White Flower

fallen so far i can't get back up
chp. vi
desperately

*

The fire blazed like a thousand suns, taking everything in its path. The inhabitants of the town screamed and yelled and cried out for mercy, wanting the fire to stop consuming them like this. How it burned, how it hurt, make it stop make it stop.

She did nothing to stop them, merely watched in amusement, a wide grin on her face as she observed her puppet of destruction. This entertained her immensely, and a few who had escaped the flames rose their fists in anger at her.

"Demon child!" they raged, attempting to stop the source of destruction. She emotionlessly moved to the side, easily dodging their ill-aimed shots, then quickly swept them into the flames. They roared as they burned, and the puppeteer smiled.

"I love the smell of burnt flesh."

*

"What are we going to do?" Aeris asked at breakfast. She was picking at Yuffie's attempts at edible pancakes, which had turned out hard, crusty, and black.

"I don't know," Cloud admitted, taking a long draught of milk. He brushed his mouth with his sleeve, then turned to the other inhabitants of the table. "Any ideas?"

"Well, we all know Almalda is framing Tifa for the cause of the destroyed towns," Barrett said gruffly, holding up his copy of the current newspaper. He flipped to another page; a blurry picture shown of fire and a speedy figure, undoubtedly Tifa, issuing jets of blazes from her hands.

"What we need to do is find a counter-spell to Almalda's mind-control spell," Cait Sith interrupted, chewing on two small, dried fish. He licked his fingers, then crossed his legs. "And to do that, we need to go to the library."

"Yeah, you're right," Cloud responded, brows furrowed in concentration. "Maybe we should pair off..."

Six pairs of eyes stared at Cloud. Aeris blinked peculiarly at them from her spot at Cloud's side, then her mouth curved into a little smile. "I'll pair with Vincent," she said, much to Cloud's surprise.

Yuffie stifled giggles, and grabbed Cloud's arm. "Mine!" she exclaimed, hugging him. Cloud looked completely lost, and he didn't like the odd expression on Vincent's face.

"Well, me and Cid'll do some work," Barrett drawled. Cid nodded.

Cait Sith hugged his moogle, then grinned at Red. "We're partnered!"

"Yeah," Cloud said slowly. "Aeris and Vincent, you go to the temple of the ancients, while Barrett and Cid drop me and Yuffie at Wutai. Then, they'll drop Red and Cait Sith at Cosmo Canyon. Then, you guys go check out the library."

"Alright," Aeris said, standing up. She nodded toward Vincent, and he stood up also. "We'll be going."

"Same here," Cloud replied, trying to pry Yuffie's arms around his waist. He settled for her hanging off his arm, and grunted in distaste.

Aeris slightly giggled, but her attention was caught when Red XIII gazed soulfully at her. She blinked slightly. "Aeris," he said in his gruff voice. "I need to talk to you."

Aeris nodded, slightly confused, and followed Red into the bathroom.

*

"Do you love Cloud?" Red asked, staring at her with his beast eyes. The massive head-dress on him slipped a bit as he tilted his head.

"... Yes, I do," Aeris said, more confused than ever.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Does he love you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Aeris narrowed her eyes. "What exactly are you getting at, Red?"

Red glanced at the ground, then replied, "Actions speak louder than words."

Then he left the bathroom.

Aeris stood there, letting what he said sink in. Then she walked out.

*

Inside the airship was quite an odd sight indeed. Aeris chattered to Vincent, trying to make the quiet man at least become warmer to her, but, alas, she had no luck. Yuffie bounced around the area, gazing down at the ground, Cloud watching her with a bemused smirk. Cait Sith talked to Cid, who was explaining the controls to the cat, mistakingly pulled the wrong lever, and Cid, after yelling out several curses, fixed the problem. Barrett napped lazily on a chair, and Red switched between looking at Aeris and Cloud.

"First stop, Temple of the Ancients!" Cid announced, then fell back into several dirty words as Cait Sith accidentally fell on top of the controls.

*

Let me out! Let me out!

I don't want to do this, why am I doing this?

'Because...

You are a puppet.'

ARGH! STOP TALKING LIKE SEPHIROTH!

...

I just want to go home.

... I want my friends back...

I want Cloud back...

...

'You can't.

You are a puppet.'

...

Say that again and I'll knock your teeth out.

*

PREVIEW OF THE NEXT CHAPTER: Vincent and Aeris's escapade through the temple! Let's see if they find anything of interest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: -writer's block- Curses to day I started this story! I get NO reviews, and I have writer's block! -angeranger- I refuse to post anymore chapters until I get at least five reviews. I mean, come on! I'm working for no one here ._.;