Of Thorns and Roses
By Lost Mercenary
Note: Just a reminder. This is where the story actually begins. What you all read before was just a prologue and a taster of things to come. I'm evil and I love to leave you all in suspense HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Enjoy this first chapter.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Midgar...
A city that never slept, a place of boundless energy and opportunity for all the young folk that came here. Living there would change your life for the better. Or at least that's what Shinra had said. In reality, only the rich and powerful had any opportunity. They all lived on the plate in luxury, while the others were left to rot in the slums like rats in a sewer. If you lived in Midgar you were already dead, even the rich, consumed by their greed. And for a long time this was true. But now it was a different story.
Cloud stood at the edge of the summit, looking over the ruins of the giant city. His gaze was almost blank, like he was trying not to think, just staring of into the distance. But trying not to think about it all only made it easier for the memories to come flooding back to him. Zack's death, Tifa finding him at the train station, the attacks on the reactors, AVALANCHE and of course meeting Aeris. That memory stuck out most of all.
Aeris...
A tear started to run down the side of Cloud's cheek as he pictured her sweet face when he first saw her in Sector 8, right after the attack on Reactor 1. In all the chaos and panic that surrounded her she was still able to smile and be polite to the people around her, even the ones that knocked her down. She was a rose that bloomed out of a polluted soil. Every memory of her was a gift and one's that Cloud would treasure. All except one...
*Cloud saw the cold steel slip into her rosy pink flesh. He saw her eyes, wide with surprise, begging for help. Slowly Sephiroth removed the blade from her with no sense of remorse in his eyes. Aeris fell, blood gushing from her wound almost as graceful as the way Sephiroth had killed her. Cloud lunged forward in order to catch her body.
"Aeris!" he cried. He shook her gently in a futile attempt to revive her. Nothing...
"This can't be real!"
Sephiroth just stood there in his pride almost gloating at the unspeakable act he just committed. "Do not worry," He said. "Soon this girl will become part of the planet's energy. All that needs to be done is to go to the Promised Land that awaits for me over the snowy fields. Where I will become one with the planet as will this girl-"
"Shut up! The life of the Planet and your stupid plan don't mean a thing! Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer laugh, cry or get angry! What about us? What are we supposed do? What about my pain? My fingers are tingling, my mouth is dry, my eyes are burning!"
Cloud's emotions and feelings for Aeris just erupted. The only time how he felt about her had been expressed was the one time that she would never be able to hear it. He cradled her body, hoping, wanting her to come back.
Nothing...*
The memory was a painful one. He would not be able to forget. The tear rolled off his cheek and fell to the ground by his foot. Cloud looked down to where it had landed and he saw something that he thought he would never see near Midgar again. A blade of grass. Cloud bent down towards it. After a short time staring at it, he smiled.
*She's gone. But she will always be here.*
He turned round, to look at the memorial. It was small and relatively simple and was the only thing that stood out within this area. It had one word engraved in it, Zack. Cloud built it to prove to his friend that he hadn't been forgotten and as a sign of respect.
"Well Zack," said Cloud, "at least you and Aeris are together again." He hinted towards the new blade of grass, smiling as he did so.
Cloud continued, "I know you may not be happy considering the way I felt about her, but that's not what I came here to talk about. What I wanted to say was that I can't keep burying myself in the past. Letting my experiences block my future, and not laying it out. So in order to go on, I'm... letting her go."
It was painful to say that for Cloud, he had loved Aeris and he still did but she was gone. Nothing could bring her back and he had to face that. He rose from his kneeling position by the memorial and spoke to it one last time.
"See ya, Zack."
He turned then began to walk away, but Cloud stopped briefly then turned towards the grass blade. He smiled again.
"Goodbye, Aeris."
Cloud finally left, leaving his past behind and starting his life anew. But Cloud failed to notice something. Something in Midgar. There was a presence of some kind, stirring in the depths of the old ruins. Whatever it, or they was, it was moving slowly, quietly, hoping not to be noticed. Whatever it was, it gave off a sensation, a sensation unlike any person has sensed before.
It was...evil...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I hope you enjoyed it. Ch2 up when I can.
