Children of Prophecy
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7.
Ch.2- Nightmares of the past returned
It had been two weeks since that disastrous night in Couldren. Aeris was footsore and filthy. Her meager supplies of food had barely lasted her two days after she left, and if it wasn't for her connection with the planet, she would have starved to death long ago. As Aeris had wandered the countryside, without food or water, the planet had guided its last Cetra to streams, berry bushes and edible roots. Winter was coming and she knew that she wouldn't survive unless she found shelter and was able to gather a lot of food in a short time before the first snows came. Basically, Aeris needed to find a town where she could spend the winter in, one that didn't know her appearance.
She sneezed violently as the thought of a hot meal and a warm bed came unbidden into her mind. Great, she thought, I caught a cold. Just what I needed right now. Shaking herself out of her contemplations, Aeris started looking for a place where she could sleep. Noticing a shallow cave about 100 meters up hill at the base of a cliff, she forced her weary legs to start moving up the hill, picking up a few thin sticks to start a fire when she got there. Finally, after about a 20 minute strenuous walk up the hillside, during which her legs didn't stop complaining about the abuse they were being put through, she reached the cave at the base of the cliff. Looking inside, she found the cave to be deeper and lower than she had initially thought, and deemed it suitable to sleep in. Glancing back downhill, Aeris noticed a small copse of trees about 100 feet away. She laid her belongings at the back of the cave and walked towards the thicket.
Several trips and plenty of scratches later, Aeris had assembled a small pile of dry fire wood and kindling, hopefully enough to last the night. She hoped so, because she was definitely not going back to that nasty thorny scrub oak thicket. She had had enough scratches made on her delicate skin already thank you very much! Once again the image of a hot meal came up unbidden in front of her eyes. Groaning, she pushed herself up and went off in search of food. :This way, child. There are some roots buried underground a little way off, and a small stream a bit further away: the planet hummed to its beloved child. Thank you beloved friend, I was very hungry, Aeris replied.
Following the gentle humming of the planet a few meters south along the cliff base, Aeris noticed the tell-tale leaves of an edible root that only grew in these parts. After finding a rock with which Aeris could dig with, she set about unearthing her dinner. Half an hour later, sweaty and covered in even more dirt, she had three medium sized tubers which she would roast over the fire tonight. Aeris went back to the cave and placed the roots with the rest of her things and picked up the gourd she had found a few days earlier. Walking downhill once again, Aeris eventually found the small stream, barely trickling, and placed the gourd in the stream so that it would fill up. When it was full, Aeris lugged the water filled gourd back up the hill, careful not to spill any of the precious liquid. Hungry and exhausted by now, Aeris made a fire with her flint and striker and set the tubers to roasting. Aeris was very thankful that she had the flint and striker, otherwise she would have slept in the cold every night and gotten sick much sooner. As it was, the cold she was developing would severely hinder her traveling time in the days to come.
Not relishing how she knew she would feel in a couple of days, she ate all of the roots she had been roasting, knowing that she needed to keep up her strength as much as possible. The stars were starting to come out while Aeris ate her meal. Glancing up at the night sky she was relieved to see no trace of clouds in the sky. Yesterday it had rained while she was walking, totally soaking her. Even after spending two hours drying herself in front of the fire last night, her hair was still partially wet when she had fallen asleep before the fire. She woke up the next day with a sore throat and a runny nose. With a long suffering sigh, Aeris drank deeply from her gourd, splashed the rest onto her face in an attempt to clean it, and got ready for bed. At least she would be dry tonight. Her last thought she had before she surrendered to darkness was it really has been five years since that day when my life was irrevocably changed for the worst…
Dream sequence
Flowing darkness surrounded her everywhere. Voices all around whispered words that were almost understandable, with malice and despair in their tones. Glowing green eyes that haunted her nightmares for years glared down at Aeris with uncontrollable hatred and murderous intent. She could feel the shift in the darkness around her as it became aware of her presence. Child of the Cetra the voices hissed, you really think that you can defeat us when you are so pitifully weak? There is nothing you can do to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass. You shall be the cause of the destruction of this world by willingly helping the one you fear most in his dreams of destruction.
