Part 6- The Bitter Taste of Truth
Chapter 23- Cosmo Memories
A few days later, Cloud and Tifa, along with their other friends whom had journeyed with them thus far, arrived in the quaint village known as Cosmo Canyon. The heavens seemed to yawn and open over this mountainous terrain, baring the stars in all their glory to cast their light upon the weary faces of the travelers. The night was a velvety black that seemed to hang like a heavy blanket of silk over the sleeping land, trapping the few waves of heat near the ground. The Highwind had banked noiselessly upon the crimson path, its long rope ladder thrown down to allow its passengers to disembark safely. Cloud took up his massive blade from where it lay on its rack within his cabin, and inspecting its battle-scarred length, he thought of the man whose blood had once stained its worn steel. It was because of him that they had come here, and because him that they had journeyed so long and painfully. His radiant eyes set aglow with determination, Cloud tossed the shoulder strap skillfully over his golden spikes, allowing the sheathed weapon to rest upon his back.
"It's been a long time..." he sighed painfully, glancing over at the significantly less decorated Buster Sword that lay upon his bunk, noticing how lonely the blade seemed in the darkness of the room. "Ultima Weapon... I never thought I'd have to take you from that rack ever again." He had left it on the ship in order to keep it away from his growing daughter, for fear that its razor sharp edge would harm the child he loved so dearly. Even when she had grown old enough to know never to touch her father's weapons, he still hadn't the heart to take it from where it had rested so long in the one place where it would never do anyone harm.
The door creaked open suddenly, interrupting Cloud's thoughts and bathing him in a stream of dim moonlight. A silhouette was cast upon the wooden planks of the floor, seeming tall and ghastly in such pale illumination. He whirled around in surprise, his right hand resting upon the hilt of his blade, every muscle in his body as tense as a spring and ready to be released at the slightest signal.
"Cloud...?" came the quiet whisper of Tifa, allowing his form to relax visibly and approach the starlit doorway.
"Tifa, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing to leave the ship?" Cloud asked tiredly, unable to resist the yawn that shook his entire body with its violence.
"Well... it's just that..." she began uneasily, her eyes cast quickly towards the barren floor before she peered up to study the man she loved so much. "I mean... wait a minute! Cloud, is that the-"
"Yeah, it is," Cloud sighed coolly, his gloved hand resting upon the smooth skin of her shoulder. "Listen... I have a feeling that we're going to need these in the battles coming ahead. Do you have the Premium Heart with you?"
"I have it equipped right now, mastered materia and all," she replied as if distracted, lifting her strong right arm to show him the powerful weapon. Cloud nodded in approval, taking her arm in his gentle grasp and analyzing the spectrum of hued materia that rested in the filled slots.
"Why...? Why, after 20 years of happiness... of peace, must he return?" groaned Cloud in frustration, the bright sapphires of his irises searching deep within the sweet topaz jewels of Tifa's eyes for an answer. Her eyelids hid the gems from view as she shook her head, wishing with all her heart that they could have lived a normal life together, ignoring the business of fighting for the rest of their existence.
"I really don't know, Cloud... I wish I did. I wish with all of my heart that I knew, and that I could put a stop to this, but you know that I can't... not without your help. Running will not solve any problems... We have to find a way to put an end to him for all of time, so that the next generations can live in peace even if we cannot. Together, Cloud..." she spoke soothingly, her velvety eyes shining with a deep pure hope, indestructible by any force in existence. A slow smile seemed to spread itself across Cloud's face, the understanding leaking deep into his soul.
"Thanks..." he murmured shyly, an awkward pause dominating the room before he gestured towards the wilderness of the outside world. "We probably better head out before Cid leaves without us!"
The distant glow of the Cosmo Candle illuminated the mountainside, the flickering rhythm of the flames seeming to drive the deep ceremonial beat of far away drums. As Shera's endurance began to dwindle, Cid offered her the support of his own body ungrudgingly, glancing away casually as not to gain attention from his friends. Tifa stifled a giggle as she tugged Cloud's sleeve, quietly drawing his attention towards the emotionally softening man. Cloud grinned mentally, glad to see that his friend had finally abandoned the obnoxious impassive attitude that he had once harbored for the woman that was carrying his child.
Within minutes, they had reached the main flight of steps that led into the heart of the canyon village, and stood staring once again in full awe of the spectacle. Tall cerulean towers stretched high into the night sky, dotted with artificial lights that twinkled from within the carefully crafted windowsills. Upon the highest of the scarlet cliffs lay a tall blue tower, from which protruded an amazingly large telescope pointed straight into the glory of the heavens. The Cosmo Candle seemed to snarl at the very shadows that threatened to creep over the town, an eternal guardian for the sacred observatory. From behind the flames, a figure seemed to creep stealthily through the shadows from the cliffs, skulking where even the heroes could not detect. From directly behind them a powerful voice boomed into their senses, shaking them all out of their daze and causing them all to jump where they stood.
"Who goes there?" it hissed, solid and full of strength.
Cloud whirled around, his sword raised, poised for a mighty blow upon the head of their assailant...
"Red...?"
The blade clattered harmlessly to the rocky ground as Cloud stood dumbfounded in the stairway, staring at his friend as if he had seen a spectral figure in his stead. Within 20 years, Red XIII had changed more than any of the others had. No longer simply an adolescent amongst the beasts of his kind, he had grown into a fully developed adult, having being given the coming of age ceremony by the citizens of the town. Dressed in the full headdress regalia of a chief, the long vibrant plumage extended towards the sky, woven intricately into a craftily beaded headband with tassels of pure navy silk. The faintest hints of his rather recent cub-hood had since disappeared, resulting in a series of physical change that none of them had anticipated. He had grown longer, every lean muscle and sinew pushing against the coat of bristling fur, the already fiery hues ignited by the light of the Candle. His muzzle was sharper, his eyes longer and more intense. Even the long swishing tail had a far greater blaze upon its tip, trailing layers of smoke as it swayed to and fro rhythmically. He seemed far more powerful than he had when they had last seen him so long ago, no longer a child, but still always the same comrade they had fought alongside.
The beast's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, squinting through the thick cover of darkness that danced away from the flames' eternal light before growling in surprised recognition.
"Cloud Strife..." came the delighted purr as the beast padded quietly forward. "I never thought I'd see you in this area again! What brings you to the Canyon, my friend?"
"Red...?" asked Tifa quietly, dropping to one knee into the dust of the path. The beast studied the faces warily, then bounded over to the woman's extended arms in a joyous leap as if he were a faithful guard dog welcoming his master home after a long and arduous journey. Tifa pressed her tearful face into her old friend's fiery fur, feeling his shy nuzzle against her neck.
"How have you been, old friend?" she laughed lightly, taking the fiery face in between her hands with a grin. Red growled in embarrassment, twisting gently away from her fond embrace and muttering under his breath. It had been very obvious since the beginning of their fateful journey twenty years previous that Nanaki had favored Tifa and Aerith over the other members of the party. Although he had told them gruffly that he didn't like the childish way in which they treated him, it was plain to see that he enjoyed the amount of attention the women had paid to him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Miss Tifa, Miss Shera, Cloud, Vincent, and Cid... how are you all?" Nanaki asked fondly, a glint of excitement afire in his eye. The traditional greetings ensued, but as Cloud opened his mouth to explain their dilemma, Red's powerful gaze rose to meet his.
"I sense that story you have to tell is extremely long. Come with me... before you begin, we should go somewhere more comfortable," he gestured with a nod of his head towards Bugenhagen's tower at the top of the looming cliffs. With a grateful nod of agreement, the party trudged wearily in the wake of the swishing flame upon Red's tail. After a few minutes of climbing through a series of carefully crafted passages in the rock face, they emerged at the top of the plateau. Rays of gentle moonlight illuminated the area, bathing them in a shower of pure shimmering silver. Nanaki paused momentarily with a respectful bow of his head towards the smiling moon, her craterous dimples clear and visible through the cloudless night. Nanaki nudged the door of the observatory open with his muzzle, illuminating them in the seemingly cheap artificiality of manmade light.
Squinting from the strain of such brightness against their eyes, they stepped across the threshold with great curiosity, taking care not to track the vivid scarlet mud into the foyer. Another voice, soft but strange, rang in their ears, laced with love and gentleness.
"Nanaki, is that you?"
"Yeah" Nanaki replied almost shyly, "Kereka, come down here! We have guests..." The light clicking of claws upon linoleum followed almost immediately, in an uneven pattern that suggested descent from a staircase. Suddenly, before them appeared a beautiful creature, shy but full of power and life. Like Nanaki's, her coat seemed to be aflame, glowing a glossy crimson in the strong lamplight. Upon the tip of her slender tail burned a sizable blaze, the light smoke slowly floating through the air before melting away into the night. She was very much like Nanaki, but smaller, her features lean and feminine. Her nose was shorter, her eyes larger and less narrowed, now full of surprise and concern. The same exact expression dominated the features of the former AVALANCHE crew, their jaws dropped in pure amazement and disbelief.
"Nanaki... who are these people? It's not often that you invite guests into our home..." she murmured softly, ducking behind her husband's sleek form.
"Kereka, meet my old friends, Shera, Tifa, Vincent, Cid, and Cloud-" Red began before being interrupted by his wife's understanding purr.
"Oh, so you are those humans Nanaki always spoke so much about!" she seemed to smile, beaming welcome at the still awestruck travelers. "Mr. Strife, he talked about you and your wife so much. Oh, I'm sorry. I must introduce myself properly. I am Kereka, wife of Nanaki. It is a pleasure to meet you," she recited formally, followed by a stiff-legged bow.
Cloud's eyes were downcast now at the mention of his late wife, his heart flooding once again with the river of sorrow that he had only begun to dam. Nanaki nudged her sharply with his shoulder, reminding her to keep her tact with humans. Before she had the chance to open her mouth and apologize, Tifa managed to recover the conversation, aiming at an entirely different subject.
"So... Kereka, I thought that Nanaki was the last of his kind," she blurted out quickly to ease the awkward silence.
"We really did think I was," Nanaki answered, fondly rubbing flanks with a bashfully blushing Kereka. "When Grandfather died twenty years ago, he had told me that I would find my mate someday. I was skeptical, of course... But to cut a long story short, a few years ago while hunting away from the Canyon, I found Kereka lying wounded in the forest. She was completely covered in dried blood, some hers, the rest from an opponent that she had been attacked by. Concerned and bewildered, I managed to help her along until we reached the Canyon, where the elders treated her with their herbal remedies. When she had finally recovered, I realized that she was the one whom Grandfather had spoken of, and we became mates soon after. We have had our first daughter, Hareko, but she is already asleep. She is only an infant still, in human terms."
Tifa smiled at the sweet story, placing a fond hand upon the furry head of her friend. "I'm really happy for the two of you!" she smiled, her emotions bubbling over like a cauldron left to boil, forgotten by some absent-minded person.
After an embarrassed growl and a shuffling of bashful paws, Nanaki led them to a series of armchairs resting by a few velvety rugs. Gesturing for them to take a seat, the pair of beasts laid down upon the soft plush fabric with a soft sigh.
"Now, tell us your story... what brings you to the Canyon so suddenly? Tell me what has transpired since the last time that I have seen you."
With this, Cloud began the epic tale, beginning with the troubled childhood of his young daughter, telling him of the day she ran away from his home after he had presented her with the mystical Masamune. He spoke of the entire year of adventure, telling him everything he knew, up to the point that they had lost track of her whereabouts and their need of the observatory to locate her life force. Nanaki listened intently throughout all of this, absorbing all of the information given to him, interrupting rarely to ask a puzzled question, and generally pondering the situation.
"Hmm... that is a very difficult situation. Well, we'll see how we can help you. We'll do everything in our power to help you locate Sephirah and bring her home. We ought not to use the observatory until two weeks from now, when the moon is not at its fullest, so its light will not obstruct the view. The search will be most effective then..." concluded the beast, with a yawn of exhaustion. "It is getting late. The guestrooms have been not prepared yet; you may rest here for tonight. We will discuss our plans further upon the sunrise. Come, Kereka, let us retire for the evening. We will send for you for breakfast when it has been prepared. Goodnight."
With those simple words, Nanaki turned and stalked wearily off, leaving Kereka to motion for them to follow her with a broad swish of her tail flame. The dragged their feet up the stairs, attempting to follow her brisk pace as she skipped up the steps. She came to a halt at a room on the second floor, the wall lined with cots heaped with blankets.
"We will have better accommodations ready upon tomorrow. I hope you don't mind sleeping here for tonight. I apologize for earlier, Mr. Strife... I am not used to the company of humans yet. I have still yet a lot to learn... Anyway, I hope you rest well!" she murmured softly before turning and hurrying out of the room in embarrassment. The group plopped immediately into the cots, filled with exhaustion, and soon had fallen fast asleep under the vigilance of the pale starlight that shone sneakily in through the windows.
Chapter 24- A Stargazer's Dreams
The wind seemed to breeze lightly through Cloud's hair, running its slippery fingers through the tangled spikes of solid gold. He was leaning upon the railing of a balcony that seemed very familiar to him, though he couldn't remember why if his own life were at stake upon the answer. Gazing over the restraints at the scenery so far below, he saw nothing but an emerald green haze stretching for miles around him like a low flying cloud during a foggy morn, and impassively he uttered a sigh of pure loneliness. The brilliant color reminded him of the way her eyes had shone with delight long ago, so full of glorious beauty...
"Cloud...?"
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice, soft and delicate, but wavering noticeably with emotion. He whirled around, startled, to find the face that he had always longed to see with such passion, in waking and in his dreams...
"Aerith!!" he murmured breathlessly, his eyes flooding with tears of joyous bewilderment, his hands trembling with longing but afraid to touch her, lest her specter dissipate into the air from which it came. "Is it really you...?"
"Oh, Cloud!" she sighed, rushing forth and collapsing into the warmth of his embrace, tears streaming forth from her eyes. "I'm so glad... you finally let me in! I was so worried about you, my love..." To Cloud, she felt so real... the smooth skin of her arms, she soft sheen of her hair, the warmth of her smile... she was the same Aerith she had always been, the same young woman he had loved with such passion. He could hardly believe himself, that he was holding her in his arms once again, his beloved and forever mourned wife.
"How...?" he managed to whisper softly, inhaling the richness of her floral scent, stroking the silken length of her tresses, and weeping softly the unshed tears of bitterness mixed with bewildered joy. "How did you...?" he attempted to form to words and continue his sentence, but she pressed a slender finger firmly against his lips for silence.
"This is the only time I will have to warn you of the dangers ahead... I can only appear in your dreams when you've opened your heart to let me in. But now that I've been so long under her influence, I cannot escape more than just this once to see you..." her hand rose like a feather borne by the wind, brushing fondly by his cheek to sweep away tear threatening to spill. "Oh, my love... the Phoenix cannot haunt Jenova, she who has already been diseased. She never told me the consequences of using the feather... You see-" she was speaking hastily until this point, where it was as if the very breath was being choked out of her body, her lungs painfully imploded. She tried to scream, but being void of breath, she was helpless to do anything but clutch desperately at her chest, her lungs wheezing and rasping in the struggle to regain breath. Cloud reached for her falling form with concern, taking the trembling hands in his own, and drawing her body close to his. Some inner notion seemed to be controlling him, as if ordering him what to do. Contrary to what he might've thought, it wasn't the strange cold-hearted control of Jenova... this time, it was premonition and instinct that wrenched him into action. He pulled her roughly up against him, and with great difficulty, managed to lift her chin until he was gazing straight into the pain-creased face. His lips pressed passionately against hers, forming an airtight seal with his open mouth. His tears streaming from beneath tightly shut lids, he breathed his life force into her body, giving her not only his oxygen, but his strength.
[I]I love you... more than anything in this world. Stay with me forever this time... I'll give you my life, just please...[/I]
As the jumbled mix of thoughts and images of the past raced through his mind, he felt her muscles loosen and relax in his embrace, the choking fit ceased. The air became calm and quiet once again, as if a vacuum had sucked the noise from the room, leaving nothing but silence in its purest form.
Then, she turned her face up towards his again, the ivory skin wet from the convulsive tears. Her beautiful eyes now lacked no luster, shining with such intense radiance the likes of which Cloud had never seen, even in those who had been infected with the Mako poisoning.
"Thank you, my love... Because you have given me some of your life force, the Phoenix's spell has been breached. The curse has been lifted... I am no longer their slave. But what you have given me had come at the cost of some of your own power... I am truly sorry. I wish I could've warned you beforehand..." Aerith smiled ruefully through her tears. "I've been waiting 20 long years to be set free from this torture... thank you, Cloud."
"What do you mean?" he mumbled, caring only partially about her answer. All that meant anything to him now was that she was in his arms once again, his beloved beautiful Aerith.
"Come with me," she said calmly, after a moment of reflection. She took his warm palm in hers own and led him from the balcony into a richly decorated bedroom. The creamy golden trimmings dazzled his eyes with an air of familiarity, the light scent of flowers wreathing around him and catching him in its tangible embrace. He closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweetness of the room, from the cool breezy atmosphere to the sunny warmth of its walls.
"This is..." his eyes opening in astonishment at his memories, Cloud began to speak slowly, unable to finish.
"This is our bedroom, my love, and the balcony... do you remember now? You've kept things hidden from yourself for so long now..." she sighed contentedly, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. Speechless, yet absorbing every single syllable spoken from his wife's mouth, Cloud lowered himself down until he was sitting beside her, still unsure of the difference between a dream and reality.
