A Flower's Touch - Chapter 5 - Echoes
Aerith sat on her bed, wringing her hands and biting her lips nervously. As much as she had wanted Hojo alive so they could use him to find Jenova, she'd far rather he be dead then missing and unrestricted on the loose. While Shinra gave Hojo far to much leeway in the atrocities he committed behind closed doors, there were still limits and restrictions. Out there on his own? None. Not a single thing holding him back, except maybe lack of equipment. It sent shivers down her spine at the thought of that man's mad ambitions being unrestrained.
The guard outside her door had doubled to four Turks, and a group of high tier 2nd and low tier 1st Class Soldiers that were only told she was a special VIP. Others Turks, not to mention the Trio, were scouring every inch of the building and Midgar for any sign of Hojjo. Tseng and Veld were going through security camera footage. Lucrecia and Vincent, to her knowledge, were currently stationed in the Science Department interrogating and interviewing Hojo's personnel. Since Hojo had 'vacated' the position and Genesis had killed Hollander, Veld had suggested that Lucrecia make herself comfortable and start taking over. The woman had been... hesitant... but at Sephiroth's word that he would trust her over Hojo or anyone formerly working with him with his SOLDIERs, she had relented.
Aerith had to wait for the all clear before she was allowed to leave the room for one reason: Hojo's disappearance had 'coincidentally' happened when the Trio had been informed of the truth. Which meant 'somehow' Hojo knew about it, which meant he also knew about her. How? Even the Turks didn't have a clue, and that really riled Veld and Tseng's feathers. She didn't think she had to worry about Hojo trying to kidnap or kill her, he he had to worry about fleeing rather than experimenting at the moment, but, the Turks were taking no chances.
Aerith sighed. The ripple effect was already happening. Changes, drastic changes, were going to start occurring. It still remained to be seen what the Trio did after Hojo was or was not found. She hoped and prayed they would calm down, but, if Hojo got away, she knew they would be furious. Heck, she should be furious, and slightly terrified, of it too. Lucrecia taking over in-place of Hojo would hopefully correct the morals, or rather the lack of them, the science department had. Vincent would most likely stay at her side, maybe rejoin the Turks, who knows.
She smiled at a thought. She had already hinted at Reeve's intelligence to the Turks, but she'd try to make a point to keep nudging them about him, trying to get him more motivation, influence, and eventual power. He was the key to eventually replacing Mako Reactors with methods that wouldn't bleed the planet dry. The sooner that process started the better.
She laid back on her bed, blowing a bit of her hair out of her face. It was... difficult to try and figure out how things might change. AVALANCHE was not happening, Veld had hinted at keeping his daughter 'close', which probably meant Felicia was going to be a Turk. Like father like daughter it seems...
She hesitated at the thought of Felicia and fished the pieces of the Zirconiade materia out of her pocket, fiddling with them. They spoke quietly with an old, broken, unfinished voice. She considered it lucky Veld had allowed her to keep a hold of them. Out of sight out of mind out of a potential desire to be used. If the President or Hojo or someone like them didn't know they existed, no one would think to use them for power. She would only allow these to remain on her person... though... she knew they couldn't stay in her pocket forever. They could be easily stolen or lost on accident. This required a more... secure location... like inside of her body.
Aerith held the pieces to her lips and whispered. "Sleep World Burner, sleep."
The old voice grew quieter and quieter until it faded and the light in the materia shards dimmed and went to sleep. She was not interested in suffering the same fate Felicia originally had, she would not bleed out her lifeforce in exchange for power. Zirconiade would become dormant, and that was that. Aerith sighed and lifted up her shirt, slowly pressing the shards against her stomach. They melded into her body, hidden safely away...
She frowned, briefly withdrawing a single shard back out of her body, toying with it. It would remain hidden safely away... unless she needed it's power...
The thought made her queasy, bleeding her lifeforce dry for a bit of power. But... mere fragments of the World Burner had made Felicia into an incredibly powerful warrior. What could it do to her, she wondered, when she became enhanced? What about if she ever got the remaining shards? The thought of a SOLDIER being further enhanced by scraps of the World Burner's power, or even all of it, utterly terrified her, even if that SOLDIER was herself. She shakily re-absorbed the sleeping shard into herself, not liking where her thoughts were turning.