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! She was screaming. I'll die before I let that happen!
You are correct about one thing Cetra, the voice of her tormentor crashed around her, you will die and I will be the one to kill you. I will have my vengeance on you for what happened five years ago.
Screams of pure terror were ripping from her throat as she saw the figure of the man who had been causing her to have nightmares for the last five years appeared in front of her, looking like some raging god of vengeance. With a swipe of his monstrous blade he cut the darkness in two and in its place a deep black gorge with a faintly glowing green river at the bottom appeared. Aeris upon looking at the green river miles below found herself falling down into the gorge. The speed picking up as she fell further, her shrieks were lost to the raging winds that swept through the gorge. Just when she was about to hit the deep, swiftly flowing river, she woke up.
With a start, Aeris shot up the images from her nightmare fresh in her mind. Panting heavily Aeris broke out into a cold sweat. He can't still be alive! She panicked, not after what happened five years ago. It must have been just a bad dream. Not assured of her reasoning whatsoever, Aeris fell back into deep dreamless sleep.
Vibrant green eyes slowly opened as the sunlight crept into the cave. Yawning and stretching Aeris got up prepared to greet the new day when a hard fit of coughing hit her. Obviously, not even a full meal and a warm fire to sleep by were not enough to push back the symptoms of her cold. Aching all over, in that achy feeling one gets with a cold; Aeris slowly got up and gathered her belongings. After making sure that the fire was out, she left the cave and went out in search of breakfast. A few handfuls of under-ripe sour berries, some tiny and hard edible mushrooms, and a trip down to the stream later, Aeris was ready to start her traveling for the day.
Walking down the hill, Aeris was greeted with the last birdsongs of the year before they flew south for the winter. Wish I could migrate south for the winter as well, Aeris thought, followed by why not? There was a port town not far from where she was, and with a few days earnings she could pay for a room in a ship that was traveling south. Even better was the fact that she had not visited this town before and she doubted that anyone here had heard of the Cetra sighting in Couldren.
With a renewed burst of happiness Aeris started walking faster down the path between the cliff and the grass lands to the south. She had walked for about an hour before the realization that she didn't have anything to sell came crashing down on her. Aeris scolded herself for her short sightedness, and went off in search of ingredients for the medicines she could sell.
A few days later, Aeris had collected enough herbs to satisfy her needs and was in the process of making her medicines when the planet started painfully shrieking. Unable to tell what was wrong, Aeris nevertheless tried to understand what the planet was telling her in the confusing jumble of images that it had shown her. All that she could make out of the mess was that something serious had happened that had caused the planet great pain and that it was transferring its pain onto her.
Eventually the planets shrieks wound down, leaving Aeris sore all over. Breaking into another fit of coughing, Aeris asked what happened dear friend! What does this mean? Tell me what to do to help. Gaia remained silent, refusing to answer the Cetra's concerns. Aeris, feeling slightly put off and hurt by the planet's refusal to answer her, shakily got up from where she had fallen. While she worked on her herbal remedies for the rest of the day, the planet stayed silent.
Another week passed, and Aeris was ready to go into town. Wary and on the lookout, she asked several townspeople If they had heard any news from the west where she had come from. Relieved at the lack of news about the Cetra sighting, Aeris quickly had sold all her wares and had earned enough money to afford the trip south and buy some new clothing and supplies. In a small clothing shop, called "Good Seamers", Aeris overheard some news from the northeast that greatly worried her.
"It was the weirdest thing Gabby," a middle aged woman was saying, "a few days ago a fellow down in Kurry saw the oddest thing. That's the place where a lot of our coal comes from you know."
"Oh quit stalling Linda and spill the beans," her companion irritably shot, "I know how much you like to gossip. If you had your way, it would be fifteen more minutes before you actually to the story."
Unfazed by her friend's rudeness, Linda continued, "Well Gabby, you know how much people from up north like to tell long tales, helps pass the long winters up there. So when I originally heard the tale I thought that it was another one of the infamous fairy tales that came out of the area. But when I heard one of the sailors whose ship often stops in our port tell me a very similar tale, I was convinced about its authenticity."
"Oh, for goodness' sake Linda, just get to the point!"
