:: VI :: Playing with Fate

Vincent joined them on the floating airship before they set off for Icicle Inn in the extreme north.

"Now we're all together," Tifa said as they all gathered in the operation room at last. Not much was said as there were many sad faces as each assessed the others about them.

"It seems very strange," Red began at last, "to see how different we all look after all this time."

Yes: it was strange to see how different they all were, and not just simply in terms of appearance. Cloud often wondered what all of them would have done and become if they had not all met each other and done what they had for the Planet. He imagined Tifa, still at work in her Seventh Heaven in the Sector Seven slums, probably wondering and hoping for a boy named Cloud to come her way, just to meet him once again. And Barret, still hiding a secret guilt within him, still believing his friend Dyne had died. Aeris - a simple flower girl, who listened to the voices, but did nothing. Red - or Nanaki - still striving to be the adult he'd never become; and Reeve, working for a dying Shinra Government, killing off a dying Planet. Yuffie too...well, Cloud found it hard to believe that Yuffie would ever change. Vincent would probably still be asleep, dreaming and repenting for the sins of others; and Cid, Cloud figured, would probably be in a bar, drowning his sorrows in a bottle of whiskey.

And himself?

Cloud understood that his life would still have been Zack's and that perhaps he might have joined Sephiroth as one of those cloaked clones. But what had stopped him? Why had he not become one of the others? Why had he held on to that last bit of humanity? The answer to that question was far deeper than Cloud himself, and he had long given up hope of ever finding it.

The snowy cliffs of the Northern Continent seemed to spread large and comforting white arms about the village of Icicle Inn. The Lifestream had not diminished itself from that area, and it seemed that the everlasting snow and frost caused by this would never give way.

The Highwind settled down outside the gathering of houses and cluster of winter pines, just in time to be greeted by a flurry of soft snow. Cloud had felt a little peculiar about returning to the hometown of Doctor Gast, for here had happened many inexplicable things. He wondered whether anyone had chanced upon the late scientist's records and discovered the truth about Jenova and the Cetra, but in other ways he hoped they had not, for he liked to think that he was the only one who knew. he found it hard to forget the feeling he had had when he had read the Doctor's journal, inside that strangely quiet house. It was as though, for a moment in time, he had been awakened to the mind of a man who had been trying to tell the truth to someone for all those years. It was the feeling of communing with something Cloud did not understand, something far, far greater than him.

Dressed now in heavy coats of fur and canvas, they ventured into the glistening village, their feet crunching pleasantly into crisp, new ice crystals. The sunlight had begun to shine in full force, dazzling the visitors as it reflected off the snow. Young children in mittens and bobbled hats rushed past them, laughing and throwing snowballs, forever lost in a world where unhappiness would never touch them.

"I wish I had been like that when I was a child," Tifa sighed wistfully.

"Yeah," Cid added with a softer look on his face. "It makes me realise just how lucky my children will be."

They all trooped off into the nearest inn and booked their rooms. Cloud was glad to spend some proper time in the town, for he remembered that the last time he had come, he hadn't been in the best of moods to enjoy the cold, comforting atmosphere, nor the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape. Looking out of the window of the room that he and Tifa shared, he saw how magnificent the white brightness really was. It was here that the Lifestream most concentrated itself and it was here that the world was most beautiful. It would always be the most beautiful place on the Planet, for this land - the long-forgotten Knowlespole - was the land most beloved of the flowing spirit energy.

"It's a lovely, isn't it."

Cloud looked back at Tifa, who had walked up to stand beside him.

"Yes," he nodded in agreement. "The souls of the dead like it here."

Tifa smiled faintly to herself.

"Yes: the souls of the dead and the life of the Planet are forever tied together. Sometimes I wonder if Mount Nibel really was the path for the souls returning to the Lifestream." She moved a hand to the windowpane, leaving a misty imprint etched upon the frosty glass. "I used to have a dream, over and over, where I was standing at the bottom of Mount Nibel at night, and I had the inexplicable feeling that I was alone, all alone. And then, it as though I had become very warm inside, and I could see, over the ridge of the nearest peak, there were walking many, many people and I saw so many of the people that I had once known, my mother and father..." She paused and her eyes filled. "And I knew I was not alone."

No, they were not alone, for the Planet was a part of them and always would be. Wordlessly, Cloud turned and enfolded his arms about the softly weeping Tifa.

