Chapter X
No Good Deed
"It had everything except Barret dancing in his sailor suit." - Aeris
John found himself staring into a plate of oyako don, a bright mixture of chicken, egg, onions, and greens. Next to it sat a full bowl of Hiro's mystery miso goulash. After his latest episode - The Shower Scene, for want of a better phrase - food ranked lowest on his important things list. Yet he did not want to offend Hiro by refusing to eat, particularly someone who might create an entrée called Jenova Pretzel. So he took a bite, praying he wouldn't gag.
He did not throw up. In fact, the food actually settled his stomach.
"It's delicious," he said and meant it. He took another bite.
"For a while there, little one, I was afraid you might faint. You looked as green as a jolly giant.
"It was the shower." John did not elaborate. He took another bite.
"Beautiful day out, no?" Hiro reached down and snagged a couple of passed out drunks. "You eat your fill. I need to clean up."
John waved and continued his meal, feeling better with each bite. He finished this course and asked for seconds. By the time he had eaten his full, Hiro had swept and mopped the entire dining area, leaving the air smelling of lemon and spice. The first few stragglers stumbled in for their morning coffee.
"Would you like me to help?" He noticed Hiro had no staff today. Likely they too had to sleep off the effects of the party. "I can run the register for you."
"So full of energy now, little one? Save some for the concert you promised."
"I haven't felt this alive in weeks."
The customers continued to trail in. Each one wished him well as John served them coffee and pastries. The sun rose higher, warming the air. Hiro pulled the blinds and turned on the ceiling fan.
"Your coffee smells delicious. Not like that fermented tar I smelled when I was inside the Shinra building."
"Hills around Cosmo produce the second best coffee in the world. Second only to Da-Chao in Wutai."
"Looks like you have a shipment of fresh beans right here."
"The hill folk never fail to miss a party. They always bring rare trade goods. Sometimes they bring forged relics of the Ancients."
"Forged?"
"Ancient clay pots one year. Come on, they cooked them up in a giant kiln, painted flowers on the side, and tried to tell me they were authentic Cetra ceramics. Those hill people, always quick with the jokes."
John waited on more customers, then said, "Maybe I can get Aeris to throw together a few pots. Then you can have genuine - well look who's here."
Aeris smiled at him with those emerald eyes. He never could get enough of that rich green color.
"Taking up a new trade, John?"
"Maybe I just like the smell of coffee."
"It is good to see you well again."
"Last night was the wildest party I've ever slept through."
"It had everything except Barret dancing in his sailor suit."
"Where is Barret?"
"He left for Wutai. Yuffie had an emergency, started a riot or something."
"Yuffie? Barret? Somehow I'm not hearing the ringing of wedding bells."
"He is twice her age." She cracked a wry grin. "Anyway, I'll have to ask why she asked for Barret. Cid has been out working on the Highwind the whole time, though he did drop by for the fireworks."
"I don't recall any fireworks."
"You were out by then."
"Did any bombs go off? Maybe a hurricane or an earthquake?"
Aeris chuckled. "Good to have you back."
"How is the old Highwind? Even I could tell it took one doozy of a pounding."
"Cid has a whole team of mechanics from Cosmo working on it. Bugenhagen dredged up some solar panels and they adapted them to the airship. They won't work at night but we shouldn't need to refuel as often. Also, Bugenhagen managed to acquire something called a 'huge materia.' Whatever you do, don't tell Yuffie. She'd pass out with envy."
The doors swung open and Hiro entered, carrying a limp female form in his arms.
"New bride?" John asked, noticing the flowers in her hair.
"Late for her shift."
"Oh dear," Aeris said.
The young woman opened her eyes. Moaned.
"I, I think, I think I'm going to be s-"
"No! Not on my clean floor!"
Aeris jumped in, bowing her head and summoning her Healing Wind. The woman stiffened, then relaxed. John felt the warmth soak into his body; more to the point, he felt a charge ignite his system. He looked up. He again saw the emerald colored Cetra aura swirling about Aeris, even brighter than he remembered.
"You did it, Aeris! You did it!"
"It was just a Healing Wind. Not as if I summoned Holy."
"I absorbed it. Just like the old days. Oh, I love you, Aeris!" He raced over the counter and threw himself into her arms.
"Whoa." She staggered under the assault.
"On your feet, dearie," John heard Hiro say to his armload.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Hiro. I'm so embarrassed. I, I'm so dirty. I, I - "
"Shower's upstairs," John said, his voice muffled against Aeris' shoulder.
"John," Aeris said with great patience, "you're drooling on my dress."
"Oh? Sorry about that. Whoa. Did I just tell you I loved you and throw myself into your arms?"
"Yes John."
"Oh. Well, it is a beautiful day out, isn't it?"
"Indeed it is, John."