"You're no fun Gabby you know. Well anyways, the tale that the young fellow told me took place about ten days ago. Apparently when he was out in the plains that are close to Kurry, near the Sporan River, he saw green flashes in the night sky. Following them, he eventually stumbled upon an old coal mine that had been abandoned. It was abandoned because an underground branch of the lifestream had been broken into and flooded the mine by the way. But what he saw there was amazing; the lifestream was boiling, how often does one see that?"
Gabby scowled. Linda continued, "well this fellow was so shocked that he almost got crushed by a rock that had been dislodged by the rumbling caused by the lifestream. When he had collected his wits, he noticed a huge bubble was rising in the lifestream. Knowing whatever was happening was bad, he took cover. And just in time too, because a second later a huge explosion rocked the mine, covering the poor fellow in mako. The odd part about this all is that before he passed out he saw a tall dark figure striding away from the source of the explosion."
"That's it? All that suspense you put me through and that was all you had to tell me?" Gabby grumbled.
"Come now Gabby," Linda cheerfully spoke, "you know that not everyday you hear something like that."
As the two women continued to bicker in a friendly fashion, Aeris quickly paid for her purchases and left the store in a rush. Her mind whirling, she barely saw where she was going before she stopped in front of a fountain of that had a sculpture with fish and mermaids. The thoughts, no, it's just a coincidence, he can't be back. I mean he died back there all those years ago. It's just not possible for someone to come back from the dead!, quickly passed through her head. Deciding if the impossible had really happened Aeris knew that he best chances of survival were in getting as far away from this continent as possible as quickly as possible.
Aeris hurriedly packed her things all the while thinking about booking a trip on the ship leaving town the soonest. At the docks, she quickly arranged for a ride in a cargo ship that was headed to Emal continent in the south. One hour later, the Storm Rider was heading out of the port town of Sausy Bay towards the choppy waters of the Galain Ocean. Hopefully to a warmer, safer place than the cold, hostile Werley continent was.
In a small, windowless cabin aboard the Storm Rider Aeris sat on the small, hard bunk while trying unsuccessfully to not get seasick. Miserable, cold, and seasick, Aeris slowly drifted off into a fitful sleep.
That dammed bitch got away again, the figure with glowing green eyes snarled to himself. Standing on the docks of the town of Sausy Bay was a tall man dressed in a long black leather trench coat, with a six foot long katana strapped to his back. Even during the busy time when the fishing ships returned with their daily catches, the people on the docks gave the mysterious figure a wide berth.
Totally ignoring the insignificant mortals around him, the tall warrior strode through the crowds that parted to allow him to walk unhindered, to a merchant and a captain of ship arguing over the price of the goods the latter was selling. Casting his long shadow over the two, they both looked up clearly startled. The merchant, seeing that the warrior's attention was on the sea captain wisely departed the area, argument quickly forgotten. The captain, now imitated, looked in askance at the menacing swordsman. In a cold, smooth voice, he demanded the last known whereabouts of a young traveling herbalist. In a shaky voice the captain responded that he had seen the lass bartering with the first mate of the Storm Rider for a ride to the Emal continent. Snarling, the swordsman pushed the captain aside, who landed with a splash in the dirty waters of the docks, and stalked off in search of a vessel that could quickly catch up with the Storm Rider which had departed a week ago.
The steward of the Gull's Pride had been having a bad day. First he got up only to find that vermin had gotten into the grain stores that were for the voyage to Sounen Island. Then, when he went out to get more money from the captain (who was suffering from a hangover) to replace the ruined provisions, he got an empty wine bottle thrown at him. The captain blaming the steward for the rats' damage to the provisions since such things were his responsibility and was told that he would have to spend his own money for what needed replacement. When he went to the only grain merchant in town, he overcharged the steward by three times the fair asking price, and had to spend almost all of the wages he had earned from the last voyage on enough grain to barely feed all the crew members on the Gull's Pride. Upon returning to the ship with the replacement provisions that first mate had cussed him out about being late and neglecting his responsibilities. To which he told the infernal man where he could shove his responsibilities, earning him a dock in his wages for the next voyage. So when a man in a leather trench coat walked up, the steward rudely asked, "what the hell do you want you bastard?"
