She sat up, rubbing her temples. Gods, what a headache. She felt terrible. She could have hit Shake for being informal like that, even though there was no one else in the room. "Yuffie-chan indeed," she muttered. "It's Yuffie-sama to you, Shake."
"Hey," he protested. "I was tryin' to be nice for once. Havva little compassion an' all."
She rolled her eyes and winced. Not the smartest thing to do. "Whatever." She looked around, getting her bearings straight. Right. She'd been meditating in the shrine when the Planet had called her. And since she had been telling the villagers to come whenever they wanted to pray for years, that included Shake, and he must have felt like praying. Or bothering her. Yeah. That seemed more likely.
"What're you doing in the Shrine, Shake-chan?" she asked, still annoyed.
"I heard you got back yesterday and decided I'd given you enough time to sleep. If you ever take after yer old man, it's when you get back from a trip."
She scowled. "So, what? You wanted to entertain me with your charming presence?"
"Something like that," he replied. "So now that I'm sure you're not dying, want to explain the whole fainting bit?"
"You wouldn't understand," she told him frankly.
"Try me."
Yuffie rolled her eyes, this time without the pain. "Okay. The Planet called me to bear witness in a trial for Sephiroth that's being held in the Promised Land."
Shake stared at her, then cracked up. When he finally stopped laughing, he wiped the tears from his eyes and shook his head. "Geez, that's a good one. Always knew you were a brat, but now you're raving mad to boot."
She sighed. "Told you you wouldn't understand."
"Whatever. You're crazy. Sephiroth's been dead for years."
"No, days," she corrected. "And it's not like the Promised Land is a real physical place."
"Yep. Absolutely nuts."
"Oh, you're hopeless," Yuffie cried, hopping to her feet. She headed for the door.
Shake got up to follow. "Where are you going now?"
She walked into her room, shutting the door in his face. "I have to call someone."
"Who?" he asked, shoving open the door.
Damn the fact that he was taller than her! She glared up at him, hands on her hips. "It's none of your business."
He raised his eyebrows. "All right, so where did a brat like you get a boyfriend?"
"Of all the...! Shake, he's not even the same species as me!"
"Ew! Forget I asked."
Muttering in annoyance, Yuffie shut the door again. For once it would be nice to have Eastern-style doors with locks. At least she could tell when he finally left. She flopped down on her futon and grabbed her PHS.
"(Hello?)" Nanaki's gruff voice answered after a few rings.
"Hi, Red!" she answered.
"(Ah. Hello, Yuffie. You are calling rather late...)"
"Yeah, I know, I already called today, but I've got news."
"(Oh? What kind of news?)"
"Well..." She hesitated, wondering where to start from. "You know how I told Aeris I wanted to help Sephiroth out if I could, right?"
"(Right...)"
"So the Planet brought me to the Promised Land to participate in his trial. I pretty much just got back."
"(You went to the Promised Land!?)" Nanaki exclaimed.
"Yeah," Yuffie replied. "I couldn't stay all that long. I'm not sure why..."
"(Perhaps if your spirit is away from your body for too long, you would die...?)" he suggested.
She nodded. "That sounds plausible. So, anyway, Tifa and Cloud were there, too, surprisingly enough. And not to bear witness against him either. That's encouraging, isn't it? That Cloud, possibly the person who hates Sephiroth the most, aside from Sephiroth himself, would try to defend him."
"(It is. I take it you do not know the outcome of the trial yet.)"
"No, I don't," Yuffie admitted. "But... Well, for a while it was looking pretty bad for Seph. Some guy--Narsa I think his name was--was really going at him, accusing him of deceiving all of us. He even said that Sephiroth didn't actually love Aeris. And you know how Seph is sometimes. He'll readily believe that he's some lowly monster, not capable of emotions and all that crap."
"(So what happened?)"
"He broke down. Actually cried, and the Planet called Aeris in to help him out. I'm really starting to like the Planet. As a person, I mean... I know that sounds weird, but it has a personality. Makes me wish I was a Cetra, too."
"(What is the Planet like, exactly?)"
Yuffie thought for a moment. "Well... It's almost like a combination between a mother and a child. Infinitely wise and still childishly innocent at the same time."
"(Because it is young in the eyes of the universe, but so much older than any mortal, I suppose.)" Nanaki paused. "(So, what did they make of Sephiroth crying?)"
She frowned. "Most of them were just shocked, but a lot of people grinned. Some even laughed. Me an' Ifalna tried to shut them up, but it really wasn't any good. They shut up when Aeris came, though. And after seeing those two together, I'd be surprised if more than two people could still rule against him."
"(They do make a lovely couple,)" he agreed.
"You should have seen them, Red," she told him, lying back and grinning. "Aeris sat in his lap, and he had his arms around her. Hojo said something about them having a child, and Sephiroth looked so embarrassed...! Two things I never thought I'd see: Sephiroth crying and Sephiroth blushing."