A scene wafted into his mind as if floating in from the windows of his mind on a cool zephyr. Faintly at first, an image appeared in his mind of himself perched on one knee, head bowed, his mouth moving with some speech he could not hear. As if his memory were a television with its sound turned down to one notch, the voices began at a whisper, growing steadily louder until he could understand the speech without any effort.
***
The scene began over again with a lone figure illuminated only by the moon on the balcony, a breezy white gown fluttering like the delicate wings of a butterfly caught in a gale. A long twist of hair swept behind her, a few loose wisps flying into the night as she leaned over the railings, her sensitive fingers tracing the cold stone with an air of distraction. He could hear the sweet, melodious hum of her voice, soft and surreal, the voice of an alluring nymph. A shy cough sounded from behind her, the source someone whom Cloud could not see, but he knew from the familiarity of the sound... The starlight glinted off of his messy hair and the bare skin of his chest as the young man approached the girl, his arms folding slowly around the slender body. Aerith giggled lightly, leaning back until her weight was completely supported by the one she loved, her arm sneaking up to caress his face with great passion.
"Oh Cloud... today was like a dream for me..." she whispered excitedly, turning in his embrace until she faced him, gazing up into the azure realms of his eyes. She laid her head against the muscular chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath her ear with immense comfort, contented just to be in his arms.
"It was for me too..." he murmured gently, rocking his beloved in powerful arms, never wanting to let go and be alone again. "The wedding was spectacular... and the villa we bought a while back has proved to be perfect! But... well... I was thinking the other night... a-and I just want to know what you think about something," he added hastily, his face flushing an embarrassed yet endearing shade of scarlet.
"What is that?" she asked curiously, stroking his powerful cheek with her light touch. She alone had the power to tame the greatest fighter on the face of the planet, the strongest amongst the strong men, a man who possessed the savagery of a wild beast.
"W-What do you think... about having children?" he blurted out uneasily, trying to hide his blushing face in the shadows of the light. Aerith's thinning face was set aglow with pure delight, her smile dazzling with the joy that radiated through her features.
"Oh, Cloud!" she breathed, burying her face into the warmth of his skin. "I-I would love to have your children..."
Cloud's eyes flooded with pure unbridled ecstasy, cradling his young wife to his heart in powerful arms. "I-I'm so glad... I was thinking that I'd like to have a son someday, who will take over for us and protect this Planet when we are gone..." Aerith nodded in agreement, her fingers tracing his spine with great care and love. A long silence followed, unable to be interrupted by any intrusion in the world. Tears began to squeeze from between Cloud's closed eyelids, splashing down onto Aerith's face like the last lazy raindrops of a dying storm and causing her concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, lifting a gentle hand to stroke away his tears, smoothing his long spikes underneath her palm. He shook his head slowly, pulling her tightly to him and continuing his silent weep, stroking her silken locks with the gentlest caresses.
"I-I missed you so much when you were gone..." he whispered softly into her ear, "I didn't know what to do with myself. I hadn't even realized how much you meant to me until it was too late..."
"Perhaps you didn't feel anything until it all happened," Aerith interrupted quietly. "At first I did think you had eyes only for Tifa... During the date in the Gold Saucer, you seemed so distant... I assumed you were thinking how much better it'd be to be on the lift with Tifa instead..."
"T-That's not true!" Cloud began to blurt out to comfort her, but she just sighed in resignation. "The truth is... that I love you. I always have, and I always will... for the rest of my life, I am yours, and yours alone." Cloud slid to one knee on the cold marble of the balcony, still tightly clasping her hand in his. She dropped silently to the floor, her face level with his, the glittering emeralds searching... The young man looked up, his face creased with heartfelt pain, and brought the hand to touch his forehead then crossed it down his front until it hovered over his heart.
[I]I love you with all my heart... and I'll protect you with my life. No matter what happens... no matter what was in the past... I am yours now and forever more. Just please... don't ever leave me alone again![/I]
***
The scene faded quickly away with the younger version of him drawing his wife passionately to his body in a kiss. That final quote seemed to echo around his head, resounding through his mind and striking pain into his soul.
"I remember now," he said quietly, gazing off into the distances of time. "That balcony was where I swore my love to you... that first night, after we were married."
Aerith beamed her pride at him, taking his arm in hers and pressing it against fondly her chest. "You remembered after all..."
"How could I have forgotten...?" he murmured with a smile, smoothing back the bangs from where they hung in her face with a sweep of his hand. "My feelings still haven't changed, you know..." A rosy blush filled her youthful cheeks as she leaned up and planted a tender kiss on his waiting lips. He grinned, toying with the slender fingers that still lay tightly clasped in his own.
"Oh, Cloud... I have so much to tell you, but so little time remains. In your world, the sun is due to rise any moment now, and then I must depart. I will visit you every night from now on, if you so please..." she suggested hopefully, delighted to be met by a vigorous nod of agreement from her husband. "Then I leave you with this final kiss," she said, taking his chin between her palms and planting a kiss on his lips. Cloud's head began to swim dizzily, drowning in the scent of her floral perfume...
Chapter 25- A Price to Pay
"Hey, get yo' spiky ass outta bed now, foo!"
Cloud was startled from his pleasurable slumber by a harsh barking of a deep voice booming into his ear. He scrambled to sit up in the confusion, and was greeted by a broad grin seated in a dark battle-scarred face. He sprang to his feet upon the wooden floor, not in alarm of attack, but in pure unmasked disbelief. The impact of the leap seemed to convert Cloud's normally sturdy legs to boneless jelly, sending him crashing weakly to the floor with a shout of surprise. The looming figure beside him seemed massive from the perspective of lying painfully on his rear end on the floor, and if Cloud had not recognized the face already, he would've been positively frightened. A gigantic hand reached down to assist him, and dazedly, Cloud laid his hand in the open one, and was instantly lifted off of the floor as if he weighed no more than a feather. Within a blink of an eye, he was sitting back upon his cot again, staring directly into the mocking face.
"B-Barret?!" Cloud sputtered, cocking his head as if he didn't believe that the man he saw in front of him was his old friend and colleague.
"Ya got that right!" Barret chuckled with a playful cuff to Cloud's arm. Cloud shook his head, managing to regain his senses before asking the question that most people would have thought of first:
"Uhh... what are you doing here?"
Barret burst into helpless laughter, thinking that Cloud was joking or something to that likeness. When Cloud's face remained completely serious, his mouth not twisted into even the faintest hints of a smile, Barret stopped laughing and addressed the question.
"What, you serious?! I should be the one asking what the hell you doin' here!" Barret barked, before resigning with a sigh. "I guess your stupid ass just never heard the news then. Marlene was accepted into the astrology school here, and is being specially taught by the elders themselves," his entire face seemed to beam with pride when he mentioned Marlene's successes, causing the memory to return to Cloud. "They say she's the best in the class!"
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot..." Cloud smiled ruefully at the man who had begun the entire struggle so long ago, fueled by his hatred of the company that had destroyed his hometown. "How have the two of you been, by the way?" he continued casually, as if he had been in control of the conversation the entire time. It was this attitude that he had been famous for during the time in which he was the leader of the resistance faction AVALANCHE, as well as one that he had rarely used during the past 20 years. The childish behavior he felt was now beyond him, and he even noticed he had changed a lot since he met Aerith. It was just her impact on people...
Before Barret could open his mouth to reply, Tifa burst into the room, giggling as she noticed the two old friends sitting together once more.
"Good morning, Cloud! I hope that Barret's face didn't scare you too much... he said he was gonna go and wake you up and bounded up the stairs before I could say anything! Well, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Any dreams last night?" she asked casually, beckoning for him to follow her. "We prepared breakfast downstairs. Why don't you get a bite to eat?" With these words, she was gone, retreating down the steps and back into the dining hall.
Cloud rose tiredly to his feet, feeling as if all of his energy had been sapped out of him. It seemed like he was wading through endless torrents of water and his feet were void of feeling. Every reaction seemed to be delayed or sluggish, each muscle in his body sore and painful. Barret was concerned by this obvious show of illness, but being the gruff person he was, he gave Cloud a hefty slap on the back that nearly sent his sprawling down the stairs. Too tired to be angry, Cloud just picked himself up from the floor and continued weakly down the stairs.
The scent of frying meat and baking pastries wafted up towards Cloud's nose, tempting his senses and causing a watering in his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he was... He was eager to take his seat at the table, glancing up with gratitude when Tifa slid a filled plate in front of him, handing him a fork with a sweet smile.
"Eat up, Cloud! You'll need to build back some strength," she said simply, giving him a quick back massage as she passed behind his seat. Even feeding himself was a two-part task of great difficulty, first scooping the utensil down towards his plate and second bringing it up towards his mouth to chew and swallow. Tifa bustled cheerily about, serving everybody with a grin and an eager attitude, happy to be back in the waitress setting that she was so used to. As she glanced around the room to see if she had missed anybody, she noticed Cloud's painstakingly slow pace, watching him wince weakly every time he picked up his fork to shovel in the mouthful of food. Concerned, she returned to Cloud's side of the table, placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder.
"Cloud... are you feeling all right?" she asked quietly, staring into the pale face that turned to meet hers. "Is there something wrong? You don't look too well... perhaps you ought to rest."
He never knew what happened next, because the world seemed to fill with a swirl of multicolor, a brightly hued spectrum hanging like a curtain over his vision and muffling all sound before darkening to a solid gloomy black.
Tifa gasped with alarm as Cloud slumped forward onto the table, his face barely missing his plate as the fork dropped from his hand and he fell unconscious.
"Cloud--!"
***
The veil of mist seemed to melt away slowly, revealing a blinding blur of colors and sounds, undistinguishable at first, then clearing up as the light returned.
"I hope he'll be okay..." rang a voice he recognized as Tifa's, full of tearful concern.
"Trust me, Aunty Tifa, he'll be just fine..." comforted a younger girl's voice... Could it be? Sephirah?!
"S-Sephie?" he managed to gasp weakly, feeling as if his entire body was afire with pain. He turned his head to glance around the room, searching desperately for the shimmering platinum hair, the aquamarine eyes...
To his dismay, only a sea of dark colored hair met his eyes, no scream of "Daddy" resounded in his ears, no beautiful child rushed to his bedside with brilliant tearful eyes... His heart seemed to bleed in his chest, longing for the loving touch of his daughter, or at least just the knowledge that she was all right...
"Oh, Cloud! You're awake!" Tifa gasped with relief, dropping to her knees at his bedside. "Thank goodness!"
"It's about time, foo. Ya had us worried for a moment!" Barret said gruffly with a contemptuous huff. "What's gotten into ya anyway, weakling? Can't stand on yo' own two feet anymore..."
"Daddy! That's enough!" scolded the girl's voice again, but this time Cloud could see the source. She was a young woman in her early twenties with short dark brown hair and a very pale complexion. Glasses were perched on top of the bridge of her sharp nose, concealing clearly sparkling hazel eyes. Dressed in a black jacket and skirt with a cream blouse, she looked very much the student.
"Marlene, even if he's not being tactful, you really shouldn't scold your elders like that," Tifa reprimanded her, forcing an embarrassed blush to cover Marlene's thin cheeks. She began to stammer an apology, but Tifa interrupted her with a cheeky wink. "Leave that to me!" Barret scowled and crossed his arms over his brawny chest, looking impassively out of the window.
"But Cloud... what happened back there?" Shera asked with wide eyes, kneeling by his bed. "You just sort of... collapsed on us! You almost fainted right into your food!"
"...I-I'm not sure..." replied Cloud after a pause for reflection. It was true; he wasn't sure what was wrong, but perhaps it ought to do with that dream... He could vaguely hear her voice from the back of his mind...
But what you have given me had come at the cost of some of your own power...
He shook his head in disbelief, refusing to believe that the dream, if true, had caused such a great impact on his physical being. He sighed with exhaustion and managed to sit up in his bed. His head swam a little at first, but he felt far better than when he had first woken up that morning. Tentatively, he put his feet on the ground and attempted to stand, and was relieved to find that his legs would once again support his weight. He stretched and yawned as if waking from a long sleep, somehow feeling weaker, but more capable than before. At that moment, Cid bustled into the room, toting a large but familiar object by its straps.
"Here!" grunted Cid, lightly tossing Cloud the Ultima Weapon in such a way that Cloud could've easily caught it and slung it over his shoulder in a casual manner. It as a strange sight to see when Cloud was nearly bowled over by the weight of the sword and barely managed to keep a hold of the heavy weapon as it sent him reeling backwards onto the bed once again. Every person in the room was silent, mouths gaping in shock...
"Uhh... Cloud? Are you okay?" Tifa asked, now fully concerned.
"I-I don't know! I feel fine, but..." he began, unsure of anything at all in his bewilderment. Perhaps this was just a messed up dream, he thought, another crazy-
The realization hit him with as much force as his weapon had only a moment ago.
"So that's what she meant..." he muttered with disbelief, his head dropping into his hands. "She tried to tell me..."
"Huh? What was that?" Tifa asked him, but he dismissed her with forlorn wave of his hand.
"I-It's nothing," he sighed, unsure of what to think of it all. Tifa shrugged, knowing inside that something was deeply bothering him, but having known him all of her life, she knew better than to inquire further for now. Marlene strode forth at that point and laid her palm against his forehead one final time.
"Nope, Uncle Cloud, I've performed just about every test I could short of taking your blood, and you're as healthy as you ever have been! There's no reason for you to be feeling lethargic..." she said lightly, unsure of what to think of this strange lack of strength. "Well, I better get back to class then," she sighed, gathering her satchel of textbooks and heading towards the door. "I hope you feel better soon!" With that simple comment, she disappeared into the hallway amidst a clatter of receding footsteps.
One by one, the varied people in the room began to leave, each having their own duties to perform, but wishing Cloud better health before they departed. Before long, only Cloud and Tifa remained in the room together, both seated on his infirmary bed, one attempting to gather the courage to speak.
"Cloud... you know what's wrong, don't you?" Tifa asked quietly, hoping for an answer. Nothing but sullen silence followed, Cloud's eyes wandering off into the distance as if he hadn't heard her speak.
"Why won't you just tell me? Don't you trust me anymore? Even after all we've been through together... We've been friends since we were kids!" Tifa blurted out, hurt that he wouldn't tell her the cause of his illness. Embarrassed at her outburst, she buried her head into her arms and combed her slim fingers through the dark ringlets of hair that framed her face in frustration and distress. Still with no response from Cloud she began to apologize, feeling as if she were talking to a wall, inanimate and void of feeling.
"Look... I'm sorry. It's just that..." she sighed, contemplating telling him her feelings. "...Oh, never mind," she finished the sentence with exasperation. She rose to leave him alone and had crossed the distance of half of the room before the sound of his voice called her to a halt.
"Wait... hold on a second."
Tifa whirled to face Cloud, whose beautiful eyes were focused strongly upon her, as clear and intense as they ever had been.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I don't mean to treat you like this, but..." he paused, unsure of how to word what he was feeling. "For now, I think I'm supposed to keep it to myself. You'll be the first I tell when the time comes though... I promise!" he said in a comforting voice, forcing a smile to ease the tension in the room. Seeing this change of attitude and his handsome smile, Tifa flushed deeply and returned the grin before scurrying out of the room as quickly as she could. As she headed down the hallway, she realized that her heart was racing to pound blood into her brain, the force of each beat causing a dizzy rush in her head. Her chest seemed to be heaving at the same rate, every breath seeming inadequate to fuel her body even in such a simple activity as walking. Grabbing the wall, she shook her head out of its daze and was relieved to find her bodily functions returning to normal. Heading down the stairs, she couldn't help but wonder what Cloud could possibly have been talking about...
Cloud Strife was helpless to do anything except gaze out of the lonely infirmary window at the vivid crimson landscape, seeing so much yet absorbing so little of its beauty. As the radiant blue eyes stared forth at the land below, a sigh escaped his slightly parted lips, drifting across the light breeze in the form of a name...
"Aerith..."
Chapter 26- Dreams of an Ancient
The next time Cloud opened his eyes, a sea of angelic cream and gold greeted his bewildered senses. The smooth satin quilt soothed his bare skin and sore muscles, the soft feather pillows serving as gentle cushions for his head and neck. Alarmed at first, he tried to sit up from under the covers of the bed, but the fatigue was too great and he fell back to the mattress with a grimace.
"Rest and relax, my love."
Cloud didn't even have to glance about the room for the source of the voice... he knew it instantaneously, the beautiful bell-like charm that made it seem like she was always singing. Warmth flooded through his every portion of his body in remembrance and finally acceptance of his arrival in the land of his dreams. After a moment, he could feel the increased tension upon the springs of the mattress indicating that a person had sat down next to him, along with the light whisper of the fabric as it shifted under a moving body. A face appeared before him, saving him the trouble of looking around the room, the long dangling strands of earthen hair tickling his face.
"Good morning, Cloud!" she whispered cheerily, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss upon his lips. His mouth formed into a helpless grin, his heated blood pounding feverishly in his veins. This was how she had used to greet him every morning so many years ago, with that same soft kiss and smile that seemed to brighten his day. She laid her palm flat against his spikes, stroking their golden length with loving care, her radiant green eyes locked with her husband's, which were as deep and beautiful a blue as the pristine open sea.
