Chapter 6: A Clash of Minds

As dawn crept through the peaks of Mt. Nibel, they both awoke to the sound of Cloud's PHS, as they had both fallen asleep on Cloud's hammock.
"Hello?", he said in a deep yawn.
"Hi Cloud! It's Tifa!"
"Oh! Hi Tifa!", he greeted back, regaining consciousness. "What's up?"
"We need your help here. Cid's getting a bit stressed, and we can't keep making up excuses for long, so remember to bring the surprise."
"Oh, trust me, I won't.", he said, looking back at Aeris who had barely opened her eyes.
"Ok! See you then!", Tifa said as she hung up. Aeris got up and yawned widely.
"Do you always wake up this early?", she asked, still looking drowsy. "What time is it?"
"6 o'clock.", he said.
"God, you must have to be tired at the end of the day."
"Not necessarily. But you must not get much done if you wake up a 10 o'clock like you used to.", he said to her, but she was still so tired, she fell back asleep leaning against the tree. He smiled, picked her up in his arms, and mounted Knight with her behind him. He made sure her arms were tight around him so she wouldn't fall off, and they left to fix the Highwind. She woke up mid-way to the trip to the Highwind, somewhere off in the Gongaga area, where Zack was from, and saw she was riding with Cloud. She held on tighter to his stomach, a signal to him she was awake. She moved her head to the top of his shoulder and smiled at him. He looked and smiled back, as he sped Knight to the top of a cliff, where he stopped at a viewpoint to where the Highwind was, only a ½ mile in front of them.
"Come on, we're gonna see the guys now."

"Hey! Keep moving!", yelled Cid. "Cait Sith! Don't you even touch that! Just cuz' you're a toysaurus doesn't mean ya' can't get into trouble. And you won't get off any easier since you didn't come in person!"
"Hey Cid! What's this?", asked Yuffie, looking at a part of the engine. Everyone was working on the outside of the ship, which was a towering behemoth that couldn't be missed.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!", he screamed.
"Uh, hi Cid. I see you're doing well.", greeted Cloud as he walked up.
"Heh, with idiots like this, I should do it myself.", complained Cid. Yuffie then tapped Cid on the shoulder and pointed behind Cloud.
"Eeee.."she sounded. Barret, Red, and Cait Sith walked up to Cid and then looked, mouths gaping open, while Cid stood speechless.

"Uh.hey guys.", said Aeris nervously. They all still stood like statues. "Geez, I could get a warmer welcoming at a cemetery." Yuffie walked a little closer.
"A.Aeris?", she said.
"Finally, someone recognizes me as being something other than a hallucination."
"Yeah.",said Cloud. "I was gonna tell ya' but."
"Hey Cloud!", greeted Tifa. "I see they found Aeris." All the others were still standing there, unmoved.
"I can relate to their shock.", said Vincent, coming out from behind the ship. "It's not everyday you see someone who's been dead, alive again." Aeris walked toward Barret, hoping at least he would recognize her. "Come on, Barret. You should at least recognize me. Remember? Back on the Shinra boat? I was the one that stole your sailor outfit for you from the soldiers."
"Aeris! It has to be you! No one else liked that outfit!"
"Well, you did look.different in that suit.", she said as his massive arms hugged her.
"Yes, I do believe that's her.", said Red. "She smells like wildflowers."
"I don't believe this. I-I saw.", said Cid.
"I saw it, too.", said Yuffie. "But I'm pretty sure this is Aeris. Who else could it be? I doubt it could be a look-alike."
"It's a long story.", said Vincent.
"I'll explain it over lunch.", said Cloud.

"So that's it, huh?", said Cid after the explanation. "I still don't get it though. I mean honestly, a flower?"
"You just got to have some faith.", said Aeris. "Even Bugenhagen said there were exceptions."
"Well as I see it," said Cait Sith. "It'd have to be true. I mean, she's right here."
"What do you know, you're just a cat on a mog.", remarked Barret.
"She's right here. That's as much proof as you need.", said Tifa. "You can debate over this as much as you like.", said Vincent while standing up. "I'm going to back to work on the ship."
"I'm going, too.", said Cloud.
"Then I'll clear the table.", Aeris said. "I wasn't much for fixing
things anyway."
"I'll help, too.", volunteered Tifa.
"So will I!", piped up Yuffie. "It's easier anyway."
"Okay, we'll be working on the ship.", said Cid on his way out.