"(Hmm.)"
"So what's going on where you are?"
"(Not much,)" Nanaki replied. "(Things have quieted down since everyone left. It seems empty somehow. But I suppose the excitement could not last forever.)"
"No, it couldn't," she agreed reluctantly. "Say, I was thinking of visiting Aeris sometime. What do you think?"
"(So soon? It has only been a day since we saw her last. Less, actually, for you...)"
"I wasn't thinking like tomorrow or the day after," Yuffie amended. "I mean... maybe in a week or so. See how they've settled in. And... get a chance to see each other, too."
"(It sounds like a good idea. I will check with Aeris tomorrow to see if it is all right, and perhaps find out what's to become of Sephiroth.)"
She grinned. "Who knows? Maybe we'll be seeing him, too..."
"(Don't get your hopes up too high,)" Nanaki warned. "(Some humans can be very stubborn.)"
"I know, I know..." She stifled a yawn. "Anyway, it is getting late... I'm gonna turn in."
"(All right. Good night.)"
"Sweet dreams," she replied, then ended the call and set the PHS down. Yuffie flopped back and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, she reached out to retrieve her journal and open it to where Nanaki's feather marked her place. Seeing it brought a smile to her face--not a grin, but a smile, and a gentle one at that. She closed the book again and set it down. She could write in the morning.
She climbed under her blanket and closed her eyes. "Sephiroth... may Leviathan be with you..." she murmured softly as sleep claimed her.
"Aeris! Aeris, are you all right? What happened?"
She forced her eyes open. Reno was leaning over her, Minerva not far behind him. She was lying on a bed where no doubt they had placed her after she collapsed. "Nn," she managed. Her whole body ached terribly.
"Are you okay?" Reno persisted.
"I'll... be all right," she articulated slowly.
"What happened?"
Aeris pushed herself up onto her elbows, trying not to wince. "The trial... Sephiroth needed me. So the Planet dragged me there." She closed her eyes, remembering how vulnerable and alone he had looked with his face hidden in his arms. "Gods, I never thought I'd see him cry..." she whispered.
"How is he now?" Minerva asked while Reno stared at the Cetra in shocked silence.
"Better," she replied, "though I think I embarrassed him a little."
The girl shrugged. "What about the trial?"
"I don't know the outcome. It seemed like most people thought it would be decided in his favor..."
"Let's hope they're right," Reno said.
Aeris lay back and closed her eyes. "I feel... tired." She could find no appropriate word for the feeling of loss, the emptiness, the loneliness, the steady aching pain... "I'm going to get some sleep..."
"Okay," the redhead said anxiously. "It's getting late anyway."
"Mm," she replied, rolling onto her side away from them and pulling the blanket over her head.
She heard them murmuring quietly for a few moments before they fell silent entirely. The blankets in the next bed rustled, and she guessed that Reno, too, had decided to turn in. Minerva, as usual, was too close to silence for her to hear, but she assumed the girl either leaned against the wall or had gone outside.
Aeris shifted, trying to unfocus her mind, but her thoughts kept finding their way back to Sephiroth. Had they decided in his favor? Would he be returning any minute now, or... How long would it take the Planet to remove the Jenova from him, if that was what it had to do?
She rolled over. All this questioning was useless, she told herself. The Planet would tell her when the decision was made. And until then, there was no sense thinking about it. Worrying would not accomplish anything... But she could not help it. Then think about something else.
Nodding slightly to herself, she tried to turn her thoughts elsewhere. She thought instead of that wondrous day before he left for Northern Crater. She recalled the look on his face as she told him he did not look threatening at all, and it made her smile, a little. She remembered how it had felt to have his arms around her, and slowly, slowly, sleep relieved her of consciousness.
She sat on a plate of ice above a river, a dying flower in her hands. She plucked a crimson petal, let it fall to the rushing water below. "He's coming back."
The ice was freezing cold, its frigid tendrils creeping up her spine and down her legs, seeping into her skin.
"He's not coming back." Another petal dropped into the river, carried away into oblivion.
The ice at the water's shore crept across the violent surface.
"He is..." Another petal lost, a tendril of cold reaching for her heart.
"He isn't..." Another petal gone, ice spreading across the rushing water.
"He--"
A wind rose, blowing what was left of the flower from her hands.
"A-ah!" she cried, reaching after it and slipping of the icy platform. She grabbed desperately at its edge, but fell, fell, crashed through the ice and into the frigid water.
No, no, she'd been here before, been here before. Didn't want to go if he wasn't there, couldn't come with her.
She flailed wildly, trying frantically to get back to shore. The ice closed in again, closed in around her, pushing her down below the surface of the water. She gasped and spluttered, tried to scream. Oh, someone, please, help me! She took the black-gloved hand offered her and--
Woke up.
