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Premonitions: Uncut	By : Hippo_and_Friends_with_Benefits Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 3901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, and I am not making any money of of this writing.

Chapter List
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Chapter 81: Collision Course
MONDAY
FOUR DAYS PRIOR TO METEORFALL
Cloud, Aerith, Cid, Shera, and Reeve met in the center of Costa del Sol. For the rest of the town, the day was going about as usual. For them, however, it was the moment of truth. If they were successful, they would destroy the barrier around the Northern Crater, giving them access to Sephiroth.
"Thanks for coming," Reeve, who was dressed in a button-down and shorts, began. "It looks like this is finally getting near the end."
"Tell me about it," Cloud said. "This has felt like the longest few days of my life."
"Me, too," Aerith said. "It feels like everything's going around in circles."
"It'll be over soon," Reeve assured them. "We're on the home stretch, right Cid?"
Cid did not respond. His eyes were busy gazing at two girls walking by. One was in a tee shirt and bikini bottoms, the other was in a crop top and jean shorts.
"Do you mind?!" snapped Shera. "God, I really wish that, for once, something unsexy would come along!"
"Well, babe," teased Cid as he turned towards her and lit a cigarette, "be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."
He turned out to be correct. At that moment, two paramedics rolled a stretcher by. On the stretcher was a body bag that was obviously occupied. Aerith became uncomfortable, and began to slightly tremble. She had seen dead bodies before, but not in a light-hearted town such as this one.
I wonder if somebody drowned, she thought.
Then, the paramedics put such nonsense to rest.
"That's the weirdest case I've ever head," said the male paramedic, who was up front.
"She just gave birth after one day?" asked the female paramedic, who was in the back.
"That's what it seems like," said the male one.
"I wish I could do that," said the female paramedic. "Though it obviously killed her."
They then reached the ambulance that was parked near a building, opened the doors, and loaded the body in.
"Funny thing is," said the male paramedic as he hopped in the back, "I heard the exact same thing happened in Midgar a few days ago. And get a load of this: the baby she gave birth to is now a teenager."
"You believe every piece of bullshit that you see?" asked he female paramedic as she joined him in the back and slammed the door shut.
The ambulance then started, driving slowly away from its spot.
Aerith continued to look at the empty spot where the ambulance had been, still with troubled feelings inside.
"Okay, everyone," Reeve announced. "We all die. Some of us, even multiple times. But if we don't get this taken care of, everyone's going to die."
"Good point," Cloud agreed.
"Follow me," Reeve commanded.
He led them through the streets until they reached a seemingly neglected building at the northern end of town. He then swiped a keycard, causing the ordinary-looking door to slide open.
"Those bastards never revoked my clearances," he chuckled.
He led them inside to a small, wood-furnished room with an elevator in the background.
"This is it," he announced. "Those of you not coming down better say your good-byes."
"Hold it," Cid announced.
Reeve gave Cid an annoyed "Now what?" look.
"I need to ask Cloud something," he replied as he signaled him to join him in the corner.
"Is it that important?" Cloud asked. "We have a barrier to destroy."
"You bet your ass," Cid replied.
Cloud duly walked over to the corner, where nobody else could hear them. He figured this would be a question about one of the women, or possibly a body part of one of them. But when he got to the corner, he instead received the question he had figured he would eventually be asked.
"Does Aerith know you were with Tifa?" Cid asked.
Cloud shook his head.
"Does she need to?"
"She's going to find out eventually," Cid warned him. "Eight people know you two were together. One of them's going to slip up sooner or later." He paused to take a breath. "What will happen then?"
Cloud sighed.
"You pulled me here for this?"
"Answer the question," Cid insisted.
"I dunno," Cloud replied.
"You dunno?" Cid asked. "I think she'll be as mad as fuck!"
Cloud sighed again.
"Just destroy the barrier, take care of Aerith, and try not to die in the process," he commanded as he walked back to where he had been standing.
Shrugging, Cid went over to Shera and kissed her good-bye.
"Don't do anything stupid," she said.