The evening had at first been quite warm, for the tawny sun had been determined to exude its last flood of warmth. But as it slowly dipped beneath the tallest peaks of the Gaea Cliffs, the arctic air became more brisk and chilly. Tifa had wandered off somewhere with Yuffie, and Cloud decided that he should go back to the professor's house and remember all that had passed. It had started to snow once again, and the dark of the night had sent the shadows of the haunting Gaea Cliffs clawing out like hungry fingers about the small village.

Doctor Gast's house stood in darkness, and the front door, as usual, was open. Cloud pushed it open slowly and stepped inside, scuffing his boots on the doormat. Flicking on the nearby light-switch, he saw that the place had been neatened up considerably since the last time he had seen it. The videos and booklets were all stacked into a uniformly pile, and the tables had been polished and the windows cleaned. Cloud stood inside and shut the door behind him, glad of the fact that someone still had the presence of mind to keep the house tidy. He stared a moment at the tapes and books, but hadn't the heart to touch them. Somehow, the place felt more lived in and cosy and he liked the atmosphere. There was the faint aroma, too, of orange blossom about the room that reminded Cloud of something and insubstantial, which he nevertheless found quite comforting. The cold of the outside was leaving him and he decided that it would be nice to see the nursery upstairs again.

The creaky stairs groaned under his weight, and then he found himself standing inside the spacious little room. Not much had changed here, though the room somehow looked much different without the sunlight flooding in through the large glittering windows. The curtains had not been drawn, and on the other side of the glass a creamy-coloured crescent moon rested, president over a perfectly black sky. Cloud sighed. He wondered whether anyone had found Gast's diary, whether anyone had bothered to read it. He had just decided that he would go and see whether it was still there, when a female voice suddenly spoke behind him.

"Hello? Can I help you?"

Cloud whirled round, surprised at the unexpected presence of another person in the house. He was just about to explain himself when he stopped abruptly, unable to speak.

"A...Aeris!" he finally managed to exclaim, his voice weak. The woman stared back at him, her eyes wide.

"Cloud..."

He floundered, incapable of finding any words to say. He was shocked and somehow disappointed to see her again, for she had changed considerably form the girl he had first met. It was not so much her physical appearance that had changed; rather, there were very subtle differences that Cloud found hard to place immediately. She was still extraordinarily beautiful, but once again he realised that her eyes no longer held their sparkle, were no longer the luminant green that had so resembled the brilliant light of the Lifestream.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her breathlessly after an awkward silence.

She stared up at him, her dark, dark eyes softly assessing. Then she slowly moved away from the doorway, removed her snow-sprinkled coat and laid it carefully on to the nearby bed.

"Living here," she replied in simple tones as she finally turned to face him once again "What are you doing here?"

"I..." he found it hard to continue. He got the impression that their conversation was nothing more than a show of over-exaggerated casualness, and he didn't like it. A part of him was shocked, even dazed, and another part was working fast, almost rabidly so. "I wanted to remember how it used to be, Aeris," he finished after a pause.

There was a wry smile on her face.

"Why, aren't you content with this 'beautiful future' then, Cloud?"

She must have noted the plaintive look on his face for her features softened and she smiled up at him sadly.

"Perhaps you'd like to talk, Cloud?"

She led him downstairs into the living room, stoked up a fire and produced two cups of steaming tea for them to drink. Cloud was glad for the warmth, for he had suddenly begun to feel very cold inside. They sat next to each other on the hard settee, but not quite so close as to touch each other.

"Why are you so sad to meet me, Cloud?" she asked him almost curiously when they had finished sipping from their hot tea. He stared at her, still amazed at how much she seemed to know him.

"I'm not sad," he answered carefully, not looking at her, "just disappointed in a way."

"Disappointed." There was a certain testiness to her voice.

"Yes," he replied honestly. "I guess I just wanted to remember you the way you used to be. You're so different now."

"People change," she told him airily. "I thought you would have learnt that by now."

"Well...I have," he returned decidedly, then he changed the subject. "So why are you here? I never expected us to meet in this place."

"Oh." She gazed about her dreamily. "I just suddenly had the urge to come back home. It was a place I'd almost forgotten, but I began to remember as soon as I entered this room. Smells and touches and faces...from so long ago...I began to remember..."

She passed a long sigh and shook her head, as though to clear the strange thoughts away. Cloud looked at her profile for a moment, then turned away again. He knew what it was like to remember. He felt sorry for her.

"Yes, it's hard, but it helps us to understand ourselves in the end. At least, it did for me."

