Final Fantasy VII: The Story 2nd Instalment

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Part Eight: You Will Lose Something Dear

Chapter Twenty-Four

As Cloud had feared, chaos almost broke loose the next morning when the rest of the companions heard about Cait's treachery. At first Cloud had been against letting the others know what the cat had done, but Aeris had insisted that the others had a right to know the truth. And besides, how else was Cloud going to explain the sudden disappearance of the Keystone without incriminating himself?

However, Cloud's biggest problem was not admitting that Cait was a traitor, or losing the Keystone. His biggest problem was Barret, and letting him know that his daughter, Marlene, was in the hands of the Shinra. He knew how Barret would react. When asked why they had to let Cait stay in their party, Cloud had been hesitant in his answer. He had no choice but to tell them about Marlene. He bit his lip.

Sure enough, Barret did not like hearing that news one bit. He flew instantly into a dangerous, livid rage and almost throttled Cait there and then. His nostrils flared, his muscles pumped dangerously; he yelled, he cursed, and he smashed up a good few chairs in his rage, trying to reach the treacherous cat. It took Vincent, Cid and Cloud to hold the big man back and stop him causing damage. They succeeded in keeping the big man in check, just, but not without receiving a few self-sacrificed bruises in return. All the while Cait had stood there, his face sullen, and didn't say anything.

The noise had proved to be too much for Cloud. He went back upstairs to his bedroom and let himself fall back on the bed, listening to the sounds of chaos coming from below. He shut his eyes for a few minutes and stared into the darkness, trying to blot out the noise and encase himself in silence.

Eventually the noises from below began to calm down. Cloud could no longer hear Barret's enraged voice, and it sounded like no more chairs were being broken. In his mind Cloud pictured the scene below. Barret would be standing with his arms folded, refusing to look at anyone. Cid would be sullen and grumpy. Vincent's face would be, as usual, expressionless, along with Red XIII. Tifa and Aeris would together be apologising to the clerk for the mess and paying for whatever damage they could. Yuffie would probably be distracted. Cait… he didn't care what the cat did.

Slowly Cloud sat up. It was now completely silent on the floor below. Strolling over to the cabinet Cloud picked up his large sword and the Yoshiyuki, and began to strap it once again to his back. Time to test his theory.

He stepped out of the bedroom.

Sure enough the others were standing almost exactly like he had pictured them, with a few differences, of course. Barret was standing with his arms folded, his lips curled into an expression of suppressed anger. Most of the broken chairs had been pushed to one side—it seemed as though Aeris and Tifa had made some attempt to clean up the mess.

"What took you so long, Cloud?" Cait said cheerfully. He was by the door waving his megaphone. The arm of the Mog waved with him. "Oh yeah, about the Temple of the Ancients. I think if we take the Tiny Bronco East towards the sea, we should be able to find it. Well then." He rubbed his hands together. "Shall we get goin'? Who's gonna go?" He looked around at the others.

At first no one answered him. They simply glared at him and turned away. Aeris, on the other hand, had pricked up her ears at the mentioning of the Temple. "I want to go!" she announced firmly, turning to Cloud. "I'm going for sure." Cloud nodded.

Temple of the Ancients

At long last the companions arrived at the mysterious Temple of the Ancients. It had taken them hours of long and arduous trekking to reach the Temple. Sweat poured over their bodies, but did little to cool them. Every breath was a struggle, burning inside them. They collapsed onto the wet ground, gasping for breath.

After parking the Tiny Bronco at the edge of the shore they began their long and arduous trek across the plains to the ancient forest that loomed in the distance. The companions had all been in high spirits when they first set off in search of the Temple. The air was warm but not too hot, and the fact that there were no clouds in the sky showed it to be another promising day for their journey.

There had been a light rain the night before, for the grass was soft and damp beneath their feet, and Red XIII revelled in the sweet scents of dew dripping off the leaves. It was tantalising, he had said, urging him to frolic through the grass. Although he resisted that temptation his tail, with its own mind and will, flicked through the tall stalks playfully.

The mood quickly disintegrated. The plains on which they walked seemed to last forever, and the forest never seemed to get any closer. It was almost as though the forest was deliberately keeping its distance from them—watching them from a safe distance. Cloud had laughed at this idea, although it was a half-hearted and somewhat cautious laugh.

