Chapter 11: The Last Cetran Temple
"W, wait a second," Cait stammered nervously. "I won't run or hide. Yes, I was a spy. I was hired by the Shinra. I couldn't help it." He scratched his furry head for a moment, gazing at Naruto and Kyuubi with an innocent, wide-eyed expression. "How 'bout if we continue like nothing ever happened?" he suggested innocently.
Naruto's eyes narrowed even further in fury. He literally shook with rage. The golden chakra was flaring so much that it looked like the energy was literally shooting out of his body. The ground gave way and a large crater appeared under his feet from the massive pressure generated. Lightning lashed out from him, striking the ground mere inches from the mog and leaving a large crack in the ground behind. But Kyuubi's hand on his arm calmed him slightly, her unspoken words in his mind. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he responded, failing to keep the tremor of anger from his voice.
Cait tilted his head questioningly. "Then, what are you going to do? Kill me?" He laughed at the thought. "You'd just be wastin' your time if you tried." He patted his hand firmly across his chest so they could hear the hollow thud. "This body's just a toy anyway. My real body's at Shinra Headquarters in Midgar. I'm controllin' this cat from there."
"It'll make me feel better, but I am curious as to who you are?" growled Naruto.
"Whoa, I can't tell you my name." said Cait. Although Cait seemed amused at the thought of Naruto trying to kill him, he was sweating on the inside. Never had he experienced so much power.
"We're not getting anywhere," he said to Kyuubi softly.
"See? I told you!" said Cait triumphantly, the look of sheer triumph plastered over his face. "Talking won't do any good, so can't we just continue our journey?"
"But what are you going to do? I have the Keystone," said Naruto, wondering what his next move would be.
Cait sighed again. "I prepared something in case this happened. Why don't you listen to this?"
A loud crackling noise filled the air, making Kyuubi and Naruto jump. It sounded like a radio receiver. Bewildered the two looked around them, searching for the source of the noise. Then, suddenly, they turned their gaze towards the cat standing in front of them. The sounds came from him! After a few moments the crackling settled and a small, meek voice called out to them.
"Papa! Tifa!"
Naruto jumped back in horror, recognising that voice instantly. Kyuubi recognized it too, for she gasped and her red eyes widened. That small, meek voice, belonging to a small, meek girl. Someone they thought was safe at Kalm, with Aeris's mother.
"Hey! That's Marlene!" Naruto gasped.
The voice in the receiver made a quick, sharp gasp, recognising Naruto's voice. There was the sound of movement and the voice called again, this time much louder. "Hey! It's Mr. Naruto! Mr. Naruto…"
Marlene's voice was cut off and the reception went dead. Cait sat back on his mog smugly, knowing that he had them. "…So," he said, "you will unseal the Keystone and toss it to me." It wasn't a threat, just a statement.
Naruto's fists were shaking. It was all he could do to keep them under control. He turned his head away, unable to look at Cait anymore. "…You're the lowest…" he growled under his breath.
Cait seemed to be hurt by that. His cat eyes saddened and he looked at the floor. "I didn't want to do this…" he said. "…using dirty tricks and taking hostages… But this is how it is… no compromises."
Naruto opened the scroll and summoned the Keystone. He then threw it to Cait. Cait in turn handed it too Tseng who was watching.
"Well done," he called down to Cait, his voice barely audible over the whir of the chopper blades. His black hair rushing around his face, he turned and shouted something to the driver of the helicopter. Then he disappeared inside the shadows.
The helicopter began to rise again. Cait watched from below as the Shinra helicopter flew off into the night, carrying the Keystone with it.
Ignoring the glares of Naruto and Kyuubi, Cait turned away from them and began to walk slowly up the stairs. He stopped about halfway up and turned back to them.
"Tomorrow is the Temple of the Ancients, right? I know where it is, so I'll tell you later. Of course, we'll get there after the Shinra, but you'll have to deal with that."
With that, Cait turned and stepped into the tube, carried off towards the Ghost Square. Naruto and Kyuubi stood silently on the stairs, unable to say anything. Kyuubi hid her face in her hands. To think of that poor little girl in the hands of the Shinra…
Naruto deactivated his Kikangan and, walking over to Kyuubi, pulled her into a hug.
'What now?' were Naruto's thoughts as they followed Cait back to the hotel.
