Aerith, Dreaming of Forever

[05.05.00] » by Michael Collins

Part I. Alone in the Cold

Aerith Gainsborough, a beautiful, graceful girl of twenty-two years, sat by herself, cold, hungry, and alone, against a tall, strong tree in a clearing somewhere in the Sleeping Forest. Her every bone seemed to ache with the chill. However, her expression showed no ire, and in fact was very peaceful. She hadn't brought many things with her for her trip, just a sleeping bag, some clothes and equipment, and a little food. She had misjudged the distance between the town of Fossil and the City of the Ancients, and had brought enough food to only last her a few days, and since she had never tried to hunt a wild animal, she couldn't catch anything to eat, either..

Aerith was dressed in a long, slender, thin white dress, and had let her long brown ponytail out so that her hair fell freely across her shoulders. She was wrapped up tightly in a large fur blanket that Cloud Strife, her friend, had bought for her. Or at least, she thought Cloud was her friend. He never really acted friendly... never said much, very withdrawn, too cool.... or maybe he really didn't care. "I'm just doing my job," he had said. Is that all it is for him? Just his 'job'? Does he care about Tifa, or Barret, or Cid, or.... me? About the people whose lives he took defending himself and us? Or is he just an efficient killing machine, like Shinra wants SOLDIER's to be? He always acts like he doesn't care about anything, or anyone, but I can tell... In the Gold Saucer, when he took me-or rather, I took him-A slight giggle escaped her lips despite her afflictions, inside and out-when he took me on the ferry ride, his face-the cold facade, the impenetrable wall against emotion- seemed to soften a bit.....almost as if being around a woman, alone, eased him of the pressure to act tough and sarcastic, and showed the real personality inside. The personality I love about him, not the fake act of coolness. I think that's what the others love about him, too, the few times he shows it. He appears to be mean, and cynical beyond his years, but he's not really that way.

She knew she would start daydreaming about Cloud. She always did when she was alone. He was so perplexing to her, nothing he did seemed to make sense. Tifa and Barret and Cid were usually open with her, and would talk to her, although Barret was hard to understand with his Midgar slums accent and Cid spouted foul language like a Marlboro used Bad Breath, but they were still good to talk to, when she needed a friend. Except Tifa....she was always so perky, and optimistic, and full of hope that it made Aerith jealous to be around her.

Tifa, no matter what happens....she's always so happy, for no reason at all...she doesn't doubt herself, she's got tons of self-esteem, and she can talk to Cloud whenever she feel likes it....while I'm always wondering, wondering, wondering, who am I, who were my ancestors, why can't I just stand up and tell Cloud how I feel...

How DO I feel?

She saw the long pink ribbon she used to tie her hair lying on the ground where she had left it, and, unable to go to sleep, gently lifted it off the ground and studied it, finding herself comparing the ribbon to herself. It was fragile, and weak, and the very color of it, that light, pastel-shaded pink, suggested a faintness of heart. Just as she was. Fragile, weak, faint-hearted, unable to express her true feelings for anyone, toward anyone, about anyone. Sighing, she laid it upon her chest and looked up at the stars.

As her thoughts wandered on, and on, she found herself drifting off.... Aerith slowly lay down next to her failed attempts to start a fire, down on her soft sleeping bag, brushed her hair away from her face, and slowly drifted to sleep. A deep, deep sleep that would bring her many dreams.

She reached out to him. Not physically. Spiritually. Spiritually reached out to Cloud, took his hand in hers. Looked in his eyes.

She knew she was dreaming. Aerith had always had an uncanny ability to sense reality, to seize her dream, and, should it become a nightmare, will herself to wake up and escape whatever fright awaited her.

But this was a special dream. Because, just as surely as she knew she was dreaming, she also knew that she was reaching Cloud, touching his mind, because she could feel it. She could feel his worry. It seemed strange, this honest, open care for someone coming from Cloud, but she knew it was because he was dreaming also. He couldn't wear his emotional mask when he was in his subconscious mind.

"Aerith? Aerith!" cried Cloud, from far away, it sounded, although she knew she was right there beside him.

"It's alright, Cloud," she said softly. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Where are you? We've been looking all around-you just vanished-"

"I'm in the Sleeping Forest, north of the town of Fossil. I'm going to the City of the Ancients. I have to do something there. Something important, but I don't know what."

