Chapter 44
Aeris had succumbed to exhaustion before the soldiers could bring her aboard the Highwind. She'd poured every ounce of her remaining strength into healing Barret, desperate for it to be enough, before the Shinra took them.
When she woke, she found herself lying on a bench in a cell. Zack sat hunched on the one opposite her, but he brightened as she sat up.
"Hey, you all right?"
"Yeah," Aeris answered slowly as she looked around to gain her bearings.
Across from them was an identical cell, where Tifa sat with Nanaki's head on her lap, and Cloud sprawled on the other bench. At the sound of her voice, Tifa and Nanaki looked over, and Cloud struggled up onto an elbow. Apart from the obvious exhaustion, none of them seemed to be in any pain. No stiffness in Tifa's posture that suggested she had to take special care with that leg, no wince on Cloud's face as he moved. Nanaki's gaze was calm.
"You're finally up," said Tifa, her face softening in relief. "We were starting to worry..."
"How is everyone?" Aeris asked. "Where are the others?"
"I saw Barret in the medical bay," said Nanaki, "before they brought me back here."
"He's hanging in there," said Tifa, and Aeris knew she said it as much to convince herself as to reassure the others. Aeris longed to take her hand; if only the Shinra had put them in the same cell.
"What about Vincent?"
"No one's seen him since we came on board," said Zack. "They must've taken him someplace else. All our friends made it on, though," he added meaningfully.
Aeris glanced around, but any nearby guards were out of sight. Still, she only mouthed 'Jessie?' at him, and he nodded. She and Yuffie must have snuck on board, instead of making for the cliffs. Maybe it was the safer route. Maybe.
"And then there was that alarm, a few hours ago," said Cloud.
"Alarm?" Aeris repeated.
"Yeah," said Zack. "You slept right through it, but it was blaring for a good ten, fifteen minutes?"
"You think... someone escaped?" she wondered.
Zack shrugged. "Maybe. That's the hope, anyhow."
Aeris nodded, and she didn't say anything of the alternatives. If it was Vincent, or if Jessie or Yuffie had been discovered... any one of them might have been killed during an escape attempt.
But wouldn't the Shinra want to tell them, to taunt them with the news? Maybe it was a good thing that they hadn't heard any explanation.
Zack got up and came to sit beside her, and he put an arm around her shoulders. "Hey. We're gonna be all right. We've made it out of tight spots before, right?"
Aeris nodded. "Right. I know. I think I'm still waking up, is all. A lot's happened."
"We did it," said Tifa. "We did what we set out to."
"It must be a relief to the Planet," Nanaki put in.
"That's right. How we doing on time?" Zack asked her.
It took her a second to understand what he meant, and that was the moment she realized the White Materia was gone. This time, the Shinra had taken it from her.
But she didn't need it to listen. She focused on clearing her mind, pushing aside her worry for her friends. Somehow or other, they'd be all right, wouldn't they? But Sephiroth was dead and Jenova subdued. This was the Planet's chance.
It was quiet, gathering its strength. Soon, she felt.
"No more than a few days now," she said. "I think."
"Well... We'll see what happens then," said Zack. "But I'd like to not be in a jail cell when it comes."
"Same," said Tifa. "We're not done here. I'll bet the Shinra just want us to last until a public execution, but if they're healing us up, I'm gonna take full advantage."
Aeris found herself smiling. There was a confidence in Tifa's voice that hadn't been there the last time the Shinra had captured them. Whether she had a plan yet or not, she saw a way out.
"We've outwitted them plenty of times before, haven't we?" Aeris said.
Tifa smiled and nodded.
What they'd done in the crater didn't seem to weigh on her either, beyond the physical exhaustion. Not like Dyne's death at all. Of course, the only one of them who'd ever wavered on whether it was the right thing to do was Vincent. Maybe it was for the best that, beyond helping to open the way for them, he'd played no part in it.
Zack went back to the other bench, and the others fell quiet, giving her the space to process. Aeris lay back again and looked up at the ceiling. And how did she feel, exactly? She didn't think she'd find regret hiding in some corner of her heart. Sephiroth had tried to kill her friends, her Planet, and they'd done what they had to to protect themselves.
But it didn't feel like anything to celebrate either. Just a distasteful task, now complete. Aeris wasn't sure she'd really felt like herself in the midst of that battle. Using her magic to hurt... it was strange. Unnatural, maybe, to the Planet itself. A Planet that acted with such reluctance even to defend itself. She was sure they'd both be glad to move past it.
