. R O A D . T O . D A M A S C U S .
. S A G A . T W O : T H E . J O U R N E Y .
Chapter Twelve: Winter
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth 1:17, the Holy Bible
Avalanche made their way to Gongaga and landed near the tamer jungle, delivering Cloud safely to rest at Zack's parents' home, who took them in and gave them hospitality. No one knew how long Cloud would be out, so they went about trying to figure out what to do next.
"Sephiroth said he knew where the City of the Ancients was." Tifa sighed to the rest of the party, who were gathered around the table, even Cait Sith the Second, who had made his surprise appearance and rejoined the party.
"There's an archeological dig going on now on the northern continent." Cait sat next to several books next to Tifa. The Mog was left in the Bronco, since there was no need for it for now.
"And, what does it have to do with this?" Vincent queried as he cleaned his Sniper at the table. Barret was also doing the same thing with his gun-arm next to him.
The cat bobbed his head, "The archeological site is near the forest that was rumored to be where the City of the Ancients is. Also there were some said that there's a key hidden, a key to the City of the Ancients itself."
Tifa looked up from her hands, "Then, we have to get it. There's no knowing how long Cloud will stay like this." She looked over her shoulder to the door to where Cloud lay.
Barret clicked his gun-arm together loudly, "I agree. Some of us should stay here until Cloud wakes up, the rest go ahead and look for the key."
Tifa sighed, "I can't believe Aeris gave us the slip, one moment, she was there, now she's gone." Aeris had disappeared after talking to Barret in the Southern Isle jungle. No one knew where she went or why.
The meeting concluded with them deciding that Barret and Tifa would stay with Cloud until 'he' woke up. The rest would fly up the next day to the northern continent where this archeological site was at, this Bone Village.
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The next morning, the second part of the party was in the sky, heading north.
Yuffie screamed in Cid's ears as they took off, Vincent gripping hard onto the sides of the plane as Yuffie bounced on his lap. He was forced to sit with Yuffie, behind Cid, as they became airborne. Cait Sith was stuffed into the storage compartment, currently turned off. The red wolf was curled up in tight ball near Vincent's boots.
Cid let loose with a string of profanity load enough to be heard over the engine as he flew the plane into the cloud, Gongaga disappearing below them, "Stop the damn screaming!" he shouted again, shutting up Yuffie.
Vincent rubbed his claw across his face wondering why in the world the girl had to tag along. He remembered the small argument where Barret and Tifa flatly refused to have Yuffie stay behind with them, pointing out she would be useful going with Cid and Vincent's party. He lowered his head in exasperation as the wind whipped his hair about.
"Ooo…" Yuffie pointed to a flock of geese flying by the plane. Vincent looked up and noticed too. Yuffie was sitting comfortably in his lap, light enough to not be bothersome. He realized he didn't mind as long the girl wasn't screaming or bouncing too much.
The flight wasn't very long as the land whizzed by them below, they soon passed over Nibelheim and Rocket Town toward the northern ocean.
"Brr! It's getting colder!" Yuffie whined slightly, Red was snoozing on the floor, not caring about anything in the world.
"There's a sweater in my bag somewhere back there." Cid replied.
Vincent was glad the back seat of the plane was somewhat roomy yet with only enough room for him to fill up the seat with couple of packs wedged in beside him. He dug though the one with Highwind logo on it, he pulled out a large, old light blue knitted sweater. "Here," He then helped Yuffie put it on.
She beamed as she wrapped the large sweater around her; it went down to her knees, covering practically all of her body. She giggled and settled back into Vincent's chest, curling up, "Thanks!"
Vincent watched the passing clouds and the ocean below them. It was getting chiller but he didn't mind. The weight on in his lap shifted as Yuffie's head started to burrow into his neck, murmuring about Da Chao.
He glanced down to find the girl fast asleep in his arms, snuggling against his deep crimson cloak, his eyebrow rising.
Cid pointed below, "There, we're going to land now. That's the Bone Village." The Tiny Bronco circled the sky a couple of times before it landed on the grassy land outside the vast blue-green forest.
The pilot jumped out as the engine died and he went to the storage compartment, pulling Mog and the cat out, along with few other things. Nanaki slipped out quickly and as nimbly as he could, sniffing around and disappeared behind a bush, apparently to do his business.
"Wake up, we're here." The sniper gently shook the girl. He watched her eyes flutter open to reveal silver hazel orbs.
"Where?" She asked between yawn, stretching as she looked around.
"Bone Village is not far from here. Get up." He replied, gently pushing her off his lap.
"Oh." She stood up and stumbled out of the plane, only to crash onto the ground with a yelp.
Cid shook his head and lit a new cigarette. "Come on, kid." He threw her a pack and started off to the forest that lay before them in the crook of the mountain.
The teenage stood up and wobbled. She cursed under her breath and shook her left leg several times, and then she quickly went after the rest of the team, shouting at them to wait for her.
Cid mumbled as he glanced back, noticing that she was limping slightly, "Come on, we've got no time. We have to find Aeris and the way to the Ancient City."
Yuffie gave him a scowl, "Whatever!"
Cid frowned and continued to walk ahead.
They entered the forest and found it eerily quiet. They quickly made their way to the Bone Village, running into no troubles at all. They found several people there, digging and going around the site.
