The forest was the same as the previous year, as was the ruins of a city. The conch buildings remained in tact even in their degradation back to the Planet. That was how the Others had planned it. The cycle of life had to be completed with buildings as with animals, life and death in a balance never to be tipped,even if it once had, it was righted within the same faltering breath. The autumnal winds brought the same unknown voices through the city, voices of the long deceased Cetra whispering their secrets into ears listening for them. Sadly, that was the reason for the two travelers' journey. The last one who had been searching for those ancient answers died for her knowledge; she was sacrificed on an altar to a self-proclaimed god by this god's messenger. The mournful song wound its way through the streets to the ears of one familiar with their eerie chorus. He had watched the lamb's body fall to the ground at the feet of the fallen angel. He had watched the salvation of the Planet fall to the bottom of the underground lake. He watched it all, strings binding him as sure as the blood coursing through his veins bound him to the puppetmaster.
"Cloud?" the woman at his side said, "are you sure you want to do this?" For her, the pain was still too fresh, possibly to be a wound in her heart forever. Her friend, quite possibly her closest despite the short time they knew each other, had fallen. The blonde man next to her had nearly lost his mind here, torn between his anger and a force stronger and than any of them had anticipated. The unfairness of that time, helplessness to stop the events as they had unfolded before her eyes was bitter medicine for human pride, her pride. She closed chestnut eyes and held the flowers close to her body.
Cloud raked his fingers through his spiked hair, and looked around uncomfortably, clearly remembering the unspoken truths. "A year of waiting hasn't put her to rest, Tifa. It's time to let her go." And it would numb the pain, he thought. He hitched his jacket up against the wind tickling the back of his neck. The sun would be setting soon and he wanted to be inside shelter for the night. He started toward what had served as an inn that year before blinking away the vivid memory of a man dressed in black walking the same path. Why was he returning to Cloud's memory so readily? He had destroyed him more times than any one man deserved including the silver-haired phantom in his mind. But why did he still worry him? He reached over his shoulder and fingered the inscription of a meteor etched on his sword. He had a matching one on his belt, marking him as part of Avalanche for the world to know. He rarely wore that belt in public anymore.
The door opened shakily like the last time and the two moved inside. They set their bags next to the threshold, in front of the mirror showing shadowy images of the dead. They ignored the dizzying depths and surveyed the room. Thick dust marred every surface; a thinner layer marked ghostly footprints a year old. No other life had been inside this room for about two thousand years. They took their bedrolls out and laid them on the floor. It seemed awkward to sleep on the beds upstairs, even if they had before. Cloud leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. "Let's hope this visit isn't so unpleasant."
The girl nodded and picked up the flowers, oddly vivid colors in the faded room. "We won't stay long. We still have the living to care for." Cloud's blue eyes flashed in agreement, but he remained silent as he walked out the door. Tifa followed in the same silence and into the vivid sunset painting the sky a fiery red. The surrounding cliffs blocked most of the light, but the giant building ahead of them stood out against the shadows. They made their way through the tunnel, lost in memories. For a moment, Cloud seemed ready to take off running down the dark path. After a couple steps he shook his head and slowed. His quiet chuckle echoed a much sadder feeling in his heart. The reason for his haste had died back then. His frustration grew at his inability to repair his first mistake.
The cavern opened up into a forest nestled beyond the large shell. A smaller one sat at the edge of a lake, housing an even greater secret than the Forgotten City itself. Their attention barely focused on the building, but on the lake itself. The first stars of the evening reflected in the calm waters, twinkling on the small waves. The two walked over to the edge and tossed the flowers in: red, orange, and yellow zinnia petals riding the ripples to the shore. They watched them slowly sink into the dark water.
The blonde man chuckled to himself, a slight smile crossing his saddened face. "Remember when we were trying to catch our first Chocobo? You know, the one near the swamps," Cloud started, eager to break the mournful silence.
"Yes. The time that you couldn't keep quiet for five minutes." A smile, barely shy of a grimace, broke out on Tifa's face in remembrance.
He put on the usual mock-insulted tone, but his heart was not in it. "Hey, I'm allergic to those stupid Mandragora. You'd be sneezing, too, if you had them dancing around you all the time, Tifa."
She laughed quietly. "I'm sure I would." Her chuckle melted away quickly. "But no matter how many times we scared them off, she would just keep smiling until the next one showed up."
