Chapter 25
Driving made Aeris nervous, but on Yuffie's turn, she went five minutes before smashing one of the headlights against a tree, and they both agreed she made a better navigator. At least it consumed most of Aeris's attention, trying to feel like she was in control of the vehicle while also not driving like an old lady. If she'd been a passenger, she would have had more time to think about what had happened in Gongaga, and all the ramifications.
They didn't talk much, until Tifa eventually fell asleep, and Yuffie spoke up quietly.
"You don't think Tifa's mad that I told you to tell Sephiroth, do you?" Apparently she had plenty of space to worry, though it seemed to be distracting her from her usual motion sickness.
Aeris shook her head. "Of course not. She knows you were just worried about her."
"I never thought I'd see her go down like that," Yuffie admitted. "She's always such a badass."
Aeris glanced past her to Tifa, slumped against the opposite door. Her shirt and hands were stained dark with drying blood, evidence of those long minutes she'd spent lying on the ground, bleeding out just beyond Aeris's reach.
Tifa had told her not to tell, probably thinking it was her life against many, but they weren't there yet, and Aeris wasn't willing to make that sacrifice. She didn't think anyone's life would have been worth the information, but Tifa's in particular...
Maybe she hadn't quite understood it before. Of course Sephiroth had frightened her; she'd seen those bodies in the Shinra building, she'd watched him kill Hojo in front of her. But Gongaga had brought her closer to understanding what Tifa had gone through in Nibelheim. How she must have felt seeing her loved ones cut down by that man, how it must have terrified her to realize it could happen again.
And the frustration at her own powerlessness... Did she have that, too? An anger that drove her to act in defiance of what he'd almost taken from her, what he'd forced her to reveal...
"You okay, Aeris?"
Aeris gave her head a shake, realizing the truck had slowed nearly to a stop. "Yes, sorry."
"She just needs rest now, right?"
"Right. She'll be fine." Aeris's hands tightened around the steering wheel. Would she? Physically, she'd heal, but she'd been through so much.
"And she's got you," said Yuffie, awkwardly drumming her fingers on the dash. "And that's... I mean, it's probably a lot, right? That's how people always talk about that stuff anyhow."
Aeris smiled softly. "It is a lot," she agreed. "Thanks, Yuffie. I'm glad you came. You were really amazing back there."
"Yeah?" For a second, Yuffie's expression was unguarded, earnestly touched. "I mean, of course I was. I'm pretty awesome like that."
"Hmm. I wonder what you think of the rest of us, though. Still a bunch of weirdos?"
"Obviously. But... maybe I'm a little weird, too, 'cause I kinda like you guys."
"Well, I should hope so, because I've thought of us as friends for a while now."
"I usually go it solo. But it's not so bad having a few friends."
Aeris glanced away from the road to smile at her, but Yuffie broke her gaze, fidgeting in her seat. Open sentiment made her uncomfortable, but all the same, Aeris was sure she needed it. As strong of a front as Yuffie put on, confidence was hard at that age.
And she honestly didn't know what would have happened back there, without Yuffie. If she hadn't decided Cosmo Canyon was too boring for her, if she'd stayed behind, would they even have made it out? Or would Jenova have killed them?
It took them a little longer to return than it had to make the drive out to Gongaga, but Aeris at last brought the truck to a stop below Cosmo Canyon. She killed the engine, and let out a breath.
"Finally," said Yuffie.
Aeris opened the door and climbed out, and Yuffie was out after her in a flash. In the back of the truck, Cloud was already collecting their gear to carry up. She tried to catch his eye, but he avoided her gaze, so instead she walked around to the passenger side.
"...I hate to wake her," she said.
"Yeah, but which one of us d'you expect to carry her? She probably weighs as much as both of us combined."
Aeris threw Yuffie a wry look. "I don't think muscle is that dense, Yuffie. But maybe you could run ahead and get Barret?"
Tifa shifted in her seat. "I'm awake," she mumbled, though it took her a moment to open her eyes and find her bearings.
"We can still get Barret," Aeris said. "It's a lot of steps up to the settlement."
Tifa shook her head and opened the door to get out. Aeris hated to see how much she leaned into it, and she got under Tifa's arm to support her.
"Cloud?" Tifa called, twisting her neck.
