12/12/04 cheesy chorus breaks in UPDATED!!! I updated my story. It's a bit longer and I fixed some of the grammar mistakes. Don't dare say anything about Aeris' name, okay? I've seen many ways of spelling it. Okay, I SO forgot to put a disclaimer on this here do-hickey. You know, I think it's a pain in the tookus, but you know that the one time that I don't someone is gonna come out to get me. This is my first ever fan fiction that I wrote. It was lovingly brought to life my senior year of high school. This was even before news about Advent Children had leaked out. My teacher assigned us a 50 chapter novel for our FINAL!! There was much hair loss and gnashing of teeth that semester. shakes fist and curses his name I think it was the first chapter we started on. This is actually my love child. I thought about trying my hand at writing a chapter story and well, I don't know how that's gonna go. My computer CRASHED over Thanksgiving break and with it went my chapters that I had started on. Thank goodness I have them saved elsewhere. wipes sweat from brow I would have murderized someone dead if I lost them. This will be a companion piece to my chapter story "The ghost woman and the hunter."

Anyway. If you couldn't tell already, I am a Final Fantasy fanatic. FFVII is probably one of my favorites, along with FFX of course XD. It's some of the most beautiful game animation I have ever seen in my life. I could ball my eyes out. The stories of both are so great. Kudos to the creators for a job well done!! And don't forget about the AWESOME Nobuo Uematsu. Wonderful, beautiful scores.

So here it is…my DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT 100, absolutely not, not even close, though I wish with all my black little heart that I did, own the characters or storyline of the epic RPG, Final Fantasy 7. But this little fiction, of course, is mine. NO TOUCHY!!! XD

By the way, did you guys know that the name of Sephy's sword, the Masamune (Ma-sa-moo-nay), is actually the name of a GREAT, and very much famous, Japanese Samurai sword smith? Of course you didn't. He perfected a certain technique or heating of steal or something. Quite valuable pieces. I watched a special on him on the History Channel. The More You Know XD

I hear a voice

A voice resounding through the sky

That stopped crying.

It has shot through the target of my heart.

Chasing the summer that I spent with you,

I pass through the end of winter.

The words that I heard from you that day

Are guiding me.

The smell of a snow storm;

High frequencies mixed in a harmony.

There are more than enough memories,

But if I turned around I could lose just as much.

So I recklessly went down that road,

Praying for tomorrow.

The wild, sleeping within,

Is guiding us to the eternal,

Endless, irreplaceable dream.

"Cloud 9" By Yoko Kanno/ Performed by Maaya Sakamoto (?)

Apologies "A Companions eternal farewell."

Cloud had only been there twice before; once alone, once not.

"Sorry..." he said softly as he looked down upon the grave site in front of him.

Four years had passed since that day. The day that he lost a part of himself. He regretted not doing something. In fact he should have done something, but all he could do was stand there and watch as the scene took place before him. His mouth was dry, his eyes burning, his heart aching-...

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Cloud," Tifa said, interrupting his thought. She gently put her hand on his shoulder. He covered her hand with his own, silently thanking her for coming. He probably should have gone alone but he was comforted by her presence. After all, she was a close friend of hers, too. She was there that day four years ago.

He came back to his senses and started to clear away all the trash and debris that littered his special spot. Satisfied that the area was clean, he knelt down on one knee and began to recall the event that had shattered his soul.

She had left the group, saying that she was putting everyone else in danger, and she needed to do this on her own. She had plagued his dreams, always letting him know that she was all right.
She had always been their heart. In fact, their journey had started with just the two of them. She was the reason for it all. He had fallen in on her after the rector had exploded. He knew he didn't like the whole idea of working for Barrett, and that was the reason why; he always seemed to get his butt singed. He had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to be her body guard. All he knew was that the Turks were after her, and he hated the Shinra. So he had promised to protect her, and in exchange, she would go on a date with him. It wasn't exactly his ideal payment. Actually he could have cared less, dating just wasn't his thing. But for some reason he couldn't turn her down and he wouldn't just because she wasn't offering him money. He was glad he had taken the job.
Soon, things got out of hand. Section 7 had been crushed by the plate above, Aeris had been kidnapped and now he had to play hero. It wasn't that it was any challenge for him though. Those Shinra soldiers punched like girls. But, he was careless and so they were caught. They weren't in there long. After one night in their luxurious cells, he awoke the next morning to find that his door was unlocked and the guard had been murdered. Upon further investigation, they found President Shinra, at his desk, with a sword sticking out of his back. Sephiroth's sword. Sephiroth who was suppose to be 5 years dead. After a brief confrontation with Rufus Shinra, and beating up those girls on the motorcycles that chased them out of the city, they decided to leave. Each for different reasons. He mostly because he had wanted to find Sephiroth. So, the 5 of them started out, traveling the world, searching for parts of his past and maybe Sephiroth.
They soon added four more friends to the group: Cait Sith, Cid, Yuffie and Vincent. Only after a little more traveling did Aeris leave. Not long after, they found themselves at the City of the Ancients, following the trail they hoped would lead to Aeris, and that's where Sephiroth decided to show his ugly mug ( A/N :that's not me saying that, of course. I think Sephy is one of the sexiest mans-es. I'm a bad girl at heart. Can't stay away from the evil ones XD). That's where he killed her. He killed her. She was praying for Holy to save them. He came out of nowhere. It was the most horrifying scene that Cloud had ever seen. Sephiroth's Masamune pierced through her abdomen. Maybe the most disturbing thing was the fact that she remained smiling.
Sephiroth disappeared and Cloud was alone with Aeris' body, crumpled in his arms, lifeless. He found a small pond outside the city, waded into the water, carefully holding her, his eyes still wet and red from the tears he shed, and let go of her. It was the hardest thing that he would ever do.

He lost his balance and caught himself, bracing the ground with both hands and now sitting on his knees. He hadn't realized it, but he was crying. A few warm tears rolled down his cheeks and fell into the pool. He quickly stood up and walked away toward the old ruins, fresh tears forming in his eyes. He walked away, his soul still shattered, his heart still broken, now and forever a broken man.

Been a long road to follow

Been there and gone tomorrow

Without saying goodbye to yesterday

Are the memories I hold still valid?

Or have the tears deluded them?

Maybe this time tomorrow

The rain will cease to follow

And the mist will fade into one more today

Something, somewhere out there keep calling

Am I going home?

Will I hear someone singing solace to the silent moon?

Zero gravity what's it like?

Am I alone?

Is somebody there beyond these heavy aching feet?

Still the road keeps on telling me to go on.

Something is pulling me.

I feel the gravity of it all.

"Gravity" by Yoko Kanno/ Performed by Maaya Sakamoto