Sitting down beside Aeris in the dark hallway, Sephiroth peered curiously at the creature she held in her lap. It took him a moment to recognize it as one of the bats that had taken up residence in the basement's ceiling and frightened those unused to such dark atmospheres. This bat, however, seemed quite lifeless where it lay limply across Aeris's small lap.
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.
She looked up at him, and again he noted the bright green of her eyes."It's hurt," she told him, her voice full of concern. "I found it on the floor. It tried ta move, but it just sorta..." She trailed off, not knowing the word.
"Collapsed?" Sephiroth offered. She nodded. "Are you sure it's not dead?" he went on, eyeing the languid form dubiously.
"It's not," Aeris stated quite firmly. "Its soul hasn't returned to the Planet yet."
He blinked. "How can you tell?" he wondered, though in truth he wasn't certain what she meant.
"Mommy taught me how," she replied, as though she couldn't understand why he was asking. She turned to him in confusion. "Your mommy didn't show you?"
He looked away. "No. She... wouldn't have known how."
Her green eyes remained on him for a moment before Aeris turned back to the bat. "'m sorry," she mumbled. "Shouldn't've asked 'bout your mommy..."
"...how did you know she was dead?" he wondered, studying this enigma of a girl.
"Your eyes," she answered softly. When he made no reply, she closed her eyes and laid her hands on the creature in her lap, concentrating. At length she opened her eyes and shook her head in frustration. "Can't do it."
"You're trying to heal it?"
"Yeah." She lifted it carefully and held it out to him. "You're older; can you show me how?"
Sephiroth shifted uncertainly. He had only ever used healing magic on himself, sometimes as a demonstration to Hojo, sometimes after a particularly harsh experiment. But, he could not tell her that that was why he hesitated now. "I doubt I'd be much of a teacher," he said finally.
Aeris frowned as though she hadn't understood, and he was just about to explain himself when she spoke again. "Just show me. You dun have to say 'nything."
"All right." He accepted the creature gingerly and studied it for a moment, wondering how to go about this. "It's different from healing yourself," he muttered.
The girl's eyes widened in concern. "The Professor hurts you?"
He shook his head quickly, not realizing he had said that aloud. "No, no, he... You don't have to worry about it." He cast her a sidelong glance. "How do you know these things without me telling you? You're too young to..."
"Your eyes," she repeated. "They..." She trailed off, not knowing the words to explain. "Mommy doesn't know neither."
"...either," Sephiroth corrected softly, staring. An empath...
"Either," Aeris echoed. There was a pause. "The bat," she prompted.
With a start, he turned back to it, closing his eyes and focusing. He probed the tiny creature's wounds with his mind, sent the required energy flowing from his fingertips to where it was needed, and shaped that energy into the magic to heal the fractures.
The bat began to stir under his fingers, and he gave it an encouraging lift, watching as it flew off into the darkness with a frantic beating of wings.
"That was neat," Aeris murmured, staring after it.
He shrugged dismissively. "If you don't mind my asking, why do you care about an injured bat?"
"A what?"
"Injured. Hurt," he clarified. How had he forgotten he was speaking to a four-year-old?
"...it was hurt," she said confusedly, as though this was the only reason she needed.
"But it's just a bat," Sephiroth stated.
"So? It was alive."
He studied her for a moment--the strength in her bright green eyes, the curious tilt of her head, and the smile ready on her lips. "I hope you never lose your innocence," he told her finally.
"What's that?" she wondered.
Sephiroth opened his mouth to answer, but the laboratory door opened, and a woman stumbled out, glancing behind her with a mixture of fear and outrage. The Professor was behind her, and he stepped out after her, turning his frown upon the two children. Aeris pressed herself against Sephiroth fearfully.
He looked down at her thoughtfully. "Ask your mother," he whispered to her. Aloud, he said, "Come on, Aeris, it's time for you to go back with your mother."
He stood, gently tugging the girl to her feet.
For the woman was undoubtedly Aeris's mother. They shared the same fair complexion, wavy brown hair, and deep green eyes. The gaze with which the woman fixed him, however, lacked the same quality her daughter's held. Rather than seeing into him, she looked upon him with growing fear.
