Chapter V

Touched by a Planet
"Relax. You look like you're attending your own execution." - Aeris

Tifa and Cloud huddled on their stomachs amidst the dune grass, elbows digging into warm sand as they gazed into the fishing cove. Just northwest of Costa del Sol, the quick tropical night had fallen, leaving the air heavy and scented with jasmine as the world held its breath, waiting for a cool breeze to waft in like a damp cloth over a feverish forehead. Cloud held the night binoculars to his eyes for a full five minutes. Tifa lay impatient yet silent beside him, her feet trailing circles in the sand behind her. Cloud lowered himself from his elbows and handed the binoculars to Tifa.

"I can't see the creature," he said, "but it's easy see its path."

Tifa lifted the goggles to her eyes. The world leaped into a glowy, green focus. The hills above the water looked like misty blurs, though a darker ribbon of trees twisted its way down the silent grass, tracing the path of a stream. Along one side of the stream ran a stone cobble road. Along the other side of the stream lay an occasional animal, apparently alive but sprawled as if hurled from a passing train. None showed signs of violence but their positions didn't suggest a peaceful slumber either. The trail of tossed animals followed the stream to where a patch of date palms obscured the view. The town itself, a scattering of buildings strung like a beaded necklace along the water's edge, showed no signs of anything untoward. Lights glowed from windows; music drifted from a harbor side bar.

"Think it's in the town?" Tifa said.

"Unless it left on another route. But it has been heading for Costa del Sol."

"Maybe it's dormant now."

"It might be holed up somewhere. According to the stories, when it emerges to feed, its rampages last for hours. However," Cloud paused, "stories become wilder with every telling. No one has gotten a good look at the creature, the size of which seems to grow by the day."

"Ten meters tall with horns?"

"I think it may even have wings by now. Everyone agrees on one fact, though. The creature cloaks itself in a ball of mist. For all we know, it may even be a ball of mist."

"So we go down there now?"

"The faster we find it, the faster we find out Shinra's angle. I'll bet something escaped from one of their reactors and they want to cover it up."

"I didn't know they had a reactor in Costa del Sol, unless you count the one on Mount Corel."

"The creature is heading in the wrong direction to have come from Mount Corel. It could have swum over from Junon but I doubt it."

"Wait. I saw something. By the waterfront."

"What is it?"

"I think, I think it may have killed somebody. We need to go now!" She slapped the binoculars into Cloud's hand and bounced to her feet. Not bothering to dust herself off, she tore off down the hill, ignoring Cloud's "Wait up, Teef" behind her. He would catch up soon enough, given those glowing blue mako eyes of his.

The run to the waterline took longer than expected, though the path ran downhill and Tifa kept herself in fighting shape. An evening five-K run did wonders to perk up the senses. She angled off the dune toward a white stone walk that glimmered like a platinum ribbon. She heard Cloud race up from behind. Ahead, along the bend of the harbor, poles with wrought iron lanterns lit the way with an orange glow. A wood building, sporting a sea green mural of a flopping mermaid, beckoned her onward.

Cloud panted to a stop beside her. She didn't often see him out of breath.

"Teef? What is it?"

She hesitated, less sure of herself. When she had peered through the glasses, she had seen the white splotch on the sand and had taken it for driftwood. On second glance, it had become a dead dog. Now though . . .

Something moved beneath the row of palms. A dog ran down the beach toward her. It stopped and stared into the trees, ears perked. Then it crumpled with a yelp and lay still.

"There! Did you see it? It just looked at the dog and it fell."

"You don't know it was the - "

"Come on!" She sprinted down the path.

The air cooled with the ocean breeze. Lantern poles ticked by like spokes on a wheel. Tifa caught her second wind, once again opening up a lead. Cloud must truly desire her to chase her like this, she mused.

If only.

No time for that now. The mermaid sign loomed: Jeweled Sands Inn. She paused. Scanned from nearby trees to the beach. No movement.

Cloud caught up to her again. "My, I'm out of shape. After chasing Sephiroth all those weeks, you'd think - "

"Listen." Tifa cocked her head. Had she heard a scream? Around the hotel, on the beach.

Cloud climbed onto a rock, pulled out his binoculars, and scanned the area. Nearby, another dog started barking.

"Could be a body. Could be a bag of trash. We should take a closer look."

"Not dead." The deep voice came from behind them.

Tifa whirled around with a yelp.

"Vincent! You scared - "

The dark haired man, dressed in his typical red and black vampire cape, hovered just off the ground as always. He put a finger of his metal claw hand to his lips. "Not dead. I found an old couple on the beach. Unconscious. I brought them in, used a phoenix down. They are still in a coma but should recover."

