Here he was again, standing in
the same spot as always. For nearly three months he had been coming here. Three
months since Sephiroth's defeat, three months since meteor was stopped in it's
path, three months since her death. Aerith, why did you have to die? It just
wasn't fair.
"Why did you have to take
her from me," Cloud yelled into the darkness.
"Because fate is
cruel," a voice answered. He spun around, his Ultima Sword drawn ready for
anything. What he saw was not what he had expected. It was a woman her body was
levitating, her toes barely brushed the ground. Her outline was solid but light
glowed through her translucent body.
"Are you an angel?"
The woman threw back her head and laughed. He cringed, her laugh was like the
sound of rocks scraping together.
"Far from it." He
stared at her his weapon still drawn still awaiting some attack.
"I'm here to make you a
proposition."
He lowered his sword slightly
still wary of the floating figure. "What kind?"
A tiny smile touched her lips,
it wasn't lovely it made her look like a caged animal ready to attack.
"The best kind."
She floated closer to him and
it took all his self-control to not back away.
"Who is she?"
"Aerith. But she's
dead," he snapped.
"I can give you back your
Aerith," she said with that same smile. Those simple words could change
Cloud's life forever.
"How?"
"Are you familiar with the
term a life for a life?"
He nodded, an equal trade, but
how did it apply?
"I give you back your
friend. But in return one of your present friends will have to leave."
It was so simple Cloud's mind screamed.
He had so many friends he could survive with one being gone.
"I'll do anything!"
he exclaimed.
"The question isn't what
you'll do. It's what you will give," she explained.
"Will she have her old
memory?" That was all that mattered to him, that she remembered him.
"Of course she will."
He smiled finally he would be
able to tell her everything he was feeling.
"Are you willing to give
anything?"
He put his sword back in its
place and nodded. "I will give anything to have her back."
A smile overtook the woman's
face, but something glittering in her eyes wasn't joy. "So be it. Go home
Cloud Strife and tonight you shall have your friend back." He ran from the
room heading for home as fast as his Chocobo would carry him. It wasn't until
he was half way home that he realized he had seen eyes like hers before. They were
the same color as Sephiroth's.
He pushed the door open and was
instantly overtaken by the smell of cooking. All his friends, even the
ever-elusive Vincent, were sitting around the table having dinner.
"Cloud you made it just in
time for dinner," Tifa said pointing to the empty chair to her right. He
was too anxious to eat and decided to pass on dinner.
"That's ok I'm not
hungry." He paced around the living room waiting for the sun to fall. He
could hear the sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen.
"What's making you so damn
jumpy spiky," Barrett asked.
"Nothing," Cloud said
watching the sun slip into the night. From the kitchen there was the sound of
dishes breaking and Marlene's high-pitched shrieks.
"It's Aerith," he almost
screamed out loud. How wrong he would have been. He pushed through the group
anxious to see her again. The closer he got to the kitchen the louder Marlene's
screams got. He reached the kitchen and froze from the vision laid out before
his eyes. Tifa lay in a heap on the floor, a broken dish lay near her feet.
"She fell," Marlene
screamed in hysterics.
Cloud dropped to his knees next
to Tifa's limp form. "Tifa," he whispered cradling her head in his
lap. Her eyes were closed, she looked like she was sleeping. But her chest
refused to rise and her skin was slowly growing cold. "Tifa," he
pleaded. "Open you eyes."
"A life for a life,"
he heard someone whisper.
His head shot up searching
wildly for the voice. "Oh %$*#!" Cid exclaimed his cigarette dropping
from his mouth.
"I don't believe it,"
Yuffie muttered softly. He looked over to see Aerith Gainsborough standing
quietly in the doorway.
"What is going on,"
Barrett demanded to know.
They all sat in the living
room, all eyes were focused on Cloud. Aerith sat in the corner her knees drawn
to her chest, she was quietly sobbing.
"Why Cloud," Vincent
started softly. "Is Tifa dead and Aerith alive?"
"I don't know. All she
said was a life for a life."
"Right now we must deal
with this problem," Vincent said gesturing towards Aerith. "Before
dealing with the other issues."
