Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.14 Aerith
When I blacked out I saw a series of images, all of them either strange or disturbing. There was the first battle with the Genesis copies, the pages that we had found in reactor, and Angeal revealing his wing. But then there were other, darker, images. I saw myself strapped to a metal stretcher while Hojo stood above me, a hypodermic needle in hand. Then I saw myself again, being given an ice bath even while fully clothed, and even Hojo strapping me to an electric chair. While all of these things were from my memories, the final set of dreams were things I did not recognize. There was me, appearing a little older than I am now, riding in a car with a group of other people, even though I couldn't see their faces.
Then there was me but just a toddler, being held by a woman who was laughing, seeing I had chocolate all over my face. And then there was the older me again, but this time I was being rolled into a hospital, almost my entire body caked in blood and several limbs broken. The final image was of myself hovering in empty space, and a massive figure with several horns stood above me. "Do you accept the offer I have made?" the voice asked, deep and resonating. I saw myself nod, closing my eyes. "If it means saving them, I'll sacrifice anything," I heard myself say. I watched the horned figure draw a massive sword, and plunge it into my chest. "Then accept my power, Jace Salutare," he said.
That was when my dreams ended.
Even after my dreams were over I still slept, but eventually I heard a young, female voice talking to me. "Tell me what happened," the voice said. I moaned, stirring. "Tifa... I want to help someone. But I don't know how," I muttered. "Hellooo!" I moaned again, saying "I'm getting up, Tifa." Then I opened my eyes and saw that it wasn't Tifa, nor was I in Nibelheim like I thought. Above me I saw a roof with several holes in it, the largest of which looked like it would fit two people. Beside me Zack opened his eyes as well, and that same voice said "Hooray!" "...Heaven?" Zack asked. The girl giggled, saying "Not quite. Church in the slums." I rubbed the back of my head and looked over at the girl, freezing.
The girl looked to be about fifteen, and he long dark brown hair was drawn back in a thick plait with a pink ribbon, with segmented bangs framing her face. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, innocent and knowing at the same time. She was wearing a blue and white dress with a red camisole underneath and white wedge sandals with pink straps. For a second there I gaped, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. While I was doing Zack sat up and smiled at her, saying "An angel?" "No, I'm Aerith!" she said. "Aerith? It's you!" I said, standing. Aerith frowned. "Do I know you?" she asked. Now I frowned. "Don't you remember? It's me, Jace! We got to know each other when we were both in Shinra's custody!" I said.
Aerith was silent for a second before gasping, recognition flaring. "Jace? Is that you?" she asked a lot more quietly. I nodded, smiling, but then suddenly Aerith was a blur before she tackled me in a hug. I shouted, having to take a step back to avoid falling over. "Oh my gosh! It's been so long since I've seen you, Jace!" she said, hugging me tighter. I laughed and hugged her back, saying "It's great to see you too?" Zack stood and dusted himself off, saying "You guys know each other?" I blinked, remembering that Zack was there, and let go of Aerith. She let go as well and landed on her feet, looking embarrassed. "Um, yeah. We're good friends," she told him. "Very good," I added, before looking around. True to her word it was a church, and it looks like me and Zack had been lying in a field of flowers.
"How did we get here?" I asked. "Well, you two fell from the sky. Scared me," Aerith said. I looked back up at the hole that could fit two people. So Zack and I had been hit by that attack, feel through the grates... and landed here. "So you saved me, huh?" Zack asked. "Not really," she replied, before leaning over. "Hellooo! That's all I did," she said. "Thank you so much, Aerith. I'm Zack. I have to repay you somehow," "Oh, don't worry about it," Aerith said. But I shook my head. "Nonsense. You helped wake us up, so we have to find a way to repay you!" I declared. "Hey, how about one date?" Zack suggested. My eyes widened. Seriously? Zack was being a lady's man now? "What is that? Don't be silly!" Aerith said, laughing. Zack chuckled as well, and began to step forward.
