Chapter 25: Awaken Nightmares
A gentle knocking could be heard against the door and it aroused Zack from his sleep. It still remained dark though and he looked around the room as he calmly sat up. He slowly began pulling his arm from around Aeris's waist, trying not to wake her as he moved. As his fingertips left her soft skinned side, she took in a deep breath and then went back into her peaceful sleep. As he glanced around the room, he noticed the glass that littered the floor still beneath them.
Taking in a deep sigh of grief, his attention was once again drawn to the door as another knock was sounded to him, along with a voice.
"Aeris? Zack? You two ok in there?" It asked and Zack almost at once recognized who it was.
"Cid? Hold on! I'll be there in a second!" He shouted.
"Are you two ok?!" Cid shouted again, seeming not to notice that Zack spoke up.
"Depends on what you mean." Zack answered as he reached over and grabbed his deep violet pants and quickly slipped them on while attempting to reach for his shoes as he fastened the belt buckle to hold them to his waist.
Aeris began to stir again, moving her right hand to her stomach to seek his own hand that she could not find. So instead, she pulled the blanket that was wrapped loosely around her, closer to her in comfort, believing it to be him.
He looked to her for a moment, as she stirred but she then began to calm herself and he turned his focus back to the door as he slipped his shoes on quickly.
Carefully he sat up from the edge of his bed and began to make his way over to the door, trying hard not to crush any glass beneath him that might disturb her again.
"Zack?!" Cid yelled again as he began to pound against the door once more but was quickly stopped by Zack as he swiftly grabbed, and twisted the knob as he swung open the door.
"Shh! You'll wake her." Zack whispered to him and Cid looked around him as he continued to act as though he was still hitting the door for two more seconds.
"Uhhh.. Sorry." Cid apologized as he quickly pulled his hand away to the back of his head and then looked to the ground in stupidity.
"Eh.it's ok, but what do you want this late?" Zack quickly asked him, looking very confused.
"Well, Shera and I heard a crash a little bit ago and we were wo-." He started but was suddenly interrupted by Zack.
"A little bit ago?! It felt like a lot longer then that, no wonder Aeris is still restless." Zack explained partly which only deepen the questions within Cid's own head as he stared at him.
"Oh? So you do know what happened?" He started again, waiting for Zack to explain himself.
"Yeah.. umm.our window broke, that's all." Zack tried to tell him but fell silent, thinking it was best not to reveal anything more.
"Your window broke? Then what the hell was that light from?!" Cid began, his voice climbing from a whisper now.
"It was nothing, just the moonlight." Zack tried to cover up as he also tried to look away from Cid as he peered at him.
"Moonlight my ass! There was something else here!" Cid yelled and Aeris gently sighed behind them, taking Zack's gaze back towards her, hoping she did not wake.
"N- Nothing was here." Zack stuttered over his words as he continued to watch Aeris start to curl up on her side knowing she would wake up soon if he didn't get back to her quickly.
"Mmm hmm. maybe we should ask Aeris then." Cid said sarcastically and Zack quickly turned to him waving his hands in front of him swiftly as he turned.
"No, no, no! Let her sleep, you can ask her all you want la-." A sudden booming interrupted him and they both turned their gazes up near the ocean to see a large circle of water starting towards them. They were small waves but they kept coming, growing in size slightly.
"What was that?" Cid asked, keeping his eyes locked on the sea.
"I- I don't know. but. I don't think we should stay here any longer." Zack told him carefully as another large booming sounded around them again.
"Naw! Not a single :skull::skull::skull::skull:er could scare me off!" Cid announced, chuckling to himself, trying to sound braver then what Zack knew he was.
"Yeah right." Zack mumbled as he rolled his eyes. Cid glared at him for a moment, partly angered by him mocking him but jumped at a sudden earth-shattering scream that created a huge shock wave in the ocean in front of them.
The waves began to grow much larger now, at least 10 feet high and then they washed over the streets below them. Zack stared down the steps that led up to his apartment and watched as the water began to raise itself up the first few steps. Cid turned to see how high the water was getting as well and quickly then turned to Zack.
"Shit! Get Aeris and meet Shera and me by the plane! Make it fast!" Cid quickly commanded as he started to make his way down the stairs and headed towards his apartment nearby.
The scream sounded again but started to die down into a roar now, shaking the ground beneath him slightly as it deepened. Swiftly, he turned and ran to Aeris's side, noticing she was starting to awaken now.
"What is it? Why are you up?" She asked him curiously as she pushed herself up so she could see him better.
