Author's Note: Well I really hoped that I didn't have to put up an author's note just to sort out the formatting, but I'm sorry you guys it seems like I do. As you all seen before, I actually took out the title pages due to formatting issues and that had made it even worst, and I'd also hoped to fix up each of the chapters asap as well but was unable to due to my real life stuff getting in the + I needed a break from the whole messed up formatting issue.
Anyway, for those of who are sick of the whole A/N in chapters. I'm really, really sorry, but there's not much I can do about this. So please bear with it, and I hope it won't deter you from reading too much.
Once again I apologize for the constant changes, but I'm doing the best I can to make the fanfic look as presentable as possible.
~SAga4000
0=====================================Prologue======================================0
Aerith wait for me.
Those words echoed through the wind, from the very core of The Planet's energy, blowing from the forests where the words were uttered to an abandoned church; where a certain flower girl with braided brown hair, emerald green eyes knelt, tending to the very flowers she grew.
Her bangles dangled on her wrists, and her pink-buttoned dress rustled as her body leaned forward, carefully picking the flowers by the stem, before the rain started to pour down from the broken rooftop.
A familiar sense slowly over came her; it was another life returning to The Planet. She clasped her hands together in prayer for the unknown dying soul, just as she had always done to help ease their transition. Then something happened, she heard his voice echoing in the wind. With a quick gasp she quickly turned her head toward the broken roof and formed an empathetic connection with the one man she'd thought she would never hear from again.
He was still alive?
He was still alive.
She couldn't believe it, part of her felt relieved to know that he was still out there, but now he was leaving again. 'He's not going to be gone forever.' She told herself. All living things would have to die at some point that was the way of the world. Aerith carefully picked the rest of the flowers she needed, placed them in her basket, carefully got out of her flowerbed, and stepped into the edge of the broken floorboards just a few inches above it.
With her eyes closed, a soft sigh escaped her lips as she took one step, two steps, three steps and so on and so forth till she made her way out of the church. There, she lost all connection to The Planet. The lack of knowing scared her, especially in this circumstance, especially when it came to him.
His wind blown whispers, his words made it more than clear that he was trying to come back to her and that he never wanted to leave her.
She stopped in her tracks as the question, 'But why didn't he ever write back?' Echoed through her head before turned and looked up toward the plate just above the church. Her emerald eyes slowly closed, as if she was coming to terms with the inevitable. Though, she prayed with all her heart that he would live, that The Planet let him live.
Let him live.
0========================================================0
Virtus Arete
0========================================================0
A boyish hand touched the surface of the church's stone doorframe as he carefully stepped inside admiring both the church's architecture and the cobwebs that hung on the corners and the bottom edges of the wooden benches. The eight or nine year old boy, dressed in a simple gray shirt with mismatch sleeves, a pair of brown cargo trousers with lots of pockets and a silver wrist band on his left hand.
He looked up at the broken rooftop and saw the light shining through from above. His green eyes slowly trailed toward the spot where the light shone the brightest, where a sprout stood. With an excited gasp, the boy quickly ran to the spot. The old chipped worn out floorboards creaked loudly from the weight of his feet and broke free from its panels due to the years of neglect.
The Lone boy made a short leap from the broken floorboards, causing dust to cover his secondhand black and white sneakers, and landed to the bottom of the old, dried flowerbed. And what a miracle, the little seed he had planted here a week ago was finally starting to bloom and begin its life.
Soon the light was blocked by a shadow from the sky. The boy looked up and saw multiple airships in the sky. That was the first time he'd ever seen them before, in fact this was the moment he'd believed the story his sister and guardian, told him of machines. Searchlights beamed on the airships as the rays moved forwards, backwards and side to side.
The Lone boy reacted quickly, dove to one of the benches and managed to hide right under the seat. He was scared—no he was more than scared. He was terrified beyond belief.
Most of all he wanted to be home, he wanted to return to see his townspeople's smiling faces whenever he'd run by as an innocent six-year-old boy, dressed in a white shirt and blue overalls. He still could remember the sound of mud squishing beneath the red rubbery boots he'd wear underneath the overalls. Then he could feel his father's strong grip as he lifted him onto his shoulders, and how he felt like a giant when his father let him sit on his shoulders. He also remembered blocking the sunlight with his tiny hands as the glare blinded him.
The sounds of explosions came from above, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, and brough him back from memory lane to deal with the present. The church's whole foundation shook making it rain dust and bits of debris.
More explosions came and the boy darted out, ready to leave the church when he suddenly remembered the sprout and quickly turned back to the flowerbed and dug his fingers through the soil, he lifted the sprout and as much earth he could carry before he turned and made a dash toward the door, clinging the patch of dirt and sprout close to him as he continued one running down the familiar shortcuts and pathways that would keep him out of sight.
A small smile came to his lips as he thought of his accomplishment today.
He helped create a new life, and new life would breed hope and dreams. A smile came to his lips as his mother and father's words echoed:
All life mattered, so no one is more important than the other. Keep that in your heart, and you'll be a hero.
And that's what he wanted to be.