"You're wearing pink, I see. Is this a new dress?"
"It might need dry cleaning after this."
"Poofy sleeves? I didn't know you liked poofy sleeves."
"John? I'm going to pry you loose, okay? Slow, deep, even breaths."
The doors behind her flew open again and a small form cannoned into her legs, nearly knocking them both to their knees."
"Oh, so sorry, Flower Girl," Marlene. "Naki told me get you in a hurry. I ran all the way."
"Nanaki? What does he want?"
"He says come see grandpa. He's sick."
John came to his senses and released Aeris. "Let's go. I want to see the old guy myself. To thank him."
Outside, the sun hit John with all its vengeance. Still in his terry cloth robe, he pulled the fabric over his pale neck and ducked his head before setting off. Aeris and Marlene hurried behind. Keeping to the shadows as much as he could, he raced across the village square and up the several flights of steps, pausing inside the pueblo's cooler interior. Aeris and Marlene caught up. Both looked flushed; Marlene panted and giggled at the same time.
"Having your morning workout, John?" Aeris said.
He grabbed hold of Marlene's free hand and pointed upward. Aeris nodded. They hurried up the interior stairs, winding their way in and out of the pueblo, shinnying up ladders and ducking under strung up laundry, not noticing the view, breathing in the spicy morning air, hearing the chatter of excited children. They arrived at the door of Bugenhagen's observatory where several canyon elders milled about the entrance, talking amidst themselves. Nanaki came out to meet them, his face grave, head hanging low.
"Goodness, what's wrong?" Aeris asked.
"It's Grandfather. I think he's dying."
John felt his exuberance drain away like a burst water balloon. Aeris looked between him and the long faces on the mingling elders.
John looked back at Nanaki, who ushered the three of them inside.
Bugenhagen lay with his head propped on the end of his couch. Elmyra held a drinking straw to his lips. She gave them a sad look as they entered.
"Aeris dear." She enfolded her daughter in her arms. Marlene also joined the hug.
Nanaki padded over to sit watch beside his mentor. "Grandfather."
Bugenhagen stirred, locking eyes with John. "Come here," he said. "I want a look at you."
John obeyed.
"Ho-ho-hoo, I declare, I believe our ritual worked. You have your color back."
John glanced down at his hands, at his pale skin.
"Not that. Your aura. You're blue again."
"Oh." He tried to hide his feelings. His Jenova aura had brought him nothing but trouble in the recent past.
"Don't look so glum. I knew there was good in you when I first saw you."
"He knows that," Aeris said. "But if you tell him, he gets all mushy."
John snorted. "I think I missed the memo that announced 'pick on John' day."
As if on cue, Fluffy materialized from an upper shelf and landed on John's back, claws extended.
"Ow!"
Luckily, the terry cloth kept the claws from his skin, though Fluffy did pull at his robe enough to slide it part way off his back. He clutched at the neckline, reflecting how much he had not missed this brat of a cat.
Marlene said, "No. Bad kitty!"
Fluffy leapt softly to the ground with an apologetic "Merp?"
"You can't be dying, Grandfather," Nanaki moaned. "You can't die."
"Oh, young Nanaki, I have lived a long life, so long I can't even remember how long it's been. I lost count at one hundred thirty-seven years."
"Ha," said John. "You don't look a day over ninety."
"Ho-ho-hoo, you know how to flatter a legless old man. No, I've lived a long life, and though I have my regrets, I know my time has come. While I wish I could live to see the salvation of our Planet - provided, ho-ho-hoo, against all odds, you succeed - "
"Don't talk that way, Grandfather. We need you to guide us!"
"Oh, Nanaki, ho-ho-hoo, you'll find your way. As for me, ah, yes, I feel I too, shall soon find my way. Yes, she comes. I was not able to save her before, though I tried, ah yes, I believe she knows I tried. I did. I really did."
"Who are you talking about, Grandfather? Whom couldn't you save?"
The air in the room seemed to grow lighter. Bugenhagen's eyes fixed on a point in space.
John looked in that direction. He gasped.
"I see now," Bugenhagen said. "I see, I see the Promised Land."
"Grandfather."
"Nanaki. Never give up your faith. Maybe, some day, you'll meet your mate. You have my gift. Use it well."
Nanaki fingered his golden hairpiece with solemn reverence.
John continued to stare at the corner of the room. "Anyone, see, anything?"
"I don't see anyone there," Marlene said.
In the corner, the image of Aeris' birth mother Ifalna took one step forward and held out her hand. Fluffy, probably sensing a new food source, squirted out of Marlene's arms and ran to entwine herself between Ifalna's legs. The apparition smiled, reaching down to scratch behind the kitty's ears. Fluffy yucked it up. She stood on her hind legs, stretching almost onto one leg, just to scrub her head up against Ifalna's knee.
