Unspoken
By mihoyonagi
Chapter 49: Peace
Everything around him was filled with light. The air was warm, and overflowing with hope.
Love.
Love was all around him.
Slowly, Sephiroth drew his eyes open. The colors of the Lifestream flickered in and out of existence before him, gently cradling his floating body. He felt as though he was immersed in water, weightless, yet his lungs filled with sweet, fresh air. Taking a deep breath in and letting it out in a relaxed sigh, Sephiroth pondered if his plan had actually worked. His memory a blur, he tried to piece everything back together.
He had jumped off the lip of the innermost sanctum of the crater, into the core of all life on the planet. He remembered Masamune hitting the flesh of Jenova, cleaving her withered body in two. Her pieces fell from the small perch she had embedded herself on and she, along with Sephiroth, fell toward the bright, warm light of the Lifestream.
A sudden tingling sensation warmed Sephiroth down to his toes. His ears filled with the sound of laughter and even though his heart was full of worry over the prospect of having inadvertently killing Aerith in trying to save both her and the planet, his heart felt light.
Suddenly, a gentle voice sang out in his ears.
"You've saved us."
The voice was a collective - as though a thousand spoke with the clarity of one – and Sephiroth knew without having to ask that it was the voice of the Lifestream, of the planet, itself.
He shook his head, wishing away the praise. Sephiroth had killed Jenova for selfish reasons – to save, and for the adoration of, Aerith; to save what Aerith cherished so; for revenge.
The lights of the planet grew brighter in front of him, as if chiding him for his thoughts. Again, the voice rang out. "Though you think your actions were selfish in origin, what you have done has saved us, as well as our last child."
Sephiroth knew the planet meant Aerith, and the Cetra blood within her. If she were gone, the Lifestream would have no others to converse freely with, save the souls of the dead that flowed within it.
The glow burned a deep pink, and Sephiroth suddenly missed Aerith's company. Since they had been brought back, they hadn't willingly left the other's side. To be without her put a hole in Sephiroth's heart. Obviously sensing such, the Lifestream let out another warming bout of laughter, though this time it sounded somewhat teasing.
"Do you wish to see her?"
His heart swelled. Of course he wanted to see her. He wanted to see her and hold her and kiss her and tell her that she was his everything.
The planet's melodious voice rang out again, as if it had sensed his love for Aerith. "There is much you've learned, little one, but still much more you must uncover. Begin your life anew once more, and tell her you love her with the love you have shown us. You are the greatest gift we can offer her."
Sephiroth shielded his eyes, for everything around him had begun to burn brightly.
The next thing he knew was cold.
A deep, near-freezing rush surrounded him, stole the breath from his lungs, and threatened to drown him. He kicked wildly with his legs, desperate to be rid of the pressure around his head and chest. Opening his mouth, he tried to take in a breath of air-
His mouth filled with water.
Spitting and coughing, Sephiroth broke the water's surface and tired his best to take a deep breath. His chest heaved as he kicked his legs as hard as he could and pushed himself to the bank. With his elbows, he pulled himself onto a shallow, grassy knoll and tried regulate his breathing. His air intake finally under control, Sephiroth sat up, curiously gazing about and taking in his surroundings.
Reality suddenly kicked him in the head.
He knew these woods! He was back in the forests of Mideel, resting in the same patch of grass he and Aerith had woken up in only months ago.
Trying, once again, to regulate his breathing, Sephiroth calmed his mind and body. He reached out with his consciousness, desperately searching for Aerith.
He found her. North. She was at the hospital.
For a split second, he pondered how much time had passed since he had plunged into the Lifestream. Then, with a startling and abrupt realization that he didn't give a damn, Sephiroth shot to his feet. Up and running in an instant, he willed his legs to pump as fast as they could. He watched as the forest whipped past his sight in a blur. All he could think about was Aerith, and how he needed to be at her side.