"Here, put this on, quick!" He told her as he reached over and grabbed her rosy pink dress and tossed it on her lap that was still covered up with the blanket.
"Huh? But it's so late." She tried to tell him, squinting her eyes through the darkness until they began to adjust.
"Aeris. something's coming. we have to go or it might kill us." He told her as he reached over and grabbed her shoes and red short coat that laid on the floor still, swiftly shaking the glass off as he lifted them.
Her eyes lit up quickly as she listened to his words and she rushed up and grabbed her pink dress and pulled the straps to it over her shoulders, trying not to rip it as she placed it on and started to button it downwards while Zack tossed her shoes and coat.
He then began to go over and grab his sweater, ripping down his suspenders that were over his shoulder to keep his pants up, down so he could slip it over his head real quick and then he through them back up. Aeris was quickly tying her second shoe when an ear-piercing scream brought them both up to face their now broken window. But this scream wasn't from the monster, but instead from a woman in fear.
"WEAPON!" She screamed and other started to join her. Zack ran over to the door and swung it open to see the people pouring out from their homes with as much as they could carry, trying to flee from the city as fast as possible. Aeris ran over and grabbed her staff, while Zack turned and got his thick silver sword beside it. He then placed it behind his back and grabbed Aeris's free hand, starting to run with the others.
The children were being hulled over the parent's backs before them, as they ran so they could keep up. They cried as they all kept turning back to face the great beast before them. Zack and Aeris both turned and looked up at the familiar form of the beast, noticing the broken hand on it that they had caused.
It's grand ruby eyes lit up as it reared its head back and let out a deepening roar that sent a shock away around them, toppling some of the people in front of them.
"ZACK! AERIS! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Cid screamed from the porch of their hotel, searching the group of scurrying people for them, trying to yell loud enough over their panicked screams. Zack caught his voice and looked over to see them, Shera looking so pale that she might pass out at any moment, and Cid looked as though he was extremely pissed as he stood their very impatiently.
He then turned and tried to pass through the people around him, pulling Aeris quickly behind him and then beside him to avoid the other running people.
Cid looked down at them since they were the most noticeable ones, especially since they were running across the line of fleeing people instead of running with them, and his expression lifted, seeming to be very happy, but Shera's death face was still planted on her head and it didn't seem as if it was going to leave any time soon.
"Cid!" Zack yelled over at him, as he reached the banister and pulled himself up it, tugging Aeris up with him, and placing her at his side as she took the first step up the shallow set of stairs to rid themselves of the dangerous fleeing crowd.
"I know I know! We gotta get to the damn plane!" Cid screamed as he reached over and grabbed Shera by the hand and began dragging her down to Zack's and Aeris's level.
"Then hurry up!" Aeris yelled as she reached out and grabbed Zack's arm as a passerby ran and smacked her, knocking her off balance. He quickly then turned to the others and then glanced up at the weapon as it reared it's head back in anger and screeched again.
"Ok then! I'm going!" Cid yelled as he yanked Shera down and started running behind the crowd and Zack then turned away and began to follow after them.
Aeris stumbled several times on the broken up road and the weapon started towards them, narrowing it's glowing eyes at them furiously. Aeris looked up and met the monster's gaze and suddenly it's eyes grew wide with recognition and it swiftly swung it's foot over the buildings in front of them and jabbed it in front of them, crushing several of the people in front of them. Blood spilled all over the coble from their broken bodies.
Shera recoiled in horror as she stood before the beast's monstrous foot. Some of the surviving people beneath began thrashing furiously trying to escape but Cid and the others were too horrified to move at all.
Aeris had never seen this much horror before and her eyes grew as her mouth dropped at the site of the bloody people.
"H- help." One of them cried out, coughing up blood as he thrashed his arms out towards them, his legs were beneath the beast, perfectly flattened it seemed. Blood seeped out and stained his clothes as he continued to cough up several pints of blood and then he soon collapsed from the shock of the pain unto the ground, ready to die.
"Z-Zack.Cid." Shera stuttered as she turned to face the Ultimate Weapon that was now kneeling down, peering at them angrily.
Zack turned for a moment, meeting the beast's grand eyes and then quickly turned back around, pulling Aeris in front of him and held to her tightly trying to stay as perfectly still as he could to avoid any trouble with the monster.
".SHIT!" Cid suddenly screamed as Zack watched his eyes grow large and then take off.
Aeris gently turned her head to see from the corner of her eye that the weapon had his mouth hanging open, and was sucking in several tons of energy into it. It pulled on her and Zack and she could feel the force around then as Zack cringed and tried to hold his ground fiercely and shut his eyes tightly as he used all his strength to hold himself down and Aeris watched as she tried the same that Cid and Shera were trying to out run the fierce pull of the energy.
