Fic: Nibelheim Burning-Waking Up

[icedark_elf]

Title: Waking Up
Author: GW Katrina aka icedark_elf
Beta: skeren
Series: Nibelheim Burning
Wordcount: 2,149
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Crazy Zack? Though if you have read the others, you should know this.

For previous fics, go here.



With a groan, Aeris slowly opened her eyes.

Everything ached. She just stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to figure out what had happened. Had they been captured escaping?

No, that wasn't it. She distinctly remembered them reaching Gongaga, then heading west. They had been heading for Cosmo Canyon. Elmyra had remembered stories of the place, and about how Shin-Ra didn't deal with them much. The Canyon had odd defenses, and didn't seem to care about the world around them, so they were left alone.

Well, maybe not caring about the world was the wrong way to phrase it. The people in Cosmo Canyon seemed more concerned with figuring out the Planet itself rather than dealing with those who lived on it. So Elmyra had suggested that as a place to meet, and Sephiroth and Zack had agreed.

Vaguely, Aeris recalled her mother not fully trusting the men, but the chance to get out of Midgar was too much to pass up, and they had simply walked out. Hopefully, with the plan Zack had come up with, Shin-Ra would be more distracted trying to cover up what had happened in Nibelheim than in trying to keep track of one little experiment who had never left the city. At least, not trying to keep track of her long enough for her to get out.

The last thing Aeris remembered was the sick feeling she started getting just after hitting the red cliffs that surrounded Cosmo Canyon. Then...things went fuzzy.

Bringing a hand to her eyes, she wondered if they had been caught by Shin-Ra, but if that was the case, she doubted she would be on such a comfortable bed. But, still, this was confusing.

"I see you are awake."

The deep voice made her squeak, sitting halfway up before her headache flared up and forced her limply back to the bed. "Oh," she gasped, eyes squeezing shut.

"My apologies," came the voice. "Your mother is outside with my grandfather. I didn't mean to startle you." The voice was next to the bed, and Aeris forced her eyes open again, carefully this time.

This time, when she froze, it was due to the fact that the person talking to her was.... "You're fuzzy," she said, words almost absent.

The...person smiled at her. At least, she was pretty sure it was a smile. "Hello," she said finally, blinking at him still.

"Hello to you as well," he said. Aeris was sure it was a he, the voice was so deep. "My name is Nanaki. There is water on the end table for you. I would offer to get it for you, but...." He held up a paw. "I lack the thumbs to do so. How are you feeling?"

Taking a moment to collect the mentioned water, Aeris sipped at it. "I.... What happened?"

He shook his head, and Aeris realized that his tail was tipped with flames. She wondered how he kept from setting the furniture on fire.

"I do not know."

"You were brought in, mumbling about the Calamity," came a new voice. When she turned her head to look at the source, she was almost relieved to find that, this time, the person speaking was human. And he was followed by her mother.

"Mom?"

Elmyra moved to sit on the edge of the bed, giving the red lion...dog person a smile. "Thank you for watching her while we were out, Nanaki." She looked Aeris over, hand reaching out to check her temperature. Once that was done, she sighed, looking at her daughter. "You got sick just outside Cosmo Canyon. You were feverish, and were mumbling about some sort of calamity from the stars."

She paused, brushing some hair out of Aeris's face. The younger woman suddenly realized her hair was down, and that the ribbon holding her materia was missing. Glancing around, she relaxed when she saw it on the end table as well. She had missed it hiding behind the water jug. "Are you okay, Mom?"

The woman smiled. "I'm fine, dear. Thankfully, Nanaki found us, and he brought back help. Bugenhagen was kind enough to lend us his bed while you were sick." She studied Aeris, worry in her eyes. "Are you all right? Really? You got sick so fast...." A sigh. "But it was just for a while."

Puzzled at strange, random sickness, Aeris frowned. It couldn't have happened at a worse time. "Maybe I was too used to Midgar? It's...."

She cut her words off sharply. Where had her common sense gone? She had almost said too much in front of complete strangers. That was a mistake she hadn't made in -years-.

"Hehehe. Don't worry, my dear," said the older man, who Aeris was guessing was Bugenhagen. "Here in Cosmo Canyon, we study the lifestream and the Planet. We know that there are a few people out there who are better at it than we are. But you can't help your parents, right? Don't worry. Nanaki here has the same problem you do. Hard to find his people around anymore." He looked fondly at the lion-dog, who looked down almost shyly.

Something in his eyes made her realize that the man knew exactly what she was. And he didn't seem to care, either way.

"But he will find his way on his own, and he will be strong enough to take whatever the Planet throws at him. And he will thrive." The blue eyes of the man suddenly focused on her. "Though I bet you will as well, won't you, dear? Hehehehe."

Suddenly, he walked off, going on about making them something to eat. As he did, Aeris looked at her mother.

"Did they call?" she asked suddenly. A feeling of.... Aeris wasn't sure. It wasn't good, though, and it had settled in her chest. Something was wrong.

At Elmyra's slow headshake, Aeris frowned. That wasn't right. Even if she had only been out for half a day, they should have called. One of them. Either Zack or Cloud. That was the plan, and Zack hadn't mentioned anything changing when she had last spoken to him.

