Title: Final Fantasy: Salvation Begins
Author/s: AsianScaper
Summary: Aki Ross finds hope amidst her desperation and sadness, as we all will.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. People who deserve it do.
Rating: G
Category: Drama
Feedback: Send your criticism, comments, or insights to asianscaper@hotmail.com
Archiving: Put it anywhere you wish, just email me the URL.
Spoilers: If you don't know what happened at the end of the movie, don't read this just yet.
Dedication: This is dedicated to the Final Fantasy crew who made this masterpiece possible. To all those who remember how to dream...and hope in adversity.
Author's Note: Again, this was also SUPER done posthaste. I don't know why I'm so compelled to write. It would be the third time I edited this...there was so much to say, yet so little time. Cheers!
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The dew had begun the nightly raid for moisture. They pulled their spindly hands laden with liquid diamonds much like silk threads tipped in transparent jewels divulged every known hue; with this embroidered coat, they wrapped blades of grass with shining backs of transparent gems.
The moon was hanging in the horizon like a silver coin resting upon the surface of a sapphire sea, glowing brilliantly in its wholeness. Craters distinctly shone amidst the vast deformities of her surface. Poor Moon bided its time in spinning in the sky, providing light much like the sun though with palpable weakness that to smile upon it was not a necessity but a desire.
This moon spun in accordance to higher things; a little heavenly body scrambling against the current of more beautiful bodies with a destined path that shifted tides and moved the glaciers of a cold heart. Its maligned surface held the ability to manipulate, to bend to Aurora's need that the nobles may indeed outshine all but themselves. As the moon gazed upon the darker side of the earth, its brilliance seemed to cradle the blades of grass like babes in the arms of a gentle mother. A weak light, truly, but a caress that touched with hands of cotton and silk.
The grass willingly accepted the orb's wonderful gifts of silver as its river of feeble light placed happiness over pain, hope over fear. In the cold peace of its unearthly boon, blades in response swayed against a gentle wind, carrying with them the scent of an approaching winter, of a spring that had once been, of summers that held no rain and fall where cold wore quilts to warm itself.
In the grass' joy, dancing to the wind's song, swaying in their emerald dresses laced with diamonds manufactured by the dew's toil, a part of them was tenderly put to rest when a creature bigger than they stepped unto the new born meadow.
Aki Ross was kind in her attempt to disturb for grass merely glanced across the rough sides of her boots, speculating at the wonderful heat that pulsed through her great body. She did not crush the frail figures of these olive pillars for their juice. She carefully pressed the grass' dresses against the earth; pressed their ears against the soil to hear the rapture of a healing planet as crickets sang sweet lullabies to the fertility that blessed their senses.
Aki's mouth moved like the moon at the eve of her first journey across the sky, curved in path of the horizon. There was melancholy there, as if her thin lips had always existed to wrinkle the kind whispers of her kindred soul.
Yet, she gathered the breath of a respiring earth, the smell of pastures which titillated the senses. The strange frigid warmth of moisture against her boots exchanged greetings with her feet, with her nose, with her mouth, with her weary hands as she stooped over to touch the tips of grass. Bending like a child over a patch of flowers, the veil that hid her delight fell straight away and these pillars, verdant heads reaching for the warmth of her soft fingers, melted in their esteem as if the moon herself had bestowed them with gifts.
Sigh for all eternity, little sister of the big hands…
She did not know if they were indeed talking to her but in her state of intended mirages and wanton ignorance, laughter ran past the instrument of her voice; a deluge from the clouds of her meandering mind. Oh, the taste of air was sweet like honey and the smell which came from Night's perfume was more delightful than rose petals.
This meadow where grasses stroked her feet, where satellites graced the earth with their presence, where trees grew to compete for the moon's ethereal boon, filled her with their innocence. It filled her with its belief that it could perforate conviction into her languid soul as it never had.
New born indeed for the grass was listless in the wind and their laughter joined the banquet of the moon's bright table. They released gales of fresh air as they too partook in her mirth and she seemed to pluck strings of nature's harp for them as they danced capers in the air.
