Alex and Dean were changing clothes in an old abandoned house that had long been covered with a thick layer of dust because no one had lived in it. They were both glad to finally change out of the beach clothes, which after the previous drinking session smelled of alcohol and had been badly damaged after they had to deal with the local inhabitants from the very moment they woke up.
Continuing to change clothes, Alex and Dean communicated mentally, but mostly Alex spoke, answering his partner's questions about this world. The reason for such a secret conversation was that they perfectly heard how Aerith, who was supposedly standing guard, was not shy at all about eavesdropping, pressing her ear tightly to the door.
Simultaneously turning toward the exit, Alex and Dean exchanged glances, slightly shaking their heads. Alex began telling everything he could remember up to this point, including who Aerith really was and why Reno and Rude had come for her.
Hearing that the girl was the last of the divine race that in the legends of this world was called the Cetra, Dean could not help but express silent doubt about it. But soon he just shrugged, seeing no problems in it, and began to understand why soldiers were hunting her so persistently.
"Listen, if this flower girl is like the last Cetra, or whoever she is, what do these bastards really want from her?" Dean mentally asked, wiping the remnants of gray sand from his neck that remained after destroying the Whispers.
"It's all because of her ability to hear the Lifestream… Well, I mean that hum in our heads," Alex mentally replied, pointing his finger at his temple.
Scratching his forehead with his finger, Dean raised an eyebrow and slightly waved his other hand, showing that he needed details about what the Lifestream even was. Sighing, Alex began explaining to Dean on his fingers what this local phenomenon represented. When Dean heard that the Lifestream was, in essence, a seething collection of thoughts, feelings, and memories of every living being that had ever lived on this planet, he finally understood why this hangover hum in his head was so deafening.
But he never received an answer to his second question, namely — why Shinra Corporation needed Aerith at all. Hearing this question from Dean, Alex looked at his friend as if he were the last idiot who stubbornly failed to see the most obvious reason.
In response to this look, Dean demonstratively spread his arms to the sides, showing that he was simply too lazy right now to play guessing games and figure everything out himself. Fastening the holster on his shoulders, Alex said just a few words about why Aerith was needed by Shinra, and what Dean heard made him freeze for a moment with a flannel shirt in his hands and narrow his eyes at Alex.
"You mean these bastards are planning to use the flower girl for breeding to destroy their own planet even faster? Is everyone here mentally retarded?" Dean mentally asked in an irritated tone, staring at Alex as if this world had become an even shittier place in his eyes.
"I think there's a suitable phrase for this: smart thoughts chased them, but they were faster… Alright, we'll deal with this somehow. Take the holster for your Blade. I think people will shy away if they see you carrying a bone as a weapon," Alex replied with a shrug, pulling a black leather holster from his inventory and handing it toward Dean.
"Yeah, thanks… And what about these gray farts? What's wrong with them? And why did they attack the flower girl so aggressively? Decided to get rid of her?" Dean nodded, taking the holster and immediately moving on to the next questions.
"These gray farts are the guardians of the Canon," Alex replied, putting on his blue coat.
"Guardians of what? The Canon? Are they filming a movie based on a book here?" Dean asked doubtfully, beginning to tie the laces on his boots.
"I'll explain later. First, let's take Aerith home, and once we're there we'll think about what to do next. I have a suspicion that Lucifer didn't throw us here just to prank us," Alex said, putting Ebony and Ivory into the holster under his coat.
"If that bastard shows up, I'll hit his smug face first," Dean said irritably, cracking his knuckles and finally showing his irritation.
Hearing these words, Alex chuckled slightly, raising his thumb and making it clear that he would be completely fine with holding his older brother while he was being beaten. Seeing Alex's gesture, Dean also laughed, saying that later they could switch, after he himself hit Lucifer in the face a couple of times for throwing them into another universe without asking.
Finishing changing, Alex attached Murasame to his belt, lazily resting his palm on the hilt, then approached the exit and lightly pushed the doors. The moment he put slight pressure on the doors, a dull thud sounded from the other side, followed by a suppressed groan of pain. When the door fully opened, Alex looked at Aerith, who was sitting on the ground right at the threshold, resentfully rubbing her bruised buttocks and looking at him with a gaze as if he alone was to blame for everything.
Pursing his lips, Alex extended his hand to help her up. Aerith immediately broke into a smile, grabbed his wrist, and easily stood up. The moment she was on her feet, she began cheerfully walking circles around Alex, evaluating his new outfit. She liked Nero's blue coat at first glance, which in her eyes looked incredibly cool on the guy.
