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Chapter Forty It wasn't long after they'd resumed their search for the mysterious key that the submarine's instruments picked up a strange signal coming from deep within one of the underground caves, just as Red had suggested. The object that emitted the signal was long and thin, about the same height as Cloud himself, they discovered upon retrieving it. "...analysis completed," the submarine's voice synthesizer verified. "...exact date of origin cannot be determined... estimated to be several thousand years old..."
Such a strange-looking object, Kit thought, pondering it as they returned to the Ancients' capital with their prize. What secrets could this key unlock? Supposedly it had something to do with Aeris, but the key had been made long before anyone could have predicted her existence. No one said a word as they entered the chamber with the large crystal; the feeling of anticipation they all felt was tangible enough that they needed no words.
Bugenhagen was overjoyed to see that they'd found the key so quickly. "That music box over there," he said with a gesture. "We'll put the key in it. I'll go use the key. You all wait here," he offered, floating across the chamber to the keyhole. "And watch closely what happens." He chuckled as the key dropped into position, then began to turn slowly by itself, amidst the melodic sound of a series of chimes. A tall stone column responded, sliding into the floor as the music played. When its movement had stopped, the chimes ceased as well.
"Hmm? That's it?" Cloud wondered out loud, puzzled.
Red was watching his grandfather for an indication of what they should do next, and followed Bugenhagen's sharp glance into the open sky just above the crystal. "Not yet," he stated.
Out of the sky fell a cascade of water, splashing down all around the platform that held the crystal, yet not touching it, as if to form a curtain. Cloud eyed it warily as Bugenhagen returned to their side. "Now, go inside," he instructed them. "Hope may be inside... or..."
Cloud and the others followed Bugenhagen's lead into the torrent. Kit lowered her head, closing her eyes in anticipation of getting drenched, but to her surprise, she felt little as she passed through the thin stream of falling water. And inside, instead of the thundering of a waterfall, there was silence. "This was just a screen to project an image!" Bugenhagen exclaimed. "Look! Look at the image projected on the screen of the water!"
The crystal shone with a dazzling light as they all raised their eyes to the fluid picture above - a young woman wearing a pink ribbon in her hair, her head bowed in prayer, or perhaps deep thought. Kit smiled sadly. Aeris had looked just as she had that day at the Ropeway station in North Corel, when she'd told her of her son.
The look on Aeris's face changed abruptly to disbelief, and Kit realized with a start that she was seeing Aeris's death. The projected image only showed Aeris's head and shoulders, but Kit could complete the picture. She knew what she would see if the image was just a little wider - her lover's hands wrapped around the black handle of his deadly weapon.
As Aeris's body went limp and she began to fall in agonizingly slow motion, the projected image seemed to focus on one thing alone. The pink ribbon in her hair came undone, revealing a gently glowing orb. The orb fell from her hair, bouncing once, twice, three times before it fell from the altar, bringing its faint light to the dark water below before it sunk out of sight. The crystal shimmered brighter, and they saw the orb where it had come to rest at the bottom of the deep pool.
"...It's glowing," Cloud said, astonished.
Bugenhagen turned to him, chuckling in delight. "Ho ho hooo! It's pale green!"
Cloud took a deep breath, and let out a sigh of relief. "...Aeris. Aeris has already prayed for Holy. After I gave up the Black Materia to Sephiroth," he told them, "Aeris's words came into my dreams... She said she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth... And to do that, there was a secret here... That was Holy. That's why, she had the White Materia. Aeris knew about here... and what she had to do. Aeris has left us great hope. But, it cost her her life... her future..."
Kit was surprised to discover that her eyes were filled with tears. It all made sense now - Sephiroth had had a reason for that horrible act. He wouldn't have let anyone threaten himself or Jenova. Though Aeris's murder was still senseless, at least it hadn't simply been a random act of violence, and that gave Kit a bit of comfort. And Aeris had accomplished what she'd set out to do, that gave her comfort as well.
Cloud looked up at the cascade, his eyes filled with a peace Kit had never seen in them before. "I'm sorry... Aeris," he murmured. "I should have figured this out sooner. You left us without saying a word... It was all so sudden, so I couldn't think... That's why it took so long for me to find out... But, Aeris, I understand now. Aeris... I'll do the rest."
Kit smiled, closing her eyes. Somehow, she felt certain that Aeris was hearing their words in this place. "Me too," she whispered. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through for our sake. We'll take it all from here."
"What Aeris left for us... we can't let it go to waste," Red agreed.
Cloud nodded. "Thank you... Aeris."
The image of the White Materia pulsed as if to answer him, and he smiled. "Aeris's voice has already reached the planet," he stated. "Just look at the glow of the White Materia. But..." he paused. "How about Holy? How come Holy isn't moving?" He shook his head, suddenly uncertain. "Why?"
"Something's getting in its way."
They glanced up in surprise at Bugenhagen's grave voice, and immediately understood. "...Him." Cloud's face darkened. "He's the only one who could do it."
The comfort Kit had found was abruptly shattered. She'd been wondering the same thing. It was the only logical explanation.
"Sephiroth," Cloud muttered. "Where are you?"
Kit swallowed hard, following Cloud back through the curtain of water. So this was it. Finally, now was the time to go to him, and her heart pounded as she realized she still didn't know if she was strong enough to do whatever might be necessary.
In the quiet of the chamber, the sound of the PHS made them all jump. "What the?" Cloud exclaimed as they halted at the foot of the staircase that led to the exit.
A soft, barely audible whisper came over the PHS. "Sorry... I was a bit surprised."
Cait Sith's voice. "What happened?" Cloud asked him.
"You remember when the Junon Cannon disappeared? Actually, Rufus moved it."
"Moved it?" Cloud repeated. "That big thing...? Where...? Why?"