She sighed and got up from her bed, moving to the floor and kneeling to pray. Not to commune with the planet, no, she did it to simply try and calm her nerves. Besides... she had done some thinking. The planet shouldn't actually be able to reach her here under normal conditions, especially with the clarity it had done so with before. It had only ever spoken to her near her flowers, this place was dead to the planet. To have reached her hear meant it most likely had burned energy to do so.
"Energy you shouldn't have been wasting!" She scolded.
Thankfully, she heard nothing in reply. Hopefully the planet got the hint. While she heavily appreciated it's advice, it could not afford to waste energy. She had... to be honest... very little clue how the planet functioned without it's avatar, it's goddess. Without Minerva to help run things in the lifestream, how much more effort and energy was needed? It worried her, especially the part where it would take thousands of years to make a new goddess, how much energy was THAT going to take out of the planet over time.
Aerith fidgeted and sighed, unable to make herself concentrate and empty her mind enough to pray. "I... really need to relax..."
Even as she said this, she was pulling at her hair. She winced briefly, but acknowledged her first sensation of physical pain since her rebirth through time. It was... a reminder of just how alive she actually was. She wasn't a corporeal ghost in the lifestream... she had a real second chance at life...
Everyone did.
Well... except Minerva, unless making a new goddess revived the old, but she wouldn't hold her breath in finding out. She knew Mako enhancements extended the durability and life of the body, but she doubted she'd still be around in a few thousand years, winning this conflict or not. She took a shaky breath and rose to her feet, pacing absentmindedly for awhile, nerves feeling fried.
Knock Knock.
Aerith blinked a few times, coming out of her brooding pacing. "Come in."
Cissnei entered the room and nodded at her. "Lieutenant Hewely will be coming to retrieve you to take you to Doctor Crescent. We'll be meeting them halfway and escorting you there."
Aerith nodded. "Okay."
She took in a deep breath and let it out, it was time to become a SOLDIER, she had wasted no time in requesting this happened as soon as possible. She followed behind Cissnei out into the hall. The SOLDIERs and Turks surrounded her, keeping her protectively in the middle of the group, and started down the hall.
The group paused a bit from the elevator as it dinged and opened, Cissnei strode forward and made an acknowledgement, "Lieutenant Hewely."
"Agent Shuriken," came the return acknowledgement.
The group parted a little to let Aerith step forward... only to stop as her eyes fell on who stood next to Angeal...
"Woaaaah Angeal, you didn't tell me the Ancient lady was super cute!" said Zack Fair, shooting Aerith his signature smile.
Aerith made a strangled choking sound in her throat.
Zack's smile turned into a concerned look. "You okay Miss Ancient Lady?"
To many... to many memories... of her last life... of time spent with Zack in the lifestream... of his death... she couldn't...
"Zack...," she choked.
Zack blinked a few times, exchanging a concerned look with Angeal before returning to her. "Have we met? You look like you've seen a ghost."
She couldn't take it, she gave a sob, "I'm so sorry Zack," before she turned and bolted back for her room, tears streaming down her face, ignoring the shouts of the Turks and the SOLDIERs.
She threw herself on her bed and cried into her pillow. It hurt... it hurt so much to see him... it hurt so much to see him not knowing her... all those memories lost... she couldn't... she just couldn't face him...
Knock Knock
Aerith didn't acknowledge it, she couldn't stop sobbing enough to get up and go to the door. It opened anyway, followed by the heavy, but still gentle footfall she recognized as Angeal. He sat down next to her on the bed and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"I never did ask about Zack in your visions of the future," murmured Angeal before continuing with a bit of hesitation "I... take it what happened to him wasn't good."
"No...," she croaked.
"I see," murmured Angeal with regret, "But... that reaction seemed... rather strong..."
She sniffled. "He... was my first love..."
"Ah," said Angeal, a curious tone in his voice, "But to have that reaction from a vision?"
That tone put her already frayed nerves on fire. Stupid stupid stupid! Her actions let him know something was off...
She forced herself to shakily sit up and turn her tear stained face to him, giving a truth in a lie, "When I had them... it was like I lived through them..."
Angeal blinked a few times, seeming unsettled, "Oh..."
She sniffled. "He was... so sweet, so charming... so protective... he helped build me a flower wagon to sell the flowers I grew... he bought me a ribbon... one of those special accessory ones..."
Both of Angeal's eyebrows raised. "Those... are expensive and rare... even I don't have one."
