Mysterious darkness
Aerith wrapped her arms around Cloud to reassure him, while the rest of Avalanche gathered around Sephiroth and Angel. No wonder they had so much difficulties to activate it, there was too much power in that materia. When the blond had calmed down, they joined them, and Cloud gave a rather hard punch on Cid's shoulder.
- You! Never, /ever/ do this to me again! I had nightmares for weeks after what happened… In fact, /what/ happened?
- It was all my fault, said Vincent, stepping between the two. But I would rather like to tell you all the story in a quieter place.
- And I have some things I would like to speak of, too, added Aerith.
- Then, come all to my dorm. I will finish my classes and join you all afterward. I shouldn't be long.
As they were about to return inside, though, the students began to mumble. Red XIII looked at Aerith, and they all readied their weapons. They were a summon, after all. Only since their materia had broke, they were a free summon. In a powerful wave of war cries, they created an enormous power blast.
- Rain of Hope!
- Starlight Fury!
- Cosmic Flail!
Aerith attack enveloped them all into a light pink shield, replenishing their strength. Yuffie's Conformer slashed forward, sending shurikens at light speed. Red XII energy ring was circling the potential enemies, preventing any escape. Then, Cid and Vincent launched their attack at once.
- /Deathblow!/
The Venus Gospel and Cid charged forward, the pilot leaped and stabbed just before Vincent could fire the final blow, flying over him with his blood red wings. The wind dispersed, leaving all the students agape. Smirking, Cid and Vincent quietly followed the other members of Avalanche inside, under the impressed looks of the SeeD academicians.
********
- Oh, I had difficulties to keep everyone from coming here…, whispered Angel, But I can't stand against Squall and his friends.
- It's alright, Aerith smiled, They are concerned anyway.
- But I want to know first… Vincent, what happened when you…
Vincent shivered. He did not like to think about that night, but he owed an explanation to Cloud.
- All began at the Hunting night… I had to delay it because the moon was hidden, and you already know the Hunt cannot take place if the moon isn't shining. Well, we decided to go the night after. I was too hungry, that's what happened. I distanced myself from Cid and jumped on the first prey that appeared. I did not noticed it was already hunted by a T-Rex. It caught me right after I stole it's prey. When Cid arrived… I just had the time to see him over me, then I was gone.
- True, continued Cid, When I found him, I though he was just hurt, so I moved him to safety and defended myself against that f?&)&ing beast. I had no materia, just my Venus Gospel, I was easily defeated. But I pissed it off, so it left us alone. When I came back to Vincent, though, he was cold. After I parted with him, I walked to you, hell I couldn't think of anything else. But I forgot I was hurt too, and lost too much blood, I guess…
Sephiroth and Angel nodded to Cid. An awkward silence followed. That day had been horrible for Cloud, because when they went to search for Vincent's body, they only had found his golden claw. Anyway, Aerith came up to squeeze Cloud a little; he was livid.
- Come on, it is all over… Don't think of it anymore. Vincent and Cid are back. Calm down a little.
- She's right, dad, added Angel, Stress isn't good for the baby…
- WHAT?!? Yuffie yelled.
Cid and Vincent shook their heads in despair, they were at it again… Aerith seemed the most disturbed by the news, and she decided to report the explanations she had to give until the next morning. Sephiroth agreed, and everyone went to sleep.
*******
Zack was waken up by Adrian. The doctor had a very hard night, he was so tired he hadn't been able to return home yet, so he was resting in his little cubicle at the hospital. The silver haired man slowly opened his blue eyes, reddened by the lack of sleep, to gaze questioningly at his friend.
- My shift is done, Adrian said softly, I'll drive you home, c'mon, let's go.
Zack nodded, standing up. He hadn't slept in 48 hours, so the brunette had to support him all the way to his car, and from the car to his bed.
- I hear that Kline and Miska were going to be there tomorrow, and that two new trainees would be there too, so I wouldn't expect to be called for at least two days. Ansem and Xuang, the best students coming out of the academy. So take it easy, 'k?
Adrian only heard a feeble 'hm-hm'. They were knowing each other since at least 10 years, and so many times Zack had done the same thing for him, driving him home after a tiring shift and making sure he was alright. When Sephiroth and Cloud were at home, he was leaving after a coffee with them, usually. But now, he just made sure his friend was asleep before leaving, locking the door before going home too. Eighteen hours later, the phone finally woke Zack up. A little disoriented, it took him time before finding it and answering. His twin brother was at the end of the line. After a short conversation, he hung up and fell back into his bed, sighing in desperation. A materia with a free summon? A materia… Uncle Cid, Vampy, auntie Yuffie, Red XIII and… Aerith?
- Must have worked too much… I need to sleep, maybe weird things will stop to happen…
*******
Cloud woke up with a start, cold sweat running down his temples. His heart was jumping inside his chest, his breath short and shallow… He suddenly raced for the bathroom, feeling the nausea overcome his body. God he hated this. After ten minutes of retching, all his being was trembling and shaking as he lay on the cold tiled floor, fighting the dizzy spell to get himself back on his feet. He knew he wouldn't be able to return to a peaceful sleep after that nightmare… Sitting on the bed, he reached for Sephiroth's shoulder, but when he saw his face he hesitated. Instead, he grabbed the sheets and pulled them up to cover him a little more then limped out to reach Aerith and Yuffie's dorm.
He was surprised to find them still up, talking with Nanaki. They immediately gathered around him, leading him on a bunk bed. His legs were still shaking. Aerith wrapped a blanket around his shoulders.
