A/N : Yay, an update! This one may be a little weird since it's from a weird point of view (you'll see). Still I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for those who reviewed (chipmouskin, darkangel8694, Warryafinson, and Tsamo93).

Please remember to review!!

Guardian

It did not have a name, nor a past, nor a what, why, when, where, who, or how. It had not been born, but it would die. It did not know care, but it would know life's worst pains.

For that was the life of a clone, the clone of a dead man.

The creature had no mind of its own, but a will that was pliable and happily influenced by what it called it's creator, it's own private god. It had no wishes, no plans or expectations, aside of those that were whispered inside its head by its father.

Yet, the being that others viewed as a monster, the mixture of man and wing and scales, was preparing to fade away. It's muscles were weakening, its pelt loosing what little luster it had once possessed, and the brand it wore proudly on its head was the only part that remained untouched and whole.

Still, even in its degeneration, it had a purpose, supported by the whims and needs of he who lived beyond, somewhere in the clouds that the child hoped to one day go.

This purpose, this reason, filled its veins with life and thoughts of survival, and its phantom heart ached for the safety and protection of this venture above all else.

The purpose was named Zack Fair.

The clone watched Zack from afar once it was introduced, the spirit in its head almost erupting with joy at the sight of familiar mako eyes, even if at the time they had been narrowed in suspicion. Still, it had protected Zack, and the female creature whose title it did not know, and smoothly flew above them to watch like the angel it represented.

It spent many days watching Zack and the brown-haired something, recognizing it by the pink bow that Zack often seemed to play with in its hair. Over time and careful eavesdropping, it learned that the being's name with Aerith, and that as itself watched over Zack, Zack watched over Aerith.

Its perch was nonnegotiable as the weeks went on, even when Zack and Aerith gave it odd but not unkind glances. It observed as the two bonded and matured, both physically and in the feelings they felt for one another.

The creature was there when Zack first held Aerith's hand before the two walked down the street, pushing the wagon awkwardly since they wanted to stay connected. It viewed the scene silently when Aerith gave Zack their first real hug, tossing her small arms around his neck while his stronger ones curled around her waist delicately, as if he was honestly afraid he'd break her.

It was there to see their first kiss, with Zack flushing a deep, sudden red that contrasted with his bright grin afterwards, and Aerith giggling into her hands yet still looking pleased.

Through it all, the dying being felt the parental love of its owner flow through it, and it wondered in the simple way it could if it was meant to watch over the two forever.

Once, Aerith had looked up from Zack's lap, contently held in a protecting grip, and called the beast their guardian angel. Zack had glanced upwards as well, smiling in an agreeing way before giving it a mock-salute. The clone had felt its wings flap involuntarily and its tail wag a little from side to side with a joy that was purely all its own.

It came as an unsuspecting shock to both the monster and its master when a day came where Zack's broad silhouette did not appear against the doorway. There had been a disturbance each hour where his boisterous voice did not break the silence of shifting petals and unhappy sighs coming from the brunette tending the flowers. The creation could practically feel each of its scales rust and disintegrate while every feather turned a little more brown and ugly.

Weeks passed, and then months, and finally what humans called years, or at least that's what Aerith spoke of when she decided to confide in the creature.

"He'll be home soon," Aerith had said, her tones strangely melodic compared to the beast's growls and guttural warbles.

"Maybe you'll come down when he comes back," she would say offhandedly, giving it odd and almost pitying looks. "You remind him of his friend." Then she would smile with a softness that contrasted Zack's energy and yet somehow seemed just as beautiful. And the clone would shift its clawed feet and stare out at the hole in the roof, wondering where its purpose had gone, and why Zack would leave his own purpose behind.

One day, a day filled with misgiving sunlight and lethargic white clouds, Aerith came to stand underneath the creature. Her eyes, which it identified as green after the second hour, stared at its own filmy orbs, tracing the curve of its deteriorating wings. Finally, she curled her hand, pianist hands the voice in its head whispered knowingly, towards it, calling it down with a kind murmur.

Its god ordered it to obey, and so the clone weakly drifted down to her side, its hinged mouth dropping open with weak, rasping breaths.

She smiled down at him gratefully, taking something yellowed and miniature and holding it out hopefully.

"Could you take this to Zack, please?" Aerith asked, her eyes glowing sadly when it opened its jaws wider to take it in, closing them with a snap to be sure what it realized was a message would not escape.

"He hasn't answered any of my other letters and..."

Aerith then turned away, clasping her hands behind her back, which the creature could tell was done to halt the shaking.

"This is my last chance," she eventually muttered, turning around and giving the monster a hopeful smile that seemed sorrowful through the unshed tears.

The demon waited no more, instead soaring upwards with its broken wings, allowing the wind and its creator's words to direct it forward. The land crawled beneath it, stark against the tiny dots that it did not recognize as its reason, as Zack.

Sunrises and sunsets came and went, reds and oranges fading into purples and blues. Pain electrified every limb, and cancerous cells dripped off its opening wounds to fall to the ground below.

But the clone did not stop, did not falter. Because it's reason was somewhere ahead, and it's reason's reason had asked it to go to him.

Finally, the being saw a familiar black figure amongst other bodies, but it paid them no attention. It felt the bones in its wings crack and snap, and its masters relieved words, and it finally allowed itself to go sprawling to the ground.

Upon the collision, dust was raised like a ghostly fog, but Zack rushed forward, looking no different than the creature remembered. His expression went from excited to horrified, but the clone simply dropped the letter from its mouth. It fluttered along with the creature's last breath, ending at Zack's feet.

Its eyes fell shut at the point, and the master's words were grateful and benevolent. The clone felt its body disappear into something lighter, fuller, and it allowed itself to be taken.

It had succeeded in reaching its purpose and secured him his happy ending.