Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The rest of their flight to the northern continent was quiet. No other Weapons showed up, and there also wasn't any sign of Shinra, which was an added bonus.

Cait reported that all was quiet in Shinra at the moment, with all the suits—including Rufus—at a loss of what to do. Their attempt to destroy Meteor had failed miserably. In Midgar, fear was swiftly turning to panic. The company was tied up just keeping the citizens in line to worry about anything else. It was unlikely that Shinra would try to come after them now, so they were free to do almost anything they wanted.

They parked the Highwind outside of the forest that led to Bone Village. Cait offered to lead the way, but they all remembered the cat's last attempt, and so they declined. They reached the village in good time and headed into the Sleeping Forest.

They had no choice but to walk the long trek through the forest. The Forgotten City lay deep within the mountains, at the end of a long, narrow path. With the Sleeping Forest and the rugged ground it was impossible for the Highwind to take them any nearer. If they had Chocobos the trek would have been easier, but they had no time to go out and catch one. With Meteor drawing ever closer, time was of the essence.

Red XIII stayed close to his grandfather during their long trek through the now awakened Sleeping Forest. He didn't say it out loud, but he was worried about Bugenhagen. In his youth, Bugenhagen must have made many journeys like this, and seen much of the world. But he was not so young now, and the hound feared for his health. Bugenhagen, though, would only scold him teasingly if he spoke up, and so the hound kept his worries to himself. His eyes, however, stayed on Bugenhagen.

The old man did not seem to be at all fazed by the long walk through the forest. In fact he felt energised, more than he had felt in a long time. He looked around at the Sleeping Forest with fascination, taking in every sight and sound, scent and touch. He was forming his own theories as to why the forest was able to 'go to sleep'; theories he shared quite willingly with the others. Every so often he would spot a plant or tree that he had not seen outside of his library and wander off to examine it. And, every so often, Cloud had to go after him and usher him along.

They came out of the Sleeping Forest and approached the Forgotten City. A sombre silence fell over the group as they neared it. Even Bugenhagen fell silent.

They entered the city.

Nothing had changed. The Forgotten City was exactly as it had been the day they first came here: that ill-fated day when Aeris lost her life to Sephiroth. There were the same broken down buildings, the same three paths leading into each part of the city. The left path went deeper into the city, while the right one led into the mountains. It was the central path that they took. This path led to the Forgotten City's last and biggest secret: the true entrance to the City of the Ancients.

As before, the entrance remained unchanged. The giant shell stood tall by the shore of the lake, surrounded by the same eerie, glowing trees. The lake's surface was perfectly still, for not a breath of wind blew in this place.

Though they tried not to look at it, their eyes were drawn to the water. One by one their heads turned and gazed into the shallow, crystal clear water. Their reflections gazed back at them, unwavering. In the middle of the lake the water became deeper and darker. It was there that Cloud had brought Aeris after her death. They all remembered those final moments when Cloud lowered her gently into the water to begin her journey back to the planet. It was the last they ever saw of her.

She had seemed so peaceful after her death. It was a cliché thought, but they had all truly felt as though Aeris had not died, but had simply fallen into a long sleep. Of course they knew that was not true. Aeris was dead, and there was no changing that fact. Her sleep was that of death, and her lively, smiling face was forever lost except in their memories of her. Those memories had all resurfaced now, as plain and clear as their reflections in the water.

Yet even in death, the Ancient appeared to have a level of influence over them. Remembering her, they could not be sad for long. The words and feelings that she had left behind… One by one the others smiled to themselves and turned their eyes back to the building.

The only one who didn't smile was Cloud. Unlike the others, he could not bring himself to smile when he thought of Aeris. All he could feel was the pain and the guilt her loss brought to him. He had been unable to save her—he would have killed her himself if the others had not stopped him. How could he smile in memory of her, when he was in part to blame for her death?

Would she ever forgive him?

Cloud tore his eyes away from the water. There would be time to think about that another time, after this was all over. Until then there were other things to think about. He focused his mind on these, and followed his friends into the building.

Unfortunately they were not able to reach the real City of the Ancients. The radiant blue staircase that led underground to the real city was no longer there. It had vanished, as though it had never existed. All that was left was the spiral slope leading up to, well, nothing. It was only Aeris's presence that had revealed the stairway before, and now that there were no Cetra left in the world, that doorway would remain sealed forever. Cloud wasn't too disappointed of that. At least this way, he told himself, the secrets of the Ancients would remain secret.

They left the giant shell and returned to the main city. For a while they wandered until they came upon something that they had missed during their first exploration of the city.

It was an audience chamber of sorts, quite expertly hidden behind one of the shell-like buildings that lay in ruins on the west side of the city. The chamber was carved into the side of the rising cliffs and had no roof; its entirety was left open to the elements. It rose in three tiers, with a stone staircase linking the upper and central tiers. The stairs leading to the lower tier had long since broken away. The shadow of the cliff blocked out most of the sunlight, and yet the chamber was filled with light. The light was coming from a pillar standing in the middle of the chamber, and it was here that Bugenhagen's eyes were drawn.

