The moon cast its silver eye over the Midgar Church. There was ultimate silence, despite the fact that many wandered the streets at night. However, rarely did anyone approach the church save for children and the religious. It was a cold, clear night.
Tifa continued to cry quietly into Aeris's sleeve. Aeris welcomed this patiently, but evidently possessed her own alarming thoughts. Cloud caught her eye nervously.
"It's really you."
"Yes…" Aeris said softly. "But… Why, Cloud? Why? I don't understand."
Cloud shook his head. "I don't understand anymore than you do." Aeris hesitated for a long time and waited for Tifa to collect herself. She subsequently stood and brushed herself off, then turned to hide her face.
"I miss him already," she whispered.
"Who?"
Aeris half-turned back, enough to eye Cloud again. "You know who."
Cloud did not, but decided not to say anything.
"Zack," she said with deep longing, "I won't be able to see him again for a long time. And by then he'll have returned to the planet." Aeris paused again, allowing Tifa and Cloud to think this through. "But I think I do know why I came back."
"Why?" Tifa asked shyly. Aeris nearly answered her before Cloud broke in.
"It must be a decision of the Planet's." He was staring blankly at a withdrawn flower as he spoke.
"Yes. I thought so too." Aeris stared at the same flower.
"You mean…" Tifa consumed some moments before continuing. "The planet needs you for some purpose, right?"
"Right," Cloud nodded and looked into her eyes. "Bugenhagen once told us… That once Holy is triggered, the planet has the power to destroy what ever is hurting it…… I guess that can also mean restoring what ever helps it. If that makes any sense."
"It doesn't!" Aeris cried. Cloud and Tifa, caught by surprise, stared at her. She trembled. "None of it makes any sense. I…….." She collapsed to her knees, a small tear dropping onto a segment of moss. "I can't do anything to help. I don't want to be here…"
Cloud and Tifa watched her uneasily, but uncertain of action. Eventually she wiped her eyes and faced them. Nothing occurred for a lingering moment. Then Tifa stood. "Aeris… I know how hard this must be on you. It's a great burden to bear. But for now, I think we should find some place to sleep and talk about it again in the morning. How does that sound?" Aeris rose stiffly and cooperated with the suggestion.
Tifa led the way to the nearest Inn. The beds supplied were hard and slightly uncomforatably, and the room was stuffy. However, the next, far nicer Inn in Kalm was some miles walking distance and all of them were beyond too tired to even consider it. Tifa woke up the latest and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Aeris was sitting up straight on her bed in deep thought. She did not swing her feet cutely the way she used to when she and Tifa had first met. She simply peered downward at the cracks in the stone floor and did not move. Cloud walked into the bedroom yawning.
"Morning." Cloud said. Tifa smiled, then gestured towards Aeris with a tilt of the head. He regarded Aeris and frowned slightly. Tifa and Cloud sat next to her on the bed. She took no notice of their presence.
"Did you sleep well?" Tifa said casually. Aeris shook her head. Cloud put in:
"Neither did I. This Inn sucks." Aeris giggled for the first time and then sighed. "So, what are we going to do today?"
"I want to see the others," Aeris said. Tifa regarded her curiously, then grinned.
"Okay, good idea! Cloud, do you have the PHS with you?"
"Yeah."
"Let's call everyone to meet somewhere."
"Where?"
"Cosmo Canyon," said Aeris. Tifa blinked, perplexed at her sudden decisions. Perhaps she'd been planning this all while she'd been sitting on her bed.
"Alright," said Cloud, "We'll all meet at Cosmo Canyon. No one's ever going to believe me when I tell them about last night, though."
*
In the warm light of the Cosmo Candle, eight faces waited, staring into the fire uneasily. The fire shrivelled and expanded rapidly, devouring at the black wood beneath and leaving behind curling ashes. Smoke rose and met the stars. Everyone waited in silence.
"This is getting really boring," Yuffie loudly commented. She turned to Cloud as if accusing him of causing her boredom. He stared back through narrowed eyes.
"Yuffie, just wait."
"I can't wait any longer. I mean, what are we waiting for anyway? You didn't bother to tell us, incase you forgot!" Yuffie now stood akimbo cockily and waited for a witty retort from him. There was none. Cloud was staring sorrowfully past her. Yuffie's eyes searched Tifa, Red XIII, Barret, Cid, Reeve, and Vincent. They, too, gazed beyond the disgruntled teenager. "What? What are you guys looking at?!" Before awaiting response, she turned around and ceased to stand abruptly. Falling weakly to her knees, she stammered. "A-A-Aeris……?"