Their eyes drifted back to the mirror like pool, lost in thought for a moment about that time. Cloud stood, eyeing the indigo sky still touched violet near the horizon. "The sun's almost set; it's time to go." He held out his hand to Tifa, who grasped it and joined him. She shivered slightly and wiped moist tears from her dark eyes. The man put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly and began to move towards the exit.
The sound of raspy breaths marked by staccato coughs made the two turn around. At the sight of a girl curled up at the edge of the lake, they came running with concern painted plainly on their faces. Tiny petals the colors of fire intertwined in her raven tresses and scattered across her body. As Cloud sat her upright, Tifa gently brushed the strands out of her face. "Come on, get it all out," the man urged quietly as the stranger coughed up more water from her lungs. To Tifa he said, "Hold her a moment, let her rest," as he took off his long jacket and draped it over her nude body. After the girl caught her breath well enough to breathe steadily for a moment, she opened her silver eyes.
The Stars! When she met the brilliant cyan eyes softly glowing on her, she screamed and wrestled her way away from the couple. Her feeble attempt to stand proved unfruitful as legs unused to supporting her weight gave under her. Chains clinked together as she fell to the sandy soil. The girl whimpered partly in self-frustration but more for the fear of the blue eyed man cautiously walking towards her.
"Tifa, give me a hand here," he said over his shoulder to his companion. She nodded and sprinted around to in front of the girl. When he attempted to reach out to the younger girl, her eyes grew wide and panicked. She spun around and feverishly struggled with the shifting sand and into the waiting snare of Tifa's arms.
"Shhh, honey. It's all right," she said to the struggling child. The girl looked into Tifa's dark eyes and relaxed a little. When Cloud's boot scuffed nearby, she clung to the older girl's neck, trembling at the sight of the vibrant eyes. The woman stroked the girl's hair gently before touching a pressure point, effectively sedating her for a while. "Forgive me."
Cloud wrapped his jacket around the girl a little more tightly then rubbed his bare arms. The wind had picked up in an already cold area, promising an early snow. He lifted the girl and nodded to Tifa. They began their trek in the dark back to the village.
***
"What do you mean, 'Aerith Reborn?'" Tifa asked incredulously. "There hasn't been enough time for her to be reborn."
Cloud shook his head, eyes bright with excitement. "Not really reborn. I mean Lifestream has given us another chance. Don't you see? She can be saved!"
His companion glanced at the girl on the bed draped with her purple blanket. If not for her still strained breathing, the pale form could have been mistaken dead with her pallid skin. The woman turned back to Cloud. "We can protect her, but get it through your pointy head that Aerith died. We both saw it happen. We laid her to rest a year ago. That's why we came here in the first place."
"But here is exactly where she came from!" A conviction near madness deformed his features. He walked over to the bed, brought out one of the girl's arms, and began fiddling with the metal band. "She needs these off."
In frustration, Tifa grabbed the back of his shirt and spun him around to face her. "We've been around in circles about this. She's probably some lost girl, dropped off in the forest and was forgotten. More than likely because she's crazy." When he tried to turn back to the girl, she pinned him up against the wall. "Listen, Cloud. I care about you. The last time I let your imagination run off with you, I had to jump into the fire to get you out. If we have a second chance at anything, it's to keep you from misleading yourself again." The man nodded slightly and she released him.
He looked at her sullenly and a bit skeptically. "Who else is she, if she's not Aerith?"
"Wutaian, as far as I can tell, and she's not much older than seventeen." She shrugged and looked away. "That's all I can tell you."
The sound of clinking links brought their attention back to the girl on the bed. "Well, whatever. She still needs those chains off." Cloud took the unconscious girl's wrist and kneeled down to look at it. A puzzled look crossed his face as he inspected the metal band. After a moment, he dropped her hand and frantically searched the collar. It proved to be identical to the shackles. "My god," he breathed.
The other leaned close to her companion. "What do you mean by that?"
"They're solid. I can't take them off."
"How did they get on, then? There has to be a latch." Tifa quickly looked over the silver bands. Upon finding no seam, she stared at horror at the chains. "Whoever had her didn't want her getting away." She sat back on the other bed. "Who are you, child?" she mused.
Cloud turned to the woman. "We need to take her to a doctor." Concern plainly shone in his eyes. "She can't be helped here. Then maybe we can find where she belongs."
"You're not planning on returning her to the beast that chained her!"
"No. I mean to her family." He wrapped the blanket tightly around the girl and picked her up. "And I mean to leave tonight."