She stared at her outstretched hand lying on the wooden floor, blinking in disorientation. The floorboards felt so very cold beneath her.
"Aeris?" she heard Reno ask sleepily.
She blinked again and pushed herself p to peer over the edge of the bed. The blankets lay in disarray, half cast off to the other side of the bed. Reno sat poised to get up if she needed him.
"I'm all right," she said slowly, standing and beginning to untangle the covers. "Just had a nightmare, that's all..."
"Oh." A slight pause. "You wanna talk about it?"
"N-no, not really." She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath, then looked at him with a smile. "Go back to sleep, Reno."
He frowned for a moment. "But if you ever need to talk..."
Aeris nodded. "You'll listen. I know. But I'm fine. Really. Go back to sleep."
The redhead offered her a faint grin. "No more nightmares now. Sweet dreams only."
"All right," she laughed.
His grin broadened, and he lay back, shutting his eyes.
Aeris finished straightening the blankets, then sat down. She waited until she was certain he was asleep before she stood and walked over to Sephiroth's body, sitting down beside him as though any moment he might come alive again. Her hand reached, trembling and involuntary, to run through his hair.
A single downy feather fluttered to the floor, freed by her fingers. The Cetra blinked and bent down to retrieve it. It was a tiny little fluff, silvery, as soft as his hair. She must have missed it before. She wondered where it had come from, but immediately recalled the wing she had seen outlined by flamelight when they had fought Jenova.
She held the feather up to her face, stroking her cheek. Had it been real then? Not just her mind playing tricks on her?
Aeris laughed silently and shook her head. How absurd. Sephiroth did not have wings. It must have gotten caught in his hair during their travels, a bit of down shed by some white-feathered bird.
Aeris?
She blinked. "Sephiroth?"
Yes. What are you doing?
"Nothing," she replied, closing her hand around the tiny feather. "Just being foolish."
Somehow I find that hard to believe...
"What do you mean?"
I... I have never seen you to act foolishly.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you have."
You know what I mean.
Aeris sighed, nodding silently. Yes, she knew what he meant. There was a difference between foolishness and playfulness. And while some might have seen many of her actions foolish, they had been quite deliberate on her part.
So what were you doing?
She opened her hand, displaying the bit of fluff. "It was caught in your hair, that's all. I... it reminds me of the wing I saw. But it really is foolish, isn't it? To imagine that you have a wing?"
I have had wings before, Sephiroth replied. In the transformations Jenova forced upon me. So it is far from idiocy to think that.
The Cetra closed her eyes, smiling. "I suppose. Wings... would suit you perfectly, afterall."
...how? he asked, confused.
"What," she laughed, "can't you imagine yourself as a guardian angel?"
W-what? A guardian angel?
"You watch over me. You protect me."
Sephiroth was silent for a time. I suppose... he concluded slowly, that one angel deserves another. But I think it a bit much to call myself one.
"A fallen angel then," she decided. "Because you only have one wing. But I told you I'd mend the other one, didn't I?"
Soft laughter reached her mind, and she smiled.
"You do think it silly, don't you?" she asked accusingly, still smiling.
No, not at all. I find it quite adorable, and innocently, beautifully, you.
Aeris found herself blushing. "...what news of the trial?" she asked, hating to have to turn the conversation to something so serious, but unable to avoid the question any longer.
Sephiroth's tone of voice turned serious also. I do not know. I am waiting for their verdict. I suppose Ifalna will tell me...
She faltered. "If... they decide against you, will they let you remain in the Promised Land? Will I be able to see you again someday?"
I do not know, he repeated. Narsa, I know, would have me leave. He would have my consciousness diffused into the Lifestream. But I suppose it depends on how harshly they rule. If enough want me dead, then...
"They couldn't," Aeris stated. "How could that many still feel contempt towards you?"
Some probably could. Some would not believe what they had seen and heard...
"Some, perhaps. But not enough to make the punishment so harsh..." She studied his body where it lay near her. "...at least, if you're in the Promised Land, I can talk to you." Even if I can't embrace you...
But... if that is how it turns out to be... please, Aeris, do not make that your entire life. If I am to remain here, end your isolation. Do not waste away your life there in the City, alone and useless...
She frowned faintly. "What would you have me do, Sephiroth?"
A startled pause. I... Aeris, you can't simply stay there and talk to me to the end of your days.
Her gaze shifted sideways. What if those days weren't very long? she wondered.
His tone grew more desperate, as though he sensed where her thoughts were headed. And don't you dare think of killing yourself.
Aeris started, but did not speak.
If you did that, I...
"...you'd never forgive yourself," she finished. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm being stupid. You're right."
Sephiroth seemed relieved. Then you'll try to live, even if I don't return?
