Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII is owned by Squaresoft and all of its staff.
Cloud Strife stood at the top stair of the altar like structure. His eyes grew wide as he lifted his own blade before Aeris Gainsborough's head. Tifa Lockeart and Barret Wallace stood back beyond the stones Cloud had jumped up on to reach the altar Aeris was upon. They kept a distance and watched, unable to do anything else.
"Cloud! NO!" he heard Tifa shout, though it sounded distant. He began to swing his blade down on the frail skull of Aeris. She didn't say a word. She gazed at Cloud with her green eyes filled only with tranquility. Barret, too, yelled something, but their shouts had become inaudible.
You won't do it Cloud she thought.You can't swing that blade and I won't let you bear that burden. He began to swing. Shock registered in her eyes but only for a second. So. this is it. She closed her eyes. Cloud tried to stop his arms, but the heavy blade of his sword wanted down. His arms begged to put it down, regardless of where it landed. He wanted to scream. In the twenty-one years he had lived, he had never felt as helpless as he did in that moment.
The blade came down, and Aeris didn't move. AERIS!!!! Cloud's mouth wouldn't yell so his mind did. With every ounce of power he had, he pulled his blade. He fell backwards and fell into darkness.
While encased in the darkness he had fallen into, all the moments spent with Aeris began to flash through his head. Starting with the first time he had met her. ~~~~~~~~~~ "What's going on?" the flower girl had asked in the slums by the Sector one reactor. Cloud didn't' want at scare her, for she looked delicate and easily frightened. "Nothing.hey listen," Cloud paused. "Don't see many flowers around here," he said noticing the basket she carried full of flowers. "Oh these, do you wanna buy one. they're only a gil." Cloud gave the flower girl a gil, and she beamed with happiness. "Oh thank you! Here you are." Cloud took the small delicate flower from the outstretched arm of the flower girl before they both went away. ~~~~~~~~~~ .You alright..can you hear me? Yeah. Back then, you could get by with just skinned knees. What do you mean by 'Back then'? What about now..can you get up? What do you mean by 'that time'? ...what about now? Don't worry about me.you just worry about yourself now. I'll give it a try... (Oh it moved!) How about that.take it slow now.little by little.(Hello, hello!) I know. Hey, who are you? (Hello, hello!) "You okay?" a face asked him as he came to his senses. "This is a church in the Sector 5 slums. It suddenly fell on top of me. It really gave me a scare." The face looked familiar and Cloud tried to place her, but his mind refused to think. "I came crashing down?" Cloud asked confused. "The roof and the flowerbed must have broken your fall. You're lucky." Lucky? "Flower bed..is this yours?" Cloud jumped up quickly and moved from the flower bed before dusting himself off. His head spun from getting up too fast and his back ached. "Sorry about that," he said sincerely. "That's alright," she said softly. Cloud was still trying to place this girl. "The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." She walked a few paces away and looked up at the stained glass window of yellow and orange tints. "They say you can't grow flowers and grass in Midgar, but for some reason the flowers have no problem blooming here. I love it here." The girl turned from the stained glass window and went about fixing up her flowerbed. The stems seemed to heal themselves under her hands. Cloud went to Aeris and watched the flowers heal themselves. "So we meet again..don't you remember me?" Cloud thought for a moment and the girl's identity snapped into place in his mind that now was working better. "Yeah. I remember you..," you were a slum drunk, he thought about saying, but thought better of the half-assed joke, and answered honestly. "Yeah I remember, you were selling flowers."
"Oh! I'm so happy! Thanks for buying my flowers." Aeris went back to fix her flowers and a few seconds later stood back up. "Say.do you have any Materia?" "Yes, some. Nowadays you can get it anywhere." "But mine is special.it's good for absolutely nothing." "Good for nothing? You probably just don't know how to use it." "No I do.it just doesn't do anything.I feel safe just having it.it was my mother's. "Say.I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it? After all we are meeting again." Cloud inwardly sighed, but agreed to the task. "I don't mind." Aeris flashed Cloud a smile and once again checked her flowers. "Oh! We don't know each other's names do we? I'm Aeris the flower girl. Nice to meet you." Aeris.Cloud took mental note of her name and would never forget it from that day on. "The names Cloud." Aeris began to ask what he does, but he beat her unasked question. "Me..? I do a bit of everything."
"Oh.a jack of all trades," Aeris said. "Yeah.I do whatever's needed..what's so funny? What are you laughing at?" Aeris was now suppressing her small laughter. "Sorry. I just. Say, have you ever been a body guard? You DO do everything, right?" "Yeah that's right." "Then get me out of here. Take me home." "..Ok, I'll do it..but it'll cost you." "Well then let's see," Aeris looked thoughtful. She turned and looked Cloud straight in the eye and smiled. "How about if I go out with you once?" ~~~~~~~~~~
"You want to put yourself in danger again?" Cloud asked after getting Aeris safely home.
"It's ok. I'm used to it."
"Used to it?" What has happened to this girl? Shinra even has the Turks after her. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloud and Aeris sat on the top of the slide at the playground of Sector 6. "What rank were you?" Aeris asked out of the blue. "Rank?" "You know.in SOLDIER." "Oh, I was." a flash came over Cloud as he remembered. Something seemed fuzzy in his memory. "first class." "Just the same as him." Aeris stared off into the distance. "The same as who?" "My first boyfriend." "You were.serious." Cloud didn't know what he wanted the answer to be. "No." The response came quickly, too quickly. "But I liked him for a while." "I probably knew him. What was his name?" "It doesn't really matter," Aeris said sort of sadly. ~~~~~~~~~~ TBC
Cloud Strife stood at the top stair of the altar like structure. His eyes grew wide as he lifted his own blade before Aeris Gainsborough's head. Tifa Lockeart and Barret Wallace stood back beyond the stones Cloud had jumped up on to reach the altar Aeris was upon. They kept a distance and watched, unable to do anything else.