"I'm here," he said, though he kept his distance.
Yuffie took Tifa's other side as they very slowly and carefully climbed the steps into Cosmo Canyon. Aeris's own weariness made each step a chore, and she used her staff to help push herself on. The earth felt unnaturally quiet, and she knew something was wrong before they reached the top. She didn't see Ira at the gate either.
A foul but not entirely unfamiliar smell greeted them at the top, and just past the gate lay a row of bodies, covered over in sheets. Aeris's chest grew tight. Who...? Who had they lost, who was responsible?
"What the hell?" said Yuffie.
"Shinra," said Tifa, and Aeris spotted the pile of helmets nearby. She counted; the same as the number of bodies. Relief swept over her, and she wondered if there was anything wrong with that. They were still people, important to someone if not to her.
Nanaki bounded up to them, his one eye sweeping over them. "Did they come after you all, too?"
Aeris shook her head. "Not the Shinra. We... ran into Sephiroth."
"What happened here?" Tifa asked. "Is everyone all right?"
"Yes, we're all fine," Nanaki assured them. "But I think we all ought to get together, to share what's happened."
He went off to get the others, and they went ahead to the inn. Cloud waited in the room while Aeris and Yuffie helped Tifa into the bathroom, where they got her out of her bloodied clothes and washed the stains from her skin. Aeris's healing meant that there wouldn't be a scar, but she couldn't keep her eyes from falling on the old one across Tifa's chest. Was it on Tifa's mind, too?
The others had gathered in the room by the time they came back out of the bathroom. As Nanaki had said, everyone was all right, but it took Aeris a moment to pinpoint something strange about their appearance: it was Vincent. He'd changed his clothes, which wasn't so surprising, but while at every other meeting they'd had, he'd elected to stand somewhere out of the way, now he sat on one of the beds. And he looked tired.
"Teef, you all right?" said Barret. She'd already reached the bed, but he took her arm and helped her ease down onto it. Aeris sat down beside her.
"Aeris took care of me," said Tifa. "I'll be all right."
"Nanaki said you ran into Sephiroth?" Jessie said, her brow knit in concern. She sat down on Tifa's other side, as though wanting to be close enough to confirm for herself that she was okay. Yuffie perched cross-legged on the end of the bed, and Barret took only a step back, Nanaki settling beside him on his haunches.
It reminded Aeris of that day she'd brought Tifa back to Seventh Heaven. Her friends were more solemn now in their affection, her condition cause for more worry than relief, but they were still here, gathered around her.
Tifa exchanged glances with Aeris, but before either of them could begin to explain what had happened, Cloud spoke up.
"I shouldn't stay. Just in case..." He met Aeris's gaze, and she understood. Sephiroth had known somehow, their private conversation. If they discussed the Temple, if they made plans... would he know that, too?
"Cloud," said Tifa, "you don't have to..."
"No, I do. I'll be in the other room, so you can... figure out what to do with me later."
Tifa frowned, but she didn't stop him. Aeris thought a lot of her faith in him was wishful thinking, a desire to take back Cloud and all the other Nibelheim survivors from the awful things that had befallen them, and maybe on some level she knew that.
"What was that about?" asked Jessie.
"...we'll get to that," said Tifa.
They went on to relate what had happened in Gongaga: Sephiroth's impersonation of Zack, the fight, Cloud's part in it, the information Aeris had surrendered, Reno's appearance, the battle with Jenova...
When they'd finished, Tifa asked what had happened here in their absence, and Barret and Jessie exchanged glances, hesitant for some reason.
"We got Turks here, too," said Barret, "but not so friendly. They forced their way in, said the townsfolk wouldn't come to any harm as long as they turned over the leader of AVALANCHE--I'm guessin' they meant me, since there's no way they coulda known otherwise. I went to confront 'em, gave the townsfolk time enough to run an' hide, but I wasn't about to go quiet. We fought, they had me pinned down a while..."
He trailed off and glanced at Jessie.
"Me and Vincent were up at the observatory when we heard it go down. We ran down to help, and..."
"Go on," said Vincent. He wasn't quite looking at her.
"Well, Vincent got shot. And that's when he... transformed into a monster. And, um, he took out all those soldiers on his own, and forced the Turks into corner. We were able to take 'em captive from there."
