Chapter 49: Losing Aeris and battle against Jenova-LIFE

Two hours after all of them fell asleep on the single beds and wooden floor in the second floor bedroom inside 1 of the empty seashell house (by now its deep into the night outside the house), both Cloud and Angelina immediately woke up from their slumbers to the sound of a familiar female voice whispering/singing softly into their ears and minds from somewhere outside the house. Both of them then stood up, tiptoed their way silently past their other sleeping friends/companions, halted in their tracks in the dark left corridor of the second floor bedroom before they lifted their blank-looking eyes and faces to look up at the stone ceiling of the seashell house, trying to listen to the soft whispering/singing female voice clearly.

"I feel it, Angie…" said Cloud to Angelina in a voice unlike his own.

"So do I, Cloud…" replied Angelina, her voice as unlike as his.

"…What's wrong, you 2?" said a deep male voice from behind them.

"Do you 2 know what TIME it is now!?" said another male voice, sounding quite annoyed.

The voices of the 2 men behind them jolted both Cloud and Angelina out of their blank trances and they turned around and saw both Vincent (who's still looking emotionless) and Cid (who had an annoyed look on his face) standing a few feet behind them. Both of Vincent and Cid's voices also woke the others up from their slumbers and some of them yawned and rubbed the sleep from their eyes (Cait Sith, Nina, Yuffie and Selwyn) before they all stood up from their beds and floor, walked toward the 4 of them and stop in their tracks behind both Vincent and Cid, staring at both Cloud and Angelina.

"Aeris is here…" Cloud began saying as he glance from one person to another.

"… and so is Sephiroth." Angelina finished Cloud's words as she glance at them one by one as well.

"Are you 2 serious?" said Selwyn in a shocked tone of voice to both Cloud and Angelina and they nodded grimly to him.

"But how can the 2 of you know about it?" asked both Tifa and Nina with suspicious looks on their faces and in their eyes.

"…We don't know how we both knew about it, Tifa, Nina." said Angelina as she shifted uncomfortably at both of their suspicious looks on her and Cloud.

"…It's not an excuse, everyone." said Cloud quickly to them before he raised and place his right hand on his chest, where his heart is. "Angie and I feel it in our souls."

"Then what're we all waiting for?" said Laina in a slightly weak tone of voice as she glance at both Cloud and Angelina. "Let's hurry to where she is now."

Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions turned their heads to glance at Laina (who gave Kunsel a "don't-you-try-and-stop-me-from-going" look when she saw him about to protest and stop her from going with them due to her injured body not fully healed yet which make him sighed in dismay when he saw the look on her face and he let her be) and they all nodded in agreement to her words.

"…Right, Laina." said Cloud firmly and in agreement to her and to everyone else. "Let's all hurry and find Aeris."

Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions then turned around, hurried/walked down the staircase away from the second floor bedroom, turned to their right to walked out of the seashell house and they walked swiftly and carefully down the uneven scales path under their feets (so that they won't trip and fell down) until they reach near the middle of the scales path.

Both Cloud and Angelina came to a sudden stop when they reach near the middle of the scales path and they both turned their heads to their right to glance at the dark doorway (with a grove of green-coloured stone-like trees tipping precariously above/around the dark doorway) in the heart of the city down the middle scales path slightly far in front of them, where they heard the sound of the soft, pure and melodious female's voice singing out to the night sky through the dark doorway.

"Aeris's voice… coming from over there?" said both Cloud and Angelina to themselves before they quickly run down the middle scales path toward the dark doorway (with the others running/following swiftly behind them both), went through the dark doorway, run down a long, straight and slightly narrow tunnel which cut briefly through the canyon to the other side, run out through the other side of the tunnel and both Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions behind them stop in their tracks when they saw that they're standing on another dirt path which leads toward another lone, huge and unusual-looking white-coloured seashell building which had several sharp spikes jutting out here and there across its gravely frame and with its curved opening at its base and surrounded by dozens of white-coloured trees around it. And in front of the huge seashell building was a large circular pool of clear blue water which looks shallow in one half of the pool while the other half of the pool is deep and down into the shadows (while the bright light of the moon shining down on both the house and the pool).