Cloud digested this information with relief, but then asked: "Why did you run away?"

"I have to do it alone. I knew if I told you, you would want to come with me."

"But-it's dangerous! You might need backup."

Backup. Even in his subconscious, Cloud still retained his military attitude. Aerith could tell from his voice that he really meant, You might need friends behind you in case you get hurt. Because I don't want you to get hurt.

"...I'll be fine. You don't really have to worry."

"It's just that....I have this horrible feeling...."

"Just forget about me for the moment. I'll be fine," she said again.

Cloud grasped her hand tighter, still with a pleading look on his face, and she knew that no amount of explanation would stop him from caring. And, she realized, that was a good thing. Cloud the Uncaring had emotions after all, veiled if they were. What childhood trauma, she wondered, or despairing event happened to him to cause him to hide his feelings from everyone like this? Was it because he was a SOLDIER? Or was it something else? I suppose it's not really my business. Whatever the reason, he is like he is, and I have to accept him that way. I understand him better now. Perhaps when I get back to the group, if I get back, I'll finally be able to talk to him like a normal person .

"Then....be careful," he said.

"I will."

"....and.....good luck."

"Thanks."

She could feel herself leaving his side. Turning from Cloud's kneeling body, turning away from the humongous crevasse in the ground that only a few days or a few centuries ago was the Temple of the Ancients, turning away from the camp where the rest of her friends, Barret, Tifa, Cid, and Nanaki lay slumbering, she saw shimmering rays of sunshine beam down upon her from above, and she found herself running through the Sleeping Forest, running and running and never looking back, and she felt as if she had the wings of an angel and were, indeed, flying.

Aerith awoke.

As she rose up, stretched, and cleared her eyes, she looked upwards, into the eyes of a snarling monster.

"Aaaaargh!" she screamed, leapt with all her might away from her sleeping bag, landed on the grassy forest floor with a harsh impact on her left knee, and scrambled furiously to find her staff, the Princess Guard. She grabbed it with both hands, jumped to her feet, quickly examined her materia-fire materia, linked to elemental for the icy environment, restore materia, Titan and Ifrit summons-and then gazed at the monster as she stepped into a combat stance. I may not know how to hunt, to go out and find and kill animals, but I do know how to defend myself.

She recognized the monster as an Adamanchyt, a large, maroon colored creature with thick armored scales, long teeth and a powerful tail, similar to the prehistoric reptiles that Bugenhagen had taught them about in Cosmo Canyon. This one looked even more humongous and more ferocious than the ones she had fought with Cloud and Cid on the Northern Continent's beach for practice. And even with three people, all linked to powerful materia and armor, the Adamanchyt was difficult to defeat.

And I'm stuck here, with a staff only a quarter filled with materia, no armor, and little fighting ability, all by myself, cold and hungry, fighting a huge, voracious monster who looks about as hungry as I am. Not very good odds....

The monster growled, advanced toward her. Aerith raised her staff to defend from an attack, but none came. She saw that the monster was about to use it's magic breath, a powerful spell she had studied while she was fighting them with Cloud. Fear gripped her heart, made her knees shake below her, all courage fled her, and she seemed to be paralyzed before this awesome beast. She didn't know what to do, couldn't do anything, and she almost gave up. But she remembered Cloud, and what he would think if he saw her like this. Strength came back to her once more, and she searched her mind for everything she knew about the monster.

It'll take a little while for it to get ready, but I don't have my armor, and I'm going to get killed! I have to put him off for a short time while I find my Golden Bangle and my Ice Ring.

The fire spells weren't enough to hold the monster off by themselves, so the only thing left was the summons....

"I summon Titan!" she cried in a powerful voice.

Three red balls of powerful light encircled Aerith. As soon as they had came, they disappeared along with the young woman, casting Aerith into a state of invicibility where she could watch without being harmed.

<I am Titan, Protector of the Earth. I come to do your bidding.>

Titan, powerful summon monster, erupted from the ground underneath the Adamanchyt, hurling it onto its back. The summon creature lifted its arms, and simultaneously, long, sharp, jagged rocks rose from the forest floor under the beast and pummeled it senseless. When the Titan summon disappeared, and Aerith reappeared, however, the monster was still alive.

It wasn't about to move, though, being trapped under a large boulder, Aerith was relieved to find. She searched for her equipment bag, found it, and pulled out her Ice Ring and Golden Bangle, both of which she equipped immediately.

