Children of Prophecy
Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of its characters.
Note: bring on the angst and have a box of tissues ready if you are the really emotional type.
------------
Ch.10- The Sorrow of the planet
"Mommy help!" little Nikki shrieked as her foot caught a rock and sent her tumbling to the ground. Aeris, carrying a wailing Michael stopped suddenly as her daughter's sudden fall ripped Nikki's small hand out of hers. She difficultly stooped down and roughly hauled her daughter to her feet again before they set off again running for their lives to the dubious shelter of the cave behind the waterfall.
The day had started out innocently enough, her whole family setting off for a family trip out to the meadow with the gentle giant the previous day. They had all woken up with the first rays of sun in the hollow that she and Sephiroth had discovered over four years ago (which had been widened enough to comfortably fit the small family). As Nikki and Michael awoke, they took one look at their slumbering parents before they jumped on them giggling madly.
The next several minutes was spent with tickling their mischievous children unmercifully, their high pitched squeals filling the hollow and spilling out across the meadow. When the highly amused parents "accidentally" let their squirming children escape, Nikki and Michael took no time in rushing out of their sleeping place and into the emerald green meadow.
Watching their children scamper about in the emerald green grass, Aeris had let out a contented sigh as she had leaned back onto her love's strong chest. She was drifting back off into sleep when he playfully poked her, electing an unhappy grumble from Aeris. After a few more pokes from her relentless partner, Aeris crankily opened her eyes and glared at Sephiroth, amusement and mirth twinkling in his eyes.
"Time to get up love," he gently whispered into her ear.
"Be quiet, pillows are supposed to stay still and not talk," she grumbled, snuggling back into a comfortable position against him.
Sephiroth let out his rich, deep laughter that never failed to melt Aeris' heart. Aeris sighed, giving up the battle for sleep as she caught Sephiroth's contagious, good mood. They both quickly got up and left the shelter of the hollow in the ancient tree, breakfast and keeping their unruly children out of trouble on their minds.
Sephiroth went after the kids while Aeris grabbed their now empty food bag and set off towards the forest to find something for her family to eat. She followed the helpful directions the planet sang to her and quickly found a small tree that was heavy with nuts and some berry laden bushes. When the large, hand woven grass bag that she carried was full of foodstuffs Aeris tapped into her mental link with her lover and the father of her children and set off in the direction of where his emotions were coming from.
As Aeris emerged from under the canopy of the forest, she saw Sephiroth rapidly approaching her, a kid slung under each arm. A sense of dread filled Aeris at the sight. She dropped the bag full of food, rushed over to them and took Michael from Sephiroth's hands. Frantic emotions were rolling off of Sephiroth in waves, swamping Aeris with their sheer intensity.
"Take the children and get back to the cave as fast as you can Aeris," Sephiroth yelled as he rushed off back into the meadow, "I'll hold her off for as long as I can. Don't let her get the children no matter what!"
"Mommy, I'm scared! What's going on?" Nikki spoke, trembling.
Aeris bent down and looked her daughter straight in the eyes, "Nichole, I need you to be strong. There is a bad monster coming that wants to ruin our lives. If I should fall I need you to be a big girl and protect Michael. If I tell you to, I want you to take him and go hide in your secret spot, keep quiet and don't come out until Gaia tells you that it is safe."
"Mommy, what are you saying? You and Daddy can protect us from everything! You can't leave!" Nikki stammered.
"Oh how I wish we could darling. But if the time comes, you are to do as I said, no complaints. You and your little brother mean the world to me and Daddy. If anything should ever happen to the two of you, I don't know what we would do," Aeris spoke as she embraced her frightened children.
"We don't have any more time to talk," Aeris commanded as she picked up Michael and grabbed Nikki's hand.
And so they ran, stopping only for a few moments of rest when Nikki's small legs got too fatigued. And then they ran again, the same process repeating itself every few hours. The whole time both of her children uttered not a sound, appreciating the direness of the situation. They were barely halfway back when Nikki had stumbled over the rock, bringing them back to the present.
Aeris could feel that the menace that had been chasing her and her children was almost upon them. Sephiroth had done what he could to give them enough time to get to safety, but it wasn't enough. It was now her turn to protect her children.
"Nikki, take Michael and go," Aeris coldly commanded, her tone booking no argument.
Nikki silently nodded before taking Michael's chubby hand into her own and quickly leading him off in another direction towards the one place that the monster couldn't get them.
Aeris stood fully upright as she watched her precious children disappear into the underbrush, fervently praying that they would be safe. She steeled herself for the confrontation with the one being that could ever bring such disaster to her life with her family that she had gone through so much to attain. Aeris wanted to weep at the unfairness of it all. Why couldn't she live a peaceful and quiet life with Sephiroth raising their children? Why must fate always ruin thing for them when things were finally going their way? Why couldn't that thing just leave them alone?
Hadn't it done enough to ruin the life of the one she loved more than any other? Now it was coming to ruin her children's future as well.
"Never!" Aeris vowed, "I'll never let that vile creature get her hands on my children. She'll have to kill me first!"
-I have every intention of doing so useless Cetra- the voice of her nemesis rang in her mind.
"Jenova!" Aeris hissed, flickers of her seldom used magic swirling around her as she prepared for battle.
-The years you and my son have spent in this valley have made you soft Cetra. Sephiroth posed no challenge to me when he tried to stop me. Such a pity, he was such a strong son and then you came along and made him weak. I have no use for weaklings- Jenova's voice boomed.
It was then Aeris noticed the object Jenova carried.
"What did you do to Sephiroth!" Aeris shrieked as she felt her heart stop.
-He was the one who got in my way, and so he paid the price of defeat- Jenova hissed with glee at seeing the torment she was putting Aeris through.
She threw the battered and broken body of Sephiroth at Aeris. He landed about ten feet away from Aeris and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.