"Welcome to Bone Village, a town for nature lovers." A man stood up and greeted them, "What do you want?" He asked as he wiped his hands with a rag he pulled out of his pocket.
Yuffie shrugged, leaving to the two other men to talk to the archeologist, she trailed away, poking around. Nanaki sat behind them, keeping an eye on her. Vincent turned his head and saw that Yuffie was being watched, content at that he turned back to help Cid again.
"You guys know anything about the City of the Ancients?" Cid asked as he flicked his cigarette away.
The man's face lit up, "City of the Ancients? Oh, you must mean the Forgotten City."
Cid's brow rose, "So, is there a way to get to it?"
The man smiled, "Oh yeah." He turned and pointed to a dark cavern, "That's the entrance to the Sleeping Forest. You will need a Lunar Harp to get in. A pretty woman came by and got herself a Lunar Harp, and she went right in."
Yuffie poked her head up from one of the pit she was kneeling beside, "Aeris?"
The man shrugged, "Pretty woman with green eyes, pink dress and a staff, I believe that's her name, yeah." The man replied back as he busily looked around, as if he were looking for something, he went over to a table with cluttered things and pulled up an old paper, "Ah, here it is. The map, there's another Lunar Harp around here."
Cid scratched his head, "Why would we need it?"
"You use it to awaken the Sleeping Forest and it will open up the path for you to the Forgotten City, or else, you won't make it, you'd get yourself lost in the forest and never find your way out."
"Oh… I guess we will need it."
The man folded the map, "Yeah, you guys after something?"
The sniper narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Oh, that girl and a man, not long before her, came though. I assumed you all were after something."
"Shit! We're too late!" Cid cursed.
"Look! A pretty harp!" Yuffie exclaimed, drawing attention, she was near a site not far from the entrance, holding a dusted but golden harp in her hands.
Cid grinned, "Guess she's useful after all. We'll be back in a while. Thank you."
Vincent motioned for Yuffie to come along, "Come on, and bring that harp with you." She bounced along and went after them, holding the harp in her hands as they left the site. The man shook his head and went back to work.
The small party returned to where the plane sat, Cait Sith was waiting for them, he had set up the camp nearby, "Hey, hey!" The mog bounced as the cat on the top waved.
"We got it. We got the key to get through the Sleeping Forest." Vincent approached the cat and sat on the ground near the fire pit. Cid and Yuffie joined his side. Yuffie held the harp up, wiping away the dirt and played a few notes.
"Wonderful! Cloud has just woken up and they're on their way. Now we wait for them to come."
"That's good news, but we have bad news too." The sniper announced.
Cid snorted as he fiddled with his cigarette pack, "Yeah, Aeris got here before we did and," he cursed then and sighed, "Sephiroth."
The black cat gasped, "Oh no!" Then he blanked out.
Cid frowned, "Hey!" He bopped the cat on the head and got no reply, "Oh well."
Yuffie stood up, still clad in Cid's blue sweater, leaving the harp on the ground, "Oh, I gotta go… you know…" She was hopping from foot to foot.
Cid waved his arm, "Go ahead." Yuffie gave him a goofy grin and sprinted off to the nearby bushes in the forest.
The pilot took the harp and stuffed it in a pack, "Can't be too careful. How long do you think it'll be before they get here?" He asked as he tied the pack closed.
Vincent shrugged as he inspected his revolvers, "Not sure, maybe early this evening or at the latest, tomorrow morning."
Cid shrugged, "Good."
Their heads snapped up to hear Yuffie scream in the forest, this time it wasn't her usual scream of glee, this was the one that sent chills down their spines.
Nanaki bristled, "Something's wrong." He sniffed the air, "Bandersnatches." He sprinted off to where Yuffie had disappeared.
Cid cursed and stumbled, grabbing his javelin and took off as well, Vincent wasn't far behind, his Silver Rifle ready. They found her, trapped in a corner between a tree and a rock with no way to escape as a large deformed Bandersnatch loomed over her, ready to maul or kill her.
"Shit!" Cid drawled, eyes wide at the several deformed Bandersnatches emerged from the forest and surrounded them.
Nanaki growled, his tail twitching, "Something's wrong, they're deformed, they also reek real bad, almost like decayed corpses."
Vincent's red eyes narrowed as he sensed something, "This is not good, and I feel evil from them."
The red wolf snarled as he took a sniff, "The smell, I've smelled it before… Jenova!"
Cid yelped as a deformed creature leapt on him. His javelin, the Trident was ready and buried itself deep in the chest of the monster killing it instantly, the corpse falling to the ground, turning into dust.
Vincent frowned, that was only a small one. He turned to the leader, a huge one that was still going after Yuffie. He raised his revolver and shot several times at a few of them as they attempted to move in. They recoiled, wounded and greatly enraged.
"Yuffie, have you got some Materia on you?" He called over to the girl lying on the ground, clutching her leg. He winced as he noticed that her leg was twisted under her in odd angle, and broken at the ankle.
"Yeah, I got few." She stuttered, tears streaming down her face. The leader had turned away from her, focusing on the newer threats the men and the wolf posed. She dug into her pocket and pulled them out, "I got Advanced Fire, Moderate Cure and Haste."
Cid slashed at few of the creatures, "Dammit! Use some of them! Especially Haste! Now!"
