CHAPTER III
FATE IS NOT OURS
So, this is the Sleeping Forest.
It didn't look asleep to Aeris as she walked down the path into the thick growth of trees and lush vegetation. No. The forest was bursting with life. A vast array of colours, lights and sounds. Creatures of different kinds and sizes ran to and fro the foliage and the terrain.
The forest was everything but sleeping to those it welcomed.
She was one of them.
Sitting down to pick up a purple blossom, Aeris sighed and raised her eyes to the blue sky peeking out from above a canopy of trees and leaves. A group of white and brown birds flew above her leaving the sounds of their joyful cacking.
She closed her eyes to listen some more to the orchestra of sounds. A bumblebee buzzing as it went from one flower to another. The whistle of the wind as it blew past the trees. The gurgling of a nearby brook as it the waters hit the rocks.
Was this the Promised Land, she wondered. In this place alone, she felt safe from any dangers outside the barriers of the forest. It was to her advantage for she knew that what she had to do would be walking straight into the hands of danger.
For her, fear had no place in her heart now. Only love and determination to protect the Planet and all it's creatures.
A twig snapped behind her, bringing her out of her reverie. It was followed by heavy footsteps as if they were being dragged across the grass. Then a voice calling out her name. His voice.
"Cloud?!" She cried as she spun around to see her friend limping towards her. She was more upset than surprised to see him here, but what caught her attention was his staggering and poor posture.
One hand clasped to his midsection as his other hand desperately tried to drag his enormous sword. His feet moves slowly across the ground. His face was haggard and tired, his breathing was tortured.
Shaking away her questions and worries, she ran to his side just in time to catch him as he fell on his knees.
"Wh-what happened to you? What are you doing here?" She asked him, unable to mask her disappointment in being found so soon. He didn't answer, still struggling to regain his composure. "Cloud...you shouldn't have left the town alone."
She was referring to Gongaga. That was the last place they have been after they visited the Temple of the Ancients. She recalled him being controlled by Sephiroth and even attacking her as the madman fled. Cloud was knocked out cold when she left Gongaga for the Sleeping Forest.
"You shouldn't have left the town alone either." He said. His voice barely audible as he continued to breathe heavily. "What you're going to do is dangerous, Aeris. You're going to get killed."
Aeris shook her head. "No, the Planet will protect me."
"Protect you?! The Planet can't even protect itself, how can it protect you?" He snapped at her, making her pull away from him in fright.
"But I--"
Cloud pressed his midsection tighter and stifled a grunt. Then opened his eyes and looked directly at her. "You're going to the Forgotten Capital to summon Holy, right?"
She didn't answer, taken aback by what he just said.
"Am I right?" He repeated, more forcefully this time.
"Yes. How did you know?" She had hoped that nobody would find out her mission. This dangerous mission that only she, an Ancient, could fulfill. She was afraid of this. That one of her friends would tag along. They didn't have to be involved in this.
"Just trust me." He said in a low tone again his voice filled with pain. "Sephiroth will kill you." He fell silent , battling the pain inside his body for a full minute before taking a deep breath and straightening up his body.
When the pain was finally gone, he looked at her face again, surprised to see her wearing a calm expression on her face.
"It could happen." She replied slowly. "But what other choice to do we have? Sephiroth is going to summon a meteor to destroy the Planet, Cloud. Holy is the only chance we have to survive."
Cloud didn't move. Instead, he was shocked by her reaction, rather than her being shocked by the news that she would die in a few hours. "I know." He whispered. "But it's---I don't want you to die."
"Are you going to try to stop me, then?"
"I don't know." He grasped his head in between his hands and shut his eyes tightly. Visions of meteor destroying Midgar burned in his head. Holy coming from the Norhtern Crater and...not doing it's job. The last thing he remembered was the Lifestream coming from the Planet and heading towards Meteor. There was a blinding light, then he and the rest of his party wake up only to find out that they have been brought back to the past. Not knowing if they were really successful at saving their future.
Now, he didn't know if it would be necessary for Aeris to sacrifice herself all over again. Or if he could live with himself knowing that he just blew his second chance to save her.
But, how does he explain all this to her?
"Sephiroth!" Aeris gasped.
Cloud opened his eyes, alerted by her scream and found the black robed man walking towards them. He carried his long blade, the masamune in one hand. Lips twisted in an evil sneer and his eyes focused mockingly on their faces.
He wasted no time. Ignoring the weakness and the pain, Cloud sprung to his feet and held Aeris behind him. "Stop, right there!" He commanded, but Sephiroth merely snickered and continued walking towards them.
