35 One Winged Sorceress
God damn it. How could I have lost her? It happened too quickly. I held her close, blinked, and then the next, I grasped nothing.
"Cloud!" Her voice cracked, just as much as my confidence did when I had an awful feeling I could do nothing.
I tried to grab her hand, extending my arm until its muscles hurt.
No luck. She has pulled away into the bright void as though the forces of the Planet were against us.
That wasn't a first.
"Aqua!" I screamed. My fingers curled, but grasped only the light.
Maybe it was just a dream or the high concentrations of Mako spoiling my head, each brain cell disintegrating. I blinked again, and the white world faded.
…
The annoying voices. That eerie, cold air tickled my skin until there were goosebumps. The strange smell of Mako and death. The feeling of hopelessness.
Lifestream.
"Cloud?"
I laid on something hard, oddly enough, feeling tired.
"Cloud, wake up."
Tifa?
I rolled my head to one side, cheek touching the cold, hard bed. Soon, I gained sensation in my fingers and arms until I knew I was alive and breathing. Did I have a bad dream?
I opened my lips to groan, my mouth dry and tongue feeling rough. It took a few breathing trials to suck in enough air to stretch out my stiff lungs. Have I been asleep for years?
With a weak flicker of my eyes, I saw a fuzzy pale face with dark hair hugging it. After much blinking, my vision cleared.
Tifa peered down at me with her eyebrows up, her soft face in shadow as her long hair fell on my face. It felt like a mosquito, and I swatted it away.
"Tifa? Where…" My voice was surprisingly weak. I rolled onto my side to get off my sword; it was never a good choice for a mattress.
I blinked my eyes wide and saw the aqua haze of the Lifestream. It poured heavily, but went up instead of down. That was unusual.
"Are we here?" I asked, pushing myself up to my feet.
Tifa stepped back, hands folded on her back as she surveyed around us. It seemed we were both standing on a floating stone island no bigger than my old bedroom in Sector 7.
"It looks like it, but we all must've gotten separated. I don't know where the others are," she fretted, her fighting glove to her lower lip.
I rubbed my hands up my face to wipe away unknown fatigue, and pressed hard into my eye sockets until my vision flashed with too many lightbulbs bursting. Behind those flashes, Aqua appeared, her hand still reaching for mine.
God damn it.
My body grew hot, my hands ready to clench around the first throat I saw. I tensed, fists rolled so tight until my palms hurt, and fought against the thirst. Tifa stepped away, afraid when she noticed how much I struggled to shut off the Mako when my blood boiled. Her arms wrapped around herself.
"Cloud, are you okay?" She asked.
I swallowed, trembling until the heat went away. For a brief window, I could relax long enough to look at her and see how frightened she was. Her amber eyes widened, lower lip trembling.
"I'm fine," I forced. If she detected the lie, she didn't acknowledge it and just nodded with her eyes darting away.
"Okay."
The side of my head hurt. I rubbed it as I circled the island to analyze our situation. Out in the backward green rain of voices and energy, there were more floating islands but no soul in sight.
I cleared my throat.
"They have to be around here somewhere. Let's get moving," I suggested. I couldn't stand here for another second.
There was no telling what would happen if one of us fell off; I didn't want to find out. I jumped from island to island, sometimes with running starts, other times, barely a skip. Tifa followed quietly for a while, keeping to herself. Whenever I saw anything close to a platform in the distance, I squinted until my vision adjusted to pull me to it like I was there.
No one I recognized.
It shocked me to find monsters still, mostly tormented spirits of beasts refusing to accept their fates, left forever in this strange plane with unlimited thirsts.
With my hawk vision, I would've thought I spotted someone by now. I tried not to get desperate, my heart still calm and lungs quickly exchanging oxygen. Yeah, all the physiological parts of me were still in order. My feelings were another matter.
Mako doesn't do shit about feelings. Sometimes the toxin just buries them, deeper than I'd like to admit, but when it's switched off, they resurface all at once until I can't tell what I'm feeling anymore.
Currently, the Mako rested, leaving me cold and vulnerable. I shivered, anxious. It was tempting to shut my feelings down again, but I was afraid I might forget her.
Aqua, I hope you're all right.
I jumped down to another cluster of islands.
Tifa landed quickly next to me. "I'm worried," she voiced.
Yeah? Me too.
She tried for a connection, searching my face, but I looked away. I wouldn't say I liked it when anyone detected any of my anxiety; better to keep it to myself.
"Heeeey!"
I heard it clearly and gasped. Tifa blinked at me, not catching the cry with her normal ears, but she saw my reaction.
"What is it?"
I stepped a boot a few inches over an edge and leaned over my toes to look below. After a second of closing in, I saw Barret's dark arm waving back and forth. Red stood on his four legs next to him, his fur contrasting against the Lifestream background.
