ARRIVAL.

[insusurromods]

𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑼𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑹𝑶: 𝑨 𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑳𝑫 𝑾𝑰𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑫𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑵𝒀

𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 you moved under your own power. The shadows that dwelt in the corners of your vision vanished, the world is bright and the shackles of destiny fall from your liberated limbs.

You're free.

But before you can take that next step, before you can alter your fate, a terrible howling fills your ears. It's an ill wind full of malice, one that rips you off of your feet and back, back, back from this chance to seize your destiny. The shadows coalesce into a single entity, its hands locking around your throat. It cannot let this stand.

You think that maybe this is the end. The world goes dark as it rushes past you, this is the end.

Except you wake to the feeling of rain on your skin.

The cliffs around you bare the scars of a fierce battle. Before you, a massive city faces the sea. Behind you, greenery sprawls for miles. Midgar has never looked so beautiful, but it has also never looked so unlike itself. The Sister Ray points proudly towards the sea. A bustling city crawls out from its shadow, looking wealthier and more robust than the slums ever did. You don't have long to ponder this.

Because you aren't alone. Others are coming to, looking just as confused and uncertain as you do. Some are battleworn and bloody, as if they were pulled from a fierce battle. Others appear to be in perfect health, as if they were simply pulled from a long slumber, though no less confused and lost. The howling that filled your slowly begins to fade, and as it does, the rain begins to clear.

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐀𝐑 is within a few hours walking distance. 𝐊𝐀𝐋𝐌 lies not much further in the opposite direction. There is no presence urging you to walk to one or the other, no voice from on high telling you what path your feet should walk. Underneath this infinite blue sky the choice to go - or to stay - is entirely yours.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐓?

Comments

❀ Aerith Gainsborough ❀

[earlylight]

[She is not one to stay knocked down for long! Even death didn't completely silence her. Looking at you, Sephiroth! Soaking wet, confused and cold, the flower-girl of Midgar hurries from sprawled person to sprawled person. She offers what healing she can, resting a hand on various foreheads until she is certain her "patients" have completely gained consciousness.]

This isn't any time to be sleeping! I know you feel awful, but we need to find shelter first. Then you can rest all you like, I promise.

[Can she make that promise? Who knows! The point is: let's move, soldier. Or...non-soldier. Civilian? She is holding out a hand, ready to pull even the largest of her "patients" to their feet. It's time to move out. No ifs, ands or buts about it.]

I can't carry you. I would try, but I think we would both end up in the dirt.

[Which isn't the worst place to be for a gardener. Still.]

[ambitiousblond]

[He heard her voice before he had a chance to open his eyes. It takes him a moment for him to recognize it as the flower girl who stood on the rooftop of the Shinra building that night. He knew about her, he had been giving information about her from the Turks who had been ensuring her safety the best they were able to.

But she was supposed to be dead. That's what he had been told, at least. But when he opened his eyes there she was staring down at him with a smile.]

This is nothing how I expected the Lifestream to be.

[Because she was here now that meant he was dead, surely? Except he didn't feel dead, he felt cold and wet more than anything. He groaned as he sat up, trying to figure out what was going on.]

I have no intention of sleeping in the mud.

[earlylight]

[Death isn't as lasting these days apparently. Aerith isn't terribly worried about why she has a solid body or a beating heart. It's nice! Besides there are bigger issues to cope with at the moment. She recognizes him, but she just isn't the sort to hold a grudge.

Mothers don't do that, right?]

You're not in the Lifestream. [He is forgiven for thinking so. She pats his cheek, her hand warm and real.] It's best if you don't. There are others; if you feel up to it, we can help them too.

[That's how you make a better world. One person at a time, Rufus, and you don't waste your time on silly things like revenge.]

[ambitiousblond]

[Rufus didn't flinch when she touched his cheek, it surreal as if he was in some kind of dream. He knew what Shinra had done to her and her mother, she had every reason to hate him and what he represented. At least what he had represented in the past.]

We should get to work then.

[He has a duty to the planet and the people Shinra had hurt, one that he can't easily set aside even though right he didn't know what he was working with. He already had to rebuild Shinra, this would just be another challenge. He pulled himself to his feet, wrinkling his nose at the state of his clothes but there was nothing that could be done about that.]

Did you wake up here as well?

[The Lifestream had a strange sense of humor.]

