Reeve: No. That's it. I'm not doing it anymore.
Tyramir: Why not?
Reeve: I refuse to work alongside that idiot!
Rufus: Are you referring to me?
Reeve: No, sir. I'm referring to that idiot. ::points to Reno::
Reno: Hey, Elena, have you seen my electro-mag rod? My toast is stuck in the toaster, and whenever I put a fork in it to get it out, I keep getting electrocuted.
Elena: So you want your staff? The staff that not only shoots electricity and fireballs, but is also in itself a large lightning rod?
Reno: Yeah. I figure if I stick it into that toaster and press the shocky button, the stupid machine will cough up my toast!
Elena: ...
Tyramir: ...
Reeve: Do you see what I mean? I want him gone! Out! Kaput!
Rufus: I think he's kind of funny, actually.
Tyramir: I'm inclined to agree with the egomaniacal self-styled Emperor of the World.
Elena: He is an idiot, but he is funny.
Reeve: Gah! You people... can't you see? You're only giving him more power! By thinking he's funny, you just make him more stupid!
Reno: Why is my electro-mag rod covered in jam?
Tyramir: You know, if you just say the disclaimer as quickly as possible, Reno's power fizzles and disappears, and then we get onto the story.
Reeve: TyramirdoesntowntherightstoFinalFantasyoranyofitscharactersnowcanwepleaseget onwiththestory?
Reno: Hey, I found the problem with the toaster. I forgot to put bread in it.
Reeve: Gah!
Chapter Thirty Six
Tales of the Lifesteam
Cloud awoke with a groan. His head hurt, and his entire body was filled with a kind of dull pain. A spice-like smell filled his nose, intoxicating, but making him alert right away. The scent of a phoenix down was always abrupt, there for one second, reviving the unconcious person, gone the next with wakefulness.
He attempted to stand up, but found it difficult. The blast from Lucrecia had really hurt. He felt weak, drained. He could barely move at all.
Someone was holding him. He realized that last, almost as if the feeling were so familiar it was only natural. He shifted his eyes upwards and saw Aeris looking down on him, a worried smile on her face. She was cradling his head in her lap, one hand holding him gently, the other stroking the side of his head, rubbing him affectionately.
"Aeris, how are you...? How did you...? Why is Sephiroth...?" He wasn't sure what to ask, or how to phrase it. Everything seemed both completely right and wrong with the world right now. There were too many questions.
"Sshh."
"No, Aeris," he said. "I need to know. What's happening?"
A resigned look came over her face. "Sephiroth didn't want to destroy the world with Meteor. He just wanted to wound the planet. He knew that if he did that, the Lifestream would gather and heal the wound. And if he were in the middle of all that power, then he'd be able to make himself into an unstoppable force. You killed his body at Northern Crater, and you defeated his spirit in your final confrontation with him, but you didn't destroy him. Pieces of Sephiroth made it to the gathering of the Lifestream, and were able to manifest. I was there, too, directing the Lifestream and Holy in its battle against Meteor."
"You were there? How?"
"My spirit, Cloud. Not my body. I was able to stop Meteor, but when I realized what Sephiroth was doing, I tried to stop him, and we became... entwined. I realized what he was, and what he had been. He was still wounded from his battle with you, his spirit wasn't nearly as strong as it had been, so I... removed the bad parts. As much as I could anyway."
Cloud had trouble wrapping his mind around what was being said. Between his own ignorance of what she was talking about the blast Lucrecia had thrown at him, he felt fuddled. Confused. "How did...?"
"It doesn't matter. While I was helping him become what he used to be, someone wounded the planet. In Mideel. Someone forced a piece of the Lifestream out, and artificially altered it, infecting it with Jenova- tainted blood. I think they were trying to resurrect Jenova."
"No," Cloud said. He knew this part. "It was Lucrecia. She was trying to resurrect her son. She was trying to bring back Sephiroth. And there was no point. He was already alive."