"W-What happened to me?" Cloud asked of her, hoping for a full and understandable explanation. Aerith's face lost its dazzling smile as she sat up, turning away like a guilty child about to be punished.
"That's why I came, I guess... I might as well begin the tale now," she sighed, as if reluctant to have to relate such horrors as what she had seen. "It's long... It'll be a little while before I have answered your question, but it's necessary to tell you all anyway, and it'd make more sense if I..."
Cloud nodded in agreement, her the cold blue flame that always burned so steadily in his eyes dancing with concern. "Do as you think is necessary," he said simply, raising himself up on his elbow.
"All right then. I will begin..."
The scenery started to melt away in Cloud's very eyes, the room fading and returning into an emerald green haze. The only object that remained from the room was his bed; the vast area around him seemed like a giant movie theater whose screen took up the entire room. He watched the scene unfold with rapt fascination, losing all sense of time as well as himself in the river's powerful flow.
***
He saw her figure clearly through the abundance of dazzling green that composed the Lifestream, clad in the long shimmering gown of rose pink that trailed the floor with great elegance. He saw her sway and collapse to her knees, the anguish obvious in the distortion of her facial features, her cries becoming slowly more evident, more distinguishable... It was only then that he noticed the dark twisted figure that stood beside her, the dulled eyes narrowed with contempt and triumph. His cerulean irises burned with intense hatred, and if it weren't for his current state of weakness, he probably would've sprung up to try and defend his love from the brutal creature he beheld.
Jenova...
"No!" Aerith screamed, her voice choked with pure undiluted agony. Cloud's heart wrenched within his breast as he longed to rush to her side, to save her from the suffering... but he was rendered immobile, and the figures were nothing but a projection from the past. Even if he had leapt to his feet, he could not change anything...
"We can make a deal... You can have another chance at life. That is, IF you're willing to help me with the task at hand..." came the sibilant reply, the vicious hiss that made Cloud's blood run cold in his veins, then boil with fury. Seeing that the woman needed further convincing, Jenova spun around once and morphed into Cloud's likeness, stunning even the fury from the young man. The creature was a master of manipulation...
He saw Aerith grab frantically at her throbbing heart, and then with a strangled sob she lay on the floor, her breathing hard and irregular. "W-what do you want from me?"
"Not much..." shrugged the reverted Jenova, if the horribly maimed monster could shrug. "I'd like to plant a few of my cells into you. That's all! I assure you, Ancient..."
"B-but..." He could sense a tremble in her voice, one of uneasiness, terror, and disgust all mixed together, which could form a fearsome combination if not under great emotional grief. But all of the strength had obviously drained from Aerith's body, leaving her as helpless as a newborn child. Her eyes seemed to be locked, mesmerized, by those of Jenova, the evil beast transmitting something that Cloud could not detect straight into her mind. Finally, the emerald eyes squeezed tightly shut and her hands flew to cover her ears, her earsplitting screech of painful hatred shocking Cloud.
"NO!!! ...All right! I-I'll do it!!" The very sight of such agony etched upon his wife's face wrenched a nerve deep within Cloud's heart as he just began to fathom her love for him. "I'll do anything... for him..."she whispered in defeat, knowing she was fully beaten and resigning like a tamed lion to its whip-laden master.
"Good... good..." Jenova slithered forward, forcing Aerith to blanch visibly as the grotesque being neared her, the rotten flesh causing a putrid scent to fill her nostrils with disgust. A sharp claw lashed out towards her neck, causing the breath to catch with in Cloud's horrified lungs as she crumpled limp to the ground. A cry escaped his previously frozen throat before he realized that she was still breathing normally, and watched with morbid fascination as a familiar object was drawn from deep within the folds of Jenova's decaying flesh.
"Th-the feather?! It can't be!" The horror began to sink into Cloud's mind, and he glanced down at his violently trembling hands, knowing he had once felt its cool quill between his fingers, used its evil power over his own daughter... A shudder shook his entire body like a seismic disturbance from within his soul, his heart seeming to lose warmth and freeze in his breast as he realized the magnitude of what he had put his daughter through.
***
The images faded away into light, once again replaced by the gentle glamorous glow of the creamy walls in their old bedroom, but still no comfort to Cloud's terror. A tearful Aerith sat shamefaced upon the other end of the bed, her beautiful face shadowed by her long bangs as if trying to hide from her guilt.
"I-It gets worse..." she stammered quietly, a tear rolling down her cheeks. "But I was so desperate. I was willing to do anything it took to be with you again... even though I was risking the very survival of the Planet, which we had worked so hard to protect. I'm so ashamed of myself... I was so selfish! Nothing but a fool!" she spat hatred at herself, turning her tear streaked face towards that of the one she loved.
"After that... I tried to forget everything... but I kept myself on alert for attack. I left my mind open and vulnerable for any messenger to reach me, just in case I was needed to protect the Planet. That proved to be a fatal mistake... The Jenova cells inside of me allowed the witch to control my mental 'door', allowing any assault to take place. And so... I wasn't able to stop him from..." her face froze with pure terror and agony, concerning Cloud fully.
"Who... and what happened?" he pleaded of her, and having recuperated some of his strength, he slid across the smooth surface of the quilt and caught her in his arms. It was only then that he noticed the fear dancing in her eyes, the tears that flooded down her cheeks so painfully...
"Sephiroth..." the name rang in Cloud's ears like the knell of a gong struck by some massive object. It filled his mind, the sound vibrations shattering his senses and restoring bewilderment to his soul. "He... he..." Unable to finish, the traumatized Aerith simply lifted her arms to conjure another image from the stream of life.
***
This instance appeared to be from Aerith's point of view, seeing only what she had observed so long ago, Cloud perceived. The veil of darkness lifted and blinked with the movement of long-lashed lids, the new morning sun caused a distinct blur across her vision with its golden glare. He noticed a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her night-gowned figure at the bosom, and customary to every morning, Aerith shifted in the bed to face her husband and plant the casual kiss upon his waiting lips to wish him a pleasant day.
That which Cloud saw when Aerith turned and gasped startled him completely.
Instead of his own face, smiling and cheery, there was the head of his very worst enemy upon his pillow, grinning cruelly at her surprise. Aerith scrambled from the bed in shock, her horrified eyes never leaving the sharply defined facial features of the man who had once taken her life. He was clad in nothing but his normal pair of raven black pants, his chest bare and exposed for her to stare at the mass of pure muscles that so thickly covered his body. After a moment, she was able to shake of the feelings of bewilderment and soon her shock turned to righteous anger.
"You..." she hissed, her eyes narrowed as she took a cautious step back to escape him.
"Is that the way to greet an old... friend?" Sephiroth tutted casually, as if she should've been expecting him to pop up in her bed without warning.
"You're no friend of mine! W-what do you want now?!" she screamed in rage and exasperation, her cheeks flushing with the rush of blood that flowed to her head filled with adrenaline.
"You," he said simply in a teasing tone, followed by a sinister chuckle.
Startled by the answer, Aerith blinked in confusion and cocked her head, her fury momentarily forgotten. "Umm... pardon me?"
Sephiroth sighed as if it all were just common knowledge. "You, my dear, are the last surviving Ancient. The final component I lacked to become... perfect," The word sounded cruel, cold to her ears. "Therefore, any child we have will be exactly that. Then Jenova can take over this puny Planet and destroy it once and for-"
"You're nothing but a sick, demented... bastard!" she spat, the fury bottled within her causing continuous tremors throughout her entire body. Sephiroth finally glanced up at her, an amused twinkle dancing in his vivid turquoise eyes.
"Maybe so... maybe so," he mused, considering her words as he rose slowly to his feet and walked towards her as if trying to trap her. She attempted to flee, but found her limbs frozen and disobedient, the Jenova cells within her body struggling to overpower her will.
"N-No!" she screamed, her powerful mind managing to wrench herself free from the control. The second's delay was all he needed. Sephiroth sprang forward like a vicious wildcat after waiting patiently for the single misstep of his helpless prey. He grabbed her wrist with a cruel wrench of his arm, and she could do nothing but struggle in futility. As the pain lanced through her nerves, Sephiroth shoved his face up against hers, their noses almost touching. She could feel the warm mist of his breath upon her lips as she stared deep within the aquamarine eyes with raging hatred.
"Cloud was a lucky man... you are very beautiful, my dear. You have inherited the loveliness that marks the Ancients' blood. This should make things... more fun." Without warning, he used his weight to slam her against the wall, kissing her with agonizing force. Aerith grimaced with disgust when she had managed to force him back, instinctively lifting her hand in a single fierce movement and bringing it savagely across his cheek.
*SMACK*
The sharp clap of hand meeting flesh echoed throughout the room, seeming to freeze time with its sound...
Sephiroth reached up with a single hand towards his rapidly swelling cheek, brushing a thin trickle of liquid from the corner of his mouth. His entire body began to tremble with rage as he recognized the crimson smear as his own blood.
"Feisty, huh..." he murmured calmly with an inward smile as if he wasn't the least bit angry, but Aerith could detect the mounting fury that was tearing through his mind. Her heart now flooded with nothing but horror, she attempted to escape, but found herself unable. Her terrified heartbeat throbbed in her veins as Sephiroth placed his arms on either side of her, pressing against the wall as a barrier to her flight.
"I don't think you're going anywhere," he muttered coolly, one hand meeting her neck with amazing speed. Aerith choked and gasped with panic, struggling desperately to loosen his hold over her. His grip tightened, forcing a stifled gurgle from her throat. Her eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets, her head swimming from immense pain and lack of oxygen. He lifted her off of the ground with his other arm and threw her roughly onto the bed. Before she even had time to recover, he was on top of her, tearing at her nightgown as she screamed and cried helplessly, begging him through her tears to stop...
***
Chapter 27- A Child's Game
A tear rolled down pale cheeks, stemming from the sore bloodshot eyes of Sephirah. The platinum tresses were unruly from shifting as she lay upon her parents' bed, lacking sleep the entire night. She had done nothing but think throughout the evening, every drawn breath bringing not just precious oxygen but also a new idea, a new theory... She began to think of everything: her mother, her father, Sephiroth... and the Planet. Somehow she didn't feel alone while she laid upon that mattress, as if her father were there beside her, offering his comfort, his support... his happiness. It wasn't fair that after all of the suffering her father had experienced, helplessly watching his wife die before his eyes, that he should take the agony of his daughter's disappearance as well. She knew now how much he loved her, how much he cared for her... and how much she meant to him, being the daughter of the woman he loved so dearly.
It was then that she knew what she must do. Wordlessly she slid to her feet, tossing back the tousled locks from her tanned face. Trooping quickly off into the bathroom, she splashed an abundance of cold water onto her face, feeling the crisp sparkle of the liquid refresh her cheeks. She stared up at the mirror before her, and horrified at her appearance, she grabbed a towel from the rack and hastily turned off the faucet. Soon water from the shower hissed and sprayed in a stream, splattering across the bathtub as she let the stray droplets of water sprinkle onto her bare skin.
Before long, Sephirah stepped from the bathtub fully refreshed, with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her head like a turban. A soft terrycloth bathrobe lay suspended on the back of a hook, the beautiful shade of rose warm and inviting. Without hesitation she took it from where it resided and slung it about her shoulders, delighted at its light breezy weight and silken comfort. She knotted the tie into a quick bow before emerging from the steamed bathroom with a smile. As she strode confidently from the doorway, she nearly collided with Jeremy, who had seen the door swing open just in time. He smiled broadly at her, not in a perverse way, but one of proud sorrow.
"That used to be your mother's robe... she would've been glad to see you wear it, though," he grinning with a sigh, emerging into the bathroom and retrieving Sephirah's discarded dress. "I'll put this through the wash for you... why don't you wear one of the Mistress's dresses today? I'm sure she wouldn't mind, and you two are about the same size," he commented, mentally measuring her with his judgement as his only ruler. He had almost left the hallway and turned into another room before he stopped and called after her, "Well, I hope you like pink..."
Puzzled, Sephirah returned to the large bedroom she had spent the night in, and wandered around the room looking for the closets. Her hands tracing the walls absently, she felt a crack and a small bump underneath her fingers. Startled, she glanced up and down the wall, but saw nothing. Just as she was about to resign and continue to search, she noticed a tiny well-concealed keyhole in the mortar of the wall. She crouched by the hole, fascinated, for several minutes before remembering that she didn't have much time to waste. She continued on until she found the slender doorway to a walk-in closet, which she easily opened and entered. Sephirah groped for the light switch within the oppressing darkness, finally finding the cord that dangled from the ceiling. With a swift tug, luminescence spread over the expanse of the closet, revealing a side almost completely empty, and another that was packed full of dresses, skirts, and blouses. Most were pink, though some were white and others were still yet varied colors. There were a few colorful garments here and there, but if Sephirah was able to tell any one thing about her mother from her wardrobe as soon as she saw it, it was that she loved the color pink. Not any shocking shades that clashed against your sense of sight, or dark magentas that caught the eye... A light girlish pink, a pastel, one you would most commonly find in delicate spring or summer blossoms.
With an amused expression, Sephirah sorted through the sets of clothing, beginning with the dresses. The first one she saw was long and pink, a sleeveless button-down dress reaching to about ankle level. A vivid red top hung over it, short-sleeved with reinforced cuffs and breast pockets. This was the outfit in which her mother was dressed in a lot of their oldest pictures. She smiled secretly to herself... but decided against wearing it. She might give her father a nervous breakdown if he saw it...
Dress by dress she slid to one side of the rack, searching the gowns, but finding none that quite suited her personality. Most were long and simple, of different lengths and different shades. It was as she was sliding one hanger across the cold steel bar that she felt the grating and weight of another dress stuck to it. She couldn't see what was caught on it, but determined nonetheless, she lifted the heavy dress from the rack and stared in astonishment at the garment that toppled out from behind.
The fabric that the lower part was composed of was a light satin that was the radiant white of a dove's wing, as soft and as gentle to the senses as silk. As Sephirah lifted it with sheer awe, she noticed that it was long and loose in the skirt, folding into multiple tucks at the slender waist, which was adorned by scattered tiny pink rose buds and thin satin bows. It developed up into to a beautifully embroidered bodice, a few pearly beads sown against the elegant silk patterns setting a sparkle to the dress. The straps were simple white ribbons, thick and smooth strands of satin that weren't even necessary to hold up the tight dress, but were more for decoration. As she held the dress in wonderment, a light object shook loose from where it hung behind the gown and with a whish of the lace, it fell to Sephirah's feet. Curious, she retrieved it, stooping slightly as not to crumple the fabric. She soon found herself staring at veil, the decorative lace as white as snow. It was attached to what appeared to be a silver circlet encrusted with a few valuable gems, the delicate metal shimmering and catching her eye. Turning it over and over in her hands, she inspected it, thought rushing through her mind.
"My own mother's wedding dress," she whispered reverently, passing her fingers over the studded beads and silken embroidery, feeling them contentedly beneath her fingers. Her cheeks flushed deeply as she thought of Jordan, who perhaps one day she would marry, and she would bear his children, becoming truly happy...
It was then that thoughts of Sephiroth flashed across her mind, but in defiance, she gritted her teeth and struggled until she had pushed him into the farthest recesses of her mind. She relaxed and continued her rapturous study of the gown. Following some unknown urge, she was tempted to try it on by curiosity, slipping off the robe and donning the elegant gown. It fit her perfectly, from the tight waistline to the bosom and all the way downwards until brushed the floor slightly with its hem. Once again, she paused to examine the coronet in her hands, the long lacy veil that had witnessed the last moments of her mother's maidenhood. Shaking her tresses from the restraining towel, she allowed the slightly damp locks to fall to her waist, her bangs framing her face as she reached up to place the veil upon her head...
"Sephirah?"
The sudden sound of her own name startled her, and flustered, she turned to see Jordan standing in the doorway, a gentle smile illuminating his handsome face. Suddenly she felt terribly embarrassed, caught playing dress-up in her mother's closet with her wedding gown. Jordan did not laugh, nor did his smile hold amusement... only a subtle glow of love, of pure unbridled, awe and passion was present in the boy's face. Striding forward, he took her hands in his own and looked deeply into her lustrous eyes, her flushed cheeks...
"You look absolutely beautiful," he murmured in her ear, holding her close to him so that she would not see the tears gleaming in his eyes. His simple phrase was nothing but the truth- Sephirah was beautiful, from the tumbling locks of silver hair and the shimmering fountains of her eyes, all the way down to the elegant dress and the toes that peeked out from underneath the skirt. Jordan suddenly threw all of his shame to the wind, and revealing his tear-streaked face, he drew Sephirah close to his heart and kissed her.
Their hearts pounded together in their breasts, hers sending a dizzy rush of blood to Sephirah's brain. All she knew... and she wanted, was to have Jordan by her side forever, to be his loving wife, and to be the mother of his children. Tears threatened to sting her eyes once more, but she did not prevent them from forming or tumbling down her cheeks. The water that flowed from their fountains of passion mingled and dripped as one down their chins, splashing against Jordan's shirt.
Finally they loosened and let go, tears still streaming freely down both of their faces. They stared into each other's souls for just a moment before a smile spread itself across Sephirah's lips, followed shortly by one likewise on Jordan's. Through their sobs they began to chuckle and then laugh freely, not certain of why they did so or anything else about the world except their love for each other. Finally Sephirah calmed and spoke out her plans to her beloved, growing serious once again.
