Chapter 21 - Snag
The people of Gongaga, Nanaki decided, were good humans. They were understandably startled when they first found out he could talk, but just like his friends, they got over it quickly and treated him like a person. Mostly. He had to explain several times that there were very few people allowed to pet him and the few children in attendance kept trying to sneak him vegetables and other unwanted foods. Not that he complained much at the latter.
One of the people allowed to pet him burst out of the crowd to wrap him in a hug. As always, she smelled of fresh earth and flowers.
"I'm so glad you could make it! Sorry I didn't greet you earlier, things have been a bit crazy."
"There is no need for apologies. I've been avoiding your scent up till now."
Aerith gave him a hard frown. "Now why would you do that?"
"Well..." Nanaki's ears drooped and he looked away. "Your scent was mingled primarily with other females, so I assumed you were following a tradition of remaining separate from male company until the wedding."
She laughed. "In that case, you're forgiven. Have you seen Tifa?"
Nanaki lifted one paw to the left. "Last I saw her, she and Cloud were attempting not to look at each other. Human mating rituals are quite strange to me."
"They're strange to us, too." Aerith stood and straightened her skirts. "Let's see if we can tear her away for a little while."
*7*7*
They stood three feet apart leaning against a fence near a pastry cart. They had both looked at the same deserts and both decided they weren't hungry. The silence hung between them as heavy and unpleasant as if they were standing next to a compost pit.
Tifa finally shifted. "We missed you back in Midgar. The kids kept asking when you'd come back." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "They were really happy to see you again."
Cloud nodded at his shoes. "I shouldn't stay long."
"But..." Tifa bolted up only to sag against the fence again. "You don't think there's a cure, do you."
"That's not it. I... There's something I have to do."
"I understand." Except she didn't, she simply couldn't think of anything else to say. What could he possibly have to do that she couldn't help with?
"Tifa!" Aerith swooped in to clutch her arm. "Oh, Cloud, I hope you don't mind but I'm borrowing Tifa for a little while. Girl stuff."
Cloud stared at Aerith then Nanaki. "Girl stuff?"
"I am acting as escort."
Cloud nodded though he still looked confused as they left. Tifa felt much the same way.
"We aren't actually going to do 'girl stuff,' are we?"
Aerith smile would've looked innocent if not for the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "There's something I want to try while everyone's here."
Tifa frowned, this didn't lessen her confusion at all. "Everyone? But Vincent..."
"Is with Zack." Nanaki raised his eye to the women. "I caught his scent shortly before Aerith greeted me."
Before Tifa could think of a way to get a better explanation, Aerith pulled her down behind a garden hedge.
"All right. Nanaki, sit here, please." Aerith patted the ground to her right. "I'm going into the Lifestream to look for someone. While I'm there, could you both keep physical contact with me? A hand or paw on my shoulder will work, I think."
Tifa glanced back toward the party. "Shouldn't Zack be here for this?"
"Zack can't know, that's why I want to try this with everyone here. We're all connected to each other so I should be able to use those connections as a tether." Aerith folded her hands in front of her breasts. "Going in."
*7*7*
They were so bright. Strands of light radiating out in a web of connected souls. There were so many more than just her friends. Her anchor's family, the sleeping children, those still living and those returned to the Lifestream.
A single golden thread stretched deep into the planet. She held close to that thread, following it in the hope of finding answers. There were more black spots than the last time she'd been there but none of them seemed to notice her. The closest ones seemed more interested in the web behind her.
Maybe one particular spot in the web. It worried her, but she didn't dare investigate while in such a vulnerable state. No, best to stick to the original plan and then get out.
Time had little meaning in that place, yet she felt like she'd been following the thread for ages. The currents grew stronger and thicker the deeper she went. Soon she could barely move.
"Please let me pass. There's someone I have too find."
She got no response.
"Please. This could help a friend and maybe the rest of the planet."
The Lifestream seemed to hesitate. Though she still couldn't move forward, she caught a glimpse of a huge red orb far below.
Daughter, turn back.
"No. I need answers. Tell me..."
"Tell me how to stop the illness!"
The Lifestream disappeared. All around her lay the dying remnants of a great forest. Snow sifted through the bare branches overhead.
At first, the world seemed silent. Then she heard chanting to her right. She looked and saw a ghostly procession weaving through the trees. Moments later, the individuals broke from the line as if part of an old folk dance or ritual. Probably the latter considering what happened next.
All at once the people touched an out-stretched palm to a tree. The dying wood silently exploded in shimmering ripples, revealing glowing white crystal underneath. She could feel the magic spread out from the roots to other trees, spreading the effect, filling the air with tiny pyreflies.
The forest at the Forgotten City.
She followed the reformed procession to the spiral shell temple. The chanting didn't stop. She couldn't make out any words, only a feeling of peace that soaked down to the core of her being. As if the entire world was giving her a comforting hug. The pool in front of the temple rippled with the sound.