"It's Barret and Red," I answered.
"Oh, thank the Planet," Tifa sighed, a hand to her breasts.
I was ready to drop off the ledge when Tifa's voice halted me.
"Cloud, I wanted to ask you something."
I froze, looking over my shoulder to find her biting her lip, eyes avoiding mine. I sensed it was personal. She took her time to gain enough courage to ask, but I was impatient.
"What is it?"
That made her wince, her soft-spoken personality clearly in charge. I wonder why she buried her fighting spirit occasionally. My old friend always had two faces, black and white.
"It's about Aqua," Tifa began, rubbing up and down her arm nervously.
Like a click of a button, my body heated again, my cells transitioning into their more active phase. I closed my eyes and held my breath.
Not now.
"Can this wait?" I advised. Tifa faded in and out, my eyes struggling to see her as a friend and not just an obstacle, or worst, an enemy.
"Cloud, she shouldn't have come with us. Why didn't you pursue her to stay with Reeve?"
How dare she lecture me like it was my idea. I clenched my teeth.
Definitely not now.
"Don't you think I haven't tried?" I argued. "She's made her choice." And look at where it's gotten her and our child; out of my supervision.
"But..." Tifa swallowed, afraid to say the rest.
She took one look at me and bit her tongue.
I spun sharply, faced the ledge, and jumped down.
Twenty feet felt like dropping two feet; I barely felt it in my knees when I landed in front of Red and Barret.
"Dude, what the hell happened? We lost or something?" Barret asked, glaring at the green world around us. "I don't like it one bit."
"Sephiroth could be down here with us," Red guessed. Tifa hugged herself, shivering at the thought of our biggest enemy lurking out there, watching us. Barret grunted, Red's words a jab in the ribs. As for me, I growled under my breath with my eyes already searching for that bastard. What if... No, don't think like that. Not yet.
"Where's Aqua?" Barret had to ask the obvious. I held back a fist and stuffed it in my pocket instead of at his face.
"Barret, shh." Tifa put a finger to her lips. Barret dropped his honey eyes with, "Oh.."
"Let's get moving," Red spat, enough with walking on eggshells. That's what it felt like with all of them. It seemed without Aqua; everyone was cautious around me. Was I that unstable?
The path of islands lay scattered. We could go in any direction we saw fit, though; each jump gave a chance for one to get soaked in the Lifestream's up pour. After only a few platforms, Red shook the liquid off and trembled, "Very cold."
Barret hissed as he wiped his face with his large hand.
He grumbled, "Are we in the Lifestream now or what?" His face scrunched uneasily, teeth together to suck air through them. "It's uncomfortable," he whispered.
"I'm not familiar with this part of the Lifestream. It just may be another layer to it, or a phase," I guessed.
Tifa crossed her arms under her large breasts.
"Or maybe it's rising to the crater's surface," she piped. I think she was right.
We explored with haste. It was like being on another planet, but vacant and unlivable; Only the undead lived here long enough. The longer Aqua was outside my radar, the tighter my chest squeezed. I could still breathe, but it felt odd to do so quicker than I'm used to.
"There!" Tifa pointed. "I see a dot."
I squinted fifty yards away to find Yuffie hugging her legs into her chest, face buried in her knees.
"This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real," I heard her whisper sharply to herself repeatedly, the poor kid terrified.
"It's Yuffie," I told them. We leaped towards her.
As soon I jumped two feet in front of her frazzled form, she gasped and immediately wrapped her arms around my leg.
"Oh, thank Gawd!" She wailed, face wet. Her tears smudged against my jeans.
I shook my leg to get her off. "Let go," I muttered.
"Be nice," Tifa scolded, her eyes hard at mine as she knelt to take Yuffie in her arms. The ninja girl sobbed into her shoulder.
"I thought I died!"
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, already turning my head to search for the next person.
Aqua, where the hell are you?
"Have you seen anyone?" Tifa asked Yuffie, but she immediately shook her head, sniffling and rubbing at her wet eyes.
"No. Just me."
"I'm curious; how do we find Sephiroth in this? He could be anywhere," Red brought up.
"Maybe he's watching us right now," Barret worried. His eyes darted from corner to corner, already paranoid. Maybe he's right. Sephiroth could be watching us, waiting to make his move. If that were the case, then why hasn't he confronted us yet? It wasn't like him to hide. If he was out here somewhere, that made me all the more on edge. What if he was after Aqua?
"Cloud, try to relax," Tifa whispered, her hands hovering close to my arm. I didn't even realize I was breathing fast. I looked down, my hands emitted in blue light. Damn it, not again.
"Let's keep moving," I trembled. My knuckles stretched their armor when I squeezed the air as hard as I could until they shook.