When he did that Aerith shouted "Stop! Don't step on the flowers!" Zack stopped, saying "Excuse me?" "Normally, people are more careful with flowers," she told him. "Well... I guess I'm not normal, huh? You don't see a lot of flowers in Midgar. They're like luxury items around here," Zack commented. "They only grow here. And I planted some outside the house, too," she said. "If I were you, I'd sell them. Midgar's full of flowers, your wallet's full of money!" Zack suggested. Aerith looked down, thinking. "Midgar, full of flowers... wallet, full of money. Never thought of it that way," she said. I looked at Zack. "Uh, Zack? Can I talk to you for a second?" I said. Without waiting for an answer I grabbed his arm and jumped out of the flower patch, landing next to it and pulling him to the side of the church.
"What's up, Jace?" he asked. I let go of him and crossed my arms. "Can you at least turn down the lady's man act around Aerith?" I asked, glaring at him. He frowned. "What's the problem? That was going to be my way of repaying her for helping out," he said. "Be that as it may, that makes at least two people you've asked out within the first five minutes of meeting them. Can you try to at least dial it down?" I asked. Zack was silent, confused. I was a little surprised by myself as well, but to be honest, I could imagine why. I was older than Aerith and had considered her my little sister when we were in Shinra's custody. So seeing Zack ask her out like that... I could see why I was so irritated. Zack, on the other hand, was clueless, and just shrugged.
"Well, I guess I can," he said. I nodded, saying "Thank you." He nodded back, and we walked back to Aerith. "What were you two talking about?" she asked curiously. "Oh, nothing of great import," I said. She stared at me, before Zack distracted her by asking "So, are you always here?" "Yeah. So, now that you're awake, where will you two be going?" she asked. "Well, I'm not sure," I admitted. We could go back to the Shinra building, but as always I was reluctant to return unless I had to. But if we didn't head back to Shinra, where else would we go? "I'll take you there, okay?" Aerith said. "Take us where?" Zack asked. "Well, I'm not sure," Aerith said, repeating what I said. Zack grinned. "You just want to spend more time with me, right?" he teased.
I was about to reprimand him when Aerith nodded, saying "Yeah." I stopped, and Zack said "Whoa! Are you...? Did you...?" But Aerith was already walking towards the exit, and we had no choice to follow. Once outside we looked around, seeing mountains of rubbish around us. When I looked up I saw a massive plate of metal covering the sky, and blinked. "This must be under the plate. Sector 5... this the slums," Zack said. "Yeah. If you walk a little, you'll be in the central slums. There are lots of people, and you can go above the plate from there too. So I'll walk you both over there," Aerith explained. I nodded, saying "Lead the way." Aerith nodded back and started forward, with the two of us following. Before we had taken a dozen steps though, a pair of Hedgehog Pies appeared.
"Ah, here we go," Zack said, grinning. I did as well, pulling out my revolvers. "Perfect. Just the chance to let off some steam," I said. Aerith did not partake in our enjoyment, instead saying "Aah! Monsters!" "Don't sweat! I can handle it!" Zack assured her. "You can?" Aerith asked, unsure. I looked back at her. "Relax. Zack will protect you, and I'm here if he doesn't," I said. That calmed her down, and she said "Okay." "Just stay back so you don't get hurt!" Zack said, before leaping forward. I did the same and one of Hedgehog Pies jumped at me, gnashing its teeth. I responded by firing both my guns and placing a pair of bullets in its mouth. It fell back and gurgled, and I ended its suffering with a shot to the forehead. Zack's target was a little smarter, dodging around his sword and tackling him with its spike-covered back.
He frowned and swung at the little beast, but it had already moved away. Zack cast Cure on the wound and charged, slashing the fiend across the stomach. It fell back and Zack cast, frying it. He flicked his sword to get rid of the blood and put it on his back, while I put away my guns. "Easy," I said. Aerith walked back up, saying "I feel so safe with you, Zack." "Is that right?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah. You can beat up monsters. You're strong. You too, Jace," she said. I crossed my arms and thought about that. I knew I was different, but did that make me strong? "Strong, huh..." Zack said, looking away. "Is something wrong?" she asked, curious. I looked at him, knowing what he was thinking about. Angeal. "No, it's nothing. Anyway, those things weren't tough at all! So, did I look cool? A little?" Zack asked.