Tifa had already begun to roll their bedding up and threw it onto her back. "I've got your stuff, Cloud. Just worry about the girl." She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and jumped down the ladder. The man shook his head fondly, knowing very well that they both understood each other. He followed her down to the bottom floor.
Outside, the two black Chocobo warked gently and raised their heads. Tifa loaded one with their supplies and mounted while Cloud draped the raven-haired girl over the other. Taking the reins, he began to lead them out of the forest in the direction of their home.
"Cloud?" the woman at his side said, "are you sure you want to do this?" For her, the pain was still too fresh, possibly to be a wound in her heart forever. Her friend, quite possibly her closest despite the short time they knew each other, had fallen. The blonde man next to her had nearly lost his mind here, torn between his anger and a force stronger and than any of them had anticipated. The unfairness of that time, helplessness to stop the events as they had unfolded before her eyes was bitter medicine for human pride, her pride. She closed chestnut eyes and held the flowers close to her body.
Cloud raked his fingers through his spiked hair, and looked around uncomfortably, clearly remembering the unspoken truths. "A year of waiting hasn't put her to rest, Tifa. It's time to let her go." And it would numb the pain, he thought. He hitched his jacket up against the wind tickling the back of his neck. The sun would be setting soon and he wanted to be inside shelter for the night. He started toward what had served as an inn that year before blinking away the vivid memory of a man dressed in black walking the same path. Why was he returning to Cloud's memory so readily? He had destroyed him more times than any one man deserved including the silver-haired phantom in his mind. But why did he still worry him? He reached over his shoulder and fingered the inscription of a meteor etched on his sword. He had a matching one on his belt, marking him as part of Avalanche for the world to know. He rarely wore that belt in public anymore.
The door opened shakily like the last time and the two moved inside. They set their bags next to the threshold, in front of the mirror showing shadowy images of the dead. They ignored the dizzying depths and surveyed the room. Thick dust marred every surface; a thinner layer marked ghostly footprints a year old. No other life had been inside this room for about two thousand years. They took their bedrolls out and laid them on the floor. It seemed awkward to sleep on the beds upstairs, even if they had before. Cloud leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. "Let's hope this visit isn't so unpleasant."
The girl nodded and picked up the flowers, oddly vivid colors in the faded room. "We won't stay long. We still have the living to care for." Cloud's blue eyes flashed in agreement, but he remained silent as he walked out the door. Tifa followed in the same silence and into the vivid sunset painting the sky a fiery red. The surrounding cliffs blocked most of the light, but the giant building ahead of them stood out against the shadows. They made their way through the tunnel, lost in memories. For a moment, Cloud seemed ready to take off running down the dark path. After a couple steps he shook his head and slowed. His quiet chuckle echoed a much sadder feeling in his heart. The reason for his haste had died back then. His frustration grew at his inability to repair his first mistake.
The cavern opened up into a forest nestled beyond the large shell. A smaller one sat at the edge of a lake, housing an even greater secret than the Forgotten City itself. Their attention barely focused on the building, but on the lake itself. The first stars of the evening reflected in the calm waters, twinkling on the small waves. The two walked over to the edge and tossed the flowers in: red, orange, and yellow zinnia petals riding the ripples to the shore. They watched them slowly sink into the dark water.
The blonde man chuckled to himself, a slight smile crossing his saddened face. "Remember when we were trying to catch our first Chocobo? You know, the one near the swamps," Cloud started, eager to break the mournful silence.
"Yes. The time that you couldn't keep quiet for five minutes." A smile, barely shy of a grimace, broke out on Tifa's face in remembrance.
He put on the usual mock-insulted tone, but his heart was not in it. "Hey, I'm allergic to those stupid Mandragora. You'd be sneezing, too, if you had them dancing around you all the time, Tifa."
She laughed quietly. "I'm sure I would." Her chuckle melted away quickly. "But no matter how many times we scared them off, she would just keep smiling until the next one showed up."
Their eyes drifted back to the mirror like pool, lost in thought for a moment about that time. Cloud stood, eyeing the indigo sky still touched violet near the horizon. "The sun's almost set; it's time to go." He held out his hand to Tifa, who grasped it and joined him. She shivered slightly and wiped moist tears from her dark eyes. The man put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly and began to move towards the exit.