The temperature had begun to rise as well. As the sun rose higher into the sky so did the temperature, rising to almost unbearable temperatures. Red XIII's tail stopped its playful game, and his ears began to sag. There was no water apart from what they had brought with them, and even that was beginning to turn warm.

The forest offered no home comforts either. When they finally caught up to the forest (or it finally allowed them in, they couldn't quite be sure) they had hoped that the shade would cool the heat. In reality it only increased, rising to even more unbearable levels. The air became damp and thick with moisture that burned the backs of their throats, caused them to sweat and gasp for breath. Their steps slowed to merely fairy size steps. Red XIII could barely stand—he was almost crawling across the ground. Cid nearly turned around to head back. Cloud was almost in agreement with him, apart from a nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him that he was close. It was at that moment that the Temple came into view.

It was definitely the Temple of the Ancients. There was no doubt about it. Not in Aeris's mind, at least. She looked up through the tops of the dripping, vine-covered trees and the damp, searing heat and saw the top of the Temple emerge through the hazy mist. Barret thought she had been seeing things until he looked up and saw it as well. The others followed and they knew they had found the Temple at last.

It was not easy to reach the Temple. A deep and rocky pit surrounded it. They could not see the bottom, for it was filled with a thick mist that was impossible to see through, even for Red XIII's keen eyes. Yuffie tried dropping a stone through the mist to see how far it went. They never heard it land. The only way across the pit was over a rickety old bridge leading to the Temple gate.

A large stone wall guarded the Temple. Once tall and strong, the wall had fallen into disrepair and was beginning to fall apart. Giant chunks of rock from the wall were missing. They could be found on either side of the wall—lying in crumbling heaps on the soil, sinking into the mud.

The Temple itself still looked intact and in good condition, unlike the wall. It was built like a step-pyramid of ancient times, rising high up so that it was almost level with the trees. The trees themselves seemed to separate around it, the branches growing in opposite directions as a form of respect for the ancient, abandoned structure. There was hardly any mildew growing up the stairs, no signs of damage at all.

Aeris was the first to step up to the Temple. Staggering to her feet she made her way slowly across the bridge. Each step made the bridge shake and quiver beneath her, as though threatening to throw her off. Then, sensing one of their own, the creaking planks of wood began to steady themselves, supporting her instead of fighting her.

Also sensing the presence of other powerful forces around her, Aeris came to a stop in the middle of the bridge. Her skin tingled—a strange, cool feeling that made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She let her eyelids flutter shut and knelt on her knees, opening her heart to the voices that were calling out to her.

"This is… the Temple of the Ancients…" she said. Her voice was low, barely above a whisper, but it cut through the dampness of the air and carried it to the others behind her.

A cold draft brushed past her shoulders. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her. The voices whispered close by. Aeris squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hear the unspoken words.

"I… I know… I feel it… The knowledge of the Ancients… floating… You could become one with the Planet, but you're stopping it with the strength of will. For the future. For us."

She could feel the presence of the unearthly spirit pressing against her, trying to probe her heart for understanding. It was not an uncomfortable feeling. The unseen spirit did not look to hurt her. Aeris knew it could not hurt one of their own, nor did it want to hurt anyone. It was a spirit at peace with itself, but still unable to leave the living plain. Why?

She shuddered again, and she thought that she might faint. She relaxed. Just as the darkness of sleep began to overcome her, she felt a cool hand touch her shoulder and jerk her awake. Aeris's eyes snapped open and looked up. Cloud was standing beside her, a concerned look on his face.

"What are you saying? Do you understand?" Aeris gazed at him. His face was tense and pale, and covered in the damp moisture of the air. Perhaps it was just the mist, but for a moment Aeris thought she saw a green-coloured aura flicker across Cloud's form, and the forms of the others behind her. Was that the essence of the Lifestream flowing through them, as Bugenhagen has taught her?

The voice of the spirit called out to her again, and the green auras vanished. Slowly Aeris stood up, accepting Cloud's hand of help despite the fact that she no longer needed it. Without looking she turned towards the Temple, hearing the voice speak behind her, urging her to follow. Aeris did as commanded and ran across the bridge towards the open doorway in the wall, trying to hear the faintness of the words.

"You're uneasy… But happy?" Aeris slowly looked around her, her eyes moving blankly across the others, who were watching her. Aeris did not see them. The voice whispered once more in her ear. "Because I'm here? I'm sorry… I don't understand."