She hurried past him, taking Aeris's hand and pulling her along behind her. "Crisis from the sky," he heard her murmur to the child, risking a glance at him.
Aeris paid her mother's words no mind and turned to wave at him with her free hand. "Bye, Seph!" she called.
Sephiroth smiled slightly in response, but he stared after the pair in confusion. Crisis from the sky? he wondered. Shrugging uneasily, he turned to meet the Professor's dark eyes, quickly dropping his gaze on seeing the anger there.
"What were you doing down here with the girl?" came the sharp demand.
Sephiroth did not lift his head. "Talking to her," he answered. "She's obviously lonely."
"Leave off that nonsense. I don't want you putting ideas into her head."
"Ideas...?"
"You know what I'm talking about," the Professor stated.
The boy blinked slowly and looked up with a frown. "But, she's only a child. She needs friendship."
"Friendship?" Hojo scoffed. "And I suppose you'd be the one to give that to her? Those of her race do not take kindly to specimens like you."
He looked down, recalling how Aeris's mother had looked at him. He shook his head. "I was not thinking of myself. Surely some of the village children are her age."
"What? You want her to mingle with them?"
Sephiroth started and took an involuntary step back.
"They're mere humans. I can't have her believing she is normal."
"...then you want her to be like me?"
"Hmph. No; she is different from you. Stay away from her."
He frowned thoughtfully, trying to think of some way to obtain permission. Not that he needed it, but if Hojo caught them again, he might punish Aeris. "How much can her mother really teach her?" he asked. "She's gone this long without learning any spells. I could teach her; she has the potential."
"Do you really think she could learn anything from you? You two are complete opposites."
"No, we're not!" Sephiroth protested, not wanting to believe it. Hojo glowered at him, and he saw that his outburst had cost him. "We're the same," he muttered, his voice lacking conviction.
"That illusion won't last long, boy," the Professor told him. "Stay away from her."
"You can't shield her forever," the boy continued, a spark of anger driving him to say more despite his fear of punishment. "She could turn out to be as strong as me someday, and then you'd have a real problem on your hands."
"Thank you for the warning," Hojo replied, a grin twisting his features.
Sephiroth shuddered in spite of himself.
"Now come on. It's time."
Katrina hardly gave any thought to the matter when a drop of water landed on her nose. She just lifted her hand and brushed it away, and its appearance never entered her thoughts. She sat up near the observatory with Miera, looking down on the canyon. It was a gorgeous sight from all the way up here, especially at sunset, when the sun's rays set the whole western face of the canyon on fire, in start contrast with the shadows on the eastern face.
But, she thought with a frown, the sun seemed to be setting too fast, the darkness of night creeping in with a speed that it wasn't supposed to have.
Maybe it was just her imagination, she thought with a glance at Miera, who did not seem to notice anything amiss. Her thoughts drifted from the canyon, and she wondered how Aeris's friends were doing. Had they reached Midgar yet? Had they found Sephiroth already? Were they on their way to confront Hojo this very instant? She hoped so.
Another drop, this time on her hand. She ignored it. She wondered if Sephiroth was okay. No matter what the stories said about him, she considered him a friend. Sure, a lot of the time he was cold and calculating, but that wasn't all there was to him. Drop. He really seemed to regret what he had done, even though he couldn't remember it, and sometimes his awkward mannerisms made him seem almost... innocent. She hoped he was all right. That Hojo guy sounded like a real bastard.
She finally became aware that the sun had vanished completely and the sky was blacker than it should have been. A drop of water landed on her cheek, and then another on her forearm, and she looked up at the sky in confusion. It hung dark and heavy above her, and more drops fell around her, faster and faster.
A little girl with twin braids ran up to them, tugging anxiously on Miera's mane. "It's raining," she said urgently. "Elder Margo said it's gonna be a downpour afore long. What're we gonna do 'bout the Candle?"
"I thought I smelled rain," Miera said absently, getting to her feet, "but I didn't believe my own nose. Her flame-tipped tail swished back and forth as she looked up at the sky. "Kari, go ask Elder Bugah about a tarp to cover it with."
"Isn't the fire too big for that?" Katrina asked as Kari scampered off.