- You're shaking all over! What's happening to you?, she asked quietly
- Hormonal wave…
- But it's not only that, added Nanaki, a nightmare, perhaps?
Cloud's head fell forward, and the fire lion came closer to him, pushing him on the bed with his paws. He gave in without protest, because as soon as Aerith had touched him, he had felt her powers at work with him and, slowly, sleep came back to claim him.
The next morning, Sephiroth woke up shivering in his bed. Cloud was probably already up, and knowing that his hormonal waves were going hard on him, he wasn't worried. Well, a little worried. He didn't like to be so far away from home, and guessed it was why Cloud was so stressed. When he noticed that the small dorm was silent though, he was perplex. Could he had gone to the cafeteria? A soft knock at his door partially answered his question.
- Father? Are you awake?
- Yes, I am Angel.
His son entered the room with a tray from the cafeteria he put on the small table. Sephiroth wrapped himself in his robe before joining Angel to eat.
- Oh, by the way, he said, if you're searching for Cloud, he is still sleeping in Tata Yuffie's dorm.
The father raised an eyebrow questioningly.
- Nanaki said he had a nightmare last night, he did not want to wake you up. Aerith seemed worried about him, and about a lot of things.
- Where is she?
- In the training centre.
Both of them finished eating, then Angel excused himself, saying that he should be back after his morning classes with Squall and his friends to hear what the Cetra had to say. After being left alone, Sephiroth dressed up and put on his old-style crossed leather straps over his navy blue shirt and grabbed the Masamune. A little morning exercise couldn't kill him, after all.
********
Nanaki sat down near the toilet, providing support to the shaken up blond clutching the ceramic rim for dear life. Cloud was trembling, victim of hot flushes and his stomach was complaining constantly. Three times already he had tried to eat, to no avail.
- Is it always like this?
The blond slowly lifted his head from where it was resting, then looked at the fire lion.
- Sometimes… Not always that bad… I remember, when I was pregnant of Sky, the morning sickness lasted for six months… *huff… huff* I think, I think I'm okay, now…
One last time, he took a deep breath, flushed the toilet and walked back to the bed. A shiver went up his spine and he hurriedly picked up his discarded shirt. Good. Now he was freezing. But Red was smart, and he already had his robe hanging in his mouth. Cloud took it and hurriedly muffled himself into it.
- Where is Sephy? Shouldn't he be back by now?
And just to prove his point, the door opened on him and Aerith, then Angel, Squall, Yuffie, Seifer, Irvine, Selphie, Zell and Quistis stepped in and settled themselves around the bed. Sephiroth soon noticed his mate was shaking from cold and sat down next to him, adding a blanket around his shoulders before taking him into his arms.
- Great, everyone is here, Aerith said her eyes taking a concerned look, I will explain everything.
********
It all begun at the First Sorceress War. A lot of wounds were created on the Planet, and it only continued with the Second Sorceress War. Even now, as we speak, a mysterious darkness is spreading on the Planet, in the heart of it's inhabitants. It has begun way before your time, and way before the Meteor Crisis. In fact, the darkness comes from the very beginning of Sephiroth's creation; it comes from the Crisis of the Sky, it comes from JENOVA.
Her collision with our Planet created an enormous crater, and her liberation caused the destruction and disease to spread among the first Cetra. Most of the people infected by her venom died, but a few of them survived, ran away and became shadows. The other ones, that were left untouched by the virus, succeeded in locking JENOVA away in a cocoon of Mako, with the help of the Planet. Thus sending the 'shadows' to a temporary rest. Unfortunately she was release by error… Professor Gast, thinking it was an Ancient Cetra, took her out. And her virus woke up to infect a new generation of victims; Professor Hojo, Lucrecia, Vincent, and ultimately, Sephiroth. Darkness devoured Professor Hojo's heart, ate Lucrecia's greed for science and enveloped Sephiroth into a false motherly love to fill the void he felt in his heart. Vincent created his own darkness, believing he was the one responsible of all this, when Cloud almost died and lost his mind trying to fight back the virus in him. Hopefully, the Lifestream cleansed them all of the infection, but even if JENOVA lies in the depths of the Planet, her release awoke the 'shadows'.
Feeling this, the Planet called it's first saviour, gathering them to put them into a free summon materia. But something unexpected happened; Cloud's heart did not stand to the stasis phase. To prevent his spirit from being dissolved in the Lifestream, I was delegated to keep him away from it. The cells he have in him allows him to live as long as they are alive as well. That event prevented us to come sooner. The shadows lurking on the Planet are not now the most dangerous threat. Other Planets had begun to disappear, the darkness will come again from the skies.
End
Author's notes
Oh, Aerith is not finished yet… Does it looks familiar to you? Hehehehe… Can you guess the name of Cloud's baby? Hm? I am pretty sure you can't. Come on, I want to hear your tries!
Sephiroth: *sniff*………
Htress: Hey! Why the long face?
Sephiroth: I'm sad, I miss Cloud. I want him to come back! It's been two weeks now!
Htress: I know, I miss him too… Just be patient, after all, /you/ send him to Junon.
Sephiroth: I didn't have the choice and now I'm lonely!
Htress: But I gave you Mister Bunny! Oh, I see, it's not enough… But I can't do much more than that…
Sephiroth: *looking up with the puppy-eyes trick*
Htress: All right, I'll stay with you tonight. But only tonight, I have to work tomorrow, you know, so don't smother me like the last time.
*sigh* See ya in: Peachy blues