Chapter 5 - Meeting Aerith
Submitted July 3, 2007 Updated April 21, 2008 Status Incomplete | When the author's world is connected, she goes on a quest through time with Yuffie and Riku to find her way home. Appearances by the casts of FF7&8. Rated PG just to be safe. For anyone who's ever wanted to travel to other worlds. Comments please!
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Games » - by Publisher » Square-Enix » Kingdom Hearts series |
Chapter 5 - Meeting Aerith
Chapter 5 - Meeting Aerith
Chapter 5
Standing in the doorway were none other than Leon and Aerith, who was looking amused. I had to admit it mast have been a pretty funny sight; both of us gaping at the door with Yuffies arms still firmly fastened around my neck.
“Was that you I heard squealing like a moogle with a new synthesizer?” Aerith asked Yuffie, who (although she would never admit it) was busy drooling over Leon. I pulled her arms off over my head, and she abruptly came back to reality. “No, it must’ve been Leon.” she said sarcastically. Leon narrowed his eyes, then left the room muttering something under his breath.
“What’s eating him?” Yuffie asked. Aerith sighed. “Another letter from the king came in with the supplies this morning. Cid swears (I had a feeling this might be literal) that he has no idea where it came from. This one contains some rather...distressing information.” She seemed to space out for a minute, probably remembering the “distressing information.”
Yuffie, impatient as always, took the opportunity to bring me to Aerith’s attention. “We got another one today!” she said grinning and spreading her arms wide to indicate me, as though she were showing off a piece of merchandise on a commercial.
“Oh!” Aerith exclaimed, noticing me for the first time (I had been sitting on the bed in shock up to this point) “And who are you?” she inquired, smiling pleasantly. At the same time a felt a gentle prodding in my mind. I poked back tentatively.
Aerith’s normally calm and peaceful demeanor shattered as she jerked back in surprise. “A telepathic?!” she gasped. I nodded, smiling shyly. “Yeah, she’s got this talent for talking to people from other worlds.” Yuffie said eagerly. Aerith looked bemused, as if trying to figure out whether this was one of the ninja’s elaborate hoaxes. “She’s a big fan of AVALANCHE, too, and...” Yuffie trailed off, realizing that she’d said too much. This definitely NOT maintaining world order.
“You know about AVALANCHE?” Aerith turned to me, ignoring the embarrassed ninja. I finally managed to find my voice and explained, “It was in a video game.” I winced. That sounded so totally lame. “I mean-” I fished for some explanation that would make sense, and yet still be truthful. Aerith sensed my frustration. “Let me help,” she said, and I felt the same touch in my mind I’d felt before. Suddenly, memories from the summer before came back as clearly as if they’d been yesterday, surfacing without any effort on my part. I realized Aertith was helping me find the answer to her question. The bombing mission, traveling across continents, fighting monsters, riding chocobos, even Aerith’s death, and more...Traverse Town, heartless, Keyblade, then finally the fateful night my own world became connected.
There were a few awkward minutes of silence, then Aerith said in a stunned voice, “It’s completely crazy, but you’re telling the truth. You really do know everything...”
I was equally stunned. “How did you do that?” I blurted, without thinking.
Aerith laughed softly. “Cetra are gifted in matters of telepathy. Apparently, I’ve transferred some of it to Yuffie by accident. I’m not sure why you can ‘hear’ thoughts, though....”
But I had another question. “If....um...you don’t mind...” I stammered. “How come you’re alive?”
Aerith smiled obligingly. “I came back because I still had a mission to perform. My work isn’t finished yet.” I figured it wasn’t my place to press any further, although I was dying to know what her “mission” was, and the room fell into silence again as we became absorbed in our individual thoughts.
“Wheell...” Yuffie finally said. “It’s been a long day for everyone. Whadda ya say we catch some shut-eye?” As there were no objections to this, we collapsed into various beds and I gradually dozed off, feeling the presence of someones mind checking on me every now and then. Thankfully, sleep came without dreams this time.