"Don't run! Hold your ground!" Aeris shouted as she reached back and gripped Zack's arms tightly to help him stay still but it seemed that they weren't listening as they desperately tried to out run the powerful attack.
Zack tightened his arms around Aeris as he bent forward to throw all his weight forward, pushing Aeris over as well and then they both dropped to their knees in exhaustion.
He covered her body in protection with his own but he let go of her and drove his hands into the soil beside her, holding to the ground as much as he cold as he pushed his feet into the dirt to hold his balance as well.
The wind whipped around them, pushing them back slightly as it began to grow in power.
Cid and Shera continued to try and run but their efforts were failing because their energy was depleting quickly as they became out of breath as well, and they started to fall back in surrender to it's power.
"NO!" Aeris shouted as she squinted over to them as the dust rushed over her body, smacking her in the face forcefully. She raised her right arm to her forehead trying to shield her eyes as she tried to open them a little more and then stared over at Cid and Shera.
"JUST STAY PUT AND HOLD TIGHT!" She screamed as she bent herself over and grabbed the ground beneath her with her other hand and then dropped her right one into the soil beside Zack's. Cid still seemed to be ignoring them then he quickly drove his fist into his pocket and pulled out a small metal box.
It looked to be one that held cigarettes within it but instead, when he flipped it open, there were several glowing buttons. Narrowing his eyes to see better, he slowly moved his shaking hand down to one of the green ones and pushed it while still running.
"SHERA!" He screamed and she turned to face him slowly and he nodded to her. Shera's large white lab coat whipped back behind her, she was running a few feet farther then Cid was and when he nodded she completely gave up running and flew back into his arms. He caught and held her tightly and then stopped moving himself, allowing himself to be sucked in towards the beast. As Aeris and Zack continued to hold their ground there the faint sound of a propeller turned their attentions over towards the now sandy path that led out of the town.
Zack lifted his head then to meet his gaze with the only hope they might have now and a small smile spread across his face. He then jumped to his feet and pulled Aeris up with him as Cid's plane came at them.
Aeris raised her hand and pushed her hair out of her eyes as the plane neared them and her eyes widen noticing the propeller was right in their way and she quickly turned back to face Zack.
"IT'S GONNA HIT US!" She screamed over all the commotion that was going around them and he shook his head at her and then lifted her up.
The Weapon suddenly stopped pulling them in and Cid and Shera stopped inches from the beast's face. They skidded, bent over to touch the ground as a racer would and then pushed off from it and started towards Zack and Aeris.
Zack then jumped to the side out of the way of the plane and dropped to his knees as the wing neared them.
It passed over them quickly and then Zack swiftly shot himself up and tossed Aeris sideways into the plane's second row seat as he stood. Shera and Cid were still racing towards it, panic still locked on Shera's face as she reached over from the side and grabbed the side of the plane that was where her seat was suppose to be. Jumping sideways, she hopped into her seat and Zack jumped on the back wing of the plane as it came near him.
Cid mimicked Shera's movements except he grabbed the control stick and yanked it back so the plane started to incline itself while he hung on the side. He then jumped on the wing as well and flipped himself into his seat.
Zack remained on the back wing and Aeris began to panic more as she turned to face him and notice that the plane was beginning to go to steep for him to keep his balance. He had to kneel down and grip the end of the wing tightly with his gloved hands as the started to take off over the weapon's shoulder.
Angered, it lifted it's sliced arm and swiped at them to knock them back down but missed severely and the plane continued to go up but Zack was beginning to look as though he couldn't hang on anymore.
"CID, GO STRAIGHT!" Aeris screamed desperately but he didn't seem to be able to hear her as he continued to turn almost completely straight up and down.
Without thinking Aeris let her staff drop in the seat and she got up, moving over the edge, pulling her right hand out in front of her to him, trying to get him to grab it but he wasn't planning on moving any of his hands away from the only safety he had left it seemed.
"ZACK!" She yelled as she pushed herself more over the seat, with half of her body hanging back out of the plane but he still refused to move.
"SIT DOWN!" He commanded her quickly as he shook his head at her, refusing her help.
Ignoring him, she continued to try and grab his hand, inching closer to him as the plane tilted even more each second even though they were still not out of range of the beast.
"DAMN IT I SAID SIT!" He screamed again shaking his head furiously at her and then his foot suddenly slipped and he then lost his grip.