"So, Vincent." Cloud looked unruffled. "You haven't lost your flair for a dramatic entrance."

"Have you seen the creature?" Tifa asked.

"Yes. It's over there."

"What?" Tifa whirled again, seeing nothing. Beside her, Cloud hopped down from his perch and drew his sword.

"In the grove of trees behind the inn. I think it's scared."

"No sympathy from me," Cloud said. "You can be scared without going on a killing spree."

Tifa looked from Cloud's blue eyes to Vincent's red ones. Her resolve tightened. Vincent nodded and slid out his gun, an over-sized, old fashioned revolver with a barrel the length of her forearm. Had someone crossed a gun with a stretch limo? It looked like someone pointing with an index finger five times too long.

"Buntline." Vincent stroked the handle, running his good fingers over a surprising number of materia gems he had seated there.

"Let's mosey, then." Cloud pointed toward the hotel. "Beach side or inland, Vincent?"

"The local constables have the roads secured inland. You're lucky they posted me to watch the shore trail."

Tifa considered the constables the lucky ones but she remained quiet as they hurried across the parking area. Cloud eased up at the corner, peeking around and motioning Tifa forward. Vincent drifted behind them. Nothing stirred in front of the hotel. They moved in shifts, darting behind planters and deck furniture, working their way to the far side. They had covered more than half the distance when Tifa nearly tripped over two bodies. She hopped sideways, one hand held up, the other one clamped over her mouth to keep from calling out.

"They're not dead," Vincent whispered. "Comatose, like the others."

"That creature does this to people?"

"Apparently. No one has gotten close enough to test it."

Cloud, reaching the end of the building, gripped his sword, pointing it at the grove of trees beyond.

Tifa checked her materia. "Let's take this sucker down fast," she said to Vincent.

Cloud held a finger to his lips when the two of them crept near. "I feel something. Faint, in those trees. Does either of you have a Sense materia?"

Vincent nodded, finding the yellow gem on his armlet. He squatted behind a row of jasmine. Cupping his hand to hide the yellow glow, he faced the palm grove and focused. Presently, he drifted over to the others and whispered,

"Six trees in from the right. Hard to get a fix, but it appears at least part human."

"Jenova?" Cloud asked.

"Possibly. A mixture of, something. Most likely mako mutated."

Tifa shuddered.

Cloud said, "So the creature may not even look human. But it is human sized?"

"Correct."

Cloud checked his collection of materia. "Any idea what it's vulnerable to?"

"Don't use poison. Try lightning."

Cloud switched a couple of materia orbs. "Ditch this Bio. I'll bet it has a Barrier spell up so I'll try a Destruct. That materia might even protect against whatever attack that thing uses. Teef, here's a Magic Plus. Do you have a mastered Bolt? Good. You'll stand back and rain death upon its head. I don't know its attack range but I might need you to pull me out if I get conked. No sense both of us going down. Vincent? Any ideas?"

The vampire figure set and braced for a clean shot. He nodded approval.

"How do we get it to come out?" Tifa said.

"You could drop in a Ramuh summon and see what screams."

Tifa crept close to him. "Perhaps I can - "

A small terrier came skipping along the beach heading toward them. It veered off and trotted toward the grove where it stopped and barked.

"A minor summon," Vincent said, shielding the red glow on his armlet. "I found it in Nibelheim. Yuffie thought it was useless."

The dog kept barking. It crouched low to the ground, hair bristling, a low growl rumbling through the quiet night.

"There!" Cloud drew his sword and stepped to the edge of the shadows.

A gust of wind blew from the palms. Ferns the size of rakes began to sway, parting to admit a swirling gray shape encased in an oval of mist. It stepped, almost flowed, into the open. Tifa tried to make out a form inside but staring too hard made her eyes ache.

Snarling, the dog backed away. It pawed the sand as if burying a bone for dessert. The gray creature uttered a keening cry, a sound so grating it made Tifa's teeth hurt.

Ahead, Cloud and Vincent tensed for action. Touching a yellow Enemy Skill materia, Tifa opened with a Big Guard spell, giving them a magic barrier of their own as well as speeding their actions.

"Now!" Cloud leapt forward. He slashed at air before stepping back to throw a bolt spell. The charge sputtered around the oval, though it made Tifa's hair prickle.

"Need to break its barrier," Cloud said. "Everyone ready?"

The creature darted forward and loosed a brilliant blue barrage of forked lightning. It sparkled off the party's shield, throwing Cloud back and turning the barking dog into a steaming heap.

"This is bad," Tifa said. "Hurry up with - "

Cloud glowed green with his spell. A silver ray caught the creature dead center and the gray swirling shroud began to boil away, even as the creature darted from side to side, emitting screams of fury.

