THIS IS MY STORY. Hahaha. If you think I've stolen it off a particular writer on this site, check out my profile page, and I swear to you it's still me. Hope you like it.

Warnings: ...Nothing? O.o Implications of character death? A little angsty? -shrugs-

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She was beauty personified. She always had been. From the moment that I had fallen through her roof and opened my eyes to meet hers, I knew that her impact on this world would be a big one, and her impact on my own would be even greater. In many ways, she reminded me of Cloud. She was shy around SOLDIERs, thrived for a deeper understanding of everything around her, and hid secrets of everything she was from the light of the world. Cloud... Cloud was broken now, and I only found comfort in the hope that everything would change for the better. With Aerith... I somehow knew that everything could...In the rare moments when I would pluck spare time from our constant evasion, I'd find some small peace in sleep. I'd usually see her in my dreams, and that Gaia given smile would ease some of the dread my mind still clung to.

"I'll look after everything Zack... I owe you that much..."

She'd reassure me that, and despite my best efforts at insisting she owed me nothing, she would roll her eyes slightly and simply smile. Her thoughts were very rarely negative in any sense, and she herself would tell you that. Everything about her exuded hope and a sense of contentment, and it remained my beacon at the times that I felt that I had no more within me.

"Unghh..."

Cloud had woken, and my heart sank a little further with the realisation that he was still incoherent in his speech. I wondered for a moment what his family must be thinking, before I realised that he had nothing left. It was me now. It was me and that brunette haired girl from Nibelheim. Had she even survived? My chest ached a little at the thought of the blonde coming to and facing a world where nothing was as he'd remembered.

"Well good morning to you too!" I grinned forcefully, as I ruffled his hair. My hope continued to cling to the fact that somewhere within him, he might just be able to hear me. I held his head up a little to look at his eyes. They were returning to the usual sky blue that had caught many a girl's attention, and I couldn't be more relieved. Thank Gaia... The past six days had seen the blonde with nothing but a poisonous green, and the incredible likeness to a wound still too raw to mention... It had been Jenova, I know that now. There was nothing left of the hero within that emerald gaze, and I had known then that all was lost to the horror of Jenova's manipulation.

Cloud... How must you feel about it all? He was held in such a high regard to you, and by your own hand... You'd been so excited to hear that you were going on mission with the only one you'd ever modelled yourself on... After the trip to the reactor, you'd tried to approach him to offer your help, and you fell on deaf ears... Perhaps that was when you broke. Before the labs, before your hero had fallen and taken everything you'd ever known within you... You'd faced rejection of the worst kind... The person you had truly idolised had bruised your beautiful soul, and you had slipped through the cracks just like you had always feared... Gaia Aerith, we need you... I need you... Angeal's with you, isn't he? I was never one to know a lot about your people, Aerith, but I know of their deep connection to the lifestream. Is Angeal proud? Is he happy? Did he know what happened in that town? Please Aerith, tell me he doesn't... Tell me he didn't see his leader, his comrade, his friend... Tell me Angeal didn't see the descent...

"I have someone back in Midgar, Cloud..." I smiled, as the slowly dying sun warmed my skin, "I want you to meet her... I think she'd like you..."

He was looking at me now, his eyes actually meeting mind of their own accord. My face smiled with my heart at the thought of Aerith meeting him, of Aerith healing him and helping him...

"There's always hope, Zack..." her voice rang in my ears, and I could have sworn I felt the ghosting on fingers through mine. I'm coming back to you Aerith. I need to tell you... how I feel...

And Cloud... I know you could help him Aerith, I just know it... It was far too still here, in the endless plains of Gaia knows where. I hated this feeling of being completely lost. My mind, my body... everything was everywhere and somewhere along the line I'd managed to survive by clinging to that which I knew was me. Hojo... He had changed so much. Gaia, five years... Five years now since I had flung an arm around Kunsel and wished him luck in patrolling.. Kalm? Was it Kalm? I can't even recall now... Everything seemed like it was a faded sketch of something that wasn't quite real... All that managed to keep me sane was the realisation that Cloud needed me now. It was no longer a life devoted to achieving the status of a hero. I'd become a guard and a protector to those that needed it the most. I'm sorry Aerith... I'd intended to make it to Midgar a lot faster... to help you tend to those flowers... Sure, it might not have been my calling, but if it helped you...

I stopped my seemingly endless walking then, and allowed my eyes the few seconds they needed to register the scene before me, before I lay Cloud gently down. Helicopters flew overhead, and a mass of SOLDIERs, guards and Turks... The Turks... The sounds of countless weapons being cocked reverberated through the air. My former comrades, my brothers in arms, my war buddies... my destruction...

"It's ok Zack. Everything's going to work out ok, no matter what, alright?"

Cloud, Aerith, what about Cloud?

"Everything... they're all going to be ok...I promise..."

Aerith's voice was so confident, so assured. I pulled strength from it and withdrew Angeal's legacy, my life, Cloud's future... I'm coming Angeal.

I raised the sword to my head and breathed in what I knew my mind would never allow me to forget. The smell of dust disturbed by standard issue Shinra boots, an oncoming rain lingering in the air, the burning fuel of the helicopters flying above, and mako... Mako of those third class SOLDIERs, cadets, Cloud... Cloud... You'll be ok. You'll be okay because she promised...

As I ran into battle, a silent prayer...

Don't forget me Cloud... Never forget me...

A silent apology...

I'm sorry, Sephiroth... That I was never able to help you understand yourself in a means away from her...

A silent plea...

Aerith... I'll wait for you... I'll wait for as long as it takes. I'll have all the time in the world to offer you... I promise...

I ran then, a silent response lifting my spirits in the moment I would need it most.

"I'd like that Zack... I'll hold you to it..."

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A/N: You all hate Zack death fics, I know. Do you like this one though?! :D Review please. ^^