"I was thinking last night... I decided that I would like to travel back to Junon in hope that my father is still there because I have to apologize. I-I shouldn't have run from him..." she began, then quickly changed the subject so that he would not question her about it. "Do you think we could use your ship? I don't know any other way to cross... besides, Derek probably wouldn't like to leave her here at the mercy of the elements near the bay."
Jordan nodded after a moment of quiet reflection, as if calculating some difficult equations in his mind. "Hmm... I think we should be ready in a week or so. She's not badly damaged... the repairs weren't major. It'll take another three days to finish her up and double check the maintenance, and then we'll need the rest of the days to stock supplies and all..."
Sephirah approved of the plan, and Jordan set off towards the docks to inform Derek of their plans. As Sephirah watched Jordan's form retreat down the hall, she slipped off the beautiful dress and replaced it where she had found it, knowing secretly the reason why it had been hidden. Her father could stand the sight of the glamorous gown no longer, after he had wedded the woman he loved in it. The one remaining garment in the rack opposite the one she was searching in was a tuxedo of the finest quality, the white color appropriate for a groom.
"He didn't even take the tuxedo with him... he tried to leave it all behind, all of the memories, all of the pain. He knew it was futile, but he had to try..." she whispered in a barely audible tone, her fingers tracing the finely crafted cuffs with their still attached sapphire links. Her decorations were emeralds to match her eyes and her pure soul, while his were finely polished sapphires that matched the shade of his irises to an amazingly accurate hue. She instinctively searched the tuxedo for any forgotten items, and withdrew a small golden key with the insignia of a meteor. Remembering the mysterious lock in the wall, she wrapped the thin chain around her wrist several times to assure she wouldn't lose it. Realizing that she was spending too much time staring around at things, she whirled and returned to the rack full of dress, continuing her search. Finally, her eyes rested upon one that was maroon in color, an evening dress that could also possibly be used for casual wear. She fell in love with it the moment she set had seen it, so vivid with its few large golden blossoms that faded slowly, petal by petal, melting back into the sea of deep crimson. It was neither loose nor tight, but it tapered from the chest, tying as a halter behind her neck. It flowed to her ankles, loose and breezy fabric that fit the summer setting of Costa Del Sol nicely. It was simply a gorgeous dress, made of a smooth cotton weave that made it serviceable and not easy to tear or ruin. Sephirah slipped it on with delight, humming blissfully as she pulled it over her head and tossed her hair over a slender shoulder.
She left the closet in its original state, except for replacing the dress she had borrowed with the robe she had been wearing when she came into the room. She switched off the light and closed the door silently with a mental "thank you" to her mother in the Lifestream. She approached the tiny lock in the wall, and crouching by it, she fumbled with the key and slid it into the hole. It slid in smoothly, and then turned and unlocked with a gentle click. She pulled the hatch open with the key still inside, seeing as there was no handle to pull it open, no lever to flip. It was a small area carved skillfully into the wall in such a way that one wouldn't notice without scrutinizing the walls with great care, which no thief would have the time to do before Cloud would spring from his bed with his sword in tow.
A small steel box lay in the compartment, and it had been latched with magical force, as Sephirah detected. A silver plate upon the top of the container glistened and glared into her eyes, almost causing her to flinch. Within seconds, the box popped open by itself, revealing the dazzling contents within. Sephirah gasped in surprise as the box fell open, as she stared into the treasures she beheld.
Necklaces, bracelets, earrings... all of Aerith's jewelry had been cleverly concealed within this box. Pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires... they gleamed into Sephirah's amazed eyes, gemstones of all sizes, cuts, and settings. Sephirah couldn't even begin to fathom the worth of the jewelry she beheld, an inherited fortune of immense size. She noticed a small scrap of paper within, upon which was written in neat script:
"To my daughter when she has grown up,
The blood of the Ancients flows through your veins... only you have the ability to break this seal upon this box. The only people who can open this box are those who are purely of our kind, judged by a magical scanning of the eyes. These jewels belong rightfully to you, so use them wisely. Some have been passed down to us from our ancestors, while others were given to us as wedding and other gifts. These gemstones are not ordinary; they are materia, some mastered, and some at their early levels. When you wear these jewels, you have the power to call upon the greatest forces upon this Planet. From your lessons with magic from your father and your schooling, you should be able to unlock the spells that lurk within. Use them wisely; with these you may either create great havoc or save this world.
I wish I could live to see you, surely so beautiful and virtuous a woman... But my time is coming to an end. Even though I have not known you, I will always love you and watch over you, and your father. May you live a joyous life and not know the hardships that I have experienced, my dear daughter...
Love from your mother,
Aerith Gainsborough Strife"
Tears began to sting at Sephirah's eyes, but she shook them away, trying to occupy herself with the carefully polished gemstones that resided within the safe. She sorted gingerly through the jewelry, conjuring up from her memory the extensive training she had once gained with materia from her father and teachers. Red for summoning beasts, blue for supporting the casting of spells, green for the actual magic, yellow for commands and extra abilities, and the independent purple for other miscellaneous duties. There was no real way that she knew of to indicate the spells within the materia unless it was equipped and used, so she decided she would choose a bracelet and a necklace to fit her purposes.
After searching for a few minutes through the magnificent stones, she decided that she'd had enough of summons, thinking of the phoenix, and she decided on a long silver chain on which dangled a pendant of a marvelous emerald green. Fastening it around her neck, she could almost feel the power flow into her, and with surprise, she wondered what the spell could possibly be that was trapped within its stony confines. Searching deeper, she located a bangle made of a thick band of sheer platinum, engraved with a silhouette of flowers and clasped with a pair of materia gems, one as radiant as an emerald, the other as illustrious as a sapphire. After a moment of awed staring at the object, she slipped it onto her left wrist and snapped the box shut. She returned the safe to it's hiding place, locked the keyhole, and quickly replaced the key into her father's suit. After taking a moment of reverent pause to thank her mother for the gifts, she gently pulled the bedroom door closed, leaving for the docks to discuss the current affairs with the men.
***
Chapter 28- Affairs of the Heart
"And then for every night afterwards for two weeks..." Aerith drew a sharp, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself, the tears once confined in her brilliant eyes overflowing their container with shame and hatred, "...He raped me."
The simple phrase she had spoken was a savage wrench of the dagger that was already so cruelly plunged into Cloud's heart.
He had sat completely motionless through the entire ordeal, mouth agape and eyes wide with horror as he watched the man he loathed from the bottom of his soul lay his hands on his beloved wife. He was far beyond stunned; in fact, he had passed that level quite a while back. He had been completely paralyzed by his shock... Nothing more than just that feeling; he was void of emotion. His heart, his soul had been robbed of all feeling, his mind numb, his eyes unblinking in their vacant stare... The cord that held his sanity, his consciousness had been sawed almost completely through, held only by a few strained fibers of rope that so desperately tried to cling together...
And then it snapped clean through.
Cloud's eyes closed for a nanosecond before they snapped wide open in a motion so sudden, so violent that Aerith nearly leapt from her seat. An untamed fury was set ablaze within his tear glittered eyes, resembling the act of an oil tankard striking an iceberg with unsurpassed force, the precious substance consumed by the engine's sparks to create a monstrous explosion of fire and ash to rain over the once peaceful waters. His entire body shook with rage with hatred while blood pounded fiercely through his throbbing veins, flushing his entire body crimson with the life-giving substance. His gentle time creased hands clenched so tightly his knuckles were bare and white to the bone, every vein popping from underneath his tensed skin.
He leapt from the bed in a single powerful movement, landing deftly on his feet, his strength reborn from his immense anger. With a sweep of his arm, a lamp came crashing down from the desk, the glass base shattering and crackling as the light extinguished from its bulb. He rampaged around the room leaving a path of destruction, his eyes blazing and his world crimson...
"DAMN YOU, SEPHIROTH!!! DAMN YOU TO THE [I]HELL[/I] I SENT YOU TO TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!!"
Aerith was screaming, crying for him to stop, partially paralyzed by her fear. Cloud could not hear anything but the roars of rage from within his mind, oblivious to the world around him except for the urge to eradicate. He had reached his armchair, where he noticed with a savage bout of delight that the Buster Sword lay in its sheath, willed into existence by his own mind...
The mist of crimson did not lift or fade, becoming more intense, more uncontrolled with every thought of Sephiroth, feeling of hatred and anger overwhelming him, something other than his sense controlling his body... But he did not care. He grabbed the Buster Sword in his frenzied hands, swinging it until the sheath flew off with a vicious slam into the wall behind him, the sharp sparkling edge of the bared blade glittering wickedly. Within seconds, nothing remained but the bed, upon which Aerith remained, screaming his name as she sobbed hysterically.
"Don't let him beat you like this!! Cloud... she'll control you! Stop it!!" she screeched, unable to break the barrier that Cloud had set up with his mind and Jenova's aid as she began to take the reins of his frenzied consciousness...
Now he was standing over her, his sword upraised over his head, his arms shaking and his eyes bright with violent fury. Aerith gasped as she saw the vicious look of burning vengeance as the blade began to swing down towards her, uncontrollable in its flow of devastation.
As a reflex, she turned her head away fearfully and screamed at the top of her lungs...
Cloud's senses immediately snapped back into control when he heard his wife's scream, savagely pushing away the Jenova inside of him. The blade came to halt a hairsbreadth from her midriff, the shaking edge of the blade rattling quietly against the quivering buttons of her dress.
He flung the weapon far from him, staring with pure horror at his trembling hands, turning them over and over as if he had already drenched them in her blood. His breathing along with all movement in his body ceased, except for his heartbeat, which thumped painfully in his ears, broken only by the anguished sobs of his wife, her face still hidden from him in fear. All strength, all power fled from his body, leaving him nothing but a man, stricken with horror and grief at his own savagery. He fell to his knees by the side of the bed, his eyes wide and unfocused, fresh tears wet and shining against his cheek. Broken completely, his fighter's spirit left him and he sobbed like a child who had lost his favorite toy in the swirling depths of a river, carried away never to be seen by his eyes again.
When Aerith heard the noise, she dared to uncurl herself from the position she had taken, turning her head slowly until she saw her husband's golden spikes hunched over beside her. Alarmed but relieved to find herself intact, she exhaled the breath she was holding in her panic and evaluated the situation. She could feel through the very air that his anger had disappeared, so she wrapped her arms around him and cradled his head gently against her chest the way a mother would to her young child. Tears and sweat mingled as they dripped from Cloud's traumatized skin and soaked into the bosom of her nightgown, but she paid no heed, her maternal instinct dominating her senses. It was several minutes before she had succeeded in calming her husband down to a reasonable state, sedating him slightly with a murmured sleep spell.
"I have so much left to tell you... and I'm sorry I have to do it this way. At least you'll remember my words clearly when you wake..." she whispered softly, still rocking him in her embrace. "Every night he visited me, and every night I struggled in vain... and was violated. Every night, he would remind me that I was nothing but a part of his sick plan, and that it was nothing personal as he used me... I hoped that my child was conceived in our love, but there was no way for me to be sure until the baby was born. And then... Jenova didn't exactly let me live out the deal she had promised me. I suppose it was because it as too great of a risk for them to take to allow me life... but I learned quite a bit about the power she used to resurrect me when I arrived back at the Lifestream. A being called the Phoenix was slain several thousands of years ago by a corrupt Cetra boy... we later found that he was infested with the Jenova virus, soon to be the doom of our people. When the creature was slain, its hatred and anger for the human race festered and mutated it into the monster known as the Dark Phoenix. The stolen pinions of the bird possessed a horrifically powerful magic... It was stronger than anyone could have fathomed. Jenova must've kept them for her own purposes in the future... and then you know the rest of the story, with the history of the Ancients. But what no one knew is what happened to the victims after the deal had been completed.
"The Phoenix itself would help to speed the process on... its razor-like claws and terrifying beak would slash and hack at you in your dreams. There'd be no one to help you, no one who could intervene to save you within your own mind. You might think that a mental assailant is trivial; but the effects were as real as if someone was taking a knife to your throat in reality. If the Phoenix slashes open your throat and you were bleeding to death... so be it in real life when you'd awaken to find your skin intact, but your juggler vein severed and gushing forth blood internally. And that's how it was with me; the Phoenix haunted my very being, in waking as well as in slumber, but more forcefully the latter. And then one day..." she paused here uneasily, one hand flying up to grip the base of her throat as if she could feel the searing slash of the talons across it even though the flesh was unmarred. She then realized with a start that she was wasting valuable time, and with a stammer, she began to finish her explanation.
"B-But when the victim finally falls, cheated of the deal it had made with the darkness, the soul doesn't just return to the Lifestream like any normal one would... No... What no one knew was that your very life force was weakened to such a degree that you become a slave to whoever invoked the magic upon you. If they were pure of heart, you were lucky and could be set free. But if they were as sinister as Jenova, they could keep you rightfully until either time ended, or someone managed to restore it with a sacrifice of their own. One can only give their essence to a person they truly care for, whether as a lover or simply as a friend. That's where you came in, beloved... I was once chained and bound to Jenova, just as Sephiroth still is. I was her puppet... I no longer could be myself unless my drastically weakened will could manage to overthrow her schemes, but I could never retain control for more than a few seconds before she would beat me back into submission. I had to watch helplessly as she tricked my own daughter and used my body and mind in her twisted plans...
"But life force is the key to all of this! When you die, your life force expires and becomes almost nothing. That's why you can never leave the Lifestream until given the blessing of the Planet's energy. When you're injured or unconscious, your life force weakens slightly, but does not falter. A regular Phoenix Down is like a minor boost in this power... it restores it to operational levels. The Dark Phoenix's pinions, however, is like injecting a drug into your system. It floods your system with so much power that you're dizzy and unable to function properly until the effects wear down a bit. When they do, you automatically assume that things will be fine and that you'll stay at such healthy levels, but like any drug, its effects deteriorate and become unstable. Soon you're once again on the brink of death. It's completely inevitable... Almost like a dirty trick played on you by the dying breath of the Bird of Hatred.
"So do you see now? It's not Sephiroth behind all of this... He truly did die 25 years ago when you threw him over the reactor... it is now the Jenova that lives inside of him, enslaving him like a mindless zombie, bending to her every whim... through the power of the Dark Phoenix. Oh, Cloud!" she gasped in exasperation, not sure if her efforts to explain would ever really reach his conscious mind. "Should an innocent man be blamed and slain for a crime he did not commit? Perhaps it is for the best concerning this planet and every being upon it...But there's still a chance we can save him. But maybe it's too great of a risk to take? That he'd be too far gone by that time to help us defeat this evil once and for all!
"My dear beloved... when you wake, remember that I shan't be there to help you. I-I don't know... it's just a theory of mine, but when you regain your life force and if you then continue to contribute it to me, I may muster up enough to return to the land of the living. I don't know if it'll work; in all of the Planet's history, it has never even been so much as attempted, but we have to try something... I might be able to banish Jenova. By gaining the lost Sephiroth as our ally, we may learn the creature's weaknesses. So go... and rest well. My love and best wishes travel with you, Cloud..." she finished in a hushed voice before leaning over to plant a kiss on his pale lips. As she did so, the pale flesh moved faintly, his breath forcing out of his throat just forcefully enough to form her name. A tear formed in Aerith's eye without her noticing, splashing down upon his cheek as she chanted the words of release, sending his spirit spiraling back to the world that they could no longer share together.
***
"Cloud!"
Tifa's voice rang urgently in his ears as the former mercenary stirred groggily from his restless slumber. As his eyes opened tentatively, the world became an indistinguishable blur of color, light, and sound. He winced with agony as the sun peeked out from where it had been hiding behind the thick cumulus clouds that dominated the majority of the morning sky, glaring mercilessly into his watering eyes.
"Thank goodness! Cloud!" he perceived her sigh of relief as a cool hand slipped into his own, the strong thumb pressing firmly against his palm. His vision began to clear slowly until the colors began to separate from their spectral blend, becoming distinguishable to his fogged mind. He sat up and laid his dizzy head into his waiting hands, and after a few tentative shakes of the extremity, he was functioning normally. He turned to look at Tifa ashamedly from the corner of his eye as the enormity of what his wife had told him through his dreams began to weigh heavily upon his consciousness. Everything from the raping to the innocence of his enemy...
"Are you all right...?" Tifa inquired with a concerned look, brushing back a stray wisp of golden hair from the man's brow. Cloud stared up at her with such a haunting, soul-penetrating glare that she shuddered compulsively and rose from her seat. "S-Stoppit, Cloud! You're scaring me..." The messily spiked head then hung limp in frustration, burying the steely gaze within his own flesh as he pressed the palms of his hands against his lidded eyes until he saw stars.
"It can't have been true... I must've been dreaming. Yeah, that's it... it was a dream. Nothing more than a frightened child's nightmare..." Cloud babbled incoherently coupled with a insane gurgling laugh, causing Tifa's eyes to widen in terror before she inched away until the dependable stone wall guarded her from behind. No words emitted from the movement of her lips, for no breath would come forth to vibrate her larynx deep within her throat. Cloud perceived the deft movements of her feet and once again bared his face to glare at her through now bloodshot eyes.
Tifa fled from the room in sheer terror, frightened of the sudden insanity that had begun to possess Cloud Strife from deep within the darkness of his own mind.