"Yes. I'll try." She sighed quietly. "I suppose I could always go back to Midgar... Certainly they need every bit of help they can get."
Wutai, too, he reminded her.
The Cetra smiled. "Yuffie would like that, wouldn't she?"
Yes.
"Is that where you want to go, if we can?" she asked.
Sephiroth hesitated. ...I suppose we can always leave if it is too hard to... Yes, I think so.
Friend... the Planet murmured before she could reply. It sounded as though it had bad news.
"What is it, Planet?" Aeris asked. "Did they...?"
She could sense Sephiroth's presence in her mind, silent and anxious.
No, no, they did not rule against him. They ruled in his favor.
Only the Planet's tone kept her from crying out in delight. "...but?"
Only barely. So I must find a way to remove the Jenova from him, and I do not know how... I do not know how...
"You managed to accept Jenova, didn't you?" Aeris asked, trying to keep her misgivings out of her voice and her thoughts. She wanted to reassure it, not worry it. "And you figured out how to bring non-Cetras, and even the living, into the Promised Land. So surely you'll be able to solve this puzzle, too."
I do hope you are right... But even if I can discover how, it will likely take a long time... His cells will resist and work against me. It will be hard. And I will need to bring his spirit into the Lifestream. It hesitated, and its voice held both the tone of a parent wanting to comfort her and that of a child unable to understand why she might be upset. You... may have to wait several years without even his presence watching over you... And I... I may not even succeed.
"You'll succeed," she said, firmly so that maybe she would feel confident of it as well. "And I can wait. I was prepared to wait years if I had to."
Another hesitation. Even I may not be able to speak to you while I alter him...
"I have living friends, Planet. I have the other Cetra. I'll be all right."
Turmoil that came to her mind as twisting green and black. It finally settled to an image of a section of Midgar, barren and full of debris save for a little yellow bud of a plant whose leaves struggled to reach the sun. Wish me luck?
Aeris smiled. "Good luck, Planet."
It returned the smile in its own way; the yellow bud bloomed, spreading its petals in her mind. And then it was gone.
She sighed.
What is it? Sephiroth asked gently.
"They decided in your favor, but not strongly enough to let you live as you are. The Planet says it may take years for it to remove the Jenova from your body, if it can do it at all."
Years? he asked, anxious and just the slightest bit incredulous.
"It can't focus on you alone, you know," she chided. "It has its own wounds to take care of."
Right. But what about you? I know you told it you'd be all right, but...
"I will. Don't worry about it." She stroked the feathery down in her hand. "Actually... you'll be taken to the Lifestream while it works, so I suppose you won't be aware enough to worry..."
I will think about you anyway. Constantly.
Aeris laughed. "I suppose that's the closest you'll be able to come to protecting me, hmm?"
And, as always, you can guess my intentions... in telling you that anyway. Because I can't not think about you. It is impossible.
"I know what you mean," she replied.
...you need to find distractions, Sephiroth told her, obviously concerned. In the Lifestream, I know I won't be able to tell how much time is passing. It will not matter how long I wait. But for you--you need something to concentrate on so you won't think of me all the time. So you won't be lonely.
"That's asking a bit much," Aeris said sadly. "I'm not even sure I want to be distracted..."
It will not be like before, he persisted. It will not be like when you were in the Promised Land. You cannot simply lose yourself in watching someone else. You have your own life to look after.
She nodded. "I know... I'll figure something out, Seph."
Good. I do not want to leave you lonely...
"You'll be coming back to me. If I have to wait for years, it won't matter, so long as you come back."
I... He hesitated. ...Ifalna says I have to go now...
Aeris stared at her hands and the silvery feather. "Then... I'll see you soon, Sephiroth."
Right, he faltered. I'll see you soon, Aeris. I love you.
"I love you, too," she answered, raising her voice above a whisper for the first time in the conversation.
Goodbye...
She did not bother to reply this time; she could no longer sense his awareness. He was gone. She closed her hands around the feather, frowning faintly.
Reno stirred, and she glanced sharply in his direction. She relaxed when he only rolled over and did not wake. Another sound on a different level of hearing caught her attention and she glanced south towards the Forest. This she had to attend to.
The Cetra got to her feet, retrieved her boots and her cloak, and headed outside. The sky was beginning to look a little lighter in the east, but the sun had not yet climbed over the ridge. Minerva leaned just outside the doorway, arms folded and eyes gazing further into the City... towards the lake, towards the alter...
"Where are you going so early in the morning?" the girl asked without looking at her. Aeris noticed she was wearing her short-sleeved green jacket. Certainly not for the cold, she decided, but to hide the sharp black tattoo on her shoulder.
"I think someone's trying to make their way through the Forest. A human. And the Forest isn't quite awake anymore..."
"Ah. Strange that someone should be trying to find their way through..."