He made a soft smile. "Good pup."
They both shared a pained laugh.
Angeal closed his eyes for a moment. "How... did he die Aerith? Sephiroth?"
Aerith shook her head, a choking noise escaping her throat. "He... he was... captured by Hojo..."
Angeal went completely rigged, a mortified look on his face. "..."
"He and... a friend... were experimented on for five years when Sephiroth had first appeared to be beaten after he went mad... Hojo... was trying to... make new Sephiroths out of them... turn them into clones...," she forced out painfully.
"So he died in Hojo's labs?" Angeal asked, his own voice choking now.
"No... he escaped with his friend, who was comatose from Mako Poisoning. He was trying to... to... get back to me..., but he was stopped by the Shinra Army... he could have gotten away... but... that would have forced him to leave his friend behind," she struggled out.
"Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens, protect your honor as SOLDIER," she spoke out weakly, "It... was one of the last things he said before he... he... was gunned down... he took out almost the entire army..."
Angeal bowed his head. "I see..."
There was heavy, brooding silence in the room for a few minutes.
Angeal sighed heavily and rose to his feet. "Come, let's get you to Doctor Crescent."
Aerith nodded and followed Angeal out of the room.
"So... would you say I became a hero?" came a voice behind them.
Aerith went rigged, unable to bring herself to turn around. That voice... those words... they had been his final ones... oh goddess...
Angeal cleared his throat and turned to his apprentice. "Zackery Fair... eavesdropping is not an admirable trait."
"Neither is keeping something like that from me," countered Zack, "Angeal... you've been a mess all day after you got back from your meeting while we were tearing through the city on a wild goose chase. If she told you whatever happened to you with her future vision voodoo stuff, don't I deserve to know as well?"
Before Angeal could reply, Aerith choked out a weak, "Yes..."
She heard Zack walk forward and flinched when he put a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks... and Miss Aerith... as much as I'd like to take a cute girl like you on a date, I ain't gonna hurt you like that. I'd still like to be friends, but, when your ready, and not when that future vision voodoo stuff hurts so much."
With that, Zack walked past her and out of sight down the hall.
"He's... a good pup," said Angeal admiringly.
"He is," echoed Aerith weakly, a soft smile on her lips, "Future voodoo stuff? Really Zack?"
She giggled a little. "New vocabulary, but, he never really changes."
Angeal chuckled. "No, I suppose not, and to still hold onto his dreams and honor five years after having Hojo's hands on him... he's was a stronger man than I was in your visions... and probably than I am now."
Aerith closed her eyes and nodded. "He was. To be honest, there was only one man who you could argue ended up stronger in character then him by the end."
"Who?" asked Angeal, curious.
"My second love, the friend he died saving," she whispered, her voice haunted, before she started down the hall.
They rejoined the main group, which lacked Zack, and made for the Science Department. She was extremely hesitant to walk into that place willingly, at least until she saw the mess it was in. Turks and scientists were scrambling to get everything under control and in order. Experiments were being moved and disposed of, cleaning out Hojo's taint from this place. It would be reborn, hopefully using science to better humanity as it should have instead of descending it into depravity and madness.
Vincent and Lucrecia were waiting in a bare white room that had nothing but a table with straps on it and a moveable cart with supplies on it. Aerith walked in alone, her escort dispersing, and tensed a bit... she had been in this very room as a child... she and her real mom... she could remember mom being strapped down and... and...
She shook her head violently and banished the memory before approaching the two.
Lucrecia gave her nod. "Ancient."
"I have a name you know," said Aerith.
Lucrecia gave her a weak smile. "I haven't earned the right to say it yet, not after you gave me this second chance."
"Oh dilly dally," she answered, giving the woman a smile, "Aerith is fine."
Lucrecia nodded. "Very well... Aerith."
She giggled. "See? Was that so hard?"
Lucrecia smiled at her. "Shall we?"
Aerith took a deep breath and moved to the table, tensing a bit, but forcing herself to lay down. "Do... we have to use the straps?"
Lucrecia sighed. "I'm sorry, but, from what I've read of Hojo's processes, the Mako injection process can have some... drastic side effects. I'm not going to pretend to know how the Mako will work on an Ancient, nor how it will work on a female, especially without Jenova Cells being used as a stabilizing agent."
Aerith gave her a thin look. "There's nothing 'stabilizing' about Jenova and how her cells helped bind Mako to the body. It's an aberration of nature, an unnatural fusion."