Aeris stopped as she felt a sudden brush of movement sweep across her face. Ethereal fingers caressed her cheeks, and then her forehead went ice cold. Aeris's eyes fluttered a moment as the spirit's kiss of blessing went through her body and mind, touching her soul. Aeris nodded her head, a movement invisible to the others. Whispering a prayer of thanks for the spirit's kindness, she ran back to the others.

"I want to go inside!" she proclaimed, in such a sudden state of enthusiasm that it made the others nearly jump out of their sweat-caked skins. Aeris looked at Cloud sternly. Although he had no idea what kind of powers the Ancients had, it only took one look from Aeris's firm green eyes to assure him that it was safe. He nodded.

Aeris took charge of the group, leading them past the stone wall and up the Temple stairs. It seemed only right that, as an Ancient, she should be the one to lead the way. This was almost like coming home for her, in a strange sort of way. One of the last known structures of her heritage.

They began to climb. Like the Temple, the stairs had also fought the fate that threatened to break them. The steps were steep and tightly packed, and the exhausted bodies of the companions fought hard against the climb. As though sensing their fatigue, the stairs seemed to widen and lower themselves, making it easier to climb. Aeris explained this as the spirits granting their blessing and allowing them entry to the Temple. Barret was sceptical, but Cloud was not so sure.

When they were halfway up the stairs, Yuffie's eyes trailed towards the door. As she was about to lower her gaze she saw a sudden flash of movement. Calling out to the others and grabbing her shuriken, she began to dart up the stairs. The others followed her, hands also rushing to their weapons.

They reached the top of the stairs, panting, gasping, exhausted. They looked around. The platform was empty, and the doorway was dark and shadowy, but also empty. Eight pairs of eyes turned to glare at Yuffie, who looked around in bewilderment. Barret and Cid hurled an abusive rebuke at her for making them rush, but Yuffie was insistent that she had seen a figure step out of the doorway and fall to the ground. A dark figure, clad in a black cape…

Eventually Aeris turned away from the argument and looked towards the Temple door. Although she could not hear the spirit's voice calling to her now, she could feel its presence beside her, slowly pushing her towards the door, urging her to enter. Holding her staff firmly in her hand, she stepped cautiously into the shadows.

Passing through the door Aeris found herself stepping from a world of light into a pool of infinite shadows. At least, that was how it seemed to her eyes. There was very little light shining inside the Temple, mostly due to the fact that the sun was rising at the back of the Temple, and would not enter the Temple until later in the afternoon. Aeris blinked and peered into the dark, trying to adjust to the shadow.

Steadily her eyes began to adjust and Aeris started to look around her. The inside the Temple was nothing more than a simple small room, which was just about empty apart from four stone pillars holding up the ceiling. The ceiling itself was cracked and torn, and looked ready to drop at any second. The air was dusty and stale, and when mixed with the moisture in the air it made her throat clog up so much that she nearly coughed.

Just as began to cough, something else caught her throat and made her voice stop in mid-choke as some sort of strangled croak. Her sight had cleared completely—her eyes fixed on a shadowy figure that lay ahead of her.

At the other end of the room, just a few feet away from her in fact, was a stone altar. The man was sitting on the ground in front of that altar, one leg drawn up to his chest, the other lying weak against the ground. The man's dark suit had been slashed open, and blood oozed from a terrible wound in the man's chest and stomach, which he was pathetically trying to hold together with his blood-soaked hand. His shirt was almost completely red. Seeing the shadow fall on him he looked up and gazed at Aeris through lengths of dark hair and hazy vision.

Aeris gasped, her voice echoing strangely in the silence of the room. "Hey! It's Tseng!" she cried. She completely forgot about her cough.

Hearing Aeris's startled cry, Cloud entered the Temple and stood beside her. After blinking for a few seconds to clear his sight he too saw Tseng sitting weakly at the foot of the altar. Seeing them looking, the Turk tried desperately to stand. He held onto the edge of the altar with one hand, while the other clutched pathetically at his wound, trying to hold the slashed shards of shirt and flesh together.

"Tseng? Of the Turks?" Cloud said, astonished. He knew he should not be surprised to see the Turks or the Shinra here before them—Cait had already warned them about that. Then he saw Tseng's wound. He stared at it, feeling a sudden pang of fear and sympathy for the Turk leader. Did he really want to know how it happened?

