The Slums, Midgar's Ruins, Thursday Evening
Karla
A church. They were taking her to a church. Karla wasn't entirely sure what a church had to do with healing the land, but both Reno and Elena seemed pretty well convinced that it would make things a bit easier. Karla was inclined to just go with it--it wasn't like there was anything they could to to make it harder. All the land she could see was gray and crumbling, closer to dust than to earth.
She knew she could heal land the was sick or dying, but no one ever said whether she could bring life back to land that was actually dead.
Not that she was going to let any of her apprehension show. Not until she exhausted herself and her Craft trying to set this place right. It wasn't just for Elena anymore, or to prove herself to Reno. Not after looking around at what she'd seen of the city (and from a few off-hand comments, she gathered they were avoiding the worst places). She couldn't turn away now. Her caste, her Craft, her very being wouldn't let it happen.
"Are we close?"
Elena
"Nearly there," Elena said. Trying to sound confident, competent, all of the things she never managed to feel. Reno made it look so easy. That was why she'd hated him, for so long.
"Any time you need to stop for breath, we can take ten. Just say the word."
Or if Karla needed to fall over and vomit again. Elena was supposed to be watching out for her. What if Karla actually hurt herself, trying to help Edge? Exactly how would she ever forgive herself for letting this happen? Maybe she should have called the whole mess off.
She would settle for watching Karla closely. And worrying.
Reno
"At least we ain't run into no monsters yet," Reno mused, glancing around as he ducked to avoid conking his forehead on an overhang of broken concrete that used to be the side of a building of some sort. "Knock on wood if you can find some. Looks like Chocobo-Hair's been keepin' close tabs on this place, still."
Which made sense, he supposed, considering the hard-on that ol' Blondie once had for that Ancient.
Him and everybody else, ever.
Karla
Karla was fairly certain that some kind of information was supposed to be conveyed in Reno's speech. But what wood and Chocobo-hair had to do with anything was beyond her.
Hadn't Zack said chocobos were birds? Were they birds with hair? The hell?
"I'll do that," she said solemnly, like she totally understood everything.
Glancing at Elena, she gave her friend a soft smile. "I'm good," she promised. "I was just surprised earlier. And I'm perfectly capable of walking," she added tartly.
A hint of balls and sass would probably make them both feel better about this.
Elena
Had Elena been this adorable when she had folded her arms and huffed? Probably not. She'd had an enormous chip on her shoulder. Still. She wanted to pinch Karla's cheeks.
"I can't be held responsible for Reno's actions if you puke on his shoes," Elena teased. "He loves those shoes. He pistol-whipped a man once for breathing on them funny."
Considering that Reno's shoes had weasel-shaped tooth marks all over them, Karla might be able to figure out that Elena was kidding.
Reno
"And then you don't even wanna know where I shoved my baton," Reno added helpfully, giving his EMR a friendly sort of thunk against his shoulder.
"Anyhow, the church oughta be right around this corner, here. Mind your step, yo. I think they're holdin' that wall over there up usin'... Another wall. An' there are holes in the floor once you get inside."
Okay, so one such hole was something of a tiny indoor pond, and as such it would be difficult to miss. But Reno felt that it was important to mention these things in advance.
The Church
Karla could probably sense the Church before they arrived. Unlike the rest of Midgar, where the ground was poisoned and dead, the Church was thriving. Warm yellow flowers turned their faces up to the foggy hope of sun. The cool, clear water sparkled with energy, with life. Pure Lifestream, mingling with spring water, casting a greenish glow.
There was almost a Presence, at the Church. A feel of something safe, and welcoming. A spirit who tended the flowers, despite what other obligations she found herself with now.
The Church was very happy to see Karla. Almost as though the Church understood that Karla was here to help, and wished to express its gratitude.
Karla
Oh, Karla felt the difference all right. Like the flowers, she felt herself orienting towards the that bright, healing light, even from outside. "Warm," she murmured, unaware she'd done so aloud. There were tight bands of tension that eased around her chest and she didn't pause before opening the door and breathing deeply.
"I can work here," she said, more to herself than to Reno and Elena. "There's something to work with here."
She walked slowly up the aisle, trailing her hands on the pews, marveling at the softly glowing pool. *I'm here,* she sent on an unrestricted psychic thread. *I'm here.*
The Church
Oh, and wasn't that a relief? Having her here, that was. This land had just rolled over and turned its toes up. Not that the Church could blame the land, but rolling over and giving up just wasn't going to help anybody, now was it?