"I'm warning you..--" Cloud was interrupted as his right leg gave way underneath him, thanks to fatigue. But he refused to let that stop him. Sephiroth was just a few steps away from them. He grabbed Aeris' staff, since he had no strength to weild his sword, and held it defensively with both hands.
Sephiroth stopped right in front of them and observed Cloud as he struggled to stay on his feet. "What's this?" He said. "The puppet dares disobey it's master?"
"I'm not a puppet anymore, Sephiroth." Cloud hissed. "Not like you. I'm free of the bonds that tie me to JENOVA."
Sephiroth threw back his head and let out a chuckle, which turned into an outright laughter. "That is most improbable. Mother owns you, body and soul just as she owns this Planet. That is why, I, as her son, deserve to rule over all its creatures." He looked at Cloud with eyes that burned like embers. "And you are simply an accessory to carry out Mother's desires."
Cloud grinned at Sephiroth mockingly. "You'd be surprised at how you're going to fail."
Sephiroth chuckled again, taking his sword out of the safe position and pointing it at Cloud's throat. "I didn't fail back at the Ancient's Temple, did I? Just look at your companion's pretty face. Her scars and bruises all came from your hand."
Cloud looked back at Aeris and finally noticed the wounds that she hid behind her thick hair. He knew that Sephiroth was right.
"Not anymore, Sephiroth. You, JENOVA, or any other puppet will not harm her again. I won't allow it."
As those words left Cloud's lips, Sephiroth stepped forward and jabbed the sword right through the staff and flipped it far away. With another quick move, he sidestepped and drove a fist at Cloud's midsection, causing the young SOLDIER to double over in pain.
"Ah..pathetic." Sephiroth said clicking his tongue in disappointment. "I will enjoy killing you...both." He turned around and walked back the way he came, disappearing in the mist.
"Damn!" Cloud groaned, slamming a fist on the ground. Once again he stood helpless against the river. Unable to stop it's flow a second time. "I-I'm sorry, Aeris. I tried to protect you..."
"It's okay." She said, laying a hand on his shoulders and trying to comfort him. "There'll always be next time."
"No!" He suddenly snapped. "It's going to happen all over again! He'll make me watch you die all over again. And---God--I can't believe---I'm helpless. AGAIN! Don't you understand?"
"No! No, I don't understand!" She cried, her eyes brimming with tears. "What's going on, Cloud? Why are you acting this way? Tell me!"
Cloud didn't move, he just kept his head bowed down. "All right, I'll tell you--everything."
And he did, as they sat on the grass. He told her how he and their friends were pulled back into the past. What happened the last time Aeris went to the Forgotten Capital. He told her what happened to him in Lifestream and at the Northern Crater. Then he told her about Holy aiding Meteor in destroying Midgar.
"Do you think they'll buy it?" Cid asked.
"They have to if we're going to save our Cloud and Aeris." Tifa answered, looking back towards the entrance of the village.
"What do you think happened to the future, Tifa?" He spoke again. "Do you think that Meteor destroyed the world? Or do you think that Lifestream was able to stop it?"
Tifa shrugged. She didn't know. When they were on the Highwind, everything looked bad. Meteor had already done quite a lot of damage to Midgar even before Lifestream appeared. But her mind drifted away to thoughts of Cloud. She was dead worried about him. Especially now at his weakened state.
"I think I'll lie down for a while." She said, making her way to the main tent of the village where the others waited. "Call me when you see them coming, Cid."
Cid nodded and sat down on a rock that moved and tumbled as he did. The pilot lost his balance and fell on the ground muttering and cursing.
"Cid, you okay?" Tifa asked, not hiding her chuckle.
"Yeah, I'm $#%$#." Cid reached for Tifa's extend hand and pulled himself to his feet, dusting his back. "Stupid rock!" He cursed, kicking the solid object until it rolled over once again.
"Hey, look!" Tifa said, pointing excitedly at a shining object buried in the soil.
"Well, whatd'ya know?" Cid dropped on his knees and started digging with his hands, until the object came into full view. He picked up the dirty piece of metal and scraped off the remaining dirt. "Now who would leave the Midgar key lying around on the ground like that?"
Tifa let out a squeal of excitement. Hopefully, this was a good omen that they would succeed.
"Tifa, Cid!" They heard Yuffie call. They spotted her running towards them from her look-out tree near the village's entrance. "They're here! They just arrived on the Baby Bronco."
"Tiny Bronco!" Cid corrected pocketing the Midgar Key. Both he and Tifa got on their feet. "This is it."
Tifa nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's go."
Then she ran out into the darkness as quickly as she could before anyone else could stop her.