Before he could ask the question Tseng was on his feet, albeit weakly, and was starting to limp over towards them. He was limping, his left leg dragging almost lifelessly behind him—another painful injury. The pain showed on his face as he gasped and sweated, making his way over to stand a little ways in front of Cloud.

"Uh… I've been had," he muttered through gritted teeth as he staggered over to the group. "It's not the Promised Land… Sephiroth's searching for…"

Cloud's eyes widened. The strange pressing sensation that had been growing in the back of his mind since they left the Tiny Bronco pressed a little harder. His head began to throb a little. "Sephiroth! He's inside?"

"Look… For yourself…" Tseng mumbled, waving his free hand towards the altar behind him. The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness rushing to his head. His good leg wobbled beneath him, threatening to give in. Tseng fought to stay standing.

Eventually the wobbling ceased. Tseng steadied himself. The effort cost him deeply, as more drips of precious lifeblood slid down his hand. Tseng looked down at his wound with a saddened smile. He sighed.

"Damn…" he said softly, never taking his eyes off his blood-stained shirt. "Letting Aeris go was the start… of my… bad luck…" He tried to straighten himself, but the pain caused him to gasp. He bit his lip hard, causing that to bleed, too. "The President… was wrong…"

Aeris, who had been staring at Tseng with widened, fearful eyes up until that point, suddenly narrowed her gaze and shook her head. "You're wrong," she said. Her voice was fierce and growing in anger. "The Promised Land isn't like what you imagined. And, I'm not going to help. Either way, there was no way Shinra could have won."

Suddenly she turned away, overcome by emotions that were welling up inside her. Her face burned, and tears were stabbing the back of her eyes, threatening to burst out into the open. She half ran, half fell over towards the nearest pillar. Her shoulders began to tremble.

Tseng watched her slump against the pillar, shoulders trembling, refusing to look at him. He looked at her with a secret longing. Realising that he could never have her, his dark eyes saddened and he looked away. "…Pretty harsh," he murmured. He raised his gaze to Cloud. "Sounds like something… you'd say."

Reaching into his bloody pocket, Tseng pulled out the Keystone and held it out to Cloud. The man's hand was shaking terribly. It was also beginning to turn pale through loss of blood. For a moment Cloud felt a pang of sympathy for the Turk. He had no doubts now as to who had injured him so. He held out his hand, and Tseng dropped the Keystone into his open palm.

"The Keystone… Place it… on… the altar…" Tseng told him. He was becoming breathless, and his voice was strained with each word he spoke. He seemed about to say more, but the words would not form and he coughed. Blood stained his lips and fingers, and was warm in his mouth.

Tseng smiled sadly and shrugged his shoulders. Ignoring Tifa's offer of help he began to stagger back away from them. He moved towards the far pillar and leaned heavily against it. After another violent cough that wrecked his body and made it shake he slumped heavily against it, sliding down the side of the pillar and onto the floor. His head dropped towards his chest. He coughed again, and more blood stained his lips.

A hand brushed against Cloud's arm. He turned to look at Tifa standing beside him. He was surprised to find her eyes filled with tears. Seeing his concern, Tifa quickly shook her head and pointed in Aeris's direction. Cloud looked. Aeris was still by the pillar, her head pressed against the stone. Was she crying? Cloud thought he could hear the sound of sobbing. Patting Tifa reassuringly on the arm, he walked over to the pillar. Yes, it was Aeris's tears he could hear. She was trying hard to hide them, but in the silence of the room he could easily hear them. He reached out to touch her shoulder, but he quickly changed his mind. He turned away from her.

"You crying?"

Behind him he heard Aeris's sobs become louder. "…Tseng's with our enemy, the Turks, but I've known him since I was little…" the Ancient replied between her sobs. The salty taste of tears burned in her mouth. She glanced at Cloud through tear-filled eyes. "There's not a lot of people I can say that about. In fact, there are only a handful of people in the world who really know me."

Another-heart-filled sob choked out her words, and she hurriedly turned away to hide the new tears that spilled down her cheeks. Cloud did not say a word. He didn't need to ask which handful of people she was referring to.

He suddenly realised the bitter truth about her existence. From the moment of her birth she and her mother, her real mother, had been hunted by the Shinra. After her mother died and she moved in with Elmyra, the Shinra hunted her. Aeris had to grow up in a world where she was constantly being looked for. She would have had to keep the truth about herself a secret; to stop people getting to know her too well in case they turned her in.

