To see you one last time
The rain stopped so suddenly as he had begun and although Cissnei was glad about the fact that she had again a clear view, she felt a sting inside her on account of this change in the weather.
Dare not to lose hope! she resounded herself and steered her helicopter in another direction.
"You are my living legacy."
With this sentence he had transmitted the Buster Sword, as well as Angeal it once had given to him. He had fought and had brought them so far and now he actually was ready to go. However, there was something in him that did not allow him to go. It was a quiet voice which repeated again and again the same sentence:
You have promised it to her.
After a little while Cissnei crossed a crest with the helicopter. The picture that came up behind it let her breath falter. ShinRa soldiers, dead ShinRa soldiers, at least one dozens of them.
As fast as possible she landed the helicopter and started to examine the battlefield. The rain had washed of a lot, however the corpses were still warm so the fight could not yet be long over.
She just went along the edge of a cliff when her struck how close the battlefield was to the gates of Midgar. But before she even could think about it, she saw only few meters before herself a known shape lying. She had the feeling her heart missed a beat, however she then collected herself again.
Do not lose hope!
With practiced clutch Cissnei tried to feel the pulse of the ravenhaired 1th Class SOLDIER. The seconds which passed seemed to creep, until she could feel, finally, a weak, irregular pulse on her fingertips. She led out a breath of relief, which she had held unconsciously.
„Hold out, Zack. " whispered the redhead and started to supply Zacks wounds with the association material she brought as a precaution.
He felt how warm hands touched him and heard how somebody spoke with him, however, he understood neither what the person said to him, nor could he recognize them. Laboriously he tried to open his eyes to see who looked after him, but he did not succeed. Although he felt no pain his body was so unbelievable heavy, but the voice inside him was right.
He had promised it and a promise had to be kept. So he tried to make himself clear once more to the person, so that he could let her know what he wanted. She simply had to help him! Almost desperately he tried to move his lips and to form words, until he succeeded, finally.
Quick and competently Cissnei bandaged the wounds of the ravenhaired and hoped that he would hold out just a little longer. She was almost ready when the eyelids of her friend suddenly started to flutter.
„Zack!" whispered the redhead and took the face of the other in her hands.
"Zack, can you hear me?"
When on her question nothing happened, she feared almost, that she would have only pretended the flickering of the eyelids, however, then the 1th Class SOLDIER slightly moved his lips. With pounding heart she bent over him to understand what he said. The words were quiet and almost not to understand and Cissnei had to listen very well, to make sense from them, but finally the message was clear:
„I have to go to Aerith. "
For one moment the world seemed to stand still around the redhead and her heart contracted. Damn! She had thought, she would have these feelings under control, at least she knew what Zack felt for Aerith. Cissnei took a deep breath to calm down, then she nodded.
„I will bring you to her. "
„Cissnei? Damn, announces you!"
Renos voice penetrated to her ear the moment when she put on her Headset and she realized that she should have contacted the others a long time ago. While she started the helicopter, the redhead therefore opened a canal.
"Reno, Cissnei here, I found Zack."
During some seconds nothing was to be heard except for the cracks of the radio communication, then the other Turk contacted.
"Really? Is he still alive?"
"More or less."
„Oh well, at least that´s something. Now Tseng couldn't kill us anymore. Have you found Cloud as well?"
„I have not continued the search. "
„Humph, then now we take over this. Pass on us your co-ordinates. "
The world beneath him moved, he could remember how his rescuer had taken him on the shoulder and had carried him, until he had laid him, finally, on cold metal. During the whole time he had tried over and over again to open his eyes and he had even succeeded for some seconds.
It was when his rescuer had taken him off, that he could see a blurred face, surrounded by blazing red hair. Something told him that he knew this person, that he could trust her, but it simply did not want to occur to him who this person was. Was that even important? He only wanted to Aerith and to redeem his promise to her.
Shortly after a noise fulfilled his ears which was familiar to him like his rescuer but he could not assign it either. About the noise away he could hear how his rescuer spoke, however once more he did not understand the words. He desired to get to know who spoke there with whom, but basically it was not important, it counted solely that he had a tiny chance to keep his promise and maybe to get rid of a few more words which burnt on his soul for a long time.
Few minutes later Cissnei landed the helicopter on a small landing surface which briefly lay behind the gates of Midgar. She had made a decision from which she exactly knew that nobody would favoring it, because she had decided to bring Zack to Aerith. Tseng would certainty forbid it.
He would state such clever arguments like the one that Zack can still be saved if he was treated only on time, however clever arguments not always were the deciding ones. Cissnei had loved Zack, she still loved him and no matter how much it hurt, she wanted to fulfill to him nevertheless at least this one wish if she already had not been able to save him.
„Come, you must at least help me a little. " whispered the redhead when she lay down the arm of the 1th Class SOLDIER over her shoulder.