Walking around Alex from all sides, Aerith carefully touched the fabric of the coat several times, checking the quality of the material and how tightly the clothes fit his figure. Finishing the inspection, Aerith shifted her gaze to Dean, carefully evaluating his outfit as well. Nodding her head approvingly a couple of times, she stopped right in front of Alex and smiled brightly.
"I give it ten out of ten for such an outfit! Now you look really cool," Aerith said with a wide smile, raising two thumbs up.
"Oh, you made me blush. Stop it," Alex replied playfully, pretending to be embarrassed and covering his face with his palm.
"Heh-heh-heh! You're such a shy one… Your outfit looks good on you too, Dean," Aerith said with a chuckle, proprietarily wrapping her arm around Alex's and turning toward Dean standing nearby.
"I always dress like this, and so does he. So you don't need to stroke his ego… Better show us the way," Dean replied, rolling his eyes and pointing his hand at the path, reminding her that this was their usual everyday clothing.
"Ugh, how rude you are! I was just giving a compliment… For the entire time we've known each other, you do nothing but grumble like an old man," Aerith said resentfully, peeking out from behind Alex and sticking her tongue out at Dean.
Dean sighed irritably, looking at Aerith, who continued to stick her tongue out at him while walking. He had long been used to dealing with such girls, considering that some of Alex's wives lived with them in the bunker, and among them Enid and Alice especially stood out, who also loved to behave in a similar way.
Dean perfectly knew how to act in such a situation, namely — simply pretend that everything was normal. Adjusting the sports bag on his shoulder, he resolutely walked forward without waiting for Alex and Aerith. Aerith looked at Dean's retreating back, then turned to Alex and slightly narrowed her eyes, clearly pleased that she had won this playful argument.
Chuckling slightly, Aerith dragged Alex by the hand to catch up with their companion faster. Catching up with him, she confidently led them along her usual path, trying not to encounter any more local monsters. Very quickly they reached a narrow path that led into an alley opening directly onto the railway station.
"We're almost there! We just need to go up there, and then there'll be a passage," Aerith said, pulling Alex along with her and pointing her finger forward.
"We hope this railway station won't be swarming with your friends in suits," Dean responded, looking around and seeing only endless mountains of rusty junk around.
"Oh, they're not my friends… What are they called… Exactly! They're annoying pursuers. They constantly come and repeat: 'You're coming with us,'" Aerith replied in an irritated tone, canonically parodying Rude's stern voice.
"And why did they let you go every time? From the looks of it, those idiots could have easily taken you away by force," Dean asked with interest, even though he knew the true reason why Shinra needed Aerith.
"I run fast. Very fast!" Aerith replied with a wide smile, deliberately not revealing all the reasons why she still hadn't been locked up in the corporation's laboratories.
"Heh, you're good… If they show up again, we'll just beat them up this time so they don't have the physical strength to chase after you for a while," Alex said with a smile, reaching into the pocket of his blue coat for a cigarette.
Hearing Alex's words, Aerith narrowed her eyes with a satisfied smile and began humming a cheerful melody, continuing to confidently drag him along with her. At that moment her mood was even better than when she had seen two shooting stars the previous night or when she woke up that morning with a firm feeling that today would be special.
And Aerith turned out to be absolutely right: she had met two guys who could hear the Lifestream just like her. This feeling that she was no longer alone in this world lifted her spirits even more. Dragging Alex to the metal mesh fence, Aerith slightly bent back the edge of the net and deftly slipped through the fence first.
Once on the other side, she cheerfully waved her hand, inviting Alex and Dean to follow her. Evaluating the narrow alley, which was tightly packed with wooden pallets between which Aerith had already begun stubbornly squeezing, Alex and Dean decided to take a different route. Simultaneously pushing off the ground, Alex and Dean lightly jumped over the fence, landing right on top of the wooden pallets.
Squeezing through the tight gap below, Aerith heard a light thud of soles and raised her head just in time to see her two new companions calmly walking above her. Seeing their relaxed gait, Aerith exhaled resentfully — she had to squeeze with difficulty between the boards while these two were simply walking above her in complete comfort.
"That's not fair!" Aerith shouted resentfully, looking up at Alex and Dean from below.
"I thought you, like a cat, just liked squeezing through narrow gaps," Alex replied with a soft smile, squatting down right above Aerith.