"Sephiroth!" Aeris shrieked as she rushed to his side.
"Are the kids safe?" he wheezed, struggling for breath.
"Yes beloved" Aeris wept.
"Good. I love you darling," he whispered before he shuddered once and then lay still.
Grief so fierce and sorrow so strong as she had never experienced ripped through Aeris' soul. A terrible, cold fury permeated her being, freezing her shattered heart. Aeris tenderly closed the sea green eyes that she loved so much that saw no more.
"God speed my love in your final journey. Rest easy in knowing that that monster will never lay hands on our children. I will not let your death and sacrifice be in vain. That bitch will pay for how she made you suffer so much. Even if I cease to exist in the process," Aeris vehemently spoke, her whole body shaking with hatred and rage towards the abomination from the skies.
-Oh? Vengeance you declare? How could such a weak being like you ever make me pay for my "crimes", Cetra? Not even your ancestors, the most powerful Cetras in history could dispose of me. What makes you think that a half-breed mistake such as yourself could do what your forefathers could not? - Jenova scoffed.
"Because I have experienced hardships like they never did. Being hunted by the humans for my entire life made my will strong and sharpened the skills of the Cetra in my blood that has been concentrated through the generations," Aeris spoke bitterly, "with my children safe and forever out of your grasp and Sephiroth dead, I have nothing left to live for. The planet has the next generation of Cetra to communicate with, so I'm no longer necessary. I gladly give up my life and very possibly my soul even to obliterate you from existence abomination."
-Brave words from one who has no power- Jenova sneered.
"Freeze in hell bitch," Aeris snarled, as she felt the raw power that had been built up by every successive generation of Cetra that had come before her gathering round her.
-Bah! You can do nothing!-
Aeris never replied. Her eyes were glowing pure white and arcs of raw energy were racing around her immobile body like electrons around an atom. Closer and closer they drew to her until in one split second they all converged and such an explosive surge of energy was released with power that rivaled that of a small star going nova. Everything within ten miles was wiped out as the raw energy exploded outwards, turning everything white.
Sephiroth was jolted violently to consciousness by the sounds of Aeris' loud wails. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that she desperately needed him. He tried to get to his feet only to collapse back on his stomach when he found that his legs wouldn't move. Panic shot through Sephiroth. If he had been paralyzed, then all hope was lost.
Sephiroth flipped over and struggled up to a sitting position. It seemed that he was immobilized only from the waist down. He gave his left leg a strong pinch and cursed when the pain blazed in his leg.
Ouch! I definitely have feeling in my legs, but I still can't move them. But that doesn't help me at all, Sephiroth irately thought.
Aeris let out another ear-splitting shriek, bringing Sephiroth quickly back to reality. He rolled himself over back onto his stomach and crawled across the rough stone ground to where Aeris was laying using his arms. He felt humiliated doing it, but his pride was not worth preserving when Aeris was under such duress.
It seemed to take hours before he was finally able to make his way over to the writhing Cetra, but he kept doggedly at it and eventually he reached her side. The moment he got within reach of Aeris his arm muscles gave out and he collapsed back onto the ground, cursing himself for being so weak. A sense of hopelessness settled over Sephiroth, it was only with great difficultly that he was able to push it away and drag himself the last few inches to Aeris.
By now Aeris had stopped shrieking and writhing about and was now piteously whimpering, tears freely flowing down her face. Sephiroth felt his heart break at hearing such heart-wrenching sounds coming from the normally happy Aeris. He ran his hand along her face, tangling his hands in her tear-soaked hair. The distressed warrior-turned-protector looped his arms around Aeris and drew her to his chest where he fiercely embraced her as if to protect her from everything.
"Aeris wake up. I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let anything hurt you beloved, so please wake up. It hurts me to see you suffering like this from these nightmares and hallucinations," Sephiroth beseeched earnestly to the weeping healer.
Slowly, oh so achingly slowly, Aeris' bleary, blood-shot eyes opened and latched onto his own worried ones. She took one look at him before she broke out sobbing, burying her face in his chest. Aeris' arms encircled Sephiroth's chest clinging onto him for dear life.
"Sephiroth…I…I…it was…it was so…so horrible," Aeris stammered between sobs, "Jenova…the kids…your broken and battered body… you dying…white everywhere."
Eventually her shudders stopped and her tears dried up. Sephiroth was relieved that she was going to be fine. He wondered what on earth that dream, no nightmare, could have been about.
What on earth could have caused such a reaction from her? I feel so powerless that I couldn't have protected her from such a horrible thing, Sephiroth mournfully thought.
"Jenova, my death, the kids, white everywhere…What does it all mean?" Sephiroth muttered, "Wait! THE KIDS! We had children!"
Sephiroth was baffled about the idea of him ever raising a bunch of brats. Aeris…, Aeris he could easily imagine being a happy mother to a large batch of children. Sephiroth, he hated children, Aeris was just about it when it came to what he could stand in the way of company. There was no way that he would make a good parent. It just couldn't happen.
"I'm just as glad that we don't have kids Aeris, I wouldn't want Jenova to ruin the lives of anyone else. I hardly make good father material anyway," Sephiroth stated.
Aeris found herself readily agreeing with Sephiroth on his first point. As much as she was displeased with his second point, Aeris was grateful for the distraction to the lingering feelings of grief and fury, sorrow and desolation that her dream/predomination of an alternative future had brought her.
"No Sephiroth, I think that with time you would make an excellent father. You protect me so fiercely and love me so much that I have no problems with the idea of you extending those feelings to any children we would have had," Aeris wistfully lamented, the unspoken words "not that we will ever have children now" heavily hanging in the air.