Aeris nodded in agreement. "Still, whoever it is, I'm going to go guide them."
"Shall I go with?" Minerva queried.
"I... No. I'll go alone."
The girl finally glanced at her. "They have decided then?"
The Cetra started. "Y-yeah..." She looked up with a slight smile. "As long as the Planet is able to find a way to rid him of the Jenova cells in his body, he's coming back."
Minerva nodded, looked away again. "I see."
Aeris touched her arm, lightly, and smiled more brightly before she turned up the path. "I should be going before they lose the path entirely."
The silver-haired girl gave no reply; she expected none.
This day, the air was still, and the cold seeped slowly into her skin rather than lancing through to her bone. It reminded her of her nightmare, and she shivered. So this is where I am perched, she thought absently. But when will I fall?
She shook her head to clear it of such morbid thoughts. It was far too soon after his departure for her to start despairing. She tugged her cloak more tightly about her and glanced back at the City. Perhaps she could rebuild this place, as others were rebuilding their homes. The city of her people, the City of the Ancients, the Forgotten Capital...
Silly girl. Do you think you alone can make it beautiful again? Do you think that by yourself, you can revive a city dead for two thousand years?
Yes, perhaps it was impossible. Perhaps it was pointless even to try. But if she was to wait here for Sephiroth, if she was to wait years, what else did she have to do? It would be a distraction, wouldn't it? And maybe the city of her people would be restored to at least some of its former glory, though it was folly to think it could ever be anything but the gravestone for a race long passed from this world.
But there was still Aeris. There was still Lucrecia. And, hopefully, there would still be Sephiroth. Oh, who was she fooling? The Cetra were dying out as surely as the frigid air was penetrating to her bones.
She entered the Forest, and just as she was beginning to feel closed in all around by its grasping branches, the trees seemed to waken, the scant light filtering through their canopy becoming a flood of golden shafts that diffused into a clear light that drove away the sleepy mists. The path was clear and open beneath her feet.
Aeris smiled gratefully and quickened her pace. More than halfway through to the other side of the Forest, she saw the girl who had been brave enough, and foolish enough, to venture into these woods. Her steps were deliberate along the path. Her eyes were alert, and she saw Aeris almost the instant the Cetra noticed her.
The girl stopped, as did Aeris, and regarded her uncertainly, gaze taking in every detail. There was nothing particularly extraordinary about the girl. She had dark hair, hazel eyes, was warmly dressed as any sensible person would be, and carried a light bag slung over one shoulder.
"It isn't safe to wander through this forest," Aeris said finally.
"So I've heard, but... I wanted to see the City of the Ancients..."
She tilted her head. "What for? Is it really worth risking your life just to see ancient ruins?"
"You tell me," the girl replied. "You've been there, haven't you? And the Sleeping Forest woke up for you."
"I suppose it is quite enchanting," Aeris admitted. "Beautiful in a haunting way. But you're lucky I sensed you coming, otherwise you'd have gotten lost. The Forest isn't fond of humans. My guess is that your race did something to it long ago, and somehow it still remembers."
The girl eyed her with a slight frown. "What exactly are you?"
The Cetra shrugged, doubting the girl would believe her. "Does it matter?"
"If you hadn't come with the intention of leading me out, I'd be a little afraid. But I guess it's only curiosity considering..."
"Well... I'm Aeris anyway. What's your name?"
"Delphine," the girl answered. "Hey, are you one of Minerva's friends?"
She blinked. "Yes, I am..." Then she nodded in understanding. "She must have met you when she went into town... yesterday was it?"
Delphine nodded. "Right. Yesterday."
"You came to visit her, then, not just to see the City."
"Yeah."
Aeris smiled. "Then I'm glad she's picked up a friend who's willing to do so much just to see her."
"I'm not sure you can call us friends yet..." the girl said hesitantly.
"I will soon enough, I'm sure." The Cetra turned, motioning for Delphine to follow. "Come on. I'll lead you to her. Maybe introduce you to Reno if he's awake yet."
"Who's Reno?" the girl asked, moving to walk along beside her.
"Minerva's fiancé," Aeris answered, smiling again at the words.
Delphine's eyes widened in surprise. "She's getting married?"
The smile faded. "As soon as her brother gets back to see it, yes."
"Back from where?"
She waved a hand in a vague gesture, shrugged, fell silent. How was she supposed to tell this stranger that Minerva's brother was Sephiroth, and that they were waiting for him to come back from the dead?
"Eh. Sounds complicated."
Aeris nodded. Delphine remained silent as the Cetra led her along the forest path and into the City, keeping even her awe unspoken. Aeris lifted an arm to wave as they approached the shell house. "Hi, Minerva! I've brought you a guest!"
The silver-haired girl blinked as her gaze shifted to Delphine.
"Hi, Minerva," Aeris's companion greeted.
