Part
Four: From Up Above
I felt all life in me drift as Cloud held me and cried over my bleeding form. As I left my body I saw everyone with new eyes for a moment, and then I was gone. I was taken to a place with snow-covered mountains on all sides of me, and green fields all around. It was beautiful. I was dressed in a pink dress that flowed about my body in the slight breeze. I felt my stomach trying to find the wound left by Sephiroth's blade and found nothing.
My breath was taken away when I saw fields of flowers, more than I had ever seen before in my entire life. Even though the mountains closed off the area, it seemed to reach into eternity. Pleasant houses rested throughout the place, some clustered into small villages others completely alone, while others formed cities. I knew this was the Promised Land.
I saw a river of pure lifestream run through the entire Promised Land. I walked to the river of lifestream and peered over the edge. When I looked down I saw a portal open, reveling a scene happening somewhere else, the living world perhaps. It was Cloud and my other friends.
Cloud rested my body up against the railing of the altar where I died. His eyes where blood-shot, and he said. "My eyes are burning, my mouth is dry, I can barely breath, all because of you." He looked at Sephiroth who appeared like a machine, his eyes uncaring, and his sword stained with blood, my blood that dripped off the tip of the blade.
He spoke words, but I knew they were not his, he only spoke the words Jenova wanted him to speak. "The girl will return to the planet or even be taken to the Promised Land. I have done her a favor."
"What about my feelings, what about me?" Cloud growled at Sephiroth.
"Feelings? Don't pretend as though you have them, and don't pretend to be sad or angry either. Because Cloud you are…!" With that he flew away again not finishing his sentence, but I saw the words he truly spoke in his mind. What have I done? How could I have killed her? She was innocent, she did nothing, She tried to save me, but I killed her when I wanted to love her. Jenova, I will fight you and you will burn for this. Then he was gone on his way to become a god.
Jenova-Life appeared and completed Sephiroth's half spoken words, "Just a Puppet" She growled in an ominous and unreal voice. Cloud was so furious he slashed at her and cut her nearly in half with one blow. Jenova disappeared and Cloud turned to my body, several feet away. Cid was kneeling over me, gently wiping some blood off my still smiling face. He stood and let Cloud tend to me.
Through the portal I saw Cloud carry me down and up the stairs to the holy water at the base of the giant shell. His face showed no emotion, it was just as cold and hard as the day I met him, but I saw his emotion in his eyes. They showed anger, remorse, regret, and sadness.
As I looked to the faces of my other friends I saw mixed emotions of anger, pity, confusion, loss, and tears on almost every face. Barret was whipping a tear away and hanging his head. Tifa held a hand over her mouth to stop from shouting her remorse. Red VIII sat and howled at the moon. Cid was saluting me with a sad expression on his face, and pity. Cait Sith looked very sad but did not cry; I don't think toys can shed tears. Yuffie was a jumble of sadness and fear that the same thing could happen to her. Vincent removed his facemask and stared solemnly at my dead form.
Cloud's eyes shed no tears. I sensed he feared he would break down. He moved into the water and sank only to his waist. Only Ancient Cetra could enter the holy water of the Forgotten City. He walked slowly about fifteen feet out and rested me in the water. I sank slightly, but he would not remove his arms from my form. He took a deep breath and gazed at my face one last time.
Reluctantly, he released me and I slowly fell deeper and deeper into the water. My hair had fallen loose and without my ribbon to hold it up it seemed to float angelically in the water. My hands fell from my waist, palms open, and raised slightly in the water. I sank into the holy water to rest there forever. Cloud shed one more tear, wiped it away quickly, and clenched his fist, vowing to get revenge.
I looked through the portal; tears welled up in my eyes. These people were truly my friends. The emotion they showed was touching. I whispered to them all. "Do not cry for me, dear friends." They all seemed to look up as if the wind had spoken, then I whispered to Cloud only. "I will see you again, I promise. Come find me" He raised his head and looked hopeful at the water. Then realized it was perhaps just the wind.
I stood, no longer able to watch the sadness I had caused my friends. When I turned from the portal I saw a woman dressed in red robes with long brown hair and eyes like mine. She smiled at me; this is when I realized who she was. This was my real mother.
"Dear Aerith, you have found your way home at last." She reached out and embraced me. "I thought you would be older. Tell me, what is it that brought you here."
So, I told my mother of the boy I had met selling flowers on the street and I told her of the man with long white hair, and the feelings I had for them both. I told her of the friends I had met, the adventures we had, and finally of my death. She nodded and told me she has been watching me, the way I watched my friends.
"It is most unfortunate that you love two men, dearest. You must search your heart and find the one who you need most. It would be very prosperous to choose the Cetra man. He has our blood running through him. He is the way to continue our race, but you must not choose for reasons of prosperity. Follow your heart."
I listened carefully to my mother's words. Over the next few days my mother showed the Promised Land and the place where I was to live. She said it was only a temporary residence. I asked why and she only said, "You shall see."
I believe that she knew more than she told me, but did not pursue the matter. I watched my friends carefully for weeks, guiding them along the way.
I got down and laid on my stomach with my feet bent up and waving behind me as I looked into the portal in the Lifestream. After many developments they had finally reached the Northern Crater. There they fought Sephiroth and destroyed Jenova. Sephirtoh was defeated or so it seemed. He pulled Cloud into his mind for a final fight. Of all the monstrous forms he had taken on, I found the most intimidating was his last form.
Cloud was hurled into Sephiroth's mind to find the normal looking Sephiroth standing with his white hair blowing, sword drawn, and shirt and cloak removed. Cloud released a final Limit Break, his Omnislash attack. Sephiroth didn't even know what hit him. Blood flowed from his face and multiple wounds on his chest. He placed one hand on his forehead and his eyes widened as white beams shot from his chest and fingertips. He had been destroyed.
Ribbons of lifestream circled Cloud. In his dream state he didn't realize that the crater was breaking up around him. If he fell into the lifestream he would be killed. Cloud reached out his hand and thought he saw mine reaching back, but it was Tifa. He snapped out of his dream state and grabbed Tifa, vaulting them both towards the stable cliff. Cloud said. "I need to find the Promised Land, I think I can meet her there."
"Yeah, let's go meet her." Tifa answered. Tifa had been after Cloud for a while, but Cloud would have no part of it. I think in that moment she gave up.
"Where are the others?" Cloud asked, and then he heard shouts. The rest of the party was on a cliff higher up, trying to figure out to escape before the crater fell apart around them.
"Lady, luck don't fail me now." Cid said, he looked up and his mouth gapped open, letting his cigarette fall into the Lifestream. He saw his ship, the Highwind, come tumbling down as the floor gave way. Everyone jumped on board. They escaped just in time.
I saw them as they reached Midgar just in time to see METEOR within a hundred feet of impact. It was tearing up the town. Luckily, Cait Sith had told every one to retreat to the slums under ground, but if METEOR hit it would not matter where the people were, all would be dead, including the planet. Holy came, it was dissolved by METEOR. Now there was one hope left, my prayer.
Then I saw a scene back at the Forgotten City. My White Materia had risen up out of the water and began to glow. It shot out a light that covered the entire world, the light summoned great amounts of Lifestream from all over the planet. The lifestream destroyed METEOR and greenery grew all over. METEOR was defeated.