There was a moment of silence as Cait hesitated. "Rufus wants to destroy Sephiroth with it."
Kit felt her heart turn to ice, but it melted away in a sudden burst of anger. There was no way she'd allow that to happen, not until she'd had a chance to go to Sephiroth, to make him understand.
"That cannon operates on Huge Materia," Cait continued, his voice anxious. "But the Huge Materia has already been used up in the rocket plan. So since the cannon's useless right now, he decided to move it. To a place where materia... no, where Mako is gathered..."
"And where is that?" Cloud asked impatiently.
"Ehmm... here. Just a sec..."
"Here?" Cloud asked again. "Where's 'here'?"
There was no answer except the crackle of static. After a moment, it ceased, and a familiar voice could be heard faintly. "...That's why, Reeve. It's your job to adjust the reactor's output."
Reeve... and Rufus's voice. That could only mean one place. "Midgar?" Cloud whispered, surprised.
There was a hesitation before they heard Reeve's response to his president. "I see..." was all he said.
Scarlet's annoying laugh rang out. "Don't worry about adjusting it, Reeve," she reassured him. "Once you open it up all the way, everything will go full speed!"
Red bristled angrily at her words. Kit pitied Reeve - she hadn't known him too well, but he'd seemed like a genuinely decent person, the only Shinra executive who wasn't a powermonger or a phony. He was probably the only person there who didn't believe the ends justified the means, and knew what such an act would do to the planet. But then, he was just an employee, and had to do his job.
Heidegger added his horse laugh to Scarlet's laughter. "Gya hah, hah hah! The President's sure done it this time! If only we can defeat Sephiroth, the idea that Meteor will disappear is based on different objectives!" Kit wondered suddenly if Cait Sith's puppeteer had told Shinra about Holy.
"Please remember, Mr. President," Scarlet gushed, "it was my idea to fire Mako reactor powered shells."
"Will the shells really reach the far northern border?" Rufus sounded as laid-back as ever. He really was overconfident - and Scarlet and Heidegger were as delusional as Sephiroth if they found this course of action to be acceptable.
"Of course!" Scarlet exclaimed, laughing. "But Mr. President, please do not call it a Mako cannon. This new weapon will be called... the Sister Ray!" she proclaimed proudly.
Another burst of static cut off the transmission from Cait Sith, and then they heard a muffled curse and commotion. "Gimme that, #$&% cat! Cloud!" Barret's voice was suddenly loud and clear. "You got any idea how much damage they're gonna do with that thing? Get yo' spiky @#% up here - AVALANCHE is gonna stop 'em!"
"I don't know," Cloud said thoughtfully. "What if it really can destroy Sephiroth? Maybe we should just let them try."
Kit was about to protest, but was cut off. "Argh! You #&%$head!" Barret bellowed. "This whole thing ain't about killing Sephiroth, it's about savin' the planet! What's the point of stopping Meteor if Shinra keeps up with this Mako crap? They'll just suck it all up instead of Sephiroth!"
"Hmmm... you've got a point," Cloud agreed, though he looked disappointed. "We're on our way up now." He reattached the PHS to his belt as they started up the staircase. "Some leader I am," Kit heard him mutter in a voice that she obviously wasn't meant to hear.
But she had heard it, and she understood completely. "You're doing fine, Cloud," she told him as she caught up. "It's a tough job."
"Barret's completely right though. I was just thinking about stopping Sephiroth, instead of the bigger picture," he admitted. "Barret was leading AVALANCHE long before I ever showed up, besides. Makes me wonder why any of them agreed to make me the leader instead."
Kit shrugged. "I think they did the right thing. A good leader knows how to accept and consider suggestions, and if necessary, abandon his plans if a better one comes along. From what I've seen of Barret, that doesn't seem to be one of his strong points, but you just proved you can do it."
"Er..." Cloud kept his eyes down, looking embarrassed. "Thanks."
"And by a tough job, I don't mean being the leader," Kit added. "I meant rebuilding your self-confidence."
Cloud glanced at her, flushing. "Huh?"
"It's no wonder you're doubting your abilities so much right now. After what you've been through lately, I mean. Until a week or so ago, you didn't even know who you were. And now you're just beginning to figure that out... trusting yourself at this point isn't much different than trusting a complete stranger."
"Hmmph. True," Cloud said, looking slightly surprised that she understood. "But then, why does anyone else trust me, if I'm like a complete stranger?"
"Maybe because we're not in your head to see all the empty space left to fill in," Kit suggested. "Everyone else sees what you do, rather than the confusion beforehand."
"And what you do is perfectly fine," Red added, bounding forward to catch up with them as they exited onto the crumbling streets of the Ancients' capital. "You're as competant as ever. Maybe more so, since you seem less cold than you used to be. Listening to your heart can be useful."
Cloud smiled a little, nervous smile. "...Thanks, Red. Kit." He looked over at her, curious. "How did you know all of that?"
"I went through a little of that myself," she replied. "Really, I still am. Everyone experiences it to some degree." She sighed, remembering when she'd told Sephiroth nearly the same thing, that night by the river. She could feel his presence strongly, as close as they were to the crater where he slept, waiting for her. She wanted badly to go to him, to see if she could help him figure out who he truly was just as Cloud had, but first they had to stop Shinra's scheme. Every moment they wasted in the capital was another moment for Shinra to prepare. "Plus, I apparently was a psychologist of some kind, back in my former life."
Cloud frowned. "Does that mean... I need professional help?"
"I don't know, but we've got priorities right now that are more important than your self-esteem," she reminded him. "Let's hurry."
Red smirked. "What a sensitive and thoughtful doctor," he commented dryly, as they picked up the pace.
To Chapter FortyOne. To the intro. That means it's mine, not yours! |
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