[earlylight]

[She could slap his cheek instead? That would be a nice wake-up call, wouldn't it? And it might be sort of therapeutic for her too! She remembers all of those days spent in confinement with Ifalna taken off for this experiment or that experiment. But, thankfully, for him, Aerith doesn't feel any bitterness. She had to rise above that sort of thing in the Lifestream.]

I think that's best.

[...President? What is he anyway? They are both soaked and muddy and that won't be changing anytime soon.]

Mmhm. I haven't felt the rain in so long.

[So she celebrates this - even if it is a bit, well, icky.]

You're a strong man. Can you carry others to shelter?

[ambitiousblond]

Right now? I can barely carry myself.

[Which was frustrating but he had spent so much time on bed rest that even though the Geostigma was gone, it had left him wrung out.]

My plan is to get to Edge- Midgar- and figure out what can be found there as well the current state of the city. I have to make sure that Geostigma is really gone. There are still supplies in the Sector 5 warehouses that should also be there.

[earlylight]

That's okay. [She rests a hand on his forehead, giving him a little healing.] Ah... You had Geostigma. Isn't that what it was called?

[Aerith takes hold of his arm whether he likes it or not, offering him a place to lean.]

It's gone. [What more reassurance does he need?] I walked with the children. They were completely cured after standing in the rain. Use the water for the others.

[ambitiousblond]

Yes. [Rufus isn't sure what makes him do it but he leaned down so she could put her hand on his forehead. Her touch is so gentle, he can understand why Tseng wanted to protect her all those years

He didn't even pull away when she took his arm. She wasn't offering her help out of pity, her kindness seemed to be entirely genuine. He didn't lean on her too much, however.]

It is? There will still be a lot to do, however. The disease wasn't the only problem I wanted to solve.

[earlylight]

[He isn't a lost cause. Aerith has been far too in touch with her...maternal?...side as of late and when he leans down, he reminds her of a child. Most people wouldn't think kindly of Kadaj, either, but, to her, he was just another lost child. There are so many of "lost children" and most of them are taller than her!]

Your job won't be done in your lifetime. [And that's good!] Stop the experiments and focus on peace.

[petitepistol]

[Elena opens one eye, spots the flower girl, and then promptly rolls back over. what is happening...what's....but she-- huh]

Oh no you don't, you're not taking me to the great After. I still have a lot to do, you know!

[it might take a minute, give her a minute, she's still recovering, Aerith! mentally]

[earlylight]

[Good morning, Elena! You wanted someone clearly dead welcoming you to a rainy, muddy nightmare, right? Who wouldn't!]

You don't belong there yet!

[Yet. Aerith, that isn't comforting.]

What's your name?

[petitepistol]

[YET!?!!? She flops back over in a flash, brow furrowed quizzically]

....Don't you remember me? I'm not that hard to forget. [humph!!]

[earlylight]

[Sorry not sorry, the truth sucks for everyone.]

Oh Elena! [The blonde hair, the cute face...] Everything feels kind of fuzzy. I'm sorry.

[petitepistol]

[oh thank god okay, she can work with this. this is fine

she heaves a sigh of relief and finally, finally sits up]

How can you forget me... [she won't let that go too soon] Anyway, what are you, well, doing here?

[earlylight]

[Yep, still cute! Aerith beams and continues to stay crouched, resting her cheek against her hand.]

A lot has happened since I last saw you. [What is she doing here?] I think I'm here for the same reason as everyone else.

[petitepistol]

[she rubs a hand through her hair and takes a deep breath, trying to remember the last thing she, well, remembered]

You mean those weird crop dust things? I was back home, and then...

[earlylight]

Crop dust things? [She wants to hear more about those!] Here, right? I was in the Lifestream and then I was...here.

[thelasttsviet]

[In other circumstances, an unfamiliar voice and an unexpected touch would have had Shelke springing to her feet, sabers drawn, intent on defending an attack from whatever lunacy Deepground had decided to throw at her. But after her battle with Nero, she'd barely had the energy to keep herself upright, and however long she'd been in the mako tank hadn't done enough to recover her yet.]

[So instead her eyes flicked open, mako-tainted gaze focusing on the brown haired woman kneeling next to her, then turned upwards as if trying to see the hand on her forehead. Aerith Gainsborough. Hm.]

[Had she died, then? She had thought it would hurt less. And why would she need healing if she was dead?]