"Hmm..." Aerith said. "'Hmm...'?" Zack repeated. Then Aerith walked ahead of us, saying "Beats me." I chuckled at that, seeing Zack's crestfallen expression. "Aerith, in these types of situations, you should be more..." Zack began. But then she said "Hey, Zack, Jace? Let's go, okay?" "Uh, hellooo?" Zack said, but he got no response. That caused me to snicker again, and the two of us followed Aerith. We made it in front of a huge gate, and I asked "So the central slum are this way?" "Yeah," Aerith replied. "Hmm..." Zack said, thinking. I was curious as to what, and Aerith echoed my thoughts. "What is it?' she asked. "I guess the slums are built just like any other city," he concluded. "Of course. Many people have lived here for a long time," she told him, before pointing at the gate.
"Inside that gate, there's a marketplace. It's fun because there are so many stores. You can go above the plate from there, too," she explained. "It's kind of stuffy down here," Zack commented. "Really? It's always like this though," Aerith said. Zack was silent for a minute, before realization dawned on him and he snapped his fingers. "I know what it is! You can't see the sky!" he announced. I frowned, and looked up, realizing that he was right. Any of the sky that could be seen was blocked by the plate. I had never noticed. But then again, there had been long periods of time where I was kept underground, away from the sky. Being without it wasn't that new to me. "Who wants to see the sky? I don't, that's for sure," Aerith told us.
I looked back down at her and tilted my head to the side."Wouldn't you miss seeing it if you lived under the plate all year round?" Zack asked. "I guess I'm not normal," she said. I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. After a moment she nodded, looking at us. "The sky frightens me. I feel like it's sucking me in... Weird, huh?" she said. I was silent, thinking. Being afraid of the sky... could this have had to do with her being an Ancient? "Normal is overrated," Zack replied, grinning. "Think... so?" she asked. I nodded, deciding to go with Zack. "Yeah. If everyone was normal, there'd be nothing different in life. Nothing exciting," I said. "I have an idea! One day, I'll take you to see a beautiful sky, the real sky. It's not scary at all. I know you're gonna love it," Zack said.
Aerith was silent for a second, before smiling and nodding. "Okay," she said. I smiled as well, glad to see her happy. The three of us kept going, and we passed through the gate into the Central Area. Like Aerith had said, there were several markets around here of varying and different kinds. "Looks like an interesting place," Zack noted. I nodded in agreement, but then a little kid ran past me and Zack, bumping into both of us. "Whoa! Watch out!" he said irritably. "Sorry," I said, while Zack nodded. "be more careful next time!" the boy called, before running off. Aerith was frowning, and once the kid was gone she turned to us. "Hey, Jace, Zack? You didn't just... lose something, did you? Like any of your belongings?" she asked.
I frowned, checking my pockets. "No, I don't think so..." I said, before my eyes widened. Hurriedly I patted myself down, and Zack did the same, before we both called out "Hey! My wallet!" "it's gone?" Aerith asked, as if she already knew the answer. "Was it that kind? I'm gonna hunt him down!" Zack declared angrily. "Not so sure about the hunting, but I am going to get my wallet back," I said. "Wait. I'm sorry, but I know that boy," Aerith said. I paused. "You know him?" I asked. "There has to be some reason. He would usually never do something like this," she told us. "Whatever the reason, stealing is wrong. I'm gonna find him, and..." Zack began. But then Aerith stopped him, saying "Let's ask him why he did it. I'll bring him here."
With that she ran off, and I paused. "What the-?" I said. "Hey! Aerith!" Zack called. But she was already out of sight. I sighed. That was Aerith for you. Once she made up her mind about doing something, nothing could stop her. "Guess we'll have to look for him, too. Let's split up," I said, and Zack nodded. We both went in separate direction, in search of the boy and our wallets.
Aerith has appeared, but at the same time both Zack and Jace lose all of their money! Why did that kid take it? Can they get it back? Find out next chapter!
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)