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Ashen Skies	By : Cynthia Category: Final Fantasy VII > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1380 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all characters are the property of Square Enix. I do not profit from this fanfiction, it’s for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
"Ashen Skies"
Chapter 38
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Warnings: Graphic violence, character death
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*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.
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            Unlike Cid Highwind, Genesis hadn't sacrificed himself for the human race. He'd done it for one person—the only person who had ever made him feel like he wasn't a monster. That person now searched frantically for him, along with two other winged Soldiers. The battle raged behind them, having moved away from the steep cliffs surrounding the crater.
            "There! I see him!" Cloud was the first to spot the red of Genesis' uniform and he motioned his companions over as he landed by the arm sticking out of the snow.
He hastily brushed the cold, powdery substance away to reveal Genesis' pale, still body. He gulped when he realized the man looked quite dead. The single, black wing was still out and the tip poked out of the snow. A thin trickle of blood traced its way from the left corner of Genesis' mouth down his jaw; the only color in his ashen face. Sephiroth landed first and Cloud looked up at him pleadingly, unsure of what to do.
"Check his pulse," ordered the General softly.
Perhaps once, the army would have had the medicine or materia to revive the dead, but that power was lost when humanity was forced into hiding. They were lucky to have the materia they did. Cloud pulled one of his gloves off with his teeth and he felt along the side of their fallen companion's neck for a pulse. It was then that he noticed the odd, unnatural angle Genesis' head was bent at and he shuddered when he felt the misplacement beneath his fingertips. He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure he knew what that meant. Cloud shook his head and put his glove back on, looking up at his lover again with aching eyes.
"S-Sephiroth...I think...his neck is broken."
Sephiroth gazed down at Genesis silently, his expression quietly grim but otherwise unreadable.   He parted his lips to speak, but Angeal landed before he could get a word out and the big man went to Genesis' side immediately, folding his white wing in as he impulsively started to try and move the redhead to lift him.
Cloud forced himself to speak. "Angeal, I don't think you should—"
"Have you radioed for medical assistance?" Interrupted the Commander, looking at Sephiroth expectantly with unusually bright eyes. "Have you used a Cure spell on him yet?"
Cloud sputtered helplessly but Sephiroth kept his calm. "Even if we could, moving him now would be the end of him. Look at him."
Angeal stopped his actions and looked down at the still form he was about to lift into his arms. He brushed aside a damp lock of auburn hair that clung to Gen's pallid forehead and he caressed the sculpted face. He saw the evidence of Genesis' condition as he began to do as Cloud had done earlier and feel for a pulse. Angeal paled and shook his head.
"That...that's a severe..." He couldn't seem to finish the words.
Sephiroth took a step toward him and he laid a hand over Angeal's broad shoulder. "There's nothing we can do for him, now."
Angeal bowed his head and his hand sought out the hilt of his Buster Sword, lying in the snow where he dropped it when he landed. His fingers tightened around the hilt and his body visibly grew tenser by the second. Cloud looked between Angeal and Sephiroth helplessly, wondering what—if anything—he could do. There was still a battle to be fought and as Sephiroth said; they could do nothing for Genesis now.
"Should we...try to get him to the base?"
Sephiroth might have said to leave him where he lay, if it were anyone else. His eyes remained on Genesis' impassive face as he started to adjust his transmitter. "I'll call for a pickup, if there are any aircraft available to—"
Angeal suddenly took off, his chiseled features a hard mask of vengeance. He was in the air and on his way back into the battle before either Sephiroth or Cloud could say anything. Both of them having seen a similar event in which the big man snapped over the impending loss of a loved one, they looked at each other with dread in their eyes.
"We have to stop him." Cloud spread his bi-colored wings and prepared to take off after the Commander, but Sephiroth stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder, shaking his head.
"Don't. Let him go."
"B-but he's—"
"Inconsolable," interrupted Sephiroth with a grim nod in Genesis' direction. His feline gaze remained on Angeal as he spoke. "Nothing we could say to him right now would change that. Short of fighting him ourselves, I doubt we could stop him. Besides, Hewley's rage could give us an edge we need in this fight."
Cloud wanted to deny the cold logic of that, but he couldn't. He'd seen what Angeal could do when provoked and he almost felt sorry for their enemies. He looked down at their fallen companion's still body and he sighed regretfully, his throat tightening as tears threatened.
"We can't leave him here." It wasn't a request. He looked back up at Sephiroth with determined blue eyes, prepared to refuse any order to leave Genesis behind.
"As I said, I'll put in a call," Sephiroth answered. There was something in his eyes, hidden just beneath the surface. Cloud thought he recognized it as regret. "His passion. I've always warned him that it would be his end, some day."
Cloud swallowed and shut his eyes. Sephiroth was wrong; it wasn't passion that drove Genesis' final actions...it was love.
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            "Holy shit!"
Elena couldn't keep the exclamation to herself. She and Tseng were just on their way back to the fray when things got...interesting. Sephiroth and Cloud were still MIA but Commander Hewley had rejoined the fight, and he made a hell of an entrance. The biggest WEAPON was down and before they could move on to the next big target, he was on it like a rabid animal. That oversized sword of his flashed in the sunlight as a break in the clouds allowed a few beams through. The drake-like creature didn't get a chance to defend itself before Hewley assaulted it and its confusion was apparent as the Soldier demonstrated speed nobody knew he was capable of.
"Something has changed," Tseng observed shrewdly, his dark eyes narrowed in thought.