Meanwhile, Aerith kissed Cloud as he gently lifted her off of the floor.
"Watch your ass," he whispered. "Mainly from Cid's hand."
"I heard that, asshole!" Cid retorted.
Reeve then took Aerith and Cid into the elevator.
"Elevator to the Urchin, going down," he announced as the doors began to close.
Aerith blew Cloud a kiss as she disappeared from his sight.
Shera then turned to Cloud.
"I'm so going to jump him on my birthday," she announced.
"That's more than I wanted to know," he sighed.
AT THE BOTTOM...
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Reeve led Cid and Aerith out of the car. The room looked identical from the one they had left. Reeve quickly walked over to the doors at the other end of the room, and again swiped his card. The doors opened, revealing an underwater glass tunnel, quite similar to the tunnel under Junon. He then entered the mouth of the tunnel, and signaled for Aerith and Cid to follow him.
Aerith, having been previously denied the privilege of such a view, was amazed. She gazed through the glass as she moved forward, looking in awe at the fish, rays, and other life populating the underwater world. It was almost as if she was back in the ocean with Cloud again, and it made her realize how much she missed him already.
But as the three of them continued through the tunnel, a familiar, spiny, spherical vessel began to appear in the background. Aerith lost all sense of wonder, and returned to reality. She had nearly lost her life aboard the Urchin, which began to look more and more familiar as the three of them drew closer. She was well aware that nobody was on board, but the memories continued to haunt her. Still, she knew that she was saving the world by returning.
Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel. There stood a hatch that led into the Urchin. Reeve, with less speed than before, swiped his card one more time. The hatch opened, revealing the Urchin's familiar interior.
"This is the end of the road for me," Reeve announced.
"You're not coming with us?" Aerith asked.
Reeve shook his head.
"In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, and here it's going to go wrong on purpose, there's only two escape pods," he explained. "One for the captain, one for the first officer."
"Wow," Cid muttered. "I guess Shinra never cared about the lives of their employees."
"They did insure me," Reeve pointed out. "But if all three of us go, then one of us would have to die."
"All right," Cid announced. "We'll take it from here."
He gave Reeve a nod, while Aerith hugged him goodbye.
INSIDE THE URCHIN...
Aerith found the Urchin to be virtually in the same condition as she had left it, though she recalled the walls being darker. From the hatch, she quietly led Cid through the corridors. In a few moments, they were on the bridge, which Aerith noticed had not changed since she had last visited.
"You know," Cid began, "I know it's too late now, but you could have brought Cloud if you were more comfortable."
"Now you tell me," Aerith muttered. "I wouldn't work anyway. Remember, there are only two escape pods. We'll need them to bail out before we fly into the barrier. Besides, this place would bring back too many bad memories. His would be worse than mine."
"He was here, too?"
"In the future," she added, "Cloud was killed here. I think Tifa was, too. I don't think either of them made it to the bridge."
"Where's the self-destruct?" Cid then asked. "The sooner we take care of this, the better."
"Follow me," Aerith commanded as she led him over to a console at the back wall. She simply pressed a couple of buttons, and the screen ominously displayed itself.
WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ACTIVATE THE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE. ONCE ACTIVATED, THE URCHIN WILL DETONATE IN 10:00. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ABORT THE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ONCE ACTIVATED.
Cid was amazed; he had only seen Aerith as a ditzy tag-along. He had no idea how good she was with a computer.
"When did you find this?" he asked.
"When I was stopping the city from turning to dust," Aerith replied. "I was going to steer the Urchin away from Midgar, but that would be a sure way to get noticed. So I fiddled with the console and came across this."
"Nice," he complimented. "So how do we activate it?"
"See this red button here?"
Cid nodded.
"Press it, and the countdown begins. But not until we're close enough. I'm setting it to ten minutes for a reason. See that warning at the bottom of the screen saying that the self-destruct can't be stopped once it's started?"
He nodded again.
"So first things first," she continued. "We need to get the Urchin about ten minutes away from the barrier. Then we set the self-destruct, set the auto-pilot, get into our escape pods, and, as you would say, hold onto our pants and not piss in them."