Yuffie whimpered as she nodded, she held the orbs in her hands and murmuring the spell, casting Haste on all three fighters, making their speed increase, giving them the advantage over several Bandersnatches.
Cid felt adrenaline rushing though his blood and grinned, he always liked the feeling. He also felt his strength growing; it was time to have fun! He reached into his jacked and pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it with the cigarette between his lips, "Here we go!" The dynamite whizzed toward the group of smaller Bandersnatches behind the bigger ones. The explosion blew them into the air, ripping them apart.
Vincent glared at the large one, "Yuffie, use the Cure on yourself."
Yuffie stared back, horrorstricken, "Can't" She shouted, "It's no good!"
Vincent frowned, confused. Her leg was broken in several places; it had to be very painful for her. He drew back as he placed his gun into the holder by his side; he then drew his hand and claws together, to cast the spell, "Fire!" He shouted and the flame shot out of the ground, enveloping the large Bandersnatch.
Cid went to Yuffie's side as the Bandersnatches grew fewer and weaker as Nanaki and Vincent finished them off, "Hey kid, you alright?"
Yuffie hiccupped and nodded, "Yeah."
The pilot looked at her leg and winced, "Ouch, that doesn't look like it. Your leg's totally broken. Why didn't you cure yourself?"
Yuffie shook her head and cried a bit more, "No. Oh man! How can I get another one? They're expensive!"
Cid sat back confused, "What?"
Vincent joined them, looking on, "What do you mean?"
Nanaki whuffed as he slithered to their side, "I'm going back to camp." He left then.
Yuffie reached down to her badly damaged left leg, fiddling with the metal band around her thigh causing several clicks. She pushed the band off her leg, as well the entire leg.
"Prosthetic leg." Vincent realized as he watched her.
Cid's jaw fell, "Damn… why didn't you tell us?"
Yuffie's face contorted in anger, "Why should I? If you guys knew, you wouldn't let me go on this mission."
Cid slumped and shook his head, "Geez and all those times…"
Vincent kneeled, taking the leg from Yuffie to investigate it, "Interesting. Light material." He carefully took the shoes and the stocking off, and then slid the netted stocking that covered the entire leg. The foot had been broken clean off the leg and the knee had been twisted, beyond any capability of fixing it. "The damage is too great, we can fix it but it wouldn't work as before." He saw that the leg were also robotic, to mimic a real leg.
Yuffie slumped back down on the tree and sighed. Cid looked up at her, "How did this happen?"
Her hazel eyes gazed to the sky, "I was young and stupid. Maybe still stupid now. Remember Da Chao?" They did certainly remembered Da Chao, a large mountainous rock with all kinds figures carved into its face. "There was this cave that I always loved to explore. One time, a cave-in happened; I got stuck under a big boulder that crushed my leg. They had to cut my leg off to get me out."
The men winced, Cid went out to her, "Geez, I'm sorry."
Yuffie snorted, "Don't be. I've been fine with that leg until now. Didn't want anyone to know." She winced and rubbed the nub of her leg where it had been cut off. "Still hurts remembering."
The sniper looked up, "You need something for it?"
"Yah, painkiller helped. Ran out of it recently after Wutai, wasn't able to stock up after that."
Vincent stood up, "I got some, and it's in my pack."
Cid looked up, "You?"
The sniper drew out his golden claw, "This."
"Oh." Cid replied as he picked the girl up and they returned to camp. After settling the girl down and giving her some painkiller, Cid and Vincent went to the plane where Cait Sith stood, explained to him what happened. Nanaki remained behind with Yuffie.
"She doesn't want the others to know." Vincent noted, crossing his arms.
Cid rubbed his chin, "How can we find another leg for her soon?"
The cat who was fiddling with a broken foot, "I know this material and where it's made. You have to special order it from Midgar. Here." He flipped the foot to expose the bottom. There was a worn ShinRa logo on it.
"Shit." Cid muttered as he took the leg, "And we know someone in Midgar." He looked down at the cat.
"Yep, yep!" The cat replied, "Let me handle it." He took the foot and inspected the bottom, memorizing the serial number and the size, "All right, one coming your way!"
The cat jumped off the moogle and watched as the pink blob flew off with its tiny red bat-like wings.
Cid chuckled as he ran his fingers though his hair, "Special delivery for the girl. Hey, can ya get more painkillers or something like that?"
The cat nodded, "Also coming too."
The trio returned to the campfire and found Yuffie already fast asleep in her sleeping bag. Cid watched the girl with concern on his face as he scratched his chin, "Poor kid, having to go though so much. She only had us to look after her now."
Vincent swept his unruly ebony hair out of his face with his claw, "Yes, she's an amazingly tough young woman. I am quiet impressed."
Cid grinned as he shook his head, "Me too." Soon, they all went to sleep with Nanaki taking the watch first.
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"Papa! Let's go flying!" A young boy with wild dirty blond hair and shining green eyes, beamed with excitement at his father.
"All right, gimme a minute to get ready, Cody." A young Cid Highwind smiled down at the boy and ruffled his hair. He took his jacket and tossed Cody a miniature version of it.
They both strolled out of their small home into the town, people around greeting them as they passed. They were very much father and son, dressed exactly the same, head to toe. Cody had light tan cargo pants tucked into brown boots and white shirt under blue pilot jacket just like his father. He even had miniature pilot goggles that adorned his forehead.