Chapter 23- Cosmo Memories
A few days later, Cloud and Tifa, along with their other friends whom had journeyed with them thus far, arrived in the quaint village known as Cosmo Canyon. The heavens seemed to yawn and open over this mountainous terrain, baring the stars in all their glory to cast their light upon the weary faces of the travelers. The night was a velvety black that seemed to hang like a heavy blanket of silk over the sleeping land, trapping the few waves of heat near the ground. The Highwind had banked noiselessly upon the crimson path, its long rope ladder thrown down to allow its passengers to disembark safely. Cloud took up his massive blade from where it lay on its rack within his cabin, and inspecting its battle-scarred length, he thought of the man whose blood had once stained its worn steel. It was because of him that they had come here, and because him that they had journeyed so long and painfully. His radiant eyes set aglow with determination, Cloud tossed the shoulder strap skillfully over his golden spikes, allowing the sheathed weapon to rest upon his back.
"It's been a long time..." he sighed painfully, glancing over at the significantly less decorated Buster Sword that lay upon his bunk, noticing how lonely the blade seemed in the darkness of the room. "Ultima Weapon... I never thought I'd have to take you from that rack ever again." He had left it on the ship in order to keep it away from his growing daughter, for fear that its razor sharp edge would harm the child he loved so dearly. Even when she had grown old enough to know never to touch her father's weapons, he still hadn't the heart to take it from where it had rested so long in the one place where it would never do anyone harm.
The door creaked open suddenly, interrupting Cloud's thoughts and bathing him in a stream of dim moonlight. A silhouette was cast upon the wooden planks of the floor, seeming tall and ghastly in such pale illumination. He whirled around in surprise, his right hand resting upon the hilt of his blade, every muscle in his body as tense as a spring and ready to be released at the slightest signal.
"Cloud...?" came the quiet whisper of Tifa, allowing his form to relax visibly and approach the starlit doorway.
"Tifa, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be preparing to leave the ship?" Cloud asked tiredly, unable to resist the yawn that shook his entire body with its violence.
"Well... it's just that..." she began uneasily, her eyes cast quickly towards the barren floor before she peered up to study the man she loved so much. "I mean... wait a minute! Cloud, is that the-"
"Yeah, it is," Cloud sighed coolly, his gloved hand resting upon the smooth skin of her shoulder. "Listen... I have a feeling that we're going to need these in the battles coming ahead. Do you have the Premium Heart with you?"
"I have it equipped right now, mastered materia and all," she replied as if distracted, lifting her strong right arm to show him the powerful weapon. Cloud nodded in approval, taking her arm in his gentle grasp and analyzing the spectrum of hued materia that rested in the filled slots.
"Why...? Why, after 20 years of happiness... of peace, must he return?" groaned Cloud in frustration, the bright sapphires of his irises searching deep within the sweet topaz jewels of Tifa's eyes for an answer. Her eyelids hid the gems from view as she shook her head, wishing with all her heart that they could have lived a normal life together, ignoring the business of fighting for the rest of their existence.
"I really don't know, Cloud... I wish I did. I wish with all of my heart that I knew, and that I could put a stop to this, but you know that I can't... not without your help. Running will not solve any problems... We have to find a way to put an end to him for all of time, so that the next generations can live in peace even if we cannot. Together, Cloud..." she spoke soothingly, her velvety eyes shining with a deep pure hope, indestructible by any force in existence. A slow smile seemed to spread itself across Cloud's face, the understanding leaking deep into his soul.
"Thanks..." he murmured shyly, an awkward pause dominating the room before he gestured towards the wilderness of the outside world. "We probably better head out before Cid leaves without us!"
The distant glow of the Cosmo Candle illuminated the mountainside, the flickering rhythm of the flames seeming to drive the deep ceremonial beat of far away drums. As Shera's endurance began to dwindle, Cid offered her the support of his own body ungrudgingly, glancing away casually as not to gain attention from his friends. Tifa stifled a giggle as she tugged Cloud's sleeve, quietly drawing his attention towards the emotionally softening man. Cloud grinned mentally, glad to see that his friend had finally abandoned the obnoxious impassive attitude that he had once harbored for the woman that was carrying his child.
Within minutes, they had reached the main flight of steps that led into the heart of the canyon village, and stood staring once again in full awe of the spectacle. Tall cerulean towers stretched high into the night sky, dotted with artificial lights that twinkled from within the carefully crafted windowsills. Upon the highest of the scarlet cliffs lay a tall blue tower, from which protruded an amazingly large telescope pointed straight into the glory of the heavens. The Cosmo Candle seemed to snarl at the very shadows that threatened to creep over the town, an eternal guardian for the sacred observatory. From behind the flames, a figure seemed to creep stealthily through the shadows from the cliffs, skulking where even the heroes could not detect. From directly behind them a powerful voice boomed into their senses, shaking them all out of their daze and causing them all to jump where they stood.
"Who goes there?" it hissed, solid and full of strength.
Cloud whirled around, his sword raised, poised for a mighty blow upon the head of their assailant...
"Red...?"
The blade clattered harmlessly to the rocky ground as Cloud stood dumbfounded in the stairway, staring at his friend as if he had seen a spectral figure in his stead. Within 20 years, Red XIII had changed more than any of the others had. No longer simply an adolescent amongst the beasts of his kind, he had grown into a fully developed adult, having being given the coming of age ceremony by the citizens of the town. Dressed in the full headdress regalia of a chief, the long vibrant plumage extended towards the sky, woven intricately into a craftily beaded headband with tassels of pure navy silk. The faintest hints of his rather recent cub-hood had since disappeared, resulting in a series of physical change that none of them had anticipated. He had grown longer, every lean muscle and sinew pushing against the coat of bristling fur, the already fiery hues ignited by the light of the Candle. His muzzle was sharper, his eyes longer and more intense. Even the long swishing tail had a far greater blaze upon its tip, trailing layers of smoke as it swayed to and fro rhythmically. He seemed far more powerful than he had when they had last seen him so long ago, no longer a child, but still always the same comrade they had fought alongside.
The beast's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, squinting through the thick cover of darkness that danced away from the flames' eternal light before growling in surprised recognition.
"Cloud Strife..." came the delighted purr as the beast padded quietly forward. "I never thought I'd see you in this area again! What brings you to the Canyon, my friend?"
"Red...?" asked Tifa quietly, dropping to one knee into the dust of the path. The beast studied the faces warily, then bounded over to the woman's extended arms in a joyous leap as if he were a faithful guard dog welcoming his master home after a long and arduous journey. Tifa pressed her tearful face into her old friend's fiery fur, feeling his shy nuzzle against her neck.
"How have you been, old friend?" she laughed lightly, taking the fiery face in between her hands with a grin. Red growled in embarrassment, twisting gently away from her fond embrace and muttering under his breath. It had been very obvious since the beginning of their fateful journey twenty years previous that Nanaki had favored Tifa and Aerith over the other members of the party. Although he had told them gruffly that he didn't like the childish way in which they treated him, it was plain to see that he enjoyed the amount of attention the women had paid to him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Miss Tifa, Miss Shera, Cloud, Vincent, and Cid... how are you all?" Nanaki asked fondly, a glint of excitement afire in his eye. The traditional greetings ensued, but as Cloud opened his mouth to explain their dilemma, Red's powerful gaze rose to meet his.
"I sense that story you have to tell is extremely long. Come with me... before you begin, we should go somewhere more comfortable," he gestured with a nod of his head towards Bugenhagen's tower at the top of the looming cliffs. With a grateful nod of agreement, the party trudged wearily in the wake of the swishing flame upon Red's tail. After a few minutes of climbing through a series of carefully crafted passages in the rock face, they emerged at the top of the plateau. Rays of gentle moonlight illuminated the area, bathing them in a shower of pure shimmering silver. Nanaki paused momentarily with a respectful bow of his head towards the smiling moon, her craterous dimples clear and visible through the cloudless night. Nanaki nudged the door of the observatory open with his muzzle, illuminating them in the seemingly cheap artificiality of manmade light.
Squinting from the strain of such brightness against their eyes, they stepped across the threshold with great curiosity, taking care not to track the vivid scarlet mud into the foyer. Another voice, soft but strange, rang in their ears, laced with love and gentleness.
"Nanaki, is that you?"
"Yeah" Nanaki replied almost shyly, "Kereka, come down here! We have guests..." The light clicking of claws upon linoleum followed almost immediately, in an uneven pattern that suggested descent from a staircase. Suddenly, before them appeared a beautiful creature, shy but full of power and life. Like Nanaki's, her coat seemed to be aflame, glowing a glossy crimson in the strong lamplight. Upon the tip of her slender tail burned a sizable blaze, the light smoke slowly floating through the air before melting away into the night. She was very much like Nanaki, but smaller, her features lean and feminine. Her nose was shorter, her eyes larger and less narrowed, now full of surprise and concern. The same exact expression dominated the features of the former AVALANCHE crew, their jaws dropped in pure amazement and disbelief.
"Nanaki... who are these people? It's not often that you invite guests into our home..." she murmured softly, ducking behind her husband's sleek form.
"Kereka, meet my old friends, Shera, Tifa, Vincent, Cid, and Cloud-" Red began before being interrupted by his wife's understanding purr.
"Oh, so you are those humans Nanaki always spoke so much about!" she seemed to smile, beaming welcome at the still awestruck travelers. "Mr. Strife, he talked about you and your wife so much. Oh, I'm sorry. I must introduce myself properly. I am Kereka, wife of Nanaki. It is a pleasure to meet you," she recited formally, followed by a stiff-legged bow.
Cloud's eyes were downcast now at the mention of his late wife, his heart flooding once again with the river of sorrow that he had only begun to dam. Nanaki nudged her sharply with his shoulder, reminding her to keep her tact with humans. Before she had the chance to open her mouth and apologize, Tifa managed to recover the conversation, aiming at an entirely different subject.
"So... Kereka, I thought that Nanaki was the last of his kind," she blurted out quickly to ease the awkward silence.
"We really did think I was," Nanaki answered, fondly rubbing flanks with a bashfully blushing Kereka. "When Grandfather died twenty years ago, he had told me that I would find my mate someday. I was skeptical, of course... But to cut a long story short, a few years ago while hunting away from the Canyon, I found Kereka lying wounded in the forest. She was completely covered in dried blood, some hers, the rest from an opponent that she had been attacked by. Concerned and bewildered, I managed to help her along until we reached the Canyon, where the elders treated her with their herbal remedies. When she had finally recovered, I realized that she was the one whom Grandfather had spoken of, and we became mates soon after. We have had our first daughter, Hareko, but she is already asleep. She is only an infant still, in human terms."
Tifa smiled at the sweet story, placing a fond hand upon the furry head of her friend. "I'm really happy for the two of you!" she smiled, her emotions bubbling over like a cauldron left to boil, forgotten by some absent-minded person.
After an embarrassed growl and a shuffling of bashful paws, Nanaki led them to a series of armchairs resting by a few velvety rugs. Gesturing for them to take a seat, the pair of beasts laid down upon the soft plush fabric with a soft sigh.
"Now, tell us your story... what brings you to the Canyon so suddenly? Tell me what has transpired since the last time that I have seen you."
With this, Cloud began the epic tale, beginning with the troubled childhood of his young daughter, telling him of the day she ran away from his home after he had presented her with the mystical Masamune. He spoke of the entire year of adventure, telling him everything he knew, up to the point that they had lost track of her whereabouts and their need of the observatory to locate her life force. Nanaki listened intently throughout all of this, absorbing all of the information given to him, interrupting rarely to ask a puzzled question, and generally pondering the situation.
"Hmm... that is a very difficult situation. Well, we'll see how we can help you. We'll do everything in our power to help you locate Sephirah and bring her home. We ought not to use the observatory until two weeks from now, when the moon is not at its fullest, so its light will not obstruct the view. The search will be most effective then..." concluded the beast, with a yawn of exhaustion. "It is getting late. The guestrooms have been not prepared yet; you may rest here for tonight. We will discuss our plans further upon the sunrise. Come, Kereka, let us retire for the evening. We will send for you for breakfast when it has been prepared. Goodnight."
With those simple words, Nanaki turned and stalked wearily off, leaving Kereka to motion for them to follow her with a broad swish of her tail flame. The dragged their feet up the stairs, attempting to follow her brisk pace as she skipped up the steps. She came to a halt at a room on the second floor, the wall lined with cots heaped with blankets.
"We will have better accommodations ready upon tomorrow. I hope you don't mind sleeping here for tonight. I apologize for earlier, Mr. Strife... I am not used to the company of humans yet. I have still yet a lot to learn... Anyway, I hope you rest well!" she murmured softly before turning and hurrying out of the room in embarrassment. The group plopped immediately into the cots, filled with exhaustion, and soon had fallen fast asleep under the vigilance of the pale starlight that shone sneakily in through the windows.
Chapter 24- A Stargazer's Dreams
The wind seemed to breeze lightly through Cloud's hair, running its slippery fingers through the tangled spikes of solid gold. He was leaning upon the railing of a balcony that seemed very familiar to him, though he couldn't remember why if his own life were at stake upon the answer. Gazing over the restraints at the scenery so far below, he saw nothing but an emerald green haze stretching for miles around him like a low flying cloud during a foggy morn, and impassively he uttered a sigh of pure loneliness. The brilliant color reminded him of the way her eyes had shone with delight long ago, so full of glorious beauty...
"Cloud...?"
His thoughts were interrupted by a voice, soft and delicate, but wavering noticeably with emotion. He whirled around, startled, to find the face that he had always longed to see with such passion, in waking and in his dreams...
"Aerith!!" he murmured breathlessly, his eyes flooding with tears of joyous bewilderment, his hands trembling with longing but afraid to touch her, lest her specter dissipate into the air from which it came. "Is it really you...?"
"Oh, Cloud!" she sighed, rushing forth and collapsing into the warmth of his embrace, tears streaming forth from her eyes. "I'm so glad... you finally let me in! I was so worried about you, my love..." To Cloud, she felt so real... the smooth skin of her arms, she soft sheen of her hair, the warmth of her smile... she was the same Aerith she had always been, the same young woman he had loved with such passion. He could hardly believe himself, that he was holding her in his arms once again, his beloved and forever mourned wife.
"How...?" he managed to whisper softly, inhaling the richness of her floral scent, stroking the silken length of her tresses, and weeping softly the unshed tears of bitterness mixed with bewildered joy. "How did you...?" he attempted to form to words and continue his sentence, but she pressed a slender finger firmly against his lips for silence.
"This is the only time I will have to warn you of the dangers ahead... I can only appear in your dreams when you've opened your heart to let me in. But now that I've been so long under her influence, I cannot escape more than just this once to see you..." her hand rose like a feather borne by the wind, brushing fondly by his cheek to sweep away tear threatening to spill. "Oh, my love... the Phoenix cannot haunt Jenova, she who has already been diseased. She never told me the consequences of using the feather... You see-" she was speaking hastily until this point, where it was as if the very breath was being choked out of her body, her lungs painfully imploded. She tried to scream, but being void of breath, she was helpless to do anything but clutch desperately at her chest, her lungs wheezing and rasping in the struggle to regain breath. Cloud reached for her falling form with concern, taking the trembling hands in his own, and drawing her body close to his. Some inner notion seemed to be controlling him, as if ordering him what to do. Contrary to what he might've thought, it wasn't the strange cold-hearted control of Jenova... this time, it was premonition and instinct that wrenched him into action. He pulled her roughly up against him, and with great difficulty, managed to lift her chin until he was gazing straight into the pain-creased face. His lips pressed passionately against hers, forming an airtight seal with his open mouth. His tears streaming from beneath tightly shut lids, he breathed his life force into her body, giving her not only his oxygen, but his strength.
[I]I love you... more than anything in this world. Stay with me forever this time... I'll give you my life, just please...[/I]
As the jumbled mix of thoughts and images of the past raced through his mind, he felt her muscles loosen and relax in his embrace, the choking fit ceased. The air became calm and quiet once again, as if a vacuum had sucked the noise from the room, leaving nothing but silence in its purest form.
Then, she turned her face up towards his again, the ivory skin wet from the convulsive tears. Her beautiful eyes now lacked no luster, shining with such intense radiance the likes of which Cloud had never seen, even in those who had been infected with the Mako poisoning.
"Thank you, my love... Because you have given me some of your life force, the Phoenix's spell has been breached. The curse has been lifted... I am no longer their slave. But what you have given me had come at the cost of some of your own power... I am truly sorry. I wish I could've warned you beforehand..." Aerith smiled ruefully through her tears. "I've been waiting 20 long years to be set free from this torture... thank you, Cloud."
"What do you mean?" he mumbled, caring only partially about her answer. All that meant anything to him now was that she was in his arms once again, his beloved beautiful Aerith.
"Come with me," she said calmly, after a moment of reflection. She took his warm palm in hers own and led him from the balcony into a richly decorated bedroom. The creamy golden trimmings dazzled his eyes with an air of familiarity, the light scent of flowers wreathing around him and catching him in its tangible embrace. He closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweetness of the room, from the cool breezy atmosphere to the sunny warmth of its walls.
"This is..." his eyes opening in astonishment at his memories, Cloud began to speak slowly, unable to finish.
"This is our bedroom, my love, and the balcony... do you remember now? You've kept things hidden from yourself for so long now..." she sighed contentedly, taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. Speechless, yet absorbing every single syllable spoken from his wife's mouth, Cloud lowered himself down until he was sitting beside her, still unsure of the difference between a dream and reality.