There. With the Ice Ring on, she would be impervious to the Adamanchyt's magical breath, and the armor would help her defend herself, but what was more valuable to her was the materia in her armor. Barrier materia, Poison materia, and Mystify. That ought to help me quite a bit.

The monster had now managed to smash the boulder atop of it into pieces with its tail, and was scrambling to get on its hind feet. Aerith quickly cast Wall on herself for protection, then cast Bio on the monster as it jumped to its feet. The poison spread quickly, and the monster soon turned a pale shade of green, over its maroon colored scales.

Okay, what else can I do....Titan summon's used up now, and the Ifrit summon is still recharging from the Temple of the Ancients... I don't have a lot of magic power left, and I didn't have enough money to buy many ethers....

She decided to give herself an advantage and run for it. She hurriedly cast Confuse on the monster, grabbed up her supplies, and broke out in a steady run. She could hear trees shaking behind her as the maroon-scaled magic-breather furiously tried to find a target, and destroyed everything it saw. She ran harder.

The effects of Confuse eventually wore off, and the monster, even more infuriated, detected Aerith's scent and broke toward her in a swift run. Even though Adamanchyts were long, heavy, and looked quite ungraceful, they were actually very speedy creatures.

Aerith stopped. She was at the edge of the Sleeping Forest, overlooking a chasm that lead down to the City of the Cetra. But she couldn't draw the monster to the City and desecrate it with a monster's footprints, and there was no way she could climb down the canyon in time anyway. She was trapped.

The monster reached her. Drawing her staff again, Aerith prepared to attack. It was probably weakened greatly by the poison spell, but Aerith knew that a Bio spell alone wouldn't kill one this big. The creature slashed at her with its claw, but Aerith's Barrier deflected the blow, and, taking the monster in surprise, swung her fire-embued staff at its head. The weapon, upon hitting the animal's skull, turned its left eye into a charred pulp, causing the monster to cry out in pain as blood seeped from its eyesocket. Such carnage sickened Aerith, but she hadn't time to feel sympathy-

her life was at stake. She beat the monster furiously in the head, and it kept trying to slash her, wearing down her Barrier slowly. The Adamanchyt used its ice magic, but Aerith's Ice Ring absorbed it. The young woman knew that if she hadn't been so wise in choosing her equipment, she would have been dead a long while ago.

It tried to step on her. Aerith counterattacked by sticking her staff in the bottom of the raised foot, giving the monster a hotfoot like it had never known before. Bellowing in pain, it tried to swipe its tail at the Cetra. Since it was standing on one foot, this threw it off balance, and, screaming, it fell off the side of the cliff, down into the canyon behind Aerith. She knew the creature was dead. Nothing could survive that fall.

Part IV. City of the Cetra

Without a monstrous reptile chasing her every move, Aerith was able to climb down the canyon and reach the City of the Ancients in about ten minutes. On her way down, she saw that the Adamanchyt had tumbled to the bottom of the cliff and was impaled upon the trunk of a dead tree, splattering blood . It was a very gruesome sight, and although she had been in defense of her life, she was still a Cetra, an Ancient, and she felt sorrow over the creature of the forest that she had slaughtered. And yet, she was, strangely, a little proud. She had doubted herself, but Aerith had protected herself against a monster single-handedly that had taken three people to take on. As she looked again at the pink ribbon that was now tied around her neck, the young woman saw that it was stained with dark red blood, the blood, she realized, of the Adamanchyt, and now she thought to herself, maybe even the most faint of heart can be brave at times, maybe the weak can be strong... have I learned something new about myself that I never knew before because of defeating the monster? She clapped her hands in prayer and wished the beast a swift entrance into the Lifestream. After all, it wasn't the monster's fault that it was hungry. It was the way nature worked. A harsh way, but there was nothing to be done about it.

The graceful, beautiful young woman looked upon a site equally as beautiful and graceful beside the fact that it was much older than she, a monument that had been built upon the Planet before human beings had even been born. Tall, wondrous stone structures seemed to protrude from the earth itself to reign majestically over the sky and the ground below her feet. Long granite pathways extended over an icy lake to a central hub at the center of her vision, a towering spire larger than the rest and covered with growths of dark green plants.

The Cetra Capital, The City of the Ancients. The holiest place in the entire planet.

