Lost in the Shadows
Chapter 2 - The Will of the Planet
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 and its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.
A single soul drifted though the Lifestream. A single soul meant to reside in the Promised Land that never would. A soul overcome by grief and despair. She gave up everything; her hopes and dreams. Her future. She'd given it all up when there'd really been no reason to at all. Holy hadn't worked; her sacrifice had been in vain. The Planet had to save itself in the end, using the souls of the dead. The Lifestream.
Aerith. That was her name. She was the last remaining Cetra, a race that was now forever lost to the world.
She had known all along what were to happen to her and she'd made sure she had come to terms with it; at least, she thought she had. She was finding that she had a lot of regrets and it was difficult to try and live happily. More and more each day, as she watched over her friends from the Lifestream, she felt all of those things she'd missed out on in life weigh down on her. Everything she missed out on, everything she'd never had or tried; it filled her mind and she found it hard to stay the way she was before she'd died.
It was hard to prance around in the Lifestream or the Promised Land like everyone else. She's gotten a good taste of life and, almost, love and it was hard to just let it go. Especially at her age and at how her life was brutally wrenched from her.
She was no longer lively, cheerful and helpful; she'd gone from a slum flower girl to a savior of the Planet to a lonely girl living in what she thought she would grow to love. Gone was her life, her friends, her hopes and dreams. She had played the martyr and was cast aside like nothing. She was no longer needed.
Her thoughts were broken at the sound of footsteps behind her. She tensed and stopped moving for a reason she couldn't even begin to explain.
Then the voices started to shout at her. To what? Run? Hide?
Falling to the ground, clutching and shaking her head, she felt her throat constrict and couldn't make a sound.
She managed to force herself to turn when whatever it was that was with her was standing right behind her. The hem of a black cloak was the only thing she could see, until they seemed to kneel down in front of her. Looking up, she couldn't see a face. She heard something whispered from in front of her and instantly, her vision began to cloud over.
She couldn't stop herself from falling to the ground in a vulnerable heap, nor protest when she felt herself get picked up off the ground; she could only let the darkness take her.
He once thrived on the hatred he had for mankind and that was usually all he'd had to say to justify what he'd done. To himself, anyway. Now, floating in the Lifestream, a hated and despised soul, he wished he could take it all back; to undo every murder and atrocity he had committed.
Though he knew it could never happen, he still wished.
He wished to be burnt by the flames of hell and to be locked away somewhere for the rest of his days. His soul could not return to the Planet and it was the only fitting treatment he could think of having. To be contained and tortured for everything he'd even done -- those were his wishes.
Sephiroth, that was his name. A name that was once on the front pages of newspapers telling of all the great things he had done. Now, his name was a hated name, a name that people didn't dare to speak and when they did, the spoke it voice thick with hate. A name on a front page of a newspaper with people rejoicing that he was finally off the face of the earth..
Sephiroth started to move, or tried to anyway. Away from where he could look out over and see those people who had defeated him months before. He simply drifted for a while until a sharp pain in his head began to dull his senses. He couldn't think properly any longer; it felt like something was trying to take over his mind. Just like she had.
Jenova.
The pain was beyond excruciating, but he let it take hold of him. It was probably a part of his punishment, he mused and when a figure cloaked in black appeared suddenly before him, he knew that his thoughts must be correct.
A soft mutter was the last thing he heard before his mind was lost and he blacked out.
Bright emerald eyes opened only to be met by a blinding white light. Aerith squeezed her eyes shut tightly and turned her face away. She tried to open them just slightly to try and get used to the light and was surprised when she saw something that looked like white silk covering the ground around her.
Her eyes snapped open wide and she sat up in shock -- where was she? She looked down at herself and found a white silk gown replacing her usual pink attire. Moving her head, she couldn't feel the familiar bounce of her braid against her back and she moved a hand up to the back of her head and felt her hair twisted around into a neat bun, held together by her usual pink ribbon. She frowned and began to look around the room once her eyes had focused properly.
Her eyes immediately fell on a figure laying sideways across the floor on the other side of the room, unconscious. She screamed when she realized who it was and found herself subconsciously backing up into the wall. Holding her breath, she shut her eyes when she found that something was preventing her from moving any farther, hoping that her scream hadn't disturbed him in any way. After a few moments of silence, she opened one eye to find him laying in the same spot as before, giving no indication that he had even heard her scream.
