Chapter 30
Aeris woke before Tifa, for once, but she lay still, not wanting to disturb her. Tifa's breathing was slow and even, a calming rhythm, and Aeris held onto that as her awareness of the Planet's anxiety settled. No worse than before, she thought.
The Planet had said nothing clearly to her since Gongaga, but she could sense its worry, and something akin to guilt over putting her in such danger. Even though it might not tell her in so many words, Aeris was sure that it would know if anyone--Shinra or Sephiroth--had reached the Temple. She was sure she would feel that alarm.
They still had time.
If only she knew how much, so she could tell Tifa she didn't have to press on just yet. She was so determined to put her whole self into everything, even when what she needed was to relax a little and let someone else take care of her for a change.
Planet, help me look after her, Aeris thought.
Yuffie was noisy when she woke--the clatter of the lamp as she nearly knocked it over switching it on, the sound of her bare feet across the floor, the bathroom door shutting just a little too forcefully. Jessie slumbered on, but Tifa stirred.
"Morning," Aeris said softly. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good," Tifa decided. "You?"
Aeris smiled and nodded. "Yesterday was a pretty good day."
"Hopefully some of that luck holds," said Tifa, and she started to get up, but Aeris put a hand on her chest.
"Why don't you stay put?" she suggested. "I'll get us breakfast in bed." At Tifa's skeptical look, she added, "It's not like we were going to skip breakfast."
"...all right."
Aeris pulled on a pair of pants beneath her nightgown, slipped her feet into her flip-flops, and headed out to the pub.
She was surprised to find Zack there, already halfway through a hearty breakfast. What was more, he was fully dressed and ready to go, with a new sword strapped across his back that he must have found at the weapons shop this morning.
"Morning!" he said brightly when he spotted her.
"I never knew you for an early riser," she said.
Zack shrugged sheepishly. "I was excited."
Aeris went to the counter to put in her order, and then sat down opposite him while she waited on it. "Funny thing to get excited about," she said. He didn't even know where they were going.
"Are you kidding?" Zack replied. "Do you know how long it's been since I got to hang out with this many people? I don't know what I was gonna do if Tifa said I couldn't go."
Aeris smiled ruefully. Zack, the social butterfly. It was one of his most charming traits, but she realized it must have been a worse torture than anything Hojo had intended, to go so long without meaningful human contact. No wonder he'd latched onto the one person he had had with him. "You still would've had Cloud," she reminded him.
Zack's expression softened. "Yeah. Yeah, but I feel like this is better for him, too. He needs her to have a little faith in him."
"I guess you know him pretty well, huh?"
"Sure. He's my best friend. We've been through a lot together."
"You know, I realized something," Aeris said. "You didn't know I'd left Midgar. But, you didn't try to visit me there, even though it would've been closer. You went looking for Cloud."
"Well... I figured it could wait, you were probably okay. Cloud wasn't." He looked at her uncertainly. "You're not... mad about that, are you?"
Aeris shook her head. "No, not at all. I think it's sweet, how loyal you are to him."
Zack scratched his head. "I know he'd do the same for me."
"Yeah. He was in pretty rough shape when we found him, but you were the first thing on his mind." She glanced back towards the inn. "I guess he's still sleeping?" Otherwise she was sure she would have found them together.
"Last I checked," Zack confirmed. "Only one I've seen up is Vincent--he was out here even before me. You know, I thought he was this silent loner type, but he was asking me about Sephiroth, what he was like before he went crazy."
"Mm... I'm not so surprised," Aeris said, but they hadn't told Zack much about Vincent. "He's a lot older than he looks, you know. He knew Sephiroth's mother."
"You mean that Lucrecia person?"
Aeris nodded. "But he's never met Sephiroth. He must have wanted to hear about her son from someone who didn't only know him as a murderer."
Zack shook his head. "Can't say I get it. We're out to kill the guy."
"You don't feel conflicted about that at all? You did know him."
"Yeah, I did. That's why I feel pretty confident in saying, he might still look like Sephiroth, but he's not the same guy anymore. I saw what he did. There's no coming back from that."
Aeris fell silent for a moment. Was that any proof, she wondered, that Sephiroth wasn't really in control? Certainly other people committed mass murder without being manipulated into it. Shinra had made that decision with Sector 7, with Corel. Maybe with Gongaga, too.