Please R&R.
By Lost Mercenary
Note: Just a reminder. This is where the story actually begins. What you all read before was just a prologue and a taster of things to come. I'm evil and I love to leave you all in suspense HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Enjoy this first chapter.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Midgar...
A city that never slept, a place of boundless energy and opportunity for all the young folk that came here. Living there would change your life for the better. Or at least that's what Shinra had said. In reality, only the rich and powerful had any opportunity. They all lived on the plate in luxury, while the others were left to rot in the slums like rats in a sewer. If you lived in Midgar you were already dead, even the rich, consumed by their greed. And for a long time this was true. But now it was a different story.
Cloud stood at the edge of the summit, looking over the ruins of the giant city. His gaze was almost blank, like he was trying not to think, just staring of into the distance. But trying not to think about it all only made it easier for the memories to come flooding back to him. Zack's death, Tifa finding him at the train station, the attacks on the reactors, AVALANCHE and of course meeting Aeris. That memory stuck out most of all.
Aeris...
A tear started to run down the side of Cloud's cheek as he pictured her sweet face when he first saw her in Sector 8, right after the attack on Reactor 1. In all the chaos and panic that surrounded her she was still able to smile and be polite to the people around her, even the ones that knocked her down. She was a rose that bloomed out of a polluted soil. Every memory of her was a gift and one's that Cloud would treasure. All except one...
*Cloud saw the cold steel slip into her rosy pink flesh. He saw her eyes, wide with surprise, begging for help. Slowly Sephiroth removed the blade from her with no sense of remorse in his eyes. Aeris fell, blood gushing from her wound almost as graceful as the way Sephiroth had killed her. Cloud lunged forward in order to catch her body.
"Aeris!" he cried. He shook her gently in a futile attempt to revive her. Nothing...
"This can't be real!"
Sephiroth just stood there in his pride almost gloating at the unspeakable act he just committed. "Do not worry," He said. "Soon this girl will become part of the planet's energy. All that needs to be done is to go to the Promised Land that awaits for me over the snowy fields. Where I will become one with the planet as will this girl-"
"Shut up! The life of the Planet and your stupid plan don't mean a thing! Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer laugh, cry or get angry! What about us? What are we supposed do? What about my pain? My fingers are tingling, my mouth is dry, my eyes are burning!"
Cloud's emotions and feelings for Aeris just erupted. The only time how he felt about her had been expressed was the one time that she would never be able to hear it. He cradled her body, hoping, wanting her to come back.
Nothing...*
The memory was a painful one. He would not be able to forget. The tear rolled off his cheek and fell to the ground by his foot. Cloud looked down to where it had landed and he saw something that he thought he would never see near Midgar again. A blade of grass. Cloud bent down towards it. After a short time staring at it, he smiled.
*She's gone. But she will always be here.*
He turned round, to look at the memorial. It was small and relatively simple and was the only thing that stood out within this area. It had one word engraved in it, Zack. Cloud built it to prove to his friend that he hadn't been forgotten and as a sign of respect.
"Well Zack," said Cloud, "at least you and Aeris are together again." He hinted towards the new blade of grass, smiling as he did so.
Cloud continued, "I know you may not be happy considering the way I felt about her, but that's not what I came here to talk about. What I wanted to say was that I can't keep burying myself in the past. Letting my experiences block my future, and not laying it out. So in order to go on, I'm... letting her go."
It was painful to say that for Cloud, he had loved Aeris and he still did but she was gone. Nothing could bring her back and he had to face that. He rose from his kneeling position by the memorial and spoke to it one last time.
"See ya, Zack."
He turned then began to walk away, but Cloud stopped briefly then turned towards the grass blade. He smiled again.
"Goodbye, Aeris."
Cloud finally left, leaving his past behind and starting his life anew. But Cloud failed to notice something. Something in Midgar. There was a presence of some kind, stirring in the depths of the old ruins. Whatever it, or they was, it was moving slowly, quietly, hoping not to be noticed. Whatever it was, it gave off a sensation, a sensation unlike any person has sensed before.
It was...evil...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I hope you enjoyed it. Ch2 up when I can.
Please R&R.