Chapter 19
The familiar scent of her mother's cooking entered her nostrils as she sat at the kitchen table, watching the older woman as she worked tirelessly on their meal with her back turned towards her.
"How are you feeling?" her mother asked, chopping the lettuce on the cutting board in front of her in half. "We haven't seen each other in so long now."
"I'm doing fine," Jessie replied. "Better, actually."
"I can imagine. Things with your girlfriend going good, too?"
An uncharacteristically shy smile formed on Jessie's lips, and she ran her hand over the smooth surface of the kitchen table. "Yeah. Things are great..."
"So when am I going to meet her?" her mother asked her teasingly.
"Mama," Jessie groaned.
"What? I think it's only fair that I get to meet the person that managed to make my little girl fall in love."
She let out a sigh of resignation and rested her head on the table. Love, huh?
It was true. She loved Cissnei, even if she had never told her in as many words. There wasn't some grand revelation to it either, she had simply just grown to love her and she couldn't imagine what it would be like if she had never met her.
So yeah, maybe it was high time she introduced her to her family.
"I'll bring her with me the next time I'm visiting. Promise," Jessie said.
She heard her mother step away from the counter and walk towards her before a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder.
"You've grown so much. It feels like yesterday when you were still a little girl." Her mother released a happy sigh. "How time flies."
Jessie couldn't help but smile and placed her hand on top of her mother's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry. I'll always be your daughter, Mama. No matter what."
She felt warmth spread throughout her entire body as her mother leaned closer to hug her.
"Then wake up, my child," an otherworldly voice said, before the world exploded into white.
Pain shot through her head, making her moan out. What the hell happened?
She had seen a deer. Tried to touch it but it ran away. She followed it, climbed a hill, then nothing.
From the way her head was hurting, though, it seemed like she had somehow hit her head. Moving her hand, she felt something soft and sticky underneath her fingers that moved with her when she raised her arm.
Slowly, she opened her eyes to find herself in relative darkness, the only source of light coming from the muted glow of dusk from the hole above.
Wha-? It's evening!? Jessie tried to sit up, but the world started spinning as soon as she rose more than a few inches, forcing her to lie back down. Shit! Now what?
She moved her hand to rub her eyes, but stopped when she saw something clinging to her nails. Little dry strands of...spider silk?
Looking down at herself, Jessie found that her legs, too, had some on it, and not only that, the walls were completely covered in it.
A gasp escaped her. Was this a spider den?
And a giant ass spider to boot if she had to take a guess.
Okay, calm down Jessie...you're not a spider's lunch yet...maybe there's a way out... Taking a deep breath, Jessie forced herself into a sitting position, closing her eyes again to help against the spinning. Thankfully it passed quickly, making her able to take a look around.
Around her were a few bundles of straw, some partially wrapped in silk, others half laid out on the ground like some sort of bedding.
What kinda spider needs a bed? Jessie wondered with some dry amusement despite her current predicament. Her eyes roamed over the walls, trying to find a way to perhaps climb out of the hole above, but she honestly wasn't sure if the silk could even carry her weight. She spotted a few tunnels, and checking one it only led to more darkness. The second one she investigated, however, seemed to lead outside, the dim light from the sun and a horizon of trees and leaf litter ahead. Jessie tested the hole, finding that it was large enough for her to crawl through.
She was just about to do so, when a clicking sound from right next to her made her slowly turn her head to find herself staring into four pairs of black eyes, each filled with four amber colored irises.
Jessie blinked once, and so did the eyes. She blinked a second time to make absolutely sure she wasn't having a hallucination, and so did the eyes staring back at her.
Those eyes attached to what looked like the face of a spider that had an affair with a doe in heat on a hot summer night.
She did the only thing that she could in a situation like this: she screamed.
The creature or whatever it was let out something like a shrill scream as well. Jessie immediately put as much distance as possible between herself and it, cursing her rotten luck when she bumped right into a silk covered wall, but she didn't have time to feel disgusted.
It seemed to have the same idea, scurrying away on its many legs to hide itself behind one of the straw bundles. Their screams echoed through the air some more, mixing into a duet of terror, before slowly dying down.
Jessie stared at where the creature was hiding. Was this a local monster? She had seen some bizarre looking critters in the slums of Midgar before, but this one was a special kind of weird.
It didn't attack her though, which was strange. Her eyes remained focused on the bundle of straw, not even blinking once. She watched as slowly, one of its goat horns appeared from behind its hiding place, before being joined by four of its eight eyes. It was shaking slightly.