"Hello, Delphine..." Minerva replied tentatively.
The Cetra smiled. "Why don't you two come inside? I don't think your friend likes the cold as much as you do, Minerva."
"But... what about...?" Sephiroth.
"Oh... Right." Aeris faltered, then stepped just inside and looked to the right. "Well, I'm guessing there's another room through that door that you can use, if you can just move the crates aside. You should be able to talk in there. I'll send Reno down when he wakes up."
"All right."
The Cetra nodded to the two girls, and headed up the ladder. Reno, as she had expected, was still fast asleep, though she doubted he was a very heavy sleeper. Anything much louder than a whisper would probably wake him. So if she was going to call any of the others to tell them of Sephiroth's fate, then it would have to wait.
Instead she sat down on her bed, picking up her bag and taking out her old diary. Her neat handwriting filled a little more than half the pages, and the rest were blank. She flipped to the last entry, a sad smile crossing her face.
I told Cloud I would take him to Sector 7, the last paragraph read. There is something about him... I don't know. I know Mom will ask him to go without me, but I have a feeling this could turn into a bit of an adventure. This might be my chance to get out of Midgar, see the world, find my own Promised Land, like my real Mom once said.
Aeris reached into her bag again, digging around until she produced a pen. Might as well...
September 19th, 2052, she wrote.
It has been a very long time indeed... I think to describe all that has happened would take hundreds of pages. As of late, I have had no need of confiding anything on paper. I have had a friend with a mind and a heart capable of listening to whatever I had to say. But now he has gone away, and I am left once again with pen and paper. I do not know when he will be back.
This moment is one of those where I feel so tangled inside that the only thing my body wishes to do is cry, but instead of there being no one to offer me a shoulder to weep upon, I cannot accept that comfort. I have to be strong, now that I am alone again. I will not shed a tear until he is back, because I do not want any comfort but his...
The room beyond was sparse, home only to a wooden couch with beat-up cushions and a couple of chairs aside from the ubiquitous blue lights. When Minerva stepped inside and looked around, she noticed a set of shelves on the near wall, the topmost holding what must have been a large seashell propped against the wall.
Delphine followed her inside, looking around. "I wonder what happened to all the other stuff...?"
"Personal belongings, you mean?"
"Yeah."
She shrugged. "Who knows?"
The other girl walked over to sit down on the couch. "So, Aeris says you're getting married."
Minerva followed. "That is correct," she replied tentatively. "Though I doubt it will happen any time soon..."
"Yeah. She mentioned something vague about waiting for your brother. Didn't say where he was."
She shifted uncomfortably.
Delphine glanced at her. "Nevermind... What's this Reno like?"
Minerva smiled slightly and held up her hands. "I do not know how to describe him. But he is... wonderful."
"Must be nice to be in love," the girl replied with a grin.
Her smile disappeared and she glanced upward. "Actually, I have seen more evidence to the contrary... What is loved can be lost. But I suppose people are willing to risk that, yes?"
"I guess so. But what do you mean you've got more evidence against it? Did you and Reno have to go through hell or something?"
She shook her head. "No. Not us. Aeris is the one who has 'gone through hell.' She has been in love twice as far as I know, and still she is alone."
"What happened to the two guys?" Delphine asked.
"...the first married her best friend while she was... away," Minerva answered carefully, "and the second was... forced to leave her."
"Ouch." The girl shifted and adjusted her glasses. "But you know, she seems kind of weird to me. Smart, yeah. Nice, definitely. But there's something a little... off. I can't put my finger on it."
She blinked. She thought Aeris was strange? She decided to explain. "She is a Cetra. Though I really hadn't thought her very different, simply more understanding than humans."
"A Cetra?" Delphine asked, confused.
"An Ancient."
She raised her eyebrows. "But I thought they'd all died out years ago. That's why they're called Ancients."
Minerva shook her head. "No, not dead. Aeris, though, is one of the last. And it is more polite to refer to them as Cetra, I think."
"Right. It's just... woah."
"Suddenly your world no longer contains only humans," the silver-haired girl elaborated.
Playfully, Delphine poked a finger at her. "Are you human?"
She started. "Well... not really, no..."
The girl blinked. "Okay, then. So are you a Cetra, too?"
"No, I am not."
"...then what are you?" she prompted.
She hesitated. "The result of a science experiment," she replied finally. "I suppose I am technically part alien..."
Delphine stared at her. "...you're not kidding, are you?"
"No." Minerva pushed up her sleeve to display the numbered tattoo on her shoulder.
"Twenty-three?" her friend asked. "What's that stand for?"
She sighed. She had told this much, so what did it matter if she told the rest? Afterall, who would believe it if Delphine tried to tell? And it had to mean something that she had risked entering the Sleeping Forest just to get here. "Twenty-one attempts between Sephiroth and myself to create one like us."