Tifa did not wait for the next attack. "Judgment Bolt!" Through the swirling red haze she saw a mountain erupt from the placid beach, a white-robed wizard standing on top. The wizard stretched his hands, raining a curtain of bolts onto the courtyard. The creature shuddered under the impact. Small fires snapped like giant fireflies in the wake of Tifa's Ramuh summon.

"Good work, Teef." Cloud stepped forward, sword raised.

Tifa blasted the thing again, this time with her amped up Bolt spell. The creature staggered but rose back to full height as Cloud drew back for the killing blow. Suddenly, Cloud froze. He stood as a frozen silhouette as the creature's glow brightened. Lightning didn't slow that thing down much, Tifa noted. Definitely mako enhanced. "Cloud? What's wrong?" She moved to pull him back but he broke his trance and started to move.

Cloud tensed. The creature stepped toward him but instead of attacking he sagged, dropping his sword behind him.

"Cloud!" Tifa darted forward. "What are you doing!" Then she saw the creature's face and stopped herself.

"No. It, it can't be!"

The creature, a distinct human form bathed in its misty white radiance, stepped closer, raising its arms. Tifa's mind snapped into place. A trick. A mind trick. Beta. Cast a Beta spell. No! Not enough time!

Then the night shattered with blasts from Vincent's gun.

John awoke when a sharp stick jabbed him in the ribs. He heard a gruff "sorry" and the crackling of the fire. He smelled, what? Roasting meat? Had someone thrown him on the fire? He forced his eyes open, only to find the world appearing in a blur until he blinked several times. No, he lay safely under his blankets. He mentally slapped himself.

Fewer people milled about now. A good number huddled against the canyon walls with bowls of soup balanced on their laps. John rolled his head sideways to find three stocky men clothed in suspenders and overalls. They hovered about the Eternal Flame, each holding a long stick with a lump of meat on the end. The closest one, a beefy guy with dark hair, turned to look at him.

"Hi. I'm Larry; this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."

The two Darryls, one blond and one not, nodded in turn.

Larry said, "We were passing through on our way to hunt thunder rabbits, when we heard about the ritual of yuube yasui shokudo de ebi no tempura o tabemashita ga, ebi wa intanda datta kara, byooki ni narimashita yo. Darryl thought we might pay our respects to the one who had risked his soul to save the famous flower girl. So," He shifted his gaze from his light-haired to his dark-haired brother. "Darryl here selected the finest road kill to barbecue in your honor."

John forced a grin. "I'm dead," he said. "I'm finally dead."

"Oh no. This is black striped bear-weasel. They only come out at night. They're quick, too. Darryl had to swerve three times to clip it."

"Hell has a special place for me. I should have known when I first met Fluffy."

"Darryl wanted to know something." Larry shifted his gaze to his blond brother. "Is it wise to give succor to the Calamity from the Sky, the Bringer of Death, and Summoner of Sabre-tooth Locusts?" He looked back to his other brother. "Darryl counters that no one has proof you have anything to do with the recent invasion of saber-tooth locusts, and besides, if you fry 'em up in a vat of chicken fat, they make a right crunchy trail mix."

John shivered under the blankets.

"Darryl says reality is a philosophical illusion. What is real is only what we believe." Dark Darryl nodded. "Darryl, on the other hand, claims that despite our best efforts, reality will assert itself in a concrete manner, much as how our truck asserted itself on this black striped bear-weasel." Blond Darryl bowed his head.

Larry turned back to the fire, rolling over his sizzling clump of meat.

John said, "Which one of you poked me in the ribs?"

The two Darryls pointed at each other, paused in thought, pointed at each other again, then laughed silently.

"I see." John took a breath. "As for being a threat to the Planet, I assure you - "

"We know you are no threat to the Planet," Larry said. "There's so little of you left."

Blond Darryl grinned.

"I need a drink," John said, trying to roll away from the group.

"Be careful," Larry said. "Darryl left his pear juice over yonder."

"Pear juice? Sounds good."

Both Darryls silently hooted. Even Larry chuckled. "I reckon you'd go off like one of Auntie Pamela's beanie bombs. That there pear juice done drove our truck down these mountain roads. Still, Darryl likes to sneak a nip now and then." He slapped blond Darryl on the back of his head. "Don'tchya, Darryl?"

"It, it runs your truck?"

"Yea. Darryl makes it in a little still he has hid out back. Them power pears grow mighty huge when you fertilize their trees properly. Darryl uses heaps of steaming tree-goat manure."

The Darryls huffed again.

"So, you live up in the mountains around here?"