Both Cloud and Angelina ignored the rest of their friends/companions standing behind them and they walked swiftly around the circular pool of water toward the building (where Aeris's singing voice came out from), went into the building (with the others following behind them both), look around the place and they saw that the interior of the building was unlike the rest of the seashell houses outside of the tunnel.

The interior of the house was huge and had a single path which spiraled around the interior of the house (while dozens of small round stones which glowed a bright blue-white coloured lights lies on the spiral shelf around the house) until it stopped near the top of the house's ceiling. And in the center of the spiral house lies a hole with a blue-coloured staircase made out of pure energy on it which leads deep into the underground.

Both Cloud and Angelina wasted no time in approaching the hole in the center of the spiral house, heading down the blue-coloured spiral staircase into the underground (both of them ignored the voices of their friends/companions calling for them to wait up from behind them) and as they continue walking down the blue-coloured spiral staircase in silence, they soon saw another city which had been built underneath the other city above them and which isn't as ruined as the other city. Long and great-looking bronze-coloured towers and buildings with dark-coloured triangular roofs on them rose up from the depths of the ground with huge walls of shimmering transparent crystal which rose up as well and acted as a protective outer shield in the shape of a sparkling flame around the second city.

Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions reached the bottom of the blue-coloured spiral staircase, stepped off the staircase, turned to their right to walked out of the open doorway of one of the bronze-coloured tower and they walked carefully down two set of stairs which leads toward the centre of the small and magnificent looking second city (some of them like Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, Nina, Cait Sith, Carter and Selwyn look around the city with deep awed/wonder in their eyes and faces).

All of them walked on until they came to stop at the very edge of the boulevard, for a large pool which lies in the center of the city lay before and below them, filled with the same clear blue-coloured water like the one in front of the huge seashell building above them and which glisten/reflect the light of the towering wall of transparent crystal around the city. Six cylindrical stone pillars rose from the large pool of water in front of them which leads toward a large platform podium building standing in the middle of the pool of water in the heart of the city.

Cloud immediately jumped off the edge of the boulevard and landed firmly/steadily on the first and lowest stone pillar in front of him without waiting for the others behind him before he glance up at the platform podium building and saw someone kneeling on the floor in the middle of the platform podium building. Cloud strained his mako eyes and stretched up on his toes to see the kneeling person profile better through the faint light shining into the platform podium and he (and Angelina and the others standing behind him) widened their eyes in surprised and relieved when they saw that the person who's kneeling on the floor in the middle of the platform podium with her eyes closed and her hands clasped together in front of her in prayer is Aeris.

"Aeris?" said Cloud as he glance at Aeris, who didn't open her eyes to see Cloud and the others when Cloud say her name.

Both Angelina and Tifa stepped closer to the edge of the boulevard in preparation to jump and join Cloud on the stone pillar, but Cloud suddenly turned his head, raised and waved his left hand at the both of them, silently telling them that he'll go get Aeris himself without their help and they both nodded silently to him and stepped back from the edge.

Cloud turned back to glance up at Aeris once more in the platform podium before he began to jump across the remaining five stone pillars until he landed at the edge of the platform podium, walked up the short staircase and slowly approach Aeris (who still did not stir from her prayer position).

As Cloud approach Aeris, a throbbing pain in the back of his head make his body instantly stiffen and he halted in his tracks and try to shake the throbbing feeling in the back of his head away to no avail. The next second, Cloud stop shaking his head, raised his right hand to pull his Buster Sword from his back, lowered his sword to pointed its sharp tip at Aeris's chest (where her heart is) before he grasped his sword with both of his hands, raised it high above his head and started to swung it down on Aeris's head.

"Cloud!" yelled Angelina, Tifa, Barret and Red XIII.

"What are you doing!?" yelled Yuffie, Cait Sith, Nina and Carter.

"Stop!" yelled Laina, Kunsel, Selwyn and Vincent.