"You know," she said, "we'll be passing close to Gongaga. We should ask Tifa if you can visit for a little bit."
Zack's eyes widened. "Oh, man. I haven't been back there in... ten years now. Wonder how my folks are doing."
"I wish I could tell you. We didn't really take the time to talk to anyone, about the reactor."
His expression sobered. "Well... I should definitely check up on them then."
"I hope it turns out all right," said Aeris. A server came out with a tray for her, and she started to get up. "I'd better get back to Tifa. I'll see you again in a little while."
"Yeah. You let her know I'm ready to go whenever."
Aeris smiled at him and carried the tray on back to the inn. Jessie was in the hall, knocking on the boys' room to see if they were up, but when she spotted Aeris, she came and opened the door for her.
Tifa hadn't exactly stayed put, having gotten dressed in the meantime, but she'd settled back on the bed. Yuffie was out of the bathroom, dressed and lacing up her sneakers, and she looked up as Aeris entered.
"Okay, that's a nice perk," she said.
"Breakfast in bed is the thing that makes you want to date?" Aeris wondered as she passed the tray to Tifa so she could climb into bed beside her.
Yuffie snorted. "Hell no. But when I'm rich, I can totally pay someone to do it."
"You wouldn't rather have someone doing it because they wanted to?"
"Nope! 'cause then I'd have to share." Yuffie hopped up and grabbed her bag off the end of the bed. "I'll see you guys outside."
Aeris shook her head in amusement as the door shut behind her. "She seems eager to get going," she remarked.
"She's always saying she doesn't like it here," said Tifa. "Plus it's her first mission as an official AVALANCHE member... I get the feeling that's actually a big deal to her."
"It's a big mission, too."
Tifa caught her eye. "You worried?"
"A little," Aeris admitted, though Zack and his party had been a good distraction. "But let's not talk about that and get ourselves worked up before we even get there. What do you think about... vacation spots?"
Tifa smiled. "I'm not sure, but I'm betting you've given it some thought already."
"Uh-huh." Aeris settled in closer beside her, and over breakfast they chatted about possibilities. Aeris had been envisioning a romantic getaway, but Tifa clearly imagined something else, as she brought up Marlene almost immediately. Aeris could hardly object to the thought of their friends joining them; they all deserved a vacation, really. If it wasn't what Aeris had pictured, then that just meant another trip to plan. Even more to look forward to.
Just about everyone was ready by the time Aeris and Tifa were. Jessie came back for her bag, while Barret was carrying the rest of their gear ahead to the trucks. Tifa stopped to settle up with the innkeeper, who Aeris felt certain had undercharged them. Zack and Cloud sat talking at the pub beside a stack of empty dishes, but they got up to come along.
Outside, Bugenhagen, the other elders, and a number of the villagers stood gathered near the bonfire speaking with Nanaki. Yuffie stood nearby looking impatient, and Aeris spotted Vincent waiting ahead at the gate.
"Ah, Tifa," said Bugenhagen as they approached. "We got word this morning. Our people are on their way back from Nibelheim with your sick friends."
"Any change in their condition?" Tifa asked.
"No, but they're bringing some of that research back with them. We'll look into it."
"Thank you."
"These are... people like me an' Cloud?" Zack asked uncertainly.
"Right," Aeris said. "I'm sure we just need to find the right thing to bring them around, and they'll be okay. I mean, look at you two."
Zack nodded, glancing at Cloud. "Well, I'll wish 'em luck. Maybe it'll make things easier for 'em once we take out Sephiroth, too."
"Now there's a treatment plan we hadn't considered," Jessie remarked.
"Yes, and speaking of that," said Bugenhagen, "I wanted to give you all this." He held out a drawstring purse, which clinked as Tifa slowly accepted it.
"Money?" she asked, puzzled.
Bugenhagen smiled. "Consider it a donation to a worthy cause: all of us not dying in the end of the world."
"Sounds worthy to me," Zack put in.
"Then... thank you again," Tifa said, tucking the purse away.
"It's no more than doing our part," said Bugenhagen. He turned his attention to Nanaki, his smile growing rueful. "Now, Nanaki..."
"I know, Grandfather. You don't have to worry. I have no intention of leaving for so long again, and this time when I return, I'll have made you proud."
