On Cloud Nine?
Aeris shot up in the bed going from sleep to fully alert in seconds as shards of wood rattled against the far wall. Zell flipped himself up from his back and found himself looking up into the biggest sword he'd ever seen and eerie blue eyes full of anger.
'Cloud? How?' Aeris said as she recognised the blond warrior.
'So that's Cloud huh? I can see why she might've got me confused with him.' Zell thought to himself noting Cloud's spiky blond hair.
'Finally I've found you... I knew if I kept searching I'd find you again.' Cloud said in a crazed voice.
'You can't be real!' Aeris screamed at him.
Cloud glared at Zell. 'What have you done to her!?' he bellowed and swung his sword at him.
Zell jumped back as the blade narrowly missed him. 'I haven't done anything! What the hell are you doing?' he retorted.
The blade came at him again in reply and Zell jumped up landing on the wide blade using it as a springboard to flip over Cloud and grab him around the neck.
Cloud growled and dropped his Buster Sword, ramming his elbow into Zell's stomach. Zell grimaced in pain but held tighter to his neck dragging Cloud down to the ground.
Cloud wheezed as he ran out of breath, his mako blue eyes blinking slowly as Zell subdued him. Cloud went limp in Zell's arms and Zell relaxed his grip slightly. Cloud was still breathing slowly but was out cold. Zell idly considered breaking his neck after all he had attacked him, but he knew that was just the jealousy talking. No doubt if he did it Aeris would hate him, besides he wanted to know how the hell Cloud got here.
'Well I guess it's time.' Injustice said to his two cohorts.
'Let's hope this works.' Protes said sullenly.
'Oh ye of little faith.' Injustice replied sarcastically.
The three of them blurred as they left Spira and travelled through the endless void of space until they came to the green spiral that indicated the entrance to the Junction.
'You first.' Injustice told Tidus and Protes.
Protes shot him a look and growled. 'This had better not be some trick... I wouldn't put it past you to sell us to your brethren.' He said.
Injustice rolled his eyes. 'Damn it! They're all against ME! Why would I help them? Just go and I'll be there right behind you. I can't just turn up... Time will get suspicious...' he replied and shoved the two of them through the entrance.
Aeris stood over Cloud as he lay tied to the bed in the Infirmary. He hadn't changed at all since she had last seen him, knelt before him praying to the Planet. She knew this couldn't be right, the time she had spent in Fate's service had been too long for him to still be alive.
Zell stood by her looking on dispassionately at the love she lost, the figure who had not so long ago tried to kill him. All he could feel inside is jealousy, he had just been some kind of replacement for this man, now he was here in the flesh what was the need of his presence?
He watched in surprise as Aeris walked across the room to a drawer and removed a scalpel, its blade glinting in the light and she walked back towards the prone Cloud, the implement grasped tightly in her hand as her face set with intent. Zell thought of letting her just do what she intended as it seemed that murder was in her eyes, but then he decided that he couldn't let her do that, couldn't mar the innocence he saw inside her.
'Don't.' he said softly stepping between her and Cloud.
'Don't what? I have to see, I have to know.' She replied glaring at him.
'Know what?' Zell asked still blocking her way, arms outstretched, wary of the sharp blade she still held.
'That he's real.' Came the reply.
'And you'll do that by killing him?' Zell asked shocked.
Aeris' eyes widened in surprise. 'Kill him? I...I wouldn't do that!' she stammered.
She looked at Zell in astonishment. 'You really thought I'd do that? I only wanted to make a small cut to make sure he was what he seemed...' she told him.
Zell looked at her sheepishly. 'Well it looked that way to me... maybe you wanted to kill him so that you wouldn't have to believe he was real... how would I know? I'm not like you I don't know anything outside of my world.' He replied and stepped aside.
Aeris walked past him and gently cut the flesh of Cloud's arm. Instead of a trickle of red blood, a small spiral of grey smoke rose from the wound.
'An Ether Puppet...' she gasped.
'A what?' Zell asked turning sound to her. 'So this isn't really him?' he added hopefully.
'No this is a fake, a doll made of essence... it contains the faded memories of the dead.' Aeris explained.
'So who made this Cloud puppet then?' Zell asked watching as the rest of the fake Cloud evaporated as grey smoke.
'Only the High Ones can make them, they're a much lesser form of us Immortals.' Aeris told him dropping the scalpel onto the now empty bed.
'Did you really wish that it would really he him?' Zell asked softly as he watched her slump against the side of the bed.
'I don't know...' Aeris sighed.
