Relinquished
A Final Fantasy VII FanfictionRated PG
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any related terms.
A/N: I wrote this as a favor to someone. It's a retelling of Aeris's death, and I'm sure many people have already written this, but here it is again. Hope y'all enjoy it.
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Aeris...Cloud Strife of Nibelheim rushed forward. He paid no heed to the archaic symbols emblazoned on the walls of the City of the Ancients. All that was on his mind was one thing.
Aeris...Tifa and Barret were hot on Cloud's tail, dashing to keep up with the ex-Soldier’s pace.
"Cloud! Wait up!" cried Tifa, exhaustion slowly setting in on her.
Cloud paid no heed and rushed forward with a single-minded determination. He had to find Aeris. He had to find her before Sephiroth did. He had to find her before it was too late. Sephiroth was near, Cloud could feel it.
Cloud came to a stop suddenly, now standing in an open room. A pool of cerulean blue water shimmered. Several marble white pillars jutted up from the luminescent water. And on the tallest pillar, there was a small shrine. And on that small shrine, kneeling in prayer, was Aeris.
Cloud's heart leapt at the sight of her, and he felt overjoyed to see her again. He was relieved beyond belief that he had found her. Ignoring Barret and Tifa, who were standing behind him, panting in exhaustion, he ran forward, leaping across the pillars. Finally he landed on the tallest pillar, where Aeris knelt. He looked at her, her almond colored hair, her magenta ribbon, her crimson dress. She was the image of perfection in his eyes, and nothing could replace her. She had given a meaning into his cold life. His pointless life. His life of greed and selfishness. She had found the human within Cloud, and for that, Cloud was eternally grateful.
He could never harm Aeris, the perfect lifeform.
Kill the Cetra...Cloud's eyes glazed over. His hand, moved by some otherworldly force, gripped his large broadsword and swung it in front of him. But something held his hand at bay, something prevented his hand from swinging downwards, from cleaving Aeris in two.
Kill the Cetra...No, Cloud's mind argued, this was Aeris, the one who had saved him. The one who had found him. The one who had rescued him from the darkness.
Kill the Cetra!
No!
Yes!A faraway voice called to him. He wasn't sure what, but it shook him out of his reverie.
"Cloud!"
"Stop it!"
Cloud's head snapped up, his eyes coming into focus. His broadsword was dropped to the floor with a clatter. Cloud clutched his face, gasping at what he had almost done. At what blasphemy he had almost committed.
What’s happening to me?"Ugh, what are you making me do?" Cloud managed to rasp out, his voice shaking.
What’s happening to me? What’s happening to me!?A silent shadowed hovered over Aeris, and Cloud looked up. What he saw made his heart leap in terror. Sephiroth was silently descending upon Aeris, Masamune drawn. Cloud tried to move, he tried to save Aeris, but some force was keeping him from moving, his broadsword lying idly beside him.
"No!" Barret cried, pulling out his hand-mounted machine gun, rushing up the pillars with Tifa behind him and shooting frantically, trying to stop Sephiroth. Bullet after bullet flew at Sephiroth, each metal slug flying at breakneck speeds. But no bullet connected.
Sephiroth landed softly, his sword sliding neatly, almost surgically, into the Cetra's exposed back, the tip of the bloodied blade poking out her stomach. Sephiroth smiled softly and slid the Masamune out of Aeris's now fatally wounded corpse and sheathed it casually. Just another murder he had committed.
Aeris's eyes opened slightly in shock, but softened when she remembered that her secret agenda had been completed. The Planet now had a chance. She slumped to the floor, lifeless, her hair-band untying and fluttering slowly to the ground. Her precious white materia dropped from her hair and bounced once, twice, thrice, over and over, finally dropping into the water with a small splash.
"...Aeris. This can’t be real!" Cloud cried in horror, sinking slowly to his knees.
Aeris... Aeris... Wake up... Please? Please wake up, Aeris…"Do not worry. Soon the girl will become part of the Planet's energy. All that is left is to go North. The 'Promised Land' waits for me over the snowy fields. There I will become a new being by uniting with the planet. As will this girl..." Sephiroth stated monotonously.
Red hot anger flashed through the despair Cloud was feeling
"Shut up," Cloud said harshly, his voice raspy, "The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don't mean a thing. Aeris is gone. Aeris will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry... or get angry... What about us... what are we supposed to do? What about my pain? My fingers are tingling. My mouth is dry. My eyes are burning!"
"What the
hell am I supposed to do?!" Cloud cried in anger, in fury, in pain, in despair. All the pains ever concocted in the world were all converging on a single point, Cloud.
Cloud could feel his heart sinking, disintegrating, dissolving. His eyes were teary, a first since his childhood. His hands were twitching madly, searching for something to extract revenge on.
"What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?" Sephiroth asked, an amused expression on his visage.
"Of course! Who do you think I am!?" Cloud yelled in anger, leaping up, his sword in hand.
Sephiroth chuckled audibly, "Stop acting as if you were sad. There’s no need to act as though you’re angry either. Because, Cloud. You are..."
But for some unfathomable reason, Sephiroth vanished, and in his place was Jenova, the biological lifeform in which Sephiroth was made from.
Cloud's anger reached its peak. Running forward, broadsword in hand, he unleashed a fearsome attack.
"Climbhazard!"
Cloud rained blow after blow on Jenova, his anger reaching a fearsome zenith. By the time Cloud was finished, Jenova was a piece of mutilated carcass and was slowly disintegrating.
"Because you are... a puppet..." Jenova's voice echoed.
Cloud stood dumbstruck, his anger vanishing for a moment, "I'm... a puppet?"
However, Cloud's respite was short lived. Soon his anguish, his pain, and his suffering came back in full force, along with reinforcements. Cloud nearly collapsed from his sorrow.
Aeris... wake up... please?"Cloud..." Tifa began, unsure of what to say.
Cloud wiped his forming tears away with his arm, kneeling down. He put down his broadsword softly, a metallic tap signaling when the blade touched marble. Cloud cradled Aeris's face with his hand, begging, praying, hoping against all hope that she would open her eyes. That she would wake up from her slumber. That she would open her celadon green eyes and smile demurely. But it was to no avail. Finally realizing the full implications of what had just transpired, Cloud started crying. Silent droplets of sadness, anguish, and pain flowed down his face, a pitiful testament to the maelstrom he was feeling.
Cloud slowly looped his arms under Aeris's still warm body, and lifted her up. He silently descended the marble steps, face as cold as the marble beneath him. Reaching the bottom of the steps, he turned and waded carefully into the shimmering water. Staring down at the body in his arms, he delayed lowering Aeris into the water. He delayed, still clinging onto some desperate strand of hope that she would wake up.
This is the point of no return...Taking a deep breath, Cloud lowered Aeris into the magical water. Cloud watched her through the water for as long as he could. He saw her arms open up, as if giving Cloud one last hug. He saw her hair fanning apart, swimming deftly through the water, attached to the last Cetra, now dead. Cloud kept his eyes on her for as long as he could, until the water obscured her, and he could no longer see.
Aeris...-------
A/N: I haven't tried writing angst for a long time. I'm kinda rusty. Oh well, thank you all for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. I'm considering continuing this, and changing its status as a one-shot, but I don't know. Busy with work, if I find the time and motivation, I'll write the next four parts I planned. If I can't, then this will stay as a one-shot.
This is also posted on Fanfiction.net and
Forever Cherished.