All his friends had turned on
him. They turned questioning eyes to Aerith then back to Cloud.
"Where am?" Came
Aerith's soft voice.
"You are in Kalm,"
Cloud told her.
Yuffie, who was sitting next to
her, gently reached out to touch her shoulder. Aerith scooted away with a tiny shriek.
"Don't touch me!"
"What's wrong with
Aerith," Cid asked.
"I want to go home,"
she cried. For the life of him Cloud could not figure out what was wrong with
her.
"You are home." She
looked over to him her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
"No," she moaned. All
he could do was stare, something was wrong with her and he had a sinking
suspicion it was his entire fault.
Two days ago he had laid Tifa
Lockhart to rest. Four days ago Aerith Gainsborough had defied destiny. But as
he watched her pick flowers he knew something was wrong. She was so isolated
and when she did talk it was mostly nonsense. Vincent believed that somewhere
between life and death she had left her sanity behind.
"Aerith," he called walking
towards her. She turned to him with a slight giggle. "There's fennel for
you and columbines," she told him shoving flowers into his hands. The
flowers were wilted and dieing.
"Aerith," he said her
name with sadness.
"And will he not come again?
And will he not come again?" She sang with a glee.
"Sephiroth," he asked
wondering whom she was referring to.
"No, no, he is dead. Go to
thy deathbed. He will never come again." He couldn't take it anymore. He
turned on his heels and walked away. Aerith's haunting laughter followed his
retreat.
He lay in bed staring up at the
ceiling. She had been back for four days and he had been unable to have a
normal conversation with her.
"Why," he whispered
to the empty room.
His body was telling him to
sleep but his mind was too restless. There came a crashing sound from the
kitchen. He jumped from his bed his adrenaline screaming in his veins. He
pushed his door open and headed swiftly towards the direction of the crashing
noise. He flicked a switch and harsh yellow light flooded the room.
"No," he gasped.
Aerith lay on the floor, Cid's Venus Gospel protruding from her chest. A pool
of blood was slowly gaining width around her body.
"What the @#*$ is
going…" Cid trailed off as his eyes slowly focused on the gruesome scene.
"You," Cid growled turning towards Cloud. Anger and uncontrollable
rage filled the pilots eyes. "This is all your damn fault!" He drew his
fist back socking Cloud in the jaw. Cloud's head jerked to one side blood
slowly trickling down his chin from a split lip.
"If you hadn't been so
damn selfish Tifa would still be alive! And Aerith wouldn't have had to go
through the pain of dying again!" Cid turned away unable to hide the tears
any longer. Cloud gave Aerith's blood stained body one last look then bolted
from the house.
"You tricked me," he
stormed at the shadowy figure.
Emerald eyes, Sephiroth's eyes,
turned to look at him laughing silently. He looked away, unable to look at the figure
any longer. Long brown hair the exact mirror of Tifa's draped down her back,
Aerith's familiar pink dress hung on her body limply.
"What are you," he
demanded to know threatening her with his Ultima Weapon.
"I am what the Cetra
feared most. Greed."
"I don't understand."
"I have many forms, each
one unique to that person's greed. You wanted Aerith back so much, but did you
know why?" Cloud's body shook with rage, but his rage was slowly
subsiding, becoming something more terrible, guilt. "You are greedy Cloud
Strife. Now live with the consequences of your greed."
Cloud was alone once again,
tears of guilt streamed down his face. "I failed. But I won't let my greed
win. I WON'T!" Cloud Strife threw his body on the blade of his Ultima
Weapon and finally beat his greed.
Author's Note: Whoa…that was a
weird one, now wasn't it. I wrote this over five different days, during my math
class. So if it was sorta weird… that's why. Why did greed look like Aerith and
Tifa…got me, just sounded like something cool. Like it, hate it, you decide. I
don't really know what to think of it. I don't read a lot of Aerith resurrection
fics, but if she came back I don't think she would be straight in the head. Her
lines about flowers and death come from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
by William Shakespeare. Nobody can write insanity like the master. I borrowed
them, please don't sue me, I liked them and I'm giving credit so there. Normal FFVII
disclaimers apply. Please review. I want to know what everybody thinks.