Cid grinned at his young son, happy that his son shared similar taste in flying that they both enjoyed immensely. He had never regretted having a son, even though he had been abandoned by his own mother. His mother was heartless, leaving her son in the care of ShinRa. She had never truly cared or even thought about the life of a family or anything else, only her work.
Cody shouted with glee as they approached their small plane, Lil' Highwind, a small light blue plane with two seats. Cid helped Cody into the back pilot seat and buckled him down.
"Yay! When will you teach me how to fly, Papa?" The boy asked.
Cid looked up and humm-ed, "Hm, when you are old enough."
"When's that?"
"Cody, how old are you?"
"Eleven, you know that! I'll be twelve soon!"
Cid grinned and ruffled his son's hair, "Soon. I'll take you out and teach you how to fly like me on your birthday!"
Cody cheered.
Cid loved his son so much that he couldn't think of what would happen the next minutes or what tomorrow would be, he was always enjoying every minute with him. There wasn't time when he was angry at him. Sure, Cody may be wild but that was typical for any normal boy like him.
He went around and pushed on the propeller to start it up and hopped into the pilot's seat, cranking the engine up. The engine purred smoothly and the plane started to push forward on the grassy runaway. Cody cheered loudly; he loved flying with his father all the time and couldn't wait to be able to fly on his own.
The small blue plane lifted itself of the ground, gaining altitude toward the clear blue sky. Cid grinned as he heard his son's shout of joy. He piloted the plane though the light cloud-speckled sky and did double loop-de-loop, Cody's shout ringing gleefully in his ears.
He looked back to see his son's toothy grin, a gap where his tooth was knocked out recently, "Hey, want another one?"
"Yea!" The boy shouted.
He laughed and repeated the stunt. They continued to zoom around in the perfect sky. Cid didn't hear a spark going off inside the engine until it sputtered.
Cody leaned forward, still restrained in the seat, "What's wrong, Papa?"
Cid shook his head, "Don't worry about it. We're going to land now."
The boy smiled, "All right." He had absolute trust in his father.
Cid grinned at the confident in his son's voice and checked the meter of the gas and realized they were running low and it was going down quickly. Maybe the tank was leaking; he shrugged and maneuvered the plane around to return to the town. They were high over the Nibel Mountain range, it was a dangerous ground but neither of them cared and loved flying over it, though now the jagged mountains twisted eerily below them.
The engine started to sputter loudly and the propeller cranked to stop.
"Papa? What's wrong?" Cody struggled to lean forward. This had happened before and his father had made a good landing, he wasn't afraid though he was concerned.
"Sit back, Cody." Cid commanded as he flicked some switches, attempting to jumpstart the engine.
Cody didn't listen; he quietly unbuckled his belt and leaned forward to watch his father, thinking that he could learn something in this situation of trouble. How wrong he was.
The nose of the plane started to tilt downward, gaining speed as they lost altitude. Cody's face became ashen white as he stared ahead; looming toward them was the jagged mountain valley. He couldn't get his voice to work.
Cid cursed and struggled against the stick, trying to level his plane back, managing to level off some, slowing down the fall. He cursed again as he realized where they were going to crash. The place wasn't good, a very narrow gorge full of debris.
The plane wings ripped as it hit the wall of the valley as it went down, crashing and tumbling. Cid knew he had taught Cody well to duck his head and wait until the end of the crash landing. He ducked his own head and waited.
The plane finally stopped at last. He looked up, only a few scratches and bruises marred his skin but he didn't care about those, all he wanted to know was that Cody was all right because he had not heard anything.
The small blue plane was practically torn apart, leaving the wingless body shred and torn. Cid turned around to search for Cody, hoping he was still crouching in the position he had taught him.
His heart caught in his throat, he went sheet white, his breath shortened as he struggled to gasp, and the seat was empty. "C… c… Co-cody?" There was splatter of blood staining the chair. He jumped out of the plane, nearly falling down. His legs wouldn't work and he was shaking violently.
"Cody? Cody!" He called out and regained his voice, "Answer me! Co-od-y-y!" His voice echoed throughout the valley, almost taunting him.
He scrambled forward, finding parts of the plane here and there. Then he stopped, gasping. A shoe, Cody's shoe.
He picked it up and climbed over the rocks. "Cody!" He screamed on top of his lungs, his heart contracting in terrible pain.
His son was lying among the rocks, with part of the wing of the plane, bloodied and broken. The boy's eyes didn't open.
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"Cid!" Yuffie shouted as she shook the man to wake him up. She had taken her turn on watch after Nanaki went to sleep. It was near morning.
Cid was thrashing around in his sleeping bag, murmuring something. Sweat drenched his hair and brow.
Yuffie jerked back as Cid shot up, crying. She stared in shock, swallowing hard. "Cid?"
Cid's shoulders shook violently as he covered his face in his hands, "No, no… Cody…"
Yuffie realized that Cid didn't notice he was awake. She crept over and touched his shoulder, "Cid?"
His head snapped up, a wild look in his red-rimmed eyes, choking when he realized, "Yuffie… oh shit."
"You were having a nightmare." Yuffie explained.
"Oh."
"Here…" She handed him a piece of cloth, "You were murmuring in your sleep, I had to wake you up it sounded bad."