Startled completely by the loud cries/yells of his friends/companions behind him, Cloud halted himself from striking down on Aeris with his Buster Sword, lowered his sword and staggered backward away from Aeris while shaking his head and ignored the painful throbbing at the back of his head.

"Ugh… what are you making me do." Cloud asked aloud to himself before he lapsed into silence and glance at Aeris.

The next second, Aeris suddenly opened her emerald-coloured eyes, lifted her head to glance at Cloud (who continue glancing down at her in silence) and she gave him a smile full of joy and hope, which will be branded within Cloud's memory forever. As Cloud watched on, a shower of bright greenish-white light shine down on Aeris kneeling/praying form, completely enveloping her within its warmth glow and which make her smile of joy and hope deepen before a long silver hair, black leather clad figure appear suddenly far above her in the greenish-white light (which Cloud and his friends/companions failed to noticed), holding/pointing his Masamune blade downward at Aeris's oblivious kneeling/praying form before he descended rapidly down toward her and thrust his Masamune blade cleanly through Aeris chest (which make Cloud and the rest of his friends/companions behind him widened their eyes and gasped in horror).

After Sephiroth stabbed through Aeris's chest with his blade, Aeris close her eyes while her clasped hands dropped down to her sides before her upper body dropped forward and stopped mere inches from the blade. Aeris opened her eyes again, stared down at the blade coming out of her chest and she widened her eyes and gasped in surprise.

Sephiroth stood behind her, holding his blade and staring down at the last Ancient as the life slowly flow out of her body before he slowly lifted his head from Aeris's dying form to glance up at Cloud with his cold bluish-green mako eyes and an evil/menacing smile spread across his face before he slowly pull his blade out of Aeris's body.

After Sephiroth pull his blade out of Aeris's body, Aeris was still for a moment before she closed her eyes for the final time, let out her last breath, tilted her head forward and the movement caused the magenta-coloured ribbon in her long brown hair to untangle itself and fall down onto the podium floor behind her, releasing her long brown hair and the small white-coloured materia tucked inside it. The small white-coloured materia fell down through the air before it hit the podium floor with a clear clang sound, bounce up into the air for a second before it bounce right over the edge, bounce one by one down onto the stone pillars straight toward the water before it fell down into the water and sanked deep into its depths.

Cloud immediately rushed forward and caught hold of Aeris, who fell and landed into his arms lifelessly before he slowly turn her body around and he stared down at her peaceful face, looking as though she's fallen into sleep except that there's no longer any sign of life within her.

"…Aeris?" said Cloud as he try to shake Aeris gently, not wanting to believe that she's dead and gone. She didn't stirred and open her eyes from his gentle shaking and a look of pure anguish/despair appear on Cloud's face. "No! This can't be real!" Cloud choked out.

As Cloud and the rest of his friends/companions silently grieved/laments over the death of Aeris (and blamed themselves for not rushing to her aid or stop Sephiroth from killing her), Sephiroth (who's standing silently behind Cloud and Aeris's body) slowly raised both of his arms to the air with a happy look on his face, basking in the feeling of a new spirit joining with the Lifestream of the Planet.

"Don't you worry about her, Cloud." said Sephiroth in a gentle tone of voice to Cloud. "The Ancient girl has already merged with the Planet's energy and become a part of it. All that's left is to go North. The "Promised Land" waits for me over the snowy fields. There, I'll become a new being by uniting myself with the Planet's energy. As will this Ancient girl…"

"… Shut up." Cloud snarled angrily at Sephiroth, cutting off his words before he turned his head over his right shoulder to glared hatefully at him. "The entire cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a damn thing! Aeris is gone." said Cloud as he glance away from Sephiroth down to Aeris's lifeless body in his arms. "Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry… or get angry…"

Tears started to filled/glisten in Cloud's mako eyes before he lowered his head down to the soft red fabric of Aeris's short bolero jacket to shed his tears.

"What about all of us… what are WE supposed to do now?" said Cloud as he gently lowered Aeris body down on the podium floor. "What about my despair and pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!"

"Cloud…" said Angelina in a sad/anguish tone of voice as she stared at Cloud and at Aeris body.