"That's not the same at all… And anyway, take that!" Aerith declared resentfully, sharply raising her hand and loudly slapping Alex's leg with her palm.
Receiving a light slap on the leg, Alex chuckled slightly and grabbed Aerith's hand, then lifted her up with one smooth movement. Finding herself in his arms again, Aerith narrowed her eyes and gave a sly smile — as if this whole little scheme had succeeded from the very beginning. Looking into her sly eyes, Alex chuckled and shook his head, continuing to walk steadily further along the wooden pallets to catch up with Dean.
Reaching the very end of the alley on the upper level with Aerith in his arms, he carefully jumped down. Once below, Alex and Dean immediately heard the hum of many indignant voices of people who did not stop loudly complaining about something. Lowering Aerith to the ground, Alex looked at her questioningly, trying to understand the reason for the noise.
Aerith also expressed complete bewilderment about what was happening. Going first, she pulled them along with a short wave of her hand. Coming out of the alley, they saw a large crowd of slum residents in work clothes who were densely packed at the platform and noisily arguing with a nervous conductor who was desperately trying to calm everyone down.
Looking at this seething crowd, Alex and Dean couldn't figure out what the fuss was about. Already about to ask Aerith if she knew anything, Alex turned his head just in time to see her resolutely walking forward to question the local residents.
"Do you think shit hit the fan?" Dean asked, frowning and looking around, trying to understand what was happening.
"Possibly. Fortunately, we have someone who can easily talk to the locals. It's quite possible that all this commotion is because we recently beat up a couple of idiots in suits," Alex replied lazily while lighting a cigarette and pointed his finger toward Aerith, who was already talking animatedly with a woman in work clothes.
"Quite possible… Suddenly those guys are very touchy and decided to set all of Shinra's dogs on us," Dean responded with a shrug, lazily shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
"Not excluded… Alright, let's go listen to what the locals are arguing about and at the same time find out exactly why all this commotion started," Alex said, shaking off the first ash from his cigarette and beginning to walk forward unhurriedly.
Passing by the arguing workers, Alex and Dean heard them constantly complaining about Shinra, which had once again blocked the railway tracks, calling it a stupid reason — another breakdown on the line. Hearing this, neither of them needed to guess to understand: they themselves had become the reason why the train trip was canceled.
Trying not to stand out once again, Alex and Dean walked along the very edge of the crowd so as not to attract attention. Squeezing behind the workers, Alex noticed Aerith talking to a woman at the end of the platform. Seeing her, he patted Dean on the shoulder, pointing where they should go. Continuing to move and trying not to attract looks, Alex approached Aerith and gently patted her on the shoulder.
Feeling the touch, the girl turned her head and cutely narrowed her eyes, after which she said goodbye to her interlocutor. Finishing the conversation, Aerith firmly grabbed the sleeve of Alex's blue coat and briskly dragged him along with her.
The woman she had just been talking to looked at Alex and Dean following Aerith with sincere interest. She was seeing these people in the Fifth Sector Slums for the first time, and it immediately became clear to her that they were dressed completely unlike the locals. Meanwhile, Aerith continued to stubbornly pull Alex along with her until they finally left the territory of the railway station.
"It seems Shinra really didn't like that you beat up Reno and Rude," Aerith said, warily looking around to make sure there was no one nearby.
"We already figured that out. The locals were quite loudly complaining that they couldn't go to work," Alex replied, explaining to Aerith exactly what they had managed to hear from the crowd.
"They always do that. As soon as something happens, they immediately block all the roads," Aerith hummed, cheerfully folding her arms across her chest and shifting her gaze from Alex to Dean.
"And that's putting it mildly, flower girl. It seems to me your friends are quite touchy, and they clearly didn't like our little stunt," Dean responded grumpily, lazily pointing his finger at Aerith's back.
Turning their heads in the direction Dean was pointing, they saw several helicopters slowly descending from above. Looking at this sight, Alex irritably clicked his tongue — he had sincerely hoped that after they had beaten up Reno and Rude, Shinra would decide to back off for a while.
But knowing his total bad luck, Alex was not surprised at all that the situation around them had rapidly escalated. Aerith also frowned displeasedly at the sight of the helicopters, understanding that the corporation would not leave her alone. Watching as the helicopters hovered over the platform, they saw how Shinra Grunts began quickly disembarking from the open hatches.
Rubbing his forehead with his palm, Alex mentally cursed — the last thing he wanted right now was to get into another fight, which would ultimately lead to an even bigger conflict, leaving him with no time to sit down and calmly think everything through. Dean fully shared these thoughts, not wanting to stick his neck out once again until they gathered more information about the local way of life.