"Sephiroth!" I screamed, blue flames bursting from my chest. Everyone jumped back. I growled through my teeth as I turned my head up and down in all directions in hopes of finding him, feeling the high heat of Mako saturating my eyes.
"We know you can hear us! Come out, now!"
"Whoa, man, take it easy," Barret dared. I snapped my eyes at him to tell him off silently, and he fell back a step, shocked that I would dare give him that look. He glared in return and shook his head, not having any of it.
"Look, I get it. You're worried about Aqua. Let's just keep movin instead of getting pissed off," he fired.
I crossed my arms and gave him my back with a hiss. Next, I took three deep breaths, eyes closed, and went to a place more ideal.
Waves gently overlapped white sand, the flat ocean in red, purple, and orange. Facing East, not precisely a sunset, but the colors of the evening sky bled into the sea, turning the water red. Stars were starting to appear, a few already shimmering in the darkest purple layer of atmosphere. I remember the smell, strong of sea salt and far away wood fires. The winds blew back my hair, cooling my face. It was here I wanted to tell her how I felt. I almost did, but then...
I asked him about Isaac.
Aqua's familiar voice trembled. She looked guilty, even afraid, when she told me. Her long hair turned orange, and the winds lifted it; flames bursting behind her head. Green eyes turned hazel, and she dropped them to the sand.
Then, is he alive?
When I asked this, I had hoped he wasn't. A part of me wanted him dead and gone. Selfish, yes, but that's just how I've felt.
Yes.
To my dismay, Isaac lived after our fight.
Aqua was still hung up on that asshole. I couldn't recoil fast enough to my hiding place. My disappointments and locked-up feelings blew out in a sigh towards the ocean.
I opened my eyes and sighed, precisely how I did in the memory. Why did I go there, of all places? It didn't matter; it helped put my fighting phase to sleep. My breathing slowed, my heart calmed, and I loosened my hands to inspect them—no more blue flames.
"All right, let's go," I sighed, dodging the group's uneasy stares.
Yuffie clung to Tifa's arm, humming to herself, while her eyes darted around anxiously. Barret was mostly making small chatter to add a bit of serenity in the group, Red polite enough to listen while I tuned him out. A sudden warm hand shocked me when it touched my arm. I turned to it, and Tifa was smiling weakly up at me.
"It's okay. We'll find her," she whispered. I froze and studied her amber eyes. They sparkled, but she couldn't hide her doubts behind that glimmering curtain.
"I know," I replied. I'll make sure of that. She kept her smile.
Cid was puffing like a chimney when we found him. He seemed rather chill, eyes droopy while leaning against his spear, one arm curved around it like a bored dude just smoking while waiting for a bus to show up.
"It took ya long enough. I'm on my last cigarette," he grumbled, smoke coming out of his nose. His dull blue eyes wandered to the aqua-colored world and listened to the choir of whispers and rain.
"This is some place," he whispered slowly, staring at the planet's strange magnificence.
"So, this is where we may end up someday," he wondered aloud. The hard lines of his face faded, replaced with a sad smile.
Barret walked up to the pilot and joked, "Well, I hope you brought cigars because we gonna need 'em when we win." Uneasy smiles spread across the group. I frowned, not in the mood for cheerful chatter. I wasn't going to be optimistic until I had the whole group back together again.
It took a long time before we found Vincent standing there on his tiny island as though he belonged there, quiet. At first, he didn't acknowledge us stepping near him, his torn, red cloak facing us. No breeze in the Lifestream, for the tail end of his cloak and long hair stayed still unless he moved like he did when he turned his head to spot us behind his red shoulder.
"The Lifestream is unstable. Whispers of trouble," was his greeting.
"No shit," Barret spat. "But I'm glad we're all getting back together. Just need to find Aqua now."
Vincent lifted an eyebrow into his red headband and eyed directly at me with suspicion.
"Oh? Aqua isn't with you?" His eyes searched the group, and I noticed they glowed red. When he didn't find her, he looked back at me carefully to inspect, his expression neutral. But I knew Vincent enough to realize he was just as worried as I was. If he had a soft spot for anyone, it was for Aqua. I'd learned to accept that, even if it may not be as platonic as I'd like. His red eyes lingered on mine, awaiting my response. One of his golden fingers repeatedly tapped against his thigh.
"No. She's missing," I sizzled. Vincent nodded slowly, taking those words in with caution. His eyes grew a second. He tilted his head slightly, and I almost thought I saw Sephiroth in him, the long, shiny black hair hugging his white cheek and over one red eye.
"Then we better keep looking," he said. There was a hint of a suppressed growl in his throat.
"How far does this go? Eternity?" Yuffie asked Tifa and me after a long silence. We scattered on other platforms closely, maintained within eyesight to keep together but search simultaneously.