Observing him closely, she found that he still had the same ridiculously long platinum hair that he'd had the last time they had seen each other. His battle gear was gone, however, and he was no longer wearing any black clothing. Replacing that, he was wearing white silk pants and a white silk sleeved shirt. A few scars from his last battle with Cloud Strife marred his face, but he was otherwise in good shape.
His eyes suddenly shot open, breaking her thoughts and she couldn't stop the scream from escaping her.
She slowly sat up with a look of confusion before moving his gaze over to her. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief and he looked down at himself before looking back at her.
"What is this?" He asked, clearly baffled by his state of dress and his surroundings.
"I-I-I don't know!" She stuttered, looking away and dearly hoping he would accept that answer.
He fixed her with a glare. "Whatever we are here for, you, of all people,must know."
She looked at him for a moment before quickly averting her gaze. He stood suddenly and began to make his way over to her, looking nothing short then menacing.
"Sephiroth..."
Sephiroth stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded, and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"Stop."
A figure dressed in beautiful bluish-purple robes stepped out into the light. She had beautiful brown hair that reached past her back and ended in small curls. Her eyes were a clear blue and she had a look of righteousness about her. Tears started to fill her eyes as soon as she laid her eyes on him.
Sephiroth felt himself tense up when her eyes swept over him and he had the strangest feeling. Like he knew her. Why? He had no idea who she was... Or did he? She looked oddly familiar and yet, he couldn't quite piece anything together in his mind or put a name to her face.
Aerith figured she'd seen the flicker of confusion that passed through Sephiroth's eyes because what she said next clearly answered his questions and confirmed the suspicions he had but didn't want to admit.
"I'm... your mother Sephiroth. My name is Lucrecia." She said it so softly, he hardly caught what she said and Aerith simply couldn't hear it, but she was no worse off as she knew the words being exchanged. Tears were flowing freely down Lucrecia's face now and she ran up to him and embraced him.
Sephiroth wasn't entirely shocked when she told him she was his mother. He could sort of... Feel it inside that she was. He had no idea what to do and when she embraced him, he was even more baffled. Somehow though, it felt right having her holding him like this. Not to say it wasn't awkward to him, because it most certainly was.
She pulled away and looked him in the eyes. "I've waited so long to meet you! You have no idea..."
She was suddenly pulled out of her little reunion with her long lost son when she heard the familiar sound of others stepping into the room with them. She turned to Aerith, remembering she was there and smiled.
"It's alright hun... Don't worry." She said to Aerith, knowing that she was having a hard time with this. She gave her a final smile before turning to greet the newcomers.
Professor Gast and his wife, Ifalna, walked into the room as silently and quickly as Lucrecia had. Ifalna was wearing a long red dress with her hair tied up elegantly. Aerith noted that this was the exact same thing she had been wearing on those tapes she'd seen Cloud and company watching so long ago.The professor, of course, was wearing his usual attire; a white lab coat. They quickly made their wayover to Aerith and gave her a hug and a kiss. Ifalna stayed to keep Aerith company while Professor Gast walked over to greet Sephiroth.
"Well, well, well... You sure have grown, my boy!" He smiled at Sephiroth and surprisingly, Sephiroth smiled back, to Aerith great surprise. Gast walked up to him and embraced him in a fatherly hug and Sephiroth embraced him back which surprised Aerith even further.
Sephiroth was at a loss for words. Professor Gast, the only one who had ever been kind to him was standing before him now, embracing him like they were long lost friends. Didn't he realize, didn't he know that he'd killed his own daughter? Sephiroth's guilt was increasing rapidly as the seconds passed; he hadn't known Aerith was Gast's daughter before this true, but it was no excuse. He wasn't sure of how much more he could take...
Gast seemed to read Sephiroth's thoughts.
"Ah, my boy, nobody blames you for killing my daughter... You weren't yourself!" He pulled away from Sephiroth and looked him in the eye. "You need to remember that. Aerith doesn't even blame you, believe it or not." He said, raising an eyebrow at the battle he knew that Sephiroth was fighting internally.
"But... She's your DAUGHTER! I mean, I didn't... You were the only one who was kind to me and I... I repay you by..." He trailed off, turning away from Gast feeling extremely helpless and out of control.
His face resumed it's usual stoic expression.
"Why are we here?" He said with such a cold voice then, that Aerith swore the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees.
Gast, Ifalna and Lucrecia looked at each other and then looked back at their children.
"Well... There is a new crisis threatening the Planet and…" Ifalna trailed off looking to Gast and Lucrecia.