"What a pair of fools we have been," Aeris reflected, "by trying to resist destiny, we only became more entangled in the prophecy. Finding in each other what we had swore we would never do. It only goes to show that every living thing is just a pawn of Lady Fate."
Sephiroth found that he had nothing to say to Aeris' last remark. It was only too true but oh so hurtful to admit.
Aeris is right, what a pair of idiots we have been. Better if we had never met or been born even, Sephiroth sardonically thought.
Both of them felt the futility of their unsuccessful attempt at making their own path, it reverberated back and forth along their connection. As they sunk further and further into depression and hopelessness the voice of the planet whispered into their minds :there is still another option after the inevitable happens, don't give up hope beloved children. There are many ways in which the prophecy that brought you both such misery and joy through finding each other can be interpreted. Remember that though it brings you no solace:
Upon hearing the planet's message Aeris' eyes shot wide open. Sephiroth looked in askance at her.
"I though that it was just a legend! I never thought that it truly existed," Aeris softly exclaimed, "but such a high price must be paid for its use if it were true."
"What is true? What price must be paid? What was the planet referring to Aeris?" Sephiroth asked looking at her intently.
Aeris turned her head away.
"It's best if some things remain unspoken," Aeris responded brokenly, refusing to look Sephiroth in the eye.
Sephiroth let it go, there was no use in trying to pry it out of Aeris. Plus he didn't want to cause her any more discomfort. Instead he tightened his arms around her letting her know that he would always be there for her. It was the only thing he could do for her in his state.
Despair was eating at both of their minds, each of them feeling it from the other across their mental link. They had each other, but for who knows how long? The same forces that had driven them to each other could just as easily rip them apart from each other. But both Aeris and Sephiroth were sure that they wouldn't let that happen without a fight.
With that thought drifting through their minds, the emotionally exhausted lovers drifted off into an uneasy, restless sleep.
The smell of charred meat and a loud slap that sounded like flesh hitting a hard surface roused Sephiroth and Aeris from their sleep. Aeris had to restrain from throwing up when she looked at what the sound had and the smell was coming from. Sephiroth himself felt slightly nauseous when he got a good look at what had been dumped in front of them.
"How could you do such a thing!" Aeris yelled at alien that had dumped the carcass at their feet.
-Because you need nourishment for the summoning of Meteor and besides I find horse meat especially that of the young ones, to be quite delicious- Jenova voiced with a contemptuous laugh at their reactions.
"You really are a monster," Aeris spat.
"There is no way that I'm going to eat that," Sephiroth stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
-You have no choice in the matter, Sephiroth. You and your little pet Cetra will perform the duty you were born to do with or without your consent.- Jenova taunted.
Sephiroth snorted and flipped her off. His blatant disregard made Jenova mad. It sent Sephiroth a painful headache in retaliation. Aeris could easily feel it over their connection, and wincing she laid a hand on the back of Sephiroth's head, using her healing powers to dispel it. Sephiroth shot her a rare smile and then proceeded to tell Jenova that she could shove her plans of genocide and world destruction where the sun doesn't shine. That really made the alien mad.
-Willing or not you will carry your role in the prophecy and I will get the power I have been waiting over a millennia for. I'm getting tired of your whining, you will eat!- Jenova roared, its mind invading Sephiroth's and through the mental link, Aeris', blocking out everything else and filling them with a ravenous hunger and the compulsion to eat.
Much to their disgust and horror on Aeris' behalf, they found their hands ripping into the flesh of the dead filly and shoving entire handfuls into their mouths. Their bodies were not responding to their commands as they continued to consume the burnt carcass, their minds rebelling at the very act. Between the two of them they devoured over half of the body like starving wolves before the compulsion to gorge themselves lifted.
Aeris was seized with the need to purge herself of the disgusting contents of her stomach the moment the compulsion lifted, but Jenova suppressed the urge forcing her to digest it instead. The warring forces of her body and the pressure Jenova was putting on her mind proved to be too much for the poor healer as she passed out.
While Jenova was forcing them to eat, a distant part of Sephiroth's mind had observed that the immobility placed on his legs lifted so he could get easier access to the meat. But the moment Jenova's compulsion lifted from their minds he found that once again the movement of his legs was taken from him. It filled him with hopeless rage at the thought that Jenova had so much control over him. The fact that he was no more than a puppet for Jenova to play with did not sit well with Sephiroth. What was even worse was that Aeris had been placed in the same position because of the mental and emotional connection the planet had made.
Why would the planet do such a thing? The presence that he had felt in his mind several times now seemed hardly so short-sighted to provide its anthemia the means through which it could carry out its plans. Why on earth would it secure the means of its destruction just to insure the happiness of two individuals? Even more so when any such happiness that their bond could have brought them was doomed to be so short lived. Poor Aeris Sephiroth thought she most of all never deserved to suffer like this.
-You think too much Sephiroth- the scaly voice of Jenova drifted into his mind –despite your foolish, sentimental, human heart that turned you against your destiny and me, I created your body very well. Your genes and body are flawless, the perfect weapon and tool to carry out your purpose.-
-The only flaw I made in creating you was giving you too much free will,- Jenova continued, -but it was necessary for you to have it if you were to be able to ensnare the girl in my control. Such fools the two of you are, I offer you unlimited power, godhood itself, and you reject it for the irrational human emotion called "love". Still, I shall immensely enjoy forcing you to use the Black Matera to summon Meteor when the time is right.-
"Fuck off bitch," Sephiroth snapped.
-Your feeble antics amuse me Sephiroth, but I believe it is time you joined the Cetra in sleep. You will need to be well rested for the summoning of Meteor, I would be very displeased if you perished in the attempt- Jenova drawled.
With that Jenova entered Sephiroth's mind and snapped the connection between his waking mind and unconsciousness and he dropped like a rag to the cave floor.