"Supposedly," Tifa answered. "Cloud, do you know?" She tried to involve me, maybe for distraction, but I wasn't in the mood.
"Who knows," I put it, and jumped on another rocky island to get some space. I needed to be alone. It didn't last long. Surprisingly, Vincent floated beside me, quiet as a pond's ripple.
"Cloud, I need to tell you something." I caught the slight tension in his rough voice.
In the corner of my eye, I found him dozing off into the Lifestream's unknown, potentially caught up in its whispers or watching the rain as it splatters underneath our island.
"What is it, Vincent?" I perked with interest. Whatever he had to say, it was necessary. He often had few words.
"It's about Jenova." His red eyes reflected the green rain, sparking a brownish tint when the two colors mixed. Or maybe his eye color shifted to their original state before Hojo tainted him.
"I should've mentioned this sooner, but I didn't make the connection until down here. Forgive me."
What was he talking about? I made a fist against my thigh.
"What is it?" I pried, and my chest tightened again. Considering Vincent waited until we were alone, I held my breath when he spoke.
"Aqua carries Jenova cells now, yes? I overheard Barret talking about it after we left Midgar."
My muscles tightened.
"So?" I grumbled through my teeth. My lungs stiffened again but restricted more air than before.
Vincent seemed unfazed by my blue, glowing body, his eyes reflecting me as a pillar of Mako light across them. He faded into a dark figure, easy to mistake for a monster; that's just what the Mako did to SOLDIERs during the war. I blinked, and Vincent returned, jumping back and forth between the two phases like a television screen breaking into episodes of only static.
"I'm not trying to put any blame on you here. It's of important matters," he justified. "I didn't tell her this, but..." Vincent looked up as though searching for the surface.
"I found Lucrecia."
"Huh?" I thought I initially misheard him. "You certain? I thought she died after giving birth," I reminded him.
Vincent closed his eyes and shook his head, his long, black hair swaying back and forth.
"I thought so, too. But after I went about on my solo travels, I found her." He eyed me sharply, a revealing eye glowing bloodred next to his long bangs.
"I found her, Cloud. She's alive and holds herself up in a cave. The Jenova cells inside of her won't let her die, not easily. To test that, there are no details of what she's done thus far."
"What does this have to do with Aqua?" I snarled. But I already knew. I knew since I heard the harsh truth sputter out of Hojo's duck-like lips.
"I'm getting there..." Vincent sighed, narrowing his eye at me. "I worry."
He paused, and his thin eyebrows disappeared again.
"Aqua could end up with the same fate as Lucrecia, but there's an even bigger problem," he rumbled.
I squinted at him, hoping to read his thoughts.
"Sephiroth..." I finished.
Vincent clutched to his collar as though to help him breathe when he lowered it to reveal his pale, pink lips, and for the first time, he appeared frightened.
"Cloud, he and Jenova could control her if they wanted to."
Those were the magic words that snapped my cells into fighter mode. Like something inside me cracked, I was engulfed in flames.
Vincent, or a shadowy figure, gripped my shoulder with his gold claw and squeezed until he pierced my skin to snap me back. I was hot one second and then back to the cold from the slight stab of his sharp fingers to wake me up.
"Get a hold of yourself! We have to find her; the sooner, the better!"
"Then what are we doing standing around-!"
The whispers vanished, replaced with a woman chuckling like a howl of the wind. I grew goosebumps, searching for the source. Vincent's head whipped around as he asked, "Jenova?"
"It could be," I guessed, the Mako vision on and blinking through the rain.
The Lifestream quaked.
"What's happening?!" Yuffie cried, gripping her unique shuriken, The Conformer, tight with both shaky hands.
"The Lifestream?" Tifa gasped, her knuckles up.
"Great..." Cid grumbled and tensed, his spear aimed and ready.
"I'm ready," Red hissed through his razor teeth and his claws extended from his paws.
"Fuck," Barret snapped and checked the energy levels on his magicite pistol arm. It hummed quietly, its interior cannon glowing purple with charge.
Vincent pulled out his revolver and said nothing.
I widened my stance and reached for my sword's handle to swing it over my shoulder. My eyes flashed, searching among the trembling islands for Sephiroth's presence. Nothing but the floating islands crumbling away. We all managed to assemble on one large island and eagerly waited while many eyes wandered to find our final foe.
"Dude, where the fuck is Aqua?" Cid hissed quietly to Vincent. Maybe he was hoping I couldn't hear him, but I glared at him for trying to keep it secretive. In response, Vincent shook his head.
"I don't know if it's good or bad that she's not here with us," he growled. I felt the same way. Should I try to relax? Aqua could've been pulled out of the Lifestream, stuck with Reeve, safe and sound near the entrance.