"Aw shit," Cid suddenly muttered.
"What's wrong?" Aerith asked. "It's not that hard it you're the one piloting it."
"It's not that," he said as he pointed to a sign that was pretty self explanatory: "NO SMOKING AT ANYTIME ON BRIDGE."
Aerith giggled.
"That wasn't there the last time I was here," she pointed out. "Maybe, by 0016, we finally kick the habit?"
"Not if I'm around," Cid assured her. "Well?"
He made his way to the pilot's seat and sat down, examining the console.
"Well, they were a bunch of lazy-assed cheapskates," he observed.
"What do you mean?" Aerith asked as she stood behind the seat.
"These are identical to Shinra Number Twenty-Six's," he replied. "No wonder you needed my help!"
"Actually," she said, "I was never in the rocket. I just figured it would be familiar to you."
"You got that right," he said.
He then pressed a few buttons on the console. Aerith felt a jolt as Cid reached for a joystick in the center of the console. He pressed the button on top, and pulled the joystick towards himself. Both of them felt themselves gaining altitude.
"It's that easy?" she asked.
"Once you're used to it," he answered. "Press the wrong button, and you crash, killing yourself and a lot of innocent bystanders."
"I'll keep that in mind," she said as she placed her hands on her hips.
"So Aerith," Cid began, "mind if I ask you something?"
"Sure," she approved. "Ask away."
She immediately regretted the approval; she figured he was going to ask something sexual.
"If you learned about the self-destruct sequence while you were here," he continued, "why didn't you use it? I mean, why didn't you set it for thirty seconds and just blow the place before it was anywhere near dropping an orb?"
Aerith paused for a moment. It was a good question, certainly not one she had expected, and she did have a legitimate answer.
"I had to escape," she replied. "If I set it for thirty seconds, I wouldn't have made it out in time. It would have blown up with me in it."
There was a minute of silence between the two of them. Aerith began to wonder if it was something she should not have answered.
"So let me get this straight," Cid began. "You put the whole city at risk, just to save your ass?"
"I guess," she replied uncomfortably. "I had to get back to Cloud."
"Wow," he sighed.
She lowered her head in sadness.
Cid immediately regretted the comment.
"Fuck, I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Don't be," Aerith moped. "Now that you mentioned it, that was really selfish of me. I just didn't realize it until now."
There was another minute if silence. Cid desperately attempted to think of a way to cheer her up.
"Can I ask you something?" she began.
"Shoot."
"What happened while I was gone?" she asked.
"Cloud didn't tell you?" he asked.
"He did," Aerith said. "But I know he was out for a bit. I kind of wanted to hear someone else's side of the story."
"No problem," he agreed.
Cid duly told Aerith his version of events. She listened attentively, and let out a couple of "I-didn't-know-thats" and a few "he-mentioned-thats," but did not seem any happier when he finished.
Cid then got another idea.
"How'd you like to fly?" he offered.
She shook her head.
"I don't know how to fly."
"That's going to change today," he announced as he let go of the joystick and got up out of his seat.
The Urchin stopped moving.
"Cid, we'll crash!" Aerith shouted.
"No, we won't," he calmly dismissed. "We'll float until I press another button. Have a seat."
Aerith sat down. It was a way to pass the time.
"Now put your hands on the joystick. Pull it towards you to go up. Push it away from you to go down. Now, you see that button on top of the joystick?"
She nodded.
"Push it."
She did so, and felt the Urchin begin to move forward again.
"And now you're flying," he said.
"Thank you," Aerith said with a smile. She was somewhat relieved that it was becoming less likely that he was going to do something inappropriate.
And a moment later, he ruined it.
"Is there a can on this thing?" he suddenly asked. "I have to piss like a racehorse."
Aerith sighed.
"That's a little more than I wanted to know," she replied as she pointed her finger backwards, "but I think there's one in the back."
Cid nodded and disappeared toward the back of the bridge.