Strangely enough, Sephiroth's and Aeris' dreams were not filled with omens of fire and destruction. Instead the two of were flying through the stars, bright silver and green light surrounding them as they shot through the cosmos holding hands. The music of the stars and the other heavenly bodies filled their minds as they basked in their each other's love that flowed across their soul connection. Their eyes were filled with wonder as they explored the beauty of the universe together just like the ancient Cetra did so many millennia ago. Somewhere out there in the vastness of space a great destiny awaited them but for now they were content in just being in each other's presence, after all they had all of eternity to get their destination. Sephiroth smiled at Aeris and she smiled back at him in return as they shot off deeper into the infinity of space.
A sudden burst of energy ripping through their minds abruptly brought Aeris and Sephiroth reeling back to consciousness. A strange buzzing filled their ears while an oddly familiar wave of dizziness rippled through Sephiroth's mind. It took him several moments to recall where he had felt this sensation the first time. This is the exact same feeling I had when I had that sudden attack that drove me to consume so much of the lifestream saturated water back in the Valley! Sephiroth thought, it was Jenova trying to invade my mind that caused the planet to drive me with such ravenous thirst to find that stream.
It was trying to protect me from Jenova the whole time! Sephiroth's eyes widened with that revelation.
But now any defenses Gaia was placing around my mind have been stripped by that alien, Sephiroth realized with a frown, it was like they never existed in the first place.
Meanwhile Aeris was trying to clear her mind from a massive migraine that Jenova's presence in her mind had lefther. Her head throbbed and her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton. She tried to reach out to the planet to help relieve her pain, but the connection was being blocked. Three guesses on who is doing that and the first two don't count Aeris miserably thought, what a mess my life has turned out to be. Not wanting to sink any further into her self-pity, Aeris shook herself out of her thoughts and for the first time since she had become aware of her state of Jenova-induced powerlessness she raised her head to get her bearings.
"By the planet…" Aeris trailed off, getting Sephiroth's attention.
"Where are we?" she asked faintly.
Sephiroth took this moment to look around as well. Their present location was certainly what one would not call charming. What little light that made it down to the bottom of the huge chasm they were in did little to illuminate the area around them. From what his enhanced vision could make out of the gloom was that they were at the bottom of a huge and very deep crater. The walls of the pit sloped up sharply for over three thousand feet, broken occasionally by random outcroppings of sharp and jagged rocks before they ended abruptly in an uneven, ragged fringe, creating a vast ten mile wide opening showing the dim sky overhead. The floor of the crater was broken and uneven, cracks and deep fissures running across the entire length creating disjointed platforms of different heights.
Leaning over Sephiroth could make out the faint traces of the lifestream swirling about in the bottoms of the fissures. The whole scene gave Sephiroth the notion that the ground formed a thin, cracked shell that covered a huge pool of mako below them similar to a scab over a wound. Other than the very faint glow of the lifestream from the depths of the fissures there were no other signs of life in the crater aside from him and Aeris. He didn't count Jenova as being a living thing, more like a malicious virus or a malignant tumor than anything else.
Sephiroth told Aeris of his conclusions, not liking the grim look that came into her eyes as he did so. He had a bad feeling that Aeris knew exactly where they were and their location didn't bode well for them at all.
True to Sephiroth's predictions, Aeris did know where Jenova had taken them and she didn't like that fact or their position this place put them in one bit. A feeling of old pain and dejectedness settled over them as Aeris opened her mouth to speak.
"Have you ever heard of the Northern Crater?" Aeris asked in a grim voice.
"Yes I have, it was supposedly the place where a comet crashed onto the planet over a thousand years ago," Sephiroth answered with a dark tone.
"Not a comet, but a meteor," Aeris corrected, "this was the landing site of the meteor that was summoned when the Black Matera was first used. This is where the Calamity from the Skies crashed into the planet and wrecked havoc among my ancestors so many centuries ago. The planet has yet to heal from the massive wound Jenova inflicted on it from its impact."
"What an appropriate place to summon Meteor from using the Black Matera," Sephiroth commented with dark humor.
-Indeed it is the most suitable spot for where you will fulfill your purpose- Jenova cut in.
"Who asked you anyway demon?" Sephiroth icily asked.
"Buzz off," Aeris moodily added.
Jenova sent them the equivalent of a mental smack at them.
-I will not tolerate any more impudence from the two of you- Jenova tartly responded –it is time.-
"What the hell makes you think that we will help you?" Sephiroth shot.
-As I said before, you have no choice in the matter- Jenova snarled, seizing control of their bodies without warning.
Jerkily they rose to their feet and drifted over to Jenova, moving like automatons. With out ceremony Jenova dropped the Black Matera into Sephiroth's stiffly outstretched hand, his other one holding Aeris' in a death grip. Pure hatred and loathing were shinning in Sephiroth's eyes as he glared at Jenova while Aeris, with angry, frustrated tears flowing down her face unwillingly placed her other hand on top of the black sphere.
Jenova then drew on the power of Sephiroth to awaken the Black Matera and to force its magic to obey Jenova's will. Then through the mental bond, the alien drew on Aeris' powers to fuel the Black Matera in casting of its one spell, not bothering to shield either one form the pain that the withdrawal of their energies inflicted on Aeris and Sephiroth. All too soon Aeris and Sephiroth's energies were being depleted to dangerous levels whereupon Jenova started drawing on the energy of the lifestream using Aeris as a conduit that flowed through the connection into the Black Matera.
Even with that extra power pouring into the dark spell, Jenova was fighting to complete it, the resistance Sephiroth and Aeris were putting up not helping the alien in the least bit. Getting tired of the fight the two were putting up, Jenova swamped their minds with hers sweeping away their own individualities and immersing them in her own. With the last barrier between Jenova and the power of the planet destroyed the alien kept on pouring in energy so fast that within a few moments the matera had absorbed enough power to let loose its devastating spell and the summons for Meteor shot off into space.