The chanting stopped the instant she passed through the doorway. Instead of the temple interior she found herself on a street paved with smooth coral. A procession of another kind approached her. Women cloaked in white wailed for the dead. In the center trudged four men carrying a shrouded pallet. The grief and sadness nearly brought her to her knees until an inhuman scream shattered everything.
A woman stumbled away from the procession, her veil slipping to reveal a blue pallor to her skin and hair. Another veiled woman approached her only for the blue one to breath ice at her. More people screamed.
White obstructed her vision. She heard a single drop of water strike a surface and echo. The white became snow. A drop of liquid water fell, rippling through the snow and spraying up more drops. Those drops created more ripples, more drops. A pond formed, then a lake. It wasn't just water, it was Lifestream. All she could see was green and full of life.
The thread she'd followed here appeared nearby.
Go.
*7*7*
Vincent disappeared as suddenly and mysteriously as he arrived, which didn't surprise Zack in the slightest. The man had a flare for the dramatic that reminded Zack a little too much of Genesis sometimes. At least Vincent didn't quote old epics.
When he returned to the party he spent a little while looking for Aerith. Yuffie had seen her with Tifa and assumed both were looking for a toilet.
"Or a bush." Yuffie stuffed another one of Mrs. Miron's cream tarts in her mouth. "I don't trust the toilets around here. The last one I used farted at me."
Zack choked on a meat roll. "Uh, near an old equipment shed? Door has a wrench for a handle?"
Yuffie frowned up at him. "Yeah... Why?"
"No reason. Uh, just surprised no one's fixed it yet." Zack grabbed another meat roll and retreated into the crowd.
A moment later, he gasped as something tugged on his soul.
Water everywhere. No. This was mako, Lifestream.
"Aerith." He stumbled back toward his parents' house. "Aer-! Sorry. Excuse me. Aerith!"
Cloud shouldered through to intercept his friend. "Zack? What's going on?"
Zack didn't break stride even as he glanced at Cloud. "Not sure, I just have this feeling that Aerith's in trouble."
"Oh." Cloud slowed. "I should..."
For several seconds, Zack didn't notice that Cloud had trailed off. It took another few seconds for him to realize Cloud had stopped following him then another moment to think and turn around. By that point, he was at the edge of the party. A few paper lanterns glowed blue and orange over the scattered villagers. One villager stood near Cloud, looking uncertain whether to help or not.
Cloud didn't look good. Sweaty, shaky, and he had a death grip on his left arm.
The villager and Zack both took a step toward him at the same time.
"Stay away!" Cloud hunched over as he shied back. "Zack... go. Find Aerith. I'll... I'll be fine."
Zack frowned. "You sure about that? You look kinda... pale."
Unnaturally pale. It could've been the light, but even Cloud's hair seemed drained of color.
Then Cloud lurched forward and Zack saw his hair turn completely white.
"Go!" Cloud's hair regained a little color, but he still looked ready to collapse.
Zack glanced over at the now thoroughly frightened villager. One of the Miron boys, he thought. "Find Kunsel." He only waited long enough to see the younger man nod before dashing off to find Aerith.
He didn't find Aerith. Nanaki found him.
"I ask that you not interrupt while I explain the situation. Aerith requested that Tifa and I assist her with something that required the presence but not the immediate involvement of our friends. She did not explain fully, but I suspect that she's using our bonds of friendship as a tether between her spirit and physical body."
"She went into the Lifestream?!" Zack clenched his fists, resisting the urge to shake Nanaki. "Where is she?"
Nanaki flattened his ears. "Near. I will show you, but please do not disturb her. She has started murmuring words I do not understand." He turned toward a nearby myrtle hedge. "Whether that is a good sign or bad is yet unclear."
As far as Zack was concerned this was all a bad sign.
When they turned the corner of the hedge, Zack saw Aerith kneeling on the grass with Tifa sitting next to her. Tifa's eyes widened when she saw Zack.
"She didn't want to tell you. Please don't be angry with her."
"I'm not." Zack looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Okay, so maybe I am. A little. And angry at myself since she wouldn't be doing this if..." He looked back at Tifa. "I just want to protect her! So she's the only one who can talk to the Lifestream and actually hear a reply, I get that, but there's got to be some other way!"
Tifa found something fascinating on the ground by her knees. "I know how you feel."
Besides Aerith's murmuring, silence hung between them. It hadn't quite gotten awkward when Aerith gasped and pitched forward.
"Aerith!" Zack dove to catch her without a thought. Bare hands touched a bare arm and cheek. Two bodies collapsed onto the dirt.
Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! As if their wedding would really go off without a single hitch. At least the snag had the decency to wait for the reception. Now what is Zack going to do? And what's happening with Cloud?