The Church still had its flowers. The flowers loved her, because the flowers had been loved in return. Love could be even stronger than all of that nasty poison they had put into the ground.
She didn't know anyone else could talk to the Planet. She was the last of her kind, and even she was gone now. But this girl was almost a kinfolk, from afar, if that didn't sound presumptuous of the Church to say. Did it?
Maybe they could reach the land, if they both tried? It wanted to be better. She knew it did. It hated being sick. It didn't know how to heal. Would Karla help her try?
Elena
Elena was completely, hopelessly out of her depth. There was something going on here that Karla could see and react to. Three guesses, and the first two didn't count. Obviously, going to the Church had been the right idea.
She felt like she was trespassing on something sacred, hanging around and watching Karla work. But Karla was her rookie, putting herself in danger for their sake, and thus deserved back-up. Leaving wasn't an option.
So she was going to try her hardest not to feel awkward, sitting here in Aerith's Church. Feeling that same chaotic mix of emotions she had always had, for Aerith. The flower-girl who had been tragically murdered, the Ancient who had cured the world of Geostigma, the only woman Tseng had ever loved.
Elena dared a glance over to Reno, wondering if she could read his thoughts.
Reno
Reno's thoughts, at least on the outside, seemed to be something along the lines of, 'oh, yes, this seems like a very nice place to prop myself up against a pew and pull out my smokes in.'
Which was more or less what he was up to, yes. If there was anything roiling around in that head of his, he wasn't voicing it, or even really letting it show.
He held out the pack of smokes toward Elena, offering, content to let Karla and That Ancient do whatever it was that they were doing. And pointedly not looking at a large sword that was propped up on the other side of that pond, there. The owner of that sword was causing him enough problems already, thanks.
Karla
For her part, Elena and Reno had basically stopped registering on her consciousness. They were still there, of course, and she could still feel them, but they were like background noise.
"Of course I am, silly," Karla said lightly. "I'm a Queen. It's what I do." She knelt by the pool, leaning in to drift her hand through the water. "We'll make it better, I promise. Show me what happened?"
The Church
If a presence could hug Karla, it would. Perhaps the feelings of that warm squeeze could translate to her, anyway. Gratitude, relief, and a flicker of hope.
Images were flowing, now, over the surface of the water. It started here: a green, incandescent stream, dancing in an joyous arc. Souls. Lives. The beginning and the end. Lifestream.
Now, Midgar. A monolith of dark steel against a polluted sky. Reactors, churning out lifestream, funneling it to people as electricity.
Then, a cannon, placed over the city, fueled by the reactors. A desperate last hope. Up north, a sleeping silver-haired man in an impenetrable bubble. A meteor falling from the sky. They would use the lifestream to fight him, to save their world.
Victory. His shell destroyed. Then a fierce monster emerging from the sea -- Weapon -- conjuring up its own powerful beam. Aiming towards Midgar.
Fire lit up the sky as the city fell down upon itself. The buildings crumbled. The reactors exploded. The proud city became a husk, a shell of its former glory.
The meteor in the sky, now directly overhead. Smashing the city to the ground. Holy, ultimate White Magic, lifting upwards against it. The lifestream itself, swirling out from the ground to assist Holy.
The end of Midgar: a hulking ruin, filled with death and decay. A graveyard. The broken reactors, seeping radioactive poison into the ground. The sick, the starving, climbing out from the wreckage, covered in black weeping sores.
She had healed the black sickness, the Geostigma. She had pulled the lifestream forth to stop Meteor. She had tended her flowers. But she did not know how to stop this toxic disease.
She was also very sorry to be showing Karla such unpleasant, icky things, but they sadly didn't have the time for niceties. She was sure Karla understood.
Karla
Karla grew very, very quiet as she watched the images in the pool. Once or twice, she wiped tears from her eyes; so much hope and agony in the same images. "You did well," she whispered. "So very well. But you can't do it all alone. But that's okay. I'm here now."
As far as Karla could tell, there were two major problems here: the first was the poisoned, radioactive sludge spilling forth from the reactors, and the second was the land that had already died. There was no use bringing the land back for it to just be poisoned by the pollution still within it. But just ridding the land of the pollution wouldn't bring back what has already died.