"We, the Planet included, wish to send you back." Lucrecia concluded. She looked uncertainly at Gast and Ifalna when she saw the looks on Aerith and Sephiroth's, when he turned around, faces.
Sephiroth started shaking his head and backing away from them. "No, no, there is no way in HELL I am going back there!" he said with such finality that nobody seemed to want to persuade him.
Ifalna turned to Aerith and was about to say something but stopped, seeing the look on her daughters face. "Wh-what is wrong with her?" she asked no one in particular, panic rising. Everyone turned to her and they all, save Sephiroth, gasped at what they saw.
Aerith's eyes had fallen into a dark blue hue and she looked like she was in a daze. Ifalna, Gast and Lucrecia started to move towards her when a voice sounded throughout the room.
Stop... Don't go near her...
"Planet?" Ifalna said with a shaky voice, clearly frightened for her daughter.
Just give me a minute with her. Everything will be alright…
Ifalna nodded and stepped back along with Gast and Lucrecia. They watched her for only a moment before Aerith's eyes started to fade back into their usual green. Aerith waited for her eyes to focus for a second before asking, very intelligently, "uh... What?"
They all shook their heads and waited for her to speak.
"Well... I guess I'll go back. But..." She looked over at Sephiroth. "Only if you will come with me."
Sephiroth looked completely bewildered. How could she want him with her? He killed her!
"Why?" He said, eyebrows raised. "And what 'crisis' are we talking bout here?"
You will know soon enough…
Sephiroth was becoming increasingly annoyed. "I never even said I was going back…" He said, trying to control his flaring temper.
Gast saw this and stepped in. "Please, Sephiroth, Aerith is going to need your help! And the Planet needs it as well..." He trailed off, looking at him with pleading eyes.
Sephiroth looked at his mother and she nodded to him.
"Is this going to have anything to do with Avalanche?" He demanded. He saw Aerith's eyes light up with hope and they both looked towards their parents.
Lucrecia and Ifalna looked away and Sephiroth knew it was going to have everything to do with them.
"I refuse to go then." He said, the finality in his voice silencing Lucrecia and Gast from reasoning with him.
Aerith looked towards him, all hope in her eyes gone. "Please, Sephiroth, we have to do this!" She said. She had had just about enough of his ever-changing attitude.
Sephiroth looked at her. "Why would I go back just to end up working with the people who hated me? You do know they killed me for a reason, right?" His temper was finally starting to show.
"Nobody's ASKING you to become best friends with them!" She snapped back at him.
He glared at her and walked over to her. Lucrecia went to move but Gast held out his arm to stop her and at her questioning look, shook his head.
Sephiroth was now looking down at Aerith, undeniably annoyed. "I have no reason to go back there. I would be walking around with people staring daggers at me all day. Tell me, would you want to go back if you knew you would be alone and hated by everyone?" He asked her, voicing his true fears to her without taking notice of it.
"You won't be alone and hated by everyone. I'm going to be there, remember?" She snapped back and turned her back on him.
He looked at her with surprise, eyes now burning into her back. He continued on with his usual cold and uncaring voice, however, "why do you even forgive me, anyways?"
She turned back around, anger evident. "Why wouldn't I? You weren't in your right mind! My father already told you!" She poked him in the chest before continuing. "Or is that going to be your excuse for not wanting to come back with me? Are you too much of a coward to go back?" She interrogated.
He fixed her with a glare that scared her to her wits end, but she refused to let him win. She stood her ground.
"Coward? I am no coward." He retaliated.
"Then prove it! Come back with me." She snapped.
Itlooked like he was fighting a losing battle. He sighed and turned to Gast, Ifalna and Lucrecia.
"Fine. I'll go. But if Strife starts anything..." He trailed off and turned away huffing.
Lucrecia smiled to Aerith and was about to say something when the Planet cut her off.
This is good... You will be sent back immediately. Remember to... Help each other.
The three adults quickly moved over to Sephiroth and Aerith and they hugged one another, saying their goodbyes.
"Sephiroth... I need to speak with you for a moment." Gast whispered.
Sephiroth looked at him and pulled away from his mother, looking at her one last time before following Gast.
"You need to know this. You will both wake up in the places your bodies were last. It's crucial that you remember this..."
It's time...
"Remember, Sephiroth!" Gast told him.
Sephiroth would have nodded but he suddenly found black spots clouding his vision and he fell forward, the darkness taking him once more.