Cid shook his head as he took the cloth to wipe his face, "Wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory."
Yuffie moved herself to face Cid, sitting on his sleeping bag, "Was it about…" She paused and sighed, "Cody?"
Cid's eyes became deep with sorrow and regret.
"You can tell me."
Cid sighed and blew his nose nosily, "I would rather not to."
Yuffie sighed, "He was your son, wasn't he?"
He looked up, "How did you know?"
The girl looked away, ashamed, "I, I sorta heard you and Vinny talking the other day."
Cid sighed again and dropped the soiled cloth to the ground beside him. There was no need to get angry at the girl, "Yes. He was my son. He died sixteen years ago in a plane crash."
"Oh man… I… am sorry to hear that." She looked down at her fidgeting fingers, "It is true that I remind you of Cody?" She asked sadly.
A small sad smile came to his lips, "In a way, you do." His eyes were becoming blurry again, "I see Cody in your eyes. You have the same laugher in your souls." His voice cracked and a sob escaped his lips.
"Oh."
Cid's grey eyes met with her hazel eyes, "Don't be sorry. That was a long time ago."
"Thank you." She whispered.
Cid cocked his head to the side, "What for?"
She looked up with a small shy smile; tears were streamed down her cheeks. "My father wasn't always the perfect father. Heck, he never was a father to me; he was too busy with Wutai. You acted like one, in a way. I know I may be wild and immature, even crazy sometimes… Yeah, annoying too."
Cid laughed softly, his laugh wasn't smooth or deep, but rough, "When I saw Cody in you…" Sadness veiled his voice, "I thought it was fate that I had another chance. At Wutai, I realized everything about you and how you were treated there. There is no way a child should be treated like that."
Yuffie sniffed, "Really?"
Cid frowned as his voice hardened, "That's damn right! Every kid deserves some parent's lovin'. That's how they turn out to be good."
Yuffie giggled, "Still, thank you."
Cid shrugged as he gave her a rough hug, "Aw, go on to bed, I'll take watch." He watched Yuffie nod, crawl back to her bag and slip inside. She was still missing a leg and still wearing the sweater.
He smiled as he leaned back against the log that was near his pillow. He chunked a cigarette out of the pack and cursed slightly as he realized he was out. He would have to buy some more soon.
"Good night, Ciddy-papa." He glanced over to the teenager, swallowing hard as he heard her soft voice before she drifted off to sleep.
"Night, Yuffie." He murmured, wondering how he had gotten into this.
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"Cid's on the way north now. Good thing we caught on what's happening next."
"Dammit! Of all da times, she took off after he conked out!"
The voices were blurry but they were becoming clearer to her, she recognized the two whom they belonged to.
"Ugg…" She groaned, trying to open her eyes. They were caked shut; she reached up to rub them and was pleased to find that her hands were still gloved for some reason.
"You looked like you was havin' a nightmare. How are you feeling?" The gruff voice could only belong to Barret, who was looking down at her from next to the bed.
"What happened?" Sitting up, she could only remember the struggle and part of the dream.
Tifa leaned down, exposing pretty much good part of her chest, "You went out."
Cloud looked around and saw that she was in a room somewhere, "Where are we?"
We're back in Gongaga. The nice couple you talked to before let us stay here."
"Oh."
"You know, Cloud, Aeris is gone."
She snapped her head up from the bed, "The City of the Ancients, Aeris is heading there."
Barret growled, "By herself? Why did she go by herself? Hey, we're goin' too!"
"Only the Ancients, only Aeris can save us from Meteor…" Cloud murmured.
Tifa stood back up, disgruntled that her attempt went unnoticed, "Then we must go, what we will do if something happens to Aeris? If Sephiroth finds her, she's in trouble."
Remembering the cold voice, Cloud swallowed hard and painfully, "Sephiroth already knows." She assumed the rest had forgotten that it wasn't really the real Sephiroth she was speaking about.
Barret shook his fist, "Hey! Why are you still sittin' around?"
Tifa reached to grab Cloud's hand to help 'him' out of the bed, "Let's go Cloud, the rest are already up at the Bone Village, north of here. We heard that's the place where you can find the City of the Ancients."
Cloud got out of the bed and pulled out of Tifa's strong grip, "No. I might lose it again. If Sephiroth comes near me… I might…"
Barret grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her violently, "Yeah, damming! It's cuz of you that Sephiroth got the Black Materia in the first place. It's your damn fault!"
Cloud was jerked out of his grip and stumbled back to the wall, still groggy and now shaken. "My fault?" She very much wanted to slug the man again, she had done it before and she could do it again.
"I know you got problems…" The black man replied softly, almost pitiful, "Hell, we all do. But, you don't even understand yourself."
She narrowed her eyes, she understood but they didn't. There was some that she didn't understand because her memories were as holey as Swiss cheese with things making sense at one time and not the next. Even she has no clue why there was a part of her that desired to obey the every wish of Dark Sephiroth and another part that hated him with a passion. She was sure she knew who she was and that her destiny would come clear to her soon.
Barret continued, "But you gotta understand that there ain't no getting off this train, we're on, till to the end of the line."
Yes, they had gone too far, but not far enough to get to the end yet.
"Cloud, we came this far… Aren't you even going to settle up with Sephiroth?"