As Naruto had feared, chaos almost broke loose the next morning when the rest of the companions heard about Cait's treachery. At first Naruto had been against letting the others know what the cat had done, but Kyuubi had insisted that the others had a right to know the truth. And besides, how else was Naruto going to explain the sudden disappearance of the Keystone without incriminating himself?
However, Naruto'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, Naruto 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 Gaara's sand to hold the big man back and stop him causing damage. 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 Nanaki and Gaara. Tifa, Aeris and Yuffie would all be apologising to the clerk for the mess and paying for whatever damage they could. Naruto would be figuring out what to do next. Cait… he didn't care what the cat did. Cloud had shut the keystone into the drawer next to his bed and so he reasoned that Cait must've nicked it when he was out with Aeris.
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, Yuffie 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.
"What are you talking about cat? We're all going," Naruto answered.
At long last the companions arrived at the mysterious Temple of the Ancients. After parking the Tiny Bronco at the edge of the shore Naruto summoned Myifee, Heppe, Jansen and Shu. Naruto had taken Shu, Cloud and Aeris were on Myifee, Barret and Tifa were on Heppe, Vincent and Cid were on Jansen. Gaara was fine using his sand as transportation and Nanaki was fine running through the grass. Naruto had summoned a new chocobo for Yuffie and Cait. Her name was Inphyy and she was Heppe's girlfriend. 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 Nanaki 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.
Then the temperature rose. As the sun rose higher into the sky so did the temperature, rising to almost unbearable temperatures. Nanaki'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 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. The chocobo's steps slowed to merely fairy size in comparison. Nanaki could barely stand—he was almost crawling across the ground. 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 Nanaki'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.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Naruto.
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 Naruto wasn't.
"There are many spirits gathered here," Kyuubi had said in a hushed voice.
"Indeed. It feels as though they have been waiting for us," said Nibi in the same hushed voice that her superior used.
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… The others were about to dig into her again when Naruto hushed them with his killing intent.
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, Naruto 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?" Naruto 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.
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 who had followed Naruto into the chamber.
"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 Naruto. The man's hand was shaking terribly. It was also beginning to turn pale through loss of blood. For a moment Naruto 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, I have the power to heal you completely but I want you to promise me something," said Naruto seriously.
Tseng looked at Naruto confused but motioned for him to keep going.
"When this is all finished, I want you to support Cloud and the others." Naruto finished.
Tseng closed his eyes. It was evident that he was thinking it over. After several seconds he opened his eyes and nodded. "I promise,"
Naruto kneeled down and flashed through some seals and said, "Divine Phoenix Rebirth no Jutsu!" He placed his hands on Tseng and the wounded man started glowing. The wound in his leg and across his chest healed completely. Then his face regained some colour as the blood was replaced. The white glow left him and he stood up slowly. Naruto looked at him with a fierce gaze and said, "Since I saved your life you are honor bound to the agreement. Do you understand?"
Tseng nodded and then he left the chamber, making sure he wasn't seen by the others. Cloud walked up to Naruto and said, "Why did you do that?"
Naruto turned to Cloud and said, "Cloud. Sometimes you need to give people second chances. Not all people who do bad things are bad themselves. And as such those people need a chance to redeem themselves. At least that's what I think,"
Cloud nodded even though he didn't get it himself. But he had a feeling that in the near future he would understand. 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…
Cloud enveloped her into a hug. At first Aeris was shocked but soon closed her eyes and hugged him back. Cloud whispered, "Thank you for trusting me," Aeris opened her eyes and looked into Clouds eyes. Cloud was astonished at what he saw. Warmth was radiating from her eyes. "Your welcome and thank you for being here with me."
While this was happening, everyone was watching, especially Tifa. She had a sad look on her face indicating that she was wishing that it was her that Cloud was hugging. Naruto saw this and resolved to talk to her about this later.
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.
Naruto walked over to stand beside the dark-haired man as he stared at the altar. The Keystone was in his hand. Naruto 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.
"Everyone! Can I have your attention?" Naruto called to everyone. All heads turned to him. "OK there's a good chance that the keystone needs to be placed into one of these indents, that much is obvious. But there is also a good chance that this is a one-way trip. I want everyone to check their equipment,"
Barret started checking his chainsaw attachment. Yuffie inspected her new shrunken that she got while in Wutai. Tifa tightened her gloves. Cid did a few practice swings. Cloud made sure all his materia were in the spots there were supposed to be in. Aeris gripped her staff. Vincent and Gaara inspected their guns. Nanaki flexed his claws. Cait handled his megaphone. It looked like everyone was ready.