We all pressed into each other's backs, all eyes out to pinpoint where the echoes of a throaty woman's voice emerged. Were we being haunted by a bitter spirit? I couldn't tell what was happening; sword out in both hands and squeezed its handle tight. The blade glimmered, a lighthouse in the middle of a green ocean.
The Lifestream's rain came in sheets, crashing against the island underneath us. A few sprouts of memories fluttered close by, along with black feathers. More and more of them appeared, falling on us from the green void above.
I looked up, nothing but a feather tickling my nose.
"Oh, pretty," Yuffie gasped. Everyone else gazed up.
There was nothing. As soon as I looked down, someone was standing ten yards away, a woman with long white hair. She had her back to us, a single angel wing in black feathers. My blood ran cold until every part of me turned to frost. Slowly, my eyes grew.
"You can't go any further," she demanded flatly. It was simple to mistake her for Sephiroth; her hair was as long as his, their hair color almost identical.
One bare hand unfurled, exposing long, black nails. She looked at them, a glimpse of her pale cheekbone, a tip of a nose, and long eyelashes.
"Go back while you still can," the mysterious woman advised, and then her voice dropped when she added, "Please..." Her eyelashes lowered.
"Cloud," Vincent sighed, his shoulder close to mine. "It could be-"
"No!" I snapped, the heat of Mako rushing over my cold body. "Don't even..."
"What?" Yuffie barged, blinking at Vincent and me.
"Who is that?" Tifa whispered.
"I sense dark powers from our guest," Red growled.
"We ain't going anywhere!" Cid screamed, his last cigarette barely hanging over his open lips.
"Cid," I warned, flashing him my powerful stare.
The woman chuckled again. My ears picked up two voices. No, three. She sounded like Jenova, a bit of Sephiroth, but also…
"Very well," she purred. Inch by inch, she turned around.
It couldn't be...
Long white hair swept over her cheek as she turned, eyelids down to have long eyelashes rest against her white skin. Green veins pulsed with light, bulging from her hairline, creeping towards her full, lifted purple lips. Long, loose strands of her hair fell over her shoulders, draping loosely around her firm breasts. More black feathers decorated her body's shape like half a short dress—long legs, feet bare, and more of those green veins coming from her toes.
She opened her eyes, and they shimmered brightly; green cat eyes.
Half woman, half monster. The Mako told me it was just a monster, but one tiny detail made me inhale sharply.
It sparkled around her long, right arm. I only had a second to recognize the piece of armor, the Mythril bracer I gave her. Suddenly, she was right in front of me, teleport or dashed; I couldn't tell, only that black feathers spilled, and I lifted my sword in time to block the woman's long claws from digging into my skull.
She smiled sweetly at me, a smile like Sephiroth's.
"Aqua?" I choked.
Her body sparkled in green energy, and she lifted her other hand. Her hair floated around my face, tickling my cheeks and ears. Excitement flared in her eyes.
"Not anymore," she hissed.
She had become a one-winged sorceress, drenched with magic.
Everyone gasped at what happened to the last Ancient before it rained lightning. We all scattered, the rocky platform bursting with pieces of rock when small craters sizzled where we once stood.
Tifa's shoulder bumped into mine, her fists up, but I could feel her shake.
"Cloud, what do we do? Do we fight her?" She eyed me over her shoulder, but I hardly heard her. I couldn't take my eyes off what happened to Aqua, initially in denial so hard; it left me stunned as chaos erupted around me.
Dark Aqua's wing unfurled, and she floated, her body caked in green energy.
One of her fists opened, and she muttered, "Quake."
The floor shook violently. I looked under my feet, only to see the earth crack between them until the Lifestream glimmered under me.
The rocky platform broke away into many pieces. There were screams as the others were separated.
Tifa reached for me as she called my name. "Cloud!"
Mako flushed through my system quick enough to respond, and in a jolt, I grabbed her hand before she was to fall away.
"Take this!" Barret shouted and fired a blue ball of magical energy from his gun arm.
I jumped in time, my sword's flat side against me as a shield, and used it to block his blast. Blue heat exploded around my face until flames dissolved.
"Barret, it's Aqua!" I cried, landing a few feet in front of him. He stepped back and lifted a brow at my attempt to save someone who wanted to kill us.
"Wha!"
I grunted suddenly. It burned along my right neck, and then warm liquid dribbled down my shirt. It smelt like blood.
Barret's jaw fell, and his words stuck. Yuffie's eyes widened. Cid dropped his cigarette. Tifa gasped. Red's fur raised, claws nailed to the earth. Vincent closed his glowing red eyes and looked away.
I held my breath, afraid that everything would fall apart if I breathed or moved a muscle.
Warm lips kissed my ear, sending shivers down my neck and into my spine. I hated to admit it was pleasurable; my eyes closed to help me envision her wet kiss on my earlobe. Flashes of her full, strawberry lips came to mind. God, what the hell is wrong with me?