The golden-furred feline only shook her head grimly. "It won't be by the time we're ready to protect it." With that, she bounded off down the steps, leaving Katrina sitting by herself in the rain that was getting heavier by the moment.
Pushing her damp hair out of her face, she got to her feet, hurrying back to the inn to get out of the rain. She opened the door to her room without knocking and stood uncertainly in the doorway. Aeris sat beside the sleeping Lucrecia, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed in concentration. Katrina faltered, not knowing whether she would be interrupting something by speaking. She closed the door quietly and fidgeted there, on the verge of speaking when the Cetra opened her eyes and looked at her.
"You look like you took a bath with all your clothes on," she remarked in confusion. "But that can't be it. What's wrong?"
"It's raining," she said simply.
"...raining?" Aeris wondered, looking past Katrina as though she could see outside. "That heavily?"
The girl nodded.
The Cetra bolted to her feet as a thought occurred to her. "What are they doing about the Candle? If it goes out, then..."
"They're trying to get a tarp to shield it from the rain," Katrina told her, fumbling over the words. Aeris's genuine concern surprised her. "Don't tell me you believe in that superstition about it."
"I do. If it goes out, something bad will happen. And with Cloud out looking for Sephiroth..." She trailed off and pushed past Katrina, opening the door and dashing off down the hallway.
Katrina stared after her in astonishment. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to help!" Aeris called over her shoulder, running out into the rain.
The girl lingered in the doorway, debating whether or not to follow. She glanced back at Lucrecia's sleeping form. Well, she considered, she's not a child; if she wakes up while we're gone, she'll be fine. And as far as the rain's concerned, I'm already soaked.
She shut the door and dashed down the hall after Aeris, plowing on into what was now a heavy downpour with only the slightest of hesitations. In the Planet's name, what god had decided to dump all this rain in Cosmo Canyon, of all places?
She found Aeris standing perfectly still before the sputtering bonfire, her hands stretched out towards it and her eyes closed. Her matted hair hid much of her face, and Katrina had trouble seeing through the rain, but she could still make out that same look of concentration.
"What are you doing?" Katrina asked, loudly so as to be heard over the roaring whisper of the rain.
The Cetra did not answer; perhaps she hadn't heard. After several moments of standing thus motionless, she opened her eyes and smiled.
For a second, Katrina could only stand stunned at Aeris's eyes, which literally glowed that deep green, like the mist that surrounded a mage casting a powerful spell. Then, with a start, she followed the Cetra's gaze to the bonfire. At first she noticed nothing out of the ordinary, but then she saw that the rain was bouncing off some sort of barrier about a foot above the dying flame.
"What the...?" This was not magic from materia. Was it, then, the power of the Ancients?
Aeris raised her voice to let the nearby villagers hear her. "Someone has to get some dry wood for that fire, or it'll go out for certain."
The villagers scurried to comply, and Katrina, despite feeling largely disoriented, ran to help them.
Reno was glad, almost relieved, to join up with the others. He'd grown tired of the looks Cloud kept giving him, especially when he caught the redhead eyeing Tifa. But, honestly, what else was he supposed to look at? Midgar was ugly as shit. Uglier, actually. They were drawing close to the reactor, which, though a poor excuse for a building, seemed strong and almost beautiful compared to the debris surrounding it. That was saying a lot.
Cloud hesitated near the entrance, but Reno waltzed right on past him and took a few steps inside. Only a few, though, because as he soon saw, there wasn't much farther to go. He realized from the light in the reactor that they weren't alone, and he soon located the source of the glow as some sort of orb suspended in the air across the abyss. It had to be magic, he decided, though he hadn't seen anything like it before.
The others crowded behind him onto what remained of the platform, and they all stared at the pair approaching them across the air where the bridge should have been. The tall, slender girl with silver hair and eyes like Sephiroth must have been Minerva, he decided. The other was Yuffie, who had a handful of the girl's shirt and was staring down at her feet with something between wonder and fear.