Cloud clutched her head as she felt a headache coming on, "No…" Fear rose inside her, it was a terrible feeling and she was feeling for the first time, "I am afraid… if this keeps up, I may go crazy!" She looked up with her frantic blue eyes to the two before her, "I am afraid…" She huddled down to the floor, rocking back and forth.
Barret stared in shock and then shook his head, shaking it off with rage coming on, "Just a damn jackass, that's what you are… Yo, jes' think about it… how many people in this world ya think really understand themselves?"
Cloud looked up, a small smile struggled on her lip, the man may be tough and stubborn-minded about some things, but he could be caring when he tried, even understanding.
"People get depressed in life because they don't know what's up. But, they go on living. They don't run away… isn't that how it is?" He asked his black eyes turned almost soft with brownness as he looked down. Then they became hard as he turned around leaving the room.
"Cloud… you'll come with us, right? I believe in you." Tifa smiled before she left.
Cloud sat with her head in her hands, "What am I supposed to do? Pull out of here? Pull out? To where?" She asked herself, completely confused on what she wanted to do. She stood up, looking to the ceiling, "He wouldn't want me to. I still have to find him."
Barret and Tifa had not gone far; they were in the next room, talking softly to each other. Tifa had her hand to the door, "Cloud…"
"Wait a min, Tifa. Give him a little time. He has to decide this on his own. I'm sure he'll get back on his feet, back to his spiky self." Barret laid a comforting hand on Tifa's shoulder, squeezing slightly.
She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears, "Yeah…"
"You believe in Cloud… right?" He asked.
Tifa nodded, "I really do and hope I always will."
"Then, hold onto that." He let go of her shoulder and left her alone.
After nearly an hour since she woke up she got up and left the house to find Barret and Tifa waiting for her outside. They had acquired some sort of vehicle similar to the buggy they had left in Rocket Town, but it was smaller and yellow.
Tifa looked up and smiled when she spotted the blonde, "Cloud."
"Hey, how are you?" Barret even smiled, "I just wanna know, which is it gonna be? You wanna go after Sephiroth? Or not? Either way, you stay around here about all you can do is worry about it. Even if you do go nuts again when you see him, if it happens, it happens. I'll go upside your spiky head and bring you back to normal!" His words were harsh but they were friendly concern hidden behind them.
"Cloud, it will be all right. We're all with you." Tifa assured 'him'.
Cloud opened her mouth but Barret interrupted her, "If it happens, it happens. Don't worry 'bout it."
Cloud leaned back on her heels and crossed her arms, "You're right. He's right, isn't he?" She looked over to Tifa.
Tifa nodded, "Come on, let's go and find Aeris."
Cloud nodded and hopped into the buggy, getting into the driver seat and smirking at Barret, causing him to grumble.
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An hour later, the twilight of dawn was peeking over the horizon, casting its glow upon the northern land. Cid had been awake since his nightmarish dream, wandering around the camp, stretching and doing some of his exercise, getting ready for the day.
He peered to the sky and saw a blurry pink spot coming their way; he chuckled as he saw the flapping of the red wings, making the spot visible against the pinkness of the morning dawn.
"About damn time!" He called out, rousing the others awake.
The cat hopped to his side and tugged on his green cargo pants, "Delivery arrived!"
"And just in time!" Cid retorted.
The moogle landed with several bounces and handed over a package to Cid. As he took it, he unwrapped it to reveal a prosthetic leg exactly like Yuffie's old one, and couple of bottles of painkiller as well. Cid nearly cried when he found a package of cigarette packs for himself.
"Hey-y!"
The cat grinned, "Thought you wanted some. Can't live without them."
Cid peered at the cat, "You smoke too?"
The black feline head bobbed, "Yeah. Calms the nerves."
Cid grinned and went to wake Yuffie lightly. Vincent had gotten up when Cid had announced the Mog's arrival and went off into the forest for a while. The wolf was nosing around on the beach, not far from the camp.
Yuffie muttered and rolled onto her back, her eyes cracking open to see something blurry in her face. As her sight cleared, she yelped and skittered back as she saw the flesh of a foot.
Cid laughed, holding her new leg over her face, "It arrived!"
Yuffie rubbed her eyes, "Thanks." She took it and started to dress it up with her netted stocking and regular stock, then finally tying the shoe on, "Just right too! Thanks Cait!" She grinned at the cat.
The cat waved its paw, "No worries, it was easy to get anyway. There's plenty lying around in ShinRa hospice floor at the Headquarters. They manufacture them here too."
"At least you won't tell Cloud about this, or the others? They'll kick me out for good!" She whined, her eyes pleading.
Cid shrugged, "We won't tell. You will have to yourself, when you're ready." He thought about the others, he knew the other members had their own secrets.
"Thanks!" The teenage girl stood up and wriggled the new leg, getting a feel for it and work out any kinks. Soon enough, it started to move fluidly like a real leg, as it should, "Great, it worked."
Vincent returned to the camp, "Looks like you're going to be standing after all." He smirked as he saw that the others were startled at his appearance. Cid grumbled something about spookiness under his breath. Yuffie shook it off and laughed, hopping around the campground with energy.
"Just letting you all know they're coming." The sniper turned to the forest south of them, as he did; a yellowish buggy rumbled though the forest, greeting them all with loud clank as it stopped before the campground.