"You already have."
Yuffie rolled her eyes and started for the gate, and Aeris thought maybe it wasn't impatience after all, but something else. When Yuffie talked about Wutai, she didn't make it sound like anyone there supported what she was doing. Nanaki had his grandfather and the whole town behind him.
A chorus of goodbyes and good lucks followed them as they left the settlement, with Ira the last to wish them farewell as the passed beneath the gate. Nanaki picked up his pace, trotting ahead as though he needed the momentum to be able to leave at all. Aeris felt reluctant, too; she couldn't imagine receiving so warm a welcome anywhere else.
In a small victory, Aeris convinced Tifa to let Zack drive the old truck, letting her relax as a passenger in the stolen Shinra vehicle. She did regret it a little bit, as there weren't any windows in the back through which to watch the scenery go by, but it was definitely a more comfortable ride, and that was her goal for the moment.
They reached Gongaga around midday, where Tifa had agreed to stop for a little while. It was as good a place as any to catch lunch. As they piled out of the trucks just outside the village, Aeris's eyes fell on a patch of scorched earth where Jenova's corpse had been.
"Looks like they took our advice," Tifa observed.
"Yeah."
"Damn Shinra," said Barret, looking past the village to the ruined reactor in the distance. "They really gotta fuck things up everywhere, don't they?"
Jessie nodded in solemn agreement, but she took his arm and pointed. "Come on. That looks like an inn. Let's see what kind of food they've got."
The others started into the village, and Tifa looked to Zack. "You come meet us there when you're ready," she said.
Zack nodded distractedly, still taking in the scene. There'd been no reactor here when he was a child, and no disaster. Cloud had stayed behind, too, though Aeris thought it was as much because of his own unease at being back here as it was out of a desire to support his friend.
Aeris felt a pang of unease herself, as she watched Tifa walk off. Tifa glanced back at her, and maybe she felt the same. But, they were surrounded by friends, and there was no reason Sephiroth should be here.
"You two all right?" Aeris asked, but Cloud didn't answer her.
"Weird being back," said Zack. "I couldn't wait to get out of here."
"Is it really different?"
He nodded grimly. "Graveyard's new," he said. He finally stepped away from the truck, but his eyes slid over the names on the headstones without lingering too long on any of them. He looked ahead. "Our house is still standing."
"Let's go say hello," Aeris suggested gently.
"You're coming with?"
"Unless you don't want me to."
Zack hesitated, then shook his head. "I could probably use the back-up," he decided, and he looked to Cloud, who nodded. The three of them together approached the little house, and Zack knocked on the door.
A middle-aged woman answered it. Raven black hair, streaked with grey at the temples. Her eyes fell on Zack with a recognition she didn't yet believe. "Yes...?" she said slowly.
Zack took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Hi, Mom."
"Zack?" Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, my Zack, is it really you?"
A hand hauled the door open wider, revealing a tall, grey-haired man behind her. "Zack..." he said, staring at his son.
Zack's parents tumbled out of the doorway and embraced him at once. Zack's arms settled around the both of them, and Aeris let out a little breath of relief. She'd seen her friends go through enough loss.
"Oh, we missed you so much," said Zack's mother, scrubbing tears from her eyes as she pulled her face out of his shoulder. "I was starting to think... Whatever happened to you? It's been so long since we heard from you!"
"Sorry," Zack said. "I didn't mean to go so long without writing."
"Look how tall you've grown," said his father, his hand on Zack's shoulder. "And your eyes... You really did join SOLDIER then?"
Zack nodded, but he scarcely had time to say anything before his mother noticed Aeris and Cloud standing on either side of him.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"Oh, uh..." Zack glanced awkwardly at Aeris. She certainly might have been, when last he'd written them. "No, just a friend," he decided. "This is Aeris, and my best friend Cloud. Guys, these are my parents, Aaron and Rachael Fair."
"It's nice to meet you," said Aeris.
"You from SOLDIER, too?" Aaron asked of Cloud, noting his eyes.
"Umm... Not exactly," said Cloud.
"We did meet at Shinra," said Zack. "But we're both done with that these days."
"To tell you the truth, I'm glad to hear it," said Aaron. "After what happened with the reactor..."