"So.", said Yuffie as the rest of them walked out of the room to fix the ship. "Aeris, what was the Planet like? I mean, how much materia was there?"
"It was beauty beyond imagination and I'm not telling you about the materia.", she said as she was finishing the table.
"Why not?", asked Yuffie, disappointed.
"If I told you, you might have a heart attack at age16.", she replied.
"Well that answers my question. So did you bring any back?", she asked eagerly.
"I did, just I case you asked. There's so much materia there, you can easily find some for free.", said Aeris as she pulled out some materia.
"F-free?", Yuffie stammered.
"Yup. Here.", Aeris said, handing Yuffie the materia. "Materia of each kind. A green comet magic materia, a yellow slash-all command materia, a blue MP turbo materia, and.", she pulled out a glowing red materia. "a rare 'Knights-of-the-Round' materia." Yuffie was thoroughly stunned.
"Suddenly, the afterlife doesn't look so horrible.", she said with her mouth gaping. "Hey Tifa! Want any?", asked Yuffie.
"Well well, Yuffie offering materia, isn't that quite a change.", she teased.
"YUFFIE!", yelled Cid from the outside. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR SHURIKEN DOIN' IN THE ENGINE?!!"
"Whoops. Gotta go!", said Yuffie while dashing out the door, leaving Aeris and Tifa to the dishes.
"She hasn't changed at all.", said Aeris, stifling a laugh.
"Makes me wonder how she became a ninja in the first place.", Tifa replied, also stifling a small laugh. "Well, it seems like the whole team is back. Barret the gun-armed leader of AVALANCHE, Cait Sith, the stuffed toy former Shinra spy, Vincent the heartbroken vampire, Red 13, the who- knows-what he is mountain lion/coyote, Cid the foul mouthed warmhearted pilot, Yuffie the quirky teenage kleptomaniac ninja, Cloud the ex-SOLDIER with a troubled past, me the bartender with iron knuckles, and you the innocent flower girl from the slums."
"What a team.", said Aeris, finishing a stack of dishes. "I bet people would even wonder how you guys saved the world with such weird job descriptions."
"Yeah well, it's better than the name 'He-Man and the Masters of the Universe' saving the planet."
"Heh, true.", she agreed.
"So what did you and Cloud do yesterday?", asked Tifa while drying the dishes.
"He just took me to a bunch of places he thought I should see and have fun at. We even went snowboarding."
"Snowboarding? Where?"
"Icicle Inn."
"Figures. He loves it up there. Did he show you your house?"
"What house?", asked Aeris, turning her head to see Tifa still drying the dishes.
"We found the house you were born in. It turns out you're a Northlander. We even found out your father's identity. It turns out you're the daughter of Professor Gast."
"Really!?", Aeris exclaimed in disbelief. "He probably didn't tell me because I didn't want to just sulk and reminisce about the past."
"I'm surprised he didn't even hint.", said Tifa, starting another stack of pots and pans.
"Well I'll worry about that later.", decided Aeris.
"You always try to stay positive don't you?", asked Tifa.
"That doesn't mean I don't get angry or sad. I just feel happy around you guys. Especially Cloud."
"So did you only go snowboarding?", said Tifa, quickly changing the subject.
"Tifa."said Aeris. "You don't have to change the subject like that. I know how you feel about Cloud." Tifa looked back at Aeris with tears in her eyes.
"I really did look forward to seeing you.", Tifa began.
"Tifa."
"No, no it's just that even though we're close I can't help but think I'm losing him again. It's just that he loves you so much that he hasn't even spoken to me the entire time he was here. He barely even noticed me."
"Don't even think that.", comforted Aeris. "He had so many chances just to whisk me away right then and there but he didn't. He might not have acted like it was on his mind-"
"That's exactly it!", interrupted Tifa. "It wasn't on his mind!"
"Hold on! He might not have acted it, but there was something lingering in his eye that I couldn't quite catch. But I think deep down something was telling him he shouldn't just go for it. I didn't know at the time, but it was always there ever since you left yesterday."
"I hope you're right.", said Tifa, wiping away tears.
"Come on. He loves you because you're sensitive and strong, and that you've always been there for him.", Aeris said while trying to make her feel better.
"But he loves you because you're sweet and kind and everything else that I couldn't be." said Tifa through heavy tears.
"Tifa?", said Cloud as he walked into the kitchen. He ran over to her and held her head against his chest. "What's going on?" Aeris just looked at him and briskly left the room. Cloud walked Tifa over to a chair and he sat down, with Tifa in his lap.
"Hey, are you okay?", he asked. Tifa tried pushing back her tears but just cried in his shoulder. "You can at least tell me what's wrong."
"Just.show Aeris.",she whispered.
"Show her what?", he asked confusedly.
"Her.parents.", she said through tears and a stinging throat.
"What good will that do?", he asked.
"You love her. She loves you. Just be with her.", she said looking him straight in his eyes as he realizes just how much she's crying.
"But-" Tifa just got up and said, "She should know what happened. Now just let me be alone.", and left. She went outside to the Highwind, went past everyone who froze in their tracks as soon as they saw her, hopped on Choco, and left. Cloud came running after her, but she was already long gone.