Aerith didn't feel like she belonged in these surroundings, but she knew she had some sort of fate here, as she had dreamed when she was with Cloud and the others, before entering the Temple of the Ancients a couple of weeks ago. She had no idea what she was supposed to do, so she walked to the central hub and looked inside, searching for evidence of a person or creature having been inside. And she found it. A piece of black cloth, fine and silky, lay torn on the end of a sharp protrusion from the wall. It must have been a piece of someone's clothing that got ripped by the spike on the wall while they were in a hurry. She didn't know whose it was, but she ran forward anyway, sure that someone was waiting for her.

She suddenly heard a voice from behind her. She whirled around.

"Aerith!!"

It was Cloud. She knew she should wait, but she couldn't. She had to find this person who left the mysterious black cloth. It was somehow connected with the dream, she knew, the one she'd had before-

A million lights dazzle the senses.

"That's it!" she exclamed, recalling the prophecy of her dream. A black caped man... the cloth had come from the man bearing a secret....but what was it? What was the mystery of the Cetra? And where did she tie in with all of this?

"Aerith! We're here to help you!'

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerith!!!"

Cloud, Barrett, Tifa, the others. I'm sorry, you guys.... I have to do this alone. She ran forward more quickly, letting her hair fly back, causing her ribbon to flutter freely in the air. She felt a little guilty about leaving her friends behind, but she felt an immense sense of urgency.

She ran down a spiral passageway made of seashell-like carvings and into a small circular room upon whose limestone walls were inscribed a multitude of strange symbols. In the center of the room was a circular stone pedestal upon which rested a glowing white sphere that seemed to pulse with holy energy. Aerith had never seen anything like it before.

What are these symbols? They look like writing- maybe the language of the Ancients? But what does it mean?

<WHO COMES HERE?> A deep voice boomed from nowhere and everywhere.

"Wha-What was that?" Aerith cried. "Who-who are you?"

<WHO COMES HERE?> The voice seemed to come from the walls and resonate throughout the room.

"Ah-" the young Cetra didn't know what was speaking or why, but said despite, "My name is Aerith Gainsborough, descendant of the holy Cetra."

<WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?>

"I-I came to discover the mystery of the Cetra Capital. It is my destiny as foretold in a dream."

<YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH?>

"From my heart, and my honor as an Ancient."

<THIS IS GOOD.>

"Who-who are you?"

<WHY DO YOU WISH TO KNOW?>

"I wish to know whether I am speaking to one of my ancestors."

<I AM THE VOICE OF THE CETRA CAPITAL. I AM THE SPIRIT OF ALL ANCIENTS. I WATCH OVER THE LIFESTREAM AND ALL LIVING THINGS IN THE PLANET.>

Aerith was shocked by this revelation. She had expected at the most that she would see one of her kin from beyond, but had never expected to speak to the epitome of all holiness on the Planet. The Spirit of All Ancients. The Gaurdian of the Lifestream. Aerith kneeled down before the globe. "I give you my praise, Spirit of All Ancients."

<YOU NEED NOT DO SO. YOU HAVE LITTLE TIME. THERE IS A MISSION FOR YOU.>

"Then, what shall I do?"

"...What must I do to take this trial?"

She hesitated. Am I ready? What if I can't make it? What if...

The Ancient became infuriated with herself. Here I go again! A coward as usual! I've been given the privilege to discover something great, and I'm too afraid to take it! If I can kill an Adamanchyt all by myself, then I can take whatever lies before me! I'll do it!

Aerith slowly walked forward, took a deep breath, stretched out her arms, and placed her hands on the globe. It felt icy cold and impossibly smooth. All of a sudden, the globe's solidity fled and it seemed to become liquid. Aerith fell into the globe and was swept through it into a realm of white.

Her surroundings disappeared and were replaced by a swirling sky of milky white and light grey. She couldn't see the ground, saw only spirals of light colors, but she could feel it upon her feet. Aerith almost lost her senses and fell into vertigo, but somehow she kept herself oriented. ...Where am I?

There was nothing to be seen anywhere. All was just a moving, churning mix, and she began to wonder what she was supposed to do. After a minute or two, the Ancient began to feel uneasy, until dark thoughts made her wonder if she had fell victim to an evil trick. A churning of fear began in her heart, and she began to breathe faster.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared, long and tall, from nowhere, and the world lit up with a multitude of sparkling lights that bombarded her eyes. Aerith blinked and turned her head in reflexive action.

