Act 1: Fallen Angel. Scene 1.
She raised her hands up to the heavens and prayed with all her heart. She asked little from anyone but all she needed was a friend, someone to extinguish the flame of loneliness. Oh young Ancient with the purest of hearts, We the Planet will give you an angel...
Aerith's eyes shot open. A body had fallen onto her flowers. The sudden sound caused her heart to beat rapidly. It couldn't be Zack, she thought to herself. He didn't reply to any of her letters. He couldn't possibly fall into her church again, could he? It had been almost five years since they had last spoken to each other.
Aerith rose up from her kneeling position. She rubbed her hands over her long pink dress to get rid of the dust that had attached to the fabric when she was praying.
The Cetra hesitated and tried to peer at the person that had fallen from the roof, but it was difficult to make out who he or she was over the flowers. She walked slowly onto the patch of green in the ruins of the church, taking care not to step on any of the flowers. She came to realise the stranger was a man.
He had on a long reddish coat with chestnut hair that had a few white streaks. However, his face was very youthful. Aerith bent down slightly over the injured man's body. He appeared to be in his late twenties. The man had high cheekbones with a feminine nose and mountain shaped lips. Aerith inhaled sharply. He was beautiful.
"Hello? Hello? Is everything alright?" she asked. She gazed at the man and confusion swept through her. She did not know who he was and how he fell down here. His body looked battered and wasted.
Aerith tried to move closer to check his pulse when she suddenly tripped over something soft and black. The woman gasped when she realised the man had a large wing protruding from his left shoulder blade. She hesitated a little and curiosity aroused inside her. The wing was a fascinating object to her.
Aerith had never seen a human with one before. She leaned on the grass with her knees slowly and was just about to touch the feathery wing when the man's eyes flung open.
He strained his neck to glance at Aerith but his eyes were glazed over. Aerith's hand flew to her mouth. She had seen eyes like that before, those green- blue pools of mako. Her unexpected guest was definitely a SOLDIER.
"Are you alright?" she asked though she wanted to run away. The man's eyes did not come into focus. It seemed as if he was looking right through her. His lips formed a faint smile.
"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess..." he whispered before collapsing back to the ground, unconscious.
Aerith scurried a few steps back. Is this what Zack meant when he said soldiers were monsters?
"What should I do?" she thought to herself. She walked frantically around the man, pondering whether to run away or call for help. It would seem rational to help him herself with her healing abilities or she could leave him altogether and return to the church a few months later.
She could call the Avalanche members to dispose of him but that seemed wrong. Aerith strolled across the wooden pavement, wringing her joined hands in worry.
His entrance reminded her so much of Zack. What if he knew where Zack's whereabouts were? She paused and felt a heavy knot form in her stomach. Did she even want to see Zack? He could be anywhere. He did not reply once to her eighty nine letters which was unusual and suspicious of him. Then again, whenever she called him, he was always busy but, sometimes, she needed him. He was her first love. Her feelings had changed because no one would feel the same about someone else after five years of no contact. Zack gave her good memories and she was grateful for that but it was time for her to move on and forget him, maybe wait for him but not to dwell on their moments. She sighed sentimentally and yearned for her lost love once more before turning to the stranger.
She thought she was being useless doing nothing and stamped her boot on the floor. The crisp sound resounded off the hollow walls.
The large doors suddenly sprung open by a strong gust of wind, making Aerith jump. Black feathers flew hectically around the empty church. Aerith surveyed her surroundings in amazement and her gaze fell upon the SOLDIER again. His uniform seemed to be of 1st Class. He was a bit taller than Zack- she would barely reach his shoulder if he were to stand his full height. Her eyes followed his sprawled arms to his black wing.
Aerith had seen pictures of people with wings before; they were angels. They did not have black wings though, only the demons in the artworks that she observed had dark wings. Was he an evil being? She pushed one of her bangs behind her ears, like she always does when she is deep in thought, only to find it fell back in its original place. The man took a breath raggedly, he was craving for life and this action made the Ancient's heart skip a beat.
If he was evil or not, he was someone near death and Aerith decided to help him. She took a spare basket that she usually used for gathering her flowers and scrambled her way to the streets.
Midgar was busy like most days and the vast city made the Ancient feel congested with many people bustling about and cars stuck in traffic every hour. She rushed passed through crowds of local people.
Aerith made way her into a gloomy, vacant alley. It was a shortcut to the nearest item store. The place had a dark, eerie mood to it. She heard footsteps behind her but when the Cetra turned around nobody was there. She walked quickly as she didn't want to waste any time for the injured man in her church.
Aerith clutched her basket tightly and whispered phrases of prayer.
She heard the footsteps again, louder than before and the young woman saw a long shadow flicker on the wall before it faded into the darkness. Aerith stood in one spot and tried to ignore the loud beating of her heart. Someone was breathing heavily behind her.