A scene wafted into his mind as if floating in from the windows of his mind on a cool zephyr. Faintly at first, an image appeared in his mind of himself perched on one knee, head bowed, his mouth moving with some speech he could not hear. As if his memory were a television with its sound turned down to one notch, the voices began at a whisper, growing steadily louder until he could understand the speech without any effort.
***
The scene began over again with a lone figure illuminated only by the moon on the balcony, a breezy white gown fluttering like the delicate wings of a butterfly caught in a gale. A long twist of hair swept behind her, a few loose wisps flying into the night as she leaned over the railings, her sensitive fingers tracing the cold stone with an air of distraction. He could hear the sweet, melodious hum of her voice, soft and surreal, the voice of an alluring nymph. A shy cough sounded from behind her, the source someone whom Cloud could not see, but he knew from the familiarity of the sound... The starlight glinted off of his messy hair and the bare skin of his chest as the young man approached the girl, his arms folding slowly around the slender body. Aerith giggled lightly, leaning back until her weight was completely supported by the one she loved, her arm sneaking up to caress his face with great passion.
"Oh Cloud... today was like a dream for me..." she whispered excitedly, turning in his embrace until she faced him, gazing up into the azure realms of his eyes. She laid her head against the muscular chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath her ear with immense comfort, contented just to be in his arms.
"It was for me too..." he murmured gently, rocking his beloved in powerful arms, never wanting to let go and be alone again. "The wedding was spectacular... and the villa we bought a while back has proved to be perfect! But... well... I was thinking the other night... a-and I just want to know what you think about something," he added hastily, his face flushing an embarrassed yet endearing shade of scarlet.
"What is that?" she asked curiously, stroking his powerful cheek with her light touch. She alone had the power to tame the greatest fighter on the face of the planet, the strongest amongst the strong men, a man who possessed the savagery of a wild beast.
"W-What do you think... about having children?" he blurted out uneasily, trying to hide his blushing face in the shadows of the light. Aerith's thinning face was set aglow with pure delight, her smile dazzling with the joy that radiated through her features.
"Oh, Cloud!" she breathed, burying her face into the warmth of his skin. "I-I would love to have your children..."
Cloud's eyes flooded with pure unbridled ecstasy, cradling his young wife to his heart in powerful arms. "I-I'm so glad... I was thinking that I'd like to have a son someday, who will take over for us and protect this Planet when we are gone..." Aerith nodded in agreement, her fingers tracing his spine with great care and love. A long silence followed, unable to be interrupted by any intrusion in the world. Tears began to squeeze from between Cloud's closed eyelids, splashing down onto Aerith's face like the last lazy raindrops of a dying storm and causing her concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked him, lifting a gentle hand to stroke away his tears, smoothing his long spikes underneath her palm. He shook his head slowly, pulling her tightly to him and continuing his silent weep, stroking her silken locks with the gentlest caresses.
"I-I missed you so much when you were gone..." he whispered softly into her ear, "I didn't know what to do with myself. I hadn't even realized how much you meant to me until it was too late..."
"Perhaps you didn't feel anything until it all happened," Aerith interrupted quietly. "At first I did think you had eyes only for Tifa... During the date in the Gold Saucer, you seemed so distant... I assumed you were thinking how much better it'd be to be on the lift with Tifa instead..."
"T-That's not true!" Cloud began to blurt out to comfort her, but she just sighed in resignation. "The truth is... that I love you. I always have, and I always will... for the rest of my life, I am yours, and yours alone." Cloud slid to one knee on the cold marble of the balcony, still tightly clasping her hand in his. She dropped silently to the floor, her face level with his, the glittering emeralds searching... The young man looked up, his face creased with heartfelt pain, and brought the hand to touch his forehead then crossed it down his front until it hovered over his heart.
[I]I love you with all my heart... and I'll protect you with my life. No matter what happens... no matter what was in the past... I am yours now and forever more. Just please... don't ever leave me alone again![/I]
***
The scene faded quickly away with the younger version of him drawing his wife passionately to his body in a kiss. That final quote seemed to echo around his head, resounding through his mind and striking pain into his soul.
"I remember now," he said quietly, gazing off into the distances of time. "That balcony was where I swore my love to you... that first night, after we were married."
Aerith beamed her pride at him, taking his arm in hers and pressing it against fondly her chest. "You remembered after all..."
"How could I have forgotten...?" he murmured with a smile, smoothing back the bangs from where they hung in her face with a sweep of his hand. "My feelings still haven't changed, you know..." A rosy blush filled her youthful cheeks as she leaned up and planted a tender kiss on his waiting lips. He grinned, toying with the slender fingers that still lay tightly clasped in his own.
"Oh, Cloud... I have so much to tell you, but so little time remains. In your world, the sun is due to rise any moment now, and then I must depart. I will visit you every night from now on, if you so please..." she suggested hopefully, delighted to be met by a vigorous nod of agreement from her husband. "Then I leave you with this final kiss," she said, taking his chin between her palms and planting a kiss on his lips. Cloud's head began to swim dizzily, drowning in the scent of her floral perfume...
Chapter 25- A Price to Pay
"Hey, get yo' spiky ass outta bed now, foo!"
Cloud was startled from his pleasurable slumber by a harsh barking of a deep voice booming into his ear. He scrambled to sit up in the confusion, and was greeted by a broad grin seated in a dark battle-scarred face. He sprang to his feet upon the wooden floor, not in alarm of attack, but in pure unmasked disbelief. The impact of the leap seemed to convert Cloud's normally sturdy legs to boneless jelly, sending him crashing weakly to the floor with a shout of surprise. The looming figure beside him seemed massive from the perspective of lying painfully on his rear end on the floor, and if Cloud had not recognized the face already, he would've been positively frightened. A gigantic hand reached down to assist him, and dazedly, Cloud laid his hand in the open one, and was instantly lifted off of the floor as if he weighed no more than a feather. Within a blink of an eye, he was sitting back upon his cot again, staring directly into the mocking face.
"B-Barret?!" Cloud sputtered, cocking his head as if he didn't believe that the man he saw in front of him was his old friend and colleague.
"Ya got that right!" Barret chuckled with a playful cuff to Cloud's arm. Cloud shook his head, managing to regain his senses before asking the question that most people would have thought of first:
"Uhh... what are you doing here?"
Barret burst into helpless laughter, thinking that Cloud was joking or something to that likeness. When Cloud's face remained completely serious, his mouth not twisted into even the faintest hints of a smile, Barret stopped laughing and addressed the question.
"What, you serious?! I should be the one asking what the hell you doin' here!" Barret barked, before resigning with a sigh. "I guess your stupid ass just never heard the news then. Marlene was accepted into the astrology school here, and is being specially taught by the elders themselves," his entire face seemed to beam with pride when he mentioned Marlene's successes, causing the memory to return to Cloud. "They say she's the best in the class!"
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot..." Cloud smiled ruefully at the man who had begun the entire struggle so long ago, fueled by his hatred of the company that had destroyed his hometown. "How have the two of you been, by the way?" he continued casually, as if he had been in control of the conversation the entire time. It was this attitude that he had been famous for during the time in which he was the leader of the resistance faction AVALANCHE, as well as one that he had rarely used during the past 20 years. The childish behavior he felt was now beyond him, and he even noticed he had changed a lot since he met Aerith. It was just her impact on people...
Before Barret could open his mouth to reply, Tifa burst into the room, giggling as she noticed the two old friends sitting together once more.
"Good morning, Cloud! I hope that Barret's face didn't scare you too much... he said he was gonna go and wake you up and bounded up the stairs before I could say anything! Well, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Any dreams last night?" she asked casually, beckoning for him to follow her. "We prepared breakfast downstairs. Why don't you get a bite to eat?" With these words, she was gone, retreating down the steps and back into the dining hall.
Cloud rose tiredly to his feet, feeling as if all of his energy had been sapped out of him. It seemed like he was wading through endless torrents of water and his feet were void of feeling. Every reaction seemed to be delayed or sluggish, each muscle in his body sore and painful. Barret was concerned by this obvious show of illness, but being the gruff person he was, he gave Cloud a hefty slap on the back that nearly sent his sprawling down the stairs. Too tired to be angry, Cloud just picked himself up from the floor and continued weakly down the stairs.
The scent of frying meat and baking pastries wafted up towards Cloud's nose, tempting his senses and causing a watering in his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he was... He was eager to take his seat at the table, glancing up with gratitude when Tifa slid a filled plate in front of him, handing him a fork with a sweet smile.
"Eat up, Cloud! You'll need to build back some strength," she said simply, giving him a quick back massage as she passed behind his seat. Even feeding himself was a two-part task of great difficulty, first scooping the utensil down towards his plate and second bringing it up towards his mouth to chew and swallow. Tifa bustled cheerily about, serving everybody with a grin and an eager attitude, happy to be back in the waitress setting that she was so used to. As she glanced around the room to see if she had missed anybody, she noticed Cloud's painstakingly slow pace, watching him wince weakly every time he picked up his fork to shovel in the mouthful of food. Concerned, she returned to Cloud's side of the table, placing a comforting hand upon his shoulder.
"Cloud... are you feeling all right?" she asked quietly, staring into the pale face that turned to meet hers. "Is there something wrong? You don't look too well... perhaps you ought to rest."
He never knew what happened next, because the world seemed to fill with a swirl of multicolor, a brightly hued spectrum hanging like a curtain over his vision and muffling all sound before darkening to a solid gloomy black.
Tifa gasped with alarm as Cloud slumped forward onto the table, his face barely missing his plate as the fork dropped from his hand and he fell unconscious.
"Cloud--!"
***
The veil of mist seemed to melt away slowly, revealing a blinding blur of colors and sounds, undistinguishable at first, then clearing up as the light returned.
"I hope he'll be okay..." rang a voice he recognized as Tifa's, full of tearful concern.
"Trust me, Aunty Tifa, he'll be just fine..." comforted a younger girl's voice... Could it be? Sephirah?!
"S-Sephie?" he managed to gasp weakly, feeling as if his entire body was afire with pain. He turned his head to glance around the room, searching desperately for the shimmering platinum hair, the aquamarine eyes...
To his dismay, only a sea of dark colored hair met his eyes, no scream of "Daddy" resounded in his ears, no beautiful child rushed to his bedside with brilliant tearful eyes... His heart seemed to bleed in his chest, longing for the loving touch of his daughter, or at least just the knowledge that she was all right...
"Oh, Cloud! You're awake!" Tifa gasped with relief, dropping to her knees at his bedside. "Thank goodness!"
"It's about time, foo. Ya had us worried for a moment!" Barret said gruffly with a contemptuous huff. "What's gotten into ya anyway, weakling? Can't stand on yo' own two feet anymore..."
"Daddy! That's enough!" scolded the girl's voice again, but this time Cloud could see the source. She was a young woman in her early twenties with short dark brown hair and a very pale complexion. Glasses were perched on top of the bridge of her sharp nose, concealing clearly sparkling hazel eyes. Dressed in a black jacket and skirt with a cream blouse, she looked very much the student.
"Marlene, even if he's not being tactful, you really shouldn't scold your elders like that," Tifa reprimanded her, forcing an embarrassed blush to cover Marlene's thin cheeks. She began to stammer an apology, but Tifa interrupted her with a cheeky wink. "Leave that to me!" Barret scowled and crossed his arms over his brawny chest, looking impassively out of the window.
"But Cloud... what happened back there?" Shera asked with wide eyes, kneeling by his bed. "You just sort of... collapsed on us! You almost fainted right into your food!"
"...I-I'm not sure..." replied Cloud after a pause for reflection. It was true; he wasn't sure what was wrong, but perhaps it ought to do with that dream... He could vaguely hear her voice from the back of his mind...
But what you have given me had come at the cost of some of your own power...
He shook his head in disbelief, refusing to believe that the dream, if true, had caused such a great impact on his physical being. He sighed with exhaustion and managed to sit up in his bed. His head swam a little at first, but he felt far better than when he had first woken up that morning. Tentatively, he put his feet on the ground and attempted to stand, and was relieved to find that his legs would once again support his weight. He stretched and yawned as if waking from a long sleep, somehow feeling weaker, but more capable than before. At that moment, Cid bustled into the room, toting a large but familiar object by its straps.
"Here!" grunted Cid, lightly tossing Cloud the Ultima Weapon in such a way that Cloud could've easily caught it and slung it over his shoulder in a casual manner. It as a strange sight to see when Cloud was nearly bowled over by the weight of the sword and barely managed to keep a hold of the heavy weapon as it sent him reeling backwards onto the bed once again. Every person in the room was silent, mouths gaping in shock...
"Uhh... Cloud? Are you okay?" Tifa asked, now fully concerned.
"I-I don't know! I feel fine, but..." he began, unsure of anything at all in his bewilderment. Perhaps this was just a messed up dream, he thought, another crazy-
The realization hit him with as much force as his weapon had only a moment ago.
"So that's what she meant..." he muttered with disbelief, his head dropping into his hands. "She tried to tell me..."
"Huh? What was that?" Tifa asked him, but he dismissed her with forlorn wave of his hand.
"I-It's nothing," he sighed, unsure of what to think of it all. Tifa shrugged, knowing inside that something was deeply bothering him, but having known him all of her life, she knew better than to inquire further for now. Marlene strode forth at that point and laid her palm against his forehead one final time.
"Nope, Uncle Cloud, I've performed just about every test I could short of taking your blood, and you're as healthy as you ever have been! There's no reason for you to be feeling lethargic..." she said lightly, unsure of what to think of this strange lack of strength. "Well, I better get back to class then," she sighed, gathering her satchel of textbooks and heading towards the door. "I hope you feel better soon!" With that simple comment, she disappeared into the hallway amidst a clatter of receding footsteps.
One by one, the varied people in the room began to leave, each having their own duties to perform, but wishing Cloud better health before they departed. Before long, only Cloud and Tifa remained in the room together, both seated on his infirmary bed, one attempting to gather the courage to speak.
"Cloud... you know what's wrong, don't you?" Tifa asked quietly, hoping for an answer. Nothing but sullen silence followed, Cloud's eyes wandering off into the distance as if he hadn't heard her speak.
"Why won't you just tell me? Don't you trust me anymore? Even after all we've been through together... We've been friends since we were kids!" Tifa blurted out, hurt that he wouldn't tell her the cause of his illness. Embarrassed at her outburst, she buried her head into her arms and combed her slim fingers through the dark ringlets of hair that framed her face in frustration and distress. Still with no response from Cloud she began to apologize, feeling as if she were talking to a wall, inanimate and void of feeling.
"Look... I'm sorry. It's just that..." she sighed, contemplating telling him her feelings. "...Oh, never mind," she finished the sentence with exasperation. She rose to leave him alone and had crossed the distance of half of the room before the sound of his voice called her to a halt.
"Wait... hold on a second."
Tifa whirled to face Cloud, whose beautiful eyes were focused strongly upon her, as clear and intense as they ever had been.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I don't mean to treat you like this, but..." he paused, unsure of how to word what he was feeling. "For now, I think I'm supposed to keep it to myself. You'll be the first I tell when the time comes though... I promise!" he said in a comforting voice, forcing a smile to ease the tension in the room. Seeing this change of attitude and his handsome smile, Tifa flushed deeply and returned the grin before scurrying out of the room as quickly as she could. As she headed down the hallway, she realized that her heart was racing to pound blood into her brain, the force of each beat causing a dizzy rush in her head. Her chest seemed to be heaving at the same rate, every breath seeming inadequate to fuel her body even in such a simple activity as walking. Grabbing the wall, she shook her head out of its daze and was relieved to find her bodily functions returning to normal. Heading down the stairs, she couldn't help but wonder what Cloud could possibly have been talking about...
Cloud Strife was helpless to do anything except gaze out of the lonely infirmary window at the vivid crimson landscape, seeing so much yet absorbing so little of its beauty. As the radiant blue eyes stared forth at the land below, a sigh escaped his slightly parted lips, drifting across the light breeze in the form of a name...
"Aerith..."
Chapter 26- Dreams of an Ancient
The next time Cloud opened his eyes, a sea of angelic cream and gold greeted his bewildered senses. The smooth satin quilt soothed his bare skin and sore muscles, the soft feather pillows serving as gentle cushions for his head and neck. Alarmed at first, he tried to sit up from under the covers of the bed, but the fatigue was too great and he fell back to the mattress with a grimace.
"Rest and relax, my love."
Cloud didn't even have to glance about the room for the source of the voice... he knew it instantaneously, the beautiful bell-like charm that made it seem like she was always singing. Warmth flooded through his every portion of his body in remembrance and finally acceptance of his arrival in the land of his dreams. After a moment, he could feel the increased tension upon the springs of the mattress indicating that a person had sat down next to him, along with the light whisper of the fabric as it shifted under a moving body. A face appeared before him, saving him the trouble of looking around the room, the long dangling strands of earthen hair tickling his face.
"Good morning, Cloud!" she whispered cheerily, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss upon his lips. His mouth formed into a helpless grin, his heated blood pounding feverishly in his veins. This was how she had used to greet him every morning so many years ago, with that same soft kiss and smile that seemed to brighten his day. She laid her palm flat against his spikes, stroking their golden length with loving care, her radiant green eyes locked with her husband's, which were as deep and beautiful a blue as the pristine open sea.