"ZACK!!!!" Aeris shouted desperately as she lunged forward and stepped on her staff, making her slip and fall head first down from the plane.
Zack was thrashing as he began to fall back and he through his hand up and grabbed the end of the back wing with his right hand and then looked up to see Aeris was falling now.
His eyes lit up as she began to fall passed him and at that he quickly through up his left hand and grabbed her right arm as she started pass him.
She wrapped her right hand around his left arm tightly in fear as she dangled below and then through her left hand up to hold his same arm as well.
Shera turned in her seat to check on Aeris but to her horror she saw no one sitting there. She began to frantically search for any sign of Aeris and then noticed the black glove on the back and as she leaned a little more forward she noticed it was Zack and his other arm was holding Aeris.
"CID!! GO STRAIGHT!!! GO STRAIGHT!!" She begged as she turned back around and grabbed his arm, shaking it quickly.
"I CAN'T!!! THE CONTROLS ARE STUCK!" He yelled back as he began to yank back on the lever as hard as he could to fix it. Shera reached over and wrapped her hands around the control with him and began to pull back hard, trying to unjam it from its spot but it didn't seem to budge.
Zack's hand was slipping now from the heat of the engine and his energy was draining quickly as he tried to hold both himself and Aeris up to save them but it wasn't working at all. His muscle's ached as he strained them because of that night's events. The sky was still filled with stars as he looked up at it and took in a deep breath as the cold air rushed over them, pushing them away from their only means of surviving.
Aeris' began to slip from his other hand, sliding down slowly and the weapon was staring up at them as if he knew they would soon fall into his grasp and it patiently awaited for the event to occur as it brought up it's foot from the smothered people below it and turned completely to look up at them.
As it straightened itself it was plain to see that they could easily be swiped from the sky by it at any moment if it would only bring up it's large hand and swat them down like a fly.
It sneered at them evilly now and raised its foot and then quickly jammed it through the ground below as it reared its head back and roared deeply. When it lifted it's foot though, a gentle familiar glow showed itself to them but Zack was to busy trying to hold on to notice it and he was slipping quick. Aeris felt the warmth of the lifestream wash over her.
It seemed as if it was wanting to pull her below because she suddenly began to feel heavy and Zack was feeling the weight as well as he began to slip even more, now with only his finger tips hanging on.
The demon of a creature continued to stare up at them though, starting to become impatient with them it seemed and jammed its foot into the ground next to the lifestream that gushed up from the ground below angrily now.
"CID HURRY! WE NEED A CROW BAR!" Shera screamed as she let go of the lever and began to search her seat and the one behind her for any kind of tool to fix the lever.
Zack suddenly knew he was about to drop so before his fingers slipped completely, he yanked Aeris up by his side in an attempt to at least get her to grab the side of the plane but he didn't place her high enough and his fingers finally lost their grip.
"CID!!!!!!!" Shera screamed as she noticed Zack had let go of the plane and started to fall below towards the weapon.
"HOLD ON! I- I A- AL- ALMOST GOT IT!" He yelled and then kicked the lever causing it to rear back and start to go straight.
"THEY'RE GONE!" She yelled grabbing him by his blue jeaned jacket in a panic.
Cid then quickly yanked the lever to the right and then through it forward to make it do a sharp turn and then dive.
Zack held to Aeris as they fell looking to Cid as he came towards them but the weapon raised the one hand it had left and through it forward towards the two to crush them.
Then, Zack raised Aeris into his arms so that she would at least land on her back on him and straightened himself as much as he could knowing he would probably be the one to die from the impact but at the same time, same her from very much damage.
They both closed their eyes tightly as they prepared to, get saved, hit the ground or get smashed by the weapon.
Aeris slowly opened her eyes though and noticed that the monster's foot was in the way and as it moved it, a warm pool of Life Stream remained. She felt fearful of what would happen though, but she knew she had no choice of what was to come so she braced herself, gripping to Zack's shirt tightly as he wrapped his arms tighter around her slender form.
She ducked her head in against his chest and he pulled his in so his face rested on her chest and they suddenly struck the lifestream below as Cid swooped down, missing them by seconds. He quickly pulled up as a large seemingly splash pulled itself upwards and then washed off over the coble stone and ran itself into the sea.
Cid curved off then, looking back to see if Aeris and Zack were out and running but they hadn't emerged from the life stream yet and he wondered if they would even make it out because of the mako poisoning that might get them.
"NO!!!" Shera cried out as she watched them strike the liquid and get devoured within it, and they both began, fill with regret for leaving them their, to start towards the next town closes to them for help.