[Rather than try to say anything, she braced her hands on either side of her, feeling them sink into the mud as she pushed her child-sized frame up into a sitting position. Even that was exhausting, and she drew in a long breath to steady herself. Okay. Whatever was going on, she wasn't going to understand it sitting in the mud. If she was dead, she'd deal with it later.]

Where are we?

[She finally spoke as her small hand reached out to take Aerith's, letting herself be hauled to her feet. She let go as soon as she was upright, but after a second her hands shot out again to grab at the taller woman's arm as she felt herself starting to tip over. Crap.]

[earlylight]

[That mako gaze is impossible to hide! Aerith had always found the color unnerving - a reminder, perhaps, of the fate that awaited her. But since she has spent years in the Lifestream, that fear is a thing of the past. So instead of tensing or gasping, she merely brushes back the other woman's hair comfortingly.]

I'm not sure. [Can they trust what they see? She waits for Shelke to sit up before she pulls her to her feet.]

There are plenty of people that need help if you're up to it?

[Apparently...not. Aerith catches her when she starts to tip, frowning worriedly.]

I'll get you out of the rain first. [She wraps an arm around Shelke's shoulders and begins to lead her to a rocky outcropping.] What do you remember?

[thelasttsviet]

[Shelke probably would've said thank you, if she hadn't had her manners worn away by a decade in an underground horror show trapped in the body of a child. It tended to make you a bit callus to niceties. Instead she just gripped the woman's arm as they moved across the stones.]

I had used all my energy surviving Nero. [She said, her voice toneless and flat, nearly emotionless.] Vincent and Yuffie put me in a mako chamber to recover.

[Which clearly she should still be in. Who was taking mako kids out of the mako oven before they finished baking?!]

And then I was here.

[earlylight]

It looks like you came out too soon. [Obviously. Aerith doesn't need the niceties; she is going to help the poor woman regardless. At the mention of Yuffie and Vincent, she tightens her grip on Shelke just a little.]

If you're their friend, you are mine too.

[That's just how it works.]

I'm not a mako reserve, but I can keep you strong enough until we find one of those chambers. You'll be okay.

[thelasttsviet]

Or I did not come out at all, if you are here.

[Shelke probably shouldn't have said that out loud, whoops. Okay. Focus on the rest...even if that was just as confusing for her.]

I...think we are friends.

[Finally inflection in her voice, even if it was only uncertainty. She had no idea how to friend. Once they were close enough to the rocks that she was out of the rain, she released the woman's hand so she could sink down to sit. Her hand came up to brush the water from her hair.]

Sorry.

[A quiet apology, as she turned to not quite look at Aerith, her gaze focused somewhere behind her on the horizon. The Tsviet's had at least drilled that into her, since her body was a weakness she always needed to be sorry for.]

[earlylight]

Because you think I'm dead?

[Nope, she isn't avoiding the subject or pretending to be ignorant. There isn't any point, really. If Shelke recalls her death then that means they might be from a similar time.]

I'm sure you are! Why would they take care of you otherwise?

[She flashes her a bright smile and sits down at her side, her knees against her chest, one slender arm wrapped around them.]

Why are you sorry? I'm sure I would need help too if my stab wound hadn't healed!

[But it had, leaving behind a scar - well, two scars - as a reminder.]

[thelasttsviet]

Yes.

[Because she was dead, as far as Shelke was aware. And she opened her mouth to retort, they took care of her because they needed her. Or because it was expedient. Or because they didn't want to watch a child die. But part of her knew that was all just making excuses. And maybe Aerith was right, maybe it was a simple as 'she was their friend.']

[When had that happened...?]

[So instead she just focused on the more immediate moment. She could deal with emotional revelations later, too. She was going to wind up with a list, wasn't she...]

Tsviets are not supposed to be this weak.

[Was her answer. The way she said it, even with her toneless voice, made it seem more like she was repeating something she had been told rather than something she believed.]

[earlylight]

Here. [She takes one of Shelke's hands and places it against her wrist, letting her feel her pulse beating steadily under her skin.] Can you feel it?

[Things are about to get weird that's for sure! But maybe in a good way? It's time they were all free from ShinRa, Hojo and all the rest.]

I can't imagine not being weak sometimes. Who decided you had to be strong all of the time?

[The emotionless tone makes her quite suspicious. It sounds like brainwashing to her. ShinRa is well-known for using that tactic. Aerith isn't sure if she can break the hold, but she will oppose it until she re-enters the Lifestream.]

You're more than a Tsviet.