"It seems Shinra decided to send even more trackers," Alex said, throwing aside the extinguished cigarette and carefully watching the deployment of the Shinra Grunts.
"For me or for you?" Aerith asked with a smile, slightly tugging at the sleeve of Alex's coat.
"I think for all three of us… For the love of all the saints, give me a minute of peace," Alex said with a sigh, irritably pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
"Since you're so upset about this, maybe we should go through the back alleys? I know a great detour," Aerith suggested with a smile, stubbornly dragging Alex along with her toward an inconspicuous alley.
Dean watched the disembarkation of the Shinra Grunts for another moment and caught himself thinking that if Sam were here now, he would immediately start grumbling that they had gotten into deep shit once again. Chuckling at this, Dean followed Alex and Aerith, who had already reached the hidden alley.
Squeezing through the narrow passage, they came out into another part of the Slums, which was no different from an ordinary dump. Looking around to get their bearings, Aerith confidently pointed her finger in a direction and walked forward, trying to be a good guide through the debris.
Following her, Alex and Dean looked around attentively, sincerely hoping that they wouldn't have to deal with local monsters that loved digging in the trash. Fortunately for them, they didn't encounter any more creatures along the way, and the group was able to quickly reach an elevation that looked like a homemade observation platform. Climbing up, Aerith smiled and jumped forward, spotting the familiar outlines of her city.
"There, look… That's the heart of the slums," Aerith said, pointing her finger at the silhouette of a homemade tall house in the distance.
"Quite far… Considering we still have to make our way through all this junk," Dean noted, narrowing his eyes and assessing the distance to the building in the distance.
"Are you tired or something? Maybe you're not as young as you used to be and need a rest?" Aerith asked with a smirk, quickly hiding behind Alex's back and slyly looking at Dean.
"Stop teasing Dean, he's just hungry," Alex said calmly, gently pinching Aerith's nose so she would finally stop annoying Dean.
"I'm a little hungry too. When we get to my house, I'll definitely treat you both to something really delicious," Aerith promised with a smile, lightly rubbing her stomach and feeling a slight hunger.
"Then what are we waiting for… It turns out this Heart of the Slums of yours isn't that far," Dean responded with a wide smile, deftly climbing onto the wooden railings.
Without waiting for anyone, Dean jumped down, accidentally landing right on a Pie Hedgehog wandering below. In that same second he heard a strange squelching sound under his feet. Lowering his head, Dean saw that he had crushed a local monster, thoroughly staining his boots. Trying to suppress the urge to vomit from the fact that the sole was covered in the creature's insides, he froze in place, noticing how the Hedgehog suddenly began to dissolve into green glowing particles that were immediately carried away by the wind.
Dean was completely confused by what had happened before his eyes. His brain refused to put the picture together: a moment ago he had accidentally turned a local monster into minced meat by stepping on it with his full weight, and a second later it had turned into emerald sparks of light and disappeared without a trace.
Even after conducting a hard brain storm, Dean still couldn't understand what the hell had just happened. At that same moment Alex jumped down from above, still carefully holding Aerith in his arms. Landing on the rusty flooring, Alex looked at Dean, who was standing like a statue, stubbornly looking at his feet and trying to examine the sole.
"Did you step in something?" Alex asked with a smirk, watching Dean.
"Well, kind of yes. I accidentally crushed that thing… Well, that spiky frog. And it took and dissolved into green particles. What the fuck is this?!" Dean said in a stunned tone, pointing his hand at his feet and trying to comprehend what had happened.
"Ah, that… Because of Mako contamination, some creatures become part of the Lifestream. This happens with people too. Some earlier, some later, already after burial. Have you two never seen anything like this before?" Aerith began to explain, understanding what Dean was talking about, thoughtfully shifting her gaze from him to Alex.
"No, we've seen this before. It's just that usually the monsters we kill either turn into sand or into other filth. But definitely not into green fireflies," Dean replied, quickly orienting himself in the situation and giving a coherent answer.
Hearing Dean's explanation, Aerith nodded understandingly and put her finger to her lips. She thought that perhaps in other parts of the world living beings returned to the Lifestream in a completely different way. After all, she had never left the boundaries of Midgar after she managed to escape from Shinra's laboratory.