A gentle knocking could be heard against the door and it aroused Zack from his sleep. It still remained dark though and he looked around the room as he calmly sat up. He slowly began pulling his arm from around Aeris's waist, trying not to wake her as he moved. As his fingertips left her soft skinned side, she took in a deep breath and then went back into her peaceful sleep. As he glanced around the room, he noticed the glass that littered the floor still beneath them.
Taking in a deep sigh of grief, his attention was once again drawn to the door as another knock was sounded to him, along with a voice.
"Aeris? Zack? You two ok in there?" It asked and Zack almost at once recognized who it was.
"Cid? Hold on! I'll be there in a second!" He shouted.
"Are you two ok?!" Cid shouted again, seeming not to notice that Zack spoke up.
"Depends on what you mean." Zack answered as he reached over and grabbed his deep violet pants and quickly slipped them on while attempting to reach for his shoes as he fastened the belt buckle to hold them to his waist.
Aeris began to stir again, moving her right hand to her stomach to seek his own hand that she could not find. So instead, she pulled the blanket that was wrapped loosely around her, closer to her in comfort, believing it to be him.
He looked to her for a moment, as she stirred but she then began to calm herself and he turned his focus back to the door as he slipped his shoes on quickly.
Carefully he sat up from the edge of his bed and began to make his way over to the door, trying hard not to crush any glass beneath him that might disturb her again.
"Zack?!" Cid yelled again as he began to pound against the door once more but was quickly stopped by Zack as he swiftly grabbed, and twisted the knob as he swung open the door.
"Shh! You'll wake her." Zack whispered to him and Cid looked around him as he continued to act as though he was still hitting the door for two more seconds.
"Uhhh.. Sorry." Cid apologized as he quickly pulled his hand away to the back of his head and then looked to the ground in stupidity.
"Eh.it's ok, but what do you want this late?" Zack quickly asked him, looking very confused.
"Well, Shera and I heard a crash a little bit ago and we were wo-." He started but was suddenly interrupted by Zack.
"A little bit ago?! It felt like a lot longer then that, no wonder Aeris is still restless." Zack explained partly which only deepen the questions within Cid's own head as he stared at him.
"Oh? So you do know what happened?" He started again, waiting for Zack to explain himself.
"Yeah.. umm.our window broke, that's all." Zack tried to tell him but fell silent, thinking it was best not to reveal anything more.
"Your window broke? Then what the hell was that light from?!" Cid began, his voice climbing from a whisper now.
"It was nothing, just the moonlight." Zack tried to cover up as he also tried to look away from Cid as he peered at him.
"Moonlight my ass! There was something else here!" Cid yelled and Aeris gently sighed behind them, taking Zack's gaze back towards her, hoping she did not wake.
"N- Nothing was here." Zack stuttered over his words as he continued to watch Aeris start to curl up on her side knowing she would wake up soon if he didn't get back to her quickly.
"Mmm hmm. maybe we should ask Aeris then." Cid said sarcastically and Zack quickly turned to him waving his hands in front of him swiftly as he turned.
"No, no, no! Let her sleep, you can ask her all you want la-." A sudden booming interrupted him and they both turned their gazes up near the ocean to see a large circle of water starting towards them. They were small waves but they kept coming, growing in size slightly.
"What was that?" Cid asked, keeping his eyes locked on the sea.
"I- I don't know. but. I don't think we should stay here any longer." Zack told him carefully as another large booming sounded around them again.
"Naw! Not a single :skull::skull::skull::skull:er could scare me off!" Cid announced, chuckling to himself, trying to sound braver then what Zack knew he was.
"Yeah right." Zack mumbled as he rolled his eyes. Cid glared at him for a moment, partly angered by him mocking him but jumped at a sudden earth-shattering scream that created a huge shock wave in the ocean in front of them.
The waves began to grow much larger now, at least 10 feet high and then they washed over the streets below them. Zack stared down the steps that led up to his apartment and watched as the water began to raise itself up the first few steps. Cid turned to see how high the water was getting as well and quickly then turned to Zack.
"Shit! Get Aeris and meet Shera and me by the plane! Make it fast!" Cid quickly commanded as he started to make his way down the stairs and headed towards his apartment nearby.
The scream sounded again but started to die down into a roar now, shaking the ground beneath him slightly as it deepened. Swiftly, he turned and ran to Aeris's side, noticing she was starting to awaken now.
"What is it? Why are you up?" She asked him curiously as she pushed herself up so she could see him better.