In less than an eye blink, the steward found the point of a long sharp sword pressed up against the skin of his neck, a thin trickle of blood running down his chest where the blade had cut into his skin. The man wielding the sword had an emotionless look on face, but one could tell that he was mad by how hard he was gripping his katana. Pressing his blade closer to the man's neck the warrior advanced forward towards the gangplank of the Gull's Pride, causing the steward to take a few steps back. Fearful whimpers escaped the man's mouth as the sliver-haired figure spoke.
"I am correct that this shabby piece of wooden planks that is barely floating is the Gull's Pride, the fastest ship in this stinking excuse for a town, is it not?" the swordsman spoken in a tone that booked no argument, "I require the services of this floating piece of rubbish to catch up a transport vessel called the Storm Rider. You will take me to your captain and inform him that he and his miserable crew will do this task for me, no complaints and for no fee or every man on this ship will die on Masamume's blade."
Shaking with fright, the terrified steward, practically ran to the captain's cabin, the swordsman following at a controlled pace.
"Captain Frontley, there's a man to see you about a commission," the steward squeaked out.
"Send him away; we already have a commission we have taken to deliver two hundred rolls of fabric to Sounen Island. Or have you forgotten that fact you simpering idiot?" the captain distractedly responded.
"But sir, you must really see this gentleman, he is" the steward was cut off when the warrior pushed him aside and strode into the room.
"What do you want?" the captain crossly asked.
"You will transport me on this pathetic excuse for a vessel to catch up with the Storm Rider that left a week ago." The swordsman stated.
"What, you must be crazy! Like hell I will take some wannabe assassin onto my ship for free and abandon a well paying commission just to chase after a transport ship."
Just like before, when the steward was rude to the warrior, the captain found himself sweating with Masamune pressed up against his throat.
"This is not a request, I am commanding you to get this vessel ready and depart within the hour to go after the Storm Rider. Fail to do so and you and your whole crew will all end up on the sharp side of my sword." The swordsman replied in a quiet, deadly tone.
Nothing gets a man to get working faster than a threat against his life and sure enough, one hour later the Gull's Pride was quickly skimming the waves in fast pursuit of the Storm Rider.
Satisfied that things were going smoothly, the silver-haired man was standing on the prow of the ship, when a voice intruded on his contemplations.
-Son, you seem very smug. What is the cause of this sudden satisfaction, just an hour ago you were so cross that you were giving me a headache- a scaly female voice spoke into his head.
-That annoying Cetra had decided to skip town, making it rather obnoxious to find her. The reason for my so called "satisfaction", as you put it Mother, is that I have procured transport to catch that wretch before she lands on Emal.- The swordsman chuckled darkly, -When I catch up to her I will make sure that her death is a slow and painful one.-
-Sephiroth, you shall not kill the Cetra!- the voice of his "Mother" sharply commanded, -you must put aside your inconceivable need for vengeance, and make sure that she is delivered to me unharmed, she is vital to our plans.-
"WHAT! You must be joking Mother! There is nothing that will stop me from having my revenge!" the silver haired man roared, receiving several fearful looks from the crew.
The voice in his head was really peeved, -Sephiroth, stop acting like a foolish human! Put aside these silly notions of yours. You are very strong my son, but you do not have enough power to summon Meteor by yourself. If our goal is to succeed, we must have the cooperation of the Cetra to cast the spell. Furthermore, only she can retrieve the Black Materia, since all the humans have killed off the rest of her kind. You may be able to find the Temple of the Ancients, but you can't unlock it secrets.-
Grudgingly admitting that Mother had a point, he conceded to let the Cetra live until she retrieved the Black Materia for him. After that though,…
Picking up on his train of thoughts, the entity Sephiroth called "Mother", sent her strong disapproval through the mental link they shared, leaving him with a throbbing headache.
After a week out at sea, Aeris had finally gotten over her seasickness and found her sea legs. The warmer temperatures along with the fresh ocean air had a predictable effect on the once miserable Cetra. Currently, she was up on the deck enjoying the wind that was generated by the ships advancement, the gentle breezes playing with her long hair. Under the setting sun, it seemed to glow a bright golden red, to the effect that her hair looked a stream of molten gold and fire. Aeris' eyes were gleaming as she thought about how pleasant it would be to spend the winter in the tropics, safe and comfortable.
