Written by Benoit Goudreault-Emond
7. A miracle---
The Highwind was flying towards a spot which its on-board map insisted was devoid of anything but water. Of course, Cid knew otherwise; Nanaki said there was a small island there, and he could believe his friend. It's wasn't the first time the Highwind map proved to be inaccurate, after all. Cid was piloting the ship carefully, following the instructions of Nanaki, who was sitting right next to him, book open. While in the middle of a maneuver, the two beings would chat about this thing and that, mostly on different possibilities available to focus Mako energy with the reactor.
Most of the other members of AVALANCHE were sitting in the middle of the cockpit, planning the approach to the island. There was the chance they'd encounter Shinra troops at some point in the process. So they hashed out different strategies, but the effort was half-hearted. They knew the Shinra would be no match for them. The mood was very cheerful in the cockpit, and Cloud was the most cheerful of the lot. It was as if he had lost ten years of age: he was joyous, happy, and even laughed at Barret's stupid jokes.
Tifa, however, was not as cheerful as the others. Vincent suddenly realized she was missing from the group. He decided to look around for her, pretty sure of what was making her wish to be alone. He got out of the cockpit, unnoticed, then walked to the ops room. She wasn't there. He climbed up to the bridge, and there she was, hair floating in the wind, looking at the endless ocean in front of her. He approached her.
"Nice view," he said, softly so that she would not jump out of her skin.
"Yes," she replied absently. She automatically brushed off a lock of her hair that had been floating in her face.
"You're feeling ambivalent about bringing her back," said Vincent. It was not a question; rather, it was a statement.
Tifa looked down. She stayed like that for some time. Finally, she looked up at Vincent, a sad smile tugging her lips up. "Yes. I know I should be happy. She was my friend, as well as everyone else's. I was so sad when Sephiroth killed him. And I am happy that we'll bring her back. But at the same time, I'm sad, as if I'm losing someone."
"Cloud," Vincent said.
Tifa looked away. "When Aeris was still with us, I always had the feeling she was coming on to him," she explained. "I kept telling myself it was nothing, but I could just feel how she had Cloud's full attention when she came in the room he was in. He was always looking out for her. Was it foolish of me to expect he'd do the same for me?"
"No," Vincent assured her. "But consider: she looked vulnerable, and was the weakest hand-to-hand fighter among us. You, yourself, are second only to Cloud. He probably felt she needed protection more than you did," Vincent concluded.
"Probably," replied Tifa. She looked at the ocean again. "Vincent..." she hesitated.
Vincent said nothing, waiting for her to say the rest.
"... You always know how I feel, no matter how much I try to hide it. Do you know how he feels?" she finally asked.
"No," answered Vincent. "He hides it well, almost as well as I do. He looks like he doesn't care about much. But his scars remain deep, even though you made him whole again two years ago. He may just be afraid to show himself to the world."
"But how come he's not afraid to show how happy he is that Aeris will be coming back to us?" she asked so softly that Vincent barely heard the question.
"I don't know," replied Vincent. Then, "Do you wish to be left alone for a moment?"
"Yes, please," requested Tifa. "I need to sort out my feelings."
"Very well," said Vincent. Then he left.
Tifa looked at the ocean for some time. Then, she heard steps behind her. She did not turn around to look.
"Tifa," Cloud said.
"Hey, Cloud," she replied, without much enthusiasm.
He walked to her side, looking at the ocean with her. He stayed silent for a time. Finally, he said, "Nice view."
Despite herself, Tifa smiled. Why was that the only thing men said when they wanted to speak to a lone woman looking out at the distance? "Yes, it's a very nice view," she found herself replying.
Cloud looked at her with curiosity. "Is anything wrong?" he finally asked. His face showed genuine concern.
Since when do you care? Tifa almost replied, but she bit her tongue before it shot out. That would not be fair to him. Instead she tried to change subject. "We're going to bring her back, aren't we?"
"Of course," Cloud assured her.
"We'll finally be rid of the last of the scars Sephiroth left us," she mused.
"I hope you're right about that," Cloud said grimly.
Tifa looked at him sharply. "What? Do you know something I don't?" she asked.
Cloud shook his head. "No. Just that sometimes, I think... He hurt us so much, his ghost will always haunt us."
Tifa looked at the ocean yet again. "Well, if even if it does, we'll beat it, won't we?" she said. "We did once, and we'll do it again."
Cloud said nothing for a while. Then he looked straight at her, making eye contact. "Tifa, remember what I said about making it up to you when I felt better? Well, I---" he stopped abruptly, breaking eye contact, looking somewhere in the ocean.