A million lights dazzle the senses...

The shadow grew larger and seemed to be edging nearer to her, and the fear crept all over her, as if she were being possessed by some dark spirit. Her hands began to tremble, her heart seemed to race like a chocobo, and her knees began to buckle under her. . What am I supposed to do?

She couldn't stand herself anymore. She ran, fists gripped, as hard as she could toward the shadow, until all she could see was blackness, and she leaped at it.

Leaped through it.

Aerith fell and rolled on the floor that was there but wasn't there, jumped to her feet again, heart pounding, and stood there, wondering, What's going on here?

Sephiroth laughed.

The shadow was no more. In its place was a tall man with long hair the color of a corpse, and emerald eyes that gleamed with a fearsome might. A thin sword that was an impossible length was clutched tightly in his right hand, a silver buckler in his left. He seemed to tower over Aerith, and she was afraid, and hated herself for it.

"Nice try, little girl, although very foolish, I must say. Never challenge a creature you know nothing about. You'll soon find yourself dead."

"....What are you doing here? Is this some sort of trap?"

"Ah....curiousity....the bane of man and yet the sole reason for his existence. Well, you see, dear child, you and I are part of a grand scheme involving the Planet. To uncover the great mystery behind the City of the Ancients and all beings living and dead and yet to come, we must pass a trial of mind, body, and spirit. Since we've both just passed the trial of the mind, there are now two more trials to overcome."

A black caped man comes bearing a secret...

"The trial of the mind? But... I haven't done anything yet!"

"Ah, my dear Aerith, but you have. When you relinquished your self control and attacked the shadow, you overcame the fears in your mind and dispelled your illusions. You see, that's all it was. An illusion."

Aerith Gainsborough knew the despicable heart of the being before her, and didn't trust him. "Why are you telling me this? And how do you know all these things? You sound as if you're the Creator himself!"

"The Creator I am not, but I may soon become. Let us say that I just know, and that is all that matters."

Aerith didn't reply, but looked over Sephiroth's shoulder. All of a sudden, he raised his head high and yelled in a loud, deep, leering voice, "So, Ancients, where is our next test, if you're going to give us one at all? I can take anything you throw at me!"

The young Cetra was surprised at this blasphemous statement, but kept her mouth shut, preparing for an attack by some savage beast, snarling monster, or gruesome creature. Suddenly, Aerith felt another bout of fear wash over her, and then a loud noise came from her left. Aerith whirled, bringing her staff to bear, and saw the face of....

A chocobo. A harmless, oversized bird whose only fierce trait was the adorability, the cuteness of it. In fact, the creatures were so docile once tamed that people kept them in their house as pets. It squawked, a lovable little squawk, and bent its head ever so slightly as to say, "Hi there!"

This is the Ancient's test of body? To discover the ultimate secret of the Cetra Capital, you must kill an overstuffed chicken? What sort of trial is this?

As soon as the chocobo appeared, two green bursts of flame appeared to the left and right of the chocobo, then two more ahead of those, and two more... soon the swirl of grey and white was lit with what reminded Aerith of a train track made of ghostly green fireballs.

"Hmmmm.... Interesting...." said Sephiroth. "Very creative.... but then, I suppose the Ancients are demigods in a way..."

"What are you talking about? If I didn't know better, I'd say this was preposterous!" Aerith said in an unbelieving voice. Is Sephiroth going looney?

"Isn't it obvious? Instead of making us defeat some weak monster, which would be all too easy, the Ancients put us up to a harder test."

The chocobo started scratching its feet on the ground fiercely, looking as if it was ready to go somewhere, and it reminded the Cetra of a creature called a bull that she had read about in a science fiction novel. Aerith was completely perplexed.

"Then... what do we have to do? What's this test about?"

Sephiroth laughed patronizingly, and Aerith blushed with frustration. "Do I have to spell everything out for you, my little Ancient? We have to race the chocobo!"

Huh?.... Well.... if you think about it, it does make sense... By the Lifestream, Sephiroth does make me feel unintelligent... Okay, this is going to be weird, but there doesn't seem to be any other way...

"Let's do it!"

