stood on the circular platform. Bugenhagen then pulled down the lever he was holding onto, and then quickly moved so that he was standing opposite Naruto and Aeris on the platform.
A second later the lights in the room suddenly dimmed to an absolute minimum, dying down so that the room was almost enveloped in total darkness. Naruto and Aeris looked around blindly for a few seconds until they felt a curious vibration beneath their feet, followed by the loud humming of the machine as it fed more power into the platform. With a gentle shudder the platform came alive and began to rise up off the floor, rising up smoothly away from the floor and up to the ceiling.
Looking up, Aeris saw that the ceiling above them was curved and made of a peculiar metal seemed to resemble the night sky. At first she thought that the black space and the white stars had been painted on, but as they drew closer to it she saw that the stars were more 3D and seemed to move about slowly across the 'sky'. With another gentle shudder the platform stopped just inside the strange upper dome, and Aeris looked around at their new surroundings.
It was almost like walking straight into space. The curved sides of the dome surrounded her on all sides, with more stars seeming to hover freely away from the edges, although they couldn't surely have been real. Up above her there was a 3D model of a solar system, with a sun in the middle and planets slowly revolving around it, again of their own free will. Elliptical yellow lines that wound their way around the sun marked the orbit of each planet and the planets moved slowly across them, following their route. Naruto was thinking that this thing was like his SCAN on his watch.
"So pretty…" Aeris remarked, her voice trembling as she became filled with such awe at the realism of what was around her. "It's just like the real thing!"
Bugenhagen, who had been standing behind her and Naruto until then, moved away from the platform and floated up towards the ring of planets that slowly circled above them. "Hmm, yes pretty good," he said, looking around at the space around them. "This is my laboratory. All the workings of space are entered into this 3D Holographic System."
"Hey! A shooting star!"
Aeris was standing with her head twisted behind her as she saw a bright yellow-white star fly behind her. Just a small speck from where she was standing, the star had a long tail trailing behind it, leaving tiny specks of stardust in its wake. These specks twinkled brightly for a few seconds, before they faded and merged into the blackness of space.
That wasn't all there was to see. Just as the shooting star passed on and disappeared into the distance, a planet with a revolving moon then slowly began to revolve past Aeris. The young woman looked on, her green eyes wide and staring with intense excitement and curiosity as the planet slowly passed her. It was so close she could almost touch it, but she was afraid to disturb the planet from its slow orbit around the sun.
While Aeris was busy looking at the planet another large object began to fly over her head. Looking up Aeris saw that it was a large meteor covered in craters. She could see these craters clearly and with such detail she could almost picture the asteroids or small meteors that must have crashed into the surface of the meteor, crashing with such force that the ground was forced up around it, creating such beautiful craters.
As the meteor spun slowly above her, Aeris saw that there were more meteors around her, all of them flowing in the same direction towards the far corner of the laboratory. Looking ahead Aeris saw that there was a black hole just a few metres from where she was standing – a gaping hole in the middle of the space surrounded by dim lights, using its powerful sucking force to draw the loose meteorites into it. One by one the meteorites were pulled into its dark centre, where they would be crushed and compressed until there was nothing left of them. It truly was an amazing laboratory.
Naruto whistled in awe. "This sure is something," he commented.
"Ho Ho Hoooo. Yes, it is something, isn't it?" Bugenhagen said, agreeing with him. "Well, let's get to the subject."
"Eventually… all humans die," Bugenhagen began. "What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. What about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls?" He turned back and looked down at Naruto and Aeris. His face had lost all its laughter and humor now, and had changed into a very serious expression. Even his voice was no longer laughing. "The soul too returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet.
"In fact, all living things in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'. Lifestream… In other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a word that you should never forget.
"A new life… children are blessed with the Spirit Energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the Planet… Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world." Bugenhagen sighed heavily. "I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this."
Bugenhagen gently floated aside, and motioned for Naruto and Aeris to come a little closer. The two complied and walked up close as Bugenhagen held out his hand and pointed to one of the steadily rotating planets that was rolling in steady towards them. It was a rather basic-looking planet that had no special features, until they looked a little closer at its surface.
There was a man on the planet – or at least a holographic simulation of what they presumed was meant to be a human male, for there were no features on the figure – and he was walking across the surface of the planet. He came to a stop at the top of the globe right next to a single tree that was also sticking up out of the top of the planet. The man stood silently for a second, before he straightened his arms out.
Then the man's body suddenly began to dissolve, gradually breaking down into separate components and falling towards the ground. As more and more of him began to disappear, those separate components began to glow and turned into a flow of yellow energy that slowly began to trickle down across the planet's surface. Moments later the tree began to dissolve as well, breaking down into a trail of pink energy that follow the yellow trail down towards the underside of the planet.