"This is…"

The pillar was about twenty-five feet high, as high as the platform of the upper tier. A large stone slab rested on the very top of the pillar, surrounded by a barrier of winding stone branches. Standing in the middle of the slab was a dais made of what looked like coral. Its branches curved and wound around the biggest crystal Cloud had ever seen, resting in the dais. It was this crystal that was emitting the light, filling the chamber with a cool, gentle light.

"Yes… exactly…"

Bugenhagen left Cloud and the others and floated forward. He passed over the edge of the upper platform and, as was his usual strange manner, floated high in the air and approached the glowing crystal. He came to a stop beside the wall of branches, peering through them to look at the crystal.

Cloud walked to the top of the staircase that led down to the central tier. He looked up at Bugenhagen. "Are you getting anything?" he asked. His voice seemed too loud for this room, breaking the calm silence.

Bugenhagen leaned forward, trying to peer through the branches. He spotted an opening on the other side, where the pillar was connected to the upper tiers by a sloping stone path. "…Give me a moment," the old man replied. He began to float around the perimeter of the pillar, heading for the opening. When he reached it he entered the barrier and moved close to the crystal.

With nothing left to do but wait, the companions separated. They settled in various places throughout the hall. Vincent and Cid kept watch at the chamber's entrance, talking together in low voices. Barret paced about impatiently along the central tier, unable to relax even though the city was completely silent. Yuffie sat down at the top of the stairs and played with a ball of materia absently, bored. Cait Sith sat near her and polished his megaphone vigorously.

Cloud walked slowly along the upper tier. His eyes scanned the chamber, taking it all in. The chamber itself was not that large—it would have struggled to hold even fifty people, unless they were all packed together. There were no seats and no doors, except for the darkened hollows carved into the walls of each tier. He guessed that the Forgotten City must have had a small population even in its prime, so long ago.

He turned his attention back to the centre of the room. Red XIII was sitting silently at the edge of the stone slab, watching as Bugenhagen worked his away around the dais, examining the crystal. Tifa stood on the edge of the path that connected the pillar to the upper tier, also watching. She looked up as she heard Cloud approach, and moved out of the way to allow him to pass.

As though sensing Cloud's presence behind him, Bugenhagen straightened and turned. "The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing," said the old man, stroking his beard. "The planet's in a crisis…" He shook his head sadly. "A crisis beyond human power or endless time. It says, when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy'."

"Holy?" asked Cloud. Behind him, the others shared glances with each other. One by one they shrugged or shook their heads. They didn't know anything, either.

"Holy… the ultimate white magic," explained Bugenhagen. "Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our best hope to save the planet from Meteor." The old man looked up at the sky. "If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear. Ho Ho Hoooo. Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear. Perhaps even ourselves."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Even us!" he asked in alarm. The others began to shift about uncomfortably, not liking the sound of that. They all kept their eyes on Bugenhagen, wide and fearful.

Bugenhagen stroked his beard again. "It is up to the planet to decide," he said simply. He then floated up above the crystal and looked around into the pale, worried faces of Cloud's companions. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all. Ho Ho Hoooo," he chucked. "I wonder which we humans are?"

Cloud lowered his head. If they did nothing… Meteor would collide with the planet and everything would be destroyed, including them. If they did as Bugenhagen suggested and summoned Holy… both Meteor and the Weapons would vanish, along with anything the planet decided would do it harm. Suppose the planet decided that it was better off without humans? If they summoned Holy, they could end up destroying themselves anyway. Was that a gamble really worth taking?

Cloud looked up at the sky. Meteor was only just visible over the cliffs. It had grown a little larger, he felt, since they left Cosmo Canyon. He thought back to Shinra's attempt to destroy Meteor. Even with all their technology and weapon advancement, they had been unable to destroy it. Perhaps the only option left to save them and the planet was to call forth Holy.

The more he thought about it, the more obvious the answer became. Holy was the only chance the planet had left for survival. Even if they were destroyed along with Meteor, at least the planet would be safe.

His thoughts went back to Aeris and recalled once more the last words she had spoken to him. Had she known about Holy? Was summoning Holy what she had planned to do to save the planet from Meteor? He started to wonder…

"Search for Holy…" he said finally. He looked up at Bugenhagen. "How do we do it?"

A small smile spread on Bugenhagen's face. The old man had known Cloud would make the right choice.

"Speak to the planet," he said to them. "Get the White Materia… This will bond the Planet to humans. Then speak to the planet. If our wish reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green."

The White Materia… As Cloud thought about it, Aeris's image returned to his mind. She was in the Sleeping Forest, running towards the Forgotten City. Her hair, tied in a pink ribbon, swung behind her. And there, nestled in the ribbon, was that tiny ball of 'useless' materia that she always carried with her. The materia that was a gift from her mother—the one she said she'd never been able to use…

Aeris must have realised it when they were at the Temple of the Ancients. Standing in the presence of the Black Materia, she must have finally realised what her materia was, and what it did. That was why she had gone to the Forgotten City, where the power of the Ancients was the strongest. She had gone to summon Holy.