The chocobo squawked loudly as if in acknowledgement and broke off into a steady run. Aerith and Sephiroth followed down the road of green flame. Since the creature had had a bit of a head start, they had a hard time catching up to it; Sephiroth met it at a strong run, racing past it, without the slightest loss of breath, probably due to his SOLDIER training at Shinra; Aerith herself was running at a fair speed, and wasn't very tired, although perhaps a little heavy of breath. They ran for a long way, and the chocobo, perceiving that it was about to be passed, squawked in alarm and raced forward even faster.

Suddenly, Aerith laughed.

She felt the wind blow her hair back and the adrenaline rushing through her bones, saw the little chocobo running as hard as it could, the cute little thing huffing and puffing, and the rush of the race made her burst with excitement.

The Ancient could see the end to the track about two hundred feet ahead of her, and she felt an immense relief wash over her. She was getting tired, after all. She pushed harder. Then she fell.

"Aaaah-Oof!" she cried. Sephiroth, who was ahead of her, stopped, ran back past the chocobo, who was continuing toward the finish line by its lonesome, and grabbed Aerith by her left arm, pulling her up and almost throwing her forward. "We're gonna lose! Get a move-on, Cetra!"

The young woman was very surprised at this act of kindness, if she could call it that from a man like Sephiroth. This was against everything he'd ever said, done, or that she'd heard of him doing before. But she didn't have time to contemplate. The chocobo was almost there, and Sephiroth and she were twenty feet behind him!

"Come on, Cetra!!"

She ran forward with all of her might, gritting her teeth together and forcing her legs to go faster, faster, faster, even though she was almost entirely worn out. Her heart pounded like a smithy's hammer, and she breathed as if she were gulping the air down as liquid. Then she passed the chocobo, and caught up with Sephiroth who had taken off with a burst of energy, and suddenly the road ended, the green flame disappeared, and Aerith collapsed on the ground that was not there with an Oof and a gasp for breath. Sephiroth himself was a bit winded and was kneeling down beside her. The chocobo had disappeared along with the flames as if it had never been.

When she regained her composure, she got up, looked at the black-caped man, and said, "You helped me back there. Why? Aren't we enemies?"

"Ah, as so often in history, we find that people who are enemies aren't really enemies at all, just people with different viewpoints who can't resolve their differences and must take more drastic measures. This is what one learns after going to war. And as for helping you, I knew I could beat the chocobo. I'm a Shinra SOLDIER elite. I just wanted to see if you could."

Such a wise man, to be so evil. Or is he really evil? What really does make a person that way? We've all done things wrong at one time or another. Maybe all the horrible things he's done have been for some purpose for him, like it was for me when I killed the Adamanchyt. Maybe he doesn't really hate anyone, but does have different perspectives on life, and, like he said, has to take 'more drastic measures.'

Or maybe I'm just crazy. That would explain it too.

"So, what's the next test?"

"The one of spirit," Sephiroth said arrogantly, "The most difficult one, probably, although if it's troublesome as the last two, then it won't be hard at all."

Aerith wasn't so sure about that; she wasn't nearly as cocky as the SOLDIER was. She was sure Cloud would have acted the same way, too, though. If they could do it, why not her?

"Yeah, those first two were a snap."

Sephiroth looked at her, eyebrow raised, snorted derisively, and stated, "Aerith, you have no skill as a liar. I can tell you're frightened. You're as yellow as a chocobo, in fact."

"Well!" Aerith acted infuriated, but was merely surprised at being caught. She should have known that she couldn't fool the man. "I'm sure that under your seemingly inpenetrable facade of calmness you are frightened too."

Sephiroth smiled, a grim, malicious, evil smile, and said, "I have seen things no mortal has ever seen before. I have faced creatures more terrible than you could possibly imagine, and won without a scratch. I have sent thousands to their death. I have witnessed more brutal destruction than is impossible for a mere human to mete out."

He looked at her again, with right eyebrow arched, and asked her, "So what makes you think that I'm afraid of a simple test that I've already two-thirds completed with ease?"

"I think," she ventured, gritting her teeth together, daring to defy the evil man, "That while you and I are both capable in mind and body, only one of us has the purity of spirit that the holy Cetra requires.

"And that one is not you, Sephiroth."

"You can think whatever you wish to, Ancient. ...But enough of this talk. We're waiting, Ancients! I'm getting impatient towards your ethereal dilly-dallying!!"

"The Ancient!" Aerith cried.

But the Guardian of the Lifestream spoke no more.