The moment the summoning was complete, Jenova let go of the minds and powers of Aeris and Sephiroth, leaving the two to crumple bonelessly to the floor as their minds had shut down the moment Jenova smothered their wills with her own. Their energies were completely depleted, but that fact didn't perturb the Calamity from the Skies at all. As long as they still lived, its plans could continue on unhindered, no matter the state they were in. It would take them a long time to recover, but that suited Jenova's plans just fine. As long as they survived it didn't matter what their present condition was in the long run.
Nothing could stop her now, Jenova mentally smirked. Her little puppets did just as they were told and would continue to do so. But the effort of controlling their minds and drawing on their powers had exhausted the Calamity form the Skies and so for the first time in many decades it slipped into a state of dormancy equivalent to a death-like sleep for the alien.
The moment dire spell was released from the Black Matera, every animal on the planet suddenly let loose with loud, terrible cries of absolute terror. Every human felt a horrible sense of doom settle on their souls as children let loose ear-splitting wails, their parents not being able to do anything to calm them. Cries of "the end is upon us!" and "the prophecy has come true" filled the air as the very planet itself trembled in fear. The only thing that anyone could do now was to wait for destruction to rain from the heavens and pray for a miracle and their own personal salvation.
All was unnaturally quiet in the depths of the Northern Crater. Not a soul moved to break the eerie silence that had descended upon the place. Two forms lay next to each other still as death. They hung onto life by a bare thread as the planet slowly, painstakingly nursed them and fed them the barest trickle of energy that it painfully was able to bring up. Time seemed to flow on by without notice as the two lay in their comatose like state. Slowly, ever so painstakingly slowly their energy levels rose till they were high enough so that they could survive on their own.
At that point the planet could have stopped giving them its own life-force and they would have managed to survive, but it still continued to strengthen Aeris' and Sephiroth's worn physical bodies at its own expense. What seemed like an eternity later two pairs of dim green eyes cracked open, vague wonderment filtering through their minds that they were still alive. Relief simultaneously flashed through each of their minds when Sephiroth and Aeris both realized that the other was still alive through their mental connection.
They had so little energy that they could barely move, but somehow they forced their leaden limbs to move so that their fingers were touching. Moving an inch at a time, their fingers curled about each other, their hands drawing into a loose grip with the other. Even that small action seemed to take an enormous amount of mental will and energy, leaving both of them utterly spent. A smile curved at the corner of Aeris' lips while Sephiroth's face relaxed into a contented expression as they both dropped off into unconsciousness again.
Hours later, the Calamity from the Skies came out of its state of dormancy and uncurled from the grotesque mockery of the fetal position it had been in. Its energy levels were still under halfway full, but that didn't stop it the cruel smile that came over its face when it saw Aeris and Sephiroth out cold holding hands.
-How pitifully adorable those two are. They are so sweet with each other that it makes my teeth rot- Jenova crankily thought –still I am very pleased that they are alive, much to their misfortune. All the effort I had put in getting these two ready for their ultimate purpose would have been wasted if they died.-
With a weary sigh Jenova rose up into the air and left the crater to go off hunting to replenish more its energy. It had slaughtered and devoured several artic deer from a small herd before it felt close to what it had been before Meteor had been called.
Dark, evil laughter rang in Jenova's mind and echoed across the desolate landscape as it looked up at the sky and saw the far off blazing mass rushing towards the planet. Soon, very soon Meteor would crash onto the planet and then Jenova and her puppets would absorb all the life-force of the planet causing them to transcend death itself and turning the Calamity from the Skies into an all-powerful being. Then Jenova's true conquest of all existence would begin.
Aeris woke to a horribly bitter substance dripping into her mouth and oozing down the back of her throat. The reaction to this foreign substance was immediate, Aeris erupted into a violent fit of coughing to dispel the awful stuff from her body, but it stubbornly kept on trickling down her throat into her stomach. A wave of nausea swept over her as her body tried another way of ejecting the obtrusive slime from her. Gagging, she sat up and was about to vomit when the presence of Jenova filled her mind and absentmindedly squashed the reflex.
The sound of Sephiroth coming to suddenly impacted on Aeris's fogged mind, clearing it. Quickly she jumped to her feet, only to fall down again when a wave of pain fired across her recovering body. Crawling on her hands and knees, she slowly made her way over to Sephiroth who by now had recovered his wits.
Sephiroth watched almost detachedly as Aeris crawled over to him and collapsed in his arms, trembling weakly. He absentmindedly ran the tips of his fingers down her left cheek and gently started rubbing circles on her back with his other hand. The only thing that his hazy mind could comprehend was that for some reason they were both still alive and functioning. The amount of energy that Jenova had withdrawn from them should have killed them, but for reasons unfathomable, they didn't and had even recovered enough energy that they could regain consciousness and could think coherently.
"I can't get out that nasty stuff that is in my mouth," Aeris wearily complained, "makes me want to puke."
It dimly registered in Sephiroth's mind that he too could taste the rotten stuff dripping into his stomach as well. But unlike Aeris, he knew what this slime was. There was one time when he had been a small child that he got stranded on a cliff-face for over a week before Jenova had come to retrieve her errant offspring. By the time it got there, Sephiroth was feverish, severely dehydrated and half-starved. Jenova had nursed him for four days straight before he could get back on his own two feet, feeding him some nasty sludge colored concoction that she had produced from her body. The stuff was packed with nutrients, vitamins and antibodies for the pathogen that was causing his fever. It was also chalk full of simple proteins and easily digestible sugars and fatty acids that his body needed to recover.
Why is that thing force-feeding us this goop? By all rights we should be long past our expiration date, Jenova has no use for us now that Meteor has been summoned, Sephiroth thought.