Earlier in the day, she could be seen walking all over the ship exchanging tales with the sailors in a rough, amiable fashion. Remembering some of the tales that they had told her that had made her laugh out loud, Aeris let out a happy sigh. Finally things were looking up for her. She was going to the tropical town of Wellspring on the southern continent of Emal, no one on the ship knew that Aeris was a Cetra and as a consequence she was treated like a normal girl. If he really was back (as impossible as it sounded), she was so far ahead of him, that by the time he got to Wellspring, she would be so deep in the wilderness that he would never find her.
She stayed at the front of the ship until the stars started to awaken. Gazing up into the heavens, she marveled at how many stars were out there that couldn't be seen except in the clear ocean sky. It made Aeris feel so nostalgic, her ancestors had originally come from the stars and she longed to return to the heavens to explore what wondrous things might be out there. Getting lost in her thoughts, she spent several hours in the same position gazing up into the stars. Her musings were cut short when one of the sailors gently shook her arm and told her that she should get some rest. Smiling and thanking the man, she turned her stiff body around and walked with a slight limp back to her cabin. She quickly fell into a deep sleep, her dreams filled with stars and music.
Sephiroth was beyond annoyed, it had been several days and there was still no sign that they were making any progress. Naturally a bit impatient, he stormed into the captain's room, now smaller since Sephiroth had appropriated his old one, and angrily demanded what the hell was taking so this ship dammed long to catch his quarry. The captain, a bit more used to the violent man's ways, kept his fear at bay and calmly replied that the Storm Rider had left port seven days before they did, and since the transport ship was going half as fast as the Gull's Pride was traveling at, it would be about one and half days before they caught up to the ship.
Angry at a lack of a reason to get violent, Sephiroth glared at the offending person promising a nasty death if what he said wasn't true. Stalking out of the cabin, the crew members of the ship hurriedly got out of the man's path sensing what a foul mood he was in. I swear, Sephiroth thought, if the stupidity of these ingrates doesn't get to me first, the sheer lack of action on this ship will make me kill something. Chasing after someone shouldn't take so long, worthless humans.
That night a storm came upon the Gull's Pride, catching everyone on board unaware. During the chaos of the storm Sephiroth retreated to the captain's former cabin, cursing the fates for his inconvenience. Several wet and windy hours later, the storm subsided and Sephiroth woke up, annoyed at himself for falling asleep. Walking out to the front of the ship his mood did a 180 when he saw the shadow of a large transport ship off near the horizon outlined by the sinking moon's light. He smirked evilly, within a few hours, the ship he was on would catch up with the Storm Rider and he could kill everyone onboard and sink this miserable piece of wreckage.
By dawn, as the sun was just barely rising, the Storm Rider, was about ten miles away when Sephiroth unsheathed Masamune and screams filled the air as he slaughtered ship's crew. Wiping the blood off his sword, Sephiroth formed a large ball of crackling dark energy, jumped up into the air, threw it at the Gull's Pride, and flew off towards the transport ship the Cetra was on.
A tremendous boom followed by a huge splash jolted Aeris out of her dreams. She hastily pulled on her boots and rushed to the deck. At the port side of the ship half of the crew was at the railing gazing out across the ocean where the commotion had come from. Slipping under the sailors' arms, she made her way to the rail only to see a huge pillar of smoke off in the distance.
"Tis a bad omen," one of them whispered.
"Aye, this can only mean bad things are in store for us," another commented, "especially being so close that haunted jungle isle."
A foreboding feeling washed over Aeris as she asked, "what is the island called?"
"The Ancient Isle," the first sailor replied with an undertone of fear.
Before Aeris could ask anymore questions, she noticed a black dot in the sky traveling rapidly towards them. Apparently the others noticed as well, since they all scattered and started preparing for an attack. The sailors weren't stupid, they knew that that thing in the sky was bad news. Following their lead, Aeris went to her cabin and grabbed her staff. Returning to the deck she found that the crew was in a frenzied flurry, readying the ships cannons, taking up the sail, and numerous other tasks that needed to be done before it arrived.