Was it...scared?
Swallowing hard, and against her better judgement, Jessie pushed herself away from the wall and started to crawl over to it bit by bit. The spider-goat creature jumped a little, but stayed where it was.
Jessie stopped a few feet away from it and gingerly held out her hand palm up, like she would do with a dog. "H-hey. Truce?"
A moment passed, then another, before it finally stepped out of its hiding place. It really wasn't the prettiest of things to look at, but it seemed to be harmless.
This must be its nest, Jessie thought as she started to scratch the creature behind one of its droopy goat ears, causing its pedipalps to move and making it release a clicking sound.
"You know, for being a bit fugly you're actually kinda cute," Jessie said with a chuckle as she pulled her hand away. The little critter released a series of clicks and did a little jump.
She looked around for a moment, eyes landing on the hole above them. "Sorry for having busted through your roof there, but you look like you should have it fixed in no time."
In fact, its hands looked downright nimble, doing little gestures while talking that were oddly human in nature. It had just finished a spin on its legs, when its eyes fell on something below her face; around her neck, to be precise.
"Hm? Oh, do you find my necklace interesting?" Jessie asked, looking down at it and then back at the harmless little monster. "It's from a beach. You probably never saw one, huh?"
It just stared at the shell, its eight eyes blinking evenly. All of a sudden it jumped towards her, making Jessie fall backwards, one of its tiny hands reaching out faster than she thought possible before snatching the necklace off her.
"Hey!" Before Jessie could do anything, the little thief scurried away towards the hole that led outside. With a growl, Jessie got on all fours and crawled after it. "Come back here!"
It had an easier time getting out, and by the time Jessie was outside once again it already had quite a bit of a head start, but she wasn't just going to take this sitting down.
The chase was on.
Cissnei looked around, trying and failing to contain that feeling of anxiety deep in the pit of her stomach as she stepped in the woods of Nibelheim. Her eyes scanned her surroundings for any sudden movements and her right hand was resting on the shuriken inside the bag that was hanging from her hip.
Meet me in the woods at dusk, there's a meadow right at the center of it. Can't miss it, was what the message from Zack said, that she had received from Cloud earlier today, had read.
Her heart beat like a drum with every step she took towards her destination.
She needed answers, but she wasn't so sure if she wanted them anymore.
After Jessie had gone on her walk, Cissnei had snooped around town some more, not really caring if she was acting suspicious or not anymore after the previous night. For all accounts, Nibelbeim was a normal mountain village, but she could feel it now; something lurking underneath it all.
The feeling had only intensified when amongst the townsfolk she had found another person from the missing team, a Shinra Trooper by the name of Duncan, walking along the pathway with a woman that had her arm looped around his.
What the hell happened here?
Even now it was like something was trying to claw its way into her mind. Was this really their god? Or was she just going crazy?
And where was Jessie? She hadn't seen her at all since she left earlier.
Cissnei hoped she was okay.
Don't be silly, she told herself. She probably just got roped into helping out.
But was that really a good thing with what she knew about the town now?
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought. One thing after another.
It took a while, but she eventually spotted the familiar black mess that was Zack's hair in the distance. He was standing near what looked like a small spring. His arms were folded and he tapped his foot, occasionally looking about.
He stopped once she stepped into view, fixing her with a long look.
"Cissnei..."
"Zack..."
His eyes dropped to the bag at her hip where she kept her weapon concealed, his gaze turning into a piercing glare. "I came unarmed, you know?"
"If I were you, I would pack up and leave as soon as possible. You won't find anything here. The land itself hated Shinra enough to get rid of it all." The words Vincent had said echoed inside her mind, making her grip her weapon more tightly.
"If the land hates me, I think I'd rather have something to protect myself with."
He made a face and tilted his head to the side. "I don't think it hates you...I mean, you're a guest, right?"
She shrugged helplessly. "I still was with Shinra."
"So was I," he said evenly.
"And what are you now?" she asked.
He averted his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck. "...I'm just a villager."
"In a town full of cultists."
He gave her a critical stare. "Hey, now!"
"I talked to someone about it already. So, you abandoned the company for sex rites?" she all but spat, and Zack actually looked offended by her words.
"You don't know what you're talking about," he said as he shook his head.
"Then tell me!"
Zack chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "First, tell me why you're here. On vacation with your girlfriend? Or is she a new Turk I don't know about?"
She felt anger well up inside her, making her take a step forward. "Leave Jessie out of this. She has nothing to do with either Shinra or the Turks!"