Reno's appraising gaze soon returned to Minerva, though it was not to wonder why she appeared to be helping them. She was taller than him, he realized, and what little bulk she had was all tight muscle. She was dressed simply, with a loose-fitting blue shirt probably meant for a man, a pair of black shorts that hugged her legs, and heavy brown sneakers that swallowed her narrow ankles. Her body wasn't nearly as shapely as he liked them, but her face more than made up for it. Her fine silver hair swept across one side of her forehead and hung just past her shoulders. The pale skin beneath it was flawless, and those blue-green eyes were captivating. He knew that if she would just smile, she'd be gorgeous.
"Hi, Cloud," Yuffie said as she reached the platform where they stood and let go of the girl's shirt. "This is Minerva. We, uh... met her in the room past the first security door. She's gonna show us the way to where Hojo is."
Cloud eyed Minerva suspiciously; he was never one to believe in people without question, which could sometimes be a pain in the ass. "Why should we trust her?"
It was the silver-haired girl who answered, and Reno decided that she had a pretty voice, though at the moment it sounded strained. "I will be the first to admit that it is a risk," she said. "I cannot guarantee anything, but I will do my best to resist the control that Hojo has on me. I do not wish to fight you."
"How do I know you won't just lead us into a trap?"
"Believe me, if I wished to crush you, I would do so now."
Cloud studied her with a frown and nodded grudgingly. "All right. But the second you make a wrong move..."
"You shall try to kill me," she acknowledged simply. "I know."
"So, what's the deal with the walking-on-air bit?" Reno asked amicably.
Minerva's eyes slid to him, her gaze almost predatory in its intensity. "And you are...?"
"Reno," he answered with a wink.
Her eyes clouded with confusion for an instant, but she only frowned and turned to the abyss. "It is a spell," she explained. "I can lead you across a few at a time. You will have to keep close to me."
"Sure thing," Reno said with a grin, earning him sharp looks from Yuffie and Reeve, who stood nearby. He let Cloud and Tifa go across with Yuffie first, waiting for her to take the rest of them. He stood just behind her, one hand on her shoulder, as she led him across. She felt tense beneath his hand, and when they reached the other side, he looked at her face in better light and saw the pained expression she wore.
"You okay?" he wondered.
"Fine," she deadpanned.
Moving to the front of the group, she laid a hand against the left wall, and it disappeared, revealing a narrow passageway, wide enough only for them to walk single file. She led them inside, and now Reno hung back so that when the wall reappeared, he could test it with his own hands. The metal felt quite solid beneath his fingers.
Minerva lit the narrow tunnel with the same sort of orb as before and led them down the winding passageway, which had so many forks in it that even Reno eventually lost track of all the turns. He wondered how she remembered, and in the same instant he thanked whatever gods there were that he wasn't claustrophobic.
At length they emerged into a room that seemed huge after the maze of tunnels. In a house, it would have made a large hall, but for a reactor it was small. (Not that he was even sure they were still in the reactor.) At the room's far end stood a metal door with a number pad to one side of it, but Minerva made no move towards it. She stood leaning against the near wall, one hand to her head as if she had a severe migraine.
Reno stepped towards her cautiously. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I... I don't know," she managed, voice tight. "I am not supposed to be here, and he knows it. He knows something is wrong."
"Hojo?"
Minerva had no chance to answer; in an instant she had slid to the floor and lay curled on her side, clutching her head.
Reno immediately crouched down beside her, alarmed at her loss of control. She had to be strong, and if this kind of pain was beyond her... "Oi, Minerva," he called, reaching to touch her but hesitating when he recalled how tense she'd been.
She gave him no answer and curled up tighter, her hands moving to wrap protectively around her.
"Hey," he said gently, now laying his hand on her shoulder.
All he saw was a flash of movement too fast for his startled eyes to track, but instinct told him to jump backwards. He hadn't been quick enough, and he felt the streak of pain in his arm like an aftershock. He leapt to his feet, putting a few more paces between them, and glanced at the wound. The cut wasn't serious, but some blood was already making a track down his arm.
Minerva was on her feet, knife in hand. Where she'd pulled it from, he didn't know, but she probably had more of them. "I am sorry," she said, though her voice was about as apologetic as steel, "but I cannot fight it any longer."
Without waiting for a response, she sprinted forward, towards Reno. He darted out of the way, pulling out his nightstick and turning up the voltage.