But she never succeeded. Sephiroth had seen to that.

"…This is the end," said Cloud. He looked up at Bugenhagen. "Aeris had the White Materia… But when Aeris died, it fell from the altar…" He shook his head, looked at the ground. "That's why… this is the end."

"Ho Ho Hooo! Ho Ho Hooo!"

Cloud raised his head and looked up at Bugenhagen again. He was shocked, for the old man was actually laughing. The old man's face was creased into a large smile as he chuckled to himself. Catching Cloud's glare, Bugenhagen turned and floated down to rejoin Cloud and the others. "Ho Ho Hooo!" he chuckled. "Look at this!" He gestured to the stone slab on which the dais rested.

Cloud followed his gesture and looked down. For a moment he saw nothing, but then his eyes widened. "!" he exclaimed.

At first glance, he had thought the slab was nothing more than that: a slab of stone. But looking at it for a second time, he saw that there were images carved into the stone, circling the dais. Cloud hadn't noticed before, but there was a walkway made of blue crystal along the inside of the slab. The images were on this walkway, too, glowing eerily. Though the pictures must have been years old, perhaps hundreds of years old, it was still clear.

"Ancients' writing," said Bugenhagen, answering Cloud's thoughts.

Cloud gazed down at the pictures. So this was the writing of the Ancients. He looked up at Bugenhagen, his eyes hopeful. "Can you read it?" he asked.

Bugenhagen placed his hands on his hips. "I can't even make it out!"

"This's no time for jokes…" said Cloud sourly.

"I'm not an Ancient. I can't read this thing!" Bugenhagen protested. He floated past Cloud and Red XIII, moving slowly around the crystal. "I may be old," he added, "but my eyes aren't completely bad yet." He came to a stop at the side of the crystal and pointed down. "Look closely below the writing."

Cloud followed Bugenhagen's finger and looked at the writing at the base of the dais. At first he saw nothing, but then he stopped and leaned over. There were more words scribbled beneath the writings of the Ancients. They were smaller and fainter, as though someone had written them in a great hurry, but they were definitely written in the common tongue. They were years old, though not as old as the Ancient's writing. The words were faded in places, but some bits were still readable.

"There's something written in chalk…" Cloud knelt down and brushed away a layer of dust and dirt that had built up over the words, allowing him to read them clearer. "…(even sunlight can't reach)…(Key)."

"It was probably written by a scientist who's been here…" said Bugenhagen, stroking his beard. "He probably used up all his energy to make out these two words."

Cloud looked down at the writing again. The words did indeed look as though they had been written with great effort. It was likely that the scientist who wrote them had been at the end of his funds or supplies and was desperate to make one last attempt at deciphering the Ancients' words before being forced to head back home. Either that or something else came up to distract him from his work. But there were other questions on Cloud's mind as he looked at the writing.

"Key…?" He looked up at Bugenhagen again. "To what?"

"I don't know…" Bugenhagen admitted. "But, it'll probably have something to do with our riddle." The old man twirled the ends of his beard between his fingers. "The riddle… then it must have something to do with Aeris."

Cloud rose to his feet. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot, thinking hard. "So this note points to where the key is?" he surmised.

"Probably…" The old man stopped playing with his beard and floated up above the crystal. Without looking at Cloud, he said: "Use these words as clues and go find the key. I'll continue to figure out the Ancient's writing."

'Go find the key'? That was easier said than done. Cloud wished that the scientist who deciphered those words had managed to do a little more. "A place (Even sunlight can't reach) is where the (Key) is, right?"

Bugenhagen nodded. "When you find the key, or when you can't go any further, come back here." He looked back at the writing that circled the dais. "Maybe I'll understand more from the writing and get some new information from you."

Cloud thought for a moment. It was not much of a hint, but it was as good a start as any, he supposed. Besides, there were other places he could try for information.

He looked at Cait Sith, still polishing his megaphone next to Yuffie. The cat looked up at him and tilted his head, confused. Maybe the cat, with his inside connections in Shinra, would be able to help them discover what the key was and where it was hidden. After all, Shinra had spent many long years studying the Ancients. It was entirely possible that they had information on this 'key'. All that was left for them to do now was to return to the Highwind and find it. Cloud nodded firmly.

Just as they were leaving, Red XIII announced that he would be staying behind. He did not want to leave Bugenhagen alone, he said. Cloud guessed that was not the whole reason. He believed that the hound was still feeling guilty over going berserk during their battle with Ruby Weapon. He wanted to redeem himself.

Bugenhagen though, objected, stating that there was no danger in the Forgotten City. Red XIII would be of the best use if he continued to travel with his friends and help them to find the key. The hound tried to object, but Bugenhagen was adamant. In the end, Red XIII left the Forgotten City with Cloud and the others. They headed back to the Highwind, to begin their search for the Key of the Ancients.


A Note from the Authoress

And thus ends another chapter.

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