Naruto 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.
Naruto 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. Nanaki quickly followed, the last sight of him being his fiery tale as it was sucked beneath the surface of the sandy ground. Naruto and Gaara were calm as they suspected that this was the way in. They let themselves be pulled in as the last to be pulled under.
"Words… feelings… So many of them here."
Aeris stared around the inside of the Temple. Her green eyes were open wide, looking around at the Temple's interior and absorbing every single minute detail of her surroundings. Her mind was alert and active, processing everything as it came into her vision. She saw every rock that lined the walls, every stone that lay silently across the path, every clump of weeds that protruded from gaps in the wall. She didn't just want to see what was around her. She wanted to feel it all, too.
Deep within her veins her Ancients blood was bubbling and boiling away, pulsing with an energy Aeris had never experienced before in twenty-two years of life. Everything she thought she knew about the Ancients was nothing more than a mere fragment compared to the vast knowledge that floated around THIS Temple. That knowledge blew past her face like a cool wind—teasing her, taunting her, urging her to follow. Aeris's fingers twitched in excitement. How she longed to find that knowledge! Barely aware of the presence of the others behind her, she ran to the edge of the path.
The path upon which she stood was an odd one, in that it seemed to randomly start in mid-air. The path joined with another short path further down, and was supported by a single stone pillar. It was one of many similar paths, which wound and turned endlessly through tunnels and under sets of stairs to create one very large, very vast maze. To look at it made the mind dizzy, and it wasn't long before the others, standing disorderly at the start of the path, were lost in a state in of confusion.
"Damn-!" Barret cursed loudly, aware of the fact that his loud voice boomed through the quiet walls of the Temple. His loud voice echoed back to him and compelled him to whisper, further proving the vastness of the Temple. "So this is the Temple of the Ancients! Oh man, you gotta be kiddin'! This is makin' me dizzy!"
Cid was not faring any better. Already in a foul mood after the long trek, the shock of being sucked into the ground and then waking to stand in this impressive but daunting Temple did nothing to repress his violent tongue. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" he cussed. "What the hell's with this place?"
Standing to one side, Cloud was inclined to agree with him. The sheer size of the Temple's interior was overwhelming. It was so unreal. From outside the Temple had seemed quite large, but that was nothing compared to where they were standing now. His head buzzed slightly, giving him the impression that they were somehow underneath the ground, deep in the bowels of the Temple…
Flashes of the moments outside the Temple burned in his mind. The ground of the Temple had turned to jelly beneath him, trying to pull him under its surface. The ground closed in above his head. He could not breathe. He could not see. He had been filled with an upsurge of terror he could not control. Then warm hands seemed to caress his soul, calming him. When he awoke, he had found himself with the others in this place.
He glanced around at the others. To his left Yuffie and Cait were both staring, wide-eyed, at the many paths surrounding them. Naruto and Gaara were also looking around but their emotions were reined in a bit more than the others. Near them stood Nanaki and Tifa. Nanaki was sniffing the air, his yellow eyes glazed over in remembrance of his beloved Cosmo Canyon. Yes… the Temple did hold a scent similar to the mountain village. Tifa, standing beside him, had a worried look on her face. Although she was not an Ancient by birth, she got the feeling that there were many things going on around her that she couldn't see. She wondered if the spirits living in the Temple would welcome them. Did they know their intent?
Vincent stood alone at the start of the path, looking round in careful thought. He looked down over the edge of the path, and then looked up to the ceiling above. It was solid. Nodding to confirm his suspicions, he turned back to face Naruto, his face grave. "No exits…" he said. "We can't turn back."
"It looks like out suspicions were correct," said Naruto, meeting the red eyes of his new companion. Naruto let his gaze slowly sweep the maze around him. There were so many long, winding paths and rising stairs, all of them leading in different directions. Looking at them for too long made him feel dizzy, but he forced himself to look. He had no doubt that there were hidden traps and dangers lying at every corner, waiting to crush them where they stood if they did even one thing wrong. It was unnerving. It almost felt like they were being watched…
Suddenly he stopped, and his eyes narrowed. His gaze fixed on a small path of stone ahead, standing lower than the path they were on. Standing in the middle of that clearing was a short and lonely figure, silent and still. Despite being so close the figure seemed to blur in Naruto's vision, making it hard for him to see it clearly. Naruto motioned for Aeris to come forward. She came and stood beside him, and looked out at the figure below.