"What is that strange animal doing?" Elmyra asked.
"Aeris?" Bugenhagen's voice had grown weak.
"Yes?"
"I used to work for Shinra, in the tower. You were, four years old, I believe, when I helped your mother escape once and I took care of you. She entrusted you to me. Remember the rides I gave you up and down the air shafts? You laughed and laughed. The only time anyone ever heard you laugh was with me. I even kept Hojo's hands off you by saying I was conducting my own experiments. Ho-ho-hoo! At that time, I could have ruined Hojo. But when he recaptured Ifalna, I had to give you up. But I made a promise. I promised I would be there when she escaped again, and this time, you would go with her. But Hojo became suspicious of me and had me watched. I hatched a plan to bring you both here to Cosmo Canyon but he transferred me out of Midgar. I had made enemies of Scarlet and her awful cousin, Carmine. That meant I could not be there for you when Ifalna finally did make her escape. I'm, so sorry."
Aeris put her hand on his shoulder. "I understand. I'm sure my mother would too."
In her corner, Ifalna nodded.
"We can't be everywhere at once," John said. He looked at Ifalna. "At least, not while we're alive and kicking. Or," he glanced back at Bugenhagen, "or, you know, bobbing about."
Aeris face-palmed. "Are you freaking serious telling a stupid leg joke now of all times?"
Ifalna spoke up. "John. I must warn you. Something huge is coming your way. Please be careful."
"Something huge? What, like a giant stone ball rolling down a tunnel?"
"Who are you talking to?" Elmyra looked puzzled.
"You see her, don't you." Bugenhagen's voice went soft but his eyes grew bright.
Marlene said, "I smell roses. Yum."
"It comes from frying my brains on a Brightstone. Don't try that at home." John shivered as if biting on tinfoil. "Wait. You did try that yourself. Ah. I get it."
"My mother," Aeris said. "She's here, isn't she?"
John turned Aeris toward the corner. "Step one, two, three, there. Hold still; reach out your hand, good. Feel anything?"
"I feel, at peace. And I, I smell the roses. Oh mother!"
Elmyra looked uncomfortable.
"Don't worry," John said to her. "It's a birth mother thing. No one expects you to compete with a ghost, especially a literal ghost."
Bugenhagen spoke again. "Good-bye, my friends, and good luck to all. I am ready now."
"Hey wait. Not yet. I need to know about this rolling ball of stone thing."
Ifalna stepped forward. Her left arm draped around Aeris' shoulders; her other reached out toward Bugenhagen.
Fluffy intervened by bouncing onto the couch and scrubbing her head against Ifalna's free hand.
As good a sign as any, John decided. He leaned forward and released his newly acquired Healing Wind.
Everyone, except for Fluffy, who batted at his head with a stray paw, sighed as the breeze fluttered through the room. The ghostly Ifalna half smiled, giving him a 'Here we go again' look. Bugenhagen winked.
"Ho-ho-hoo! Thank you, John. What a nice way to go." He closed his eyes and lay still.
John's mouth dropped open.
Nanaki looked up at him sadly, then back down. "Good-bye, Grandfather." Then, holding his head as high as he could, he marched out of the room, his golden hairpiece glittering in his mane. Outside the door, the double row of elders bowed their heads at the news. Marlene burst into tears.
"No," said John. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he had become the butt of a cruel joke.
"Aeris?" One of the elders stuck his head in the door. "Call for you, in the office."
She squeezed John's elbow and left the room.
Marlene continued to sob. "Boogieman. Boogieman dead."
John looked down at the still form and felt a sudden anger.
"Hey!" His shout made both of Aeris' mothers jump. "What do you think you're doing! You're not supposed to die on me!"
Marlene stopped crying and gazed at him. Elmyra reached out and pulled her away. (John knew Elmyra didn't trust him.)
"You hear me old man? No dying!" When he reached down, his first impulse to shake the man but stopped. Sitting on the couch, he gently took Bugenhagen's hands in his own. Even with no more stored energy to release, John felt a buzz of power rise within him. "Come back, please? We all need you. The Planet needs you." He knew he sounded corny but at the risk of giving Marlene a 'this is what a lunatic looks like up close' example, he continued. "You're, you're much too young to die."
John felt a hidden power, his power, build. What? Had he absorbed something else along the way? A stray materia nearby? Or maybe Hiro's soup gave him delusions? If so, he wanted another bowl. Either way, the charge inside longed to pour out in a torrent. As long as it didn't hurt Bugenhagen. Wait a minute: the guy had died. What harm could he possibly do? "Screw it." Closing his eyes, he relaxed and allowed the energy to rush out like a waterfall.
