Author's Note:
1. As always, flashback's refer to Noacat's Tranquillity. (READ IT!) in this case, however, the short flashback of Aerith and Sephiroth is quoted from it. What can I say? She wrote it better than I could.
Chapter 7: Revelations.
Aerith sat on her bed. Her room on this ship was by no means large, and her day had not, by any means, been easy. Being raised in the slums, however, Aerith knew that her circumstances were not bad at all, not opulent, of course, but comfortable. So she sat on her bed and recounted the day's events…
She had arrived on the ship three days ago, and was already well acquainted with how everything ran. Captain Al hadn't asked much of her, but she was determined to do her part, she was up promptly at sunrise, and helping the kitchen crew cook breakfast, followed, of course, by helping them clean up. After that was done, she took a moment to eat her own breakfast, washing up after herself, of course.
Generally, at this point in the day, she would help with general maintenance, keeping the rooms clean, washing sheets and such. Today had been different though; some poor fool had cracked his head open diving in the on board pool, and had been sent to the infirmary. So Aerith had gone to the infirmary, using her less ordinary talents to heal the boy, before going about her day's business. The rest of the day was more of the same, culminating in helping to prepare and serve dinner, then eating her own.
All in all, she could say she had done a good day's work, even if it hadn't been particularly exciting, and she was more than ready for a good night's sleep. As always, her thoughts turned to her new life, and she pondered why she was here. This time, however, a voice answered, a familiar, comforting humming, giving only the suggestions of concepts, rather than concrete answers. The Planet's voice.
A second chance, child…
A chance for what?
Success.
In what?!
Jenova. Sephiroth.
As always, she felt herself growing frustrated at her inability to fully comprehend what was being said. It had been so much easier before, when she knew she would be rewarded with the Promised Land, knew the Planet would take care of her. And, of course, with her frustration, it was even harder to comprehend the thoughts. Yet one memory slid through her, like cold, hard steel through warm, soft flesh.
Sephiroth…No! Not again!
She was so afraid, it had hurt, so much, to die before, why would she be brought back, just to die again?
Not again. Never.
Then what?
You will see. You will be protected. Fear not.
And then silence… those last thoughts had been so comforting before – it was so hard to find comfort in them now. She lay back in her bed, drawing the covers over her, and let herself drift away into slumber. She slept, and her dreams were interspersed with unnaturally lucid thoughts, both thoughts and dreams of one person.
Sephiroth…
Both memories and speculation flowed through her mind. She remembered, before she had met Cloud and the others, that she had tried to save him from Jenova. Remembered that she had failed, the look he had given her, his need for her help outweighing his famous pride. And she remembered exactly how he had looked before Jenova had made her final victory. She blushed at the admission that, before the malice Jenova had brought to his eyes, Sephiroth had been quite beautiful.
Aerith realised that in the short time she had known Sephiroth, she had known him better than anyone else. She was the only one that had viewed him as anything than an extension of his titles and his fame. On the surface, he had been broken, yet a little underneath the surface, it was easy to see his beauty. Of course, there was far more to him than that. Dig a little deeper, and one could see the malice that had been festering, waiting to be set free, even the humans had seen that… a little deeper though, and there was a strong, pure soul, struggling to maintain it's humanity. Very few had seen that, and Jenova had dealt with it as quickly as She could.
She realised, that if Sephiroth had been stronger, able to maintain his humanity, had she seen him as more than just a patient, she would have been attracted to him. No, that was a lie, told to protect herself from dozens of painful memories. She had been attracted to him, every girl in Midgar had been. If things had been different, maybe that could have meant something. She had one memory, among all the others, to attest to that…
Aerith bit her lip, looking up at Sephiroth uncertainly. He smiled boyishly, stroking her hair, wordlessly telling her it was alright to give into the moment. Their eyes meet, and they both moved in closer. His lips gently touching hers in a soft farewell kiss.
Pulling away, he whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry."
A simple apology for the terrible choice she had to make and what hell he'd put her through to get there. Aerith stared at him in astonishment and was unable to move from sheer shock. It was her first kiss. He smiled and stood up, exiting the church without so much as a look back. His darkened form fading into shattered moonlight.
Oh yes, before he had lost himself to Jenova, he had been quite caring, though in what time she had known him, he had been preoccupied fighting the losing battle with Jenova, and when it mattered most, she had feared him.