'Well you loved him didn't you?' Zell persisted, not sure why he was doing this to her, what he expected from her.
'Yes I did but then I lost him. No doubt he and Tifa made it together after they saved the Planet. I was never able to go back and see, never knew what happened after I was taken...' Aeris told him standing up.
'So that's why you never knew if he was dead or not?' Zell said wanting to wrap his arms around her and comfort her.
'I guess... its not easy to keep track of time when you're an Immortal. Most of the time you're just a mobile personality flitting through space until times like this when They want us to be mortal. I never got to go back home, once the path is walked they usually never go back to the same planet or people.' Aeris told him moving closer.
'Yet they seem to have come back to us, and this Yuna on Spira.' Zell said aware of her arm gently brushing his.
'That's a mystery everyone wants to solve...' Aeris said softly and then spun round so she stood facing him.
She looked up into his eyes, her own filled with so much pain. 'Hold me... please?' she whispered.
Zell didn't need to be asked twice, his arms already moving around her slim waist and drawing her in so that her head rested against his chest. Her own arms gripped his back, holding tightly as if he were all that existed.
Cle looked up from his position from within the Junction as the two renegade Immortals appeared.
'You!' he hissed. 'How dare you show your faces here!' he raged. Tidus and Protes looked at each other unsure what to do and then remembered their parts.
They turned and looked menacingly at Cle.
'And just what exactly do you intend to do about it?' Tidus asked stepping forward.
There was a grinding as Protes clenched his fist. 'Yeah, you're just a glorified guard.' He growled.
Cle looked up at them a flicker of fear passing across his eyes before it was replaced by bravado.
'The most important guard in the multi-verse!' he retorted and pulled his weapon from his hip, a large metallic truncheon that glowed and eerie green.
Injustice then suddenly appeared in the Junction between Tidus, Protes and Cle.
Cle's eyes lit up in relief. 'My Lord!? You've come to apprehend these miscreants?' he asked trying to keep the quavering from his voice.
Injustice grinned disarmingly. 'No I came for this!' he said cheerfully, forcing a hand into Cle's chest and clenching his fist around something within.
He pulled his hand back holding a spiky silver key in his fist. He turned to Tidus and Protes as Cle crumpled to the ground.
'The Junction's ours boys.' Injustice said grinning triumphantly.
Aeris shot up in the bed going from sleep to fully alert in seconds as shards of wood rattled against the far wall. Zell flipped himself up from his back and found himself looking up into the biggest sword he'd ever seen and eerie blue eyes full of anger.
'Cloud? How?' Aeris said as she recognised the blond warrior.
'So that's Cloud huh? I can see why she might've got me confused with him.' Zell thought to himself noting Cloud's spiky blond hair.
'Finally I've found you... I knew if I kept searching I'd find you again.' Cloud said in a crazed voice.
'You can't be real!' Aeris screamed at him.
Cloud glared at Zell. 'What have you done to her!?' he bellowed and swung his sword at him.
Zell jumped back as the blade narrowly missed him. 'I haven't done anything! What the hell are you doing?' he retorted.
The blade came at him again in reply and Zell jumped up landing on the wide blade using it as a springboard to flip over Cloud and grab him around the neck.
Cloud growled and dropped his Buster Sword, ramming his elbow into Zell's stomach. Zell grimaced in pain but held tighter to his neck dragging Cloud down to the ground.
Cloud wheezed as he ran out of breath, his mako blue eyes blinking slowly as Zell subdued him. Cloud went limp in Zell's arms and Zell relaxed his grip slightly. Cloud was still breathing slowly but was out cold. Zell idly considered breaking his neck after all he had attacked him, but he knew that was just the jealousy talking. No doubt if he did it Aeris would hate him, besides he wanted to know how the hell Cloud got here.
'Well I guess it's time.' Injustice said to his two cohorts.
'Let's hope this works.' Protes said sullenly.
'Oh ye of little faith.' Injustice replied sarcastically.
The three of them blurred as they left Spira and travelled through the endless void of space until they came to the green spiral that indicated the entrance to the Junction.
'You first.' Injustice told Tidus and Protes.
Protes shot him a look and growled. 'This had better not be some trick... I wouldn't put it past you to sell us to your brethren.' He said.
Injustice rolled his eyes. 'Damn it! They're all against ME! Why would I help them? Just go and I'll be there right behind you. I can't just turn up... Time will get suspicious...' he replied and shoved the two of them through the entrance.