"Not entirely," she responded, a patient look in her eyes. The same worried smile was on her face. "We were still just spirits in the Lifestream. All that power we had was being used up cleansing the Jenova from Sephiroth, and bringing back his own personality. But when the planet was wounded, it reacted. It instantly began to use the largest portion of its power to make a new Weapon, and we got pulled in. The two of us literally became the heart of Obsidian Weapon. And then--"
"I know the rest, Aeris. Thank you. I've missed you."
Her smile widened, "I've missed you, too."
"Aeris, I'm... I'm sorry about... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
"Ssh, it's okay. I knew it was going to happen. You were my bodyguard, and you did all you could. There's nothing to apologize for."
"Aeris, there's something I have to tell you. About Zack. And me."
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I know. Zack told me. It's okay."
"Zack? But Zack's--"
"Yes. He is. I saw him in the Lifestream," her voice was distant, and the whisper echoed in his ear.
"We should help the others," he said.
"You can't. You're too weak. After that hit you took from Jenova, you can't... she'll try to use you as a tool to help her, just like last time. She'll try to control you."
Cloud lifted a hand and gently brushed a lock of her hair away, then push her face back. He slowly sat up, then, gathering his strength, stood. He glanced back and saw that Aeris stood with him.
"It doesn't matter if she'll try to control me. She can't anymore. I'm... strong enough to resist her."
The worried look on Aeris' face disappeared entirely. The smile on her face made his heart jump. He looked away before he became too distracted, looking for his sword. Ultima Weapon was nowhere nearby.
"Have you seen--?"
"Here." Cloud caught the blade by the handle as it hurtled directly at him through the air. He swung Ultima Weapon a time or two, readjusting to the weight. He looked up to the male voice who had spoken, and thrown the weapon.
Rufus nodded at him. "We're not through, Strife. But for now, we have to stop Jenova. After she's dead, we'll talk. But for now, we're allies."
"Allies it is, then. But when this is finished--"
"Good to know we both understand each other. Now let's go to work."
Author's Note:
Alright, there we go. Things are picking up, and we're on our way to the climax. Woo!
Tyramir: Why not?
Reeve: I refuse to work alongside that idiot!
Rufus: Are you referring to me?
Reeve: No, sir. I'm referring to that idiot. ::points to Reno::
Reno: Hey, Elena, have you seen my electro-mag rod? My toast is stuck in the toaster, and whenever I put a fork in it to get it out, I keep getting electrocuted.
Elena: So you want your staff? The staff that not only shoots electricity and fireballs, but is also in itself a large lightning rod?
Reno: Yeah. I figure if I stick it into that toaster and press the shocky button, the stupid machine will cough up my toast!
Elena: ...
Tyramir: ...
Reeve: Do you see what I mean? I want him gone! Out! Kaput!
Rufus: I think he's kind of funny, actually.
Tyramir: I'm inclined to agree with the egomaniacal self-styled Emperor of the World.
Elena: He is an idiot, but he is funny.
Reeve: Gah! You people... can't you see? You're only giving him more power! By thinking he's funny, you just make him more stupid!
Reno: Why is my electro-mag rod covered in jam?
Tyramir: You know, if you just say the disclaimer as quickly as possible, Reno's power fizzles and disappears, and then we get onto the story.
Reeve: TyramirdoesntowntherightstoFinalFantasyoranyofitscharactersnowcanwepleaseget onwiththestory?
Reno: Hey, I found the problem with the toaster. I forgot to put bread in it.
Reeve: Gah!
Chapter Thirty Six
Tales of the Lifesteam
Cloud awoke with a groan. His head hurt, and his entire body was filled with a kind of dull pain. A spice-like smell filled his nose, intoxicating, but making him alert right away. The scent of a phoenix down was always abrupt, there for one second, reviving the unconcious person, gone the next with wakefulness.
He attempted to stand up, but found it difficult. The blast from Lucrecia had really hurt. He felt weak, drained. He could barely move at all.