In a flash, the world around her disappeared, and she was standing in Midgar, back in the church where she had planted flowers and tended them most of her childhood, until Cloud came along. It felt so real that she had to blink back tears of nostalgia. So this was the test of spirit.

She couldn't see Sephiroth anywhere. She assumed he was in his own personal place. I wonder where that is? Where is the place that Sephiroth calls home? Is there any place on the planet that Sephiroth loves, that has nostalgia about? Or would he just as soon blow it to smithereens?

In an instant, a figure appeared before her. When Aerith recovered from her startlement, she discovered that the figure was....

Me?

Standing before her was a young girl of average height, with brown hair in two ponytails in front and one large tail in back, parted strangely as if the hair were standing up on her head, and on her face were large green eyes, a weak and feeble smile. Her arms and legs were tiny and weak, and when she walked toward Aerith she stumbled and fell with a loud cry and lay weeping on the floor.

"Who...who are you?" Aerith cried fearstricken, although in her heart she knew, and her weak voice carried and echoed around her, shaming her, making her sound like a little girl.

The thin, frail apparition beneath her opened her lips and whispered, in between sniffles of her nose and wiping of her eyes, "Don't you see, Aerith Gainsborough? I....am you!"

As before, the small, pathetic voice echoed around her, filling her with loathing.

"No." she said loudly. "You can't possibly be me." Summoning her courage, she added, "You don't even look like me!" The voice that echoed back was trembling, but with more strength and confidence than before.

The girl that was her, but yet was not her, rose to her feet slowly, her knees trembling, looking as if she were going to fall again at any minute. "What do you mean? I'm frail, weak, cowardly, pathetic in every way. Of course I am you, silly!"

"No. You're what I was two years ago. A child. I am different now. I have grown. I know the meaning of courage, strength, and power. I know happiness, I know freedom, I know love now more than ever. I've seen the world, and been put to the test, and succeeded. The old me could not have done this."

The apparition seemed to be stung as if stabbed with a cruel blade at every confident word.

"What are you talking about? You're the same as ever! You still can't speak to Cloud after all this time, because you're too afraid. You're still lonely. You stay by yourself. You say that you killed that Adamanchyt, but if fell off of a cliff! You even ran from that!"

"You're wrong. I've spoken to Cloud in my dreams, and he knows me now. Just because I'm a lone wolf doesn't mean I'm a coward. And if I hadn't been strong, and run from the Adamanchyt, if I had been stupid and stood and fought it I would have been killed right then. I ran, and when it caught up with me, I fought it. I am strong, I am proud, and you are nothing but a dreadful, no, make that pathetic, apparition!"

The words rang in her ears powerful and true, and she could hear the maturity in her voice echoing back to her. Her strength resonated from the walls and pulsed into the weak, small, frightened Aerith that she once was, seemed to jolt her back, and she cried even louder and more pitifully.

"You may say that," cried the spirit desperately, "but you know I'm still in you! You can't deny it!"

"You're right," cried Aerith loudly, and the specter smiled, but then Aerith continued, "Fear is a part of every human being, brave or cowardly. Fear is what drives us on when we're in the heat of battle. Fear is what makes us fight harder and harder and triumph over our enemies. Courage is not the absence of fear! Courage is the utilization of fear, to take fear and turn it into motivation, take weakness and convert it into strength. This I know now. I don't despise myself anymore, as I do you now. I'm proud of myself, and though I know my limits I also know my strengths. You are not me anymore!"

"What? You can't say that-" the ghost was howling despairedly now, crying and weeping as though her heart were being ripped from her chest, as indeed it was, tearing her to pieces.

"Why not? I AM saying it, and you'll hear me out! You are not me anymore! You once were, shameful, unreasonable, mind-clenching cowardice and faint-heartedness, but I've flushed you out! You DO NOT EXIST ANYMORE!"

And with those words, which, in their magnitude and power, reverberated throughout the church, tore through the walls, exposed the sky, and then raged through the shameful slums of Midgar like a hurricane and ripped the world apart, with those words did the specter let out a humiliating shreek and writhe and die before her, slowly fading from the world and from her memory. Midgar, the filthy, wretched, crime-ridden, pollution-filled trash heap in which she had lived for so long, disappeared from her view.

She had returned to the strange world of swirling white and gray once again.