Lucrecia winced. "Sorry..."
Aerith shook her head. "No, it's... fine. To be frank, I'm not sure what I'm doing is much better. The process will be a bit more... harmonious... with my cells instead of Jenova's, but Mako isn't supposed to be put into a body like this to begin with, period. Even if the planet gave me it's blessing, this... is still a sin."
She closed her eyes painfully. "But a necessary one... I can't take the chance of things going wrong if I remain weak..."
Lucrecia nodded, beginning to strap Aerith down with the restraints. "I understand."
"First... I would like to take a pre-enhanced blood and tissue sample to use as a culture if need be, just incase your enhanced cells cant be used in the process," explained Lucrecia.
Aerith nodded and closed her eyes, breathing shakily. "Do... what you have to do."
The needles... the poking... the prodding... the brief sharp pains... it all echoed in her memories as Lucrecia went about her work. At least this time... there was a bit of gentleness about it all. Lucrecia was no Hojo, she gave Aerith warnings and talked quietly and gently, distracting her from her uncomfortableness, as a real good doctor should. It made the process a little bit more bearable.
Lucrecia held up a glowing vial, Aerith could feel the presence of the planet within it. "Before we begin, there are risks that we must go over."
"Mako poisoning," Aerith murmured, "Being the worst possible outcome, leading to coma and death."
Lucrecia nodded. "Yes, but, the little we inject usually doesn't result in that, thankfully."
"No, I suppose not. Dunking in mako for years is generally what does," she murmured.
Lucrecia winced. "Hojo?"
Aerith nodded, but did not elaborate.
Lucrecia cleared her throat. "Most SOLDIERs survive the process, but, there is a barrage of side effects during, and shortly after, that they have to suffer through. Extreme hallucinations, incoherent thoughts and speech, mental instability, loss of control, muscle spasms, sometimes extreme violence to self and others, and apparently one hell of a headache afterwords that beats any alchohol based hangover, or so the SOLDIERs say. Mutations are very rare, but, I won't lie to you and hide the possibility. It's... not pretty when it happens from what I've read and the pictures I've seen."
Aerith nodded again, offering a weak smile. "I understand."
Aerith knew a bit more than Lucrecia thought. The hallucinations weren't exactly what Shinra thought they were. Mako was the processed, liquid form of the lifestream. In it was carried the fragments of the souls of the departed. Once injected, memories, feelings, experiences, all of it would hit a SOLDIER. Of course, it wasn't just human souls, but animal, monster, and plants as well. Thus the need for a strong will. Going through so many different lives and existences required someone strong enough to keep a hold of who they were as a person.
"Are you ready?" asked Lucrecia.
Aerith nodded a final time. "Yes. Do it."
Lucrecia motioned Vincent over. "Hold her arm steady please."
Vincent walked over and did so, peering down at Aerith with glowing gold eyes. "The planet will not forsake its Fail-Safe, but I doubt the experience will be pleasant."
"Thanks for the 'good' bedside manner Chaos," muttered Aerith.
Lucrecia started briefly, shooting Vincent-Chaos a questioning look.
The demon raised an eyebrow. "I doubt these restraints will hold back the incoherent wrath of an Ancient, Vincent agrees I should be in control."
So different... back in the original timeline, Vincent and Chaos had never really gotten along. Vincent had always struggled to suppress the WEAPON, causing a constant war and friction between the two. Chaos was erratic during the time, spurned on by the Calamity's presence. Chaos... had never acted nor spoken as clearly and controlled as he was now. Apparently the activation of the Fail-Safe was impact-full on the WEAPON. It was... good... to see the two of them working together, she had only really seen it before in the final battle against Deepground and Omega...
Wait...
DEEPGROUND!
Oh goddess, she had completely forgotten to mention that!
Inject
Aerith gave a startled cry as Lucrecia injected the mako into her arm and Chaos gripped her arms tightly. "Steady child."
Aerith tried to call out, to tell them to wait, Deepground was more important, it had to be handled NOW, before it could get out of control, before poor Shelke was abducted and experimented on! Unfortunately, a burning sensation shot through her arms, making a pained cry rip out of her instead. She began to shiver, sweat pouring down her forehead.
"First injection is in," murmured Lucrecia, "Second will be dispensed in thirty seconds. Keep calm and breath Aerith."