He sped through the town, narrowly dodging vendor carts and people alike, weaving in and out of an entwining maze of familiar people and places. Several people shouted at him in welcome, while several others chided him for his reckless speed. Sephiroth blocked them all out.
As he neared the hospital, he attempted to clear his mind and find Aerith once more through their stream of connected consciousness. His heart pulled to the left. The moment his feet set foot past the hospital's sliding glass double doors, he pivoted and willed his body to keep going, despite the pains that grew in his calves and knees.
There, at the end of the hall.
He threw the door open.
His breath caught.
There, in a hospital bed, attached to numerous wires and beeping machines, laid his flower girl. His heart skipped a beat, then began to hammer in his chest like it were about to explode. He began to tremble.
Oh Planets and angels, she looked like death had already claimed her.
Her skin was pale like that of a doll's, her cheeks no longer holding their pink hue. The color was fading from her lips, turning gray and withered.
The only thing that brought his mind back to his body was the sharp intake of breath from the profuse amount of people that apparently also inhabited the room, all of whom had a facial expression that represented 'shocked beyond all belief' quite well.
Cloud's took a deep breath. "I watched you dive into the crater. How are you still alive?"
Sephiroth let out a shuddering sigh, shook his head, and turned once again to Aerith.
"She's been like this since we got back." Sephiroth recognized Yuffie's voice. She heard her take a few steps toward the hospital bed. "Vincent got her back here as quick as he could, but the doctor isn't sure if she-"
Another person barged through the door.
"What on the planet's green face is going on? I heard a report that someone was running down the halls of my hospital like he had Ifrit breathing down his back."
Sephiroth looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Rej, the kind doctor who had given so much help to him and Aerith. The way Rej's face paled, however, bothered Sephiroth.
Cloud took a few steps forward, standing next to Yuffie. "He won't hurt her, doctor."
Rej swallowed the obvious lump that had formed in his throat. Sephiroth knew that Cloud had told the doctor of his and Aerith's pasts. It was, however, of little matter at the moment. Sephiroth forced everything from his mind and focused on Aerith.
Slowly, he made his way to the side of the bed. He gently took up Aerith's arm, being careful not to disturb the IV that hung from her wrist. Taking a deep breath, he willed himself enough courage to reach out…
The voice that sounded throughout the room was deep, foreign.
"Aerith."
All those in the enclosure gasped, and someone behind him – most likely Yuffie, he surmised – squeaked loudly.
The deep voice rang out again.
"Aerith."
Stirring ever so slightly in her sleep, Aerith twitched.
"Aerith, open your eyes."
A startled gasp came from her mouth, and before those in the room had registered what was going on, Aerith had sat up and was gasping for breath, reaching out with her hands as if to grab a hold of something, anything, that would tie her to the world of the conscious.
Sephiroth gathered Aerith's hands in his own, bringing them to his lips and gently kissing her knuckles.
"Everything is fine. Breath, little one. Relax. All is well, Aerith."
Coughing as though she was winded, Aerith leaned back and tried to regain a normal breathing pattern. Words fell from her lips at a mile a minute, so fast Sephiroth was sure even she couldn't understand what she was saying.
"You jumped, you idiot! I told you not to leave me, and what did you do? You jumped, and you jumped without me! I stepped in front of that damned tentacle to save your ass, and what do you do? You jump! You-"
Awe suddenly replaced any and all emotion apparent on Aerith's face.
Again, Sephiroth brought her hands up to his lips, placing light kisses on the back of each of her palms. He could feel his smile stretching clear across his face.
"Aerith, I told you that all is well. I'm here now, aren't I? I won't leave you again."
Pulling her hands from his grasp, Aerith cradled Sephiroth's face within her palms.
"Your voice! It's back!"
If it were at all possible, Sephiroth smile would have widened. "Indeed."
"How?" Her face was still wide with wonder.
"When I realized that I had something to live for. When I realized how much I wanted to tell you I love you."