Someone was holding him. He realized that last, almost as if the feeling were so familiar it was only natural. He shifted his eyes upwards and saw Aeris looking down on him, a worried smile on her face. She was cradling his head in her lap, one hand holding him gently, the other stroking the side of his head, rubbing him affectionately.
"Aeris, how are you...? How did you...? Why is Sephiroth...?" He wasn't sure what to ask, or how to phrase it. Everything seemed both completely right and wrong with the world right now. There were too many questions.
"Sshh."
"No, Aeris," he said. "I need to know. What's happening?"
A resigned look came over her face. "Sephiroth didn't want to destroy the world with Meteor. He just wanted to wound the planet. He knew that if he did that, the Lifestream would gather and heal the wound. And if he were in the middle of all that power, then he'd be able to make himself into an unstoppable force. You killed his body at Northern Crater, and you defeated his spirit in your final confrontation with him, but you didn't destroy him. Pieces of Sephiroth made it to the gathering of the Lifestream, and were able to manifest. I was there, too, directing the Lifestream and Holy in its battle against Meteor."
"You were there? How?"
"My spirit, Cloud. Not my body. I was able to stop Meteor, but when I realized what Sephiroth was doing, I tried to stop him, and we became... entwined. I realized what he was, and what he had been. He was still wounded from his battle with you, his spirit wasn't nearly as strong as it had been, so I... removed the bad parts. As much as I could anyway."
Cloud had trouble wrapping his mind around what was being said. Between his own ignorance of what she was talking about the blast Lucrecia had thrown at him, he felt fuddled. Confused. "How did...?"
"It doesn't matter. While I was helping him become what he used to be, someone wounded the planet. In Mideel. Someone forced a piece of the Lifestream out, and artificially altered it, infecting it with Jenova- tainted blood. I think they were trying to resurrect Jenova."
"No," Cloud said. He knew this part. "It was Lucrecia. She was trying to resurrect her son. She was trying to bring back Sephiroth. And there was no point. He was already alive."
"Not entirely," she responded, a patient look in her eyes. The same worried smile was on her face. "We were still just spirits in the Lifestream. All that power we had was being used up cleansing the Jenova from Sephiroth, and bringing back his own personality. But when the planet was wounded, it reacted. It instantly began to use the largest portion of its power to make a new Weapon, and we got pulled in. The two of us literally became the heart of Obsidian Weapon. And then--"
"I know the rest, Aeris. Thank you. I've missed you."
Her smile widened, "I've missed you, too."
"Aeris, I'm... I'm sorry about... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
"Ssh, it's okay. I knew it was going to happen. You were my bodyguard, and you did all you could. There's nothing to apologize for."
"Aeris, there's something I have to tell you. About Zack. And me."
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "I know. Zack told me. It's okay."
"Zack? But Zack's--"
"Yes. He is. I saw him in the Lifestream," her voice was distant, and the whisper echoed in his ear.
"We should help the others," he said.
"You can't. You're too weak. After that hit you took from Jenova, you can't... she'll try to use you as a tool to help her, just like last time. She'll try to control you."
Cloud lifted a hand and gently brushed a lock of her hair away, then push her face back. He slowly sat up, then, gathering his strength, stood. He glanced back and saw that Aeris stood with him.
"It doesn't matter if she'll try to control me. She can't anymore. I'm... strong enough to resist her."
The worried look on Aeris' face disappeared entirely. The smile on her face made his heart jump. He looked away before he became too distracted, looking for his sword. Ultima Weapon was nowhere nearby.
"Have you seen--?"
"Here." Cloud caught the blade by the handle as it hurtled directly at him through the air. He swung Ultima Weapon a time or two, readjusting to the weight. He looked up to the male voice who had spoken, and thrown the weapon.
Rufus nodded at him. "We're not through, Strife. But for now, we have to stop Jenova. After she's dead, we'll talk. But for now, we're allies."
"Allies it is, then. But when this is finished--"
"Good to know we both understand each other. Now let's go to work."
Author's Note:
Alright, there we go. Things are picking up, and we're on our way to the climax. Woo!