"Back up a sec," said Yuffie. "Vincent turned into a monster?"
"Yeah," said Jessie. "I guess it's something Hojo did to him. But he didn't hurt any of us. Just the Shinra."
"What... sort of monster?" Tifa wondered.
"Some kinda purple beast," Barret offered, "with these great big horns. Think it had a tail? Hard to tell with the cape."
"Vincent," Aeris began uncertainly, "were you still...? I mean, was it just your body?"
"You want to know if I, too, might lose control, and hurt you," Vincent concluded dispassionately. "It isn't impossible."
"But were you you?" Tifa pressed.
Vincent frowned, and Aeris wasn't sure he was going to answer, but at last he said, "I was no one else. But, my mind works differently, in that state."
"It's happened before?" Aeris wondered.
He nodded.
"Man," said Yuffie, "I didn't think you guys were gonna come close to topping what happened to us. That's pretty messed up."
"Where are you keeping the Turks?" Tifa asked. "Have they told you anything?"
Barret shook his head. "Not yet. We got 'em locked up in a store room, but we still been pickin' up the pieces, haven't had time to sit down for a real interrogation."
"Who are they?" Aeris asked. "I mean, do you know their names?"
"Woman's name is Elena. Don't know about the other one yet--some bald guy. Haven't seen either one of 'em before."
Not Tseng, Aeris thought. Just his underlings.
"I think the most important thing right now is the Temple," said Jessie, "isn't it? Aeris, you never said what it was."
Aeris took a breath. "Right. I guess that is what comes next." She looked down, folding her hands in her lap. It was a lot of information that the Planet had shared with her, all in a rush, and she'd barely sorted through it herself.
"The Temple of the Ancients... was created to hide a very dangerous magic," she said. "It houses and protects the Black Materia, which commands Meteor. It's capable of destroying this Planet."
"What the heck?" said Yuffie. "Why would the Planet ever make something like that?"
"It had to. It couldn't create the White Materia without also creating its counterpart."
"The White Materia?" Tifa asked.
Aeris reached up, unpinned it from her hair, and held it out for them to see. An unremarkable pale green orb, almost indistinguishable from any other materia. "This," she said. "While the Black Materia summons the ultimate destructive magic... the White Materia summons Holy, which has the power to cleanse the Planet of all threats. The Planet made them both in desperation after Jenova came. But, Holy has never been used."
"You've had that this whole time," said Yuffie. "Does Sephiroth know you've got it?"
"I don't know. If he knows about the Black Materia, he must know it exists, but he didn't try to take it from me. Maybe he didn't recognize it, or maybe he doesn't believe I can use it."
"You said it could cleanse the Planet of all threats..." Tifa said. "What does that mean exactly?"
"Yeah," said Jessie. "Would it wipe out the Shinra?"
"I'm... not sure," Aeris admitted. "But I know that it can counter Meteor, and I have to believe it's powerful enough to destroy Jenova, once and for all."
"All right, so let's use it," said Barret.
"It's not that simple. Such powerful magic requires the strength of more than one person."
Tifa glanced around the room. "We've got seven here..."
Aeris smiled at how eager her friends were to help her. She knew their hearts were willing, but... "More than that," she said. "I'd have to go north... to the forgotten capital of the Cetra. I think I could use it, there, with all of their spirits guiding me."
"North..." Tifa met her gaze. "The Planet's been wanting you to go there all this time. To do this."
"Yes... But Sephiroth doesn't have the Black Materia, yet."
"If summoning Holy will stop him and Meteor, then why don't we just go do that?" said Yuffie.
"Because we don't know for certain that it has the power to stop both of them," said Nanaki, and he looked to Aeris for confirmation. "Correct?"
"Right," she said. "If we can prevent Sephiroth from ever summoning Meteor... then Holy's power can be focused on Jenova."
"And that's how we kill it," said Jessie with a decisive nod.
"But first we need to go to the Temple," said Tifa, "and make sure Sephiroth doesn't get the Black Materia."
"First we need to rest," Aeris corrected. "We can't face him in the shape we're in."
"Yeah," Barret agreed. "We're gonna need our wits about us, too, 'specially if he can look like anybody now."
Nanaki nodded. "And if he has the power of illusion, then disguising himself may not be the only trick at his disposal."