Nanaki returned and sat beside Vincent, watching on. Barret climbed out, waving at them, "Hey! We're here!"
Tifa climbed out with Cloud in tow, "Cool buggy!" She gushed as she waved, "It's even got boat feature too."
Cid smirked, leaning on his javelin, "So, that's how you guys got here?" He noted Cloud appeared thinner, paler and with dark circles under 'his' blue eyes.
He wasn't the only one, Vincent noticed, "Aeris and Sephiroth have gotten to the City of the Ancients already. We better get going if we want to catch up with them."
Cloud's hands balled up into tight fist as she nodded in affirmation.
"All right, let's go!" Tifa clapped her hands together, "Got what we needed to get in?"
Cid raised the bag that held the harp, "Right here, someone will have to play it, I ain't a soothing player."
"A harp?" Barret took the bag and pulled it out; it was tiny compared to his massive form. "Can't play either."
Vincent shook his head, "I only do flutes." Then everyone gave him a skeptical look. "I do."
"I will." Cloud's voice broke through their thoughts, surprising everyone. She took the harp from the black man and tucked it under her arm, "Let's go." The party left the yellow buggy with the Tiny Bronco and entered the forest, heading to Bone Village.
As they reached the other end of the cavern from Bone Village, and entered the Sleeping Forest, Cloud recognized the place from her dream; it was beautiful, silent and mystical, with mist floating about the ground. No one dared to speak, they were in awe. They stood back as Cloud stepped forward, finding a spot and taking the harp in her hands. She slipped the brown gloves off, tucked them into her pockets and with the black ones on she started to pluck few notes, testing them out.
Cloud closed her eyes, stroking the strings of the harp and the music floated around her, an ethereal melody, tinged with sorrow.
Vincent watched Cloud play, pondering how 'he' appeared quiet and emotionally withdrawn since 'he' arrived earlier. He noted the blue eyes were darkened with something he recognized, sorrow with regret.
As the song played it seemed to speak from her very soul, sad, melodic and beautiful, reminding the others of their own sad pasts. Cid's jaw was set tightly, memories of Cody returned to him. Tifa's crimson brown eyes were downcast, memories of her past to the night when she and Cloud talked together at the well under the starry sky in Nibelheim. Barret's mind wandered to Marlene, wondering if she was all right, missing her.
The song ended, "The forest's awake." Cloud's soft voice broke them out of their musing. "Come on." She turned and continued down the path that had appeared when the music ended.
They all followed the path in silence except for Yuffie who appeared to be chasing something off the side of the path. She finally shouted in glee, "Gotcha!" It was a red summon Materia, "Ooh! Kujata!" She tossed the Materia to the sniper who caught it deftly and tucked it in the pack with the others.
The forest thinned, revealing a city in the valley. It was glowing in pastel and ivory colors, emitting peaceful idyllic aura. The houses scattered around the city were made out of coral, shells and oceanic materials, as if the city belonged undersea.
They traveled down the hill into the city, exploring the place, breath-taken. Cid rubbed his neck as he put the cigarette out before entering the city grounds; he felt it wasn't right to smoke among the ghostly pale city of the Ancients.
He murmured, "Yeah, looks comfy, it'd be nice to live here." They were exploring a large house near the center of the city. It was fully furnished, enough for everyone to remain overnight if they wanted to.
Cloud glanced around, "I feel it." She whispered. Everyone watched 'him' closely, unsure if 'he' would have the scene again. She turned to them, "Aeris is here, so is Sephiroth."
Cid gawked, "Wa, wa-wait minute, you're serious?"
"But, how can you tell?" Tifa asked, puzzled.
Cloud sighed, "Remember the Temple? This false Sephiroth made connection with me, and I can feel him. Aeris, I can't explain why I can feel her. It's in my soul." She said somberly, her hand over her chest.
Cid twirled his javelin, "Shit, Cloud, we can't just be sittin' on our asses."
Barret gave a curt nod, "Yo, he's right."
"Right, let's hurry and find Aeris."
The group left the house and followed the blond fighter though the city, making their way deeper, turning north and taking a path that took them out of the city and into crystalline forest beyond the city. The trees were white and leafless; they glowed ethereally, giving heavenly lights in the dark forest.
Cloud paused, "Aeris' voice, she's there." She pointed ahead deeper into the crystalline forest and they approached a mirror-like pool with a large building, shaped like a conch shell swirling into the sky. It was colored like mother of pearl, shimmering in the darkness of the forest, glowing with ethereal light much like the trees.
With unexpected burst of energy, Cloud ran ahead, around the lake and into the building. The others followed behind as they trailed into the long glassy stairway to the top where it led into another plane, a crystalline arena. The Avalanchers' jaws dropped as they entered the arena, the place took their breath away, their senses and emotions overwhelmed with peacefulness and serenity.
However Cloud was the only one unaffected by the beauty of the place, her attention were focused to the center of the serene place, a dais raised in the center surrounded by mystical water. Aeris knelt there, kneeling in prayer, unaware of the others.
Cloud made her way around the area, searching for the way to get to the shrine and found the bluish green water surrounded it. She found columns that formed steps for her to get across. She leaped nimbly from one column to another until she reached the center and took the last steps up to the shrine.