Her body began to tremble and spasm as Lucrecia injected the second vial into her. "Third and final dosage will be in three minutes once the tremors subside."
Aerith convulsed, moaning. "S-sh...el...ke..."
Her vision began to blur, shadows dancing across the room. Sensations and sounds entered her mind: the sound of wind blowing across an open field of grass, the creaking of trees, the howling of wolves, the beating of a dragons wing. Laughter in a pub... screams of agony on a battlefield... the wailing of a newborn child... the too and fro of the waves on the beach of an ocean...
She let loose a blood curdling scream as she felt another burning sensation enter her arm, she heard a faint voice, "Thir...sage...applied...er...steady...aos..."
Images flew through her mind at speeds she couldn't follow. It was... oh goddess... it wasn't supposed to be like this! This wasn't like bathing in the current of the lifestream! It was a chaotic jumbled mess... unnatural... overwhelming... the souls were screaming... it wasn't... it wasn't...
Her head began spinning, the room distorting... someone was... there... glasses... ponytail... that face... Hojo...
"HOJO!" she screamed in fear, aiming a hand at the apparition.
Energy burst from her hands at the madman, only for someone to tackle him out of the way at the last second. NO! NO! She didn't want to be here! She didn't want to be here! No more needles, no more poking, no more experiments! No no no no no!
"LET ME GO!" she screamed, thrashing, hearing the snaps of restraints on the table.
A blurry form was at her side, powerful hands keeping her pressed down. "Cal...ild...afe...top!"
She didn't understand, couldn't... couldn't think... had to... had to get... away...
She curled a fist, a chilly aura surrounding her hand, before an ice spike formed in her palm and she drove it into the creature towering over her. There was a sharp intake of pain before the hands shifted and pinned down her wrists instead of her arms. She began to struggle and wail uncontrollably. Hojo had her! He was going to experiment on her again! What if he... oh goddess, what if he tried breeding her again like he had tried to do with her and Nanaki?
No no no no...
A heavy, powerful, orange glow of a limit break began to surround her, energy cackling around her... shaking the table... and the entire building itself from what it felt like...
"She'll kill us both!" a voice screamed.
She... she... had to get away... HAD TO GET AWAY HAD TO HAD TO HAD TO HAD...
PEACE CHILD
Aerith gave a startled cry, "P-planet?!"
PEACE
She gave a terrified sob. "Scared... so scared..."
SLEEP
She began to feel fuzzy. "S...sle...eep..."
Aerith's body began to slowly relax, the orange glow faded, and her head tilted to the side. "C-cloud... Zack... I'm... so... sorry..."
Aerith looked up at a strange sound, blinking rapidly. Where was she... oh...
She was upon the alter in the Forgotten Capital, praying for Holy... that's right... she had to stop Sephiroth... wait... was that Cloud?
He was standing over her, Buster Sword held up high.
"CLOUD STOP!" a voice screamed.
Only... he didn't stop...
Aerith screamed as the blade tore into her, knocking her to the floor and spilling her blood across the alter.
A deep chuckle emanated from above as Sephiroth descended from the sky and landed next to horrified Cloud, leaning to his ear to whisper, "You have done well my Puppet."
Aerith let out a pained sob, looking up at her friend. "C-cloud..."
"Finish the rest so we may partake in our Reunion," purred Sephiroth.
Broken by his sin, eyes empty, Cloud turned towards the others, blade clenched tightly in hand. Tifa, Zack, Cissnei, Vincent, and Tseng, his single arm already cocking his gun, readied themselves. Aerith watched, agonized, as Cloud and Sephiroth murdered her friends before returning to the alter. Sephiroth knelt next to her, pulling the Holy Materia out of her ribbon. He admired the jewel for a moment before crushing it in his hand, dust falling out of his palm. Aerith let loose a pained wail at the horrifying sight.
"I give you despair," he whispered to her, leaning down to give a kiss tasting of death...
No... no... that... wasn't what... happened... what was... going on...?
"Shh, beloved daughter, shhh," murmured a familiar voice.
Who... was that...?
Aeirth and Sephiroth stood side by side in the depths of the Northern Crater, bladed staff and Masamune angled together, pointing the weapons at Angeal Hewely, who had the monstrous form of Jenova floating behind him.