The answer to the riddle came in the form of the General's voice, speaking over the transmission. "I need air transport to rendezvous at the following coordinates." He gave the coordinates and followed up with a brief explanation. "We have an officer down."
"Rhapsodos?" guessed Elena, tearing her attention away from the berserker on the field that was Angeal Hewley.
"That would be my guess," agreed Tseng with a regretful little sigh. "Pity. He was brilliant."
"Nobody's answering Sephiroth's request," Elena pointed out with a frown. "Maybe we should."
"Our efforts are better served fighting for the living," Tseng reminded her calmly. "Rhapsodos is beyond caring, now."
"Repeat," Sephiroth's voice insisted again, "I require air transport at my coordinates. If any are available..." His request died off suddenly with a crackle.
Tseng and Elena looked at one another uncertainly. It wasn't technically their job to assist SOLDIER operatives unless ordered to by the President, but most of the SOLDIER aircrafts were either down or engaged in battle, like the rest of the air force. The ground teams were embroiled in a desperate battle to hold the lines and keep the enemy from breaking through to the base.
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            "Wait, he moved!"
            Sephiroth abruptly stopped what he was doing and he stared at Cloud suspiciously. The blond was crouched down in the snow, next to Genesis' body. His attention was riveted to the redhead and his expression was determined and tense. Sephiroth sighed and his booted feet crunched on the snow as he approached Cloud. He laid a gloved hand over the tense shoulders and he shook his head.
            "Cloud, don't fool yourself into thinking there's hope when...when..."
            Sephiroth's advice trailed off as his serpentine gaze went to Genesis again and he saw the left foot twitch. Telling himself it was only a death throe, he moved in closer and knelt beside the fallen swordsman. He was wary of entertaining the notion that Gen had survived the brutal attack, but he thought he saw movement beneath the closed eyelids.
"Genesis, can you hear me?"
A low, barely audible groan issued from the pale, parted lips. Sephiroth stared at Genesis, bewildered. What did it take to kill a Jenova-infused Soldier, anyway? The man had a broken neck! Still, he was alive. Sephiroth removed one of his gloves and felt carefully for a pulse, just to be certain. Cloud had given up when he saw the condition of Gen's throat and Angeal was grief-stricken, unable to take in small details. It was faint, but he did find a flutter of a pulse under his fingertips.
Sephiroth immediately reached for his transmitter and spoke into it. "This is the General. I want transport at my coordinates immediately. Lieutenant Rhapsodos is still alive and he requires medical attention. This is no longer a corpse retrieval, but a rescue. This is an order, not a request. Whomever is able to break from combat, do so now."
Cloud's eyes were wide with hope and anxiety as Sephiroth ended the transmission and removed his long, black coat. The General laid it carefully over Genesis' body, hardly feeling the cold against his now bare upper body.
"Stay with him," instructed Sephiroth, looking back over his shoulder and squinting against the sunlight that was now steadily beaming down from the scattered cloud cover. "I'll rejoin the fight to protect the forward base. The enemy's attention is focused on our armies, so you should be safe here."
Cloud nodded. "If anything does notice us, I'll protect him."
Sephiroth returned the nod and he spared the blond one last, lingering glance before spreading his wing and readying his blade for further combat.
~**************************************~

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the crater:

            Lifestream flowed around the young Cetra as she waded into the water and mentally prepared herself. She had never tried this before and Aerith wondered if direct contact with Gaia would make her head explode at worse, or drive her insane at best. She cast one more look at her concerned, handsome husband and she took a deep breath, shutting her eyes.
            "I'm here now," she whispered, opening herself up fully to the Planet. "Please, speak to me."
            The response was overwhelming and despite bracing for it, Aerith cried out. Zack impulsively put one foot in the water and she sensed his intention before he could act. She threw a warding hand out and looked at him with aching green eyes. "No, Zack! Don't interrupt!"
            He stopped and stared at her, his expression one of bewilderment. Aerith looked down at herself and she saw that her whole body was glowing as if lit by some unknown source. The Lifestream was swirling around her in little funnels and she heard the voice of the Planet keenly. Gaia was weeping. She had to focus...had to find some way to appease the primal entity that made life on their world possible. Aerith sensed the Planet's anguish and fear, and she tried to soothe it as a mother might soothe a child's hurt. Ancient and powerful though Gaia was, its needs and thoughts were simplistic...alien to those of the human mind.
            ~Please, I want to help! We don't want to be at war with you. Humanity has learned its lesson.~
            The voice that was not a voice answered that humanity had sealed its own fate with its destructive nature. Aerith shook her head and a tear fell free from beneath one of her closed eyelids.
            ~Humans are still growing! They can learn and they HAVE learned! They live in the city of your first Children, where I grew up. They nurture it and respect it! Humans aren't so different from the Cetra—I see that now. Please, you must give them a chance! They are your children, too!~
            Aerith felt uncertainty, followed by anger. Her knees buckled from the force of it and she sank down into the water, covered to her waist. She put her hands on either side of her head and moaned, pleading with Gaia inwardly.
            ~You're...hurting me! My head is going to split in two...I don't know what you want! ~
            She got a chilling feeling then and an image of Sephiroth flashed in her mind. "Jenova?" She whispered aloud. When she felt the Planet's confirming anger, she shook her head. "It isn't like before. Sephiroth and the other Soldiers with Jenova inside of them somehow balanced her essence. They aren't a threat to you."