Like Naruto, she also could not see the person clearly, but she could make out enough from its shimmering form to discern that it was definitely a human form and not a monster. Through its wavering, rippling image she could see that it was dressed in long blue robes that flowed around its ankles, and that it had a thick, long white beard that almost touched the ground. A large brown hat sat lopsidedly on its head, blocking its face from her sight. But she didn't need to see its face to know that it was not a threat. There was no air of malice surrounding it.
"Hello!" she called, her voice loud and cheerful, making the others jump. "Say, hello! Up here!"
At the sound of her voice, the person in the brown hat jumped, looked around in bewilderment, before finally looking up at her. When he saw her standing there, smiling her cheerful smile and waving to him vigorously, he jumped, ran around frantically for a second or two, and then began to run away from them at top speed.
"Hey, wait!"
"Now look at what you've done. You've gone and scared him off," said Naruto, a bit peeved.
Whether he heard or not didn't matter. The man was running fast, almost tripping over his robes in his hurry to get away from them. He half-ran, half-fell through a dark, open doorway at the end of the platform, only to appear seconds later through another doorway just around the corner from it. The man looked around wildly for a moment before he jumped onto the ledge and onto another platform below. Without looking to see if anyone was following him, he continued to run.
He was being followed. Aeris was running as fast as she could across the stone-paved ground. In her hands she held the long folds of her dress to keep from tripping over them, her necessity for speed being most important. Her boots thudded loudly on the stones, kicking up dirt and dust in her wake, but she didn't care. Somehow she just knew that she had to catch this man—to stop him from running away from her. Behind her the others followed, trying to catch up.
The blue-robed man continued to run. His brown hat bounced wildly up and down on top of his head, slipping a little with each bounding step, yet never enough to fall. He ran straight into a tall, rising wall at the end of the path.
Over the years, ivy had taken over this wall. Deep cracks in the stone structure were barely visible beneath the thick covering of the thick, green stalks. But instead of breaking apart the stones held, perhaps held firmer by the ivy that gripped it. The thick vines pierced the grey stones and crept up the wall, creating a strong ladder that would hold even Barret's massive form.
Knowing this, the blue-robed man threw himself against the wall. He dug shimmering fingers into the leaves, which did not rustle at his touch, the sharp leaves never seeming to prick the fabric of his robes. He climbed swiftly up the wall, perhaps too swiftly. When he reached the top he looked down, saw Aeris running towards the wall. He waited a moment, before he began to run again.
"Please, wait!"
Aeris reached the wall. Like the man she leapt up and grabbed onto the wall of vines. A sharp cry escaped her lips as the sharpness of the leaves dug into her skin. She almost fell. Tears stung the back of her eyes.
Remembering her mission she pushed the pain aside and began to scramble up the wall. She ignored the leaves that scratched at her arms, leaving short but visible trails of red down her bare skin. She ignored the sound of Cloud's voice, and Tifa's, calling for her to slow down. Naruto and Gaara applied chakra to their feet and ran up the side of the wall.
Finally, Aeris reached the top. She pulled herself up onto the ledge, relieved to finally be out of reach of the stinging ivy leaves. Looking down at her arms she saw that they were scratched and torn. Some of the wounds were so deep that they bled, thin trails of warmth down her arms. Her dress was torn and frayed at the edges.
Suddenly aware of eyes watching her, Aeris looked to her right. The blue-robed man was standing not too far away, halfway up a set of stairs. He cocked his head inquisitively, before turning and beginning to jog up the stairs again. Aeris, sighing heavily, pulled herself to her feet and began to follow him.
At the top of the stairs was another ivy-covered wall. Much to Aeris's relief the leaves on this patch of ivy were much softer than before and did not scrape her skin. She looked up to see the man was already at the top of the wall, looking down at her. How did he get up so fast? He watched her climb for a moment and then, as though sure that she would get up safely, he turned and walked through an open doorway.
When Aeris reached the top of the wall she was just about ready to give up. Her arms and legs burned from the running and climbing, and her lungs ached with each breath she took. But she could not rest just yet. She forced herself to stand, to steady herself on her feet, and walked bravely into the room.