"Sephiroth? You mean Sephiroth was part alien, too?"
"Yes. But he is also part Cetra."
"Is...?" she queried.
Involuntarily, Minerva glanced again towards the room where his corpse lay. "He is... currently deceased. We are hoping that he will not remain as such."
"You're actually hoping that Sephiroth will come back to life?"
She closed her eyes. "It is a long story."
Delphine shifted, leaning her elbow on the arm of the couch and her head in her hand. "I've got time. He's the one you've been calling your brother, isn't he?"
"Yes. And he is the one Aeris is in love with."
"That explains a lot, but it generates so many more questions."
Minerva sighed. "I suppose I should find a beginning to start at... You all have been told of Cloud and the others who saved the world from Sephiroth and, supposedly, Meteor?"
"Oh, yeah, everybody's heard of them." She counted out eight on her fingers. "Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Cid Highwind, Yuffie Kisaragi, Barret Wallace, Nanaki, Reeve, and Vincent... something or other."
"Valentine," Minerva finished. "But the stories don't even mention Aeris, do they?"
"She was one of them?"
She nodded. "As a Cetra, she was the only one who could summon Holy to counteract Meteor. And Sephiroth took her life for it. True, he waited long enough for her to succeed, but he still killed her."
Delphine blinked. "What do you mean he waited?"
"They do not tell you much about Sephiroth, do they?" she asked sadly.
"Well, I know he was Shinra's greatest general before he went mad and summoned Meteor and all, but aside from that, no, they don't tell us much."
"I suppose no one really knew him," Minerva murmured. "But Sephiroth did much of his destruction because of Jenova, the alien creature whose cells we both carry. She urged him on even when he became aware that he was not, in fact, right to kill humans. She had some control over his body then, because his mind was weaker, so there was only so much he could do to resist."
Delphine shook her head slowly. "No, nobody ever talks about Jenova. So you're saying it wasn't all his fault?"
"That is right."
The girl pushed up her glasses. "Why'd he go insane to begin with?"
"Sephiroth had no memory of the first eighteen years of his life. In Nibelheim, he found some half-truths about the experiment that created him, and..."
"Believed, and got pretty angry about it, apparently."
"Yes."
"So, since he killed her, how come Aeris is still alive?" the girl asked, confused.
"She spent five years in the Promised Land of her people. Until Sephiroth regenerated. The Jenova in his cells allows for this. He was sane and without memory, and he only learned of his past through Vincent. He must have felt it his duty to atone for what he had done; the first thing he did was revive Aeris."
Delphine's eyes widened. "He can resurrect the dead?"
"Under certain circumstances, yes," Minerva replied calmly. "Aeris's body was preserved. In this city, in fact. But it takes incredible amounts of energy to bring someone back to life. Aside from Sephiroth, only Aeris and myself are capable of it."
"You guys sound pretty powerful," she said, a more than a bit awed. "So what did she do when he brought her back? I mean, it must've been weird, seeing her killer..."
"I suppose so. But I was not there. I believe she went to visit her friends, Cloud and Tifa. Vincent went with her. Sephiroth travelled to Cosmo Canyon."
"Aeris was in love with Cloud first, wasn't she?" Delphine concluded, nodding to herself. "But where do you come into all this?"
"Me?" Minerva queried, blinking. "I was in a laboratory, under the control of the same scientist who created Sephiroth." Lightly, she touched the back of her head. "I have an implant that once allowed him to control me. To some degree anyway. It is thankfully broken now."
"Then... did this scientist guy want Sephiroth back, since he was alive again?"
She nodded. "Correct. And he also wanted Aeris. So he sent my mother and I to capture them. You need not know the details, but Aeris got her old friends to help her and together some of them fought and killed the Professor. My mother died in the battle as well. I survived. The lot of us returned to Cosmo Canyon."
"You've been to Cosmo Canyon? We used to talk about going there, me and my best friend. She's older than me, but she's more impulsive than I am... in her actions anyway. She can be kind of timid when it comes to talking, but she when she gets mad--don't wanna be near her. She's nice most of the time though. More considerate, I guess. I really miss her..."
Minerva blinked. "She's gone?"
Delphine nodded. "Yeah. She disappeared about two and a half weeks ago."
"...Katrina?"
The girl's eyes widened and she looked up. "You know her?"
She nodded. "Yes. Well, I have met her, but I have not really spoken with her. She was at Cosmo Canyon. Aeris could probably tell you more, but... not today, I do not think."
"Well. It's good to know she's okay, and where she wants to be, at that." She hesitated. "He died recently, didn't he? How did he die?"
"He went alone to kill Jenova. Aeris and two of her friends followed and helped him... but I suppose he still sustained too many wounds, and Aeris could not heal them. So he and Jenova ended up killing each other."
"Why didn't you go?" Delphine asked.