The corporation itself strictly controlled her every movement around the city so that she would not have even the slightest chance to escape. Shaking off these sad memories of Shinra's dungeons, Aerith patted Alex on the arm and pointed in the direction they needed to go, without getting down from his arms.
Seeing the direction they needed to go, Alex and Dean preferred to make their way on top so as not to accidentally crush another Pie Hedgehog and see the strange light show with the disappearance of the body again. Moving along the tops of the trash heaps, they quickly reached the end of the dump without encountering any more local inhabitants.
When Alex stopped at the elevation, Aerith pointed her finger at the laid tunnel that should lead them straight to the Slum city in the Fifth Sector. Seeing the passage, Alex and Dean jumped down and immediately looked carefully at their feet, sincerely hoping they hadn't crushed another local fauna. Watching as they frantically examined their boots, Aerith quietly laughed, easily jumping down from Alex's arms onto the ground.
"Here we are almost home. Just a little bit left," Aerith said with a smile, putting her hands behind her back and beginning to walk slowly toward the tunnel.
"Finally. Otherwise a little more and I'll definitely go crazy from hunger," Dean responded, once again stubbornly wiping his sole against the corner of a protruding rusty pipe just in case he had stepped in something.
"Heh-heh-heh, don't worry! I promised you both delicious food," Aerith replied with a smile, cheerfully spinning on her heels toward Alex and Dean.
"I wouldn't mind some hot tea or coffee. I definitely miss that right now," Alex said with a sigh, approaching Aerith closer.
"I'm not sure about coffee, Mom doesn't like drinking it. But we definitely have tea. My mom grows tea leaves and useful herbs herself," Aerith replied with a smile, habitually wrapping her arm around Alex's and dragging him along with her again.
Passing through a small technical tunnel, they came out onto another path among the trash heaps. Moving along it, Dean noticed an old tank among the rusty junk, the barrel of which was pointed straight at him. Seeing that even heavy armored vehicles were rusting in the middle of these metal deposits, he reasonably figured he wouldn't be surprised at all if they accidentally ran into some still-working Shinra robot.
Chuckling at his own thoughts, Dean followed Alex and Aerith, who had already gone far ahead. Walking behind, he sighed irritably again, thinking that they weren't so much hiding from the local evil corporation as he himself had turned into a third wheel on this strange date in the middle of a dump. Shaking off these thoughts, Dean tried to focus on the main thing — he would soon be fed, and in the near future he wouldn't have to wander among rusty trash heaps anymore.
At the same time, Aerith, who was still firmly holding Alex's hand, chattered nonstop about her small town and the people who lived there. Alex listened to her with a smile, nodding his head steadily as he walked. Reaching the end of the path, he came out onto a crossroads and finally saw the central district of the Slums, surrounded by a homemade iron wall.
"Here we are! Now we can breathe easy… We managed to escape. Hooray!" Aerith said cheerfully, raising her palms to give Alex a high-five.
"Yeah, hooray… Only that doesn't change the fact that Shinra and those two idiots in suits can still be prowling around somewhere. If, of course, they're even able to get up after our nice conversation," Alex replied with a smile, obediently giving Aerith a high-five, causing her to narrow her eyes cutely.
"After such nice treatment, your home usually becomes a hospital bed for a couple of months, not a desire to search for the flower girl and the two of us again," Dean noted, approaching them closely and staring at the massive entrance to the Slum city.
"Well, serves them right! They shouldn't have been following me. Hmph… Let's go, I still need to introduce you to Mom," Aerith hummed, stubbornly folding her arms across her chest and immediately starting to walk forward.
Following Aerith, who had gone ahead and already reached the city gates, Alex and Dean tried to ignore the glances of the local residents, who looked at them with wariness and obvious interest because strangers had come in the company of Aerith. In the locals' eyes, Alex and Dean looked like elite mercenaries who had ended up in these quarters by pure chance.
After all, for the locals their clothes and equipment looked quite expensive, especially the futuristic blade Murasame hanging on Alex's belt. Passing through the open gates, Alex and Dean began carefully looking around, finding themselves in such a place for the first time. They couldn't help but notice that the Heart of the Slums where Aerith lived did not look as bad as they had previously imagined.
Continuing to follow the girl, they saw how people had gathered in a crowd near a large screen on the wall of a residential building and were watching emergency news. But Alex and Dean had no opportunity to properly study the local agenda because Aerith briskly dragged them further, making it clear that they shouldn't linger here.