"I think I know what to do," Karla murmured. "Question is--where should we begin. I--I can't--there's no way I can fix everything. I just don't have the strength. I'm sorry."
Aerith
The presence was soothing, now. She hadn't meant to upset Karla, though she was touched by the girl's concern. The past was ugly, but it was over, and now it was time to heal the wounds.
She couldn't do this alone. And neither could Karla. Of course Karla couldn't fix everything. This mess had taken years to form; moments couldn't undo that much suffering. It was good of her to want to, to be here at all. The presence -- Aerith -- thanked her, for that, with every bit of her heart.
They would each do what they could, and that would be enough. Perhaps Karla could show her, how to start the healing process? The presence had time. She was here, with her flowers. She could work on it, piece by piece. Time would lessen the scars; her efforts could help nudge the process along.
If Karla knew how to begin, how to wake the land up and remind it of life, and air, and sunshine, how to lessen the poison enough that the land could breathe, then perhaps Aerith could learn from her.
One careful step at a time. How was that?
Karla
*That sounds perfect, Aerith,* Karla sent, leaving behind the imprecise communication of words. *I'll lay the groundwork and you can continue on while I'm back in Fandom.*
She looked around the church, evaluating with critical eyes. *Hmmmm....this could work, yes. Does anyone come in here much?* she asked. *Some tangled webs might make this easier for me. It'll distribute my strength some. If I can weave them into the structure of the church itself...it'll stay some, continuing on even once I'm gone.*
Aerith
An image flashed - a blonde man with spiky hair, dressed all in black. He walked the aisle reverently, as though he came here to pay respects. Only him. He would step carefully, if the webs were visible for him to avoid.
The pond, here, might be helpful to her. It was connected to the Lifestream, to all that was pure and cleansing of this world. Perhaps it should lend a bit of its power to her webs?
Karla
*This will be very useful,* she assured the Church--no, Aerith. *Life begets life. Shall we get started?*
The first thing Karla did was call in all of her Jewels. She was going to need every last bit of energy she could spare. Rings, earrings, even a pair of barrettes that all glowed with the same inner warmth and fire. Glancing up into the rafters again, Karla noticed a few beams that were close enough together to act as support for the web she was about to weave. Running up an invisible staircase made of air, Karla was in there in a moment, calling in skeins of spidersilk.
Within twenty minutes, there was the largest tangled web she had ever spun, tethered to several of the supporting beams of the church. In the center was her largest Sapphire Jewel chip; it glittered when it caught the light just so. While she wove, she kept up a running mental dialogue with Aerith, explaining how the tetherlines provided the power, doubling the Craft as they met and crossed each other, while the radial lines provided the shape and stability to the spell, holding it even after Karla was not longer around to keep it going.
"Now for the hard work," she muttered aloud as she ran back down her staircase to the pool. "You ready?"
Elena
Elena had no fucking clue how Karla had gotten up to the rafters, or what she was doing up there. This went beyond 'out of her depth' and well into 'try not to think about it, or you will break your brain into itty pieces.'
She wanted a smoke, but maybe it was sacrilege to smoke in Aerith's church. It might harm the flowers.
Stupid flowers.
"... don't suppose you brought a deck of cards?" she asked, keeping her voice low enough that hopefully Karla wouldn't be interrupted.
Reno
"What, I look like some kinda gambler to you?"
This, of course, was said while Reno was pulling a deck of cards from his pocket, lit cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. If any of what was going on here was in the process of breaking his brain, it certainly didn't show.
But then, this was Reno. Even before Fandom, if a kickline of Behemoths in tutus were to dance on by, he would probably still be failing to let the fact that his brain was breaking show too obviously.
... And then he'd do a lot of drinking later.
"I'll even let you deal first, Rookie."
Aerith
For the first -- and possibly only -- time, there was an actual voice to the reply, instead of the vague collection of well-meaning thoughts.
Whether it could be heard by anyone except Karla, that was another matter entirely.
Ready.
Karla
*Then let's do this,* Karla sent out on her psychic thread.
Sitting down, she steeled herself and lowered her shields, opening herself to the cries of the sickly land. Immediately, that nauseated feeling returned as the land clamored and cried, wailing about the myriad sins that had been committed against it. It didn't have a consciousness, of course, not even one as diffuse as the Church, so all it could do was fling concepts like HURTBURNSICKDYINGPOISON! at her somewhere below even subconscious thought.
