'I have had my revenge. Let us go now,' Reis growled, staring coldly at Aeris, 'There is nothing to be had from saving those corrupted people within the city,'
'There is still hope for them to change,' Aeris said, gripping her staff, 'There is hope for them to change their ways and return to the good from where they came,'
'You are stating the impossible, Aeris. No matter how hard you try, the cruel, corrupted and power-hungry fools within the city will never adjust to the good of nature and light,'
'Then let me perform the impossible! I will go back into Midgar and evacuate as many people before the city collapses!'
'Dream on, foolish young one,' Reis growled, moving away. She had ruptured one of the main power control panels when she blasted a hole through the centre of the Shinra building; the reactors steamed away, burning up the Mako energy in unprecedented amounts, overheating their cooling systems and emitting poisonous clouds of gas. The people within struggled to escape, hijacking vehicles and destroying buildings in a desperate bid to exit the steel city.
Aeris ran into the middle of the chaos, attempting to guide the citizens out through the nearest gate. The air held a sickly green tinge to it; a rotten stench in the air, nauseating, asphyxiating; it was a wonder the people could still survive in the hellish conditions.
'Hurry!' Aeris shouted out, breathing heavily, 'Get out of the city through this gate!'
'We are trying as best we can, girl! You get out of this 'ere city now, as well!'
'There they are! The Ancient who escaped! Shoot her dead!' a vicious voice said, causing Aeris to jump.
Dodging bullets, Aeris sprinted out of the city gates, followed by a horde of Shinra troops.
Unrelenting, they showered burst after burst of bullets after Aeris, clipping her once or twice on the shoulders, running madly after her. Aeris looked fearfully behind her; was this the city that she had known? It seemed more like a city of evil than a city of prosperity and good.
At last, Aeris could run no longer; the troops fired a last volley of bullets. Riddling her body with deadly wounds, Aeris coughed up blood, collapsing onto the black dirt beneath. A dark shadow passed behind the troops, causing some of them to look back in fear, before…
Wham! A large tail swept across the rear of the soldiers, flinging two dozen blue-clad men into the sky, screaming as they sailed violently through the air. Reis had come back, unable to bear the thought of Aeris going into the city alone. Snapping some Shinra heads off, she struck others down, before staring down at a cowering soldier and blasting him to ash with her fiery breath. In a brief moment, the entire company was dead, slain by a dragoner by the name of Reis Dular.
Transforming into her beautiful self again, she approached Aeris.
It's not too late, she thought, seeing Aeris' bloody form on the ground, her eyes blank and unfocused, breathing heavy and hindered. It's not too late to save her…I think? Oh my…it's all my fault, its ALL my fault that she went into the city alone…
Reis fell down onto the ground, sobbing into Aeris' brown tangled mass. The Ancient lifted a feeble hand onto Reis' face, stroking it once, before her hand fell limp. No! This can't be! She can't die…she won't die… … … I'm as guilty for letting her die…as those men that shot her…I had the chance to save her, I had the choice to save her…and now it's too late, she's dead…
'R…eis…' she gasped, amid the coughs of blood that she made, 'I…t…has been…good…being…with…you…'
'Aeris? Aeris! No!' Reis howled, striking the ground with her fist.
You're as guilty as the person who kills, if you had the chance to save the killed before…
No…I'm not guilty for her death…
You're as guilty as those men, Reis. Face your fate, you are tainted by the murder of an innocent life.
No…I didn't murder her…
You have murdered her for you have allowed her to walk into certain death.
No…I didn't force her to walk in there…I could not have prevented her from walking in there…
You are guilty of her death! Face the truth, Reis Dular!
Reis snapped out of the trance when she heard a faint tinkling noise on the rock next to Aeris' head. Wiping the tears of sorrow from her pale cheek, she stood up and walked over to the source of the sound. There was a silver stone next to Aeris' hair clip.
Picking it up, Reis held the warmth in her hands, before Cloud and his friends rushed over the hill to find Reis standing on the barren ground. Their eyes swept across the field, staring at the pile of dead Shinra soldiers, before finding the dead form of Aeris on the black dirt. Realising the bitter truth, they all fell on their knees, heads bowed, tears trickling down with a soft Realising the bitter truth, they all fell on their knees, heads bowed, tears trickling down with a soft tap tap on the ground.
A mighty shock rocked the earth as Midgar's seven reactors exploded into shards of flaming metal and stone. The great plate of metal quivered on the spot, shaking, convulsing—before falling with certain finality onto the people beneath.
'Come on…let's give Aeris our final respects before we are discovered here,' Cloud said, standing up and picking Aeris up on his shoulders, 'Oh, and Reis, please wear some clothes…not that I have a problem against you, but your beauty unnerves me,'
'Oh, is that so, is it?' Tifa said, crossing her arms.
'Whatever. We have to get out of here, all the same,'
That evening, under the shadow of a blood-red sunset, the group stood next to the sea, their heads bowed. Cloud walked over into the surf, holding Aeris in his arms. Letting her go into the sapphire waters, he stepped back, biting back the bitter loss. Why did she have to do that foolish thing? Why?