Just then, Aerith's pants began to vibrate. She pulled out her cell phone, hoping it was Cloud calling. Instead, it was, yet again, Elmyra.
"That does it," she whispered.
She rejected the call. Then, she went to her contacts, and blocked Elmyra's number.
A moment later, Aerith head the sound of a door open behind her, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. It seemed as if Cid had done his business at lightening speed.
"Back already?" she asked. "I knew you guys rush through the bathroom, but-OH!"
Aerith literally jumped out of her seat as soon as she had turned her head, and quickly backed to a safe distance. The Urchin came to a stop, and remained suspended in the air.
Sephiroth was standing there, sword in hand; he had somehow gotten on board.
"You," he growled, with his eyes pointed at her like a pair of sharp knives.
"Yes," she replied. "Me."
"I knew you were alive," he hissed. "I didn't want to believe it, but here you are."
"How did you get in here?" she demanded. "Did you seep through, like on the barge?"
"Have you forgotten?" he taunted. "I also used to work for the Shinra. I, too, have clearance. I have been hiding here since before you got on board."
"Did you kill that girl?" Aerith asked.
"I've killed lots of girls," Sephiroth replied as he took a step closer. "You should know that first-hand. But somehow, you fooled me."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you," she said sarcastically.
"I've never been fooled before," he continued as he took another step. "You were the first."
"I'm honored," she replied in the same tone of voice.
"I was certain I killed you on the altar," Sephiroth said as he drew his sword, pointing it at Aerith.
"We all know by now," she said. "It's going to spread that the great Sephiroth was fooled by a flower girl."
"And it will also be known what happened to her," he snarled. "I guess when I stabbed you in the abdomen I was aiming too high!"
He then drove his sword through Aerith's chest without another word.
Aerith remained standing as Sephiroth withdrew his sword in disbelief. She had cast a phase spell.
Sephiroth drove his sword through Aerith again, only to again pass through her harmlessly, as if she was thin air.
"You bled from your mouth," he pointed out.
"I had blood capsules there," she smirked.
"This is why I couldn't kill you?"
"As long as I have phase, you can't hurt me," she said.
Sephiroth gave her a furious look.
"You didn't think I threw it away after one use, did you?" Aerith taunted.
"I can't kill you," he stated. "Tell me why."
And then, Sephiroth felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. He looked down to see that a spear had pierced his lower torso.
"Because you're a dumb motherfucker, that's why!" Cid declared from behind.
With that, he yanked the spear out of his victim.
Sephiroth collapsed to the floor. His knees hit first, followed by the rest of his body slumping over. All was still.
"Thanks," Aerith said.
"You had that equipped again?" he asked.
"I sure did," she replied. "Just in case anyone tried to put their hands where they didn't belong."
"Ouch," Cid muttered. "So does this mean we don't have to destroy the barrier anymore?"
Aerith shook her head. "No, we still do. That thing was identical to Sephiroth, and was controlled by Sephiroth, but it was actually another avatar made up of Jenova cells. Look."
Cid looked down to see the body becoming a pinkish goo.
"Is he going to send another one?" he asked.
"Who knows," Aerith replied. "But once we take care of the real Sephiroth, I'll all go away."
"I hope so," he said.
"Listen," she began, "I'm a little shaken up. Would you mind piloting the Urchin?"
"Not a problem," Cid agreed.
An hour later, the visual displayed the Northern Crater, with the ever-present barrier protecting it. The Urchin had arrived at its final destination. It was now time for it to be destroyed, again.
"That motherfucker's days are numbered," Cid grunted as he glared at the visual screen. "Where's the auto-pilot?"
"Follow me," Aerith commanded as she again led Cid to the console on the back wall, carefully avoiding the avatar's remains, which had now decomposed to a puddle of pink jelly. She pressed a couple of buttons.
Then she pressed a couple of more buttons.
She continued to fiddle with the keyboard, as Cid noticed her face becoming distressed, then frantic.
"It was here!" Aerith insisted. "I saw it!"
"Keep looking!" Cid encouraged her. "You'll find it."
She continued looking for another half an hour, but to no avail.