"Say, isn't that the island we're looking for?" he asked her, pointing.
She looked at the spot he was pointing at, and, squinting, finally managed to see what he was talking about. It was a small, elongated island, roughly shaped like a four-pointed star. "I believe it is! Let's tell the others!" she answered, inexplicably excited.
They both scrambled down the stairs, Cloud in lead. They burst into the cockpit.
"Land ho!" bellowed Cloud. Everybody turned. Cid looked at Cloud, eyebrows raised. Cloud ran to the starboard window and pointed. Cid looked and looked, and finally saw it.
"Well, I'll be... That's it! We're there, folks!" Cid exclaimed. There was cheering among AVALANCHE. All except Reeve, who was looking through a pair of binoculars.
"Wait, something's wrong!" said Reeve. The cheering cut short. Everybody pressed around Reeve, hoping he'd give up the binoculars, but he ignored them. Finally, after looking some more, he said: "I can see the reactor, but... There's smoke coming out."
"Is it Mako vapor?" asked Barret.
"I don't think so... Wait. That's fire!" Reeve let go of the binoculars, a far away look on his face.
"The reactor's burning!" he said finally.
What followed was a cacophony of outraged cries, questions and curses. "That means Shinra was here before us!" "Damn! We're too late again!" "What do we do now?" "#@$!% Shinra!"
"May I have your attention, please!" said Cloud loudly, but very calmly. The others stopped talking. "Maybe the Shinra are still here. We must go down there and check. Even if they're gone, maybe the reactor's not too badly damaged yet, and then we could still use it to bring Aeris back. We're not sure until we're down there, you hear? So let's go!"
They all looked at one another, then every member of AVALANCHE nodded in unison. Cid started the landing cycle, while everybody else was getting ready for combat, snapping Materia orbs in place. As soon as the Highwind touched down, Cloud yelled "Go!" and the team moved. Going their separate way at first, they all converged on the Mako reactor. They all made it without incident, and soon, the reactor was surrounded. There, the team realized two things.
First, the reactor was beautiful. Nothing like the cold, metallic structures Shinra had built. It was made of shell and crystal, a majestic, scintillating structure that reflected the light from the fire that consumed it in beautiful, kaleidoscopic patterns that had a quasi-hypnotic quality.
Second, it was obviously a total loss. The flames had started from inside, and what glimpses Cloud could get of the interior showed only melted crystal.
No one said anything for a while. Everybody felt depression at having been defeated by the Shinra. Not only they had the power to start their Mako reactors now, but they had also, by destroying the reactor, dashed all hopes of bringing Aeris back.
Or had they? "This is not as bad as it looks," Nanaki started. "We can still---" he managed to say, before being interrupted by a terrible roar.
Everyone turned, weapon at ready. Cloud heard Tifa gasp, and had to suppress a cry of surprise himself.
Standing before AVALANCHE was some sort of giant octopus-like beast. It had a bunch of tentacles with a bulbuous head sitting on top of them. Spikes covered the creature's greenish skin, and eyes covered the head in seemingly random arrangements.
Reflexively, the hand-to-hand combatants ran towards the beast, weapon in front of them. Cloud was in lead. He dodged the tentacles coming his way, and sliced one of them with a quick sweep of his sword. The appendage fell to the ground and disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Cloud moved to another tentacle, but was stopped by another that grabbed him from the back. He felt the sting of the spikes digging into his elbow; then, suddenly, his whole arm felt as if it were on fire. He instinctively sliced the tentacle, which vanished, as before. He cast Esuna on his wound, neutralizing the poison. When he looked back up, he stared, incredulous. The tentacle he had just sliced was growing back! He got out of its way in the nick of time. This was not going to be easy...
Weaving between the deadly appendages, Cloud tried to join his friends. He quickly ran into Tifa, who had had the same idea. Together, they made their way towards Cid and Nanaki's last known position, smashing and slicing any tentacles blocking the way and moving quickly away before they could grow back. They finally found Cid, who was valiantly trying to keep tentacles off of a seriously wounded Nanaki. Tifa cleared the area by casting an Ice spell, and they all ran out of the sea of tentacles. The monster followed, but it was slower than the running members of AVALANCHE.
Seeing what had just happened, Reeve, Barret and Vincent opened fire on the creature's head. But the bullets would only lodge themselves in the creature's flesh, doing little damage. Reeve tried casting a Fire spell on the beast's head, but this had no effect. Frowning, Barret tried Bolt, and Vincent tried Ice. Still no effect.
"What do we do now?" asked Reeve.
"Looks like magic only works on the tentacles," observed Barret. "We'll have to get the head hand-to-hand."