More hours passed before they reached their destination. Some of the people who came for them then were from SOLDIER; the uniforms hadn't changed much since Zack had worn one. Their hands were bound, Nanaki was muzzled, and they were marched out of the brig.
Aeris had assumed she would see only military personnel on board, but on the way down to the cargo bay, a mechanic stood ahead in the corridor, watching them nervously. Had she missed her chance to step out of the way, Aeris wondered, and now wished she wouldn't be coming nearly face-to-face with the dreaded AVALANCHE?
But as they passed her, Aeris felt a slip of paper being pressed into her hand. She quickly closed her fingers around it, and fought the urge to glance back. An ally?
No one had told them their destination, but Aeris knew before they left the confines of the airship. The Planet's voice had faded from her reach, only its pain there for her to listen to when she tried. What a torture it must have been for her mother, on top of everything Hojo had done to her, to have lost the fullness of the Planet's song. Never to hear it again, until her death. Not the reunion she'd hoped for, undoubtedly.
The whole of Midgar spread out beneath them as they stepped out onto the roof of the Shinra building. As they were led inside of its sterile halls, Aeris fought back a rising panic. The Professor wasn't waiting for her here. Hojo was dead.
They wound up in the same cells, though. They couldn't pick these keypad locks with a hairpin, and to Aeris's dismay, they were each separated into their own cells. But at least the Shinra removed her handcuffs before they pushed her inside.
Alone, she unfolded the scrap of paper.
Y + friend escaped w/monster, it read. Landed north of Midgar.
They were all right, she thought, sinking onto her cot in relief. Yuffie and Jessie, and the monster had to be Vincent. He'd broken loose, set off the alarm. They were out there somewhere, and Aeris knew Jessie would already be working on a rescue plan. This time, she knew the building better. It would be a good plan.
There was no reason to be afraid of being back in this place, she told herself. This featureless room, the dreaded lab down the hall... They were temporary. She had so many people now she could depend on. People who'd come for her before, when they'd scarcely known her.
She wondered if the Shinra thought of her any differently now. They'd brought them all to the lab's holding cells, but with Hojo gone, did they still care about her as a research subject? Did they still believe she could lead them to the Promised Land?
She hadn't thought about it in some time, the Promised Land. By now, she wondered if there was one, beyond the seeking of it. That feeling of being on the right path, with the right people. There could be no conclusion to something that was meant to keep on growing.
Aeris may have found a place with AVALANCHE, with Tifa, but it wasn't static. It was a path she'd be travelling all her life.
The Shinra at last remembered that even terrorists needed to eat, and brought them some of the same tasteless food that Aeris had enjoyed on her last visit. She'd had worse in the slums, though, and she was hungry enough that any kind of fine cuisine would have been wasted.
It really wasn't so bad, after what they'd been through. A meal, a warm room, a waiting bed. Even if it was here. If they got out of this all right, maybe she'd even thank the Shinra for saving her the trip back out of the crater and through all that freezing snow.
Several men from SOLDIER came for them again some time later, just as Aeris was starting to doze off. Her hands were bound, and in the hallway, she saw Tifa getting the same treatment, but none of the others. Tifa, she understood; she was their leader. But why Aeris, too? She caught Tifa's eye, but she could only shake her head. She didn't know what was going on either.
The SOLDIERs escorted them to elevators, down a floor, and into an enormous conference room.
At the head of the table, in his pristine white suit, sat Rufus Shinra. All arrogance as he regarded them from across the length of the room, firm in his belief that they were beneath him.
Aeris recognized most of the other suits, too, but not all. Tseng stood behind him, looking fully recovered. At his right hand, Heidegger, head of the military, and on his left, Scarlet, head of weapons development. She didn't know the two men sitting on either side of them, but farthest from Rufus, with Rude standing guard directly behind her, sat Lucrecia. Acting head of the science division, Aeris supposed. They must have trusted her expertise, if nothing else.
Lucrecia looked their way when they entered, and her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but she glanced at Rufus and dropped her gaze instead. She clasped her hands tightly, and her eyes were red, as if from crying. Probably, she had been. If she hadn't felt it, the Shinra would have brought the news with them, of Sephiroth's death. The death of her son.
The door shut behind them, and the SOLDIERs remained flanking them. The two of them weren't permitted to sit, but standing side-by-side, Aeris could at least brush arms with Tifa. The barest of touches, but something, finally.
"At last we meet face-to-face," said Rufus. "I expected the leader of AVALANCHE would look more imposing."
"Sorry to disappoint," Tifa said flatly. "We've had a rough few days."