"W-What happened to me?" Cloud asked of her, hoping for a full and understandable explanation. Aerith's face lost its dazzling smile as she sat up, turning away like a guilty child about to be punished.
"That's why I came, I guess... I might as well begin the tale now," she sighed, as if reluctant to have to relate such horrors as what she had seen. "It's long... It'll be a little while before I have answered your question, but it's necessary to tell you all anyway, and it'd make more sense if I..."
Cloud nodded in agreement, her the cold blue flame that always burned so steadily in his eyes dancing with concern. "Do as you think is necessary," he said simply, raising himself up on his elbow.
"All right then. I will begin..."
The scenery started to melt away in Cloud's very eyes, the room fading and returning into an emerald green haze. The only object that remained from the room was his bed; the vast area around him seemed like a giant movie theater whose screen took up the entire room. He watched the scene unfold with rapt fascination, losing all sense of time as well as himself in the river's powerful flow.
***
He saw her figure clearly through the abundance of dazzling green that composed the Lifestream, clad in the long shimmering gown of rose pink that trailed the floor with great elegance. He saw her sway and collapse to her knees, the anguish obvious in the distortion of her facial features, her cries becoming slowly more evident, more distinguishable... It was only then that he noticed the dark twisted figure that stood beside her, the dulled eyes narrowed with contempt and triumph. His cerulean irises burned with intense hatred, and if it weren't for his current state of weakness, he probably would've sprung up to try and defend his love from the brutal creature he beheld.
Jenova...
"No!" Aerith screamed, her voice choked with pure undiluted agony. Cloud's heart wrenched within his breast as he longed to rush to her side, to save her from the suffering... but he was rendered immobile, and the figures were nothing but a projection from the past. Even if he had leapt to his feet, he could not change anything...
"We can make a deal... You can have another chance at life. That is, IF you're willing to help me with the task at hand..." came the sibilant reply, the vicious hiss that made Cloud's blood run cold in his veins, then boil with fury. Seeing that the woman needed further convincing, Jenova spun around once and morphed into Cloud's likeness, stunning even the fury from the young man. The creature was a master of manipulation...
He saw Aerith grab frantically at her throbbing heart, and then with a strangled sob she lay on the floor, her breathing hard and irregular. "W-what do you want from me?"
"Not much..." shrugged the reverted Jenova, if the horribly maimed monster could shrug. "I'd like to plant a few of my cells into you. That's all! I assure you, Ancient..."
"B-but..." He could sense a tremble in her voice, one of uneasiness, terror, and disgust all mixed together, which could form a fearsome combination if not under great emotional grief. But all of the strength had obviously drained from Aerith's body, leaving her as helpless as a newborn child. Her eyes seemed to be locked, mesmerized, by those of Jenova, the evil beast transmitting something that Cloud could not detect straight into her mind. Finally, the emerald eyes squeezed tightly shut and her hands flew to cover her ears, her earsplitting screech of painful hatred shocking Cloud.
"NO!!! ...All right! I-I'll do it!!" The very sight of such agony etched upon his wife's face wrenched a nerve deep within Cloud's heart as he just began to fathom her love for him. "I'll do anything... for him..."she whispered in defeat, knowing she was fully beaten and resigning like a tamed lion to its whip-laden master.
"Good... good..." Jenova slithered forward, forcing Aerith to blanch visibly as the grotesque being neared her, the rotten flesh causing a putrid scent to fill her nostrils with disgust. A sharp claw lashed out towards her neck, causing the breath to catch with in Cloud's horrified lungs as she crumpled limp to the ground. A cry escaped his previously frozen throat before he realized that she was still breathing normally, and watched with morbid fascination as a familiar object was drawn from deep within the folds of Jenova's decaying flesh.
"Th-the feather?! It can't be!" The horror began to sink into Cloud's mind, and he glanced down at his violently trembling hands, knowing he had once felt its cool quill between his fingers, used its evil power over his own daughter... A shudder shook his entire body like a seismic disturbance from within his soul, his heart seeming to lose warmth and freeze in his breast as he realized the magnitude of what he had put his daughter through.
***
The images faded away into light, once again replaced by the gentle glamorous glow of the creamy walls in their old bedroom, but still no comfort to Cloud's terror. A tearful Aerith sat shamefaced upon the other end of the bed, her beautiful face shadowed by her long bangs as if trying to hide from her guilt.
"I-It gets worse..." she stammered quietly, a tear rolling down her cheeks. "But I was so desperate. I was willing to do anything it took to be with you again... even though I was risking the very survival of the Planet, which we had worked so hard to protect. I'm so ashamed of myself... I was so selfish! Nothing but a fool!" she spat hatred at herself, turning her tear streaked face towards that of the one she loved.
"After that... I tried to forget everything... but I kept myself on alert for attack. I left my mind open and vulnerable for any messenger to reach me, just in case I was needed to protect the Planet. That proved to be a fatal mistake... The Jenova cells inside of me allowed the witch to control my mental 'door', allowing any assault to take place. And so... I wasn't able to stop him from..." her face froze with pure terror and agony, concerning Cloud fully.
"Who... and what happened?" he pleaded of her, and having recuperated some of his strength, he slid across the smooth surface of the quilt and caught her in his arms. It was only then that he noticed the fear dancing in her eyes, the tears that flooded down her cheeks so painfully...
"Sephiroth..." the name rang in Cloud's ears like the knell of a gong struck by some massive object. It filled his mind, the sound vibrations shattering his senses and restoring bewilderment to his soul. "He... he..." Unable to finish, the traumatized Aerith simply lifted her arms to conjure another image from the stream of life.
***
This instance appeared to be from Aerith's point of view, seeing only what she had observed so long ago, Cloud perceived. The veil of darkness lifted and blinked with the movement of long-lashed lids, the new morning sun caused a distinct blur across her vision with its golden glare. He noticed a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her night-gowned figure at the bosom, and customary to every morning, Aerith shifted in the bed to face her husband and plant the casual kiss upon his waiting lips to wish him a pleasant day.
That which Cloud saw when Aerith turned and gasped startled him completely.
Instead of his own face, smiling and cheery, there was the head of his very worst enemy upon his pillow, grinning cruelly at her surprise. Aerith scrambled from the bed in shock, her horrified eyes never leaving the sharply defined facial features of the man who had once taken her life. He was clad in nothing but his normal pair of raven black pants, his chest bare and exposed for her to stare at the mass of pure muscles that so thickly covered his body. After a moment, she was able to shake of the feelings of bewilderment and soon her shock turned to righteous anger.
"You..." she hissed, her eyes narrowed as she took a cautious step back to escape him.
"Is that the way to greet an old... friend?" Sephiroth tutted casually, as if she should've been expecting him to pop up in her bed without warning.
"You're no friend of mine! W-what do you want now?!" she screamed in rage and exasperation, her cheeks flushing with the rush of blood that flowed to her head filled with adrenaline.
"You," he said simply in a teasing tone, followed by a sinister chuckle.
Startled by the answer, Aerith blinked in confusion and cocked her head, her fury momentarily forgotten. "Umm... pardon me?"
Sephiroth sighed as if it all were just common knowledge. "You, my dear, are the last surviving Ancient. The final component I lacked to become... perfect," The word sounded cruel, cold to her ears. "Therefore, any child we have will be exactly that. Then Jenova can take over this puny Planet and destroy it once and for-"
"You're nothing but a sick, demented... bastard!" she spat, the fury bottled within her causing continuous tremors throughout her entire body. Sephiroth finally glanced up at her, an amused twinkle dancing in his vivid turquoise eyes.
"Maybe so... maybe so," he mused, considering her words as he rose slowly to his feet and walked towards her as if trying to trap her. She attempted to flee, but found her limbs frozen and disobedient, the Jenova cells within her body struggling to overpower her will.
"N-No!" she screamed, her powerful mind managing to wrench herself free from the control. The second's delay was all he needed. Sephiroth sprang forward like a vicious wildcat after waiting patiently for the single misstep of his helpless prey. He grabbed her wrist with a cruel wrench of his arm, and she could do nothing but struggle in futility. As the pain lanced through her nerves, Sephiroth shoved his face up against hers, their noses almost touching. She could feel the warm mist of his breath upon her lips as she stared deep within the aquamarine eyes with raging hatred.
"Cloud was a lucky man... you are very beautiful, my dear. You have inherited the loveliness that marks the Ancients' blood. This should make things... more fun." Without warning, he used his weight to slam her against the wall, kissing her with agonizing force. Aerith grimaced with disgust when she had managed to force him back, instinctively lifting her hand in a single fierce movement and bringing it savagely across his cheek.
*SMACK*
The sharp clap of hand meeting flesh echoed throughout the room, seeming to freeze time with its sound...
Sephiroth reached up with a single hand towards his rapidly swelling cheek, brushing a thin trickle of liquid from the corner of his mouth. His entire body began to tremble with rage as he recognized the crimson smear as his own blood.
"Feisty, huh..." he murmured calmly with an inward smile as if he wasn't the least bit angry, but Aerith could detect the mounting fury that was tearing through his mind. Her heart now flooded with nothing but horror, she attempted to escape, but found herself unable. Her terrified heartbeat throbbed in her veins as Sephiroth placed his arms on either side of her, pressing against the wall as a barrier to her flight.
"I don't think you're going anywhere," he muttered coolly, one hand meeting her neck with amazing speed. Aerith choked and gasped with panic, struggling desperately to loosen his hold over her. His grip tightened, forcing a stifled gurgle from her throat. Her eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets, her head swimming from immense pain and lack of oxygen. He lifted her off of the ground with his other arm and threw her roughly onto the bed. Before she even had time to recover, he was on top of her, tearing at her nightgown as she screamed and cried helplessly, begging him through her tears to stop...
***
Chapter 27- A Child's Game
A tear rolled down pale cheeks, stemming from the sore bloodshot eyes of Sephirah. The platinum tresses were unruly from shifting as she lay upon her parents' bed, lacking sleep the entire night. She had done nothing but think throughout the evening, every drawn breath bringing not just precious oxygen but also a new idea, a new theory... She began to think of everything: her mother, her father, Sephiroth... and the Planet. Somehow she didn't feel alone while she laid upon that mattress, as if her father were there beside her, offering his comfort, his support... his happiness. It wasn't fair that after all of the suffering her father had experienced, helplessly watching his wife die before his eyes, that he should take the agony of his daughter's disappearance as well. She knew now how much he loved her, how much he cared for her... and how much she meant to him, being the daughter of the woman he loved so dearly.
It was then that she knew what she must do. Wordlessly she slid to her feet, tossing back the tousled locks from her tanned face. Trooping quickly off into the bathroom, she splashed an abundance of cold water onto her face, feeling the crisp sparkle of the liquid refresh her cheeks. She stared up at the mirror before her, and horrified at her appearance, she grabbed a towel from the rack and hastily turned off the faucet. Soon water from the shower hissed and sprayed in a stream, splattering across the bathtub as she let the stray droplets of water sprinkle onto her bare skin.
Before long, Sephirah stepped from the bathtub fully refreshed, with a fluffy white towel wrapped around her head like a turban. A soft terrycloth bathrobe lay suspended on the back of a hook, the beautiful shade of rose warm and inviting. Without hesitation she took it from where it resided and slung it about her shoulders, delighted at its light breezy weight and silken comfort. She knotted the tie into a quick bow before emerging from the steamed bathroom with a smile. As she strode confidently from the doorway, she nearly collided with Jeremy, who had seen the door swing open just in time. He smiled broadly at her, not in a perverse way, but one of proud sorrow.
"That used to be your mother's robe... she would've been glad to see you wear it, though," he grinning with a sigh, emerging into the bathroom and retrieving Sephirah's discarded dress. "I'll put this through the wash for you... why don't you wear one of the Mistress's dresses today? I'm sure she wouldn't mind, and you two are about the same size," he commented, mentally measuring her with his judgement as his only ruler. He had almost left the hallway and turned into another room before he stopped and called after her, "Well, I hope you like pink..."
Puzzled, Sephirah returned to the large bedroom she had spent the night in, and wandered around the room looking for the closets. Her hands tracing the walls absently, she felt a crack and a small bump underneath her fingers. Startled, she glanced up and down the wall, but saw nothing. Just as she was about to resign and continue to search, she noticed a tiny well-concealed keyhole in the mortar of the wall. She crouched by the hole, fascinated, for several minutes before remembering that she didn't have much time to waste. She continued on until she found the slender doorway to a walk-in closet, which she easily opened and entered. Sephirah groped for the light switch within the oppressing darkness, finally finding the cord that dangled from the ceiling. With a swift tug, luminescence spread over the expanse of the closet, revealing a side almost completely empty, and another that was packed full of dresses, skirts, and blouses. Most were pink, though some were white and others were still yet varied colors. There were a few colorful garments here and there, but if Sephirah was able to tell any one thing about her mother from her wardrobe as soon as she saw it, it was that she loved the color pink. Not any shocking shades that clashed against your sense of sight, or dark magentas that caught the eye... A light girlish pink, a pastel, one you would most commonly find in delicate spring or summer blossoms.
With an amused expression, Sephirah sorted through the sets of clothing, beginning with the dresses. The first one she saw was long and pink, a sleeveless button-down dress reaching to about ankle level. A vivid red top hung over it, short-sleeved with reinforced cuffs and breast pockets. This was the outfit in which her mother was dressed in a lot of their oldest pictures. She smiled secretly to herself... but decided against wearing it. She might give her father a nervous breakdown if he saw it...
Dress by dress she slid to one side of the rack, searching the gowns, but finding none that quite suited her personality. Most were long and simple, of different lengths and different shades. It was as she was sliding one hanger across the cold steel bar that she felt the grating and weight of another dress stuck to it. She couldn't see what was caught on it, but determined nonetheless, she lifted the heavy dress from the rack and stared in astonishment at the garment that toppled out from behind.
The fabric that the lower part was composed of was a light satin that was the radiant white of a dove's wing, as soft and as gentle to the senses as silk. As Sephirah lifted it with sheer awe, she noticed that it was long and loose in the skirt, folding into multiple tucks at the slender waist, which was adorned by scattered tiny pink rose buds and thin satin bows. It developed up into to a beautifully embroidered bodice, a few pearly beads sown against the elegant silk patterns setting a sparkle to the dress. The straps were simple white ribbons, thick and smooth strands of satin that weren't even necessary to hold up the tight dress, but were more for decoration. As she held the dress in wonderment, a light object shook loose from where it hung behind the gown and with a whish of the lace, it fell to Sephirah's feet. Curious, she retrieved it, stooping slightly as not to crumple the fabric. She soon found herself staring at veil, the decorative lace as white as snow. It was attached to what appeared to be a silver circlet encrusted with a few valuable gems, the delicate metal shimmering and catching her eye. Turning it over and over in her hands, she inspected it, thought rushing through her mind.
"My own mother's wedding dress," she whispered reverently, passing her fingers over the studded beads and silken embroidery, feeling them contentedly beneath her fingers. Her cheeks flushed deeply as she thought of Jordan, who perhaps one day she would marry, and she would bear his children, becoming truly happy...
It was then that thoughts of Sephiroth flashed across her mind, but in defiance, she gritted her teeth and struggled until she had pushed him into the farthest recesses of her mind. She relaxed and continued her rapturous study of the gown. Following some unknown urge, she was tempted to try it on by curiosity, slipping off the robe and donning the elegant gown. It fit her perfectly, from the tight waistline to the bosom and all the way downwards until brushed the floor slightly with its hem. Once again, she paused to examine the coronet in her hands, the long lacy veil that had witnessed the last moments of her mother's maidenhood. Shaking her tresses from the restraining towel, she allowed the slightly damp locks to fall to her waist, her bangs framing her face as she reached up to place the veil upon her head...
"Sephirah?"
The sudden sound of her own name startled her, and flustered, she turned to see Jordan standing in the doorway, a gentle smile illuminating his handsome face. Suddenly she felt terribly embarrassed, caught playing dress-up in her mother's closet with her wedding gown. Jordan did not laugh, nor did his smile hold amusement... only a subtle glow of love, of pure unbridled, awe and passion was present in the boy's face. Striding forward, he took her hands in his own and looked deeply into her lustrous eyes, her flushed cheeks...
"You look absolutely beautiful," he murmured in her ear, holding her close to him so that she would not see the tears gleaming in his eyes. His simple phrase was nothing but the truth- Sephirah was beautiful, from the tumbling locks of silver hair and the shimmering fountains of her eyes, all the way down to the elegant dress and the toes that peeked out from underneath the skirt. Jordan suddenly threw all of his shame to the wind, and revealing his tear-streaked face, he drew Sephirah close to his heart and kissed her.
Their hearts pounded together in their breasts, hers sending a dizzy rush of blood to Sephirah's brain. All she knew... and she wanted, was to have Jordan by her side forever, to be his loving wife, and to be the mother of his children. Tears threatened to sting her eyes once more, but she did not prevent them from forming or tumbling down her cheeks. The water that flowed from their fountains of passion mingled and dripped as one down their chins, splashing against Jordan's shirt.
Finally they loosened and let go, tears still streaming freely down both of their faces. They stared into each other's souls for just a moment before a smile spread itself across Sephirah's lips, followed shortly by one likewise on Jordan's. Through their sobs they began to chuckle and then laugh freely, not certain of why they did so or anything else about the world except their love for each other. Finally Sephirah calmed and spoke out her plans to her beloved, growing serious once again.