            Gaia showed her a quick image of the struggling human armies, fighting against the WEAPONS. Aerith felt a combination of pity and frustration. "Of course they're fighting your protectors! You made them into destroyers! The humans are just trying to live, trying to defend themselves from extinction. Jenova killed my people; are you going to let your anger for her drive you to do the same to all the humans?"
            There was another moment of uncertainty, and then Aerith was rudely yanked out of her reality and spiraling into a vision of the past. She screamed—both inside her head and out loud—and she heard Zack holler a worried inquiry that echoed off the cavernous walls. She tried to reassure him that she was just surprised, that she would be all right...but everything seemed to evaporate around her. For a terrifying moment, everything was utterly black and still. Aerith wondered if she had gone blind and deaf at the same time.
            Her fears were assuaged when a soft, blue glow lit up the world around her again and she peered around cautiously, half expecting something to jump out at her. Aerith frowned in confusion when she saw where she was. She recognized the inside of one of the largest shell houses of the Ancient Capitol—in fact, she suspected it was the same house that Director Lazard was currently using as SOLDIER headquarters. There was a newness about it, however. The plaster was whiter, with no evidence of re-touching or chipping. The furniture was different. It was the same style as the antique furniture left behind, but it was new. The blue light came from the softly glowing orbs hanging from the ceiling along the walls.
            The voice of Gaia was utterly silent. She was alone.
            Aerith heard voices coming from the big room in the back and she followed the sound, tip-toeing even though her feet didn't actually touch the floor. She wasn't a part of this memory—she was merely a witness to it. Through the archway, she saw a group of black-robed people standing in a circle. They were oblivious to her presence and Aerith relaxed a little and advanced, confident that they couldn't interact with her and vice-versa. Gaia wanted to show her this...whatever it was. Aerith squeezed between the two oblivious bodies of a man and a woman, glancing up at their hooded faces curiously.
            "Ancients," Aerith murmured with shock, instantly recognizing the bone structure as like calling to like, though these people could easily pass as human, just like her. "They're Cetra...pure Cetra!"
            A chill went through her. Their mannerisms and looks were almost alien, now that she stopped to observe them. It reminded her of the General and she remembered her previous theories about the Jenova-infused Soldiers—particularly Sephiroth. He could even be more Cetra than she was, given what she knew of him and the experiments they did on him.
            "But why can't he hear the Planet, if that's true?" Aerith pondered aloud. "Or did Hojo's experiments rob him of that ability?"
            Hojo had been trying to re-create the Cetra, from what she understood. Maybe he was more successful than anyone realized, but an Ancient that lacked the power to hear the voice of Gaia wasn't really an ancient. Perhaps Sephiroth had willfully shut that voice out himself. She wouldn't put it past him to have the willpower to do such a thing.
            Maybe some day, she could ask him...but she was here for a reason and she suspected that Sephiroth's true origins were only a piece of the puzzle. She turned around at the sound of a woman's voice in the center of the group and she blinked and stared at the speaker.
Standing in the middle of the circle was a Cetra female with her hood cast back and her long silver hair spilling over her shoulders. If it weren't for the feminine curves and round pupils, Aerith might have mistaken her for Sephiroth—she looked that much like him. She addressed her robed companions in a calm, low voice and her beautiful features were cast in the eerie blue light.
"Brethren, this council is all that remains of our people," the woman said. "The illness consumes us and when it finishes us off, it will move on to the human population."
"They are like children," another woman said with a sigh, "their greed is terrible enough already, without this evil amplifying it."
"Which is why we cannot allow that to happen," insisted the silver-haired woman. She looked at each council member in turn, her emerald gaze hard like gems. "We have a chance to end this, here and now. It will require sacrifice, however."
"What do you propose?" queried a man adjacent to Aerith.
The woman in the center was silent for a moment, as if considering her options. When she spoke, it was with dignity and resolve. "I will draw the evil to me. I will invite it into my body...offer myself to it completely. We know how this thing craves power—it cannot help but accept my offer. While it consumes me, the rest of you can destroy it. My body will be its last vessel on this world."
"Jenova, no," protested a woman vehemently, "you are the strongest of us!"
Before Aerith could react to the silver-haired woman's name, Jenova countered the argument. "And that is why it must be me. If the offering isn't tempting enough to draw it out of the bodies it has already consumed, this plan will fail. We must give it something it sees as sustainable...something worth gathering its whole self into."
"There must be another way," reasoned one of the men. "Some way we can rid ourselves of this thing without sacrificing you. We need you, Jenova."
            "You need to survive, more than you need my leadership," stressed Jenova. Her eyes gathered them all in and her marble features relaxed into an expression of warmth. "This evil must be stopped, and if it can be done with only one final loss, it is worth it. It will claim us all in the end, if we don't take this chance. We can fight it for a time, but you've all seen how it eventually breaks down its victims and consumes them. We mustn't allow it to destroy our Mother's creations. It must end here."
            The council began to discuss it, arguing and reasoning with one another until they all finally agreed. One of the older women in the circle approached Jenova and rested her hands on her shoulders, looking up at the taller woman with devotion and respect.
            "This is a brave thing you do, for our world and for our people.   Should we succeed, your sacrifice will not be forgotten."
            Aerith felt another chill. She knew this wasn't going to end happily and she almost begged Gaia not to show her the rest, but the room swirled around her and the next thing she knew, she was on a blackened cliff-side. She looked around in confusion, seeing the same council members from the room surrounding her again, in a half-circle. Unfortunately, this time they were all lying on the cold ground, with their bloodied robes torn and in disarray.