Vincent fired several quick shots at the girl, but she dodged the first few and flung the others back with a burst of magic. This thwarted, she launched herself at Yuffie, now the closest to her, but the ninja vaulted over Minerva's shoulders, landed behind her, and swung her shuriken. The bladed weapon missed by a hair and flew back into Yuffie's gloved hands.
As Minerva turned for her next target, Reno let loose a bolt of energy from his nightstick, trying to catch her unawares, but with a sweep of her hand she sent it flying back towards him. He dropped flat with a curse, and it flashed over his head, dispelling against the nearest wall.
Cid cast a powerful fire spell as Reno was climbing to his feet, half-grinning, half-grimacing. He'd been starting to like Minerva, too, and this fighting when she wanted to be on their side was just ridiculous.
She stepped from the flames of Cid's spell unscathed.
"Just like Sephiroth," Cloud muttered under his breath before rushing forward, swinging the Ultima Weapon upwards and managing to cut a gash in her back. A blast of power sent him flying backwards as she whirled, but she did not seem to notice Elena and Rude running up behind her. Since bullets were useless, they'd opted against them. Elena caught hold of the girl's arm to hold her still, and Rude landed a sound punch to her head and a glancing blow to her jaw before she twisted free and buried a knife in his shoulder.
Elena flung an ice spell in Minerva's face and pulled Rude out of the way, back against the wall. The two of them crouched down on the floor, Elena working hurriedly to remove the knife and heal the wound.
Yuffie and Tifa started forward at the same time to attack, but just as they reached their target, a shock of some unnamed magic slammed everyone back into the walls. Reno grunted, fell to land on his ass, and sat there struggling to breathe properly.
The first to recover, Vincent leapt forward at a speed rivaling Minerva's and raked his claw across her face, her chest, her shoulder. Reeve took the opportunity to fire off a round of shots; most of them missed, but one burrowed into her calf. She did not fall, barely even faltered. Blood trickled down her face and neck and arm, but she did not seem to notice it.
In one fluid motion, she pulled Vincent towards her and pulled another knife from nowhere to trust it into his left arm, where skin met metal. Instead of trying to break free, Vincent flung himself sideways against her with enough force to knock her to the ground, crushing her beneath him.
Minerva shoved him off forcefully, a powerful bolt spell soon following the motion of her arms. The spell hit Vincent in full force and knocked him back against the wall, where he slumped to the floor, crackling with energy.
By this time everyone had recovered, and while several of the others distracted Minerva with spells, Reno cast his own variation of a barrier around her, using his nightstick to modify it. Intending to break it through sheer strength, she slammed a fist against it, but found that doing so only sent her back against the opposite wall of the barrier, which caught her and drained energy from her.
This small victory was short-lived, however, for the girl let loose a maelstrom of raw power that shattered his barrier and slammed everyone against the wall for a second time. Few of them could manage to bite back cries of pain, and Reno was not one of them. He hit the floor hard and for a second could only lay there twitching as the energy raced through his veins, bringing pain wherever it went.
As no one recovered quickly, Minerva chose her next target at leisure. She strode firmly to Cid, though Reno wondered if maybe she just couldn't run anymore, with that bullet in her leg. Cid, seeing her approach, swung his spear to attack her, but he was in no condition to attack, and she only leapt out of the way and landed him a harsh kick with her good leg as she came down. His head snapped to the side, and a hand on the floor just barely kept him from keeling over. He spat a curse at Minerva as she drew yet another blade and slashed at him.
A well-placed punch from Tifa sent her skidding backwards before she could pierce the pilot's skin. Minerva flung the knife at this new adversary, but Tifa rolled to one side as the blade flew past her, striking the wall beyond and clattering to the floor. Tifa came out of the roll and leapt to her feet at the same time Minerva did. She cast a powerful wind spell at the girl, sending her flying back to the center of the room.
"Ultima!" Cloud shouted, and those who had picked themselves up and begun to advance on Minerva halted and immediately pressed themselves back against the wall. A brilliant green explosion enveloped the silver-haired girl, and for an instant Reno thought it was too much. He felt the edges of the spell like invisible blades pushing into his skin, and he shut his eyes.