As if her question and worry had summoned him, the phone her mother carried went off, the sound sudden and shrill to Aeris. It was like an omen of doom when there was a crash in the kitchen. It couldn't be anything bad. It couldn't. It wasn't allowed.

And she was horribly sure something had gone horribly wrong.

Some of that must have shown on her face, because her mother was moving incredibly slowly when it came to answering the phone. Aeris almost snatched it from the woman, but Elmyra finally did open it.

"Hello?"

A voice replied back, loud enough for Aeris to hear there was someone on the other end, but not enough for her to make out the words. Definitely enough to know it wasn't Zack or Cloud. The voice was female, and she wondered who could be calling.

Then her mother went white. "Of course, she's right here." Then the phone was being handed to Aeris.

Taking it, tension causing her stomach to ache, Aeris took a deep breath and held it to her ear. "Hello," she said. The voice was unfamiliar.

"Hello. You must be Aeris."

The woman sounded tired, her voice worn out and thin. Aeris wondered who she was, and how she knew who Aeris was.

"My name is Nidara. I'm Cloud's mother." The moment she spoke Cloud's name, her voice broke, and Aeris felt her heart clench. "We need you to come to Nibelheim. Please."

The last word was stressed. "Why?" Aeris asked, her own voice soft.

"Because my son is dying faster than Sephiroth and I can keep him alive."

That was said with all the heartbreaking despair Aeris had only heard once before, when her own biological mother had begged the woman who would raise Aeris to save her daughter.

"What happened?" The words escaped her, sharp and fast. "What happened? Is Zack okay!?"

A moment of silence. "I honestly don't know. He won't answer me. Sephiroth, that is. He won't talk about anything but you or Cloud. When I ask about his other friend, he just goes quiet."

Aeris couldn't keep the tiny moan back, eyes shutting and fingers tight on the phone. Did this have anything to do with her getting sick? She didn't know, but she was going to find out.

"I'll come. I'll get there as fast as I can. I won't let Cloud die. I -won't-."

Those words were said with every bit of stubbornness that Aeris had. Which, according to her mother, was quite a bit.

She had lost one of her boys, at least for a while. She wasn't going to lose another one.

///

Nidara put the phone down. The girl had promised to be there, though Nidara wasn't sure what she would be able to do. Still, if Sephiroth was so positive the girl would be able to help, she would just have to accept it.

She would try anything, at this point.

There was no help from town. She had almost been caught by the Shin-Ra troops that had swarmed the place, and she had seen her neighbors being herded off. Unsure of what was going on, but untrusting of Shin-Ra since what they had done to her husband, Nidara had gone back to where Sephiroth and Cloud were. No help from town, no help from Shin-Ra.

They were on their own.

Moving to sit next to Cloud again, she brushed her fingers against his cheek, frowning at how cool he was. He didn't move, which worried her. Until this morning, he would react some when he was touched. It might have just been a mumble or a tiny shift into the contact, but even that had faded into stillness.

Her little boy was dying.

Nidara had seen it often enough. Death came often to Nibelheim, so often that people would probably invite it to tea, if it would just wait a moment or two. But death was often as fast as it was frequent, and she didn't like the idea of it coming for her child. Cloud was all she had left in this world. Her only brother was dead, her husband as well. Her parents had been gone for years, and Cloud was an only child.

He was so pale....

Sephiroth was still there, lurking next to Cloud, but Nidara ignored him for now. She was no fool. She knew what blade had made the injuries in Cloud's chest. Such a slender blade was rare. One that could go through a person so easily rarer still. She had seen the footage of Sephiroth in Wutai. She had seen the dead back in Nibelheim. She knew those marks, and she would find out why her son had them.

But, first, she had to make sure her boy lived.

Nidara wanted to cradle Cloud in her lap, curl around him and keep all the world away from him. He was her little boy, and he looked so frail laying there. They had left him in Sephiroth's coat, as it was one of the warmer things in the cave. She had only expected Sephiroth and Cloud, with her being able to bring supplies. And she knew that while the pair might not be sleeping together, two bodies in a cave would make it plenty warm enough, especially if they shared the bed. And Cloud was well trained in surviving in Nibelheim, even if Sephiroth was not.

Still, supplies were going to run short, soon. Not that either of them were eating much. Maybe she could convince Sephiroth to go hunt something. It would get him out of the cave, give her some time with Cloud alone.

She did not want him to die, but Nidara was nothing in not realistic. Cloud was pale, even his fever having burned itself out. But he wasn't getting any better. They were curing him as often as they dared, but there were no potions, no elixers. Nothing. A materia could only do so much. And now she was forced to listen as Cloud's breathing slowly got harsher and harsher. Infection, most likely. Possibly pneumonia. That killed so many here.

"Aeris is coming, baby," she said softly, fingers combing through the fine blond hair he had inherited from her. "She's coming, and they all say she'll make you better. Please, stay here until she gets to us. Okay? I know death is a lovely partner, but just hang on."

Throat tight, she wanted to cry. But she wouldn't let herself. Crying meant giving up, and she wouldn't.

Cloud has inherited more than just her hair. She was where he had gotten the stubborn as well.

Let Sephiroth be silent. Her son was lost for now, but he would not stay gone.

Nidara wouldn't let him.