Aeris blinked. How had it only just occurred to her? "Is it his power," she asked, "or Jenova's?"
"What's the difference?" said Jessie. "They're working together."
"I wonder..." Aeris said. "Two of the times we've seen him, Sephiroth left a Jenova creature in his place. What if it's never been him? What if that was just Jenova, dropping the illusion?"
Tifa looked at her with a frown. "Wouldn't it want to get away? We killed both of those monsters."
"Well," said Jessie, looking thoughtful, "we always figured there were more than one of them. After all, Shinra made ones like it, too. We've been assuming that they're all connected through Sephiroth, that he's the one running things..."
Barret scratched his head. "You think this Jenova thing's callin' the shots?"
"Why not? It is the source."
Aeris nodded. "It's possible... none of this is Sephiroth's will at all."
"What do you mean?" asked Tifa.
She knew that Tifa wasn't going to like this theory. That's why she still wasn't following it, even though Jessie and Barret were already starting to work it out, and Aeris could see comprehension in Nanaki's eye.
"Well," Aeris said, "we saw what happened with Cloud. Whoever we fought in Gongaga, they were able to influence him, if only for a moment. Sephiroth has more Jenova in him than anyone. Maybe, Nibelheim wasn't him going crazy. Maybe it was him finally being close enough to Jenova, and vulnerable enough, that it could take control."
Tifa didn't speak right away. Her jaw clenched in a quiet anger at the very idea of it.
"That is the creepiest thing I've ever heard," said Yuffie.
Tifa shook her head. "But... If that were true, then it would have to have all of Sephiroth's memories. He knew me, and he knew Zack well enough that he almost had us fooled. The way he talked, his body language..."
"And he knew something that Cloud had said to me in private," Aeris added. "Like he'd been able to eavesdrop somehow."
"...through the Jenova cells inside of Cloud," Nanaki concluded.
Aeris nodded. "For all we know, the real Sephiroth did die five years ago."
"And the reason it's all started up again now," Jessie ventured, "is because of Hojo's 'clones'?"
"How d'you figure that?" Barret wondered.
Jessie went on with more certainty. "If Jenova could've escaped confinement on its own, I think it would've done so a long time ago. It needed someone to free it. We thought that was Sephiroth, but it could've been one of the clones. They were released months ago, but it was probably hard for Jenova to exert enough control over such a long distance to bring one all the way to Midgar."
"And there was one in Midgar," Aeris recalled. The man with the number 2 tattoo, who'd been there in Sector 5 just days before everything at the Shinra building.
"Man, I don't like any o' this," said Barret. "Some alien thing, usin' people like puppets?"
"But it makes sense, doesn't it?" Aeris said. "We've been struggling to understand Sephiroth's motives this whole time... But of course Jenova would hate Nibelheim, where it was held captive, and President Shinra, and Hojo... And its aim was always harming the Planet."
"It does make a lot of sense," Tifa conceded, "but... I've hated Sephiroth for so long. And now you're saying maybe none of it was his fault? He was being manipulated and I should feel sorry for him?"
"It's still just a theory," Aeris said. "I don't know if it's true."
"Even if Sephiroth is a puppet of Jenova," said Nanaki, "as long as he is under its control, he is still our enemy."
"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. "Whether it's Sephiroth or Jenova we're fighting, they're still trying to hurt the Planet."
Vincent spoke up at last, and there was a strange edge to his voice. "You don't think this changes anything?"
Jessie looked at him, biting her lip. "Vincent..."
"If Sephiroth is a puppet," he went on, "then he could be freed from Jenova's control."
"I'm not sure how we'd do that..." Aeris said doubtfully, though she wondered why her own thoughts hadn't led her that far. Maybe, like Tifa, she didn't want him to be saved, even if it turned out he was no more culpable than Cloud.
"Cloud was able to come out of it, more or less, because of Tifa," Jessie said. "But, who's important enough to Sephiroth to do something like that?"
"I don't know," said Aeris. "The Sephiroth in Gongaga said that Zack was his friend, but even if that's true, Zack's at risk of Jenova's influence, too."
Tifa shook her head. "Even if we found him, he'd be a liability if we took him along to face Sephiroth. Maybe it's harsh, Vincent, but we can't prioritize rescuing Sephiroth in all this."