Strong hands grabbed Aerith's long braid and threw her to the floor. She yelped in shock and slapped the man.
He grimaced and watched her lecherously. His face was dirty and he had a rancid scent radiating from his ragged clothes. A silver piercing was hanging from his nose and the lobes of his ears. It took her a while to recognise who he was through the darkness.
It was Vera, the leader of a skater group. The flashback raced through Aerith's mind: He had asked her for a bouquet of flowers a few days ago but when she gave it to him; he threw it into a puddle of mud, claiming how ugly they were. She punched him then impulsively and he attempted to attack her but a crowd of old women stopped him and gave the vandal a good beating.
Aerith never understood why Vera had thrown her flowers away. She did not want to either; he had a reclining reputation anyway.
"Well, well, if it isn't Midgar's flower-girl? I hit the jackpot!"
Before Aerith could protest, the wretched man attempted to lean over her, his muscular arms grabbing hold of her thin, fragile wrists. The woman scuffled underneath him but his knees were pressing on her thighs.
"Why not sell something else other than your ugly flowers?" Vera teased and twirled his finger in her hair. His breath was stale and reeked of alcohol. He took a whiff of her flowery scent and gave a satisfied sigh.
Aerith pleaded him to stop but her cries enforced her encounter to act with more efficiency. Vera fiddled with her coat. He succeeded in tearing her bolero jacket off and now had his eyes on her buttoned dress. Tears streamed down the Cetra's face.
"Please, stop..."she sobbed. The wicked man pushed her head against the concrete ground. Aerith winced. Her face became covered in dirt when Vera's hands traced her features. His long, dark greasy hair tickled her cheeks.
"Stop moving, you whore! You're the one getting me excited with your skimpy dress!" he retorted. He moved one of his legs off her and held her waist compactly to stop her from shaking.
Aerith bit the hand that was on her lips and raised her foot slightly before slamming the front of her boot in the middle of the man's trousers. His face contorted with pain and he rolled off in agony. She breathed rapidly and stood up to defend herself.
Aerith gave Vera another kick in the shin and retrieved her fallen basket. The adrenaline was pumping fast in her body and helped her run with speed she never knew she had. Her legs were still sore after succumbing to the man's weight.
"This is not over, you bitch!" she heard the muffled voice scream as she raced through many alleyways. Her heart was thumping intensely.
Aerith leaned against a wall when she estimated that she was safe and cried to herself. Her body shivered with fear and her mind raced through the consequences of what could have happened if luck was not by her side. Elymra always warned her not to go into the streets but Aerith was sure she could manage it.
Aerith knelt to the floor and cradled her face into her knees, her ribcage rattled from her violent sobs. She trembled with vehemence before regaining herself when she remembered the dying stranger lying on her flowers. She wiped the dirt off her face and continued her destination.
Aerith found the item shop and entered it after fixing her unruly appearance. She needed to stay adorable and meticulous if she wanted to get discounts from the shop keeper.
A bell chimed as she entered the store.
"I would like a Phoenix Down please," she told the large, stout man at the counter.
"That would be...One thousand and five hundred gil," he replied. He was sweating heavily in the busy shop. He needed an air conditioner.
"I think that is a bit too expensive, Sir," Aerith remarked and fanned herself with one hand.
The shop keeper rubbed his bristled chin.
"Hmph...Okay dear, how about one thousand gil instead?"
Aerith looked into her wallet. She had enough for the item, but that would mean spending two months allowance. At times like these, she and Elymra needed the money.
Leaving all her anxiety aside, the woman reluctantly handed the shop owner the money.
"Thank you," she whispered as he placed a bag full of phoenix feathers into her basket.
Aerith left the shop with a heavy heart. How was she going to explain this to Elymra? Her foster mother was already angry with the whole Zack affair, but what will she say if she found out that Aerith spend their money for Shinra's war-toy?
Aerith took a different route to the church to avoid any more encounters with Vera.
The SOLDIER was lying exactly where she had left him on the grass, but she noticed with concern that he was considerably paler than before.
Aerith opened the pack of Phoenix Down. Elymra had used this before for a severely injured traveller. The feathers were known for their explicit healing abilities that saved many from the clutches of Death. They contained a bit of the Lifestream in them to revive the fallen but not the dead. Once the feathers came in contact with the patient's circulatory system, they engulfed all the toxins and forced the heart to beat normally again by sending electric impulses to the pacemaker.
Aerith parted the one winged Soldier's mouth and tossed the feathers down his throat.
A faint red colour appeared on his cheeks as he choked through the down. Blood trickled down the side of his lips. His breathing slowly evened out, and his tense muscles relaxed as he sank deeper into unconsciousness.
Aerith sighed with relief. The blood meant that the Down was working well.
We show no regrets with giving you a half angel though we hope that you, young Cetra, will stop the vengeance spurring in this man's heart. We, the Planet, have tried to redeem our choices of heroes but we fail many times.