Aerith put a hand to her mouth and gasped, shaking her head. The carnage was terrible. One man near her left foot was disemboweled and still alive, groaning in agony. The woman that had offered Jenova praise only moments ago was crawling over the broken terrain, coughing up blood. Standing by the edge of the cliff was Jenova herself, half-naked and wild-eyed. Her pupils were now slit vertically—like Sephiroth's. She gazed at the bodies around her with a cold little smirk of pleasure and Aerith felt like screaming.
"Why?" Demanded Aerith in a grief-thickened, tearful voice. "Why did you do this? How could you let this happen?"
Jenova of course didn't answer her, since Aerith wasn't part of this time stream and therefore, wasn't really there. The woman crawling toward the gloating figure evidently wondered the same thing, however.
"Jen...ova," gasped the dying woman, looking up at her killer with painful effort, "why? You...wanted this. You can still...control it!"
Jenova smiled chillingly at the other woman, kneeling down gracefully to look her in the eye. "You fools. This entire Planet is my vessel. Did you really believe a single, miserable Cetra could control me? I am a calamity. I am above all of you. Know that your death will only make me stronger. This world and its creatures are mine."
            "Gaia...is stronger...than you believe," gasped the woman.
            Jenova grasped her victim's jaw in one long hand and bared her teeth in a terrible smile. "Your 'Gaia' is weak, like you. Your spirit energy will help me subjugate it, little one."
            Aerith cried out and looked away as Jenova twisted the hapless woman's head suddenly, breaking her neck. Feeling like she could throw up at any moment, Aerith tried to lean against a rock outcropping—only to realize it wasn't solid to her when she almost passed right through it. She staggered and regained her balance with difficulty, looking at the possessed figure of Jenova with sorrow and betrayal.
            "They trusted you," whispered Aerith as Jenova walked around, inspecting her handiwork. "You thought you were stronger than the rest of them, and now look at what you've done!"
            Jenova couldn't possibly hear her, but whatever remained of the woman inside the shell seemed to wake up at that moment. The slit pupils widened and contracted as Jenova looked around with an open expression of stunned shock. Her lovely countenance was quickly twisted with grief as the full impact of what her body had done while she lost control struck her.
            "No...my people," Jenova said, her voice losing its unearthly composure in the face of mortal anguish. She immediately cradled the still body of the woman whose neck she had just broken. "Jemma! Jemma, please! Gaia, what have I done?"
            Aerith's anger with her faded immediately, to be replaced by pity. How horrible must the guilt be, to wake up and find the bodies of friends and families all around you...and to know that you were the one to put them in such a state? Aerith's vision blurred with tears and she wished she could give the grief-maddened woman some measure of comfort. All she could do was watch as Jenova tilted her head back and screamed at the heavens. Aerith could have screamed right along with her, stricken by the unfairness of it all. What was intended as a noble self-sacrificed resulted in the end of the Cetra—save whomever managed to escape and give birth to Aerith's family line.
            After several painful moments, Jenova released the body of her companion and staggered to her feet. She saw the disemboweled man struggling to stuff his own intestines back into his stomach and she went to him, whispering an apology in a raw voice.
            "We...failed?" he asked in confusion as Jenova cradled him and smoothed a bloodied lock of blond hair away from his shock-dilated eyes.
            "No," answered Jenova. "You didn't fail. I did. Forgive me."
            "Your...eyes," whispered the man, his vision focusing on her with obvious difficulty. "It's...still inside of you."
            "Yes," she agreed, her body tensing. She grunted with effort, seeming to struggle inwardly. "All of it is inside of me. I carry the entire evil. It's not your burden anymore. Rest."
            He shut his eyes, his breath catching. "I am tired. What...will you do?"
            Jenova grimaced, one hand reaching for his throat. "Whatever I have to do. Go to the Lifestream in peace, friend."
            Aerith had to look away again as Jenova broke a second neck...this time to end suffering. She slapped a hand over her mouth as her stomach heaved and she made a silent vow to never die of a broken neck. She looked back at Jenova as the great Cetra stood back up and raised her hands to the sky.
            "Mother," proclaimed Jenova, "I have failed your children. I have failed you. I can't stop this evil, but together, you and I can imprison it! Help me, one last time. Put the evil to sleep and I will go with it! Please, Gaia...your daughter begs you!"
            Aerith wasn't sure what to expect, but given the Planet's anger, she wouldn't have been surprised if Jenova's prayers went unanswered. Therefore, when the ground began to rumble, Aerith felt an interesting combination of excitement and hope. Maybe Jenova really did redeem herself before her demise. Remembering the unsavory fact that the science department still had her remains locked away somewhere for SOLDIER infusion, she shuddered. How awful, that the body of a woman who had sacrificed herself and her people for this world was being used as a catalyst for the creation of living weapons. It was indecent and disrespectful and now that she knew the truth behind Jenova, Aerith couldn't allow it to continue if she survived this. Hojo was ironically the only human to come close to guessing the truth, so she couldn't really hold humanity responsible.
            The earth cliff began to break apart as Aerith watched. Only the area around Jenova remained intact as the earth fell away, taking the bodies of the Cetra with it. The ground beneath Jenova's feet rose up and began to cocoon her. Her eyes opened and they flashed with malevolence.
            "No," Jenova growled, her voice changing to that cold, primal one from before. "You will not imprison me!"