Her stomach roiled and she clenched her teeth, drawing upon years of Healer training, forcing her stomach to heel. That done, she began sending out little threads of Self, looking for areas that were less damaged than some of the others. Thread after thread went out, only to find places of sickness and decay, pain and poison. Karla was starting to lose hope that there was anywhere in the city that would make a good place to start.
Wait.
There was one thread. Out, perhaps a little past the city limits proper. It felt...familiar somehow, but, as inundated as she was with the feelings of the land, she couldn't place it. Still, this place felt healthier than the others, felt warmer. A bit like the Church.
Soon other places also sprang up, dotting her mental overview of the city of Midgar. Places where the land wasn't an angry seething red or a sickly yellow-green, but a faint greenish-brown, like tree branches in the winter. None so big or healthy as the first place she'd found, but there, scattered like chestnuts hidden in the snow.
"Everything has a price," Karla said aloud. She called in a small silver knife and sliced open her palm. Droplets of blood fell on the floor of the Church and vanished. She ignored them, bringing her hand up to grasp onto the trailing tether line that hung down the web. Blood soaked through the spider silk, dyeing it a brilliant scarlet as the it traveled ever-higher. The blood soaked up until it hit the Sapphire chip in the middle of the web, where it flashed a bright blue light.
Aerith
The presence in the church flinched. It was only a few drops, but enough blood had been shed for Midgar. Aerith mourned that more was falling, now, even if that blood might help her learn to heal.
Elena
... was that blood? This was going from weird to vaguely creepy.
"Karla?" Elena called out. She was mucking her hand anyway -- two fives, and she was sure Reno had her beat, which meant he was probably bluffing -- but, upon seeing the red color seeping outward, she stood up. "Everything okay?"
Karla
*It's all right.* Karla sent waves of soothing and calming emotions towards the Church. *Blood is the memory's river. We have to remind it what it is like to be healthy and free from poisons before we can fully bring it back to life. Please don't be sad. It's okay.*
"I'm fine," she called aloud to Elena at the same time. "It's just...what needs to be done. I'll be okay."
Aerith
The presence understood. She still didn't like it, necessarily, but things which were necessary were not always pleasant.
I won't be sad, Aerith said. Instead, I'll promise not to waste what you've given us.
She would hope there could be a way to repay the girl, in some manner. The cost should not be entirely hers and the gain theirs.
Karla
*Long after my blood has faded, you're going to have to use the Lifestream for this,* Karla sent, eyes closing with concentration. *Can you see what I'm doing? Will you be able to do this, too?*
The Craft within her web woke up at the touch of the blood. At first, it followed the tether lines, growing in strength each time it rebounded against itself. By the time it had crossed the breadth of the web, the Craft Karla had woven into it had almost quadrupled in strength. She was panting at the exertion of keeping it all contained--like water burst from a dam, it needed to be channeled and quickly, before it washed them all away.
But that's what the threads leading from her to the small, healthier pockets were for. Rather than turning inwards onto the Church, it followed those threads, offering its power to the thirsty, dying land. Even then, though, Karla couldn't just let go. The power would just crash into the earth, healing a bit, but mostly going to waste.
Grabbing hold of the thread that led to the largest patch, Karla focused the power into a small stream, letting it soak gently into the earth, slowly building up against the poisons until it could wash them away. It was slow, painful, grueling work. Without help, she wouldn't have the strength to keep it up. *Aerith, can you help me?* she asked. *You know exactly what the land should feel like.*
Aerith
Silence, from the presence, as though something was concentrating with all of its might. She could see the energy moving through the web, feeding on itself, a carefully controlled reaction growing in strength and power.
The blood was seeping into the ground, not the horrible clash of Holy against Meteor, but water onto a dry and cracked desert.
Aerith could see it; now, to understand it. To try it for herself.
It was only the lightest touch at first, tentative and fumbling. Shoring up the bulwarks of the threads, reinforcing the lines. Slim fingers weaving in to Karla's cat's-cradle, hoping not to destroy its shape.
Karla
With Aerith concentrating on that, it freed Karla to focus more closely on feeding the power through the connecting threads. *Perfect. Thank you so much.*
Karla could feel the strength ebbing from her Sapphire, drop by precious drop. She ignored that, forcing her Craft to do as wanted, to burn away the poison and taint and replace it with life and health.