Aeris stood over Cloud as he lay tied to the bed in the Infirmary. He hadn't changed at all since she had last seen him, knelt before him praying to the Planet. She knew this couldn't be right, the time she had spent in Fate's service had been too long for him to still be alive.
Zell stood by her looking on dispassionately at the love she lost, the figure who had not so long ago tried to kill him. All he could feel inside is jealousy, he had just been some kind of replacement for this man, now he was here in the flesh what was the need of his presence?
He watched in surprise as Aeris walked across the room to a drawer and removed a scalpel, its blade glinting in the light and she walked back towards the prone Cloud, the implement grasped tightly in her hand as her face set with intent. Zell thought of letting her just do what she intended as it seemed that murder was in her eyes, but then he decided that he couldn't let her do that, couldn't mar the innocence he saw inside her.
'Don't.' he said softly stepping between her and Cloud.
'Don't what? I have to see, I have to know.' She replied glaring at him.
'Know what?' Zell asked still blocking her way, arms outstretched, wary of the sharp blade she still held.
'That he's real.' Came the reply.
'And you'll do that by killing him?' Zell asked shocked.
Aeris' eyes widened in surprise. 'Kill him? I...I wouldn't do that!' she stammered.
She looked at Zell in astonishment. 'You really thought I'd do that? I only wanted to make a small cut to make sure he was what he seemed...' she told him.
Zell looked at her sheepishly. 'Well it looked that way to me... maybe you wanted to kill him so that you wouldn't have to believe he was real... how would I know? I'm not like you I don't know anything outside of my world.' He replied and stepped aside.
Aeris walked past him and gently cut the flesh of Cloud's arm. Instead of a trickle of red blood, a small spiral of grey smoke rose from the wound.
'An Ether Puppet...' she gasped.
'A what?' Zell asked turning sound to her. 'So this isn't really him?' he added hopefully.
'No this is a fake, a doll made of essence... it contains the faded memories of the dead.' Aeris explained.
'So who made this Cloud puppet then?' Zell asked watching as the rest of the fake Cloud evaporated as grey smoke.
'Only the High Ones can make them, they're a much lesser form of us Immortals.' Aeris told him dropping the scalpel onto the now empty bed.
'Did you really wish that it would really he him?' Zell asked softly as he watched her slump against the side of the bed.
'I don't know...' Aeris sighed.
'Well you loved him didn't you?' Zell persisted, not sure why he was doing this to her, what he expected from her.
'Yes I did but then I lost him. No doubt he and Tifa made it together after they saved the Planet. I was never able to go back and see, never knew what happened after I was taken...' Aeris told him standing up.
'So that's why you never knew if he was dead or not?' Zell said wanting to wrap his arms around her and comfort her.
'I guess... its not easy to keep track of time when you're an Immortal. Most of the time you're just a mobile personality flitting through space until times like this when They want us to be mortal. I never got to go back home, once the path is walked they usually never go back to the same planet or people.' Aeris told him moving closer.
'Yet they seem to have come back to us, and this Yuna on Spira.' Zell said aware of her arm gently brushing his.
'That's a mystery everyone wants to solve...' Aeris said softly and then spun round so she stood facing him.
She looked up into his eyes, her own filled with so much pain. 'Hold me... please?' she whispered.
Zell didn't need to be asked twice, his arms already moving around her slim waist and drawing her in so that her head rested against his chest. Her own arms gripped his back, holding tightly as if he were all that existed.
Cle looked up from his position from within the Junction as the two renegade Immortals appeared.
'You!' he hissed. 'How dare you show your faces here!' he raged. Tidus and Protes looked at each other unsure what to do and then remembered their parts.
They turned and looked menacingly at Cle.
'And just what exactly do you intend to do about it?' Tidus asked stepping forward.
There was a grinding as Protes clenched his fist. 'Yeah, you're just a glorified guard.' He growled.
Cle looked up at them a flicker of fear passing across his eyes before it was replaced by bravado.
'The most important guard in the multi-verse!' he retorted and pulled his weapon from his hip, a large metallic truncheon that glowed and eerie green.
Injustice then suddenly appeared in the Junction between Tidus, Protes and Cle.
Cle's eyes lit up in relief. 'My Lord!? You've come to apprehend these miscreants?' he asked trying to keep the quavering from his voice.
Injustice grinned disarmingly. 'No I came for this!' he said cheerfully, forcing a hand into Cle's chest and clenching his fist around something within.
He pulled his hand back holding a spiky silver key in his fist. He turned to Tidus and Protes as Cle crumpled to the ground.
'The Junction's ours boys.' Injustice said grinning triumphantly.