"Everyone decided it was best not to have anything to do with Shinra anymore," Rachael finished.
Zack nodded solemnly. "I'm... glad you guys are okay. I saw the graveyard."
"We lost some good people that day," his mother said sadly.
"Well, won't you all come in and sit down?" Aaron said, pushing the door back open to motion them inside. "You can join us for lunch."
Zack glanced at Aeris, and she nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We've got time."
His parents exchanged looks, and his mother asked quietly, "Are you going away again?"
"There's somewhere we've got to be," Zack explained, scratching his head. "Gongaga was on the way."
"I see..."
"I'm sorry we don't have more time to visit," said Aeris, offering them a sympathetic smile. "But I won't let him get away with not contacting you again for so long."
"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "I bet we can come back when things quiet down."
"You, too, Cloud?" Zack wondered with some surprise.
Cloud met his gaze steadily. "...you're lucky, you know."
"...yeah. Sorry."
Rachael smiled softly at them. "At least you're making good friends," she decided.
As they settled down to lunch, Zack talked freely of his time in Midgar, about joining SOLDIER and meeting Cloud and Aeris, even about serving under Sephiroth. But he was never specific about when anything had happened, and he never mentioned Nibelheim or let on about where he'd been the past five years.
Aeris couldn't blame him for not wanting to tell them the truth. They'd spent years afraid that something awful had happened to him, how could he confirm for them that something had? Better to let them believe that he was happy, and healthy, and just maybe not the best son, for letting them worry.
She understood it, but it was sad, too. She'd known Zack wasn't close with his parents, but now the distance was painfully obvious.
When they'd finished their meal and confessed they had to be moving on, Zack's parents embraced him tightly again and made him promise to come visit again soon. Rachael hugged Aeris and Cloud, too, and thanked them for their part in bringing Zack home. Cloud was obviously taken aback, but he assured her he'd look after Zack for her.
The others were waiting for them at the inn, ready to go.
"I guess you must have found them," said Tifa. "How were they?"
"Good," said Zack. "Thanks for giving me the time."
Tifa nodded, and a wistful expression crossed her face before she announced that they needed to be moving on, and they headed back to the trucks. Aeris knew Tifa would never say what had crossed her mind, but she didn't have to. She'd seen the same look in Cloud's eyes. As they sat down, she rested her head on Tifa's shoulder.
"I'm sorry you lost all of that," she murmured softly.
Tifa was quiet for a moment, and then she said, "It's good he has things to come back to. I wouldn't wish that kind of loss on anyone."
Barret and Jessie wore similarly solemn expressions, and then Jessie took a breath. "We'll make a new home after all this is over," she said. "And it might not be all bad, starting fresh."
Tifa nodded slowly. "Yeah. This time... it'll be better."
They reached their destination late in the afternoon, a seaside fishing village that Elder Bugah had told them about. They located Bugah's friend with the boat, but nothing would persuade her to take them out this late in the day. They would lose the light before reaching the Temple's island, she said, and she didn't know those waters well enough to risk it.
Nanaki proposed asking some of the other fishermen, but there weren't so many to ask, and none of the others would consider taking them even in the daylight.
"Damn it," said Barret. "I can't believe we're stuck here."
"What if we borrowed a boat?" Yuffie suggested, but at the looks on everyone's faces, she concluded, "None of you know anything about sailing, do you?"
"This is my second time seeing the ocean, ever," Jessie reminded her.
"We only steal from the Shinra anyway," Tifa said.
"I said borrow, not steal. We'd give it back!"
Aeris shook her head. "We'll just have to wait until the morning. No one's gotten into the Temple yet. I think we'll be all right."
"You're sure?" Tifa asked her.
"Yes... I think I'd know. And Sephiroth and the Shinra don't know exactly where it is. It's a big island, there's a lot of forest to search."
"All right. Maybe it's better to get there in daylight anyway."
The village was too small for an inn, so they made camp just outside of it. Yuffie soon broke off on her own, headed down to the beach to walk along the shore. It gave Aeris an idea, but she saw Barret pulling out his phone, and she decided it could wait.