Aerith Gainsborough had done it. The Ancient had completed the test. She had conquered her fear and finished the third trial, the trial of spirit, and definitely the most difficult. And she was proud.

The third trial of spirit. I had to face my most detestable facets of myself, and had to overcome them. But Sephiroth is almost totally evil. How will he pass the trial? He's arrogant, selfish, cold-hearted, uncompassionate... pure evil. Is there any good traits that man has? Even when he helped me, he did it for his own interest and not my own.

When she looked up, she saw Sephiroth there among the pools of white and grey, looking more fear-stricken and angry than she'd ever seen him before. He must not have been able to see her; she reasoned that he was trapped within his own dreamworld as she had been in Midgar. Could he watch me while I was taking my Trial?

He was looking up at some unseen enemy, clutching his sword with sweaty palms, yelling at the top of his lungs, projecting fear much as she had.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" he cried to the invisible enemy with unmeasured hatred.

From nowhere and everywhere, she heard the voice of Sephiroth's opponent. And, just as she expected, it was, indeed, Sephiroth's voice calling back to him.

"That's a good question," said the extremely malevolent voice that was so full of evil and malice, and yet with an underlying cunning and almost sneering quality, that it made Aerith's skin crawl. "I want....power. I want....unimaginable, infinite power. But to do that I need a human form. Not a spirit form. It is YOU I want. As you have stole and conquered and wasted the lives of everyone around you, so I will now to you, Sephiroth, unless you repent for your actions. Because if you continue the way you're going, you're doomed. I know. I see the future. I see....everything. Prepare yourself."

"Repent! Never! I have no need to repent. Human lives are worthless. It is I, son of Jenova, that will dominate the planet. So, YOU prepare yourself, cunning spirit, because you are going to die."

And with this, real Sephiroth raised his 12-foot long with both hands to bring it to his side, the long arc of the Masamune stretching behind him from where he held it at his waist, and he ran toward his unseen enemy with an evil yell, hair the color of pale amethyst and onyx cloak blowing behind him from the momentum-he jumped, brought the sword around and upwards to slash like a scythe-Aerith could see the immense hate in his eyes as he grinned with victory even while still in the air-and suddenly Sephiroth disappeared in a single millisecond, as if he had never existed.

The world around her churned in waves of white and grey that to her startlement became flushed with color like a rainbow sea, maroon, violet, aquamarine, yellow, and green, and suddenly the fluidlike atmosphere appeared to be sucked into the 'top' of the sky, and she was left sitting on a crystal like pillar in a strange, water-filled room. The walls were black and a long crystal staircase led from where she was sitting to some room above.

"Wh....where am I? What happened to Sephiroth? Did he complete the trial? Did I?"

"So....what's the....secret of the Capital? Why was I chosen to learn this?"

<THIS IS INDEED GRAVE. BUT THAT IS NOT THE WHOLE TALE. THE ANCIENTS CAME UP WITH A PLAN TO STOP THE METEOR. A HUNDRED ANCIENTS SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES SO THAT THEIR POWER COULD BE BOTTLED UP WITHIN AN ULTRA-POWERFUL MATERIA CALLED THE HOLY MATERIA. THE METEOR STRUCK BEFORE HOLY COULD BE SUMMONED, HOWEVER, AND THE METEOR BLASTED A TREMENDOUS CRATER AT THE VERY SITE OF THE PROMISED LAND, TO THE NORTH OF HERE. THE SITE THAT HOUSES THE ESSENCE OF THE LIFESTREAM. THE LIFESTREAM FORMED A BARRIER FROM INTRUSION TO THIS DAY THAT CAN ONLY BE BROKEN BY THE AWESOME POWER OF THE METEOR MATERIA, WHICH IS THE SINGLE MOST POWERFUL MATERIA ON THE PLANET.>

<IT WAS DISCOVERED IN THIS TEMPLE A FEW YEARS AFTER THE METEOR HIT. IT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN BY THE REMAINING CETRA FOR GENERATIONS, UNTIL IT REACHED YOUR MOTHER, AND THEN, YOU.>

<IT HAS BEEN IN YOUR POSSESSION SINCE YOU WERE A CHILD. IT IS THE TINY WHITE BAUBLE YOU HAVE TIED UP IN YOUR HAIR. YOU MUST USE IT TO PREVENT THE METEOR FROM STRIKING AGAIN. THIS IS THE SECRET. USE IT WELL.>