"Mother gave you your chance Sephiroth, you disappointed her, why do you not honor your family? Do you want to suffer Genesis's, suffer Zack's fate? If it's about the Ancient, Mother would let you keep her," scolded Angeal.
Sephiroth tensed. "Honor? You DARE speak to me of honor Angeal? After what you've done? Where is your pride, SOLDIER?"
Angeal cocked his head. "Pride? I have great pride."
He threw back his head and laughed. "The pride of being Mother's Chosen One."
He drew his Buster Sword and angled it towards them. "Shinra and SOLDIER was a lie my brother, only Mother hold's the truth. Accept it."
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Truth is what we make of the facts and situations we are given. And right now, the truth I accept is that you are no brother of mine, only a twisted mockery of the great man you used to be. Aerith, handle Jenova, I will deal with Hewely's... disciplining..."
Aerith nodded and glared full force at the Calamity. "You won't win Jenova! Not this time!"
With that, the battle was joined, Aerith pushing herself off the ground and leaping at the Calamity, bladed staff held high in the air shining with energy...
Angeal... had delved into... madness... instead of... Sephiroth...? She... was fighting... Jenova... head on...? But... who... won...?
"Peace, my beloved daughter, peace," whispered a familiar voice.
M...mom?
Genesis, Angeal, and Aerith sat down together ontop of the Junon Mako Cannon, minds and hearts heavy.
"Do you think... Seph found peace in the end?" asked Angeal.
Aerith shrugged sadly. "I... don't know. I'd like to think so, but..."
Genesis took a bite of a Banora apple. "A Hero at the end, how I wanted to take that tittle from him... but... as he showed me, that tittle must be earned."
He lowered the apple. "To stand in the face of that horrific truth, to finally buck Jenova's control, to take Jenova down with him..."
He sighed. "My friend, the fates are cruel."
Aerith sniffled. "He struggled, he fought so hard, even after what Jenova forced him to do... he didn't deserve that fate. Cruel indeed... but... it's over... I guess."
Genesis nodded. "I suppose it is."
There was a soft patter of feet as Zack and Cloud joined them. "Can we get in on this pity party too?"
Aerith shot him a look. "Zack!"
He made a sad face. "Ciss is gone too, and don't even get me started on Tifa."
Cloud choked a little.
Aerith's face softened. "I... know... we all lost someone we loved..."
She looked up into the sky, tears streaming down her face. "Sephiroth... please be at peace..."
Loved...? She... lost someone...? She couldn't... mean Sephiroth... could she...? Mom... what was... this...?
"What can be, what may be...," came the familiar voice.
Wait... that voice... it wasn't...
Aerith smiled cruelly at Sephiroth who laid bloody and battered at her feet. "Some Chosen One you turned out to be. Mother? Why did you even want this... failure... kept around? Even Cloud fought harder than he did. Or were you to weak to fight against your dear beloved? Is that it, Seph? You weakling!"
Jenova floated past her, staring down, almost sadly, at Sephiroth. "He had such potential. It's a shame I suppose."
"Mother? May I?" Aerith begged.
Jenova turned her back on Sephiroth. "Do it. Then we shall feed on this planet and ride its corpse through the stars to the next."
Aerith twirled her bladed staff high into the air, a mad glint on her face. "Goodbye, Seph."
Sephiroth weakly looked up at her. "A-aeirth... fight it... please... this isn't... you..."
Aerith gave a laugh and brought the bladed staff down, severing Sephiroth's head from his shoulders. In her eyes glowed an unnatural green glow, the slits of her eyes narrow like a cats...
No... NO... she... no... why...? Impossible... she and Jenova... it was... impossible!
"There are many possible futures and path's my beloved daughter, some, are far more grim than others," came a familiar voice, "Though how she could have possibly tainted you with my purity running through your veins is a troubling thought."
M... Minerva...?
Aerith and Zack laid against one another on the couch of their apartment, watching their twin boys toss little blocks at eachother in their playpen.
"Heeey! Gen and Geal, don't be to rough!" called over Zack.
Aerith giggled. "If your worried, go stop them."
Zack rolled his eyes. "As if. I could hardly stop the older pair from going at it, this pair would keeeeeel me!"
Aerith's giggles faded. "Zack... I... never did question why..."
Zack's face softened. "It's... the least I could do, to carry on their memory, their honor and pride."
Zack laughed and shook his head. "What am I doing? Spikey's gonna come out of the Lifestream and scold me again if I keep this up."
