Author's Note: I'd like to thank all of you who've read this story of mine and are still following me. Special thanks to those who took their time to review (copperheadfightingninja, GoldenShinyWireofHope and Zelda Sheik), they became the source of support for me to continue even though my schedule is packed and hectic. Thank you very much! ^^/ I'm very sorry for the late late update.. but I hope all of you will enjoy it! ^^/ I'm open to any constructive criticisms and suggestions :)
Chapter 3: Ship of Regret and Sleep
"The Lifestream… is so peaceful."
Zack nodded. "Yea."
"But it's not fun at all."
"Hahaha, the excitement's all gone when you're dead. Although, I didn't imagine this is how it feels being dead." He answered Aerith with his hands to waist, flashing her a look that says 'you know'.
"I have a question."
"Fire away."
"Why are you still… here?"
Zack's face fell. "What?" He looked confused and in pain. "Oh, I get it."
"I mean, it's been a year since you've died… isn't it? We're all going to merge with the Lifestream once our time is up. I guessed it was my lineage allowing me to keep this form for a while, but you…"
"Isn't that obvious?" Zack smirked at Aerith's simple question. "I left things unsettled." So many things unsettled, Aerith… You… Cloud…Shinra… Oh, man. It seems like my troubles never end, haha. "It's never good to leave things unfinished."
Zack's sudden mix of convoluted thoughts brought forth from a sudden surge of his memories during his life seemed to squeeze themselves altogether into the narrow confines of his brain; his expression turned into one of distraught. But still, he slipped a smile and continued, "And there I was thinking I was finally free." He scratched his head and gazed to the sky.
Aerith found herself gazing softly at her first love, through eyes filled with compassion. Even during their short period of time together, they were never allowed to spend long hours together. Their meetings were always cut short due to an emergency call or monsters appearing in the slums. She had wanted so much to spend more time with him. She believed he did too. He was always the one filled with enthusiasm, pulling her out, and making her feel safe even though he was constantly overloaded with the dirty work Shinra dumped on him. The work Shinra dumps on their soldiers. Aerith felt herself unable to suppress the anger she felt towards Shinra.
"I hate Shinra…" Aerith voiced out her thoughts in hushed tones. She couldn't believe how innocent and sheltered a life she had led up to the point she met Cloud. She was already sensing anomalies in the Planet during her time with Zack but never as bad as what was to ensue Zack's disappearance and Cloud's emergence.
"Hey… I should be the one saying that! But…"
"But it's because you were part of it that I came to met you."
Zack suddenly felt as if someone was gripping his heart and squeezing it hard, contemplating whether to squeeze it whole. "Aerith…"
He took a few steps towards her and brought her head to his chest. A gesture he felt familiar. Exactly the one he used on Cloud, before he died. "Shinra's one sick company, Aerith. I never wanted you to get involved but it seemed my hopes were destined to be crushed since Day One."
Zack gently pulled Aerith's head from his chest and making her face upwards so he could see her clearly. There was a slight dampness at either ends of her eyes but he knows she will not permit herself to cry. She's stronger than that. "So here's the plan, we figure out what we're supposed to finish doing, and then we get to sleep. Being an Ancient and a SOLDIER First Class sure is hard, huh?" Zack grinned again and she followed.
"Hmmm" Aerith looked around the area with a slight pout on her lips. "Something should come up soon, Sephiroth's still out there." Her pace continued at the slow pace they originally started out with. "We have to help Cloud when the time comes."
"Yea. Sephiroth's finally gone mad. Look what Shinra got us into. We've got to put a stop to it."
"You mean, Cloud has got to put a stop to it." She corrected him with a mischievous grin. "I'm afraid we can't do anything to Sephiroth except to aid in the destruction of Meteor, Zack."
"Wow, Aerith. It's only a few years since I left you and you're talking about world salvation. What happened to the girl that was so afraid of the sky?" Zack began to tease.
True enough, there was a time when Aerith was afraid of the sky; too afraid to even step out of the slums. That was when they first met. It had been Zack's promise that he will bring her out of the slums to see the sky. It was a promise long ago, a promise that could not be kept. But never once did it slip his mind. During missions he would constantly think of the girl he left back in Midgar and as he witnessed each part of the sky during each different mission that was each a different shade of blue with its different arrangement of clouds, he made a silent promise to bring her along one day.
"Zack..? Is something wrong?"
His thoughts were intercepted and he saw Aerith looking up at him, standing only a few inches apart. "Sorry, did I miss something?"
"I was only saying that the times have changed me. Though, I wish those promises we made could have been fulfilled. Somehow… it wasn't very satisfying, me seeing the sky without you. It just… makes it hurt even more."
"You… remember the promise?"
"You didn't?" Aerith looked disappointed.
"How could I forget?" Zack shrugged. "There were so many different skies out there! I wished I could show every single one of them to you. You know, get a bike, racing through the highway and finding a field of flowers so we could rest in, since you're always so fond of them."
For a moment, Aerith seemed to be marveling at the thoughts of what Zack had just said. But as if another thought got the better of them, her face fell. "It's too late now…" I've already seen the sky… together with Cloud… Aerith could feel something stir within her at the thought of Cloud. She did feel attached to him. He was special to her… But what were those feelings…? Part of her also suspects she has unresolved feelings towards Cloud, a being from the other side. And that was part of what's making her stay. Was he a brother..? Or a lover…? She fixed her eyes on Zack, desperate to find an answer then and there. She knows where her heart belongs. But still…
"Uh…" Are the nerves on his body reacting to her every move? Zack wondered intriguingly as his face fell along with hers. He would do anything for her… to see her smile. He wants so badly to make up for their lost time, for his broken promises still remembered. "It's not too late yet."
"Not too late…?"
"Sure there's no bike but… we went to the flower field. I thought it should be the first place to bring you to. We can go anywhere we want to for now. Of course, while we figure out what we're actually supposed to do," Zack smiled confidently as he extended his hands to Aerith. "Plus side, no emergency phone calls for me, no monsters. Down side, it's kind of sad when we only get to do this in peace when we're both dead." Zack tried to suppress his laughter.
"Hmm…" Aerith's eyes narrowed for an instant before she smiled again. "That sounds… fun enough."
"So, where should we head to?"
"I… want to show you the flowers I sold down at the slums. It's always been my wish." Aerith placed her hand into Zack's and the both of them vanished into the light.