"How does it feel to get a taste of your own medicine," Dark Aqua whispered, her voice not hers, but I could hear a trace of it. I fought the hunger to swallow, afraid to increase the bleeding. Her long nails slipped away, wet sounds of sucking terrifying.
As soon as she let go of me, I smacked a hand over my neck and fell to my knees.
Cid was already at my side, a potion in his hand.
"Cloud, down it!"
More blood gushed between my gloved fingers. My Mako vision faded in and out. Bright colors flashed to the dull green world, shadowy shapes turned into friends, and I lowered my head, seeing all my blood spill around my knees. The puddle fuzzed out.
I couldn't stop shaking.
"Cloud, hey! Look at me!"
Cid's heavy accent sounded muffled. There were screams, a battle happening without me. I had to help them, but how? What was I to do?
"Cloud! Wake the fuck up! Hey!"
Cid grabbed me hard by the shoulders. He was kneeling in front of me, and we were eye to eye, his blue stare sharp. I blinked, clearing the fuzz of my vision, and tasted salt.
"Get it together! You fucking know this isn't the real Aqua. What's real is that our friends are in trouble!" He rocked me back and forth, my head bobbing up and down.
"Wake up and help us fight! We can at least weaken her and figure out the rest later! Okay?!"
He shoved a Hi-Potion in my face, its contents sloshed around. I blinked at it, seeing Cid's fatherly eyes through the liquid to make them even bluer, and my clean hand grabbed for the glass bottle.
I finally swallowed down my paralyzed fears and nodded.
"Thanks, Cid," I whispered. He replied with a hard pat on my back, leaving me to drink the potion in one large gulp. The scorching pain around my neck faded, and the potion's healing properties stitched up the deep cut as the skin stretched and fibers intertwined until a scar formed. I peeled back my gloved hand, fingers wide, and found my palm covered in sticky blood. I curled my fingers tight to hide the stain.
There had to be a way to wake Aqua without hurting her. How did she save me from Jenova's cells?
I thought deeply, but it was short-lived because I quickly knew it was no use. She's an Ancient. I'm just a Mako poisoned freak. I couldn't dive into her soul as she could do to me. Her memories will forever be locked away, perhaps only Aerith, the only one who could've done the job.
Aerith.
If you can hear my prayer, help me find a way to save Aqua. You're the only one who can reach her.
A heated explosion unleashed from above, spreading a hot orange glow across my fist. I looked up, and Aqua floated in the Lifestream's rain, its green drops spilling up her arms and legs. They appeared like green tears slithering around her jawline into her eyes, hovering over her head into round bubbles. She was laughing after Yuffie jumped away in time from a cast of Flare, a small island gone.
"Don't let her destroy the rocky platforms. They are what keeps us from falling in the Lifestream," Red roared.
Dark Aqua perked at him and lifted a glowing green hand. Human-sized icicles manifested from thin air and launched at him. Red lifted his tail and cast Firaga to blast the ice spell into ice cubes. They fell against the Lifestream's pour, disappearing into the dark green void.
Vincent came from behind and locked her tight in his arms, his black hair falling over her shoulder.
"Aqua, wake up," he hollered in her ear. Dark Aqua only squinted, and her black wing smacked hard at her side.
"You're wasting your time," she hissed.
Green energy outlined her body, ready to cast another spell.
I saw a flicker. It was weaker than an old candle, a tiny flame on a worn-out wick, but it was there. Aqua's eyes shifted. It may have only been a second or two, the cat eyes gone, and there she was, gasping with her hands shaking. A tear slid down her cheek and clashed with a green drop.
It went away so quickly, it was simple to assume it was a trick of the eye, but I knew I saw her. The windows into her soul leaked, and that gave me hope.
Hope. What a pain in the ass feeling. It can turn even the strongest of men into puddles of fools.
I'm a fool.
Dark Aqua glared at Cid coming at her, his spear aimed at her chest, while Vincent held her down.
"I'm sorry, but I gotta do this!" Cid shouted and closed his eyes when he threw his Venus Gospel powerfully. It blew away green rain, cutting through the thick air as it spun towards the space between Aqua's breasts.
I held my breath.
She teleported with nothing but her feathers left. Caught in the green rain alone, Vincent's eyes grew, and Cid's javelin dug into his chest. He cried out, his golden claw outstretched and reaching while being pushed back, his cloak and hair floating towards Cid.
"Vincent!" Tifa screamed. She jumped from platform to platform to reach him as he fell, head first.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Cid cursed, following Tifa.
I had to move. Aerith wasn't going to help us. She couldn't. She's…dead.
My face fell in my clean hand, and I let out a long, painful sigh.
I had no choice.