Minutes ticked away and her power drained. Karla knew she should disengage, but the land kept sucking up the power, starved and parched. The level in her Jewel crept ever closer to empty, but still she stood, forcing her Craft to do as she willed, to Heal the land.
Finally, seconds before her Sapphire was completely drained and possibly broken, Karla released the web. She smiled for a second, proud of her effort, before her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed to the ground.
Reno
"Aw, fuck!"
So much for Reno's composure, huh? His hand of cards went scattering to the ground as he rushed over to check on Karla, and to hell with the stupid godsdamned flowers. Reno didn't care one way or another about not stepping on them if their would-be savior was falling to the ground, thanks. Not because of Edge, not because of any promise she gave to help Gaia all that she could, but because, damn it, she'd made her way onto his Rookie list.
... It was a very long list, lately.
"Elena, get your ass over here and help me out, would you?"
... Yeah, right. Like Elena wouldn't already be on her way, Reno. You're just faster.
Elena
Elena was running, not even seeing the flowers, not even taking a few seconds to tell Reno to go fuck himself, not breathing. She'd looked up when Reno had dropped his hand, and -- Karla was lying on the ground.
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.
Something had happened. Something bad. All that mako. She should have known this was a bad fucking idea. And now she'd gotten her very first rookie killed. That was a record, wasn't it?
Karla wasn't dead she'd better not be dead she was absolutely not allowed to be dead.
"Karla!" She had potions, she had a Cure materia, she had something, didn't she?
Karla
"Dun wanna wake up," Karla muttered. The cuts on her palms were healing rapidly. Her face was incredibly pale, but she was breathing. "Sleepy."
Reno
"Well, she ain't dead," Reno noted, in that tone that wanted to suggest that he wasn't worried in the least.
The tone lied. Like a lying liar that lied lots.
He shifted his weight a little, so that he was holding her up with one hand while he patted his pockets down with the other. The drain wasn't completely physical, was it? Not with the voodoo-life-healing-hocus-pocus-mojo that she'd been working a few moments before.
"Get this into her, Rookie," he added, tossing Elena the Ether that his hand closed around. "Looks like she's got some kinda Regen thing goin' for the rest of it, yoto."
Elena
Elena fumbled with the cap -- nerves were bad for making your hands shake, fuckfuckfuck. How was Reno sure it was ether she needed and not healing? What if she was mako-poisoned? People went crazy from that.
She didn't question him, because he was her superior giving orders and might just keep her friend alive. She tipped the bottle carefully against Karla's lips, hoping to pour just enough to wake her but not enough that she might choke.
"We should get her out of here," Elena said, finally. The web might still be draining from her. Worse, Karla might wake up and try to start again.
Karla
Karla did indeed wake up enough to swallow. "Not a puppy." Her words were slurred from exhaustion. "Dun rub my throat."
It made sense to her, really.
Another sip and she was a little more alert. "Whazzit?"
Reno
"Tastes like ass, don't it?" Reno twitched a bit of a smirk, though there was no humor in it. "Take the whole thing, kid. It'll keep you from feelin' too much like someone sucked your insides out with a vacuum, yo."
He looked up at Elena, and nodded. "Outta here. Back to my--" Right. "--your place? Or should we book it to Kalm?"
He was fairly positive that arrangements to shanghai some transportation were made. And if they weren't, then he'd personally kick somebody's ass until they were.
Elena
"The worse they taste, the better they are," Elena explained, tipping the bottle up again for Karla. "Sorry."
It probably had something to do with dilution. You could water them down if you only needed a small pick-me-up.
When it was empty, she replaced the cap and pocketed it. "Kalm," Elena decided, pulling her phone out she stood up. "Better to be away from this for the night."
Karla needed rest. Possibly a medic, possibly just time away from the poisonous mako in the air. Kalm would be better for all of those things.
She could call Tseng while Reno was picking up Karla. This time, she was absolutely not allowed to walk.
Aerith
The presence in the church would not cry, as she watched them go. Her heart would grieve, and she would rebuke herself strongly for not realizing that the other girl was pushing herself too far. She would hope for safe passage for them, and that rest could restore what had been lost.
But she would not cry. She did not have time for that sort of self-indulgence. Not when there was so much work to be done.
Karla had given them a gift. Aerith would not waste a drop of it.
She had promised.
[Part 3! Played with the stunning glacial_witch and findingelena, NFI and NFB and OOC is shiny like Lifestream. The first two parts are here and here, and I promise that is all the spam for tonight.]