When he opened them, he found Tifa pummelling a Minerva who had not yet recovered enough from the spell to fight back. As he watched, a sharp kick sent her slamming into the floor, but before Tifa could land another blow, Minerva cast a fire spell that consumed the both of them. When the smoke cleared, Minerva was climbing to her feet, breathing hard, while Tifa lay crumpled on the floor.
Reno glanced at Elena and Rude, flung to separate parts of the room, and nodded to them. The three charged forward, Rude wrestling the knife from her grasp and Elena shoving her backwards into Reno's charged nightstick just as Rude let go. The electricity raced through her, and she staggered, nearly collapsing. Cloud took the opportunity to pull the unconscious Tifa to the sidelines.
Catching a glance from Yuffie, the three Turks sprinted away to regroup near the wall, leaving Minerva to fall backwards.
"Leviathan!" the ninja cried, summoning the water god that protected her village. The sea serpent slid into the room as though it had always been there, encircled Minerva, and spiraled up through the ceiling, a great rush of water following it and hiding the girl from view. The inverted waterfall vanished through the ceiling along with its master.
Minerva remained, dripping with water and blood and for all her wounds looking as though she should not have had the will to move. She began to climb to her feet, but a strong lightning spell from Vincent brought her back down. Another bolt followed, and Cid ran forward to slash the girl with his spear, adding a long cut on her thigh to her myriad injuries. Yuffie followed up with a swing from her shuriken, slicing a wound in Minerva's upper arm.
One more lightning spell, and then Minerva leapt into the air, and Reno knew it was over. That maelstrom of energy radiated from her in waves, sending them crashing into the walls with enough force to render Yuffie unconscious. But this time, she did not let them fall. Instead, the spell kept them trapped in midair, feeding them pain which coursed through them in tides. Reno tried to struggle, but found that he could not control his limbs. Speaking, then, was even farther beyond him.
They slammed into the wall a second time, and a ripping pain followed. Black dots danced before Reno's vision as he fought to keep them at bay. The third wave of agony forced him to lose his weakening hold on consciousness. The last thought in his mind was not his own:
I'm sorry.
Aeris sat in a puddle by what had been a great bonfire, letting the dismal aftermath of the rain wash over her. Already soaked to the bone, she barely noticed the raindrops. All she saw--all she could see--was the pile of sodden wood an ashes lying before her. A great weariness hung from her shoulders, and she saw that defeat reflected in the few villagers who strayed outside to see the Candle's remains for themselves.
Nanaki hopped up onto the platform, his paws making little splashes in the shallow puddle. "Thank you for helping, Aeris," he said softly.
She did not glance at him. "It didn't matter in the end. The Candle still went out."
"It's all right," he murmured, bumping his head against her shoulder as he sat down beside her. "There was nothing else you could have done."
"How do you know?" she asked, her gaze finally leaving the ashes to look down at her hands. "Maybe there was, and I couldn't think of it."
"It does not matter now. Don't worry about it."
Aeris lifted her face skyward, letting the rain pelt her numbed face, her eyelids fluttering whenever a drop came too close. "Nanaki, what does this mean?" she wondered, though she knew the answer and she scarcely noticed her friend. "Why did the sky choose this day and this place to let loose all its tears? The Candle went out--something terrible's going to happen, or maybe it already has. Cloud is in danger. I have to hurry."
"...Aeris?" Nanaki queried uncertainly.
"I'm going to help them," she said, her voice firm but no louder than before.
His one eye widened. "You must not put yourself in danger again. Cloud told you to stay here."
"But I'm not any safer here!" she exclaimed, looking at him sharply. Seeing his concern, she dropped her gaze in embarrassment.
"The fighting is there, Aeris, not here," Nanaki said gently.
"We don't know that. Maybe they haven't even found them yet, and Minerva's on her way here, right now, to capture me."
He looked at her for a long time before speaking. "Then I am coming with you," he decided.
"What about the canyon?"
"There is no danger for it, if you are leaving. It is you who needs protection, not the village."
Aeris frowned slightly, not wanting, for some reason, to leave the place so defenseless. "Will Miera stay?"
"It is up to her."