"How can we do that?" pointed out Reeve. "There are too many tentacles in the way!"
Cloud and the other joined the long distance fighters, breathing hard from their run.
"Suggestions?" asked Cloud.
"I think only physical attacks harm its head," said Barret. "Maybe one of us can clear the way---"
"Tried that," interrupted Tifa. "Too many tentacles. We'd have to destroy a whole side at once!"
"Then, allow me," said Vincent, producing an Ultima Orb.
"Very well. Let's do it in three stages, with Vincent casting Ultima to let us in and out of the tentacles," proposed Cloud. "Cid and I come from the right, trying to wound it. Cid keeps going left, and I'll jump back to the right. Then, Red and Tifa come in from the left and try to make things worse for the beast. Finally, I come in from the right again and try to slice the head in two. Everyone gets a few hits, but don't get carried away. Make sure you get out before tentacles can grab you. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Cid piped in, trying to sound outraged. "How come you get to finish that thing, and not me?"
"I have a bigger weapon than you do," replied Cloud with a half smile. The men laughed, and Tifa rolled her eyes. "Any intelligent questions?"
No one had any.
"All right," said Cloud. "Let's get in position. Tifa, Red, be careful. Vincent, wait for my signal. Let's do it!"
Cid and Cloud moved to the right of the creature; Nanaki and Tifa, to the left. Screaming at the top of their lungs, Cloud and Cid charged. They were about to be forced back by the sea of tentacles, when Cloud yelled, "Now, Vincent!"
Vincent complied immediately, casting Ultima, destroying all tentacles on the right side of the beast. Cid and Cloud charged at the monster's hideous head. Cid managed to gouge its side, and then plunge his spear deep in the beast. It came out on the other side, so he ran to grab it and kept running to get out of the tentacles. Cloud, meanwhile, planted his sword in the head and, with a spectacular back flip, sliced the sword upward, leaving a great gash. To let Cid out on the left, Vincent cast Ultima once again.
Nanaki and Tifa immediately moved in, passing Cid, and charged at the head as well. Nanaki attacked Cloud's gash, biting the exposed interior. Tifa gave several great blows next to him, trying to widen the wounds of the creature. She finally grabbed Nanaki, and they both ran towards the newly regrown tentacles on the right. To let them out, Vincent cast Ultima one last time.
Cloud moved in, passing Tifa and Nanaki. Leaping high in the air, he brought his sword down in the large wound Tifa and Nanaki had worsened. The sword split the monster's head in two. The monster died immediately, its tentacles going limp. It didn't even emit a sound, which gave the whole tableau an eerie quality. However, black gel from the interior of the head splashed out, covering Cloud with black goo.
It was over. Besides Nanaki's wound to his flank, Cid's wounded pride at not being the one to finish the beast, and Cloud being covered in black goo, the victory had come very cheaply for AVALANCHE.
"That was easy," remarked Reeve.
"Well, there's no sissy monster that can stand all of us together," explained Barret.
Cloud, Tifa, Cid and Nanaki walked over to them. Every one of them was grinning, except Nanaki.
"Hey, Spike!" bellowed Barret. "How about washing yourself before comin' closer?"
Cloud nodded and plunged in a nearby pond. He came out after half a minute, rid of most of the goo. His grin was gone.
"What's wrong?" asked Tifa.
"I just remembered what we came here for... and how we got here too late," replied Cloud somberly.
The group's good mood immediately vanished, and grins disappeared as everyone grew serious again.
"Don't despair yet," said Nanaki, interrupting everyone's somber thoughts. "Before I was rudely interrupted by that monstrosity, I was going to explain another way of bringing Aeris back." He paused, taking a deep breath.
"All we need, after all, is sufficient Mako energy. The reactor would have been ideal, because it was designed to focus ambient energy. However, there are other ways of doing this. We can use our own Materia Orbs."
"Why did you want to use the reactor at all, then?" asked Cid.
"Partly because it's easier to control," replied Nanaki. "But the main reason is that any Materia used in the process will shatter as too much Mako energy is injected in them. Because we have few Orbs, the process will require all of them, and thus we'll be without Materia."
"That means if we save her now, we won't have any Materia on hand to take on the Shinra," Reeve pointed out.
"Correct," said Nanaki. "Furthermore, we can't take them on now and hope to be able to bring her back later. You see, as time passes, Aeris' life energy becomes less and less distinct from the surrounding Lifestream. Thus, it becomes harder and harder to focus her energy. I don't know how good my estimate is, but from what I can infer from the texts, we have precious little time before she dissipates beyond recovery. Between 3 and 4 hours, I think."