"What is this slime?" Aeris asked, exasperated.
"You don't want to know," Sephiroth told her grimacing.
Aeris tried once more, to expunge the stuff from her stomach, rather unsuccessfully, only managing to make unpleasant gagging noises instead. Sephiroth sighed heavily, there were times where it took awhile for Aeris to catch onto things and this looked like it was one of those instances. As much as he agreed with her sentiments, there was not much either of them could do in the given circumstances. For one, neither of them could even stand up let alone walk, even staying in a semi-upright sitting position was draining. He had no idea how Aeris had even mustered the energy to get over to him in the first place. There was no way that Jenova would stop shoving this glop into them until they were at least able to walk using his past experiences as examples.
"Ugh. I feel awful," Aeris moaned, flipping over so that she was lying against his chest.
"You look worse," Sephiroth added unhelpfully.
"No better than you do sunshine," Aeris grumbled, irritated.
Sephiroth didn't even bother to smirk, he was feeling too wretched to want to put out the effort for it. His arms that he was using to prop himself up suddenly buckled and he hit the ground letting out a painful "oof", taking Aeris with him.
"Did you have to do that?" Aeris groaned.
"Only for you," he grumbled.
"Wonder when its repulsiveness will make its presence known?" Aeris asked, not wanting to receive an answer.
"Don't know, don't care," Sephiroth offhandedly replied.
"I want to die," she moaned.
"Under the present circumstances, I wouldn't mind joining you," he mumbled as his head started to dully throb.
-The two of you amuse me. But as much as you want pass on, that can't be happening yet- Jenova said, deciding to make its opinion heard.
"Let us rest in peace," Aeris mumbled, hoping to pass out.
-Much as you annoy me Cetra, your continued existence still serves me a purpose.-
"What, as a punching bag?" Aeris asked wearily her voice heavy with sarcasm.
-An entertaining idea, but no. What point is there to being all-powerful if there is nothing to use it on?-
"Great, so you want to drag others into our misery," Sephiroth scoffed.
-Someday my son you will learn to keep that mouth of yours shut. You don't need to be able to speak for what I have in mind for you.- Jenova snapped, Sephiroth's quip getting under its skin.
"More torture, lovely," Sephiroth shot back, crossly.
-You would do well to not be insolent Sephiroth, I can make things very painful for you and your pet Cetra.-
"More than they are right now?" Aeris grumbled.
-I wonder how much Sephiroth would like you if you were a gibbering idiot Cetra?- Jenova threatened.
"She'd still be better company than you would," Sephiroth spoke up.
-If I didn't need you for producing my new subjects I would kill the both of you on the spot!- Jenova yelled, its voice crashing into their minds.
Aeris' body instantly grew rigid while Sephiroth's eyes flashed dangerously, cold anger broadcasting across his connection with Aeris.
"Do what you want with us, but leave Aeris' children out of this," Sephiroth growled, his voice laced with deadly menace.
-Looks like I hit a sore spot- Jenova sneered.
"I will die before I let you force your will on any children we may have," Aeris softly stated, dead serious.
-Quite the contrary Cetra!- Jenova callously laughed –I will ensure that the two of you survive to produce hundreds of offspring for my purposes. Using my son's DNA and the genes of the Cetra, I will create a new indestructible race through the two of you. It is an honor that I'm letting you be the mother of the most superior race next to me.-
"Drop dead you abomination!" Aeris yelled.
Jenova only laughed while Sephiroth tightened his arms around Aeris to keep her from blindly attacking the alien in her rage. He was barely holding his own anger, his instincts yelling at him to remove this threat from the only person who he cared for and who cared for him in return. That didn't stop him for reaching out to see if his sword was around. How he would love to shove Masamune right down that vile demon's mouth and split it from head to toe (not that Jenova had any toes of which to cut to…).
"So you would treat us as nothing as breeding stock like you treated that human that you stole his genetic information from to 'give birth' to me?" Sephiroth furiously demanded.
-Don't put yourself at that creature's level, you are far superior to the humans my son even if you are half-human- Jenova drawled.
"Don't call me that, I'm no son of yours. I have no parents as far as I'm concerned," Sephiroth snarled.
-Again your antics amuse me. But I tire of this petty bickering. I have better things to do than to listen to you spew out hot air. I would advise you to get some rest, for your transformation when Meteor hits will be very painful and taxing- Jenova commanded.
Before either Aeris or Sephiroth could get in any word edgewise, Jenova sent a sharp surge of energy at them that froze the mobility of their entire lower bodies again. Sephiroth cursed loudly while Aeris let out a startled exclamation. Their protests fell on deaf ears since Jenova had slipped into a state of deep hibernation, becoming oblivious to the world.
"Bitch," Sephiroth spat as his temper started cooling down.
"We have to do something, we can't let her carry out her goals," Aeris firmly concluded.
"In case you haven't noticed Aeris," Sephiroth pointed out, "for all purposes we're rooted to this spot and there is nothing around us that could be of any use to us."
At that very moment, the ground around them started gently trembling as if a slumbering bear was just waking up from its winter hibernation and was digging its way out of its burrow. The shaking got stronger and stronger, the dim, barely seen light from the glowing lifestream deep down in the cracks in the ground growing brighter and brighter until a geyser of mako shot up ten feet into the air right in front of them. As suddenly as it started, the rumbling stopped and the lifestream retreated, a light ping echoing off the walls of the crater as a small crystal hit the floor and wobbled around till it came to a rest at their feet.
Straining heavily, Aeris bent over and picked up the kiwi-sized orb, a gasp of astonishment escaping her mouth as she got a good look at it.
"The planet went to so much trouble to give us this tiny rock?" Sephiroth asked incredulously.
"Not just any rock," Aeris murmured awestruck, "I thought that this was only a legend. The White Matera, containing within it the spell for calling Holy."