            Almost immediately, her eyes dimmed and her regular voice spoke. "You are an abomination. You've taken my people, but you won't take this world! Without the spirit energy, you have nothing to feed on."
            The earth continued to rise around Jenova, slowly encasing her as the sickness inside of her struggled to regain control over her body. As it stood, Jenova really was strong enough to keep it in check...she just didn't find that strength soon enough to save her people. Aerith began to cry in earnest as a legend happened before her eyes. When it was over, the egg-like prison of earth concealing Jenova floated down into the abyss, to join the bodies of the Cetra council. A green sparkle surrounded the rocky egg and Aerith witnessed the Lifestream extracting Jenova's spirit, so that she could reunite with her fallen brethren in the afterlife.
            Aerith's surroundings faded again and she felt the cool water surrounding her. She was back in the core again. Unsure of why Gaia showed her these visions of the past, she opened her heart and prayed with all her might.
            "What do you want us to do? How can we prove you can trust us again?"
            Gaia reminded her that she was Cetra, not human. She had nothing to prove. Her friends, however, had toyed with the very evil that wiped out nearly every trace of her species.
            "But, they didn't!" objected Aerith, "They had no idea what they were dealing with, when they found Jenova's body! Some of them meddled where they shouldn't have, but those people are one with you now. You can't punish the whole race for the actions of a few. Please, there has to be some way."
            An image came to her of Sephiroth...only she realized now that it was Jenova, not Sephiroth. The General's female counterpart was suspended in a tube of clear liquid, with all manner of tubes connected to her partially decayed body. The humans had obviously preserved her for scientific use, after discovering her remains years ago. Another image followed—an equally disturbing one of young men and women in tight-fitting uniforms like Shelke's, being infused with some glowing substance.
            "You don't want them using her body anymore," reasoned Aerith, empathizing completely.
The virus that wiped out the Cetra clearly didn't have the power it once did, after Jenova's sacrifice—but it still posed enough of a threat to make the Planet wary. Not only that, but the woman herself who had put forth such a grand effort to protect the world deserved some dignity and respect in death. What was life worth, if it couldn't be valued enough to resist meddling with it? Deepground's hatred for humanity was rooted in the science experiments forced onto them. They were once human themselves and they turned on their cousins, intent to destroy the world out of sheer hatred for life. It was all because of Jenova's cells, at the core.
"I can talk to them," offered Aerith, getting back to her feet.
She opened her eyes and looked at Zack, still standing on the bank where she'd begged him to remain. His single good eye watched her with confused, worried interest and she smiled at him, loving him even more for holding back as she'd asked. Shelke's spiritual form hovered near him, looking on with concern she couldn't hide.
"Humans can be just as brave, moral and responsible as Cetra," insisted Aerith, speaking as much to Zack as to the Planet. "If I explain the situation to them, I'm sure they'll listen. They really do want peace and they've learned to respect you more. You just need to give them a chance."
Ultimately, Gaia's love for all her creatures was stronger than her anger. Aerith began to cry again when she got confirmation of that and poor Zack mistook it as a sign of doom.
"We're boned, aren't we?"
Aerith sniffled and gave a shaky laugh, wiping her nose carelessly on the sleeve of her damp jacket. She shook her head and held her arms out to him as Zack came to her. "No. Not this time. We're...going to be okay."
~*****************************************~

            "Weapons, hold."
            Sephiroth's order was broadcasted and repeated throughout the ranks as the WEAPONS stopped fighting abruptly. Vincent stopped firing at the Alpha that had come too close to Reeve's platform and he stared suspiciously at it as it turned on its heel and began to march away.
            "What in the hell are they doing now?" Reeve asked, lifting his targeting visor warily.
            "It appears they've received new orders," surmised Vincent in his low monotone, keeping Cerberus trained on the retreating Alpha. Several troops came and surrounded the platform, now that they weren't occupied with other enemies.
            "I think you can relax, boys," Reeve said with a touch of awe, unplugging from his control grid before getting to his feet. "It seems the WEAPONS aren't interested in us, anymore."
            "They could be intending to strike another target," warned Vincent. "Perhaps they plan to move in on the colony."
            "But they're going the wrong way, if they are," insisted one of the troops that now surrounded them protectively. "The Forgotten City is the other way."
            "Yes," concurred Reeve, scratching his beard. "It looks like they're all moving back toward the crater...oh, no!"
            "What?" demanded a nearby woman. "What's wrong?"
            "Zack and Aerith," groaned Reeve as Vincent joined him on the platform. "They're inside!"
            "So they're moving in to eliminate them," reasoned Vincent. He checked his gun. "We may need Chaos, after all."
            "...anybody copy?"
            Zack Fair's voice broke through the frequency before anyone could give the order to move in on the crater.
            "I copy," Sephiroth's voice answered. "What is your status? The WEAPONS are acting strange."
            "Don't attack them," Zack said urgently. "Everybody...stand...they aren't aggressive! They're just...home. Someone come get us. It's over."
            Reeve and Vincent exchanged a look of disbelief and the former couldn't resist adding his input to the conversation. "What do you mean, it's 'over'. Did Aerith really convince the planet to stop attacking?"
            "Are the WEAPONS still attacking?" Zack asked.
            Reeve watched as the terrestrial creatures continued a steady march toward the crater, ignoring the humans as if they weren't even there. "No. They're just marching off to the crater."
            "Then it's over," Zack insisted. "Don't ask me how...Aerith says she'll explain...back. We need...to come in here and get us. It's too...to climb back up!"
