Chapter 3- The Virus
"Know thy enemy, know thyself."
~ I dunno where it's from, but I think I heard it somewhere, so we'll just go with "Unknown". Unless someone has an idea where I got it?
Reno and Rude had been cleaning the bar with Tifa when Aeris burst in, slamming the screen door nearly off its hinges. Tifa straightened to see who it was.
"Oh, hi Aeris…" She trailed off as she got a good look at her friend. "Aeris?"
"T-Tifa," Aeris faltered. "Something terrible-"
Tifa grasped the flower girl's shoulders, afraid she might fall over. "What? What's happened?"
It was then the PHS on the bar counter rang, startling all four of them. Sine he was closest, Reno picked it up.
"Yeah?"
"Where's Tifa?" The voice on the other line was male, curt, and gruff. Reno grinned in recognition.
"Actually, this is Tifa," he said, making an attempt to change his voice to match the bartenders- almost, anyway. "Something just…crawled down my throat and died-"
"It doesn't sound dead to me!" Cid yelled.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Tifa snapped as she snatched the PHS. "Hello? Oh- Cid…what?" Her expression changed to a perplexed frown as she sank into a chair. "Cid, don't you think you're overreacting…all right, don't lose your temper, I just think-"
"Tifa?" Aeris came and stood by her. "Please, may I talk with him?"
"Why?"
"Please, Tifa." Aeris' green eyes were full of urgency. "I need to check with something."
Tifa shrugged and handed her the PHS.
"Cid?" Aeris spoke into the mouthpiece. "It's Aeris. Listen; check the back of your left hand. Right now. Have Shera and Red do it too. Do you see anything strange?" She waited, listening, then gave a sigh of relief. "That's good, at least." She listened again. "Yes, I think that would be best. As soon as possible, all right?" She pressed a button and placed the PHS on the counter, then sat still a moment, lost in thought.
"Would someone kindly tell me what's happening?" Elena said, breaking the silence. "I mean, all of a sudden Aeris comes running in here, acting like she's seen Sephiroth rise from the dead or something; Cid calls, and the both of you have weird conversations, and-"
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" Reno interrupted. He smirked and gave a nod of satisfaction directed at Elena. "That's how you get the job done."
Tifa folded her arms and leaned against the bar counter. "Aeris?"
Aeris clasped her hands and looked down at them. "We are in very serious trouble."
"Kinda figured that was comin'," Reno muttered. Aeris glanced at him and went on.
"I told Cid to call everyone and tell them to get over here."
"Why?" Tifa asked. "What happened?"
Aeris unclasped her hands and looked at the four people gathered around her. "I have reason to believe Jenova has returned."
* * * * * *
Some time later, everyone was gathered in the small bar. Barret had brought Marlene, and now she and Adine, the child Tifa had more or less adopted, were sitting quietly together on the floor. Many of the hurriedly gathered members of AVALANCHE were perplexed, and perhaps a little annoyed at the interruption in their daily lives. But all had agreed to come, readily or not, upon hearing the seriousness of the situation. Now that they were all gathered, Aeris was called on for an explanation.
"The Sresla," Aeris began, "is a symbol. It's shaped like an hourglass, and is always on the back of the left hand. Usually, when it first appears, it's red, the red of blood. It is a very serious thing, if you have this mark on your hand."
"Why's that?" Elena was leaning against the wall, one eyebrow raised in a skeptical fashion. She didn't really disbelieve the Cetra, but had trouble accepting the fact that an ancient evil had reawakened and was now loose in Midgar.
Aeris' green eyes turned onto the Turk's own brown ones. "Because it means you are going to die."
"But what does the Sresla itself mean?" Cloud asked from his seat at a table.
Aeris looked once at Tifa, then at the two children sitting silently next to each other, listening. Taking the hint, Tifa clapped her hands.
"Okay, girls! Why don't you go upstairs to play?"
Obediently the two kids turned and trotted up the staircase. Aeris nodded, gave Tifa a slight smile, then turned back to Cloud to answer.
"It's a mark of claim. Once Jenova has found a way to penetrate your mind, she will then have power over your inner self. She takes all the evil in a person's soul, and magnifies it to such an extent that the person grows so disgusted and hateful of himself that he loses the will to live. When that happens, the Sresla turns black and the fever sets in. Because it is a weakness of the spirit, and not the body, there is no cure. It's a horrible way to die; in such pain you can't bear it, but at the same time certain you deserve it." Aeris' eyes slid closed. "That is how the Cetra perished."
"Aeris," Zack said hesitantly. He was sitting by Cloud at the table, feeling a little lost and out of place. "How do you know all this?"
"My mother has taught me of these things all my life," she said simply. "I've know them since I was young."
"Oh." Then, even more hesitantly: "But, I thought your mother…was…"
"I still speak with her, Zack."