"Beautiful," she whispered tenderly, her hands blessing the tips of the blades, unbelieving of the grace from mother earth's inexhaustible wand. She would have laughed with more liberty than the flying lark had it not been for the sound of rustling grass and the vague threat of little feet leaping into a crevasse; that admirable cliff struggling against turbulent waters.
Aki rose from her stooped position, aware of the temporal breezes that swept at the host of plants. Reminiscent of the hand of God when it struck down warriors and breathed life into them once more. In their bravado, they resumed their places every time their bodies would be felled by the wind's hearty sword.
But to her meticulous eye, it was an assemblage of old friends, laughing in their blatant drunkenness.
Minding not the battle or the gathering happening on the field, Aki stood silent in her anxiety as once more, grass rustled coherently, shouting warning that someone was near.
"Who is it?" she said, her lithe body ready to run.
Fear crouched silently like a tiger at the edge of her debilitated sight and its paws were swiping at the barrier of her calm with ferocity.
In the midst of such panic, the silence was inviting. Technology provided such immense noise for her ears and the silence of a new world was certainly unknown to her.
Her hair flew like silken threads from the spider's mold across her sight, splitting the scenery in horizontal bits yet to become whole once more as the wind grew silent, feeling her anticipation and oft ignoring her already beating heart. This tiny microcosm of the world reminded her that death would come like lightning and she would leave like wind if, in its mercy, she would die swiftly like Hermes' moving feet.
"Doctor?" a tiny voice inquired. This voice seemed to be gathered into a bottle of hopes, to be opened at any moment someone would wish contentment to unfold before him like petals from the blooming youth.
This same youth shared its innocence that the field was instantly delighted. The moon offered a pillar of light for this child and the shape revealed was that of a sulking maiden, small in stature. She was a little goddess walking amongst the shimmering paths of emerald stone. Emerging from the darkness, her steps were hesitant, as if the woman's fearful voice had placed a pliant barrier to hinder her path.
The doctor smiled over her initial reaction to a creature so harmless and carefully, she withdrew her presence from the patches of grass that had welcomed her whole-heartedly, bidding a transient farewell to them. A farewell that meant all, and nothing.
The girl was small for her age. Her black hair covered her eyes and wildly dashed across her face as if attempting to escape her head. Despite the conflict within the faint glimmer in the center of her eye, as nature fought against her features, her freckled cheeks revealed a minute flow of tears. Grief is known to children, as is pain; and liquid diamonds are said to be trinkets inside their tiny fingers.
She approached the woman with a mix of familiarity and childish fear. Soft brown eyes mirrored Aki's own but they were gray now, as if soil had been covered with a dense fog and heaven had claimed possession of the earth.
"Anicham." Aki Ross' shoulders had relaxed at the sight of the child, her eyes taking in the clenched fist of shadows and small pink lips that pouted in disappointment. "I'm sorry, little one. What are you doing here?"
"I don't know."
Confusion darkened much of the little girl's face, allowing the incomprehensibility in her statement to merely fly and daunt the sense in Aki's ears.
The woman, who was looking at Anicham's with happiness, took steps to close the space between them. The ground was compliant as it provided passage for Aki's long, purposeful stride and once she stopped in front of the girl, Aki was filled with peace that had never quite reached her heart. Ice and sheet plundered all warmth from what was once called her pith of continence yet here before her was a girl no taller than her waist who held more soul than she. Anicham raised her dainty head; her little nose wrinkling as cold began to snatch her silently into an icy realm.
"We better get you inside before you catch something."
Aki knew her reasons for ignoring the rift in Anicham's statement. This little girl had more to her than an innocent face and tiny hands that reached intently for the warmth of Aki's big ones.
…Little sister of the big hands…
She offered a backward glance at the scenery, taking Anicham's little body in an embrace and lifting her gently, that she would feel the security of firm shoulders and motherly arms: a luxury that this kindred spirit had never had the pleasure to know.
"Oh, you're getting heavier and heavier, little one."
A rare smile graced Anicham's lips, lips that had once widened in fearful howls. Carefully, the little girl placed her head against Aki's chest, murmuring softly of how cold it was.