She smiled. "Him or Angeal."
Zack rolled his eyes. "I don't know which of them would be worse. To be honest, I'd rather Sephiroth somehow come back to life from the Lifestream than deal with either of their nipping again."
Aerith tensed at his words before relaxing. "That won't happen Zack, I made sure of it."
Zack gave her a questioning look, but Aerith merely shook her head and pulled him closer, giving him a deep passionate kiss.
Her... and Zack... children... she wanted... to see... their faces... hold them... her children...
"It is my own hopes and prayers that you receive an ending similar to this, my beloved daughter," came a familiar voice.
M... Minerva? But... she died...
Aerith and Cloud walked silently through the ruins of Midgar, memories of the day the world stood still plaguing them. Their friends... so many people... the cost had been high, to high...
"Was this how it was supposed to be?" questioned Cloud sullenly.
Aerith sighed. "The planet still stands, the last traces of Jenova are gone from the lifestream, and Sephiroth is dead. It's... not a perfect ending, but... at least it's over..."
A black feather drifted out of the sky, causing them to pause and stare at it in a stupor. A shadow passed over them, causing them to look up, startled, as a figure landed on debris a ways infront of them.
"Impossible...," whispered Aerith.
Cloud tensed and drew First Tsurugi off his back. "Impossible! We JUST killed him!"
Sephiroth, his one wing extending behind his back, chuckled deeply and stepped off the ruin, slowly drawing Masamune . "Did you, my puppet?"
Aerith was mortified. How could he be back? The Planet had destroyed his soul. On top of that, there were no remnants... no Geostigma... no Jenova left for him to reform from. Reunion was impossible. How... just... how?
Aerith clenched her fists and reached behind her, pulling the Buster Sword off her back, and whispering a desperate prayer, "Zack... Angeal... please give me strength!"
"Sephiroth!" shouted Cloud, "What do you want? Why wont you leave us alone?"
Sepiroth smiled cruelly at him. "What I want, Cloud, is..."
"Let me guess," spat out Aerith, "To sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as your vessel, just as your mother did long ago."
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, seeming greatly amused. "No, little Ancient, not this time."
Aerith blinked a few times. This time?
"What I want, Cloud, is to watch you break and kneel before me, begging for forgiveness," said Sephiroth, tightening his grip, before turning to Aerith, "And you, little Ancient, this time, you won't escape me."
Aerith's eyebrows furrowed. Escape? This time? Sephiroth was acting even more deranged than usual...
She had little time to think as Sephiroth burst into the air and flew down at them. Together, her and Cloud rushed to face him...
She... Buster Sword... how... why...? Sephiroth revived... without Reunion...?
"The future holds many questions," said a familiar voice, "Many outcomes and possibilities, many which remain unknown."
Minerva? Is... that you...?
An outline of the goddess slowly began to appear in-front of her...
Aerith watched grimly with despair from her perch on Omega's shoulder's as Sephiroth fought alone against the hordes of Jenova's tainted victims that were trying to lay claim to the last pure strands of the lifestream. She... had failed... but... it was not over yet. Gaia could still escape, could still be reborn again elsewhere. There could be one, final, second chance... but... not for everyone...
Those taken by Jenova would find only her gorging stomach as their final resting place...
And Sephiroth...
She let out a sob...
Sephiroth could not be carried by Omega, he was tainted. He was doomed, fated to spend his last moments fighting alone against Jenova, a final stand, his last battle, as the planet fell apart and died around him. At the sound of her sob, Sephiroth turned his head, giving her a brief, curt nod and mouthed the word 'Go'.
Tears rolled down her face. "I'm so sorry..."
Omega gave a roar and began to take off, having absorbed the last of the pure lifestream.
She held out a desperate hand and screamed, "SEPHIROTH!"
An orange glow began to coat the man as the hordes spilled over him and the planet began to buck and grumble. His blade sung faster and faster, fire licking along his blade.
The last word, the last sound, the last sight of him as she was absorbed into its body and Omega took to the skies was a word filled with huge power as a new star was born. "SUPERNOVA!"
Sacrifice... redemption... if ever a moment to feel it... for that man...
"We are in agreement, there are as many futures of redemption for that man as there are a second fall," spoke the voice of the Goddess, "Though, in some, neither happens, he simply lives as but a man."