"Cloud…" thought Laina with a sad/pity/anguish look on her face as she stared at Cloud and at Aeris body as well (and also remember the tragic time when she lose her beloved husband, Zack Fair to the army of Shinra infantrymen on the cliff outside of Midgar 2 years ago).

Sephiroth slowly lowered his arms and look down at Cloud's shaking body with a surprised look on his face. "What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me that you've feelings too? For this Ancient girl, your friends/companions or for someone else who's close to you?"

"Of course!" Cloud yelled harshly at Sephiroth before he stood up and turned around to glance at Sephiroth, clenching and shaking his fists in anger. "Who do you think I am!?"

A mocking smile instantly appear and spread on Sephiroth's face and he began laughing amusedly at Cloud's display of anger. "Ha, ha, ha, ha… Stop acting as if you were sad." said Sephiroth to Cloud. "There's also no need for you to act as though you're angry either."

"And what do you mean by that, Sephiroth!?" Angelina yelled angrily at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth glance at Angelina over Cloud's left shoulder, smirk evilly at her before he glance away from her back to Cloud and he spread both of his arms out and floated up into the air, just out of Cloud's reach and glance down at him. "Because Cloud, both you and Angelina are…"

Sephiroth cut his words off, suddenly spun in the air and flew rapidly up and away from Cloud, Aeris's body and the rest of his friends/companions and vanished from their sights. A few seconds after he's gone, a small speck of some black thing appear at the place where Sephiroth disappear before it fell down (while growing larger as it fell) and landed near Cloud's feet on the podium floor. Cloud glance down at the black thing (which flopped and twitched as it tries to crawl rapidly toward him) and instantly recognized it as another piece of Jenova's dismembered flesh arm.

The dismembered flesh arm of Jenova suddenly convulsed and harden into rock before it's hardened flesh began to break apart and unleash the same kind of thick blackish-purple fume into the air and dark blood across the podium floor, over the edge and down the sides before it began to transform and expanded rapidly into a large and tall grotesque-looking creature. But the large and tall grotesque-looking creature (named Jenova-LIFE) which now stands in front of Cloud (who quickly lifted Aeris's body up from the podium floor to not let the dark blood of Jenova tainted her) look different than the previous one which he, Angelina, Tifa and Laina saw back in the engine room inside the Shinra ship days ago.

It's entire thick, rubbery and deformed body was reddish-purple in coloured instead of purplish-white in coloured, with even more folds of loose flesh which hung around the bottom half of its body, looking like a dress made out of flesh tissue. It had only one reddish-purple arm under its right shoulder while its left shoulder had inner strands of reddish-purple fleshy tentacles which twitch/wiggle around. After Jenova-LIFE reformed itself and the blackish-purple fume around its body dispersed away, Jenova-LIFE then lowered her head to look down at Cloud with a mocking/unkind look in her slitted, menacing black-coloured eyes on her face (just as Sephiroth did before he disappear) before her grotesque right arm reach forward to Cloud, who raised his Buster sword with his left hand (since his right hand is holding Aeris's body) and swung it at Jenova-LIFE'S right arm which make her instantly recoil her right arm back with a screech of pain.

Angelina, Tifa, Laina, Barret and the others (all of them with their weapons ready in their hands) immediately make their way across the stone pillars into the platform podium where Cloud (who's still holding Aeris's body) and Jenova-LIFE is standing to join in on the battle and Cloud quickly handed Aeris's body over to Laina (who happen to be the nearest to him when she came into the platform podium), who quickly took Aeris's body from him before she turned around and bring Aeris's body to the farthest and safest spot of the platform podium, away from the battle and Laina gently put Aeris's body down near the edge of the podium before she uses her "Telekinesis" to created an invisible protective wall around her and Aeris's body.