"Dunno if I believe it..." Zack put his hands on his hips.
Cissnei rolled her eyes. "Come on. You have to have noticed how oblivious she is to her surroundings. She's as distracted as you are sometimes."
She dropped her gaze. "Or were..."
"You think I've changed that much?" he asked her, his voice forlorn.
"What did this cult do to you…?"
Zack released a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not a cult, and I just...had a heart to heart, you know?"
"With whom?"
"Niblrung," he said simply.
"Who?" Was that their leader?
"The god of these lands. He told me a few things. About the world, Shinra, and even Aerith."
"And how did you talk to a so-called god?"
"Th-that doesn't matter!" he stammered. "The important part was to make sure that Aerith was safe from Shinra."
Something really wasn't adding up here. "Safe from Shinra. You mean they brainwashed you?"
"I wasn't brainwashed! They wanted to use her to their ends!" Zack now glared at her. "To lead them to their so called 'Promised Land', and they would've thrown her to Hojo to make sure she fulfilled her purpose!"
"How do you know this?" she asked. "How would a mountain god know..."
This didn't really make any sense. What would the local god of a town so far away want with the last of the Ancients?
"What are Niblrung's motives?" she inquired.
"He wants to preserve the Cetra."
"Is that really all?" She didn't really believe that was all. Zack bit his lip once again and turned his gaze away. Then it all became clear. "...He had something to do with Midgar, didn't he? Is that why you brought Aerith here?"
She watched him close his eyes and nod. The air left her lungs at the revelation. What in the world was this Niblrung? No...actually, she didn't care at all. Her life, everything that she had worked for, was gone because of all this. And it wasn't just her. Jessie, too, had suffered from this.
The grip on her weapon tightened, her knuckles going white as she did so, and she gritted her teeth. "So many people's lives were upended...And you're here, fishing and traveling and fucking!"
Cissnei didn't even let him get a word in before she dashed towards him, jumping to deliver a kick against his sternum that she knew wouldn't really hurt the former SOLDIER, but would be enough to knock the wind out of him. Zack gasped and was pushed back against one of the many trees. As she landed again, a flash of silver and red jumped out of her bag, her hand moving blindingly fast to hold one of it's sharp blades up against Zack's exposed throat.
She glared at him, hand shaking as her eyes found his, the mako infused blue having given away to two sets of four diamond shaped amber irises that glowed in an abyss of pure darkness.
Her eyes widened in shock, a small gasp leaving her mouth. "...What happened to you?"
"I became one of them. The Fjallfolk, the people of the mountain. We're one with it, and it with us."
"Why...How?"
Cissnei closed her watery eyes and released a deep shaky breath before dropping her weapon. "Zack..."
"C-Cissnei...Oh..." He quickly stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I, uh...I don't really know what to say."
"You have no idea what I went through," she found herself saying. "We were worried about you. I thought you were dead, but you..."
Before she could say more, Cissnei found herself pulled into a hug. Her eyes stung with tears unshed for so long, now running freely down her cheeks.
"...I guess I got caught up in all this," he whispered. "I didn't mean to forget about everyone."
"You're an idiot," Cissnei shot back, making Zack chuckle.
"Yeah. I know."
They remained like this for a while, neither saying anything, and Zack simply holding Cissnei. She wished she could hate Zack for what had happened. For all the lives that were destroyed, but she just couldn't. Didn't she once lie to him when she was assigned to keep an eye on him?
Everything was just so messed up.
Gently pushing herself away from him, Cissnei locked eyes with him once again, the black and amber having turned back into that familiar eye color she knew.
"I'm sorry. For everything," Zack said, his hands still on her shoulders.
"Yeah. Me, too," Cissnei replied. "I just wanted answers for what happened here. I didn't really expect this."
"If it means anything, no one here ever wanted to harm innocents. The goal was to stop Shinra from slowly killing the planet. It...wasn't as clean as we hoped it would be..."
"...But I guess you can't stop casualties from happening." She knew about that all too well. With a sigh, Cissnei leaned down to pick up her weapon, putting it away safely inside her bag and readjusting it. Zack gave her a small smile that she returned with one of her own.
"Hey! Come back!" a very familiar voice shouted in the distance. "Give that back, you little thief!"
"Is that-?"
"Jessie!" Both of them whirled towards the direction from where Jessie's voice came to see her girlfriend running after something that looked like a mix between a spider and a goat. Both were headed into the direction of the mountain.
"Shit!"