"Takes two hours to get to Midgar," muttered Cid. "Shit!" he cursed.
"Can't we just grab some young Materia in Mideel and use that?" asked Tifa.
"Unfortunately, we can't," sighed Nanaki. "Only mastered Materia has enough power to focus the energy around here."
"Reeve, try raising Yuffie again," ordered Cloud.
Reeve complied, taking out his cell phone. He listened for a moment, then shook his head. "Still can't raise her."
Cloud looked down, weighing the options. Then, "All right. I think we should try to bring Aeris back, despite what it'll do to our Materia. I think she's more precious than all the Materia in the world, and she's certainly more so than the dozen orbs we have. We'll have to hope we can get hold of Yuffie and get her to lend us the Materia we gave her. Hopefully, before the Shinra kick-start their reactor. Agreed?"
Everyone vehemently agreed.
Cloud turned to Nanaki. "Let's do it. What must we do?"
"Someone must act as focus," said Nanaki. "That has to be me, since I'm the only one who can read the incantations. Everybody else, take two orbs in each hand and stand in a circle, holding hands with your neighbor. Therefore, each pair of hands hold two orbs. Think of Aeris, what she looked like, but also who she was. Her thoughts, her dreams, how she spoke, how she moved. The more precise the image, the more chance we have to find her in the Lifestream."
Everyone complied, placing themselves in a circle. Nanaki produced his notes and began to chant. Nothing happened for several minutes. Then, suddenly, the air around Nanaki started to shimmer with a pale green glow. The glow intensified slowly, then Mako mist started to form. It became denser and denser until it became difficult for everyone to breathe. Then, with a crackle of energy, the mist started to coalesce in a vaguely human form.
Nanaki ordered everyone to think of Aeris as intensely as possible.
Barret thought of the girl who had saved Marlene, despite the fact that by doing so, she placed herself in great danger...
Nanaki thought of the woman he had terrified in Hojo's lab, but who forgave him without as much as a second thought...
Cid thought of the girl who had spoken harshly to him over his treatment of Shera and who, in the end, had been right...
Vincent thought of the child whose innocence had given him hope and the will to go on...
Reeve thought of the poor Cetra over whom so much blood had been spilled and whom, despite all the harm people had done to her, had saved those people in a selfless act of courage that ultimately cost her her life...
Tifa thought of the one she had wanted to love like a sister but who she considered a rival until it was too late...
And Cloud was thinking of the woman he had let be killed, of the one he had failed to save. One more failure in his life, but by far the costliest... Aeris, who had persisted in following him through the slums, disregarding all risk... Aeris, who had slowly, carefully tried to pry him out of the walls he had built around his soul...
A deafening boom was heard, and everyone could feel the energy of the Materia flow out between their fingers. The Orbs grew intensely hot, nearly burning their hands. But they all held on. Then, suddenly, the flow of energy ceased, and the Materia crumbled, turning into a light powder that the next wisp of wind blew away. Nanaki let out a howl, then fainted. A young woman with brown hair was lying in front of him, naked, face down on the grass.
Cloud walked to the young woman slowly, as if in a dream. He turned her over carefully to see whether she was breathing. She was. He saw her face. The full, delicate lips; the pale skin; the small, upturned nose. Although the telltale green eyes were still hidden behind her eyelids, there was no doubt about it: it was Aeris!
"Vincent, your cape," urged Tifa. Vincent nodded, took off his cape and covered Aeris' naked form with it. Then, he walked to Nanaki, helping him up as he was recovering.
Cloud took Aeris in his arms, carefully, reverently, as if she were made of the most precious and most fragile of crystal. Tears of joy were wetting his cheeks. He looked around to his friends, who were grinning and crying openly, without shame.
"Thank you all," Cloud said, his voice trembling from the emotion of the moment. "We've done it. She's back with us. The last trace of Sephiroth's madness has been erased. Let's get out of here and find her a place where she can rest."
"What about the Shinra?" asked Reeve, although he didn't sound really eager to do much about them.
"Shinra will wait," Cid replied sternly.
Suddenly, a deep rumble could be heard, coming from far below the island. It lasted several seconds. It stopped, then started again, but this time, the ground was shaking violently in time with the noise. The points of the island's "star" began to crumble.
"The island's collapsing! Everyone, to the Highwind!" shouted Cloud.
Everybody ran to the airship, Barret carrying Nanaki, the ground crumbling around them. Cid scrambled to the cockpit and gunned the engines. The airship took off barely in time, the whole island disappearing underwater instants after it took off.
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Benoit Goudreault-Emond April, 9 2001