"So high those Shinra revenuers can't find us. They used to send a revenuer every now and then but them they send never return. Right Darryl? Some get drunk and fall into a ravine by accident. Others meet the great Shanandra."

"The great - a local deity?" John guessed.

All three cracked up in silent laughs.

"Would that she could hear you, kid. She's a mountain broad, built like a kegger, eyes like diamonds, tongue like a lizard, kisses like a vakkin' cleaner."

The Darryls laughed again.

Larry said, "Looks like the ritual is about to start. Hiro has his soul dancers out and he's dressed them in fruit. I'll be dad-burned. He's following the ancient ritual to the letter."

John, fighting off another wave of fatigue, turned his head to look. Past the mirrors and flickering shadows the troupe walked out, dressed in more produce than a farmers' market.

"Wow Darryl, look at the size of them . . . pineapples."

"And that's the men," John said.

A slender woman wearing a lei of camellia-like flowers began to light the collection of votive candles. Her outfit, so to speak - a short skirt and camisole - matched the lei with its floral print.

"Angelina?" John said with a start.

"Yes," Lena said. "Tifa lent me some of her casual wear before she flew off on her mission. Until now I've not had a chance to wear it."

"Well it, suits you. With the flowers, I mean."

"C'mon Darryl," Larry said. "Stop staring or your eyes will pop out like snap peas. Let's go find a place to chow down on our critter du jour. I don't want to miss the party. Ma'am?" He bowed low before leading his brothers off.

"Friends of yours?" Lena said.

John snorted.

"Never turn your back on potential friends."

"I admit," John said, looking at the hillbilly trio, "they aren't likely to stab me in the back. Spear me in the ribs, perhaps, but not the back."

"Here comes one of your friends now."

John gasped as an angel walked into view. Aeris. Her chestnut hair loose, her body cloaked in a sleeveless gown of shimmering red, her waist cinched by a neon pink sash, she walked as if drifting off the ground. (Perhaps she would, if she hung around that vampire poser Vincent long enough.) She smiled and exchanged hugs with Lena, receiving a bouquet of white and pink carnations from one of Hiro's fruit maidens.

Her red dress made her glow in the reflected firelight. John's mind filled with sweet haze. Every time he saw Aeris since the incident in the Ancient Capital, his mind wanted to drip away like raw egg through a storm grate.

"Easy now." Aeris knelt to place a cool hand on his forehead. "It won't be much longer."

"Now I know I'm dying."

Not a bad life, all in all. He surprised himself when, close to death, he had a thought like this. He could spend weeks feeling depressed, as if God had trapped his mind inside a dirty Coke bottle, but his inner guardian angel would pop up and whisper, "Hey, at least you didn't just have your arms and legs crushed by a steam roller."

"Relax," Aeris said. "You look like you're attending your own execution."

"Funeral."

Aeris shook her head, a mental eye roll. She drew a wet cloth and stroked his face. Some people get a last meal, he thought. I get a last bath.

"As my mother says - both of them - you have a good heart. I appreciate all you've done for me. Now I ask one more favor. Don't give up. Fight to stay with us."

John recalled his sister Jaime long ago, who once threatened to nail his soul to the floor if he even thought of dying on her.

"That's it," Aeris said. "You have to believe in yourself. Only you can save yourself. We can help, but the magic comes from within you. All these people? They're just here for the soup."

Beyond the two of them, the world blurred. Shadows drifted, darting in and out of focus. Hiro perched on his scaffold, dispensing bowls of the house special. It smelled divine. If only he had an appetite.

"Tell you what," Aeris said. "I think Yuffie likes Barret, if in a schoolgirl crush sort of way."

"You've got to be kidding."

"That's it. Keep on fighting. If you even think of dying and I'll - " A mischievous glint twinkled in her green eyes. "I'll nail your soul to the floor."

John had long since ceased to feel surprise when someone read his thoughts. His brain acted so much like an open mic he could mouth off even when he remembered to keep his mouth shut.

Aeris leaned closer. John could smell the carnations along with something spicy and exotic, perhaps one of those Wutai perfumes Yuffie liked to wear. Aeris dragged the cool cloth around to his neck, swiping under his chin. He hoped she didn't just wipe up drool. In the background, Larry popped one of the Darryls behind his head for drinking from his soup bowl.

John reached out from under the blanket and grasped Aeris' hand. His grip felt weak but she held on.

She leaned down again. "That's right. I think you understand." She placed a kiss on his forehead.

John closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling his mouth curl into a smile. It doesn't get much better than this, he thought as his brain drifted away in a silky pink fog.

As if in answer, Aeris kissed him again. On the mouth.