The blue-robed man was there, waiting for her patiently beside the far wall. Aeris staggered into the room, which was filled with a faintly stagnant air. There were no treasures in the room—nothing different to make it unique. But it was strangely comforting. The man stared at her silently, his slightly transparent face gazing at her, his almost empty eyes probing her.
"Nyum… nyum…" the man mumbled incoherently, as though the words were not familiar to him.
It was as she gazed at the man's transparent form that she finally realised who this man was—what he was. She breathed deeply and sighed in relief. She stood still in the shadows of the room, gasping for breath, unable to speak.
Less than a minute later the others arrived, collapsing onto the outside platform as they finished pulling themselves up the ivy wall. To judge from their gasping, agonised breaths, they were exhausted, too. One by one they entered the room, standing silently behind Aeris. The only ones that were not out of breath were Naruto, Gaara and Vincent.
"Whew!" Aeris said when she could finally speak, although her voice was still faint and breathless. "We finally caught up to you. I'm sorry. You waited for me," she corrected quickly, seeing the man's puzzled face at the word 'caught'. Aeris nodded slowly and turned to face Naruto and the others, who were waiting behind her.
"Those are the spirit bodies of the Ancients," she explained, waving a hand at the spirit-like man behind her. "They've been away from their Planet for a long time to protect this Temple. Over the many years, they've lost the ability to talk. Actually, they didn't need words from the beginning because there was only one objective for those left in the Temple."
She turned back to face the blue-robed man still standing behind her. His white, bearded face was inquisitive and piercing, looking through Aeris with eyes that seemed to look into her very soul. Aeris did nothing to hinder him. It was the spirit of one Ancient communing with the spirit of another. She had nothing to fear.
Although he could not speak to her in words, Aeris knew that he was trying to tell her something. His eyes, which were probably once as blue as the sky, now as grey as the Temple, were anxious. They looked at her with a sense of urgency, even of fear. She tried hard, but she just couldn't make out the strange mixture of feelings and words stirring in her mind.
"Please, talk to me!" she said desperately, taking a step towards the spirit. She tried to listen, but the words were too garbled. "No good, I don't understand the rest. Are you afraid…? Is it because Sephiroth is in the Temple? Or something else?" Eventually she gave up, and the companions left the spirit to his wanderings.
They paused for a few minutes on the stone platform outside, and looked around at the vast maze before them. The maze was very large and very deep, with so many rising and falling staircases leading to doorways and dead-ends. Staircases ended abruptly in mid-air. Paths were blocked by a sudden wall that seemed to materialise out of nowhere. Sharp turns wound round and round. Aeris seemed to think that they should head down, and so they began their long trek around the Temple maze.
More than once they got lost wandering around the labyrinth of the Temple. Despite their best efforts to find their way through they somehow always ended up walking straight into a blank wall or reaching to bottom of a set of stairs that didn't lead anywhere except a long fall into the black depths below.
The Temple was filled with many dangers just waiting to leap out at them. Almost immediately after leaving the spirit's chamber they were attacked by the Temple monsters. The monsters just seemed to appear out of thin air and caught them off-guard. On more than one occasion they were saved by Naruto, Gaara and Vincent's quick reflexes.
The first problem they encountered had appeared when they were climbing down the ivy wall. A small green dragon, known as an Ancient Dragon, suddenly swooped down from above, surprising the companions. The dragon brushed past Cid as he stood on the path, waiting to climb down. The suddenness of the attack caused him to lose his balance and he started to tumble over the edge, until Vincent grabbed hold of Cid's spear and pulled him to safety.
The dragon itself was easily dealt with. Barret utilised the power of the summon materia (given to him by Naruto) equipped in his gun-arm, using its power to banish the creature.
The resulting surge of power caused the platform to crack and swell, as though some great force was pushing up beneath it. The neatly lodged stones began to rise, swelling up. When it could take no more they split apart, cracking open with a resounding boom. The figure of Titan then rose from the gap.
Tall and muscular, far beating Barret in terms of strength and size, Titan was a sheer beast of a man (or summon!). His arm muscles were as thick as tree trunks and just as strong, as he proved with his next action. Seeing the dragon flying towards them, Titan leaned over and pulled a great big chunk of rock from the ground. With careful aim he threw the rock at the dragon.