Zacks breath was still low although he had become steadier. Somewhere in a corner of his consciousness the ravenhaired seemed to know what Cissnei wanted to do for him, because it was evident that he fought for the last sparks of his life. Thus he also automatically put a foot before the other, while the Turk supported him.
This time he had heard the words and had understood their meaning and he tried to do what was demanded, because for some reason he could feel that this person who carried him now already for the second time brought him exactly where he wanted. Indeed, was every single one of his steps a torture, it felt as if someone had connected his feet and legs firmly with the earth and he would have to tear them off every time. However, he fought step by step the aim always before his eyes. The only aim which he had to achieve, before he goes into the life stream: Aerith.
The way from the landing field to the small church in the slums was long, so long Cissnei needed more than only one break to come to breath again.
While one of these short time spans she observed Zack how he sat there lent to a house wall, the eyes still closed, the associations almost completely red. She was sure meanwhile that the black-hairy 1th Class SOLDIER knew where she wanted to bring him, or at least it felt for like that.
Again the redhead felt a light sting in her breast and abruptly the question went through her head whether Zack could one day have felt also for her, like he did for Aerith. Quick she scared away the thought like a tiresome insect, before he could get stuck too much in her. Resolutely she went to Zack and lay down his arm again around her shoulders.
"Don´t give up Zack, we almost made it." she said and continued their way.
They reached the church and the redhead knocked a few times against the heavy wooden door, no answer received. Briefly resolutely she pressed the handle down and opened the door. After she had entered, her eyes needed some seconds to get used to the twilight.
With a smile Cissnei perceived that the roof of the old building was not repaired yet and thus some single sunrays fell on the sea of flowers in his middle. Without hesitating the redhead dragged Zack to this sea of flowers and filed him in it.
„This is the right place to wait for her, isn't it?" she asked quietly and sat down to the edge of the flower field.
A familiar smell rose him to his nose and this time he knew what it was. It was the smell of flowers, Aeriths flowers. As through a cover he could feel the pleasantly chill and soft earth beneath him. And although it cost him to a lot of strength, he carefully sank one of his hands to the delicate heads of the white flowers.
Cissnei did not need to wait long, until the door of the church opened once more and Aerith with her flower wagon entered the ship. When she discovered the Turk her eyes widened in surprise. The brown-haired wanted to say something, however Cissnei interrupted her with a movement of her hand, because she didn´t feel like talking. Instead she indicated silently at Zack, who still laid still in the flower field.
As Aerith discovered him her eyes became once again a little bit lager. Immediately she let go the clutch of her wagon and hurried to the middle of the church. Carefully she searched her way through the flowers and knelt beside Zack. Affectionately she seized the hand of the ravenhaired 1th Class SOLDIER and lifted it to her cheek.
Warmth flowed through his body. A pleasant feeling formed in his stomach and all at once his body was quite light. All at once it was easy for him to open his eyes and to see in Aeriths wonderful face.
„Hey," he whispered „I am a little bit late. "
She laughed.
„A little bit very late. Do you actually know, how many letters I have written to you?" she asked and looked a little angry.
„Only got one. " he murmured defending and tried to pull the small piece of paper out of his trouser pocket.
She holds on his hand and shakes her head.
„This is not important any more. " she says and he can feel that something warm and wet runs down her cheeks.
Startled he glides over her cheek to calm her.
„Hey, don´t cry, you see, I am back again. Now we can sell your flowers together. "
She pulls her nose frizzily, wipes off the tears and nods.
„I have already started with it. " she tells him beaming. „And do you know what? You were right, the people really like my flowers."
He returns her smile and also nodded easily.
„As I have promised."
„Exactly." she confirms.
Her face starts to become blurred before his eyes and slowly darkness creeps in the edges of his view field. He can feel how the well-known heaviness takes hold of his body again.
„Listen, Aerith. " he murmurs and to move his lips becomes harder and harder. „There is something else, that I really have to tell you."
„What is it?"
Her voice seems to reach his ear from far away.
„I wanted to say to you... " he begins, but must break off the attempt.
He can feel how she presses his hand and hears how she asks him once again what he wants to say to her. The black, that now has taken his whole view field, is replaced bit by bit with white. He knows that now the final end has come, however he has still something to say, something important. Collecting all his remained forces he tries once more to speak.
„What I wanted to say to you Aerith, is that I love you."
Cissnei could not understand the words, however on the basis of Aeriths reaction she could imagine what Zack had said to her. Ignoring the vague pain in her breast, she got up and went to the brown-haired woman to take her comforting in the arms.
While they observed how the body of the ravenhaired slowly resolved and goes into the life stream, both women clung to each other like drowning and wept dumb tears.
They remained in this position until it was getting dark and the last tears had finally dried up. Without speaking a word they said goodbye to go separate ways and to find a possibility to fight against the pain in their hearts.