Before Tifa could reach Vincent, Dark Aqua appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the throat. Tifa choked, her hands gripping at long, blue-veined arms as she kicked a heavy red boot into her enemy's thigh. Dark Aqua squeezed all the more, smiling widely at Tifa's face turning red.
"You should've been the one who died, not Aerith," her three voices whispered sharply. Tifa didn't even have enough air to gasp.
Suddenly, Aqua's cat eyes widened, reflecting my glowing blade coming at her. She let go of Tifa only to free her hands, and my sword made contact with hers. Our swords smashed together, my face above hers, and I glared past her glowing blade intensely. Her face lit in both bright green and white.
"God damn it, Aqua. Enough," I said through my teeth.
Every muscle fiber of my being exploded with Mako, tightening like a sensitive spring. My blue flames mixed with her green ones, swirling into one delicate color of Costa De Sol waters. I could see my glowing face in the reflection of her narrowed eyes until her face blurred into something unrecognizable.
"You'll have to kill me," she dared. Her smile told me she knew I couldn't do it.
Yuffie jumped in from behind, a green Materia active in her hand.
"Flare!"
Dark Aqua didn't even lift a brow, but the spell detonated on her back, causing her mouth to open, and a cry escaped. Her one wing caught in flames, more feathers drifting away like ash. I shoved more force into my sword and pushed her down. Head first, she fell steeply with rocket speed and slammed into an island to skid across it and lay limp over an edge. She groaned, half her wing burnt off.
I fell just to land beside her, sword ready in one hand. Just one kick, and she could roll off and fall forever. Done. That's what the Mako told me. Dark Aqua turned into a shadowy creature, and she curled into a fetal position. She had her scorched back to me with white hair wildly tangled, some strands still sizzling. Just one hack and I could cut her in two. It hurt to go against it, fighting my muscles from moving without consent. I hesitated for too long and blinked to see her again. Covered in green flames, Dark Aqua sat up and lifted a hand.
"Comet," she gasped under her breath.
Dozens of flaming rocks the size of soccer balls came crashing down from the heavens. Some wheezed past without damage, and others crashed and exploded, spreading chaos among the group. Platforms broke to pieces, our floating support crumbling away. Barret fell, but luckily, Yuffie caught him by the back collar of his brown leather vest and chucked him onto an island.
"There you go, buddy," she strained through her teeth, his weight almost too much. Cid protected Vincent by casting Wall. Tifa was catching her breath, still wheezing after being choked. Red dodged each comet with his agility, safe on an island. As for me, I ducked to avoid one, and it whizzed by.
Dark Aqua wheezed as she wobbled up to her feet and clutched her stomach, grimacing. It didn't matter. In my eyes, she was nothing but a vicious monster.
What about my feelings? Well, what feelings? That isn't Aqua. I stepped towards the pretender; my bright sword pulled back like a readied catapult. My arm flew so fast, faster than I anticipated, my eyes on her neck to cut her head clean off.
Killing.
That's all I'm ever good at. I see an enemy and stop at nothing until they no longer have a pulse. All the blood, the flying limbs, the screams; all of that goes unnoticed. Even if blood sprayed on my tongue, I couldn't taste it, too absorbed in the fight. That's exactly what I was doing here. I was drunk, not caring how I looked.
Who's the monster now? Me or her?
No, wait a minute.
We're both the same in our own, twisted shit sort of way.
In a nanosecond, a memory took over my fighter's brain. Back in Junon, that's what we internally agreed on. Aqua didn't exactly say it, but it was in her eyes. We both lose control; My Mako and her powers manifesting us into being someone we're not proud of. I knew how she felt—holding her hand that time, no glove, nothing. For the first time, I didn't want to let go. I wanted more.
Suddenly, there was no shadowy beast, just a blurry sight of Dark Aqua glaring at me as she waited for the blow.
What the hell am I doing?
My sword stopped two inches from her neck and just stayed there, shaking.
I shook my head, and my face felt hot and sticky.
"I can't," I gasped, looking at how my hands trembled like they weren't my hands but the hands of a thoughtless stranger. There was still old, dry blood over one of them, most of it smeared on my sword's handle, no doubt.
"I can't," I repeated that time in a whisper. My bright, magnificent sword smacked flatly near our feet. The impact made a vibrating sound like someone took a soft mallet and slammed it against a large crystal bowl.
Everyone stilled and watched quietly, but it may as well be just the two of us.
"You're a fool," Dark Aqua hissed. Her body glimmered in green, hands together to prepare for her sword to manifest. I couldn't stop looking at the Mythril bracer, relieved she was still wearing it. The stickier my eyes were, the thicker my throat. I had to clear it a few times to speak smoothly.
"Yes, I am, and I don't care," I admitted. My eyes bounced to her other arm and followed it towards her too-long of fingers. Even if those fingers weren't hers, Aerith's ring was still there. Funny. I didn't even notice she wore it on her wedding finger. She really is married to our dearest friend.