"Holy?" he echoed.
"Yes, with this, we can summon Holy, the only thing that might stop Meteor's descent," Aeris clarified.
"What's the catch?" Sephiroth asked.
"Jenova drew on too much of the planet's power when it used us to summon Meteor. Just the effort of delivering the White Matera to us left it exhausted. If we were to use this, we would be on our own. Gaia cannot provide us any support for this. The energy cost of summoning Holy could very well rip our souls to pieces," Aeris explained, "it might not even work either."
"Its not worth the risk," Sephiroth declared.
"What!" Aeris asked bewildered.
"Why should we sacrifice ourselves for these worthless humans that could care less if we lived or died?" he angrily demanded.
"How can you be so selfish!" Aeris shrieked reacting instantly, "you would let this planet and all of the life on it be destroyed so that you can live? I can't believe that I'm hearing this from you! I thought that you had come to appreciate value of life. Now to hear you saying that you are willing to throw all that you've gained away for a miserable existence under the control of the Calamity form the Skies, I can't stand it! What right do you have to dictate who lives and who dies? You are no better than Jenova if you think that!"
"I have not gone through all this hardship and suffering just to loose you now through some foolish, half-baked attempt at martyrdom!" Sephiroth yelled, fighting the urge to throttle the furious Cetra.
Aeris sat there stunned by his declaration.
"All my life, and for the majority of yours for that matter, I've gotten nothing but grief from the humans and the planet has done little to remedy that," he continued, "What loyalty do I owe those worthless brutes! They hunted me, almost succeeded at killing me several times and your god-bedammmed planet has done little to nothing to prevent it. Now for the first time in my life I have a shot at happiness and now you're asking me to throw it all away for the very race that wants us dead! I thought that you had more sense than that Aeris!"
"Damn you," Aeris exclaimed hot, angry tears running down her face, "Damn you! You selfish, egotistical bastard! It seems that the man I fell in love with has ceased to exist. All that is left is this self-centered cruel mockery of a decent person that no longer cares about what happens to others!"
"Fuck that! I'm not letting you go, so what if that makes me a selfish bastard. I don't care! The human race rot in hell for all I care, but I'm not letting the woman I love get herself killed in an attempt to summon Holy that might not even work!" Sephiroth shouted.
"Selfish, insensitive bastard, I don't know why I even fell in love with you in the first place! You would condemn me and our future children to a fate worse than death just so you can keep me by your side? I want more nothing to do with you!" Aeris screeched, turning her back on Sephiroth.
"Fine, be that way!" he childishly snapped turning his back towards her as well, "but either way I'm not letting you use that thing."
We'll see about that! Aeris rebelliously thought.
A sense of something being not right snapped Sephiroth out of his light doze. It only took a moment to figure out what was wrong. The noticeable lack of an angry Aeris was the first thing that he observed, slightly panicking. Less obvious was the fact that the White Matera was missing as well, leading Sephiroth to the obvious conclusion that she had run off with it to summon Holy no doubt. Now while that observation did indeed make him royally pissed that she had once again deliberately defied him he was much too worried to let his anger cloud his judgment.
Sephiroth probed for Aeris through their mental bond, but much to his dismay he found that she was doing an effective job of blocking his attempts to feel her mood. He was surprised that she even knew how to block him out, but no matter how good she was at raising mental shields, Sephiroth was better at getting past them. It didn't take him long to find a hole in her defenses that she hadn't been aware of. As soon as he had located the spot, he slipped in only to find her mind a mess of fear, grim determination, lingering doubts, blazing anger (no doubt still directed at him), fierce resolve and deep sadness. Overshadowing all those turbulent, whirling emotions was the blaze of power coming from deep within Aeris that was being steadily summoned and forced out of her body into something else.
Struggling to his feet, fighting off Jenova's spell of immobility that she had cast on him as well as his own rebellious body, Sephiroth hobbled his way across the broken and uneven ground towards where the blaze of power that Aeris was, one painful, shuffling step at a time. What seemed like hours later the figure of a kneeling Aeris, her hands tightly gripping the White Matera near her heart, came into view. Her profile was outlined by pinks wisps of her life-force that she was pouring into the White Matera. As he approached her any actions he would have taken were blown out of the water by the calm, emotionless words that poured out of her mouth.
"Don't try to stop the spell. I've gone past the point of no return, if I were to be interrupted the backlash of the failed spell would instantly incinerate the both of us on the spot," she spoke in an impassive voice as if she was not in touch with her surroundings.
"As it is, my energy is failing fast. I cannot last much longer. If you wish to come out of this alive step back and let the spell run its course. When my supply of energy finally is exhausted, the summons will die with me, the energy that has been built up in the White Matera will simply dissipate into the air harmlessly."
Sephiroth felt like his soul was shattering when Aeris' words of warning impacted on his ears. There was nothing he could to stop this he instinctively knew. He had come too late, no matter what happened, he would loose her. If things continued on as they were the summons for Holy would fail and Jenova's ascent to godhood would continue on uninterrupted. When it woke up to find Aeris dead, the alien would most likely kill him in its rage at loosing the last Cetra, but that still wouldn't prevent the fact that because of his unwillingness to let Aeris do what was necessary he had allowed an entire planet, full of life be destroyed.
It was in terrible hindsight that Sephiroth realized that he had seriously overreacted when Aeris had announced that to summon Holy they would have to sacrifice their lives. He would be dammed if he let Aeris die now with her last moments of life being spent in anguish and regret over his stupid and childish argument he had drawn her into. Besides there was no point in his continued existence if Aeris wasn't in it. If she was willing to sacrifice her life for her beloved planet (Sephiroth refused to think that she was doing it for the miserable humans) he would swallow his pride and join her. If anything, it was the least he could do for her for showing him such kindness. He didn't want her to die thinking that he was angry with her or that he didn't love her.
