Welcome to my new fanfiction, The New Reunion. Enjoy, R&R

Disclaimer: All settings, characters etc. in this piece of writing are property of Square Enix.

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Cloud walked along a glistening stone pathway bathed in light, down a hall with walls upon which portraits were hung. All of them of the same thing.

Her.

Each one depicting a happy memory of her life with the group, spanning from when Cloud first saw her in Midgar and bought a flower from this innocent-looking girl, to when she… left them. Cloud's shoulders heaved with the burden of guilt brought to him after that time. Tears flew openly down his face and hit the pathway, the sounds tiny, but full of pain and sorrow embroiled deeply within Cloud's heart, eating away at his very consciousness every day and night. He stopped and stared at the picture of he and Aerith sitting in the carriage at the Gold Saucer. That night…

That night, he had been happy. Truly happy. Just knowing she was there with him. And he had kissed her. "Oh, glorious night!" he thought to himself, allowing a slight upturn at the edge of his pale lips, quickly turning into a silent stare at the floor in remembrance. He continued down the path. As he neared the light that was growing closer with every step, he felt as if he were being crushed by some malicious presence all around him. He turned and looked at the final picture, suspended high in the air, easily ten times larger than any of the rest. It was vivid, and spirit energy floated like mist around the edges, an eerie frame in the darkness. Sephiroth. Her. A sword. Loss. Pain. Cloud nearly collapsed under the huge sadness he felt whilst simply gazing with misty, wet eyes at this horrific picture.

He continued into the light, emerging in a room enshrouded entirely in blackness. A single scene was suddenly thrust into Cloud's mind along with some spirit energy lifting him high into the air. He screamed in pain and sorrow as the scene of him laying her in the pool at the Forgotten City played back in his mind. Fire burned his muscular body, evil voices shrieked in his ears "It was you!" "She is gone because of YOU!" "YOU!" "YOU!" the voices tore at his very soul, slowly consuming his will. Then it stopped.

Cloud found himself standing in a field that seemed to literally be made entirely of flowers. Flowers stretched as far as the eye could see, and the sun shone like a golden beacon in the sky, illuminating the shimmering wisps of the Lifestream flowing around the beautiful garden. A hand reached out to him, with two white bangles on the wrist. He took it, and the man was standing there, holding a girl's hand. There was that feeling again, the same he had felt at the Gold Saucer. Bliss.

Suddenly, the hand was wrenched away. He found himself in the field. It was burning. The Lifestream had been replaced by wisps of clogging smoke. The screaming had returned. "IT WAS YO--------U!"

Cloud shot straight upright and screamed "AERITH!"

His head span to check his surroundings, his body trembling with fear and sorrow. The harsh crystalline features of the Forgotten City came into view around Cloud, his cold blue eyes taking it in gradually. He was on the altar, and he had been every single night after the first nightmare that he had when at Tifa's house. He had lived here to show that he still remembered Aerith and how he felt ever since. Every night, the same screaming, the same dream, the same burning pain all over his body… Just for an hour, to see her again… That was all for which he wished. Every day, an hour's prayer at the altar to the Lifestream to bring her back. He wanted to remove his guilt. To know she could still be there. To be forgiven. Even when he felt he had been forgiven after the fight with Kadaj and his gang, not long after that, the nightmares started coming. Every night.

He stepped outside, and felt the cool breeze hit his cheek. He always slept fully clothed, just in case something happened, for better or for worse. With a de-rusted Buster Sword on his back, he walked over to the pool. Memories tugged at his heartstrings, but he wouldn't show this emotion to anyone but himself in his dreams. He had a cold exterior, but self-loathing and guilt waged war with his mind.

Cloud stared into the crystal-clear pool of water. "Hey, what's that?" He thought to himself, noticing a glowing object in the depths of the water, right at the very bottom. "I guess I'll swim down to see what it is." He decided. Just as he was about to run and dive in, a thought stopped him. "No… her body… it will-"Just as he was thinking about Aerith's decaying body, he heard something in his head; not his voice, a harmonious and beautiful voice, like a choir of angels. The Planet. "Do not worry yourself, young one. I removed her body from this world, so that her spirit quickly reached the Lifestream to aid in the battle against Meteor. Now, go and find what it is you seek." The Planet obviously wanted Cloud to find whatever was down there. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer to it. "Thank you." He then dived down into the depths. This water was clean of pollution, absolutely pure. This was a holy place. He could see traces of the Lifestream around him. Then, at the bottom, he could not believe what he saw. A Materia. Pure white. Bubbles escaped his gaping mouth as he tried to gasp. He swam towards it. He felt as if he were being caressed by some form of soothing magic as he approached the legendary Materia. Holy. Aerith's 'useless' Materia. The Materia that was aided by the Lifestream, by Aerith's spirit to stop Meteor from crushing Midgar. He gingerly picked up the White Materia using both hands, placing it where his heart was. He felt a wave of healing flow through every bone, healing all damage. All except the most important damage. Only he could combat that.

That night, he succumbed to sleep unusually early. He normally slept late, the nightmares putting him on the borders of insomnia. Fate was cruel. On this night, Cloud would have the worst nightmare yet.

The dream began the same as the previous night. However, this time, when the field began burning, the screaming continued on and on, and he began to see Aerith being stabbed in the Forgotten City over and over. It was endless. All the while, in the world of the living, Cloud was screaming her name, screaming to hold her, Holy shining like a star on his chest. Spirit energy was escaping from him, escaping into a swirling cloud of power above him. His body convulsed. Tears streaked down his tortured face as he screamed for her. The night terror ended. Cloud didn't get straight up. Instead, he lay on the altar, mumbling her name, crying. A hand with two white bangles on the wrist stroked his forehead which was glistening with sweat. "It's alright," Came her sweet voice. "I'm here."