Zack stared. He had thought he knew Aeris, knew her better than anyone else. He had thought she hadn't changed.
But something about her had. It was a subtle change, certainly, but one that made all the difference. He couldn't quite fathom why, but she seemed a stranger now, so different from the young woman he had once known.
"And you think this virus is loose in Midgar?" Vincent asked quietly from where he stood in the corner.
"I know it is."
"Why?"
Aeris took a breath and explained what had happened with Martha and her grandmother. She closed her eyes on remembering Martha's pitiful remorse.
"She was just a child," she whispered. "The Sresla couldn't find any evil in her to draw upon. So it created its own, latching onto her own worried fear of getting sick. And when that fear came true, it filled her with so much guilt that it had even more to feed on. Then, her grandmother got sick. If I had to guess, I'd say that's when it turned black."
"But how do you know it's Jenova that's causing all this?" Nanaki wanted to know. "There could be another explanation." He sounded alarmed. She didn't blame him, she would rather believe anything, almost, than this cold truth.
Aeris paused. "I know because I saw her earlier today."
Several members of the group jumped to their feet at this.
"What happened?" Cloud demanded.
Aeris shook her head. "She…wanted me to go with her. I knew she was evil, that I should run away, but I couldn't resist. It was terrible." She cast her eyes downward. "A lucky chance was all that saved me."
"Does this mean there's no defense against her?" Cloud wondered aloud. Reno, however, had another thought.
"Why does she want you?" he asked, looking at her sideways.
Aeris studied her hands. "I'm an Ancient. Jenova wants to eliminate the Ancients. Because I am the last…" She trailed off.
"Jenova will go to any length to destroy you," Reno finished for her. He gave a mirthless smirk and folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. "You're playing right into her hands."
"Why do you say that?"
"Look, she wants to get you, right? She isn't starting up this virus for fun, at least, not for fun alone. She wants to get you angry enough to come looking for her. Angry people make mistakes."
"Aeris ain't the only thing she's after," Cid pointed out. He quickly recounted the events at Cosmo Canyon, concluding with the mysterious threat. "So I guess she's pretty pissed at us, too. Maybe she wants to get rid of us all in nice, easy sweep."
"You're thinking too much like a human," Aeris reprimanded gently. "That's not the way Jenova thinks. She's up to something different, now." She paused a moment, looking troubled. Then her expression hardened. "I know you all think she's expecting it, and you're probably right. But…" She looked around at each of them: Zack and Cloud, sitting quietly at the table. Yuffie, eager for action. The two mechanics; Cid, who just wanted an excuse to fly his new airship; Shera, looking worried. Tifa, serious; Vincent, absently unloading and reloading his gun. Barret, who just wanted to protect his daughter from the world. Nanaki, who was so wise and yet still had so much to learn. And lastly, the Turks. Each of them were expressionless. But something leaked through each of their eyes; Elena, excitement; Rude, apprehensive but ready; and Reno…who knew what Reno was thinking? He seemed half unconcerned with this fight, half eager. She caught something in his face that she had seen before- a look of reckless bloodlust, a readiness to kill. He noticed her looking at him and grinned, the look fading.
"Can't take your eyes off me, huh? Most girls are like that."
Elena snorted.
Aeris sighed. "You guys, this is serious. Innocent people are dying while we hide out here. An entire race was destroyed with this virus. It could wipe out Midgar in weeks." She looked at them solemnly. "This isn't something that can be fought. This isn't something that can be reasoned with. There is no defense against this. Don't you see? The only thing we can do is find the source, and destroy it. That's why Jenova must be killed. Not for our sake, but for the sake of the Planet, and the people living in it."
"Saving the Planet," Barret muttered. "Sounds kinda familiar." He grinned suddenly, "What the hell! Guess this train hasn't reached its last stop yet!"
"I think what Barret means," Cloud amended, "is that we're in."
"Me, too!" Zack said. "I've had enough of Jenova in my life. It's time to even the score." He smiled dangerously.
"I'll come, too," Shera said hesitantly. At this, Cid exploded.
"Like hell you are! You don't know the first thing about fighting, or anything else! And-"
"Would you get far without me?" she interrupted smoothly. "We're taking the Apocalypse, aren't we? You can't run it by yourself, Cid. You need my help. And, besides- I have to be there to make sure you don't crash it or something."
Cid gaped, speechless at this uncharacteristic streak of backbone in his mechanic. Shera smiled in the silence.
"So it's settled, then."
Cid burst into laughter, shaking his head without a word. Meanwhile, the other looked to the Turks. Reno lifted an eyebrow questioningly and glanced at Rude and Elena.
"What do they expect us to say? No?"
Taking this to mean "yes", Aeris smiled. "Thanks, everyone."