Tifa and Jessie settled down on either side of Barret, and Aeris stayed near enough to listen. As usual, they kept the focus on Marlene, asking her about her day. Recently she'd befriended a boy a few years older who lived on the neighboring farm, and today he'd introduced her to their barn cat. In turn, Barret told her, in simple terms, about the success of their mission, about the party, about how they were on the road again. He didn't mention the Temple, because they never told Marlene about the dangers they faced until after they'd conquered them, if at all.
Distance, again. And again, Aeris could understand it. But she was tired of distance.
As the conversation wound to its end, she spoke up. "Wedge, before you hang up, is my mom there?"
"Sure, she's here. You wanna talk to her?"
"Yes, if you don't mind giving her the phone," Aeris said, and she caught Barret's eye. He nodded, passing his phone to her, and she stepped away, taking it off of speaker.
"Ah... hello?" came Elmyra's voice after a moment.
"Hi, Mom. It's good to hear your voice."
"I'm sorry I don't speak up more. I do listen."
"It's okay," Aeris assured her. "I know you don't like to talk on the phone."
"There's something important though? You're about to do something dangerous, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Aeris admitted. "We'll probably be facing Sephiroth again, tomorrow. But I don't want you to worry too much. We have so many friends with us now, I'll be fine. It's just... it'll probably be a while still before I get to see you, and there's something I didn't want to wait to say."
"What is it?" Elmyra wondered, clearly perplexed.
Aeris had reached the shore, and she stopped just out of reach of the waves. "I'm sorry I never told you anything about being a Cetra," she said. "That I didn't let you know that part of me."
"Oh, Aeris... You really think just because you tried to hide that from me, that I don't know you? What child doesn't try to hide things from her parents?"
"I know. But I should've known you better, Mom. I was so scared, after Shinra, that people would treat me differently because of it... But my friends are so good to me. And I know it wouldn't have changed things between us either."
"Well..." Elmyra faltered. "I'm glad to hear that about your friends. And, ah... anything you want to say, of course I'll listen."
There was so much she'd never said, it was hard to think of where to start. "There's just so much more to it now than there was in Midgar, you know? It's like the daylight there. Even on the plate, you only see it dimly, but when you get beyond it, the sky is so open... I'm learning so much now."
"I did think," Elmyra ventured, "that it was beginning to hold you back, being in Midgar. Oh, but I didn't want you to go off on some big adventure."
"It won't be forever," Aeris promised. "I have a lot of plans for when it's over, you know."
"Do you?"
"Mmhm. A long vacation, for starters. And then I'm going to open up a flower shop, and teach AVALANCHE how to garden. Of course Tifa will be there. You could come, too, Mom."
"Where?"
"Well... We haven't really decided on a where yet. It's not as important as the who."
"I suppose... we can talk about it when you visit?"
"Right. We'll talk about it then."
They said their goodbyes, and Aeris lowered the phone. It felt good. Elmyra had been the start of it, the first person she'd loved but felt she had to hide herself from. She wanted to shove all of that aside.
She turned, meaning to give Barret back his phone, but she stopped at seeing Tifa already approaching.
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Tifa said preemptively. "I just came to check and saw you were off the phone."
Aeris smiled and nodded. "I figured."
"Were you missing her, after seeing Zack's parents?" Tifa ventured.
"Yeah... They hadn't seen their son in ten years, can you imagine? I don't have any idea what my life's going to look like in that long."
Tifa stopped beside her, and looked out at the ocean. "I thought you were the one always planning the future."
"Things don't always go like you plan them. I didn't plan to be where I am now, travelling the world with all of you, fighting to save the Planet from Sephiroth..."
"I guess that's my fault..."
"And I'm glad!" Aeris said, catching her eye with a smile. "I was a little stuck, I think. I didn't know where to go from Midgar, but there are so many possibilities now."
"I'm glad you see it that way," said Tifa.
Aeris turned to her, leaning in. "I do have an idea for right now, though. I think I could use another swimming lesson."
"What, now?"
"Why not? We still have daylight, and nowhere to be for the whole evening. Besides, I'm still not very good, and I want better odds against any sea monsters, if I'm going to have to save myself."
Tifa's expression softened into a smile. "I guess you make a good argument. We should get a little more use out of those swimsuits anyway."
Aeris took her by the hand and they headed back to the camp to change. It was good to have something to do, she thought, to keep them both from thinking about tomorrow. And Aeris planned to have forgotten some things since their last lesson, so she'd need extra attention.