"I understand," she continued slowly, "that this human life my parents gave me made me what I am. For I am neither Cetra, nor human, nor monster. I am a part of each, the daughter of my father, the descendent of my ancestors, the host of Sephiroth. I am Aeris."

She shook her head and there were tears in her eyes, but still, she did not spill them.

"But Aeris, there is still a part of you that was the old Aeris."

"Yes," she answered thoughtfully, "that's true." She raised her face and turned to look at him. "I want to hear about you now. Has life been treating you well since last we met?"

"I think so," Cloud returned, swirling around the contents of his cup in reflection. "But come to think of it, I don't really believe I've done that much at all. It's taken a long time for me to come to terms with many things."

She nodded to show she understood, and when next she spoke her voice was wary.

"And you and Tifa...you are happy?"

Cloud no longer felt inhibited by the old pains that had worried him.

"Yes, we're happy. In fact, in many ways we're suited to each other."

There was the faintest tinge of regret on her face and in her voice.

"Oh." She drank a little from her cup, then laid it down on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm so glad you're happy Cloud. No, really I am. I've often wished I could see you and the others again, just to see how they were getting on."

"Well, why don't you come and travel with us then?" Cloud suggested, feeling a bit peculiar about the offer even as he said it. He had no idea as to what effect her appearance might have on the others, particularly Tifa. Aeris looked at him, surprised.

"What?! Are all the others here too?!"

"Yes." Cloud nodded. "We all decided to go out into the world and see how things were getting on in the Planet. Then we were going to all meet up in the City of the Ancients. If we had you there, it would make everything complete."

"No, it wouldn't." There was fear in her eyes. "I'm meant to be dead...Cloud, I couldn't meet them again."

"But you met me again," he persisted earnestly.

"But that was different."

"Why?"

She stared at him for a moment.

"Because...Cloud..."

She did not finish, and, again feeling strange about the whole thing, he took her hand.

"Aeris, there is someone who wants to see you very much. She thinks you are dead. Elmyra, Aeris."

"Mother?!" Aeris's eyes were timorous as she stared into his. She shook her head almost wildly at him. "I can't see her again Cloud, I can't!"

"But Aeris, you could go and live with her again, be mother and daughter again. You could live your life as you used to."

She looked as though she would refuse again, when, quite suddenly, the wild look in her face calmed. There was something tempting in the chance of being able to lead a 'normal' life again, Cloud knew that; but there was something more than just that temptation. He saw it in the abrupt placidness in her face. There was a call, a call from some fantastically powerful higher being, one that only she could hear. He was reminded of the strange dream he had had after she had died, of holding her hand on that hilltop, of crossing that unseen barrier that had drawn her away. The memory jarred his thoughts, and he dropped her hand, fearful that the dream may yet become a reality. For, he thought, there was some unknown God who knew their thoughts and actions, and who, strangely enough, spoke to the young girl who now sat beside him.

"Yes," she said slowly, and her face was reflective. "You're right, Cloud. I could go home, and be with my mother again."

"Will you come then?" he asked hopefully, and the words had spilled out just a little too fast.

She did not look at him.

"Yes, Cloud. I think I will."

The others had seated themselves in the bar when Cloud and his new companion entered. It was nearing midnight, and the atmosphere was one of cheerful tiredness. Substantial though this feeling was, Cloud's heart felt cold and surreal. Time, and all its wicked trappings, was closing into this one, unfathomable moment.

"There's someone who wants to see you all," he told them, and the girl stepped forwards.

For all the secret premonitions Cloud had had of this event, he did not expect it to be like this. The faces of the others, shocked, silent, stationary. Even Vincent's features were the picture of utter astonishment. Time had stood still.

On the verge of endless eternity they stood, until Tifa finally stumbled forwards and enfolded the other in trembling arms.

"Aeris..." she wept, and the world began to function again.

But Aeris, still, remained motionless.

Aeris had packed what little belongings she had when Cloud awoke the next morning. Not many had slept that night, for there had been plenty of tears shed and many words spoken. However Aeris, as far as Cloud could tell, had not slept a wink that night at all.

"Are we leaving Icicle Inn today?" she asked him, her voice and face full of bright vigour. Cloud was still bleary with sleep, and felt confused at her show of eagerness.

"If you want," he replied, yawning heavily.

Aeris, however, had left to transport her luggage into the waiting Highwind.

Next: Aeris' return sparks contention between Cloud and Tifa…