            Reeve swallowed hard, afraid to believe it was truly over with. President Shinra's voice came through the transmission next, and he was coughing between words. "I'm on my way to the rendezvous point, Fair. We should reach...you in approximately...ten minutes."
            "Oh, goody," Zack's voice responded without real enthusiasm. Obviously, he would have chosen a different pilot to pick up him and Aerith, if he'd had the option.
~***************************************~

            "Reno, stop shooting at them!"
            Pretending not to hear his girlfriend's demands just like he pretended not to hear the cease-fire order, Reno kept peppering the large WEAPON'S retreating form with bullets. Tifa had let her Alpha opponent back to its feet and she and Rude watched warily as it tromped off to join its fellows. Rude grabbed Reno's wrist to stop him from shooting more bullets and he shook his head grimly at the smaller man.
            "It's over, partner. Word's gone through that they're packing up."
            Reno snorted. "Yeah, that's what they think they're doing. Can't trust these fuckers, man."
            Rude took the gun—only because he was Reno's partner and the redhead allowed it. "The President gave the order himself, Red. Didn't you hear it? All Turks are ordered to cool it."
            "Sorry man, my transmitter's busted." Reno shrugged.
            "Let me see that." Tifa snatched the earpiece off Reno's head before he could react and he muttered a protest as she looked it over. She handed it back to him with a suspicious expression on her pretty face. "It seems fine to me. You just didn't want to stop shooting."
            "So what if I didn't?" he demanded with a scowl in the direction of the retreating enemies. He nodded their way. "They deserve every fucking bullet I can pepper their armor with, toots. Don't tell me otherwise."
            "I won't," Tifa answered, removing her gauntlets and dropping them on the ground. She approached him and she cupped his face in her hands. With a little shock, he realized the knuckles were bruised despite the protection of Reeve's ingenious gloves. "But I'm asking you to try with the rest of us to make this peaceful. They aren't fighting back. We should at least see if Zack and Aerith are right, shouldn't we?"
            Reno marveled at her patience, even as a part of him insisted that this was a dick move on the army's part. He put his hands over hers and rubbed them gently, sighing. "You've got me so fucking whipped, it ain't funny."
~***********************************~

            "Come on Aerith...we've got to get ready for the pickup," Zack insisted as he guided his wife out of the pool of glowing water. The Lifestream had calmed down since her last, desperate communication and now the little funnels were just random whirlpools.
            Aerith began to follow him on impulse but she glanced toward the center of the pool and she abruptly stopped. Zack frowned, concerned that maybe they weren't out of the poo barrel just yet.
            "Honey? Everything okay?"
            Aerith was staring at the surface of the water, with a look of concentration on her face. "Wait a minute, Zack. I think...someone has something to say to me."
            Zack looked around. "Now? Who?"
            Aerith didn't answer him. Instead, she gently disentangled herself from his arms and waded deeper into the pool. She appeared to be looking up at something hovering over the surface and when she spoke, her soft voice echoed within the cavern.
            "Is there something you want me to do?"
~**************************************~

            Lazard groaned as the heavy body of the Alpha was rolled off of him. He still wasn't sure what happened. An alarm sounded and one of the creatures came tearing into the command tent. Shalua jumped in front of him, activated the gun grafted into her arm and began firing. He fell backwards...and then all he remembered was blackness. The fear that she'd been killed made his heart feel like a battering ram against the wall of his rib cage.
            "Shalua," gasped Lazard insistently.
            "Director?" Someone helped him sit up and someone else was flashing a light in his face. He swatted at the light irritably. "Can you say your name?"
            "I'm Lazard bloody Deusericus," he growled, "now get that light out of my face and tell me where Shalua Rui is at!"
            "She's right here," answered a familiar female voice—with some relief in her tone. "And you shouldn't be so pissy with your underlings, Director."
            Lazard squinted through the settling dust at the speaker, trying to tell if she was injured. Someone handed his broken glasses to him and he snatched them abruptly, fitting them over his nose. The right lens was completely broken but the left was only cracked. He could see Shalua squatting over him, her features half-blurred and half-clear. She smiled and she looked a bit relieved.
            "I thought I lost you, Lazard."
            "We came back in here to find the place a wreck," Reno's voice said from somewhere off to the left. "Good thing your cyber-babe was here to watch your ass, Director. She probably saved it."
            Lazard wasn't listening. He was staring at the young woman hovering over him, absorbed in the unexpected joy of finding her alive and well. She appeared to be blushing to his near-sighted gaze, but he couldn't be certain of that.
            "I owe you my life," Lazard stated. Those last moments replayed themselves in his mind and all he could think of was how brave and determined she was. Looking at her now, Shalua was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life—even lacking an eye and an arm.
            She looked away and shrugged. "You would have done the same for me. It's over now and you should let the medics have a look at you."
            He wanted to deny that but he felt a sharp pain in his ribs when he tried to sit up straighter and he gasped, nodding. "I think that would be best." He waved away a troop that started to activate his materia bangle. "Save what remains of the Cure materia for chronic cases. I think something's fractured, but not broken."
~*************************************~

            Tseng felt his left eyebrow migrating to his hairline as he stepped out of the chopper and waited for the medical team he'd picked up to get started. Cloud Strife stood with two blades drawn, looking about challengingly. At his feet were the bodies of two Alphas. He hardly relaxed his battle stance as the medics began to load Genesis carefully onto a stretcher. When Elena gently touched his shoulder and spoke to him, Cloud looked at her and offered a simple, brief explanation.