Aerith could feel the tug of another future yearning for her, but, this time, she resisted it, struggling. "M-minerva... you are alive...?"
She shook her head, finding herself levitating in a strange, empty, white space. It wasn't the injection room... she wasn't in the lifestream either... what was going on?
Minerva formed infront of her, but appeared weak, faint. "Not for long my child, not for long. One last gift. One last warning. One last shred of hope. As the lifestream binds to your body, what remains of me will fade into your soul, hushed and silent, forevermore. We offer you this one last silent sacrifice."
Aerith gave her a pained look. "B-but Goddess..."
Minerva shook her head. "It's alright my child. This fate was chosen the moment we initiated the Fail-Safe. That we have even lasted long enough to see the beginnings of a brighter future has given us one, final, peace and moment of hope. We pray for you my child, we truly do."
Aerith floated over and embraced Minerva, whispering, "Thank you."
"Dream my child, dream. And while you may not remember all of what you see, may it help to show you a path to a brighter future," whispered Minerva, using her hands to gently close Aerith's eyes and embrace her tightly, one last time, as the Goddess's body melded into Aerith's...
Author's Notes:
Echoes refers to both Zack / Minerva / Future Echoes.
I was tempted to end it simply when Aerith fell unconscious, buuuut, i wanted to personally toy with possible endings of this story, discarding them as I went. In case you guys didn't notice, I'm not impartial to a bad ending. If this story ends badly, it ends badly, sometimes the goodguys just don't win.
But...
As Minerva said...
"The future holds many questions, many outcomes and possibilities, many which remain unknown."
/teasing.
Review Responses:
DarkLegendarysoldier: I enjoy when people like my work, unfortunately, there is no set timetable for when I update, especially since I have like... 4-5 stories running at once. I devote almost all my freetime to writing, I'd give more, but, full time jobs OP.
Lady Yomi: Tee hee, Aerith can be scary when mad, and yes, changes will steadily become more apparent. Thanks for agreeing on the Lucrecia/Sephiroth note, I didn't think Sephiroth would be the type to have a reuniting breakdown, so, an angry and resentful, but still open and controlled Sephiroth seemed more appropriate.
Theres... actually a very big plot point that will eventually be shown about Hojo. Just how did he become aware of what was happening? Hmmmm!
And yes, keep the reviews coming, I always enjoy feedback.
Unlike Us: Hoooolly shit, mega review. Yessss...
There was an issue with updates being sent, I actually got an error message whenever I submitted a chapter for awhile despite it going through, it seems to be fixed now.
You are correct on pretty much everything you said about Sephiroth, and some of your related guesses as well. Won't say which ones though :tease:
Aerith and SOLDIER is going to be a... interesting, if but complicated mater. Especially considering Aerith is practically forcing herself into it, without any particular training or testing that all SOLDIERs go through. How they react will remain to be seen. Some may accept it, some may not. Additional girls will eventually happen, though, it might not be for a bit, aside from Lucrecia and Cissnei. Tifa will eventually make an eventual appearance. Yuffie? I haven't decided on her yet.
Black Materia isn't going to be a major plot point like it was in FF7.
It will take a long while for Aerith to become completely comfortable around Sephiroth, if I do go down the 'Sephiroth is a good guy' route. There will be tense moments, especially the first time Aerith ever spares/fights against him, whether he is good or bad. Whether or not she and Sephiroth connect, well, that remains to be seen. It is possible, as some of the futures teased above showed, but will it be chosen for this story? Who knows... oh wait... the pairing is listed in the story heading. :teaseing smile:
Aerith met Zack in the chapter, it didn't go to well for her. :sadface:, and yeah, Angeal got a bit of a clue from Aerith's reaction to the puppy, though Aerith did a good save.
Deepground was recognized, and subsequently rolled over by mako injections. What repercussions that is going to have remain to be seen, as, I'm going to tease it now, she's not going to remember about that thought when she wakes up.
Cadet Cloud, heh, Aerith's reaction to him probably wont initially be just pointing him out. I expect full-open jaw shock and surprise. Well, unless she hardens up a bit before then and learns to control her reactions to seeing the people of her past.
As a note to your final question: I do not do short stories. I do epics. This will go on for many chapters, at least 20+ easily, maybe 50 or more depending on how I play out the conflicts.
Eveleech: How Angeal copes with this exactly, remains to be seen. It will still be a point that is to be addressed.