Darkness Falls Chapter 2
By Gemini83
‘She’s going to wake up with one hell of a start.’ thought the traveler, as he attempted to revive Aeris. Strange, he had always mentally referred to her as ‘girl’ or ‘woman,’ but seeing her body here, knowing the sacrifices she had made, made him realize that she was a person as well. The young Cetra had endured much pain to save her friends.
‘Let’s hope this works.’
There was always some chance involved with reviving people. Many times, their bodies would be too far gone, not able to contain life. Yet she was a Cetra, moreover, her body had been preserved, in almost perfect condition, by the waters of the lake.
He noticed small strands of Lifestream slowly snaking their way into the body. It was working. The color began to returned to her skin. The wanderer concentrated more, willing her soul to return, drawing forth her life energies from the planet. He noticed that her face began to move. Slowly, it turned into a wince of pain.
‘It will hurt like hell Aeris, but at least the pain means that you’re alive to feel it.’
Her eyelids quickly opened, as she arched her back and screamed forth her cries of pain. Aeris was in agony. The coldness raged through her, and now she felt as if her entire body was being stabbed. She began to shudder uncontrollably. Even though her eyes were open, she couldn’t see a thing. She screamed again in pain. Then, someone held her, refusing to let go, despite her convulsions. At first, she was afraid, but then she realized that whoever it was meant her no harm. The way they held her, it was like a mother cradling her baby. Slowly, her body calmed down, the tremors subsided, and Aeris felt warm again. She felt whoever it was lay her down again, giving her space to move. The stranger wanted to make sure she was alright, and she felt a hand touch her forehead. Aeris cautiously got up on her elbows, her eyes slowly adjusting to the new light.
The image of a dark figure slowly began to coalesce.
‘Cloud?’ she thought.
The figure resolved into the shape of a man Aeris had never seen before. He was dressed in black, with silver armor protecting him and the hilt of a sword protruding from behind. At first, she felt a sense of fear, reminded of Sephiroth. Then she looked through his helmet, into his deep, piercing eyes. They were bluish-grey, with tinges of a familiar green glow. She read in those eyes pain, but sensed feelings of security as well. They seemed to say, “Everything’s alright.”
His voice woke her from her thoughts.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “nothing will harm you.”
She merely gazed at him, speechless.
“Are you okay?” asked the calm, deep voice.
“...Yes...”said Aeris tentatively, “where am I?”
“You are in the City of the Ancients.”
She felt at her stomach, where there was now a scar. She could remember the sword...her clothes were still torn from the blade that had caused the wound.
“I’m alive?”
“Yes.” he answered.
“How...?” she asked
“Eat this first.” he handed her a wafer of some sort of bread. She slowly nibbled at it, then with more certainty as her hunger took over. Whatever it was tasted good.
The man nodded slightly and handed Aeris a canteen, which she gratefully drank from. Upon finishing the first meal she had had in a year, Aeris felt surprisingly rejuvenated. She looked at the helmeted figure with questioning eyes.
“Good,” he said, “that food was concentrated with energy, you should feel fully functional in a few moments.”
“Thank you,” she returned. “Who are you, and what am I doing here?”
“I am a friend,” he replied, “as for why you’re here, let’s take that up when we meet with your comrades.”
She immediately conjured up images of the others, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, little Marlene...
“You know my friends?”
“Not exactly...but they should be waiting for you near Bone Village.”
She was about to ask him more questions when she heard an explosion close by.
“What was that?” she shouted.
The stranger looked around, then turned to her.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
She slowly got on her feet, nodding affirmatively.
“What’s wrong?” questioned Aeris.
“I sense trouble. Here take this.” the man handed her two familiar objects.
“My White Materia! And my staff!” exclaimed Aeris, her weapon even had a few materia stones in it, “Where did you...?”
“No time for explanations,” he interjected. “I hate to do this to you, but you have to run towards the forest, past Bone Village, and meet your friends. Be sharp, they don’t know you’re coming.”
Aeris had a mountain of questions she wanted to ask, but settled for, “What’s wrong?”
“They are coming,” he replied, helping her to the forest’s edge.
“Who...?”
The explosions got louder and closer.
“No time, RUN! Find your friends!” he shouted.
Aeris had no time for more questions, for the dark figure immediately ran back towards the city, drawing his sword. More explosions broke out through the night air.
“Whatever it is can’t be good,” she said to herself, “well, I better find the others.” Aeris began running through the forest, hoping that her friends would be nearby, trusting that the strange man had not lied to her.
From a distance, shrouded figures watched her leave, and followed her...
Meanwhile, the traveler could feel that Aeris had already left. Good, she would be safe, as long as he could hold off whatever was coming. The wanderer cursed as he finally felt what was approaching the city.
“Shit...Reavers.”
Dark behemoths descended upon the city, and found him waiting.
“So,” he taunted, “I see they sent their toys to follow me.”
The dark creatures hid in the shadows. He could not see them, but knew where they were. They let forth a shrill cry to answer him.
The stranger somehow understood their outburst.
“Nevertheless,” he continued, “If you want her, you’ll have to get through me.” He brandished his sword, which shimmered and promised death.
The creatures screamed as they came into the light, huge were-beasts, with razor sharp talons and metal work protruding from everywhere, the blood of countless murders still unwashed from their foul bodies. They were the ultimate killing machines for their masters.
Several monsters rushed towards the wanderer, as he braced himself for combat.
‘Here they come.’
Screams and explosions could be heard for miles around.
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Author’s Note: Yes, yes, I know what you’re probably thinking...‘Not another Aeris resurrection fic!’ Bear with me, and I’ll try to make this work. Also, don’t expect Cloud to dump Tifa anytime soon, they’ve been married for nearly a year. Sorry Aeris fans. As always, drop me some suggestions, and I can try to work them in. One more thing, what was Red’s mom’s name?
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