~*~*~
I woke up the next morning (if you can call it morning in a world where the sun never rises) feeling disoriented. At first I almost panicked, but then memory came back and I examined my surroundings, not having noticed much the night before. Apparently, this was the “Blue Room” of the Traverse Town Hotel. A mural of the ocean had been painted on the walls, with dolphins playing in the waves. (You can see the same design on the back door if you hop over a couple of balconies...) There was even a blue clock with a little dolphin swinging on the pendulum, the only reason I knew it was indeed, morning. I could see Aerith’s chest slowly rising and falling with her breathing, and Yuffie was snoring softly (hehehe) so I decided to take a quick look around. Easing off the bed, I tiptoed over to the balcony door and slipped outside.
Everything looked exactly the way I had thought it would, but never had the mundane been so fascinating. I ran my had along the balcony railing, and gazed at the glittering stars overhead. It was real! I could see it, hear it, reach out and touch it! I was in another world! I laughed out loud, feeling amazed by it all. But I had forgotten that there were some really unpleasant things in Traverse town as well.
With a whooshing sound and a rattling of armor, a heartless abruptly appeared. Several shadows slid across the floor to surround me, then leaped up to attack. I shrieked and kicked at one like a soccer ball, sending it flying over the railing. Using the same tactic, I grabbed one with both hands and sent it over the railing, too, but not before it had given me a few scratches along my arm. I heard the door slam open behind me, and Yuffie and Aerith made quick work of the rest of them.
“Not bad for a first encounter, but next time, bring along a few of these,” said Yuffie, tossing me a potion. “You might want to use an actual weapon, too.” I watched in fascination (or as much interest as a totally petrified girl could muster) as a green light blossomed around me and the scratches disappeared. “What, never seen a potion before?” Yuffie teased. “As a matter of fact, no.” I replied flatly, not seeing what was so funny. Yuffie was not deterred, however. “You need some training, and fast.” she continued. I noticed Aerith hadn’t said anything yet, but was looking at me worriedly. More heartless appeared on the neighboring balconies. Yuffie propelled me back through the doorway, and Aerith followed, closing it behind her.
“That was not a normal heartless attack,” Aerith declared abruptly. “They don’t usually single out targets like that, or attack in that large of numbers.”
“So what?” Yuffie said. “Maybe they’ve gotten stronger for the second invasion or something.”
Aerith shook her head. “ I don’t think so.”
“Then what DO you think?” Yuffie demanded.
“Never mind that. Leon’s called a meeting, and we can discuss it more there. Your friend should come along so the counsel can find her adequate housing.” I was once again propelled through the doorway (which was getting a little annoying) and meekly followed my escorts out of the Hotel.
Standing in the doorway were none other than Leon and Aerith, who was looking amused. I had to admit it mast have been a pretty funny sight; both of us gaping at the door with Yuffies arms still firmly fastened around my neck.
“Was that you I heard squealing like a moogle with a new synthesizer?” Aerith asked Yuffie, who (although she would never admit it) was busy drooling over Leon. I pulled her arms off over my head, and she abruptly came back to reality. “No, it must’ve been Leon.” she said sarcastically. Leon narrowed his eyes, then left the room muttering something under his breath.
“What’s eating him?” Yuffie asked. Aerith sighed. “Another letter from the king came in with the supplies this morning. Cid swears (I had a feeling this might be literal) that he has no idea where it came from. This one contains some rather...distressing information.” She seemed to space out for a minute, probably remembering the “distressing information.”
Yuffie, impatient as always, took the opportunity to bring me to Aerith’s attention. “We got another one today!” she said grinning and spreading her arms wide to indicate me, as though she were showing off a piece of merchandise on a commercial.
“Oh!” Aerith exclaimed, noticing me for the first time (I had been sitting on the bed in shock up to this point) “And who are you?” she inquired, smiling pleasantly. At the same time a felt a gentle prodding in my mind. I poked back tentatively.
Aerith’s normally calm and peaceful demeanor shattered as she jerked back in surprise. “A telepathic?!” she gasped. I nodded, smiling shyly. “Yeah, she’s got this talent for talking to people from other worlds.” Yuffie said eagerly. Aerith looked bemused, as if trying to figure out whether this was one of the ninja’s elaborate hoaxes. “She’s a big fan of AVALANCHE, too, and...” Yuffie trailed off, realizing that she’d said too much. This definitely NOT maintaining world order.
