Christi Lin
3/30/00
(my first story ever)
Final Fantasy VII: Love never dies
Prologue
A dark room materialized before him. A young woman hovered in front of him and he stared at her, feeling paralyzed. No, it can't be He thought.
"Cloud" The woman whispered softly. "Help me, please"
He opened his mouth to reply, but just then, her gorgeous face disappeared as a hand grabbed her abdomen, yanking her roughly away.
"Aeris! No!" He cried and made a wild grab for her arm, but missed!
He ran after the woman and her kidnapper, watching her as she looked at him with a fearful expression on her face.
Suddenly, she vanished!
He collapsed to one knee. "No, not again" He murmured, his heart in pain.
"Aer-ris!"
Cloud Strife screamed and woke up. Drops of sweat dripped down slowly from his blonde bangs as he breathed heavily. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heartbeat. "Aeris" He moaned. She's got to be alive, she's just got to be Cloud thought.
The blonde hair, blue eyed, 21-year old brushed his hair away and rose from his bed. He quickly dressed in his usual outfit of a thick, dark blue sleeveless turtleneck, navy colored pants, slipped on tan boots, and pulled on gray gloves.
Cloud picked up the flowers he had come across in the Sleeping Forest. Guess I'll visit her a little earlier He sighed.
After the whole escapade with Sephiroth, a man who was trying to destroy Cloud and his friends' planet, everyone had gone his or her separate ways. Barret Wallace and his daughter, Marlene went to Elmyra's house in Midgar, and Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine (her boyfriend), traveled back to Yuffie's hometown, Wutai. Cait Sith had gone back to the Gold Saucer, Nanaki (RedXIII) went to his birthplace, Cosmo Canyon, and Tifa Lockheart went to her and Cloud's hometown, Nibelheim. Cid flew his airship, the Highwind, back to Rocket Town and to his wife, Shera. Cloud had gone to the City of the Ancients to visit Aeris Gainsborough, a flower merchant he had met a while back, and fell in love with, one last time.
Cloud walked out of the seashell-shaped house and ran down a path. He slowed down as he neared Aeris' watery grave
Cloud knelt down at the edge of the small pond and gently set the flowers down on the surface of the water. He stood up and slowly walked away; his heart feeling heavy and his mind deep in thought.
A tear from Cloud's eye dropped onto his closed fist as he remembered
A few months before
Cloud watched as Aeris bent down to her knees, near the front of a small, glass dome. Her head was down and her hands were locked together in prayer.
He approached her carefully, cautiously, afraid of his actions. Aeris looks so angellic He thought. I wonder why she's praying?
As Cloud got closer to the Aeris, he began to freak out as Sephiroth manipulated his mind; forcing him to pull out his sword and raise it over the Ancient (Aeris). Barret and Yuffie managed to stop Cloud before he struck her, but they couldn't stop Sephiroth.
The silver haired, green eyed, former SOLDIER flew down from above with lightning fast speed and stabbed Aeris through her stomach. Cloud cringed as her lifeless body lurched toward the floor
God, I can't believe I'll never know what Aeris was talking about on our date
A week before Aeris' murder
"Cloud" Aeris said quietly to him.
"?" He wondered.
"I want to meet you"
Cloud was confused. "But I'm right here." He reminded her.
"(I know, I know) But I what mean is I want to meet you."
I didn't even get the chance to tell her that I-
A soft splash interrupted his thoughts. Cloud twisted his body around and instinctively reached for his Ultima sword. He looked around for a moment, but didn't see anything but trees and the ripples in the pond.
Ripples in the water? Cloud stepped forward and peered into the water.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder, whirled around, and let out a small gasp.
Standing in front of him was a very familiar woman. She was dripping wet, but didn't look like she had aged a single day since the last time Cloud had seen her.
The woman had silky, waist-length, dark brown hair tied with a pink ribbon. She was clothed in a long, pale pink dress, a small red vest as an overcoat, and wore brown boots.
She smiled wryly and said, "Looking for me?"
"A-Aeris" Cloud stuttered. "What are you doing here??"
"You don't want to see me?"
"No, of course I want to!" He told her firmly. "But I thought I saw you"
"Die?" She finished. Cloud could see a glimmer of sadness in Aeris' eyes.
"I did die," She finally said. "But afterwards, I saw- Umm, I mean, this guy Oh, it's a long story" Aeris trailed off and shivered from a sudden gust of wind.
Cloud noticed. "You cold?"
"A little."
He held out his hand to her. "Come on, I know a place where we can talk."