The light of her brown eyes winked from under her eyelids as she bade the older human goodnight. This brief yet florid show flickered like the gaiety of the moon seen from below rustling leaves of trees and despite the shadow of an armed hunter; the unfettered doe stood in confidence within her environment. Light ceased as her lids placed a tiny blanket over her eyes. Aki's neck was entangled comfortably in Anicham's little arms as if the little girl held a delicate vase; more than just fragile porcelain, but a living being with a heart and a soul beneath flesh and flowing rivers of blood.
Anicham's tiny mouth was slightly open, welcoming the breath of the angels and the blessing of midnight faeries touching tips of corn with their faery wands. Her eyes closed in spiritless sleep reminded Aki insanely of a man she once knew; his own eyes were closed in eternal repose, only to wake when he reached the gates of the netherworld.
Perhaps, in this world where life faded to provide passage for new forms, they would exchange greetings with faint gasps of bodiless souls.
Despite the terrible pang it caused, Aki felt the warmth seeping into her spirit beginning to spread as Anicham's small frame rested in her cradling embrace and the unconditional trust of a child made her feel more human than she ever had been.
Aki's soul was tainted with the sins of a grown man and this child's unmarked chastity bathed her in sweet pools laden with rose petals, washing the grimy hands of a soldier, of a physician whose own blood was vermilion against her white coat. These deeds were such that they may never have been forgiven if not for the mercy of a mere child. Such was the power of innocence, purity that made untouched space blush their shameful colors.
Aki stretched time to study the little girl, wondering at the rise and fall of Anicham's chest; a chest which was occupied by a small heart. This heart beat in accordance to a love she had no grasp of. This small body held so much wonder that it overflowed in an aura of innocence, an aura of love that she would entrust to anyone who held out her hand.
Little sister of the big hands…
Brushing a strand of dark, ebony hair from Anicham's face, Doctor Aki Ross walked the fields in tranquil descent of a verdant lea. She was heavy with the weight of the child yet her heart's walled domain was as tranquil as she had never had it since…
Gray…
And the earth spoke gently to her, reassuring her that the man she had sacrificed for the fields, for the dancing blades of grass, for the clarity of the sky, had not died in vain.
Big brother of the strong hands…
So that was what they called him.
And a tear that she had never called from the depths of that sorrowful lake staggered from the side of her watery eyes, traveling in mournful descent across the pallid set of her lips, of her chin, of her sad yet moving jaw. The sorrow was raw, like a wound that had never healed, that still bled in its severity. The lance was impaled in her heart and its putrid smell metallic like blood.
She bathed under a ceaseless waterfall of sadness. She never would have been lifted from this dismal place had it not been for Anicham's tiny voice telling her to stop crying, those tiny hands offering comfort from an unreserved soul that suffered to see Aki's body racked by sobs.
She could still feel tiny fingers covering her head, stroking her hair with such affinity; she could still feel the breath of a child's voice whispering into her ear, "Don't cry, Aki. Please don't cry."
There was a plea for strength that she would partake of if Aki only had the capacity to haul herself up the stairs. Anicham would soothe her with her words until it became a chant to end all chants, a cry to end all cries, a prayer said to a saint who never ceased her laments.
The little girl had seen all the pain Aki had gone through, unable even to encumber the remarkable grief that began as soon as Gray's hands had left hers. Those clean eyes saw dirt, as walls where babes were thrown to their deaths. Yet as a child would have it, Aki's suffering did not pillage Anicham's childhood. Anicham still stood with dignity, with heart, with a certain amount of courage that she had no right to possess.
Clouds clambered up the steps of heaven to cover the moon's beauty yet still, shafts of light fell and stroked the leaves of tall oak trees and long reeds that bent over to touch the water of a small pond. The water reflected all light and darkness, a witness to all that was happening, unable to move beyond its earthen boundaries. It was happy as current upon current played under its surface, causing it to budge. It gathered a remarkable shower of colors and reflected it in a myriad of hues.
"Good bye," Aki breathed, unable to move for a moment as everything grasped her with its limitless passion and left her tongue devoid of words. It was her eyes that wandered to all the details of this ethereal cultivation of harrowed earth.
