Junon was finally in sight after nearly three days of travelling since Kalm. Aerith was getting tired of being out in the sun all day, wearing nothing but the hot black clothing that Sephiroth had purchased for her. She knew better than to complain though. "Not much longer now, my dear," he said softly to her. Aerith smiled and grabbed his hand. "Does this mean that we get to sleep in beds tonight?" "You slept for nearly nine hours yesterday, how can you be tired still?"
"That was yesterday, and this is today. And not everyone is like you Sephy. I can't stay up for hours on end." Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and his lips became a thin line. "Don't. Call. Me. That. Damned. Name." She'd pushed it this time, and wisely kept her mouth shut until they reached Lower Junon.
When they arrived, she couldn't help but complain. "Oh man, what is that smell? Underneath of the plate isn't even this bad." Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "That smell would be rotting fish coming from the shore, and no, it isn't as bad."
She pinched her nose close with her hand and followed Sephiroth to the elevator that would take them to Upper Junon. There was a lone guard leaning against the wall, eyes halfway closed. After casting a sleep spell, Sephiroth and Aerith went into the elevator and pressed the 'up' button.
When the elevator reached the top level, noise could be heard. Aerith looked to Sephiroth, who just shrugged. They exited the elevator and continued until they found the main street. Red banners could be seen everywhere, proclaiming something about a 'new generation', and Rufus.
Aerith spotted a newpaper vending machine and read what she could. When she finished, she headed back over to Sephiroth, who had been leaning against the wall in the shadows of an alleyway. He seemed to be waiting for her.
"Did you find out anything?" She nodded and leaned herself against him. "The paper said that Rufus was going to in a parade in two days, here in Junon."
Sephiroth pondered that for a moment. 'The puppet will also be here in approximately two days.'
'Then it would seem that you have a little extra time.' Jenova's voice came to him. 'Hello mother. Is it safe to assume that you will show yourself soon?' He was growing anxious about Jenova meeting Aerith. "Seph?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down at her questioning face. "Yes, love?"
She smiled, something that he found he would never grow weary of. "Where are we going now?" "Towards the hotel. It's not far from here. And then we wait for the puppet to arrive."
After crossing the swamp and the mines, the small group had found their way to Fort Condor. They were exhausted from travelling non stop since the chocobo farm and wanted nothing more than to get some sleep. They met a man outside the fort, informing them that the ShinRa would be attacking soon.
As much as they wanted to help, they were nearly dead on their feet. The man saw this and told them to get some rest in the large bedroom inside.
They climbed ropes and ladders before finding the room and promptly falling face first into the beds. Some time later, they were woken by the sounds of gun fire outside. Leaping up, the group went up to help do what they could. By the time the fight was over, they were exhausted once again.
Sleeping a few hours more, they finally left the fort, supplies replenished and ready to go. They knew that they would have to pass the forests near Junon before they would actually reach the city itself.
At one point, they had to go through the edge of one forest. Though the trip was pretty much uneventful in the beginning, it took a new turn when the group came upon a young ninja. She carried a large, four pointed weapon and was dressed a bit oddly. Though they easily overcame her, they stuck around until she came back to consciousness.
Speaking with her, they were able to convince her to join them, or perhaps it was the other way around? It didn't matter at the time. Afterwards, when they were on their way again, they introduced themselves. The young ninja introduced herself as Yuffie. She said that she had just come from Junon, having crossed the ocean from Costa del Sol.
She told them what was happening in Junon: the preparation of the arrival of the new president, the parade that was being prepared for. When they asked if she'd seen a young woman in a pink dress with long brown hair in a braid, she said no.
She did, however, tell them about a woman with the same hair description, only wearing all black.
She said that she'd seen her looking at a newspaper vender, but that was it. That information was valuable enough, and they were greatful for it. The young ninja said that it had taken her about half of a day to reach the forest, so it would take about the same to reach the city.
It had been about two days when Sephiroth said that it was time to meet Jenova. Cloud would be arriving in a few days and they might not have time later. As he led her down the darkened streets of Junon, Aerith kept wondering about the one whom they would meet.
The planet had been sending her a small, annoying, yet noticable buzzing sound for most of the day. She did her best to disregard it and focused on meeting Sephiroth's mother. It was dark and no one was on the landing pad this time of night. Sephiroth stopped near a pile of wooden crates and told Aerith to stay where she was. He went around the other side and moments later came back.
The creature that followed him was human-like. She looked to be in her late twenties perhaps, her hair a straight silver and red eyes that frightened Aerith, though she didn't show it. Even though she was beautiful, there was an eerie feeling that she seemed to radiate.
Sensing that she was somewhat frightened by his mother, Sephiroth went to Aerith's side. "Aerith," he said, "meet my mother. Mother, this is Aerith." Jenova smiled and extended her hand. Aerith took it, trying her best not to simply pull back. "Hello Aerith." Her voice was sweet, unlike her physical appearance, which Aerith had a feeling really wasn't her true form.
From the moment their hands were locked together, Aerith could hear a scream in her ears. She would have fallen to the ground had Sephiroth not been there to catch her. Sephiroth was on his knees watching as she clutched her hands to her ears, trying to shut out the mental screams that only she could hear.
"Aerith!" Sephiroth held her in his arms as Jenova leaned down and placed a hand on the young cetra's head. The screaming ceased and Aerith slowly brought her hands away from her ears. Jenova brought her hand away from Aerith's head and stood up. Sephiroth did the same, though keeping Aerith in his arms. "What happened?" he spoke softly to her.
"It was the Planet." Jenova spoke. The couple looked at her. "The Planet, Mother?" Jenova nodded. "Yes. You know that the Planet does not like me, my son. It may not like that I am around it's last child."
Aerith's face hardened and her body tensed. She slowly climbed out of Sephiroth's arms and extended her hand to Jenova. Jenova took it, seeming pleased that the young ancient was taking the initiative this time. There was no loud scream this time, but rather a loud buzzing, like from most of the day. Aerith flinched, but kept her hand in Jenova's. "Hello." She attempted a smile and was able to grant a small one.
Well, there's chapter 8. It's short, kinda like the others. I promise that i'll try to get longer chapters in soon. Also, for those of you who are still wondering about the whole daffodil thing, you should read 'Daffodils: Prelude to Allied with Evil' Well, toodles. : )