"Cloud! NO!" he heard Tifa shout, though it sounded distant. He began to swing his blade down on the frail skull of Aeris. She didn't say a word. She gazed at Cloud with her green eyes filled only with tranquility. Barret, too, yelled something, but their shouts had become inaudible.
You won't do it Cloud she thought.You can't swing that blade and I won't let you bear that burden. He began to swing. Shock registered in her eyes but only for a second. So. this is it. She closed her eyes. Cloud tried to stop his arms, but the heavy blade of his sword wanted down. His arms begged to put it down, regardless of where it landed. He wanted to scream. In the twenty-one years he had lived, he had never felt as helpless as he did in that moment.
The blade came down, and Aeris didn't move. AERIS!!!! Cloud's mouth wouldn't yell so his mind did. With every ounce of power he had, he pulled his blade. He fell backwards and fell into darkness.
While encased in the darkness he had fallen into, all the moments spent with Aeris began to flash through his head. Starting with the first time he had met her. ~~~~~~~~~~ "What's going on?" the flower girl had asked in the slums by the Sector one reactor. Cloud didn't' want at scare her, for she looked delicate and easily frightened. "Nothing.hey listen," Cloud paused. "Don't see many flowers around here," he said noticing the basket she carried full of flowers. "Oh these, do you wanna buy one. they're only a gil." Cloud gave the flower girl a gil, and she beamed with happiness. "Oh thank you! Here you are." Cloud took the small delicate flower from the outstretched arm of the flower girl before they both went away. ~~~~~~~~~~ .You alright..can you hear me? Yeah. Back then, you could get by with just skinned knees. What do you mean by 'Back then'? What about now..can you get up? What do you mean by 'that time'? ...what about now? Don't worry about me.you just worry about yourself now. I'll give it a try... (Oh it moved!) How about that.take it slow now.little by little.(Hello, hello!) I know. Hey, who are you? (Hello, hello!) "You okay?" a face asked him as he came to his senses. "This is a church in the Sector 5 slums. It suddenly fell on top of me. It really gave me a scare." The face looked familiar and Cloud tried to place her, but his mind refused to think. "I came crashing down?" Cloud asked confused. "The roof and the flowerbed must have broken your fall. You're lucky." Lucky? "Flower bed..is this yours?" Cloud jumped up quickly and moved from the flower bed before dusting himself off. His head spun from getting up too fast and his back ached. "Sorry about that," he said sincerely. "That's alright," she said softly. Cloud was still trying to place this girl. "The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place." She walked a few paces away and looked up at the stained glass window of yellow and orange tints. "They say you can't grow flowers and grass in Midgar, but for some reason the flowers have no problem blooming here. I love it here." The girl turned from the stained glass window and went about fixing up her flowerbed. The stems seemed to heal themselves under her hands. Cloud went to Aeris and watched the flowers heal themselves. "So we meet again..don't you remember me?" Cloud thought for a moment and the girl's identity snapped into place in his mind that now was working better. "Yeah. I remember you..," you were a slum drunk, he thought about saying, but thought better of the half-assed joke, and answered honestly. "Yeah I remember, you were selling flowers."
"Oh! I'm so happy! Thanks for buying my flowers." Aeris went back to fix her flowers and a few seconds later stood back up. "Say.do you have any Materia?" "Yes, some. Nowadays you can get it anywhere." "But mine is special.it's good for absolutely nothing." "Good for nothing? You probably just don't know how to use it." "No I do.it just doesn't do anything.I feel safe just having it.it was my mother's. "Say.I feel like talking. Do you feel up to it? After all we are meeting again." Cloud inwardly sighed, but agreed to the task. "I don't mind." Aeris flashed Cloud a smile and once again checked her flowers. "Oh! We don't know each other's names do we? I'm Aeris the flower girl. Nice to meet you." Aeris.Cloud took mental note of her name and would never forget it from that day on. "The names Cloud." Aeris began to ask what he does, but he beat her unasked question. "Me..? I do a bit of everything."
"Oh.a jack of all trades," Aeris said. "Yeah.I do whatever's needed..what's so funny? What are you laughing at?" Aeris was now suppressing her small laughter. "Sorry. I just. Say, have you ever been a body guard? You DO do everything, right?" "Yeah that's right." "Then get me out of here. Take me home." "..Ok, I'll do it..but it'll cost you." "Well then let's see," Aeris looked thoughtful. She turned and looked Cloud straight in the eye and smiled. "How about if I go out with you once?" ~~~~~~~~~~
"You want to put yourself in danger again?" Cloud asked after getting Aeris safely home.
"It's ok. I'm used to it."
"Used to it?" What has happened to this girl? Shinra even has the Turks after her. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloud and Aeris sat on the top of the slide at the playground of Sector 6. "What rank were you?" Aeris asked out of the blue. "Rank?" "You know.in SOLDIER." "Oh, I was." a flash came over Cloud as he remembered. Something seemed fuzzy in his memory. "first class." "Just the same as him." Aeris stared off into the distance. "The same as who?" "My first boyfriend." "You were.serious." Cloud didn't know what he wanted the answer to be. "No." The response came quickly, too quickly. "But I liked him for a while." "I probably knew him. What was his name?" "It doesn't really matter," Aeris said sort of sadly. ~~~~~~~~~~ TBC