Her heart practically stopped when the herbalist was finally able to see what the things coming towards them, or rather specifically her, was. A figure in a black trench coat, long black pants, black combat boots, and steel shoulder guards with a banner of silver hair streaming behind him was flying at the ship full speed, a wicked, long katana held out, ready to attack. It couldn't be, he was dead, there was no way Sephiroth was alive.
Shaking in fear, she was retreating back towards her cabin when Sephiroth roared, "Where's the Cetra!"
The crew looked confused, they didn't know that one of those vile creatures, a Cetra was aboard. Despite their confusion, they immediately recognized Sephiroth for what he was.
"Kill the Spawn of Jenova quickly men, the fate of our world rests on it!" the captain shouted as the crew let lose their bullets, "He must not get to our ship or we are all deadmen."
Grinning manically, Sephiroth dodged the bullets with ease, heading straight towards Aeris. Unfortunately for him, he was so preoccupied with flying towards his prey, that he never noticed a large bazooka that two of the sailors lugged out from the cargo area. With a large blast, the men fired their shot, dead aimed at Sephiroth. Reacting just a second too late, the missile exploded, its electrified contents wrapping tightly around his form. Millions of volts of electricity coursed through his body as he fell into the ocean, passing out as he hit the water.
Aeris watched in complete shock as the sailors fired the electrified net at Sephiroth and he plunged into the ocean. For reasons that she couldn't comprehend, she felt the urgent desire to go after him. As the seconds ticked by she felt more and more pressure to do just so. Just when the sailors had figured out that Aeris was the cause of the attack and were moving towards her, she dived over the edge after Sephiroth.
Under the cold green-blue water, Aeris was thinking why she was even doing this. For crying out loud, this man had tried to kill her at least twice by now. Undeterred by her racing thoughts, she rapidly swam after the quickly sinking figure of the unconsciousness Sephiroth. Her lungs screaming for air, one of her hands grasped the now unelectrified net that was tangled around the swordsman and kicked her legs as hard and frantically as she could, slowly heading for the surface. Before Aeris passed out from oxygen depravation, her head broke the surface, gasping for air. But because she was taking in air too fast, which wasn't allowing oxygen to get to her brain, Aeris fainted.
Flashback
It was a bitter sweet day for fifteen year old Aeris. She was finally ready to go out on her own and help people with the knowledge she learned about her favorite profession, herbal healing and medicine, but on the other hand, today was the day when she and her childhood sweetheart would be separating for what could be many, many long years. Zack was following his dreams and was due to head off to the elite military academy in Durnot City in an hour. He wasn't going to say goodbye in person because he said that the last memory that he wanted of him and Aeris together to be full of pleasant feelings, not the sadness of a long drawn out farewell.
So Zack and Aeris had spent the whole of yesterday in each other's company, walking through the fields and forests that surrounded their hometown, Rose Fields. They had run and chased after one another, told jokes, romped around in the grass, and climbed trees. They had a picnic on the hill overlooking the valley in which Rose Fields was nestled between the river and the birch forest and talked about their hopes and plans for the future. The day ended with them watching the sunset and the moon rise, side by side in tranquil silence.
Two weeks before her teacher Elymera, had all of a sudden, right in the middle of brewing a potion for the treatment of people who had internal bleeding, announced that she could teach Aeris no more and that experience was the only teacher she needed now. Startled, excitement, sadness, and a bit of nostalgia had rushed through her all at once. Excited that she would really start living her dream, Aeris could hardly wait to set off. For the last few months she had been growing restless, unconsciously knowing that she was almost ready to start off on her own, itching to see what lay in the world outside the valley. She was also sad since Elymera was a great teacher and a caring person, Aeris would miss her caring warmth that she projected around others.
Aeris still couldn't believe that these last two weeks had gone by so quickly. One moment she was sitting shell shocked in Elymera's house making herbal remedies, the next she was setting off on her own journey to find her place in the world. In the two weeks that she had stopped being Elymera's apprentice and became a full herbalist, Elymera had already taken on a new student, a young boy by the name of Tommy. Elymera was already training him to take her place in the town, as she knew that Aeris had too much wanderlust in her to settle down too quickly.