It was a perfect hit. The chunk of rock smashed into the dragon head on before it had a chance to see and swerve. There was a sickening crunch as bones were crushed. The dragon fell from the skies. It landed on the ground far below—the rock on top of it, burying it for all eternity.
The second obstacle that slowed their progression was a very big problem. After finally finding a promising route downwards, Aeris had spotted another Temple spirit watching them from a platform below. Like the first it seemed to wait for them to get near, before running off and into a dark doorway further up. Seeing this as a sign to where they should go, Aeris urged the others to follow her.
When they entered the Temple it was very nearly the last thing that they ever did. Spurred on from hope that they were finally getting somewhere in this maze of corridors and stairs they picked up their pace. They were moving so fast that they did not see the danger approaching them until it rolled in front of their path, a dark rolling shadow.
"Man that was close! 'We would have been a SQUASHED TOMATOES!'" said Naruto mimicking Don Corneo's bad grammer. This got a couple of laughs and the tension lifted a bit.
Naruto examined the giant circle of stone as it rolled down the corridor, disappearing in the shadows that blocked their view of the other end. Peering cautiously round the corner he saw another stone approaching. Quickly he withdrew his head; else it would have been struck by the stone.
"It seems that there is a space distortion at the edge of the platform and it's linked to another distortion at the other end. That means that the stone is stuck in a loop. So the first choice is we destroy it but I think this is meant to test us so I don't think they would react too well to that. So that leaves us with option two," Naruto explained to the others.
"So what's plan two?" asked Barret.
"There is a grove in the rock but we won't be able to sneak into there. So we have to press ourselves against the walls. The stone cylinder doesn't stretch all the way across the passageway. There's another path halfway up. We should be fine but I'm worried about Barret and Cait. It'll be more of a squeeze for them." Cait pawed at his Mog body lovingly. He didn't want that to get crushed into pieces. Barret looked to Cloud, expecting a defiant remark of refusal.
Instead, Cloud smiled. "All right," he said, and Aeris jumped for joy. "Let's do it."
"WHAT? CLOUD, YOU SPIKY-HEADED BAS—"
"But we'll need to be quick," Cloud added hurriedly, ignoring Barret's angry glare. "We can't afford to waste any time on this. Sephiroth, or the Shinra—" he said with a glare at Cait. "—are already ahead of us. Let's get this over with."
The others nodded and turned towards the path. The stone slabs moved at regular intervals, making it possible for them to time the best moments to run to the other side of the corridor. Once they stepped out into the path, it was all or nothing. Any hesitation meant that they would be crushed beneath the rocks.
Aeris went first, leading the way. Immediately after the first stone slab passed her ran out into the corridor. Yuffie ran with her, Cloud deciding it would be faster if they went two at a time. The two girls ran quickly to the other end of the path and threw themselves against the wall, just as the next stone slab rolled by.
That done, they began to slide along the wall. They took small and careful steps up the path, taking every care to keep them pressed firmly against the wall. Another stone slab passed them by. It was so close Yuffie felt she would only have to lean over and feel the rock scrape her skin. She swallowed hard, and her throat hurt.
Tifa and Nanaki ran out next, followed closely by Cid and Vincent. Returning the favour Cid reached out and grabbed hold of the long folds of Vincent's cloak, holding them close as the slabs threatened to trap them. Now only Naruto, Gaara, Cloud, Barret and Cait remained.
Barret was still reluctant to cross the path. "Ain't no way I'll fit!" he protested fiercely. "There has to be another way! I'll be damned if I'm gonna—"
He never got to finish his sentence. In mid-speech Naruto shoved Barret roughly out into the corridor and into the path of another rolling slab. Barret stared in fear for a second, before he quickly leapt to the other side of the wall, shaking his fist and cursing Naruto's name.
Naruto then turned to Cait with an evil glint in his eyes. "Heh, don't worry," the cat assured him hurriedly. "I can get myself across, thank you." And so he did, running out into the corridor and hopping over to the other side before one of the slabs could strike him down. When he reached the other side he heard Barret's disappointed moan, and vaguely heard him say something about wishing the cat was crushed. Naruto smiled as Cloud ran out into the corridor. Naruto and Gaara waited for Cloud to get to the other end before the two ninja applied chakra to their feet and ran up and across the wall. They jumped off at the second path and looked at the others faces. They all looked a little pissed that they were the only ones who could run on walls.