Cloud bit his tongue. Of course very few people would know the real Aeris. Despite her smiles and words of trust and happiness, it must have taken Aeris a lot to truly trust anyone. Yet she had placed her trust in him. She put tremendous trust in him on the day they met, when he helped her escape from Reno and his Shinra soldiers. And she continued to trust him, even now…

While he was lost in his thoughts he didn't realise that the others were talking. Aeris had finished her crying now and was wiping her eyes, trying to laugh as Yuffie and Cid tried to cheer her up with small jokes about the state of the Temple. Tifa had been trying to bandage Tseng's wound. The Turk was unconscious now and sleeping soundly. Cait assured Aeris that Tseng would be all right—the Shinra would rescue him pretty soon. Aeris was relieved to hear that.

Meanwhile, Vincent had gone over to the altar and was looking down at it with interest.

It was a simple altar—nothing special, rather like the Keystone. It was simply a rising block of stone, which was entirely smooth apart from a small number of spherical shaped grooves on the top surface. These slots were a variety of different sizes and only one seemed big enough to fit the Keystone. Vincent traced the sharp finger of his golden claw around the edge of the groove, thinking.

Now broken from his thoughts, Cloud walked over to stand beside the dark-haired man as he stared at the altar. The Keystone was in his hand. Cloud met Vincent's gaze and knew what he was thinking. There were no visible doors leading to any other part of the Temple. That meant that the route they were about to take was one-way. Once the Keystone was activated, they could not turn back. Vincent nodded. Cloud turned to the altar.

"Let's put the Keystone in," he said.

The others came to stand around him. Tseng, who was just beginning to come round again, watched them through hazy eyes. Aeris turned her head away from him. Cloud did not notice. He stood right next to the altar and lowered the Keystone gently into the slot. It slid in easily, fitting with a gentle click. They waited.

For a second or two nothing happened. A few more seconds passed, and still nothing happened. The companions held their breaths so tightly inside themselves that they feared their lungs might burst. But neither one dared to breath—no one dared to break the eerie silence that had fallen when the Keystone joined with the altar. They stared at the Keystone, unmoving, their hearts wishing for something to happen.

Their wish was granted. A deep humming sound began to resonate within the altar. The hum rose up through the stone until it touched the Keystone, which began to quiver and shake with the silent tune. The Keystone then began to glow a mysterious shade of blue—a colour that glowed eerily in its dark form. The rune-like words carved onto the Keystone's surface shimmered brightly. The magic was activated.

The light began to spread. The light seeped like water from the Keystone and into the stone slot that held it, and from there it began to spread to the other empty slots. The Keystone was a dam releasing the pent up water so that it may soak the dried up riverbanks. Each slot was filled with that eerie light, which shimmered like water reflecting the light of the blue moon.

Cloud stepped back away from the altar to join the others. They had forgotten about their need for air now—their breath caught by the sights emanating from the altar. They did not see the ground begin to bubble and swell beneath their feet. They did not see the way it changed shape and form, transforming from solid rock to an almost semi-transparent slush of rock and sand.

They did not notice until it was too late. At the last second when Tifa looked down and saw her feet sinking into the sand, she cried out for Cloud to help her. He could not reach her—the sand was already pulling him in and dragging him under. He was already up to his waist, and sinking fast.

Struggling just made it worse. The more they struggled, the faster they sank. Barret was already up to his neck, and with one more fierce struggle he slipped beneath the sandy surface and vanished from sight. Red XIII quickly followed, the last sight of him being his fiery tale as it was sucked beneath the surface of the sandy ground.

Tseng watched as the group was sucked beneath the sand. He was not worried to see them go under. He had seen it happen before; he knew that they would be safe.

The last sight he saw before pain took him under its wing again was Aeris. Aeris had been the only one not struggling. She looked at him with her gentle green eyes. She whispered something.

And then she vanished.

Emerald: Is it just me, or am I starting to add a lot more originality to the way I write things? I was hoping to convey a sort of eerie, magical way of entering the Temple, since you can't just sink through solid rock. Logically it would have to meld or melt somehow, right? Hope it works. Oh, and as you can probably tell, I changed the title of this part from 'A Bitter Farewell' to 'You Will Lose Something Dear'.