After Cloud handed Aeris's body over to Laina, he then turned around, gripped his Buster Sword tightly in his hands and aided his friends/companions in fighting against the large and tall grotesque-looking creature standing in front of them. Cloud, Angelina, Tifa, Barret, Kunsel, Selwyn, Red XIII, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, Cait Sith, Nina and Carter charge toward Jenova-LIFE together to slashes, punched and shoots its huge reddish-black body relentlessly with their swords, naginata, spears, fighter gloves, gun-arm and a one-handed shotgun and uses their materia to casts Firaga, Blizzaga and Thundaga magic down onto it several times (which causes Jenova-LIFE heavily injured body to be burned, freeze and shocked by their magic), making Jenova-LIFE to let out a loud screech/shriek of pain and anger at them before it retaliated by sending several huge sheets of blue-coloured flames to burned them.

Cloud, Angelina, Tifa, Kunsel, Red XIII and Vincent managed to dodged and avoid getting themselves burned by Jenova-LIFE blue flames but Barret, Selwyn, Cid, Yuffie, Cait Sith, Nina and Carter weren't as quick to avoid the blue flames as Cloud and the others did and soon their bodies got burned severely by the blue flames of Jenova-LIFE (which make them cried out in pain before they fell onto the podium floor). Laina, who saw them fought against Jenova-LIFE fiercely/angrily while she stay and protect Aeris's body inside her invisible protective wall near the edge of the podium, saw Barret and the others got themselves burned severely by Jenova-LIFE'S blue flames before they fell and she quickly close her eyes and clasped her hands together in front of her in a kind of praying manner and uses her "Pulse of Life" limit break (which Aeris gave to her a few days ago) on them to healed their burned bodies.

As Laina is busy healing Barret and the others, Cloud, Angelina, Tifa, Kunsel, Red XIII and Vincent charge toward Jenova-LIFE and they slashes, punched, shoot and casted Firaga, Blizzaga and Thundaga magic on its heavily injured body some more until both Cloud and Angelina jumped up toward Jenova-LIFE with their sword and naginata ready in their hands and Cloud swung his sword at Jenova-LIFE'S neck and beheading it while Angelina stabbed her naginata deep into Jenova-LIFE'S chest, right where its heart is.

Jenova-LIFE'S huge body (which is headless now due to Cloud beheading its head off) convulsed for a few seconds before it fell still and lifeless and both Cloud and Angelina (who pull her naginata out from Jenova-LIFE'S chest) quickly jumped away from Jenova-LIFE'S body just as it began to dissolve and dispersed away. As Jenova-LIFE'S head (which fell onto the podium floor after Cloud cut it off from its body) began to dissolve, its slitted, menacing black-coloured eyes glance briefly at both Cloud and Angelina and they heard a woman's cold and ominous tone of voice speaking softly to them both inside their heads.

"Because, Cloud, Angelina… Both of you are puppets."

"We're… both puppets?" thought Cloud and Angelina in their heads and before they could demand an answer from Jenova-LIFE, it had already closed its eyes and its head dissolved completely into nothingness. Both Cloud and Angelina then put their sword and naginata behind their backs, turned around and they both saw that their friends/companions had gathered around the body of Aeris as she lay propped against the railing of the podium, with both Tifa and Laina kneeling close to her left and right on the podium floor with sad/despair looks on both of their faces.

One by one Cloud and Angelina's friends/companions pay their respects and say their final goodbyes to Aeris's body before they turned and walked out of the podium and jumped onto the stone pillars away from the podium (some of them gave Cloud dark looks when they walked pass both him and Angelina out of the podium, like Barret, Red XIII, Cait Sith and Vincent).

Once Barret and the others left the podium and Cloud, Angelina, Tifa and Laina were the only ones who remained in the podium near Aeris's body, both Cloud and Angelina then watched as both Tifa and Laina slowly stood up from Aeris's body after they pay their respect and say their final goodbyes to her before they both turned around and Tifa run away from the podium with tears glistening in her brown eyes and her left gloved hand covering her mouth and with Laina following silently behind her away from the podium, not looking at both Cloud and Angelina as both she and Tifa walked pass them.

After both Tifa and Laina walked out of the podium, Cloud approach Aeris's body (with Angelina watching), kneel down beside her and his hands reached out for her and he gently lifted her body up from the podium floor before both he and Angelina turned around, walked out of the podium and walked up the blue-coloured spiral staircase in silence with their friends/companions following behind them both, reached the interior of the huge spiral seashell house and they all left the house and stepped out into the forest that surrounds it with the huge circular pool of clear blue water in front of the house.