"Let me try," Cid then suggested.
He searched for another half an hour, but yielded the same results.
Suddenly, a feeling of overwhelming horror clouded Aerith's mind.
"It's not here yet," she whispered.
"What do you mean, 'not here yet?'" Cid demanded.
"It must have been downloaded later," she gasped. "We can't auto-pilot this thing."
Both of them sat in silence. Before long, they both came to the same conclusion.
"We've got two choices," Cid announced. "We can abort this, and think of another plan. Or..."
He paused. He really did not want to mention it. It was a sickening idea.
"Or one of us will have to sacrifice themselves, set the self-destruct sequence, and fly it in manually," Aerith finished.
The two of them spent another countless interval sitting in silence.
Finally, Cid spoke.
"What other way can we break the barrier?" he asked.
"I have no idea," she replied. "Do you?"
Cid shook his head.
"No. I have no idea, and we have four days to get one."
"Three," Aerith corrected. "We'll need at least a day to make the trip down there."
He sighed, and placed his face in his hands.
"In any case, I'll turn this tub of shit around."
Cid prepared to get up and return to the pilot's seat. And then, he felt a feminine hand stay him.
"No, wait," Aerith pleaded.
"You have an idea?" he asked.
Aerith looked at Cid sincerely with her beautiful, green eyes. He could see that she was struggling not to cry, and he began to feel troubled.
Wait a minute, he thought. Please, please don't say what I think you're going to say.
"I'll do it," she said.
Cid shook his head firmly.
"No way!" he dismissed. "There has to be another way."
Aerith continued her sincere gaze.
"There might be," she said. "But we won't have time to find it. Meteor hits in four days, Cid. It's one of us, or everybody."
Cid attempted to say something, but he could only utter a few broken noises.
"You were right," Aerith said, as a tear escaped her eye. "I endangered millions of lives to save my own. Maybe this would make up for it."
"I didn't mean to-"
"There's people out there who even think my being alive is screwing the timeline up," she interrupted. "Cid, it's better this way."
Cid refused to accept the situation.
"Let me do it," he pleaded. "You're young. You've got a whole life ahead of you. If you don't believe me, look at that ring on your finger!"
"I screwed up," Aerith admitted. "I dragged you here thinking we could auto-pilot this thing. If you do it, technically I would be the one who got you killed!"
Cid sighed, and placed a hand on his forehead. He knew there was no arguing with this girl; he was defeated.
"Fine," he sighed. "You win."
Aerith smiled through her tears. She then took Cid's hand and led him over to another side of the bridge. A sliding door was there.
"This is the first officer's escape pod," she announced. She then pressed a button on the wall, and the door slid open. She then hugged him, and pecked him on the cheek.
"Please tell Cloud I love him!" she sobbed.
"Aerith," Cid began.
Realizing he might not cooperate, she shoved him into the pod, pushed the button, and closed the doors. The pod quickly shot downward.
Aerith then turned to the visual screen. She could see the escape pod, containing Cid, hit the ocean waters.
Silently, she returned to the console, resetting the self destruct sequence. The warning was still on the screen: WARNING: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ACTIVATE THE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE. ONCE ACTIVATED, THE URCHIN WILL DETONATE IN 10:00. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ABORT THE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ONCE ACTIVATED.
Aerith gently rested her index finger on the red button. She closed her eyes, and she pushed it.
There was no warning over the loudspeaker. There were no flashing red lights. The timer on the screen was the only indicator that she had less than ten minutes to live. Her fate was now sealed; she would die saving the world.
Maybe the timeline fights back, she thought to herself. Maybe Ethan Fowler was right.
Resigned to her fate, Aerith got up, sat in the pilot's seat, and began to guide the Urchin toward the barrier.
I'm so sorry, Cloud, she thought as tears streamed down her face. You would have made an incredible husband.
Tifa, please take care of him. Do everything humanly possible to make sure he's okay.
And then, one final thought crossed her mind.
Oh, God, how I want to go home!
And she began to bawl soundly.
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Premonitions: Uncut