Naruto's plan seemed to be working. By the time Cloud reached the halfway point—another path as Naruto had said, with a strange shimmering pool at the far end—Aeris and Yuffie were already beginning the second ascent. Their bodies pressed against the wall, they moved as quickly as possible.
This time Barret and Cait needed no prompting to step out onto the path. By this point both of them had fallen silent. Barret was sullen, rubbing a painful scratch on his stomach where a rolling slab had rolled a little too close for comfort.
One by one they reached the top. Aeris reached it first, running out away from the wall and dashing to the open path at the other end before a new slab could appear from the magic walls. Yuffie darted straight after her, falling to the floor in her relief that it was finally over.
When Naruto reached the top, the slabs suddenly stopped rolling. Everyone turned to stare at the wall from which they had appeared, angry that the slabs had waited until that moment to finally stop. Barret in particular was extremely annoyed, and punched the wall with such ferocity that he made it crack.
Aeris, however, was not perturbed. Deep down she had expected that the slabs would stop once they reached the top. Naruto was right. It was a trial, nothing more. "Phew-we did it!" she said cheerfully.
Naruto looked around at the others. "Everyone all right? That sure took a lot out of us."
Barret looked at Naruto angrily. "Easy for you to say. You ran on the damn walls!"
Aeris looked at them all, smiling happily. Suddenly that smile disappeared as she felt a sudden, painful pang in the depths of her soul. Her Ancients' blood stirred as she heard faint spiritual cries coming from behind her. Slowly Aeris turned and saw the path halfway down the corridor, where they had stopped briefly before moving on. The cries were coming from there, urging her to come and see. Gripping her staff tightly, Aeris obeyed the spirit's words.
The others were just climbing to their feet again when they heard Aeris cry. Cloud looked up and saw her running towards him from the side-path. Her face was desperate and filled with fear.
"Oh no…" she was saying as she ran up to them. "Cloud, Naruto, come quick! Hurry, this way!" She turned and ran back to the corridor, disappearing round the corner.
Cloud and Naruto didn't wait to hear the others' approval. They, too, could sense the overwhelming danger growing inside the Temple. The deeper they descended, the greater the danger became. Cloud could almost feel Sephiroth's presence close by… Looking behind he saw that the others sensed that same danger, forgetting their own fatigue and running alongside him and Naruto.
They ran into the corridor. Cloud looked around for Aeris. The woman was standing at the far end of the path, behind the shimmering pool that Cloud had noticed briefly when they passed by. Aeris was looking down into the surface of the pool, listening and shaking her head fiercely.
The pool was wide and circular, cut deep into the rock. Its edges were rough and jagged and had an eerie hue to them, which Cloud didn't recognise at first. The pool itself shimmered with a variety of colours. Mainly a purplish-blue hue, it also varied between shades of green, silver, yellow, red and even gold. The water's surface bubbled gently, and clouds of steam rose from its surface. But the water was not hot. The steam was cool against the skin, like the cool touch of a mid-autumn breeze sighing with relief for the end of the summer.
A puff of steam rose from the surface, swamping Aeris in its thin, damp cloud. The water glittered strongly for a second before returning to its faint shimmer. Aeris shook her head again and looked up at Cloud.
"It's full of the knowledge of the Ancients," she said, trying to calm the anxious tremor in her voice. "No… not knowledge… consciousness… a living soul… It's trying to say something." She knelt down on the rock and peered into the water. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Naruto and the companions watched as Aeris shook her head again. She then proceeded to lie down flat on the rock, and stretched out her arm, placing her hand beneath the surface of the water. She flinched, for the water was indeed very warm, but not enough to burn her.
Now she could hear the words more clearly, although they were still so very faint. Whispering words rustled like leaves in her mind, fading in and out as though they were weak and trying desperately to get every bit of information out to her. Aeris closed her eyes and listened intently.
"What? What is it?" she asked of the pool. Words whispered in her ear. Slowly Aeris withdrew her hand, surprised to find it red from the heat. She stood up. "…Danger? An evil… consciousness? …Show? You're going to show me?"
As if in response to her question, the pool began to glow brightly. Aeris took a step back, shielding her eyes from the growing light. The others covered their eyes, too, as the light from the pool expanded and filled the entire corridor with a piercing white glow. Naruto felt his head buzz and the ground beneath him grow distant and far away. Somewhere behind he heard Barret shout something, but then everything was swallowed up by the light.