            "They tried to touch him."
~**********************************~

            Zack helped Aerith out of the chopper and he smiled as Cloud jogged over to them. His smile faded when he saw the look on the blond's face, and he remembered Aerith screaming that their friends were dying. Zack immediately looked around for Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis. Seeing none of them, he began to worry. He hugged Cloud and pulled away from him, searching his topaz eyes for an answer.
            "Who'd we lose, bud?"
            Aerith's voice was eerily calm. "Zack, I think you need to brace yourself." Her hand was on the bag at her hip, where something square-shaped rested inside.
            Zack looked between her and Cloud suspiciously. "What do you two know that I don't? What's going on, huh? Is it...Angeal?"
            "Angeal is inside one of the medical tents," offered Sephiroth's voice suddenly, startling Zack so severely that he jumped. The General seemed to materialize out of the shadows. His jade eyes were fixed and solemn on Zack. "He's with Genesis."
            Zack was not a subtle person, but he was no idiot, either. He understood that something serious was happening and his frowning expression showed it. "Seph, is Angeal okay?"
            "Angeal is fine," Cloud assured him with an uncertain look at his lover, "but Genesis is...you should talk to him while you can, Zack."

            "What do you mean, 'while I can'," Zack demanded, feeling his stomach clench sickeningly. "Gen's all right, isn't he?"
            Cloud opened his mouth to speak, but he faltered and Sephiroth obligingly spoke in his stead. "He was badly injured in the fight, Zackary. He's alive, but we don't know how much time he's got."
            Zack shook his head in denial, his good eye flicking between Sephiroth, Cloud and Aerith. "But wait...he's hurt bad but...can't healing potions or Cure materia do something for him?"
            "The damage is too extensive for that," explained Sephiroth. "He would need surgery and he can't survive that, in his current condition. His neck is broken and he has multiple bleeds inside that—"
            "Shut up," growled Zack, cutting the taller man off. He ran his fingers through his sooty hair and he heaved a shaken sigh. "I...don't need the details, damn you. If he's...if Gen's going...fuck! How much time?"
            Cloud had turned away, but Sephiroth managed to stay insultingly calm. "Hours, at best." A glimpse of humanity broke through the transparent mirror of his gaze and he squeezed Zack's shoulder. "Go and say goodbye, Zackary."
            "Oh gods," Zack sighed, wiping compulsively at his eyes and trying desperately not to cry in front of everyone. "Ange...poor Ange...fuck! I..."
            "Go and be with him," suggested Aerith gently, tears spilling down her face. "You may be the only person that can comfort him now, Zack. Come one...let's go."
            He gave in, too heart-stricken to argue with her. Sephiroth saw the angst on Cloud's face as the two of them watched them head through camp and he clumsily patted the blond on the shoulder, trying in his untrained way to exchange comfort. Cloud unquestioningly leaned closer to him and he put an arm around Sephiroth's waist, more familiar with human comfort.
~*******************************************~

            Aerith felt like her heart would shatter into a million pieces as she watched her husband speak with Angeal. The big Soldier stood outside the little tent they'd given Gen for his personal privacy, and he spoke with Zack in a saddened, gentle voice. He told Zack that Gen wasn't in a lot of pain anymore and he looked away and choked a little after assuring Gen wouldn't be around much longer.
            Aerith reached into the satchel containing her borrowed poetry book and the special gift she carried with it. She shook her head and sniffed, looking up at the pink-tinged sky through the canopy.
            "No," she whispered. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
            Aerith straightened her back and she approached the tent with angry determination. One look at Angeal's grief-ravaged face made her soften her stance and pause. "Can I...talk to him?"
            Angeal nodded. "He slips in and out of consciousness. I think...he'd like to see you. Just ignore any snipes he makes."
            Aerith forced a smile at that. "Of course. I won't keep him long."
            She ducked into the tent and she approached the figure laid up in the cot against the back wall of the tent. Genesis was awake and his bruised, aqua eyes watched her irritably as she crossed the room. His neck was wrapped up to keep it immobile and so was his forehead. Half of his body was wrapped up and she imagined he must feel like a mummy. Leave it to Genesis to look so indignant while dying, though. He literally looked like he would have been happy to flip her the bird, if he were capable.
            "I came to gloat," Aerith said softly, digging into her satchel to procure his precious book. She gently situated it beneath his wrapped hand and she held her palm over his fingers, helping him to grip the item. "See? You were wrong after all. There's a chance."
            Genesis' right eye was bloodshot—a fact she noticed as he rolled it. Aerith was no doctor, but she understood that bleeds were never a good thing. She sniffed, trying not to cry against his belly like a child. She brushed a lock of hair aside and she forced a smile at him, gazing into his eyes.
            "I want you to let me help you."
            Genesis' brow furrowed. "St...op. Don't...be stupid. Not your...fault."
            "I know it's not my fault," she corrected gently, "but I can still help you. I can heal you, Genesis. I can undo the damage and you can live your life again."
            Genesis looked away. "Let it...go."
            "No." Aerith cupped his face and gazed into his glossy eyes, sniffing hard. "I won't let it go, because you don't deserve to die!"
            "Hurting...the cripple," warned Genesis with a painful smirk. "Anyway, this was supposed...to happen a long...time ago."
            She released his face, though she suspected she wasn't actually hurting him. "Says who...you? You're so afraid of living, Genesis! That's a cop-out! Your parents don't want you to do that."