"Here, put this on, quick!" He told her as he reached over and grabbed her rosy pink dress and tossed it on her lap that was still covered up with the blanket.
"Huh? But it's so late." She tried to tell him, squinting her eyes through the darkness until they began to adjust.
"Aeris. something's coming. we have to go or it might kill us." He told her as he reached over and grabbed her shoes and red short coat that laid on the floor still, swiftly shaking the glass off as he lifted them.
Her eyes lit up quickly as she listened to his words and she rushed up and grabbed her pink dress and pulled the straps to it over her shoulders, trying not to rip it as she placed it on and started to button it downwards while Zack tossed her shoes and coat.
He then began to go over and grab his sweater, ripping down his suspenders that were over his shoulder to keep his pants up, down so he could slip it over his head real quick and then he through them back up. Aeris was quickly tying her second shoe when an ear-piercing scream brought them both up to face their now broken window. But this scream wasn't from the monster, but instead from a woman in fear.
"WEAPON!" She screamed and other started to join her. Zack ran over to the door and swung it open to see the people pouring out from their homes with as much as they could carry, trying to flee from the city as fast as possible. Aeris ran over and grabbed her staff, while Zack turned and got his thick silver sword beside it. He then placed it behind his back and grabbed Aeris's free hand, starting to run with the others.
The children were being hulled over the parent's backs before them, as they ran so they could keep up. They cried as they all kept turning back to face the great beast before them. Zack and Aeris both turned and looked up at the familiar form of the beast, noticing the broken hand on it that they had caused.
It's grand ruby eyes lit up as it reared its head back and let out a deepening roar that sent a shock away around them, toppling some of the people in front of them.
"ZACK! AERIS! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Cid screamed from the porch of their hotel, searching the group of scurrying people for them, trying to yell loud enough over their panicked screams. Zack caught his voice and looked over to see them, Shera looking so pale that she might pass out at any moment, and Cid looked as though he was extremely pissed as he stood their very impatiently.
He then turned and tried to pass through the people around him, pulling Aeris quickly behind him and then beside him to avoid the other running people.
Cid looked down at them since they were the most noticeable ones, especially since they were running across the line of fleeing people instead of running with them, and his expression lifted, seeming to be very happy, but Shera's death face was still planted on her head and it didn't seem as if it was going to leave any time soon.
"Cid!" Zack yelled over at him, as he reached the banister and pulled himself up it, tugging Aeris up with him, and placing her at his side as she took the first step up the shallow set of stairs to rid themselves of the dangerous fleeing crowd.
"I know I know! We gotta get to the damn plane!" Cid screamed as he reached over and grabbed Shera by the hand and began dragging her down to Zack's and Aeris's level.
"Then hurry up!" Aeris yelled as she reached out and grabbed Zack's arm as a passerby ran and smacked her, knocking her off balance. He quickly then turned to the others and then glanced up at the weapon as it reared it's head back in anger and screeched again.
"Ok then! I'm going!" Cid yelled as he yanked Shera down and started running behind the crowd and Zack then turned away and began to follow after them.
Aeris stumbled several times on the broken up road and the weapon started towards them, narrowing it's glowing eyes at them furiously. Aeris looked up and met the monster's gaze and suddenly it's eyes grew wide with recognition and it swiftly swung it's foot over the buildings in front of them and jabbed it in front of them, crushing several of the people in front of them. Blood spilled all over the coble from their broken bodies.
Shera recoiled in horror as she stood before the beast's monstrous foot. Some of the surviving people beneath began thrashing furiously trying to escape but Cid and the others were too horrified to move at all.
Aeris had never seen this much horror before and her eyes grew as her mouth dropped at the site of the bloody people.
"H- help." One of them cried out, coughing up blood as he thrashed his arms out towards them, his legs were beneath the beast, perfectly flattened it seemed. Blood seeped out and stained his clothes as he continued to cough up several pints of blood and then he soon collapsed from the shock of the pain unto the ground, ready to die.
"Z-Zack.Cid." Shera stuttered as she turned to face the Ultimate Weapon that was now kneeling down, peering at them angrily.
Zack turned for a moment, meeting the beast's grand eyes and then quickly turned back around, pulling Aeris in front of him and held to her tightly trying to stay as perfectly still as he could to avoid any trouble with the monster.
".SHIT!" Cid suddenly screamed as Zack watched his eyes grow large and then take off.
Aeris gently turned her head to see from the corner of her eye that the weapon had his mouth hanging open, and was sucking in several tons of energy into it. It pulled on her and Zack and she could feel the force around then as Zack cringed and tried to hold his ground fiercely and shut his eyes tightly as he used all his strength to hold himself down and Aeris watched as she tried the same that Cid and Shera were trying to out run the fierce pull of the energy.
