Chapter 46: Return of the Dead Girl

February 15, 0010

I was left alone, as Tobin had gone to his book signing in Gongaga.

Yeah, it was still the same day. A lot can happen in a day, you know.

I mainly had a lazy day where I made myself lunch. After that, I went into the living-room.

When I walked in, guess who was sitting on the sofa?

"Hi, Cissnei!" Aerith greeted.

"Back again?" I asked.

"If you don't mind," she requested.

"I don't," I replied. "I am kind of lonely."

That was the truth; I could use the companionship, even if it's of a dead woman.

"Is Tobin going to be okay at his book signing?" she asked me.

"Everyone's wearing a mask," I said. "And he's sitting behind glass, anyway."

"Good," Aerith said. "I know that's kind of deadly."

Of course, I knew Ms. Gainsborough wasn't here for small talk.

"So," I began, "what's….on your mind?"

That was a weird question, since her brain was no longer functioning, and had probably decomposed by now.

"I'm dead," Aerith sighed. "I guess that's where I'll begin."

"I'm sorry," I sheepishly said. "How does that make you feel?"

"Honestly," Aerith replied, "I don't really know. Being dead does have its ups and downs. But I guess it's the downs that are keeping me here."

"What kind of downs?" I asked.

"For starters, I feel way too young to die," she replied. "I was only twenty-two. I was engaged to Cloud. I had a whole life ahead of me."

"I'm sure a lot of people think that when they first die," I pointed out.

"I guess what frustrates me the most is that I thought I was in the clear," she continued.

"In the clear?" I asked.

"I was supposed to be killed by Sephiroth," she explained.

"You were killed by Sephiroth," I reminded her.

Aerith sighed.

"Not outside the Nibelheim Reactor," she corrected. "At the Forgotten Capital."

"Much earlier," I observed.

"I faked my death at the altar in the Forgotten Capital," she explained. "But in the original timeline, I really died there."

"I see."

"So I faked my death and then slowly reunited with my friends," she continued. "I thought I was in the clear. I thought I was going to live. But Safer Sephiroth threw me to the ground and broke my back. So after all that, I ended up dying anyway."

"I heard about that," I admitted. "That the timeline reclaims people who cheat their deaths. Barret saved Dyne from committing suicide, but he later died of dysentery. Abel and Chloe, Denzel's parents, avoided getting crushed by the plate, only to die from Geostigma."

I paused.

I really didn't want to say what I was going to say next.

"But Jessie, Zack, and Tobin cheated their deaths and are still here," I continued nervously. "They weren't reclaimed."

"I guess it reclaims us sometimes, and not others," Aerith suggested.

"But you're a heroine to the world," I pointed out. "You literally saved the Planet. Without your sacrifice, Meteor would have struck."

"I know," Aerith admitted. "I had to figure the Holy spell wouldn't work unless I had been sacrificed. I didn't see that coming, but I should have. That altar looked like a sacrificial one. But then, there's the personal losses."

"Personal losses?" I asked her.

"My relationships," she clarified.

"Relationships?" I asked.

"Yeah," Aerith replied. "Particularly with Cloud."

MEANWHILE….

The 0007 Tseng scanned the crowd; there was not one friendly face among them.

He then spotted Dirk Downing, who was there with his oldest sons, David, Daniel, and Dane. None of them were wearing masks.

As for the rest of the mob, about half were.

"Listen everyone," Tseng began, unsure of what to say. "Please just listen. I'm not who you think I am."

He didn't know why he worded it that way; it just came out.

"No kidding!" Dane Downing shouted. "We thought you had all reformed since the Shrina went out of business!"

"Dane!" Dirk shouted as he reprimanded his son.

He then turned to Tseng himself.

"Murder is still murder," Dirk said. "It's all black and white."

"We didn't murder that pilot," Tseng insisted. "And you know we're innocent until proven guilty."

"You arr proven guilty," Dirk insisted. "It was recorded."

Tseng sighed.

"That wasn't us," he defended.

"That looked exactly like you," Dirk accused. "We paid attention to every detail."

"Did you, now?" Tseng retorted. "Then you should have noticed the murderers looked ten years older."

"So what?" Dirk dismissed.

At that point, Tseng realized he needed to tell them, even though he knew they wouldn't believe him.

"Those are our versions from the original timeline," Tseng began. "The ones who were never reformed, because Elena and I never fell for each other."

Dirk grunted.

"Then explain how they got here," he demanded.

"I'm not sure," Tseng admitted. "I haven't figured that out yet."

"You need to lie better!" Dane shouted.

"You probably also noticed how skinny Elena was," Tseng continued. "But the Elena here is nine months pregnant!"

There was a brief silence, followed by a few mumbles in the crowd.

"Bring her out," David Downing demanded. "Prove it!"

Tseng shook his head.

"She won't come out," he replied. "She's terrified of catching Geostigma. "You should be, too."

"That's just a government conspiracy," Daniel Downing insisted. "At least you can show us her medical records."

Tseng again shook his head.

"She didn't see a doctor," he replied. "Again, she's terrified of Geostigma. But I do have a picture."

He showed them the picture of the pregnant Elena with the top of her bump visible.

The mob wasn't impressed.

"That's photoshopped!" Dane accused.

"You're the worst liar in history!" David added. "I think we've had enough of this! I say we arrest them!"

"I say we beat them!" Daniel shouted.

"I say we hang them!" David shouted.

"Hang 'em!" shouted someone else in the mob. "Hang 'em both!"

The mob then began to approach the defenseless Tseng.

And that moment, everyone's ears were greeted by the sounds of gunshots.

Everyone crouched down to see a masked Barret Wallace with his masked wife, Mrs. Jessica Raspberry Wallace.

They had also married in the interim, if I had forgotten to mention that earlier.

Jessie was carrying a document.

"By executive order of the President of the Western Continent," she announced. "I hereby declare a restraining order of a hundred feet from this house with local residents exempted."

She paused.

"That's none of you. So vamoose."

The mob, especially the Downings (who would not listen to a woman) ignored her at first.

Then, Barret fired his gun-arm into the air, causing the crowd to run in all directions.

"Violators are subject to physical force!" Jessie proudly shouted.

MINUTES LATER….

Tseng, now back in his home, walked straight to the kitchen, and straight to the bottom cupboard.

"I'm back," he said softly, so he wouldn't startle her when he opened the cupboard.

Upon opening the cupboard door, he found the 0007 Elena sitting upright with her hands wrapped around her legs. She gave him a weak smile, though she was obviously still nervous.

"They're gone," Tseng announced.

Elena quietly nodded as she extended her right hand to his.

As soon as he helped her to her feet, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You really are my rock."

"It wasn't just me," he truthfully informed her. "Barret and Jessie arrived and scared them away. There's also a presidential order keeping everyone away from this house."

"I wish I could hug those three, too, right now," she said. "That'll be the first thing I do when this passes."

He turned her around, placed his hands on the top of her bump through her red tank top, and kissed her on the cheek.

Elena pressed her back against his chest and relaxed in his arms. She loved being held that way; it made her feel so safe for both herself and their baby.

They continued that way for several minutes. Then, Elena realized something.

"We need to have a meeting," she said. "A virtual one, with Reno and Rude. We just had a situation where we nearly got killed over our prime selves' actions. What can stop another?"

"We will," Tseng assured her. "I promise."

Elena knew right away that he meant later.

"We need to have a meeting," she repeated. "Right now."