"Indeed. I suppose I should be thanking you, for dealing with Sephiroth for us. But, I'm afraid any true understanding of what happened down there won't be leaving this room."
"Your men were there. They saw it."
"They saw the aftermath of two of our enemies fighting each other," said Rufus. "Perhaps you fought for a personal vendetta, or perhaps you wanted the glory of calling Meteor for yourself. Wouldn't it be in character for AVALANCHE to end the Planet's misery with such an extreme act of violence?"
Tifa grimaced. "You really think they're going to buy that?"
"Why wouldn't they believe it of the people who destroyed Sector 7?"
"You--!" Tifa's hands clenched behind her back, and the SOLDIERs tensed for action.
"Settle down," said Scarlet. "We aren't ready to dispense with you yet."
"Then get to the point," said Tifa through clenched teeth. "What do you want from us now?"
Rufus folded his hands atop the table. "It will be some time before we complete our investigation of that crater, but we've searched Sephiroth's body, and each of you, and your belongings. The Black Materia was nowhere to be found."
"What could you possibly want it for?" Aeris asked, wondering if they'd admit to it.
"Safekeeping, of course." Of course not.
"No... You want to study it. If you could only harness a fraction of its power... right? But it only has one purpose."
"What makes you think we'd tell you where it is?" said Tifa.
"As the leader of AVALANCHE, your life is forfeit," Rufus said matter-of-factly. "The people need to see someone punished for the murder of my father and the chaos of the past months. But, as for the rest of your little group..."
Tifa shook her head. "You don't understand us at all, do you? There's no deal to be made here. We can't let you have the Black Materia."
Rufus gave a nod, and the SOLDIER behind Aeris shoved her forward into the table. She felt a pressure beneath her rib cage, a blade just short of piercing.
"Aeris!" Tifa cried.
Chairs scraped back.
"Wait!" said Lucrecia. "I wasn't consulted about this."
"You aren't really going to do it here?" said a man's voice.
"Don't be squeamish, Reeve," chuckled Heidegger. As though her death would be a joke.
They wanted her to believe she was helpless, and she almost forgot that she wasn't. She was tired, but she'd recovered enough--
A wind spell pushed the SOLDIER off of her, and Aeris righted herself. The other SOLDIER had restrained Tifa by the arms, but when Aeris met her gaze, she slowly lowered a foot she'd been about to kick him with.
Tseng had come halfway across the room, and the rest of the Shinra were staring.
"What was that?" said Scarlet.
Rufus looked to Heidegger. "I thought you confiscated all of their materia."
"We did," said Heidegger, though he looked nervous. By contrast, the man standing next to him, Reeve, looked relieved. "My men were thorough."
"Why are you so surprised?" asked Lucrecia. Her voice was level, but there was a tremor in her hands as she carefully took her seat again. "What did you think the power of the Ancients was?"
"Hojo never mentioned this in his reports," said Rufus.
"His reports were lacking," she said, and she seemed to want to say more, but she couldn't find the words.
"Hmm." Rufus sat back, chin in hand. "Then she still has her uses, doesn't she? Even if we've already found the Promised Land."
Aeris started. "What did you say?"
"The Northern Crater. Did you think we wouldn't recognize it? It's as rich in Mako energy as any place I've ever seen. Truly incredible."
"...I see. That's all the Promised Land means to you, isn't it? Another place for you to exploit. Happiness to you is just more money in your pockets."
"Careful," said Rufus with a smirk. "You're beginning to sound jealous."
"Not one of us is jealous of you," said Tifa.
"Right. You mustn't forget your other friends. That beast you've grown so fond of. The two traitors. Wallace... I'm not sure he'd make it if we stopped taking care of him. And, I hear he has a daughter?"
Tifa lunged forward against the SOLDIER restraining her, and Aeris quickly decided enough was enough. Tifa didn't know; if Yuffie had already escaped, then there wasn't so much danger in revealing it.
"It's with the others," she said. "The Black Materia."
Rufus looked to her. "By others, you mean the two women who escaped from the Highwind?"
Tifa cautiously relaxed, meeting Aeris's gaze and searching out some confirmation. Aeris nodded slightly. "...that's right," said Tifa. "Which means, we've got no idea where it is now. They might've thrown it in the ocean for all we know."
"So you say, but I think we all know they'll be making some sort of rescue attempt."
"They're not stupid," said Tifa. "They're not going to bring it to you."
"And you've done so much for us already."
"We didn't kill Sephiroth for you."