"Don't run! Hold your ground!" Aeris shouted as she reached back and gripped Zack's arms tightly to help him stay still but it seemed that they weren't listening as they desperately tried to out run the powerful attack.
Zack tightened his arms around Aeris as he bent forward to throw all his weight forward, pushing Aeris over as well and then they both dropped to their knees in exhaustion.
He covered her body in protection with his own but he let go of her and drove his hands into the soil beside her, holding to the ground as much as he cold as he pushed his feet into the dirt to hold his balance as well.
The wind whipped around them, pushing them back slightly as it began to grow in power.
Cid and Shera continued to try and run but their efforts were failing because their energy was depleting quickly as they became out of breath as well, and they started to fall back in surrender to it's power.
"NO!" Aeris shouted as she squinted over to them as the dust rushed over her body, smacking her in the face forcefully. She raised her right arm to her forehead trying to shield her eyes as she tried to open them a little more and then stared over at Cid and Shera.
"JUST STAY PUT AND HOLD TIGHT!" She screamed as she bent herself over and grabbed the ground beneath her with her other hand and then dropped her right one into the soil beside Zack's. Cid still seemed to be ignoring them then he quickly drove his fist into his pocket and pulled out a small metal box.
It looked to be one that held cigarettes within it but instead, when he flipped it open, there were several glowing buttons. Narrowing his eyes to see better, he slowly moved his shaking hand down to one of the green ones and pushed it while still running.
"SHERA!" He screamed and she turned to face him slowly and he nodded to her. Shera's large white lab coat whipped back behind her, she was running a few feet farther then Cid was and when he nodded she completely gave up running and flew back into his arms. He caught and held her tightly and then stopped moving himself, allowing himself to be sucked in towards the beast. As Aeris and Zack continued to hold their ground there the faint sound of a propeller turned their attentions over towards the now sandy path that led out of the town.
Zack lifted his head then to meet his gaze with the only hope they might have now and a small smile spread across his face. He then jumped to his feet and pulled Aeris up with him as Cid's plane came at them.
Aeris raised her hand and pushed her hair out of her eyes as the plane neared them and her eyes widen noticing the propeller was right in their way and she quickly turned back to face Zack.
"IT'S GONNA HIT US!" She screamed over all the commotion that was going around them and he shook his head at her and then lifted her up.
The Weapon suddenly stopped pulling them in and Cid and Shera stopped inches from the beast's face. They skidded, bent over to touch the ground as a racer would and then pushed off from it and started towards Zack and Aeris.
Zack then jumped to the side out of the way of the plane and dropped to his knees as the wing neared them.
It passed over them quickly and then Zack swiftly shot himself up and tossed Aeris sideways into the plane's second row seat as he stood. Shera and Cid were still racing towards it, panic still locked on Shera's face as she reached over from the side and grabbed the side of the plane that was where her seat was suppose to be. Jumping sideways, she hopped into her seat and Zack jumped on the back wing of the plane as it came near him.
Cid mimicked Shera's movements except he grabbed the control stick and yanked it back so the plane started to incline itself while he hung on the side. He then jumped on the wing as well and flipped himself into his seat.
Zack remained on the back wing and Aeris began to panic more as she turned to face him and notice that the plane was beginning to go to steep for him to keep his balance. He had to kneel down and grip the end of the wing tightly with his gloved hands as the started to take off over the weapon's shoulder.
Angered, it lifted it's sliced arm and swiped at them to knock them back down but missed severely and the plane continued to go up but Zack was beginning to look as though he couldn't hang on anymore.
"CID, GO STRAIGHT!" Aeris screamed desperately but he didn't seem to be able to hear her as he continued to turn almost completely straight up and down.
Without thinking Aeris let her staff drop in the seat and she got up, moving over the edge, pulling her right hand out in front of her to him, trying to get him to grab it but he wasn't planning on moving any of his hands away from the only safety he had left it seemed.
"ZACK!" She yelled as she pushed herself more over the seat, with half of her body hanging back out of the plane but he still refused to move.
"SIT DOWN!" He commanded her quickly as he shook his head at her, refusing her help.
Ignoring him, she continued to try and grab his hand, inching closer to him as the plane tilted even more each second even though they were still not out of range of the beast.
"DAMN IT I SAID SIT!" He screamed again shaking his head furiously at her and then his foot suddenly slipped and he then lost his grip.