"I used to have a link to him, so I stayed behind so I could tell the rest of them of the battle's outcome." She frowned, dropping her gaze. "I should have gone."
The other girl said nothing to comfort her, only remained respectfully silent for a while before her curiosity returned. "So will he regenerate in another five years?"
Minerva shook her head. "This time, the Planet interfered. Aeris says it has been decided that if the Planet can remove the Jenova from him, then he will return to us."
"So that's what's gonna happen to him," Reno said, stepping through the doorway.
Both girls turned to look at him. "Aeris did not tell you?" Minerva queried.
The redhead shrugged, sitting down between the two. "I didn't ask. Just wanted to know where you were. She didn't say you had a guest."
"I'm Delphine," the younger girl said.
"I'm Reno," he replied, offering a hand.
"Minerva told me," she said as she shook it.
"You been talking about me, Min?" he asked.
She smiled sheepishly. "Sort of."
"How did you two meet?" Delphine asked.
Reno ran a hand through his hair. "Ah... should I assume she's already told you the general story...?"
"Yeah. Very general."
He nodded and relaxed. "We met in the lab. Well, the reactor above it, I guess. Love at first sight," he added, grinning.
Minerva scoffed. Outside, the wind picked up, whistling faintly.
"All right, all right... So I would've called it love at first sight with any pretty girl. But you were a slightly different case."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Something about going against orders to help us out, even if it physically hurt you... That got to me."
"This I didn't hear," Delphine remarked.
"That's 'cause Min's modest," Reno confided. "She's strong though, in every sense of the word."
"Reno..."
"What? It's true."
Minerva sighed. "Whatever."
"So what did you make of him?" the girl asked her.
"Well... He was one of the first people to actually act kindly towards me, so that certainly made a lasting impression in my mind."
"That's sweet... in a sad kind of way," Delphine said. "How long ago was that anyway?"
"Uh..." Reno looked to Minerva.
"Ten days."
The other girl blinked. "And already you're engaged? That was quick."
The redhead shrugged. "Long-lasting relationships can spring up quick during intense situations... I'd say we know each other pretty well. Besides, she can always call it off if she gets sick of me."
"But I won't," Minerva stated.
He grinned and put an arm around her. "Nice to know I'm loved."
Delphine fidgeted. "So how long are you guys gonna stay here?"
"Probably until Sephiroth gets back," Reno replied. "But... I dunno. If our stay starts getting too long, Elena'll have my hide."
"Who's Elena?"
"One of my friends back in Junon. Think little sister."
"More like an older sister sometimes," Minerva commented.
"Hey! She is younger than me, you know."
"I know."
Reno tried to glare at her, but soon broke down and grinned. "So I'm immature. Nothing new."
Delphine laughed. "You two are very entertaining," she said.
"That's why Aeris let us come along," the redhead told her. "We're here to cheer her up whenever she'll let us." He frowned a bit. "She's busy writing right now. I get the feeling the Planet wasn't very optimistic when it talked to her."
Minerva nodded her agreement. "Knowing Aeris, she probably had to reassure it that everything would turn out fine..."
"I don't even know her, and I think that sounds like something she'd do," Delphine remarked. "She's pretty selfless, huh?"
"Yeah," Reno said. "She'd even try to help her enemies if you let her. Probably how she fell in love with Sephiroth."
"What's he really like, Sephiroth? Everyone always says he was so cold and merciless, but after meeting you guys, I don't believe it anymore."
"Nah, the 'cold' thing is just his way of distancing himself. He's got an inferiority complex or something. But you get past all that and he's a pretty nice guy. It wouldn't be that hard to even call him shy."
"Huh," Delphine said. "You never would've thought it from what you hear about him. You'd think he'd be bold and arrogant and all."
"He has his moments."
The three looked up to find Aeris standing in the doorway.
She smiled. "I thought I'd come down and join you. I guess it isn't very surprising that I should find you talking about Sephiroth..."
Reno scratched his head. "Uh..."
"Don't worry about it," she told him before he could apologize. "It's quite all right."
There was an uncomfortable silence, broken only by a stronger gust of wind that rose to a shriek, then fell and died away.
"Hey, um, Aeris..." Delphine faltered. "Do you think you could, you know, show me around the City? I'd like to see more than just this house."
The Cetra smiled. "Certainly. I'll show you all around. I believe I'm the only one who's explored the entire place..."
"And the only one who might be able to tell us about it," Minerva added.
She nodded. "Well? Come on."
Delphine got up first to follow her, Minerva and Reno following just behind, the redhead taking up Minerva's hand. The four of them walked out into the cold, and Aeris led them further down the spine-like path into the City. The light beneath the rough, slightly domed ceiling was blue as well, but its source was indeterminable. A pale grey-blue, like the ice, like the rain, like death, and like solitude.