"You still wear the bracer and the ring. That's got to mean something," I muttered.
Aqua's green cat eyes dropped to her right arm and then to her left, her fingers spreading wide to let the ring shimmer against my sword's glow under it.
There was that flicker again. Aqua was still in there, somewhere. Her hand with the ring expanded, and then her sword appeared. She raised it over her shoulder and closed her eyes.
I swallowed, tensing my jaw when I expected Dark Aqua to stab me in the chest. I was ready to grab her wrist to stop her, but she didn't reach forward and aim for me.
She aimed for herself.
Something in my chest stopped for a second. Was it my heart? It hurt, and barely a word came out of my lips as I pushed my hand forward to stop her.
"Aqua, wait!"
My ears heard the gasps of the group as they watched the horror that unfolded.
Blood dripped down her leg.
"I-I have to," Aqua gasped in her little voice, head low until her long hair hid her face and the magic sword that was lodged above her left nipple. She knew exactly where to aim. One foot stumbled back, and then she fell backward, eyes closed. Whether she intended to extend her hand to me, it was there, a phantom reach, and I surrendered to it. I took two steps forward and stretched my bloody hand out. No Mako. Just me.
I seized her wrist, clutching firmly around the bracer.
"Cloud!" Vincent shouted. Why did he scream like that?
"Wait!" Yuffie gasped.
"Cloud, no!" Tifa cried.
What was with them?
I could no longer feel anything solid under my feet. That's when I finally learned that I was falling.
Shit.
I tried for the edge, but it was already unreachable. Five feet, ten feet, I kept sinking deeper into the Lifestream. There was Tifa's face, her glove reaching for me, but it was pointless. All of their faces shrank. The rain hit sharply against me like pellets of glass. My hand squeezed Aqua's, pulling my eyes towards her to easily spot the spread of red across her breasts. Drops of her blood thumped with drops of the Lifestream to leave a few speckles of what looked to be spilled wine. I should've been terrified, but I couldn't do anything about it. Why panic?
I pulled her body to mine to hold her close and wondered if she'll wake up. Will she use her wings to rescue us again?
"Aqua?"
Nothing. Just her hair tapping my face, her bloody wound spilling across my shirt while my bloody hand smeared her white cheek. The Lifestream grew dark, and then I closed my eyes. I thought death would hurt, like a stab wound or a crack of one's neck with an unbelievable pain so quick, that half a second of it would feel like a minute. I felt none of that.
You're not dead, silly.
Aerith?
Wake her up, Cloud.
Her voice was so faint; it might have been a trick of my messed-up brain. I tried to listen again and ended up hearing waves crashing instead. I was still able to inhale and thought there were flowers. But one more sniff turned into the smell of ice, sea salt, and a rich freshness; I wanted to breathe in it forever. There was a frosty windchill, and my cheek laid against cold sand.
I blinked.
A beach?
But not just any beach.
I groaned and pushed myself up, fingers digging into dark, sloppy sand, and coughed up salt water. I could've been a body that just washed up on shore and, somehow, still alive. I sat on my heels, unintentionally facing a stretch of wet sand before a short hill of glossy, black rocks, and behind that, a small residential area. I turned my head right, and there were far away white hills. To my left is that familiar little lighthouse at the end of a rocky cape.
I've been here before.
My legs unfolded, and I rose slowly, muscles aching and body fatigued after being in a Mako phase on and off for an extended period. The blood was still on my glove but now sprinkled with wet sand.
This is Aqua's place.
I thought I was transported to her world, but how could I tell? One look at the sky, it was lit in bright orange and gold, rays of a sunset reaching the hills and homes with warm hands. The dying sun heated my back until I turned towards it.
And there she was.
That familiar white hair is about thirty yards away, her feet in the coming waves. Another figure was standing next to her, their faces facing the sea as though marveling at the view. A sun bleeding into dark, grey waters, adding a massive star in the middle of the horizon until it blinded you.
I ran.
My boots left heavy footprints across the wet sand, drops of mud spraying on the back of my jeans as I followed the shoreline, arms pumping to help me move faster.
The winds picked up, knocking my hair sideways against my cheek as they pushed me towards Aqua's hometown. The closer I was, the stronger the wind blew, but I fought against it. When I got close enough, she finally saw me.
Aqua turned her head first, and her green eyes widened. Her hair has grown, flicking off her shoulders easily, and her belly is large and round under a thick white sweater dress, followed by a thick green vest with fur around its hood. Standing beside her was an older woman with fine blond hair and friendly blue eyes. Her mother?
They both turned to look at me, shocked. Aqua gazed over her Mother's shoulder, hands to her belly, and blinked when I approached them. Her lips quivered before she gasped.
"Cloud?"