Sinking down to his knees in front of her, Sephiroth gently took her hands in his, reached deep down in his body and opened the gates to the swirling energies that were locked deep within. Aeris feeling the new input of energy being fed into the globe cracked open her eyes to see Sephiroth kneeling in front of her, a soft smile spreading across her face. Her eyes shone with sad understanding and loving forgiveness.
"Thank you," she whispered as her eyes closed once more, directing her attention to pouring the last remains of her life energy into the spell.
They were pouring all of their power and determination into the spell and for awhile it seemed to be working, but eventually the strength of the growing spell started to falter. Despair flashed across their mental bond quickly, but both shoved it away not letting it weaken their resolve in performing their final task.
Aeris was fighting to not loose consciousness and slip into what for her would be her last sleep when a strange, surreal calm descended upon her. As her grip on life faded, her awareness grew and she became aware for the first time in her life the white-hot glowing core of energy that was buried deep within the center of her soul. In what seemed like a ridiculously easy gesture Aeris gripped the hot, glowing sphere with her mind and let its energy blast through her body into the White Matera. The effects were immediate, the white glow that had previously fading rapidly from the milky orb abruptly grew in strength till it was shinning as bright as the full moon. The intensity of the light only grew when Sephiroth found deep within himself a similar energy and released it from his soul into the spell. The only difference that was between the two was that his was a deep emerald green whereas Aeris' was molten silver.
The bright burning pain that their bodies were experiencing as they were feeding their very soul energy into the summoning was forgotten as an incredible sense of euphoria grew within their minds and souls. Their physical forms were practically pure energy as this happened, and even that was being fed into the spell. As their bodies faded out entirely, Aeris and Sephiroth felt wild joy as they reached the threshold energy level that needed to be passed for the spell to be completed.
Their physical forms gone, their consciousness still existed in the swirling mass of energy that was in the White Matera as it dropped to the ground with a slight ping. The moment it touched the ground, Holy was released from the brightly burning orb as Meteor barely entered the planet's atmosphere. As the massive spell launched heavenward, carrying the souls of the two that had fed their life-forces into Holy, it incinerated every trace of the two that had been there for so little time, including the unmoving form of the Calamity from the Skies.
Their love for each other burning bright, the spiritual forms of Sephiroth and Aeris flying with Holy rushed up to do battle with Meteor holding each other's hands tightly. A tremendous crash raced across the planet's surface as Holy impacted with Meteor, the shock resounding in the inner cores of every living thing on the face of the planet as the forces of destruction and light battled in the sky trying to wipe the other out.
Across the Galain Ocean on the other side of the world in the military recreation town of Couldren, while all the rest of the adults were scurrying for shelter one little girl stared heavenward watching the mighty battle rage in the dark, moonless night sky. Little Tina distractedly rubbed the faint scar on her arm that had been healed by magic all those long months ago as she saw the blinding white light rush up from the north and meet the huge burning rock that was falling towards the planet's surface dead-on in a ground-shaking, tremendous explosion. Her eyes widened as she faintly made out two brightly burning dots shimmering in the very center of the pure-white light, one as green as new life, the other pure silver like the full moon.
The forces of Holy and Meteor raged against each other in the black sky all night long, neither one giving the other any ground. Finally as the barest hints of false dawn spread across the eastern horizon, the white magic slowly started pushing the now much diminished falling Meteor slightly back away from it crash course with the planet. With the force of Holy rapidly diminishing, it consumed the blazing mass of Meteor pushing the hunk of space rock further and further away from the planet. As the sky over the eastern mountains just started turning pink, the last vestiges of Holy dispersed, leaving no trace that Meteor had ever existed.
Squinting Tina could barely make out the green and silver specks in the pre-dawn sky shoot off into space, leaving the planet that they had called home for so long behind them. It was at that moment that planet let out a tremendous sorrowful wail that echoed in the deepest parts of the souls of the humans across its surface. It was mourning the loss of it two cherished children that had sacrificed everything for the very race of beings that wished that the Cetran maiden and her devoted lover had never been born.
After standing watching Meteor and Holy battle all night Tina finally sunk to her knees filled with indescribable sadness for the loss of her friend, the pretty herbalist that had shown her kindness when no one else had. Tears spilled out of her eyes and dropped to the ground. Across the world every other human sunk to the ground weeping for the planet's loss, the first time in their entire lives being in direct contact with the living force of Gaia itself. None could tell why they felt such overwhelming sorrow from the planet or for what purpose it was for, except for one little girl with pale green eyes that were so similar to the ones of the saviors of the planet.
As one door closes, another opens. As one destiny ends, another unfolds. Their roles in the Prophecy on Gaia fulfilled, the two reborn souls flew off into space rushing towards a great destiny among the stars in the far reaches of space. The music of the heavens filled their minds as they basked in their love for each other. Their eyes were filled with wonder as they explored the beauty of the universe together just like the ancient Cetra did so many millennia ago.
The end?
Wow. It's finally over. I hope all of you enjoyed reading Children of Prophecy, I certainly enjoyed writing it. I learned so much about not only myself as I translated this daydream I had come up with years ago into the written word. I feel that my writing skills have increased greatly since I started this fic so very long ago. I know that this chapter wasn't as long as the last one and that the general trend of this story was in progressively longer chapters, but I found that it didn't need to be any longer than it is.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to all my reviewers and fans of this story. But just because this story has concluded, don't let that stop you from leaving your comments on your experiences and thoughts you had while reading Children of Prophecy and leaving your opinions of this chapter and the story as a whole. Tell me everything, I want to know!
Reviews, like tips, are greatly appreciated but not mandatory. But without them, both writers and waiters find life a lot harder to survive in.