The sound of raspy breaths marked by staccato coughs made the two turn around. At the sight of a girl curled up at the edge of the lake, they came running with concern painted plainly on their faces. Tiny petals the colors of fire intertwined in her raven tresses and scattered across her body. As Cloud sat her upright, Tifa gently brushed the strands out of her face. "Come on, get it all out," the man urged quietly as the stranger coughed up more water from her lungs. To Tifa he said, "Hold her a moment, let her rest," as he took off his long jacket and draped it over her nude body. After the girl caught her breath well enough to breathe steadily for a moment, she opened her silver eyes.
The Stars! When she met the brilliant cyan eyes softly glowing on her, she screamed and wrestled her way away from the couple. Her feeble attempt to stand proved unfruitful as legs unused to supporting her weight gave under her. Chains clinked together as she fell to the sandy soil. The girl whimpered partly in self-frustration but more for the fear of the blue eyed man cautiously walking towards her.
"Tifa, give me a hand here," he said over his shoulder to his companion. She nodded and sprinted around to in front of the girl. When he attempted to reach out to the younger girl, her eyes grew wide and panicked. She spun around and feverishly struggled with the shifting sand and into the waiting snare of Tifa's arms.
"Shhh, honey. It's all right," she said to the struggling child. The girl looked into Tifa's dark eyes and relaxed a little. When Cloud's boot scuffed nearby, she clung to the older girl's neck, trembling at the sight of the vibrant eyes. The woman stroked the girl's hair gently before touching a pressure point, effectively sedating her for a while. "Forgive me."
Cloud wrapped his jacket around the girl a little more tightly then rubbed his bare arms. The wind had picked up in an already cold area, promising an early snow. He lifted the girl and nodded to Tifa. They began their trek in the dark back to the village.
***
"What do you mean, 'Aerith Reborn?'" Tifa asked incredulously. "There hasn't been enough time for her to be reborn."
Cloud shook his head, eyes bright with excitement. "Not really reborn. I mean Lifestream has given us another chance. Don't you see? She can be saved!"
His companion glanced at the girl on the bed draped with her purple blanket. If not for her still strained breathing, the pale form could have been mistaken dead with her pallid skin. The woman turned back to Cloud. "We can protect her, but get it through your pointy head that Aerith died. We both saw it happen. We laid her to rest a year ago. That's why we came here in the first place."
"But here is exactly where she came from!" A conviction near madness deformed his features. He walked over to the bed, brought out one of the girl's arms, and began fiddling with the metal band. "She needs these off."
In frustration, Tifa grabbed the back of his shirt and spun him around to face her. "We've been around in circles about this. She's probably some lost girl, dropped off in the forest and was forgotten. More than likely because she's crazy." When he tried to turn back to the girl, she pinned him up against the wall. "Listen, Cloud. I care about you. The last time I let your imagination run off with you, I had to jump into the fire to get you out. If we have a second chance at anything, it's to keep you from misleading yourself again." The man nodded slightly and she released him.
He looked at her sullenly and a bit skeptically. "Who else is she, if she's not Aerith?"
"Wutaian, as far as I can tell, and she's not much older than seventeen." She shrugged and looked away. "That's all I can tell you."
The sound of clinking links brought their attention back to the girl on the bed. "Well, whatever. She still needs those chains off." Cloud took the unconscious girl's wrist and kneeled down to look at it. A puzzled look crossed his face as he inspected the metal band. After a moment, he dropped her hand and frantically searched the collar. It proved to be identical to the shackles. "My god," he breathed.
The other leaned close to her companion. "What do you mean by that?"
"They're solid. I can't take them off."
"How did they get on, then? There has to be a latch." Tifa quickly looked over the silver bands. Upon finding no seam, she stared at horror at the chains. "Whoever had her didn't want her getting away." She sat back on the other bed. "Who are you, child?" she mused.
Cloud turned to the woman. "We need to take her to a doctor." Concern plainly shone in his eyes. "She can't be helped here. Then maybe we can find where she belongs."
"You're not planning on returning her to the beast that chained her!"
"No. I mean to her family." He wrapped the blanket tightly around the girl and picked her up. "And I mean to leave tonight."
Tifa had already begun to roll their bedding up and threw it onto her back. "I've got your stuff, Cloud. Just worry about the girl." She tossed her hair back over her shoulder and jumped down the ladder. The man shook his head fondly, knowing very well that they both understood each other. He followed her down to the bottom floor.
Outside, the two black Chocobo warked gently and raised their heads. Tifa loaded one with their supplies and mounted while Cloud draped the raven-haired girl over the other. Taking the reins, he began to lead them out of the forest in the direction of their home.