She would never have noticed the huge biosphere that separated her meadow from the rest of the world. Now that the moon felt obliged to light her way lest she stumble and fall, the sphere was golden where the light hit the shield, shimmering like water touched by the sun.
Aki exited to the huge complex that encircled her immense garden. It was like a silver snake, which embraced the bark of a forbidden tree; forever to lay waste to this heavenly garden yet doomed to protect it. Barely noticing the complexity of it all: the irony of steel guarding pastures of green against the hostile environment of the planet outside, she held out one hand to press a code into the compu-pad.
"Doctor Aki Ross," she said aloud, careful in tone and pitch not to disturb the slumber of the youngster.
"Doctor? That you?" There was amazement in the man's voice. "I didn't see you come in."
The speaker was mounted on top of the scanner and placing her palm on the elevated platform designed especially for the task of identification, she spoke into the receiver.
"I'd have you fired for sleeping during your shift, Proudfoot."
Proudfoot…
That determined frown, that harsh tongue known only to men -or women- who had seen carnage to the very dregs of the cup and had lived to witness more. A wonderful, haughty voice, whose hearty ballad resonated into the halls of a dreary castle. It made Aki feel worthless yet…alive. Jane died in defense of Aki's life and now, a younger throat was talking to her with the same voice, deep in its manhood, gentle unlike his sister's. A ghost that moved with an awesome resemblance to a woman Aki once knew.
"Don't say that, Doc. I love you."
She heard the snicker of men at the background. She, too, managed the moment of humor with a small chuckle.
"Every one loves me," she said with sarcasm. She heard the delighted assent from the rest of Proudfoot's companions.
"Don't listen to them, Doc. I'm your greatest fan, bet on it."
Despite the knowledge that Proudfoot could not see her, she rolled her eyeballs and proceeded to tell him, "I'll place a bet when I get paid for this job. Just open the door, Proudfoot."
"Yes ma'am."
The steel doors laid back like squires bowing to their queen. It was then that the sudden smell one would breathe in a hospital wing permeated her senses. It wafted past her and the grass below her shifted backward in seeming abhorrence as colder air passed to scrape their icy fingers against them.
Proudfoot's voice accompanied her as the immense speaker systems of the complex were opened for her subordinate's usage.
Aki almost wept at the familiarity of his voice, at the woman who sat behind it. She could almost hear the fire of Jane's voice, the fear beneath the calm at the sight of alien phantoms emerging from every corner of her sight. Her terror must have been unparalleled then, but she died bravely as Aki had expected…as Aki had hoped beyond all hope if anything were to happen. The unwarranted factor of possibilities had acted. If she were to feel the momentary disbelief and incredible loss, her sight would have revealed the phantom's spindling appendage reaching into her with an unfamiliar greed for eternity; a thief who stole the flying horse to reach the heavens with his pride.
Here Aki was, listening to the surviving remnants of another Proudfoot. Of another brave Proudfoot who drew revenants from his past and summoned its companions.
The sensation of hard, cold metal below her feet was strange. She felt detached from the abundance of life behind her and there was finality to this separation when the doors hissed closed. Walking in whitewashed corridors, she could hear the distant hum of power circulating through circuitry neatly tucked under pieces of cold metal. The ventilation was a trivial whine that synchronized with the vibrations pulsing through the floor. She felt trapped within this vessel of tin and if ships were forced into tiny bottles, so were humans coerced to do the bidding of science for the salvation of the world.
"Doc, how them plants doin'?" Proudfoot inquired. "Those damned weeds have been growing at the edge of the sphere. Reckoned you saw 'em."
"They're fine. I don't want you cutting the weeds down. We might need those." She heard laughter and a muffled, "Okay" from the man. "Send Maki down here," she added, "Ani found her way to the biosphere and I'd like to take her to her quarters."
There was a cheery sound beyond the speakers and Aki knew it to be the huge man named Maki Silver from the Scientific Expeditionary Force. She considered their kind a favor. Her connection with Maki was strong for deep gray eyes stared with the same soulful light as Anicham's did and his muscled arms provided more gentleness than her own, thin ones could.