"All right."
Nanaki nudged her with his nose. "Let's go inside and get dried off," he said. "Then, you ought to get some rest. It is late, and you look tired."
She nodded, slowly getting to her feet and shivering from the cold that she had not noticed before. She hesitated upon feeling the sodden weight of her skirt. "I don't have a dry change of clothes," she told him.
"I will buy you something," he said, leading her to a shop whose keeper stood just under the awning, staring at the Candle. The man helped her to find an outfit in the earthy style of the canyon, though his aid was distracted and he barely had the presence of mind to remember that those buying his goods had to pay for them.
She returned to the inn, Nanaki at her heels, to find Lucrecia awake and sitting up. For a moment Aeris stood startled; there was something strange about her aura, she thought, but immediately she realized it had to be the Jenova.
"Where is Vincent?" Lucrecia asked, looking past Aeris as though hoping to see him enter behind. "Has he come back yet?"
The Cetra shook her head as she made her way over and sat down beside Lucrecia. "No," she replied, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. "They only left this afternoon. Or, yesterday afternoon, I suppose. It must be past midnight by now..."
Lucrecia nodded and returned her attention to Aeris, noticing her wet hair and damp clothes. "Is it raining outside? I didn't think it rained often in Cosmo Canyon..."
It was a struggle to maintain her smile. "Well, it has to rain sometimes, and it picked today."
The woman nodded, though she seemed to sense there was more to it. "I see," was all she said. Her gaze went to Nanaki. "And who is this?"
"I am Nanaki," he replied, bowing his head politely. "I am one of the guardians of this canyon."
Lucrecia smiled, not seeming at all surprised that he could talk, only intrigued. "I'm Lucrecia. Pleased to meet you." Her smile faded though when she found his expression no more cheerful than Aeris's. "Has something happened?" she asked finally.
Aeris shook her head. "It's only... The bonfire went out from the rain. They say it's very bad luck, and with Cloud out... Well, it's only superstition."
Sephiroth's mother seemed almost relieved to hear this. She must have been expecting something much worse from their expressions. "Well, I'm certain everything will turn out fine."
"Still, I am a little worried," the Cetra admitted. "Nanaki and I are leaving tomorrow morning to go help them."
"Didn't you stay behind for a reason?"
"I've almost got my strength back now. I'll be fine."
A soft smile came to Lucrecia's face, as though something had just become clear to her. "I appreciate the concern you have for my son," she said. "If you, his victim, can forgive him, then maybe others will, too."
"He wasn't himself when he did those things," Aeris replied with a shake of her head. "I find it hard to blame him."
Lucrecia nodded gratefully and made as if to get up. Aeris got up, and she slid out of bed, turning to Nanaki. "I suspect the lady will be wanting some sleep before you head out tomorrow," she said with a glance at the Cetra. "As for me, I'd like to see something besides this room. Would you mind showing me around, even this late?"
"Not at all," he answered, nudging the door back open and leading her out.
Once they had gone, Aeris closed the door behind them, changed out of her wet clothes, and lay down to get some rest.
Cloud, she thought, staring up at the ceiling, I hope you're doing all right. I hope I didn't send you to fight adversaries you can't possibly beat. I hope you're not worrying about me the same way that I'm worrying about you. You probably are anyway, though, aren't you? But, I'll be there soon, so don't worry.
And Sephiroth, you hang in there. I'm coming. We're going to set you free, and then you'll be able to see what life is really about.
She smiled as she closed her eyes. She liked to think that they had heard her, even if they hadn't. And, as she drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard an answer.
Please hurry, Aeris.
Author's Notes
And here we have the scene where Sephiroth teaches Aeris to heal. Ah, the irony. This was also when I decided that Aeris would be an empath. The concept of empathy in that manner fascinated me back then, but in retrospect it seems kind of silly. Unfortunately it becomes an important plot point later on, so I couldn't remove it without having to do a lot more revision than I was willing.
Plus a rather lengthy battle scene! I really used to dread writing them, and that hasn't changed much. Nowadays I tend towards a more general description of the battle, a summary of how things go, rather than a second-by-second account, which is especially hard when you have so many characters to keep track of.