"ZACK!!!!" Aeris shouted desperately as she lunged forward and stepped on her staff, making her slip and fall head first down from the plane.
Zack was thrashing as he began to fall back and he through his hand up and grabbed the end of the back wing with his right hand and then looked up to see Aeris was falling now.
His eyes lit up as she began to fall passed him and at that he quickly through up his left hand and grabbed her right arm as she started pass him.
She wrapped her right hand around his left arm tightly in fear as she dangled below and then through her left hand up to hold his same arm as well.
Shera turned in her seat to check on Aeris but to her horror she saw no one sitting there. She began to frantically search for any sign of Aeris and then noticed the black glove on the back and as she leaned a little more forward she noticed it was Zack and his other arm was holding Aeris.
"CID!! GO STRAIGHT!!! GO STRAIGHT!!" She begged as she turned back around and grabbed his arm, shaking it quickly.
"I CAN'T!!! THE CONTROLS ARE STUCK!" He yelled back as he began to yank back on the lever as hard as he could to fix it. Shera reached over and wrapped her hands around the control with him and began to pull back hard, trying to unjam it from its spot but it didn't seem to budge.
Zack's hand was slipping now from the heat of the engine and his energy was draining quickly as he tried to hold both himself and Aeris up to save them but it wasn't working at all. His muscle's ached as he strained them because of that night's events. The sky was still filled with stars as he looked up at it and took in a deep breath as the cold air rushed over them, pushing them away from their only means of surviving.
Aeris' began to slip from his other hand, sliding down slowly and the weapon was staring up at them as if he knew they would soon fall into his grasp and it patiently awaited for the event to occur as it brought up it's foot from the smothered people below it and turned completely to look up at them.
As it straightened itself it was plain to see that they could easily be swiped from the sky by it at any moment if it would only bring up it's large hand and swat them down like a fly.
It sneered at them evilly now and raised its foot and then quickly jammed it through the ground below as it reared its head back and roared deeply. When it lifted it's foot though, a gentle familiar glow showed itself to them but Zack was to busy trying to hold on to notice it and he was slipping quick. Aeris felt the warmth of the lifestream wash over her.
It seemed as if it was wanting to pull her below because she suddenly began to feel heavy and Zack was feeling the weight as well as he began to slip even more, now with only his finger tips hanging on.
The demon of a creature continued to stare up at them though, starting to become impatient with them it seemed and jammed its foot into the ground next to the lifestream that gushed up from the ground below angrily now.
"CID HURRY! WE NEED A CROW BAR!" Shera screamed as she let go of the lever and began to search her seat and the one behind her for any kind of tool to fix the lever.
Zack suddenly knew he was about to drop so before his fingers slipped completely, he yanked Aeris up by his side in an attempt to at least get her to grab the side of the plane but he didn't place her high enough and his fingers finally lost their grip.
"CID!!!!!!!" Shera screamed as she noticed Zack had let go of the plane and started to fall below towards the weapon.
"HOLD ON! I- I A- AL- ALMOST GOT IT!" He yelled and then kicked the lever causing it to rear back and start to go straight.
"THEY'RE GONE!" She yelled grabbing him by his blue jeaned jacket in a panic.
Cid then quickly yanked the lever to the right and then through it forward to make it do a sharp turn and then dive.
Zack held to Aeris as they fell looking to Cid as he came towards them but the weapon raised the one hand it had left and through it forward towards the two to crush them.
Then, Zack raised Aeris into his arms so that she would at least land on her back on him and straightened himself as much as he could knowing he would probably be the one to die from the impact but at the same time, same her from very much damage.
They both closed their eyes tightly as they prepared to, get saved, hit the ground or get smashed by the weapon.
Aeris slowly opened her eyes though and noticed that the monster's foot was in the way and as it moved it, a warm pool of Life Stream remained. She felt fearful of what would happen though, but she knew she had no choice of what was to come so she braced herself, gripping to Zack's shirt tightly as he wrapped his arms tighter around her slender form.
She ducked her head in against his chest and he pulled his in so his face rested on her chest and they suddenly struck the lifestream below as Cid swooped down, missing them by seconds. He quickly pulled up as a large seemingly splash pulled itself upwards and then washed off over the coble stone and ran itself into the sea.
Cid curved off then, looking back to see if Aeris and Zack were out and running but they hadn't emerged from the life stream yet and he wondered if they would even make it out because of the mako poisoning that might get them.
"NO!!!" Shera cried out as she watched them strike the liquid and get devoured within it, and they both began, fill with regret for leaving them their, to start towards the next town closes to them for help.