"Yes doctor," a deeper voice intoned, clearly elated to hear that he was to be separated from his task to take care of a vulnerable child.
"And Proudfoot, can you get a Valkyrie to pick me up?"
"Goin' somewhere, Doc?" Proudfoot asked.
"Obviously," Aki growled, irritated. If indeed, wrath was said to hide, then it hid with an expressed desire to be seen in full measure. "I want to be in New N.Y. by oh-eight-hundred hours. I'll have the paperwork done by Monday."
"Yes, ma'am."
Aki Ross was left to the silence of the corridors, walking with a weary limp as little Ani snuggled in her arms. The bliss was all that made Aki's torch burn with the desire to continue living, walking in submission upon the path of daggers. It was silence, though, that brought with it the numbing effect of calm, carrying it in the air that wandered between the spaces of the hallway. Air that brushed at her legs as they moved in repeated motion.
She had grown used to the sound of silence mixed with this gall as she walked for she wandered these empty corridors with an empty soul, so like the hermit robbed of his unshakable faith. She had lost pieces of her unconquered soul to this place yet ironically, this steel grail of baneful proportions held in it her salvation.
Salvation begins…
That road was winding off into darkness but there was hope that shone from an oiled lamp. Oil that never ran out as it never had before, when whales roamed the oceans with impunity.
Aki's legs were beginning to feel the strain of carrying the four-year-old child; weightless as she seemed in Maki's muscled ones.
Meeting a tall sentinel just outside a huge, glass door, she pulled her security pass from her pocket.
"Aki Ross."
"Ma'am," a guard acknowledged, saluting as she walked past the entrance to the living quarters. The man stared at her with the look and hue of the soulless. It all just conflicted with the truth that this place, where gardens were considered gold produced hundred-fold, held more life than any continent on her planet.
The living room was spacious and a few, comfortable seats were scattered about the space. Lights were lit everywhere, unlike the passage that glowed a bright yellow towards the rooms themselves. There were various pots of plants that they had grown in the lab and oddly, these plants gave such pleasant company and hue, that she found a few of the crewmen playing an intense game of chess beside a fern she herself had generated from scratch. It was incredible how something so pure and natural could spring up from the hands of a being stripped of her artlessness. How a thing of inexpressible good could come from an incomprehensible evil.
Her mind floated to the pieces, to the ivory monarch who stood with brows furrowed in anger and they moved…
And moved…
And moved in a rage, like seas in bitter battle, waves undulating and pushing with severity until a bold pawn, his round head fat like a healthy child's, came dashing to plunge his sword into the king with the queen, black in her anger, by his side.
Aki felt repentance emerging from the deed and startled at this, she searched with the ebony pieces of her soul for the better half that floated like ivory tusks.
Check…mate…
Their whispers were mute but they reminded her of a time…
…A time when she felt no pain…
***
The child in her arms stirred and strangely enough, she reminded her of a citizen of the soil…
…A beloved of the earth…
Pure joy, temperance unchecked, sprouted from the image of this sleeping child for she was, as all young things were, a spirit untouched by all but the kisses of Mother Earth. She held the rain of tears, the tendrils of fear, the blinding mist of hate in a bottle of hope…
Still, the child slept in silent repose, her chest rising and falling to the rhythm of her soul…of her heart…of the earth that bore her.
And she dreamt in peace, trusted love, and believed…
Aki smiled.
There were a few things that she could not do…this was not one of them.
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Solaris moch Carniae
-The Tale of Violence-
from "Themes of the Soul"
The fire burns like the torches of God at nightfall
And we falter like the oak against the gale.
Tears fall…
Like diamonds upon a sea of dreams
And the ripples move, clear as the pebbles beneath a river.
Nothing prevails but the veil of ignorance, of sorrow, of defeat,
Of fear…
And once again, we drown as the souls drown in eternal cries of ruin…
A ceaseless song that pierces
Like a knife through the heart.
_________
-The End-
This is also dedicated to Aes Sedai(Ani K) for trying...and believing.