Heartless Imperfection
Chapter VII
It was dark again, Sora knew. "This is getting monotonous." He whispered to himself as his footwear clapped against the hard floor. He stood on a great pillar, though it wasn't much like the one he saw being destroyed. It was all solid stone, and wasn't being eradicated. The boy ran a hand through his hair and looked up. A dark portal was forming in front of him. Black energy seemed to gather at the center, spreading its particles to form a circle. "We must find him… Oh, Sephiroth…" A black robed and hooded figure brushed against Sora, sending a chill up the boy's spine. "The reunion, yes?" Another one walked toward the darkness forming.
Sora looked around. When his gaze returned to the portal, a hideous creature stood before him. "Come, my child… Don't be afraid," It said, though it had no mouth for which to speak.
"We found him on the outskirts of Midgar," Cloud explained to Donald. Goofy was looking out the window on one of two grassy areas in this area of Midgar. They were back at Aerith's house. "We also need to act fast. I don't know what Shin-Ra plans to do with her." The tall human walked to a wall, and leaned against it.
Donald nodded, "Goofy, Sora, and I will help you get Aerith back. But I would like to know what's going on," The duck walked up to Cloud, tapping his webbed feet against the floor, a hardened expression covering his face.
The man looked down at him, expressionless. This was his classic face. "Well, it all began right after you three defeated Ansem, and the worlds started to recreate themselves."
Sora tossed and turned in the bed Cloud had slept in at one time. Marlene was running back and forth for Tifa as she attempted to bandage the boy's head. He was starting to sweat; Tifa figured he was getting a fever from the wound. There was also something strange about him. While he was restlessly moving, his keyblade was in his hand. Despite their efforts to take it from him, the weapon just appeared in his waiting hand. Barret was watching from the doorway, assisting Marlene in any way he could. Donald told them he couldn't heal a wound caused by something natural from another world, counting falling objects.
She remembered very clearly watching a piece of debris hit the poor boy's head as he was running toward them. She pushed the hair away from her face and finished the bandage. She also remembered Barret's small outburst about their friends from Avalanche. The man was still torn up about it, and she didn't pressure him any further.
Goofy started to absorb the knowledge gained from the Ex-Soldier. Donald waited a moment, but turned to Cloud to say, "Our Gummi Ship can hold up to six people, and it could get us to where Aerith is. We just need to find it again."
Cloud looked down at him, "Is it fast?"
The duck snorted, quacking, "Of course it's fast. Sora needs to recover anyway."