Now, standing at the fork in the road at the end of the valley, Aeris was thinking of how fate was taking her on a different path away form Zack and everything she knew. He had taken the left fork that lead over the mountains to the east that eventually led to Durnot City, Aeris could still see the black dot in the distance that was Zack. She herself would be taking the middle path, the one that followed the river down out of the valley and crossed over Heavens Gorge, named since a segment of the lifestream flowed through a part of it, on a rope bridge. She would eventually make her way down to the lower grasslands of the Serian region where many important trading towns existed. From there she would try to get a ride on a caravan down to the coastal woodland areas and explore the different herbs that grew there.
Aeris finally shook herself of her contemplations, after all she had a journey to start! After making sure that everything was secure she set off down the middle path towards the Heaven's Gorge. It was such a nice day out that as she traveled, Aeris was walking with a spring in her step and sometimes starting skipping at random intervals, there would always be parts of her that remained a little girl at heart. By noon Aeris' pace had slowed down into a more practical energy efficient rhythm, and a faint sheen of sweat was on her face from the unaccustomed exercise.
Aeris stopped short when she heard the planet's warning, she barely had time to duck before a sword cut through the air where her head was just a moment ago. Not even bothering to look back, Aeris got up and broke into a dead sprint. Lungs hurting, she was running as fast as she could and yet the sound of running footfalls behind her was still getting nearer. She put on an extra burst of energy and crested the top of the hill only to come to a dead stop when Heaven's Gorge suddenly opened up in front of her like a gaping maw.
"Well, well, well little Cetra, looks like you've run out of room to run. Pity, because things were just starting to get fun. Now you must die," the voice of her pursuer remarked.
Fear struck her heart when she observed the silver haired figure behind her, his green-blue eyes glowing. His eight foot long sword was drawn, aimed at her. Unconsciously Aeris had begun backing up as the gazed upon the visage of her would be murderer, only to stop when her foot hit air at the edge of the cliff. Oh planet help me! Stop this madman from killing me please! Aeris frantically called to Gaia.
"Asking the planet to preserve your soul after you die on my blade Cetra?" the swordsman's amused voice asked her.
:Don't worry child, everything will be alright. It is not your time yet, fate still has its roles for both of you to fulfill, you shall not die today. Just trust in the earth to guide you: the planet sang to Aeris.
As Aeris received the planet's message, the warrior was advancing on her. Raising his wicked katana for the finishing blow, the ground around them shook. Before either of the two of them could get away from the gorge's edge, the massive earthquake hit, causing the ground beneath them to crumble and fall into the gorge, taking both of its occupants with it.
"Curse you Cetra, if your precious planet hadn't intervened you would be dead. Remember my name in when you are rotting in Hell, because I will make sure to send you there bitch!" shouted Sephiroth as he fell.
One screaming uncontrollably and the other cursing the world, both hit the lifestream and everything went black.
The first thing Aeris did when she regained coconsciousness was to hack out the salt water she had swallowed. After clearing her lungs and stomach, she looked around to get her bearings. Apparently after fainting, the ocean's currents, guided by the planet, had washed her up onto a sandy beach. Upon further inspection, she came to the conclusion was on an island. Images of what had happened that had led to her current location hit her hard. What in the world had possessed her to dive in after Sephiroth? She would have liked to say that it was the planet's influence, especially after the way it had been acting for the past few weeks, but she had felt no trace of the planet's presence when she made the decision to jump into the sea. It was entirely her own fault for what had happened, something inside of her couldn't let a helpless man die without a chance to save himself.
Speaking of said man, where was Sephiroth? Turning around, sure enough, the still figure of Sephiroth lay face down in the sand, one arm stretched out in front of him, the other at his side, waves gently riding over his legs. To top it off, not only was he out cold, but he wasn't breathing as well. The same part of her that wouldn't let Sephiroth drown made Aeris bend over him, press her parched lips to his and begin to breathe air into them, pumping his chest between breaths. After several rounds of this alternated forced breathing and pumping air out, Sephiroth's chest heaved and green-blue eyes snapped open while Aeris' lips were still on his.
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