Following Aerith, who was pulling them forward, Dean couldn't help but notice how all the locals greeted Aerith one by one, exchanging a few phrases with her while not losing smiles on their faces. Dean even thought that Aerith was some kind of local princess whom the residents of this town revered.
"It's quite cozy here. And the locals don't rush at us with sticks, they even smile. Or are they only smiling at you, little flower girl?" Dean said, looking around while Aerith confidently led them forward.
"I told you, not every Slum Sector is completely bad… But you can't call this place good either. What you definitely can't say about the Sixth Sector," Aerith replied with a light chuckle, after which she slightly grimaced, remembering the neighboring district.
"And what's there? Some local asshole intimidating people? Or maybe the mafia has settled there?" Alex asked with interest, even though he already knew in advance what exactly was happening in the Sixth Sector.
"Everything at once! Don Corneo runs the Sixth Sector. He's fat, disgusting, and also a pervert… In a word, a terrible person who profits off the residents of his district," Aerith replied, not hiding her deep disgust, turning toward Alex and Dean.
Seeing the disgust on Aerith's face, Dean was not surprised at all that such a bastard as Don Corneo ran things in a place like this. Alex, at that moment, was thinking about something completely different, namely — a quick way to earn local money. As he remembered, the pockets of this fat slum mafia boss were quite deep, and there was definitely a lot of Gil in them.
What was important, all the necessary information was stored there as well, which would help him easily make contact with Avalanche if the situation required it. After all, Alex was sure that he would very soon have to meet with the members of the Avalanche group located in the Seventh Sector.
And the simplest way to prove to the rebels that he had come to talk business was to provide them with valuable information that he would take from Don Corneo. Looking at Aerith walking ahead, Alex slightly leaned toward Dean and quietly said that he had a sure plan on how to quickly raise Gil in these quarters.
Hearing about the opportunity to earn money, Dean immediately showed lively interest. Alex briefly whispered that Don Corneo ran an underground fighting pit where they could immediately score a big win. Dean immediately chuckled slyly — he had always loved fleecing all sorts of arrogant idiots.
Without slowing his pace, Alex added that this way they would show themselves well, then they could directly get an audience with the fat pervert, and then they could squeeze even more funds and information out of him. Dean definitely wasn't going to refuse such an offer and nodded his head in agreement. Aerith, walking ahead, suspiciously narrowed her green eyes, catching their playful whispering behind her back.
"What are you quietly discussing back there? Huh? Trying to hide something from me?" Aerith asked suspiciously, putting one hand on her hip and pointing the other at Alex and Dean.
"We're just making plans on how to get some Gil. Our pockets are completely empty, so we're thinking of taking a couple of local jobs," Alex quickly replied, demonstratively turning out the lining of his jeans, where only his smartphone and a pack of cigarettes lay.
"Hmm… That can be arranged, a lot of people here need help. But first let's go to my house, we're already very close. We just need to walk along this long alley," Aerith said thoughtfully, nodding and pointing her hand at the passage behind her.
Looking at the long alley behind Aerith, Dean couldn't help but ask why her house was so far from the other residential quarters. In response to these words, Aerith slightly narrowed her eyes and skipped forward, showing that they themselves could see her dwelling with their own eyes.
Shrugging, Dean briefly patted Alex on the shoulder, making it clear that they should discuss the plan in detail later on how to squeeze more Gil out of the local fat mafia boss. Alex chuckled and quickly caught up with Dean who had gone ahead. Following the alley after Aerith, Alex and Dean began to distinctly feel the thick smell of flowers.
And the deeper they went, the more they noticed lush, growing greenery around — as if they had finally left the gray slum district. Passing through a homemade tunnel, Alex and Dean climbed onto a small wooden bridge and saw a completely amazing picture. The place where Aerith lived was radically different from everything they had seen before in the slums of Midgar.
To be continued...
(So I'll try to get to Sector 7 as quickly as possible. But first, Alex and Dean earn some pocket money; it's not right to live off Aerith. And when we have money, life will be simpler. So let's continue with the plot, without skipping a beat. I don't think I need to explain why Aerith became so attached to Alex. But if you really need it, here's a short explanation. Aerith thought she was the only one in the world who could hear the Lifestream, and then suddenly she meets two more. And the Lifestream itself indicates to Aerith that she can trust Alex and that he will be there. And since he feels comfortable with him, he can behave this way. After all, she's a mischievous gremlin who doesn't know the meaning of personal space. That seems to be it. Now I'm going to go eat. Peace, love, and watch Batman fight Superman. Or not.)
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