I've never been so scared before in my life. Or in my death. Honestly, I thought things would be easier now, watching them from afar. I guess I was wrong.
I still feel things, you know, physically. There was no way to ignore the burning ache in my chest as I ran so fast, and so hard. There was no way to ignore how my legs were screaming at me to stop, but I wouldn't. I couldn't.
I never was much of a runner, really. I hated it, still do to this day. It was just, boring...I never liked to run, because I was just running, and there was no purpose to it.
There was never a greater purpose to run than in that moment.
The planes between their world and ours, I never really strived to cross them, just because I knew how difficult it would be. And look at me, the Cetra, shouldn't I have been the first to try? But no, it was the mere human that did first. He was the one who went through the trials and errors, the pains and difficulties of crossing worlds. Gaia, the first time he came back from crossing, I had to drag him across to our world. He almost didn't make it, he almost got stuck. He's gotten stronger though, and crosses more often. I still thought he was plain fool for doing it, though.
Of course, I can't speak like that of him,. After all, he was running just a step behind me, and I think my braid slapped him in the face a couple of times.
You figure spirits would be able to just be where they wanted to be by merely thinking. That's the way I figured it would be when I was alive, but it's a lot more difficult than that. We had to run end of our world, to the other. And while it isn't as big as their world, it still was a lot of running.
And it was by sheer will that I was able to send Cloud into unconsciousness when the Geostigma began attacking his body.
In his case, Geostigma, it seems to affect him when he's plagued by guilt. And he was never more guilty in that moment than when he found Tifa in those flowers. He knew she had come there because of him, and he knew she had been hurt because of him.
With Cloud, it's always been difficult, and I don't see how Tifa has the patience for him some times, honestly. But she does, and every time I poked my head in on her, guess who she was thinking about?
Us Cetra, we don't really...read people's mind, we more or less feel what they are thinking about. And every time I looked in on Tifa, it was about Cloud or Denzel or Marlene. It was Cid or Yuffie, or Shera and Nanaki, Vincent, and Reeve.
It was easy to pinpoint her destination. It's easy to figure out what she's going to do about most things. She's very decisive.
Still, I can't watch them all the time. I have to watch everyone. Oh sure, I'm not going to lie and say I don't favor them, but still, as much as they've done for the world, the world is made up of more than just them.
Cloud, well, as Tifa said earlier, Cloud is Cloud. His mind, it wanders over so many thoughts, and it's never clear, so I hardly ever know what he's thinking. He's never got a destination, and he's never thinking of one thing specifically, so I can never be sure where he is or where he's going.
But for the first time in ages I felt his head clear up, and that's what alerted me. One minute I was sitting there coaxing Cid into getting the Shera ready (subconsciously of course) and the next I just feel this wave of overwhelming guilt hit me. And all I could think was, Gaia, was this what he feels all the time?
Zack was beside of me in a second.
Zack, he's very close to Cloud; whether it's because of their mixed memories, or just because of how close of friends they became, he sensed it first.
He knew what was going to happen.
And then we were running.
Thank goodness they were in the church. It's much easier to make a passage into their world in the church. Maybe it's the flowers that connect the two, or maybe it's the church or the water, but damn if it's something.
I sent out as much hope as I could to them, and with as much strength as I could.
But Gaia, when I saw them, my heart literally stopped. I thought we were too late, and I thought they had died. But then Zack kindly reminded me that they'd be here with us.
I can't help it if I overreact sometimes, okay?
Still, after tossing out as much as I could to put Cloud out of his pain, I couldn't cross into their world, and I could only watch as Zack traversed across the between world, a nd then shape-shifted and bounded to stand beside of them and watch over them.
It did me well though, when I saw Zack nearly bite Reno's hand off when he reached for Tifa's...assets, as he puts them.
I think it'll be a while before I cross again, I mean, I have to cross now. I understand why Zack goes through all the pain of shifting just to cross for a few moments. It's addicting, and wonderful to be back there, with them, even if they don't know I'm there.
I had to pull Cloud into the between world, that time, when he was on his bike. You know what Zack did? Hopped right into Cloud's empty body and drove Fenrir around the Forgotten City. And Cloud had been worried he would crash. It's a good thing he didn't see Zack driving Fenrir like there was no tomorrow.
Though, I guess for Zack, there really isn't.
It'd been easy, though, sending the message to Marlene. For some reason, she really took to me. She's a sweet child, very open minded, so it'd been easy reaching out to her. It'd been even easier to call up the rains that washed away the Geostigma finally.
It was bittersweet though, when we both crossed into the church. I was in so much pain, but Gaia was I happy. And Zack, I used so much power bringing him there in his human form, and not a borrowed body or a human-turned-wolf.
But he was so happy, and so was I...and as Zack said, that look on Spike's face was priceless when he first saw us. It'll do him good, though, I believe. Or so I hope. There's no way I'm going back any time soon to fix or talk to anything or anyone.
I'm to sore to go back for a while, I'll just lie here in my flowers, conjure up some sun, and drift into some much needed sleep. The world can take care of itself for a while. One flower girl can only do so much.
That and the fact that Zack's got his arms wrapped securely around my waist and won't let me move an inch. He was worried about me when we crossed back into our world. And Gaia is he cute when he's worried.
He's determined to carry me for all eternity for what I did for him.
Yeah...we'll see how long that lasts.
A/N: I found something again. I was watching AC, and where Cloud passes out in the church...the first view of flowers, there's two figures running. I never noticed before, and I had to watch it like...five times just to see if I was correct. So inspiration slapped me in the face, and I just had to write it. And I swear, it looked like a braid was flipping out behind one of there head's, and I just had this mental image of Zack getting slapped in the face with Aerith's braid. I couldn't let it lie then. It's sort of sparatic, but whose mind isn't? And it makes Aerith a bit more human, and not so much as the holy martyr and great Cetra she's often portrayed as. yeah, Aerith was freaking awesome, but she was still human, actually, only half-Cetra. So, I think I like it like that. Later!