INTERLUDE

JESSIE

The temple was the turning point.

It was there in that place that everything changed, and even now, all these years later, we still don't know the full extent of it. We've been going on with our interrupted lives as best we can, but we've never for a second forgotten what happened. The rift and the one who manipulated me into tearing that dark hole in reality. We haven't seen or heard from her since the end of our long journey, but I know she's out there somewhere, biding her time until she's ready to do what she set in motion that day five years ago. But we've been preparing, too. Ever since then.

We once thought Sephiroth and Shinra were the only dangers to our world. But during our journey, we learned of another. Of her. Not much, but enough. Some of the others didn't think we should've included her in this retelling of our story, but Cloud and I feel otherwise. In any battle, a lack of knowledge will kill you. Better to have it all out on the table than go in blind. That's why we've shared what little we know of her in telling our story. So you can know that we're on top of things and aren't going to let her pull off whatever it is that she's planning.

I was surprised that Cloud asked me to narrate this little intro to the next part of our tale, though. I'd just figured he'd do it for each one. But I don't mind. Hard to believe we've been at this for four days now. Red and the elders told me earlier that there's actually enough material to make a separate book for each day's worth of recollection that we've done. Pretty cool when you stop and think about it. As weird and strange as our story gets sometimes, I hope it makes a difference.

But this next part is gonna be the hardest to tell. It was definitely the hardest for us to live through, and sharing that hell won't be easy. But it's gotta be done. We were shattered, all of us, after everything that went on at the temple of the Ancients, and it took a while to find each other again and try to put together what had been broken.

In the midst of that, I had to face my nightmare. The darkest part of myself, and what I'd seen myself do to one of my oldest friends. The day it became real was one of my worst moments, even more than nearly dying when the plate fell. I'd never been so scared in my life. But even then, she was there for me, worried more for me than for herself. Same old Aerith. So caring and selfless and kind. I miss her.

Just when we had finally come together, we were shattered again, but in a different way. None of us can forget what happened in the Forgotten City, and we never will. It both broke us and made us. That day, the tone of our journey changed completely. And we never looked back. It affected the friends who weren't there with us, too—Kunsel, Marissa, Lena, Biggs, Wedge, Lydia, Cissnei… and especially Edwyn, Elmyra, and Marlene. All our lives just stopped for a moment on that terrible day.

The journey further north after that was hard, but also fun in a way. I'd never seen snow before, most of us hadn't, and we made the most of it as we traveled. Sharing a kiss with Cloud as the chilly white flakes fell all around us felt almost magical. And Yuffie and I discovered the beauty of snowball fights. I'll never forget the look on Barret's face when she pelted him good. It was priceless! Looking back, though, I think playing around like that for a bit was good for us, a safe outlet to release the tension and pain after everything we'd just gone through.

We found out more about Aerith and her family in Icicle Inn. Where she'd been born. The house was abandoned and in sorry shape. Still is, as a matter of fact, but Cloud and I have plans for it. Someday, when and if we ever go back. That place deserves better. Some might say that it's just a house, but to us it's more than that. It's a connection to our dear friend, someone who still means so much to us even now, and we're not about to let her birthplace be left to rot. We're going to fix it up, rebuild it, and fill it with happiness again. I think she'd like that.

I'd thought the mountains of Icicle were cold, but the glacier miles to the north of it was like being trapped in a freezer. I don't think we'd have made it to the cliffs if it wasn't for her. One of the natives who lived there. A snow siren. But not really the heartless killer we'd expected after all the rumors of her kind back in town. Cold, yes. And proud to a fault. But she kept her promise and helped us, even when it would've been safer for her not to. In the end, she made a difficult choice, but the right one. She said she was only repaying a debt, but I'm not so sure.

I think a part of her wanted to change, wanted more than the empty life she'd led so far. She was tired of being feared and hated and alone. We didn't really meet her on the best of terms, but I think we were the first to ever treat her like a person instead of a monster. She'd never been shown kindness or friendship before, and we offered her both as we got to know her. It confused her, and she didn't know what to make of us. But I think it did mean something to her, even if she never said so.

We've never seen her since then. I haven't expected to, but I still think about her sometimes. And worry. After what she did in the end out there on the snowy fields south of the crater, there had to be consequences. The other frost maidens—her sisters, as she called them—wouldn't have let it go unanswered. And I wonder sometimes what happened to her after we parted ways. Iseldra was our reluctant guide and my first real experience with an intelligent magical being aside from the eidolons we'd summoned during our journey. She gave me a lot to think about.

And through all that, I was changing. I could feel it in my heart with every step, saw it in my skin and hair whenever I looked in a mirror, and heard its whispers in my mind. Both those of Jenova and the darkness in the black materia. The further north we went, the less of myself there was and the more they slowly took over. That shadowy orb grew heavier with every mile we traveled. And there, in the crater near the top of the world, I lost myself and called forth fire of a different kind.

In the aftermath, we were shattered a third time, and in yet another way, and all we could do was try to pick up the pieces, not just of us and our long quest but also Cloud as well. He'd lost himself, and at first, there wasn't anything we could do to help him. Instead, needing to find a sense of purpose with the planet coming apart all around us, we fought Shinra, which led us back to Corel and Fort Condor. The fulfillment of a promise I'd made to Phoenix during our first visit to that place.

There's so much to unpack, and as I make my way toward the Cosmo Candle under the bright morning sky to join the others, I wave at Cloud. He went on ahead after we'd watched the sunrise together, and I think of how hard it was to help him put his mind and memories back together. It wasn't easy, but Tifa and I were determined to save him from himself. As for me, my own salvation took a bit longer and ended up needing a little outside help from someone very dear to me.

But that's for tomorrow's tale. Today, we're going into the hardest and most painful part of our journey, where sometimes the night seemed like it would never end and the only thing that we could do was keep pushing forward and hope. But the night, as they say, is always darkest just before the dawn. Maybe that's why I like that time of day so much, watching as the sun just starts to rise above the horizon. Because in the end, the night is just a passing thing, and a new day will come.

— Jessica Ellen Rasberry