Phoenix Hearts
(Part 3)
By Alria
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the FF 7 characters or settings (aren't you surprised?)
Author's Note: I know I'm taking FOR-EV-ER on this story, butto tell you the truthI (gulp) didn't know what the curse was! Oh, I do now, though, don't worry! And in this chapter, you'll finally find out what it is! Yup, I know I'm evil ^.~ Neways, I'm not gonna continue if I don't get a few reviewsso if u liked it, take a few seconds out of your day and type me a little note. K? And on the "Aeris has green eyes" disputewell, actually in some points in the game, her eyes are blue. And since I have brown hair and blue eyes, I fancy she has blue ones as well. Sorry, it's just my thing. Oh, one more thing; I don't use my e-mail much at all, and I can't e-mail u back. But I am on IM a lot, so if u want to talk, look up my SN on my bio page. Ookie Dokie, here we go!
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Aeris took in a deep breath of fresh air as she walked along the dusty streets. Now that the top layer of Midgar had been removed, everyone could have the pleasure of sunlight. To her delight, tiny yellow flowers sprung up in patches all along the roads. Aeris smiled and walked over to a particularly large patch. She kneeled down next to them and placed her small, wicker basket on the ground beside her. Ever so gently, the lovely Cetra plucked a long, tender flower from the ground and placed it in her basket. Then, closing her ice blue eyes, Aeris placed her hands together and thanked the planet for the tiny gift.
With this done, Aeris stood up and lifted her basket off of the ground. By now, she had quite a nice bouquet going. Aeris smiled. This bouquet had to be special, for it was for a very special person. Aeris sighed and brushed a loose strand of auburn air out of her face. Cloud
It had been nearly three months since he had rescued her from the life streamand ever since then slowly but surly his health had been fading. At first he had denied that anything was wrong at allbut soon it had become unavoidable. Now, he was strictly confined to his houseand most of the time he just stayed in bed. Aeris came over to watch him nearly every day for hours at a timebut even she couldn't stay forever. The warm sunlight felt so good against her skin after being in the life stream for so long, that she just couldn't stay indoors! There were so many sightsso many smells that she had missed for so longit was just impossible to keep away. But her love for Cloud was stronger, and she was willing to by-pass nature for awhile until he got better. If he got better
Aeris shook her head. Of course he would get better! All he needed was a little rest, some warm soupAeris sighed. Who was she kidding? Cloud's illness was unlike anything she had ever seen beforeand it scared her. Recently, he been having trouble concentrating on anything, and he was constantly in pain as a result of massive headache. Sometimesthe headache would be so great Cloud would scream with agony in his sleep. Aeris shuddered at the thought of his screams. There was something unnatural about these headachesand she was afraid to know what it was.
When Aeris arrived at Cloud's small cottage, she was surprised to find the door was ajar. Aeris stared at it quizzically. That was odd, Cloud wasn't possibly strong enough to stand up and open itlet alone go outside. Aeris felt the familiar tinges of terror bubbling within her, but she quickly forced them back. There was nothing to be worried aboutCloud was fine. It was probably only the windright? Despite her convincing thoughts, Aeris quickened her pace and hurried up to the door. With a quick push she forced the door to swing open, and she stepped inside.
Aeris let out a quick scream as the wicker basket filled with flowers landed with a thump on the floor, spilling the yellow buds everywhere. There, lying unconscious on the ground, was Cloud. Aeris eyes watering, knelt down beside him and placed her head on his chest. Aeris sighed. His heart was still beatingthough it was very faint. A tear rolled out of Aeris's worried eye as she gently stroked Cloud's pale cheek.
"Oh Cloudwhat happened to you? You can't dienot after all that's happened. You can't leave me here, all alone. I don't think I could stand being alone again," she whispered, voice quivering. Aeris broke out into tearful sobs and kissed Cloud softly on the forhead.
"I love you so muchplease don't die," she murmured through her sobs. It wasn't fair! Why did their picture perfect ending have to be shattered like this? Aeris's heart was screaming. Was this how Cloud had felt when she had died?
"I warned him there was a curse. Men are so stubbornthey don't ever listen to the voice of reason," came a harsh, raspy voice from behind Aeris. Aeris jumped up and looked around, startled.
"Who's there?" she asked, fear creeping up on her like ice water. There was a loud cackle from the corner of the house the voice had come from.
"Who am I? I'm the one who gave that boy the means to go to the life stream," said the voice, and the speaker stepped into the light. Aeris gasped. The person standing in front of her was an old wrinkled woman who was wobbling on a gnarled cane. Her long, slivery hair was tied in a sloppy braid. She was grinning menacingly at Aeris, her crooked, slimy teeth showing clearly. Aeris looked at her, shocked.
"What do you mean, helped him?" she asked. The old woman only grinned.
"I gave him phoenix blood so he could dive into the life stream," she explained. Aeris's eyes widened and her face went pale.
"Phoenix blood? Why does that sound so familiar" she murmured. The old woman sneered.
"You really are out of practice, Cetra. Phoenix blood, if ingested, has a curse. The way it allows you to swim in the life stream is by loosening the bond between your soul and your body. However, afterwards, the blood continues to pull the two forces apart. Eventually, they spilt, and the soul lost in the windsand the body is doomed to live forever as an empty shell," she explained. Aeris's eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief.
"No! Not Cloudanyone but Cloud. You, you monster! How could you do something like that to him!?" she cried, a new set of tears flowing down her cheek. The old woman cackled wickedly.
"Why did I do something like that? Because I need his body," she explained. Aeris, jaw clenched, glared at the woman.
"What are you talking about? His body?" she asked. The old woman rolled her eyes.
"I suppose if anyone should know about me, it would be you," she said. The old woman raised her gnarled hand out in front of her. In a small spark it began to glow an ebony black color. Suddenly, the black glow spread like a forest fire throughout her body. There was a big bang and a blinding flash of light that filled the entire room. Aeris shielded her eyes from the brilliant flash. When Aeris opened her eyes, she let out a quick gasp. Instead of an old wrinkled lady, there stood a beautiful young woman. Her flaming red hair was cut up to her shoulders, and she was dressed in a long, blue gown. Aeris stepped backwards, shocked.
"What? Whowho are you?" she stammered. The young woman laughed, this time her voice was as lovely as a bell.
"Who am I? I am a Cetra, like yourself. My name isor wasKalla. I was killed many years ago. However, Sephiroth granted me my life backin exchange for a body. Cloud is the strongest man in the world; what better body for my lord to return in? That's why I gave him the phoenix blood; to destroy his soul," she explained. Aeris let out a slight scream as her blue eyes widened in terror. Sephiroth was coming back!? And he was going to use Cloud to do itAeris clenched her dainty fists. If this "Kalla" thought Aeris was just going to sit back and watch as everything she cared about was smashed to the ground, she had another thing coming. Kalla may be a Cetra, but she had the soul of a devil. And as the two women stood, scowling at each other, they both knew in their hearts that this could only end in battle. Not just any battle; a battle where in the end, one of the two would lay strewn across the floor, lifeless and limp. It was to be a battle of super-powers, two Cetras, one good, one evil, battling for the soul of one man. And it wasn't going to be pretty
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It moved kinda fast, huh? Oh well, I want to get this story ROLLIN'! AS you can guess, in the next chapter Kalla and Aeris are going to have a showdown for Cloud. But even if Aeris wins, how will she save his soul? The next chapter is gonna' be action filled, so HANG ON TO YOUR HATS! Keep a look out for chp. 5, and for now I must bid you adieu. Ta-ta, my friends!