Then it dawned on her. A second chance. Sephiroth. A second chance to save him, though that would mean he must be alive again, she was hardly the person to call that far-fetched, all facts considered. Yet in that case… Jenova must have survived. Well, it only made sense – all her people combined had only managed to bury her in the Planet, never destroy her. And that was the problem… she could, would, save Sephiroth from falling again – he would be stronger now, and she, herself was wiser, but how could they be rid of Jenova, the curse that had plagued this Planet for two entire millennia?
One thing at a time, she thought, the planet will guide me, and I will not fail.
In Midgar, a flash of black and white sped between two roofs, trailing white hair and black feathers. As it came to a halt it could be seen to be Sephiroth, already unsheathing Masamune, slashing fiercely at the space in front of him, glowing green eyes filled with focus. Onlookers experienced in the martial arts would assume, correctly, that he was performing a kata – a form of training that essentially involved battling imaginary opponents in order to ingrain certain manoeuvres into the warrior's mindset, developing them as instinct.
Two quick, short parries, followed by a feinted slash, and suddenly he was gone, appearing two yards in front of where he had been, facing his former location, leaving nothing where he had been before, save for three black feathers, floating to the ground. His blade shot forward, and then he was motionless, his kata over.
Covered in a light sheen of sweat, shoulders and chest heaving lightly from his earlier exertion, Sephiroth sheathed his sword, wrapped his wing around his torso. Taking a moment to regain his breath, Sephiroth sat down and let himself sink into his thoughts…
It had turned out that his wing was more useful than he had expected; there was definitely a magical aspect to it, in that, while he couldn't fly, he could glide, and not do so in circles. That wasn't all though, he had changed a lot since his resurrection. At first he had been worried, after all, who was he, if not himself? But he had quickly come to realise that he was, indeed, still himself, the differences in him all superficial, not affecting who he was…
Jenova's voice was weakening, often replaced with a gentle humming that never brought words, rather than the suggestions of ideas and concepts spoken into his mind. He had a wing, and he could glide, as well as, strangely, translocate himself at will. Though he had learned with the latter that he could only do so to places he knew or were within view, or to objects he was acquainted with. He was stronger than he had been, and with this came the logical conclusion that he had not been brought back here as punishment.
The last kata had been executed perfectly, as had the four or five before that, he thought to himself, without pride or ego, a simple statement. He had stayed here because he needed to know what he was capable of before he set out, and now he knew, so it was time to leave. It was never a good idea to set out on a journey unrested, though, so he would leave in the morning.
Sephiroth lay down, there on the stone roof of one of hundreds of ruined buildings, and thought, letting his inner thoughts develop into a dialogue with this new 'voice' that had intruded on his mind.
I wonder why I'm here?
A second chance.
For what?
Aerith. Jenova.
Ah… Why?
Necessary.
Yes, but why?
The reply was a mixture of ideas and feelings he couldn't quite interpret, and yet he didn't mind, for he was making progress. He was stronger, in charge of himself, he had a purpose. He was tired though, and within moments, he was sleeping.
It didn't occur to him, until he awoke the next day, that, from what the voice had said, Aerith must be alive.
The next morning, a ship had arrived in Junon Harbour. Aerith stood at the dock, conversing with the captain.
"Thank you so much, Al, I hope I wasn't too much trouble. I guess I'll be going now… I hope I'll see you again, soon… goodbye."
"Yer more'n welcome, Aerith, ye weren't any trouble at all, in fact, ye were so much help, I'd be robbing ye not to give ye the same pay the rest of the crew got," he fished out a small purse from a pocket and pressed it into Aerith's hands, "Here ye are, 1'200 Gil, take it, ye earned it. Now, yer probably in a hurry to be wherever yer going, so get on yer way, and take care, see ya around."
"Oh, my… thank you, Al, for everything, bye bye."
Aerith sighed as she left the dock for the elevator down to town's ground level, Al had been such a nice man, and she didn't much like goodbyes, but she had to be going. Shifting her thoughts to the matters at hand, Aerith turned her attention to the Planet's voice. It was guiding her toward the East, still, so she followed it, toward the Chocobo Ranch.
-End Chapter 7-
1. You may have noticed Sephy's picked up some extra little abilities, they're taken from Kingdom Hearts, which you should play, if you haven't, simply because Sephiroth is in it, briefly =D. (But don't go near him, unless you're at level 100. If you're at level 50, he can pretty much KO you in two blows o.O)