Aeris knelt on the glass platform, her hands clasped together in prayer. Her eyes were closed with peaceful contended look on her face.
Cloud's senses started to go haywire, sensing danger. Her vision flashed red and she shook her head, trying to clear up the red haze that obscured her vision as she reached for her sword.
Aeris kept praying as if she was unaware of anything around her.
Cloud's vision was still red, her hands clenched tightly around the sword handle as she lifted it higher, held ready to slash the praying girl. She struggled internally, realizing she wasn't in control of her body.
From the sidelines Cid realized what would happen and shouted, "Cloud!"
"Stop!" Tifa gasped; able to see from her vantage point the unnatural redness that had taken over Cloud's blue eyes and realized 'he' was being possessed.
Struggling, she held onto the sword, blinking as the redness faded away, revealing her blue eyes. She stepped back, feeling the control over her slip away, dropping her sword fell to her side. "Uh, what are you trying to make me do?" She groaned as she held her head with her free hand.
Aeris' eyes opened to reveal her sweet green eyes, she looked up and saw Cloud before her and smiled. The surrounding area swirled slightly in glitters and pale light. Cloud glanced up as she saw shadows. It came down falling from above.
It was Dark Sephiroth, with his Masamune drawn, positioned downward straight for Aeris. Cloud gasped inaudibly as she watched Aeris, she didn't move or anything, but knelt there with an odd smile on her face. The next thing she knew, Sephiroth landed with the sword slicing though the last Cetra's back.
Cloud felt like everything slowed down, her heart pounded like a beating war drum in her ears. She looked up to meet with Sephiroth's green eyes, glowing with malice, meeting with her shocked sapphire eyes. His mouth quirked an evil smile.
He drew out the sword; it made a loud grating noise that echoed in everyone's ears. As if in slow motion, Aeris fell forward; her eyes still wide open in shock, but the smile never left her face. When she fell to the ground, her eyes closed at last, her hair swayed and slumped against her back, free from the ribbon, a small pearly white object bounced on the glass platform and down the steps into the water's depths, slightly glowing a pale green and disappearing into the darkness of the abyss.
Cloud stared up at Sephiroth after watching Aeris fall. He raised his arms up, looking skyward.
Finally the reality hit her, "Aeris…"
His cold voice reached her ears, "Do not worry, soon the girl will become part of the Planet's energy. All that is left to go north, the Promised Land waits for me over the snowy fields. I will become a new being by uniting with the Planet, as will this girl…" He looked to Cloud, "I will wait for you there. Side by side, we will rise above, koibito." He chuckled at her horrorstricken face.
Cloud saw red again with her anger, "Shut up…" She growled, her voice cracked, "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing!" She reached down to pick up Aeris' head into her lap, "Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry…" Her voice in whisper, "Or get angry. What about us? What are we supposed to do? What about my pain?" She looked down, setting the russet haired girl's head back down on the glass. Her hands were shaking, her mouth had gone dry and her eyes stung badly.
Sephiroth knelt down to her, his hand caressing her cheek, "What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?" He mocked.
Confused, she looked up, not rejecting the soft familiar caress, but then she realized, staring into the jade eyes, they were unfamiliar, "No…" She whispered. Her heart broke once again, realizing this wasn't the Sephiroth she knew and loved.
He stood back up, laughing, "Stop acting as if you were sad. There's no need to act as though you are angry either." He rose in the air, glancing down at her, "Because, Cloud, you are…" He then disappeared in flash, leaving behind cold laugher in the air.
Cloud blinked and leapt away from the platform as someone, or something materialized from thin air. The voice echoed, "Because, you are simply a… puppet. You can break free, become powerful…"
Cloud stood back in battle readiness as Jenova-Life took form before them, similar to the one they encountered before but larger and cruder looking. Cid cursed along with Barret as the group jumped in to help.
They battled against Jenova-Life, casting all they had, fighting for their very life. Once Jenova-Life was defeated and vanished in black mist, they realized it had seemed so easy.
Cloud stepped back, her vision becoming hazy, "I am… a puppet?"
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The group of Avalanche stood at the edge of the mirror lake outside, in the tranquil crystalline forest. A few were gazing up to the sky while the others studied the stillness of the water. Yuffie sang a soft old tune from her homeland. Cid had his hand on the teenager's shoulder, watching the sky.
Tifa knelt next to Aeris who floated in the water. She placed a single flower the Cetra's folded hands. She winced as she felt her eyes sting, squeezing them shut as she got up and backed away from the water's edge.
Barret held his gun-arm to his chest, looking at the water as his mind wandered away and his memories swam. Vincent and Nanaki stood together, watching on as Cloud held Aeris' body in the water, keeping her afloat. The Cetra looked like if she was merely sleeping in a serene sleep, her clothes were slightly ripped where the sword had gone though her but there was no bloodstain, not one drop had spilled. The sword merely took her life.
Cloud carried the last of the Ancients toward the center of the pool, "I am so sorry…" She whispered.
'Don't be.' Her voice rang, 'All will be right at the end.' Cloud could feel her smile in her soul. She stepped back, letting Aeris go; she floated briefly before she sunk down into the abyss of the pool, her hair slowly fanning out beneath her, the serene water enveloping her as she descended to her final resting place.
w w w . y a s h o d o a . c o m / r o a d t o d a m a s c u s
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