The woman, now being the centre of attention, took few, slow steps forward. Silence returned. Starlight shone upon her hair, and wind shuffled it playfully. She closed her rosemary eyes, opened them again. Her mouth mimicked them. Finally, drawing a hand over her lips, she cleared her throat and said very quietly, "Hello." No one answered. She then brushed at her dress nervously and looked away. The fire shrank before her and she sat down.
"Everyone…" Tifa said hoarsely, "……This is… Aeris."
"You're kidding, right?" Yuffie almost whispered, gaping dumbfoundedly.
"No," Aeris said, "I'm here. It's me." Many blinked or pinched themselves. Aeris appeared uncomfortable.
"Didn' you die?" Barret blurted out unintentionally.
"Yes," she said. "But I'm… I'm back."
"……How?" asked Cid.
"I… don't know."
"When?" said Reeve.
"Yesterday."
"Why?" inquired Red XIII.
There was no answer for a moment. "………I don't know that either," Aeris said very quietly. Everyone continued to stare, dry-mouthed, in awe. Barret and Yuffie hid silent tears. Aeris gathered confidence before she spoke again. "Everyone…" she began awkwardly, "I want to ask you all a favour."
"We'd do anything to help, Aeris," Tifa said far more quietly than intended.
Aeris continued. "I would like you all to come with me to find the Black Materia."
She let this sink in and stir questions. "Why…?" Cloud said nervously. Aeris was silent a moment, as if to find words to explain.
"Because… It needs to be guarded. And, I think it can help me find some of the answers I need to seek."
"But we don't have any idea where it could be," Tifa pointed out. Aeris half-grinned determinedly.
"I think I might know," she said, "But you'll have to help me out, since I was… dead… for a while." Several people flinched as she said this, but it didn't seem to trouble Aeris any longer. "When I died, I activated Holy," she began in a serious tone, "But the Black Materia was still in Sephiroth's hands, am I right?" Only Cloud possessed the courage and memory to nod. "What happened after that? Did Sephiroth have it until you defeated him?" Again, Cloud nodded.
"Yeah. But how did you - ?"
"I can remember one thing," Aeris cut in, "While I was dead, I saw you all defeat Sephiroth. I had to be with you then. To help you, and help the Planet when Holy could begin to work."
"You were there…" Cloud whispered distantly, recalling the event. "I remember……"
Tifa gazed into the fire and remembered.
Just when they had delivered the finishing blow to Sephiroth, she had felt a holy presence about her and the others. Cloud had told them, 'This is all we could do. Let's go home proud.' And Tifa waited for him. He suddenly ceased and stared at her alarmingly through sapphire eyes. She asked him what was wrong.
"He's still here…" Tifa didn't understand him right away, but Cloud had already fallen to the ground, unconcious. She called his name again and again, but the earth was shifting underfoot and the others had left. Tifa wrapped her arms around him, attempting to carry him out and catch up with everyone else, but she lost her footing and Cloud fell onto a lower platform of rock. A tear fell onto his face from above and she called his name countless times.
A moment after, she heard him say dreamily, "Lifestream….?" before he slowly stood, eyes open but filmy as if in a trance. His hand reached skyward for hers, and she leaned as closely over the edge as safely possible.
"That's right, Cloud! Give me your hand!" Suddenly he faltered and blinked soberly. She reached further and further…
"Cloud!"
He tried to reach her, but the ground gave and Tifa fell, and fell… Into his arms. He was warm and his sapphire eyes rested upon hers.
"……I think I'm beginning to understand," he said suddenly, holding her close with one arm and dangling from the cliff with the other. He was so warm. Tifa felt her heart skip several beats and she paused before comprehending what he had just said.
"What?" she said absently, closing her eyes in attempt to stall the moment.
"An answer from the planet," he said slowly, "The Promised Land." Tifa gazed up at him as he tightened his grip on the cliff's edge. "I think I can meet her… there." She blinked dreamily and felt as if Aeris's spirit were lifting them.
"Yeah, let's go meet her," Tifa said, burying her face in his chest. Aeris stopped the stones from falling and lifted them up over the edge of the cliff. Her voice sang in the breeze distantly and she rose from the crater like a wisp of smoke. Tifa breathed, gazing at at it, then at Cloud who sat next to her. He seemed to see it too.
And when the Lifestream halted Meteor, everyone knew that she was there.
"I remember too," Tifa said, looking away from the fire, flushing slightly pink. Cloud regarded her curiously, and Tifa wondered if he was remembering the same thing that she was.
Aeris also eyed Tifa curiously. Tifa thought she saw a small smirk and blushed furiously. You two are so cute, her eyes said. Tifa quickly looked away.
*
Chapter two's done now. Wondering where the story's going, aren't you? ~_~;; It'll all make sense in the end… I hope. Anyway, please review and I'll start working on the next chapter. Go CloTi! XD;