"He means Jenova, too," Lucrecia said suddenly. "They brought it back here."
Aeris stared at her. "What?"
Lucrecia held her gaze, an urgent look. She understood exactly what that meant, and would have from the moment it had appeared in her lab.
"It's the property of Shinra, after all," Heidegger said casually.
Tifa was shaking her head; she understood it, too. "You never learn, do you?"
"You can't..." Aeris said, fumbling for words. "You don't realize what you've done to yourselves, bringing that here. You've put everyone in so much more danger."
"We've made some improvements to our stasis chamber," said Scarlet. "It won't be a problem."
"That's not what I mean. Holy... Holy is coming, and it's coming to destroy Jenova. It won't let anything stand in its way."
Skepticism and bemusement dominated the faces of the Shinra executives, and it was Tseng who asked quietly, "What is Holy?"
Aeris licked her lips and glanced at Tifa, but this wasn't like when they had kept it secret from Sephiroth. This time, there was the chance that telling their enemy might save lives. Even if they were Shinra lives... not all of Shinra was evil.
"It's Meteor's opposite," she said. "A powerful white magic created to protect the Planet. Did you wonder why we went to the City of the Ancients, instead of following Sephiroth directly? We summoned it there. And if it's coming here, to Midgar... You've put the reactors in its path. This building, this entire city... they're full of things and people who are a danger to the Planet. I can't promise it'll show any of you mercy."
"You say the city is at risk?" asked Reeve. He had never retaken his seat, and he looked at her seriously now.
But Heidegger just shrugged. "It's nonsense. They're just hoping to throw us off balance dealing with an imaginary threat so they can try some escape plan."
"Then why did they go to the City of the Ancients?" said Reeve.
"She's an Ancient, isn't she?" said Scarlet. "They probably took a detour so she could have a kumbaya session with her dead ancestors."
Reeve glanced around at the other executives. "I don't know how you all can take this so lightly."
"Please," said Aeris. "I'm not lying."
"Why on earth would you warn us?" asked Rufus, arching an eyebrow.
"...because as much as I hate to say it," said Tifa, "you're in the best position to protect this city. I don't care about Shinra, but if the reactors go, a lot of innocent people will die. You need to start evacuating."
Rufus frowned. "Do you have proof of any of this, beyond your little field trip?"
"The White Materia," said Aeris. "You confiscated it, but the glow... That's the sign of Holy's promise."
"A glowing materia. That's it?"
"You can talk to any of the others, if you think I'm making it up. They'll tell you the same thing."
"You've had plenty of time to coordinate your stories," said Heidegger.
"Barret hasn't," Tifa pointed out. "Ask him, when he wakes up."
The skepticism never left Rufus's face, but he looked to Heidegger. "Look into it. For now, take them back to their cells."
The SOLDIERs manhandled them through the door, and Tseng followed them out. Before the door shut behind them, Aeris heard Reeve start to speak up again, still not satisfied. He didn't really seem like the others, did he?
When they reached the laboratory cell block, and the SOLDIERs opened the first cell, Tseng turned to them. "I'll take it from here," he said.
"Sir?"
"Go on."
They glanced at each other, but saluted and disappeared back down the hallway. Tseng turned to Aeris.
"...it's been a while," he said.
"Since the Temple," she said cautiously, not sure what this was about. She thought, unlike the others, that he believed her about Holy, but there was nothing more she could offer him to convince Rufus.
"You surprised me," said Tseng. "I thought you would have left me to die."
"I guess I forgot who you were for a second."
Tseng glanced between her and Tifa. "Wallace is barely stable. He's in no condition for an escape now."
"...what are you saying?" Aeris wondered.
"I'm saying don't be reckless."
She shook her head. "I can't promise that."
Tseng frowned, but said nothing in response. He motioned for her to turn around, undid her handcuffs, and directed her into the open cell. Aeris glanced at Tifa, but now wasn't the time. Even if the two of them could overpower Tseng, which wasn't likely given the state they were in, he'd never give them the codes for the other cells. The commotion would draw attention. They'd be right back where they started.
He unbound Tifa's hands, too, but gave her a push into the same cell. Without saying a word about it, he shut the door.
"What was that about?" Tifa wondered.
"I don't know. It's always weird when he does anything nice. But, I'm not complaining about this." She took Tifa's hands in hers, and it felt like forever since she'd held them, even though it had barely been a day. With everything that had happened, with Shinra keeping them apart, it had felt like so much longer.
"Me neither," said Tifa, squeezing her hands.
