Drabble #25: Puppet
Summary: He had hurt her but he wouldn't be a puppet again.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix
Cloud unsheathed his sword, positioning himself in front of Aeris to protect her from the silver-haired man standing ahead of them, a smirk crossing his pale face.
"I won't give you the Black Materia!" Cloud snarled, pointing his sword threateningly. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow, as if he had expected such an answer. For a moment, neither man made a move until Sephiroth gave a sigh and lightly scratched his nose, shaking his head in a mocking manner.
"Oh, you will," he said in a dangerously low voice before he raised his hand. Aeris immediately knew what was going on and grabbed Cloud's shoulder desperately. She moved to stand in front of him, pleading with her eyes.
"Whatever he says Cloud, don't listen to him!"
But Sephiroth had already taken hold of his mind, commanding him to step forward. He easily pushed Aeris' to the ground, causing the flower girl to outstretch her hands to break her fall. Desperately, she peered up at the blonde, watching him open up his hand and reveal the black materia to their enemy.
"Good little Puppet." Sephiroth sneered, directing a smirk in Aeris' direction. "Hand the materia over," he commanded harshly and Cloud immediately obeyed, tipping his palm and let the tiny orb drop into the Ex-General's awaiting palm. Aeris let out a small wail, causing Sephiroth's gaze to shift onto her.
"Teach her a lesson my Puppet," he said sternly, loving the way the Cetra's eyes showed her fear as she tried to back away. Cloud turned to her, his eyes dull and emotionless as he took each robotic step after the next until he stood in front of her, her body pressed into the wall. She watched him for a moment, praying that he had snapped out of it.
The punch to her chest proved her wrong and she fell to her knees, gasping for air. Still, he didn't relent and continued laying blow after blow upon her defenseless form. She didn't even have enough time to cast a shield or cure spell in between.
Then, suddenly, it stopped and she opened her eyes to see his confused blue orbs staring at his hands. He looked down at her with guilt written all over his face and before she could react, he had thrown himself on her and sobbed into her bloodied jacket.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he whispered. "I promise you I'll never hurt you again. I'll never carry out his dirty deeds on you again!" he whimpered. Aeris softly smiled and patted his shoulder, ignoring the pain that shot through her body.
"It's okay Cloud," she whispered. "I know you'll never hurt me again."
And he kept that promise, the moment he let his sword clatter to the ground in front of her as she prayed in the Forgotten City.