Aeris slipped her moist hand into his dry one and took a few steps, but stumbled to her knees.
"Sorry, my legs feel kind of numb from the water." She looked at Cloud apologetically.
"It's all right." He assured her. "I'll carry you."
"No, I don't want to be a bother" Aeris protested.
"You'll never be a bother to me." He smiled at her and swept her in his arms effortlessly, one hand supporting her back and the other holding up her legs. Aeris wrapped her arms around his neck as he started back down the path.
**********
When the two arrived at the seashell house, Cloud set Aeris down on one of the beds and wrapped her in a blanket.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"No problem." Cloud answered.
"So, what did you want to know?" Aeris asked.
Cloud hesitated. "Can you tell me what happened to you after Sephiroth killed you?"
The Cetra got a faraway look in her eyes as she started to explain.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I remember somehow ending up in a cloudy place. It turned out to be the Promised Land"
Aeris paused and smiled as Cloud held her hand, then continued.
"The people there seemed so happy and joyous I looked around for a while, then a man came up to me and said, 'Welcome Aeris, to the environment of pure-souled and kind hearted people.' I felt a little weird out; I'd never seen him before, after all, and he already knew my name!"
Cloud asked gently, "Did you find out who he was?"
Aeris shook her head. "No. But the man helped me for some reason"
"I stayed there for a few weeks, but felt miserable and a little lonely. Many people there were nice, but something was still missing A few days later, the man came up to me again said, 'You do not have to stay here if you are not happy. You can go back to the Planet back to your loved one"
"I was speechless. The man must have seen the slightly confused, but weary expression on my face, because he then said, 'Do not worry, you can trust me. I will not deceive you.'"
"He stirred my curiosity, so I asked him how I could go back; he got a sad look in his eyes and replied, 'You died too young, Aeris Gainsborough. I will give you another chance. However, as soon you return to the Planet, you must be careful, for there is someone searching for you, and may be more troublesome then your last opponent'
"Before I could say anything else, he waved good-bye and everything exploded in a bright white light The next thing I knew, I was cold, and lying in icy, blue water. Then I saw you." Aeris finished. She looked at Cloud, curiously. "What do you think of this?" The Cetra asked.
A long, silent moment passed before he finally said, "Whether or not that man was telling the truth, I'll protect you." Cloud met her eyes. "I lost you once, I'm not losing you again." He said hoarsely.
"Oh Cloud" Aeris said softly. "I'm sorry to bring this so sudden to you, but I'm pretty sure we have someone new to deal with."
Cloud took out his sword and swung it around above his head confidently. "Then let him or her try."
Aeris chuckled, then smiled as her boyfriend enveloped her in a warm hug. He whispered into her ear, "I never got the chance to tell you this, but I love you"
She stiffened. "What about Tifa?"
"What about her?"
"Aren't you two"
"Together? No, she'll always be just a sister to me."
Aeris sighed, relieved. "Everything's fine then"
Cloud turned his face and kissed her on the nose. She smiled and said, teasingly, "You missed."
He smiled back, cupped her face in his hands and slowly lowered his lips to hers, kissing her gently.
"Hey, want to go talk to the others?" Aeris suggested.
"Alright, if you're up for it." Cloud reached into his pocket and pulled out his PHS (a phone). They're sure going to be in for a big surprise" He murmured happily to himself before he dialed.
A couple of hours later, all of their old friends and allies arrived at the City of the Ancients. None of them were prepared to see Aeris sitting calmly with Cloud in a chair, smiling knowingly at each other when they saw the shocked expressions on their friends' faces.
Yuffie broke the silence by exclaiming, "A-Aeris? Is that really you??" The young ninja choked back a sob and ran to Aeris, hugging her tightly. Barret was speechless for once, and his daughter, Marlene skipped to Aeris shrieking excitedly, "It's the flower lady, it's the flower lady!" Tifa was glad to see Aeris, but felt secretly disappointed. Nanaki howled happily to the ceiling, and even Vincent's usually expressionless face showed some sort of surprised look. Cid scratched his head, unsure of what to say.
After a while, Cloud pried Yuffie and Marlene away from Aeris and sat everyone down.
"I guess you all want an explanation?" He shrugged and grinned. They all laughed and listened eagerly to Aeris as she explained what happened to her. Cloud sat down beside her as she began
Epilogue
Outside in the freezing weather, a figure peered into the window, eyeing the 10 friends sitting around together, sneering at the sight of the group's bright and optimistic attitudes.
"Enjoy your happiness now; it won't last for long" The figure laughed wickedly and her eyes glowed a dark blood red color
The Endor is it?