"You seem okay," said Aeris. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I mean, I think so. We're still in the middle of things, so it might hit me later, but... it feels like it's over. Sephiroth... Nibelheim... It's over now."
"I'm glad," said Aeris, and she brought Tifa's hands to her lips. "I'm really glad."
Tifa looked as though she were about to say something, but instead she just leaned in for a kiss. Aeris didn't mind it, if that was what she wanted to say right now.
"Now we just have to get out of here," said Tifa.
"Yeah. They're really messing up our vacation plans."
Tifa smiled, and then the door slid open, startling the both of them.
"Lucrecia!" Aeris said.
Lucrecia put a finger to her lips, glancing away. "Quietly. There are guards around the corner."
"They let you pass?" Tifa wondered.
"They don't see me if I don't want them to," she said. Of course. Her illusions. "Where is Vincent? He isn't with you?"
"I think he escaped with Jessie and Yuffie," Aeris said, and she pulled the note out of her pocket to show the both of them. "I'm sure he's fine."
Lucrecia sagged against the doorway in relief, her eyes falling shut. "Good. I'm glad."
"...how are you holding up?" Tifa asked her.
Lucrecia didn't answer right away. Her eyes were shining when she opened them, and she swallowed. "They... they brought his body back here. For study. They know he's my son, and yet... Well. I suppose it wouldn't have been a problem for Hojo."
"I can't say I'm sorry for what we did," said Tifa, "but... I'm sorry for the pain it's caused you." Aeris thought that was a lot, coming from her. Something close to forgiveness.
Lucrecia shook her head, and she straightened herself. "I'm only reaping the consequences of my own mistakes. Your friend Cloud was right; I could have done something much sooner, but I... only cared about myself. If Holy is coming, then I haven't much time left. I'd like to make better use of it."
Aeris didn't know quite what to say. "...we're grateful," she managed.
"I have the codes for your doors," Lucrecia went on, brusquely as though hurrying from her feelings, "but I don't have access to the elevators. We need more of a plan to get you out."
"And Barret," said Tifa. "We have to find where they're keeping Barret."
"There are only so many medical facilities in this building. He'll have to be in one of them. I'll see if I can find out."
Tifa nodded. "And whatever you put together, you can relay it to Jessie, right? She should still have her phone."
"I can coordinate with her," Lucrecia confirmed. "And with Vincent... I think a former Turk ought to be able to get into this building."
"Probably," Tifa agreed. "But I don't think we're getting out again unnoticed. What kind of security are we looking at? Do you know?"
Lucrecia shook her head. "Only for this floor. They have increased lab security since they brought you here, and there's usually one of the Turks hanging around."
Tifa frowned. "And... Most of our things we can do without, but Aeris, the White Materia..."
"Oh..." Lucrecia faltered. "I'm not sure where they took everything they confiscated. And if Scarlet's taken an interest after what you said at that meeting..."
"It's going to be hard to get to, isn't it?" Aeris concluded.
"I'm afraid so. You won't leave without it?"
Aeris hesitated. It wasn't something they needed now, not when Holy was already on its way. And she wanted to hope that it would never need to be used again, that there would never be a threat so great as to warrant it. But to leave it in the hands of the Shinra... Something that her mother had entrusted to her, something that had been passed down through generations of Cetra.
Could they come back for it later, when they were stronger? Could she stand to wait?
Before she could come to an answer, Lucrecia gave a start and looked down the hall.
"What is it?" asked Tifa.
"Someone's coming," said Lucrecia. Her hand moved towards the keypad, about to close the door, but then she hesitated.
"Dr. Crescent?" It was Reeve's voice, and he shortly stepped into view. "I see... you had the same idea that I did."
"You came to see AVALANCHE?" Lucrecia asked cautiously.
Reeve glanced between her and the two of them in the cell. Aeris had no idea what he knew about Lucrecia, if he'd been told that she'd kept company with AVALANCHE for several days before coming to Midgar, but he had to have observed her guard detail. He'd know Shinra didn't trust her, and here she was speaking to two of its prisoners.
Tifa had tensed, ready to act, but Reeve didn't call for the guards.
"Tifa, and Aeris, right?" he said. "My name is Reeve Tuesti."
Aeris remembered the name now. The head of Urban Development. Not so flashy a department as the others, and she didn't think she'd ever seen him on TV, but she'd seen his name in the papers a few times, and on the radio.
"What is it you want, exactly?" Tifa asked him.
"The threat to Midgar..." Reeve began uncertainly, and then he nodded to himself. "I want you to tell me more about it. What do we need to do?"