            He gave her an irritated look. "Nice...try. They're dead...I killed them."
            She heaved a deep breath and nodded, forcing herself to calm down. Aerith reached for another object in her satchel, keeping her eyes on Genesis. "Yes, they are dead and yes, you killed them. That doesn't mean they don't still love you."
            Genesis stared helplessly as Aerith produced a perfect, ripe blue-violet apple from her satchel and placed it gently on his chest. He frowned and stared at it. "Where...did you get that?"
            "From your parents," answered Aerith without hesitation. "How else? Do you think I time-traveled back to Banora to steal a dumb apple?"
            Genesis was still staring at the fruit on his chest. "They...gave this to you?"
            "Yes," she answered readily, "Just as I was leaving. They knew you were ready to join the Lifestream and they said it wasn't your time. They thought you'd be difficult about it, so they sent the apple back with me. They want you to live, Gen. You can do too much good in the world to give up now."
            Genesis' eyes glistened with tears and a single drop escaped from beneath his right lid when he shut them. "They said that...did they?"
            She nodded solemnly, fighting tears. "And my little girl needs her uncle Gen-Gen. Don't make her grow up without him, okay?"
            He grumbled and coughed. "You're a rude...savior." He looked uncertainly at the apple—which could have only come from a place that no longer existed. "But if you need this...do it. Fix me, if you can."
            Aerith gave a chocked sob and she took his limp hand in hers and kissed the top of it, ignoring his weak protest as his playbook fell to the floor.
~************************************~

            Angeal felt like a caged wolf. He wanted to attack something, though he knew it would do no good. His oldest friend and lover was dying in the tent behind him and there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. He'd allowed the Cetra girl to go in alone because he knew she could bring some comfort to Genesis. Deny it though he might, the poet had grown quite fond of her since meeting her, and she had a connection to "Minerva" that he admired. Angeal figured that anything comforting to Gen at this point was worth it.
            When Aerith came out of the tent crying softly, Angeal immediately assumed the worst. Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack were speaking softly a few feet away as the big man met Aerith halfway from the tent and gave her a searching look.
            "Is he..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence and he cursed himself for leaving Gen's side, even for a moment.
            "He's resting," Aerith replied softly, wiping her eyes. She smiled up at him, seeming to be maddeningly at peace with herself. "You should go and see him, Commander. He's asked for you."
            Angeal gave his companions one final look of dread before heading her advice. He stepped into the shadowed tent and he went to his stricken lover's side right away, expecting to deal with the agony of hearing his breath halt.
            "I'm so sorry," Angeal murmured as he took Genesis' limp hand in his and squeezed it. He didn't notice the apple sitting on the other man's abdomen. "All these years, I've known you've been suffering. I know it's been hard for you and I've just wanted to keep you around for selfish reasons. I wish you could stay, because...because I love you..."
            Unable to bear it any longer, Angeal broke down. He'd never really said those words to Genesis before and the realization that the redhead might go without knowing just how he felt was devastating to him. He began to sob...deep, wracking, painful sobs that he just couldn't stop. He felt someone brush their hand over the top of his head but he was too focused on personal regrets to pay attention. It wasn't until the beloved, sardonic voice spoke that Angeal understood he might not lose what he still held dear, after all.
            "You big fucking baby."
~********************************~

"We lived."
            It was not a happy statement. Rufus looked at his companion, unable to mask his disappointment. Scarlet likewise seemed displeased. They had touched down outside the forest when it was clear that the threat was over. Neither of them had gone into this expecting to live and now that they had survived, the question of their end was still in the air.
            Scarlet cleared her throat before taking a deep breath from the oxygen mask and reaching under her seat. She procured a pistol and she studied it silently for a moment before checking the ammo chamber and nodding in satisfaction. She aimed it at Rufus and she waited.
            "See you in hell, lover."
            Rufus reached for his own gun, concealed beneath his blazer. He pointed it back at Scarlet and narrowed his eyes. "As it should be."
~*********************************~

            It took a moment for Lazard to completely register what he was seeing, as he approached his brother's chopper. He intended to congratulate Rufus on his success, to give him some praise for his actions. He frowned when he circled around and saw Scarlet pointing a gun at his brother. He opened his mouth to call for security, even as he saw Rufus pointing a gun back at her.
            "No!"
The cry escaped Lazard's mouth just as two shots went off inside the cockpit and blood splattered the windows. Security was too late to stop it and they called out to each other in confusion as they opened the chopper doors. Lazard stood there helplessly, breathing heavily and staring in disbelief as the body of his half-brother was extracted from the aircraft, along with the body of Scarlet. The Turks quickly arrived and though they bowed their heads solemnly, they didn't seem all that surprised.
A slender hand rested on his shoulder and Lazard turned to see Shalua looking at him quietly. "It was the fate he wanted. I'm sorry for your loss."
Lazard laid his hand over hers and he wondered over why exactly he was upset. There was no love lost between he and Rufus. They had hated each other to the end, in fact. Still, watching his sibling gently carried away and seeing the Turks salute as the body passed made him want to cry.
"He was family," offered Shalua softly, her voice gently sympathetic. "You're allowed to grieve, Director."
Lazard shook his head and he steeled himself inwardly. "Later," he insisted, "when we've collected and documented our losses. I can't afford to do it now."
Shalua looked sympathetic, but she nodded. "Of course."
~****************************************~

-To be continued
- 37
- 38
- 39
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Ashen Skies