“You know about AVALANCHE?” Aerith turned to me, ignoring the embarrassed ninja. I finally managed to find my voice and explained, “It was in a video game.” I winced. That sounded so totally lame. “I mean-” I fished for some explanation that would make sense, and yet still be truthful. Aerith sensed my frustration. “Let me help,” she said, and I felt the same touch in my mind I’d felt before. Suddenly, memories from the summer before came back as clearly as if they’d been yesterday, surfacing without any effort on my part. I realized Aertith was helping me find the answer to her question. The bombing mission, traveling across continents, fighting monsters, riding chocobos, even Aerith’s death, and more...Traverse Town, heartless, Keyblade, then finally the fateful night my own world became connected.
There were a few awkward minutes of silence, then Aerith said in a stunned voice, “It’s completely crazy, but you’re telling the truth. You really do know everything...”
I was equally stunned. “How did you do that?” I blurted, without thinking.
Aerith laughed softly. “Cetra are gifted in matters of telepathy. Apparently, I’ve transferred some of it to Yuffie by accident. I’m not sure why you can ‘hear’ thoughts, though....”
But I had another question. “If....um...you don’t mind...” I stammered. “How come you’re alive?”
Aerith smiled obligingly. “I came back because I still had a mission to perform. My work isn’t finished yet.” I figured it wasn’t my place to press any further, although I was dying to know what her “mission” was, and the room fell into silence again as we became absorbed in our individual thoughts.
“Wheell...” Yuffie finally said. “It’s been a long day for everyone. Whadda ya say we catch some shut-eye?” As there were no objections to this, we collapsed into various beds and I gradually dozed off, feeling the presence of someones mind checking on me every now and then. Thankfully, sleep came without dreams this time.
~*~*~
I woke up the next morning (if you can call it morning in a world where the sun never rises) feeling disoriented. At first I almost panicked, but then memory came back and I examined my surroundings, not having noticed much the night before. Apparently, this was the “Blue Room” of the Traverse Town Hotel. A mural of the ocean had been painted on the walls, with dolphins playing in the waves. (You can see the same design on the back door if you hop over a couple of balconies...) There was even a blue clock with a little dolphin swinging on the pendulum, the only reason I knew it was indeed, morning. I could see Aerith’s chest slowly rising and falling with her breathing, and Yuffie was snoring softly (hehehe) so I decided to take a quick look around. Easing off the bed, I tiptoed over to the balcony door and slipped outside.
Everything looked exactly the way I had thought it would, but never had the mundane been so fascinating. I ran my had along the balcony railing, and gazed at the glittering stars overhead. It was real! I could see it, hear it, reach out and touch it! I was in another world! I laughed out loud, feeling amazed by it all. But I had forgotten that there were some really unpleasant things in Traverse town as well.
With a whooshing sound and a rattling of armor, a heartless abruptly appeared. Several shadows slid across the floor to surround me, then leaped up to attack. I shrieked and kicked at one like a soccer ball, sending it flying over the railing. Using the same tactic, I grabbed one with both hands and sent it over the railing, too, but not before it had given me a few scratches along my arm. I heard the door slam open behind me, and Yuffie and Aerith made quick work of the rest of them.
“Not bad for a first encounter, but next time, bring along a few of these,” said Yuffie, tossing me a potion. “You might want to use an actual weapon, too.” I watched in fascination (or as much interest as a totally petrified girl could muster) as a green light blossomed around me and the scratches disappeared. “What, never seen a potion before?” Yuffie teased. “As a matter of fact, no.” I replied flatly, not seeing what was so funny. Yuffie was not deterred, however. “You need some training, and fast.” she continued. I noticed Aerith hadn’t said anything yet, but was looking at me worriedly. More heartless appeared on the neighboring balconies. Yuffie propelled me back through the doorway, and Aerith followed, closing it behind her.
“That was not a normal heartless attack,” Aerith declared abruptly. “They don’t usually single out targets like that, or attack in that large of numbers.”
“So what?” Yuffie said. “Maybe they’ve gotten stronger for the second invasion or something.”
Aerith shook her head. “ I don’t think so.”
“Then what DO you think?” Yuffie demanded.
“Never mind that. Leon’s called a meeting, and we can discuss it more there. Your friend should come along so the counsel can find her adequate housing.” I was once again propelled through the doorway (which was getting a little annoying) and meekly followed my escorts out of the Hotel.
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