Both Cloud and Angelina refused to look at their friends/companions as they walked past all of them and Angelina stop in her tracks near the edge of the pool and watched as Cloud stepped into the pool, walked toward the center of the pool (where the deep part of the pool is) with Aeris's body in his arms before he stop at the edge of the deep part of the pool, slowly lowered Aeris's body into the water, glance down at her for a few seconds before he slowly stepped backward away from her body and he (and his friends/companions standing at the edge of the pool behind him) watched as Aeris's body floated on the surface of the water for a few seconds before the water rose above her clothes, across her neck and finally over her face.

As Aeris's body slowly sink beneath the surface of the water, her long brown hair flowed out around her shoulders and back, her hands unfolded themselves from her chest and fell loosely down her sides before she descended deeper into the dark depths of the pool until she's out of their sight.

XXXX

"Everyone, listen to me." said Cloud suddenly to Angelina, Tifa, Laina and the others in a firm tone of voice, which had them turned their heads to glance at Cloud after they all left the huge seashell house and the large circular pool (after Cloud gave Aeris's body a water funeral/burial) in front of it, down the narrow tunnel and back into the house which they had all sleep a few hours before the fight and the tragic loss of 1 of their friends/companions.

"I'm Cloud Strife and this is Angelina Pierce." said Cloud as he turned around to glance at them all and gestured to Angelina, who nodded her head in silence. "Both Angie and I are ex-member of SOLDIER, born in Nibelheim with our childhood friend Tifa Lockhart. The 2 of us came to settle things with Sephiroth, with Laina helping us both along the way."

"Uh-huh…?" said Selwyn with a slightly confused look on his face.

"… What's going on?" said Tifa with a small shake of her head.

"We came to this place of our own free will… Or so we both thought." said Angelina bitterly as she lowered her head to glance down at the ground. "However…" said Angelina before she lapsed into silence.

"…To tell the truth, both Angie and I are afraid of ourselves." Cloud continue from where Angelina left off and he turned to look away from the others. "… There is a part inside us both that we don't understand. The part where Angie step aside and do nothing and the part which made me gave the Black Materia over to Sephiroth. If any of you haven't stopped me, Aeris might have been…"

Cloud lapsed into silence, turned around and take a deep breath before continuing his talk. "… There's something inside us both. 2 persons who is not really us." Cloud turned back to glance at them. "That's why Angie and I are thinking of quitting this long journey. Before we do something even more terrible."

"But we're still going." said Cloud firmly before anyone could say anything and he raised and clench his hand into a tight and shaking fist. "He destroyed our hometown, killed off our families and neighbours 5 years ago, hurt Laina severely, killed Aeris and is now trying to use the Black Materia to summon Meteor to destroy the Planet. We'll never forgive… Sephiroth."

"That's why we… we must go on, no matter what. Right, Cloud?" said Angelina as she glance at Cloud, who glance at her and nodded before he glance at the others.

"… I have a favor to ask from all of you." asked Cloud to the others. "Will all of you come with me and Angie?... to save and prevent us from doing something terrible."

"Of course we'll stop you both from doing something terrible, Cloud, Angelina." said Laina.

"I agreed with Laina." said Kunsel with a small nod of his head.

"So do I, Cloud, Angie." said Tifa with a determined look on her face.

"Count me in too." said Selwyn.

"Well, we'll all face it head-on when it does happen." said Cid in a reassuring tone of voice to Cloud.

Cloud heard their answers and he was very grateful that they had decided to continue on the journey with him and Angelina. "I have no idea on how Aeris tried to save the Planet from the Meteor. And I guess that now, we'll never know." said Cloud to the others. "But! We still have a chance. We must get that Black Materia back before Sephiroth could use it to summon Meteor. So, let's go, everyone."

Angelina, Tifa, Laina and the others all nodded in agreement/approval to Cloud before all of them turned around and left the seashell house out onto the uneven scales right path.