"Might be a mercy to kill 'im, if he's been brainwashed this long," Barret put in.
Vincent frowned and looked away, saying nothing.
"So then," said Nanaki, "what are we going to do about Cloud?"
"He only lost control for a moment," Tifa said. "I don't think we need to lock him up like he was saying, but if Sephiroth can use him to spy on us, then... we can't take him with us any farther."
"I wonder if it goes both ways though," said Jessie.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that report back in Nibelheim said the clones were 'sensing' something."
Aeris nodded. "And there was that time he said he heard Sephiroth talking about the Promised Land..."
"Doesn't sound all that reliable," Barret remarked.
"No," Jessie conceded, "but maybe now that he knows about it, he could actually try to use it. Maybe we could learn something."
Tifa shook her head. "I don't know... I don't think he'll want to."
"Isn't it worth asking?" said Jessie.
"He does owe us, after Gongaga," Yuffie put in.
Tifa frowned at her.
"What? He messed up, and you almost died. I'm done being nice to him."
"I guess I'll talk to him," Tifa said. "But after we've all gotten some rest. I think we've about covered everything here."
Barret scratched his head. "We still gotta figure out how we're gettin' to that Temple, but you don't gotta worry about that. I'll ask around."
"Yes, there should be fishing villages farther east of Gongaga," Nanaki added. "I am sure we can find a boat."
"Right then. You just rest up now, Teef. There anything you need?"
"...maybe something to eat?" Tifa proposed.
"Like a nice steak," Aeris put in.
"I'll see what I can do," Barret said.
"And I'll let Cloud know he's not banished to the other room forever," said Jessie.
"Thanks," said Tifa.
The others all started to make their way out of the room. Yuffie was the last to move, sluggish as she unfolded her legs and slid off the edge of the bed.
"Yuffie?" Tifa said, catching her eye before she left. "I just wanted to say thanks."
"Huh? What for?"
"I know you tried to heal me, back in Gongaga."
"O-oh. Well... I'm just glad you're okay."
Tifa smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Me, too."
Yuffie scratched her head. "Anyway, I'm gonna go eat, too," she said, and they let her go, but her step seemed just a little lighter out the door.
Alone in the room with Tifa, Aeris felt a little uneasy somehow.
"...I'm sorry," she said, thinking maybe it was because of what she'd said earlier, about Sephiroth. "Maybe I should've kept that theory to myself. It doesn't really change anything."
Tifa looked back at her. "I don't know... Cloud said that it was Sephiroth in his head, but I think you might be right that it wasn't his body. Yuffie's weapon should've at least torn his coat. The illusion didn't go that far, I guess."
"But he did seem stronger than Jenova," Aeris said.
"Maybe he can only keep that up for so long. He almost seemed annoyed that he couldn't take me out faster."
"Hmm. Maybe."
"...are you all right, Aeris?"
"Me?"
"Maybe we're both just tired, but you seem... a little distant."
So Tifa had picked up on it. "I don't know... I can't help feeling like I let you down somehow, but maybe I am just tired. Sometimes, those feelings go away after a night's sleep."
Tifa reached over and took her hand, her fingers brushing the White Materia that Aeris still held in her palm. "You didn't let me down," she said. "You saved me. You were really brave."
"I don't feel brave," Aeris confessed. "I had to give him what he wanted."
"It's all right. He hasn't won yet."
Aeris lifted her eyes to Tifa's face. "I thought you'd be... in rougher shape. After he hurt you like that, again."
Tifa shook her head. "That's not what scared me," she said. "But you're all right... I'm all right. I know we came really close... but we didn't lose a damn thing to him. Next time, it'll be his turn to lose something."
Aeris nodded. There it was, the anger that Tifa drew strength from and turned into defiance. Even if she understood it better now, Aeris had always drawn her strength from the quiet moments, from carving out space for the bright things in life, and protecting them from falling back into the dark.
She put her other hand around Tifa's. "Hey," she said, "so if I saved you, does that mean you owe me a date?"
Tifa blinked. "Well... I don't know about this business of owing dates, but as a special, Aeris-only offer... I was hoping we'd find time, while we're here."
"I think we can. We're not going anywhere in a hurry."
"Yeah. I guess not."