Naruto and Aeris watched in awe as the two colored trails swirled to the bottom of the planet, converging and merging into one colored trail. As they reached the bottom the new single trail began to solidify again, taking on its new form of a newborn baby. Before their eyes the baby grew rapidly until it was back into the same human male form that had previously stood on top of the planet. Then, like before, it dissolved again as it died and turned back into a swirl of yellow energy that began to move slowly across the planet again.
By this point more swirls of energy were beginning to flow across the surface of the planet. More trees and miniature people were appearing on all corners of the planet, dispersing into move trails of pink and yellow and other coloured energy and swirling across the surface. It wasn't long before the planet was teeming with coloured energy, forming a light surface of colour that covered the planet.
'So that's what Zack was talking about,' Naruto thought.
"Spirit energy makes all things possible; trees, birds and humans," said Bugenhagen. He was now floating alongside the coloured planet, watching the energy swirl across its surface. "Not just living things. But Spirit energy makes it possible for Planets to be Planets. What happens if that energy were to disappear?"
He raised his hand and held it out in front of the planet. As if it were a magnet, the coloured swirls of energy began to pull the other way and slowly drift away from the planet's surface, towards Bugenhagen's hand. As the energy moved away and dissolved into the air, the planet began to change. A blanket of darkness began to sweep across its surface, swallowing up all the oceans and grassy lands until the planet was merely a dark ball floating in space. Then, with nothing left alive to hold onto, the planet began to break apart. Its smooth surface cracked open and a giant chunk began to drift off away from it, heading off towards the black hole.
Bugenhagen lowered his arm as the planet moved slowly on, a half-broken dead ball. "…These are the basics in the Study of Planet Life," he finished.
Down on the platform, Aeris lowered her head and looked at the ground, shifting her feet uncomfortably. After seeing the planet's last few moments, before darkness consumed it and destroyed it, she couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. When Bugenhagen raised his hand, it was as though he sucked out all of the energy and killed the planet himself. She also realised then what Bugenhagen was saying about that, and she quickly turned her head away.
Beside her, Naruto folded his arms. "If the Spirit energy is lost, the Planet is destroyed…" he assumed.
"Ho Ho Hoooo. Spirit energy is sufficient BECAUSE it exists within nature," replied Bugenhagen. "When Spirit energy is forcefully extracted, and manufactured, it can't accomplish its true purpose."
Naruto suddenly looked up, staring into Bugenhagen's serious face as he finally realized just what Bugenhagen was saying. "You're talking about Mako energy, right?" he asked.
Bugenhagen slowly nodded his head. "Every day Mako reactors suck up Spirit energy, diminishing it. Spirit energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away. In other words, Mako energy will only destroy the Planet…"
His voice choked a little words the end, his words ringing like a cracked bell through Aeris and Naruto. The two of them stood silently, their heads down as they absorbed his words. Aeris was still holding onto her staff, and she looked down at the many balls of colored Materia she had stored there, and the ball of Materia she had in her hair to help keep her hair back. Materia… condensed Mako energy. The Materia she used was made from the very Spirit energy that ran through the heart of their planet. With a small tear forming in her eye she tightened her grip on the staff.
She didn't notice when Bugenhagen pulled a small lever that was almost invisible against the side of the dome, and the platform began to head back down into the hidden room. Her fists were shaking slightly as the lights came back on, unable to take her eyes off the Materia.
"The study of the planets… and those who lived with them…" Bugenhagen was saying as the room brightened up again. "You want to know more? Then you must listen to the words of the elders."
Naruto nodded and turned towards the door, when he saw that Aeris still had her head down and was still staring at the side of her staff where the Materia was stored in their special slots. Sighing he placed his hand on hers. She looked up at him, her eyes saddened and glistening in the corners where tears were slowly forming. He gave her a kind, sad smile and she saw in his eyes that he had gone through much tougher things than this. It seemed he held an old pain that was ancient for his years. She had never seen someone so sad in her life. He gave her a nod, and she just managed a brief smile before she hurriedly turned away from him and walked out of the door, almost running. Naruto followed her, leaving Bugenhagen alone in the bottom of his laboratory.
Once they were gone, Bugenhagen slowly turned to his machine and pushed the button to turn it off. Circular metal doors began to slide across the underside of the dome, sealing off the planet structure from view. His face was no longer laughing and he seemed quite troubled, although it was not due to Aeris's apparent dismay of the truth of the world.
"Nanaki?" he said aloud, as the humming from the machine died down and the room fell into a deep silence. The light died further, leaving the room in darkness. "His father a coward? So that's it… Nanaki's been thinking that all this time…"