High voltage shot through his body. His eyes popped open to find himself bathed in a swirling blue glow, most of which spiraled down onto the limp body below. The room brightened as if someone had lifted the ceiling. John's ears buzzed. Dimly he saw Elmyra draw even further back, though Marlene struggled to free herself. Fluffy crouched under a table, giving him a sour look. As for Ifalna . . .
"I declare. I never thought I would see this in person. I always thought it was a legend." She gave John a smiling wink before fading into nothing.
He barely had time to register his confusion before his power cord yanked loose. He spun backward, smacking supine onto the floor with a clumsy thump. He stared at the ceiling, surprised could still breathe. "Holy. Crap. What. The heck."
Marlene broke free of Elmyra's grip. She wandered over to him, leaning over his face to peer into his eyes.
"You okay?" she said.
John managed a nod. When Marlene's face pulled back, Fluffy slunk out and bit him on the foot.
"Ow. Cat, I swear, ugh." Fatigue. Again. Damn it, he had come back too fast and blown it -
"Aunt Elmyra! He's alive!"
"Well, sort of." His limbs felt like stone.
"Marlene, don't - oh my, oh my." Elmyra jerked upright. "Aeris! Nanaki! Come quick!"
Come on, John thought. Just me doing something stupid. Since when did that make the evening news?
Fluffy bit his toe again.
The door flew open and Aeris rushed in, only to stop short.
"Uh, hi?" John said.
"Oh, my God."
Fluffy's claw hooked into his ankle. John gritted his teeth.
"Bad kitty!" Marlene scooped the infernal beast into her arms. Fluffy let out a squawk of protest before folding herself into the girl's embrace.
"N-nanaki?" Aeris sounded flustered. You, you might want to see this."
Several heads poked through the doorway. Soon a chorus of voices echoed across the canyon. "Nanaki! Nanaki!"
John turned his head to see what they stared at. Marlene looked also, and chirped, "Boogieman better!"
Sure enough, the old man floated above his couch, twirling this way and that, fingering his long beard. "Ho-ho-hoo, yes, I feel as spry as a spring chocobo. Boogieman, indeed."
"Good to, ah, see ya," John said.
"Why you, silly silly boy, look what you've done. We went to all that trouble to put on that pomp and ritual, and here, not three hours after you're healed up, you go and do this. What were you thinking?"
"But, you're alive, sir."
"Oh yes, as an old man, who's already lived longer than his share of years. You may have added some twenty years to my life. Is that worth almost ending yours? Ho-ho-hoo, do you always act on blind instinct?"
"But, I wanted to make you better. Know what? I'm glad I did it. What's more, I'd do it again. I only wish, I only wish I could get up off this floor."
John saw a faint shimmer where Ifalna had stood. He thought he heard her say, "Daft old man," before flickering out.
Aeris reached down for him. She helped him over to the couch where they both sat heavily.
"I don't see what the big deal is," John said. "You can always do the ritual over again."
"We can't repeat the ritual every day, ho-ho-hoo. Each casting saps the Planet that much more."
"I don't believe that for a minute. Any Planet can handle a team of all-night dancers wearing fruit, for crying out loud."
Bugenhagen began to reply when Nanaki bounded in. At first, the beast had to shake his head and blink, perhaps seeing a trick of the light.
"John did it." Marlene said. "He made the blue light and Boogieman got better. Now Boogieman is mad because John made himself sick."
"Hi." John managed a pathetic wave.
"Grandfather."
"Yes, I am still with you, thanks to our impulsive young friend. Now look at him, will you? He can't even lift his chin off his chest."
"He looks a bit pale, I admit." Nanaki embraced John in a full doggie hug.
"Imagine," John said when he could breathe. "People think I'm a danger to the Planet. Right now, I'd have trouble lifting a teaspoon."
"Would you like to lie down?" Aeris asked.
"Yes." An idea flickered through his head. At least his brain hadn't scrambled itself this time around. "If you can keep the sun off me, I'd like to go back to the bonfire." He looked at Bugenhagen. "I'd like to see if Boogieman is serious about denying me that ritual."
Aeris and Elmyra helped him to his feet. Followed by Marlene, they walked him out the door, beginning the trek down the pueblo. On the balcony outside, John looked up to see hundreds, if not thousands, of folk perched on ledges and rooftops, some so far up the sides of the canyon they appeared as colored specks.
Someone shouted, "It's him!" Then the whole crowd erupted in cheers. John stood amazed as the cheering went on for several minutes. The cheers continued as his escort walked him all the way back down to the Cosmic Flame. Marlene lead the parade carrying a smug Fluffy and waving a yellow bandanna. John returned to his bedroll wearing a goofy clown grin, feeling something jab him in the neck as he lay down.
"Pretty necklace," Marlene said.
Whoa. John lifted the jade and copper piece, dimly recalling his escapade in the shower. "When did I put this - oh never mind." He drifted off, dreaming of a stone ball chasing him down the mountain.