"I was thinking last night... I decided that I would like to travel back to Junon in hope that my father is still there because I have to apologize. I-I shouldn't have run from him..." she began, then quickly changed the subject so that he would not question her about it. "Do you think we could use your ship? I don't know any other way to cross... besides, Derek probably wouldn't like to leave her here at the mercy of the elements near the bay."
Jordan nodded after a moment of quiet reflection, as if calculating some difficult equations in his mind. "Hmm... I think we should be ready in a week or so. She's not badly damaged... the repairs weren't major. It'll take another three days to finish her up and double check the maintenance, and then we'll need the rest of the days to stock supplies and all..."
Sephirah approved of the plan, and Jordan set off towards the docks to inform Derek of their plans. As Sephirah watched Jordan's form retreat down the hall, she slipped off the beautiful dress and replaced it where she had found it, knowing secretly the reason why it had been hidden. Her father could stand the sight of the glamorous gown no longer, after he had wedded the woman he loved in it. The one remaining garment in the rack opposite the one she was searching in was a tuxedo of the finest quality, the white color appropriate for a groom.
"He didn't even take the tuxedo with him... he tried to leave it all behind, all of the memories, all of the pain. He knew it was futile, but he had to try..." she whispered in a barely audible tone, her fingers tracing the finely crafted cuffs with their still attached sapphire links. Her decorations were emeralds to match her eyes and her pure soul, while his were finely polished sapphires that matched the shade of his irises to an amazingly accurate hue. She instinctively searched the tuxedo for any forgotten items, and withdrew a small golden key with the insignia of a meteor. Remembering the mysterious lock in the wall, she wrapped the thin chain around her wrist several times to assure she wouldn't lose it. Realizing that she was spending too much time staring around at things, she whirled and returned to the rack full of dress, continuing her search. Finally, her eyes rested upon one that was maroon in color, an evening dress that could also possibly be used for casual wear. She fell in love with it the moment she set had seen it, so vivid with its few large golden blossoms that faded slowly, petal by petal, melting back into the sea of deep crimson. It was neither loose nor tight, but it tapered from the chest, tying as a halter behind her neck. It flowed to her ankles, loose and breezy fabric that fit the summer setting of Costa Del Sol nicely. It was simply a gorgeous dress, made of a smooth cotton weave that made it serviceable and not easy to tear or ruin. Sephirah slipped it on with delight, humming blissfully as she pulled it over her head and tossed her hair over a slender shoulder.
She left the closet in its original state, except for replacing the dress she had borrowed with the robe she had been wearing when she came into the room. She switched off the light and closed the door silently with a mental "thank you" to her mother in the Lifestream. She approached the tiny lock in the wall, and crouching by it, she fumbled with the key and slid it into the hole. It slid in smoothly, and then turned and unlocked with a gentle click. She pulled the hatch open with the key still inside, seeing as there was no handle to pull it open, no lever to flip. It was a small area carved skillfully into the wall in such a way that one wouldn't notice without scrutinizing the walls with great care, which no thief would have the time to do before Cloud would spring from his bed with his sword in tow.
A small steel box lay in the compartment, and it had been latched with magical force, as Sephirah detected. A silver plate upon the top of the container glistened and glared into her eyes, almost causing her to flinch. Within seconds, the box popped open by itself, revealing the dazzling contents within. Sephirah gasped in surprise as the box fell open, as she stared into the treasures she beheld.
Necklaces, bracelets, earrings... all of Aerith's jewelry had been cleverly concealed within this box. Pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires... they gleamed into Sephirah's amazed eyes, gemstones of all sizes, cuts, and settings. Sephirah couldn't even begin to fathom the worth of the jewelry she beheld, an inherited fortune of immense size. She noticed a small scrap of paper within, upon which was written in neat script:
"To my daughter when she has grown up,
The blood of the Ancients flows through your veins... only you have the ability to break this seal upon this box. The only people who can open this box are those who are purely of our kind, judged by a magical scanning of the eyes. These jewels belong rightfully to you, so use them wisely. Some have been passed down to us from our ancestors, while others were given to us as wedding and other gifts. These gemstones are not ordinary; they are materia, some mastered, and some at their early levels. When you wear these jewels, you have the power to call upon the greatest forces upon this Planet. From your lessons with magic from your father and your schooling, you should be able to unlock the spells that lurk within. Use them wisely; with these you may either create great havoc or save this world.
I wish I could live to see you, surely so beautiful and virtuous a woman... But my time is coming to an end. Even though I have not known you, I will always love you and watch over you, and your father. May you live a joyous life and not know the hardships that I have experienced, my dear daughter...
Love from your mother,
Aerith Gainsborough Strife"
Tears began to sting at Sephirah's eyes, but she shook them away, trying to occupy herself with the carefully polished gemstones that resided within the safe. She sorted gingerly through the jewelry, conjuring up from her memory the extensive training she had once gained with materia from her father and teachers. Red for summoning beasts, blue for supporting the casting of spells, green for the actual magic, yellow for commands and extra abilities, and the independent purple for other miscellaneous duties. There was no real way that she knew of to indicate the spells within the materia unless it was equipped and used, so she decided she would choose a bracelet and a necklace to fit her purposes.
After searching for a few minutes through the magnificent stones, she decided that she'd had enough of summons, thinking of the phoenix, and she decided on a long silver chain on which dangled a pendant of a marvelous emerald green. Fastening it around her neck, she could almost feel the power flow into her, and with surprise, she wondered what the spell could possibly be that was trapped within its stony confines. Searching deeper, she located a bangle made of a thick band of sheer platinum, engraved with a silhouette of flowers and clasped with a pair of materia gems, one as radiant as an emerald, the other as illustrious as a sapphire. After a moment of awed staring at the object, she slipped it onto her left wrist and snapped the box shut. She returned the safe to it's hiding place, locked the keyhole, and quickly replaced the key into her father's suit. After taking a moment of reverent pause to thank her mother for the gifts, she gently pulled the bedroom door closed, leaving for the docks to discuss the current affairs with the men.
***
Chapter 28- Affairs of the Heart
"And then for every night afterwards for two weeks..." Aerith drew a sharp, shuddering breath in an attempt to calm herself, the tears once confined in her brilliant eyes overflowing their container with shame and hatred, "...He raped me."
The simple phrase she had spoken was a savage wrench of the dagger that was already so cruelly plunged into Cloud's heart.
He had sat completely motionless through the entire ordeal, mouth agape and eyes wide with horror as he watched the man he loathed from the bottom of his soul lay his hands on his beloved wife. He was far beyond stunned; in fact, he had passed that level quite a while back. He had been completely paralyzed by his shock... Nothing more than just that feeling; he was void of emotion. His heart, his soul had been robbed of all feeling, his mind numb, his eyes unblinking in their vacant stare... The cord that held his sanity, his consciousness had been sawed almost completely through, held only by a few strained fibers of rope that so desperately tried to cling together...
And then it snapped clean through.
Cloud's eyes closed for a nanosecond before they snapped wide open in a motion so sudden, so violent that Aerith nearly leapt from her seat. An untamed fury was set ablaze within his tear glittered eyes, resembling the act of an oil tankard striking an iceberg with unsurpassed force, the precious substance consumed by the engine's sparks to create a monstrous explosion of fire and ash to rain over the once peaceful waters. His entire body shook with rage with hatred while blood pounded fiercely through his throbbing veins, flushing his entire body crimson with the life-giving substance. His gentle time creased hands clenched so tightly his knuckles were bare and white to the bone, every vein popping from underneath his tensed skin.
He leapt from the bed in a single powerful movement, landing deftly on his feet, his strength reborn from his immense anger. With a sweep of his arm, a lamp came crashing down from the desk, the glass base shattering and crackling as the light extinguished from its bulb. He rampaged around the room leaving a path of destruction, his eyes blazing and his world crimson...
"DAMN YOU, SEPHIROTH!!! DAMN YOU TO THE [I]HELL[/I] I SENT YOU TO TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!!"
Aerith was screaming, crying for him to stop, partially paralyzed by her fear. Cloud could not hear anything but the roars of rage from within his mind, oblivious to the world around him except for the urge to eradicate. He had reached his armchair, where he noticed with a savage bout of delight that the Buster Sword lay in its sheath, willed into existence by his own mind...
The mist of crimson did not lift or fade, becoming more intense, more uncontrolled with every thought of Sephiroth, feeling of hatred and anger overwhelming him, something other than his sense controlling his body... But he did not care. He grabbed the Buster Sword in his frenzied hands, swinging it until the sheath flew off with a vicious slam into the wall behind him, the sharp sparkling edge of the bared blade glittering wickedly. Within seconds, nothing remained but the bed, upon which Aerith remained, screaming his name as she sobbed hysterically.
"Don't let him beat you like this!! Cloud... she'll control you! Stop it!!" she screeched, unable to break the barrier that Cloud had set up with his mind and Jenova's aid as she began to take the reins of his frenzied consciousness...
Now he was standing over her, his sword upraised over his head, his arms shaking and his eyes bright with violent fury. Aerith gasped as she saw the vicious look of burning vengeance as the blade began to swing down towards her, uncontrollable in its flow of devastation.
As a reflex, she turned her head away fearfully and screamed at the top of her lungs...
Cloud's senses immediately snapped back into control when he heard his wife's scream, savagely pushing away the Jenova inside of him. The blade came to halt a hairsbreadth from her midriff, the shaking edge of the blade rattling quietly against the quivering buttons of her dress.
He flung the weapon far from him, staring with pure horror at his trembling hands, turning them over and over as if he had already drenched them in her blood. His breathing along with all movement in his body ceased, except for his heartbeat, which thumped painfully in his ears, broken only by the anguished sobs of his wife, her face still hidden from him in fear. All strength, all power fled from his body, leaving him nothing but a man, stricken with horror and grief at his own savagery. He fell to his knees by the side of the bed, his eyes wide and unfocused, fresh tears wet and shining against his cheek. Broken completely, his fighter's spirit left him and he sobbed like a child who had lost his favorite toy in the swirling depths of a river, carried away never to be seen by his eyes again.
When Aerith heard the noise, she dared to uncurl herself from the position she had taken, turning her head slowly until she saw her husband's golden spikes hunched over beside her. Alarmed but relieved to find herself intact, she exhaled the breath she was holding in her panic and evaluated the situation. She could feel through the very air that his anger had disappeared, so she wrapped her arms around him and cradled his head gently against her chest the way a mother would to her young child. Tears and sweat mingled as they dripped from Cloud's traumatized skin and soaked into the bosom of her nightgown, but she paid no heed, her maternal instinct dominating her senses. It was several minutes before she had succeeded in calming her husband down to a reasonable state, sedating him slightly with a murmured sleep spell.
"I have so much left to tell you... and I'm sorry I have to do it this way. At least you'll remember my words clearly when you wake..." she whispered softly, still rocking him in her embrace. "Every night he visited me, and every night I struggled in vain... and was violated. Every night, he would remind me that I was nothing but a part of his sick plan, and that it was nothing personal as he used me... I hoped that my child was conceived in our love, but there was no way for me to be sure until the baby was born. And then... Jenova didn't exactly let me live out the deal she had promised me. I suppose it was because it as too great of a risk for them to take to allow me life... but I learned quite a bit about the power she used to resurrect me when I arrived back at the Lifestream. A being called the Phoenix was slain several thousands of years ago by a corrupt Cetra boy... we later found that he was infested with the Jenova virus, soon to be the doom of our people. When the creature was slain, its hatred and anger for the human race festered and mutated it into the monster known as the Dark Phoenix. The stolen pinions of the bird possessed a horrifically powerful magic... It was stronger than anyone could have fathomed. Jenova must've kept them for her own purposes in the future... and then you know the rest of the story, with the history of the Ancients. But what no one knew is what happened to the victims after the deal had been completed.
"The Phoenix itself would help to speed the process on... its razor-like claws and terrifying beak would slash and hack at you in your dreams. There'd be no one to help you, no one who could intervene to save you within your own mind. You might think that a mental assailant is trivial; but the effects were as real as if someone was taking a knife to your throat in reality. If the Phoenix slashes open your throat and you were bleeding to death... so be it in real life when you'd awaken to find your skin intact, but your juggler vein severed and gushing forth blood internally. And that's how it was with me; the Phoenix haunted my very being, in waking as well as in slumber, but more forcefully the latter. And then one day..." she paused here uneasily, one hand flying up to grip the base of her throat as if she could feel the searing slash of the talons across it even though the flesh was unmarred. She then realized with a start that she was wasting valuable time, and with a stammer, she began to finish her explanation.
"B-But when the victim finally falls, cheated of the deal it had made with the darkness, the soul doesn't just return to the Lifestream like any normal one would... No... What no one knew was that your very life force was weakened to such a degree that you become a slave to whoever invoked the magic upon you. If they were pure of heart, you were lucky and could be set free. But if they were as sinister as Jenova, they could keep you rightfully until either time ended, or someone managed to restore it with a sacrifice of their own. One can only give their essence to a person they truly care for, whether as a lover or simply as a friend. That's where you came in, beloved... I was once chained and bound to Jenova, just as Sephiroth still is. I was her puppet... I no longer could be myself unless my drastically weakened will could manage to overthrow her schemes, but I could never retain control for more than a few seconds before she would beat me back into submission. I had to watch helplessly as she tricked my own daughter and used my body and mind in her twisted plans...
"But life force is the key to all of this! When you die, your life force expires and becomes almost nothing. That's why you can never leave the Lifestream until given the blessing of the Planet's energy. When you're injured or unconscious, your life force weakens slightly, but does not falter. A regular Phoenix Down is like a minor boost in this power... it restores it to operational levels. The Dark Phoenix's pinions, however, is like injecting a drug into your system. It floods your system with so much power that you're dizzy and unable to function properly until the effects wear down a bit. When they do, you automatically assume that things will be fine and that you'll stay at such healthy levels, but like any drug, its effects deteriorate and become unstable. Soon you're once again on the brink of death. It's completely inevitable... Almost like a dirty trick played on you by the dying breath of the Bird of Hatred.
"So do you see now? It's not Sephiroth behind all of this... He truly did die 25 years ago when you threw him over the reactor... it is now the Jenova that lives inside of him, enslaving him like a mindless zombie, bending to her every whim... through the power of the Dark Phoenix. Oh, Cloud!" she gasped in exasperation, not sure if her efforts to explain would ever really reach his conscious mind. "Should an innocent man be blamed and slain for a crime he did not commit? Perhaps it is for the best concerning this planet and every being upon it...But there's still a chance we can save him. But maybe it's too great of a risk to take? That he'd be too far gone by that time to help us defeat this evil once and for all!
"My dear beloved... when you wake, remember that I shan't be there to help you. I-I don't know... it's just a theory of mine, but when you regain your life force and if you then continue to contribute it to me, I may muster up enough to return to the land of the living. I don't know if it'll work; in all of the Planet's history, it has never even been so much as attempted, but we have to try something... I might be able to banish Jenova. By gaining the lost Sephiroth as our ally, we may learn the creature's weaknesses. So go... and rest well. My love and best wishes travel with you, Cloud..." she finished in a hushed voice before leaning over to plant a kiss on his pale lips. As she did so, the pale flesh moved faintly, his breath forcing out of his throat just forcefully enough to form her name. A tear formed in Aerith's eye without her noticing, splashing down upon his cheek as she chanted the words of release, sending his spirit spiraling back to the world that they could no longer share together.
***
"Cloud!"
Tifa's voice rang urgently in his ears as the former mercenary stirred groggily from his restless slumber. As his eyes opened tentatively, the world became an indistinguishable blur of color, light, and sound. He winced with agony as the sun peeked out from where it had been hiding behind the thick cumulus clouds that dominated the majority of the morning sky, glaring mercilessly into his watering eyes.
"Thank goodness! Cloud!" he perceived her sigh of relief as a cool hand slipped into his own, the strong thumb pressing firmly against his palm. His vision began to clear slowly until the colors began to separate from their spectral blend, becoming distinguishable to his fogged mind. He sat up and laid his dizzy head into his waiting hands, and after a few tentative shakes of the extremity, he was functioning normally. He turned to look at Tifa ashamedly from the corner of his eye as the enormity of what his wife had told him through his dreams began to weigh heavily upon his consciousness. Everything from the raping to the innocence of his enemy...
"Are you all right...?" Tifa inquired with a concerned look, brushing back a stray wisp of golden hair from the man's brow. Cloud stared up at her with such a haunting, soul-penetrating glare that she shuddered compulsively and rose from her seat. "S-Stoppit, Cloud! You're scaring me..." The messily spiked head then hung limp in frustration, burying the steely gaze within his own flesh as he pressed the palms of his hands against his lidded eyes until he saw stars.
"It can't have been true... I must've been dreaming. Yeah, that's it... it was a dream. Nothing more than a frightened child's nightmare..." Cloud babbled incoherently coupled with a insane gurgling laugh, causing Tifa's eyes to widen in terror before she inched away until the dependable stone wall guarded her from behind. No words emitted from the movement of her lips, for no breath would come forth to vibrate her larynx deep within her throat. Cloud perceived the deft movements of her feet and once again bared his face to glare at her through now bloodshot eyes.
Tifa fled from the room in sheer terror, frightened of the sudden insanity that had begun to possess Cloud Strife from deep within the darkness of his own mind.
